Against the Gods (Web Novel)

The Inner Palace was situated in the deepest region of the Blue Wind Profound Palace, and a small expanse of dense forest separated the Inner Palace from the Middle Palace. After passing through the forest, the main entrance would be presented right in front of one’s eyes. A gate did not block the entrance; rather, it was a slowly revolving purple-colored seal formation.

After Sikong Du walked near, the seal stopped revolving and disappeared shortly after. But when Yun Che took a step forward, the seal suddenly reappeared, and an irresistible repulsive force came from the front, forcing Yun Che to take a step back. At the same time, a hoary voice came from an unknown direction:

“Sikong Du, is this person you brought the ‘Yun Che’ whom Palace Chief Qin mentioned?”

Sikong Du called out brightly: “Yes. May Elder Xu authorize passage.”

Ding!

A thin strand of profound energy suddenly came from the front, touched Yun Che’s body, and disappeared promptly after entering his body. Right after, the hoary voice sounded again: “This is the inner palace’s mark of passage, but it’s effectiveness only lasts three months. Three months later, the mark will automatically disappear; you may enter now.”

“Let’s go.” Sikong Du took a step first and entered the Inner Palace.

The environment of the Inner Palace could only be described as simple and peaceful. Looking around, there wasn’t even a single person in view, and a sense of rusticity permeated from the simple buildings.

However, the moment Yun Che took a step into the Inner Palace, he clearly felt that the atmosphere of profound energy here was especially rich. It was at least twice as thick as the atmosphere outside.

“Do you feel it?” Sikong Du glanced at Yun Che’s reaction, and explained: “Although the Inner Palace is small, under the Inner Palace, there actually lies a rare natural profound pulse! This is the reason for the especially rich profound energy atmosphere here. The seal we just passed, is not there to simply seal the entrance to the Inner Palace; Its greater purpose is in fact to prevent these profound energies from leaking out.

“This tower directly in front of us, is known as the Profound Gathering Tower, and contains a total of ten floors. There is a special formation set up in the tower which is able to greatly condense and gather the profound energy in the Inner Palace’s atmosphere, thus making the profound energy in the tower thicken up to an incredible extent. While cultivating inside the tower, one’s cultivating speed will certainly far surpass their cultivation speed outside.

Following the direction Sikong Du pointed, Yun Che saw that ten-story tower erected in the heart of the Inner Palace.

“You only have three months worth of time, so you must seize all of your time and cultivate; it is best to not waste even a minute or a second.” Sikong Du said seriously. Even though he knew that no matter how desperately he cultivated, it was simply impossible for Yun Che to defeat Murong Yi. The only thing he could hope for, was for some kind of miracle to occur… For example, Murong Yi, in the next three months, choking to death while drinking water, dying from eating too much food, dying by getting struck by lightning, falling to his death while walking, or dying on a woman’s belly from exhaustion and etcetera...

“So, you should probably enter the Profound Gathering Tower as soon as today to cultivate, dedicating all your time and effort, and even eat and sleep in there… As for food and drinks, it’s no big deal for me to personally bring them to you everyday.

Yun Che’s heart warmed as he heard this, and said with a face full of gratitude: “Big Brother Sikong, thank you for your hospitality.”

“Ha ha, don’t mention it.” Sikong Du smiled, and said: “Even my life, was saved by your grandfather. Without your grandfather Xiao Li, I, Sikong Du, would not be here today. These years, I have always been thinking about how to repay your grandfather’s kindness; your arrival has finally provided me a way, to an extent, of expressing my desire. No matter what I do for you, is what I should be doing for you. Alright, let’s go, I’ll bring you to the Sky Weapon Pavilion first.”

“Sky Weapon Pavilion?”

“Blue Wind Profound Palace has three great Weapon Pavilions, which are respectively the Common Weapon Pavilion, Earth Weapon Pavilion, and Sky Weapon Pavilion. The Common Weapon Pavilion is in the Outer Palace, Earth Weapon Pavilion is in the Middle Palace, and Sky Weapon Pavilion belongs to the Inner Palace. These three pavilions are places where disciples can select weapons. Of the three, the weapons in the Sky Weapon Pavilion are naturally of the highest level. Any single Inner Palace disciple will have one opportunity to enter and select a weapon. After choosing a weapon, you can go to the Supreme Profound Hall to select Profound Arts and Profound Techniques that you wish to cultivate… In addition, only Inner Palace disciples can cultivate Blue Wind Profound Palace’s unique Profound Arts; as for profound techniques, naturally, they are also of the highest level.

“Also, the Inner Palace do not have any instructors; all of the cultivation will depend on one’s own abilities.”

While he was speaking, they had already arrived at the Sky Weapon Pavilion.

The Sky Weapon Pavilion was located beneath the ground, yet it didn’t seem dusky at all. Weapons of all colors and assortments laid in sight: swords, blades, spears, halberds, lances, axes, hammers, daggers… Everything was there; the majority radiated all sorts of dazzling colors, but there was also some that were dim and devoid of light that laid in a random corner. The moment Yun Che entered, he felt gusts of ice-cold wind rush at him; the auras were either ethereal, or noble, or sharp, or overbearing.

“The lowest-grade weapons in the Sky Weapon Pavilion are True Profound weapons but the majority are Spirit Profound weapons. Originally, there were several Earth Profound weapons, but they were taken by our seniors long ago; the only remaining Earth Profound weapon, is actually something insipid that no one wants. Yun Che, what weapon do you usually use?” Sikong Du asked.

Yun Che went silent for a moment, and nevertheless truthfully answered: “I am not proficient at using any weapon.”

During his time at Azure Sky Continent, he needed to use his hands to control the Sky Poison Pearl, so he simply had no way to wield a weapon. After all, at that time the Sky Poison Pearl had not been embedded in his body like it was now.

“You don’t use weapons?” Sikong Du’s face was filled with surprise, then shook his head and said: “Since you are a profound practitioner, you shouldn’t neglect the important role of a weapon. A comfortable weapon can allow a profound practitioner’s attack and defensive capabilities to increase greatly. Its role, is equivalent to that of a hand. In a battle between two people of similar power, taking other factors into account, a fighter not wielding a weapon simply cannot contend against a fighter wielding a weapon. But you’re still young; if you start cultivating now, it is not late at all.”

Yun Che nodded his head; he approved of Sikong Du’s words. Before, he needed to control the Sky Poison Pearl so he didn’t train with a weapon, but now, he should definitely train with a fitting weapon.

“If you really haven’t trained with any weapon before, then I’ll recommend a sword to you.” Sikong Du said: “The sword holds the respect of ten thousand soldiers; it can slash, hack, stab, cut, gouge, slice, parry, is flexible, easy to control, and has incredible power and defensive capabilities. Furthermore, it is easy to learn and easy to train. In the present Profound Sky Continent, around seventy percent of profound practitioners use a sword. Unless a specific weapon is required to operate a profound technique to its fullest power, one will usually choose a sword as a weapon. My weapon is also a sword.”

Yun Che also agreed with what Sikong Du had just said. Before, at the Phoenix trials and fighting with the Black Demon Mercenary Group, he used the Tiger Soul Sword he had taken from the Xiao Branch Sect. Prior to that, he had never used the sword before but when he had wielded the Tiger Soul Sword, it was indeed very easy to control. A sword’s flexibility, ability to attack and defend, and ease in learning and training, were all traits other weapons simply could not match.

“Alright, then I’ll pick a sword.” Yun Che nodded.

Amongst the numerous weapons in the Sky Weapon Pavilion, swords also constituted the greatest number. There were several hundreds of swords. Yun Che’s gaze meticulously swept through each and every type of sword; after going through all of them, he was a little disappointed in his heart. Because the none of the auras of each sword there could compare to the Tiger Soul Sword he possessed.

After all, all the swords here were True Profound swords and Spirit Profound swords, and the Tiger Soul Sword was an authentic Earth Profound sword.

Just as he was about to prepare to look for other weapons, Yun Che’s footsteps suddenly stopped. His gaze focused underneath the weapons rack.

Underneath the weapons rack that held all sorts of magic swords and weapons, a massive sword quietly lay there, covered by a thick layer of dust… That’s right, this was a genuine greatsword, with a width of around thirty centimeters, and no fancy decorations; it didn’t even have any imposing external aura, and it looked just like a chunk of ordinary iron silently lying inside of the dust, as if it had long been neglected and forgotten. If Yun Che’s vision wasn’t especially acute, he would not have noticed the weapon’s existence at all.

“This sword is?” Yun Che squatted and asked curiously.

Sikong Du glanced at the greatsword for a moment, then trivially said: “Oh, this is what I was just talking about. This is the only remaining Earth Profound weapon here. It’s called ‘Overlord’s Sword’, and it was once wielded thousands of years ago by someone from the Blue Wind Empire known as the ‘Overlord’. He once used this sword to slaughter countless enemies and made several impressively outstanding military exploits. After his death, this weapon was sent to this Sky Weapon Pavilion, and it has silently lain here for many years. Unfortunately, this Earth Profound weapon is a heavy sword; as profound practitioner, there is simply no one who would pick it.”

“Why?” Yun Che asked.

“It’s very simple. Because it is a heavy sword, with a huge sword body and incredible weight, even though it is classified as a ‘sword’, it is not as flexible as a sword should be. Also, with its incredible weight, just controlling it is an incredible difficult task, and even if you could control it, after time you wave it, you will consume a considerable amount of profound energy. Cumbersome, difficult to control, consumes a lot of energy; these three disadvantages ensure that no profound practitioner will select it. Its greatest advantage, is that once you strike with it, it will generate massive destruction; but with such a cumbersome weapon, it is impossible to swing it with any speed. Hitting the opponent is very difficult, and swinging it will create many opportunities for the opponent to strike back.”

“Because of this, this sword is only suitable for the battlefield; if one can control it well, it would definitely be a weapon capable of slaughtering many. But this is definitely not suitable for us profound practitioners; when fighting someone, not only will it not provide assistance, it would even become a burden.”

“Also, even though a greatsword is considered a sword, its characteristics are completely different than a regular sword, so all profound techniques involving swords are not suitable for this greatsword. As of now, the Supreme Profound Hall has three hundred forty-seven sword-related profound techniques, but none pertain to greatswords.”

As Sikong Du spoke, Yun Che intently stared at the dust-covered Overlord’s Colossal Sword. He imagined seeing himself recklessly brandishing this greatsword… At this time, he suddenly extended his hands, grasped the hilt of the Overlord’s Colossal Sword, and lifted with force.

Yet the Overlord’s Colossal Sword didn’t even move an inch.

Yun Che was silently shocked in his heart… it was actually this heavy!

He took a deep breath, fiercely clenched his teeth, and suddenly gathered all the profound energy in his body. He poured all the profound energy into his hands, and yelled loudly.

“HAAH!!”

Clang...

In the midst of an incomparably heavy sound of metal scraping against the ground, the Overlord’s Colossal Sword was finally being lifted up bit by bit as Yun Che grasped it by the hilt; the entire process was very tedious and slow… Only after more than a dozen breaths’ worth of effort, did Yun Che finally manage to raise the sword hilt to his hip; after trying so hard, his entire face was flushed red from exhaustion, and his forehead was covered with hot sweat.

So heavy! Why is it so heavy! Just what was the material used in making this sword!

“This Overlord’s Sword was rumored to be made from meteorites. It weighs one thousand nine hundred and fifty kilograms; the fact that you can even pick it up with your current profound strength is already quite impressive.” Sikong Du said: “Hm? You couldn’t actually be interested in it?

“Evil Soul!!”

Yun Che uttered a low growl in his heart, opened “Evil Soul”, and the profound energy instantly surged wildly. Under the explosively increased profound energy, he roared and gathered all his energy in a frenzy. Instantaneously, the tip of the Overlord’s Colossal Sword was lifted off the ground as he picked up the entire sword, and lifted it in front of his body… However, just after keeping the sword raised horizontally for a few short breaths of time. Under the frightening weight, he was then unable to endure any longer. The tip of the sword suddenly dipped, and crashed onto the ground with a “boom” sound. In the midst of the extremely loud noise, even the floor of the entire Sky Weapon Pavilion trembled for a moment.

Yun Che still clung onto the sword hilt, intensely gasped in a ragged manner; yet on his face, there actually revealed an excited expression: “I’ll be taking… this sword!”