Quinn Shepherd, that's some big talk from the Overlord Body.
Prince Autumnshade smiled faintly, showing no anger. Leisurely, he said, "You grassroots types—why are you always so arrogant, looking down on the imperial clan? I was born superior to you, raised in the imperial family, with far broader knowledge and experience. Any Emperor's Throne technique, I can have at my fingertips, and my teachers are the finest. What do you have?"
Village Chief, Divine Son Chiming, First Human Emperor and the others felt a chill in their hearts.
Being born into the imperial clan truly comes with overwhelming advantages—just this alone is something Quinn Shepherd can never match!
Though Quinn Shepherd had the guidance of the elders from Oldridge Village in his childhood—far better than most—he still could not compare to Prince Autumnshade.
Prince Autumnshade was a golden phoenix born in a gilded nest, while Quinn Shepherd was just a Brood-Hen Dragon raised in a straw hut.
Village Chief glanced at Quinn Shepherd beside him, seeing the boy as nonchalant as ever. He thought to himself, "It's all that butcher's fault! The butcher taught him never to show fear to anyone. And that damned blind man—he taught him to pee on god-statues to break the gods in his heart, so now this kid fears neither heaven nor earth..."
Quinn Shepherd laughed and said, "I may not have been born in the imperial clan, but I had nine towering mentors. The foremost in Oldridge Village is this elder beside me—he's our Village Chief, and he taught me swordsmanship and how to be a person."
Village Chief was deeply moved, his wrinkled face turning red with embarrassment. He thought, "Ahem, I did teach him how to be a person. That's why he's so humble and polite, always modest and yielding—truly my style."
Prince Autumnshade burst out laughing, hands behind his back, tilting his head to gaze at the moon overhead. The moon was wrinkled and dim. He sighed, "Teaching you to be a person? What's the use? The imperial clan is the coldest of all. In the Heavenly Court, princes are countless; to stand out you must survive a bloody purge. Who among us hasn't braved life and death? When I was twelve, I was sent to the Demon Graveyard to battle fiends—of the fifty who went in with me, only I came out alive! What did you experience at twelve?"
Quinn Shepherd thought for a moment, reluctant to answer.
Village Chief reminded him, "Shepherd, have you forgotten? Back then, Granny Si bought a Brood-Hen Dragon, and you fought it every day—always getting beaten all over the yard."
Quinn Shepherd's face turned as dark as iron.
Prince Autumnshade laughed again, shaking his head. "I was born better than you, learned more than you, seen farther than you—and I worked harder, too. You want to visit my grave? What a joke."
Quinn Shepherd said seriously, "But killing you really isn't any trouble for me. Prince, you're not even as tough as the Brood-Hen Dragon I fought last time. For that, I had to team up with Senior Brother Zechariah Lee. Killing you only takes a single move."
Zechariah Lee stifled a laugh, while the demon blade on his back grinned so broadly its eyes squinted—if only it could make a sound.
Prince Autumnshade glanced at him, a faint smile on his lips. "Zechariah Lee, you were once a talent of the Prodigy Legion. Who would've thought you'd become a frog in a well after coming to the lower realms. Quinn Shepherd, the reason I tell you all this isn't to boast—it's just the truth."
He looked at Quinn Shepherd, smiling. "You're called Overlord Body by the commoners down here—how laughable. It just shows how shortsighted these lowly races are. If you're an Overlord Body, then what does that make me, born of the imperial line? Do you know why my first order in the lower realms is to kill you?"
Quinn Shepherd shook his head. "No idea."
"I'm here to kill the three heroes of Everpeace Reform. You're first on the list, precisely because of your Overlord Body reputation."
Prince Autumnshade gazed leisurely at the night over the Yong River, his voice calm as the wind and clouds. "Once you're dead, one of the three heroes of Everpeace Reform will be gone. Only then will these commoners understand the might of Heaven, learn fear, bow and kneel to call us lord, and accept their fate—no more delusions or talk of reform. That's why you're the first to go."
Quinn Shepherd asked curiously, "Then who's the second on your list, Prince?"
"Jiang Baigui, Imperial Preceptor of the Everpeace Empire."
Prince Autumnshade's expression grew serious. "Jiang Baigui is revered as a sage who appears only once in five centuries. Killing him will send shockwaves, letting these lower realm fools know that their so-called sages mean nothing to Heaven—they can be crushed at a whim. The last one to die will be Emperor Evan. He'll die kneeling, and in front of all these commoners."
His face turned cold: "A mere backwater emperor, ignorant of Heaven's grace, thinking himself worthy of the nation's sacred artifacts—naturally, he should have all hope crushed, then kneel to die!"
"Well said!"
Two Heavenly Court envoys behind him clapped and praised, "That's how it should be, only then will Heaven's might be shown!"
"Prince is wise and mighty! To have you personally handle such trivial matters in the Everpeace Empire—what a waste of your talents!"
Prince Autumnshade beamed at Quinn Shepherd. "Quinn, do you dare accept my challenge?"
Quinn was about to reply, but Village Chief nervously interrupted, "Shepherd, there's no need to accept. We have the numbers—Divine Son Chiming and the First Human Emperor are here. We've got him surrounded! Why risk your life in a duel to the death?"
Prince Autumnshade said leisurely, "The two behind me are Jade Capital Stage experts from the Heavenly Court, responsible for my safety and assisting me in quelling the Everpeace rebellion. Logan, the God-Knife, is also a subordinate of the Heavenly Court, and you know his strength well. You only have two Jade Capital experts, while I have an extra one."
Village Chief frowned deeply.
The First Human Emperor also frowned slightly, glancing at Logan Cross.
Logan Cross was silent, looking suspiciously at Zechariah Lee.
Zechariah Lee pretended not to notice, his gaze fixed on Quinn Shepherd.
Quinn Shepherd smiled, "Don't worry, Village Chief. It's just a Heavenly Court prince—I've killed one before. I'll be back soon."
Village Chief whispered, "Be careful. Test his abilities first—don't go all out right away. Once you've seen through his skills, then you can make your move."
Quinn Shepherd nodded, raising his hand, "Prince Autumnshade, please."
Prince Autumnshade's aura suddenly surged. His energy erupted, qi and blood rising like an iron-blooded war banner in the air, fluttering in the river wind!
[Irrelevant system text skipped.]
Zechariah Lee was startled. On the Ghost Ship, Prince Autumnshade defeated him using three different Emperor's Throne techniques, but never used this iron-blooded banner technique!
Back then, Quinn Shepherd killed Prince Autumnshade in just a few moves because Autumnshade revealed his techniques during the fight with Zechariah Lee. Now, clearly, Autumnshade hasn't used all three Emperor's Throne techniques, making Zechariah Lee worried for Quinn.
The First Human Emperor was startled, whispering, "It's the West Heaven Gold Emperor's Emperor's Throne technique—the Jade-Blood Rust-Banner Scripture!"
Village Chief quickly asked, "Is it powerful?"
The First Human Emperor's eye twitched, his voice hoarse, "Martial Master Heavenly Teacher was defeated by this technique—he lost to the West Heaven Gold Emperor."
Village Chief's heart suddenly sank. He sent a message to the First Human Emperor: "If Shepherd loses, you block the two Heavenly Court experts, and I'll rescue him!"
The First Human Emperor nodded slightly.
Just as the two finished their discussion, Prince Autumnshade made his move.
Blood stained the sky, moonlight filled the river, and the moon shone on the rust banner.
When Prince Autumnshade attacked, the Yong River nearly stopped flowing. The surging waters flew upward, rising like a sheer cliff.
Prince Autumnshade slashed forward, the Rust Banner sweeping down from the sky, blocking everyone's view. From the banner, countless rusted flying swords shot out, converging into a torrent that engulfed Quinn Shepherd!
Just then, a sword light flashed out, breaking through countless rust swords, and in the next instant, it arrived at Prince Autumnshade's forehead.
Prince Autumnshade turned his head, and the sword light flew past his cheek. At that moment, he saw light flickering behind him—Quinn Shepherd's figure already appeared behind him, reaching out to grab the sword light.
Prince Autumnshade was startled. The banner in the air descended, wrapping around him and carrying him away.
At the moment the banner descended, Quinn Shepherd raised his sword and thrust, stabbing the banner with a utilitiestrike.
That sword light split into countless flying swords, which were also swept up by the banner.
The swirling banner vibrated violently, traveling a hundred li in an instant, then standing upright on the river surface far away. Its speed was so fast it was almost impossible to catch with the naked eye.
Quinn Shepherd's teleportation divine art was already fast, but Prince Autumnshade's Jade-Blood Rust-Banner was nearly as fast, making everyone on the river exclaim, "No wonder it's an Emperor's Throne technique!"
As soon as the rust banner landed, it instantly unfurled with a loud sound. Countless flying swords, as tiny as silverfish, shot out from the banner, whistling toward Quinn Shepherd.
Quinn Shepherd raised his hand, and with crisp clinks, those tiny flying swords collided and merged, forming a single treasured sword in his grasp.
Quinn Shepherd rubbed the sword with both hands, shaping it into a Sword Pill, then stuffed it into his Glutton Dragon Pouch. He took out a stick of incense from the pouch, gently blew on it to ignite, and sent it flying toward the banner.
On the river surface far away, blood and shattered bone dripped continuously from the rust banner, staining the water red.
The stick of incense flew over and lodged in a hole in the rust banner.
"Prince Autumnshade, now you know what an Overlord Body is, don't you?"
Quinn Shepherd's voice echoed, "Take this incense for now—next year on this day, I'll visit your grave."
The banner slowly sank into the river, swept away by the current, vanishing without a trace.
The river surface was calm and silent; no one spoke, and the atmosphere was oppressively tense.
Village Chief, the First Human Emperor, and the others were still stunned, as were the two Heavenly Court guests!
Just one move...
Zechariah Lee sighed. He had long expected this outcome and was the calmest of all, thinking, "Only one move. On the ship, he used four or five moves..."
Logan Cross looked at him and said quietly, "Zechariah Lee, you knew all along—why didn't you say anything?"
Zechariah Lee did not answer.
"You killed the prince..."
Suddenly, the two Heavenly Court guests trembled and said, "You killed Prince Autumnshade!"
Quinn Shepherd politely replied, "Honored elders, if I hadn't killed him, would I have just offered my neck? There's no need to search for him in Youdu or Mingdu—you won't find him. When I strike, I leave no loose ends. Prince Autumnshade's soul is already scattered."
Suddenly, the two Heavenly Court gods shrieked in unison, bursting with divine power, and lunged at Quinn Shepherd.
The First Human Emperor and Prince Chiming leaped up together, blocking the two attackers from left and right.
Logan Cross's eyes flashed, and a faint sound came from the scabbard on his back—the divine blade was about to be drawn. Just then, Quinn Shepherd suddenly removed the willow leaf from his brow and roared, "Brother, they're killing!"
An unimaginably terrifying aura erupted from Quinn Shepherd, shocking Logan Cross, whose divine blade snapped back into its sheath. His small boat immediately veered away, speeding down the river.
Suddenly, Zechariah Lee leaped off the boat. Logan Cross, unable to worry about escaping, instantly stopped the boat and shouted, "Zechariah Lee, get back on!"
"Master Logan!"
Zechariah Lee knelt on the river, bowing deeply: "From this day forward, Master Logan, I am no longer your disciple. Here I thank you for your teachings! If we meet again, we may have to face each other with blades drawn."
Logan Cross was stunned. Suddenly, he drew his divine blade, sliced off his sleeve, and tossed it into the river as the boat sped away.