Against the Gods

Chapter 565 – Berserk

The silhouette of a huge flame dragon appeared behind Duke Yuan Que amidst the firelight. The image of the fire dragon that had appeared was wreathed in flames and its face was malevolent and twisted. It roared toward the sky and the cry it released contained endless wrath and despair, as if it was being tormented in the Nine Hells of Purgatory.

All the people who heard this dragon roar felt the energy and blood within their body uncontrollably dance in agitation, feeling like their blood was about to burst out of their pores. At this time, the rapidly-expanding aura around Duke Yuan Que finally came to a stop and the entire arena trembled under the weight of his terrifying aura.

“What… What… What is this strength? Duke Yuan Que’s aura actually doubled in power in this short span of time… No, it has more than doubled!” After looking at the current Duke Yuan Que, the entire audience was stunned into insensibility; at least ninety-nine percent of them had never heard of Duke Zhong Palace ever possessing this sort of ability.

“What… What is this?” Xiao Yun stood up as he exclaimed in shock. That terrible aura caused his heart to be filled with terror.

“This is a sort of special profound skill that can manifest when the Demon Emperor bloodline mixes with the Scorching Sunfire Dragon bloodline, and it has appeared many times in the history of the Demon Imperial City.” Yun Qinghong said with a grave expression on his face, “Using the power of the Golden Crow bloodline to ignite the Flame Dragon bloodline, all of one’s energy is gathered together and explosively rises for a short period of time. For a set period of time, the user can display a power that far exceeds the power he usually has. Duke Yuan Que’s current strength is more than double his normal strength when he is at full power. Moreover, he can now also use both of the Dragon Purgatory Double Spears at the same time; a pair of spears which can normally only be used one at a time.

“Then… then what can we do? Big Brother will be in danger,” Xiao Yun said anxiously.

Yun Qinghong remained silent and did not reply as his brows were tightly knit together.

This unique profound skill that was manifested from the mixing of the Golden Crow and Chiyang bloodlines, was known by extremely few people, even within Demon Imperial City itself. Because even though the amount of people in the Illusory Demon Royal Family who had both bloodlines mixed together was not considered few, the frequency with which this profound skill appeared was extremely low. Using the Golden Crow bloodline to ignite the Flame Dragon bloodline was originally a forbidden skill to begin with, because even though it allowed its user to have an explosive spike in power for a short period of time, this explosive spike would be followed by extremely serious consequences… For at least three months after the use of this skill, the user would be in an extremely weak state. It was also highly possible that irreversible damage would be done to the user because the profound veins and body of the user endured too heavy a burden from the usage of this skill.

Thus, this ability would only be activated in desperate situations.

As members of the Illusory Demon Royal Family, all of whom were immediately established at the summit of the Illusory Demon Realm from birth, whom possessed status and power that people of the realm would admire and look up to; what kind of desperate situations would they face in their life? So even though it was easy to use this skill, the majority of the people who had both the strength and ability to do so would have never use it even once in their lifetime.

But Duke Yuan Que had chosen to use this forbidden power, and even though it was clear that he was slightly deranged with anger, Yun Qinghong did not feel that it was too out of the norm. He had a high and noble status, was a duke who looked down on the entire realm, and he was a supreme genius who was ranked number two amongst the Illusory Demon Seven Scions. How could he tolerate losing in front of all the heroes of the realm, and how could he tolerate becoming the stepping stone of someone, who before this day, was a complete unknown?

“How can… this duke… lose to you?!!”

Duke Yuan Que held the silver spear in his right hand and the black spear in his left. All the dragons scales on his body rippled and all the muscles in his body bulged. The silhouette of the dragon behind him roared malevolently and the expression on his face looked like he was in an exceptional amount of pain. Duke Yuan Que lifted up both spears and gave a huge roar as he rushed towards Yun Che.

A scorching storm barrelled towards him but Yun Che met it with a slash of his sword…

“Overlord’s Fury!”

Boom!

Both of Duke Yuan Que’s spears added together still could not compare to the giant size of the Heaven Smiting Sword. When the Heaven Smiting Sword smashed against the dual silver and black spears, a loud ringing sound spread out across the arena. As the two opponents clashed together, the Black Profound Jade floor around them began to crack and break apart, forming a rapidly expanding spiderweb of cracks with them at the center.

The Duke Yuan Que that he was facing seemed to have become a completely different person. In the previous clash, his spear was bent with a single slash from Yun Che and even his body was sent flying. Right now, when he was wielding two spears at the same time, not only did the bodies of the spears refuse to bend in the slightest when they clashed with Yun Che’s sword, even his body did not retreat a single step. The vermilion Heaven Smiting Sword was being firmly pinned down and Yun Che’s feet sank deeply into the ground. As the black profound jade under his feet began to fracture completely, both his feet began sinking deeper and deeper into the ground…

This was the direct confrontation that favored Yun Che the most, but he was at present being firmly held back by Duke Yuan Que!

Bang!!

Both combatants abruptly separated and Yun Che’s body seemed like it was going to rise in the air when he suddenly barreled forward and smashed his sword towards Duke Yuan Que’s head. When both of Duke Yuan Que’s spears came out to meet that strike, Yun Che’s figure blurred, his true body appeared behind Duke Yuan Que as he used Star God’s Broken Shadow to get behind him, and he slashed heavily at Duke Yuan Que’s back.

Bang!!

The ground exploded and Duke Yuan Que was fiercely smashed into the floor, but he instantly bounced back up, thrusting his black spear forward while sweeping his silver spear across as he made his counterattack. Both his pupils revealed an ominous glint that was similar to the gaze of a vicious wolf.

Hm?

Yun Che’s heart faintly wavered because he was more than clear on the power of the attack he had just made. If an Overlord who was in the initial stage took this blow, even if that Overlord did not die, he would at least lose half his life. But it was clear that Duke Yuan Que did not suffer much injury and he could even immediately bounce back up and launch a counterattack… It was clear that even his energy and blood had not gone awry.

That explosive rise in profound strength… was clearly accompanied by the great bolstering of Duke Yuan Que’s defensive capabilities.

Yun Che swung his sword out to meet the attack.

Clang!!!

As both sword and spear collided, the extremely ear-piercing ring of metal practically tore through the roof. Yun Che’s body bent backwards and he was sent sliding across the ground for tens of meters. Then Duke Yuan Que, whose body had remained rooted throughout, let out a furious roar as he rushed forward, and the two spears which carried a ferocious aura swept forward together.

Bang! Boom! Clang! Boom…

The dual spears frenetically clashed with the heavy blade and as two tyrannical powers continued to crash against one another, the floor and the ceiling began to fracture, and fragmented jade fluttered in the air. The sound of gigantic forces crashing together was akin to the roar of the divine lightning from the ninth heaven crashing to the earth. The mere sound of this explosive and loud roar caused the blood and energy of all who were present to churn and surge.

Booooom….

As a profound energy storm began to rise up, the entire Demon Imperial Hall began to fiercely shake as the roof of the hall began to be covered with cracks which seemed to become longer and longer; it looked like it would cave in at any time.

The attribute of Yun Che’s profound energy was ‘Berserk’, and the weapon he used caused his attacks to be incomparably hard and fierce. After Duke Yuan Que had ignited his bloodline, his frantically swelling power urgently sought an outlet and every single one of his blows were as wild as a tsunami. So the combat between the people raged on and every clash of spear and sword was akin to two mountains colliding together.

The scene within the arena had rendered the entire audience completely dumbfounded and there were even some young disciples who had turned pale after receiving the impact from the soundwaves. They were completely convinced that if not for the barrier which the Little Demon Empress had set up, the overflowing energy would have instantly minced their insides, and they would have died on the spot with blood flowing from all seven facial orifices.

“This… Is this really a fight between two people of the younger generation?” A senior said with a face full of shock and terror. This fight was unfolding right before his very eyes, yet he just could not bring himself to believe what he was seeing. The person who said that was a grandmaster who reigned over one of the southeast regions of the Illusory Demon Realm.

“Duke Yuan Que’s profound strength suddenly increased by a huge amount so he most probably used some kind of secret art… But even so, Yun Che can actually still meet him blow for blow! This is simply too inconceivable!”

“Duke Yuan Que is at the sixth level of the Tyrant Profound Realm while Yun Che is only at the tenth level of the Sky Profound Realm. He is even lower than me by a whole realm, but the kind of might he is still displaying is so great that I wouldn’t even be able to meet a single one of his blows… Just where did his strength come from?!”

“However, it seems like Yun Che has been at a disadvantage from the start, and even though both of them appear to be in a deadlock, the one who has retreated has always been Yun Che. If Yun Che just gets a little careless, then it is possible that…”

Boom!!

Boom!!

Boom!!

In the blink of an eye, Yun Che and Duke Yuan Que had already clashed against each other for a more than one hundred exchanges. Sometimes they clashed in the air and sometimes they fought on the ground, and like two berserking savage vicious beasts, they clashed with incomparable intensity. Every single collision would shake the heavens and rend the earth as the power of these blows caused the world to tremble.

Duke Yuan Que derived all of his strength from the source that all profound practitioners did, profound power.

But no one would have thought that Yun Che only derived half of his strength from profound power… and it was a profound power that was heavily bolstered by the Evil God’s Profound Veins at that. The other half of his strength came from his own body and physical might!

After his profound power had gone wild, Duke Yuan Que was indeed fearsome, and when the two of them exchanged blows, Yun Che had become the one who was under constant pressure, though he did not fall behind. Yet, his expression still remained calm from start to finish, while Duke Yuan Que became more and more panicked with each successive strike.

He did not hesitate to activate his secret ability, having resolved himself to suffer from the extremely serious side effects, and it caused his strength to run wild. He had originally thought that with this, he would most definitely defeat Yun Che swiftly, and he also believed beyond the shadow of a doubt that killing Yun Che would be even easier. What was completely out of his calculations was that even though his strength had berserked to such an extent, he was only able to suppress Yun Che by a small margin. He resolutely grit his teeth and he attacked desperately, and every blow wildly released his full power as he intended to directly smash Yun Che into little fragments. Yet every single one of his blows had been blocked by Yun Che, and despite his finishing moves and his roars which shook the heavens, he simply could not blast aside that vermillion greatsword.

This kind of berserker state was caused by surging all of his profound energy in a concentrated burst and it was not something that could be maintained for too long.During this period, his body and profound veins had to endure an immense burden. The warping of his face and the pained expression were definitely not pretense.

At this point, he was beginning to feel his profound energy running empty as his entire body was wracked with pain and even his brain started to experience a faint but unending sensation of dizziness… But the Yun Che in front of him was still calm and unruffled, even though he had been suppressed throughout their exchange.

“Rarghhhh!” Duke Yuan Que’s eyes widened and all the blood vessels in his eyes popped out. He let out a roar that was filled with violence and pain, and both his spears swept forward at the same time, as if he wanted to ruthlessly smash Yun Che’s body into pieces. But along the howling of the wind brought by the sword, his spear force and energy were still firmly blocked. Yun Che’s heavy sword was locked with the two spears, and even though his chest rose and fell fiercely, his eyes were still as tranquil as still water. He looked at the Duke Yuan Que, who was gasping like a bull and had completely bloodshot eyes, and he suddenly gave a bland smile, “What’s the matter? Is that all you’ve got?”

Duke Yuan Que’s explosive increase in profound strength would most likely cause any profound practitioner to be filled with shock. However, it was not even something for which Yun Che would spare a glance. Berserking profound energy was a state with which Yun Che was all too familiar. From Evil Soul, to Burning Heart, and then to Purgatory.

An ability that caused one’s profound power to temporarily increase by two times was already something that was considered heaven-defying in the eyes of all the people.

But just from using the Evil God power’s lowest form, the Evil Soul state, Yun Che already increased his profound strength by two to three times.

Duke Yuan Que’s berserk status not only lasted for a short period of time, but it also brought along immense side-effects.

Yun Che, on the other hand, could now maintain the Burning Heart state at any and all times, and it did not even place any burden on him. Even the Purgatory state was something he could maintain for a relatively long period of time now, and as long as he did not overuse it, the only side-effect it brought about was accelerated exhaustion.

So for Duke Yuan Que to play his hand at causing his profound strength to go berserk in front of Yun Che… It was safe to say that Yun Che was not the least bit entertained.

At the same time, Yun Che was exceptionally clear about the consequences of causing one’s profound strength to go berserk. Initially when he had forcefully opened Evil Soul, Burning Heart, and Purgatory, the burden that his body and profound veins had to bear caused his body to feel like it was going to rip itself apart; that sensation was still fresh in his memory.

At the present time, he had the body of the Dragon God, the bloodline of the Phoenix, and he had been tempered by the energy of heaven and earth. Moreover, he had also survived the baptism of the spatial storm, so for him to bear the burden of a profound strength that was far beyond his current profound strength was something that did not create any pressure for him whatsoever. But if it were Duke Yuan Que… the most he could endure was one hundred breaths.

So right now, Duke Yuan Que’s strength and spirit seemed to have started collapsing.

“This cannot be… This cannot be! This duke’s current state… How can it not be enough to defeat you?!!”

Yun Che’s words and his confident expression were like one hundred thousand steel needles which pierced into Duke Yuan Que’s soul. He gave a wild howl and swept both of his spears across, sending Yun Che flying into the distance. His whole body ignited and the flames crazily swirled about, and the image of the dragon behind his back flickered into and out of existence before it let out a hoarse dragon roar filled with pain.

Bang, bang, bang…

All of the veins on Duke Yuan Que’s body swelled as parts of this dragon-scaled body bulged out grotesquely and parts of his skin cracked open, sending blood flying everywhere.

“Ah, he’s really going all out.” Looking at Duke Yuan Que’s present appearance, Yun Che grasped the Heaven Smiting Sword and positioned it in front of him. Even though his eyes were calm, his heart was definitely not relaxed. After having endured over a hundred of Duke Yuan Que’s explosive strikes, his energy consumption had been exceptionally enormous. Coupled with the fact that he had also used up quite a bit of energy over his last four fights, his present profound and physical strengths were not even at thirty percent of what they normally were.

Waiting after this was a far scarier opponent than Duke Yuan Que waiting for him, Hui Ran!

So it looked like he could not let this battle continue any longer and he needed to finish him as soon as possible.

Yun Che had originally planned to focus on defense, wait until Duke Yuan Que could no longer endure the burden on his body, and then defeat him. This method would consume a lot less energy and allow him to preserve more strength. But looking at Duke Yuan Que’s current state and seeing as how he continued to desperately fight with his life on the line, Yun Che had no choice but to once again reconsider.

“Ultimate… Sky Dragon Sunder!!”

All of Duke Yuan Que’s energy poured desperately into both of his spears and the black and silver long spears began to generate two profound energy storms. Both storms enfolded one another and they carried an aura which threatened to destroy the heavens and the earth. In an instant, the storm had engulfed the entire arena, and within the boundaries of the arena, which could only be described as ‘small and narrow,’ Yun Che was left with no way out.

This was simply Duke Yuan Que’s last stand, where he put everything on the line as he was about to fall into despair. Facing the all-out onslaught of the violently surging energy wave, a scarlet light flashed across Yun Che’s pupils.

“Pur… gatory!!”

Duke Yuan Que’s fearsome attack produced a change in everyone’s gaze and soul and all of the people in the audience strained their eyes wide as they prepared to see how Yun Che would deal with this attack. But at this time, everyone suddenly felt the aura around Yun Che’s body abruptly rise dramatically!

“Wha… What… Wha… What?!!” The dignified Patriarch of the Su Family, Su Xiangnan, looked at Yun Che and the cry that he inadvertently let out caused him to stumble over his words.

This match had been extremely intense and it had gone far beyond what anyone had anticipated. Even when Duke Yuan Que had used the forbidden ability and gained a massive power up, Yun Che was still able to hang on. From how everyone saw it, this was already a miracle that was beyond miracles. He was being suppressed by Duke Yuan Que with every move; everyone in the west wing was worried that Yun Che would suddenly be unable to withstand it and get smashed by a thrust of Duke Yuan Que’s spear.

But… what they would never ever have imagined was that under such conditions, Yun Che’s aura actually abruptly flared up tremendously… this was a pure and genuine spike in power! And the degree to which his power was increased far exceeded that of Duke Yuan Que. In just a short span of time, he completely covered the aura of power emitted by Duke Yuan Que after he had powered up.