Against the Gods

Why did it just have to be now...

Mu Bingyun’s brows creased. If it were to be said that a small realm’s breakthrough was a quantitative change in profound strength and a great realm’s breakthrough was a qualitative change, then ascending to the divine realms from the mortal realms was a complete and thorough transformation that was entirely different from any other previous breakthrough. This process was also extremely long and difficult and usually took several days to finish. Even if one’s innate talent was extremely high, having it go smoothly would still require several hours.

Furthermore, it would also be accompanied by considerably high risk. During the process, one must not be disturbed in anyway or else it would be easy to receive irreversible damage to one’s profound veins.

As a result, when profound practitioners at the peak of the mortal way sensed that they were on the verge of breaking through, they would immediately choose to go into seclusion.

Yet Yun Che’s breakthrough into the divine way came so suddenly.

Upon stepping into the divine way, all profound energy in the entire body would go through a complete transformation. During this process, one’s profound energy would break from their control and they wouldn’t be able to channel or release it, which also meant that he was simply unable to handle the heavenly lake’s cold energy. The heavenly lake’s cold energy here had undoubtedly become his largest obstacle in his breakthrough now and it was most likely that it would heavily damage his body and profound veins in a short amount of time. This was why Yun Che suddenly breaking through here was extremely dangerous.

Mu Bingyun no longer hesitated as she quickly took action, intending to release her cold energy to erect a barrier that sealed his surroundings. At the same time, her mind was quickly churning up ways of how to get him out of the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake without disturbing him.

However, before her cold energy had yet to be released, she suddenly stopped… because the speed in which the profound energy that circled around him was reaching an incomprehensible level.

Since it was a “transformation”, it naturally ought to be slow and difficult but the speed at which the profound energy around Yun Che’s body circulated was actually as fast as a tornado. Without the protection of profound energy, once the cold energy entered the body, one would shiver from the cold and be in intolerable pain. However, Yun Che’s complexion was actually as normal as ever with not a single twitch that indicated he was affected by the cold energy at all.

Even though the circulation of profound energy was extremely fast, it was not disorderly at all.

Mu Bingyun’s hand paused in place and didn’t move for a long while, amazement that didn’t scatter for a long period of time within her gaze. Behind her, Mu Xiaolan was filled with nervousness, not daring to utter a single sound or take too deep of a breath.

Only Mu Bingyun, who was the closest to him, sensed Yun Che’s unusual condition. As for the others, whether it be the elders, palace masters or disciples, they quickly moved their gaze away from him after their initial shock. To Yun Che, this was a rebirth that would allow him to enter a whole new realm. But… to everyone else present, who had long been in the divine way, it wasn’t even strange at all… and some had even snorted disdainfully in secret.

This was because to them, it was only a starting point they had long since passed through.

The reason why Yun Che had attracted their gazes earlier was only because the timing of his breakthrough was a bit of a killjoy. On the other side was the intense battle that decided who was going to be the Realm King’s direct disciple, so who would bother to pay attention to a breakthrough into the starting point of the divine way?

From Mu Bingyun’s appearance, she was obviously protecting him as well. With her personally protecting him, there shouldn’t be any problems even if he was breaking through here.

In the world of Yun Che’s profound veins, the nebula slowly grew amidst its quick rotation and the twinkling stars within it also gradually became more concentrated. The four colored radiances brilliantly shone at the same frequency as the inner world within his profound veins underwent a world turning change. The senses within every corner of his body also changed as his perception of the world also distinctively changed.

His consciousness continuously played the scenes in his head over and over again, as though it was bidding farewell to his past… declaring that he was now about to step into a whole new world in which he would possess a whole new life and power.

The only thing that didn’t change was the devil origin orb in his profound veins… it was still dull gray and deathly silent.

The Heavenly Netherfrost Lake was completely silent, with the only sound there being the dripping lakewater that pounded at one’s soul. Everyone’s attention concentrated on Mu Hanyi and Mu Feixue and as time elapsed, the contest between them was at an even greater stalemate. They attracted the same number of ice spirits and there was no disparity between them since the very beginning.

Four hours had passed and both of them had attracted twenty four ice spirits… Thirty minutes later, at the same exact time, it had become twenty six… and then twenty seventy again fifteen minutes later.

It was as though time had slowed down. Whether it was the Ice Phoenix Palace disciples at the edge of the lake or the divine hall disciples inside the lake, they all stared attentively with wide eyes and halted breaths, waiting to see the final result.

If there was a slight gap between them, it would not make the atmosphere this stifling. However, not only was their ice spirit count identical since the start, their differences were next to nothing.

“I never expected that these two would actually be this evenly matched in terms of ice laws. Six hours are about to pass and we still cannot tell for sure which is the stronger,” a divine hall elder lamented.

“It is simply a great honor for two such outstanding disciples to appear at the same time within this generation,” stated another divine hall elder.

And it was right at this moment that everyone’s gazes and expressions abruptly changed.

This was because in the last fifteen minutes, both Mu Hanyi and Mu Feixue’s power and mind concentrated on the exact same ice spirit.

The two also discovered this at the same time but neither shifted their attention… because this was the closest ice spirit. The fact that both of them were currently in a deadlock with barely any disparity meant it was almost certain they would lose if they chose another target at this critical juncture which would decide their fate.

This situation made the previously incredibly tense atmosphere suddenly grow cold. This time, even the various elders and palace masters were holding their breaths.

The time limit had now reached the last fifteen minutes of its deadline. Fifteen minutes was only enough for them to attract one ice spirit… which meant that since both of them had chosen this particular ice spirit, it would directly decide today’s outcome.

This ice spirit’s consciousness was stirred by the two frost auras that attracted and beckoned it. After a short period of hesitation, it then flew toward the two people. The speed in which it flew was distinctly faster than the rate at which the other ice spirits flew. It was just that its trajectory wasn’t exactly a straight line as it drifted unstably, going left and right from time to time.

Finally, it stopped… right between Mu Hanyi and Mu Feixue. Then, it stayed in that spot for a long while… obviously at a loss about who to pick.

Ding… Ding… Ding...

The lakewater in the profound formation lessened as the sound of the end of this showdown was almost within reach. Everyone’s gaze firmly focused on the ice spirit between the two people. As though it had been fixed in place, despite the fact that the timer had reached its final countdown, it still wouldn’t move.

“Go over to Hanyi!” Mu Yunzhi’s breathing also stopped with the halting of the ice spirit. Even though she had a high cultivation level, her face had gone red from holding her breath. The blue veins on her tightly fisted hands seemed to be on the verge of splitting apart.

“Good luck, Feixue.” Mu Huanzhi’s forehead had long been matted in sweat. Even though he wasn’t as serious about the outcome as Mu Yunzhi, since he was able to calmly accept it if Mu Hanyi won, now that it had reached the last fifteen minutes of such an intense battle, he couldn’t help but tense up.

Although Mu Feixue was naturally indifferent and rarely spoke, which Ice Phoenix disciple didn’t dream about being the Great Realm King’s direct disciple!

Ding… Ding… Ding...

The heavenly lake’s water still dropped methodically and the remaining lakewater inside the profound formation was finally down to the last one hundred drops.

Ninety drops...

Eighty drops...

Seventy drops...

……

Mu Hanyi and Mu Feixue’s eyes were firmly closed since the beginning yet icy mist rose from their bodies as they unreservedly released their lifetime’s insights about the ice laws… Before today, both originally possessed near identical, absolute confidence in themselves but they didn’t expect that their opponent was far more powerful than their expectations.

Even though the two were publicly recognized to be at the top of this generation’s Ice Phoenix disciples, they normally reserved their power… until today, when they didn’t hold anything back.

Fifty drops...

Forty drops...

Thirty drops...

Each drop of water heavily pounded at the heartstrings of everyone person yet the ice spirit that would decide the ultimate outcome still stubbornly stayed motionless in place.

In the entire Heavenly Netherfrost Lake, the only person whose heartstrings weren’t stretched taut was...

Obviously Yun Che, who was inside his own world.

It was also at this time that his breakthrough came to a perfect end after a short two hours.

The profound energy around Yun Che’s body had already stopped rotating and soundlessly returned into his body. The world within his profound veins had completely changed from its formerly dense misty state and was now like a boundless starry sky. The specks of stars twinkling within it contained a mysterious and strong aura.

Aura of the divine way… aura of the first level of the Divine Origin Realm!!

The Divine Origin Realm was a mortal’s first step into the divine way. It was the step in which one’s vital energy becomes divine, causing the profound practitioner’s body to exceed human limits and also substantially strengthen. One’s lifespan would also increase greatly as well.

This kind of change was an extremely distinct transformation on other profound practitioners’ bodies but on Yun Che, it didn’t seem to change that intensely. This was because Yun Che had already passed the category of mortals.

To others, this was a transformation but to him, it was just another increase in strength.

What excited Yun Che however, was his explosive increase in profound strength!

His perception of profound energy had completely changed. Previously, even when he was exchanging blows with a profound practitioner in the divine way, he couldn’t sense it that clearly. However, what he felt from his body right now was like another domain of power! Even though it was just one breakthrough, from the tenth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm to the first level of the Divine Origin Realm, he felt that his strength had not just doubled but might even have increased more than tenfold!!

Beneath the amplification of the Evil God’s power, he himself was unable to estimate how powerful of a strength he could release!

This kind of unprecedented advancement in power caused Yun Che’s heart to surge for a long period of time. His confidence and arrogance had also consequently increased as well, so much that he felt as though he was already powerful to the point of omnipotence. While immersed in his joy, he forgot where he was currently located as he gave a delighted roar. Both his arms spread open wide as he recklessly released his profound energy that had stepped into the divine way. At the same time, his consciousness immediately awakened...

Twenty five drops...

Twenty drops...

Fifteen drops...

The lakewater was gradually approaching its final drops and at this time, the ice spirit which had been still for a long time now bounced within everyone’s gaze. It finally began to move. It shifted a bit after its hesitation… and it astonishingly shifted toward Mu Hanyi. Then, as though it made its final decision, it started flying toward Mu Hanyi.

Ten drops...

“Hanyi won!!” The final outcome had clearly emerged within these last fifteen minutes. Everything was finally settled after the ice spirit’s selection.

“Hahahahaha!” Mu Yunzhi completely relaxed. Even though she had several thousand years of cultivation under her belt, she was unable to suppress the mad joy she felt as she laughed heartily.

“Sigh,” Mu Huanzhi made a long sigh. It was intense to such a degree but the final outcome simply did not have anything to do with one’s strength but moreso one’s resonance with the ice spirits. But a loss was still a loss.

Even though Mu Hanyi’s eyes were still shut, a smile had already appeared at the corner of his lips and his body was also visibly shaking with excitement.

And it was at this time that a profound energy which had just entered the divine way was untimely released from the edge of the lake, alongside an even more uncourteous excited roar.

The instant the roar sounded, the ice spirit flying toward Mu Hanyi suddenly stopped. Then, it released a never before heard, clear ethereal cry as its flight speed suddenly accelerated, faster than any other ice spirit had moved...

However, the path in which it flew changed; it no longer flew toward Mu Hanyi. Instead, it suddenly flew toward the distant lakeside… it flew toward Yun Che!!

Before the crowd had yet to realize what had happened, the tranquil Heavenly Netherfrost Lake suddenly rippled in in all directions. The ice spirits in the distance that were frolicking around all released an extremely beautiful and melodious spirit sound. Then, they all began to fly about and chased after that last ice spirit, the speed in which they flew making them look like snow white shooting stars...

It was also at this instant that the ice spirits which danced around Mu Hanyi and Mu Feixue, the ice spirits they used an entire six hours and all their power to attract, left them without the slightest of hesitation. They too joined the other ice spirits and flew directly at Yun Che.

They were extremely fast and all of them flew to Yun Che’s side. The ice spirits that flew toward the divine hall disciples were all careful and hesitant in their slowness. However, they all danced around Yun Che with incomparable excitement, their voices in high spirits. They all tried to outdo one another as they neared him, as though there was some kind of fatal attractive force on his body.

In a few breaths of time, all three thousand ice spirits in the Heavenly Nether Forest Lake had all gathered around Yun Che and not a single one wasn’t there!

Ding!

The last drop of lakewater within the profound formation had fallen and Yun Che also opened his eyes at this time. He was then instantly stunned, shocked to see the ice spirits around him flying with excitement… and stunned frozen faces all around him.