Against the Gods (Web Novel)

Chapter 2006 - The Qilin God Realm

Partially Edited Chapter - Rubble

“Have you ever entered the Endless—”

Helian Lingzhu suddenly remembered that Yun Che was an amnesiac and apologized, “Sorry… I forgot.”

As of late, she could not face Yun Che without feeling not like herself. This was especially true when she met his eyes. She would feel so restless that her breathing became ragged.

She lowered her head and tried to distract herself from her own feelings, “Master told me that the Endless Fog today is very different from what it was.”

“Normally, an Abyssal Beast and an Abyssal Ghost were more commonly found in the inner areas of the Endless Fog because they instinctively chased after high concentrations of abyssal dust. The stronger they are, the greater the instinct. But as of late, powerful Abyssal Beasts and Abyssal Ghosts have been appearing at the borders of the Endless Fog.”

“Some Abyssal Beasts had even stepped out of the Endless Fog. At first, it was thought to be an accident, but now, they are definitely showing up more and more frequently. Master told me that it was probably tied to a phenomenon called the ‘Black Tide of Time’.”

Once again, the term had entered his ears.

He wondered how much the denizens of the Abyss really knew about the Black Tide of Time.

According to Chi Wuyao’s Nirvana Devil Emperor Soul, this world would eventually collapse because of the Black Tide of Time.

Also, Chi Wuyao had mentioned the term Abyssal Ghosts, but she didn't explain what it was probably because she didn’t know either.

Perhaps it was some sort of spirit of destruction created from too much abyssal dust just like the Abyssal Beasts?

Yun Che was just about to ask Helian Lingzhu about this when the aura of a profound boat approached.

Helian Lingzhu flushed with shame. “Father has come.”

Yun Che calculated the time in his head and, yep, the coward had definitely made a beeline to the Qilin Divine Domain as soon as he received the news.

Before this, the guy had pretended to be dead when he was almost fully healed. Now that it was time to pluck the fruit of someone else’s labor, he wasn’t even willing to wait a breath longer.

Yun Che had witnessed Helian Jue’s despicable behavior already, but Helian Lingzhu still couldn’t help but feel ashamed on her father’s behalf.

……

When Helian Jue sensed Helian Lingzhu’s aura, he immediately leaped off the profound boat and landed beside her. He then let out a loud and resounding laugh, “Hahaha! As expected of Nephew Yun and my daughter! Hahahahahaha!”

“Father, how are you—” Helian Lingzhu couldn’t even finish her greeting before Helian Jue stepped forward and grabbed Yun Che by the shoulders, “Remember the day you asked me to make Lingzhu the leader of this year’s Qilin Abyss Conference? Another person would’ve turned you down right away, but no, I recognized that you are a dragon from beyond, and that you will always fulfill whatever you have set out to do! That is why I decided to appoint you and Lingzhu to take charge of the Helian’s future! It has nothing to do with the fact that my life was on the line!”

Yun Che: Hah. Should I thank you for your “trust” and “discerning eye” then?

“And what do you know, you didn’t disappoint me!” Helian Jue grew more and more excited as he spoke. Sick? He was flushed with such health Yun Che almost wished that he had done a poor job treating him. “I don’t even know how to thank you for this!”

In the past, the Helian Empire could only enter a hundred candidates into the Qilin God Realm because they kept getting the last place. This time though, they were able to enter three hundred and fifty people! It would not return the Helian Empire to its former glory overnight, but at the very least things would be so much better than before. When next year came, they wouldn’t be nearly as hopeless as they were now.

What really invigorated Helian Jue was that he finally, finally, managed to puff up his chest one time after becoming emperor. It was to the point where his attitude had undergone a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree change.

Yun Che was the man who had single handedly crushed the genius disciples of the Boulder Profound Sect and the Thousand Blade Sect, faced down the Abyssal Knight and forced him to slap the Boulder Profound Sect Master in punishment, and an upper Divine Master who was below sixty years old.

To say that Helian Jue was stunned would be an understatement. Combine these feats with everything Yun Che had done earlier, Helian Jue could be ten times stupider than he was now, and he still couldn’t miss the fact that Yun Che came from a background that was even greater than he could possibly imagine.

Of course, his shock turned into unimaginable joy once he thought things through. It was because Yun Che had chosen to stay by Helian Lingzhu’s side and even fight for the Helian Empire, meaning that their relationship was far closer than he thought. Who knows, they might even be…

In any case, if Yun Che continued to stay with the imperial family, or if he introduced them to the powerful faction behind his back, they would never have to fear the Qilin Worship Alliance again!

That was why he was acting so eager. It was like his long dead dad had come back to life.

Yun Che said indifferently, “The reason I took part in this Qilin Abyss Conference is to visit the legendary Qilin God Realm, and to repay the First Princess’ kindness. That is all.”

“I understand! I completely understand!” Helian Jue said with a blissful smile, “From now on, please treat the Helian Empire as your own home, Nephew Yun. There is no place in our grounds that doesn’t welcome you. If you wish to visit Lingzhu or take her somewhere some time, you are free to do so as well.”

Yun Che: “...”

“Father, what… what are you saying?” Helian Lingzhu exclaimed in a panicked voice.

“Hahaha!” Helian Jue guffawed again and beckoned Helian Lingzhu to his side, “Come with me, Lingzhu. I have something to say to you.”

“Yes, Father,” Helian Lingzhu shot Yun Che an apologetic look and got ready to leave with Helian Jue.

It was at this moment Helian Linglang’s voice cut through the air.

“Father!”

Helian Jue didn’t even look at the crown prince’s direction. He simply pushed his palm outward and pushed Helian Linglang to the ground.

“I don’t have a son like you! Get out of my sight! The farther the better!”

The emperor let out a loud hmph and left just like that.

Helian Linglang could feel just how angry and disappointed his father was in him. He was so frightened that he just knelt there and watched as Helian Jue and Helian Lingzhu slowly disappeared into the distance.

When he finally sensed Yun Che’s presence, he awkwardly climbed to his feet and walked up to him. Then, he said obsequiously, “Young… Young Master Yun, my apologies for not recognizing you for your power before. I-I hope you will forgive me for my earlier transgressions if only for Lingzhu. In the future, you may order me around as you please. I promise I won’t ever question your decisions.”

Yun Che looked down on him and tugged his lips into a smile that didn’t reach the eye. “You flatter me, crown prince. I swear I haven’t taken any offense whatsoever.”

He felt dirty having to explain to this man. Like he would ever take offense from such a despicable speck of dust.

Helian Linglang was pleasantly surprised to hear Yun Che address him as crown prince. He immediately relaxed and raised his spine an inch taller. “As expected of Young Master Yun! Your heart is big enough to fill a boat!”

“Do you have something to say to me, crown prince?”

There was still some time before the Qilin God Realm opened, and it wasn’t like he had anything to do. Yun Che didn’t mind using this idiot to kill some time.

Helian Linglang put on an embarrassed expression and acted with even greater caution than before. He utterly lacked the bearing or dignity a crown prince should possess, “To tell you the truth, I do have something to say.”

“As of late, my Father has been growing increasingly disappointed with me. Since a long time ago, it was rumored that Father might just replace me with Lingzhu as the new heir. And after today, well…”

Makes sense. Helian Lingzhu might not be a good princess herself, but she’s at least a hundred times more normal than you.

Helian Linglang looked up and injected a tinge of frustrated sorrow into his voice, “I completely understand why Father would be angry with me today, and it is true that Lingzhu is just a tad better than me in multiple areas. But… she’s just a woman, you see. If she were to inherit the throne, it would certainly bring shame to our ancestors, and we would become an even bigger laughingstock than we already are.”

“You are a man as well, Young Master Yun. You may be a close friend of Lingzhu, but surely you understand what I’m saying?”

Yun Che smiled. “So, you want me to change your Father’s mind and keep you as the crown prince, is that it?”

“That’s exactly correct! As expected of Young Master Yun!” Helian Linglang nodded rapidly. “My Father practically treats you like a god right now. He will obey anything you ask. If you can convince Father to quit being angry with me, and make him stop entertaining such… deviant thoughts, then I, Helian Linglang, shall owe you a favor that will last a lifetime!”

“For starters, I swear to give you Lingzhu or anyone in the Helian you fancy when I become the emperor in the future!”

Just like many people in the imperial family, they all thought that Yun Che was serving the Helian Empire because of Helian Lingzhu.

“I can see your sincerity, crown prince,” Yun Che said but changed his tone suddenly, “But you didn’t need to come to me to solve your problem. In my opinion, you already possess the power to solve your own problem.”

“Er… I humbly request your guidance, Young Master Yun.”

“It’s simple. Do you know why your life is full of hardships, crown prince?” Yun Che declared in a high-and-mighty voice, “It is because you were named poorly.”

“My… name?” Helian Linglang looked completely confused.

Yun Che explained slowly, “Your name is Linglang, and both characters have the character ‘King’ in it. As you know, there can only be one king of the hill, so of course you cannot help but trip all over the place no matter what you try.”

Helian Linglang mulled it over for a bit before voicing his doubt, “But Lingzhu has two ‘Kings’ in her name as well…”

“You said it yourself, didn’t you? Lingzhu is a woman, and she cannot become a king. She can only be a consort!” Yun Che declared with profound certainty, “She is a consort with two kings by her side. Can you not see how lucky her name is? It is why she can always cut down the obstacles in her path and attract luck and fortune to herself!”

Helian Linglang was deeply moved by this explanation. Mo Cangying, the greatest genius of the Helian Heavenly Palace, held unwavering loyalty for Helian Lingzhu. Now, she was protected by Yun Che as well… they were the two kings in her name, were they not?

His own name was the bane of his existence, while his sister’s blessed her with two kings… no wonder!

Yun Che wasn’t just ungodly talented, he didn’t even fear an Abyssal Knight! Logically speaking, his knowledge must be many planes greater than the likes of the Qilin Abyss Realm as well. Therefore, he must be telling the truth!

Thinking that he had found the true reason behind his ill fortune, Helian Linglang grew even more obsequious. “In that case, what do you think I should name myself, Young Master Yun?”

“That’s easy,” Yun Che crossed his arms and replied lazily, “You’re not asking for much. All you want is to be the emperor of a realm, right?”

“The Qilin Abyss Realm is founded on a base of ‘Earth’, and everyone here cultivates earth profound energy. Therefore, you should have the character ‘Shi’ in your name [1].”

“The character ‘Shi’ can be broken down to ‘Inch’ and ‘Earth’, meaning that every inch of earth, earth profound energy, and even earth profound practitioner in this realm belongs to you, the emperor.”

Helian Linglang nodded repeatedly. “That’s right! I am the emperor! It only makes sense that all the earth belongs to me!”

“As for your second character, it should be ‘Xun’,” Yun Che squinted a little, “The character ‘Xun’ is made up of Grass, which alludes to infinite growth, and Time, which alludes to Eternity.”

“With just a simple tweak, you will come to own everything in Helian for eternity. Not only that, your name also has the word ‘Lian’ in it, which can be interpreted as you commanding everything in your grasp.”

“Helian Shixun.” A smiling Yun Che turned around and slowly walked away. “It is my sincerest belief that there is no better name for you, crown prince. May you be worthy of your name.”

Helian Linglang didn’t leave even after Yun Che had walked out of his sight. He just kept repeating the words, “Helian Shixun… Helian Shixun!”

His eyes exploded with joy, “Earth, infinite growth, time… all within my grasp! He is right! My name really is the reason I’m in this situation! It was all Mother’s fault for giving me this name!”

“Hah. Hahaha!”

It was at this moment a cold chuckle appeared behind his back. When he spun around to see who it was, his face darkened. “What are you laughing about, Mo Cangying?”

“... It’s nothing. I believe it is best you remain in the dark about this, Your Highness,” Mo Cangying withdrew his smile and got ready to leave.

“How dare you! I noticed that you’ve been forgetting yourself more and more, Mo Cangying!” Helian Linglang said frigidly. Yun Che was worthy of his knees, but Mo Cangying? Who gave him the right to act like this before his crown prince!?

Mo Cangying stopped in his tracks and replied, “If you truly wish to know, then of course I will tell you, Your Majesty.”

“If you remove the ‘seed’ from the character Xun, and place the radical ‘human’ next to the character Shi, then you will get the word ‘Gou Shi’ (Dogshit). In other words, he’s calling you a ball-less piece of dogshit who’s only pretending to be human.”

Helian Linglang froze in his tracks. Then, he started shaking from his face, his head, his neck, his shoulders…

Crack!

He was so angry and humiliated that he crushed eight molar teeth at the same time. However, he didn’t have the gall or the balls to walk up to Yun Che and scream at him for the insult. He could only let out a helpless roar.

……

Yun Che hid his aura and walked without a sound. A few instantaneous steps later, he appeared before another person with near invisible aura as well—Long Jiang.

“You weren’t eavesdropping, were you?” Yun Che walked over to her of his own accord.

Unmoved, she replied coldly, “I do not share your lowly habits.”

“That’s strange. If you weren’t eavesdropping, then how did you know that I was indulging in ‘lowly’ habits?” Yun Che smirked. “I really do think that that name fits him perfectly though.”

Long Jiang: “...”

“Speaking of which,” Yun Che looked her up and down without any reservation whatsoever, “You’re concealing your aura even now. I bet it’s not just because you wish to hide your race, right?”

“Let me guess. There are Chi Dragons, Horned Dragons, Hui Dragons, Ying Dragons, Blue Dragons, Flood Dragons and Mirage Dragons in this world… Which one are you, I wonder?”

“It has nothing to do with you!” Long Jiang replied emotionlessly.

“You do realize that the harder you try to hide something, the curiouser you’re going to make the other person, right?” Yun Che withdrew his gaze and sighed, “Oh well, I’m not that interested in you. But I am curious about one thing. What on earth did you do to lose this much blood essence? Did you suffer a grievous injury before, or—”

“Silence!”

This time, there was emotion in her voice. It was a hint of anger.

Yun Che squinted slightly, “It’s one thing to get injured, and another to lose your blood essence. At best, you’ll lose your talent and your lifespan, and progress slowly through the cultivation. At worst—”

“Get out of my sight!!” Long Jiang interrupted him rudely and turned away. “Get close to me again, and I will kill you!”

Yun Che stopped talking, but he didn’t leave immediately either. When she was almost out of his sight, he suddenly said, “You’re an Ancestral Dragon!”

The grayish white silhouette froze for just an instant before vanishing from Yun Che’s sight.

The blood of the ancient Dragon God definitely runs in your veins, and its purity… it’s not far behind even those so-called Ancestral Dragons, tsk tsk.

Mo Beichen had muttered this when he was strangling him.

This was the real reason he was curious as to the reason Long Jiang must enter the Qilin God Realm.

It wasn’t the item she was searching for that concerned him. It was the possibility that her search might affect his plan in ways he did not expect.

Originally, he was only seventy percent certain that the final Heretic God Seed was on his person. But after learning about the beasts’ fate from Helian Lingzhu, that certainty had grown to almost one hundred percent.

Forget searching for the Heretic God Seed, no one in this world even knew that it existed. That was why he was certain that Long Jiang’s pursuit was different from his.

The reason he probed Long Jiang again and again was because he was worried that the last qilin held Long Jiang’s desire as well.

The Qilin God Realm possessed the richest amount of earth element in the entire Abyss. It was also the place where countless earth-based treasures were born. However, Long Jiang could not be searching for those treasures.

Therefore, her goal could only be the final qilin.

I hope she won’t pose too much trouble, Yun Che consoled himself.

With this over him, he stretched his hearing and eavesdropped on Helian Jue and Helian Lingzhu’s conversation.

“Lingzhu, this isn’t just about your life. It’s about the future of the entire Helian as well. No matter what you do, you must keep Yun Che with us! Even if it’s not doable, you must bear his child at the very least!”

“Father, Young Master Yun Che and I are—”

“Save it!” Helian Jue lowered his voice, “When we first met, I had exiled him from our empire. Even so, he still chose to save my life. This time, he claimed that he wanted to visit the Qilin God Realm, but do you really think someone as lofty as him will admire the Qilin God Realm? Clearly, it was just an excuse. He’s doing all of this for you, Lingzhu.”

Helian Lingzhu: “...”

“Anyway, my point is that you can tie the knot so long as you show a bit of initiative. Worst case scenario, you can always drug him—that’s right! We can drug him! I shall prepare the drugs right away!”

“Father! You… You’ve gone crazy!”

What came afterward was the sound of Helian Lingzhu hastily leaving the place.

A short while later, he heard Helian Jue roaring at the disciples who had chosen to forfeit the battle.

“Fang Zhonghe! Helian Peng! Did you know how much the empire has invested into you? Is this how you repay our kindness!?”

“Your… Your Majesty! We… We were ordered by the crown prince not to participate. We can’t help but obey him!”

“Yes, Your Majesty! The rest of the disciples can prove this…”

“Silence! Trash! It’s bad enough that you don’t know shame, but you will push the blame onto my son as well!?” Helian Jue was so angry that his voice was shaking, “Allow me to tell you something then. Some days ago, the Qilin Worship Alliance marched right up to my face and declared that they were going to replace the Helian Dynasty!”

“Had they succeeded, all of the dynasty would go to the pretenders! Are you going to keep cowering in your tortoise shells when that happens!?”

Fang Zhonghe argued, “Of course not! I am named after ‘Loyalty’, Your Majesty! I was born a Helian, and I will die a Helian! If the dynasty is truly in danger, I will die to protect my empire!”

Helian Peng also said, “Anyone who invades us shall be—”

“Get lost!” There was a loud noise of boot meeting butt. “The likes of you doesn’t get to say that!”

……

The Qilin Abyss Conference quickly reached its conclusion, and the outcome of its last battle didn’t surprise anyone. The Fiery Sand Sect was ranked last and lost the right to enter the Qilin God Realm.

The Boulder Profound Sect and the Thousand Blade Sect were equally matched until Zhai Liancheng woke up at the last second and entered the battlefield despite the odd gazes around him.

Even as injured as he was, he was a fourth level Divine Master. He was able to pile up so much pressure that the Boulder Profound Sect ultimately managed to defeat the Thousand Blade Sect. As the second runner-up, the Boulder Profound Sect could enter two hundred people into the Qilin God Realm, whereas the Thousand Blade Sect could only enter a hundred people.

Another twenty four hours passed, and it was finally time to open the Qilin God Realm.

Ximen Boyun stood in front of the barrier as the divine runes on the back of his hand glowed intimidatingly. They were resonating with the barrier and doing something.

Ximen Boyun was standing at the forefront. The Helian Empire, Qilin Worship Alliance, Boulder Profound Sect and the Thousand Blade Sect were present as well.

Yun Che cast Long Jiang a glance. She was aloof and standing alone.

He withdrew his gaze and honed his mind. Then, he silently waited for the secret realm to open.

When this day is over, I will become the true Heretic God. Heretic God Ni Xuan and Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Jie Yuan… with your blessing, I am certain I will be able to protect my world—the world that the world of you gave everything to protect!

1. This whole part about his name is untranslatable, just pretend you get the logic and move on. ☜