Against the Gods

Amidst Fang Zhou’s cry of alarm, a young lady descended from the sky and landed in front of the Heavenly Martial Nation’s formation. She was adorned in a purple robe and her phoenix eyes radiated power. However, that was no ordinary might. Anyone who made eye contact with her would feel a formless chill spread through their entire body, penetrating straight through to their bone marrow.

No one in the Eastern Frost Nation had seen this lady before. But the complexion of everyone’s faces changed when Fang Zhou shouted the words “Fairy Zixuan”. This was especially true for the Eastern Frost Monarch and his entire body shook violently as if he had heard the name of a ghost or a god.

Fairy Zixuan, the vice palace chief of the Great Yin Immortal Palace, second only to the Blue Profound Spiritual Master, the second greatest figure in the Great Yin Immortal Palace!

Even the monarch of a nation may not have the qualifications to meet with someone like her, but right now, she had actually appeared in the Eastern Frost Nation’s Royal City. And… from the looks of it, she had actually come on behalf of the Heavenly Martial Nation!?

Fairy Zixuan did not come alone, a “familiar person” followed after her.

The Great Protector of the Great Yin Immortal Palace, who was also the Divine King who had helped the Heavenly Martial Nation to invade the royal city previously!

In the face of Fairy Zixuan’s sudden appearance, the expression of Fang Zhou, who had just been arrogantly showing off, immediately started fluctuating and he found himself unable to speak for a moment. Meanwhile, the Eastern Frost Nation’s monarch hurriedly stepped forward and bowed. “The monarch of the Eastern Frost Nation, Dongfang Zhuo, greets Fairy Zixuan. This humble king is greatly apologetic for not going out to welcome Fairy Zixuan. I hope that the fairy can forgive me.”

The complexion of everyone from the Eastern Frost Nation turned pale and their hearts went cold as they looked at where the Fairy Zixuan and the Great Protector were standing… The rumor that they had never believed in before abruptly appeared in their minds.

Could it be that the Great Yin Immortal Palace had really become the guardian sect of the Heavenly Martial Nation? No, that was impossible… How could such a thing happen!?  As one of the nine great sects of the East Ruins Realm, why would they be willing to lower themselves to become the guardian sect of a country!

Yet, the grand vice palace chief of the Great Yin Immortal Palace had truly and surely appeared in this place…

Fairy Zixuan’s gaze swept past the masses of the Eastern Frost Nation and stopped for a moment when she saw Yun Che. But, it was only for a moment, and after that she coldly said, “Dongfang Zhuo, I don’t want to waste my time, neither do I want to hear you speak nonsense. Would you rather that Eastern Frost Nation becomes the Eastern Frost Province, or for the entire country to be exterminated. Make your choice!”

Upon hearing those words, the complexion of the masses changed once again. The Eastern Frost Nation’s Monarch’s face turned deathly white, but he summoned all of his willpower to maintain the bearing of a monarch and asked, “This humble king does not understand what Fairy Zixuan means...”

“Don’t understand?” The Heavenly Martial Monarch laughed loudly and said, “Dongfang Zhuo, do you really not understand or are you just pretending not to? Fairy Zixuan’s time is very precious and you are not worthy of delaying her. You still have a last chance but if you remain stubborn… No one will be able to save you if you incur the wrath of Fairy Zixuan!”

“You…” The Eastern Frost Monarch clenched both hands tightly and his entire body trembled.

“Fairy Zixuan.” Fang Zhou bowed once again. He deliberated for a while before carefully asking, “The great sects and the Divine Kings are not allowed to participate in the battles of countries, this was the rule set by the great realm king… Isn’t this a little inappropriate for the Great Yin Immortal Palace?”

Fairy Zixuan’s expression did not change and instead, the Great Protector walked out from behind her and said indifferently, “The great realm king’s divine might is as high as the heavens and the Great Yin Immortal Palace will always be gazing up at his might and power, so how could we ever go against his orders? However… since we have received the sincere invitation of the Heavenly Martial Monarch, our Great Yin Immortal Palace is not an independent great sect any longer. Rather, we are willing to join with the Heavenly Martial Nation and become their guardian sect.”

“W...What!?”

When the Eastern Frost Nation heard that, they felt as if they had been struck by a bolt from the blue. Their last fantasies were mercilessly eradicated by this thunderbolt.

The Immortal Palace’s Great Protector continued on, “As a sect of the Heavenly Martial Nation, so how is it inappropriate for us to assist our nation in battle!?”

“This...this...this…” Fangzhou stuttered the word “this” three times consecutively and was unable to form a complete sentence for a long while.

“Ah…” The expression on Dongfang Hanwei’s beautiful face changed drastically. Her entire body trembled due to the enormous shock and it was as if her body would turn weak and collapse at anytime. “How could this be… how could this…”

“So it seems that those absurd rumors are true after all.” Qin Jian closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “The heavens have decreed that the Eastern Frost Nation is doomed…”

They could not understand why a sect so strong would be willing to condescend and become the guardian sect of the Heavenly Martial Nation. But the arrival of Vice Palace Chief Fairy Zixuan was the best proof. Moreover, it was certain that none would doubt that even if it were the Great Yin Immortal Palace, no one would truly go against the rules set by the great realm king.

The Heavenly Martial Monarch continued to be at all smiles. Only the heavens knew the great price he had to pay to gain the “allegiance” of the Great Yin Immortal Palace. Moreover, the title of guardian sect would only last for a short three years. Thus, within these three years, he would naturally maximize this advantage. “Dongfang Zhuo, this king had my army retreat temporarily earlier on. Did you perhaps think that it was because I am afraid of Fang Zhou? Haha, this king only wants to minimize the casualties and nothing more. Thus, I had my army retreat temporarily before respectfully awaiting the arrival of Fairy Zixuan. And so, do you have anything else you would like to say? Or perhaps… you could try to struggle. Otherwise, it would be too boring.”

No matter how hard the Eastern Frost Monarch tried to suppress it, his body still started to tremble and he gazed at Fang Zhou with pleading eyes, “Imperial Advisor…”

Fang Zhou’s complexion did not look any better than his. Standing before him was Fairy Zixuan who was a powerful level five Divine King! Not to mention that there was just one of him, even three of him would not be her match. And there was the great Great Yin Immortal Palace backing her up… Even without the Great Yin Immortal Palace, there were exactly three Divine Kings- Fairy Zixuan, Great Protector, and Bai Pengzhou who were on the Heavenly Martial Nation’s side!

With three Divine Kings, they would easily exterminate the royal city without needing a single soldier. It would truly be a pipe dream if he Fang Zhou wanted to obstruct them.

“Fang Zhou, Venerable Fang.” The Heavenly Martial Nation’s Monarch cast him a glance and his expression had clearly turned much milder. “A mere Eastern Frost Nation is not worthy of you pouring in your utmost effort. Join the Heavenly Martial Nation, this king will immediately worship you as the Protector Divine King. Whatever the Eastern Frost Nation is able to give you, so can the Heavenly Martial Nation. And it will only be more, not any less. What the Eastern Frost Nation is not able to give you, my Heavenly Martial Nation will still be able to!”

“Don’t delude others with your lies!” The Eastern Frost’s monarch gritted his teeth tightly, even though he was terrified, he had made a firm decision. “In my Eastern Frost Nation, there are only heroes willing to die on the battlefield, there are no surrendering cowards! If you want my Eastern Frost Nation… you’ll have to step over this king’s dead body first!!”

“Hahahaha!” The Heavenly Martial’s Monarch laughed loudly and clapped. “How imposing, you did not disappoint this king indeed. Venerable Fang, your current master is so stupid and stubborn. Even when faced with such a hopeless situation, he would go so far as to disregard the lives of the royal clan as well as the many million citizens for his so called moral integrity. Do you really intend to continue to serve such a stupid master?”

“...” Fang Zhou did not reply as his expression became even more intense.

Indeed, the Great Yin Immortal Palace had become the guardian sect of the Heavenly Martial Nation and what laid before the Eastern Frost Nation was an absolutely hopeless situation. To forcefully fight against them would be purely seeking one’s death.

However, he was after all, the famous Eastern Frost Nation’s Imperial Advisor. If he had simply joined the Heavenly Martial Nation, he would have undoubtedly committed treason and been branded a traitor. He would be spat on and cursed by countless people.

Seeing that Fang Zhou did not forcefully reject them immediately and instead hesitated as he kept silent, a deep disappointment and desolation flashed in the depths of the Eastern Frost Monarch’s eyes. His voice turned hard as he said, “Imperial Advisor, this king has always treated you well, neither has the Eastern Frost Nation ever let you down… But if you choose to retreat or side with the enemy, this king will never plead with you to stay!”

Fang Zhou still remained silent as his face twitched continuously.

And at this moment, the sky suddenly turned gloomy.

The originally hostile atmosphere followed the darkening of the light rays and became even more oppressive. Fairy Zixuan, the Great Protector, Bai Pengzhou, and Fang Zhou lifted their heads simultaneously at this moment. As they looked towards the north, all of their expressions changed.

Two shadows appeared in the northern sky. In the beginning, they were but two black dots. But in the blink of an eye, they had become enormous. As they drew near, they had almost covered the entire patch of the northern part of the sky.

Everyone continued to stare and shockingly, they were actually two enormous black rocs!

“Those are...Dark Rocs!” the Great Protector said in a deep voice. As he sensed the auras drawing near, his expression started to change as he could hardly believe what he saw. “This aura...could… could it be...”

“It’s Ming Xiao and Ming Ao,” Fairy Zixuan turned around and spoke in a low voice.

“Wh… what?” Almost everyone shook violently after they had heard that name.

Ming Xiao and Ming Ao were clearly… the names of the clan master and great elder of the Dark Roc Clan!

The Dark Roc Clan was one of the nine influential families, with the same standing as the Great Yin Immortal Palace. Moreover, they were the two most important figures with the highest cultivation in the Dark Roc Clan!

This place was but a tiny Eastern Frost Royal City and the arrival of the Great Yin Immortal Palace was already earth shattering enough. The clan master and great elder of the Dark Roc Clan… would actually personally come to this place? Or perhaps they are just passing by?

Everyone’s expression in the Heavenly Martial Nation as well as the Great Yin Immortal Palace turned solemn… The clan master of the Dark Roc Clan, Ming Xiao, was a top figure in this region and everyone could not help but be bewildered by his personal arrival.

The two enormous dark rocs drew near and a dark shadow which brought about the terrifyingly peerless pressure of a Divine King seemed to envelope the entire Eastern Frost Royal City. At this moment, a horrifying, loud angry roar rang out and could be heard in every corner of the royal city. “Dongfang Zhuo, come out now!!”

That roar that was full of anger and cruelness would undoubtedly cause the citizens of the Eastern Frost who had already been standing at the edge of despair to fall into a deep abyss.

On the other hand, the nervousness and seriousness that had just been congealed on the Heavenly Martial Nation’s side had scattered like clouds.

Dongfang Hanwei’s beautiful countenance turned grim as she faintly understood the reason for the arrival of the Dark Roc’s clan master. Looking at Yun Che, she spoke with a trembling voice, “Se… senior…”

Yun Che remained silent and gave no reaction whatsoever.

Boom!!

An explosion rang out from the sky as the two enormous rocs turned into their human forms and landed heavily on the ground. The moment they landed, a storm rolled across and violently swept away those who were weaker, leaving them shrieking as they flew across the sky.

The two of them wore common black robes and the one who stood in the front had a malicious expression on his face. He emitted a cruel aura which would leave one extremely terrified… Astonishingly, this was truly the clan master of the Dark Roc Clan, Ming Xiao!

And the person behind him… was the great elder of the Dark Roc, Ming Ao!

As if it were a dream, the two most important and greatest figures of the Dark Roc Clan had arrived in the Eastern Frost Nation, but this dream may very well turn into a nightmare.

“Clan Master Ming, Great Elder Ao,” Fairy Zixuan spoke up, “it is truly interesting to meet you here. It looks like Clan Master Ming has arrived in a rage, could it be that something big has occurred?”

Ming Xiao had already known about the matter of the Great Yin Immortal Palace entering the Heavenly Martial Nation and so he was not at all surprised by the arrival of Fairy Zixuan. In his extreme anger, he did not even take notice of Fairy Zixuan. Instead, his pair of black roc orbs stared directly at the Eastern Frost Monarch.

The oppression of a seventh level Divine King was not something that the Eastern Frost Monarch could handle and he trembled and cowered uncontrollably. There were a few times where he wanted to speak, but no sound could be heard any time he opened his mouth.

Even after racking his brains, he simply could not understand how the Eastern Frost Nation had offended the Dark Roc Clan. And to the point where its clan master and great elder had personally arrived in such a rage.

“Dongfang Zhuo,” Ming Xiao called his name in a low voice, as each word sent chills down one’s spine. “Tell me… who is the one who killed my son!”

Dongfang Hanwei’s body swayed… Yun Che pointed his finger and a formless energy supported her so she did not collapse from the extreme fright which paralyzed her.

Ming Xiao’s words caused everyone’s hearts to tremble in fear and even Fairy Zixuan shifted her gaze… The son of Ming Xiao had been killed? Who would have the audacity to do such a thing?

For Ming Xiao to be boiling mad and make a trip personally… Could it be that the one who was killed was Young Master Ming Yang!?

There were no words to express the fear in the heart of the Eastern Frost Monarch as he stiffly shook his head and finally found his voice to reply, “Dark Roc Clan Master… this humble king does not understand what you mean… no matter how much guts this humble king has, I would not dare to kill the son of the Dark Roc’s clan master. There must be a great misunderstanding, regarding this matter.”

“Hmph, I wouldn’t expect that you would have the audacity to do so.” Ming Xiao’s voice was as deep as an abyss. “But, someone in the Eastern Frost Nation… dared to do so!”

“My son, Ming Yang, heard that the Heavenly Martial Nation gained the help of the Great Yin Immortal Palace to attack the Eastern Frost Royal City. He was worried that the Eastern Frost Nation’s nineteenth princess that he had always admired would come to harm and so, he left the mountains in a hurry to come to this place. His personal bodyguard’s last sound transmission was from this very place!”

Ming Xiao raised his hand and pointed his finger at Dongfang Hanwei who was standing at the back. “Your daughter is safe and sound, but my son Ming Yang was killed… Dongfang Zhuo, you dare to say you know nothing about this matter!?”

On the other hand, the countenance of every person belonging to the Eastern Frost Nation had turned ghastly pale, as if their faces had been drained of blood. They were originally in a state of devastation and now the Dark Roc Clan had come to condemn them for the death of Young Master Ming Yang… All of their souls had been plunged into unspeakable darkness and fear.

Ming Yang was the young master of the Dark Roc Clan! If he truly did die in the Eastern Frost Nation, it would be an unthinkably enormous crime… For the Dark Rocs to flatten the Royal City would already be considered a light punishment.

The Heavenly Martial Monarch’s expression turned grave and he furiously said, “To think that such a thing has actually happened? The Dark Roc young master is someone who is extremely precious and respected. Eastern Frost Nation… how could you be so audacious! This is preposterous, this king is but a listener and yet it is hard to restrain my anger. If the Eastern Frost Nation is not eradicated today, even the heavens will not just stand by idly and watch!”

Fairy Zixuan glanced at him icily… and the Heaven Might Monarch obediently shut his mouth and did not dare to speak anymore.

“No...no,” The Eastern Frost Monarch bowed and shook his head continuously as he was thoroughly at his wits end. “This humble king has never seen Young Master Ming Yang. No one in my Eastern Frost Nation would dare to disrespect Young Master Ming Yang, there must surely be some misunderstanding.”

Ming Xiao who was extremely angry, gave a sarcastic and cold laugh. “My son Ming Yang died in the Eastern Frost Nation, would this king believe the nonsense of a small humble monarch like you? I’m giving you one last chance, hand over the one who killed my son Ming Yang. Otherwise, I will tear you apart right now before massacring the entire Eastern Frost Royal City to avenge my son!”

Fang Zhou’s gaze froze at this moment… The arrival of Ming Xiao and Ming Ao was the last straw which overwhelmed his soul. But at the same time, it made him see an alternative option. He walked forward suddenly and said, “Clan Master Ming, this Fang has something to say.”

Ming Xiao’s terrifying gaze landed on him and said, “So, the one who killed my son… is you!?”

“No.” Fang Zhou shook his head with a calm expression. “This Fang is no coward, but neither would I create such a grave disaster. But, this Fang knows the person who would be daring enough to kill Young Master Ming Yang.”

“Who is it?” Ming Xiao asked in a low voice as the Easter Frost Monarch looked at him with a strange expression on his face.

Fang Zhou turned around and violently pointed his finger at someone, “It's him!”

Following the direction of Fang Zhou’s pointed finger, the gaze of everyone were concentrated uniformly on a single person...

Yun Che!