Against the Gods

Chapter 2036: Breakthrough

It was at this moment a shadow jumped out of the darkness and straight toward the weakened Yun Che.

It was a middle-stage Divine Master Realm abyssal beast, but Hua Caili had sensed it a while ago. She fired a sword beam that pierced its skull in an instant.

Abyssal beasts weren’t afraid of pain or injury. The only true way to neutralize them was to destroy their bodies, and the most effective way to do so was to destroy their heads.

There was a series of disturbing pops and crunches as dozens of sword beams exploded out of the abyssal beast’s head, scattering it into countless even pieces.

When Hua Caili first entered the Endless Fog, she was reluctant to employ such a bloody method of murder. But now, she could do so without batting an eye.

Bang!

Having lost its head, the abyssal best swerved sideways and crashed beside Yun Che instead of on top of him. Some twitchings and spasms later, the headless body settled completely and gave off a rich amount of abyssal dust.

Yun Che removed the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword from in front of him and pushed himself up to his feet with some difficulty. Then, he forced down his pain and shot Hua Caili a bright smile, “Thank you for saving me, big sis. With this, we no longer owe each other anything.”

“Ah… wait!” Hua Caili subconsciously called out. As of late, she was starting to realize just how attractive she was. Be it inside the Endless Fog or outside, everyone she encountered wanted to get close to her. Some would even resort to despicable tactics to journey together with her. That was why she learned to keep a veil on her face at all times. But this man… they had met each other three times at this point, and each time he had left without any hesitation whatsoever. It was almost as if he was afraid to meet her.

Hua Caili herself was surprised by her own outburst, but she quickly collected herself and said, “You’re seriously injured. It would be dangerous if you encountered another abyssal beast in this state.”

“Since you saved my life earlier, I can protect you for four hours. You may recuperate your wounds during this time.”

She then extended a hand toward Yun Che. Somehow, her fingers were glowing like snow and jade in the dark.

She was holding a light purple orb. The energy it circulated was enough to tempt any profound practitioner.

As the Divine Daughter of a Kingdom of God, of course she didn’t want to owe anyone anything. In fact, this was the first time she wanted to help someone since she entered the Endless Fog. The pill she was holding was called the Purple Heart Orb, and it could swiftly regenerate one’s profound energy and vitality. It was bestowed to her by a High Priest and was incredibly valuable.

Hua Caili herself knew just how risky her action was. After all, the medicinal aura and spiritual energy it was emanating could easily incite anyone’s greed, not to mention that they were in the Endless Fog right now.

Surprisingly, Hua Caili couldn’t sense a sliver of greed, surprise or even temptation in Yun Che’s eyes at all. He shot her a smile and said, “Thank you, big sis, but my injuries aren’t as severe as they appear to be. And since you saved me earlier, we no longer owe each other anything.”

He shot her one last smile before turning away and slowly walking to the distance.

Hua Caili was stunned and unsure what to do.

Usually, there was nowhere she could go where she wasn’t worshiped like a goddess. Be it the Heaven Breaker Kingdom of God or even the Pure Land, she was a pearl everyone chased after. No one had ever treated her with indifference not once, not twice, but three times in a row.

This was the first time she had ever approached a man of her own accord, and it was to extend an olive branch no less. However, Yun Che had rejected her without any hesitation whatsoever.

She could understand his refusal of her pill, but to reject even her offer to guard him for four hours…

For the first time in her life, she felt something akin to indignance. It was such an unfamiliar and indescribable feeling that her emotions got the better of her discipline and her reason again. “Why are you always in such a hurry to get away from me? Is there something about me that you dislike?”

Yun Che turned back with a look of astonishment on his face. “Oh no, not at all. If anything, I am most honored and happy to be able to meet you again after the Qilin Abyss Realm. It’s just…”

His smile was still warm, but a hint of loneliness leaked into his voice, “I’ve long since gotten used to loneliness, and I have abandoned my desire for friends and companions a long, long time ago. Someone like you can only be a star among stars, while I am… Well, we don’t belong in the same world, and we never will. With that in mind, why would I make your acquaintance when I already know the outcome?”

“...” Hua Caili wasn’t sure how to respond to this.

When Yun Che turned away, her eyes suddenly centered on his back. How did she not realize how lonely his back looked until now? As he stepped further and further away, it was as if the world itself was distancing itself away from him, unwilling to impart him even a sliver of warmth. The only light that was willing to stay by his side, was the light of his sword.

She had never recognized the word “loneliness” clearer than now. It was such a realization that her breathing stopped.

What did he go through?

It wasn’t until Yun Che’s back had shrunk to the size of a tiny ball that Hua Caili finally realized that she had been staring at his back this whole time. She hurriedly looked away, but a while later she couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Yun Che again.

As if on cue, Yun Che abruptly dropped to his knees and didn’t climb back up to his feet. Even from such a distance, she could sense him shaking violently and gritting his teeth for some reason.

She appeared beside him in an instant, “What are you—”

As soon as she said this, she noticed that his profound energy was spinning all around his body like countless mini cyclones that were out of control.

She had seen this sight plenty of times already. It was the sign of someone about to achieve a breakthrough!

“Big sis,” Yun Che said calmly yet with clear difficulty, “if it’s not… too much to ask…”

He collapsed on the floor even before he could finish. “I was already on the brink of breaking through a while ago, but I’ve kept it suppressed because I’m in the Endless Fog… But my injuries are more severe than I thought, so I… can’t…”

Generally speaking, it was insanely risky to undergo a breakthrough in the Endless Fog unless they were protected by someone they trusted one hundred percent. Otherwise, it was all too easy to be attacked by a stray abyssal beast during the process.

“I understand.” Hua Caili nodded. “I will protect you. Just focus on your breakthrough.”

For whatever reason, she felt a little pleased that this strange man who had avoided her like a plague all this time begged her for her help. It was like gaining the upper hand in a match she was on the brink of losing, even if she had no idea what this match was even about.

Yun Che shot her a grateful smile. “Thank you, big sis. I promise I—Hmm!”

His profound energy completely broke free from his control, and Yun Che was forced to cut short whatever he was planning to say. He did his best to concentrate and channel the cycle and renewal of his profound energy.

This was the Endless Sea, and he was both seriously injured and surrounded by abyssal dust. The amount of risk he must shoulder was insane to say the least.

Hua Caili didn’t dare to interrupt him, so she muttered inside her head: Why does he keep calling me big sis? He’s clearly older than me…

Well, I guess that’s not true. I am—

No no no! Father, aunt and even uncle Abyssal Monarch said that I’m nineteen years old, so I must be nineteen! He shouldn’t call me big sis!

While she was having a conversation with herself, her eyes subconsciously strayed to Yun Che’s profile.

The first time she saw Yun Che, she had already memorized his appearance completely. Even she didn’t know why her first impression of him was so deep.

It might be because of his strange behavior, his extraordinary profound energy, or… his unforgettable profile.

Hua Caili had seen far, far too many strange men and handsome men in her life. Dian Jiuzhi, her fiance was handsome, elegant, but sharp as a sword; Meng Jianxi had dreamy eyes that could draw a woman into an unforgettable dream at a glance, and the Star and Moon twins were the embodiment of a man who was even prettier than a woman.

As for the Abyssal Monarch, he was the pinnacle of a man’s appearance, power and status. That was all that needed to be said about him.

Because she had grown up in such an environment, Hua Caili had never been infatuated with a man’s appearance… until now.

She herself didn’t realize that she had been staring at Yun Che’s side profile for a very, very long time, and she was less than one meter away from him.

His face is so good-looking and strange, and his eyes are as pure as pools of water. But for some reason, I can’t see the slightest ripple in his eyes. It’s as if they have all been hidden within a bottomless lake…

His eyebrows looked like they were hiding a ton of secrets, and his face, while pretty, looked terribly lonely for some reason…

Suddenly, Hua Caili jolted out of her daydream and realized what she was doing. She hurriedly looked away from Yun Che and even backed away from him.

“...?” High up in the sky, Hua Qingying frowned in confusion.

Hua Caili shook her head a little to chase away the strange thoughts in her head. Then, she focused on what she ought to be doing; keeping watch on their surroundings and protecting Yun Che from harm.

It was at this moment that Yun Che’s profound energy suddenly stalled for a moment. Then, a blast of fire erupted from his body.

It had taken Hua Caili much effort to peel her eyes away from Yun Che, but the commotion had pulled them back almost instantly. She immediately saw him burning a calm, golden flame that she had never seen before. It looked as pure as the purest gold, and it was so bright that it dyed even the grayish world around them a beautiful gold. It was such a color that Hua Caili couldn’t help but keep staring at it.

She knew a lot of people who wielded golden flames, but this was easily the purest gold she had ever seen.

The golden flames extinguished slowly after just a few breaths, and profound energy cyclones were still spinning around Yun Che. Then, a violent storm appeared out of nowhere and pushed off all the rocks and corpses strewn across the area. Even space itself was distorting a little from the sheer force of the wind.

Zzzt!

After the storm had subsided, lightning started crackling across Yun Che’s body. It was purple at first, but it slowly turned as red as blood.

A dozen breaths later, the lightning transformed into streams of light blue water that circled quickly around Yun Che. It looked like countless spinning water dragons.

Oddly, the water dragons soon froze into ice that shone a dreamy light.

Fire, wind, lightning, water, and ice…

Hua Caili was beyond stunned at this point. Her pink lips were parted slightly before she knew it.

In the sky, Hua Qingying was stunned as well.

It was at this moment the blue light of the ice slowly faded and turned into deep yellow.

The ice itself had transformed into a bright sheen of yellow jade.

Earth!

Hua Caili’s mouth widened even more, and the astonishment in Hua Qingying’s blue eyes didn’t fade even after a dozen breaths. She never thought she would see the light of five elements in a single person!

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