Against the Gods - Volume 03 - Name that Shakes the Profound Sky

by Mars Gravity

  Under their unceasing shouts, Xia Qingyue’s beautiful eyes finally focused somewhat. Her towering chest began to violently move up and down for a long time, until she gently shook her head: “I… I’m fine.”

  She slowly stood up. Her movements were stiff, as if she was a marionette. The moment she stood up, her foot staggered and she almost toppled to the ground. Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin promptly supported her with eyes full of concern and complexity.

  “What Master said… are they all true?” Xia Qingyue opened her mouth and asked with a voice as light as smoke.

  The two nodded simultaneously and Shui Wushuang said: “For the sake of rescuing your little brother… he pushed your brother back and personally landed into the hands of the demon. WIth a single palm from the demon… his body was practically penetrated and he died right away. Even his corpse, is with the demon….”

  “Don’t say anymore.” The last color of rosiness Xia Qingyue’s face ultimately faded completely and went so pale that it was as if she had fallen seriously ill. She held the corners of her dress with both her hands and each her delicate jadelike fingers were deathly pale. A feeling of desperation and powerlessness filled her entire body, and her heart felt like it had been pierced by an uncountable number of needles more painful than death.

  How could it be like this…

  Is it because I’m truly unqualified to be a wife…

  Why didn’t I choose to go to the Sword Management Terrace together…

  She muttered within her heart and gently shrugged off the two people’s hands who were supporting her. With light steps, she slowly advanced. With an expressionless gaze, she said: “I want to go by myself… to the Sword Management Terrace.”

  Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin looked at each other and saw the peculiar expression in each other’s faces. They didn’t stop her and didn’t go with her either. They stayed far behind Xia Qingyue. Wu Xuexin lightly sighed: “Looks like, the elders aren’t wrong about this. The emotions between men and women, we really can’t touch any of it… it’s too harmful. This could possibly become the inner devil within Junior Sister Xia’s heart.”

  Shui Wushuang said: “I never thought that Junior Sister Xia would truly develop feelings for that Yun Che. Sigh, but this is good as well. Once Yun Che dies, the emotional roots she shouldn’t have, should completely be severed…”

  After leaving the courtyard, Xia Qingyue staggeringly walked a while. She suddenly saw the figure of Xia Yuanba in front of her eyes. He lowered his head and mechanically walked forward like a zombie. On his face, hung two streaks of undried bloody traces. When Xia Qingyue saw him, he saw Xia Qingyue as well. Every time he had seen her in the past, he would run to her with a face full of joy and shout “big sister”; however this time, his face only displayed terror, as he panickedly retreated. He roared in a low voice, and then turned around to run.

  “Yuanba!”

  Xia Qingyue’s gaze trembled, and then she flew after him. She landed in front of Xia Yuanba, and Xia Yuanba stopped his footsteps. Both his hands blocked his front, and shouted with his coarse voice: “Don’t… don’t come over here… don’t come near me!!”

  “Yuanba, what happened to you?” Xia Yuanba’s current appearance made Xia Qingyue’s heart even more painful. She knew that because of Yun Che’s death, the most heartbroken one would inevitably be Xia Yuanba. Not only did he have to bear the pain within his heart, he also had a guilt and remorse which were countless times more painful.

  “Don’t come near me!” Xia Yuanba fell back as his tears gushed out: “I already killed Brother-in-law, I don’t want to kill big sister too. I beg you, don’t come, don’t come near me!”

  “Yuanba, don’t be like this. It’s not your fault…”

  “No! It is my fault! It is my fault!” Xia Yuanba knelt on the ground and painfully wept: “It was me, the trash, that killed Brother-in-law… it’s all me… it’s all me… Why wasn’t the one who died me… Why couldn’t I have died earlier! AHHH!!”

  He cried painfully and raised his fist to viciously pound at his own head. Every strike was incredibly heavy. Xia Qingyue took a step forward: “Yuanba, don’t…”

  “Don’t come over here!!” Xia Yuanba frantically tried to escape backwards with both hands blocking in front of him. Tears fiercely rushed down his face, his voice was coarse and filled with sorrow: “You’re my older sister, my close relative. Brother-in-law is my brother and also my close relative… Brother-in-law became increasingly stronger and turned into someone that I admire. He brought me, this trash, to the Blue Wind Profound Palace that I yearned for day and night and brought to to the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament that I didn’t even dare dream of being at… When I was bullied, no matter how powerful the opponent was, he would viciously beat the opponent and made them not dare to bully me again…”

  “I fearlessly enjoyed everything that brother-in-law brought. His glory is also my glory because he is my most intimate Brother-in-law… But… but what did I do for brother-in-law… what did I do… I killed Brother-in-law… I killed brother-in-law… AHHHH… I’m trash… trash that’s lower than a dog… A trash who killed Brother-in-law… trash!!!”

  “Yuanba…” Xia Qingyue bit her lips and didn’t know how to comfort Xia Yuanba, whose spirit was so extremely shattered right now.

  Xia Yuanba’s pain continued for a very long time as he cried like a child in despair. His unceasing tears quickly drenched a large portion of the ground. Xia Qingyue didn’t say much anymore, and quietly watched him cry… Crying in pain is fine, at least he could expel some of the pain and sorrow within his heart…

  The sound of wind whistled through the air. After some time had passed, Xia Yuanba finally stopped his painful crying, and gradually, his sobs had begun to disappear as well. He knelt on the ground with his hair hanging down. After being calm for a long time, he slowly stood up from the ground and all of a sudden, said gently: “Elder sister, I’m leaving.”

  “Leave? Where are you going? Returning home?”

  “No, I’m not returning home. I don’t have the face to return home…” Xia Yuanba bitterly smiled: “Even if a trash like me does return home, I would have to live under Father’s protection. Perhaps there will be a day, where I’ll cause even father to die as well… I don’t want to be trash anymore. I don’t want to kill the intimate people beside me anymore…”

  “I need to leave… I need to search for a power that won’t make me trash anymore… I need to become stronger… I don’t want to be trash anymore…”

  Xia Yuanba raised his hand and wiped the tears off his face. Then, he determinedly exposed a smile: “Elder sister, don’t worry about me. I promise you that I won’t die… because the life that I have now is a life that Brother-in-law traded for with his own. No matter what, I won’t allow myself to die… I only ask for Elder sister to not stop me and not look for me either… I will return one day… Wait for the day I return, when I’ll use my own power to protect Elder sister, protect Father… protect everyone that I want to protect…”

  Xia Qingyue: “…”

  Xia Yuanba left with his back facing Xia Qingyue. His pace was unusually slow, but they were incredibly firm and unwavering. He didn’t bring anything; he didn’t even bring a single yellow profound coin. No one knew where he was going, perhaps he, himself, did not know either. Even less people knew and understood the sadness, pain, blame, and remorse that filled this sixteen year old youth’s heart… as well as his thirst for power…

  Xia Qingyue didn’t chase after him, and only dazedly stared at Xia Yuanba’s parting figure. Through her hazy gaze, she saw the usually cheerful, carefree, little brother who was always full of passion, unyieldingly grow up.

  “Yuanba, take care of yourself. I’ll wait for you to return.” Xia Qingyue lightly whispered. She pressed her hand to her chest and closed her eyes: “Yuanba… thank you for teaching me how to be strong…”

  * * *

  Author Note:

  In the init
ial story settings, Azure Cloud Continent and Illusory Demon Realm each had their own unique division of their profound strength levels.

  When comparing their big realms and small realms with Sky Profound Continent, only their names are different.

  In the earlier parts of the story, it had been casually mentioned as well…

  But after thinking about it later, so as to not cause confusion to everyone and myself (the key point is myself), it’s still best to use one universal set of names!!

  Everything is:

  Elementary, Nascent, True, Spirit, Earth, Sky, Emperor, Tyrant, Sovereign, Divine, Saint!

  Chapter 281: A Great Disturbance (1)

  Floating Cloud City, Xiao Clan’s rear mountain, Reflection Gorge.

  Returning from hunting, Xiao Lie was carrying a skinny wild rabbit in one hand. His face revealed mild happiness. As he sat down to prepare the prey he had caught, he heard the sounds of his daughter practicing swordsmanship.

  At the start of their imprisonment, the Xiao Clan would send them food everyday. He was still able to occasionally obtain some information about how the Xiao Clan was from the disciples that delivered food. After some time, the frequency of the delivery of food became lesser and lesser and eventually, three months later, nobody sent them food anymore. Obviously, being imprisoned for twenty years and having no close relatives to rely on would mean that no one in the clan would bother to care about them. In the beginning, people had still somewhat pitied them. Eventually, they left them to their own demise in the rear mountain.

  Luckily, the rear mountains were not completely barren. In the area that they were allowed in, they could obtain some vegetables and occasionally were able to capture one or two delicious low ranked profound beasts. Just like this, the parent and child survived. Xiao Lie had also thought about escaping with Xiao Lingxi. After all, he could not let the most beautiful time of her daughter’s life be wasted like this, trapped in the gorge. However, once he escaped, he would not doubt that they would be hunted by the Xiao Clan… After all, they were imprisoned under orders of the fourth young master of the Xiao Sect. He was not afraid of being punished or even being labelled as a traitor who betrayed his sect. However, he was worried about Xiao Lingxi.

  All this time, Xiao Lingxi spent more of her time each day concentrating on training. After all, there was nothing much she could do besides that. Having no distractions, her progression was quite fast. She had already broken through to the ninth level of the Elementary Profound Realm.

  “AHHH!!!”

  The young girl’s cries were suddenly heard coming from the outside. Xiao Lie immediately stopped what he was doing and immediately sprinted out. Outside, he saw Xiao Lingxi sitting on the floor with her hands to her chest. The sword that already had rust on it had been thrown to one side.

  “Xi’er, what’s wrong?” Xiao Lie rushed forward and anxiously asked.

  Although Xiao Lingxi’s clothes were clean, they had already turned pale with age. Her skin did not become dry and rough under the constant blowing of the wind in the rear mountain. Instead, she was now even more graceful and pretty. Even the old clothes that she was wearing seemed to give off a special aura. However, compared to before, she had become visibly thinner. Within her pair of beautiful eyes, one could see the worry that she attempted to conceal. She seemed like an injured fairy, and would cause one’s heart to ache in pity for her.

  “I don’t know…” Xiao Lingxi gently shook her head, her hand still clutching her chest. Her brows trembled uncontrollably: “My chest suddenly felt very very painful just now… Wuuuu… It really hurts…”

  “Chest?” His daughter’s appearance made Xiao Lie’s heart ache. He thought for a while and said: “Don’t stand up yet. Perhaps you are just too tired from sword practice. Rest a while and it should be fine.”

  “Mn.” Xiao Lingxi replied obediently. Her eyebrows knitted tightly, for the pain seemed to have come from her soul. The pain was bone-piercing and with it, numerous thoughts of Yun Che floated into her heart and mind. She suddenly cried out loud: “Father… I’m not afraid of this pain… But… I miss Little Che… Where is he now… When he left, he didn’t have much money. Also, he was so weak, would he be bullied by others? Would he have enough food? Would he even have a proper place to sleep? Would he… Would he… Wuu… uuu… I miss him… I’m so worried about him.”

  Xiao Lingxi covered her face and started sobbing. Since young, before that incident happened, she had always been with Yun Che. There were nearly inseparable. She also would never have thought that she would be separated from him one day… However, fate was cruel. They were separated due to circumstances, and had been separated for a very long time. Separation for such a long period of time was an immense torture for her. Her thoughts about him increased day by day, and she could only rely on hardcore training to divert her attention.

  The sudden heartache caused all the longing that she desperately tried to hold back to blow out of control. It was sudden, as though water was gushing out of a broken dam, and fiercely eliminated any bit of control she might have over her feelings. She broke. Her feelings poured out of her along with loose tears that gushed out from her eyes.

  Xiao Lie let out a long sigh and gently comforted her: “Xi’er, Che’er has already grown up. He is already a real man. Perhaps, leaving the Xiao Clan was beneficial for him. Outside, he would undergo hardships and grow up. Even if he had to suffer a little and get injured, it would still be worth it.”

  “Xi’er, don’t cry. He will become stronger outside. As his little aunt, you should be stronger than him. When he comes back, you need to show him a more energetic you. That would no doubt make him the happiest… Che’er has said before, he would be back within three years. As a man, I believe he would fulfill his promise and do what he said.”

  Xiao Lingxi still continued to cry, but after hearing Xiao Lie’s words, she fiercely nodded her head before wiping off the tears on her face. However, the sudden gush of longing and heart-piercing pain within her could not be stopped…

  Little Che… Where are you… I really miss you… I don’t need you to come back to see us in three years… I just want you to be safe… You have to be safe…

  Heavenly Sword Villa, in front of the Sword Management Terrace.

  Xia Qingyue was dressed completely in white as she stood silently in front of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. The wind above the Sword Management Terrace constantly blew at her, and unceasingly raised her hair and sleeves. However, it was unable to shift her gaze. She stood alone for a very long time, with only the flying swords in the sky as companions.

  The sky started to turn dark as dusk slowly arrived. The wind from the swords had also begun to carry some coldness. A sudden gust caused her long hair to be gently blown into her face. Suddenly, deliberately gentle footsteps approached her from behind some distance away. The footsteps startled Xia Qingyue’s silent thoughts.

  Her gaze shuddered a little as she continued to look forward as she muttered softly: “Husband… Let Qingyue be your wife in your next life as well… Is, that okay… That Qingyue will be a… proper wife… okay…?”

  Her soft muttering disappeared within the sounds of the wind. No one could hear what she had said. She turned around, and behind her, was a dashing young man standing in place.

  Seeing Xia Qingyue’s goddess-like appearance, Ling Yun’s aura became slightly chaotic. He smiled slightly and performed a courtesy: “Xia fairy, are you sending your friend off as well?”

  “No.” Xia Qingyue shook her head and replied softly: “I’m here to… send off my husband.”

  Ling Yun’s entire body quaked as he jerked his head upwards to look at Xia Qingyue. Just as he was about to ask whether he had heard wrongly, he suddenly saw a black cloth wrapped around Xia Qingyue’s left arm…

  “Xia fairy, wh… what did you just say? Husband? Did I hear wrongly, or is Xia fairy joking with me?” Ling Yun said in the calmest voice he could muster. However, both his ha
nds were trembling and his inner self was in turmoil.

  Xia Qingyue did not answer him and merely extended her white hand to sweep it across her hair. As her left hand gently swept across, a segment of her hair silently broke off. She opened her jade hand, and scattered her hair towards the center of the Sword Management Terrace. In an instant, the hair was swept away by the swords’ wind and circled around the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, as if it yearned for something, and wanted to accompany it.

  Xia Qingyue closed her beautiful eyes and flew off after a while, disappearing from Ling Yun’s sight.

  Ling Yun’s entire body was stiff. He lost the strength in his body and knelt onto the ground. His pupils continuously dilated. This Heavenly Sword Villa’s Young Villa Master, who had once been the strongest of the younger generation, seemed to have lost his soul right there…

  “They’re husband and wife… Yun Che… is her husband… She is already… She is already married… Impossible… Impossible… It must be a lie… Impossible…”

  Ling Yun kept on muttering to himself. His expression became lifeless, as though all of his beliefs had been shattered.

  At the same time, his father, Ling Yuefeng was also very confused. He was pacing back and forth outside the courtyard in which the Frozen Cloud Asgard members were staying at, worrying about Chu Yuechan’s injuries, and also wondering why she would have such a huge reaction. He would never have thought that Chu Yuechan, who was as cold as snow, as icy like a frozen profound lotus, would lose control of her emotions and vomit blood.