Against the Gods - Volume 01 - Red-Colored Calamity

by Mars Gravity

  “Qingyue my wife, after the month is over and you depart for the Frozen Cloud Asgard, we probably won’t have another opportunity to see one another… When you’re away, will you occasionally think about me?”

  ………………

  “Qingyue my wife”, that was how he would always call her. He addressed her like that at every given opportunity. She slowly became accustomed to that title….From now on, she knew she would never again hear someone mention that title when referring to her. The thought caused her heart to tighten. As she thought about it, her heart continued to ache.

  “Qingyue? What’s wrong? Why has your heartbeat become erratic?” Chu Yueli glanced at her from the side.

  Xia Qingyue gently shook her head: “I’m fine, just…a little homesick…”

  Chu Yueli did not grasp the true meaning behind what Xia Qingyue meant when she said “home”. Chu Yueli said with relief: “When a girl leaves her home for the first time, it is only normal to be sentimental. But the day your profound training reaches the Sky Profound Realm, traveling vast distances will become a simple matter. When that moment comes, it will be easier for you to return when you miss home.”

  When Xia Qingyue mentioned home, Chu Yueli naturally thought of one person, she casually said: “Your younger brother, I remember his name… Xia Yuanba. Yesterday, I took the opportunity to check his profound vein; he was naturally born with nine profound entrances. Although his talent is mediocre, his profound veins are a whole two times thicker than that of a normal person’s. It was the first time I have ever seen anything like it. Perhaps, that is one of the reasons why your brother is so burly. I will try to find more information regarding his condition once we return.”

  “I thank Master for the consideration.” Xia Qingyue said gently. Her eyes shifted towards the direction of her home and she gently murmured: “After I’m gone, Yuanba will also head toward New Moon City by himself and enter the New Moon Profound Government. I hope he won’t get bullied and always live in peace……”

  Chapter 39: Blood-Soaked Jasmine (1)

  Cyan Forest Town was located nearly two hundred kilometers west of Floating Cloud City. Although it was located on a remote piece of land, there were quite a number of residents, and occasionally travelers would pass by. This place could be considered a necessary route when traveling from Floating Cloud City to New Moon City.

  The scorching sun and the ground covered in cracks because of its rays, made people feel more agitated than usual. At this time, a Group of six people appeared on the streets in town. The first and leading one had a big and intimidating build, carried an one and half meter long bronze machete. His facial features were demonic, and his eyes emitted maliciousness. The ones behind him both wore jackets made of animal skin, wielding swords, knives, maces and various weapons.

  Their appearance immediately tensed up the atmosphere on the street. Passerbys all quickly moved to the side of the street, their footsteps also became very cautious as their faces contorted with fear…… Only until these six people entered a small inn in town, were they finally able to feel relieved and left hastily.

  Bang!!

  The bulky man wearing silver armor slammed the huge machete that was almost as tall as a grown man into the biggest table at the center of the inn, and roared : “This table belongs to this granddaddy now, scram if you don’t want to die!”

  The four people who were enjoying their drinks were just about to express the rage, however their complexions quickly changed when they saw the bulky man’s face. They didn’t dare to even mutter a word as they left the table obediently. The man then stretched out his thick arm and swept the table, then lowly roared in the deafening sound of shattering tableware: “Bring out all the best dishes you have in this inn!”

  The innkeeper was already there to greet them; as he looked at the remains of broken plates and glass, he felt as if his heart was bleeding. However, he forcefully smiled on the surface and said: “Silver….. Silver Dragons’ young masters, please rest a while, drinks and foods will come soon, very soon.”

  Those six people belonged to Cyan Forest Town’s infamous Silver Dragon Mercenary Group, and the bulky man wielding the huge machete was the head, Yin Long, who dubbed himself as the “Silver Dragon”. At the age of a little over forty, his profound strength actually reached the second level of the True Profound Realm. Compared to Cyan Forest Town, where even one at the fourth level of the Nascent Profound Realm would be considered strong, he was unquestionably an unsurmountable existence here. Because of this, the Silver Dragon Mercenary Group became the strongest mercenary group in Cyan Forest Town and acted as if laws doesn’t exist, with no one daring to provoke them.

  (TL: ‘Yin Long’ sounds the same as ‘Silver Dragon’ phonetically)

  After the group of six sat down, the five other mercenary members then started to spew out all sorts of flattery. The six’s sound of speaking, laughing and cursing filled the entire inn. They had gotten used to this kind of lawless conduct a long time ago. The surrounding customers became more afraid due to Silver Dragon’s tyranny and no one dared to speak more than the bare necessity.

  At this time, another group of five appeared at the inn door. At a glance, the leader of the group was a young man who appeared to be a little over twenty, had a mediocre body figure, and a plain looking face. However, inconsistent with his features, his apparel was nevertheless incomparably extravagant, and anyone in the town would lock onto his clothes for a quite a while with envious eyes of thirst that were incapable of moving away.

  He stood in front of the inn for a while; his eyes swept over the people in the inn with an extraordinarily arrogant gaze, as if he was looking at lesser animals that didn’t even deserve to be paid attention to. Right after, his brow slanted, and he coldly snorted.

  From behind him, a handsome youth that only looked seventeen or eightteen hurriedly came up, bowed before him and smiled with an apologetic overtone: “Young Master Xiao, all inns are like this in remote lands, it is probably not possible to find any decent ones within fifty kilometers, please bear with it a little.”

  Those five people, as expected, were Xiao Kuangyun, Xiao Moshan, Xiao Ba, Xiao Jiu, and Xiao Chengzhi who was brought out of Xiao Clan. They were on their way back to Xiao Sect from Floating Cloud City.

  Xiao Chengzhi was exhilarated the whole trip, and when he thought of how he had almost arrived at the Xiao Sect, he ended up laughing even in his sleep. In front of Xiao Kuangyun, he bended over to fawn and to curry favor. He didn’t dare to make the slightest slip against him…… If he could satisfactorily serve this Xia’s young master, and get a good word from him at a later date, he should be able to live as he wants even in the Xiao Sect.

  “Hmph!” Xiao Kuangyun snorted from his nose, took another uninterested glance around, and walked inside.

  Xiao Chengzhi hurriedly rushed ahead and occupied the table at the best location, squatted down and cleaned the wooden chair with his sleeves. He then looked at Xiao Kuangyun with adulation, and shouted: “Owner, immediately serve the dishes…… select the best ones you have!”

  Xiao Kuangyun’s group had just came in, and they were already targeted by the gazes of the six from Silver Dragon Mercenary Group. One of them laughed with disdain: “Ha! That little brat is acting quite wild, look at that expression he had when he saw us, tsk tsk.”

  “It’s probably some rich family’s young master who’s sightseeing on a vacation, just look at that succulent skin and flesh, it feels like water could leak out if you just squeeze them a little. But he actually dares to mess around in our turf, does he not know how the word “death” is written?”

  “Boss, do you want me to go up and teach them who’s turf they’re in? Who cares which family’s young master he is, within the territory of Silver Dragon Mercenary Group, everyone will need to be obedient to us.”

  “PAAAA!”

  Yin Long slammed the chicken leg he was eating with immense force, and lifted the huge machete near
his feet in one go: “Let this daddy here personally go greet them. I’ve taken a liking to the clothes he’s wearing, if I brought them back to my son, he would definitely be very delighted, hahahaha……”

  After he said that, he carried his machete and blatantly walked toward Xiao Kuangyun’s table, smashed the table with his machete from three steps away, and said with an acrimonious tone: “Brat! Seems like your clothes are pretty neat? However, looking at your shameful figure, it’s such a waste that they’re being worn by you. Take them off immediately!”

  “Strip! Take them off now! You heard me!”

  “If you don’t want to strip, we’ll help you take them off.”

  “If our boss strips you personally later, it won’t be that gentle anymore, AHAHAHAHA!”

  The Silver Dragon Mercenary Group’s fodders continued to jeer. The people in the inn all moved away from them, and looked at Xiao Kuangyun’s group with pity. The innkeeper and attendant hid even further away and didn’t dare to come up and dissuade them.

  But contrary to the expectations of everyone there, when facing the notorious Silver Dragon Mercenary Group, Xiao Kuangyun’s table of people seemed extraordinarily calm, to the point of being eerie. Xiao Kuangyun reached out his hand, wiped his clothes that got tainted with wine with disgust, and coldly spoke: “Dispose them all.”

  “En? Dispose? What did he just say?”

  “He said to dispose us all! Ahahahaha……AHH!!!”

  The mocking sound of the Silver Dragon Mercenary Group immediately turned into ear splitting screams of agony. Xiao Ba’s figure rushed out like a bolt of lightning, and blasted three of the noisiest flying. It was followed by the *kacha kacha* sound of bones breaking.

  Yin Long’s barbaric smile disappeared. He jumped back a step, and revealed a terrified expression: “Spirit……Spirit Profound Realm!!”

  When the words “Spirit Profound Ream” came out, it was as if a bomb went off inside the inn; everyone was shaken and rendered speechless! Only sects and major cities would have these kind of superbly powerful beings. And in this tiny Cyan Forest Town, it was a level that no one had ever seen in their entire lives, that only existed in their wildest dreams!

  Just as Yin Long finished speaking, the other two mercenary followers were blown over ten meters away by Xiao Ba with the swing of a palm and fell unconsciously on the ground. Yin Long’s entire body began to tremble, then fell to the ground on his knees and prostrated excessively: “S…So… Sorry…. My eyes have failed to see….I was unable to recognize great beings such as yourself, I… I deserve to die… I deserve to die!”

  If he knew the opponent was actually a master that had achieved Spirit Profound Realm, he wouldn’t have tried to provoke them even if he were to die.

  “Dispose of him.” Xiao Kuangyun uttered coldly .

  As the voice faded, Xiao Ba’s hand also swept down and shattered both of Yin Long’s arms in midst of his screams of agony.

  At this time, a youth’s silhouette appeared at the inn door.

  When Yun Che left Floating Cloud City, he didn’t actually have a destination in mind. Thinking about the wooden tablet he received from Xiao Lie, he asked around on the way, and intentionally walked toward the direction of New Moon City. He needed to reach a bigger and more populated place, so that there would be a higher chance of finding the necessary items to repair his broken profound vein.

  His constitution was too weak, and since he couldn’t bear to spend the little money he had on a horse, he could only travel by foot with a really slow speed. When he arrived at Cyan Forest Town, he was already extremely fatigued and hungry. As he saw the inn on the side of the street, he flipped through what little profound coins he had, made a self-deprecating smile and headed toward it.

  Just as he arrived by the door, he heard a scream similar to the slaughtering of a pig. Following the sound, he immediately saw the Xiao Kuangyun and Xiao Moshan that were sitting together, with Xiao Chengzhi standing the side…… He immediately stopped on his tracks, rotated his body around and left hastily. But as he turned his body around, Xiao Ba’s complexion immediately changed when he, by chance, looked in the direction of the door when he had just shattered Yin Long’s arms.

  “Innkeeper, take these eye sores and throw them out!!” Xiao Kuangyun coldly growled. A group of trash lower than ants, dared to actually ruin his interest in having a meal.

  “Ah…… yes, yes, yes, yes!” The innkeeper’s body shook at his growl, continuously nodded with panic, and cautiously started to carry the Silver Dragon Mercenary Group members outside, together with his attendant…… Because Yin Long was at the second level of the True Profound Realm, there wasn’t anyone who dared to offend him in Cyan Forest Town. But even a random servant of this extremely arrogant and cruel youth was at Spirit Profound Realm, how could they possibly dare to even slightly disobey him?

  “Young Master.” Xiao Ba walked to the side of Xiao Kuangyun, and whispered a few sentences in his ear.

  “En? You’re talking about the good for nothing that got kicked out of Xiao Clan?” After listening to Xiao Ba’s report, Xiao Kuangyun’s eyes narrowed as he sneered: “Very good, I almost forgot about the existence of this character, and even the heavens has now presented him to me…… Xiao Ba, go and disfigure his face for me.”

  “The Sect Master had said that you shouldn’t use the Sect’s authority to oppress others outside.” Xiao Moshan blandly said.

  “Hmph! That Xiao Clan’s wastrel actually embarrassed me in public the other day, not parading his corpse down the Floating Cloud City is already merciful enough. Xiao Ba, after you disfigure his face, cut his tongue out too. Wasn’t he such a good speaker? I’ll see how eloquent he is at speaking after that!” Xiao Kuangyun said in a low voice.

  That day at Xiao Clan, Yun Che tore apart his scheme in public, and slapped every single line he uttered in his face; how could he not bear a grudge in his heart? About him wanting to disfigure Yun Che’s face, it was of course out of jealousy…….. He was even more jealous that this wastrel actually married the Xia Qingyue that he couldn’t even obtain.

  Xiao Moshan didn’t speak anymore. Xiao Ba nodded silently, steadily walked out of the inn, and chased in Yun Che’s general direction.

  Chapter 40: Blood-Soaked Jasmine (2)

  Chapter changes: Originally author said half a jin, we converted that into a quarter of a kilo in translation to make other peoples lives easier.

  * * *

  Although Cyan Forest Town’s shops were few in number, they still had all the necessities. Knitting his brows tightly, Yun Che hastened his footsteps, and soon turned into a pharmacy on the right.

  “Shopkeeper, are there any Purple Lantern Flowers and Iron Sand Vines?” Yun Che said immediately after entering the pharmacy, and at the same time quickly scanned the pharmacy with his eyes.

  At a glance, the pharmacy shopkeeper looked like a listless and bored middle-aged man. The medicinal herbs Yun Che asked for were also the most common of medicinal herbs. Purple Lantern Flowers could dispel colds and Iron Sand Vines could be refined into the lowest grade Profound Recovery Pellet; both could be found anywhere and were very inexpensive. The shopkeeper feebly responded: “There are, how much do you want?”

  “A quarter kilos of each!” Yun Che said with haste.

  The shopkeeper readily wrapped the medicine, and threw it at him: “Twenty Yellow Profound Coins altogether.”

  【Author’s Note: Profound Sky Continent’s currency are split into three different kinds: Yellow Profound Coin, Cyan Profound Coin, and Purple Profound Coin. 1 Purple Profound Coin = 100 Cyan Profound Coins = 10000 Yellow Profound Coins. Profound Coin Value Reference: Profound Sky Continent’s average household’s annual income is about 30000 Yellow Profound Coin, or 3 Purple Profound Coins】

  Putting the Profound Coins on the counter, Yun Che left in a hurry; without stopping, he headed toward the town’s Southern Exit.

  Xiao Ba, whom now has discovered his silhouette, didn�
�t hurry to attack but instead trailed behind him without any expressions on his face.

  Cyan Forest Town’s exit quickly appeared before them. To the south of Cyan Forest Town was a vast vein of mountains, namely the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range. These mountains were inhabited by a variety of profound beasts, making it very dangerous. Even the Cyan Forest Town’s military unit and practitioners who practiced in the profound, who were known for their strength, only dared to move around in the outermost parts of the mountains. When one goes deeper into the mountains, higher leveled profound beasts would be encountered and this often ended with narrow escapes. The reason why the mountain was named the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range, was because in the center of the mountain vein there lived an enormous fire breathing Great Flame Dragon, thus granting it that name.

  However that was only in legends and no one had actually seen it before. Dragons were at the apex of profound beasts, so even the lowest leveled dragons are terrifyingly powerful. And if they really existed, there was be no possibility of survival after seeing one.

  Stepping into Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range, Yun Che slowly inhaled, hugged the two bags of medicine he’d bought from the pharmacy onto his chest with his right hand, and covered the medicine with his left hand as the Sky Poison Pearl’s radiance twinkled…… Suddenly, a large amount of flakes fell through from his hands. As Yun Che removed his left hand, what’s left in his palm was only a small pile of purple-black powder.

  The Purple Lantern Flower didn’t have any poisonous properties, and neither does Iron Sand Vine, so there wouldn’t be any poisonous responses even if both were consumed together. Even if it were poisonous, a normal poison’s effect would be only miniscule against powerful individuals that had achieved the Spirit Profound Realm; or may not even have any effect at all.

  However, a powder created by combining certain components of the Purple Lantern Flower and the Iron Sand Vine together, had the properties to tremendously irritate the eyes. If touched by the eye, no matter how powerful one’s profound strength may be, they would still lose their sight temporarily.