Above the altar on Mount Sanctus in the western lands, flowing light surged. After a moment, Selena and Jade's eyes lit up as they saw a handsome youth in a jade coronet step out from the radiance. His expression was somewhat cold, but when his gaze swept over the two girls, both of their hearts secretly fluttered with shyness.
"Lord Bloom, Star Lord Jonas has ordered the four of us sisters to assist you in eliminating the new Human Emperor. Aurora and Aurelia have already gone ahead to Loulan Golden Palace to gather news about him."
Jade said softly, "My lord, shall we go rendezvous with them now..."
Victor Bloom nodded lightly and said, "Let’s finish this matter as quickly as possible. I still need to return to High Heaven. The mortal world’s red dust is a disturbance—not a place to linger."
Selena smiled and said, "My lord, there are still some remarkable figures in this world, not to be underestimated. The Human Emperor has been our High Heaven’s adversary for many years—he won’t be so easily dealt with."
Victor Bloom, dressed in pure white unstained by dust, walked down the mountain and said, "The mortal world is indeed strange. Little Jade Capital, Great Thunderclap Temple, Dao Gate, the Cult of the Heavenly Saint, and the central lands all have experts—not inferior to the western sacred lands. I don’t underestimate them, nor do I underestimate the Human Emperor. I want to see the places in this world that even the ancient existences fear. But the red dust conflicts with my temperament, so I intend to go early and return early."
The two girls hurried to catch up with him.
"Since I’ve come down, I should visit each of the central holy lands."
Victor Bloom said, "I want to see how far their divine arts and daos have reached. And Everpeace’s reforms are in full swing—I need to see that as well. My master, the Jade Lord, was sent to bring disaster to Everpeace, but was injured by that so-called once-in-five-hundred-years sage. I very much want to see what that sage looks like."
The two girls exchanged a glance, a little worried.
In Hezhou City, a local official hurriedly reported, "His Highness the Crown Prince learned that Cult Master Quinn is safe and has already gone ahead to handle affairs in other prefectures."
Lynn Ling asked, "Which prefecture did he go to?"
The official replied, "His Highness originally went to Sizhou, but has been gone for some time now. I’m not sure which prefecture he’s reached at the moment."
Quinn Shepherd nodded and said, "I’ll have disciples from the Cult investigate. We should know their whereabouts soon enough."
They rested briefly in Hezhou, ate a little to fill their stomachs, and not long after, a disciple of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon reported, "His Highness has arrived in Quzhou."
Quinn Shepherd spread out the Everpeace map, glanced over it, and said, "Then the Crown Prince’s next destination will be Ningzhou, next to Quzhou. He’s moving quite quickly."
Prince Luther Ling first went south to Jiangling, then headed west along the Golden River, most likely to manage waterworks along the way.
Although Prince Luther doesn’t have Emperor Evan’s bold, sweeping style, he’s extremely skilled in handling water management and transportation. With help from the Ministry of Works, he moves quickly. Unlike the previous Crown Prince, Yuxia Ling, he doesn’t hoard power—which puts Emperor Evan at ease.
With Vance Skyler’s help, Luther moves even faster. By the time Quinn and the two girls caught up, more than half a month had passed—Luther had already left Ningzhou and reached Fang Prefecture in the west.
Fang Prefecture is not far from Great Thunderclap Temple—travel a little over a thousand li west from Fang Prefecture and you’ll reach the temple.
When they arrived in Fang Prefecture, Lynn Ling finally saw her brother again. She couldn’t hold back her tears; it was clear Prince Luther Ling had been working himself to exhaustion these days and had lost a lot of weight.
Prince Luther Ling quietly asked her, "Quinn Beast didn’t do anything to you, did he?"
Lynn Ling blushed with annoyance, puffing her cheeks: "Brother, what are you thinking? Serena Yunxiang is right here!"
Luther Ling gave a dry laugh. "I'm just worried about your safety, that's all. Quinn Beast..."
Lynn Ling shot him a glare. "He’s the Saint Cult Master of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. He killed the previous Crown Prince so you could take the throne. If you call him a beast and he hears it, he might kill you too and make me Crown Princess instead."
Luther Ling grumbled, "You’re already protecting your food before you’re even married, and you’re fierce even to your own brother. Anyway, up ahead is Great Thunderclap Temple. I’ve ordered its land to be reclaimed by the state—this area is very close to the temple, so we need to be careful. These past few days, high monks keep coming to beg alms from me."
Lynn Ling’s eyes flashed. "Are they trying to get their land back?"
Luther Ling nodded. "Great Thunderclap Temple owns the best farmland around here. They once rebelled and tried to kill Father and crown a new emperor. I only took their land—I didn’t slaughter them all. Now they keep coming to beg for alms, hoping I’ll give the land back. I’m here to handle waterworks and people’s livelihoods; everywhere else I fix the problems and move on, but here I’ll have to stay a while."
Just then, a loud voice called from outside: "This poor monk has come to beg alms!"
Luther Ling couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. He went out, and Quinn Shepherd followed. They saw a tall, thin monk with a sallow face sitting there, holding the Demon-Subduing Alms Bowl. Several soldiers tried to lift him, but couldn’t move him at all.
The monk, seeing the Crown Prince emerge, lowered his head and said, "This poor monk only begs for one bowl of earth. I ask the Crown Prince to grant it."
"That bowl—isn’t it the Demon-Subduing Alms Bowl of the previous Tathagata of Great Thunderclap Temple?"
Luther Ling gave a cold laugh. "In any other sect, that would be a sect-suppressing treasure. One bowl of earth—if you poured it out, it would probably cover the entire territory of Great Thunderclap Temple, hundreds of li across. Monk, you’re no ordinary cleric, or you wouldn’t be carrying a treasure of this level."
The monk was about to reply when he suddenly saw Quinn Shepherd and raised his brows. "Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon!"
Quinn Shepherd smiled in greeting. The monk’s expression turned grim—he remembered the Heaven Altar battle in the capital, when Great Thunderclap Temple and Dao Gate’s top experts suffered terrible losses, nearly half their best were slain by the Holy Cult. Many Divine Bridge–realm monks and Daoists perished at the hands of the Cult, leaving the temple badly weakened.
If not for that, Luther Ling would never have dared to reclaim Great Thunderclap Temple’s land.
The yellow-faced monk said nothing more and hurried away.
Luther Ling glanced at Quinn Shepherd and whispered, "That monk left without getting any alms. He’s probably gone to call for backup and cause you trouble. Be careful."
Quinn Shepherd shook his head. "Don’t worry. The Tathagata won’t concern himself with this."
(This chapter isn’t finished yet~ Please click next page to continue reading!)
The Elder Buddha laughed, “You resigned as Dao Lord, yet you still bring the young Dao Heir along. Clearly, you want to guide him before ascending.”
The old Dao Lord sighed, “To the Great Ruins, then.”
The four of them walked into the Great Ruins together.
Not long after they left, a young lord arrived with four girls, each dressed in different colors and carrying a jade bottle, qin, sword, or pipa. At the mountain gate, they addressed the gatekeeping monk: “Victor Bloom of High Heaven has come to visit the Tathagata.”
“High Heaven?”
The gatekeeper monk was shaken and rushed up the mountain to report. On the summit, Nanye and the other monks turned pale, flustered: “High Heaven has sent someone—what do we do? The Tathagata seat is vacant; who is qualified to receive a guest from High Heaven?”
“Don’t panic yet.”
Nanye said, “Invite Lord Victor Bloom up and be sure to show full courtesy. Let’s go greet him ourselves—don’t slight the formalities!”
The monks hurried down the mountain. At the gate, they saw the young lord and his four extraordinary attendants. Nanye stepped forward: “Amitabha...”
“You’re not the Tathagata?”
Victor Bloom’s eyes flashed as he looked at Nanye, shaking his head: “A true Tathagata doesn’t need to chant the Buddha’s name. Where is the Tathagata?”
“Uh...”
Nanye said, “The World-Honored One just abdicated—currently, Great Thunderclap Temple has no Tathagata.”
Victor Bloom immediately turned to leave, his four maidens hurrying after him, leaving the monks behind in confusion. Jade, dressed in green, asked, “My lord, why not visit Great Thunderclap Temple?”
Victor Bloom shook his head, “The Elder Buddha stepped down without appointing a successor. Clearly, he thinks none of the monks on this mountain are worthy of being Tathagata, so he simply left. If even the Elder Buddha finds his own monks inadequate, why should I bother to test their skills?”
Aurelia laughed, “So you look down on them. My lord, we went to Loulan Golden Palace and met the Witch-Venerable, but there was no one worth seeing. Their Grand Venerable avoided you, lost without a fight. Since Great Thunderclap Temple has failed to produce anyone impressive, shall we visit Dao Gate next?”
Victor Bloom nodded, “Dao Gate has the Fourteen Dao Swords. My master says their sword art is exceptional—worth a look.”
They arrived in Fang Prefecture, at the upper reaches of the Golden River, and hired a boat to drift downstream. Suddenly, they saw a young man in mid-river, measuring the water’s depth.
The youth used yuanqi as a measuring line, flicking his hand so threads of qi dropped straight into the river. He called out the depths at each point, while an official beside him recorded the data.
Victor Bloom halted his boat and stared silently at the youth.
The young man sensed their gaze, looked over, and flashed a brilliant smile, showing eight white teeth that made one instantly feel goodwill.
Victor felt his own mood unconsciously lifted and smiled back.
His four attendant girls, seeing Victor smile, felt their hearts melt.
“My lord actually smiled!”
Victor Bloom respectfully bowed across the water and called out, “Senior brother, would you be willing to come aboard so we can chat for a while?”
The youth replied cheerfully, “Senior brother, please wait a bit while I finish the hydrological records.”
Victor Bloom waited quietly. After a short while, the youth finished his measurements, boarded Victor’s boat, and the two exchanged formal greetings and sat down face-to-face.
[Omitted: Author notes about update schedule.]
The monks hurried down the mountain. At the gate, they saw a young lord and four beautiful attendants, all extraordinary in bearing. Nanye stepped forward, “Amitabha...”
“You’re not the Tathagata?”
Victor Bloom’s gaze was like lightning as it landed on Nanye’s face. He shook his head, “A true Tathagata doesn’t need to chant the Buddha’s name. Where is the Tathagata?”
“Uh...”
Nanye said, “The World-Honored One just abdicated—currently, Great Thunderclap Temple has no Tathagata.”
Victor Bloom turned and left; his four maidens hurried after, leaving the monks behind. Jade, in green, asked, “My lord, why not visit Great Thunderclap Temple?”
Victor Bloom shook his head, “The Elder Buddha stepped down without appointing a successor. Clearly, he thinks none of the monks here are worthy of being Tathagata, so he simply left. If even the Elder Buddha finds his own monks inadequate, why should I bother to test their skills?”
Aurelia laughed, “So you look down on them. My lord, we visited Loulan Golden Palace and met the Witch-Venerable, but there was no one worth seeing. Their Grand Venerable avoided you, lost without a fight. Since Great Thunderclap Temple has failed to produce anyone impressive, shall we visit Dao Gate next?”
Victor Bloom nodded, “Dao Gate has the Fourteen Dao Swords. My master says their sword art is exceptional—worth a look.”
They arrived in Fang Prefecture, at the upper reaches of the Golden River, and hired a boat to drift downstream. Suddenly, they saw a young man in mid-river, measuring the water’s depth.
The youth used yuanqi as a measuring line, flicking his hand so threads of qi dropped straight into the river. He called out the depths at each point, while an official beside him recorded the data.
Victor Bloom halted his boat and stared silently at the youth.
The young man sensed their gaze, looked over, and flashed a brilliant smile, showing eight white teeth that made one instantly feel goodwill.
Victor felt his own mood unconsciously lifted and smiled back.
His four attendant girls, seeing Victor smile, felt their hearts melt.
“My lord actually smiled!”
Victor Bloom respectfully bowed across the water and called out, “Senior brother, would you be willing to come aboard so we can chat for a while?”
The youth replied cheerfully, “Senior brother, please wait a bit while I finish the hydrological records.”
Victor Bloom waited quietly. After a short while, the youth finished his measurements, boarded Victor’s boat, and the two exchanged formal greetings and sat down face-to-face.
[Omitted: Author notes about update schedule.]