Against the Gods

Duke Zhong, who was seated in the middle of the east wing, stood up suddenly and his face had become extremely warped with astonishment. In regards to Duke Yuan Que’s lack of hesitance in activating his forbidden art, he actually approved of it silently. As the young master of Duke Zhong Palace, if Duke Yuan Que was defeated, it also signified the defeat of the entire Duke Zhong Palace. Even though the side-effect of being weakened for three months as a result of using the forbidden bloodline art to completely crush Yun Che was serious, it was at least better than the consequence of falling in defeat.

Yet Duke Yuan Que, who had made his profound power go berserk, could not crush Yun Che under his feet, and this already caused Duke Zhong to feel ill at ease. At this moment, Yun Che’s aura suddenly expanded explosively and it shocked him to the point where he had nearly vomited blood on the spot.

This aura of power which explosively rose up and abruptly assaulted Duke Yuan Que caused the raging duke to suddenly grow sluggish, and even the spear aura he emitted grew gentler. Facing Duke Yuan Que’s all-out attack, Yun Che no longer went on the defensive; instead, he abruptly ran forward to face the attack head on and he sent a fierce ‘Falling Moon Sinking Star’ crashing forward.

Bang!!

The strength of the blow that came from Yun Che was much more tyrannical than that of his previous strike. The profound energy storm that had been raised by Duke Yuan Que’s dual spears crashed into it like a thousand foot wave crashing into a ten thousand foot tsunami, and in an instant, it was suppressed and devoured. An incomparably tyrannical and immense attack smashed into his dual spears before continuing onto his body.

An immense explosion ripped through the air as both his arms completely lost all sensation. His entire body was like a leaf fluttering in a storm as it flew over a great distance until he violently smashed into the roof of the Demon Imperial Hall. The Demon Imperial Hall shook greatly before his body smashed heavily into the floor, which caused the great hall to shake once again.

However, since he had been smashed high into the air, he was not sent flying out horizontally. When his body came to a standstill, it did not leave the boundary of the arena.

Duke Yuan Que looked incomparably pathetic as he propped himself up with both his spears and pulled himself upright amidst the shattered stones. All the energy and blood in his body were thrown into complete chaos, and the hands that gripped both spears were torn and dripping with blood. Because of the protection of his strong protective profound energy, this slash did not inflict much damage, but his already wavering belief had taken a huge hit.

While in the state of ‘Purgatory’, Yun Che had to bear an immense consumption of energy and burden on his body, so naturally he could not waste even half a second. Just as Duke Yuan Que stood up, he rushed in swiftly and sent his sword sweeping forward.

All the veins in Duke Yuan Que’s body were either swollen or torn, but a crazy, ominous glint suddenly flashed across his eyes. Every single dragon scale on his body swelled up greatly and ghastly blossoms of blood shot into the air...

“This duke… wants your life!!”

Both of Duke Yuan Que’s eyes had turned crimson and a few of his teeth were broken. He raised both his hands and with a low, pained roar, he unreservedly poured all the energy he had left into his spears. The silhouette of the dragon behind him shattered and the image of two fierce dragons appeared on the bodies of his spears; one of them silver, while the other, black.

“It is the finishing move of the Duke Zhong Palace, Demon Dragon Slaughtering the World!”

“Che’er, be careful!” Yun Qinghong swiftly shouted.

As one of the Duke Zhong Palace’s ultimate finishing moves, Demon Dragon Slaughtering the World was normally incredibly difficult for Duke Yuan Que to perform. For him to forcefully use this move when he was in such a state, one could well imagine the kind of burden he would have to endure. But at this moment, Duke Yuan Que’s spirit was on the verge of collapse, so why would he still care about the consequences?

After this move, if anything went wrong, there was even a possibility that his profound veins would be heavily injured.

But even with his current strength, it was still incomparably terrifying.

“Yun Che… go and die!! Demon Dragon Slaughtering the World!”

Both the silver and black fierce dragons flew from his spears and they fiercely snaked out as they intertwined and pierced the air. Before both dragons came close to Yun Che, he had already been pinned down by the impact of the assault, his clothes were swiftly torn into shreds, and he could barely even open his eyes.

This was truly a strong move… But this fellow had released this strength only after he had endured a heavy burden for a long period and his profound energy was nearly empty...

Was he tired of living?!

“Sealing Cloud Locking Sun!”

The Evil God barrier appeared for an instant, and the two fierce dragons were completely consumed by Yun Che’s barrier. The destructive power surged violently and erupted and the Evil God barrier was battered by the impact. A cutting sound filled Yun Che’s ears, and after three breaths, the Evil God barrier was finally broken, but ninety percent of the power of Demon Dragon Slaughtering the World had been reduced as well. Even though the remaining energy sent Yun Che flying for tens of meters, he had only sustained some light injuries.

“Ah, I can finally end it…” Yun Che wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, his figure blurred as it pierced through the sand that was flying all around, and he smashed his sword into the completely dazed Duke Yuan Que’s body.

Duke Yuan Que had already wagered all of his remaining energy in that single blow and there was not even a shred of profound energy left to protect his body. Yun Che’s sword at a mere two-tenths of its power caused his body to fly through the air like a sack of rotten meat.

Bang!

Duke Yuan Que’s body hit the floor heavily and his entire body was covered in blood. However, the injuries that Yun Che had caused were all internal injuries which either snapped muscle or fractured bone. The blood covering him was due to his body being unable to withstand the overbearing burden and rupturing.

A huge amount of fresh blood flowed from Duke Yuan Que’s head, body and the back of his hands. He lay still on the ground and his eyes were directed at the blurry ceiling of the great hall. They were dull and lifeless and it seemed as if he was in some extremely ephemeral dreamscape. He opened his mouth but no sound came out at all, and his consciousness completely flew away. His head rolled back as he thoroughly fainted dead away.

Duke Yuan Que had lost!

The entire hall had fallen into a dead silence and one could even hear the sound of a pin drop.

Not even Duke Zhong Palace made a move for a long time after seeing a bloodied and unconscious Duke Yuan Que lying on the ground… they had all been struck dumb.

“Big Brother… is simply too incredible! Big Brother, you are way too awesome!!”

A loud, emotional cry rang through the great hall, Xiao Yun was already dancing about excitedly as he wildly cheered until he lost his voice.

Xiao Yun’s cheers were like the spark that ignited the powder keg, and the entire Demon Emperor Hall exploded into sound.

“Yun Che won again… Yun Che actually won again!! My heavens! This is simply… simply… simply…”

“Duke Yuan Que used all of his power and displayed all of his finishing moves. He did not even hesitate to use a forbidden art. Even after Yun Che had fought four matches, and all four of his opponents were individuals who stood on the summit, whose names had shaken all of Illusory Demon Realm, Yun Che had still won each and every battle… he’s simply a monster!”

“I have personally witnessed the glorious ascension of a supreme genius today! For me to come to Demon Imperial City and see with my very eyes a genius that seems to have walked out of mythology, this competition… is enough to satisfy me for the rest of my life!”

“After his previous bouts, Yun Che’s name would definitely shake the heavens. But after this match, he has qualified himself to be recorded in the very annals of our Illusory Demon Realm’s history! Defeating five mid-stage Overlords with his strength only at the Sky Profound Realm has never been seen before in the history of Illusory Demon Realm, and it is likely that such a feat will never be seen again after.

“Good… Good!” Yun Qinghong and Mu Yurou clasped their hands together and they were so moved that they could barely speak.

All the young disciples who were present had been stunned senseless. Any of them were peak existences amongst their peers, and normally, they were incomparably proud and arrogant. After witnessing that bitterly fierce battle, Yun Che’s extremely terrifying strength had caused every single one of them to be scared witless, even to the point where their courage had been completely torn to shreds. In front of such strength displayed by a person who was of a similar age, they felt that their power was not even at the standard where it could be displayed as a disgraceful sideshow.

When Su Zhizhan had fallen in defeat, the east wing still had a whole six competitors, while the west wing was only left with one. Furthermore, the strongest competitors left in the east wing consisted of Hui Ye, Yuan Que and Hui Ran, and any one of them could completely defeat Su Zhizhan. On the other hand, the west wing’s final combatant, Yun Che, had a profound strength that was so weak, everyone disregarded him.

All of those seated in the west wing thought that this match would end up exactly as they had originally predicted… either that or it would end up as a defeat that was even more miserable and humiliating than anticipated. But not a single one of them could have predicted that Yun Che would actually defeat Jiufang Yu, Xiao Donglai and Chiyang Yanwu...

To think that he would defeat the one who was ranked third amongst the Illusory Demon Seven Scions, the one who had both the bloodline of the Demon Emperor and the strongest profound art, Duke Hui Ye...

And to defeat yet another member of the Illusory Demon Seven Scions, the second-ranked Duke Yuan Que, who had not even hesitated to use a forbidden profound skill!

Five consecutive victories!

Every single one of his matches had shaken the very soul of all who were watching. It was a string of five consecutive victories that had completely overturned all logic!

This was a series of five matches that would stir a huge commotion in the entire Illusory Demon Realm. Beside such a string of victories, all the previous defeats that had occurred on both sides had become woefully insignificant and all the previous victories were not worth mentioning. This series of matches looked like a competition but was actually a secret gamble between two large factions who were pitted against each other. It was a struggle between loyalty and ambition, but all of this had been overshadowed by Yun Che, who had become the sole protagonist as he drew all the attention and won the hearts of all those present.

When those seated in the west wing gazed toward Yun Che now, every single gaze was filled with a radiant splendor that had not existed before. The gathered elders of the Yun Family were filled with such emotion that they were either rendered speechless or they could not form coherent sentences. Regarding the matter of the ‘foster son’ that Yun Qinghong had taken in, originally everyone felt like it was inappropriate and they even despised him because his profound strength was too low. Only now did they realize that the Yun Family had actually picked up a huge treasure!

The unconscious Duke Yuan Que was carried out of the arena by the people from Duke Zhong Palace as they swiftly brought him out of the Demon Imperial Hall. If he did not receive medical attention soon, there was a very high chance that he would be crippled from then on. Duke Zhong did not leave with them, but the expressions on his and Duke Huai’s face had become grave and ugly… In each of Yun Che’s five matches, it was only after the match had concluded that they had realized how much they had underestimated Yun Che. This match was no exception!

From the conclusion of Yun Che’s third match onwards, Duke Huai had wanted to kill him. But right now, he had never ever felt such an intense desire for someone to immediately disappear from the face of the earth!

He had been shocked too many times by Yun Che and accompanying each shock carried with it an incomparably thick and heavy aura of danger.

He had no knowledge whatsoever of Yun Che’s true origins, the only thing that he did know was that Yun Che was only twenty-two years old… what was twenty-two years old? The son with whom he was most pleased, Hui Ran, the publicly acknowledged future number one in Illusory Demon Realm, definitely did not have such strength when he was twenty-two years old!

If he continued to mature, before long, he would even surpass Hui Ran! If he was allowed to completely develop in the future, he would completely transcend him.

Someone of this caliber was even a foster child of the Yun Family! Someone who stood on the side of his enemies!

Duke Zhong and Duke Huai exchanged glances, and they were both able to see the extremely intense killing intent in each other’s eyes.

Thump....

In the middle of the arena, Yun Che supported himself with his heavy sword as he gently knelt to the pockmarked ground. His entire body trembled faintly, and he continuously gasped for breath; the sound of each breath was extremely rough and heavy. His previous four battles, and especially the one with Hui Ye, had consumed a large amount of his energy. Furthermore, he had just crossed swords with Yuan Que for over one hundred rounds, and in the end, he had opened the gate of Purgatory. He had even activated ‘Sealing Cloud Locking Sun’ when he had activated Purgatory, so his energy consumption was incomparably immense. Now that he had relexed, he could feel a pressure that was as heavy as a mountain pressing down on his entire body. For him to even stand to his feet was an exceptionally difficult task.

“Ah? Big Brother!” After seeing Yun Che kneel on the ground, Yun Xiao’s heart tightened and he hurriedly exclaimed, “Father, hurry up and ask Big Brother to leave the stage! Big Brother has already fought five consecutive battles and it is simply not possible for him to continue fighting… Moreover, the only one left on the other side is the most fearsome Hui Ran!”

Hui Ran, the head of the Illusory Demon Seven Scions, eighth level of the Tyrant Profound Realm. He was an existence that completely surpassed the rest of the young generation and he was the undisputed number one, described as ‘obscenely strong’ by those who lived in the Demon Imperial City.

Even though he, Hui Ye, and Yuan Que were grouped together in the top three ranks, his ability did not exceed Hui Ye and Yuan Que just by a little bit. Instead, it had surpassed theirs to the point where even if you added the strengths of Hui Ye and Yuan Que together, it would still be far behind the strength of Hui Ran.

Even though the strength that Yun Che had displayed in his five consecutive victories had shocked all who witnessed it, those who knew the true ability of Hui Ran would definitely not think that Yun Che was Hui Ran’s match.

More importantly, the Yun Che who had already fought five consecutive battles did not have much strength left.

“Patriarch, quickly… quickly get him to leave the stage!” The Yun Family great elder Yun Waitian said anxiously, “If Hui Ran takes the stage, given Duke Huai’s temperament, he will definitely get Hui Ran to deal a killing blow to Yun Che.”

“Patriarch, I have to concur! For Yun Che to be able to accomplish this much is already a great victory for our Yun Family! Right now, it is obvious that his strength is at an end and he needs to immediately leave the stage; if not, it will be too late. Given Hui Ran’s strength, if he wanted to kill the current Yun Che, he would only need the space of one breath! At that time, even if we were to try to intervene and save his life, it would be too late,” The second elder added hurriedly. Given the strength that Yun Che had displayed and his status as a foster child of the Yun Family, they had already realized that the fate of Yun Che was a huge matter that would likely concern the future of the entire Yun Family.

Yun Qinghong was naturally more worried than anyone else when it came to Yun Che’s safety. He swiftly sent a sound transmission to Yun Che, “Che’er, let Father represent you and renounce the final match of this competition.”

If he personally stepped in to renounce the match with Hui Ran, it would naturally protect Yun Che’s dignity to the greatest degree. But just as he had finished his sound transmission, he saw Yun Che tilting his head to look at him, and after that… Yun Che slowly shook his head. His entire face was covered in sweat and a fiery-red blush colored his face, but his eyes were as firm and resolute as iron.

Yun Qinghong’s heart felt like it been struck heavily. He did not stand up, nor did he make a sound. Even if all the elders stepped forward to urgently advise him, and even if all the Patriarchs and dukes seated in the west wing incessantly used their expressions and sound transmissions to implore him, he remained unmoving.

“Husband…” Mu Yurou grabbed Yun Qinghong’s arm, and the palm of her hand was deathly cold.

Instead, Yun Qinghong grasped her hand and whispered to her in a low and gentle, but resolute voice, “Yurou, this is Che’er’s own determination, we have no right to arbitrarily make a decision on his behalf… but do not worry, he is our son, and even if I have to put my life on the line, I will definitely not let him fall into some wicked scheme.”

But as he spoke, his other hand had already tightly clenched into a death grip, and a small cluster of frighteningly dense lightning was soundlessly gathering in the palm of his hand… if Hui Ran really attempted to murder Yun Che and Yun Che was not able to defend himself, even if he completely lost all of his standing and reputation, he would not hesitate to kill Hui Ran himself!

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