Against the Gods (Web Novel)

As the curtain of night fell, the Eternal Heaven Realm became quiet.

The first round of the Conferred God Battle had ended, and tomorrow was the first battle of the Conferred Gods Group and Losers Group. In the following battle, out of the thirty-one Conferred God Candidates, seven people would be eliminated from the Losers Group, and eight people from the Conferred Gods Group would fall into the Losers Group.

Compared to the battles today, where no one was eliminated, the fights that were going to take place tomorrow were bound to be even more nerve-wracking and fierce. The entire Eastern Divine Region was eagerly looking forward to the eight people that were going to remain in the Conferred Gods Group.

On this night, the other Conferred God Candidates were either conserving strength and storing up energy, or recovering their profound strength and treating their injuries inside the “Time Wheel Pearl.” It was solely Yun Che who was spending the night quietly sitting beside the pond.

In his mind he was constantly replaying every soul-drilling and hear-piercing remark of Jasmine’s, as well as… Mu Bingyun’s words, which were light and indistinct as a breeze.

Even if I could see her as I wish, even if I could bid farewell to her in the most perfect way possible…

Would I be perfectly contented then, and not have any regrets…?

Is it truly possible…?

Why exactly did I come to this place…?

Did I really long to meet Jasmine so much because of always believing that it would certainly make up for the incompleteness and regret that I feel…?

Or is it…

Since that day until now… I was basically unable to accept the fact that she left me… all along…?

…

Faint rays of light shone, as the daybreak arrived, and the sky began to brighten gradually.

The door at the entrance of the courtyard was pushed open, as Mu Bingyun walked through it without making any sound. In her line of sight, Yun Che was still sitting at the same place as the day before, and almost hadn’t budged an inch.

Slight hesitation surfaced in Mu Bingyun’s ice cold eyes, and she didn’t say anything. But at this time, she saw Yun Che standing up slowly, with his gaze turning to her. His pupils were limpid like water, and were no longer cloudy like the day before.

“It looks like that you have already clearly thought about what you want to do.” Mu Bingyun lightly raised the corner of her mouth. She had an indistinct, shallow smile on her face, but it was magnificent enough to suffocate the heart of anyone who looked at her.

“Although I still haven’t thought everything through, I at least know what I should do next,” Yun Che said with a faint smile. All the haziness on his face seemed to have completely vanished with this smile, and his pupils appeared to be clearer and brighter than the day before. He said gratefully, “Palace Master Bingyun, I’ve not only always relied on you for all kinds of assistance, but also made you worried over and over again. Yesterday, I certainly made you disappointed once more.”

“…” Mu Bingyun lightly shook her beautiful head. “No, you’re still only a twenty-odd year old youth, after all. If you weren’t confused, discomposed, impulsive, and occasionally lose reason at this age, that would be a matter of the greatest sorrow.”

“Moreover, isn’t it a matter of good fortune to have someone that can make you willingly go so far for them?” Mu Bingyun raised her snow white face as she said in a light tone, “Back then, if it wasn’t for my elder sister, I might have failed to persevere any longer a thousand years ago.”

Yun Che stood straight, as he exhaled the foul air within his chest. He closed his eyes for a bit, before asking, “Palace Master Bingyun, you are right. It is impossible for her to be so heartless to me. Even if there is a world of difference between our identities, but every moment we lived together during those eight years was as real as possible, and there was nothing fake about it… She may be a star god, but she is clearly younger than me… and eight years would amount to one-third the life she has lived so far. So how is it possible for her to so easily wipe my existence off her soul?”

Mu Bingyun, “…”

“Furthermore, I have this feeling that she is definitely going to face some great situation soon, and it has become even stronger after thinking over it repeatedly yesterday… Palace Master Bingyun, have you heard anything about something major event that the Star God Realm is especially planning to do over these years?” Yun Che asked in consultation.

Mu Bingyun shook her head, “The Snow Song Realm doesn’t have the ability or qualifications to know about the matters of such a high level existence as the Star God Realm.”

After a moment, she appeared to have thought of something, and continued, “However, if it’s rumor, then we did hear of a strange rumor related to the Star God Realm less than twenty years ago. Moreover, it was quite a sensational one.”

“…What rumor?” Yun Che at once pricked his ears up.

“It seems to be called the ‘True God Project.’”

“True God Project…” Yun Che immediately thought of where he had heard of this name. “I seem to have also heard of it two years ago, back when I was in the Darkya Realm.”

“However, it is evidently just a false rumor.”

“False? Why?”

“It’s very simple,” Mu Bingyun said in a slow voice. “All the king realms of every divine region have been searching for the way of the True God. If the Star God Realm truly had such a method related to the ‘way of the True God,’ it would have certainly been the greatest secret of the entire Star God Realm, and they absolutely wouldn’t have done anything that would expose it in the least. But back then, this rumor spread unrestrainedly, not only in the king realms and upper star realms, but even in our middle star realms. There are also many star realms in the lower realm that are aware of it. This point alone is enough to prove that it is almost impossible for the rumor to be true.”

“Over these years, other king realms didn’t show any unusual movement towards the Star God Realm, either. That rumor has practically vanished by now.”

“Besides the rumor, the only other ‘major’ thing we know about the Star God Realm, is the successive ‘fall’ of the Heavenly Wolf Star God and the Heavenly Slaughter Star God. You should know of that better than anyone else.”

“…” Yun Che remained silent for a long while, before he seemingly talked to himself. “What use is it for me to try to know anything? Jasmine was completely right. Right now, I certainly do not have the slightest qualification to know about the thing that is going to happen with her. If it’s a matter big enough for even someone such as her, it would be meaningless for me to know of it. After all, what could I actually do after that?”

As he heavily exhaled again, Yun Che felt his brain becoming a bit calmer and more sober. He said all of a sudden, “Palace Master Bingyun, Huo Poyun told me yesterday when he came over that in the round that will be held today… I won’t be fighting anyone?”

“It’s definitely so.” Mi Bingyun nodded her head. “In the first round of the Losers Group battle today, your opponent was supposed to be that devil named Wei Hen. But since he met his doom yesterday, even his name was wiped off the list of the Conferred God Battle. Therefore, in the match up list that appeared yesterday, you turned out to be the participant that won’t be facing any opponent in the next round, which effectively means that you’ve directly advanced to the second round of the Losers Group.”

“Perhaps, this is also the will of heaven, huh.” Yun Che slightly raised his head to look at the sky. At this moment, he was truly resolved.

“Palace Master Bingyun, I want… to go back to the Snow Song Realm,” Yun Che said.

“All right.” Mu Bingyun nodded without any hesitation. “I’ll accompany you back.”

“No,” Yun Che, however, shook his head in response. A strange light shone in his eyes, “I’m planning to return by myself. Furthermore… I’ll come back again very soon!”

———————————————

As the sky brightened, experts from every star realm began to hurry over to the Conferred God Stage.

Yun Che was moving about alone, and at an unhurried pace too. However, the direction he was heading in was entirely different from the others.

He was walking so slow, as if he was silently pondering something. But his gaze was clear and bright, and his heart was as calm as a lake with no ripples appearing on it, despite cool breeze blowing past it. He no longer felt the excitement, nervousness, and hesitation he did when he first came to the Eternal Heaven Realm. Both his mind and heart were in a calm state.

He was so calm that he himself was surprised by it.

“Hmm? My, oh my! I was wondering who it was, but isn’t this the trash that was so scared of me yesterday that he didn’t even dare to come on the Conferred God Stage!?”

An incomparably ear-piercing voice suddenly resounded beside his ear.

Luo Changan had sprung out of someplace, and was staring at Yun Che’s back with squinted eyes. There was a look of deep contempt and ridicule on his face.

Yun Che didn’t bother with him, and didn’t stop for even an instant.

“Hahahaha,” Lou Changan’s unbridled, wild laughter came from behind. “Yesterday, you didn’t even get on the Conferred God Stage, and today, you’re actually so scared that you don’t even dare turn around your head. Indeed, garbage will always be garbage, hahahahaha…”

“Tsk, tsk, letting garbage such as you enter the Conferred God Battle brought disgrace to us true Conferred God Candidates as well.” Luo Changan seemed to be enjoying the pleasant feeling of maltreating the weak. Seeing that Yun Che didn’t dare to say a single word in rebuttal, he was even more delighted in his heart. He narrowed his eyes and pointed at Yun Che’s back with an extremely belittling gesture, “Hey, garbage, listen to my words properly. A true man will fight to the end, even if he dies by doing so. Only the lowest kind of trash would surrender like a spineless dog, hahahahaha…”

Yun Che came to a halt all of a sudden. Afterwards, he slowly turned around, as his gaze finally shifted to Luo Changan, but there was still a flat look within his eyes.

“Your name is… Luo Changan, right?”

“Oh? What about it?” Upon looking that Yun Che actually had the guts to speak to his face, Luo Changan narrowed his eyes, as he revealed a look of interest on his face.

“Hah,” Yun Che’s face didn’t have the expression of humiliation on it that Luo Changan wanted to see, but a faint smile instead. “Make sure to remember those words you spoke just now… Don’t forget even one of them!”

“…” Luo Changan was startled at first, but as if he was tickled by something that the other party said, he then began to crazily laugh aloud; so much so that he was rocking back and forth in laughter. “Puhahahahaha… Hahahaha…”

Yun Che didn’t spare him another glance or care about his taunt, as he resumed walking away to leave the Eternal Heaven Realm, without waiting for him to say anything further.

Although people like Mu Bingyun and Huo Rulie were invited as guests, they might not be able to enter the Eternal Heaven Realm again, if they were to leave it at this moment.

Considering the time, the competition of the Conferred God Battle should have already begun. However, despite being one of the Conferred God Candidates, he had stepped out of the restricted area of the Eternal Heaven Realm. Following his memory, he found the special spatial profound formation that he had used to come here.

Fortunately, it was just about the time for the profound formation in the Snow Song Realm to activate.

Walking out of the profound formation, a world with chilly and white snow blowing in the wind unfolded before his eyes. Yun Che summoned the Ice Phoenix Profound Ark that Mu Bingyun had handed over to him, and speedily flew to the Ice Phoenix Realm at the fastest speed.

“Sigh, Master must be thoroughly angry and disappointed with me right now… I can’t avoid being violently beaten by her, huh.” Stepping on the profound ark, Yun Che talked to himself gloomily. He had already decided what to do next in his mind, but he had no idea how to face Mu Xuanyin after everything he had done.

He had disobeyed the orders of his master, forcibly exposed himself to danger, and caused her to be mocked along with him in all sorts of ways…

Haah… Yun Che let out a long exhalation.

Thinking back to it now, when he was only a step away from Jasmine in the Eternal Heaven Realm, he had certainly done too many things he shouldn’t have done due to impatience. He took actions that were so not like him.

But, if he was given another chance to make a choice, he would likely still choose to do the same.

Having returned to the Ice Phoenix Realm, and entered the sect, Yun Che headed straight to the Ice Phoenix Sacred Region. The instant he entered the sacred region, he kneeled down heavily on the ground, as he said in an ashamed voice, “Master, disciple has returned. Disciple knows that he has committed a great mistake… and asks Master for the punishment he deserves.”

It was only the snow blowing outside that responded to his words.

Yun Che didn’t budge an inch as he kneeled in place for nearly two hours. But, he didn’t get any response from Mu Xuanyin in the end.

“Master?” Yun Che called out again in a probing tone, but still no one replied to him.

Don’t tell me that Master isn’t present here?

Given Mu Xuanyin’s cultivation, she would immediately become aware of his arrival, without him needing to making any sound.

“Master!”

Yun Che got up and went over to the center of the Sacred Hall. The entire Scared Hall was empty and no sound could be heard inside it. In the middle of the pond whose water remained in a liquid state eternally, an Ice Fairy Spirit Flower was drifting, giving the impression that it would never wither as particularly beautiful rays of light flickered on it.