Quinn Shepherd's qi and blood surged, swirling like a long rainbow, following him forward. His martial spirit was not simply the pursuit of Dao through martial arts. If it were, he would be no different from the other martial artists of the War-Ox Realm.
He did not seek to leap directly from the Life-and-Death Realm across the Divine Bridge and into the Heaven Palace; his Divine Bridge was intact, so there was no need.
What he sought was the transformation of this world, the advancement of Dao and divine arts. Thus, his martial spirit was not confined to martial arts alone, but intertwined the reformist spirit of the Everpeace era with martial resolve.
The Everpeace era was one of radical change—like oil set ablaze, sparks igniting the prairie, burning with unstoppable fervor!
If this spirit were forged into martial arts, it would far surpass the pursuit of mere martial mastery!
And now, Quinn was using martial spirit as a medium, shaping the spirit of the Everpeace era into his own Martial Soul!
He arrived at the second palace hall, where several injured people sat out front—likely wounded by the guardian god or demon within.
Quinn entered the hall. Inside was a burly farmwife; Hugh No-Return and the others were nowhere to be seen.
"How long did I spend comprehending martial spirit?" Quinn looked at the floor, noticing dried bloodstains across the hall's surface.
"Woodcutter's disciple, you took ten days just to clear the first hall?"
The farmwife, broad-shouldered and sturdy, laughed: "My strength surpasses his, so for my trial, how much time do you plan to take?"
Quinn smiled, "Ten..."
The farmwife frowned, "Ambitious."
"Nine, eight, seven..."
On the Execution Platform, two blood-red murderous auras twisted together like twin crimson tornadoes. Hugh No-Return had already arrived, with just two companions remaining from the fifty-plus who had crossed South Heaven Gate with him.
The Execution Platform had no godly guardian.
The Execution Platform itself was an incredibly difficult checkpoint. Over the past twenty thousand years, countless War-Ox Realm martialists had come here only to be struck down and perish.
In fact, this checkpoint's power had already been suppressed; it was not as terrifying as the true Execution Platform. Warfist Celestial Teacher had tuned its power to match the Life-and-Death Realm.
Yet this trial remained the deadliest checkpoint of all.
"Are you confident?"
Hugh No-Return steadied his breath and said gravely, "Junior brother, junior sister, if you're not confident, then go back. You'll still have five hundred years of lifespan left—living is more important than anything else."
The woman shook her head: "I've cultivated my whole life for this day. Senior Brother Hugh, before this trial I married and had two children—they're both doing well. I've ensured my bloodline continues, fulfilling one wish. Now I'm ready to stake my life for another. This time, if I fail, I'll give my life for the cause!"
The other man smiled, "I've married too, and have children of my own. My surname and my ancestors' bloodline will live on. Now I have no regrets—I'm ready to risk everything for our race's future! My Wu Luo clan needs hope; I want my descendants to stand tall among the gods one day!"
"You... you should treat your wounds first, restore your qi and blood to their peak. The God-Slaying Platform won't defeat me, but I can't protect you."
Hugh No-Return sighed, glancing back at the Jade Pool. Palaces rose in rows, with paths winding through—the very halls they'd just battled through.
"I wonder how Brother Quinn is doing?"
He murmured, "It's been ten days—he's been practicing martial arts the whole time. His martial divine arts seem unfamiliar. I wonder if he's awakened his Martial Soul yet, truly achieved Martial Soul-on-Body."
"Achieving Martial Soul-on-Body is no easy feat."
The woman said, "Back then, to awaken my Martial Soul, I entered Wild Beast Forest at age eleven and faced not just one Desolation Wolf, but a whole pack. I fought them for days and nights, my flesh nearly torn apart, until I couldn't feel pain or even tell if I was alive. In that moment, I suddenly sensed my Martial Soul—slayed the wolf king in one blow and barely escaped with my life."
The other man said, "For me, it was at my clan's Dance-of-Youth Grand Festival. Over a hundred thirteen-year-old boys and girls were sent into the Umbral Demon Realm—only three survived, including me. That year, I awakened my Martial Soul. Brother Quinn's time is too short; he looks young, so I doubt he's awakened his Martial Soul. Let's take the stage and face the god-slaying blade."
Hugh No-Return nodded.
The woman regulated her qi and blood, restoring herself to peak condition. She stepped onto the God-Slaying Platform first, smiling: "You two wait here—I’ll test the blade and see if my Martial Primordial Spirit can withstand a god-slaying strike!"
As soon as she stood on the platform, two streams of blood-evil twisted, shrinking into blood-red lights that spun around her neck. No matter how she dodged or resisted, she couldn't escape or force the blood lights back!
Just then, a palace hall in front of the Jade Pool shook violently, clouds of dust billowing!
Hugh No-Return was watching the battle on the platform, but suddenly sensed something and looked back. The rear gate of the palace flew open, and a rainbow of qi and blood arced through the sky, heading straight for the next hall!
"Could that be Brother Quinn?"
Hugh No-Return's heart leapt. Before he could turn back to the platform, the rear gate of the second palace exploded—once again, the rainbow of qi and blood soared, racing toward the third hall!
"So fast!"
Hugh No-Return was stunned. The third palace's rear gate also blew apart. The third eye at his brow snapped open, instantly capturing the scene of the shattered doorway.
He belonged to the Three-Eye God-Race. Their third eye was a natural Divine Eye—peerless in its ability, able to pierce the Netherworld and gaze into Profound Capital.
At the blasted doorway, he immediately saw Quinn Shepherd's figure leaping into the air.
Quinn crouched mid-air, arms spread wide. One foot stamped on a muscular farmhand's chest—like a ravenous hawk swooping for prey.
Boom!
Quinn stomped the farmhand into the ground, violent currents of air sweeping out in all directions.
"The one he stomped on was Elder Gu."
Hugh No-Return wore a strange expression. He thought, "Elder Gu doesn't like fighting with pure martial intent; he prefers to battle in person. When he fought us, he would seal his own cultivation, locking away both his Heaven Palace and Divine Bridge. But this time, it seems he met his match..."
Just thinking of Elder Gu made his bones ache. Passing Elder Gu's trial was the hardest—Hugh No-Return had barely scraped through.
Yet Quinn defeated Elder Gu in a single exchange, sending him flying out of the hall and stomping down atop him.
"Such speed!"
Hugh No-Return and the other man couldn't help but be amazed. Quinn charged forward like a wild stallion, blasting through more than a dozen halls in quick succession, soon reaching the Jade Pool!
The farmhands and farmwives guarding the Jade Pool were even stronger, their realms higher, their talent greater, and their effort more intense. Yet Quinn's momentum never slowed—he kept blasting through each hall at a jaw-dropping speed!
"Has his martial path reached divinity?"
Just as Hugh No-Return and the other man thought this, Quinn burst out from the shattered rear door of the Jade Pool's last hall, his blood-qi trailing across the sky, feet landing atop the waves as he raced toward the God-Slaying Platform.
The God-Slaying Platform towered above. Though called a platform, it was really like a jade mountain with countless steps.
They could barely make out Quinn's figure—only the rainbow of blood-qi streaking toward the summit at astonishing speed!
"I can't hold on!"
Suddenly, the woman's voice came from the God-Slaying Platform. Hugh No-Return and Brother Lu turned anxiously to see her looking back, smiling sweetly with a hint of apology: "Senior Brother Hugh, Senior Brother Lu—in the next life..."
Blood flashed at her neck—her Primordial Spirit and body were both decapitated by the twin blood lights!
Hugh No-Return and Brother Lu's faces darkened. "Farewell, sister..."
Just then, a figure streaked past them, whipping up a gust that fluttered their clothes.
It was Quinn, his steps unbroken as he mounted the God-Slaying Platform. He pointed, and darkness welled up beneath the platform—Youdu itself manifesting. The woman's Primordial Spirit, severed from her body, was already tumbling toward the Netherworld.
Quinn's hands danced, ten fingers flashing as strange, esoteric characters sprang from his fingertips—Youdu script swirling around the woman's neck-stump.
These bizarre symbols merged into Youdu rune-seals, obscure and profound, imprinting one after another onto her neck.
Meanwhile, her Primordial Spirit's head flew back, reconnecting with her headless Primordial Spirit body.
Her physical body teetered on collapse, about to fall onto the platform. Blood should have spilled from her neck, feeding the blood lights—but in that instant, time seemed to freeze.
That brief instant seemed to stretch into eternity—time itself froze.
Quinn's neck surged with blood and flesh, sprouting two more heads, while four arms burst from beneath his armpits—each casting a different spell. The woman's head, surrounded by creation runes, flew to her neck and settled in place.
Buzz—
All the runes flashed with intense light, blinding those below. They could only make out Quinn, three-headed and six-armed, standing atop the platform, raising his hand as the patch of Youdu vanished. The woman's falling body halted, then, as if time flowed backward, she stood upright once more.
As the light faded, Quinn flicked his finger, sending the woman flying off the God-Slaying Platform at incredible speed!
The twin blood lights, deprived of their target, raged—hissing as they coiled around Quinn's neck!
"God-Slaying Headsman's Blade? I have one of my own."
Quinn laughed heartily: "Even the original blade couldn't decapitate me—how could these two blood lights, suppressed to the Life-and-Death Realm, hope to succeed?"
Blood and qi surged at his neck, coiling like an Ancestral Dragon. The Ancestral Dragon Eight Tones rang out, dragon roars shaking flesh and soul—forcing the blood lights back.
Quinn raised his hand, tapping his fingers—each strike ringing out crisp and clear, driving the blood lights back step by step.
Quinn strode across the God-Slaying Platform. Only then did the blood lights abandon him, suddenly swelling into twin blood-tornadoes—writhing atop the jade mountain like two blood dragons.
Hugh No-Return was stunned, blurting out, "Brother Quinn, your physical divine arts are fully integrated—and you've forged a Martial Soul! How are you so fast? It's only been ten days..."
On the far side of the God-Slaying Platform, Quinn blushed and smiled modestly. "Truth is, I'm an Overlord Body—I learn everything quickly. I've always been this way; if I learn too slowly, my elders say I disgrace the Overlord Body. Honestly, ten days is already pretty slow..."