Against the Gods

Chapter 2030 - Holding Hostage

Partially Edited Chapter - Rubble

Technically, Yun Che was just a lowly scum that didn’t even deserve a second glance from Meng Jianzhou, but the young man had dared to play the hero in front of him, and he had borne witness to his shameful escape before he could crush him. Naturally, he couldn’t forget Yun Che.

Meng Jianzhou’s surprise was quickly replaced by a look of twisted excitement and playfulness. He looked like a kid who just found a toy he had lost.

“It’s... you!” Yun Che replied as if he just recognized Meng Jianzhou as well. His tone was also a lot more severe. As he said this, he took a slow step backward but caught himself immediately. As his expression slowly turned calm, he muttered, “Meng Jianzhou!”

Hua Caili had addressed Meng Jianzhou by name back at the Qilin Abyss Realm, and Meng Jianzhou saw how Yun Che had instinctively wanted to escape only to realize that it wouldn’t help. His smile turned even more disdainful and playful. “I suppose that enough time has passed that you’ve figured out who I really am. So? Why aren’t you running? Or are you planning to beg me to let you live?”

“Beg? Heh...” Yun Che chuckled as if he had submitted to his fate, but refused to show any weakness. “The son of a Divine Regent should shine like a star in the sky, but not only did you try to rape a random woman in the borderlands, you even killed a pair of innocent people for naught but your own satisfaction.”

“A despicable man like you doesn't deserve to be the son of a Divine Regent, much less me getting on my knees!”

“Hahahahaha!” Meng Jiangzhou didn’t get angry at his provocation though. Instead, he laughed loudly and said, “They all say that the boldest people in the world are those who know that they will die, but this is all you have to say with your dying breath? As expected of a commoner? Even the abyssal dog I crushed two hours ago barked better than you.”

A smile spread across Yun Che’s face as he visibly relaxed. “It seems that you are quite poorly received in your own Kingdom of God, Meng Jianzhou.”

That one line was enough to stiffen Meng Jianzhou’s evil smile.

“A noble son of a Divine Regent who has been praised his whole life would never deign to bully a weakling. Only human trash whose talent, cultivation and even bearing are below par among his siblings would be laughed at by all others, so much so that even their parents aren't willing to spare them a second glance. Only someone like you would torture a weakling in search of a pale imitation of the euphoria you will never get.”

Meng Jianzhou’s smile completely vanished from his face. Even his pale, tender skin had taken on an ashen complexion.

It was because every word Yun Che spoken had stabbed him right in the soul.

Seeing Meng Jianzhou’s reaction, Yun Che slowly raised a finger and made a rude gesture with it. “The one constant in this universe is trash, and not even the son of a Divine Regent is exempt from this rule. But out of all of them, you are easily the smelliest and filthiest of them all.”

“I am sure that your siblings are all ashamed to have a brother like you. I’m willing to bet that the reason the Dreamless Divine Regent allowed you to leave his sight is because he hoped you would kill yourself outside. After all, who would want a smelly, filthy bug as their child?”

Meng Jianzhou’s reaction was even greater than Yun Che expected. His entire face turned a pig liver color in just a matter of seconds.

Hah, Yun Che thought disdainfully, it looks like my guesses were spot on. It would take centuries, no, thousands of years of frustration to accumulate such a color.

Meng Jianzhou slowly raised a hand and clenched his fingers violently. He was still trying to maintain his aloofness and arrogance as the man who had everything under control, but he was unable to suppress the overflowing violence and distortion in his heart no matter what.

“Heh... hehehehe!” He let out a strange cackle as he wracked his brain for the best way to torture Yun Che. To his surprise, he couldn’t find any. That was just how angry and hateful he felt right now. “Good, very good. As your reward, I promise to grant you the worst nightmare in the world!”

He couldn’t even control his voice when he spat out the second half of his threat.

“And who’s gonna do that? You? A Half-Step Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner who only dares to roam the periphery of the Endless Fog?”

Yun Che’s face was completely devoid of the terror and despair Meng Jianzhou wished so much to see. In fact, his voice and gaze were overflowing with disdain, as if the man standing in front of him wasn’t the son of a Divine Regent, but a pile of trash so ugly that he couldn’t bear to see it. “Son of a Divine Regent my ass! I would literally gag if someone gave you to me as my son!”

As Meng Jianzhou’s eyes exploded with violence, Yun Che abruptly released his profound energy and plunged into the impenetrable fog behind him.

“You think you can run?” Meng Jianzhou uttered through gritted teeth. He was surprised to find that Yun Che was a second level Divine Master already—when he met the young man at the Qilin Abyss Realm, he was still a peak Divine Sovereign. To think he would cross a big realm and a small realm in just a matter of six or seven months!

Meng Jianzhou was far too angry to mull over the oddity, however, not to mention that the cultivation realm made no difference considering his power.

He was so angry that he didn’t use his soul manipulation arts as he normally would. Instead, he raced after Yun Che several times faster than the young man and reached out for the back of his neck.

He was going to tear Yun Che apart piece by piece and crush his bones one by one.

The abyssal dust was impeding his spiritual perception, but the gap between their cultivation was so huge that Yun Che’s escape attempt, while perfectly timed, was like a joke in Meng Jianzhou’s eyes. In just the blink of an eye, he was but a scant few steps away from the young man. He didn’t hesitate to thrust his glittering fingers straight at Yun Che’s sternum.

It was at this moment that Yun Che abruptly stopped and spun around to shoot him an inexplicable, positively diabolical grin. Then, Yun Che activated Hell Monarch and thrust his own palm at Meng Jianzhou.

The power he exuded far exceeded that of the limit of a Divine Master. It suffocated Meng Jianzhou and caused his pupils to dilate to the max in an instant.

Unfortunately, it was far, far too late for him to arrest his momentum. He practically slammed head first into Yun Che.

BANG!!

There was a loud crash, a bloodcurdling scream, and the spine-chilling cracks of multiple bones. Meng Jiangzhou’s hand crumpled all the way to his shoulder as if he had just slammed into the most terrifying hammer in the world. His protective profound aura was shattered in an instant, and an ice cold hand tore through his powerful body like it was rotten soil and caught his heart right between its fingers.

A soul-shattering boom appeared from right above Yun Che and unleashed a terrifying amount of power, but Yun Che wasn’t afraid in the slightest. While clutching Meng Jianzhou’s heart and internal organs with one hand [1], and the guy’s neck with the other, he held the prince in front of himself and threatened, “Come and get me. Let’s see who will die first!”

Meng Jianzhou was no threat to Yun Che at this point.

However, his hidden protector—the old man wearing a gray robe—was a different story.

Yun Che knew that the old man was probably in the middle stage of the Divine Extinction Realm and completely beyond him at this point. Considering his age and cultivation, his experience must be incredibly rich as well, not to mention that they were in the Endless Fog, the most dangerous place in the entire world.

That was why Yun Che decided to piss off Meng Jianzhou first and “escape” while he was distracted, baiting the prince to approach him of his own accord. This way, the old man shouldn’t suspect him of foul play. Then, he caught Meng Jianzhou and used him as a hostage.

“You... hrrg!” Hisses of pain and fear escaped Meng Jianzhou’s mouth. His eyes were bloodshot, and he felt like he had just gone from loftiest paradise to deepest hell. One moment ago, Yun Che was still a toy he could’ve played with as he pleased. But now, the young man was literally holding his life in his hands. He never knew that the saying “holding one’s life in one’s hand” could be so literal. Yun Che could literally destroy his heart and his internal organs with the slightest flick of energy.

A gray silhouette slowly descended in front of Yun Che. He was none other than the old man who had suddenly shown himself at the Qilin Abyss Realm and took Meng Jianzhou away, Meng Jingzhe.

Right now, his complexion was darker than even the abyssal dust of the Endless Fog.

“Release him.”

His tone was infused with the heavy aura of a Half-God.

By now, Meng Jingzhe realized that Yun Che had known of his existence from the start. Everything he did earlier was just to keep him fooled until it was too late. And he had fallen for it. It wasn’t until Meng Jianzhou’s literal heart was clutched in Yun Che’s hand that he finally reacted. There was even a short instant where he had been too stunned to react.

It was because of Yun Che’s cultivation, of course. His progress was stunning considering that only half a year had passed, but he was ultimately just an early-stage Divine Master. He believed that there was nothing the young man could do to threaten him. But the profound energy he unleashed just now when he was capturing Meng Jianzhou... unless his senses were lying to him, it almost rivaled that of a Half-God!

Meng Jianzhou might be a useless human being, but he was still a Half-Step Divine Extinction Realm profound practitioner. It should not be possible for him to be defeated in an instant.

This proved that his senses weren’t lying to him after all.

“Excuse me?” Yun Che replied without any fear or shock whatsoever. In fact, he looked like he was staring down a complete retard. “Wouldn’t I just die then? Where did you find the heart to say something so retarded?”

Meng Jingzhe’s expression darkened further, but he was a lot more shocked and puzzled than he was angry.

Even if he’s far stronger than his cultivation level suggests, he should know better than to insult the Half-God of a Kingdom of God, right?

“Grandpa Zhe... you need to save me... you need to save me!” Meng Jianzhou stammered. He felt like his heart was being grasped by the devil, and death was so close he didn’t even dare to struggle. He could only tremble like a leaf.

Who would’ve thought that this highborn, pampered prince who tormented others for entertainment would act uglier than even a mortal in the face of death?

“Silence!” Meng Jingzhe rebuked him before returning his icy gaze to Yun Che. “Who are you?”

“I am Yun Che,” Yun Che replied indifferently.

Meng Jingzhe couldn’t recall such a name at all, so he assumed that it was just a fake name and continued, “You know who he is. You know how foolish your action is.”

“Foolish? Hahahaha!” Yun Che burst out laughing. “My corpse would already be cooling if I was not holding him hostage right now. Are you one of those crazies who think that survival is foolish, and seeking death is what everyone should strive for? In that case, why are you still alive? Go kill yourself already! Or are you calling yourself an idiot?”

“...” Expressionless, Meng Jingzhe’s eyes cooled even further. “This is my last warning. Release him, or else—”

Shred!!

Yun Che abruptly plunged his fingers into Meng Jianzhou’s neck and drew a copious amount of blood. Meng Jianzhou immediately screamed like a dying duck.

“You!!” Meng Jingzhe unconsciously took a step forward as he burst out in shock and fury.

In response, Yun Che raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Or else, what? You’re gonna kill me? Come get me then! Meng Jianzhou might be a foolish, smelly and filthy trash of a human being, but he still is the son of a Divine Regent. I don’t mind taking him to the grave with me. Well, not much anyway.”

Meng Jingzhe’s facial muscles twitched here and there, and the profound energy cycling wildly between his fingers could only be described as violent. He didn’t dare to release even a wisp of his power, however.

“What are you waiting for? Come get me already, you coward!” Yun Che continued to taunt Meng Jingzhe without any reservation whatsoever. “I thought the Dreamweaver Kingdom of God was most proficient with soul energy? Don’t you want to try surprise-attacking my soul and gamble that I won’t be conscious enough to crush this little bitch’s heart?”

Suddenly, Meng Jingzhe felt chilled to the core. It was because he abruptly realized that his soul pressure and aura as a Half-God or even the title “Dreamweaver Kingdom of God” meant nothing to this guy at all.

No, he was a total maniac who possessed an odd power and an odd soul, and cared nothing for death or consequences whatsoever!

“D-D-D-D-D-D-D-Don’t d-do it...” Meng Jianzhou tried his best to speak through his pierced throat. It was at this moment he recalled something and roared on top of his lungs, “Le... Let’s go of me... I’m the son of the Dreamless Divine Regent!”

“My soul is imprinted with my father’s soul imprint... If I die... everything I see or hear within ten breaths... will be transmitted back to my father... not even the Endless Fog... will be able to stop this...”

Meng Jianzhou thought that his threat would surely work, but instead Yun Che’s face bloomed into an excited grin. “That’s wonderful! This way, the Dreamless Divine Regent will learn that his son has died to a nameless Divine Master despite you protecting him 24/7!”

His grin slowly widened from ear to ear. “I wonder how the Dreamless Divine Regent will reward you for eliminating his most useless son? Oh, I couldn’t wait to find out!”

“...”

Meng Jingzhe was still doing his best to stay calm, but he couldn’t conceal the slight tremors that were affecting his white beard.

1. I know this is physically impossible, but he could do it with his profound energy