Against the Gods

“Du… Duke!!”

Amidst the shocked silence that pervaded the air, a tragic cry rang out. Following that, an old man whose hair was half-white rushed out and stood at the spot where Duke Zhong had lost his life, his whole body shivering. This person was not a stranger to all who were present. He was also from the Illusory Demon Royal Family and he was known as Duke Han. He held the position of the highest seniority in Duke Zhong Palace and he was its strongest exponent; besides that, he was also Duke Zhong’s uncle. He was at the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, the cornerstone of the entire Duke Zhong Palace. In Demon Imperial City, both his power and his position carried great weight. After Duke Zhong had taken over the management of the Duke Palace, he had supported Duke Zhong from the shadows and had become his guardian. With him around, even in Demon Imperial City where experts were as numerous as clouds, there was hardly anyone who could harm Duke Zhong.

But today, he could only look on helplessly as Duke Zhong was instantly incinerated into ashes. He couldn’t even think about going forward to protect him as he was not even able to react until Duke Zhong had met his violent end.

“Little Demon Empress!” Duke Han cried out as sadness and anger intermingled in his voice, “Even though my house’s royal duke may have spoken out of turn… his crime was not worthy of death, yet you… you were actually so cruel….”

“A crime not worthy of death?” The Little Demon Empress said in a ice-cold voice, “Duke Huai sought to commit regicide and every root of his clan deserves to be dug up and burned! As Duke Huai’s willing lackey, Duke Zhong deserves to die ten thousand times over! And showing disrespect to this Empress? Even death would not be a sufficient punishment!”

“Duke Han! On account of the loyalty that you showed this empress’ royal father, for the time being, I will not implicate you in his guilt! But if you dare to even speak one word in favor of Duke Zhong or Duke Huai again, this empress will kill you as well!”

Duke Han’s face twitched but he suddenly let out a loud roar, “You killed my royal duke…. If you have the guts, then you can kill this duke as well!”

The Little Demon Empress’ eyes which were as black as night faintly narrowed as she replied in a voice that carried an icy coldness and the promise of death which did not hesitate to spread into everyone’s soul, “Since you want to die, then this empress will help you accomplish your goal! You indulged Duke Zhong in his perfidy, so you are also worthy of death!!”

Before the Little Demon Empress’ voice fell, a bone-piercingly cold sensation had already spread through Duke Han’s entire body. He was a dignified level six Monarch, but he, in this very instant, suddenly felt impending doom falling on his head. A dread that he had never felt before in his life frantically grew and swell like an awakened devil gnawing on his soul.

He had never thought that the Little Demon Empress would actually send a killing blow at him, and without a single shred of hesitation at that. He had definitely never dreamed that, given his own strength, he would actually feel such acute dread after the Little Demon Empress’ mere killing intent locked in on him.

The others naturally did not know that under the cold and cruel pronouncement of the Little Demon Empress, Duke Han’s self-belief had nearly collapsed. He fiercely ground his teeth and recklessly launched himself into the air. He let out a strangled cry as he frantically concentrated all the profound energy in his body and exploded towards the Little Demon Empress.

“Little Demon Empress, be careful!!” Su Xiangnan cried in alarm. Duke Han was considered an expert even amongst the Monarchs, and the Little Demon Empress of four months ago was absolutely not his opponent.

But as Su Xiangnan’s cry had just fallen, a shrill and miserable cry that resembled a pig being slaughtered ripped through the air of nearly the entire Demon Imperial City. After a jerking contortion, Duke Han, who had just launched his body into the air, fell back down to the ground in a wretched heap… a completely hoarse cry ripped through the air, as if it was enduring the world’s most cruel torture.

All the audience widened their eyes in alarm and fear… they could clearly see that Duke Han’s hands were being burned by two clusters of scarlet gold flames!!

Golden Crow Flames!!

These two clusters of Golden Crow Flames were not vigorous or frantic, not slow or fast, not warm or hot; they merely continued to burn, and in the blink of an eye, they had scorched nearly all the flesh on this level six Monarch’s hands, exposing the white bone beneath. Following that, even the white bones began to glow luminously as they were being burned up, and both of Duke Han’s hands had completely vanished from the top of his arms….

“ARRRGGGGHHHHH….”

Duke Han yelled as if his life depended on it and rolled around frantically as he desperately tried to use his profound energy to resist these voracious flames. But the two clusters of scarlet gold flames which looked very mild continued to burn in steady fashion, without being impeded in anyway. Following his frantic rolling and slapping, the scarlet gold flame had even spread to his chest, his waist and his thighs…. In the blink of an eye, there were more than ten clusters of scarlet gold flames burning on his body, and his arms had already been burnt to half their former length.

Duke Han’s wretched cries were as sad and shrill as the wailing of a demon from the bowels of hell. His whole body spasmodically writhed and contorted, his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets from the sheer pain and the blue veins on his forehead clearly bulged and writhed on his forehead like an earthworm!

The scarlet gold flames still maintained its initial speed as it soundlessly burned; it was so mild that it almost seemed graceful, yet it devoured a Monarch’s body inch by inch. All of Duke Han’s struggles, and his powerful profound strength of a level six Monarch, was actually unable to do anything to impede or obstruct these flames at all.

Boundless shock and fear appeared on the faces of all those present. Duke Han was a member of the Illusory Demon Royal Family; his body contained a thin amount of the Golden Crow bloodline and he also cultivated a fire-based profound art. In regards to fire, his body had an extremely strong resistance to it…. Moreover, as a level six Monarch, he had a profound strength that was viewed as godly by most profound practitioners!

But under these two small cluster of flames…. Within the span of a dozen breaths… an entire one-third of his body had vanished….

“Duke… Duke… Duke Han….” One member of Duke Zhong Palace extended a violently shaking arm as he took one step forward, as if he wanted to think of a way to extinguish the flames on Duke Han’s body.

“Do not go any further!!” One person doggedly held on to him and desperately retreated after that…. If they came into contact with a flame that was strong enough to burn a level six Monarch’s body into ashes, they were simply courting death!

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock and horror and their mouths gaped open. Watching Duke Han frantically twist and contort his body while he burned and listening to his miserable and wretched wails had caused the bodies of all the onlookers to go completely cold. In that instant, they even felt that they had been plunged into hell’s purgatory, where they were watching a sinner get baptized in the flames of purgatory as his “just rewards”....

“Little Demon Empress… spare me…. Little… Demon Empress… spare me…. Ah…. UWAAAAHHHHH….”

No one could imagine just how great the pain must have been to cause a level six Monarch to let out such a miserable scream, to cause a level six Monarch to beg in such an extremely unsightly manner, unbefitting of his status…. The scarlet gold flames had spread to his entire body and gradually, all of his struggles and screams were completely devoured by the flames.

When these scarlet gold flames had finally extinguished themselves, Duke Han’s body had completely vanished from that spot; the same as Duke Zhong who had recently died, not a single trace of his remains were left.

Throughout the entire process, looks of shock and horror appeared on the faces and eyes of the entire audience, and it did not dissipate in the slightest. In the entire great hall, only the Little Demon Empress was completely expressionless from start to finish; it was as if she was witnessing a spectacle that was simply too common.

Thud….

Among the group of people closest to where Duke Han was, a level nine Overlord from Duke Huai Palace was so paralyzed with fear that his body knelt to the ground. The other profound practitioners, the lowest being Thrones and the highest being Monarchs, all had horror etched full in their pupils.

As unparalleled and matchless existences in the eyes of the common folk, this was the first time in their lives that they felt that they were truly so tiny….

“This… this isn’t possible….” Duke Huai’s pupils kept contracting as he refused to believe what he was witnessing, refused to believe that such a power existed in this world…. and especially refused to believe that this power actually belonged to the Little Demon Empress.

“What…. What…. What kind of strength is that?” Mu Yubai desperately sucked in cold air. As someone who was fiercely loyal to the Demon Emperor’s clan, watching the returning Little Demon Empress become so strong should have caused him to go wild with joy. But the scene he had just witnessed… a level six Monarch’s painful and terrifying death… actually caused the shock and fear in his heart to far exceed the astonishment and joy. Because this was basically a kind of… terrifying power which should not exist in this world.

“Even if her bloodline is awakened, it still should not be… terrifying to this extent….” Greatest Ambition Under Heaven’s eyes were wide open as he muttered to himself in a rather dazed manner.

“This strength…. Could it be some sort of special favor shown by the Golden Crow Divine Spirit?” Yun Qinghong’s eyes had become slightly dull…. The power he had just witnessed far surpassed all of his knowledge or understanding. This was no longer a power that could be categorized as “strong,” it could be said to be termed “heaven-defying.”

Yun Che shook his head instead and replied, “This can be regarded as her secret.”

Everyone had been astounded by the strength shown by the Little Demon Empress, but no one knew that her current power had come from her thirst for vengeance and she had given her very life in exchange for it…. and if one really wanted to include that as well, it also came at the price of her virginity.

“Yun He, Yun Jiang, Yun Xi.” The Little Demon Empress said once more and these short six words were like six icy needles boring through the hearts and souls of all who were present, causing their entire bodies to freeze up in cold, “Quickly apprehend Duke Huai! If anyone dares to interfere… this empress will kill that person!”

“If one person blocks me, this empress will kill one person! If one hundred people block me, this empress will kill one hundred people. If the entire world blocks me, this empress will baptize this world in its blood!!”

This detached and cold-blooded voice mightily shook the souls of all who were present. At this moment, everyone was met with the incomparably clear realization that… the Little Demon Empress who had returned after four months was definitely not the Little Demon Empress that they were familiar with!

“...Yes!!”

The same response was given but the tone had become completely different from what it was before. The auras of these three Grand Elders of the Yun Family, who had been through countless trials and tribulations, immediately underwent a great a change. Three old hands filled with a thick and robust lightning profound energy directly extended toward Duke Huai. Before, when they had rushed towards Duke Huai, whether it was movement of power, they were still thirty percent conservative and seventy percent apprehensive. But now, they were extremely fierce and severe, their profound energy quickly surged around them and it even carried the ear-splitting sound of thunder.

“Who dares to touch his highness?!”

The number of experts Duke Huai had under him far surpassed the imagination of the common man. Without exaggerating in the slightest, it could be said that more than seventy percent of the Monarchs in Demon Imperial City had thrown their lot in with Duke Huai’s faction! Today was Duke Huai’s grand ascension ceremony, so he had a large number of experts at his side…. Duke Huai himself was also a mid-stage Monarch, so the each and every one of the people who were qualified to be his bodyguards were the strongest of the strong within Illusory Demon Realm! The one with the lowest power was a mid-stage Monarch as well!!

These kind of ultimate powerhouses whom common folk might not see once in their lives, whom were viewed as fairy tales in their eyes… just today alone, in this Demon Imperial Hall, Duke Huai had seventeen such people by his side!!

This was only counting his personal bodyguards who were fiercely loyal to Duke Huai Palace…. It categorically did not take into account the peak powers that were the Guardian Families and the other Duke Palaces which had already rallied to his side.

When the three Grand Elders of the Yun Family took action, four differently garbed people appeared from the empty air behind Duke Huai and blocked their advance as they abruptly clashed with the three Grand Elders. Every single one of these people was awash with an extremely robust and thick aura…. It was actually an aura that was so strong that it completely matched the auras of Yun He, Yun Jiang and Yun Xi.

“Lu Zhanfeng, Bai Jinghong, Tang Luanli, Xiao Qingshan, the ‘Four Absolutes of the Southern Sky’ who shook the southern border seven hundred years ago!!” In the corner of the great hall, an old person cried out in alarm, and the four names that he uttered were like four thunderclaps in everyone’s ears.

In this world, if someone becomes a monarch, his name would shake the heavens! Especially the profound practitioners outside Demon Imperial City, if they could become Monarchs, they would become outstandingly famous, and even after many generations, they still would not be forgotten.

“The ‘Four Absolutes of the Southern Sky’....” Astonishment colored the face of Yun Qinghong, “These were world-shaking people that your grandfather used to mention often all those years ago. Seven hundred years ago, they had already become Monarchs and after that there was little news of them, I had thought that they had already gone back to their homeland to live in seclusion…. But who would have thought that they had already long ago come under Duke Huai Palace!”

“...It looks like the ambitions of Duke Huai Palace were birthed far earlier than even what we had guessed.” Yun Che said with sunken brows.

“All these years, we had never dared to underestimate the power of Duke Huai Palace.” Yun Qinghong said as his brows knit tightly together, “But it was only in these four months that we became truly aware that Duke Huai Palace’s true power had already far exceeded our previous estimates! In less than three days after the news of the Little Demon Empress’ death at Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley had spread, the entire Demon Imperial City had already completely fallen under the control of Duke Huai Palace, we did not even have the chance to react. Sigh….”

Yun Che shook his head, “Father, you don’t need to feel so defeated. If it is just Duke Huai alone, he definitely won’t have this kind of capability. It’s that Duke Ming, he is simply too scary…. In these few hundred years, the entire Illusory Demon Realm has been dancing in the palm of his hand, but no one was aware of it! Everything that has happened has all happened according to the plans that he has orchestrated…. However, the calculations of man can never ever exceed the whims of heaven!” Yun Che raised his head, looked at the Little Demon Empress and said in a low voice, “Yet the epilogue of his perfect plan has forced out a half-god...”

“Half-god?” Yun Qinghong and Mu Yurou stared blankly as they replied.

“Now I would very much like to see if the great power that Duke Ming has carefully and methodically gathered over all these years… can stand up to the wrath and the fire of an angry god!!”

This Chapter’s Teaser