Quinn Shepherd stepped into the pavilion, standing shoulder to shoulder with another Quinn Shepherd, both gazing out over the surface of Jade Pool’s vast sea.
“Shepherd Heavenly Venerable doesn’t seem surprised at all.”
The other Quinn glanced at him and smiled, saying, “If I saw another me standing right in front of me, I’d be so shocked I’d scream, and my next reaction would be to get rid of the other guy. After all, in this world, I’m the only one of my kind.”
Quinn Shepherd laughed. “Heavenly Court can mass-produce Venerable war-bodies—ten or more at a time—so making another me is nothing special. This body was built in Zaofu Heaven Palace, wasn’t it? It’s a good likeness. But even if you make a perfect copy, the very next moment it’ll already be outdated.”
The other Quinn watched every word, move, and gesture, imitating Quinn’s manner and tone perfectly. “It’s not just about making another you. My real goal is to replace you. That way, you’ll die without a sound, while another ‘you’ keeps on living.”
He mimicked Quinn’s tiniest movements, eerily lifelike. “After you die, ‘you’ will still be the leader of the Everpeace Reform. You’ll still be Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, blending in among your own allies—Tu Bo, Heaven Duke—they’ll never spot a flaw. Those ancient gods are dreaming of keeping you alive, hoping the undying Grand Archmage will resurrect them. You gave these rotten beings hope, but they’ll never realize you’ve been dead all along.”
Quinn tilted his head, and the eyelids at his brow slowly parted to reveal his Third Eye. He sized up the impostor’s body. “You’re Venerable Vast-Sky, aren’t you? My twice-defeated foe.”
The opposing Quinn’s pupils shrank, and a vertical eye also opened at his brow, the eyelids parting at almost the same speed as Quinn’s. Clearly, he was still imitating Quinn’s every move.
His pupils were rhombic too—Dao Ancestor must have been painstaking in his observations, ensuring every tiny detail matched Quinn Shepherd exactly.
Even the clothes, every single hair—their number and position—were all perfectly identical!
Dao Ancestor was just that kind of meticulous person.
“The first time was in the early Dragon-Han Era, right here at Jade Pool.”
Quinn Shepherd said with interest, “You were beaten by me like a stray dog, running for your life. Your men fought desperately to shield you, trying to stop me from killing you, but I slaughtered them like chickens. Their blood, and yours, stained this Jade Pool red. Your mother, Madam Yuanmu, projected herself here to save you, but even in front of her, I still beat you down like a dead dog. How long did it take you to recover?”
The opposing Quinn replied, “Medical arts were primitive then. The Heavenly Emperor summoned every famous physician, but none could heal your sword intent and sword wounds. I lay bedridden for over a century, unable to eat or drink, fed by others. I lost control of my body, needing palace maids to care for me. More than once, I wished for death; more than once, I begged my mother to kill me.”
Quinn Shepherd smiled. “That’s my gift to you. You only lay in bed for a hundred years—Venerable Skysoar was bedridden for a million.”
“Later, my wounds slowly healed, and I could walk again. That’s when I realized my flesh had long since recovered—the real injury was to my Dao-heart.”
The opposing Quinn’s pupils shrank, divine light swirling in his eyes before fading away. He said coolly, “The wound in my Dao-heart took far longer to heal. For a thousand years after, every time I closed my eyes, I saw your sword piercing me, your fists smashing my bones and snapping my tendons.”
Quinn Shepherd said apologetically, “I should’ve killed you back then. That way, you wouldn’t have suffered so much.”
The opposing Quinn said coldly, “It took me a thousand years to step out of your shadow. But after that, I realized I wasn’t the same person anymore. I used to be just my father’s blade, meant to eliminate Venerable Skysoar—a future threat to his throne. You made me die and come back to life. From then on, I swore I’d live for myself.”
He was still mimicking Quinn’s speech and gestures as he continued, “I became more profound. Among the princes, I was never in the spotlight—a beaten loser, humiliated by Shepherd Heavenly Venerable. But that gave me more chances, and my father valued me more. I helped him plot against the Crown Prince, stripped him of rank, killed him. He was the son of the Empress and Emperor, and used to shame me, mocking me as a bastard and for being beaten like a dead dog by Shepherd Heavenly Venerable. So I gave him the name Victor Xie—a mark of disgrace, so even in the Netherworld, he’d suffer forever!”
Quinn watched the smile on his double’s face—just as honest and guileless as his own. But beneath that facade lay thick hatred and the satisfaction of revenge.
“After Victor Xie died, none of the remaining princes with power could stand against me. Some died, some were crippled, and some had their Dao-hearts broken by me.”
The other Quinn chuckled. “My father thought Cloud-Venerable and Skysoar Venerable were still threats to Heavenly Court, so he decided to support a trusted agent to counter them—and chose me. He had no other choice. So I came to the Origin World, founded the Dragon-Sky Heavenly Court, and fought Cloud-Venerable and his faction, life and death. That’s how I built my own cadre. With these loyalists, I could finally plan for greater things.”
Quinn Shepherd praised, “Venerable Vast-Sky, you’ve grown up.”
“All thanks to you.”
The other Quinn’s smile grew even brighter and sunnier, like a big kid. “I fought Cloud-Venerable for ages. Humans and postnatal beings were just too weak, no match for demigods. To boost their morale, he actually disguised himself as you to fight me—ridiculous.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “I really was startled then, but soon realized that Shepherd Heavenly Venerable was just an imitation. No matter how good the act, he couldn’t fool me.”
He half-laughed, half-cried. “Who could know you better than me? The demon in all my nightmares was always you! Cloud-Venerable was too naive, thinking he could imitate you. But I didn’t expose him in public—I found him alone and told him my plan. So the man you hated most slipped right into the Heaven Alliance. Ha! I killed Skysoar Venerable, humans hated me, you hated me, but I still joined the Heaven Alliance and became one of its elders! Because Cloud-Venerable needed me to help him fight my father.”
He watched Quinn’s expression, searching for disappointment or regret, but found none.
“Together, we plotted to kill my father. At the same time, I kept inserting demigods into the Heaven Alliance, building up a rival faction. I didn’t just want to kill my father—I wanted to seize the Heaven Alliance for myself!”
He smiled. “I succeeded. He failed.”
Such simple words, yet each one hid a tale of breathtaking drama.
Quinn Shepherd smiled. “Even if you succeeded, you never truly controlled the Heaven Alliance. Your second defeat in life was still because of me.”
His double didn’t deny it, nodding. “I never saw your true face. I forged Skysoar Venerable into the strongest weapon—a divine armament of the Heavenly Court—to cleanse the lower realms of Earth Mother. Who would’ve thought the Grand Archmage who resurrected Earth Mother was you? You used Earth Mother to draw your sword, unleashing the same move that left me bedridden for a century. My old fears resurfaced, and I was wounded by Earth Mother, taken advantage of, and lost the Origin World. But that was just a surprise attack.”
He spoke with calm detachment, “You mean little to me now. Over the long years, my cultivation soared and my insight into the Dao deepened. Looking back on the battle at Jade Pool, I just laugh at my youthful naivety.”
He gazed at the waves of Jade Sea, speaking leisurely, “I hold no hatred for you now. Any hatred I show is just to fool others. In my Dao-heart, you no longer hold any place—just a tool to be used. Besides…”
A smile bloomed on his face, growing wider and wider. “Besides, today you’re going to die. I’ve prepared the perfect death for you.”
“Did you see the palace maids in Jade Pool? The night of the Jade Pool incident, the divine officials and armies sent to announce the Heavenly Emperor’s decree were my men. The palace maids in Jade Pool were all replaced on my orders. Even the divine tortoises carrying sacred mountains in Jade Sea, the flower spirits in the lotuses—they’re all mine.”
He turned, his smile deepening. “Even your own people—I sent them away. In Cloud Mansion, Red Emperor Mansion, South Emperor Mansion, I planted agents and easily diverted your allies. Killing you here, no one will ever know. Heaven Duke and Tu Bo won’t know. The real Shepherd Heavenly Venerable will already be dead.”
Quinn Shepherd sighed. “Venerable Vast-Sky, I never imagined your cunning ran this deep. Looks like I can’t escape my fate. But are you sure the Shepherd Heavenly Venerable you created is really my match?”
He smiled. “You went to great lengths to craft Shepherd Heavenly Venerable. To avoid arousing suspicion among the other Venerables and ancient gods, you had to keep him at the Divine Bridge realm. That body can’t contain your primordial spirit—yours is far too powerful. You can only control it with a sliver of consciousness. But I’ve killed far too many in the Divine Bridge realm—even Skysoar Venerable, a weapon like him, I’ve destroyed twice.”
The other Quinn’s sunny smile was almost terrifying. In this brief moment, he’d already achieved a near-perfect imitation of Quinn Shepherd—almost indistinguishable.
“You underestimate what I’ve achieved in these million years. Over and over, I’ve pondered, dueling you in the depths of my consciousness countless times. We’ve already fought billions of battles there.”
He laughed heartily. “Once, you won more than you lost. But as I grew, your victories dwindled. In the Supreme Emperor era, I’d already defeated you. After that, every clash in my mind was a test—finding the simplest way to kill you. By the Emperor Kai era, I could finish you in a single move.”
Radiating confidence, he smiled. “I catalogued all my killing techniques—‘Hundred Ways to Slaughter Shepherd,’ a hundred divine arts. By now, in the depths of my mind, you’re already dead before you even move!”
Quinn Shepherd’s pupils contracted.
His aura surged, sword pill flying forth as he drew his blade with force!
His opening move was the second form of the Tribulation Sword—Lifting Tribulation!
At the grand Jade Pool gathering years ago, it was with this move, under Madam Yuanmu’s projection, that he gravely wounded Venerable Vast-Sky—leaving him so crippled he couldn’t care for himself, needing help with every basic need!
Now, his Lifting Tribulation was even stronger, with more variations. Lifting Tribulation was swordsmanship, a fundamental form—also called Sword Nineteen—that could be fused with any other sword art, its possibilities truly infinite!
But before Quinn could unleash the power of his sword, the other Quinn’s attack came first—a finger thrust, light bursting from the tip, piercing through Lifting Tribulation and landing between Quinn’s brows.
Nothing seemed amiss at Quinn’s brow, but suddenly the back of his head exploded. His face twisted with disbelief, his body staggered and collapsed, legs kicking, twitching twice before going still.
The other Quinn slowly withdrew his finger, saying coolly, “Killing you is just that simple—one finger’s strength. How lonely…”
Facing Jade Sea, his expression remained calm. Out on the waves, Quinn Shepherd was walking toward him.
The other Quinn stood in the pavilion with his hands behind his back, waiting for Quinn’s arrival.
He watched Quinn approach, standing at his side, both facing the sea.
“Shepherd Heavenly Venerable doesn’t seem surprised at all.”
He glanced at Quinn and smiled. “If I saw another me standing right in front of me…”
He frowned slightly, sensing that something was off.
In the real world, Quinn Shepherd was actually sitting behind him, pouring himself a cup of tea. He brought the cup to his lips, thinking, “That move wasn’t bad—hard to defend against. Only a life for a life could counter it. Venerable Vast-Sky really has improved.”