Dao Heir Lin Xuan and the others were overjoyed. Daoist Chaz removed the Dao-crown from his head, gently rotated the yin-yang Taiji diagram atop it, and took out several ancient texts, a trident-like fork, and a few stone slabs etched with sword scars. The fork was clearly his divine weapon. He said, "These books have been kept with me all this time. They're full of strange symbols—I can't make sense of them at all."
Daoist Chaz had stiff white hair growing from the top of his head, running from his forehead to the back, while his sideburns were black—a stark contrast to other Daoists, who wore their hair in buns. Instead, he sported a flat-top haircut, his white hair trimmed neatly, giving him a spirited and energetic look.
The flat-topped Daoist slid the trident back into his Dao-crown, sealed it with a Taiji imprint, and placed the crown back on his head.
Dao Heir Lin Xuan leafed through the texts and examined the sword scars on the stone slabs. His heart pounded wildly, and tears welled up in his eyes as he said, "My master and generations of Dao Lords spent their lives painstakingly studying the Fourteenth Sword, never truly grasping its mystery. It turns out the secret isn’t in the sword itself, but in the celestial phenomena. If my master were still alive, he’d be so gratified…"
Many Daoists, thinking of the late Dao Lord, broke down in tears.
Dao Heir Lin Xuan circulated the texts among the group. There were follow-up mental methods for the Innate Arcane Canon, as well as detailed notes from Azure Sky Daoist on the later forms of the Dao Sword.
Azure Sky Daoist’s records were exceptionally thorough, and his calculations meticulous—no wonder Daoist Chaz couldn’t make heads or tails of them.
Warren Moran whispered, "Sage Nicholas Tranquil, does Little Jade Capital Sect have any profound inheritances like this?"
Sage Nicholas Tranquil shook his head. "No, we do not."
Warren Moran protested, "Isn’t Little Jade Capital supposed to be Everpeace’s foremost holy land? Dao Gate and Great Thunderclap Temple both have even higher inheritances, yet we have none. How can we compete with them? Even the Cult of the Heavenly Saint has a Celestial Master. Why is it that Little Jade Capital Sect doesn’t have a Jade Emperor or some other deity to pass down a god-level scripture?"
"Little Jade Capital Sect has never vied for the title of ‘first holy land.’"
Sage Nicholas Tranquil explained patiently, "That’s just an empty title outsiders gave us—it’s not worth having at all."
Warren Moran, at a loss, turned to Daoist Chaz and asked, "Daoist, may I ask where Cult Master Quinn is now?"
Daoist Chaz replied, "Cult Master Quinn? Many people have been looking for him today—some quite peculiar, even one riding a cow. But he’s not in the City of Departure right now. He went out, saying he wanted to let his mount train a bit near demon territory."
Warren Moran exclaimed, "He went alone into demon territory?"
"Not exactly. High-Emperor Heaven has already carved out a foothold in demon lands. There’s a watch-post set up at the ruins of the City of No-Regrets, guarded by God Sang Ye. Many divine-ability experts from High-Emperor Heaven and Everpeace are out searching for demon raiders all over the area."
Daoist Chaz continued, "There hasn’t been any major fighting lately—it’s been relatively calm. Neither side has mobilized their armies; only demon and human divine-ability experts are dueling around the battlefield’s edge. Cult Master Quinn will be fine."
He was referring to an unwritten rule of High-Emperor Heaven: here, martial prowess is revered above all, whether demon or human. In the absence of large-scale battles, divine-ability experts from both sides roam and skirmish, giving their young cultivators a chance to sharpen themselves. Newcomers like Warren Moran and his peers are still unfamiliar with these customs.
Gods and demons rarely intervene, leaving divine-ability experts from both sides to clash freely—an extreme method of tempering the next generation. Warren Moran and the others, new to High-Emperor Heaven, didn’t know about this rule.
Warren Moran then asked, "Has Cult Master Quinn passed the trial of the God-Binding Tower?"
"Why would he need it?"
Daoist Chaz looked genuinely impressed. "When Cult Master Quinn first arrived in High-Emperor Heaven, he killed the four strongest demon experts in the Departure City bet-fight, forcing True Demon Furylo to make his prized disciple surrender. What happened next was legendary: Cult Master Quinn was captured by Furylo, but escaped and fled for ten thousand li, almost wiping out all Furylo’s disciples at the Seven Stars and Six Harmonies realms! Even several Heaven-Man realm demon disciples fell to him. With his strength now, he doesn’t need to take the God-Binding Tower trial at all."
Warren Moran was shaken, disbelief written all over his face. He suddenly turned and asked, "Sage Nicholas Tranquil, do we truly have no profound inheritance?"
Sage Nicholas Tranquil smiled. "Isn’t Little Jade Capital’s inheritance good enough? It may have its flaws, but it’s still top-tier. Once those flaws are patched, you’ll be every bit the equal of a Dao Lord. And High-Emperor Heaven is the best place to do that—you can learn from others and integrate their strengths into our Little Jade Capital methods."
Warren Moran drooped, muttering, "Little Jade Capital has so many techniques—how am I supposed to integrate them all?"
Sage Nicholas Tranquil encouraged him, "Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I believe in you! Once you’ve figured it out, teach me first—I’m getting old and my mind isn’t as sharp as you youngsters anymore."
"Young master, why hasn’t Bruno transformed like Myles Jiang?"
Between the City of No-Regrets and Departure City lay more than two thousand li. Lina the Spirit Fox walked beside Quinn, watching as Bruno the Dragon-Qilin battled a demon Heaven-Man expert. Curious, she asked, "Myles Jiang can transform—surely Bruno can too!"
Quinn took a slow, deep breath, circulating the Overlord Three-Core Art within his body, his yuanqi roaring like dragons. "I’m not sure. Maybe he’s just too fat to transform? Though… that doesn’t seem quite right either."
Lina the Spirit Fox muttered, "I think he’s just too lazy."
Bruno’s Kirin Pearl was incredibly powerful; in terms of cultivation, he was no less than a master of the life-and-death realm. But his overall combat ability was poor, and he was being battered bloody by the demon expert.
Quinn didn’t intervene, simply watching from the sidelines. On the other side, several demon experts stood by, also observing the fight without interfering.
High-Emperor Heaven’s rules were peculiar: when divine-ability experts met, it was usually a one-on-one duel, with almost no group attacks. During Quinn’s ten-thousand-li escape, hundreds of demon experts hunted him, and only attacked in groups because a demon god had issued a kill order.
Bruno fought desperately, and suddenly grasped a subtlety of the Ancestral Dragon Supreme-Mystic Art. He immediately activated his Kirin Pearl, unleashing countless dragon-shaped flames that surged toward his opponent.
He shook his body, sending his dragon scales flying—they turned into bright mirrors, reflecting the demon’s divine arts right back at him.
The demon expert was driven into confusion by his own rebounding attacks and the fiery dragons. Suddenly, Bruno’s scales spun wildly around him.
No matter what the demon expert tried, every attack was bounced back by the dragon scales. The ring of scales shrank tighter and tighter; the Kirin Pearl darted inside, erupting in a blaze. A scream echoed out—the demon expert was burned to ash.
Bruno shook himself, reabsorbed his scales, and swallowed his Kirin Pearl. Both shocked and delighted, he called out, "Master, I won! I finally won a fight!"
Quinn asked suspiciously, "Lina, has Bruno really never won a fight during all his training with Tiger Senior?"
Lina the Spirit Fox nodded. "Not once. Black Tiger God used to say it was shameful, made him bow and apologize to every demon who beat him. Eventually, Black Tiger God got used to it, and so did Bruno."
Quinn was speechless.
Bruno strutted over, tail raised and prancing on tiptoe, circling around Quinn and Lina the Spirit Fox several times, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
A demon expert stepped out from the other side and called, "Is that Cult Master Quinn over there?"
Quinn replied, "I am indeed Quinn. And you are?"
"Just a nobody. Farewell!"
The demon experts hurried off in different directions. Quinn frowned slightly—these were all Heaven-Man realm powerhouses, and he’d have trouble defeating them one-on-one. Splitting up seemed foolish; weren’t they just giving him a chance to pick one off?
"Young master, it looks like those demons are running for their lives."
Lina the Spirit Fox pulled out a large basin and had Bruno drip some dragon saliva into it to treat his wounds. She wondered aloud, "If they teamed up, they’d probably be stronger than us, but instead they’re fleeing. Maybe they’re trying to deliver a message? Just to be safe, we should head straight back to Departure City!"
Quinn arched an eyebrow. "The watch-post at the ruins of the City of No-Regrets, guarded by God Sang Ye, is just ahead. Departure City is too far; the watch-post is closer. With God Sang Ye there, ordinary demon experts won’t dare come near."
He leapt onto Bruno’s back, and Lina the Spirit Fox, having put away the basin, hopped up as well. Bruno immediately charged toward the watch-post at the City of No-Regrets.
There were still over two hundred li to go, but Quinn could already sense God Sang Ye’s presence from afar—a pillar of divine light piercing the clouds, radiating from the watch-post.
That was the purpose of the watch-post: to guide High-Emperor Heaven’s divine-ability experts through the wilderness. If danger struck, they could take refuge there.
Suddenly, a voice called out in delight, "Is that Cult Master Quinn?"
Quinn looked over and saw, in the wilderness, a small mountain village where several High-Emperor Heaven divine-ability practitioners were resting. The village itself was deserted.
Many of them were familiar faces. One woman, Gwen He, had been introduced to Quinn by Yuhe. She was a top Heaven-Man expert in High-Emperor Heaven, ranked ninth, and incredibly powerful.
She was a disciple of a goddess and specialized in swordsmanship.
Because the Cult of the Heavenly Saint was about to expand in High-Emperor Heaven, Quinn had appointed Gwen He as Sword Hall Master for the Cult’s High-Emperor Heaven branch.
"Gwen, what are you all doing here?" Quinn jumped off Bruno’s back and glanced at the other practitioners—they were all Hall Masters and incense-masters from the Cult’s High-Emperor Heaven branch.
"It really is the Cult Master."
Gwen He smiled. "We were training nearby and ran into some demon experts. We just killed one—over there. He was incredibly strong, and it took me a long, hard fight to bring him down."