Against the Gods

Western Divine Region, Qilin Realm.

Dark clouds rolled across the sky, twisting and scattering again and again. On the ground, the Qilin Emperor observed the unnatural phenomenon while a heavy, inexplicable weight sat in his heart.

He had been maintaining this posture for a very long time.

The four Ink Qilins and the Qilin Guardians were also standing behind him. The unnatural spatial tremor shook the world and the invisible pressure that had been constricting their breathing since a while ago had prompted them to move to their emperor's side without needing to be told.

"Is there still no news from Emperor Yun, Your Majesty?"

An Ink Qilin broke the silence with an inquiry.

The Qilin Emperor shook his head and replied in a heavy voice, "That spatial tremor from before is anything but natural, and Emperor Yun should have reacted by now. Ai…"

He let out a long sigh. "When an unprecedented emperor was crowned, and all of Primal Chaos rejoiced, I thought for sure that a long and peaceful era was upon us. But this… this cannot be an omen of yet another disaster, can it? The new universe isn't even stable yet…"

"There is no need to worry too much, Your Majesty. Perhaps it was an interdimensional storm resulting from the collapse of an ancient secret realm. And even if it is an omen of disaster… there is nothing Emperor Yun cannot deal with, right?"

"... I hope so," The Qilin Emperor replied a bit distractedly. He did not mention that the spatial tremor and suffocating feeling that followed had reminded him of the return of the Devil Emperor immediately. Another Ink Qilin came forward to make a report, "The sixth wave of news has arrived, Your Majesty. We have confirmed that the spatial tremor originated from the entrance to the God Realm of Absolute Beginning. However, no one has found any abnormalities or unusual auras up until this point."

"In fact, it's strange that Emperor Yun City still had not sent us any news or orders."

"..." The Qilin dipped his head and fell silent. Am I really overthinking things?

SHRED~~~~

It was at this moment the piercing noise of something being shredded resounded from the distance. The Qilin Guardians immediately boomed in unison, "Who dares intrude into—"

SHRED!!

Before they could finish, the same noise erupted right next to their ears. It stabbed into their ears like a million blades until nothing else could be heard.

The Qilin Emperor and four Ink Qilins were some of the most powerful existences in Primal Chaos, and yet they all stumbled backward and blacked out for an instant.

The Qilin Emperor released his profound aura and steadied himself in an instant. When he looked up, his gaze instantly became affixed to a silver-gray figure.

After the Dragon God Realm was defeated, the Qilin Capital had become the strongest bastion in the entire Western Divine Region. Its many barriers and countless guards made it near impossible to force even a single step through.

However, the silver-gray figure had ripped through space to appear before them in an instant. It was as if the powerful defense that had never been pierced for almost a million years did not exist.

It was a feat beyond the late Long Bai and even the unparalleled Emperor Yun!

"Who… are you?!" The Ink Qilin standing at the forefront shouted, voice turning cold and severe as he recovered from his shock. Despite the fear and trepidation beating inside his chest, he hid his emotions well because he was an Ink Qilin, and the world he resided in was the Qilin God Realm. He could falter in power, but never in spirit—not right away at least.

No one had seen the stranger's face and attire before. In fact, they did not even recognize the power that was imbued in his rather conspicuous silver-gray armor. This was impossible seeing as this man was anything but missable.

The unfamiliar man slowly trained his gaze on the greatest powers of the Western Divine Region. He looked like he was observing a group of ants.

"Hmph." The stranger's snort sounded arrogant and full of disdain. "I didn't think that this region's strongest experts would be Qilins instead of dragons. Then again, it has been many years since we received live outsiders. It would make sense that the intel we gathered was long outdated."

His voice was arrogant to the point of being unbearable, and his words made no sense when strung together into a sentence.

The stranger had not discharged his aura, but the stronger the profound practitioner, the more they could sense that an invisible yet intimidating pressure seemed to be rolling off of him like a bottomless abyss. His words especially caused waves of shock in the Qilin Emperor's heart. He sucked in a deep breath and gestured for his men not to act without permission. He then said in a calm voice, "This old one is Qi Tianli, the current leader of the Qilin Race. If I may be so bold, where do you come from, and why are you here, honored guest?"

The stranger had intruded into the Qilin Capital and acted prouder than Emperor Yun himself, and yet the Qilin Emperor had decided to pay him a level of respect that was almost obsequious… The profound practitioners of low cultivation and or experience could not help but gasp in shock when they saw this.

"The current leader of the Qilin Race?" Mo Beichen looked down again. "You are not the emperor of this universe?"

"You give me far too much credit, honored guest," Qi Tianli said while he racked his brain for the right words to say, "We, the Qilin Race have always been a race who knows their place well since time immemorial. We dislike conflict, and we have never once sought to rule the universe. Right now, we are the servants of Emperor Yun, and there isn't a living creature in the God Realm who doesn't know about him… or so I thought. Is it possible that you are unaware of his ascension, honored guest?"

All around him, Qilins were exchanging confused glances with each other. How is it possible that there is someone who hasn't heard of Emperor Yun yet?

"Is that so?"

The man's response was utterly indifferent. In honesty, it did not really matter to him who was the current ruler of the God Realm. Regardless of their status, they were all ants he could crush with a finger.

Still looking down from above, he swept his gaze across the strongest Qilins present and declared, "Listen well! My name is Mo Beichen, and I am the Abyssal Knight who serves the Abyssal Monarch and the Pope, and a pioneer of the Abyss."

"From this day onward, this world will be taken over by the Abyss. You, the creatures of this world, have two choices."

He extended his arm with his palm facing toward the ground. In that moment, it looked like he had the entire Qilin Realm in his grasp. "One, you may bend your knees and submit to His Majesty. Two, you may become part of the blood and soot that I will smear across this realm in preparation for His Majesty's arrival!"

Mo Beichen… Abyssal Monarch… Pope… the Abyss… the unknowns struck Qi Tianli's heart again and again like a hammer, and there was nothing more terrifying in this world than the unknown. Before he could give his reply, an angry shout suddenly erupted behind him, "Hah! For a wild man, you have one of the biggest mouths I've ever seen! I don't know which rock you crawled out from, but you must be insane if you think you can call the Qilin Realm to submission with just empty words! Not even a wild dog has a bark as loud as yours!"

"Silence, Mingjie!"

Qi Tianli shouted, but it was too late. He had been too stunned by the man's declaration to react in time.

The speaker's name was Qi Mingjie, and the reason he was present at the scene was because he was the son of the Qilin Emperor. He enjoyed the highest status of all of Qi Tianli's descendants because he had entered the early stage of the Divine Master Realm at just the young age of 1200, which was practically a miracle for the slow-growing Qilin Race. Unfortunately, he still wasn't strong enough to sense the terrifying aura coming from Mo Beichen like the Ink Qilins and Qilin Guardians could, and the consequence of his weakness was going to reveal itself an instant later.

Qi Mingjie shut his mouth immediately after his father's rebuke. Then, his body stiffened, and his pupils became a dozen times wider than before. It was because Mo Beichen had raised his hand and enveloped not just Qi Mingjie, but the entire Qilin Realm in an aura that could only be described as soul-crushing.

"Hehehe…" The man let out a low chuckle before speaking in a drastically different voice that sounded like a million mountains smashing into each other at the same time, "I applaud you. This is the exact moment when a fool should come out and tell everyone what the cost of their folly is, and you have seized the opportunity without fail."

Space shook, heaven and earth trembled, and the dark clouds on the sky squirmed like dying larvae. Qi Tianli, the Ink Qilins, and the rest of the Divine Masters turned so white that they looked more like weathered corpses than living at that moment. Qi Tianli in particular felt like his eyeballs would explode from the sheer amount of strain they were being subjected to. There were no words he knew that could possibly describe the pressure he was feeling right now. Every cell in his body was telling him that this was not a power that should exist in the world; that there was no one in the entire Primal Chaos who could possibly oppose this man.

"He who will not submit to the Abyss… must die!"

"Wait! Please—"

Mo Beichen did not wait for the Qilin Emperor to plead his case. In fact, he did not wait at all. He had pushed his hand toward the stunned Qi Mingjie the moment he said the word "die", forcing the Qilin Emperor to cut himself off and take action immediately.

Despite his fears, Qi Tianli's instinct to protect his young was ultimately greater than his reason. His aura exploded as he filled his arms with divine power and attempted to block Mo Beichen's attack.

RUMBLE—

CREAK—

The entire Qilin God Realm suddenly crumpled inward like a squeezed balloon. The fabric of space looked like it might cease to exist from the sheer amount of distortion it was subjected to, and the explosive noises that followed were a mix of the destruction of the environment and the sound of Qi Tianli's bones breaking into many tiny pieces.

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Once again, Qi Tianli's perception of terror was renewed. He already knew that Mo Beichen was powerful beyond recognition, but it wasn't until he withstood the attack that he truly understood just how terrifying it was. Not only did he lose all sense in his arms, they were bent at a 90-degree angle that was anything but natural. He was gushing blood like a leaky meat bag with dozens of holes in it, and the pain was so great that he could not even scream out in pain.

He was the Qilin Emperor, and he had been defeated in an instant! Not only that, the enemy was only using one hand! This should not be possible, but there was no denying the reality happening before their eyes!

"Your Majesty!"

The four Ink Qilins screamed as they rushed to their emperor's rescue. They channeled their power and attacked Mo Beichen with all they got.

The Qilin Race was powerful, but they were a defensive race by nature. They rarely went all out unless they had no other choice. Even during the war between the Western Divine Region and the Northern Divine Region, they had mostly fought in a conservative and merciful fashion.

As a result, there had never been a battle where five rank ten Divine Master Qilins had gone all out against the enemy… until now.

The clash of power was so great that even the powerful Guardian Qilins and Divine Master Qilins were knocked far, far away from the point of impact. When the dust settled, Mo Beichen's palm had stalled in mid-action, and the entire Qilin Realm had fallen silent.

For a second, it felt as if space and time itself had come to a halt. On the ground, the Qilin Emperor and four Ink Qilins looked like a picture of terror, face deathly pale and limbs still trembling uncontrollably from fear and exertion. In the sky, his hand half-raised, Mo Beichen looked like an uncaring god about to pass judgment on his victims.

It was a scene that could turn any fighting spirit to dust.

In the distance, Qi Mingjie was sitting on the ground with his eyes wide open and his mouth agape. He should probably run, but he literally could not remember how to move his limbs anymore. It was only now that he realized why his father had acted the way he did, and exactly what kind of existence he just angered with his impudence.

"..."

Mo Beichen looked down in surprise. He had not expected his power to be halted by mere ants. Then, a chill entered his eyes as the corner of his lips curled into a faint sneer. "You bottom feeders honestly believed you could defy God's power with your measly powers? How pitiful and amusing."

Who in God Realm, no, the entire history of the God Realm would dare to call a Divine Master a bottom feeder?

This time, a strange, silver light suddenly appeared between his fingers and he pressed his hand toward the ground once more.

The formless sky was oppressive enough with Mo Beichen up there, but now it felt as if they had coalesced into nine heavenly palaces. The five Qilins' vision suddenly turned pitch-black, and the world collapsed and discolored all around them.

BOOM—

Qi Tianli and the four Ink Qilins did not even know what happened. One second their senses were failing, and the next they were flying backward while spraying blood all over the place. A pitch-black vortex had manifested where they stood a moment ago.

It was an incredible achievement to defeat the world's five strongest Qilins in a single blow, and yet Mo Beichen remained completely unresponsive. He had the look of a man who had just swatted a fly out of his face.

Now that there were no more obstacles, he made a grabbing motion at the stunned Qi Mingjie once more. A silver palm flew straight toward the early-stage Divine Master.

"MINGJIE!!"

Although he had just suffered a huge blow, the Qilin Emperor forcefully altered his trajectory and pounced toward Mo Beichen yet again. He hadn't recovered most of his power yet, but he still put his body in the path of the silver palm.

SQUELCH BOOM!

"GAH—"

The Qilin Emperor screamed as most of his right shoulder was disintegrated by the silver palm just like that. However, his brave sacrifice only diminished the silver palm's strength a little.

"PROTECT THE YOUNG MASTER!!"

Every Qilin Guardian shouted at the same time as they rushed to protect Qi Mingjie. Not even overwhelming shock and horror were enough to overwhelm their near instinctive will to protect one of their kind.

Eleven Qilin Guardians managed to reach Qi Mingjie in time and put their bodies directly in harm's way, forming a near impenetrable bastion of flesh that even the greatest Divine Masters would have trouble punching through. However, the silver palm easily ripped through their bodies and dyed the world before Qi Mingjie's eyes red.

However, their efforts weren't in vain. The silver palm was eventually weakened and even diverted off course after passing through the Qilin Emperor and eleven Guardian Qilins, striking the ground about 300 meters in front of Qi Mingjie and exploding. However, there was no way an early-stage Divine Master could withstand even the shockwave of a power that was beyond the limits of this universe. The young prince screamed as the shockwave washed through his body and ripped dozens of holes in him with near insulting ease. By the time he hit the ground, both his legs were shattered, and his chest was an ugly, gory mess. But he was alive.

"..." Mo Beichen narrowed his eyes. He was an Abyssal Knight, but twice he had failed to execute a mere early-stage Divine Master. This was starting to piss him off.

"Die!"

He declared as he sent a ball of silvery gray dust toward the severely wounded Qi Mingjie this time. It cut through space like the sharpest blade in the world, obliterating absolutely everything in its path soundlessly and ruthlessly.

"MING… JIE!" The Qilin Emperor struggled to rise as he let out a despairing howl.

"YOUNG MASTER!" The Ink Qilins and the eleven Guardian Qilins in the vicinity were too injured to fly to the young prince's rescue, and every other Guardian Qilin and Divine Master Qilin had been blown far, far away by the explosion. They would have gladly given up their lives to save his, but they just could not get there in time. They could only watch as the silvery gray dust flew toward Qi Mingjie with the promise of certain death.

"Father—"

Qi Mingjie closed his eyes and waited for his death, but he opened them again when a sorrowful scream that shook him to the core pierced through his ears. Somehow someway, a Divine Sovereign woman had overcome the soul pressure that nearly extinguished even the Divine Masters' fighting spirit to stand in front of him. She opened her arms wide and attempted to block with her flesh and blood a force that not even the five most powerful Qilins in the world could have blocked.

A different kind fear a million times greater than his fear of death filled every corner of Qi Mingjie's soul. Without thinking, he screamed loud enough to rip a new hole in his chest, "ZHEN'ER, DON'T!!!"

The Qilin woman did not move. Before the dust, her Qilin power was about as powerful as a dying ember in a sea of darkness.

However, for the first time since Mo Beichen had descended upon this realm, his dead eyes suddenly shook with emotion. His hand moved as if by instinct, and the deadly dust that would have consumed Qi Mingjie and the Qilin woman in another second stopped dead in its tracks and… disappeared just like that.

"..." Mo Beichen slowly clenched his trembling fingers. He wasn't looking at anyone, but he wasn't attacking anymore.

No one had expected this, but they'd be lying if they said they didn't appreciate this reprieve. The Qilin Emperor heaved out a long sigh of relief and nearly lost his consciousness there and then.

At the back, Qi Mingjie frantically grabbed the Qilin woman and carried her to the rear despite his grievous injuries.

"Th… Thank you for showing mercy, Venerable One," the Qilin Emperor said with a deep bow despite sporting a missing shoulder. He then looked behind himself and yelled sternly,

"What are you waiting for, Mingjie? Apologize to his Venerable One already!"

Qi Mingjie was scared shitless to begin with, and everything that happened afterward had crushed every bit of resistance in his bones. He hurriedly bowed his head and said, "Junior Qi Mingjie apologizes for offending the Venerable One with his ignorance. He thanks you for showing him mercy, and he is willing to accept any punishment for his offense!"

However, Mo Beichen was neither looking at the Qilin Emperor or Qi Mingjie. His features were scrunched up into a deep frown as he declared with an inexplicable current of irritation, "Submit to the Abyss, or die!"

It was the same thing he had demanded a moment ago, but the difference in pressure was like night and day.

Drip…

Drip…

Drip…

Blood was pooling beneath the Qilin Emperor's hand, and every drop felt as cold as ice. Bending his upper body slightly and eliminating any semblance of dignity from his voice because he did not want to trigger Mo Beichen again, Qi Tianli asked, "If I may be so bold, when you refer to the Abyss, do you mean… the Abyss of Nothingness?"

"That is correct," Mo Beichen replied emotionlessly.

"..." The Qilin Emperor's breathing sped up abruptly. It took him a couple of breaths before he managed to regain control of himself. The rest of the Qilins were just as shocked as he was.

"I mean no offense, but… how do you compare to the 'Abyssal Monarch' and 'Pope', Venerated One?" He asked another question in the most respectful tone he could muster.

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"Fool!" Mo Beichen narrowed his eyes immediately. "I am eternally grateful that I was born to serve beneath the foot of the Abyssal Monarch, and you think the likes of me could ever be compared to him? If not for your stupidity and ignorance, I would have sentenced you to a million deaths for this blasphemy!"

The Qilin Emperor was so shocked that he blurted out, "Could he be… a True God?"

"Hah!" Mo Beichen snorted disdainfully. A look of absolute faith crept onto his features as he declared, "I will only say this one time, so listen well! All gods of the Abyss are His Majesty's servants! He is the god of all gods!"

The Qilin Emperor gulped audibly. Everyone else was so shocked that their very blood had become frozen in their veins.

This man was a monster, and yet he believed wholeheartedly that it was his honor to serve beneath the foot of this Abyssal Monarch.

Moreover, he was filled with undying faith every time he said the word "Abyssal Monarch" or "His Majesty".

Just how powerful was this "Abyssal Monarch"? Speaking of which, this Mo Beichen had also mentioned that he served the "Pope". Were they a god of gods as well?

This was a level of power that literally exceeded the realms of their imagination.

Mo Beichen looked down on them, and his expression returned to gloomy contempt once more. "Do you understand now?"

The Qilin Emperor subconsciously lowered his posture a little further. He asked one last question in a trembling voice, "T-this old one must know, but… if we, the Qilin Race swear to serve His Majesty as his loyal subjects, will he… grant us peace… when he graces the God Realm with his presence?"

"Loyal subjects?" Mo Beichen looked like he just heard the greatest joke in the world. "You think you lot deserve to serve His Majesty as his loyal subjects? No. You are worthy to become his servants or slaves at best."

"..." There was nothing the Qilin Emperor could say to that.

"I could slaughter you all like livestock. In fact, I should have annihilated your whole race for your earlier offenses," Mo Beichen uttered with a kind of seriousness that chilled them to the very bone. "Do you know why you are still alive? It's because he is a compassionate soul who loathes indiscriminate killing and bullying above all else. No matter how lowly you lot are, he is the only one who has the right to decide your fate!"

"The Abyssal Monarch will grace this universe with his presence in just a few years. It is my wish to give him a clean world in which all living beings will surrender to him from the depths of their souls, not a lifeless place of blood and death."

"So… will you be the guides who will light the way to a new era, or will you be the fools whom we must eliminate to pave the way for His Majesty's arrival?"

The Qilin Emperor was already kneeling on his knees before Mo Beichen had even finished his sentence. His head was a hair away from touching the ground as well.

This Mo Beichen was powerful beyond measure, and he was anything but a merciful man. However, he had avoided abusing his powers and showed them mercy because of his emperor's decree. He could be playing the long game, but Qi Tianli honestly could not think why he would bother when he could just get what he wanted by force, like right now. Also, if what he said about the Abyssal Monarch was accurate, then the god of gods was not only not dictatorial, but they were benevolent to the point where they didn't seem fit to rule.

The most important thing to note though, was that this Abyssal Monarch would be entering the God Realm in a matter of years… it more or less set his decision in stone.

"Thank you for your guidance, Venerable One. The Qilin Race will do our best to assist you in reshaping the God Realm and convincing everyone into accepting the Abyssal Monarch's rule."

The Qilin Emperor knew what Mo Beichen wanted. The fastest way to take control of the entire God Realm before the Abyssal Monarch arrived was to use a local power as the mouthpiece. And unfortunately for him, he was the perfect person for such a job.

First the Dragon Monarch. Then, Emperor Yun. And now, the Abyss…

He did not think he would live long enough to go through so many masters. Fate must think he was an interesting toy to play with him so.

He did not have a choice though.

He had felt Mo Beichen's power with his own body. It was an overwhelming power that no one in the universe could possibly go up against.

He was but a pawn in the grand scheme of things.

I hope you won't blame me for this, Your Majesty. There is nothing you've shown me that could go up against such power.

He could already see Yun Che's tragic fate. The young man's era had just begun, and it was on the verge of setting already.

"You are both lucky and flexible. They are good qualities to have, be it in the Abyss or the God Realm," Mo Beichen praised Qi Tianli. "If we bring this lowly universe to submission with the least amount of blood and murder, I am certain the His Majesty would be pleased with it. Naturally, you will be rewarded with the peace you desire."

"Th… thank you again for granting us the opportunity to serve the Abyssal Monarch, Venerable One," the Qilin Emperor said. The tremors in his heart had not stopped for a second, however.

If resistance was futile, then the next best thing he could do was to save as many lives as possible.

The Qilin Race aside, the first race that came to mind was the Blue Dragon Race.

Unfortunately, his half-a-daughter, the Blue Dragon Emperor, was not nearly as "flexible" as he was. She was as indifferent as she was rigid. He was already looking for opportunities to request a meeting with the Blue Dragon Emperor.

"Very good," Mo Beichen replied in a cold voice. "Now, update me on the current state of the world. I will know who that so-called 'Emperor Yun' is as well!"

"Yes, yes." The Qilin Emperor was still bleeding like crazy and in pain, but he forced himself to ignore it and begin, "Emperor Yun's full name is Yun Che, and he is the highest emperor who rules all of the Primal Chaos. He is also the first true emperor to have brought all four divine regions of the God Realm under his control…"

…………

Mo Beichen's appearance in the Qilin Realm had been relatively calm, but the same could not be said for the Eastern Divine Region.

Nan Zhaoming, Nan Zhaoguang, and the four pages were currently flying toward the east. Their terrifying auras swept across countless star regions and terrified all those who felt them.

Their destination was…

The Snow Song Realm!

The reason they chose the Snow Song Realm as their first destination was because it was where the strongest presence of the divine region resided.

Nan Zhaoming took in deep gulps of energy while commenting, "I once overheard the Pope saying that our lifespan should increase by several times, even tens of times if we are able to make it to the God Realm, but I could not believe it was true until now."

"This… this world should have belonged to us!" Nan Zhaoguang growled hatefully as he scanned left and right. "These lowly beings dare lead a luxurious life we dare not even dream of when the rest of us can only struggle in abyssal dust? They all deserve to die!"

"Do not forget sir knight's advice. We can kill, but we must not kill indiscriminately," Nan Zhaoming reminded him. "Our cultivation is not up to par yet, but there's still a chance we'll be anointed as abyssal knights, because we are the pioneers. There is no need to stain our hands and diminish our glory with the blood of these commoners."

"Hmph!" Nan Zhaoguang responded with a grunt.

"Don't worry. The obedient will live, and the defiant will die." Nan Zhaoming sneered. "And there will be plenty of defiant fools for the first two years at least. After all, the one thing the world doesn't lack is fools."

Suddenly, Nan Zhaoming and Nan Zhaoguang fell silent and looked forward at the same time.

Ding!

There was a blue flash in the starry space, and the surrounding temperature plummeted instantly.

At the same time, a fairy-like woman covered in icy mist appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

Her white clothes were purer than snow, and her icy hair looked like something that should only exist in a dream. Half of her face was covered up by the mist, leaving behind only a pair of eyes that seemed cold enough to pierce the soul.

"Who are you people?" she uttered in a frigid, ruthless voice.

Nan Zhaoming and Nan Zhaoguang frowned slightly before snorting at the same time. "A woman? That's surprising."

"This is perfect. If only the rest of the low-lifes would deliver themselves to our doorstep as well," Nan Zhaoming said while scanning the woman in front of her. She was without a doubt the strongest profound practitioner of this divine region, Snow Song God Emperor Mu Xuanyin!