The Imperial Preceptor of the Everpeace Empire smiled faintly, "Cult Master, you really aren't very modest."
Quinn Shepherd was a little puzzled. He felt he'd already been quite modest and realistic—only claiming to be second best, never daring to say he was number one, never boasting at all. How could that not be considered modest?
Daniel Shan, Vice Minister of Works, was also the Heaven-Craft Hall Master of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. His treasure-forging skills ranked among the very best in the world; even other sects, no matter how skilled their craftsmen, could hardly surpass him by much.
Yet Daniel Shan was still far inferior to Quinn Shepherd. Quinn himself felt he couldn't match the Mute Smith, so claiming second place was both modest and factual. Grandpa Mark had taught him to be neither arrogant nor impatient, neither servile nor overbearing, and he'd always followed those principles.
But to others, for a mere youth to be the world's second Heaven-Craft, was truly shocking. And for this same youth to also claim to be the world's second divine physician—now that was downright terrifying.
After thinking for a moment, Quinn Shepherd wrote up a list of required materials and handed it to the Imperial Preceptor. "To forge a cannon like this, we'll need these materials. If it's not enough, I'll ask the Preceptor for more."
The Imperial Preceptor took the list, glanced at it for a while, and said slowly, "Is the Cult Master planning to empty out the national treasury?"
Quinn Shepherd was surprised. "Preceptor, why would you say that?"
"The black-gold and black-copper on your list are fine—use a bit more and a few mines will supply enough. But where am I supposed to get these divine metals and divine materials?"
The Imperial Preceptor flicked the list, his eyes sincere. "Is the Cult Master planning to embezzle treasures from the national treasury? If so, there's a seat waiting for you at the execution ground."
"Preceptor, what you're building is a god-slaying weapon, not just some sect-treasured artifact for knocking off a few cult leaders! Oh, and now that you mention it—I'll have the Holy Cult's disciples help with the forging, so their wages need to be paid too."
Quinn Shepherd thought for a moment, then added wages to the list, along with several foundries he needed, and even included the names of several top-ranking officials from the court.
"To forge a divine cannon like this, I'll also need the world's best experts in numerology and divine arts. Ideally, we should invite Dao Gate's masters!"
Quinn Shepherd wrote 'Dao Gate' on the list and said, "Every component of this divine cannon needs to be crafted to perfection, and the calculations involved are immense. If we rely only on the Imperial Academy's scholars, it might take hundreds of years to finish the math, and there would still be errors. Dao Gate's experts are masters of numerology—we absolutely need their help."
The Imperial Preceptor's expression changed slightly; he felt the list was growing heavier and heavier in his hand.
Even with the strength of the entire nation, they might only be able to produce a single Shooting Sun Divine Cannon!
The hardest part was inviting Dao Gate's masters. The old Dao Lord of Dao Gate had once tried to assassinate Emperor Evan—he nearly succeeded—and then dragged the former Crown Prince Yuxia Ling into rebellion, almost claiming the throne. After the revolt was suppressed, Emperor Evan and Yuxia Ling cracked down hard on Dao Gate; relations between the two sides have been tense ever since, like fire and water.
Getting Dao Gate's experts to come out and help would be very difficult.
But this divine cannon had to be built—otherwise, the next heavenly disaster would be impossible to withstand!
Right now, he still hadn't recovered to his peak state—who knew when the next heavenly disaster would strike?
Quinn Shepherd calculated for a moment, then smiled, "After Loulan Golden Palace was conquered, Preceptor promised me a hundred treasures to choose from. I can front the wages for the Holy Cult's disciples myself."
The Imperial Preceptor was about to bargain, but Quinn Shepherd laughed, "Heavenly King, I'm not even charging for my own labor, yet if you want the world's second Heaven-Craft to work, that's no small price! And besides, I'm the Holy Cult Master!"
The Imperial Preceptor sighed, "I shouldn't have agreed to let you be the Heavenly King of the Holy Cult. Now my hands are tied—I can't haggle with you. I'll need to report this to the Emperor and let him decide. In recent years, Everpeace has annexed many nations and destroyed many sects, so the treasury does have some divine metals and materials in reserve. But it needs the Emperor's approval. Wait a dozen days or so—the imperial edict will come down."
Quinn Shepherd turned to help forge Divine Firmament Rings. He wasn't worried about divine metals or materials; he didn't consider them particularly precious. When forging his own sword pill, he'd used plenty of such materials, all taken from the Cult of the Heavenly Demon's treasury. In fact, he'd handed over all his sect-treasured artifacts to the cult's vault.
But Divine Firmament Heaven Eye's array patterns were the simplest, easiest to learn and forge, and required the least material. That's why Quinn Shepherd only taught everyone the Divine Firmament Heaven Eye array.
Quinn Shepherd calculated the cost of building such a defensive array, then slumped in defeat. The Holy Cult could afford to build it, but couldn't afford to run it—the medicine needed to power and maintain the array was far too much.
He considered further: though Fire Firmament Heaven Eye wasn't as strong as the Shooting Sun Divine Eye, Grandpa Blind's Divine Eye was the Ninefold Heaven Eye Art, with all nine layers' array patterns stacked together—making its power truly terrifying!
Quinn Shepherd couldn't help but long for it. Grandpa Blind was short and always muttering, strutting around with his bamboo cane, hard to imagine how terrifying his gaze was when he still had his eyes!
Quinn Shepherd was lost in thought for a moment, then shook his head and pushed the matter aside. 'Based on the principle of the True Essence Cannon, I could use the Ninefold Heaven Eye Art to create a pupil-art divine ability. Grandpa Blind only taught me the eye patterns, not the complete divine ability, but I can invent one myself! Once I forge my own Divine Eye, let's see who dares to gouge out my eyes!'
Quinn Shepherd's eyes blazed, the rays growing ever fiercer, focusing on the cannon mount before him—he sliced it neatly into three pieces!
The crew on the ship all looked over; Quinn Shepherd quickly withdrew his gaze and dispersed the runes in his eyes, laughing, "Don't worry, everyone! I figured this mount was ruined anyway—better to melt it down and recast it."
The surprise hadn't faded from their faces, while Quinn Shepherd's heart thudded wildly. He clenched his fists, thinking, 'The Divine Eye is incredible—whoever I glare at could die...'
Crippled Joe and Village Chief were sunning themselves outside the city lord's mansion. Seeing those two blazing rays, they shook their heads. "That Quinn, always messing around—he's not afraid of burning out his own eyes. Grandpa Blind really has too much faith in him, teaching him something so dangerous."
Village Chief squinted and said, "You can see how powerful Grandpa Blind's Divine Eye was just by looking at Quinn. Whoever gouged out his eyes is no ordinary foe. If someone could take his eyes, you should be careful too—maybe someone will take a liking to your legs."
Crippled Joe shrank his head. "I'm a coward—don't scare me! If I see one of those monsters, I'll just run, okay?"
Village Chief looked toward Quinn Shepherd on the ship and murmured, "I hope I can cut down a few obstacles for Quinn before I die, help him grow up... but I don't know if I'll live that long. Quinn is still too straightforward—if only he were a little more cunning..."