Against the Gods

Yun Che slowly walked past the knees of the god emperors before finally stopping at the edge of the floating city. From there, he looked down on the myriad realms coolly before declaring,

“Announce it, Tianli.”

It was short, but his devilish will was unquestionable.

“Yes, Your Magnificence!”

Qi Tianli was the Qilin Emperor’s true name. After responding to Yun Che’s command, he slowly rose to his feet, raised his arms, and caused a passage to appear In the sky. The words were light gray in color, but they shone brightly and emanated a soul-wrenching presence.

The Qilin Emperor declared in an old, deep and awe-inspiring voice that reverberated for thousands and thousands of kilometers. “Devil Master Yun Che, age thirty and seven, is born of a lower realm, but was accepted by the Heretic God to be his successor, chosen by the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor to receive her inheritance, and blessed by the ancient Dragon God with his gift… his nobility surpasses all that lives, his power exceeds both the heaven and the earth, and his throne sits higher than the heavenly way…”

“... has saved the universe from the calamity of crimson and praised as the God Child Messiah… has saved the Northern Divine Region from its shackles, shattered the unfair laws that were imposed upon all, and executed countless sinners that deserve ten thousand deaths. Betrayed and wounded as he was, he in his infinite capacity still granted the heavens and the earth his mercy, and pardoned all that lives from their deserved execution…”

Qi Tianli was currently the strongest god emperor of the Western Divine Region, and his voice penetrated countless star realms and nearly covered the entire Southern Divine Region itself. His speech was also projected throughout the four divine regions by countless projections.

He was a man of great status and power, and yet he didn’t hesitate to act as Yun Che’s herald with the highest reverence.

Projections of the grand coronation ceremony had been arranged across all four divine regions. Hence, there was almost no place where one couldn’t witness it.

The image alone was enough to stun countless profound practitioners into utter speechlessness.

Combined with the Qilin Emperor’s voice and eternal-sounding edict, it felt like an irremovable spike had been driven into everyone’s heart.

The cold wind blowing across the Snow Song Realm ceased temporarily and grew still. Countless Ice Phoenix disciples and Snow Song profound practitioners were kneeling before their projection in dazed excitement. How could they not? Their Divine Ice Phoenix Sect was standing together with all the king realms in Emperor Yun City right now. Even now, it all felt like a ridiculous dream.

When Yun Che had participated in the Profound God Convention as a member of the Divine Ice Phoenix Sect and won first place at the Conferred God Battle, they had thought that the achievement would be praised for thousands of generations to come.

This particular dream though, was something they could never weave in a lifetime.  

“Does the Snow Song Realm… really qualify to become a king realm?” Mu Tanzhi murmured.

“No. But our sect master does.” Mu Huanzhi exhaled deeply. “To kill Crimson Destruction in one strike… if Yun Che is the greatest profound practitioner in the world, then our sect master is without a doubt the second. Naturally, the sect master’s realm can only be a king realm.”

He turned around and faced the youths of the sect. “Everyone here owes the sect master a great debt, and the only way we can repay it is to work hundreds and thousands of times harder than before!”

His gaze landed on his granddaughter when he finished his sentence.

Unlike the rest of the Ice Phoenix disciples, Mu Feixue appeared to be completely untouched by the excitement around her. She was neither enlivened by his coronation nor unbalanced by Snow Song Realm’s drastic change of fate. Looking like a snow lotus that rose above the gaggle of Ice Phoenix disciples, she stared at the figure of Yun Che in the projection with a kind of single-mindedness that blocked out all stimuli. 

She had always liked to watch him quietly from afar. She had seen Yun Che of the Snow Song Realm and Profound God Convention; Yun Che the Devil Master and now Yun Che the all-powerful emperor...

It was as if his image had been engraved permanently into her life, and it wouldn’t change or fade away no matter what he became.

Sometimes, one moment was equal to a lifetime.

If Mu Huanzhi was still the man he was in the past, he would never believe that the granddaughter he thought to be almost unfeeling would turn out like this.

If only… the man she fell for… wasn’t the deepest sea and farthest mountain in the world...

“Ai…” Mu Huanzhi let out a short, quiet sigh.

Meanwhile, in the Flame God Realm.

The profound practitioners of the Vermillion Bird Sect, the Phoenix Sect and the Golden Crow Sect were gathered around a projection and witnessing the birth of the first true overlord of the God Realm. However, their expressions were the complete opposite of their neighbors. 

Although the three Flame God Realm sects had done their utmost to suppress the news of Huo Poyun’s near execution in the Snow Song Realm, it had still spread to the entire cosmos in a short time.

When all the upper star realm kings of the Eastern Divine Region had bent their knees to Yun Che to preserve their star realms and themselves, Huo Poyun… was the only one who hadn’t done so.

Just the same, all the higher realm kings had recognized that Yun Che’s ascension was unstoppable and hastened to prepare for today’s grand coronation ceremony, but Huo Poyun still hadn’t moved a muscle. Despite months of attempted persuasion by Yan Wancang, Yan Juehai and Huo Rulie themselves, Huo Poyun ultimately didn’t travel to the grand coronation ceremony.

Huo Poyun had single handedly elevated the Flame God Realm from a middle star realm to an upper star realm. However, his achievement had been completely eclipsed by Yun Che’s total domination of the God Realm as a matter of course.

It was impossible for them not to worry about the future of the Flame God Realm. 

In a lower star realm to the east called the Darkya Realm.

At the top of an incredibly tall pavilion, a woman was basking in a light breeze and staring at a projection with a tiny smile on her lips. She was dressed in a purple dress that fully accentuated her alluring figure, and her eyes looked like they could suck a soul or two with ease.

When the Northern Divine Region invaded, and the Eastern Divine Region crumbled, the small realm was one of the few realms that weren’t touched by the invasion.

“He was the man who had gone up against the entire Black Soul Divine Sect by himself for a single Wood Spirit back then. That was why I knew he would never become a true monster even when he was dyed by darkness and hunted by the entire world.”

A middle-aged man slowly approached her from behind. A moment of indecision later, the man let out a sigh and said, “Yan’er, your days with him may have been short and shallow, but they did exist. Publicizing your connection will bring us a great deal of good and protection.”

However, eyes growing distant as the memories replayed inside her head, Ji Ruyan shook her head and said, “Call it vanity or selfishness if you want, but just once, I, a merchant who worships profit as my destiny, don’t want this precious memory to be tainted by it.”

Even if… he should’ve forgotten about me completely.

Just like the dust that brushed past a person in everyday life.

………...

In the Seven Star Realm, a realm of the Southern Divine Region.

“Big sis, must we obey that big bad guy from now on?”

A young girl asked while clinging to a girl in yellow clothes. Her small frame was trembling with fear.

The girl in yellow clothes shook her head lightly. “He’s not a big bad guy. He’s just… just…”

“But he is! Everyone says that he’s the worst devil of them all, and he definitely bullied you—mm! Mmm!!” The young girl that usually obeyed her older sister protested with surprising vehemence until her mouth was covered up.

The girl in yellow clothes shook her head again and hugged the young girl tighter. For a long time, she couldn’t say a word.

There was a glimmer of devilish light on her neck.

The mark was the reason she hadn’t dared to leave Seven Star Realm, much less interact with anyone else.

A while later, she looked up and stared into the indifferent eyes that glared down from above.

You have become a cruel, brutal, and terrifying person. Your hands are covered in blood, and you have visited fear and nightmare upon countless star realms and living.

You even killed the master I most respected, and you have humiliated and shamed me.

I both fear and hate you deeply.

So why...

Why can’t I forget… those eyes that so easily imprinted themselves into my heart back then…

………...

“... Today, we don’t answer to the sky, the earth, or the will of the heavens. Today, His Magnificence via his own will, shall anoint himself ‘Great Emperor Heretic Yun’, the emperor of all realms, and the era name will be changed to ‘Yunmo’ (Cloud Jasmine).”

“Today marks the beginning of the Yunmo Period. Today is the day all the realms and the living of the Primal Chaos become the servants of our great emperor.”

“The great emperor is the savior of the world, and he shall continue to safeguard it for the eternity to come. Obey, and the great emperor’s protection will forever be yours. Defy, and no trace of you will be left behind, not even if the contender is the heavens and the earth themselves!” 

The declaration was staggering to say the least.

Since the founding of the God Realm, it was customary for a ruler to pray to the heavens, the earth, and the heavenly way not only to appease the people, but also to obtain the blessing of the world. This was the righteous way be it for the lowest king of the mortal realms or the highest god emperor of the king realms.

However, Yun Che hadn’t prayed to the heavens and the earth to obtain their blessing, nor had he tried to win the people’s hearts. In fact, he placed himself above everything and basically declared that they either obeyed him, or would be destroyed.

This grand coronation ceremony was also unlike any grand coronation ceremony that ever happened in history. There was no ceremony, no ritual, no celebration; not even a crowning.

It was against every known rule and etiquette that had been passed down for generations. All that was left was a most extreme, direct and domineering declaration!

He was saying that he was the greatest emperor in the history of the God Realm because he was who he was, not because of some accursed fate had granted him its blessing. That was why he didn’t need the heavens and the earth to bear witness to his coronation; didn’t need to appease his subjects; didn’t need to obey any rule or etiquette whatsoever!

When the declaration was finally complete, Qi Tianli dropped to his knees, and a chorus of shouts erupted above Emperor Yun City:

“All hail Emperor Yun!”

“Emperor Yun has saved the world and slain its evils, returning peace to the Primal Chaos. His achievements are unsurpassed, his power is without peer, and his rule shall be never-ending!”

So powerful were their cries that ripples appeared across all the projections of the God Realm.

“All hail Emperor Yun!”

No one could disobey the heavenly pressure. All the higher realm kings and the profound practitioners of the three realms kowtowed to Yun Che.

A long, long time later, when it was deemed appropriate to raise their heads once more, they discovered that the man somehow felt even more untouchable than before.

The God Realm had existed for a million years, but even the smallest realm had to spend an inordinate amount of time to build their strength before rising to power, and that was only if fate was on their side long enough for it to happen.

However, Yun Che, a young man around thirty years of age who hadn’t even trod the God Realm for twenty years, somehow managed to overturn the million-year long status quo completely, unite the four divine regions, and rise to become the first great emperor in its entire history.

There was no telling what the God Realm would become under the rule of Emperor Yun. 

Whatever the future might hold, Yun Che would always be its brightest miracle and worst heretic.

He was unsurpassed now, and might never be surpassed.

His name and title would also be remembered unto eternity.

The Qilin Emperor suddenly moved to the edge of Emperor Yun City and waved his hand once. A bluish gray light stream cascaded downward before spreading into a gigantic curtain.

“All who will obey Emperor Yun and become his eternal servant may engrave their name upon this light right now.”

“But remember, His Magnificence’s kindness only lasts one time! Once you have engraved your name on this light, you will never be able to turn back! The loyal shall partake in his protection, and the disloyal shall suffer the fate of the Dragon Gods and the Southern Sea!”