Against the Gods (Web Novel)

A soft wind blew across the sorrowful wood spirit secret grounds.

Yun Che gathered all the bodies of the wood spirits, He Lin knelt beside their bodies saying his last goodbyes to each and every one of them. After He Lin had finished, Yun Che made a light pushing motion with his arm, burying them deep within this land that once belonged to them.

Although it wasn’t Yun Che’s intention, all that had happened was because of him. He was the main cause of this tragic episode. He took a deep breath and fell on both knees, kowtowing nine times.

He stretched his hand out. In the middle of his palm lay a bracelet which consisted of a colorful variety of flowers and seeds. It not only held the scent and spirit of the wood spirits, it also held within the warmth of heart and the feelings of a young girl.

He used both palms to push away some soil on the ground and carefully buried the bracelet underneath. Yun Che lifted his head, in his memories she was the little wood spirit girl who looked at Yun Che in bright eyed wonder and hero worship, hanging on every word of his. “Qing He, I am the demon who brought this disaster upon your entire race. I’m not qualified to accept your wonderful gift. I hope that in your next life… Fate will be kind to you.”

He Lin stayed there kneeling. He didn’t shed a single tear and he didn’t have a strong emotional reaction to all of this. This made Yun Che feel even more uneasy.

“He Lin.” Yun Che patted him on the shoulder. “From now on, stick with me. I will help you find another safe place. You mentioned before that you wanted to take me as your master, I don’t think I have what it takes to be a proper teacher, however if you’re still keen on it, I won’t decline again.”

His goals and situation were definitely not suited to taking on a student and having one by his side. Furthermore, He Lin could bring even more disaster as a royal wood spirit, but this time... the guilt was overwhelming. He wasn’t able to not care about He Lin and leave him in the lurch.

He Lin didn’t show any excitement. He neither nodded nor shook his head. He turned around and and gave Yun Che a soft and plain smile. His gaze still held the crystal clearness that seemed to be able to see through everything, but at the same time, it held within it a pain that surpassed his years, a pain that he shouldn’t have gone through.

“Big Brother, Yun Che” He smiled. “You’ve lost a portion of your lifespan for some reason and it was a very recent incident... am I right?”

Yun Che was slightly shocked, after which he slowly nodded his head.

Against the ancient horned dragon, he had forcefully executed Moon Star Restoration. Executing such an art went against the fundamental laws of this world, it defied common sense and violated the very laws of the heavens. The price: an eternal shortening of his lifespan!

The sensation of a portion of his lifespan being cut off from him was an intangible yet inexplicably painful feeling. Although the pain at that moment was short, he recalled how his soul trembled. This pain also brought with it a vague feeling, the feeling that if he executed Moon Star Restoration with his remaining life force, within four or five more activations, he’d devastate his entire lifespan and die immediately.

“I’m right then,” He Lin smiled once more. “I’m a wood spirit, we’re especially sensitive to the soul and life force of living beings. When I first saw Big Brother Yun Che, I had already noticed this issue and in fact, this is a very serious severance of lifespan. If you do not take any steps to restore your life force, you only have a few more years to live. Big Brother Yun Che is such a good person, so you ought to live for a very long time…”

“...Don’t worry about me, I’ll come up with a solution eventually.” Yun Che brushed the topic aside as he vigilantly scanned their surroundings. “He Lin, we have to leave this place. I’ve just killed their men, that so called Black Soul Sect should have been able to sense it. Even more evil men will descend upon this place soon.”

“Don’t worry though, unless I’m dead I will never allow anyone to hurt you,” Yun Che assured He Lin confidently.

“Thank you Big Brother Yun Che. Hearing you say this makes me really happy.” He Lin’s smile grew deeper and his gaze on Yun Che grew even more brilliant. “In the past, I felt that fate was extremely cruel. However, right now, at the very end of my life I met you. The god of nature has been watching over me all this time after all.”

Yun Che shook his head, having mixed emotions… when suddenly he realized with a jolt...

Very end of my life!?

At this immediate moment he suddenly felt the life force of He Lin draining like a leaky leather ball. It rapidly vanished but He Lin still wore a smile on his face as his small and weak body started to slowly fall backwards.

“He Lin!!”

Blood drained from Yun Che’s face. He frantically stepped forward and caught hold of him… He Lin’s body was soft and relaxed, his limp body’s temperature steadily falling while his life force was disappearing at a rapid speed.

“This... This... What’s happening?” Yun Che’s eyes suddenly grew wide as he recalled something and shouted in shock “You… You’re self destructing your Wood Spirit Orb?!!”

“He Lin!” Yun Che screamed madly both his hands gathering the profound energy in their surroundings. He tried channeling the energy into He Lin but the very same energy would then flow out again and again. “He Lin! What… What are you doing!? Why are you doing this?”

How did it come to this!? Why was this happening...

I should have noticed that something was off!

“Big Brother Yun Che…” He Lin’s voice was growing weaker. He looked at Yun Che and gently replied, “I knew it, you would definitely not throw me aside and leave me by myself… but, how can I… Uncle Qing Mu was right. Big Brother Yun Che will one day become a very great and powerful person, furthermore, you’re my benefactor. How could I… become your burden…”

Yun Che felt as if a giant hammer struck his soul. His whole body shook uncontrollably as he hollered “What burden!? How would you ever become my burden!? You… Didn’t you want to take me as your master, to become like me, as strong as me, so you could protect your people? Hurry up… stop this process. You’ll definitely be okay, there’ll definitely be a solution!!”

Yun Che panted heavily, executing the Great Way of the Buddha to its limits. However, it had no effect on He Lin. He could only watch as He Lin’s life drained away.

No… There has to be a solution!

Quick, think of a way to save him!!

I was the one who caused the deaths of the clansmen by his side, he should resent me, hate me. He should even want to kill me… Why is it turning out this way!?

The rest died because of me, how can I also let He Lin...

“Big Brother Yun Che, can you… promise me one thing? I have a wilful request to make,” He Lin whispered.

“You… Just say it. Whatever request you have, I promise to see it through.” Yun Che hadn’t given up yet and was now activating the Rage God power.

“I beg of you… In my place... Please find my sister…”

“Yes!” Yun Che nodded, his voice growing shaky. “I’ll find her and I’ll definitely let the both of you, brother and sister reunite!”

He Lin weakly shook his head “I know it myself, my request is very excessive, selfish even… but… I… I can’t… I really have no other option…”

Tears started pouring, dropping onto Yun Che. A wave of pain and grief washed over his entire being. He Lin’s words and the words within his tears…

“I am the last of the wood spirit’s royal bloodline. I was the hope of the entire race… However, I’m just that useless… I couldn’t protect sister, I couldn’t protect my people… I couldn’t do anything at all.... If I carry on living, I’ll only bring disaster upon Big Brother Yun Che who has been nothing but sincere and good to me…. This useless me… I cannot find sister and I won’t be able to protect her either… I can only… only be so selfish as to beg Big Brother Yun Che…”

“Don’t speak any more.” Yun Che’s chest was so heavy he found it difficult to breathe. His low voice continued, “Don’t worry, even if I have to travel through the entire God Realm, I will definitely find your sister! I will protect her… I’ll kill anyone who wants to harm her! Even if I have to give my life, I will never let her come to any harm! This I swear… I swear this upon my life!!”

The tears in He Lin’s eyes trembled and he weakly lifted his arm. “Thank you, Big Brother Yun Che. This is… the only… way I can repay you…”

His tightly held fist slowly opened. A pure beam of emerald light flashed across Yun Che’s eyes and penetrated into his soul.

Wood Spirit Orb…

This Wood Spirit Orb was almost half the size of the previous orb he obtained but he could feel an unmatched, rich and brilliant soul force inside it. Yun Che felt as if he was transported into another world, his eyes, body, and even soul… they seemed to be bathed in the purest and gentlest of lotions.

Yun Che stood for a while, in a daze under that beautiful, bright emerald light.

This was He Lin’s Wood Spirit Orb.

It wasn’t any ordinary Wood Spirit Orb. It was a Royal Wood Spirit Orb... In the Brahma Monarch God Realm, this would be highly and unimaginably sought after. One could only dream about but never be able to obtain such a treasure.

In fact, in the entire Brahma Monarch God Realm, no one would dare to hope for one. Even in the entire history of the God Realm, a perfect wood spirit orb of royal bloodline had never appeared before!

“Although… I’m very useless… my Wood Spirit Orb is a very impressive treasure.” He slowly moved his wood spirit orb steadily towards Yun Che’s chest. “It can bestow fifty thousand years of longevity on Big Brother Yun Che, it will even give you powers unique to our wood spirit race…”

Fifty thousand years of longevity!?

In this entire Primal Chaos, a human being having fifty thousand years of longevity… perhaps only Divine Realm Masters would have that!

“When I was very young… Father and mother once mentioned… our Wood Spirit Orb was extremely special, it was called a ‘Miracle Seed’. I really hope that one day… It will really… give Big Brother Yun Che a miraculous power…”

As the emerald brilliance grew closer, Yun Che who was entranced within the strange atmosphere of the orb suddenly woke up from his daze. He anxiously shouted, “He Lin! I don’t need your Wood Spirit Orb! Take it back immediately… Ahh!”

As the Wood Spirit Orb touched Yun Che’s chest, it slowly and gently started merging into him, like a water droplet entering the peaceful surface of a lake. Without a sound, it had already merged into Yun Che’s body...

It was obviously a foreign object but Yun Che’s body didn’t show even a hint of rejection!

The emerald brilliance touched upon Yun Che’s heart source whereupon it rapidly started to stretch out and encompass his entire body. In a short moment, wave upon wave of incredibly pure life force started to pulsate through every part of his body like tidal waves.

A pale white hand slowly started to fall. As he felt Yun Che’s life force start to change, He Lin’s little face displayed a gentle smile. His eyes now started to slowly close...

“Father… Mother… He Lin can finally… see you again…”

His voice slowly trailed off as his last breath disappeared along with the gentle but seemingly cruel breeze that passed over them...

“He… Lin….”

Yun Che let out the most anguished cry of his entire life, slowly kneeling on the ground

Thud—

The weight on his arms immediately grew light. A flash of emerald light emanated from He Lin who was in his embrace, and he transformed into what looked like a small dancing green star being blown in the wind. Like a spritely snowflake, it flew toward the ground where the wood spirits were buried.

Immediately, blades of jade green grass started to sprout from the soil, swiftly growing. The entire area was then shortly covered in a patch of beautiful green, while hundreds of flowers budded and opened at the same time, filling the entire place where the wood spirits laid in their final rest.

Perhaps… this was He Lin’s final gift of protection to his people.

“...” Yun Che lay there kneeling, as if he were an ice sculpture, not moving an inch. The jade green grass and beautiful flowers started to spread past him.

Bang!!

He struck himself, fist straight to his heart. Yun Che coughed out a large mouthful of blood, both hands supporting himself on the ground for a moment. He lifted his head, blood at the corners of his mouth. Both his eyes held an unmatched hellbent fury within them.

“Soul… Sect…”

“If I don’t bathe your sect in blood… I, Yun Che… am not human!!”