Against the Gods

Yun Xinyue clenched both his fists tighter and tighter, to the point where it seemed like he was going to fracture the bones in his hands, and the sweat on his forehead began to stream down his face in little rivulets. He raised his head and said in a voice filled with willpower, “Patriarch… It is not that I do not dare, it is that I cannot accept this! I, Yun Xinyue, have always been devoted and sincere, on what basis do I have to submit to the Profound Handle Soul Search in public just because an outsider launched a baseless accusation against me?! Is it because… he is the Patriarch’s godson? If the Profound Handle Soul Search proves my innocence, will this matter be swept under the rug after that, and this foster son of yours, will he just be let off with a slap on the wrist…? Is that the way things are going to be? I cannot accept this… Patriarch, if you behave in this manner, you will only discourage our entire clan… I truly cannot accept it.”

“You cannot accept it?” Yun Qinghong gave a humorless laugh, “Since this is the case, this Patriarch will make it so that you can accept it… Che’er!”

“Godfather.” Yun Che responded.

Yun Qinghong declared solemnly, “The matter of Yun Xinyue having to undergo the Profound Handle Soul Search is entirely due to you. After the Profound Handle Soul Search has been done, if he is truly involved in the assassination attempt on Xiao’er and Number Seven Under Heaven, then you have indeed helped our Yun Family deal with a phantom menace, and it will truly be a great merit that you have earned. And at that time the Elder Council will naturally reward you greatly, and you would have earned the approval of the entire Yun Family. However, if Yun Xinyue is truly innocent… Then you will have maliciously accused one of our Yun Family disciples. Even if you are my godson, I won’t let you off lightly! At that time, you must break all the meridians in your body in penance before all who are present here… Do you dare to give me that promise? If you do not dare, then this Profound Handle Soul Search also does not need to happen!”

To break all of his meridians… This extremely cruel conclusion caused all those who were present to feel a chill radiate throughout their entire body. Originally, many of the Yun Family members felt that Yun Qinghong’s sudden explosion was to protect Yun Che, but once he spoke those words, not even a single one still harbored that notion in their minds; they even felt that Yun Qinghong was being unusually cruel with his godson.

Even though Yun Qinghong nearly had one hundred percent confidence in Yun Che, he still left a way out for Yun Che… To break all of one’s meridians, in the eyes of any profound practitioner, even if it was a Monarch, it would still be an extremely terrifying thing. But, he and Mu Yurou had their meridians crippled for over twenty years and Yun Che could restore them to full health in the matter of two months. Even if he did end up having to break all of his meridians later, it should not take a great deal of effort for him to make a full recovery.

“Yes!” Yun Che nodded his head with no hesitation at all and he declared in a loud voice, “If Yun Xinyue is proven to be innocent under the examination of the Profound Handle Soul Search, I will, before all those who are present, break all the meridians in my body… If I show any signs of reneging, any person who is present can take action against me, and I will not resist!”

Yun Qinghong slowly nodded his head, “Yun Xinyue, now do you still have anything else to say?”

Now that the situation had progressed to such a stage, and Yun Qinghong had spoken at length, if Yun Xinyue continued to resist, then it would truly seem abnormal. Yun Xinyue’s chest fiercely convulsed and both of his legs started to tremble slightly. He ground his teeth as he took one step towards the arena, but he could not take the second step… because out of all those who were present, he was the most clear on what the result of the Profound Soul Search would be.

“Hmph!” Yun Qinghong expression morphed into one of fury and he said in a deep voice, “Enforcement Elder, in the situation where there no detrimental action is to be taken against the Yun Family, how should someone, who is determined to go against the order of the Patriarch, be dealt with?”

The Enforcement Elder was taken by surprise, but he hurriedly replied, “Reporting to Patriarch, if one is to defy the orders given by the Patriarch… A light punishment would be forced confinement, and a heavy punishment… A heavy punishment would be to purge that person’s body of his profound art and expel him from the family.”

“Yun Xinyue, do you want to become a cripple and then be expelled from the Family? Or do you want to enter the Sacred Cloud Arena and prove your innocence? If you can show hesitation even when being asked to make such a simple decision, it simply proves that everything Yun Che had said were not lies after all!”

Yun Xinyue still did not move. At this time, his entire spirit was on the verge of collapse, and amidst the chaos and fright which dominated his mind, he could scarcely hear what Yun Qinghong was saying.

“Since you still refuse to enter the Sacred Cloud Arena, then I can only get someone to help you up on stage.” Yun Qinghong faced the three grand elders and he said with a respectful look, “Our three Grand Elders, I regret that this current matter will require your assistance. Because it is only if the three Grand Elders took action personally, will everyone present will be satisfied.”

Yun Jiang, Yun Xi and Yun He were all people who had already experienced everything under the sun. So Yun Xinyue’s present condition had already clearly clued them in on what was happening. Once Yun Qinghong had finished speaking, Grand Elder Yun Xi took to the air and he instantly appeared in the space above Yun Xinyue. Before Yun Xinyue could even respond, a profound energy that was as boundless as the sea had enveloped his entire body. He was not even able to make the least bit of resistance before everything grew dark before his eyes, as his consciousness was completely buried.

Even his body appeared within the Sacred Cloud Arena in a kneeling position.

The grand elder’s profound energy was so thick and robust that before anyone could see what was happening, Yun Xinyue already appeared in the middle of the Sacred Cloud Arena. His whole body was frozen still and eyes were opened wide, but his gaze was completely unfocused; it was as if his soul had left his body.

With a flash, grand elder Yun Xi had reappeared in his seat. He dryly said, “His consciousness has already been subjected to the Profound Handle Soul Search, this will persist for the next fifteen minutes. Whatever the Patriarch wishes to inquire, go ahead and ask him.”

As he was forced to bear testament to how his son, the apple of his eye, was forced to kneel down like a criminal for all to see, and as he saw how the actions and words of the grand elders clearly showed that they were on the side of Yun Qinghong, Yun Waitian’s entire body trembled and he roared in fury, “Good… Good… Go ahead and ask, go ahead and ask!! My son’s innocence does not fear any false accusation! Yun Qinghong, remember your previous words! If my son is innocent, then this Yun Che… must break all of the meridians in his body!! And today’s insult… I will definitely not forget it!”

“Please keep calm Great Elder. Presently, are we not going to prove the innocence of your son? You should be even more at ease instead.” Yun Qinghong nodded his head towards Yun Che, “Che’er, push me up, I want to clearly hear every word that he is about to say.”

“Yes.” Yun Che replied, then jumped off the stage. After that, he carried Yun Qinghong’s wheelchair and returned to the Sacred Cloud Arena, landing right in front of Yun Xinyue.

“Your Highness, what should we do?” Behind Duke Hui Ye, the Venerable Stone Dragon whispered to him in the softest of voices.

Duke Hui Ye’s face was as inscrutable as still water, his fingers spread out like a fan and his index finger made a slight hook as it performed an obscure gesture.

“Great Elder, Yubai, please withdraw. And the various elders, will you please keep an eye on the Great Elder? Do not allow him to personally enter the Sacred Cloud Arena. As for Duke Hui Ye, please do whatever pleases you.” Yun Qinghong said in a steady voice as he looked at Yun Xinyue.

“Hmph.” Duke Hui Ye snorted lightly, but he did not leave the Sacred Cloud Arena. Instead, he fixed both his eyes on Yun Qinghong’s back as if he could pierce through it with his gaze.

Both Mu Yubai and Yun Waitian complied with those words and left the Sacred Cloud Arena. But Yun Waitian said in a furious voice, “I do not need anyone to look out for me! My son is definitely innocent! Yun Qinghong, I’ll make sure you regret this!”

“Heh heh.” Yun Qinghong laughed dryly, “Yun Waitian, do not ever think that just because you are his father, you understand everything about him. But I am more than willing to believe that whatever things that he has done, you have remained ignorant of it. Che’er, the one who accused Yun Xinyue of being involved in the assassination attempt of Xiao’er and Number Seven Under Heaven was you, so why don’t you personally lead the interrogation. Especially since you are the person who uncovered the clues in the first place, you would know best on what questions should be asked.”

“Understood.” Yun Che nodded his head and his gaze crossed with Yun Qinghong’s; both of them laughed involuntarily as they met each other’s gazes.

During today’s grand meeting, Yun Qinghong had initially maintained his silence and he was silent to the point that it was easy to forget that he was even present. But from the moment he had opened his mouth, the entire situation had fallen into the palm of his hand. He destroyed the grandeur of Duke Hui Ye and he rendered Helian Peng utterly speechless; he made every single person from the Yun Family hang on his every word and action; he made Yun Xinyue’s resentful cries for justice vanish completely; and just a few words from him caused the grand elders to personally take action to restrict Yun Xinyue…

Yun Che rarely admired anyone. He originally thought that he would be the star of the this Yun Family Great Assembly, but beyond all expectations, the true role of the protagonist was easily taken away by Yun Qinghong. He let out a silent sigh in his heart… No wonder I am so excellent, it’s because I actually have such a formidable father!

Oh, what he must’ve been like in his prime!

While the Yun Family members present were being led by the nose by the practically flawless scenario which unfolded before their eyes, Yun Qinghong had silently seen through it all. When all who were present began to question and ridicule Yun Che, he chose to believe instead… It had nothing to do with his trust in Yun Che, it had everything to do with Yun Qinghong being sufficiently wise and farsighted.

Yun Che strode forward, and once he was alongside Yun Qinghong. He wanted to remind Yun Qinghong to be careful of someone making a move to silence Yun Xinyue, but before the words came out of his mouth, he swallowed them instead. He believed that with Yun Qinghong’s wisdom and foresight, he basically did not need to remind him of this.

“What is your name?” Yun Che stood before Yun Xinyue and seemed to begin the interrogation in earnest.

“Yun Xinyue…” Yun Xinyue’s spoke in a manner which was slow and lifeless, but it was sufficiently clear for all to hear.

“How old are you this year?”

“Twenty seven years old…” As Yun Xinyue spoke, a trail of saliva spilled from the corner of his mouth, then dangled to the floor.

“What type of girls do you like the most?”

“Ones with… big… butts…”

“Oh! I really couldn’t tell that the both of us actually would have something in common.” Yun Che opened his eyes wide, “So who was the girl that you slept with most recently?”

“Drunken River House’s Lady Chrysanthemum…”

Pfft... The audience immediately spat their drinks at that answer.

“You bastard!!” Yun Waitian’s was practically standing straight on end and he pointed at Yun Che while he scolded vociferously, “What kind of rubbish questions are you asking? You… You… You are clearly afraid of being found false, and you are deliberately putting things off!”

Yun Che swiftly made a pacifying gesture, “Great Elder Yun, please do not be angry. This is the first time I have ever seen the legendary Profound Handle Soul Search being performed, so I just really wanted to test whether the legends were really true and that any question I asked would be answered… Yes, I think I’m about done with testing it out. This Profound Handle Soul Search is truly mystical, but it is time for us to truly start the interrogation. But, tsk tsk… to think that the respected son of a Yun Family great elder would actually visit a brothel when he wants the companionship of a woman… Oh! But at least he would rather visit a brothel, unlike the disciples of some other grand families who would go around raping and dominating innocent women; ah truly his actions fill me with admiration for him. It is just that this Lady Chrysanthemum… When I hear this name, I can’t help but think that the tastes of the Great Young Master Yun just seem to be a tad bit on the heavy side…”

“You!!” Yun Waitian’s entire body shook uncontrollably and his gaze filled with violence; he looked as if he hated that he could not rush up on stage and have it out with Yun Che there and then.

“Oh! Right away, right away!” Yun Che coughed heavily as he casually shot a glance at the expression of the silent Duke Hui Ye. After which, he proceeded to ask in a serious tone, “Yun Xinyue, let me ask you. Two months ago, how did you know that Yun Xiao and Number Seven Under Heaven would be meeting outside the city?”

Yun Che did not ask ‘whether you knew’, instead he asked ‘how did you know’. Yun Waitian gave a cold smirk and he said with utter contempt, “Under the effects of the Profound Handle Soul Search, all the words uttered come straight from the depths of the soul, so there can be no deception! Did you think that if you used this sort of guiding question, he would obediently spin a tale for you to hear?”

But as Yun Xinyue opened his mouth, Yun Waitian’s expression instantly froze in place.

“That day… I was strolling past Yun Xiao’s courtyard… And I just happened to hear the sound transmission that Yun Xiao had sent to Number Seven Under Heaven… To arrange to meet the next morning at ten in the morning... at the Rain Cloud Pavilion, which was thirty five kilometers away from the city…” Yun Xinyue replied in a slow but clear voice.

“Oh!” Yun Che nodded his head, “Indeed it was as I expected, you did eavesdrop on Yun Xiao’s sound transmission.”

“This… This… Ah…” Yun Xiao’s tongue seemed to have tied itself into a knot. He remembered that on the first day he met Yun Che, Yun Che asked him whether he had used sound transmission every time he asked Number Seven Under Heaven on a date, and he also asked if anyone had overheard that particular sound transmission…

The sound of tightly-packed whispers began to circulate among the crowd. Yun Che’s first legitimate question and Yun Xinyue’s subsequent reply had caused the people who had already began forming suspicions about Yun Xinyue to immediately smell something funny.

Yun Waitian’s expression had become ugly in a flash, but he swiftly yelled out, “So what if that is true?! Xinyue merely overheard those words by accident… Does it mean that because he unwittingly heard that sound transmission, he is the scoundrel who arranged for their assassination?!!”

Translator’s Note: Lady Chrysanthemum is Chinese wordplay on the word anus, because 菊花 which means Chrysanthemum is also slang for the word anus. If you wanna know why, google Chrysanthemum and draw your own conclusions, I shan’t be charged with corrupting young minds XD! Dnton out! o7