Against the Gods

Chapter 2038: Her Darling

The murderous gaze in his eyes made it clear exactly what Fan Qingzhou was plotting. The lightning he discharged pierced both her eyes and her heart.

The Glazed Cloud Sword traced Hua Caili’s hand and glowed warmly as she pointed a finger at the squire. “An Abyssal Knight lives to protect innocents and judge others, and you are a squire who possesses the qualifications to become an Abyssal Knight. Are you sure… you’re going to murder innocent people just to avoid the chance you might stain your record?”

Her words were tinged with severity and pain not unlike a parent who witnessed her child straying off the right path. It was such an unexpected emotion that Fan Qingzhou paused for a moment.

Unfortunately, that moment was quickly dyed by even greater determination and killing intent. “I wonder how you managed to uncover my identity instantly. If I have to guess, it’s probably because you often make contact with Abyssal Knights.”

“That is why I can’t ask who you are. I’m worried that I would hesitate or even fear for my life if I receive your answer.”

It wasn’t like Fang Qingzhou must maintain a perfect record his whole life. It could happen before or after he became an Abyssal Knight.

One thing certain though, it must never happen during the trial, and the more important Hua Caili might be, the higher the likelihood that his misconduct would be exposed.

He was half a step away from becoming an Abyssal Knight. There was no way he could overlook something that might jeopardize everything.

He pointed his sword at Hua Caili, violent lightning illuminating the ruthless savagery in his eyes. “You shouldn’t have exposed me. You gave me no choice but to kill you!”

He could tell from Hua Caili’s presence alone that she was an extraordinary person, much less her appearance. However, this was the Endless Fog where everything and anything could be hidden. That was why he was unafraid to bare his fangs here… not to mention that it was far too late for regrets.

That was all he said before thrusting his sword forward and launching a thousand lightning bolts at Hua Caili. As for Yun Che, he hadn’t paid him a single glance from the start.

There was no way a Half-Step Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner could defeat a first level Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner, not to mention that Hua Caili was still tired and hurt from her previous battle. However, she was no ordinary Half-Step Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner. As someone who had grown up surrounded by True Gods and Half Gods, the auric pressure of a Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner simply couldn’t intimidate her one bit. Even the power suppression on her body and her strength was far weaker than usual.

She dashed sideways like a butterfly and escaped the sword beam and lightning attack in an instant. She had also shifted the battlefield away from Yun Che.

Fang Qingzhou frowned. He couldn’t seem to believe that his power had failed to touch even the corner of her sleeve.

He flicked his wrist, and the sword beam and the lightning attack abruptly changed directions and continued to chase after Hua Caili.

It was at this moment the Glazed Cloud Sword drew a thin, seemingly powerless arc in the air. In reality, dozens of colorless sword beams exploded from the arc in an instant.

The sound of her energy cutting through the air was as soft as a mosquito’s buzzing, but Fan Qingzhou flinched. It was because he realized that his connection with his sword beam and his lightning attack had disappeared.

Somehow, Hua Caili had severed it with her sword intent.

The out of control sword and lightning attack crashed into the ground and triggered a lightning storm that engulfed several kilometers of land, but that was it. This was the periphery of the Endless Fog, and plenty of pages were training in this zone. In order to avoid causing too big a commotion, Fang Qingzhou had focused his energies as best he could and avoided using his full strength.

Although it sounded like the Half-Step Divine Extinction Realm was only “half a step” away from reaching the Divine Extinction Realm, in reality there existed an insurmountable gulf between the two. That was why Fan Qingzhou never thought that Hua Caili would be able to sever his energy.

Hua Caili exploited the lull in his movement and launched an instantaneous counterattack. No sword beams and sword projections appeared from her sword, and the amount of profound energy she leaked was minimal. However, dozens of sword beams erupted less than ten meters away from Fan Qingzhou and flew straight toward his eyes.

As Fan Qingzhou was still wallowing in his own shock, and the sword beams had appeared out of nowhere, he was unable to dodge out of the way even though he was a Half God. He just barely managed to move a few meters backward before the sword beams stabbed into his body. Not a single one of the attacks had missed.

He was still a Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner. He looked like a porcupine with the sword beams sticking out of his body, but not a single one managed to skewer him. The gap was ultimately insurmountable.

Fang Qingzhou waved his hand and unleashed a blast of lightning, shattering all of the sword beams and leaving behind dozens of bloody holes that were half an inch deep. The wounds quickly sealed themselves.

His shock was palpable, however. He too was a sword cultivator who possessed the ability to surround his sword qi in lightning and hunt down enemies with the barest flick of his fingers. He was already beyond stunned that Hua Caili was able to sever his sword intent, but that sword attack that had literally manifested out of nowhere had gone completely beyond what he knew about the Way of the Sword.

Yun Che’s closed eyes twitched a little. As expected of the sword art created by the Heaven Punishing Divine Emperor himself. Even the first move of the Heaven Breaking Sword could casually transcend space like nothing.

What was even more surprising was how Hua Caili was able to execute the technique to this extent after grasping it just a few hours ago.

The unexpected outcome sounded every alarm bell in Fan Qingzhou’s head. For him, a sword cultivator, to not recognize the sword intent of a Half-Step Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner… it could only mean that her attainment in the Way of the Sword was far beyond his imagination. It almost meant that her background was a million times scarier than what he thought it was.

Cold fear gripped his heart, but it was quickly replaced by even bloodier killing intent. When he attacked her once more, he stopped holding back at all.

A piercing purple beam cut a hole through the Endless Fog with the full might of the Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner. For a moment, Hua Caili’s eyes were fully dyed in deep purple.

Hua Caili dashed sideways while pointing her sword at the incoming sword beam, causing it to swerve sideways. This should be impossible considering the gulf that existed between their cultivation. However, the gulf was ultimately insurmountable, so even though the purple beam missed her by at least ten or so meters, she was still blown away by the shockwave.

Bang!

She crashed into the ground hard enough to form cracks on its surface. Beads of blood and a few strands of hair floated in the sky. Hua Caili quickly struggled back to her feet. When she looked up, there was a deep, bloody gash on her forehead, and a trail of blood was trickling down her lips, but she was still alive. Fan Qingzhou was stunned for the third time, and once again he converted it all into killing intent. After he summoned his purple sword back to his side, purple lightning engulfed the entire length of the sword and his right arm. Gritting his teeth, he let out a guttural growl and pounced toward Hua Caili like a beast.

“DIE!”

Violent thunder stirred up the gray dark space. Clearly, Fan Qingzhou was beyond caring about maintaining a low profile at this point. He was desperate to eliminate the source of his anxiety, Hua Caili, and he wasn’t willing to wait even a second longer. While pinning her down with his Half God aura, he thrust his sword forward one last time to skewer her throat.

Hua Caili gritted her teeth and resisted with all her might, but both old and new injuries had robbed her of the strength necessary to break free. In fact, she couldn’t even lift her sword arm anymore. She could only watch as the fatal light came closer and closer.

Save me, aunt… She cried helplessly in her thoughts.

No wonder her aunt said that a person’s true nature was hidden underneath a set of rules, and the murky Endless Fog was the one place that could lay it bare.

As far as she was aware, all Abyssal Knights were righteous and good. She never imagined that they could be so cruel and scary in the Endless Fog.

The stench of death kept coming closer and closer. It eventually came so close that she could feel it even through her shut eyes. However, she still couldn’t sense her aunt’s aura.

Thud pssh!

It was at this moment she heard a fleshy thud and what sounded like spraying blood. A chaotic blast of air hit her face, but it was no longer filled with the terrifying scent of death.

She slowly opened her eyes. What entered her vision wasn’t her aunt’s unmatched blue, but the back of a young man.

Drip…

Drip…

The purple sword that should’ve taken her life had pierced about halfway through the man’s palm. However, he had forcefully clenched his skewered fist so that it couldn’t travel any further.

Beads of blood slowly dripped down his palm and dyed both her pure white robes and her eyes red.

The world froze for a moment, and Fan Qingzhou’s pupils had dilated more than twice their original size. He just couldn’t believe it. Did a third level Divine Master… just block his power completely? The power of a Divine Extinction Realm!?

“...” In the sky, Hua Qingying once again withdrew her sword intent.

“You…?” Fan Qingzhou checked Yun Che’s aura repeatedly to confirm that he wasn’t dreaming. He had completely ignored the young man just now because his aura showed that he was just an early-stage Divine Master. But now, the early-stage Divine Master had blocked his power, a Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner, directly. It was so unbelievable that he still thought that he was in a dream.

Shiing!

Yun Che tightened his fist some more, and the purple sword shrieked as if it was straining. Most of the lightning covering its body also dissipated at this moment. At the same time, he gently pushed Hua Caili away with a small gust of profound energy.

“You think you deserve to be an Abyssal Knight?” he asked coldly while staring at Fan Qingzhou, causing the squire’s face to darken further and further. He had been attempting to withdraw his sword since the beginning, but despite using his full strength, he was unable to do so.

“Who… Who are you!?” he growled out in shock, disbelief, and icy fear.

Everyone knew that the gulf between great realms was impossible to bridge. A genius like Hua Caili might be able to defeat multiple opponents at her cultivation level and even overcome a single opponent who was many minor realms above her, but she could never defeat Fan Qingzhou, someone who was a great realm above her, even if she was at her full strength. But this third level Divine Master was somehow applying so much strength he felt like his bones might break at any moment.

The Half God was growling savagely, while the Divine Master was just staring at him coldly. It was such a paradoxical sight that it was downright comedic.

Instead of responding, Yun Che narrowed his eyes and discharged his profound energy.

A shrill sound and a massive power far beyond Fan Qingzhou’s imagination annihilated the remaining lightning and broke his hand. The Half God let out a bloodcurdling scream, let go of his sword, and retreated.

Yun Che’s hand shook once as the purple sword penetrating his palm shot out. Then, he grabbed it with his other hand.

Fang Qingzhou’s bent fingers shivered violently. His flesh was folded outward, and broken bits of bones were flowing out with his blood.

He looked up at Yun Che and saw him grasping his purple sword. For a swordsman, this was a kind of humiliation and defeat he had never experienced before, but the emotions that firmly took the driver’s seat of his mind were shock and disbelief.

“Who… are you!?” He roared again. He no longer thought of Yun Che as a third level Divine Master who just completed his breakthrough. He thought of him as an old monster whose cultivation level was so high that he didn’t have the right to even ask him about it!

“Heh!” Yun Che sneered. His gaze was taunting and uncaring like he was looking at a pitiful ant. It affirmed Fan Qingzhou’s belief even more.

“Thank goodness you’re just a squire. If you became an actual Abyssal Knight, your actions today would have stained their title for eternity. Can you guess who would want you to wipe you out more than anyone else in the world once your deeds were exposed?”

Yun Che’s words pierced Fan Qingzhou’s heart like a knife. He carelessly waved the purple sword he was holding and jeered, “Of course, you can try to silence me. Who knows, maybe you'll succeed.”

“...” Since just now, Fan Qingzhou’s pupils had been dilating and contracting uncontrollably. He had not been able to control his reactions at all.

He wasn’t a stupid man. In fact, he was ruthless, decisive, and cool-headed. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have shown up to silence Hua Caili so quickly. He was certain he could silence Hua Caili with his strength, and no one would ever find out about it since this was the Endless Fog. His determination had only grown stronger after he discovered that Hua Caili’s background might be greater than he could ever imagine.

He never imagined that the “third level Divine Master” accompanying her was the real monster between the duo, however. Not only that, but he was a man who could rob him of his sword in an instant.

He wasn’t naive enough to think that he could silence someone like that.

Crack… crack crack…

Fang Qingzhou’s teeth cracked a little. That was how hard he was gritting them. Then, he started walking backward. Three steps later, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and his silhouette was engulfed by a curtain of abyssal dust. Then, he was gone just like that.

He had escaped.

Yun Che didn’t give chase. After all, there was no need to chase after a dead man.

“Phew…”

He let out a long sigh of relief, and the sigh seemed to have stolen all of his energy. He abruptly turned limp and dropped to one knee.

“Oh!” Hua Caili cried out in surprise and rushed to his side. “Are… are you alright?”

Her heart clenched with pain when she saw his pale face and bloody palm. Earlier, he had taken injuries that were so severe that he had no choice but to undergo a breakthrough. It was clear that he had forced himself to unleash his power. She subconsciously wanted to lift him to his feet, but she hurriedly withdrew her fingers as if afraid that the touch would break him.

“Don’t worry. I’m doing fine. I’m just feeling a little exhausted is all.” Yun Che smiled casually and slowly pulled himself up to a meditative position. He covered up his bloodstained left hand with his right and added, “I’m glad I managed to scare him off.”

“Why… why did you grab his sword?” Hua Caili’s gaze kept alternating between the palm that was skewered for her sake and the bright red blood on her clothes. “You could’ve…”

“If I knocked him away, you would’ve been hurt by the shockwave,” Yun Che replied smilingly without a hint of pain on his face. “This was the best way I could think of considering how little time there was.”

“...” Hua Caili’s lips moved, but she didn’t know what to say. It was because she had never experienced something like this since she was a child, much less felt… whatever this emotion was.

Yun Che exhaled slowly before adding, “Can you protect me for a short while, big sis? I’ll be done in a moment.”

“Of course.” Hua Caili nodded without hesitation and took a few steps away from him to put down a barrier. But this time, her actions seemed a little distracted, and her eyes were filled with confusion.

It was as if a certain part of her heart she never knew was moved.

Meanwhile, Li Suo was observing everything and attempting to decipher Yun Che’s acting.

As the cultivator of the Great Way of the Buddha, Yun Che was fully restored every time he accomplished a breakthrough. Forget injuries, he wasn’t even tired right now.

In fact, considering how tough his body was, it should’ve been near impossible for Fan Qingzhou to pierce his palm.

Fan Qingzhou himself could never have pierced Yun Che’s palm. He only succeeded because Yun Che had cooperated with him every step of the way. Strength, the softest part of his palm, the angle, everything. And it was all to put on a show that she couldn’t help but think was beyond childish.

Would it really work as he seemed to think it would?

……

Fang Qingzhou ran through the Endless Fog like thunder. The noise he was generating was triggering swarms of abyssal beasts everywhere, but he didn’t slow down in the slightest.

It was because he needed to seek out his backer and return in the shortest time possible to silence the woman and that abnormal “Divine Master”. If he was too late, there was no chance he would be able to find them again. This was the Endless Fog after all.

The good news was that his movement hadn’t just alarmed the abyssal beasts. It had also alarmed a certain Abyssal Knight.

Boom!

Fang Qingzhou abruptly slammed into an invisible wall. Despite being a Half God, the rebound was such that he was sent flying several kilometers away. By the time he landed on the ground, his lightning profound energy was completely scattered.

He felt as if every bone in his body was broken. He groaned as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. As soon as he looked up, he was greeted by a pair of indifferent but heavy eyes.

He was average-sized and wore a set of silver armor. However, he resembled an insurmountable mountain in Fan Qingzhou’s eyes and stifled his breath instantly.

He immediately dropped to his knees and saluted him respectfully. After scanning his surroundings and finding no one, he abruptly grabbed the older man’s collar and said panickedly, “You need to save me, Thirteenth Uncle! You need to save me!”

“What are you doing!?”

The silver-armored man kicked him away and uttered in a frigid voice, “An Abyssal Knight must always be cool-headed and calm no matter the circumstances, but you have created such a commotion and even acted like a defeated dog. Do you even remember why you entered the Endless Fog in the first place?”

“Also, I am your trial supervisor, not your Thirteenth Uncle! Control yourself!”

His eyes were filled with disappointment and warning when he said this.

“I understand.” Fan Qingzhou sucked in a deep breath to calm himself before kneeling before the silver-armored man once more. “But I’m in deep, deep trouble this time. If you don’t help me, I may never be able to become an Abyssal Knight.”

“...” The silver-armored man’s already locked brows deepened even further, but he didn’t kick Fan Qingzhou a second time. Instead he said, “Speak.”

Fan Qingzhou let out a small sigh of relief and got ready to speak. It was at this moment he felt a sudden chill.

It was because he saw the silver-armored man’s eyes suddenly dilating in shock.

His collar tightened, and his breathing was utterly stifled. The silver-armored man lifted him by the neck and roared, “Who gave you these sword injuries? Who!?”

The silver-armored man’s pupils dilated even further. His voice had turned hoarse, his tone was terrified, and even his arm was shaking visibly.

Fan Qingzhou didn’t dare to struggle, but the silver-armored man’s response caused his heart to sink to the bottom.

“Please don’t tell me that—” The silver-armored man’s eyebrows twitched, and his eyes grew darker with every word he spoke, “—your trouble has something to do with whoever dealt you your injuries.”

“...” Fan Qingzhou couldn’t say anything. His only reaction was his eyes growing even more fearful. It was because the silver-armored man’s reaction meant that the woman’s backer was, at the minimum, someone that terrified his backer deeply.

Attempting to steal another person's Abyssal Crystal would leave a stain on his record, true. But attempting to kill someone whose backer far exceeded his own… that was a death sentence, plain and simple.

Ding!

It sounded like a needle hitting a frozen lake…

Fan Qingzhou was gone just like that.

The silver-armored man turned his neck with great difficulty.

Thirty meters away, the squire was lying on the ground soundlessly and bloodlessly. It was almost as if he was asleep.

Almost, if not for the fact that a faint sword beam was fading rapidly from his body.

Thump!

The silver-armored man dropped to one knee and declared solemnly, “Abyssal Knight Fan Cheng welcomes the Sword Fairy! Fan Qingzhou is disqualified from the trial due to malicious conduct and behavior that is unbefitting an Abyssal Knight of the Pure Land. It is his honor to be punished by the Sword Fairy herself!”

As one of the Abyssal Knights who served the High Priest Wandao, he recognized the sword injuries on Fan Qingzhou’s person as a matter of course.

The Glazed Cloud Sword had been bestowed to the Sword Fairy Hua Qingying by High Priest Wandao himself, and it was given to Hua Qingying soon after.

From the moment he recognized the injuries, he knew that Fan Qingzhou was dead. There was no one in the entire Abyss who could save him.

To most people, the Sword Fairy Hua Qingying was a heavenly fairy who didn’t involve herself with the mortal coil. But those who were high enough on the totem pole would know that anything relating to Hua Caili would transform her into an obsessed maniac.

After all, she held much regret toward Hua Caili and even more hatred toward herself…

High Priest Wangdao once said that Hua Qingying might spend the rest of her life for Hua Caili and Hua Caili only.

If Fan Qingzhou had offended Hua Qingying personally, he still had a chance to live. The Sword Fairy might find it beneath her to kill a worm like him.

But Hua Caili?

He could have ten thousand lives, and Hua Qingying would still slay him ten thousand times.

Fan Cheng’s voice was quickly devoured by the gray fog. No one gave him a reply, but he remained bowed for a very, very long time.

A full hour later, he finally rose to his feet and quietly left the place. Forget taking Fan Qingzhou away, he didn’t even dare to glance at his corpse.

He didn’t know what happened, and he didn’t dare to find out.

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