Against the Gods (Web Novel)

“Its name is called ‘Nothingness’,” Yun Che said in a low voice.

“Nothing...ness?” Qianye Ying’er’s golden brows knitted together.

“It's a kind of special law. It might very well be the ‘power’ which the profound way originated from. It can reduce all things to ‘nothing’ and make them into your own power.” Yun Che was slowly describing something that no one could understand. Even he himself had only comprehended the edges of the Law of Nothingness. “It’s just that I have merely cracked open the door to this power, so the only things I can completely ‘return to nothingness’ right now are these sorts of profound crystals, which are the easiest to ‘reduce to nothingness’ in the first place.”

Only? For him to be able to absorb the spiritual energy within the devil crystals with no impediment whatsoever, without any discernible method, and use it for his own cultivation. This was what he called “just cracking the door open”? This was actually what he called “only”?

“Is this also a power that the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor left to you?”

Qianye Ying’er, who had once stood at the very pinnacle of the profound way, had never heard of a “Law of Nothingness”. Thus, Yun Che’s words sounded like words being recited from a heavenly book. But if this was a special power that the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor had left behind, her being unable to understand was very normal.

“...” Yun Che closed his eyes and did not reply.

Qianye Ying’er’s gaze swept over the black devil crystals that Yun Che had spread out over the floor. She looked at them pensively and asked, “You mean to say that you created such a huge commotion in this place so that you could manufacture a reason to rob others?”

The word Qianye Ying’er had used was “rob”.

“Correct.” Yun Che replied without any hesitation, “To increase my cultivation swiftly, I require an enormous amount of resources. It’s a pity that given my current ability, I am only able to mix it up with the middle star realms.”

“Ha….” Qianye Ying’er looked at Yun Che and suddenly let out a laugh that was quite sarcastic. “The world often says that the hardest thing to change is one’s personality. But you, on the other hand, have changed completely. You clearly want to rob others and yet, you want to be able to be justified in doing so and have others give you a reason to rob them first. You have truly taken the word despicable to a whole new level.”

Yun Che opened his eyes and briefly glanced to the side.

Qianye Ying’er’s golden eyebrows twitched violently at this moment and her voice deepened as she exclaimed, “Divine Sovereign!”

“Divine Sovereign?” Yun Che stood up, his gaze becoming a little more focused, “This show of force has exceeded my expectations.”

He was convinced that his actions in the eastern realms would definitely alarm the East Ruins Realm King’s sect. After that, they would definitely dispatch some people to the Eastern Frost Nation. He had just never imagined that they would actually send a Divine Sovereign.

However, he did not panic and instead pushed his hand out, “Carry this with you.”

Qianye Ying’er took it and asked, “This is?”

“It’s called the Ni Yuan Stone,” Yun Che replied. The thing that he passed to Qianye Ying’er was precisely the Ni Yuan Stone that Jie Yuan had left him. However, he had no need for it for the time being. “It’s able to change your aura. Pour your profound energy into it and you will know how to use it.”

Qianye Ying’er tried pouring her profound energy into the Ni Yuan Stone. Subsequently, a slightly shocked look appeared on her face and she said in a low voice, “No wonder you were able to escape to the Northern Divine Region undetected and without a trace.”

As she was speaking, subtle changes in her aura started to occur. Her profound energy had bizarrely turned from a level three Divine Sovereign to a level one Divine King just like Yun Che.

A pitch-black mask had covered her snowy jade-like countenance.

At this moment, a hurried sound transmission from Dongfang Hanwei passed through the barrier, “Senior Yun! It’s the Great Realm King… This time it’s truly someone from the Great Realm King’s faction! You...ah!”

She had not yet finished speaking when she let out a shriek which was subsequently followed by her obviously flustered words, “Royal...Royal Father.”

“This is my humble daughter, Hanwei. Hanwei, quickly greet Princess Yan and the Senior Jiu!”

“There’s no need!” the cold and powerful voice of a woman drew near. “Where is Yun Che?”

“Yes… this humble king will bring you to him now.”

The Eastern Frost Monarch’s tone had become many times more lowly and timid than when he had faced the Nine Great Sects back then. Without waiting for his arrival, Yun Che had already opened the doors to his room and walked out of the barrier. Instantly, two imperious and severe gazes landed on him.

Qianye Ying’er followed behind Yun Che silently.

“Venerable Yun!” The Eastern Frost Monarch stepped forward immediately when he saw Yun Che walk out. As he concealed the complicated emotions in his eyes, he solemnly said, “These two are honorable guests from the East Ruins Sect. This is Princess Yan, the Great Realm King’s daughter…”

“My name is Dong Xueyan.” The lady coldly interrupted the Eastern Frost Monarch as she ran her gaze over Yun Che several times. That overly-calm and indifferent gaze of his made her extremely uncomfortable as she asked, “So, you are Yun Che?”

The eyebrows of the elderly man behind Dong Xueyan clearly and violently twitched before returning back to normal.

“What business do you have with me?” Yun Che asked coldly.

His tone was not only cold, but he was completely unmoved. He did not show a single shred of respect or emotion upon learning her identity. Dong Xueyan’s brow furrowed deeply before she gave a low laugh, “You are much haughtier than the stories describe.”

“Yun Che, are you aware of who reigns over this East Ruins Realms?” Dong Xueyan took a step forward, the shocking imperious might that belonged to the person who bore the title “Princess Yan” radiating from her body. “This land and the Nine Great Sects are all under the protection of our East Ruins Sect! You, an interloper, wildly trampled over these eastern realms and you forcefully put the Nine Great Sects under your foot.. But that is still fine. Given your strength, you do indeed have the qualifications to be the overlord of this place. However, so many days have passed by but you still have not paid my royal father a visit. You did not even send the most simple of messages or greetings! You simply don’t have any regard for our East Ruins Sect, do you!?”

“Princess Yan!” The Eastern Frost Nation’s Monarch spoke in an anxious voice. “That is definitely not Venerable Yun’s intentions. He had plans from the start to visit the Great Realm King. It’s just that he has been tied down by recent matters…”

“Shut up!” Dong Xueyan gave an icy rebuke. The gaze she directed toward Yun Che was turning colder and colder as well... Because there was still no change in Yun Che’s gaze whatsoever, even after he had heard what she had said. This had undoubtedly provoked her anger, “Since when did you have the right to speak?”

The Eastern Frost Monarch quickly shut his mouth and did not dare to speak up again.

“Haha,” The elderly man suddenly laughed but his laughter was exceptionally gentle. “Her Highness is brash and she isn’t good with etiquette. If her words were too aggressive and have offended you, I ask that the honorable one not hold it against her.”

“...?” The old man’s words caused Dong Xueyan to shoot him a shocked glance but she did not say anything.

“And you are?” Yun Che gave the old man a sideways glance.

“This old man’s name is Dong Jiukui. If the honored one does not mind, you can call me Old Jiu,” the elderly man said with a hearty laugh. “For the honored one to defeat the Sun Death Sword Master and the Dark Roc’s old ancestor two on one, your strength truly causes me to gasp in surprise and awe. The strong do indeed have the right to be bold and arrogant and the Great Realm King has no intention to blame you either. Rather, he admires you greatly. If not, why would he get Her Highness to personally pay you a visit?”

Dong Xueyan knew of Dong Jiukui’s true identity. So she was greatly shocked by the attitude he showed towards Yun Che.

“Is that so?” Yun Che’s eyes thinned to slits and he said, “So why are you looking for me? Don’t waste my time!”

He had actually said such cold and curt words to the daughter of the great realm king. This caused the Eastern Frost Monarch and Dongfang Hanwei’s heartstrings to tighten in shock simultaneously.

Dong Jiukui’s attitude towards Yun Che caused Dong Xueyan to suppress the rage in her heart. After she recalled the objective of coming here today, her expression and voice also turned calm. “I have come here today, on behalf of my royal father, to invite you to participate in the ‘Central Ruins Battle’ that is to be held one month from now!”

The Eastern Frost Monarch and Dongfang Hanwei raised their heads simultaneously. They clearly knew what this ‘Central Ruins Battle’ was.

At this moment, a strange light flashed through the eyes of Qianye Ying’er, who had kept silent all this while.

There were five star realms in this star region. They were known as the East Ruins Realm, West Ruins Realm, South Ruins Realm, North Ruins Realm and Central Ruin Realms respectively, so the ‘Central Ruins Battle’ clearly had something to do with the Central Ruins Realm.

Yet Yun Che could not even be bothered to ask about it. He lifted the corner of his mouth slightly and was about to reply when Qianye Ying’er’s icy voice suddenly rang out from behind him, “Alright, we agree.”

“...” The corner of Yun Che’s eyebrows arched slightly but he did not speak.

Qianye Ying’er’s face was concealed by a mask, she had withdrawn her aura and she had also stood behind Yun Che, so Dong Xueyan and Dong Jiukui had focused all of their attention on Yun Che had not even noticed her. This time, she actually spoke before Yun Che did, causing their eyes to swivel towards her at the same time as they gave Qianye Ying’er a deep look.

“And who are you?” Dong Xueyan asked.

“My name is Yun Qianying. I am but Yun Che’s personal servant girl,” Qianye Ying’er said gently.

“Servant girl?” Dong Xueyan narrowed her beautiful eyes and said, “It is so rare to see a servant girl call her master by his name!”

“We have a special way of interacting with each other. It is only natural that Princess Yan would have a hard time understanding this.” Compared to Yun Che’s cold and harsh tone, Qianye Ying’er’s was much more gentle. She looked at Yun Che as if to consult him on his opinion, “Yun Che, this is the East Ruins Realm after all. We have created such a huge spectacle but have not yet gone to visit the Great Realm King. We are indeed at fault.”

Yun Che, “...”

“And now the Great Realm King has sent Princess Yan here. So it shows his sincerity in inviting us and it is also the best chance for us to pay a visit to the Great Realm King. If we are able to serve the Great Realm King in this way, it is an honor and a great opportunity for us. We do not have any reason to reject him, what do you think?”

“The Great Realm King has made the first move to invite us. Moreover, the respectable Princess Yan has personally made the trip over herself. So how can I refuse?”

Yun Che maintained a cold expression and Dong Xueyan itched to punch him in the face. But his tone had become much gentler and he did not show any intentions on rejecting Dong Xueyan’s invitation.

“Alright.” Dong Xueyan gave a nod of her head. As Princess Yan, she had an extremely high status in the East Ruins Realm and no one had ever dared to slight her in any way, so she had never been treated the way Yun Che had just treated her. If it had not been a critical period, and if her royal father had not taken such a great interest in this person who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, she might very well have asked Dong Jiukui to directly smash this arrogant and conceited person to death, here and now.

Now that she had accomplished what she had come to do and the other party had not rejected her, Dong Xueyan did not want to take another look at him. She turned around and tossed a medallion that glowed with a bluish-green light towards Yun Che with a flip of her hand. She said in a cold voice, “This token has your name carved on it. Bring it to the East Ruins Sect within thirty days. If you don’t show up in time, you’ll be held responsible for it.”

“Grandfather Jiu, let’s go.” Dong Xueyan left directly and she did not even ask about Yun Che’s origins.

Dong Jiukui nodded his head towards Yun Che and smiled saying, “I believe that the honorable one will definitely perform brilliantly in this coming Central Ruins Battle. This old man is truly looking forward to it. Farewell.”

As he was leaving, he took a seemingly inadvertent glance at Qianye Ying’er.

“This humble king respectfully sends…”

“There’s no need!” Dong Xueyan said coldly, causing the Eastern Frost Monarch to freeze in place.

After they had left the Eastern Frost Royal City, Dong Xueyan’s expression suddenly changed. She stomped her foot, causing the ground to shake and tremble as she shouted in a hate-filled voice, “I have never seen such a rude and arrogant thug. He simply had no respect for our East Ruins Sect!”

“Haha.” Dong Jiukui laughed and said, “There is no need to be angry, he does indeed have the right to be arrogant.”

Dong Xueyan said, “Grandfather Jiu, why are you being so polite to him? Could it be…”

She suddenly thought of something and her expression changed drastically.

“No.” Dong Jiukui knew what she was thinking of and shook his head saying, “You can rest assured, given his cultivation level, he is indeed and without a doubt in the Divine King Realm, not a Divine Sovereign. His lifespan also doesn’t surpass fifty sexagenary cycles, so he is qualified to participate in the Central Ruins Battle. It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“It’s just that…” Dong Jiukui paused for a moment, his expression solemn, “That rumor, which I had originally thought was complete nonsense, turned out to be true. His cultivation is indeed only at the first level of the Divine King Realm.”

“...” Dong Xueyan was stunned momentarily before she cried out, “What did you say!? That’s not possible! How could someone who is a first level Divine King win against the Sun Death Sword Master and the Dark Roc’s old ancestor! Unless… he had used some sort of concealing technique?”

Dong Jiukui did not answer her but continued on, “I had been worried that, given his cultivation, it would be possible that his lifespan would exceed the limit. However… there is another rumor that turned out to be true. The aura of his life force is shockingly young.”

“How young is he?”

Dong Jiukui slowly held out three fingers.

“Could it be that his age has not exceeded thirty sexagenary cycles?” Dong Xueyan gave a surprised expression while she was speaking. At most he would still be under two thousand years if he had not exceeded thirty sexagenary cycles. And yet, his strength is at the peak of the Divine King Realm?

“No,” Dong Jiukui shook his head again and said, “I think that his age could very well be… below three sexagenary cycles!”

TL NOTE: We are only using sexagenary cycles (a cycle of 60 years) in this case because it finally applies. If you wanted to know, almost every time some asshole from the God Realm said “But Yun Che was only thirty years of age”, Mars was actually writing “But Yun Che was only ‘half-a sexagenary cycle’ years of age”. Obviously we said f*ck that shit until this chapter, when he actually used the chinese character for years (岁) and the chinese characters for sexagenary cycle (甲子) in the same damn sentence. So here we are folks and I hope we never have to use it again.