Against the Gods

“Poyun!!”

Huo Rulie’s sudden, angry roar froze Huo Poyun before he could do anything else, and shocked both Yan Wancang and Yan Juehai.

The two sect masters were shocked because he had addressed Poyun by his name, not his title “Great Realm King”.

Right now, Huo Rulie’s complexion looked as red as blood, and it was difficult to tell if his fiery long hair was shuddering because of his anger or the hot air of the environment. One thing was certain though, those who paid close attention would realize that some of his hair was starting to gray.

“How much longer are you going to be willful and stupid!!?”

His voice sounded hoarse because he was shouting every word. He seemed to have forgotten that the man before him was no longer his disciple, but the Flame God Realm King all denizens of the Flame God Realm must submit to.

“Sect Master Huo!” Yan Wangcang and Yan Juehai warned at the same time.

“Shut up!” Huo Rulie waved his arm imperiously before walking forward until he was within touching distance of Huo Poyun. “Poyun, you have always been the greatest pride of my life. In a sense, I see you as a gift from heaven itself.”

“You may be my disciple, but you're just as important to me as Ye’er. Do you remember that day you came out of the Eternal Heaven Divine Realm as a Divine Master, and I laughed like a madman in front of you? You probably do, but you have no idea I cried for three days and nights when I was alone, do you?? I even boasted to countless people’s faces saying that I could pass on to the afterlife now with zero regrets!”

“...” Huo Poyun still didn’t move a muscle.

“Because of you, the Flame God Realm was able to become an upper star realm. Every one of us is proud of you, and we all look up to you as our king from the bottom of our hearts. But… look at what you’ve become after Yun Che came back! Look at what you’ve done and are still doing right now!”

“Where is your pride as the successor of the Golden Crow, or have you fed it all to your pathetic ego? Have you forgotten that your every word and action may decide the fate of the entire Flame God Realm? It’s not even the first time you have threatened to bury the Flame God Realm with your foolishness, and now you’re going to do it again!?”

“SECT MASTER HUO!!” Yang Wancang boomed, finally overcoming Huo Rulie’s full-throated shout with a fiery shout of his own. He let out a heavy sigh before saying, “Enough… no matter what happens, he is still our great realm king.”

“Great realm king, you say…” Huo Rulie let out a bitter laugh. “No, he is just my failure. Surrendering control of the Flame God Realm to him was the biggest mistake of my life, not my proudest moment.”

“The only reason the Flame God Realm is even standing right now is because Emperor Yun still values our former friendship… or maybe, we are simply beneath his attention now.”

Both Yang Wancang and Yan Juehai closed their eyes at the same time. Their expressions were of pain and grim acceptance.

Pain, because Huo Rulie had finally divulged every thought he had kept locked in his heart. Grim acceptance, because speaking the truth was often not without its consequences.

Huo Poyun lowered his arm slowly. Then, he turned around to face the sect masters.

To their surprise, the eyes that met them weren’t filled with rage, but a calm that was almost unfamiliar to them.

“Master, Sect Master Yan (焱), Sect Master Yan (炎),” he said slowly and softly, “this unworthy junior and incompetent realm king is aware that he has disappointed you all these years.”

His tone and expression were so different from what they expected that even the raging Huo Rulie was temporarily lost for words. “Poyun, you…”

“Even the most immature child must grow up some day.” Huo Poyun smiled derisively at himself. “And I have long since lost the right or the face to keep acting childish. I should’ve put down my pitiful obsession toward Yun Che… no, Emperor Yun a long time ago.”

Huo Poyun’s declaration shook all three sect masters greatly. Yan Wancang blurted with cautious hope, “Great Realm King, do you… do you really mean it…?”

“Mn.” Huo Poyun nodded with a small smile on his face. “After I have cultivated Nine Suns Heaven’s Fury to completion, the progress of my Golden Crow’s Record of the Burning World has slowed to a crawl. That is why I’m entering this forbidden barrier. It is to witness the ‘Nine Heavens Cry of Dead Crow and Shattered Jade’.”

“I am well aware that it’s a forbidden flame that burns the world at the cost of oneself, but it’s ultimately a part of the Golden Crow’s Record of the Burning World and the Golden Crow’s divine power. If I don’t cultivate it, then my Golden Crow’s Record of the Burning World will never be complete. As the successor of the Golden Crow’s power and will, that is simply unacceptable.”

“Nine Heavens Cry of Dead Crow and Shattered Jade?” Yun Che frowned.

The Golden Crow’s Record of the Burning World he first cultivated had come from the Golden Crow’s remnant spirit that resided in Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley of the Illusory Demon Realm.

Later on, Mu Xuanyin made a bet with the Flame God Realm and won him the complete version of the Golden Crow’s Record of the Burning World.

However, not only was there no “Nine Heavens Cry of Dead Crow and Shattered Jade” in the complete version of the Golden Crow’s Record of the Burning World, he had never even heard about it until now. Moreover, the name of the profound skill clearly hinted that it was the product of tragic determination and grim acceptance.

“It is most assuredly not to prove anything to Emperor Yun.” Both the smile and self-derision on Huo Poyun’s face grew at the same time. “If there comes a time where I am forced to use this skill, it will only be for the Flame God Realm.”

“So, there is nothing to worry about, master, sect masters.”

“...” The twisted and chaotic flames of anger that had been rising from Huo Rulie’s body faded away. For a long time, he could only stare at his former disciple with trembling lips, unable to muster a single word.

“Good. Good!” Yan Wancang said with a deep nod. Even his eyes had welled up with a bit of tears. “All three of us have always believed that you wouldn’t disappoint us forever.”

“But it is a fact that my earlier, foolish mistakes have put our realm in grave danger. If one day Emperor Yun were to lay down his judgment, I will kowtow before him and atone for my actions. I won’t allow my emotions to affect my decisions anymore. I will even cripple myself if that is the price I must pay to protect the Flame God Realm.”

“But…” He shook his head smilingly and before continuing in an even tone, “It is probably as master said earlier. Right now, Emperor Yun stands so high that he may find it beneath him to even look down on me.”

“Poyun, I am so glad that you have regained yourself,” Huo Rulie finally found his words, but his lips remained trembling uncontrollably. “My earlier outbursts… they were made in a fit of thoughtless anger. I want you to know that you are still, and will always be my greatest pride.” 

“I know, Master. And there is nothing to apologize about. Your criticisms were completely correct.” Huo Poyun looked at his master and said sincerely, “When I have finished cultivating the Nine Heavens Cry of Dead Crow and Shattered Jade, and I have returned to you, I hope that my progress will make you laugh just as happily as you did back then.”

“...” Yun Che stopped watching then. Instead of investigating the so-called “Nine Heavens Cry of Dead Crow and Shattered Jade”, he turned away from the scene and said, “Let’s go, Wuxin.”

Yun Che sped up after they got far enough away from the barrier. They quickly exited the Ancient God Burying Inferno Prison.

Unlike his usual self, he didn’t say a single word during this time.

“Father, you don’t seem… well,” Yun Wuxin started softly.

She knew a little about the matters between her father and Huo Poyun.

Yun Che stared forward and said, seemingly to himself, “For everything you gain, you often lose something else.”

“... what is this ‘loss’ that concerns you, father?” Yun Wuxin asked.

“Friends. I will never have friends for as long as I live.”

To be honest, Yun Che didn’t feel too disappointed or regretful when he admitted this to both his daughter and himself. That being said, there was no avoiding a bit of melancholy.

“Why’s that?... Is it because you stand too high in this world?”

Yun Che smiled a little before continuing, “When you’ve come to see a person as a friend, and that person happened to be at a low point of his life, you will worry for him, feel bad for him, and try everything in your power to help him.”

“The opposite is equally true. When he is at a high point of his life, you will take pride in his achievements and be happy for him. However, what if he climbed too high for you to catch up to him? What if he climbed higher still? Then the floodgates of sadness and disappointment will open, especially when one day you have to strain your neck just to look up to him. Your friend still thinks of you as a friend, and he will still sacrifice himself for you just like before. But you? You just can’t see him as a friend anymore. Even his help will feel like a bitter fruit to swallow.”

“But… why…?” Yun Wuxin had never experienced this. Naturally, she couldn’t comprehend her father’s explanation.

“For two people to be true friends, there must exist some kind of equality between them,” Yun Che said.

“...” Still not comprehending, Yun Wuxin moved her lips but didn’t speak.

“That man… his name is Huo Poyun. He was a lofty genius. He never had a friend in his life because he was too lofty and a true genius… until he met me.”

“However, I climbed too quickly and too high… I even trivialized his proudest Golden Crow Flames and ‘stole’ his first love…”

Friend… power… love...

“I noticed his changes back then, but I hadn’t noticed the unintentional blows I dealt to him repeatedly… he probably resented me, I think.”

Yun Wuxin said, “But… if he really, really thinks of you as his friend, he should’ve recognized the sense of inferiority and stopped it from developing into resentment, right?”

Yun Che said sorrowfully, “It is not so simple. A person’s emotions are already complex enough, but no one person shares the exact same emotions. Many people cannot even realize who they are, much less someone else.”

Huo Poyun resented him, but he also risked everything to save him when he became a devil person and hunted by the three divine regions. He didn’t want him to find out about it either.

Yun Wuxin thought some more before asking, “What about Uncle Xia and Uncle Xiao? Don’t you think of them as friends?”

“They are different,” Yun Che replied, “Yuanba grew up with me, and Xiao Yun and I share the same parents. Our relationship is a familial one, not one of friendship.”

“Now that I am Emperor Yun, no one will ever be my equal. Naturally, no one can truly be my friend anymore.”

“That’s fine.” Yun Wuxin smiled suddenly. “You can’t even handle all the women you’re courting right now. Friends will only shorten your free time more than they already are.”

Yun Wuxin’s unexpected comment caused Yun Che to laugh out loud and lose some of the gloominess that had been gathering in his heart. He gave his daughter’s ear a punch and said, “You are getting more and more cheeky, I see. Your mom’s so going to rant at me when she hears about this.”

“No she won’t. I’m the model of innocence and obedience when I’m in front of mom, heehee,” Yun Wuxin replied with a beautiful and cheeky smile.

They continued trading banter as they flew eastward at high speed.

…………

Eastern Divine Region, Snow Song Realm.

Yun Wuxin had spent much of her life living in Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace, so she had fallen in love with the snowy world that was the Snow Song Realm in almost no time at all. She kept letting out cries of wonder and astonishment as they made their way to the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect.

However, she suddenly grew nervous when the sect was finally within sight.

It was because the venerated Mu Xuanyin and one very special person to both her mother and her were residing in the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect.

“Father, how should I address Ancestor Bingyun when I meet her?” she asked very seriously and nervously.

“Let’s see…” Yun Che hummed thoughtfully. “Your mom calls her ‘Great Ancestor Master’, so you should emulate her example.”

“On the other hand, I used to call her senior when I was a disciple of the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect. Also, your mom and Xuanyin are now sisters, so she’s now my sister-in-law, auntie to you.”

Yun Wuxin: (|||￢w￢)

“Therefore, you can either address her as great ancestor master, senior, immortal master Bingyun, or auntie. You know what, just call her whatever you like. You can even call her ‘fairy sister’ if you want to.”

“No way!” Yun Wuxin rejected his last suggestion immediately. “The junior must not forget their manners! Don’t shoot me your rotten ideas now, father.”

“Hahahaha!” Yun Che guffawed even though he didn’t think that “fairy sister” was a rotten idea in the slightest.

“Auntie Caizhi told me that Auntie Xuanyin is the strongest person in the world after you, father. Is that true?” Yun Wuxin asked another question.

“In terms of profound cultivation, that is definitely the case.”Yun Che nodded affirmatively. “Besides that, she is the only person in the entire universe who can get within five kilometers of me without me noticing.”

“Aiya? Why do you sound so troubled?” Yun Wuxin blinked with obvious mischief. “Are you afraid that Auntie Xuanyin will catch you red-handed while you’re doing something bad?”

“That’s not even the worst of it.” Yun Che sighed. “Not only is she insanely good at hiding her presence, she actually seems to enjoy the act of voye—”

Suddenly, he cut himself off as if he just realized something and straightened his expression, “Ahem, she seems to enjoy protecting me in secret. To be fair, I have been a trouble magnet practically since the first day she knew me. That’s why she would observe our surroundings and eliminate the hidden threats around us from time to time.”

As he said this, his gaze traveled everywhere with imperceptible speed...

“Oh?” Yun Wuxin grinned. “I didn’t know Auntie Xuanyin had such a cute side to her.”

“She has gone from my master to my wife, and I can confidently say that it is the biggest fortune of my life to have obtained her,” Yun Che declared smilingly while staring at the endless snow in front of him.

“...” Yun Wuxin moved her head until she was right next to her father’s ear before whispering in her smallest voice, “Is Auntie Xuanyin spying on us right now?”

“I don’t know, but just in case,” Yun Che replied just as softly.

Yun Wuxin: (*^▽^*)