Against the Gods

Meng Kongchan’s expression did not change. He said indifferently, “What do you want to say, Xuanji?”

Meng Xuanji stepped forward and did not appear timid in the slightest even though he was facing Meng Kongchan. He began in a loud voice, “If inheritance is a matter of the utmost importance to a Kingdom of God, then a Divine Son’s conferral is a matter of the utmost importance to an inheritance. It is something that will decide the future of the Kingdom of God and so cannot be determined carelessly!”

“There are six Kingdoms of God and seven True Gods, and each True God inheritance can only be passed onto one Divine Son or Divine Daughter! If multiple Divine Children are conferred, it will simply increase the number of options at the cost of a severe spread of resources and energy! It will also generate hostility between the Divine Sons and cause them to fight one another both overtly and covertly! It is an absolutely detrimental system with no benefit whatsoever!”

Meng Xuanji had just finished when another voice followed, “He’s right! The Seventh Dream Lord’s words are my thoughts as well!”

Another person stood up, and it was yet another Lord of Dream Hall. He was the lord of the sixth Dream Hall, Meng Jinghai.

He said seriously, “Lord Xuanji’s words are spot on. A Divine Son bears the future of the Kingdom of God and so should be supported with the greatest amount of resources and the loyalty of the entire Kingdom of God. In my opinion, the resource spread isn’t nearly as big of an issue compared to the loyalty spread that will emerge from conferring another Divine Son. That is why I must ask that you reconsider this decision, supreme one.”

“‘He is right.” Another solid voice followed before Meng Kongchan could answer.

This time, it came from the first Lord of Dream Hall, Meng Kongdu.

He was also the older brother of the Dreamless Divine Regent, Meng Kongchan. Specifically, he was twenty thousand years older than him.

He slowly rose to his feet as he continued in a thick, metallic voice that seemed to carry the weight of the world behind it, “Supreme one, if we look at the history of the Kingdoms of God, the few times they confer a new Divine Son or Daughter is all because the original child was so unruly that they committed a grave sin, or because a child with greater divine essence showed up.”

“Although Jianxi has only been the Dreamweaver Divine Son for a hundred years, his talent, character, temperament, and ability are all outstanding. He is a Divine Son that we are all proud of and truly believe we can entrust our future to. You won’t find a single person in Dreamweaver from the court all the way down to the vassal states that doesn’t lavish Jianxi with praise.”

“Frankly, the conferral of a new Divine Son is far too abrupt. If you do this, you will be chilling Jianxi’s heart… and we would find it difficult to accept as well.”

Meng Kongdi abruptly dropped to his knees and finished his plea with a heavy, sorrowful voice overflowing with worry for the future of the Kingdom of God, “For the sake of the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God, Kongdu dares to… ask the supreme one to reconsider this.”

The conferral ceremony was held at an open venue big enough to fit thousands of people. However, it was so silent right now that one could hear a pin drop.

Meng Kongdu spared a moment to check out Yun Che’s expression out of the corner of his eye. However, he discovered that the young man was completely unperturbed and his eyes were half-lidded like he was bored.

Meanwhile, Meng Kongchan bore the strange looks everyone was shooting at him for a moment before nodding. “Mm. Your pleas came a little late, but they do make a good amount of sense.”

Meng Xuanji, Meng Jinghai and Meng Kongdi were caught off guard by the Dreamless Divine Regent’s reply. They thought for sure that he would vehemently reject their pleas.

His face an impeccable mask, Meng Kongchan swept his gaze across the three men and continued, “So, the three of you are saying that the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God does not need a second Dreamweaver Divine Son, and that to do so would only bring infinite liabilities with no benefits, am I right?”

“That is correct, supreme one!” The three dream lords responded at once.

Meng Kongchan nodded slightly and swept his gaze across the entire venue. “Nine Dream Halls, how many more agree with this sentiment?”

He was only addressing the Nine Dream Halls, so those who were worried that they might be forced to choose a side let out a huge sigh of relief.

Meng Kongchan didn’t wait too long before the third, fourth, and eighth Dream Lords rose to their feet. They declared in unison, “We too believe that the conferral of a new Divine Son is flawed, supreme one.”

The atmosphere instantly turned into ice.

To think that six of the nine lords of Dream Hall were against conferring a new Divine Son.

It was rare for so many vassals to push back against a Divine Regent, and even rarer for it to happen in public. At the very least, it had never happened since Meng Kongchan inherited the throne over ten thousand years ago.

The other three Dream Lords said nothing. Even with the power of the majority on their side, they still weren’t willing to offend the Divine Regent in public.

They had to admit that their fellow colleagues were right though. They couldn’t even say that they harbored selfish intentions. This was why the six Dream Lords were “audacious” enough to do this to begin with.

Meng Jianxi immediately rose to his feet with a bit of urgency on his face, “JI am touched and impressed that you would do this for the sake of the Dreamweaver’s future, Dream Lords. I am even more grateful and humbled for your approval of me. However, Father’s power is greater than the heavens, and his foresight far exceeds the likes of us. Surprising it may be, he must have his reasons for making this decision.”

“Besides…” Meng Jianxi turned to shower Yun Che with a look of pure sincerity. “I and Brother Yuan may have been separated for over a century, but we are of the same blood. I feel that our bond is only stronger after our reunion. I am sure that we can support each other as Divine Sons, and I sincerely believe that your fears will not come true.”

“Jianxi,” an ancient voice spoke up, “you are a pure, good-hearted boy whose whole life was shackled by the two words ‘Divine Son’. We can all see that. However, you could and should only believe in yourself. You should never surrender your goodheartedness and trust to another person so easily.”

The new voice caused the entire hall to fall silent once more.

The speaker was an ancient-looking man who was completely white in both hair and beard. Unlike the other Dream Lords, he wore a set of white robes and carried a horsetail whisk at his waist. His eyes were devoid of pressure or power, and yet his celestial-like appearance caused many to balk at the sight of him.

In fact, the old man was ranked even higher than the Nine Dream Halls.

He was the Chief Lord of the Nine Dream Halls and Meng Xuanjue’s birth father. He was the divine regent’s father-in-law and the number one person below the Dreamless Divine Regent… Meng Cangji.

The emergence of the six Dream Lords was already overwhelming. For the Chief Lord to join in as well… Although the Divine Regent’s authority superseded everyone’s, and he needed but one word to force a decision even if all the Dream Lords were against it, it didn’t change the fact that nearly all of the Kingdom of God’s core strength had come together to push back against him. Divine Regent he might be, but not even he could force a decision without due consideration.

“I…” Meng Jianxi seemed cowed by his grandfather’s appearance and did not dare to say anything else. He simply adjusted his posture to be more reverent.

“...” the corners of Yun Che’s lips tugged a little.

Meng Kongchan continued in an indifferent voice, “So, the Chief Lord himself believes that conferring a second Dreamweaver Divine Son is unwise?”

“Yes, supreme one,” Meng Canji answered without any hesitation whatsoever. He was the highest power besides Meng Kongchan himself, so he dared to do such a thing.

“Alright.” Meng Kongchan nodded and relaxed his tone. For some reason, he did not seem angry in the slightest even though the majority of his vassals had come together to pressure him. “The Nine Dream Halls is a collection of my Dreamweaver Kingdom of God’s brightest and strongest juniors. Their will directly affects the foundation and future of Dreamweaver.”

“If the Chief Lord and six Dream Lords all believe that conferring a second Dreamweaver Divine Son is an unwise decision, then I have no choice but to reconsider my decision.”

Meng Kongchan’s declaration stunned everyone. Even Meng Cangji and Meng Xuanji were caught completely off guard.

Considering how much importance and urgency the Dreamless Divine Regent had attached to this conferral ceremony, they thought for sure that he would ignore their pleas and rebuke them for their audacious behavior. They had an entire chain of plans to deal with what came next.

They never once imagined that the Dreamless Divine Regent would just acknowledge that they were right. What was going on here?

“Since you all believe that there shouldn’t be two Divine Sons, I will remove Jianxi from his position and keep only Yun Che.” Meng Kongchan swept his gaze across the frozen crowd. “Is this decision up to your satisfaction?”

“What?” Meng Xuanji blurted out.

“Fa… Father?” Meng Jianxi abruptly looked up with a stupefied expression.

Beside Meng Kongchan, Meng Xuanjue also blanched. “Divine Regent, what are you saying?”

Meng Cangji followed, “Supreme one, we have never asked for such a thing! We—”

“Hmm?” Meng Kongchan cast his gaze at Meng Cangji and forced his words back into his throat via terrifying soul pressure. “Answer me: who is the first Divine Son of my Dreamweaver Kingdom of God?”

Meng Cangji answered, “It is… Meng Jianyuan, of course.”

“Very good.” Meng Kongchan continued, “Now tell me, have I ever abolished Yuan’er’s title in the past hundred years?”

“...” Meng Cangji suddenly found himself unable to speak.

Meng Xuanji, Meng Jinghai, Meng Kongdu and more were frozen as well. Back then, everyone thought that Meng Jianyuan was dead. Naturally, there was no need to hold a title abolishment ceremony of any sort, not even a verbal one.

“Since I have never abolished Yuan’er’s title, he was and still is our first Divine Son, and Jianxi the second.”

Meng Kongchan continued slowly and without any emotion, “Since you all say that there is no need to have a second Divine Son, since you all agree that having a second Divine Son is absolutely detrimental to our kingdom, then I shall obey your counsel.”

“With this, you should all be satisfied… hmm? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Supreme one!” Meng Xuanji cried out, “That is most definitely not what I meant! Everyone has seen and heard of Jianxi’s merits for the past century! There is no one who doesn’t lavish him with praises! Of course we wouldn’t want him to be removed! We’re referring to—”

“How. Dare. You.”

All of a sudden, the Dreamless Divine Regent’s expression grew impossibly stormy, and his three words landed in everyone’s heart like a sudden thunderstorm. “You just told me that I shouldn’t have a second Divine Son, and now you’re going back on your word? Are you toying with me in public, Meng Xuanji?”

A Divine Regent’s rage was indescribably terrifying. All the souls present trembled uncontrollably for a very long time.

Meng Xuanji could not remember the last time the Dreamless Divine Regent had addressed him by his full name, and with such fury. Such was his shock and terror that he turned as white as a sheet and nearly fell to his knees. He stammered, “Su… Supreme one, I… would never dare to… I was just saying that… that…”

“Speak clearly!” Meng Kongchan’s voice grew harsher.

Meng Xuanji’s lips quivered. He was so scared that he could not say a word.

“Divine regent.” Meng Xuanjue hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Meng Kongchan’s arm. “There is no way you don’t understand what brother meant. There is no need to—”

“Silence.” Meng Kongchan pushed Meng Xuanjue’s hand away without so much as shifting his gaze. “You have no place to speak here.”

Meng Xuanjue could only take a step back and keep quiet.

Meng Jinghai took a few steps forward and pleaded in the most sincere voice he could muster, “Your soul might is unparalleled, and your insight above all others. You must understand what we’re worried about…”

Meng Kongchan interrupted him rudely, “If my soul might is unparalleled, and my insight truly is above all others, then what in the world possessed you to question my decision? Do you think yourself wiser than me, the Divine Regent of Dreamweaver!?”

His statement caused a visible shiver to course through Meng Jinghai’s entire body. “I would never…”

“Then shut your mouth!”

"Supreme one!” Meng Cangji hurriedly stepped in and said firmly, “We don’t wish to abolish Jianxi! We wish to abolish today’s Divine Son Conferral Ceremony!”

He dared not test the divine regent any longer and spoke his mind frankly. Seemingly afraid the Dreamless Divine Regent would rebuke him without allowing him to say his piece, he soldiered on. “Although Meng Jianyuan’s identity had never been abolished, the fact is that everyone in the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God, no, the entire Abyss thought that Meng Jianyuan had died over a hundred years ago. When they speak of the Dreamweaver Divine Son, they all think of Jianxi, not Jianyuan.”

“Jianxi is extraordinarily talented, good-natured, and sharp-witted. He has become an extremely qualified Divine Son in just a century and is the model of all citizens of Dreamweaver. But Meng Jianyuan…”

He shifted his gaze slightly before continuing, “This old one and the Dream Lords are beyond happy at Meng Jianyuan’s safe return just like you. We all think that it is a true miracle of the heavens. However, it is a fact that he has left the kingdom for over a century and long forgotten by the people of Dreamweaver. He himself does not even remember that he was the Dreamweaver Divine Son and feels no sense of belonging to the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God whatsoever. He does not feel that responsibility or glory that accompanies a son of Dreamweaver.”

“Besides, it was rumored that Meng Jianyuan was sectless and clanless for the past century, wandering from place to place without aim. Heavens only know what he has done for the past century, how his heart has been warped by the hardships. It has only been a week since he returned, and now he is to be our Dreamweaver Divine Son? This will surely garner criticism from inside and outside the Kingdom of God! The people will surely be worried!”

“Even if we ignore all that, Meng Jianyuan’s talent is—”

“Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn…”

Meng Cangji was just getting into the groove when suddenly, he was interrupted by a long yawn.

Right now, Meng Cangji’s voice was the only sound in the entire venue, and the atmosphere was grave to say the least. Naturally, the yawn drew everyone’s attention in an instant. Even Meng Cangji himself had cut himself off to stare at the yawner.

Yun Che slowly removed his hand from his mouth and cast a lazy gaze at the astonished crowd in front of him. Then, seemingly realizing what he just did, he hurriedly said, “Oh, sorry. Sorry. I was feeling sleepy. Please forgive my loss of etiquette and continue, Chief Lord.”

Everyone was speechless and astonished. A divine regent was angry, and the Dream Lords were all coming together to persuade him to see reason. The atmosphere was so tense that it would not be an exaggeration to call it a battlefield. And amidst it all, the man at the center of this conflict between divine regent and vassal… was dozing off!?

“...” Even Meng Kongchan’s eyebrows were twitching a little.

This boy…

“You…” Meng Cangji’s facial muscles twitched almost imperceptibly.

He was the number one person beneath the Dreamweaver Divine Regent. When was the last time he was treated so lackadaisically by a junior? Try never. It was worse than even being scorned. He stared at Yun Che and pointed a finger at him, but he was so stunned that he could not muster the words he was going to say.

“Hmm?” Seemingly noticing Meng Cangji’s gaze, Yun Che leisurely took a step forward and said concernedly, “Do you have a sore throat, Chief Lord? It must have been caused by all that emotion and passionate words. Very well. This junior shall finish your statement for you.”

“Ahem!” Before Meng Cangji could react, Yun Che cleared his throat, sauntered to the front of the stage, and began copying Meng Cangji’s tone, “Speaking of talent… it has been over a hundred years since Meng Jianyuan left the Kingdom of God. As a result, he did not have the resources of a Kingdom of God, nor did he cultivate the profound arts of Dreamweaver. He also lacked the solid foundation every Dreamweaver senior here would have provided him at every stage of his cultivation if he was present.”

“That is not to say that his talent is inferior. He did manage to reach the Divine Master level on his own after all. Still, how can a Divine Master possibly compare to Meng Jianxi? How can he stand equal to him as a Divine Son?”

“Besides, if a mere level three Divine Master really were to become the Divine Son of Dreamweaver, the other Kingdoms of God are going to laugh at us. Our own people would be ashamed to have such a Divine Son.”

Yun Che was demeaning himself with every word, except that his statements were clearer and louder than Meng Cangji’s. Everyone could only stare at him in shock.

Yun Che continued as he walked around the stage, “Not only that, how can an independent Divine Master possibly measure up to the Divine Master of a Kingdom of God? Forget Meng Jianxi, any one of your children, assuming that their cultivation levels are the same, would be able to defeat Meng Jianyuan with ease… actually, allow me to amend that. Forget those in the Kingdom of God, even those in our vassal states would be able to defeat him with ease.”

“If you were to confer Meng Jianyuan as a Divine Son due to a moment of passion, joy, regret, and desire to make up for him, countless people inside and outside the Kingdom of God would question his suitability and criticize us. Even more people would think that, ‘if even a level three Divine Master can be the Dreamweaver Divine Son, then so can I’... Can’t you imagine the terrible damage Dreamweaver will suffer to both our reputation and dignity?”

Yun Che purposely dragged out the last word and added in a bit of sorrowful passion. Then, he suddenly looked back at Meng Cangji with an amiable expression and asked politely, “This junior has finished your statement for you, Chief Lord. Is there anything else you would like to add?”

“...” Meng Cangji’s eyes were wide like saucers right now. He looked like he had seen a ghost.

He had lived for tens of thousands of years and thought he had experienced everything… but as it turned out, he was wrong.

To be smiled at and stared at directly by Yun Che, a mere level three Divine Master… He, a level nine Divine Limit Realm profound practitioner and a top expert of the realm… could not squeeze out a single word from his throat. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought that something was blocking his windpipe.

It was because Yun Che’s words were almost a perfect match for the speech he had prepared in his head for several days. Even his tone, voice, and choice of terms were almost an exact fit.

High up in the sky, the corners of Hua Qingying’s lips turned up just a little. It was such a small movement that no one—to their greatest misfortune—managed to capture the Sword Fairy’s smile.

After waiting for a moment and receiving no response from Meng Cangji, Yun Che nodded sharply and continued with that lackadaisical, harmless smile of his, “If you have nothing else to add, then let us get on with the next step already. You know, the step where you dispatch profound practitioners at my cultivation level to fight me and humiliate me?”