Quinn Shepherd arrived at the blacksmith shop. Victor Bloom wore an apron to shield his clothes from flying sparks—his once-fine garments now looked no better than a rag used to wipe tables.
He was forging a hairpin, hammering the mystic gold hundreds of times, each time flattening it into the thinnest gold leaf, then folding, and finally shaping it into form. Hairpins made this way had the finest grain—favored by noble ladies.
In fact, over the past month, Victor Bloom had made quite a name for himself among the blacksmiths of the Imperial Capital. Many Six Directions cultivators sought him out to forge spirit weapons, and the nobility came for custom pieces like hairpins and bracelets.
Six Directions cultivators need to nurture their spirit weapons in their divine treasuries, so finding a skilled smith is crucial. Victor was clever and versatile, able to forge all kinds of spirit weapons—his techniques and arts ever-changing, always producing pieces that delighted the Six Directions experts.
"Human Emperor Quinn, go sit in the back room for a bit. I'll join you after I finish this hairpin."
Seeing Quinn arrive, Victor called into the shop, "Selena, the Human Emperor is here—come greet him for me!"
Quinn stepped into the back room, smiling, "Just call me Cult Master. If you keep calling me Human Emperor, it only reminds me we're supposed to be enemies."
Selena, dressed now as a village girl, had shed her former celestial finery. She came out carrying a teapot, inviting Quinn to sit.
The tea was rough and ordinary. When Victor and Quinn first met, he had served Quinn High Heaven’s finest Azure Clarity Tea—the best Quinn had ever tasted. Now, though, only common leaves remained.
"No good tea left, Cult Master Quinn—please forgive us."
Selena blushed as she poured tea, whispering, "We finished the Azure Clarity Tea last month."
Quinn took a sip and said, "I'm used to rough tea. How did you two end up with this shop?"
"Young Lord bought a house in the capital, sold it, and used the money to buy this shop."
Selena added, "Jade-liu couldn’t stand the hardship and found an excuse to leave—she’s gone back to High Heaven. Now it’s just me here with Young Lord."
Quinn invited her to sit as well, smiling, "You’re a good girl."
Victor pulled back the curtain and came in, towel in hand—he’d just washed up. Hanging the towel behind the curtain, he sat at the table, poured himself a cup of tea and gulped it down, then poured another.
Selena was about to get up, but Victor waved her down. "No need for all those formalities. You're the lady of our smithy now—just sit."
Selena had no choice but to sit.
Quinn’s eyes gleamed as he smiled, "So, Victor, how have you been lately?"
Victor sighed and shook his head, "Not great, but fulfilling. I never realized how hard it is to earn money—I never thought about it in High Heaven. Now I know how valuable a single Everpeace Coin is! Quinn, you paid for ten bowls of noodles with one coin—such a waste! It could buy a hundred bowls!"
A vast fissure tore open the sky—empty and silent within, its edges slowly mending as the world watched in awe.
Victor's heart sank. In High Heaven, not a single god could withstand such a blast—not Lord Yu, not the Four Lords. This weapon was no longer of the mortal world.
Victor took a few more gulps of tea, exhaled a heavy breath, and muttered, "This thing... it's a god-slaying weapon."
Quinn laughed. "It's just a bit of money, I'm not in a rush. Lina keeps better track of these things than me. This time, I came to invite you to witness the Solar-Shooting God Cannon—it's finished."
Victor was stunned, then sighed. "You designed and forged a colossal cannon in just over two months, while I've been stuck here hammering out spirit weapons for Six Directions cultivators. About fifteen days ago, I sensed you fired up the furnaces twice—was that for testing the cannon's base?"
"That's right," Quinn replied.
At that moment, Emperor Evan gazed up at the slowly healing sky, murmuring, "My money was not wasted... If only the Imperial Preceptor could see this."
Far away on the steppe, the Imperial Preceptor looked up at the scarred sky and realized: Quinn Shepherd had truly forged a weapon to slay gods for the Everpeace Empire.
Quinn withdrew his vital qi; the projected light curtain faded, pill-furnaces extinguished one by one, arrays wound down, and the enormous Solar-Shooting God Cannon slowly descended.
Quinn looked up at the sky and, half-seriously, half-jokingly, wondered aloud, "Since it's called the Solar-Shooting God Cannon, should we try firing it at the sun?"