Against the Gods

Chapter 1083 - Ji Ruyan’s Request

Yun Che slowly freed her neck from his hold.

Ji Ruyan sat paralyzed on the ground as she placed her hands on her neck and coughed dryly. Yun Che turned away from her and said in a cold voice, “I personally saw the sorrowful plight of the wood spirits and also witnessed how they suffered a tragic fate... At the place they had cautiously kept themselves isolated in fear of others, all the wood spirits, regardless of their sex or age, were slaughtered bloodily...”

“They were absolutely not guilty of some unpardonable evil and were instead so pure and virtuous that anyone would feel their heart and soul purified just by coming in contact with them for a short while... However, they ended up dying at the hands of the Black Soul Divine Sect! Moreover, no one knows how many wood spirits and other creatures met such a misfortune due to it in the past. Your Black Feather Merchant Guild might not have directly participated in those wicked acts but you can’t deny that you did aid and abet an evildoer... It’s certainly true that even death would be too good for you!”

“...” The feeling of pain gradually vanished but Ji Ruyan was still sitting paralyzed on the ground. Her lips had lost their color and she panted heavily without saying anything in response.

“I’ve come back to the Darkya City to kill people! Those from the Black Soul Divine Sect and the Black Feather Merchant Guild... So you’re naturally one of my targets!”

Ji Ruyan, “...”

“I won’t kill you for now, as I want to hear the reason for you coming to meet me alone. It’d be in your best interest to give me a reasonable answer, otherwise I’ll first use your blood to commemorate the departed souls of those wood spirits!” Yun Che’s ice-cold voice contained an even chillier killing intent.

Ji Ruyan slowly raised her head and said in a light tone, “Sir... do you truly want to kill the people of Black Soul Divine Sect? Because they hunt and kill wood spirits?”

“They all deserve to die!” Yun Che said, each and every word expressed the gloominess in his heart.

Feeling Yun Che’s gloomy and bone-penetrating killing intent from so close, it wasn’t fear that appeared on Ji Ruyan’s face but an expression of joy, “In that case, Ruyan has really made the right bet.”

She got up on her feet as she gave him a glance with faint fluctuations in her eyes, “Sir Ling Yun, I ask you... to save the Black Feather Merchant Guild.”

“???” Yun Che knitted his brows. “Save the Black Feather Merchant Guild? What kind of joke is that?”

“You are a righteous person. Since you hate the Black Soul Divine Sect so much, it’s only natural that you’d definitely loathe the Black Feather Merchant Guild with a passion, which abeted the evildoer, but the real situation is absolutely not as it seems.”

Ji Ruyan lightly bit on her lip as sadness appeared within the fluctuations in her eyes. “The prosperity and decline of a merchant guild is often determined in a night’s time. It’s far more difficult for a merchant guild to maintain its prosperity for a long time than a dynasty or a sect. My Black Feather Merchant Guild has existed for fifty thousand years, a period even longer than any sect in the Darkya Realm. Even if we take the entire God Realm into consideration, there are very few merchant guilds that have flourished and prospered for so many years. When it comes to the lower star realms, there are so few such merchant guilds that they can be counted on one’s fingers.”

“As an establishment with such a solid history and abundant accumulation, the foundation of Black Feather Merchant Guild is already deep-rooted and there’s no need to say much about the great wealth and prestige it possesses... But, have you ever given a thought to why would such a merchant guild would take the risk of thoroughly destroying its reputation and carrying out filthy underground trade? To earn more? The profit is so insignificant that there’s no need to do something of that sort.”

“...” It was certainly true that Yun Che had doubted the same thing several times after knowing about the standing of the Black Feather Merchant Guild and seeing its extensiveness. He said with a cold look in his eyes, “You’re not going to tell me that you have been forced by the Black Soul Divine Sect into committing such deeds, right?”

“It’s worse than that,” Ji Ruyan said, “Earlier, the Black Feather Merchant Guild and the Black Soul Divine Sect had existed in harmony with each other as the two major powers in the Darkya Realm. Then, a thousand years ago, the Black Soul Divine Sect caused trouble for us all of a sudden. They held my father hostage, who was still a child at the time and forced my grandfather to give his consent to the Black Soul Divine Sect to integrate their filthy underground merchant guild with the Black Feather Merchant Guild.”

Yun Che, “...”

“My grandfather had nine children in total but except for my father, everyone else died at an early age. As such, grandfather had no choice but to agree in the end... Not long afterwards, the Black Feather Merchant Guild sold Wood Spirit Orbs for the first time and it was only then that my father was released by them. Once they had gotten dirt on the Black Feather Merchant Guild, we were within the firm grasp of the Black Soul Divine Sect and were completely forced into a dark quagmire since then. Every time we were forced to carry out an underground trade, the Black Soul Divine Sect would use a Profound Imagery Stone to leave behind proof of the trade... consequently, forcing the Black Feather Merchant Guild to fall deeper and deeper.”

“Thenceforth, the Black Feather Merchant Guild had no way out but to be controlled by the Black Soul Divine Sect. Otherwise, once it makes the proof of the underground trade public, things would go south in no time. Not only each and every thing that is possessed by the Black Feather Merchant Guild would be destroyed in a day, it would also fall into a miserable situation where the common people would condemn and cast aside even those of its later generation.”

“The Black Soul Divine Sect absolutely didn’t do so just to control our Black Feather Merchant Guild. It wants the whole Darkya Realm to be in its complete control. After all, every time a filthy and evil underground trade was done, the customers would also end up having the Black Soul Divine Sect get dirt on them, similar to the Black Feather Merchant Guild! Our Merchant Guild is required to provide extremely detailed information about all the customers and the things they want to purchase, to the Black Soul Divine Sect and the whole trading process is even secretly recorded by a Profound Imagery Stone...”

“Heh, they actually dare to play with such a big fire? Aren’t they afraid of themselves getting burned down first?” Yun Che asked in disdain.

“Of course, they won’t... because its not them who carry out the underground trade. It’s our Black Feather Merchant Guild that has always been in charge of it. If something were to really happen, the Black Feather Merchant Guild would be destroyed in a day but it definitely wouldn’t hurt the Black Soul Divine Sect in any way.”

Ji Ruyan let out a light sigh, “Some time after that, grandfather constantly felt guilty towards our forefathers and eventually died in depression. When my father inherited the Black Feather Merchant Guild, the only thing he could do was to be as careful as possible in order to not let the masses know about the dirty side of the Black Feather Merchant Guild. For this reason, he didn’t hesitate to personally manage the underground merchant guild. All the customers, especially the new ones, were received and checked on by him, so as to not allow the room for the slightest bit of negligence.

“That means the ‘Mister Ji’ whom I met that day was in fact your father... and he is the current Guild Master of the Black Feather Merchant Guild?” Yun Che asked. He really never thought of such a possibility. It was impossible for anyone to imagine that the power holder of such an enormous merchant guild would actually take the initiative to “receive customers” himself.

It was no wonder that the guild master showed an extremely cold and disgusted look when he straightway brought up the matter of wanting to purchase a “Wood Spirit Orb”... The change in his attitude later also seemed to be too unnatural.

“That’s right, he was none other than my father.” Ji Ruyan nodded her head. Looking at the flicker of surprise flash through Yun Che’s eyes, she gave a pained laugh, “As the matter is related to the reputation and existence of the Black Feather Merchant Guild, father could only deal with it himself. If he were to hand over the responsibility to someone else, there’s no way he would ever feel at ease.”

“However, I ask you to not be worried. We have given fake and baseless information about you to the Black Soul Divine Sect. We informed the sect that you’ve come from the far-off Pure Moon Realm. Even if they go over to investigate on you, they would need a very long time to do so. It’s only my father and I who know about your true background. Sir, you must be wondering how we were able to so easily deceive the Black Soul Divine Sect... Actually, the most important objective of the Black Soul Divine Sect is to control all the major sects in the Darkya Realm. They have never been too concerned about the people from other realms, unless they have a special identity. In addition... you used the black feather stone of Sect Master Huo of the Flame God Realm, whose identity was forged in the first place... and was also the sole person before you who took the risk of faking himself to be someone of lesser identity. The place he was pretending to be from was—the Pure Moon Realm.”

“...” Yun Che narrowed his eyes. Listening up to here, he finally understood some things. He said with a barely distinguishable smile, “So that’s how it is. That sure dispelled my doubts. Last night, I was feeling odd when you looked me in the eye and contacted me with sound transmission. If I include the fact that you just talked about saving your Black Feather Merchant Guild into consideration... I can come to the conclusion that it’s actually not my but the Flame God Realm’s power that you want to borrow to assist your Black Feather Merchant Guild in breaking out of this quagmire, huh.”

“Exactly!” Ji Ruyan responded in an excited voice. “While carefully managing the underground merchant guild, my father has been painstakingly looking for a way to free ourselves the whole time. The search finally stopped several hundred years ago... when father met Sect Master Huo Rulie, who was in urgent need of Wood Spirit Orbs.”

“It was normal for an expert of a middle star realm to come looking for something in the Darkya Realm but a person of a high standing would consider it beneath themselves to come down to a lower realm personally. It’s especially impossible if they are visiting to look for a forbidden thing such as Wood Spirit Orb. But Huo Rulie personally came in search of Wood Spirit Orbs, despite being a supreme existence of the Flame God Realm. It was the first time my father was meeting him but his effort to go through so much to obtain Wood Spirit Orbs manifested his true nature.”

“Having easily seen through Sect Master Huo’s real identity, an idea came to my father’s mind. He forged a ‘customer’ origin and identity for the first time for his use and also sold him the best Wood Spirit Orb in the guild’s possession at the time. Later, father would purposely reserve a Wood Spirit Orb periodically, which he immediately provided to Sect Master Huo whenever he came to get one.”

“Your father wanted Sect Master Huo to owe him a favor?” Yun Che at once came to realization.

“Precisely so.” Ji Ruyan nodded, “In my father’s words, Sect Master Huo is upright and unyielding in nature, he can clearly differentiate between grudges and favors and hasn’t strayed from the right path while acting according to his principles. Such a person would certainly return all the grudges and favors and would absolutely not be willing to owe someone a favor. Father has put in all of his effort these past years to accumulate enough favor with Sect Master Huo, so that once a suitable opportunity arrived, he could ask Sect Master Huo’s assistance to get the Black Feather Merchant Guild free from the control of the Black Soul Divine Sect... Although the sect holds supreme authority in the Darkya Realm, to an existence of Flame God Realm level, it would be as easy as turning over one’s palm to do so.”

“Hmph!” Yun Che said with a forced smile, “But it’s a pity that Sect Master Huo’s black feather stone has fallen into my hands now, which proves that he won’t be coming here again. Therefore, you guys shifted your gaze to me, huh?”

“Yes.” Ji Ruyan nodded her head, as a deep look of entreatment surfaced in her eyes. “The black feather stone is not only the symbol of the identity of a special ‘honored customer,’ it also deeply implies taboo. A distinguished person such as Sect Master Huo would absolutely not be willing to let others know that he had many times come to a lower star realm in order to purchase a forbidden thing like Wood Spirit Orb. So for him to give it to you is enough of a proof that you are extremely close to Sect Master Huo and someone he really trusts.”

Yun Che, “...”

“Last night, you threw out several hundred million with a straight face, as if you was throwing away ordinary stones. Also, you severely injured Vice Hall Master of the Black Soul Divine Sect, despite being well-aware of his identity, which explains that you basically don’t care about the reaction of the Black Soul Divine Sect. Moreover, you could defeat a practitioner in the Divine Tribulation Realm, despite being in the early stage of the Divine Soul Realm. My father and I have never heard of someone with such talent... Both Ruyan and father are entirely convinced that your origin is extremely extraordinary and could be even someone from a place higher than the Flame God Realm.”

Yun Che raised his hand and he held his cheek between his fingers, as he remained silent for a while.

They f*king misunderstood his identity too much.

He could throw away four hundred million purple profound stones because he had casually scooped them out from the treasury of the Ice Wind Empire and hadn’t risked his life or anything to earn them. Hence, it didn’t hurt him to spend so many of them in one go. As for severely injuring that black-robed middle aged man, he simply kicked him away to block him from getting his hands on the Wood Spirit Orb. He knew absolutely nothing about the Black Soul Divine Sect at the time.

“With your ability, it’s surely possible to help our Black Feather Merchant Guild out of the quagmire. Perhaps, if you convey our situation to Sect Master Huo, given the friendship between Sect Master Huo and my father all these years, as well as you personally speaking for the Black Feather Merchant Guild, I believe that Sect Master Huo would definitely come forward to aid us.”

Yun Che, “...”

“Sir, it’s definitely not only my Black Feather Merchant Guild that would be saved as a result.” Ji Ruyan said in an imploring tone. “Countless sects and merchant guilds of various scales in the Darkya Realm have fallen into the hands of the Black Soul Divine Sect. Possessing supreme authority in the Darkya Realm, the Black Soul Divine Sect feels no scruples in running amok and committing wicked deeds, that are far more than just hunting and killing wood spirits... For instance, the Wind End Villa that was mentioned in the trade fair last night, was actually annihilated by the Black Soul Divine Sect! Just to forcefully occupy the weaponsmithing ability of the Wind End Villa. After cruelly slaughtering the people of the Wind End Villa, they imprisoned the swordsmithing masters in the Black Soul Divine Sect, who are made to refine weapons for the sect all day long. You have already personally seen the tragic end of the miss of the Wind End Villa.”

Yun Che, “...”

“You spent several hundred million to buy the royal wood spirit but it was for the just reason of setting it free. Because of witnessing the brutal murder of wood spirits, you felt the desire to slaughter the Black Soul Divine Sect in rage, which shows that you are a moral and righteous person... I ask you to save my Black Feather Merchant Guild... Black Feather Merchant Guild... as well as the Darkya Realm would forever remember your great favor.”

Speaking in a sorrowful voice, Ji Ruyan was deeply bowing to him..

“...” Yun Che maintained silence for a long time. It was very obvious that Ji Ruyan had completely misunderstood him... But on the other hand, there were justifiable reasons behind the misunderstanding.

But unfortunately...

Yun Che lowered his gaze, as he said to Ji Ruyan in a indifferent voice, “Miss Ruyan, do you... take me for a fool or what?”

Ji Ruyan raised her head, “Why do you say so?”

“Although it has only been a few days since I came to the Darkya Realm, I still know that when it comes to history and accumulation, the Black Feather Merchant Guild, that has been firmly standing for fifty thousand years, would definitely surpass the Black Soul Divine Sect. Earlier, outside the Darkya City, I got to hear that the Black Soul Divine Sect still relies on the intelligence network of your Black Feather Merchant Guild. For such a merchant guild to be easily suppressed by the Black Soul Divine Sect a thousand years ago and left with no power to resist, much less counter-suppress it,” Yun Che said with a faint smile, “You think that I would believe such a thing?”

Ji Ruyan said urgently, “No, no, Ruyan has absolutely not being trying to deceive Sir...”

“I do believe that you’re not deceiving me.” Yun Che continued to speak in an indifferent voice, “Let me rephrase the question. Isn’t there something you have yet to tell me? For example, about...”

Yun Che said in a gloomy voice, “The Divine Martial Realm!”

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