Against the Gods

“To allow you to succeed… the Moon God Emperor?” Yun Che was once again left baffled by Xia Qingyue’s words, “Why?”

The Moon God Emperor had his own sons and daughters, had the eleven other Moon Gods. So why would he actually want Xia Qingyue, who had only arrived in the Moon God Realm a few years ago, to succeed his position as Moon God Emperor? Furthermore, without even bringing up the fact that she was only his “foster daughter”, her profound energy aura showed that she was only at the initial stage of the Divine Spirit Realm and she was not even stronger than Yun Che. So compared to the two words “God Emperor”, whose aura alone could suppress heaven and earth, it was something that could not be put together at all.

Could it be because she had the “Heart of Glazed Glass”?

Just what kind of existence was the Moon God Realm? It was one of the four king realms of the Eastern Divine Region, a realm with a history and legacy of nearly one million years. Xia Qingyue had no blood ties or deep relationships with the Moon God Realm… So how could they simply let her become the Moon God Emperor because she possessed the Heart of Glazed Glass? It was simply akin to passing the vast Moon God Realm to an outsider. Was it not a completely nonsensical and ridiculous notion!?

“There are many reason for it,” Xia Qingyue said. “The first reason is due to my Heart of Glazed Glass. The second is due to my Nine Profound Exquisite Body. The third might be because I am my mother’s daughter. But the most important reason is because… Foster father simply had no other choice.”

Yun Che became even more flummoxed after he heard those words, “I can understand the part about the Heart of Glazed Glass. In the past, the Eternal Heaven Realm became a king realm precisely because the ancestor who established it possessed a Heart of Glazed Glass. If you were to become the Moon God Emperor, perhaps it would allow the Moon God Realm to obtain that so-called ‘protection of the heavens’. But…”

“The core reason for why the king realms are so strong is because of the existence of unique legacies within each king realm. These inheritances ensure that these king realms possess the highest level of power and deeply entrench their power.” Xia Qingyue continued speaking, “Furthermore, if you want to obtain the recognition of the power of a Moon God and obtain a legacy, one would either need a very high innate talent or sufficient compatibility.”

This was one point Yun Che was long aware of. The Star Gods of the Star God Realm and the Moon Gods of the Moon God Realm were the same.

“My foster father inherited the Moon God power of the strongest Moon God ‘Zi Que’. However, among all of foster father’s progeny, there is not a single child who possesses the qualifications to obtain the recognition of any one of the Moon God powers. So it was natural that there was also no one who could inherit his Zi Que’s divine powers. However, my ‘Nine Profound Exquisite Body’ allows for me to be a perfect fit for any kind of power.”

“Foster father said that I was his only choice and that I was the perfect choice that was bestowed to him by the heavens.”

Yun Che furrowed his brows as he spoke in a puzzled voice, “Could it be that your foster father has grown tired of being the Moon God Emperor? Also, someone who might be compatible with his power might eventually appear among his descendants, so why was he so anxious to make such a decision.”

“...” Xia Qingyue gave a gloomy sigh of lament. It was only after a long while that she softly whispered, “Because foster father's time… there’s not much left of it either.”

Yun Che was stunned by those words as he replied in an astonished voice, “What did you say?”

Xia Qingyue’s eyes grew hazy as they misted over. She knew what her departure truly represented. She had utterly destroyed all of her foster father’s dignity, destroyed his hopes and had wrecked the final wish of her mother and him…

She knew that she would be mired by the guilt she felt towards her foster father for the rest of her life.

But, if she had not done what she did, it would also have wronged the Yun Che who had “come back from the dead”.

It was only today that she finally, truly, understood just how utterly painful it was for her mother when she made her decision all those years ago. No matter who she chose, it would be wrong. No matter who she chose, it would still be a sin.

But she was also fortunate, because the person who should have blamed and hated her the most had instead truly lavished her with “stainless” true love.

If Yue Wugou had been a man and he was caught between two women, his choice would not have been painful at all and it was even possible that it might turn into the best possible outcome. But because she was a woman, no matter what she did or chose, in the eyes of the world, it would forever come with the labels “stained” and “sin”... even if all of this was not her fault in the least, even if the Moon God Emperor had never hated her for this before.

This was undoubtedly one example of the greatest tragedy.

“Qingyue, how old is your foster father right now?” Yun Che had clearly not noticed the completely disordered state of Xia Qingyue’s heart as he asked a question after thinking about something for a while.

“Seventeen thousand years old,” Xia Qingyue replied.

“Then that shouldn’t be the case.” Yun Che furrowed his brows as he said, “I heard my master tell me that once you reach the level that the Moon God Emperor has reached, your lifespan should be about fifty thousand years, and it might even be longer than that. The Moon God Realm isn’t even half that old yet, so how can it be that he ‘does not have much time left’?”

Xia Qingyue’s voice was as soft as cotton when she whispered, “A heavenly prophecy.”

“Eh…” Yun Che’s eyes widened dramatically before his mouth twitched violently, “Oh man, I actually thought it was something serious. But it turned out to be those bunch of old con men. You mean that all of you also believe the words of those old con artists?”

It was naturally not without reason that Yun Che was convinced that the Heavenly Mystery Realm was filled with a bunch of “old con men”. He had emerged from the nine tribulations that had descended from heaven completely unscathed because of his Evil God divine powers. Yet the Heavenly Mystery Three Elders had said it was because he was the “child of the heavens”. Even though it had resolved a sticky situation for him, it had caused Yun Che to permanently label them “old con men”.

Yet against all reason, all of the great star realms in the Eastern Divine Region very much believed the “heavenly mysteries” and the “prophecies” of the Heavenly Mystery Realm, and this included the four great king realms. During the Profound God Convention, the Heavenly Mystery Three Elders were even seated together with the king realms.

“Every millenia, my foster father would personally pay the Heavenly Mystery Realm a visit and every time he received a prophecy, it would definitely come true, with no exceptions whatsoever.”

Yun Che, “...” (Was it really that accurate?)

“The last time he visited the Heavenly Mystery Realm was five years ago. He obtained a heavenly mystery there which told him that within the next ten years, he was bound to die.”

This was a “heavenly mystery” he received five years ago. That was also to say that, right now, the Moon God Emperor has only about five more years left to live… If the prophecy comes true.

“That’s not possible!” Yun Che shook his head as he rejected the notion categorically. “The Moon God Emperor’s lifespan is far from being up and I just saw him today at that, his vitality and the flow of his energies could not be any better. If one were to speculate that he might be killed by someone… Just who in this world would be able to kill a god emperor?”

If one were to say that someone could defeat the Moon God Emperor, Yun Che would definitely believe that person. The Dragon Monarch could defeat him, and Qianye Fantian could do it as well.

But if someone were to say that the Moon God Emperor could be killed by someone, there was probably nobody in this whole universe that would believe that, let alone Yun Che.

In order to become a god emperor, one’s cultivation in the divine way must already be at the limits of the Divine Master Realm. Even though Yun Che did not understand just how strong that realm actually was, he did know that dying would be harder than trying to reach the heavens once you were at that level.

Even if the other three god emperors in the Eastern Divine Region joined hands to try to kill him, it would be in vain unless the Moon God Emperor himself was seeking a fight to the death. If that was not the case and he was unwilling, even the combined efforts of three god emperors would not be able to kill him.

“But foster father believes. Furthermore, even before going to the Heavenly Mystery Realm that time, he had already had a similar premonition.”

“No matter how accurate they have been before, this sort of thing is something you don’t even need to believe.” Yun Che still shook his head before muttering a curse under his breath, “Those three old con men, their fraudulence truly knows no bounds.”

“If it does not come to pass, that would naturally be far the best,” Xia Qingyue said as she let out a frustrated and gloomy sigh. “But foster father is the Moon God Emperor and he believes in it, so he needs to make the best preparations possible before it comes to pass.”

“To foster father, the most important thing was to find someone who could succeed him. But among his progeny, there was not a single one who could succeed his place as god emperor. Furthermore, in the entire Moon God Realm, he could not find a single person who was compatible with the ‘Zi Que’ divine power.”

“So he ended up choosing me.”

“Even though foster father said that I was his most perfect choice, I knew that this was a choice that he was forced to make in his powerlessness.”

“No,” Yun Che, however, shook his head at this moment, “Even though I am not the Moon God Emperor, if it was truly like this, then perhaps his words were not to console you. You are indeed the most perfect choice that the heavens have bestowed upon him. Even if there was truly someone among his descendants that could inherit his divine power, he would probably still choose you.”

Xia Qingyue’s beautiful eyes glanced over towards him and there was a slight puzzlement within.

“Your foster father is not like us. We have lived for no more than a few decades but he has already lived for nearly twenty thousand years. To a person at his level, something like familial relations has long ago grown thin and insipid. To him, the most important thing is undoubtedly the Moon God Realm which he has pledged his entire life to. As the Moon God Emperor, the Moon God Realm’s existence in his heart undoubtedly far surpasses everything else.”

“...” Yun Che’s words was something that Xia Qingyue also understood very well.

“There are no suitable successors among his progeny so he indeed could transfer the title of realm king to one of the other Moon Gods. But, his ‘Zi Que’ divine power is not only the strongest but it is also a power that has accompanied him for most of his life. Anyone will still have selfish desires, so it is natural that he hoped that the power that had accompanied him all his life would continue to rule even after his death. Furthermore, if you could truly inherit it and inherit it perfectly at that, then your foster father would definitely be filled with a wild joy.”

The Nine Profound Exquisite Body… All those years ago, when Jasmine had mentioned it to him, she had only given a simple explanation. She had said that the one who possessed the Nine Profound Exquisite Body would have a small world within their profound veins which could transcend the natural laws and the boundaries of the realms. This was also why she could cultivate the Frozen End Divine Art (Ice Phoenix God Investiture Canon) in Frozen Cloud Asgard even though she did not have the Ice Phoenix bloodline.

At the same time, she was also the best dual cultivation incubator in the universe.

But who would have thought that the Exquisite World within her profound veins could actually be a perfect medium for any power…

Sigh, the heavens had truly been far too good to Xia Qingyue.

“Furthermore, given your ‘Heart of Glazed Glass’, this would bestow the protection of the heavens in the eyes of the world. So if you did become the Moon God Emperor, it would naturally be so that you could bring the Moon God Realm under that same protection. To the Moon God Emperor, there was perhaps nothing more important than the future of the Moon God Realm.”

As for the notion that the ‘Heart of Glazed Glass’ would grant the protection of the heavens, it was something that the entire Eastern Divine Region was convinced of, and the king realms were even more convinced of this than the rest. Even when he had been in the Profound Sky Continent, Jasmine had also very clearly mentioned to him before when she spoke about this subject, that it was indeed a body that received the protection of the very heavens themselves. Even after Xia Qingyue had gone missing, Jasmine had told him more than once that Xia Qingyue was protected by the heavens themselves so he did not need to worry about her at all.

After all, there was a huge example right in front of them, the Eternal Heaven Realm that still stood at the pinnacle of the Eastern Divine Region even to this day. It was even placed above the Moon God Realm which had an even longer history than it did, so it would be hard for anyone to forget even if they wanted to.

“The past few years you have spent in the Moon God Realm has given your foster father a sufficient understanding of you. Perhaps, among all these things, a part of it is due to his feelings for your mother, but it should only be a miniscule part. The inheritance of his divine power and the future of the Moon God Realm are the most important things to him. So, to him, you are indeed the more perfect choice that has been bestowed to him by the heavens.”

“...” Xia Qingyue stayed silent for a very long time, as if she was silently pondering Yun Che’s words.

At this moment, Yun Che now completely understood why Xia Qingyue had said that this wedding ceremony was more for the people of the Moon God Realm to witness.

Even though she could indeed perfectly inherit the ‘Zi Que’ divine power and she also possessed the Heart of Glazed Glass that could bestow the protection of heaven on the Moon God Realm, but her status made her absolutely unfit to become the emperor of the Moon God Realm.

The Moon God Emperor had sons and daughters, the Moon God Realm had a crown prince, the other Moon Gods and several different factions. If one were to skip past all of these things and transfer the throne to a “foster daughter” who was not born in the Moon God Realm and who nobody even understood, even if it was on the orders of the Moon God Emperor himself, it would definitely incite an extremely intense and violent objection and rejection that would shake the entire realm… Especially from the Moon God Crown Prince.

But if he were to transfer his position to the Moon God Empress, then it would be a different thing altogether. Even though there would still be resistance and objections, it would undoubtedly be less than ten or maybe even hundred times what it would have been in the other scenario.

It was just that…

“Qingyue,” Yun Che suddenly said, “The Moon God Emperor, the realm king of a king realm, is something that most people do not even dare dream of. But, given your temperament, were you truly willing to succeed his position? Or are you purely trying to pay back this debt of gratitude that you owe to your foster father?”

Xia Qingyue said, “I did not wish to go against foster father’s wishes, but some part of it was truly my own will.”

“Eh?” Yun Che was stunned by that.

Xia Qingyue’s eyes grew deep and gloomy, her long fine hair lightly falling across her fragrant shoulders and chest. The bright light of the Vanishing Moon Celestial Palace illuminated her dreamy fairy-like mien, “All of my life, I had poured everything into the profound way, so I had also dreamed of seeing the limits of where the profound way could take me. Originally, even if I toiled away for the rest of my life, I might not be able to accomplish that goal. But if I inherited foster father’s divine power, I would be able to fulfill this wish overnight.”

“Over the past few years, I’ve experienced the departure of my loved ones, the disaster that struck my sect, and I nearly lost my life on countless occasions. So I already completely understand what it means to be weak in this world. I no longer wish to be stuck witnessing things that I ‘don’t wish to happen’ unfold before my very eyes because of my powerlessness.”

She had always chased after an even stronger profound way and her mental state these years had been constantly changing as well. But she did not mention that there was a huge event that triggered all of these changes, and that event was “Yun Che’s death”.

“Inheriting foster father’s divine power and throne would not only fulfill foster father’s own hopes that he had entrusted to me, it would also realize a dream that I had always been chasing. So there was no reason for me to refuse.”

“I see.” Yun Che slowly nodded his head but just as he was about to continue speaking, his entire body shuddered violently.

Even though the wedding ceremony being held in the Moon God Realm today was a huge lie, just as the Moon God Emperor had announced, it was a most important day for him and it was also a day that would decide the future of the Moon God Realm… This was not the least bit exaggerated in hindsight.

It would have cleansed away the humiliation suffered by the Moon God Emperor all those years ago. It would have resolved the burden that Yue Wugou had been carrying in her heart and allow her to peacefully pass on into the next world. It would have fulfilled the final wishes of the Moon God Emperor and Yue Wugou, while establishing the foundations of the plan that would allow Xia Qingyue to succeed him as the next Moon God Emperor.

This was not merely a simple wedding celebration and the things involved in the making of these day had far exceeded everyone’s imagination. To the Moon God Emperor, to Yue Wugou, to the Moon God Realm, and to Xia Qingyue… This had been an exceedingly important event.

He had remained completely focused on Xia Qingyue’s recount and he had kept digesting the information while pondering all of these things. But he had actually forgotten… that all of these things had now been completely destroyed..

Because of his appearance, because of Xia Qingyue’s choice, all of it now lay in ruins…