Victor Bloom frowned in puzzlement and said, "Aside from being the Human Emperor, Quinn, you're also the Cult Master of the Cult of the Heavenly Saint—I've certainly heard of that. Why do you ask?"
Quinn grinned and said, "If you joined my Cult of the Heavenly Saint, you wouldn't have to pay me back. I'm not just the Human Emperor, but the Cult Master too. The Human Emperor Hall and High Heaven are mortal enemies, but the Cult of the Heavenly Saint doesn't have much of a grudge against High Heaven, right? If you joined the Cult, it'd be a win-win for both of us."
Jade and Selena exchanged strange looks. This Human Emperor really was absurd and unpredictable—everyone knew High Heaven and the Human Emperor Hall were sworn enemies, yet here he was inviting his nemesis to join the Cult of the Heavenly Saint!
"Does this Human Emperor really think that nine bowls of noodles and a single house call are enough to make Lord Bloom join his Cult of the Heavenly Saint? I can't tell if he's just naive or deeply cunning," Selena thought to herself.
Victor Bloom fell silent for a moment before replying, "Quinn, don't joke around. Don't worry, I'll pay you back as soon as I can."
Quinn hadn't expected him to actually agree to join the Cult. While the Cult of the Heavenly Saint and High Heaven weren't mortal enemies, both the Woodcutter Sage of the Cult and the first Human Emperor of the Human Emperor Hall came from the Pioneer Era. They shared the same goal, but their methods differed.
The Human Emperor Hall pursued its goal through battle, while the Cult of the Heavenly Saint advanced society by improving the daily lives of common people.
Both holy lands ultimately sought to overthrow the gods' rule and build the world they envisioned.
And in this, they were natural enemies of High Heaven's ideals.
Inside the Supervising Foundry, dozens of cultivators surged forth, channeling vital qi to lift massive parts and components into the air. Quinn strode overhead, directing the placement of every piece.
Although this is only the base of the Solar-Shooting God Cannon, its array patterns are incredibly complex—especially the fifty-six pill furnaces personally designed by Quinn Shepherd. Each furnace is massive and can't be forged in a single piece; more than a hundred components must be assembled together, and the formation lines must align with hair-fine precision.
Quinn uses a mortise-and-tenon structure for assembly, requiring no rivets—just interlocking the parts makes the whole thing solid enough to withstand immense impact.
Moreover, even if the Solar-Shooting God Cannon is struck by enemies and part of it is destroyed, the damaged section can be quickly removed and replaced with intact components. Once swapped, the cannon can be activated as usual, with no loss of power.
This time, as the cannon base is assembled, a crowd of officials gathers outside the Supervising Foundry. Emperor Evan himself arrives, clearly placing great importance on the Solar-Shooting God Cannon.
“Quinn’s mortise-and-tenon structure seems like it could be used for spirit weapons and warships on the battlefield,” someone remarks.
Emperor Evan praises it repeatedly, turning to the Minister of Works: “I believe this should be promoted throughout the entire army. If flying swords and warships all use mortise-and-tenon structures, losses in wartime would be greatly reduced.”
The Minister of Works nods. “But forging them will be very difficult.”
“With the new Supervising Foundry designed by Quinn, manufacturing each flying sword’s components won’t be difficult,” Emperor Evan replies.
Emperor Evan muses, “Let each Supervising Foundry produce large batches of parts, so that in wartime, damaged spirit weapons, warships, and Cloud-Car Siege Wagons can be replaced at any time. Even in large-scale campaigns, battlefield losses will be minimized! Your Ministry of Works should learn from this and promote these foundries as soon as possible.”
As he speaks, Quinn has already ordered the assembly to begin. Hundreds of cultivators slot the central components together, forming a circular disk about an acre across.
Next, Barrett the Libationer, newly returned from the northern snowfield front, steps forward beneath the disk and lifts it with both hands, supporting the massive, heavy platform with his formidable cultivation.
Hundreds more cultivators file out of the Supervising Foundry, as officials nearby call out serial numbers. With each number, a cultivator steps up and adds another part to the disk.
As more and more components are assembled, the disk base grows larger and thicker. When nearly ten thousand pieces have been fitted, even Barrett—brawny as he is—finds his legs shaking, his back nearly bent under the weight.
Leonard Goodwin steps up, and together the two men use their vast cultivation to support the disk, which now spans four hundred acres.
When the serial numbers reach twenty-seven thousand, the circular disk base finally takes shape, covering a thousand acres. Beneath it, four Cult Master-level powerhouses use their cultivation to hold the enormous cannon base aloft.
On the disk, Quinn and numerous Ministry of Works officials race across the surface, inspecting every seam and formation line. Once satisfied, Quinn gives the order, and giant beasts haul wagon after wagon onto the disk. Apothecaries leap down and begin unloading medicines.
“Light the furnaces,” Quinn commands.
“Light the furnaces—!”
All fifty-six pill furnaces are opened. Medicines are loaded in, and each apothecary channels their vital energy, igniting the furnaces. Instantly, flames blaze—red turning to white, white to green, green to blue.
Terrifying energy surges through the array patterns and formation lines on the thousand-acre disk, fully activating the disk’s formation arrays!
The four Cult Master-level powerhouses beneath the disk suddenly feel the pressure lighten—the massive platform now floats in the air on its own, needing no support!
Officials burst into praise: “Work of the gods! Truly, work of the gods!”
Emperor Evan’s face turns sour. Quinn’s main goal this time was to assemble the cannon’s base and test the pill furnaces and array operations, but even just test-firing the furnaces has burned through enough medicine to supply a medium-sized campaign!
“It’s not his money anyway…”
Emperor Evan aches over the expense.
Quinn finishes his inspection, leaps down from the base, and shouts, “Extinguish the pill furnaces! Lower the base!”
The pill furnaces gradually die down, and the massive base floating in the air slowly descends. Even so, it stirs up a huge airflow—howling winds whip everyone’s clothes and leave faces creased and wrinkled.
The air finally settles.
Quinn calls out, “Apothecaries, prepare more medicine! When the cannon frame and light-gathering forks are ready, we’ll fire up the furnaces again!”
The apothecaries acknowledge the order.
Emperor Evan, pale-faced, has Quinn summoned and gently asks, “Quinn, why do we need to fire up the pill furnaces again?”
Quinn replies, “Your Majesty, there are so many components to the Solar-Shooting God Cannon that mistakes are bound to happen. Once the cannon frame and light-gathering forks are finished, we must test again to check for any errors.”
Emperor Evan smiles, “How many more times will it need to be fired?”
“If there are no mistakes, two or three times will be enough.”
Quinn calculates, “If mistakes do occur, we’ll need to check where they are, and then I can’t say how many more times it’ll take. Especially for the divine eye assembly—it uses mortise-and-tenon structure and three-dimensional gear suspension, which is so complex that errors are likely. But with so many numerology experts present, we’ll find any faults quickly. I promise to keep it under ten firings, so it won’t cost too much. Your Majesty, the next test will be in half a month—please…”
“That’s fine, that’s fine. I won’t come again, you handle it… Minister, take me back to the palace.”
Quinn watches as the emperor is shakily escorted away by several officials, puzzled: “Could the emperor’s injuries still not be healed? That can’t be—I clearly cured him with the Poison Prince…”
Victor Bloom’s face is grave as he stares at the enormous disk.
Quinn walks over, smiling, “Victor, what do you think of this platform?”
“Heaven’s craftsmanship. Work of the gods,” Victor says.
Victor glances at him, saying, “If you keep dividing your energy between medicine and engineering, Quinn, I think you’ll soon be defeated by me. You’re both a divine physician and an engineer—there’s no way you can devote all your energy to cultivation. Given time, I’ll surpass you and defeat you utterly!”
“Victor, you’ve learned to use psychological tactics,” Quinn laughs.
Quinn smiles faintly, “You don’t want me to finish building this cannon, and you’re trying to shake my confidence. But for me, whether it’s medicine or engineering, it’s all cultivation—I can turn it into my own power. In fact, if I wanted to defeat you, I could poison you, crush you with crafted weapons, or kill you with my bare hands. All of that is my strength.”
Victor’s heart sinks. “But those aren’t true methods.”
Quinn laughs, clapping him on the shoulder. “We Overlord Bodies—whatever we learn, we master. Don’t just focus on cultivation. Next time you challenge me, will I kill you bare-handed, with poison, or with a weapon? My consultation fee is one thousand Everpeace Coins—pay me early so you don’t owe me any favors, then we can duel again. I’ll be waiting.”
Victor is startled. Suddenly, Lina the three-tailed fox bounces over, her tails swaying, and quickly writes out a promissory note. She chirps, “Victor, please sign!”
Victor, still dazed, signs the note. Lina solemnly tucks it away and follows Quinn off.
“I came down from High Heaven, failed to kill the Human Emperor, and now I owe him a thousand Everpeace Coins…”
Victor shakes his head, overwhelmed. “How can I ever go back? Jade, Selena, how can we earn money?”
Jade and Selena are equally at a loss. The fastest way would be to sell treasures, and they brought quite a few down from High Heaven. Selling a few could raise some money.
But during Victor’s illness, everything they could sell had already been sold, leaving only a jade bottle and a pipa.
However, the jade bottle and pipa belong to Star Lord Jonas—they absolutely cannot be sold.
“I’m skilled in music—can I earn money that way?” Victor asks.
“Young lord, you want to go out and sing for money?” Selena blurts.
Jade exclaims, “How could you possibly do that? Besides, street singing doesn’t make much money!”
Victor falls silent, then says, “I do know a thing or two about forging spirit weapons. Maybe I could make a few to sell…”
“Young lord, you want to become a blacksmith?” Selena cries.
Victor smiles. “I’m an Overlord Body. If I choose to learn, I’ll master it. Don’t worry—I’ll be the best blacksmith I can be, and I won’t lose to Quinn Shepherd, the other Overlord Body!”
Jade and Selena exchange worried glances. In their hearts, they realize Victor may never truly return to High Heaven—his heart has already changed and is no longer the same as when he lived there.
He truly belongs to this world now.