Against the Gods

If someone who knew Yun Che was here in this place at this exact moment, they would not be able to bring themselves to believe that this black-robed man who had drenched the Cold Cloud Mountain Range in terror and blood was the same person who was once praised and feted as the number one God Child in the entire Eastern Divine Region.

Ming Xiao was either a coward or a truly clever individual. Yun Che had killed the son he valued the most, had killed his sect’s guardian forefather Ming Peng, yet he had been the first to bend the knee, the first to make a poisonous vow of loyalty.

Once he opened his mouth, the others no longer dared to remain silent and all of them scrambled to follow after him. The fates of the Sun Death Sword Master and Forefather Ming Peng were plain for all to see. If Yun Che wanted to squash them to death, it would really be no different from him stepping on a few ants.

It was patently absurd that they had actually thought that it was impossible for them to lose to this maniac from a foreign land if they joined forces.

They were even more keenly aware that the only reason why they were still alive was because they were still of use to Yun Che… Before he left the eastern realms, the only way they could survive this ordeal was to grovel before him and be people who were useful to him.

“How many devil crystals do you tribute to the realm king’s sect every decade?” Yun Che coldly asked them as he looked ahead. When he spoke, even the howling of the wind completely stilled.

The two words “realm king” caused everyone’s expression to subtly change. Ming Xiao raised his head and said in a startled voice, “Replying the supreme one. Every decade… we tribute two hundred kilograms worth of devil crystals.”

The devil crystals of the Northern Divine Region were the equivalent of the profound crystals of the other divine regions. The difference was that they contained a dense darkness profound energy. Their usage was exactly the same as profound crystals; they could be used to construct formations, make items, for cultivation, and also as a form of currency.

Two hundred kilograms of top-grade devil crystals was an absolutely astronomical figure in this place.

“I will give you seventy-two hours. Every sect is to deliver one thousand five hundred kilograms of devil crystal to the Eastern Frost Royal City. If you arrive later than the specified seventy-two hours or if you deliver less than the specified amount…” Yun Che’s eyes faintly narrowed. “I will personally come to your doorsteps to get it!”

Yun Che’s words struck everyone dumb. The Nine Great Sects only had to tribute two hundred kilograms of devil crystal to the great realm king once every decade. But Yun Che had wanted one thousand five hundred kilograms right off the bat!

“This…” The Soul Cry Grand Elder lifted his head and said in a sorrowful voice, “Supreme one, one thousand five hundred kilograms of devil crystal is really… is really something that we cannot afford right now. Is it possible to extend the… Aaaagh!”

Before he had finished speaking, his body was suddenly picked up by a gust of pitch-black wind. He could only let out a miserable cry as Yun Che’s fingers firmly latched onto his throat… His eyes widened and those gloomy black eyes, which were right in of him, looked like two devilish abysses that were so deep that he could not see their bottom, two abysses which could devour his entire existence in a single instant.

“It looks like you don’t quite understand what I just said,” Yun Che leisurely said in a deep voice as faint black mist started to rise from those fingers which had latched onto the Soul Cry Grand Elder’s throat.

The Soul Cry Grand Elder could not struggle within that black mist, he could not even make a single sound. His eyes were filled with pleading but that pleading immediately turned to despair before his eyes went dim. Finally that dimness disappeared along with his body.

By the time Yun Che had relaxed his grip, the only thing that flowed out from between his fingers were a few wisps of pitch-black dust.

“One… One thousand five hundred, the Wan Star Hall will definitely deliver it in seventy-two hours… No, make that forty-eight hours!” the Wan Star Hall Master said in a frightened voice.

“To think that the Soul Cry Grand Elder would actually abuse the supreme one’s mercy in sparing his life. He deserved to be heavily punished and even his death is not enough to erase his sin! Your subject will immediately send a sound transmission to the Soul Cry Monastery Master to tell him to offer up the specified amount of devil crystals as tribute. If they still remain pigheaded about it, I… I will leave it to the supreme one to deal with.” Ming Xiao said every word while drenched in sweat.

All the gathered Divine Kings desperately nodded their heads and agreed, not a single one of them dared to speak a word against it.

“Inform the Sun Death Sword Realm and tell their new Sword Master to deliver two thousand five hundred kilograms of devil crystal and fifty hidden swords within seventy-two hours to declare their loyalty. If not, they can also choose the destruction of their sect!"

“Yes… yes.” The Shattered Moon Monastery Master, whose sect was closest to the Sun Death Sword Realm, hurriedly agreed to do so.

The strong who bullied the weak. Those were the type of people Yun Che used to despise the most. If he saw such a thing taking place in front of him, he would often poke his nose into their business to save the one who was being bullied.

But right now, his actions were even darker and more despicable, even more utterly merciless, than the actions of any person he had met before.

“Get lost then,” Yun Che barked in a cold voice. “You, stay!”

Astonishingly enough, his aura was directed at Ming Xiao.

The gathered Divine Kings looked as if they had heard life-saving words as their blood, which had been cold and curdled for a long time, surged with excitement. They hurriedly bowed their heads and gave their thanks to Yun Che, and after that they dragged their sorely wounded bodies away from this place one after the other as they left in a hurry… Even when they had stepped out of the Cold Cloud Mountain Range, their legs still continued to shake.

Only the heavens knew how long it would take for the thick stench of blood that lingered in the air to dissipate.

Ming Xiao prostrated himself on the ground, his forehead actually touching the ground, all of the muscles in his body wound tight. The others had left and only he had been asked to stay behind. As long as Yun Che did not open his mouth, he would not dare say a single word either.

“There are three king realms and two hundred upper star realms in the Northern Divine Region,” Yun Che said. His voice was very soft and it only travelled a certain distance. Only Ming Xiao could hear what he had said. “I want a complete report about each and every one of them… It has to be complete, understand?”

“I… understand.” The king realms and upper star realms were places he could only gaze at from below, they were at a level he had no qualifications to even touch, but Ming Xiao did not dare breathe a single word.

“Other than that, I have an even more important task for you,” Yun Che continued. “From the middle star realms to the upper star realms, unmarried women who are below a thousand years of age and have a cultivation higher than the Divine King Realm. I want all of their names, backgrounds and locations… and every other bit of information you can scrounge up on them.”

“You have fifteen days. Do you understand!?”

“Yes… I definitely won’t disappoint the supreme one,” Ming Xiao solemnly vowed.

Cultivation above that of a Divine King, so someone whose cultivation was at least at the Divine Sovereign Realm! Furthermore, they had to be younger than a thousand years old and female. There were not many people like that in the entire Northern Divine Region.

Every single one of the women who fit Yun Che’s requirements were famed throughout the divine region, they were all heavenly goddesses that Ming Xiao, the head of a clan, was not even qualified to even look at.

He did not know why Yun Che had given him such a command, but he did not dare to ask either.

However, Yun Che entrusting him solely with such an “important task” was also a form of “acknowledgement”.

Ming Xiao left, his body  smeared with blood and soaked with sweat. He did not dare forget a single word of the tasks that Yun Che had entrusted him with.

The Nine Great Sects had come filled with pride, yet they ended up having to sacrifice all of their dignity to leave this place with their lives. From today onward, they did not know when they would be able to escape this devil which had suddenly descended, and before that happened, they could only resign themselves to fate and submit.

Besides the terror in their hearts, they also felt boundless sorrow.

However, that was only the situation at present.

Never in their wildest dreams would they have imagined that in the future… in fact, in the not-so-distant future, the ones who first grovelled at Yun Che’s feet would find that this craven act of servitude would be the greatest honor of their lives and they would wish that it could last for all eternity.

————

The battle of Cold Cloud Mountain was like dark thunder that continued to rumble over the eastern realms.

A few days passed and a heavy rainstorm passed over the Cold Cloud Mountains, but the stench and sight of blood still remained. From then on, no one dared to approach the Cold Cloud Mountains and whenever they viewed it from afar, they would feel a shiver run down their spines.

The Eastern Frost Nation had completely changed as well.

It had originally only been an ordinary country in the eastern realms but over the last few days, all of the countries and great powers in the eastern realms had scrambled to pay their respects to them. Those who had borne some hostility towards them had traveled day and night to get to the Eastern Frost Nation, all while being plagued by abject terror… Even those major powers that the Eastern Frost Nation absolutely could not afford to offend in the past had rushed over and the moment they saw the Eastern Frost Monarch, they paid their respects to him.

During the last few days, the Eastern Frost Monarch felt like he had been living a dream.

All of this had solely been because Yun Che had chosen to stay in the Eastern Frost Nation.

People kept trying to find out more about Yun Che’s background and his relationship with the Eastern Frost Nation from him in the most oblique and cautious manner. But the Eastern Frost Monarch could only shake his head and offer a bitter smile… He did not know one thing about Yun Che’s background and he understood even less why he had chosen to stay in the Eastern Frost Nation.

Under Yun Che’s huge threats, before even seventy-two hours had elapsed, eight of the great sects had not hesitated to empty their coffers as the sect masters all personally arrived to present their tribute of one thousand five hundred kilograms of devil crystal to Yun Che.

As for the Sun Death Sword Realm, they had chosen a new sword master with unbelievable haste and after that, the new sword master had rushed over at the first possible moment to present a whole two thousand five hundred kilograms of devil crystal to Yun Che… However, the new sword master did not even get to see Yun Che as he was chased away after that.

The Nine Great Sects who had once ruled over the eastern realms had been trampled in the most violent and cruel manner by someone who had come out of nowhere and the future of the eastern realms was now clouded in a layer of dark and heavy fog. At the same time, it also occurred to everybody that the matter had gotten so big that it was impossible that the great realm king’s faction had not heard of it.

In the East Ruins Realm, he was the true ruler.

If Yun Che wanted to reign over the eastern realms, it would not be enough to simply stomp on the necks of the nine sects. It was even more important for him to be acknowledged by the great realm king.

No one doubted that the great realm king would dispatch someone to the eastern region before too long.

But before that happened, Yun Che’s name had not only become an ominous word that would strike the most fear into the hearts of the people living in the eastern region, it was also a name that swiftly spread across the entirety of the East Ruins Realm.

After all, in this middle star realm, someone who could kill two level ten Divine Kings in a two on one situation was absolutely an existence that could shake up the entire realm.

Time slowly flowed by and after more than a fortnight, the eastern realms finally regained some semblance of calm. Yun Che had not made a single appearance during this time. He spent every single day immersed in the world of the Eternal Calamity of Darkness. He was cultivating the Devil Emperor’s devil art while silently merging Jie Yuan’s blood with his body.

During the process of merging Jie Yuan’s blood, it was not just his power that was becoming closer and closer to that of a true devil, even his body and his soul were undergoing the same transformation.

Even though it had only been a few short weeks, that turbid world of darkness seemed to have cleared up a lot. This sort of progress would have shocked even Jie Yuan if she was around, but Yun Che still felt like it was not enough.

Perhaps, to someone else, being able to completely cultivate the Eternal Calamity of Darkness in ten thousand years was a divine miracle that they did not even dare to dream of. But to Yun Che, a thousand… no, even a hundred years was too long for him, much less ten thousand!

The act of scattering fresh blood over the entire Cold Cloud Mountain was him giving violent vent to the rage in his heart… But even after he had vented his anger, the hatred and rage in his heart had not lessened one bit.

Because he had only drenched a tiny Cold Cloud Mountain in blood, instead of the… Eastern Divine Region!

Dongfang Hanwei quietly kept watch over the cultivation room Yun Che was in day and night, she did not dare to leave. She would immediately comply with any of Yun Che’s instructions and if Yun Che did not say anything, she would not dare to disturb him.

As she quietly stood there, she could faintly sense Yun Che’s presence. Dongfang Hanwei’s beautiful eyes were filled with bewilderment and helplessness. Everyone was convinced that Yun Che had a deep relationship with the Eastern Frost Nation, but she was well aware that… such a thing did not exist at all. The only reason he had stayed in this place was because it was a place he had casually chosen.

And she simply could not decide whether it was to the great fortune or misfortune of the Eastern Frost Nation.

BOOOM!!

In the distance, an irregular explosion suddenly rang out from the direction of the royal city’s gates. The day-dreaming Dongfang Hanwei jerked her head upwards… After the explosion, sounds of chaos that were growing fiercer and fiercer started ringing out from that direction.

“Just what is going on!?” Dongfang Hanwei swiftly grabbed up her sound transmission jade but the only sounds she heard were the miserable wails that people made before they died.

Dongfang Hanwei’s expression’s expression changed dramatically due to her shock… Currently, no one in the eastern realms was unaware that Yun Che was in the Eastern Frost Royal City, yet someone actually dared to force their way in and kill so indiscriminately. Could it be...

Did someone under the great realm king arrive!?

BOOOM!!

Another explosion rang out and it caused the entire royal city to tremble… Dongfang Hanwei’s expression changed again. Even though her cultivation was shallow, she could still feel that terrifying spiritual pressure that radiated from the direction of the city gates.

This spiritual pressure had an oppressive effect on one’s heart and soul and it actually was not inferior to the spiritual pressure released by Yun Che when scarlet profound energy had erupted from his body in the Cold Cloud Mountain Range!

Dongfang Hanwei, who had originally been walking forward, halted immediately as she turned around and hurriedly rushed towards the cultivation room Yun Che was in. She did not care about anything else as she parted the barrier and pulled the doors open. She shouted in an anxious voice, “Senior Yun, someone from the great realm king’s faction… It’s very likely that someone from the great realm king’s faction has arrived!”

A black figure blurred in front of her and Yun Che had already shot out from the room. The soft pillows on Dongfang Hanwei’s chest pressed against Yun Che’s chest as he collided with her. She jerked backwards as her arms reflexively covered her chest with her arms.

Yun Che raised his head and looked towards the city gates. As he sensed an aura that seemed both familiar and foreign to him at the same time, his eyes slowly started to narrow.