Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Chapter 1993 - First Meeting

Partially Edited Chapter - Rubble

What was even stranger than his clothes was his eyes. His eyes looked like they were shrouded in a layer of mist, and if you looked past it, you would find another layer of mist, then another, then another… it was as if a whole world was hidden behind his eyes.

Not only that, his eyes were actively tickling one’s curiosity so that the victim would fall deeper and deeper into the abyss. Before they knew it, they would have lost all of their reason and rationale.

Yun Che looked away immediately. It was clear that soul energy was the man’s primary cultivation, and his status was just as unusual.

It was a shame Yun Che lost interest in him almost all too quickly. It was because the man’s behavior and gaze were all too familiar to him.

His footsteps were slow and relaxed. His eyes were half-lidded like he was half-asleep.

Silhouettes, strange rocks and buildings flitted through his gaze, but they couldn’t linger in his eyes for even a second. It was as if everything in the world be it living or dead did not deserve to enter his eyes.

His lips were curled into a sneer. His eyebrows were scrunched together in a way that made it clear he felt only disdain and disgust for this world.

He acted like he was a god who had descended to the earth to inspect his lowly mortals, and his expression was practically saying, “This world is beyond lucky that I have deigned to bestow it with my presence. The reason I’m averting my eyes is because every person, every object, every brick and every tile in this world would only stain my nobility.”

Heh! Here we go again, Yun Che thought to himself while relaxing.

It was a human’s nature to desire what they were lacking and brag about it. This silver man must have been so insignificant and oppressed in his own world that he had no choice but to descend to a lower plane to satisfy his sick desires and craving for glory.

If he really was a super genius or a highly prestigious person, he would not need to come here in search for people to kiss his feet.

People like him existed across planes and even universes, it would seem. Yun Che had long since tired of his ilk. As long as he avoided drawing his attention, there was no need to worry about him.

He was fairly sure this guy had nothing to do with the Qilin God Realm. He stood too high on the totem pole to care about such things.

Yun Che withdrew his gaze and slowly walked away. Unfortunately, he once again came to a stop just ten breaths later. It wasn’t because of the silver man though.

Her eyes looked like the culmination of the brightest stars and moons. A radiance beyond the wildest dreams and imaginations flowed within her eyes. She was the only glass in this tainted universe, the one star that brought hope even in the darkest nights.

Such were her eyes that he noticed her looks only a second later. She was dressed in white, frilly clothes that were tailor-made to fit her figure. It was of the highest quality and tailorship. However, there was no doubt in Yun Che’s mind that it was the girl who accentuated her clothes to an impossible degree, not the other way around.

She walked alone in this withered, yellowish palace. Her gait was nothing special, but somehow she reminded him of a butterfly dancing in a garden of flowers. Her long, black hair fluttered in the wind like obsidian stars.

He could tell she was still a teenager. Although her veil was covering half of her face, the skin that wasn’t covered up looked as white as the first snow and as lustrous as a fruit. Even her fine, delicate eyebrows were overflowing with a kind of spirit.

He couldn’t see her full countenance, but what little he saw… Impossibly, she was as beautiful as Shen Xi and as unforgettable as Qianye Ying’er.

“...” Yun Che forced himself to look away.

Ever since he accepted Chi Wuyao’s full memories, the way he measured others was becoming like hers as well. To put it simply, he could look through their eyes and unearth the color of their souls.

Chi Wuyao’s warnings felt like yesterday. He had never forgotten his objective, or rather, his mission for coming to the Abyss either.

That was why he made sure to wrap his heart and soul in a million shackles. His external emotions might fluctuate, but no one could ever see through his eyes and into his soul.

And yet, that girl had pierced through all of his mental defenses and left a shiny lake of stars in his heart. And she wasn’t even trying. If he left it alone, she would surely become another attachment he could never let go.

That was why he mustered his willpower and ruthlessly carved it out of his mind.

Anything that could awaken his emotions and interfere with his will should not exist!

It wasn’t long before he walked past the girl. She no longer existed in his vision.

Then, Yun Che’s footsteps slowed for a third time.

It was because the girl was headed straight for the silver man from earlier.

A storm kicked up inside his head.

The girl looked eighteen years old at most, and yet her aura marked her as a half-step Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner.

The gulf between Divine Master Realm and Divine Extinction Realm was the gulf between a mortal and a Half-God. Countless profound practitioners of the Abyss had been stumped by this gulf for eternity.

Knowing this, it was shocking that this girl—a teenager no less—had already reached this realm.

Her talent, her cultivation, her beauty, her eyes…

Not only that, she looked perfectly unstained by abyssal dust. No, he was sure she wasn’t even touched by it.

This is her first descent to the mortal coil… Ye Qing thought.

What kind of background, love, and overprotectiveness did it take to nurture such a flawless girl in the Abyss?

Could it be…

He slowed down even more. For the first time since that terrifying power showed up, he soundlessly released his spiritual perception.

The silver man had reminded him of someone. Back at Flowing Cloud City, when he was still a cripple, there was a man named Xiao Kuangyun from the Xiao Sect.

Despite the difference of their plane and background, he saw no difference between the silver man and Xiao Kuangyun. Both his and Chi Wuyao’s experience agreed on this regard.

Here in this realm, the silver man did not need to conform to the rules and shackles he normally bound himself with. He could let loose to his heart’s content. Therefore, his acumen would most likely suffer a nosedive.

After all, why would a noble one like him need to be careful about anything in this lowly realm?

With that in mind, how would he react when he encountered the girl?

The silver man must hail from a lofty place. He was guarded by someone even scarier than Mo Beichen after all.

The Qilin God Realm was right around the corner as well. Logically speaking, this was the worst possible time to start something.

His sense of security and value began waging a great war inside his mind.

……

As expected, the silver man saw the girl.

The man had been acting like a divine emperor inspecting his subjects this whole time, but the moment he laid his eyes on her, his feet suddenly skidded to a stop, his expression suddenly turned as stiff as a statue, and his eyes widened more and more until his eyeballs threatened to fall out of their sockets.

He had witnessed countless beauties in the past, and his harem alone numbered several thousand. So far, everyone he saw in the Qillin Abyss Realm only elicited disgust in him. But when he saw the veiled girl, it was like he had lost his soul in an instant.

The girl eyed the silver man out of the corner of her eyes for an instant before looking away. During the short time she entered this mortal coil, she had witnessed such a reaction too many times already.

It made her realize just how spectacular her appearance was.

The sandstorm and the abyssal dust had disrupted her spiritual perception to an extent, and her aunt wasn’t willing to give her any guidance whatsoever. So, she stayed in the sandstorm almost like she was in a fit of pique until it could no longer affect her spiritual perception anymore. Only then did she walk out of it and enter this mortal palace known as the Qilin Abyss Realm.

Due to her body, she had always been guarded by her protectors with the utmost care. Moreover, she spent most of her time in the Pure Land, so this was the first time seeing the world around her. She was extremely curious to put it mildly.

Throughout all this, the silver man’s gaze was affixed to the girl’s body like glue. He had no idea how ugly he looked right now, and he didn’t care.

It wasn’t until the girl was far, far away that he finally regained clarity of mind and realized that he had literally bent himself a hundred and eight degrees to stare at the girl.

“To think that a girl like that… could exist in a place like this…”

His voice was one-third excited, one-third surprised, and one-third longing. He was also stretching and curling his fingers unconsciously.

I knew it was a good idea to get out once in a while! Who would’ve thought that a gem like her would exist at such a place?

“You’re not a denizen of the Qilin Abyss Realm, are you girl?”

The refined voice had started behind her and ended in front of her. It was because the silver man had moved to her front. His eyes were misty, and his lips were curled into a perfect smile. His elegant posture was mysterious yet dangerous, and countless women had swooned to his face.

He was holding a folding fan with a silver tassel at the end. To say he was handsome and attractive would be an understatement.

In fact, the silver man was far prouder of his looks than his background.

The girl stopped in her tracks but did not watch him closely. She answered naturally, “I do not hail from here, yes.”

Her voice was so indifferent it was practically emotionless, but it was still beyond melodious.

The silver man smiled. “What a coincidence. I’m not from here either. Since we’re both alone, why don’t we… travel together?”

“No thanks.”

The girl rejected him immediately and got ready to leave.

“Why don’t you give me a chance to say my piece first?”

The silver man shifted again, and this time he was only ten steps away from her. His eyes shone with barely restrained lust as he opened his folding fan and fanned himself, “This world is full of dangerous and malicious people. You may be in danger if you travel alone.”

The girl ignored him, but just when she was prepared to leave, her crescent eyebrows suddenly scrunched together into a tiny frown.

The folding fan was rippling with malicious soul ripples, and it was soundlessly invading her soul sea. Not only that, she had seen this before.

The warm moons in her pupils turned into frigid stars. She rarely said harsh words in her life, but this time, she said, “You better get out of my way, or else…”

The threat was left unspoken.

“Or else, what?” The silver man laughed. He knew that a girl like her could not possibly hail from an ordinary background, but so what? No matter what her background might be, there was no way it could be greater than his.

He continued to wave his folding fan while walking closer and closer to the girl. At this range, the soul ripples he was releasing were visible to the naked eye. “This is our first meeting, and I feel like I’ve seen the star of my life. I would regret it forever if I do not make your acquaintance, and that’s all I want: to be your acquaintance.”

His voice was infused with soul ripples as well. In fact, everything he did could capture a person’s mind without a trace. Even if he was facing an enemy who was in the same cultivation realm as him, he was absolutely certain that he could disrupt their heart and soul.

It was because the soul art he cultivated was the greatest soul art in the Abyss bar none.

He raised his hand. He was trying to grab the girl’s wrist.

It was at this moment a weak but extremely foolish presence cut in between the two of them.

“Get lost!” yelled Yun Che while blocking in front of the girl. Flames were rising from his body and blocking the silver man’s gaze and aura. “Did you not hear her? She told you to get out of her way!”

The silver man squinted and examined Yun Che once. Then, his lips curled into a faint sneer.

He wasn’t angry or annoyed that someone had interrupted his fun. He was just… looking at a foolish clown with sympathy and malicious playfulness.

While watching the silver man intently, Yun Che said to the girl behind her, “You should be careful, big sis. He’s a lecher who clearly has malicious designs for you. I’ll buy you some time, so run now.”

The girl’s lips parted slightly.

Eh?

Did he just call me big sis?

If life is just about the first meeting,

Then perhaps I would not have shattered you.

Perhaps you would not have hated me for eternity.