Against the Gods

“But the danger my daughter encountered today, when you get down to the root of things, it is all because of this punk!” Greatest Ambition Under Heaven might have restrained his anger, but his tone was still harsh, “If anything had really happened to my daughter, even if I knew it was intentionally instigated by others, I would still cause a great commotion over at Yun Clan! It’s a good thing that nothing happened to my daughter, so I can still overlook this matter and not find trouble with Yun Qinghong, but… Yun brat, I won’t take back what I said to you before; you’re not allowed to meet my daughter anymore. If you do, I will personally break your legs! Now get out of here!”

“Dad!” Number Seven Under Heaven became irritated: “You also know me and Brother Yun were plotted against, why are you still scolding him! That’s too excessive! If you keep on acting like this, then I’ll really be angry.”

“I’m going overboard? My Seventh Treasure, even if I disregard today’s events, you are still a princess of our elf clan. There are so many young and handsome heroes in Demon Imperial City, and they are all for your choosing, so why do you still insist on liking this…” Greatest Ambition Under Heaven pointed at Yun Xiao, but he paused for a moment. He did not voice out the remaining unkind words, but he slashed his hand instead, “In the past, I could allow you to be wilful, but now that this incident has happened, I will definitely not allow you and him to meet anymore! Yun brat, you better give up all hope! You are not worthy of my daughter.”

Number One Under Heaven, Number Three Under Heaven, and Number Six Under Heaven also bore deeply approving expressions on their faces as they heard their father’s words.

“Dad!!” Number Seven Under Heaven shoved Greatest Ambition Under Heaven. After which she retreated a step, and said with a face red with anger, “I’ll say this one more time, in my lifetime I will only ever like Brother Yun. Besides Brother Yun, I won’t marry anyone else… Moreover, this is my personal affair, I don’t need the rest of you to butt in!”

“Seventh sister…” Yun Xiao looked at her and sighed out those words lightly. Both his hands were wound into tight fists, and his face was steadily becoming pale.

Greatest Ambition Under Heaven still refused to back down, “My Seventh Treasure, normally whenever you are in want, I will do my best to satisfy your heart’s desire. But I definitely will not relent in this case. Because, not only does this concern your personal feelings, it also concerns your future and your advancement… And to a certain extent, it also concerns our entire Under Heaven Clan’s reputation and future!” Greatest Ambition Under Heaven heavily sighed as he said this, and he adopted a gentler posture, “My Seventh Treasure, you know how much I give into you, can’t you just give in to me this once?”

Number Seven Under Heaven bit her lips, and she looked at Yun Xiao, who also looked back at her, both of them looking at each other with gazes filled with tenderness… The distance between them was only the space of a few steps, yet at the same time, it seemed akin to the distance of an unsurpassable chasm. After a long while, this stubborn elf girl slowly and resolutely shook her head, “Dad, Big Brother, Third Brother, Sixth Brother, I know, I know that all of you look down on Brother Yun, and that all of you have always despised him… because of his background! But, can Brother Yun be blamed for his background? Background and status, are those things truly so important?”

“I like Brother Yun, and this has absolutely nothing to do with his background. In my eyes, he is more than tens of thousands times better than those conceited and arrogant scions of the other families. All of you should know that because of the current set of circumstances, where we do not know whether the Demon King is dead or alive, where Yun family’s Patriarch has been crippled while also losing the Demon Emperor’s Seal and the Demon Emperor’s Treasure, not only has their reputation greatly declined, they are also seen as great criminals. Because of this, the amount of resources given to them every year has been lessened by several times and they are not even allowed to enter the “Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley”, a place which is regarded as the best place to train and have fortunate encounters. And their family has become rent by internal disorder, which has resulted in Yun family’s strength falling far from where it was one hundred years ago… But in this kind of environment, with the scarcest of resources, Brother Yun already a half-step Overlord today! Not losing to the direct scion’s of the other families by much. This barely passable grade that you have given him as the ‘heir of a family’, do you know how hard he had to work to achieve it?!”

“ The amount of resources Brother Yun had to work with all these years, was not even a tenth of what other heirs to the rest of the families received, and it was even less than what the other disciples within his own family received! But Brother Yun has never complained. Instead, he put in ten times the effort that others did. Other disciples in the Yun Clan have profound handles, but not Brother Yun… And he once again he exerted several times the effort to bridge this gap… Having pitifully few resources and not even having the bloodline or talent of the Yun family, yet Brother Yun is right now, half a step into the Tyrant Profound Realm when he is not even twenty-two yet. He will soon break into the realm of Overlords… If he could have the same kind of resources, I believe his achievements today would be no less than that of Sixth Brother!”

Number Six Under Heaven “...”

“Moreover Brother Yun has a soft heart and he is ever so gentle, to the point where, even though he is the Young Master of the Yun family, he has never leaned on his position and become arrogant, and he has never bullied others as well. Instead, when he sees injustice, he will take the initiative to lend a helping hand… I know, all of his good points are not even worth a single glance to any of you, but there is this one point… when I had met danger, Brother Yun willingly used his own life to protect mine. All of Brother Yun’s wounds were suffered in the course of protecting me. He could have escaped completely unscathed, but he would rather give his life in order to create an opportunity for me to escape… But despite all of this, he was still scolded and belittled by the rest of you!” Number Seven Under Heaven’s chest fiercely rose and fell, “Dad, all of these young and handsome heroes that you just mentioned, could a single one of them have done the same thing? For a girl to meet such a man in her lifetime, and to have this feeling of love be mutual, is the most fortunate thing in one’s life. Could you bear to destroy the greatest happiness I will ever receive during my entire lifetime?!”

Facing Greatest Ambition Under Heaven’s resoluteness, Number Seven Under Heaven could not control herself anymore as she shouted out all the words trapped in her heart without any reservation. But these heartfelt words did not move Greatest Ambition Under Heaven at all. He eyed Yun Xiao dully, and gently shook his head, “My Seventh Treasure, what you have said, I definitely understand. Your father was also young once, and I understand what you are thinking, it is only that… You are still the sole princess of our Under Heaven Clan, and you possess innate qualifications that others can never cultivate, and it is because of that, that some things can never be fully under your control. Please, just come back with me first.”

“I’m not going back!” Number Seven Under Heaven retreated several steps, “If you will never let me meet with Brother Yun again, I would rather never go back home.”

“You…” Greatest Ambition Under Heaven struggled to keep his temper under control as it flared explosively once more.

“Cough... About that, Seventh Sister, would you be willing to listen to a few of my words?” Yun Che hurriedly interjected before Greatest Ambition Under Heaven flew off the handle. He pulled Number Seven Under Heaven over and said in a small voice, “Seventh Sister, return with your father first and stop quarreling with him over this. As for Yun Xiao, I will return with him to Yun family, and I will not leave his side until all his wounds recover, so you do not need to worry.”

“But…” Number Seven Under Heaven looked at Yun Xiao, then said in an indignant and angry tone, “The things they said about Brother Yun, and even barring me from seeing him ever again, I...”

“But what will your quarreling do in regards to that?” Yun Che shook his head, “You have just met intense danger, and your father and brothers are still full of anger and resentment towards Yun Xiao. Moreover, I can also see that they are truly deeply concerned for you. For you to quarrel so fiercely with them over Yun Xiao, to the point where you are even threatening that you won’t return home… This has undoubtedly caused them even more anger and grief, and at the same time, it will increase their distaste and dislike for Yun Xiao. It will purely have the reverse effect, and it will only cause the relationship between you and Yun Xiao to become even more uncertain.”

“Ah?” Number Seven Under Heaven received a shock, “Then, then what should I do now?”

“Go back with them first, wait for this affair to blow over and take things slowly. Even though your father has decreed that you are not to meet again, both of you live in the Demon Imperial City, and both of you are alive and kicking. If you really want to meet, can they really stop you? Quarreling with your father is completely useless, you should instead approach this using gentle persuasion, or perhaps act more coquettishly. Use various means and ways to demonstrate to him just how good Yun Xiao is to you… Once time has passed, he might even unwittingly approve.”

Number Seven Under Heaven’s eyes lit up slowly, after that she vigorously nodded her head, “Mn, Big Brother Yun, I’ll listen to you. Brother Yun… Please recuperate properly, I will definitely bring my father around.”

“Seventh Sister...”

“Yun Xiao, let’s get going.”

Yun Che said his farewells to Greatest Ambition Under Heaven and his family. Without stopping, he picked up Yun Xiao and flew back towards the Demon Imperial City.

“Number Three, bring Seventh Treasure back first. She suffered some internal injuries and it would be best to let her rest and recover for a few days.”

After Number Three Under Heaven left with Number Seven Under Heaven, Greatest Ambition Under Heaven’s face gradually grew serious, “Number One, those three black-clothed men, were you able to find out anything about their identities?”

Number One Under Heaven shook his head, “By the time I had went, one of them had died while the other two had fled. I did not even catch a glimpse of their shadows.”

“If one died, then where is his corpse?” Greatest Ambition Under Heaven asked.

“His corpse was taken by the other two men when they fled. And Yun Che, who had repelled them, did not make a move to stop them. Perhaps he could not even be bothered to make a move.”

Greatest Ambition Under Heaven gave a deep sigh, and said slowly, “Number One, go and give that location a thorough look, try and find any trace of evidence they have left behind. Also, even if the corpse was taken away, as long as someone died, there has to be blood present. Go and bring some blood samples back, I might have a way to investigate… Hmph! I really want to know who has such great nerve, that they would dare try to assassinate a member of our Under Heaven Clan!”

“Understood!” Number One Under Heaven nodded his head. He flew out swiftly, but suddenly stopped and turned to Number Six Under Heaven, and said, “Old Six, after you go back, the first thing I want you to do is to conduct a thorough check on the background of Yun Che, the more detailed the better. This person’s origins are definitely not ordinary! And remember, he is not an enemy, so when you perform your check, do not agitate him.”

“I got it.” Number Six Under Heaven nodded his head.

——————————————

Yun Che carried Yun Xiao as they flew towards the Demon Imperial City at a steady clip. Both of them looked at the ever-nearing city gates, their hearts filled with exceptionally complicated thoughts.

“Brother Yun, are you really only twenty-two years old?” Yun Xiao asked hurriedly as he looked at him.

“I never lie.” Yun Che replied, “Why do you ask?”

Yun Xiao took a breath and said in voice filled with admiration, “We are both twenty-two, but you are so mighty, and even your words are able to grasp the main point in no time at all; it fills people with an involuntary belief… If only I could be like you, then Seventh Sister’s father and older brothers wouldn’t hate me so much…”

Yun Che shook his head, “I am not as sharp as you make me out to be. But the ones who were ambushed were the both of you, the ones who were interfered with was also the both of you. I am purely an outsider, so I can always keep my cool… The one in the situation is blind, while the onlookers can see things clearly, it should mean something like that.”

“Haha!” Yun Xiao laughed, “Brother Yun is not only great in many areas, but you are also modest; it makes it hard for one to not admire you… However, I find it strange, I have always on guard towards others, but for some odd reason, when I look at Brother Yun. I feel an unfathomable familiarity with you… and what I am saying is from my heart! Hehe, perhaps it is because Brother Yun’s charisma is just too intense.”

Yun Che looked at him and laughed lightly. He said with sincerity, “Actually… I feel the same.”

“Ah?” Yun Xiao was stunned, then said blankly: “Then can we… be considered good friends now?”

“We should be… as long as you don’t mind.”

“I won’t mind, I definitely won’t mind at all!” Yun Xiao waved his hands hurriedly: “Brother Yun is such a great person; if it is someone who should mind, it is you who should mind being friends with me, not the other way around.”

As the two people spoke, they had already entered the space above Demon Imperial City.

“My clan is situated in the east of the city.” Yun Xiao pointed towards the east, “The place where the purple energy is rising to the heavens. It was said that one hundred years ago, the purple energy of the Yun family covered half of Demon Imperial City’s sky, but now… sigh.”