Against the Gods

Chapter 1986 – End of Helian (1)

Partially Edited Chapter – Rubble

It wasn’t long before Yun Che met the current ruler of the Helian Dynasty and the ostensible ruler of the Qilin Abyss Realm, Helian Jue.

“Lingzhu, Cangying, you’ve returned.”

Helian Jue was currently standing at the center of the main hall. As was only natural, his imperial robe and crown were brownish yellow in color. His gaze was sharp and dignified, but it was missing the natural arrogance a ruler of an entire realm should possess.

He shot Yun Che a glance but did not pay him too much attention.

“I’ve made you worry, Royal Father,” Helian Lingzhu stepped forward and bowed deeply toward him.

“As long as you’re safe,” Helian Jue sighed. “If anything, it is my fault you thought it was necessary to put yourself in danger.”

He then looked at Yun Che and asked, “Is this the miraculous doctor you mentioned in your sound transmission?”

Yun Che stepped forward and answered, “Yun Che greets you, Your Majesty.”

“Mm,” Helian Jue responded, but his eyebrows were slightly wrinkled. The man before him had a flawless face, unblemished skin, and a pair of eyes that were as dark as the night itself. He could spot almost no abyssal dust on his person either. It was almost as if he had never been touched by abyssal dust in his life until recently.

Could he be a denizen of a Kingdom of God? he wondered.

“My daughter said you were hunted by your enemies and forced to escape into the sandstorm. When you awoke, you discovered that you had lost your past memories. Is that true?” He asked in a critical tone.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Yun Che replied. “It’s only thanks to the First Princess and Brother Mo that I survived.”

Although the Helian emperor hadn’t released his profound energy, Yun Che knew at first glance that he was stronger than everyone in the God Realm; stronger than it was possible for Primal Chaos to accommodate.

Although he wasn’t a Half-God like Mo Beichen, he was only a hair away from reaching that realm. He was a Half-Step Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner!

As expected of the Abyss. Even the ruler of an unwelcomed corner of the world was greater than even the highest existence in the Primal Chaos.

“The questions can wait until later, Royal Father. Please show Yun Che the injury you got back then,” Helian Lingzhu interrupted and gave Yun Che a gentle push in the back.

Her unconscious gesture and words greatly surprised Helian Jue, but he showed none of his emotions on his face and said, “Lingzhu seems to think very highly of you! Your medical skills must be even more impressive than she told me. Come, doctor.”

Despite what he said, he did not really think that Yun Che could treat him. A Half-God had dealt him his injury, and it was far beyond the ability of mere medical skill to cure to say the least. He only agreed to this because he didn’t want to disappoint his daughter.

Yun Che didn’t waste his breath. He immediately pressed a finger to Helian Jue’s wrist and injected a weak amount of profound energy. It quickly circulated throughout the emperor’s body one time.

Three breaths later, Yun Che scattered the profound energy and withdrew his finger. Everyone was surprised at how little time it took him to check the emperor’s body. Helian Lingzhu asked tentatively, “How is it?”

Yun Che answered, “The energy entrenched in His Majesty’s heart is incredibly powerful. I can see why he wasn’t able to neutralize it. Moreover, the main purpose of this energy is to stall His Majesty’s recovery for as long as possible. That is why it isn’t life-threatening in the short term.”

“Do you have a way to treat him then?” Helian Lingzhu asked hopefully.

Yun Che smiled. “With my cultivation? Of course not. But I can draw it out of Your Majesty’s heart.”

“Ah?” Helian Lingzhu blanked out for a second before her joy and shock caught up with her. “Really!?”

Helian Jue and Mo Cangying were also surprised, but their excitement was far tamer than Helian Lingzhu’s. In fact, they didn’t look happy in the slightest. If Mo Beichen’s energy could be drawn out of his heart, then neutralizing it would only be a trivial matter. However, it was the energy of a Half-God, an energy that not even the strongest member of the imperial family, the Guardian Ancestor could resolve. How dare a mere Divine Sovereign proclaim that he could do what their Guardian Ancestor couldn’t do?

“And how will you do this, exactly?” Helian Jue was scoffing inside his heart, but his expression did not change in the slightest.

Yun Che replied calmly and confidently, “It will be difficult for me to explain the medical theory and treatment to a layman, but that isn’t really important. Your trust is what’s truly important for this treatment to succeed.”

Helian Jue narrowed his eyes but waited for him to continue.

“To put it simply, if you would allow me to inject my profound energy into your heart and open seventeen injuries in it, then I have absolute confidence that I’ll be able to draw out the energy in just thirty breaths.”

“You bastard!!” Mo Cangying was already yelling before Helian Jue could react, “How dare you suggest such an audacious thing, Yun Che! Or was that your plan all along!? To assassinate His Majesty?”

To allow one’s profound qi into one’s heart was to surrender one’s life to their hands, and to open seventeen injuries in one’s heart? This was the heart they were talking about! The slightest misstep could cause irreparable damage at best or death at worst! Yun Che might as well be plotting the emperor’s assassination!

“Ninth Senior Brother!” Helian Lingzhu hurriedly went over to Mo Cangying and grabbed his arm. “I am sure Yun Che’s intentions aren’t malicious!”

Yun Che wasn’t surprised by their reaction in the slightest. He explained calmly, “I’ve never been to the Qilin Abyss Realm, so you can be assured that I’m not working for an enemy, not to mention that the First Princess has literally saved my life. The reason I came today is to repay her favor. I can assure you that I harbor no ill intentions toward you, Your Majesty.”

“He speaks the truth, Royal Father!” Helian Lingzhu hurriedly defended Yun Che, “Ninth Senior Brother and I are the ones who saved Yun Che. When he had recovered enough to move, he tried to leave for fear of bringing his enemies upon us. I’ve personally seen him rescuing a fellow junior brother through a miraculous display of skill as well. That was why I decided to bring him over.”

“Ninth Senior Brother can testify to this. He was there as well.”

Mo Cangying couldn’t deny that.

Yun Che added, “I was just speaking from my experience as a doctor, but I completely understand that Your Majesty would be wary of an outsider you met for the first time, not to mention that it involves something as delicate as your heart. I would actually be surprised if you had agreed to the treatment immediately.”

Helian Jue still didn’t change his expression. He stared at Yun Che and asked, “Do you know any other way to treat this?”

Yun Che replied, “My cultivation is weak, and this is the heart we’re talking about. So no, this is the only way I can think of. However, I should’ve known better than to bring up such a risky treatment to an emperor. Please accept my apologies, Your Majesty.”

“As long as you know,” Helian Jue replied expressionlessly, but it was clear from his words that he wasn’t as cordial as he was before.

“Royal Father,” Helian Lingzhu immediately picked up on her father’s anger and tried to defend Yun Che again, “I promise you that Yun Che is not a bad person. Ninth Senior Brother and I saw with our own eyes how he saved our junior brother that day. I wouldn’t bring him to you if I wasn’t so impressed with his skill.”

“I trust you fully, daughter,” Helian Jue said, “but how could you not understand how ridiculous your request is? You’re asking me to trust an outsider I met for the first time and whose past I know nothing about with my life.”

“Also,” his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, “I’m really curious why you’re willing to entrust your father’s life to a guy you’ve known for less than three days. His so-called ‘medical skills’ probably aren’t his only expertise, is it? In fact, I dare say his other skill is much better than his medical skills.”

“Royal Father, I…” Helian Lingzhu couldn’t refute his point.

“You are correct, Your Majesty,” Yun Che replied calmly. In fact, he was so calm that Helian Jue couldn’t help but frown in puzzlement. “In that case, I have no reason to stay any longer. This is where we part ways. I shall repay the First Princess’ favor after I’ve fully recovered.”

Helian Jue turned away. “Unnecessary. The Helian Empire hasn’t fallen so low that we would hold someone’s favor over another person’s head. The Qilin Abyss Realm has no place for you, and my daughter is definitely not someone you should covet. If you truly want to repay her, then leave the Qilin Abyss Realm as soon as possible.”

“Royal Father!” Helian Linghzu wanted to say something else, but Helian Jue was already waving them away. “Cangying! Send him away.”

“At once!” Mo Cangying responded.

It was at this moment the wind blew, and an unruly laugh swept into the main hall. “Hahahaha! Zhua Liancheng of the Boulder Profound Sect requests a meeting with His Majesty!”

The person might have used the word “request”, but he was really invading the palace. He even blew his sandstorm right into the main hall. The Helian guards were swept away by the deadly sandstorm and blown far, far away before they could react.

“Boulder Profound Sect!?” Everyone except Yun Che blanched at the same time.

“Bastard!” Mo Cangying spun around in fury and mustered his profound energy. Light that looked like solid rocks manifested around both of his arms before he attacked the person behind the sandstorm.

A loud explosion ripped the sandstorm apart and shook the surrounding space. Mo Cangying fell from the sky and hit the floor with a loud thud. Although he managed to catch himself, he nearly sank a full meter in the ground, and the floor of the entire main hall was cracked like a spider’s web.

Mo Cangying wobbled and turned pale for an instant, but his expression immediately turned as ferocious as a hungry eagle once more.

“Oh? Brother Cangying!”

A tall, muscular man emerged from the dust cloud with undisguised arrogance and ridicule, “It’s been thirty years since we last met, and you haven’t improved even a little? Didn’t you say you were going to become a so-called Blue Eagle who would soar the skies of the Pure Land one day? You haven’t plucked out all your feathers and become a dog for the Helian Empire, have you?”

“You!” The anger in Mo Cangying’s eyes deepened. His fingernails dug into his flesh almost deep enough to draw blood.

The man was the young master of the Boulder Profound Sect, Zhai Liancheng. Thirty years ago, they had fought each other to a stalemate.

But now, Zhai Liancheng had managed to overwhelm him in a single exchange.

It was at this moment Mo Cangying felt a large hand patting him on the shoulder. Then, Helian Jue stepped forward and stared at Zhai Liancheng imperiously, “You’re getting ruder and ruder, boy. I can see that your father has neglected to teach you manners.”

It was an understatement. The slowest person in the Abyss could tell that this was a show of undisguised provocation and contempt. Despite Helian Jue’s bravado, Zhai Liancheng simply didn’t think much of him at all.

Zhai Liancheng had not come alone. He was accompanied by an exceptional young man. He was a peak Divine Sovereign of medium stature and an ordinary appearance.

Neither Helian Jue nor Mo Cangying had seen this person before. However, he looked perfectly unperturbed despite facing an emperor. He wore a light smile on his face as he looked everyone in the main hall up and down like he was examining an object. He was even more arrogant than Zhai Liancheng was, and he was standing beside the young master, not behind him.

“Yun Che!” The first thing Helian Lingzhu did was to send Yun Che a sound transmission. “Leave this place as soon as you find the opportunity to do so. This man is the young master of the Boulder Profound Sect, and he’s not someone you want to trifle with. I’ll… I’ll find you later and send you away, so go!”

Yun Che smiled and gave Helian Lingzhu a nod, but he did not move a muscle.

Rumble!

Clouds of sand kicked into the main hall once more, but this time it was the imperial guards. They glared at the two seemingly outnumbered intruders like they would devour them on the spot.

However, Helian Jue waved them away and declared, “Withdraw.”

The menacing auras quickly dissipated along with the sand.

Yun Che’s lips curled into a scornful smirk. He had figured out this so-called emperor’s true nature. At first glance, he seemed like a broad-minded and steady man. In reality, he was just a coward who was too afraid to take even the slightest risks.

If someone had entered the Emperor Yun City like this, Yan Three would’ve ripped them apart long before word of their demise even made it to his ears.