Against the Gods - Volume 09 - Realm of the Gods

by Mars Gravity

  “…” Yun Che pressed his forehead, “Mn, you probably guessed right.”

  “Hmph! I knew it!” The simple Mu Xiaolan didn’t catch what Yun Che really meant, “Could master have told you about the details of Freezing Snow Hall’s examination back in the Profound Sky Continent and give you some sort of profound stone that can travel through the Snowstorm Realm? Hmph, no wonder you were daring enough to participate in Freezing Snow Hall’s examination.”

  “Yes yes yes, you guessed it all right,” Yun Che curled his mouth and said.

  A total of a thousand people passed the second round of examination and Yun Che was the only one completely out of place. Most everyone’s eyes were focused on Yun Che, some of them were confused and some of them were whispering.

  Ji Hanfeng started speaking at this moment, “To be able to pass the second round of examination, this proves your strength on some level but don’t celebrate too early, because you all have only crossed over a bar that’s not too high and not too low. The third round of examination that is coming up is what really decides your destinies.”

  Ji Hanfeng’s words made the atmosphere condense all of a sudden and the excitement on every one of the profound practitioners disappeared completely, a deep nervousness taking its place instead. Passing the second round of examination merely meant that they were slightly closer to Freezing Snow Hall but what happened next would really decided their fate… Whether they could enter the Freezing Snow Hall or not, would be two completely different destinies.

  Ninety percent of those who passed the examination would be eliminated in the final examination! It was indeed extremely cruel.

  “The final examination is called the ‘Ice Profound Realm.’” Ji Hanfeng’s eyes were cold and stern, “This round of examination will be easier than the second round in comparison, because the thing it tests is the most important part of all of you… and that is your true strength!”

  “In the Ice Profound Realm, you all will be attacked by strong profound beasts. The longer you all stay in there, the more profound beasts you all will encounter! And since the space is restricted, you can only fight. There is nowhere to run! As for how you can pass the Ice Profound Realm’s examination, I believe you all already understand…”

  Ji Hanfeng reached out his hand and said, “It is to hang in there as long as possible! The last one hundred people who leave Ice Profound Realm will pass the final examination and become my Freezing Snow Hall’s disciples! Furthermore, the person who can persevere the longest will receive the ‘Jadefallen Ice Soul Pellet’!”

  Heading the name of ‘Jadefallen Ice Soul Pellet’ from Ji Hanfeng’s mouth, more than half of the profound practitioners still couldn’t control themselves, their watering mouths forced them to swallow.

  “The examination in the Snowstorm Realm teleported your physical bodies to the actual Snowstorm Realm and there were no limitations on any use of profound artifacts, so perhaps some people would use some type of teleportation profound stone to cheat… Oh no, no, no, it wouldn’t be called cheating, because since there are no rules against it. It can also be said to be allowed.”

  When Ji Hanfeng said these words, he deliberately gave Yun Che a glance. “After all, the second round of testing was only to filter out the unnecessary people. Round three is what really determines the result. Even if some trash used some sort of item to pass the second examination, it is impossible for them to pass the final examination. They will also have wasted a precious profound artifact that has the power to interfere with the Snowstorm Realm all for nothing, tsk tsk. Therefore, historically, our Freezing Snow Hall does not even bother to ban these useless ‘cheats.’”

  “As for the final examination, no one should wish to seize the chance to cheat.” Ji Hanfeng started laughing coldly, “Because what’s entering the Ice Profound Realm isn’t your physical bodies but your ‘projection’! Your strength and willpower will be completely projected, so you all can give up on the thought of using any outside items… including your weapons and contracted profound beasts! The only thing you can rely on will be your true power!”

  “In the Ice Profound Realm, once you have died, you will be teleported out immediately and there will be no second chances. But don’t you all worry, the only thing that dies in the Ice Profound Realm is your ‘projection.’ No matter how brutally you die in there, you won’t really die, there won’t even be a scratch. But, if any of you are afraid to die, you can yell ‘give up’. Speak these two words and you will leave the Ice Profound Realm immediately.”

  “In other words… if you want to pass the the Ice Profound Realm, you want to do your best to die slower in there, do you all understand!!?”

  “I understand!” Li Mingcheng responded first with a light smile that was confident in winning. “Senior Brother Hanfeng, I am already ready and can start anytime. I only hope that the profound beasts in the Ice Profound Realm don’t disappoint me too much.”

  “Very good.” Ji Hanfeng nodded his head. He reached out his arm and the third profound formation was activated at the same spot again. Only this time, it was letting out a dark blue profound light. “Now, all of you who passed the second examination stand on the center of the profound formation. The final examination that will determine your destinies… will start very soon!”

  Yun Che basically understood what was going to happen in this third round of examination. But in the first day that he arrived in the Snow Song Realm, he didn’t find out about the details of the examination like the other examinees. The key point was that in the second examination, he could still determine what rank he was at based on the other examinees’ auras. However in this final examination, each person’s “projection” would seem to get their own individual space. They could not see the existences of the other examinees, it would be impossible to interfere with each other and so he wouldn’t be able to determine what rank he held based on the time.

  If he held on in there for too long and accidently got a rank near the front, it would definitely cause him trouble.

  But if he deliberately lost too much and fell out of the one hundredth ranking, he would not be able to enter Freezing Snow Hall and his idea of gaining face for Mu Bingyun would vanish like bubbles.

  Yun Che didn’t immediately walk into the profound formation, and instead asked quietly, “Hey, if you want to pass the examination in the Ice Profound Realm, how long would you usually have to hang on in there?”

  “How would I know? I entered Ice Phoenix Palace directly, so I never participated in Freezing Snow Hall’s examination,” Mu Xiaolan said proudly, then rolled her eyes at him. “Why did you ask this? You heard just now, everyone knew that you must’ve have cheated in the Snowstorm Realm and in the Ice Profound Realm, it is absolutely… absolutely… absolutely impossible to cheat.”

  “I’m just asking,” Yun Che mumbled softly. This little girl seriously didn’t know anything aside from knowing how to annoy people…

  “Based on the past results, to pass the examination in the Ice Profound Realm, fifteen minutes is the basic baseline,” Mu Sushan who was next to Mu Xiaolan suddenly said. “And those impressive geniuses could probably persist for close to thirty minutes. I wish you good luck.”

  Yun Che turned his head to look at Mu Sushan and nodded in slight surprise, “Thank you senior, for your pointers.”

  After speaking, he turned around and headed toward the profound formation.

  At the same time, the corner of Mu Sushan’s mouth moved slightly and his eyes flashed with an unusual mysteriousness.

  Chapter 952: Winterfrost Direwolf

  “Fifteen minutes? Is it usually that long?” Mu Xiaolan said quietly to herself. Even though she had never participated in Freezing Snow Hall’s examination, she knew some things about it after all these years in Divine Ice Phoenix Sect.

  “This is not important,” Mu Sushan said smilingly. “Maybe you should think about why he asked you that question specifically just now.”

  “Eh?�
�� Mu Xiaolan’s face was filled with confusion.

  “The examination in the Snowstorm Realm is extremely energy consuming,” Mu Sushan said slowly. “Most of the profound practitioners, whether they passed or not, were all out of breath after the Snowstorm Realm closed. However, not only did Yun Che make it within the one thousand people at only Sovereign Profound Realm, his expression was very calm and casual and he did not seem to be catching his breath at all… hehe, this young fellow Palace Master Bingyun brought back from the lower realm is indeed not as simple as he looks. Perhaps there will be some kind of surprise later.”

  “Ah?” Mu Xiaolan was even more confused.

  Standing within the profound formation, Yun Che immediately saw the person named Feng Mo among the crowd. Not only did he pass the second round of examination, he seemed to have come in at the top of the ranking. Feeling someone watching him, Feng Mo also lifted his head and looked towards him but the expression revealed in his eyes was rather strange.

  “The final examination… the Ice Profound Realm! Don’t die too quickly!”

  As soon as Ji Hanfeng finished speaking, a blue light rose from the profound formation up in the sky and completely covered all the examinees within the formation.

  The world around Yun Che suddenly became ice blue. Following that, he felt a change in the world around him and the aura of all the people around him disappeared in an instant. When the light surrounding him suddenly dispersed, a dimension built with ice crystals appeared before his eyes.

  The world of the Ice Profound Realm!

  This dimension was independent and sealed. It was especially narrow and small; the length, width, and height were less than three hundred meters and one could see towards the end and the edge of it in a single glance. This world was sealed with an ice layer formed by using an ice profound energy that was at an extremely high plane and it reflected a cold light that stung one’s soul.

  Just when Yun Che got a good look at the world he was in, a freezing light flashed in front of him and the silhouette of a beast that was about three meters tall appeared quickly… Its entire body was snowy white, with claws that were like frozen blades and eyes that were blood red. It was a ice wolf releasing its bloodthirsty aura!

  Yun Che was familiar with ice wolves because they could be seen everywhere in Snow Region of Extreme Ice. However, even if all the ice wolves in Snow Region of Extreme Ice added together, they could not be compared to a single hair of the one in front of him. The aura that it released was clearly scarier than Feng Xue’er and the Little Demon Empress.

  This was a terrifying profound beast with the strength of the divine way! Its strength could be compared to a profound practitioner with the strength of early stage Divine Origin Realm!

  The ice wolf instantly let loose a bloody roar when it appeared and immediately rushed toward him. Yun Che was a projection and the ice wolf was also a projection. The ice wolf didn’t have any emotions and the only goal of its existence was to do everything it could to tear apart the creature in front of it without giving it any chance to breathe.

  “Purgatory!!”

  Yun Che definitely could not go head-to-head against a profound beast with the strength of the divine way in his normal state. He instantly opened his Evil God’s gates and the profound strength in his body instantly rose as a result, but he still didn’t dare to take the attack directly. Instead, he quickly teleported using Star God’s Broken Shadow.

  Sssss!

  The ice wolf missed and right when its front claws touched the ground, it turned around lightning quick and immediately charged towards Yun Che again. At the same time, the temperature in the Ice Profound Realm suddenly fell as countless ice spikes infested the void sky and shot towards Yun Che with an incredibly sharp noise.

  Wh… at!?

  The speed of the ice wolf surprised Yun Che. He ducked and teleported again against the ground. He dodged below the ice wolf and instantly switched positions with it but in this narrow space, the ice spikes were already everywhere. Yun Che roared deeply, the profound energy in his body erupting forth. It burst all the ice spikes that were shooting towards him but the instant he exhausted his energy, a few dozen ice spikes got through the remaining waves of his power and ruthlessly stung his body.

  Bang bang bang bang…

  With the strength of Yun Che’s body, it was extremely hard for him to be injured. However, the ice spikes that were hitting him at the moment had the power of divine way, much stronger than the plane of those in the Profound Sky Continent. His chest and back instantly spilled blood and the extreme pain made Yun Che knit his brows. He punched his own chest and the spikes that punctured his body were all shaken out, turning into ice powder.

  What a terrifying profound beast… It was, after all, a profound beast from the God Realm.

  The ice wolf had already turned around and attacked again after it missed a second time. Its snowy white body charged towards him and before it even got close, its claws were already out. An ice blade that was even larger than its body condensed, appeared, and horizontally slashed towards Yun Che.

  “Senior Mu Sushan, this is the final round of examination… what exactly is in the Ice Profound Realm?” Mu Xiaolan asked Mu Sushan.

  “Oh? You just started worrying about that kid?” Mu Sushan asked, a faint smile on his face.

  “I can’t be bothered to worry about him,” Mu Xiaolan said as she turned her nose up. “I was just curious.”

  “It’s the Winterfrost Direwolf,” Mu Sushan answered.

  “Winterfrost Direwolf… the profound beast at the first level of the Divine Origin Realm?” Mu Xiaolan gasped softly.

  “That’s right and there will be more than one.” Mu Sushan explained, “After the examinee enters the Ice Profound Realm, they will have toface one Winterfrost Direwolf. After that, more Winterfrost Direwolves will appear at regular intervals but it won’t be a single one that appears, it will be two, three, four… an increasing number every time.”

  “Most of those who are participating the Freezing Snow Hall’s examination are at the initial stage of Divine Origin Realm. The outstanding examinees who could pass the second round of examination can easily handle one single Winterfrost Direwolf but it will be a little difficult to handle two at the same time. Handling three will put them in danger of dying and it is even more difficult to face four at the same time. Each Winterfrost Direwolf will appear at a specific time. For example, three Winterfrost Direwolves will appear at the third wave but if one is not able to kill all three before the fourth wave of Winterfrost Direwolves appears, then after the fourth wave, the examinee will have to face seven at the same time… Hehe, the result would of course be a certain death.”

  “Winterfrost Direwolves… Even though their bodies are weaker, their offensive ability is almost the strongest among the profound beasts of the same level and they are also naturally aggressive. Yun Che… he… he…” Mu Xiaolan started stuttering while she talked, “He will definitely be torn into pieces immediately.”

  “Ah!!!!”

  Just as Mu Xiaolan finished talking, there was a scream. A silhouette flew out from within the profound formation and landed hardly on the ground.

  The first profound practitioner who died in the Ice Profound Realm had been ejected.

  “Hmph, garbage.” Ji Hanfeng who was supervising the examination snorted in disdain.

  “Ah… Yun Che!!” Mu Xiaolan gasped subconsciously and hurriedly rushed towards the silhouette. The only result for Yun Che, whose profound strength was only at the fifth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, would be to be torn apart in front of the brutal, terrifying Winterfrost Direwolf. The first one to die under the claws of Winterfrost Direwolf could only be him.

  But before she even got close, she stopped where she was with her icy eyes widened… because the person who got thrown out to the ground was not Yun Che.

  “Hn?” Ji Hanfeng who was on the other side also knitted his brows.

  The first ex
aminee that was kicked out of the profound formation was limp on the ground. His face was pale and couldn’t recover from the fear of his “death” at the moment. Because in the Ice Profound Realm, he clearly saw himself get ripped into pieces by a Winterfrost Direwolf.

  ……………………

  Bang!!

  The ice blade destroyed Yun Che’s phantom, slashed onto the ice wall behind and was stuck, nailed there.

  The ice wolf’s scary attacks were all dodged by Yun Che using Star God’s Broken Shadow. However, he knew clearly in his mind that with the ice wolf’s horrifying speed and the narrowness of the space, it was definitely not a smart decision for him to deal with it like this. He had to go on offensive.

  But this time, the ice wolf did not charge forward and instead opened its huge mouth and let out a gush of cold energy. A thick icy fog instantly spread throughout the Ice Profound Realm. The temperature in this space was already freezing but now it was decreasing at an alarming rate.

  Cold energy!?

  Yun Che’s eyes lit up and he actually faced the icy fog head-on and charged towards the ice wolf at lightning speed.

  Even a Monarch would be frozen into an ice sculpture from touching the cold energy produced by an ice wolf. As the freezing fog spread, every existence in the Ice Profound Realm were all sealed in ice.

  But this absolutely would not affect Yun Che.

  Its power, sharp claws, ice spikes, ice blades; Yun Che didn’t dare to forcefully take any of them head on. But it using cold energy to attack Yun Che was an absolutely foolish move.

  Releasing cold energy made the ice wolf reveal its weak point. Yun Che rushed directly to its side, condensed profound energy, and struck its body with a punch.

  Ji Hanfeng said himself that no one would be able to use weapons in the Ice Profound Realm but Hong’er might be an exception… because she was technically not a weapon but an unique existence connected to his soul and willpower. However, he did not attempt to summon Hong’er, because he did not think it was worth the trouble to “cheat.”