Against the Gods

Chapter 2000 - Sweep (2)

Partially Edited Chapter - Rubble

Fatalistic determination began flowing out of Mo Cangying, but Yun Che didn’t respond to it.

“Yo, isn’t that the pretty face who beat up—” Zhuai Liancheng suddenly realized he was about to make a mistake and changed his words, “—the gigolo that the First Princess keeps? You’re… Yun Che, right? You must be so comfortable acting as the imperial family’s dog, aren’t you?”

Ximen Boytun and Ximen Borong immediately looked over when they heard this. At the same time, Ximen Qi’s crazed sound transmission rang beside his ears, “You must ruin him, Young Master Zhai! Torture him! Stomp him! Break his bones! Crush his head! Don’t even give him the chance to beg for revenge or surrender!”

It hadn’t even been a month yet, but Ximen Qi was already close to imploding.

Zhai Liancheng responded openly and casually, “Do not worry, Young Master Qi. He is my toy from the moment he enters the battlefield. He will be whatever shape I want him to be. You just enjoy the show.”

Yun Che didn’t say anything, but he lowered his eyebrows a little and shot Zhai Liancheng a glance.

“Your mouth is as smelly as ever, Zhai Liancheng,” Mo Cangying replied coldly.

Zhai Liancheng’s expression was even more disdainful than his. “No one’s mouth is as smelly as the Helian Empire’s.”

“Talk is meaningless. Why don’t you two settle your differences in the battle?” Zhai Kexie interrupted before looking at the Helian side. “The time is up. First Princess, are you really going to send just two people to fight this battle?”

The profound practitioners under the imperial family and the Helian Heavenly Palace squirmed uncomfortably. “Are we really not going, Your Highness?”

They didn’t even dare to meet the surrounding gazes. They could only be filled with scorn and disdain.

“Hmph!” Helian Linglang uttered coldly, “Would you rather be known as a coward for a time, or become a sinner who will be spit on for several generations? And don’t forget, your families will be dragged down by your deeds as well.”

And that was how the crown prince wiped out the final sliver of hesitation and courage in his profound practitioners.

“...” Ku Xian didn’t move a muscle. He didn’t even try to speak up and change their minds.

There was nothing sadder than a withered heart, and Ku Xian’s heart had withered a long time ago. He wasn’t even too surprised that a once mighty empire would decline to this extent.

The three sects were governed by brutal laws of survival, competition and natural selection. One could even say they did anything and everything to further their power. It was why their continuous growth was perfectly understandable.

On the other hand, the Helian Empire had had multiple emperors who were more than satisfied with where they were and sought only ease and comfort. The way they governed their empire might be different here and there, but it was identical in the grand scheme of things.

In recent times, he even wished that Mo Cangying had left the empire and joined the three sects instead. After all, the Helian Empire would only get worse if it were to fall into Helian Linglang’s hands.

Though, the Helian Empire might not have another generation anymore. He could hardly imagine what kind of pressure and shame Helian Lingzhu was enduring right now. She couldn’t even make any response because it would only be rewarded with scorn and pity.

That was why Mo Cangying declared proudly, “We do not need spineless dogs in our midst. Two real men are all we need to support Helian’s backbone, so let us begin this battle already!”

“Backbone? Pwahahahahahaha!” Wan Chongyue burst out laughing.

Helian Linglang’s anger and shame turned into malice as he glared at Mo Cangying: Mo Cangying… I swear I will kill you one day!

“Hmph!”

Zhai Kexie stopped talking and shot a beam of yellow profound light toward the ground. It quickly formed a battlefield that was only fifty kilometers in diameter. A battlefield this tiny would’ve been suffocating even for a duel between a pair of Divine Sovereigns, much less a dozen or so Divine Masters. It was to prevent anyone from dragging out the fight.

“This three-way battle will be ranked based on who loses all of their participants first.”

“Anyone who falls unconscious, surrenders, or is knocked out of bounds will be considered defeated… Injuries are unavoidable and should not be pursued… one must not attack with the intent to kill… if someone surrenders, then their opponents are to stop attacking and move on… and last but not least, no one outside the battlefield is allowed to interfere with what is happening inside the battlefield!”

After reciting a bunch of common rules and regulations, Zhai Kexie finally added something Yun Che had never heard until now, “Sir Knight will be overseeing the entire Qilin Abyss Conference, and anyone who dares to defy the rules be in inside or outside the battlefield shall face the wrath of the Pure Land! So watch yourself!”

A blur later, he left the battlefield and shouted, “The first battle of the Qilin Abyss Conference, a three-way battle between the Thousand Blade Sect, the Helian Empire, and the Boulder Profound Sect begins now!”

The signal was given, but not a single person of the twenty-two profound practitioners on the battlefield made a move.

Beyond the battlefield, the spectators were venting, sighing, or gloating over the downfall of the Helian Empire.

Everyone could tell that the Helian Empire had finally run its course. Forget the Qilin Abyss Conference, they wouldn’t even have a future after this.

By the end of this Qilin Abyss Conference, the four factions controlling the Qilin Abyss Realm would be the one alliance and three sects instead of the one dynasty and three sects.

“This is all so strange.”

Hua Caili looked both curious and puzzled. “And that man… he is the loneliest, weakest, and most helpless of them all, and yet he didn’t look afraid in the slightest.”

“Then again, he is a Divine Sovereign surrounded by tens of Divine Masters. What’s the point of being nervous?”

“He’s a little stupid, but he is one of the few good people I've met. He will surely be wounded by the aura of the Divine Masters. What a shame.”

Her soliloquy—or at least it seemed that way—elicited no response. This so-called battle didn’t even count as a play-house to Hua Qingying, so of course she wouldn’t respond to her comments.

Back on the battlefield, the Boulder Profound Sect and the Thousand Blade Sect participants were still waiting for the other party to act. Although they had agreed to take out the small fries first, the Helian Empire had somehow managed to disappoint them again. Forget glory, the damn empire couldn’t even give them the satisfaction of annihilating a whole group.

“You may have the honors if you want it, Young Master Zhai,” Wang Chongyue said disinterestedly.

In a three-way battle, it was common sense for all three parties to duke out with each other, or two parties to join up and take out a single party first. It wasn’t against the rules.

Zhai Liancheng smiled and slowly approached Yun Che and Mo Cangying. In response, Mo Cangying took a step forward and shielded Yun Che behind his back.

After all, a fourth level Divine Master could grievously wound Yun Che in an instant if he wanted to.

“I’ll admit that the two of you have guts. It takes more than courage to step onto this battlefield with just two people,” Zhai Liancheng said with an expression of sympathy.

He briefly stared at Yun Che but shifted his gaze to Mo Cangying. “Brother Cangying, my father cherished your talent so much that he once deigned to extend you an invitation in person. You were oh-so-resolute in your rejection at the time.”

“Look at the Helian Empire you serve, and where you are right now. Even the First Princess you gave everything to is now but the plaything of a pretty boy. Don’t you think it’s a damn shame?”

“...” Mo Cangying’s expression was dark, but he wasn’t angry. He had known since a long time ago that the Helian Empire was rotten to its core, but he had never regretted his choice because of Helian Lingzhu.

Of all the young profound practitioners of this generation, Zhai Liancheng and Mo Cangying were the greatest of them all. However, Zhai Liancheng was acting like he was Mo Cangying’s executioner, and that it was completely up to him whether to humiliate him like a dog, or give him an honorable defeat.

The fact was, he did possess the power. And words could hardly describe how satisfying it was to become the absolute master of a rival’s life.

“It’s so pitiful that there are only two of you. So, so pitiful. It’d be even more pitiful if we were to kick you out of the battlefield just like that. So…”

Zhai Liancheng was less than thirty steps away from Mo Cangying and Yun Che when he said smilingly, “Why don’t you two beg me? If I’m satisfied with your performance, I might just help you take out a couple of Thousand Blade Sect enemies. It won’t be too embarrassing a defeat in that case, right?”

“Hahahahaha!” Roars of laughter erupted from both the Boulder Profound Sect and the Thousand Blade Sect.

Mo Cangying turned his wrist and got ready to summon his profound energy. But before he could do so, Yun Che spoke up in a relieved voice, “Okay! Since you’re making such a gracious offer, I see no other option except to accept it.”

Yun Che smirked, and his silhouette blurred once.

Whoosh!!

Mo Cangying only saw a vague outline out of the corner of his eyes, but Zhai Liancheng suddenly found himself staring at Yun Che’s smile, and only his smile. It was as if the young man had teleported right in front of him. Forget reacting, he didn’t even manage to freeze up in fright before a crimson lightning exploded across his chest.

Crackboom!

Heavenly Law Tribulation Lightning rippled through every vein in Zhai Liancheng’s body like a rampaging devil. Even his eyeballs had turned completely red with blood.

The detonation of profound energy even drove back Mo Cangying and scattered the profound light he was gathering around his palms. The next moment, his eyes widened like saucers.

“Ah…”

“What…!?”

“What just…”

……

Varying cries of shock and disbelief erupted all across the place, but every single one of them was wearing a look of shock on their faces. It was because the profound energy Yun Che unveiled—one that distinctively belonged to a Divine Sovereign—was strong enough to suffocate even the Divine Masters.

Back to the battle, the Heavenly Law Tribulation Lightning had shocked Zhai Liancheng so badly that he had completely lost control of his face and his limbs. He could only writhe helplessly like a worm. As for his hair, it was standing perfectly straight like a forest of needles.

He couldn’t feel his physical body or even the circulation of his profound energy. Even his spiritual perception was overflowing with some sort of numbness.

As his pupils dilated to the maximum degree, Yun Che chuckled, “I’ll be counting on you, Young Master Zhai.”

He kicked Zhai Liancheng over and grabbed his stiffened foot. Then, he charged toward Zhai Liancheng and swung the electrified young sect master straight at a stunned Wang Chongyue.

One breath ago, Wan Chongshan was still waiting for the Helian’s side to embarrass themselves. One breath later, Yun Che was standing in front of his brother and swinging Zhai Liancheng at him like a stick.

How the fuck was he supposed to react to this?

Wan Chongyue tried to dodge out of the way, but the pressure pinning down his body felt as heavy as a million mountains. He just barely managed to raise his arms in defense as Zhai Liancheng’s head approached…

Boom!

… and he failed to block the attack. It was like a pair of galaxies were born in their heads as Zhai Liancheng’s head collided with Wang Chongyue’s. The sound of the skulls breaking was so loud it almost shattered the spectators and the participants’ eardrums.

Spinning at a speed faster than even a raging hurricane, Wang Chongyue flew right out of the battlefield while spewing large globs of blood.

“Liancheng!”“Yue’er!!”

Zhai Kexia and Wan Lei cried out in horror. Wan Lei flew into the sky and caught the spinning Wang Chongyue, but the young man had already fallen unconscious. His skull had cracked in several places, and blood was positively gushing out of his orifices.

Wan Chongyue was the young sect master of the Thousand Blade Sect. A third level Divine Master, he was undoubtedly the strongest expert of his generation.

And yet… he had been grievously wounded in a single strike!

“B… Brother!”

Wan Chongshan finally regained enough presence of mind to voice his shock, but it was a mistake. A chill suddenly gripped his whole body, and the next thing he knew, Zhai Liancheng’s head had struck him in the chest.

Rumble—

It sounded like the shattering of a mountain. This was easily the most terrifying “headbutt” Wan Chongshan had ever witnessed, no, experienced in his life. His solar plexus caved in, and his back exploded outward. In fact, half of Zhai Liancheng’s head was embedded in his solar plexus.

Wang Chongshan bent like a prawn and spewed out a jet of blood that was nearly fifty meters long. He was then sent flying like a cannonball.

“...” Mo Cangying’s mouth fell open. His hands were still frozen in his previous posture because he had completely forgotten to withdraw them.

Speaking of which, Zhai Liancheng was still as stiff as a stick thanks to the Heavenly Law Tribulation Lightning. Yun Che appeared in front of the next Thousand Blade Sect disciple and flicked his Zhai Liancheng upward, smacking the poor guy’s groin with their young sect master’s very handsome face.

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

A bloodcurdling scream pierced through the air as the Thousand Blade Sect disciple collapsed to his feet and writhed like crazy. He would never stand again.

One by one, Yun Che defeated Thousand Blade Sect disciples while swinging Zhai Liancheng as a weapon.

Boom!

Rumble!!

Boom!!

……

When the tenth boom rang, five of the ten genius disciples of the Thousand Blade Sect had been knocked out of the battlefield, four of them were unconscious, and one was unable to stand up.

The world fell into deathly silence when Yun Che finally stopped moving. While slowly dragging Zhai Liancheng across the floor as if he could not bear to part ways with such a “godly” weapon, he said indifferently yet clearly,

“Tsk. No wonder you’re the young sect master of the great Boulder Profound Sect. To think you’re strong enough to defeat the Thousand Blade Sect in just a handful of strikes. How can the Helian Empire ever repay such a favor?”

62d67767f92eb560e77c9100