Against the Gods - Volume 09 - Realm of the Gods

by Mars Gravity

  Main Hall Master?

  This form of address instantly shocked Yun Che.

  Mu Fengshu—Freezing Snow Hall’s Main Hall Master, leader of one hundred and eight Freezing Snow Halls, several hundred hall masters and vice hall masters and more than two million Freezing Snow Hall disciples!

  This was a considerably high person of standing in the entire Divine Ice Phoenix Sect!

  “Lower realm? Him? Join Freezing Snow Hall?” Mu Fengshu had noticed Yun Che from the very beginning but she had only given him a single glance because he didn’t have an aura that touched even the fringes of the divine way. He was not qualified for her to give him a second glance.

  Mu Fengshu suddenly extended a hand and pointed at Yun Che. “You’re letting a lower realm trash like him, who hasn’t even stepped into the divine way, join my Freezing Snow Hall? Hmph, simply a gargantuan joke! What kind of a place do you take my Freezing Snow Hall for!?”

  Mu Fengshu’s voice was extremely high and nearly spread through a great majority of the main hall. All of the nearby profound practitioners waiting for evaluation raised their brows and countless gazes of contempt immediately fell on Yun Che.

  “Only at the fifth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm? Shit, that kind of trash wants to join Freezing Snow Hall?”

  “When I was at the fifth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, I couldn’t even enter Snowfall Palace. He actually wants to enter Freezing Snow Hall? He took the wrong medicine!”

  “Shh, don’t speak nonsense. He probably has a backer. Didn’t you see that he was brought in by an Ice Phoenix Palace disciple… but from what Main Hall Master said, he seems to have come from a lower realm?”

  “Tsk, trash like this that come through the backdoor really are everywhere.” A profound practitioner who had come from a lower realm said in envy mixed disdain.

  Yun Che’s brows instantly furrowed but he immediately kept his cool and didn’t say a single word. Mu Xiaolan’s face, however, had changed quite a few times. She slightly bit her lip and said, “This… is Master’s intention.”

  “So what?” Mu Fengshu’s voice suddenly pitched even higher. “Our Divine Ice Phoenix Sect is the number one holy ground of the Snow Song Realm. The reason why we have reached this day is because of our strict ranking and impartial system! First-rate disciples are our sect’s future but trash who wish to receive preferential treatment should go where trash ought to go! No one is allowed to selfishly overstep their bounds and waste our resources on this trash! As a Palace Master, she should serve as a model and be strict on herself!

  “But what!?” Just as Mu Xiaolan was about to say something, she was stopped by Mu Fengshu’s stern voice. Her phoenix eyes slightly sunk as she sharply enunciated every word, “If I allow trash at the middle stage of the Sovereign Profound Realm who has never even touched the doorstep of the divine way join Freezing Snow Hall just like that, where would the dignity of my Freezing Snow Hall be?”

  She pointed at the profound practitioners that had always been waiting in line to be evaluated. “And where would I put these profound practitioners who experiences innumerable hardships to finally be able to stand here? If we can’t execute even the most basic impartialness and brazenly operate due to selfishness, what face and dignity would we have in front of them!?”

  Mu Fengshu’s tone was powerful and resounding. Her words were also righteous, striking the bottom of those profound practitioner’s hearts. A great expanse of agreement instantly echoed forth as more and more people raised their heads, causing the sound of agreement to become louder and even more impassioned… Their emotions drowned Yun Che and Mu Xiaolan in a clamor filled world.

  “That’s right! On what basis can trash that doesn’t even have the qualifications for Snowfall Palace enter Freezing Snow Hall!?”

  “Main Hall Master is just and brilliant!”

  “We’ve cultivated for so many years to finally enter Snowfall Palace, then we bitterly cultivated for several tens of years in Snowfall Palace to finally qualify for this examination, What basis does he have!?”

  “Get the hell out, trash! Stop making a fool of yourself here! No matter how great your backer is, you’re still trash… As expected of the Main Hall Master, even though she is strict, she is still just and impartial.”

  However, there were also a few who knew a bit of the inside story whispering within the crowd.

  “The situation seems to be a bit strange though? I seem to have heard the name ‘Mu Bingyun’… That’s the name of Ice Phoenix Palace’s Thirty-six Palace Master! The status of an Ice Phoenix Palace Master is one rank higher than a hall master… moreover, Mu Bingyun is also the Great Realm King’s younger sister… T-t-this… Isn’t Main Hall Master pretty much attacking Palace Master Bingyun!?”

  “I once heard that Palace Master Bingyun had been infected by poison from the Flame God Realm a long time ago and was doomed for certain death. If she died, the one that’s most qualified to succeed as the Thirty-six Palace’s palace master is the Main Hall Master. However, Palace Master Bingyun is still the Great Realm King’s biological sister so even though she was doomed for death, the Great Realm King still did not hesitate to waste countless first-rate profound crystals and medicines to prolong Palace Master Bingyun’s life… She did not die for more than one thousand years, which caused the Main Hall Master to never ascend in rank…”

  “Furthermore, several hundred years ago, some medicine the Main Hall Master was going to use to assist her in her breakthrough was forcibly snatched away by the Great Realm King to save Palace Master Bingyun, causing the Main Hall Master to not be able to break through to this day… So she…”

  “Oh! So that’s the case…”

  “Sigh, a woman’s thoughts are truly terrifying.”

  The explosion of resentment that surrounded her scared her out of her wits. She was a little girl who was nervous to the point where she trembled even when she had kidnapped someone, so how could she ever have encountered such “public outrage” before? She was immediately scared pale. Mu Fengshu wasn’t even done yet as she hollered in a deep voice, “Mingcheng, come over here!”

  Beneath her yell, a lone person quickly walked out of the profound practitioners waiting to be evaluated. After arriving before Mu Fengshu, he asked respectfully, “At your command, Main Hall Master.”

  “He is Li Mingcheng,” Mu Fengshu raised her phoenix brows, “my biological nephew!”

  Once those words came out, low shouts immediately rang out from the surroundings and the eyes of the profound practitioners who had been standing alongside him widened to become circular. Li Mingcheng smiled, perfectly concealing his satisfaction while not forgetting to contemptuously sweep his gaze at Yun Che.

  “His innate talent is impressive. His profound strength is currently now at the third level of the Divine Origin Realm and there is only a thin line between him breaking through to the fourth level. In this group, he can be considered unequal! However, he is still going to honestly receive this evaluation and can only enter once he passes! As Freezing Snow Hall’s Main Hall Master, I was still not swayed into selfishness because he is my nephew, nor did I allow him to be exempt from the examination because of his innate talent… What qualifications does pure trash like him have!?”

  “Go back and ask your master, she is brazenly trampling all over our Divine Ice Phoenix Sect’s dignity and even deliberately humiliating of my Freezing Snow Hall!”

  Mu Fengshu’s sharp shout and sudden name shaming frightened Mu Xiaolan so bad that she took two steps back. The different gazes around her also caused her mind great turmoil. She stammered, “I… I…. Master she… she’s… not…”

  “Sigh.” As the atmosphere became even worse, Mu Sushan, who had been standing to the side all this time sighed. In fact, hall masters and palace masters arranging for people to directly enter Snowfall Palace, Freezing Snow Hall and even Ice Phoenix Palace was a common occurrence and wasn’t really considered a big deal. However, he was fully
aware of the grievances between Mu Fengshu and Mu Bingyun. What Mu Fengshu was targeting was not today’s matter but Mu Bingyun.

  She had a thousand years of accumulated resentment toward Mu Bingyun.

  He spoke up to resolve the dispute, “Xiaolan, go leave for now and ask your master about her intentions. Main Hall Master, this is after all, Palace Master Bingyun’s intentions. It is not good to let this get too out of hand, how about…”

  Chapter 948: Hard to Change One’s Nature

  “Hmph, General Manager Sushan’s quite right.” Mu Fengshu snorted lightly. “Mu Bingyun is Thirty-sixth Ice Phoenix Palace’s Palace Master and is also the Great Realm King’s close relative. Even though I cannot allow this selfishness to happen as Freezing Snow Hall’s Main Hall Master, how could I dare to not give a little face?”

  Mu Fengshu shifted her gaze to Yun Che and said, “Your name is Yun Che, right? Alright, since it’s an order from Palace Master Bingyun, I will give you a chance. Those who wish to enter my Freezing Snow Hall must pass three tests. Everyone standing here today haspassed the first test, because the first test is a profound strength assessment. Anyone with profound strength lower than the Divine Origin Realm has been disqualified because someone who hasn’t even touched the divine way is not able to receive the next test. As for someone of your cultivation level, heh…”

  Mu Fengshu hardly concealed the deep ridicule inside her low chuckle. With her standing, she obviously was not mocking Yun Che… but Mu Bingyun, who had brought him here.

  “…” Yun Che did not say a single word.

  “However, I’ll make an exception today and directly exempt you from the first test. I will allow you to be together with everyone here who will be participating in the second and third test. If you pass, you will obviously be able to honorably enter Freezing Snow Hall and I won’t say a word against it. How about it? As a Freezing Snow Hall Master, I don’t even give the slightest leeway to my own nephew, yet I’ll break such a precedent for you… You mustn’t say that I am not giving Mu Bingyun any face!”

  “Pfft…”

  “Haha… hahahahaha…”

  Mu Fengshu’s words caused the profound practitioners watching the spectacle to break out into laughter that was becoming louder by the second.

  Even a fool could hear it clear. This was not a concession but an obvious mockery… it could even be said to be a humiliation. Allowing a person at the fifth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm participate in Freezing Snow Hall’s second and third tests… this was simply a joke.

  “Sigh.” Mu Sushan shook his head, lacking any more words. The surrounding Freezing Snow Hall disciples who assisted in the exams also could barely resist laughing as they cast pitying eyes on Yun Che.

  Mu Xiaolan’s complexion immediately became green. But the person in front of her was Freezing Snow Hall’s Main Hall Master. Even if she burned with a nestful of rage, she didn’t dare to curse out loud. She only clenched her teeth, turned around, and said furiously, “Yun Che, let’s go!”

  “Oh? Does this mean you are rejecting this hall master’s good intentions?” Mu Fengshu turned around in disdain as a pleased expression flashed in her eyes. “Then after you return, do not forget to tell Mu Bingyun about the good intentions and face I gave her!”

  Mu Xiaolan dragged Yun Che far away yet the resounding roar of laughter could still be heard behind them. Mu Xiaolan’s hands tightened into fist as her face alternated between red and white. “She’s gone too far… gone too far!”

  She yelled furiously as glistening tears revolved in her eyes.

  In comparison, Yun Che was much more calm. He waved his hand in front of Mu Xiaolan’s eyes and asked in confusion, “That Main Hall Master from earlier, she can’t have some kind of animosity for Fairy Mu, can she?”

  “What animosity!?” Mu Xiaolan wiped her eyes, then vented while yelling, “Isn’t it only because she wants to take Master’s place to become an Ice Phoenix Palace Master!?”

  “Master was infected by the flame poison more than one thousand years ago and because she lost her powers, the flame poison invaded her soul. When she returned to the Snow Song Realm, it was no longer curable and she was doomed to die. If Master died, then she, as Freezing Snow Hall’s Main Hall Master, would easily inherit Master’s Palace Master position. A Palace Master is at a higher rank than a Main Hall Master. Thus, from a thousand years ago, she has long since made preparations to become an Ice Phoenix Palace Master. Everyone in Divine Ice Phoenix Sect knows this. But in the end, because of the close sister relationship between the Master and Great Realm King, the Great Realm King didn’t hesitate to pay any cost in order to prolong Master’s life. Any item in the entire sect that was able to prolong a life was taken by the Great Realm King in order to save Master. As a result, every year that Master stays safe causes Mu Fengshu, who had long ago declared that she will become Palace Master, to lose face. It seems that she has received quite a bit of ridicule.”

  “I’ve also heard that Mu Fengshu obtained a rare ‘Primordial Duskcold Soaring Blossom’ in the training grounds. It would help her profound strength make a breakthrough, but after the Great Realm King heard about it, she took it away to replenish Master’s life… All these things caused her to have a really deep grudge against Master. She doesn’t dare to do anything to Master in public but a majority of the malicious rumors about Master come from her! Master is just too kind. Master thinks she owes her, so she never struck back, causing her to become even more aggravating.”

  “…I see.” Yun Che nodded slightly.

  “But today… she seriously went too far today.” Mu Xiaolan forcefully stomped her foot and said angrily, “Master is still an Ice Phoenix Palace Master and even the Great Realm King’s sister, so even if Mu Fengshu was like that in the past, she has never dared to target Master in public… but today… today… this makes me so angry!!”

  “It’s simple. It’s because she was completely reasonable this time.” Yun Che answered as he spread his hands out. “She obviously would not publicly speak words of slander. However, her words today were just and upright. Going through the backdoor is shameful behavior after all. She was completely right and her own nephew was within the teams waiting to be evaluated. Anyone could see that she was not being selfish about that at all. If it were to be circulated, even if they knew she was targeting Fairy Mu, the public opinion would still favor her… This was especially the case for profound practitioners who suffered untold hardships when attempting to enter Freezing Snow Hall. You heard their laughter earlier. Honestly, if I was one of them, I probably would’ve laughed along as well.”

  “You… isn’t Master doing this for you? Yet you’re actually speaking up for Mu Fengshu,” Mu Xiaolan said angrily.

  “Let’s go, we’re going back there.” Yun Che stopped walking and suddenly turned back.

  “Back? Ah? What are you going to do?” Mu Xiaolan hurriedly pulled him to a stop.

  “Even though my first rule in the God Realm is to not cause trouble…” Yun Che inhaled slightly. “I’m still the cause of this matter. Fairy Mu did all of this for me. I cannot allow her to be humiliated because of me anymore.”

  “What… what do you want to do? Oi! Don’t mess around! This is Snow Song Realm, not your Profound Sky Continent. Even if it wasn’t a Grand Palace Master, any disciple from Freezing Snow Hall would be able to… ahhhhh stoppp!”

  Yun Che acted as though he did not hear what Mu Xiaolan had said and sped up. In an instant, he had already returned to where Mu Sushan and Mu Fengshu had stood. Although Mu Xiaolan had wanted to stop Yun Che, she was too late and could only grit her teeth and follow behind Yun Che.

  Their auras could never escape the senses of Mu Fengshu and by the time both of them had returned, Mu Fengshu had already turned around and coldly said, “What’s wrong? You still have things to say?”

  “Palace Master Fengshu,” Yun Che adopted the way Mu Xiaolan referred to Mu Fengshu, “You previously said that you could exemp
t me from participating in the first exam and allow me to directly enter the second and third exam. Do your stand by your word?”

  “Heh,” Mu Fengshu snorted, “This palace master’s words are of course of utmost trustworthiness. Why? Could it be that you have changed your mind and are prepared to receive the special permission that this Palace Master has granted you?”

  Mu Xiaolan anxiously said, “Yun Che, don’t mess…”

  “Of course!” Yun Che completely ignored Mu Xiaolan’s shouts and said with utmost seriousness, “Palace Master Fengshu is fair and just, yet she bestowed such benevolence upon this junior. If junior does not appreciate this kindness, it would be unbecoming of him. Palace Master Fengshu’s words previously were completely fair. If this junior wishes to enter Freezing Snow Hall, it is only right for me to go through the examination. Not only is taking shortcuts unfair to others, it is also disrespecting the law and order of the sect. Then, I’ll have to trouble Hall Master Fengshu to make plans to allow this junior to participate in todays exams.”

  “Yun Che, you…” Mu Xiaolan was both angry and anxious. She wanted to jump with fury but because she was infront of everyone, she could not scream too loudly and could only forcefully suppress her voice and said, “Are… are you crazy!”

  “Hahahaha!” Mu Fengshu as well as the surrounding profound practitioners began to laugh loudly. Mu Fengshu then glanced at Yun Che with intent… Obviously, she had treated Yun Che’s words as flattery. As she has served as the Hall Master for Freezing Snow Hall for more than two thousand years, she had already seen all sorts of flattery and could not be bothered with it anymore. However, Yun Che’s words made her feel exceptionally pleasant and happy as, after all, he was the person that Mu Bingyun had brought and wanted to specially allocate a place in Freezing Snow Hall for. It would seem that he was being highly regarded. However, now, this person was flattering her. This caused her to take Yun Che even more lightly while at the same time feeling exceptionally satisfied.