Against the Gods

It was as if someone had suddenly poured a bucket of cold water over Mu Yingchan’s head as his entire body went completely rigid.

This sound seemed to come from the empty space that had abruptly ruptured as it echoed in his ears. As the Sect Master of Soaring Celestial Sword Sect, one of the three most powerful people in the Azure Cloud Continent, he actually had not detected the aura of the owner of that voice before it had appeared.

What was even more terrifying was the fact that even though that voice was very soft, it contained a coldness and killing intent that seeped into his very soul, causing every hair on his body to stand on end.

He had never ever experienced this sensation before in his long life.

“Who is it!?” Mu Yingchan yelled out in a low voice as he turned around as swift as lightning. After that he unwittingly looked above him as everyone’s shocked gazes simultaneously focused on the space above Mu Yingchan’s head.

They saw a young man dressed in white hovering in the air with a green-clad girl who did not look a day over sixteen in his arms. The girl was beautiful enough to cause the fall of cities and countries and she clung tightly to the man by her side. There was some fear reflected in her eyes but it was overshadowed by a sense of security and safety.

The place they were in was only thirty meters above them but not a single person who was present knew when exactly they had appeared in that place.

Those were two overly-youthful and completely unknown faces. The girl’s profound energy aura was only at the third level of the Spirit Profound Realm but the young man’s aura was at the initial stages of the Sovereign Profound Realm.

The three great sect masters all felt profound shock in their hearts… There were already very few Monarchs in the Azure Cloud Continent and the three of them were extremely familiar with all of them. Moreover, only a peerless genius could have reached the Sovereign Profound Realm at such a young age but the three of them had never seen this young man before.

“Who are you?” Mu Yingchan said as his eyes narrowed into slits, “Were you the one who spoke to this sect master just now?”

“Sect Master, it’s merely some reckless young punk who doesn’t value his own life. Do we chase him away or…” a person standing behind Zuo Hanshuo said in a voice that was filled with disdain.

“Young punk?” Zuo Hanshuo said with a low chuckle, “From the aura given off by his lifeforce, he should not be more than thirty years old, yet his profound strength has already reached the initial stages of the Sovereign Profound Realm. This young fellow surely must have an incredible background.”

“Oh?” Zuo Hanshuo’s words caused everyone besides the three great sect masters to gasp in shock. But their shock was merely at the level of surprise, so that person immediately replied, “No wonder he dares to display such an arrogant attitude, he indeed has the goods to back it up. However, it is truly a pity that he has chosen the wrong people to target today.”

“Young man, you called this sect master’s hand dirty. That is truly a strange thing to say,” Mu Yingchan said in an amused manner as he shook his own hand. “This sect master has lived for seventeen hundred years but it is the first time I’ve heard anyone use the word ‘dirty’ to describe this sect master. Do you want to try and say it again?”

Yun Che did not say anything and his expression did not change either. Both him and Su Ling’er were still looking intently at Yun Gu and it was as if neither of them had even heard what Mu Yingchan had just said.

Yun Che’s figure blurred and in an instant, he had already flashed by Mu Yingchan with Su Ling’er in tow, both of them arriving at Yun Gu’s side. Mu Yingchan did not stretch a hand out to stop them. Instead, he turned around in a calm and composed manner. From his behavior, it was clear that he was extremely interested in Yun Che’s identity. He was also naturally mistaken about why Yun Che had rushed to Yun Gu’s side. He gave a cold smile as he said, “Ah, you are also here for the Sky Poison Pearl after all.”

Master...

As he looked at Yun Gu, who was right in front of him, Yun Che cried out loudly in his heart. His mood, the complete change in his nature and temperament, and the greatest frenzy he had ever fallen into in both of his lives had both been because of this old man in front of him. The debt Yun Che owed this man for raising him and nurturing his talent was higher than the heavens and deeper than the ocean. He had originally thought that he would forever be separated from him. He also never expected to actually be able to meet him once more.

His appearance had not changed in the slightest and his aura was still as warm as a gentle breeze. The clear and fresh smell of medicine wafted from his body and his eyes looked deep enough to hold the entire world in them.

In this world, there were many people who were called magnanimous men or saints but in Yun Che’s eyes, if there could only be one true saint in this entire world, then it would definitely be Yun Gu, who had been both a father and a teacher to him.

Yun Gu was also gazing at Yun Che. Yun Che’s eyes alternated between clear and cloudy and it was as if his emotions had been so stirred up that he could barely control himself. However, Yun Gu could not see the slightest trace of greed in Yun Che’s eyes… So, at the very least, Yun Gu could tell that he was definitely not here for the Sky Poison Pearl.

He was sure that he had never seen this person before but he hazily felt a strange and old sense of familiarity with him.

“Little brother, even though I do not know why you rushed towards this old one but you are definitely not after the Sky Poison Pearl in this old one’s possession. Or perhaps, you’ve mistaken me for someone else. This place is far more dangerous than you can imagine, I would advise that you leave as quickly as possible,” Yun Gu advised.

“...” Yun Che calmed the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. He squeezed Su Ling’er’s small hand and said in a low voice, “Ling’er, return to the profound ark with Master first… I will forcibly send Master there.”

Su Ling’er hands tensed as she gazed at Yun Che for a good long while before she finally gave a light nod of her head, “Big Brother Yun, you must be careful.”

A spatial ripple surged from around Yun Che and before any of the people present had a chance to react, Su Ling’er and Yun Gu had both vanished from that place.

Mu Yingchan, Duan Heisha and Zuo Hanshuo were briefly stunned but after that, their expressions changed as all three of them rushed towards where Yun Gu had been standing at practically the same time. But whether it was his figure or his aura, Yun Gu had completely vanished and he had not left even a single trace behind.

“It… it was a dimensional escape!” Zuo Hanshuo said with a low yell as he swiveled towards Yun Che. He stared at Yun Che furiously, his aura firmly locking onto him as well, “There is some kind of spatial profound artifact hidden on his person.”

“To think we fell for this young punk’s trick,” Mu Yingchan said as his expression turned completely dark. The three great sect masters and the entirety of their three supreme sects had been gathered in this place and no one in the Azure Cloud Continent could disobey or resist such a force. The power gathered here could rule over all of existence but all of them could only watch as their prey disappeared right before their eyes.

“Hohoho, it seems like Sect Master Zuo and Sect Master Mu truly have not made much progress these last few years. It is merely a small accident, yet it so easily caused the two of you to lose your composure.”

On the other hand, Duan Heisha was completely calm and composed. He stared at Yun Che, his amused smile deep and long, “Even if that Yun Gu flees, where else can he flee to? Moreover, don’t the both of you think that another big present has delivered itself to our doorstep?”

“Oh? What does Palace Chief Duan mean?” Mu Yingchan and Zuo Hanshuo’s gazes grew more intense as they reacted to those words.

“Heh.” Duan Heisha slowly walked towards Yun Che, “Kid, this palace chief really has to commend your guts. Of course, the reason you have such courage is because you still do not know who we are. Before this palace chief personally reveals this to you, you still have one last chance… Right now, this palace chief is extremely interested in the spatial profound artifact that you just used. If you are willing to obediently hand over, perhaps this palace chief will disregard your previous behavior. Otherwise…”

“Otherwise what?” Yun Che said as the corners of his mouth hooked up into a cold smile, “Duan Heisha, I heard that Seven Stars Divine Palace dispatched an elder and a group of disciples to shamelessly harm an innocent sect in the Country of Supwake. All for the sake of a stalk of Coiling Dragon Feelers. But in the end, they received their just desserts and all of them died a miserable death… I don’t know who it was who sent them all to hell but I wonder if your Seven Stars Divine Palace has found that person already?”

Duan Heisha’s face gradually grew rigid but a divine palace elder who stood behind him already started to roar in fury, “Ah, so the one who killed the Nineteenth Elder and his party was you!!”

“Preposterous.” Duan Heisha smiled despite his rage. He had originally believed that the reason Yun Che had dared to act so boldly and presumptuously in front of them was because he did not know who they were… If not, he would have been scared shitless a long time ago.

But right now, Yun Che had addressed him by his name and had accurately identified the Seven Stars Divine Palace behind him.

He actually even took the initiative to tell them in a tone filled with contempt that he was the person who had cruelly killed all of those people from Seven Stars Divine Palace ten days ago!

If they had originally believed that the reason for his lack of fear was sheer ignorance, then right now… the other party not only knew who they were, he had also clearly and arrogantly treated his Seven Stars Divine Palace with contempt while boldly taunting them.

“Sect Master Zuo, Sect Master Mu… Will there be any objections if my Seven Stars Divine Palace takes down this kid?” Duan Heisha’s face had turned a faint green and it was clear that he was truly enraged.

“You can subdue him but you need to guarantee his survival,” Zuo Hanshuo said, the schadenfreude evident in his voice. “Whether it is the Sky Poison Pearl or the spatial profound artifact, once we reach an agreement on these two things, you can deal with him in whatever manner you please.”

“Forget it, I’ll leave this matter to Palace Chief Duan. This sect master will just treat the matter where this kid just called this sect master’s hands dirty as forgotten,” Mu Yingchan said indifferently as his lips curled up but his hot and venomous gaze was still locked onto Yun Che’s body.

After seeing that the other two sect masters consented to his proposal, an elder that was standing behind Duan Heisha strode forward and spoke aggressively. “Palace Chief, let me teach this arrogant and ignorant punk a lesson! He has merely reached the first level of the Sovereign Profound Realm but he behaves as if he is unrivaled under heaven and actually dares to kill members of our Seven Stars Divine Palace.”

“Let him keep his life but break his arms and his legs first!” Duan Heisha said in a dark voice. As the Seven Stars Palace Chief, it was only natural that he would not stoop to dealing with this matter personally.

The divine palace elder took a step forward before fiercely rushing towards Yun Che. The boundless and majestic energy field of a Monarch instantly expanded outwards, causing squalls to spring up in the surrounding area which was tens of kilometers wide.

“Kid, give your granddaddy a good kneel first!” As he shouted those furious words, his extended palm was no more than three feet away from Yun Che’s head.

Yun Che did not move an inch. His eyes were tranquil and his expression was cold and indifferent, not wavering in the slightest. He only blandly murmured in his heart: The old debts of the previous years and the new debts of the present, I’ll settle them all today!

RIIIIP!!!

The divine palace elder’s palm grabbed Yun Che’s head but in the instant that his profound energy expanded outwards, he suddenly discovered that his palm was grabbing empty air and the profound energy that he released had only torn a long black gash in the air.

Wha… What!?

Where was he… Where was he!?

The divine palace elder felt an unexpected shock bloom in his heart; he could barely believe his own eyes. But before he could recover from his shocked daze, an extremely dull and heavy sound suddenly rang out behind him.

Zzng

This sound was not particularly resonant. It also could not be described as intense, but it was so dull and heavy that it caused extreme discomfort to everyone’s eardrums and body. It was as if something had suddenly exploded against their heart.

The Yun Che who had “disappeared” had materialized in front of Seven Stars Palace Chief Duan Heisha like a ghost. His right elbow struck Duan Heisha’s chest… At that moment, Duan Heisha’s expression was still dark and heavy and he did not even have time to be startled before this happened.

That dull and heavy noise was the sound of Yun Che’s elbow striking Duan Heisha’s chest.

After everyone had shifted their incredulous gazes to Yun Che’s new position, he was in the midst of moving his elbow away from Duan Heisha’s chest in a simple and unexaggerated manner.

Duan Heisha’s body did not move an inch and even the place that was struck did not sink in or bend. In fact, there was not even the slightest change in Duan Heisha’s expression.

Yun Che’s speed was so fast that it was as if they had seen a ghost. However, after they saw that his “sneak attack” had clearly not hurt Duan Heisha and they had recovered from their shock, the surrounding divine palace elders and disciples were about to open their mouths to laugh out loudly to mock Yun Che’s overconfidence… But before their laughter could make it out of their throats, they suddenly saw Duan Heisha’s face turn ghastly pale at an astonishing speed and then his face then started to turn into a purplish-black color… After that, his entire body fell backwards like a block of wood that had been blown on by a light wind.

Bang!

Duan Heisha’s body smashed against the ground, his eyes set in a wide and unblinking stare. A large amount of red-stained foam leaked out of his mouth as blood wildly gushed from his nose.

“Pala… Palace Chief!!”

The scene shocked all the gathered divine palace disciples. In fact, it shocked everyone present and the shock was so great that it seemed to cause everyone’s souls to leave their bodies. The divine palace elders scrambled forward but before they could even draw near to him, Duan Heisha’s body abruptly trembled.

Whooooosh.

Duan Heisha’s profound veins and dantian resembled a punctured balloon. The profound energy that he had cultivated for his entire life was turning into countless streams of agitated energy as they flowed out from every part of his body… until it ran dry.