Against the Gods

Chapter 535 – Yun Family’s Will

That strange little girl’s profound strength was way too scary. She could definitely instant kill an Overlord effortlessly. But with her power from before, even if it wasn’t fire, she couldn’t instantly kill Yun Che. The hell-like eighteen months that he spent on the Primordial Profound Ark refining himself in the spatial storms wasn’t for nothing. Even Jasmine said that with Yun Che’s body now, in terms of strength, he wasn’t weaker than a low-level Monarch, and even his recovery rate far surpassed that of a Monarch.

But “couldn’t instantly kill”, didn’t mean could not kill. With the large difference between their powers, if she wanted to kill Yun Che, it would be as easy as pie.

The energy was fire profound strength, so naturally, it was impossible for it to threaten Yun Che’s life. When the sea of flame fell onto him, he hid himself within the fire, concealed his scent with Hidden Flowing Lightning before the fire went down, went underground… and made it out by a thread.

If it weren’t for Hidden Flowing Lightning, even if he had a hundred lives, he would still be dead.

“There’s someone coming from the south, more than ten people. If you don’t want any trouble, leave here immediately,” Jasmine warned.

Yun Che stood up, dusted himself off, and felt a little afraid… three more days and it would be the Demon Empress’ Grand Ceremony. Originally, he wanted to warm up his body, and get used to Extreme Mirage Lightning, but he almost lost his life because of it. He still had something important that he wanted to do at the Demon Empress’ Grand Ceremony. If he died just like that, he would die without justice.

Yun Che concealed himself, avoided the people who came to check the situation, and went back to Demon Imperial City. On his way back, he was cautious, so his speed was slow. When he finally returned to the Yun Family, the sky was already starting to brighten. At this time, a few people among the Yun Family were already busy working… it was almost the Demon Empress’ Grand Ceremony. The Yun Family treated the Demon Empress’ Grand Ceremony very seriously, because it most likely would determine the future of the Yun Family, so they had to prepare thoroughly.

Yun Che went back to the Yun Family, and immediately passed out. He didn’t mention any of his ‘exciting adventure’ to anyone. After all, he went out in the middle of the night and saw a little girl completely naked… it was not something he wanted to describe to someone else.

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Three days passed by in the blink of an eye.

There was nothing different about today’s Demon Imperial City, it was just more crowded. But, even normal people who didn’t have profound strength could feel a different scent in the atmosphere.

Today, the Little Demon Empress had been on the throne for a full hundred years. In the past, every Demon Emperor was on the throne for a thousand years with no exceptions. On the throne for a hundred years meant that it was merely a tenth of the time. However, what was different about this time was, even though she was the Illusory Demon Emperor, her title was not Demon Emperor, but “Little Demon Empress.” Decades ago, before the Little Demon Empress’ hundred-year reign, there had already been an unusual atmosphere in the Illusory Demon Royal Family.

Everyone guessed that today might perhaps be the day the secret movements within the dark would explode… The Hundred Year Grand Ceremony was the perfect timing.

Today in Demon Imperial City, there was a great possibility that something serious would happen.

Yun Che woke up very early, pushed open the door, and saw Yun Qinghong already standing in the courtyard, silently facing those withered grape arbors. Hearing the door being pushed open, he didn’t turn around, and said in a calm voice, “Che’er, you’re awake.”

Yun Qinghong was covered in heavy morning dew, obviously having stood there for a long time. From the shadow of his back, Yun Che saw his burden and seriousness… These days, he had been preparing for the Demon Empress’ Grand Ceremony day and night. The shadow of his back told Yun Che that he was not confident with what was going to happen today… He was even a little pessimistic about it.

Yun Che’s footsteps paused, and after a short hesitation, he said, “Father, I have a question that I always wanted to ask.”

Yun Qinghong turned around and looked at him, “Did you want to ask, why I, your father, would be willing to be this loyal to the Demon Emperor’s Clan?”

“Yes, and no,” Yun Che replied. “The Yun Family is one of the Twelve Guardian Families, loyal to the Demon Emperor’s Clan. It is a mission that has been passed down from our ancestors. Grandfather and the previous Demon Emperor were like brothers. The Little Demon Emperor and Father also called each other brothers. From this, we could see that the Demon Emperor’s Clan had always valued us, the Yun Family. But… after the Little Demon Empress inherited the throne, she placed guilt on our Yun Family several times. On top of losing Grandfather and losing the ten great cornerstones of the Yun Family, it made it even worse. The younger generation also fell behind the other guardian families because of it. Even more so, today’s Yun Family is mocked as unqualified to stay in the Twelve Guardian Families.”

“The Little Demon Empress has been on the throne for a hundred years, and we, the Yun Family, had been guilty for a hundred years, and could not lift our heads and rise. This is the main reason why the Yun Family has been falling so speedily. And in the days that Father controlled the Yun Family, most of the preparations were for the Little Demon Empress, and the preparations for the family were secondary! The Little Demon Empress treated the Yun Family like this, but Father not only held his tongue without any thoughts of betrayal, and you still put in all of your efforts. I… don’t really understand.”

“Blaming the Yun Family wasn’t what the Little Demon Empress wanted,” Yun Qinghong sighed and said. “She blamed the Yun Family out of helplessness. And in this situation, a large part of this was caused by our own Yun Family.”

“Because Grandfather lost the Illusory Demon Royal Family’s Demon Emperor’s Seal?” Yun Che asked.

“That was only the cause,” Yun Qinghong answered. “The Illusory Demon Royal Family ruled all the souls in Illusory Demon Realm, and have the twelve families’ loyal protection. As of today, it has been ten thousand years. In this past ten thousand years, because the Yun Family was backed by the Profound Handle, our overall power had always been above the other guardian families, and had never been surpassed. And because of this, our Yun Family had been valued the most by the Illusory Demon Emperor. During your Grandfather’s generation, he had been given the title of the Demon King, and the Demon Emperor even announced that your Grandfather would have equal footing to him. In reality, that position is even higher than that of dukes! He was below one person, but above all the others.”

“Che’er, if you were from the other guardian families, yet there was someone always above you, how would you feel? There would be envy… Originally, the positions were on the same level, but a member of the Yun Family received the title of ‘Demon King’, glory and honor that the other guardian families all longed for. It also made the position of our whole family immediately surpass that of the other families… How would you feel then? It would be easy to feel envious and imbalanced, and there would be a lot of hatred.”

“…Could it be that, a hundred years ago, the other guardian families joined together and pressured the Little Demon Empress?”

“That’s right,” Yun Qinghong replied, closing his eyes. “Your Grandfather was the Yun Family’s core, and the ten Grand Elders were the Yun Family’s cornerstone. Losing any one of them was a huge blow to the Yun Family. But over the course of one night, we lost your Grandfather and all ten Grand Elders. The highest and most important level of the Yun Family’s skill immediately fell behind. In addition, the Demon Emperor’s Seal was also lost in the Profound Sky Continent. Those guardian families who were envious of the Yun Family all those years finally got their chance, and made people in the Demon Imperial City broadcast the Yun Family’s ‘unforgivable crime’ to the whole Illusory Demon Realm. The whole Illusory Demon Realm was filled with denunciation against the Yun Family, until it was so bad that there had to be some heavy punishment to calm everyone down.

“And that was led by the Helian Family, with over half of the guardian families involved. The families that I am sure that didn’t participate, were your mother’s Mu Family, and the Under Heaven Clan that doesn’t like to make trouble. Led by Duke Huai, various royal clans also criticized our Yun Family, saying that the Yun Family was unforgivable, and if it weren’t for the hard work and protection of ten thousand years, killing the whole clan wouldn’t be too much… It must have been at that time that Duke Huai’s bloodline became disloyal. After all, the Demon Emperor’s bloodline was bound to go extinct, and he hoped to replace it.”

“Back then, the Little Demon Empress had just taken over the throne, so it wasn’t stable, and she was a woman. After her, there would not be any more pure Demon Emperor’s bloodline, and on top of that, due to the loss of the Demon Emperor’s Seal she cannot cultivate in the 《Golden Crow’s Record of the Burning World》 and receive the power only Demon Emperors possess… Under the heavy pressure as though she was walking on thin ice, she couldn’t help but blame the Yun Family. However, she never killed anyone from the Yun Family. She only cut the resources of the Yun Family for a hundred years, and forbade us from entering Golden Crow Lightning Flame Valley, making this generation of the Yun Family poor in resources, and seriously weak… However, this kind of weakness was a shield for our Yun Family. When we were so weak that we couldn’t even be a threat, our enemies left us in peace.”

“I… see…” Yun Che nodded his head slowly.

“Che’er, you have to remember,” Yun Qinghong said seriously. “The First Demon Emperor was a savior to our Yun Family’s ancestor. If it weren’t for the First Demon Emperor’s actions, our clan would have gone extinct ten thousand years ago. We swore that as long as the Demon Emperor’s Clan existed, the Yun Family would protect them. These past ten thousand years, the Yun Family never had the thought of betrayal! And from this day forward, we will continue to keep our word!”

“But, what we’re protecting is the Demon Emperor’s Clan! The inheritor of the Demon Emperor’s bloodline! And not those impure dukes who only have some of the Demon Emperor’s bloodline! Even though the Little Demon Empress is a woman, she has a complete Demon Emperor’s bloodline. Since she is on the throne, she is the real Demon Emperor! As long as she is still on the throne, our Yun Family will do everything we can to protect her loyally.”

“But…” Yun Qinghong’s voice deepened, and his eyes turned cold, “If she was really forced off the throne, and some other impure duke became the Demon Emperor, then the Yun Family’s mission to protect ends there. At that time, leaving the Twelve Guardian Families would actually be something we want! We don’t need a title given by the Royal Familes!”

Yun Qinghong was serious. From his eyes, Yun Che saw determination. Yun Che nodded deeply, “Father, I understand. Even though I didn’t grow up in the family, the blood of the Yun Clan flows in my veins, and even more so, it is the Patriarch bloodline’s blood. I will not disobey Yun Family’s will!”

“Mn.” Yun Qinghong nodded and smiled, even his locked eyebrows relaxed.

Yun Che looked at his expression, hesitated a little, but asked anyways, “That Duke Huai, is he really that powerful? From Father’s expression, it looks like you’re worrying a lot.”

Yun Qinghong sighed softly, “A month ago, you should have already noticed their presumptuous and insidious behavior. That day, Helian Peng said personally that half of the guardian families have already fallen on Duke Huai’s side. Among the Royal Clans, more than sixty percent united with Duke Huai as the leader. They gathered a large amount of experts from the royal families, and recruited strong practitioners from remote areas in the Illusory Demon Realm. Controlling these powers, Duke Huai was naturally able to do whatever he wanted. But the Little Demon Empress is not an indecisive person. She never took any actions towards Duke Huai’s well-known ambitions. It was not that she didn’t want to or didn’t dare to, but because she couldn’t do it. If she really did take action, it would have had difficulty succeeding. In turn, it would give Duke Huai a suitable excuse to pressure her and attack her. On the other hand, even though Duke Huai has enough power, he hasn’t taken action yet, and the main reason is also because he didn’t have an excuse to do so.”

Yun Che, “…”

“Patriarch, all of us are prepared. We are just awaiting Patriarch’s order.”

Outside of the large door, a respectful, serious voice sounded. This voice, belonged to Great Elder Yun Waitian.

Yun Qinghong slanted his eyes, and said, “Okay! Everyone gather in the main hall, we will leave for the Demon Imperial Hall in fifteen minutes!”

“Yes! Patriarch!”

“Che’er, go wake Xiao’er. We should set off.” Yun Qinghong looked up into the sky, as if he wanted to predict heaven’s will for today.