Against the Gods

Chapter 673 – Exposed?

“This… this is … Asgard Master’s teacher?” The ladies of Frozen Cloud said in a daze as they stared at the black-robed man in midair. The almighty power was one even the elders of Sun Moon Divine Hall could not endure which made its effects on them all the more obvious.

The fact that Yun Che had a mysterious master was something that everyone in Frozen Cloud Asgard knew. Because three years ago, when he entered Frozen Cloud Asgard, he had made it clear to Grand Asgard Mistress Feng Qianhui that he already had a master, so he would only be able to enter the sect, but he would not become anyone’s disciple. Furthermore, his terrifying rate at which his profound strength grew and his unbelievably heaven-defying medical skills had naturally come from his master as well. And today, they had finally witnessed the “true face” of Yun Che’s mysterious master, and the aura and might that emanated from him exceeded their imagination and understanding by leaps and bounds.

They had previously imagined that Yun Che’s master must be an extremely terrifying individual… but the reality of the situation had far exceeded their expectations!

No wonder he was so calm when he was facing Sun Moon Divine Hall… no wonder he dared to be so arrogant.

“So you are the people who seek to kill this old one’s disciple?”

The black-robed old man opened his mouth, and even though his voice was soft and his tone was even, every single one of his words weighed on the ears of the party from Sun Moon Divine Hall like enormous and heavy boulders.

Ye Guying silently sucked in a breath and suppressed the alarm and fear in his heart. He calmly cupped his hands and proceeded in a manner which was neither obsequious nor overbearing, “Ah, so it is this distinguished one who is Yun Che’s master. We are members of Sun Moon Divine Hall. Yesterday, your disciple attacked us for no reason at all, and he killed twelve people from our Sun Moon Divine Hall. Two of these victims were the personal servants of our young master. So our Sun Moon Divine Hall has naturally arrived to seek redress. But we did not expect a distinguished one such as yourself would be overseeing this place, so we have been remiss in failing to offer our respect to you. Even though we have inadvertently disturbed this distinguished one’s cultivation, our mission was to bring a murderer to justice as it is the right and proper thing to do… We believe that this distinguished one’s profound aura is unrivalled, so you are definitely not someone who is unable to distinguish right from wrong and cover up evil deeds.”

Ye Guying’s face was filled with righteousness, and his calm voice was laced with righteous anger as he sought to paint a scenario where Yun Che was the heinous sinner and Sun Moon Divine Hall was merely the party who was seeking “justice.” Moreover, he heavily emphasized the words “Sun Moon Divine Hall”… because in the Profound Sky Continent, there was no one who dared to offend Sun Moon Divine Hall.

“Haha,” the black-robed old man gave a polite laugh. “Anyone who has been killed by this old one’s disciple are definitely deserving of their deaths. On the contrary, it is your Sun Moon Divine Hall who assaulted these ladies’ territory for no rhyme or reason. If there was any crime that was committed here, this was it.”

“Hmph! This is a bunch of nonsense!” Ye Shi advanced as he raised his head and gave a cold retort, “There is definitely a special reason for our young master to take action against Frozen Cloud Asgard! And even if one wants to retaliate, that is also something that only concerns Frozen Cloud Asgard! This brat Yun Che is only an outsider. Our Sun Moon Divine Hall has never taken any action against him before, yet he killed twelve of our people. So we have come here to seek justice as it is the right and proper thing to do! But in order to protect your disciple, you actually changed chose to deliberately distort the truth…”

“That is enough Ye Shi, do not be disrespectful.” Ye Guying raised a hand and used his eyes to convey a message to Ye Shi. This was because the aura of this black-robed man was simply far too dreadful, and if they really angered him, the consequences would be too horrible to contemplate. He raised his head and said with a face filled with righteousness, “Our Sun Moon Divine Hall has existed for ten thousand years, and defending the Profound Sky Continent has always been our mission. Over this ten thousand year period, we have repelled those who sought to invade the Profound Sky Continent countless of times! Because of this, the people of the Profound Sky Continent have given us the title of ‘Sacred Ground,’ and our the ten thousand years of meritorious service rendered by Sun Moon Divine Hall is beyond reproach! We bear the name of a ‘Sacred Ground,’ and we also bear the burden of ensuring the safety of all that live within the Profound Sky Continent, so our actions have always been upright, candid, and completely beyond reproach! Perhaps because this distinguished one’s profound aura is unrivaled, you want to force us to bear the mark of a sinner, but even if we are not equal to this distinguished one, we will still definitely not allow you to do so!

“But if this distinguished one takes action and kills us for the sake of protecting your disciple…” Ye Guying continued with solemn eyes, “it just might be that all of the people in the world will not agree to it!”

Ye Guying’s words caused hatred and resentment to appear on the faces of all the gathered ladies of the Frozen Cloud. To them, these people were devils who behaved viciously for their own personal gain, yet right now, they unashamedly portrayed themselves as the guardian of the Profound Sky Continent, and they even dared to use the will of the people as a threat. It was simply far too despicable!

But what they could not refute was that the Four Sacred Grounds were truly regarded as “sacred” amongst all the people of the Profound Sky Continent. And common knowledge regarding the “Sacred Grounds” was that they constantly defended the borders of the Profound Sky Continent, keeping them safe from invasion and eliminating countless of calamities which threatened the Profound Sky Continent.

In the eyes of the common man, it was the existence of the Four Sacred Grounds that ensured the peace and prosperity of the Profound Sky Continent.

So Ye Guying’s “threat” was definitely not just a false alarm or pure bluster and bravado.

“Haha.” The black-robed old man gave yet another tepid laugh, and he did not show any fury, but this laugh contained a trace of mockery. “There is nothing that happens in this Profound Sky Continent that can escape this old man’s eyes. Perhaps you can trick the entire world, but this old man knows all of the ugly things that you have done over the years. Just based on how many women your so-called young master has harmed over the years, that alone is already a sin that cannot be tolerated by the heavens!”

“When we have returned, we will naturally convey the words of this distinguished ones to our Hall Master,” Ye Guying said without flinching. “Actually, this humble one has not left his Divine Hall for a very long time, so I have always been ignorant and ill-informed when it comes to worldly affairs, so I do not know where this distinguished one hails from. May I be so daring as to ask where this distinguished one is from.”

Ye Guying’s words clearly showed his intense desire to retreat… This was an individual with a terrifying profound aura, so the only thing he needed to do now was ensure that he could leave as quickly as possible with his young master in tow! Facing this dreadful aura, he knew that every second they remained here exponentially increased the danger that they faced.

“This old man’s name has long ago faded into dust…” the black-robed old man said with a slight pause. Following that, he raised his head slightly and suddenly let out a long and heavy sigh, “Ah, the world of mortals is vast and boundless, and their quarrels never end. I have already sworn to never again stain myself with the affairs of the mortal realm, and I definitely should not get involved in its quarrels… All of you should leave, this old man does not want to break his long tradition of not taking a life because of you.”

As the words of the black-robed old man fell, the initial response of the members of Sun Moon Divine Hall was not relief. Instead, they looked at each other with strange expressions on their faces, and they felt the pressure on their bodies and the anxiety that was plaguing their minds dissipate.

Even the faces of the ladies of the Frozen Cloud were colored with a clear disappointment… and anxiousness.

Yun Che’s master had appeared exuding an extremely alarming aura, but when the other party asked for his name, he did not reply, asking them to leave instead… anyone here would be able to see that this person was perhaps afraid of Sun Moon Divine Hall!!

He did not dare let the members of Sun Moon Divine Hall know his name, and he also did not dare extend a hand against Sun Moon Divine Hall!!

However, this was also something that was inevitable! In this Profound Sky Continent, no matter how powerful a person or a power was, they still would not dare act rashly in front of Sun Moon Divine Hall!! And if they dared to make a move against Sun Moon Divine Hall, they were courting their own destruction!!

“Leave?” Ye Juanyun took a step forward instead with a bland smile draped across his face. Whether it was his expression or his gaze, both had undergone a noticeable transformation… Even though the mysterious black-robed old man in front of them had a shocking aura, it began to increasingly look like… the aura that was emanating from his person was fake… it was almost as if it was being released by some kind of special profound artifact! Because this aura was simply too incredible, it was strong to the point where it was far too unusual and unreasonable. If there was really someone who had such an aura in this world, then why would Sun Moon Divine Hall not know of him?! Also, if he was really as strong as he seemed to be, why did he not have the courage to present his name? Furthermore, before they had even begun to talk, he seemed to be urgently trying to chase them away.

“We have come here just to seek justice for the dead servants of our young master. If we were to leave just because of a few words from this distinguished one, then how would we be able to face those two dead servants and our brothers from the Divine Hall?!”

Ye Shuran narrowed his eyes as he spoke up as well, “That is right, we did not even hesitate to use the Sun Moon Sacred Ark to travel thousands of kilometers, all just to come to this place. It was simply a fortunate coincidence that we found Yun Che. So if we let him go just like this, won’t we lose a lot of face? Also, if word of this spreads abroad, then our Sun Moon Divine Hall is going to be ridiculed throughout the lands.”

The black-robed old man did not move an inch, and his voice was still as calm as stagnant water, “So what are you intending to do? Will you definitely force this old man to kill once again?”

“Naturally we would not dare to do so. Every single one of us here cherishes his own life,” Ye Guying said slowly as his eyes were far more relaxed than they were just a moment ago. “This distinguished one’s profound aura is so strong that this is the first time in my life I have ever witnessed such a thing. And I truly believe that you can easily kill any single one of us. But, after all, we are still a Sacred Ground of this continent… All of us are members of Sun Moon Divine Hall. This time, our young master has personally ventured forth while being accompanied by four elders. If we were to retreat just because of the words of this distinguished one, then what dignity will our Sun Moon Divine Hall still have left?! As members of this Divine Hall, how can we act in such a way which will destroy the dignity of our sect?!

“However, we also acknowledge that we are not this distinguished one’s opponents, so the mission to kill Yun Che will more than likely end in failure. Yet we cannot leave just like this…” The depths of Ye Guying’s eyes shone with a deep craftiness as he continued, “But how does this proposal sound to you? Our Divine Hall’s Elder Ye Shi will spar with this distinguished one, and I believe that given the strength that this distinguished one has, that you can definitely easily defeat Elder Ye Shi. Since that is the case, we will know that our strength is inferior and we will retreat in defeat. But we will not leave just due to this distinguished one’s words, and this will allow us to return to our Divine Hall with our dignity intact.

“This way, no one will get hurt, and our relationship will not be affected either. What is even better is that we will not cause this distinguished one to break his vow to not kill. So I believe that this distinguished one will definitely not reject such a perfect plan.”

Following Ye Guying’s slow speech, Ye Xinghan, Ye Shuran, Ye Juanyun, and Ye Shi all laughed gleefully in their hearts… This was indeed the careful and meticulous Ninth Elder. What a wonderful plan he had devised! Because by forcing this black-robed old man to take action, there would be one of two conclusions. If he truly possessed a shocking power and was able to defeat Ye Shi, the restraint he had shown towards Sun Moon Divine Hall and his unwillingness to break his vow of not killing another would allow Ye Shi to survive this encounter and would allow them to retreat without losing a single member

And if his strength was simply inferior and this bizarrely strong aura was only artificially manufactured by some special means… then they could do whatever they wanted to all of the people present!

Of course, if he rejected this request… then it would completely confirm that he was all hot air!!

So without even waiting for the reply of the black-robed old man, Ye Shi had arrived in front of him in an instant. As he drew close to the old man, that peerless and dreadful aura caused all the nerves in his body to spasm uncontrollably, but he immediately suppressed those spasms with all of his might. He gave a smile that did not reach his eyes as he said, “This humble one is the fifteenth elder of Sun Moon Divine Hall, Ye Shi, and I have come specially to experience this distinguished one’s unrivaled profound strength. This distinguished one only needs to defeat me and we will immediately leave this place and will never appear before this distinguished one ever again… I hope that this distinguished one will show mercy to my humble self.”

“Hahaha.” The black-robed old man said as he gave a dull and emotionless laugh, “Since these are your intentions… then I will accept them.”