Against the Gods

Yun Che's unquenchable desire to see Jasmine again was incomparably strong. Unfortunately though, he basically knew nothing about the God Realm. When he had heard of the God Realm’s existence a while back, he drew a general outline in his mind and always thought that it was a world similar to the Blue Pole Star that was just ten or even a hundred times larger.

It was only after hearing Mu Bingyun’s depiction that he realized the disparity was not just how many times bigger it was in comparison. Whether it was the enormity of its size or profound strength level, the difference between them was like heaven and earth.

When he “basically knew nothing,” he had promised the Little Demon Empress and the rest that he would definitely return within five years.

Although five years was not a long period of time in the Blue Pole Star, it was still not a short period of time when it came to separation.

However, in the terrifyingly humungous God Realm, that was an unimaginably high plane of existence, five years was perhaps a short instant. Forget about seeing Jasmine or doing anything, he probably couldn’t even leave the Snow Song Realm relying on just his own strength.

To him, the method Mu Bingyun proposed was undoubtedly a ray of hope that suddenly appeared in his deep haze of bewilderment.

“Alright…” Yun Che practically did not even think it over as he nodded deeply, both his heart and expression revealing deep gratitude. Mu Bingyun truly wanted to help him. Even though she played down a few words in order to help him, she had actively proposed that she ask the Snow Song Realm’s Great Realm King… Though Yun Che had never been to the God Realm before, he could still imagine what kind of person the Great Realm King would be. All the star realms in the God Realm were supreme existences, yet in order to help a “lower realm” nobody like him, she would go ask the Great Realm King for assistance.

“Fairy Mu, no matter what the outcome is, I will definitely remember your kindness,” Yun Che stated earnestly.

Mu Bingyun shook her head in response. “You saved my life, so me helping you is a matter of course. This is the only method I could think of. However, you should also not hold too much hope… I had previously come up with quite a few reasons why you could have insisted on heading to the God Realm but I never expected that it would actually be this shocking. I don’t want to pour cold water over you but regarding this matter… disregarding the fact that you are someone from a lower realm, even my Snow Song Realm’s Great Realm King m…”

As though feeling that saying it out loud was a bit cruel, Mu Bingyun didn’t continue her sentence.

Furthermore, Yun Che wasn’t someone from the God Realm. With just her words, it was fundamentally impossible for him to understand what kind of existence the Star God Realm’s Heavenly Slaughter God was in the God Realm.

“I know.” Yun Che was no longer dispirited by her words. “But I want to at least try. Otherwise, I’ll never be reconciled my whole life.”

“Even though you cannot enter Ice Phoenix Palace or Freezing Snow Hall with your aptitude and cultivation, you are still qualified to join Snowfall Palace. It's just that you'll probably endure some hardship as the lofty status you have on your continent will mean nothing there.” Mu Bingyun continued, “But I’m certain that with your aptitude, your advancement in the Snow Song Realm will be extraordinary. Entering Ice Phoenix Palace is just a matter of time.”

“Ice Phoenix Palace... Freezing Snow Hall… Snowfall Palace…” Yun Che muttered. “Could they represent the three different divisions of power within your Divine Ice Phoenix Sect?”

“You could say that,” Mu Bingyun replied in a soft tone. “Divine Ice Phoenix Sect is the Snow Song Realm’s core sect. The Main Sect Master is the Great Realm King but Divine Ice Phoenix Sect is not a sect in which any ordinary profound practitioner can join. Those who are able to enter Freezing Snow Hall can be considered official disciples of Divine Ice Phoenix Sect. Once your profound strength reaches the divine way, you will be in the Divine Origin Realm and thus able to join Freezing Snow Hall. Freezing Snow Hall has a total of one hundred and eight halls, each holding twenty thousand disciples. Above Freezing Snow Hall are thirty six Ice Phoenix Palaces each with an elder as palace master. If one is able to enter an Ice Phoenix Palace, then they are a first-rate disciple in Divine Ice Phoenix Sect. In order to do so, their profound strength needs to either reach the Divine Soul Realm or their aptitude has to be so great that they reached the Divine Origin Realm before the age of twenty. And above the Ice Phoenix Palaces are the Ice Phoenix Divine Halls, places where core disciples are trained.”

“As for Snowfall Palace, that is where half-official disciples whose profound strengths reached the Sovereign Profound Realm and have yet to step into the divine way are placed. Even though disciples of Snowfall Palace can also enjoy the same corresponding resources, they only have half the time to cultivate. The other half of their time is allocated to manual labor… It could be said that if you join Snowfall Palace, you are half a disciple and half a laborer.

Concealed within Mu Bingyun’s calm voice was apology and helplessness. Because with Yun Che’s profound strength, the only place he could enter was Snowfall Palace. In the Snow Song Realm, this was right and proper but compared to Yun Che’s status as the overlord of this lower realm continent, this was an extreme drop in elevation that, without a doubt, had to be hard to accept.

Yun Che was indeed stunned. Even though he knew that the God Realm was extremely large, the Sovereign Profound Realm which symbolized the top existences in his world was actually… a level in which one didn’t even qualify to be an official Divine Ice Phoenix Sect’s disciple!?

It was only worthy of being half a disciple and half… a laborer!!

This huge drop from heaven to earth caused Yun Che to feel indescribably wretched for a moment. But he then immediately asked, “Divine Origin Realm… Divine Soul Realm? What kind of realms are those?”

“Oh?” Mu Bingyun revealed slight shock. “It seems like you don’t know the realms above the Sovereign Profound Realm.”

Yun Che nodded. “The Sovereign Profound Realm is the pinnacle of this world. Even though there are legends of the Divine Profound Realm, it doesn’t seem like anyone has reached it yet. As for the Divine Origin Realm and Divine Soul Realm you mentioned earlier, this is actually the first time I’ve heard about them.”

“I see.” Mu Bingyun nodded slightly. “With this world’s elements and laws, shedding mortality to become a god is indeed harder than scaling the heavens. Several lower realms are like this. After all, under the restriction of the elements and laws, the difference between a mortal and a god cannot be crossed by hard work, comprehension or innate talent.”

“The Elementary Profound Realm, the Nascent Profound Realm, the True Profound Realm, the Spirit Profound Realm, the Earth Profound Realm, the Sky Profound Realm, the Emperor Profound Realm, the Tyrant Profound Realm and the Sovereign Profound Realm. The nine realms of the profound way you are familiar with are known as the ‘Nine Mortal Realms.’ Though they are nine different realms, they can also be looked upon to be one great realm. And after stepping out of this great realm is when one would enter another entirely different great realm, which is what you know to be the ‘Divine Profound Realm.’”

Yun Che listened seriously. Jasmine had also said something similar to this before. She had said that the Divine Profound Realm was something that surpassed his understanding of the profound way. The difference between the Sovereign Profound Realm and the Divine Profound Realm was greater than he could possibly imagine. If the Elementary Profound Realm to the Sovereign Profound Realm were to be viewed as one great realm, then the Divine Profound Realm was another great one… It was the difference between the heaven and earth.

“The Divine Profound Realm is the name of a great realm. Profound practitioners who enter this realm have formally transcended mortality and stepped into the divine way. Compared to the Nine Mortal Realms, the Divine Profound Realm is composed of seven great realms, called the 【Seven Divine Profound Realms】.”

“Seven… Divine Profound Realms…” Yun Che involuntarily muttered. This was also the first time he had heard this name.

“Aside from three special realms, the Seven Divine Profound Realms are no different from the Nine Mortal Realms; each realm is yet again divided into ten small realms.”

“The first realm is the Divine Origin Realm which lets your vital energy become divine. This realm is the first step in entering the divine way. When you enter the Divine Origin Realm, a qualitative change will happen to your life’s vital energy. After entering the divine way, profound energy will once more temper your body, allowing you to separate from your mortal flesh and have a longer lifespan. It will give you an even more tenacious vitality and an even more impregnable body.

“The second realm is the Divine Soul Realm which lets your soul become divine. It is in this realm where a profound practitioner’s soul undergoes a transformation. Reaching the Divine Soul Realm will cause your soul to transcend the ordinary. You will possess even stronger willpower and mental power. Your comprehension toward profound arts and the laws of the world will also far surpass your former self.

“The third realm is relatively special, it is called the Divine Tribulation Realm. In this realm, only profound energy would experience an increase in growth and no other change is accompanied by it. However, the word ‘tribulation’ here is the nightmare of countless profound practitioners.”

“Divine Tribulation? What does that mean? Could it be that breaking into this realm is really dangerous?” asked Yun Che.

“A mortal cultivating to become god will meet the wrath of heaven.” Mu Bingyun closed her eyes. “Once you reach the peak of the tenth level of the Divine Tribulation Realm and try to forcibly break through into the next great realm, you will immediately trigger punishment from the heavens—divine heavenly tribulation lightning!”

Yun Che. “...!?”

“Heavenly tribulation lightning is incomparably terrifying. If you can endure it without dying, then you can successfully break through. If you cannot resist it, becoming a cripple would be getting off lightly and losing your life would be the heaviest outcome. Moreover, different profound practitioners undergo different heavenly lightning tribulations. For a profound practitioner, the lower their innate talent, the weaker the heavenly tribulation lightning. They would only encounter one tribulation lightning. More than ninety percent of the profound practitioners who long to break through the Divine Tribulation Realm would usually have to endure one tribulation lightning. Though this is so, sixty percent of the profound practitioners still die beneath the tribulation lightning.”

“By that standard, the higher one’s innate talent is, the stronger the tribulation lightning they have to suffer! Those talented in the profound way usually have to endure two stages of tribulation lightning. As for those that are even more gifted, it is possible that they would have to bear three stages of tribulation lightning! Above that are the rarely seen peerless geniuses seen once every hundred years in the Divine Region who can attract four stages of tribulation lightning.

Upon speaking to this point, Mu Bingyun sighed. “This corresponds with the saying that the heavens are jealous of the gifted. The greater the aptitude, the more immeasurable one’s future in cultivating the divine way would be and the more they suffer from heaven’s punishment. After all, man is man and god is god. If a man forcefully tries to attain divinity, it in itself is an act that goes against the heavens.”

“Four stages of tribulation lightning… does that mean enduring four strikes of tribulation lightning?” Yun Che asked in shock.

“No,” Mu Bingyun shook her head, “It’s four stages. Furthermore, every stage of tribulation lightning is different.”

“The first stage of tribulation lightning is made up of one strike of tribulation lightning; the second stage two strikes; the third stage however has four strikes and the fourth means enduring eight simultaneous strikes! In total, it would a full fifteen strikes of tribulation lightning. Furthermore the interval between the four stages of tribulation lightning is extremely short and there is no time to even breathe, let alone rest.”

“It’s actually… like that?!” Yun Che’s heart felt greatly shocked.

Mu Bingyun had previously mentioned that simply the first stage of tribulation lightning caused sixty percent of profound practitioners to lose their lives during breakthrough. It wasn’t difficult to imagine what the might of one strike of tribulation lightning was.

Furthermore, four stages of tribulation lightning… Fifteen full strikes of tribulation lightning! And the last stage was enduring eight strikes at the same time.

Enduring eight strikes simultaneously and enduring one strike eight times were two completely different concepts.

“Then… is there anyone in the God Realm that has withstood four stages of tribulation lightning?” Yun Che asked.

“Of course there is,” Mu Bingyun replied without hesitation, “In the vast God Realm with forty thousand star realms, among the quadrillion profound practitioners, there would be one stunning talent every once in a while. In the history of the God Realm, there have been plenty that successfully endured three stages or even four stages of tribulation lightning. In the end, all of them had great achievements. They became either the ruler of a region or the king of a realm.

“My elder sister, who is now the Great Realm King of the Snow Song Realm, withstood four stages of tribulation lightning back then.”

“...” Yun Che’s mouth widened uncontrollably. No wonder… no wonder a Realm King of a middle star realm would possess strength that was no weaker than that of an upper star realm.

“And, in the history of the God Realm, there was even one person who encountered six stages of tribulation lightning.”

“Six… six stages?” Yun Che screamed out in shock.

With each stage of lightning, the number of strikes would double. At the fourth stage, one would encounter eight strikes, at the fifth stage, sixteen strikes and the sixth stage… thirty two full strikes.

Just how talented must one be to conjure that kind of tribulation lightning!?

“That person was born in one of the upper star realms. The day he received his divine heavenly tribulation lightning, it shocked the entire God Realm… However, he did not manage to surpass the tribulation and perished eventually. In spite of that, when the fifth stage of tribulation lightning completed, he was still alive albeit on the brink of death. Simply this fact was sufficient for him to be added into the history books of the God Realm. However, it’s a pity… thirty two simultaneous strikes of tribulation lightning, with the body and profound strength of the Divine Tribulation Realm, even if one was perfectly fine and not at the brink of death, there was no possibility or way of enduring it.”

Yun Che, “...”

Mu Bingyun grimly sighed, “All these years, numerous talents had lost their lives under the divine heavenly tribulation lightning. This was why the Divine Tribulation Realm has another name, the ‘Divine Perishing Realm’.”

It was the realm where profound practitioners perished.

“To break through the Divine Tribulation Realm, one would have to face the divine heavenly tribulation lightning. But, holding onto one’s life dearly is human instinct. Therefore, numerous profound practitioners choose to forever remain at the pinnacle of the Divine Tribulation Realm. Including numerous geniuses… After all, the more talented one is, the more likely he will perish under the divine heavenly tribulation lightning.”

“That was also why after the Divine Tribulation Realm, the number of profound practitioners vastly reduces.

“However, there are also exceptions, which are the king realms,” Mu Bingyun added. “The reason why king realms are powerful is because most of them possess strong and heaven defying unique ways of inheritance. As long as they were ‘compatible,’ they could instantly gain divine strength that normal profound practitioners cannot attain even if they spent their entire lives cultivating. At the same time, they could directly avoid the tribulation lightning as well. However, this exception only existed within the king realms. Furthermore, within the king realms, those that were able to attain such unique inheritances were extremely rare. Outside of the king realms, any profound practitioner would not be able to avoid the divine heavenly tribulation lightning when they break through the Divine Tribulation Realm.”

Yun Che, “...” (Jasmine…)

“Successfully withstanding the divine heavenly tribulation lightning, one would breakthrough the Divine Tribulation Realm and arrive at the fourth realm—the Divine Spirit Realm! At this realm, one’s spiritual senses vastly change. Upon entering the Divine Spirit Realm, the world becomes completely different. All the senses of auras, elements and laws undergo vast changes. Many profound arts that previously could not be understood and learned are easily be overcome at this realm.

“After making your vital energy, soul, and spiritual sense divine, it is time to completely transcend from the human realm. After the Divine Spirit Realm is a realm that’s even considered one of the upper realms—the Divine King Realm! After becoming Divine King, one would be able to establish their own sect and become a grandmaster. In the vast lower star realms, one could even become the Realm King!

“Above the Divine King Realm is the Divine Sovereign Realm. Becoming the Divine Sovereign means that one has become a sovereign of the masses within the God Realm. One could freely soar the starry skies and look down upon the world. Even within the middle star realms, one could be the king of a realm.

“Above the Divine Sovereign realm is the Divine Master Realm! Divine Master, means a master of the divine way. One would be at the pinnacle of the God Realm. In the current Primal Chaos Dimension, it is the highest level and it is the realm closest to the True God that a human can get to. At the Divine Master Realm, there is nearly nothing impossible to do and each Divine Master is an existence that cannot be offended.”

Looking at the dazed Yun Che, Mu Bingyun said with a complicated expression, “The Heaven Slaughter Star God that you wish to meet exists in such a superior realm. The Twelve Star Gods of the Star God Realm are all Divine Masters. Anyone of them is a figure that even the Great Realm Kings of the upper star realms do not dare offend.

“Putting it this way, do you perhaps understand how difficult a matter it is for you to meet her.”

Yun Che closed his eyes and muttered, “Divine Origin Realm, Divine Soul Realm, Divine Tribulation Realm, Divine Spirit Realm, Divine King Realm, Divine Sovereign Realm, Divine Master Realm… The Seven Divine Profound Realms.

“Then above the Divine Master Realm? Are there any other realms above that?” Yun Che casually asked.

Yun Che had only asked out of curiosity and wasn’t actually expecting an answer because Mu Bingyun had already clearly said before that the pinnacle of the Divine Realm was the Divine Master Realm and it was the highest that a human could attain.

However, Mu Bingyun who was in front of him did not immediately shake her head. Instead, she hesitated for some time, stopping twice as she was about to speak before eventually shaking her head. “Even if there was, they are just made up legends. You do not have to know some needless false words.”

“Master! Can I come in?”

Outside the Snow Congealing Hall, Mu Xiaolan’s respectful shout was suddenly heard.