Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Chapter 1992 - “Esteemed Guest”

Partially Edited Chapter - Rubble

Qilin Realm, Qilin Worship Alliance.

“Your injuries are so severe that your flesh and blood will need to be remodeled. Thankfully, the Qilin God Realm’s opening is still three weeks away, which is just enough time for you to heal and make it.”

The Qilin God Realm opened only once every six hundred years. Considering Ximen Qi’s talent, it would be a huge, irreversible loss for him and the Qilin Worship Alliance to miss it.

“Who’s the one who hurt you, Qi’er?”

The man who asked the question possessed a stern face, a deep voice, and a natural aura of intimidation. Every word he spoke was like a giant rock that kept adding to the pressure on one’s chest.

Ximen Boyun was a newly ascended Abyssal Knight. He was ranked 982nd and named the “Imperishable Rock Owl”.

Ximen Qi was still screaming in pain, so Zhuai Liancheng answered the question for him, “Senior Ximen, the one who hurt Young Master Qi is called Yun Che. He claims to be a humble guard of the First Princess, but I’m certain that he isn’t part of the imperial family.”

“I’ll be shocked if Helian Jue grows a pair of balls,” humphed Ximen Borong, Alliance Master of the Qilin Worship Alliance.

Everyone knows just how much of a coward Helian Jue was. So long as you did not threaten his life, he was the kind of man who would swallow his teeth even if you punched him in the face.

“Yun Che? Yun?” Ximen Boyun skimmed through his memories expressionlessly. However, he could not recall anyone named Yun who was worth a damn.

“Father, uncle… I must… have… my revenge…” Ximen Qi rasped even though his mouth and throat were filled with blood. That was how much he hated the guy.

He wasn’t a spoiled young master. On the contrary, he had often risked his life during his cultivation. It was just that the humiliation Yun Che dealt him was beyond anything he had ever experienced.

“Calm your mind and rest. You’ll want to be at your best when you enter the Qilin God Realm,” Ximen Borong consoled him, “We will deal with the man who hurt you ourselves.”

He then looked at to Zhuai Liancheng and asked, “Who is this Yun Che, and where did he come from?”

“He’s a peak Divine Sovereign. That is all I know,” Zhuai Liancheng replied honestly.

“What!?” Ximen Borong and Ximen Boyun looked up in astonishment, and their reactions didn’t surprise Zhuai Liancheng in the slightest. His reaction was easily a hundred times greater than theirs as he had been present at the scene.

Both men looked at Ximen Qi at the same time, and the young master… did not shake his head. The shame and humiliation in his eyes deepened.

“I am telling the truth!” Zhuai Liancheng said seriously, “Not only that, I’m certain that the name ‘Yun Che’ is just a lie. There is no way someone who can defeat Young Master Qi so thoroughly is of common origin.”

“That is why… I believe that he hails from a Kingdom of God!”

It was like lightning had struck the room.

A short silence later, Ximen Borong asked, “Does this Yun Che know who you are?”

“He does,” Zhuai Liancheng nodded, “but he was never bothered by it. In fact… he was intentionally provoking us into reacting.”

“Plus, he and Young Master Qi had never met, and yet he still acted with utter impunity. It’s like he isn’t afraid of our alliance or the Boulder Profound Sect at all; as if he knows that he’s greater than all of us.”

“Do you have any evidence that supports the fact that he might be from a Kingdom of God?” Ximen Borong asked solemnly.

“His appearance,” Zhuai Liancheng answered immediately, “He has black eyes and pale skin. There is almost no sign of erosion on his body whatsoever.”

Ximen Borong and Ximen Boyun exchanged a glance. Their faces grew even sterner than before.

“Zi Ao, Tian Yao,” Ximen Borong ordered, “I want you to look into this Yun Che and his relationship with the Helian imperial family immediately. Do not stir up anything until you’ve found an answer.”

“Father!” Ximen Qi looked disgruntled. “We are allied with the three sects… and we have uncle… we do not need to fear… that slave…”

“Hmph!” Ximen Borong hmphed coldly. “Your enemy has grievously wounded you even though he knows of your identity, so he’s either so stupid he doesn’t realize that death is upon him, or he knows he has nothing to fear from you. Tell me, do you think that the former could defeat you in any capacity?”

“Your anger may lead us to our doom, Qi’er!”

“Our ‘esteemed guest’ should be arriving any moment now,” Ximen Boyun said solemnly, “It is up to him whether we can become the vassal state of a Kingdom of God. If we miss this chance, then we won’t ever get another one.”

That was why they must keep the ship steady no matter what.

“It doesn’t matter who Yun Che is. It can wait until we’ve received our guest and completed the Qilin Abyss Conference.”

Zhuai Liancheng subconsciously bowed his head when he heard the words “esteemed guest”. It was because that man was so lofty that he didn’t even have the courage to look up to him.

The Boulder Profound Sect, Thousand Blade Sect and Fiery Sand Sect had been entrenched in the Qilin Abyss Realm for years, and their overall strength far, far exceeded the Qilin Worship Alliance’s. Despite this, they still bowed their heads to the Qilin Worship Alliance and even supported their efforts to found a new dynasty. Naturally, it couldn’t be because of a single Ximen Boyun.

……

Yun Che didn’t leave the imperial palace in the end. Instead, he stayed in the private hall Helian Lingzhu had arranged for him.

The room’s decor was fairly simple. There were dozens of types of cultivation profound formations in the room. They were all used for meditation and cultivation.

For four days straight, Yun Che had sat on his bed without moving a muscle. His eyes were closed, and he wasn’t circulating his profound energy. He was simply holding up his right hand to gather a small amount of abyssal dust.

That’s right. He could gather abyssal dust now!

Although the amount of abyssal dust he gathered was insignificant at best, it was still a feat that would have shocked the entire Abyss.

It was common knowledge that abyssal dust could only be resisted or isolated depending on one’s cultivation level. It was a law and power that existed beyond the convention and could never be mastered by anyone, not even if they were a High Priest or the Abyssal Monarch himself.

In fact, no one except the ancients even knew that the Law of Nothingness was a thing.

His Sound Transmission Jade suddenly twitched, and Yun Che opened his eyes. He let out a long sigh as the tiny cloud of abyssal dust he was maintaining scattered into the surroundings and vanished.

From the day he discovered that he could interfere with abyssal dust, he had been careful not to go overboard with his research. Despite this, he had made an incredible amount of progress in just a few days’ time.

Although his mastery over abyssal dust at the moment was weak and frankly pathetic, it was a miracle that was beyond his expectations.

He wondered what lay at the end of this miracle.

It was Helian Lingzhu who sent him a message. As expected, Helian Jue had agreed to participate in the Qilin Abyss Conference despite the pressure from all sides.

To ensure that Helian Jue would keep his promise, Helian Lingzhu had even spoken with the Guardian Ancestor himself. In fact, the Guardian Ancestor could very well watch over them when the Qilin Abyss Conference happened. In secret, of course.

The Guardian Ancestor of the Helian Empire was called Helian Kunlun. He usually sealed himself under the Earth Palace and stayed out of court matters to extend his life as much as possible. He acted solely as the Helian Empire’s final weapon.

He was nearing the end of his life even though he was a Half-God. Every time he fought, he was basically diminishing whatever lifespan he had remained. The only reason he had lasted until now was because of his undying will to protect the Helian lineage.

When Helian Lingzhu told him that the Helian Empire was about to “welcome a new dynasty”, and that they were going to lose even their right to the Qilin God Realm, well… it was a miracle he hadn’t passed away then and there.

In two or three more days, Helian Jue should completely lose control of Mo Beichen’s energy and be in serious danger of dying.

Mo Beichen hated Helian Jue so much that he had injected his energy into his heart with the intention of tormenting the emperor forever. Naturally, it was incredibly difficult for Helian Jue to eliminate it on his own, nor could it easily be treated from the outside.

Not even Helian Kunlun could save him. His power was enough, but he lacked the skill. Only someone much, much stronger than a Half-God could do it.

There was nothing Helian Jue feared more than death. The emperor would definitely seek him out when he was on his last ropes.

……

As expected, his Sound Transmission Jade shook again two days later. This time, Yun Che froze it without listening to its contents and slowly left his room. He also withdrew his aura to the point where he was near invisible.

He was Emperor Yun, master of Primal Chaos. Like hell he would allow anyone to summon him as they pleased.

Helian Jue could probably use the fear and pain anyway. Who knows, it might even change his personality for the better? Hah.

Yun che slowly explored the imperial palace after leaving Helian Lingzhu’s private hall. It was very different from the palaces in his memories.

For one, there was no hustle or bustle. Everyone who wasn’t talented enough would be abandoned like trash, and those who were talented enough were safely confined in the Earth Palace to protect them from abyssal dust. Cultivation was literally their whole youth.

Therefore, everyone who could walk in the open was an expert.

Yun Che’s spiritual perception told him that the weakest profound practitioner in the palace was a Divine Tribulation, and even then he could not imagine them staying out for long.

There were no plants or water. Even the deadest planet in the God Realm would still be a thousand times more lively than this place.

Still, Yun Che felt nothing for their plight. This was the fate of all who lived in the Abyss from the moment they were born.

Of course, they were welcomed to change their fates. He didn’t even have a problem with them trying to destroy another world to save themselves.

It was just unfortunate that the world they chose to destroy, was his.

He would be good to himself and his own world. That was Xia Qingyue’s one and only request to him.

And so he would. He would never, ever break a promise to her again.

A few hours later, he thought that Helian Jue was ready. Right when he was about to head back, he suddenly felt an unimaginable chill that shot up from his spine all the way to his skull. He stopped in his tracks. It didn’t fade away even after a long, long time.

As his affinity with abyssal dust grew, its limitations on his spiritual perception had greatly decreased as well. As a result, he was far more perceptive of his surroundings than all others at his level.

The piercing cold he just felt was an aura. An aura that had swept across the whole area like it was nothing.

The most terrifying aura he had ever sensed besides Jie Yuan was Mo Beichen, and this one… was clearly far, far stronger.

The aura only lingered on him for an instant. It made sense. He was a lowly Divine Sovereign after all.

Yun Che’s expression didn’t change, and he casually turned around and walked back to the imperial palace as if nothing was amiss.

His heart was heavier than it was before, however.

With God Ash, he could go toe to toe with Mo Beichen for a short time. But the owner of this aura? God Ash would amount to absolutely nothing before him.

Chi Wuyao once said that Mo Beichen was a late-stage second level Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner. He was below average among his fellow Abyssal Knights, but he was definitely not the weakest.

The pressure this person gave off though… he was willing to bet that they were in the fifth level of the Divine Extinction Realm.

The Qilin Abyss Realm was a frontier land that no one cared to visit save perhaps Earth element profound practitioners. So why were they here!?

I hope they’re just passing by. I’m one step away from entering the Qilin God Realm. The last thing I need is an uncontrollable variable.

Yun Che withdrew his aura even more, but he had just taken a few steps when the silhouette of a man crashed into his sight. Literally, it was impossible not to notice the man considering his bearing and aura.

He was a young man with an exceptionally handsome face. He had long, unblemished black hair that was tied together using a silver ribbon, and it reached all the way down to his face.

He was wearing an odd silver robe made of a substance that Yun Che couldn't recognize. When he walked, it actually rippled like liquid mercury. When Yun Che tried to focus on his clothes, he felt himself turning dizzy all of a sudden.

He quickly broke out of the trance and regained clarity of mind. At the same time, he frowned deeply.

This man wasn’t a Divine Master. He was a Half-Step Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner!

The terrifying aura swept past Yun Che again, and this time it didn’t move away.

Yun Che immediately figured out that the master of the terrifying aura… was protecting the silver man before him.