The group finally finished their research and organized a framework. Afterward, each chose a specialized direction to pursue.
The Demon-Path Divine Treasuries form a vast system; even if one devoted their entire life to studying it, a single person might never fully master its depths.
Even focusing on just one aspect requires gathering large numbers of talented people—for example, those at Heavenly Saint Academy with Granny Sue and the Village Chief, Dao Gate under Dao Lord Lucas Lin, and Little Jade Capital under Warren Moran’s sect. These teams can help deduce and enrich the details of each Demon-Path Divine Treasury, while the leaders need only steer the overall direction.
They then spent dozens of days cataloging all the ancient-god blessing runes behind Heaven-Guide Venerable’s head. The Woodcutter Sage compiled the runes and handed them to Emperor Evan.
Emperor Evan burst into tears of joy, exclaiming, “From now on, Everpeace’s divine arts and Dao-methods will soar into the sky!”
The others couldn’t help but feel the same sense of emotion.
Heaven-Guide Venerable himself is a tremendous treasure trove; simply studying the halos behind his head is enough to make Everpeace’s divine arts leap forward!
“Emperor of Everpeace, that statement is not quite right.”
The Woodcutter Sage said, “Your Majesty, you see only the divine arts and Dao-methods of the gods, but not those of us postnatal beings. Do not forsake the root for the branches.”
Emperor Evan bowed deeply to the ground and said sincerely, “Please, Master, teach me.”
The Imperial Preceptor said, "Now that the Origin World is unsealed and all manner of factions are emerging, we must prepare early. The strong from the Kaihuang era are helping us, but in the end, we must rely on ourselves. If Your Majesty relies on the gods and men of Kaihuang for everything, what is the point of Everpeace's reform? You must make preparations now so that when you face ancient gods in the future, you will not be left powerless."
Emperor Evan straightened, looking at the mountain of newly compiled books. He let out a heavy breath and said in a low voice, "I will not disappoint the Imperial Preceptor's expectations, nor the hopes of all the sages before me! Even if I must give my life for the nation, I will make sure reform endures!"
The three Heavenly Kings and four Celestial Teachers gathered together. Aurora Yates’s eyes flickered as she said, "I’m fairly confident I can remove ancient god blessings, but Heaven‑Guide Venerable carries far too many, and the ties are extensive. There’s no guarantee the ancient gods won’t sense it. Therefore..."
The Scholar grinned, "So we need a test subject!"
The other Celestial Teachers and Heavenly Kings immediately turned in unison to look at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu remained oblivious, busily teaching the resurrected Human Emperors the secrets of cultivating the Celestial River Treasury, planning to use Ethan Graves and Connor Hayes as his own experimental subjects.
Although Ethan Graves and Connor Hayes were reluctant, the other Human Emperors were quite enthusiastic. Even the First Human Emperor nodded, so the two had no choice but to go along.
The Scholar withdrew her gaze, looked at Aurora Yates, and fanned herself with a feather fan as she smiled, "The First Heavenly King was praised by the Pioneer Emperor as the most gifted of all. You can remove Earth Mother’s blessing, but can you handle Heaven Duke’s blessing?"
Aurora Yates glanced at her and said coolly, "You’re the only one of the Four Celestial Teachers the Pioneer Emperor brought to Carefree Haven. He valued you even above me. So, Scholar, how many ancient god blessings can you remove?"
The Scholar smiled, "It’s true I was the only one taken to Carefree Haven, and I know some of you resented that, but I never betrayed the Pioneer Emperor. None of the Four Celestial Teachers ever did. In contrast, two of the Four Heavenly Kings fell almost immediately."
Aurora Yates's expression darkened immediately.
King Buddha’s face also turned grim.
Tanner Shue hefted the Imperial Gate Divine Saber and sneered, "So the Four Celestial Teachers think they’re so great? Don’t forget, it was I who chopped off Tu Bo’s horn, creating Nether City and giving Kaihuang’s remnants a place to live, protecting Everpeace. You Celestial Teachers ran or hid, some wallowed in self-pity and turned to stone for twenty thousand years—how dare you mock us Heavenly Kings?"
Woodcutter Sage and the Fisherman Celestial Teacher fell silent. After their defeat, both had turned into stone statues—indeed, they had little face left.
Old Farmer said nothing either; after the defeat, he simply guarded the War-Ox Realm and accomplished little.
When it came to merit, it was actually Tanner Shue, the Netherworld Heavenly King, who had contributed the most.
The Scholar sneered, "The Netherworld Heavenly King is impressive, but among the Four Heavenly Kings you rank last. The First Heavenly King married Prince Umbral before the war, only to be murdered on her wedding night—dead for twenty thousand years! The Pioneer Emperor’s strongest fighter fell instantly, leaving us Celestial Teachers to fight. We’re teachers, not warriors!"
She turned to King Buddha, her voice cold. "Leo Yoran, you were impressive too. As the Third Heavenly King, you fell for the Red Empress of the false dynasty! The Pioneer Emperor tasked you with building Carefree Haven, but you let love distract you and ran off to become a monk! You were supposed to be our war king, but you left, forcing us teachers to take the lead. No wonder we lost!"
"I won’t mention the Green Emperor—he’s older, our elder. But what about you, Tanner Shue? In the final stages of the war, you were lured by Yan Shaoqing from the false dynasty, tricked into the Imperial Gate Divine Saber. Without you, how were us teachers supposed to fight? I teach formations, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but I’ve never led troops! Who among us—farmers, woodcutters, fishermen—has ever commanded an army?"
She sneered, "The Pioneer Emperor entrusted the army to you Four Heavenly Kings, but you all collapsed, leaving us four teachers to lead troops against the Outer Heaven Court in a life-or-death struggle. If we didn’t lose, who would?"
Aurora Yates, King Buddha, and Tanner Shue fell silent.
After a moment, Aurora Yates sighed and bowed deeply to the ground. "I’m sorry, friends. I failed the Pioneer Emperor’s trust."
King Buddha and Tanner Shue also bowed deeply, remaining on the ground for a long time.
"Apologizing to me is useless."
The Scholar did not help them up, her tone icy. "You haven’t wronged us Celestial Teachers—you’ve wronged the Pioneer Emperor, the fallen soldiers, and the people of that era. Heh, a twenty-thousand-year-old god-dynasty wiped out in an instant, countless lives lost, only a handful of survivors led away by Prince Qin Wu. I share the guilt. All four Celestial Teachers do. In truth, the greatest contributor in that disaster wasn’t the Heavenly Kings or the Celestial Teachers, but the ‘deserter’ Prince Qin Wu. We’re all sinners..."
Everyone fell silent.
If the First Human Emperor, Qin Wu, hadn’t protected the last of Kaihuang’s people and led their migration, even Everpeace might never have existed.
Woodcutter Sage was silent, then suddenly asked, "Enough of that. How is the Pioneer Emperor?"
The Scholar did not answer, turning to look away.
In the distance, Qin Mu’s ears suddenly grew larger. Originally facing forward, they now twisted backward at a right angle, tuning in on the secret conversation.
The Scholar withdrew her gaze, remaining silent as she switched to sign language.
At that moment, the hair on the back of Qin Mu’s head shed away, revealing a new face with eyes wide open, staring at her hands.
The Scholar frowned deeply and whispered, "Let’s switch to divine sense communication."
The seven powerhouses linked their divine senses. Just as the Scholar was about to speak, she counted and realized there were eight strands—one more than expected!
The Scholar’s head throbbed. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Let’s discuss this later."
Woodcutter Sage called Qin Mu over with a smile. "Qin, we’re now confident we can remove the divine blessings from Heaven‑Guide Venerable’s halo, but we need a test subject. Celestial Teachers and Heavenly Kings, are you willing to use Qin as our test case?"
The other six fixed Qin Mu with vicious looks and responded in unison, "What’s there to be reluctant about?"
Cold sweat broke out on Qin Mu’s forehead as he tried to edge away, forcing a simple smile. "Teacher, uncles, I didn’t hear a thing just now..."
King Buddha pointed, and a golden rope appeared, binding Qin Mu tightly and hauling him before the group.
Qin Mu opened his mouth to shout, but Woodcutter Sage instantly sealed it with a divine art.
"Let’s begin."
The seven exchanged glances. Suddenly, the Scholar and Aurora Yates stepped forward, circling Qin Mu and striking at the halo behind his head!
Boom! Boom!
Shockwaves rang out. Aurora Yates was an Emperor’s Throne powerhouse, and though the Scholar hadn’t reached that realm, her overall strength was terrifying. The two unleashed all their arts to unravel Earth Mother’s runes behind Qin Mu’s head. Soon, his halo was ragged and dimmed.
Suddenly the Scholar shouted, "Careful, everyone—Earth Mother has sensed us! Old Third! Netherworld Heavenly King!"
Old Farmer crouched, then leapt into the air. Looking down, he saw the land west of the capital churning, mountains shaking violently, as something massive sped underground toward the city!
Old Farmer roared and took a single step, instantly appearing a thousand li away. He smashed his fist into the earth, and the entire capital shook as if in an earthquake. To the people of the city, the western sky lit up as bright as day.
At the same time, a saber-light fell from the heavens—Tanner Shue brought the Imperial Gate Divine Saber down into the earth. Divine blood erupted, surging into the Tu River and staining its waters red.