Against the Gods

Yun Che’s words caused Tian Guhu to narrow his eyes slightly and the surrounding snorts and chuckles to grow several times louder than before. Many people also looked away from Yun Che because they felt that he no longer deserved even their attention.

Tian Guhu’s smile turned derisive, and his voice grew disinterested, “You are a clown, but it looks like I still overestimated you.”

At this point, everyone and even Tian Guhu himself felt deeply that the word “shameful” couldn’t even begin to describe how pathetic really Yun Che was. He might be a level seven Divine Sovereign, but he didn’t deserve to be Tian Guhu’s challenger at all.

Tian Guhu shouldn’t have offered to fight him. It brought nothing but shame to his status and standing.

“But… very well.” Tian Guhu agreed with a slow nod. At this point, he couldn’t be bothered to speak with Yun Che anymore than was necessary, much less taunt him. “I’ll fulfill your demand exactly as you desire.”

He raised three fingers before Yun Che. However, his current expression and tone were far more disdainful than before. “You win if you can survive three moves from me. Do you have anything else to say!?”

That’s right, he would beat “Ling Yun” in three moves even though they were both level seven Divine Sovereigns!

Tian Guhu was the only one with the courage and strength to say such a thing.

It was also the most arrogant and humiliating response he could send at “Ling Yun”.

Yun Che shot him a sidelong glance. He looked like he was looking at a termite. “Tian Guhu, I think you’re mistaken about something. What I meant to say, is that you win if you can withstand three hits from me.”

The entire Imperial Heaven Tower was silent for a moment. Then, an uproar of uncontrollable laughter. Even the parallels of the heavens, the higher realm kings were close to losing their self-control altogether and join in on the laughter.

“I may as well grant you another favor.” As if untouched by the wanton, scornful laughter pointed toward him, Yun Che continued lazily and quietly, “If you manage to stand up after three hits, you win as well.”

“Heh…” The corner of Tian Guhu’s mouth twitched slightly. It was probably the most exasperated and scornful smile he had ever mustered in his life.

“I can’t believe how much time we’re wasting on a madman. This is ridiculous!” Huo Tianxing uttered coldly.

“But it’s fun, isn’t it?” The Great Viper Sage replied smilingly.

“Hahahahaha!” Fen Jieran, the Burning Moon Prince, was laughing so hard he almost fell over.

If they thought that Yun Che was a funny clown earlier, then now they thought that he was a clown who had gone utterly insane.

If Tian Guhu was the one who claimed that he would beat an opponent at the same profound level as him in three hits, no one would think that it was a joke at all. But right now, this clown was saying that he would beat Tian Guhu in three hits… It was probably the funniest joke in the entire profound history of the Northern Divine Region.

“Guhu, end this quickly,” Tian Muyi said. Despite the hilarity of the situation, it was clear that the old man had already run out of patience. Even if his son managed to beat a stupid and insane level seven Divine Sovereign like this in one hit, it would only bring him more filth than glory.

“Yes, royal father.” Tian Guhu straightened his expression and regained his cool completely. His expression also affected the people around him and made them fall silent. For a while, everyone watched him calmly amidst the dead silence.

“This is a bet where one’s honor and pride is on the line.” The low, raspy voice came from the Yama Ghost King, Yan Sangeng. “No one should interfere with this battle, and no fault is to be pursued after the battle is over. What do you all think?”

Despite his words, no one had any doubt that he was speaking to Yao Die.

Out of the three king realms, the Yama Realm was closest to the Imperial Heaven Realm. No one was surprised that Yan Sangeng would voice his support of them.

“Don’t worry, Yama Ghost King.” The Great Viper Sage’s narrowed into slits. “Everyone here is a dignified person except for a certain clown or two. They’d never do something that was beneath their station.”

Everyone echoed in agreement.

“That’s right.” To everyone’s surprise, it was Witch Yao Die who spoke up. “There’s nothing the Soul Stealing Realm loathes more than despicable behavior! This is a bet both sides have agreed to, and since I’m witnessing this I will ensure that fairness is protected at all costs… anyone who dares to shield their charge, cheat, interfere, or carry out something after the bet is over will face my wrath!”

Yao Die’s declaration caused everyone to fall silent for a second.

The reason Yan Sangeng spoke up earlier was to prevent Yao Die from lending Yun Che a helping hand secretly or openly. He was sure that she had invited Yun Che and the masked woman to sit next to her for a reason.

However, her declaration of impartiality was several times more ruthless than even his own.

The people of the Imperial Heaven Realm relaxed completely after their fear of the Witch had subsided. It was because their last worry was dispelled.

“In that case, let us begin,” Yan Sangeng said.

“You may attack first.” Tian Guhu said while placing his hands neatly behind his back. Despite facing another level seven Divine Sovereign whom he made a bet to defeat in just three moves, he didn’t show his weapon or even put up his guard.

He hadn’t even circulated his profound energy.

It wasn’t blind arrogance, of course. He was just that confident in his own power… and he was showing Yun Che how much he despised him.

Yes, he had never despised someone so much until now.

But Yun Che didn’t move as he expected him to do. Just like Tian Guhu, he neither produced a weapon or circulated his profound energy.

“Never mind,” Tian Guhu muttered to himself before pointing a finger. Black light glowed from his fingertips before turning into purple lightning. “What a boring game. Let’s end this immediately.”

The world turned dark, and black energy spread everywhere before he was done speaking. The sky crawled with purple lightning. As a Northern Divine Region profound practitioner, Tian Guhu’s mastery over darkness profound energy and lightning profound energy were at the absolute peak. An instant was all it took to cause everyone’s face to change drastically.

Although Tian Guhu could defeat another Divine Sovereign at his profound level in three moves, no one ever said that it was going to be easy. He could look down on his opponent, but he couldn’t afford to be stingy with his power.

“Is… is this really the power of a level seven Divine Sovereign?” The one who shouted this was a core member of an upper star realm. He was a level ten Divine Sovereign, but he was standing on his feet with an expression of shock.

Tian Guhu was famous throughout the Northern Divine Region. In fact, he was so famous that even the three divine regions had heard of him. But after he became a middle level Divine Sovereign, not very many people got to see him fight at his full strength. It was why many level ten Divine Sovereigns were surprised to find themselves pressured by Tian Guhu’s opening move.

As for those who were at his profound level, they couldn’t even draw a breath of air into their lungs. Their shock was even more indescribable.

“It looks like Guhu is planning to kill him in one blow,” Tian Muyi said. His expression was calm and utterly free of worry.

Great Elder Tian Muhe coldly snorted. “This Ling Yun is lucky to be alive for this long, so why should Guhu show him any face? Much better to kill him immediately and save us all some time.”

“Kneel.”

Tian Guhu whispered before vanishing behind a pillar of black lightning.

Crack!

The lightning pouring down from the sky tore a black scar that was several kilometers wide in the middle of the Imperial Heaven Tower. An immeasurable amount of lightning could be seen flashing and howling inside it, and even the tiniest wisp contained enough power to destroy entire mountains.

Tian Guhu reappeared where Yun Che was standing earlier, the black scar behind him still carrying out its destructive work. However, his expression had changed from disdain to astonishment.

He turned around immediately and saw Yun Che standing in his earlier spot. His expression was blank, his hands were placed behind his back, and his posture was the exact same as before. Not even his hair or his sleeves were ruffled by the attack.

It painted a stark, uncomfortable contrast when compared to the astonished look on Tian Guhu’s face.

“What’s going on?” Tian Muyi rose to his feet in shock.

No one answered him. Everyone around him was just as astonished as he was. The Burning Moon Prince’s smile turned stiff, and even Yan Sangeng’s eyes were frozen by what he saw.

At their level, there was practically no profound movement skill that they hadn’t seen in their lives. However, not a single person had seen how Yun Che had switched positions with Tian Guhu.

This was without mentioning the strength of Tian Guhu’s aura. Another seven Divine Sovereign would’ve found it nearly impossible to move, much less teleport away to safety.

So… how did Yun Che manage to switch positions with Tian Guhu unharmed despite being suppressed by him? And how was he able to do it while remaining terrifyingly calm?

Yao Die raised her head and squinted her eyes once.

“That’s your first move.” Yun Che said coldly. When the words reached Tian Guhu, they actually caused an uncomfortable vibration in his ears.

“Sect Master Tian, did you see how he moved?” Huo Tianxing asked seriously.

Tian Muyi shook his head.

“Well, this is a bit hard to believe.” Huo Tianxing also rose to his feet and stared at Yun Che uncertainly.

“It only appeared for an instant, but his profound energy is definitely that of a level seven Divine Sovereign,” the Great Viper Sage said. “Also, I think I sensed an icy aura just now.”

“Ice?” Tian Muyi frowned. “There are very few people in the Northern Divine Region who cultivate ice profound energy besides darkness profound energy, and most of them are focused on defense, not movement…”

While Tian Muyi was speaking, Tian Guhu had already regained his calm. No longer trying to withhold his profound energy any longer, he created a rapidly growing black whirlpool around himself.

Tian Muyi stopped talking and humphed again. “Never mind, it’s not like I’ll ever have to worry about Guhu.”

“Very good.” Tian Guhu’s hair danced in the air, and purple lightning flashed across his pupils. Countless profound practitioners felt like their hearts were being squeezed by his aura. “I’ve never seen that strange profound movement skill before. It looks like I underestimated you, you actually made me look bad for a moment.”

“But if that profound movement skill is all you have to rely on…” Tian Guhu frowned slightly. “Then I must say that I’m very disappointed.”

Crack!

The sky rumbled, and everyone subconsciously looked up. It was only then they realized that a black thunderstorm tens of kilometers wide had blotted out a section of the sky.

Giving Yun Che no chance to escape or even react, Tian Guhu extended a finger and dropped the thunderstorm on Yun Che and himself instantaneously. A small half of the Imperial Heaven Tower was submerged in a sea of lightning.

It was clear that Tian Guhu’s initial failure had provoked his anger. This time, he wasn’t holding back at all.

No matter how powerful Yun Che’s profound movement skill was, there was no way he could escape the giant thunderstorm in just a few breaths’ time. He didn’t make a move either. He simply let himself be engulfed by the thunderstorm without a struggle as if he had submitted himself to his fate.

To be fair, that thunderstorm far exceeded the preconceived limit of a level seven Divine Sovereign’s power. It was a power that terrified even level ten Divine Sovereigns, and it was certainly enough to crush a level seven Divine Sovereign’s willpower completely.

“It looks like this is the end,” Huo Tianxing said. “There was a flash of surprise, but the ending is as dull as you can ima…”

He suddenly stopped talking, and shock overwhelmed his features. Beside him, Tian Muyi and the Great Viper Sage were experiencing the exact same thing.

It was because Yun Che’s aura hadn’t disappeared as they thought it would. In fact, the strength of his aura and his position hadn’t changed at all.

They concentrated their eyes and saw through the black lightning. They saw Yun Che standing in the middle of the sea of thunder, unharmed and untouched by the destructive elements.

“How did—!?”

Tian Guhu was the closest person to Yun Che, and he was inside his own domain of power. Naturally, he also noticed that something was amiss and felt his pupils shrink.

“Guhu!” Tian Muyi let out a growl. “Kill him!”

Tian Guhu was the one who made the “bet” to beat Yun Che in three moves. He couldn’t lose when so many people were watching.

Clang!

Tian Guhu pulled the Imperial Heaven Sword from its scabbard before moving it in circles. Black lightning immediately started swirling around the blade of the sword. Then, he and the sword pierced through the thunderstorm and appeared in front of Yun Che in an instant. The blade glowed like it was signalling the descent of a god before hitting Yun Che in the middle of the forehead.

However...

The blade didn’t penetrate Yun Che’s forehead or cause an explosion of power. The rampaging thunderstorm and the world itself suddenly fell eerily silent.

The black thunderstorm vanished and revealed Tian Guhu and Yun Che. The Imperial Heaven Sword every Northern Divine Region denizen knew was pressed up against Yun Che’s forehead. The sword was still powerful, lightning was still crawling across the blade, and its divine light looked as glaring as ever. But forget penetrating Yun Che’s head… it didn’t even manage to pierce the flesh and draw a drop of blood.

As Tian Guhu’s pupils widened to their limits, Yun Che looked up and raised a powerless finger. His voice was as cool as ever. “Do you really think you’re worthy to be my opponent, Tian Guhu?”

He then flicked the Imperial Heaven Sword gently.