Although Quinn Shepherd was sprinting around the Academy mountain, his mind was racing—more active than ever. Meeting the Imperial Preceptor of Everpeace, even with few words exchanged, had sent his thoughts into a feverish whirl.
Facing a person of peerless talent pushes you, pressures you, and forces you to grow.
For the Imperial Preceptor, this meeting was nothing special, but for Quinn Shepherd, it meant everything. Just standing before such a legendary figure demanded immense courage—and to speak with him, Quinn had to summon every ounce of wisdom he possessed.
Talk with the wise, and you become wise; keep company with the mediocre, and you become mediocre yourself.
Quinn seized this rare chance to sharpen his mind to its peak, using the encounter to perfect his Grand Unification Art.
Suddenly, his pace slowed. He let his yuanqi circulate through the improved Overlord Three-Core Art. Now, this art was his Grand Unification Art—he had fused into it the strengths of many methods from the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra.
The original Overlord Three-Core Art had no attributes of its own; it was simply a driver for other techniques, and its power lagged behind arts paired with matching divine abilities.
For example: Thunder Chant Eight-Form needs the Grand Buddha Mahayana Scripture to reach full strength. The Rain-Calling Art requires Black Tortoise water control. Thunder-fire arts need Vermilion Bird fire methods to truly unleash their power.
But the Overlord Three-Core Art is just an art, with no paired spell or divine ability.
This time, Quinn’s Grand Unification Art took the Overlord Three-Core Art as its foundation, absorbed the Woodcutter Sage’s teachings from the ancient stone, and awakened all its hidden traits—allowing it to drive the power of countless arts.
The Overlord Three-Core Art had no attributes, couldn’t refine the body, had no paired divine ability, and couldn’t directly unleash powerful attacks.
But this time, by comprehending the Grand Unification Art, Quinn finally broke through that barrier.
Now, the Overlord Three-Core Art is all about versatility. With his improved version, Quinn can drive spells, sword arts, and Battle Skills just as powerfully as their original, paired techniques.
This is what the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra means by the Grand Unification Art.
Every Cult Master of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon has their own unique Grand Unification Art. The Young Patriarch’s plan was for Quinn to comprehend the Grand Unification Art and cultivate it alongside the Overlord Three-Core Art—slower, but able to draw on the strengths of both.
But he never expected Quinn would directly improve the Overlord Three-Core Art, instead of building a new method on the Sutra’s foundation.
Quinn himself isn’t sure if this was the right choice. He’d practiced the Overlord Three-Core Art since childhood and knew it best, so he instinctively transformed it into his Grand Unification Art.
Most importantly, he solved the Overlord Three-Core Art’s weaknesses in body refinement, spells, and Battle Skills.
He activated the improved Overlord Three-Core Art, now fused with the Nine-Turn Three-Proof Profound Art from the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra—a top-tier body refinement method.
Quinn had long envied the body refinement arts of the Battle Skill lineage, but Grandpa Mark, Butcher, and Crippled Joe never taught him those techniques; so he had to search for them in the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra.
"Crap!"
Quinn was startled and quickly raised his hands. He saw that his arms were as thin as sticks, and when he felt his face, he could only touch a thin layer of skin stretched tight over his cheekbones.
His once well-fitting clothes now hung loosely on his body.
Only then did he realize that in just two hours, he had become frighteningly thin, like a bundle of dry twigs. Not only that, but his body was utterly depleted!
Moreover, as he continued to activate the Overlord Three-Core Art, his physical depletion accelerated!
Once the energy hidden in his body was exhausted, that would be the end for him.
He had been so focused on perfecting the Overlord Three-Core Art and cultivating body and soul refinement methods that he neglected his own health. Only now did he realize he was on the verge of burning out.
The new Overlord Three-Core Art has a major flaw—its cultivation speed is too fast. I forgot that body refinement consumes one's own energy. Without replenishment, the burden on the body is severe!
Quinn was already at the Five Luminaries Realm, and his cultivation was robust, but with the new Overlord Three-Core Art, his energy could not even last two hours during body and soul refinement!
Quinn immediately stopped activating the Overlord Three-Core Art to clear his mind. His brain raced as he considered how to concoct a restorative medicine while sprinting to the Scholars' Quarters.
Quinn rushed into his room, grabbed some money, and dashed to the Academy's storehouse, leaving a puzzled Lina the Spirit Fox and Dragon-Qilin behind.
He bought the medicine from the storehouse and, unable to wait, began refining it right on the road. His dazzling techniques flashed as he processed the herbs and concocted the pills. Before he even returned to the Scholars' Quarters, he had already completed a batch of spirit pills.
As soon as the spirit pills were finished, they emitted faint Buddha sounds, as if each pill contained a Buddha chanting prayers.
As soon as the pills were ready, Quinn inhaled, and a string of pills flew into his mouth one after another.
He activated the medicine's power while running toward his courtyard. Just as he reached the gate, he suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed into the yard.
Lina the Spirit Fox cried out and rushed over. Just before losing consciousness, Quinn saw her come to his side and felt reassured, saying, "Help me catalyze the medicine..."
He didn't finish his sentence before passing out.
When Quinn groggily woke up, he felt the medicine's power spreading from his abdomen like a blazing furnace, sending warmth throughout his body. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, shaken by the close call.
The Grand Unification Overlord Three-Core Art is indeed powerful, but also extremely dangerous. If he hadn't managed to refine the restorative pills while still conscious, the consequences would have been dire—he would likely be dead!
The Overlord Three-Core Art overdraws the body during refinement. If you can't replenish it, you'll die.
Quinn opened his eyes and lay quietly, calculating: "Fixing this art is extremely difficult. Any change would affect everything, and it would take a very long time. In that case, maybe I shouldn't fix it at all..."
Lina the Spirit Fox stood nervously beside him, while Dragon-Qilin squatted outside the window, trying to poke his head in to check if his master was still alive. But he was too big—the window could only fit one giant eye, not his whole head.
Quinn got up and found himself lying on the bed, probably placed there by the little fox using demon wind. He smiled, "Don't worry, I'm fine now. Once I fully catalyze the medicine, my body will recover."
Lina the Spirit Fox breathed a sigh of relief. "You scared me, young master. You got so skinny in such a short time, and when you collapsed, I was afraid you wouldn't get up again..."
Quinn calmly catalyzed the medicine's power. As it spread and was absorbed by his body, he wouldn't die for now, but his body was still depleted.
This internal depletion was caused by body and soul refinement. His physique was strong, but without enough nutrients, it was like a flying ship powered by a tiny furnace—it would crash and shatter.
That was exactly what had just happened to him.
Soul refinement drained his spirit; body refinement consumed his energy. The spirit pills he refined replenished his spirit, preventing complete exhaustion, but his body was still desperately hungry.
His spirit had fully recovered, but his body was still emaciated—skin and bones, terrifyingly thin.
Quinn stood up and said, "Lina, is there anything to eat? I'm starving."
"Do you want to eat Jadehide Ox, young master?"
Dragon-Qilin's huge eyeball rolled in excitement outside the window. "There's a wild ox on the back mountain. How about we catch it and roast it for the young master?"
Ever since Dragon-Qilin stopped going hungry, he's been full of mischief and wants revenge on the Jadehide Ox.
Lina the Spirit Fox laughed, "Just wait, young master! Dragon, let's get something to eat for him!" With that, she dashed out of the room, with Dragon-Qilin racing after her out of the Scholars' Quarters.
"Lina, where are we going to find food?" Dragon-Qilin asked, puzzled.
"Can you swim?"
Lina the Spirit Fox asked, "There are several huge fish in Jade Dragon Lake—each several zhang long. I've had my eye on them for ages."
Dragon-Qilin was delighted. "I've been eyeing them too, but without the master's order, I couldn't act. Don't worry, I'm a great swimmer—I can stay underwater for days without coming up for air!"
Lina was overjoyed and led him to Jade Dragon Lake. Across the lake, a Daoist saw them and looked surprised, but before he could ask, Dragon-Qilin dove straight into the water.
The Daoist's face changed, and he shouted, "Hey, lion! No bathing in the lake! Fox, stop that lion!"
Lina the Spirit Fox quickly called out, "Dragon, hurry up! Hurry!"