Young Master Cyrus Qi's eyebrows rose slightly, but he did not repeat his earlier words as Quinn Shepherd had intended. His mind was exceptionally sharp, and he saw through the subtle mental tactics hidden in Quinn's words.
Quinn Shepherd is a master of psychological combat, adept at suppressing opponents mentally. When facing stronger foes, he knows when to yield and when to run. But when matched against a true rival, from the very first glance, he launches a mental assault!
He always begins by attacking the opponent's mind and heart, suppressing them. Every seemingly casual gesture or word is carefully chosen to exert psychological pressure, making the opponent unconsciously see themselves as the weaker side. This invisible pressure causes their momentum to falter.
Once their momentum slips, they fall into his rhythm, and when the fight begins, the dynamics of attack and defense subtly shift.
That slight advantage gradually grows, eventually becoming the key that determines victory or defeat.
Both Ben Coates and Victor Bloom have experienced Quinn's methods firsthand.
Those who have faced him often develop psychological barriers; Quinn becomes a shadow over their dao-heart. Others treat this shadow as motivation to push themselves forward, climbing peak after peak.
Ben Coates is the former, while Victor Bloom and Zechariah Lee are the latter.
After being defeated by Quinn, Ben Coates essentially lost the courage to face him in a direct fight. Whenever he encounters Quinn, he instinctively places himself in the position of the loser and retreats before battle even begins.
Victor Bloom, on the other hand, grew braver with each defeat, even creating the Seven-Stars–Six-Directions Primordial Spirit Art to unify the two realms. Quinn humbly sought his guidance and thus Victor gained the upper hand.
After Victor Bloom was defeated by Quinn Shepherd, he advanced further and further along his own path of saber dao, even risking himself to rescue Quinn in times of crisis. His progress in dao-heart was obvious, and the pressure he felt from Quinn drove him to pursue the path of cultivation through heart and technique.
The battle of hearts and spirits, though not dazzling, was a true test of their dao-hearts.
"This kind of psychological offensive—he learned it from that saber master over there."
Qi Jiuyi glanced at Butcher, thinking: "This Saber God is about to duel Lord Sunstar, yet he calmly returns Sunstar’s severed hand bones to him. That’s a masterstroke—striking at the opponent’s dao-heart with saber dao. It looks like kindness, but it’s actually an attack. Sunstar’s question about his missing flesh is itself a counter to the saber dao. As for Quinn Shepherd, he learned this art from Butcher."
The next stage of learning is to unite knowing and doing. Clearly, Quinn Shepherd has already achieved this.
Qi Jiuyi smiled faintly. "This is not a suitable place for your battle. Ahead lies the demon army. If they break the city, it will only take a snap of their fingers to destroy this seemingly magnificent god-city. The demon army would surge in, wiping you all out with ease. Meanwhile, Lord Sunstar worries you’ll gang up to kill him, and then me; you all fear for your own lives, and he fears for mine. It’s better to choose a neutral ground for the fight."
As soon as he spoke, Grandpa Blind, Bashan, and the others turned to look at him. Quinn also reevaluated him, his gaze showing both gravity and admiration. He’d thought this youth was merely Sunstar’s subordinate, but from his words, it was clear Qi Jiuyi had a far more extraordinary background.
Moreover, his words deftly defused Quinn’s earlier probe, revealing a dao-heart of remarkable refinement!
Such a brilliant dao-heart might even surpass Victor Bloom’s when he first crossed swords with Quinn.
Back then, Victor Bloom’s confidence was shattered by Quinn, nearly breaking his dao-heart!
"Quinn, this person will be your true rival."
Grandpa Blind whispered, "He can see through the true nature of Deaf's painted god-city! Even Furylo and the other demon gods couldn't tell; clearly, this person has amazing attainment in the path of the Divine Eye!"
Quinn nodded. This youth could see through Deaf's painting—remarkable indeed. He immediately asked, "Brother, how should I address you?"
Qi Jiuyi smiled slightly. Lord Sunstar said, "This is Young Master Cyrus Qi Jiuyi."
Quinn was surprised and said slowly, "Jiuyi means precocious and lofty brilliance. Nine Jiuyi—so clever that one head cannot contain it, needing nine. I've heard Jiuyi often refers to Cangwu, the phoenix's haunt, so it's often used to mean the phoenix. Young Master Qi, are you not human?"
Qi Jiuyi looked at him, surprised. "Brother Quinn, you are truly learned. May I ask who taught you?"
Quinn raised his hand to present Deaf, solemnly saying, "My teacher, the Painting Sage Deaf!"
Qi Jiuyi saluted Deaf, praising, "Since he is the Painting Sage, this city must be his masterpiece—magnificent indeed, worthy of my respect."
Deaf accepted the salute with dignified pride.
Quinn smiled, "Young Master Qi, you say this place is unsuitable for battle. Where do you think we should duel?"
Qi Jiuyi replied leisurely, "I've heard Brother Quinn is the Cult Master of Everpeace. This isn't the right place to spar—why not go to Everpeace? On your home turf, you'll feel at ease."
Quinn's eyes flickered. "Brother Qi, Everpeace is quite far away—it'll take days to reach it. With the demon race attacking High-Emperor Heaven, we can't leave. Let me choose a battlefield."
Qi Jiuyi frowned slightly. "Then where does Brother Quinn propose we duel?"
Quinn pointed behind him.
Qi Jiuyi smiled. "In this city? This city was painted by the Painting Sage—aren't you afraid it'll be shattered and expose the truth?"
Quinn shook his head. "Not inside the city, but between the two armies. You came for me, so I'll choose the battlefield—between the demon army and this god-city. Do you dare, Brother Qi?"
Qi Jiuyi's eyebrows rose.
The Mute Smith, Grandpa Blind, and others exchanged uneasy glances.
Quinn said "between the two armies," but really it's only in front of the demon army. After all, the city is just a painting—the million gods and demons inside, and all the cannons, are fake. The True Essence Cannons on the walls and the Solar-Shooting God Cannons in the city are just for show, not much power.
In other words, if the demon race attacks, they'll be overwhelmed by the demon army—there's no way to survive!