Against the Gods (Web Novel)
chapter-1998

Chapter 1998 - Qilin Abyss Conference (3)

Partially Edited Chapter - Rubble

The non-stop cries and odd looks the crowd kept shooting at them made the entire Helian group very, very uncomfortable.

Most of them thought that they would be able to enter the Qilin God Realm as the last place participant. The thought of bettering their position had never entered their minds. Now… now they were worried.

Helian Lingzhu closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to deal with the looks.

As one of the few people who knew everything, Ku Xian sighed, “This is going to be difficult.”

“There’s no need to worry too much.” Mo Cangying withdrew his spiritual perception and said calmly, “The Qilin Worship Alliance has just risen to power recently. I only sensed two Divine Masters below the age of six hundred, and they are early-stage Divine Masters no less.”

“On the other hand, we have three Divine Masters. I alone can handle the two of them, much less the three of us together.”

The Qilin Abyss Conference was a tournament between all young Divine Masters below the age of six hundred. Divine Sovereigns… were just there to fill up the slots. After all, the gap between the realms was insurmountable.

Suddenly, Mo Cangying scrunched his eyebrows together.

It was because he recalled the “powerful helper” Ximen Qi had mentioned that day.

“If you really want us to step on your faces so badly, then I don’t mind giving you an early warning.”

“We’ve recruited many powerful helpers for this conference, but one of them is enough to crush every. Single. One of you.”

Mo Cangying spread his spiritual perception once more in search for this so-called powerful helper, but he came back with nothing.

“We must not be careless,” Ku Xian said solemnly, “If what you said is true, the Qilin Worship Alliance would not have revealed themselves to us, much less visit His Majesty to gloat about it.”

“Not only that, the Qilin Worship Alliance must consider Ximen Boyun’s face as well. He is the Abyssal Knight overseeing the Qilin Abyss Conference and their supporter. If the Qilin Worship Alliance tried to force their way through only to be humiliated in battle, Ximen Boyun’s face would suffer greatly as a result… it should not need to be said that they would never allow this to happen.”

“We should definitely not make the mistake of underestimating their opponent, but there is no need to be too nervous either.”

It was at this moment that Yun Che chose to speak up, “The Qilin Worship Alliance thinks they can use Ximen Boyun to their advantage, but if you think about it… he can be of use to us as well.”

Mo Cangying and Helian Lingzhu immediately looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“What matters to an Abyssal Knight more than anything?” Yun Che explained slowly, “Their noble soul, of course.”

“It’s great to be an Abyssal Knight, but at the same time, they must never forget that they represent the people and the face of the Pure Land. Therefore…” Yun Che narrowed his eyes. “He must put nobility and fairness above all else. Otherwise, he would be tainting the honor of an Abyssal Knight and ruining the face of the Pure Land!”

“One of the reasons so many people are present today is to witness the Abyssal Knight’s noble soul with their own eyes. Therefore, I’m certain he will not dare to be anything but an impartial judge today. With that in mind, what do we have to fear from an impartial judge? If anything…”

He lowered his voice, “I’m sure that he will be of use to us far more than the Qilin Worship Alliance.”

In Chi Wuyao’s opinion, there were several types of people who were the easiest to manipulate. One of them was a one-track-minded person—or more accurately, a principled person who must uphold their principles no matter what.

Another type was someone like him; someone who had too many attachments.

Ximen Boyun might hail from the Qilin Abyss Realm, but he was an Abyssal Knight of the Pure Land now. It was a change he had willingly accepted; an honor he considered to be the greatest of it all. Therefore, he would never dare to tarnish it in public, just like how Mo Beichen did not truly kill Helian Jue even though he hated him to the core.

Mo Cangying and Helian Lingzhu were silent for a moment. No one knew what to say for a time.

What Yun Che said was definitely true, but… did anyone in the Qilin Abyss Realm possess the power to truly demand the Abyssal Knight uphold his principles? Of course not. So why did he think that the Abyssal Knight would play by the rules?

For example, it was commonly preached that a prince’s sin should be punished the same as a commoner. But at the same time, everyone knew it was complete bullshit.

Suddenly, Yun Che sensed something and looked in the Qilin Worship Alliance’s direction.

He glimpsed something gray white at the very back of the crowd, and his aura belonged to…

Wait a second!

Is this… Is that the one Mo Beichen [1] mentioned back then?

Why would someone like that come to a place as small as the Qilin Abyss Realm?

They’re probably the powerful reinforcement they invited, but… there’s no way Qilin Worship Alliance is the initiator here, meaning that…

They had invited themselves over!

“What’s wrong, Brother Yun?” Mo Cangying asked when he noticed a lull in Yun che’s aura.

“The Qilin Worship Alliance is definitely prepared,” Yun Che said, “They are guaranteed to enter the Qilin God Realm this time.”

Mo Cangying: “!!”

It was at this moment Ximen Boyun’s voice rolled across the area and suppressed all the noise in an instant.

“I am Ximen Boyun, the Abyssal Knight serving the Abyssal Monarch and the High Priests. I have come to open the Qilin God Realm as per the Pure Land command, and I will also be the witness and the supervisor of this year’s Qilin Abyss Conference.”

Every word he spoke shook the soul and carried a kind of pressure that would accept nothing but complete acceptance.

“We are the ones who serve the Abyssal Monarch and the High Priests, and our purpose is to maintain the order of the Abyss. No evil, filth, or injustice will be tolerated.”

The awe-inspiring light shining from the back of his hand faded only after he lowered his left arm.

“That is all I’m going to say. You are the ones who shall decide how the Qilin Abyss Conference will proceed.”

Zhai Kexie looked up, “The Qilin Abyss Realm will never forget the Pure Land’s favor. This way please, Sir Knight.”

Ximen Boyun nodded and sat down in his seat. There was nowhere in the center area that his eyes couldn’t reach.

High up in the sky, Hua Caili asked in disappointment, “Must I participate in the Qilin Abyss Conference to enter the Qilin God Realm?”

“I warned you from the start.” Hua Qingying’s voice entered her mind. “The Qilin Abyss Realm might be a small place, but the Qilin God Realm isn’t a place where just anyone can enter as they please. The Abyssal Monarch and the last Qilin also share a special relationship. The Qilin God Realm is his gift and protection to his friend.”

Hua Caili thought for a moment. “Is it not too late for me to join one of these sides?”

“Of course not! Who do you think you are? Besides, your official age automatically disqualifies you from the tournament.”

Hua Caili pressed a hand to her lips and thought really, really hard for a solution. She clearly wasn’t willing to give up just like that.

“Remember that you owe the Abyssal Monarch a huge favor. Do you really think it’s right to poke into his private business?”

She was warning Hua Caili against sneaking into the Qilin God Realm.

“I won’t.” Hua Caili shook her head and sighed. “Fine, I guess I won’t be going in after all. I’ll just wait until the next time I meet Uncle and—huh?”

By complete accident, she glimpsed the one man that had left an impression on her during her stay in the Qilin Abyss Realm. He was none other than Yun Che.

“That guy from that day is here too?”

She must have stared at him for too long because Yun Che looked up a little.

Because abyssal dust was affecting him less and less over time, his spiritual perception had grown to the point where it exceeded even Hua Cali’s. Naturally, he was able to perceive her presence.

Why is she here? Yun Che thought in astonishment. She should’ve left this place a long time ago. There’s nothing for her here.

He wondered if he should meet her gaze or pretend he didn’t notice. In the end, he chose the latter.

Meanwhile, Zhai Kexie had returned to his men and was declaring in a loud voice, “The Qilin God Realm was an unparalleled gift the Abyssal Monarch Himself had bestowed upon us, and it is all thanks to him that we have what we have today. It is for his sake and the Qilin Abyss Realm’s future that we have a rule where everyone who is worthy is allowed to enter the Qilin God Realm.”

He took a moment to look everyone in the eye before continuing, “Today, the highest powers in the Qilin Abyss Realm are the Boulder Profound Sect, the Thousand Blade Sect, The Fiery Sand Sect and the Helian Empire. This hasn’t changed for tens of generations.”

“A thousand people are allowed to enter the Qilin God Realm. According to the standings, the champion of the Qilin Abyss Conference is allowed to enter four hundred people, the runner-up is allowed to enter three hundred people, the second runner-up is allowed to enter two hundred people, and the last place is allowed to enter one hundred people into the Qilin God Realm.”

As he said, this had been the case for tens of generations.

“Sect Master Wan, Sect Master Lie, Helian…” Zhai Kexie purposely paused for an instant before continuing, “If there are no objections, then we shall begin this year’s Qilin Abyss Conference.”

“Hahaha. If everyone who is worthy is allowed to enter the Qilin God Realm, does that mean that the opposite is also true? That the unworthy ones will be replaced?”

As soon as Zhai Kexie finished, an untimely yet anticipated voice spoke up.

It was Ximen Borong striding out with a calm, collected expression. He did not forget to shoot the Helian group a glance.

Since learning that the Abyssal Knight witnessing this year’s Qilin Abyss Conference was none other than Xmen Boyun himself, countless people had expected this to happen. It was why the crowd simply turned to look at the Helian group instead of gossiping about it.

Suddenly, everyone understood why the Helian emperor had sent the First Princess to lead their group instead of showing up himself.

It would seem that his injuries were a lie. He must have learned of the Qilin Worship Alliance’s intrusion before and decided that he would rather sacrifice his First Princess than his own face.

… it was a perfect fit with what they knew of the emperor.

Zhai Kexie said seriously, “It would seem that the Qilin Worship Alliance would like to partake in the Qilin God Realm’s gifts as well.”

“We all know how fast you’ve been growing as of late. Personally, I do think that you are qualified to enter the Qilin God Realm.”

He shook his head smilingly. “However, this isn’t a matter I can decide on my own. We must ask the Thousand Blade Sect, the Fiery Sand Sect and the Helian Empire if they would accept this entrance as well.”

It was at this moment Helian Linglang suddenly took a step forward and declared, “The Helian Empire has no objections to this.”

Countless gazes fell on the crown prince. Helian Lingzhu spun around in shock and uttered, “Brother, you…”

Helian Linglang declared in a righteous tone, “It is the Qilin Worship Alliance and the Qilin Abyss Realm’s honor that an Abyssal Knight has appeared in our midst. This alone qualifies the Qilin Worship Alliance to enter the Qilin God Realm. Therefore, the Helian Empire wholeheartedly agrees with their entrance.”

For a time, everyone was silent. Helian Linglang looked extremely proud of himself as well. Not only was he patting himself on the head internally for acting faster than his sister, he thought that he was praising and currying favor with Ximen Boyun.

When he looked at Ximen Boyun though, he noticed that the Abyssal Knight’s face was as dark as a stormy cloud. The way he looked at him especially chilled him to the core.

Yun Che sneered on the inside: Man, it is literally impossible to stop these people from damning their own empire.

Helian Linglang thought he was buttering up Ximen Boyun, and if his comment had happened privately, then it might even have worked. But right here and now? He might as well be slandering the Abyssal Knight’s “noble soul” to his face, and that was before mentioning how stupid his decision to support the Qilin Worship Alliance’s entrance was.

Ku Xian was exhaling deeply as well. As the Palace Chief of the Helian Heavenly Palace, he did not have the right to rebuke his crown prince. He could only hold his infinite disappointment and sorrow within.

Helian Jue was bad enough, but to think that his heir would be even worse!

1. I have a feeling this is a typo but I could be wrong ☜