Against the Gods

Meng Jianxi’s body tensed little by little as he rasped, “Mother, please… don’t pressure me.”

Meng Xuanjue uttered coldly, “I’m not pressuring you, I’m saving you!”

“When Jianzhou died, my heart ached at the loss of my son, but frankly, my relief was even greater. With him and Meng Jingzhe dead, no one would ever find out the truth—or so I thought. I wasn’t ever going to share this with you, but I could not have imagined that those two worthless idiots were such failures that they couldn’t even take out their primary target!”

In fact, Meng Jianxi suspected from almost the beginning that Meng Jianzhou had a hand in Meng Jianyuan’s death. He was Meng Jianzhou’s true younger brother, so he knew his jealousy and hatred for Meng Jianyuan better than anyone else.

This was also why he stomped Meng Jianzhou under the mud after he awakened his divine essence and became the Dreamweaver Divine Son; why he stamped out all of his courage and ambition without mercy even though Meng Jianzhou should have been his closest brother.

He never once thought that his mother was involved in this matter. She was the empress of a Kingdom of God and a woman who stood in the pinnacle of the Abyss. There should have been no reason for her to take such a risk, one that carried such severe consequences no less.

Poor Meng Jianzhou… He never thought that a third person beside him and Meng Jingzhe who knew of his dirty deed existed. He never realized that it was his own mother who secretly pushed him to kill Meng Jianyuan until he died.

“Back then, I was overly confident that no one could ever threaten my position, and what happened? That bitch came within an inch of dethroning me! Since then, I recognized that there is no such thing as an enemy I can underestimate. Anyone and everyone who may pose a threat to me must be extinguished before they can grow into a true threat!”

Meng Xuanjue abruptly grabbed Meng Jianxi’s arms and turned him toward her. She stared straight into his eyes and said, “Meng Jianyuan is far past the level of a ‘sprout’ at this point, and he’s practically riding on your face, and your plan to deal with him is to do nothing!?”

“I am not doing nothing.” Meng Jianxi answered as calmly as he could. “It’s just that now is absolutely not the time to attack Meng Jianyuan.”

“Since when did I tell you to attack Meng Jianyuan?” Meng Xuanjue retorted. “Your Father treats him like the gem of his life right now. To attack him now is to dig your own grave. No, what you should do—what you must do—right now is to stop him from becoming the Dreamweaver Divine Son! At the very least, you shouldn’t allow him to rise to power so easily!”

“You are unconcerned because of self-conceit and overconfidence.” Meng Xuanjie slowly tightened her grip until her fingernails were almost digging into his flesh. “But you must never forget that the Dreamless Divine Regent’s word is law in the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God! You can have another ten grandfathers and uncles to back you up, and your Father still has the final say in everything!”

“You must become the one and only Divine Son of this Kingdom of God; the heir who is utterly irreplaceable regardless of your Father’s feelings! Only then will you be safe and beyond reproach even if the truth is revealed, and your Father wishes with every breath he draws that you are dead!”

“Then, when it is finally time for you to inherit your Father’s True God power and become the new Dreamweaver Divine Regent… your Mother can commit ten times the sins she has committed, and you will have the power to gloss over it all with a single breath! There could be another one hundred thousand Meng Jianyuan in the future, and they will never be anything more than your servants, your slaves! Do you understand?”

Meng Jianxi closed his eyes and lifted his head. A while later, he finally said in a heavy tone, “This child understands and obeys your teachings. This child promises to give his all to extinguish even the tiniest threats at the first sign of it.”

“Very good.” Meng Xuanjue finally relinquished her grip. “This is how my Xi’er should be. Now, go to your grandfather. You already have six of the nine Dream Halls under your control. They will obey your every whim as they are grasshoppers bound to the same rope as you. Your attitude will decide what will happen in the conferral ceremony seven days from now.”

After Meng Jianxi left the Empress Palace, the first thing he did was to let out a long, deep sigh.

That was all he managed before Meng Jianze rushed over to his side with a look of deep anxiety on his face. “Have you heard, Your Highness? Father is going to make Meng Jianyuan the second Dreamweaver Divine Son, and the conferral ceremony is set to happen in just seven days!”

“Mm. I already know,” Meng Jianxi replied almost distractedly.

Meng Jianze examined his lord’s face for a moment before shouting angrily, “What on earth is Father thinking? It just… it just makes no sense at all!”

“It does make no sense.” Meng Jianxi nodded in agreement. While looking ahead, he mused, “Mother was just asking me about this, and I comforted her saying that Father was just acting out because he was overjoyed and wanting to make up for the guilt and regret that has been eating him up for the past century. But to be completely honest with you… I have no idea what he's thinking.”

“If Father really is trying to make up to Meng Jianyuan, then making him the Divine Son is the last thing he should do. After all, it has been over a century since Meng Jianyuan went missing, and he does not possess a single root in this Kingdom of God, much less the loyalty of his subjects. To make him the Divine Son… all he would garner his beloved son is suspicion, confusion, anxiety, and indifference.”

“If I was Meng Jianyuan, I would think that Father was grilling me over a bonfire. It is the most beautiful bonfire in the world, but it does not change the fact that it burns. Father is a shrewd man, and I just cannot believe that he wouldn’t understand this even as emotionally affected as he was.”

Meng Jianxi tried to lay out the facts and find out the truth behind his Father’s actions, but he still couldn’t figure it out.

It wasn’t his fault. He could grow ten heads and be ten times smarter than he was, and he still could not imagine that Meng Kongchan wasn’t Yun Che’s only “backer”, that the Heaven Breaker Kingdom of God was behind him as well.

Meng Kongchan was doing this because of love and recompense, but it was also to give Yun Che a status and show Hua Fuchen that he meant business.

“Whatever his reason might be, it is clear that Father did not consider your feelings at all.” Meng Jianze lowered his voice. “Have you thought of anything regarding the conferral ceremony in seven days?”

Meng Jianxi stopped in his tracks and declared, “I will end him.”

Meng Jianze also stopped in his tracks and stared at Meng Jianxi with fervent eyes.

“I do not mean physically, of course. It is impossible to lay a finger on him right now… But I will make his conferral ceremony the most humiliating day of his life. I will make sure that his title isn’t a badge of honor, but a brand of shame that no one is soon to forget.”

“I understand.” Meng Jianze slowly nodded, eyes shining with excitement.

“Obviously, I cannot be involved in this. In fact, I’ll need to defend him the entire way.” Meng Jianxi’s eyebrows furrowed. “You know what to do.”

……

Heaven Breaker Kingdom of God.

As soon as Hua Qingying descended from the profound ark, she discovered that Hua Fuchen was waiting for her. He was wearing an odd expression as well.

“Where’s Caili?” Hua Qingying asked. “I can’t sense her presence anywhere.”

“She entered the Seven Star Heaven Breaker Formation,” Hua Fuchen answered honestly.

“What?!” Hua Qingying’s face turned into thunderclouds instantly.

“She knew you would stop her, so she went inside before you returned,” Hua Fuchen said indifferently. “The seven stars are lit, and the seven formations are activated. You are too late to stop her.”

Hua Qingying shot him a cold look before turning to leave.

“One more thing. This is very good news for Caili’s future.”

As expected, Hua Qingying immediately stopped in her tracks.

“Meng Kongchan contacted me just now, but not because he wanted to share the results of ‘Falling Dream’ with me.” Hua Fuchen paused for a moment before saying slowly, “He discovered that Yun Che’s true identity is Meng Jianyuan, the son who went missing over a century ago.”

“...” Hua Qingying was visibly surprised by this. She slowly turned her head to look at him. “Are you sure?”

“Meng Kongchan told me himself,” Hua Fuchen confirmed. “Besides, you’re the one who told me that Yun Che did not have any memories from before he was ten, and that he is over a hundred and twenty years old. Now that I think about it, it matches the date Meng Jianyuan went missing perfectly.”

Hua Qingying murmured, “To think that such a coincidence could happen…”

“The world is big, and its surprises are endless. But yes, I would be lying if I say I don’t echo your sentiment.” Hua Fuchen sighed. “Anyway, you can see why this is great news. Yun Che and Caili’s prospects are looking much better than before. At the very least, we don’t need to face it alone.”

“Not only that, Meng Kongchan decided to prove his determination by giving Yun Che a fitting status as soon as possible. He already gave the order to confer Yun Che the second Dreamweaver Divine Son. The conferral ceremony will happen in seven days.”

Hua Qingying abruptly spun around to face Hua Fuchen directly. “Isn’t that putting Yun Che at the heart of the struggle? Meng Jianxi’s clan has deep roots in the Dreamweave Kingdom of God, and you mentioned yourself that Meng Jianxi is as ambitious as he is capable. Even if Yun Che is Meng Jianyuan, he is a man whose roots to his homeland have been severed many years ago. You should know better than I what kind of consequences making Yun Che the second Dreamweaver Divine Son will cause; what kind of reaction it will elicit from Meng Jianxi and his clan.”

Hua Fuchen was smiling though. “It is a trial and a test for that boy. Besides, opposition is the best way to accelerate one’s growth.”

“Did the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God send out invitations to the other kingdoms?” Hua Qingying asked suddenly.

Hua Fuchen shook his head. “I’m sure the news has already spread far and wide, but Meng Kongchan does not plan to invite anyone from the other kingdoms to attend the conferral ceremony. It’s fine though. When it is time, I will send Kaiyang—”

“No need,” Hua Qingying declared in a cool voice that wouldn’t accept no as an answer. “I will attend it myself.”

“Huh?”

“No one is allowed to belittle the man Caili chose!”

Hua Qingying did not negotiate, she only informed. This was the case even when she was facing the Heart Painter Divine Regent. “Seven days from now, I will travel to the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God myself. Don’t interfere.”

“It’s been a long time since I met that old fox, Meng Cangji anyway.”

“Qingying, this doesn’t seem very…” Hua Fuchen lifted a hand, but Hua Qingying was already flying away. He could only shake his head helplessly.

……

The Abyss, the Endless Fog.

A group of a dozen people or so was trekking through the Endless Fog. It was clear from their similar attire that they belonged in the same sect.

They were all covered in varying degrees of injuries, and the ground was absolutely covered in abyssal beast carcasses that hadn’t faded yet. It was clear that they had just fought a terrible battle.

Half of the people were keeping watch, and the other half were clumped up around the youngest male of their group. Their leader—a middle-aged man—placed a hand on his chest for a moment before shaking his head. “The abyssal dust has corrupted his heart… it is too late to save him.”

As soon as the words “corrupted his heart” appeared, everyone’s face turned as dark as a storm. It was because the abyssal dust corruption of one’s heart was basically a death sentence.

Abyssal dust could not be controlled or annihilated. It was also exceedingly difficult to expel. Once it entered the heart, it was impossible to save the victim.

“No! This can’t be!” The tall, muscular man standing closest to the young man shook his head violently with eyes full of tears. “You must be mistaken, senior uncle! Junior brother Mu is lightly injured at best, so how could he… he…”

The young man grabbed his arm and forced a smile on his pale face. “Senior brother Han, all life is predestined. There is no need to be sad about it. Though… I guess it is a pity that I won’t be able to fulfill our promise.”

The tall, muscular man’s head drooped. He gritted his teeth and sobbed violently for a time.

“Senior brother Han, I have one last request to you. I… don’t want to die in the Endless Fog.”

“Of course!” The tall, muscular man responded with difficulty. “We’ll leave immediately. There is no reason for you to become a part of the Endless Fog’s dust! None!”

He had just finished saying this when exclamations of surprise suddenly came from their surroundings.

“What… what is that?”

When they looked up, they saw a thick, churning storm of abyssal dust. It was such that the grayish dark sky became even darker than it already was.

Everyone was frozen in place. This lasted until someone muttered in a daze, “This looks very similar to that one rumor about—”

It was at this moment a low, imposing growl that sounded like the groan of a devil rang beside everyone’s ears.

“The Fog Monarch patrols the Endless Fog. Back off if you know what’s good for you!”

Each word shook them like it had come from the depths of their heart and soul. Everyone turned as white as a sheet.

“Fog… Fog Monarch? Could the rumors actually be true?”

“I thought it was just a false rumor! A ruse by some sick bastard!”

“Legend has it that the Ancestral Qilin God was drawn out of the depths of the Endless Fog when the Fog Monarch first appeared months ago. It had caused a wide-scale disaster spanning thousands and thousands of kilometers and buried countless bodies! Even if it’s a ruse… we don’t want to get involved in it.”

The middle-aged man made his decision immediately. “We need to leave! Now!”

The voice in the fog suddenly grew a little angrier. “Back… off!”

Boom!!

The ground shook, and a blast of wind suddenly came from the grayish fog. It sent the terrified group flying until they were several kilometers away from their original spot.

The young man whose heart was corrupted by abyssal dust and was destined to die wasn’t affected though. He was left all alone.

The middle-aged man climbed to his feet in a panic and growled, “Run! Don’t look back!”

The tall, muscular man had just climbed back to his feet when he noticed that the youngster wasn’t with them. When he looked back, he saw the storm of abyssal dust moving closer and closer to him. His pupils contracted as he cried out, “But junior brother Mu—”

“Leave him!” The middle-aged man shouted, “There is no saving him to begin with. If we dilly-dally any longer, then we will be joining him in the afterlife!”

The tall, muscular man gritted his teeth and pushed the middle-aged man away. “Go with the others, senior uncle! I’ll be fine!”

As he shouted, he charged straight toward the young man… and the rolling gray fog.

“Han Xu!” The middle-aged man shouted, but he could only grit his teeth and escape with the rest of the disciples.

Bang!

Somehow, the tall, muscular man stumbled and hit the ground hard. He turned it into a roll and pounced toward the young man. He quickly lifted him into his arms, but by the time he got up… the thick fog was right in front of him. No, it was already touching him.

His eyes widened all of a sudden. Just inches away from him was a pair of massive gray eyes, blurry, twisted and chaotic.

“Humble mortal. How dare you offend my majesty!”

The sheer pressure it exuded was almost enough to crush the man’s soul into bits. Despite trembling harder than a leaf in a storm, the man forced himself to stay strong and shouted, “I am just a humble mortal! I wouldn’t dare to offend you… lord Fog Monarch. It’s just… my junior brother’s heart has been corrupted by abyssal dust, and there is no longer any way to save him. I just want to take him away from the Endless Fog so that he may have a dignified death. I don’t mean to offend you in any way. Please have mercy… I, Han Xu, will be forever grateful if you do.”

“Hahahaha!”

The Fog Monarch responded with laughter.

“A fearless and loyal man, you are. You deserve a reward!”

A cloud of grayish fog abruptly descended from above. The tall, muscular man let out a groan of fear, but he did not dare to fight back. Strangely, he did not feel the usual sense of corruption. In fact, the grayish fog left them just a few breaths later. The thick aura of death surrounding the young man also left him.

“Hahahaha!” The gray fog rolled away, accompanied by the Fog Monarch’s fading laughter.

“Senior brother Han.” It was at this moment the young man pushed himself away from the tall, muscular man and struggled to his feet. Then, he stared at his own hands while murmuring as if in a daze, “My corruption, it’s… it’s all gone…”

“Wh… what?”

When they rejoined their group, and the middle-aged man circulated his profound energy throughout the young man’s body one time, his pupils dilated, and he fell into a numb, speechless shock. He felt as if he had suddenly plunged into the most ludicrous dream of his life.

“Senior uncle?” The tall, muscular man asked tentatively. “Could it be…?”

“It’s impossible. It’s utterly impossible.” The middle-aged man shook his head repeatedly like he had lost his soul. “Abyssal corruption cannot be treated, and yet… it’s not just his heart… he’s… he’s completely clean…”

The group exchanged wordless glances with each other. They looked like they were hearing the whispers of the devil himself.

A disciple murmured, “Didn’t they say that even the supreme Abyssal Monarch of the Pure Land could not eliminate abyssal corruption…? How is this…?”

“Could that… could that really be… the monarch of the Endless Fog?”

The young man suddenly turned around and dropped to his knees. While facing toward the direction the “Fog Monarch” had left, he shouted with a sob in his voice, “Blue Cloud Sect disciple Mu Chen thanks the lord Fog Monarch for giving him a new lease of life! This disciple swears that he will worship the Fog Monarch as his one true god until the day he dies!”

No one responded. No one around him responded to his cries either. However, their soul seas were a storm that would not subside for a very, very long time.

It wasn’t long before word spread that the “Fog Monarch” had appeared a second time. The rumors that they could eliminate abyssal corruption also spread past the borders of the Endless Fog and toward the Land of the Living like a plague.

……

Yun Che stepped out of his cultivation space and enjoyed a long stretch. At the same time, a girl raced over to him as soon as she sensed his presence. “You’re finally out, young master. The Divine Son conferral ceremony is going to happen in just six hours. If you hadn’t come out…”

“Your timing cannot be more perfect, young master. Sister Zhanyi was this close to bursting into tears.” A cute, teasing voice came from another direction as Meng Zhiyuan gracefully walked up to him with a silver outfit in her hands. “Now, please allow us to dress you, young master.”

Yun Che extended a hand toward her. “I can do it myself.”

“No can do, young master.” But Meng Zhiyuan dodged out of his reach and pouted with a tinge of resentment. “It’s bad enough you don’t allow us to serve you in the bathroom or the bed. If you won’t even allow us to dress you, then how can we call ourselves your servants?”

“Mm mm!” Liu Zhan nodded strongly.

“Fine, fine.” Yun Che replied in a helpless voice and followed them back to his bedroom.

By the time he left the room, Yun Che was overflowing with silver radiance and hidden dream glow. He exuded divinity and nobility with every step he took. He was so handsome that the two servant girls were completely lost in his appearance.

“It’s a little garish, but at least the cut is fine.” Yun Che nodded in satisfaction before lowering his voice. “Shouyuan.”

An old man appeared out of nowhere and knelt before Yun Che.

“There is still time, so please tell me who will be attending my conferral ceremony,” he asked with a casual expression. It seemed to be a cursory inquiry, and he did not seem to think too much of the conferral.