"Yue Tingge of the Heavenly Court Dao Gate, pays respects to Shepherd Heavenly Venerable!"
The black-robed Daoist had a terrible temper. After kneeling and banging his head in a few perfunctory bows, he stormed back to the campfire, gnawing meat and gulping wine. He sneered, "You're just a minor cultivator who happened to claim the Heavenly Venerable title. I respect your title, not you as a person!"
Quinn Shepherd didn't mind at all. "That Daoist sure has a temper."
Logan Cross frowned slightly, thinking, "Yue Tingge, Yue Tingge... Where have I heard that name before?"
The Daoist, Yue Tingge, had lost his earlier arrogance and just buried himself in food and drink, occasionally glancing over at Quinn.
With a wave of his hand, Quinn dispersed the banquet; all those delicacies, beauties, and fine wine vanished in a rush of divine sense.
Then he clapped again, and lines of beauties poured from the void in endless procession, laying out a grand flowing banquet.
"Maha—"
Suddenly, a huge dragon head poked into view—the divine dragon Quinn had visualized earlier—eyes shining as it drooled over the endless feast, its tail sweeping up clouds of dust.
Just as Quinn expected, the dragon hadn't perished in the Flame-Venerable Imprint's blast; it had somehow tracked them here again.
Did I subconsciously think of Fat Dragon when I visualized this divine dragon? Is that why it turned out just as greedy?
Quinn lost interest thanks to the dragon, tossed aside his chopsticks, and waved his hand. The dragon lit up with joy and immediately dove into the banquet, devouring everything in sight.
Logan Cross kept his gaze on the Daoist, murmuring, "Yue Tingge, Heavenly Court Dao Gate... Who is he, really?"
He racked his brain, sure he knew the name, but couldn't remember from where.
The Daoist's origins were a mystery. Heavenly Court had only sent their group into the Grand Void, plus Flame-Venerable and Void-Venerable's followers. So where had this Daoist come from?
If he was sent by Heavenly Court in the past, how did he survive in such a deadly place?
Just then, a voice rang out: "Shepherd Heavenly Venerable truly lives up to the name—wherever you go, beauties gather like clouds. It's enough to make anyone jealous."
Quinn looked over; it was several True Gods who'd come with him on the ark.
When the ark sailed into the Grand Void, more than half died. Only about a hundred and ten fell into this world, and in the last city, another dozen perished—including disciples of Vast-Sky Heavenly Venerable, Sylvia Xiuyou and Patrick Springhart.
Now, how many survivors remained in the Grand Void, Quinn couldn't say.
Last night’s Grand Void fiend outbreak clearly wasn’t limited to one place—other regions must have been overrun as well, and few survived.
Logan Cross stood up, looking at the group with solemn respect. "Everyone, Shepherd Heavenly Venerable’s achievements benefit all under heaven—he’s the one who taught the God-Making Method. Right now, we’re all trapped together with no guarantee of survival. We should unite, face the Grand Void’s weirdness as one, and hope to find Flame-Venerable and Void-Venerable. What do you say?"
One of them shot him a glance and sneered, "Logan, the God-Blade—are you clinging to Shepherd Heavenly Venerable’s coattails now?"
Blade-light flickered in Logan’s eyes, like two sabers crossing. He snorted, "I’m famed across Heavenly Court as the number-one God-Blade. I’ve never had to ride anyone’s coattails."
Another young man laughed, "Logan, the God-Blade, Shepherd Heavenly Venerable’s ‘coattails’ are awfully thin—be careful not to grab the wrong leg. Our real mission isn’t to support Flame-Venerable and Void-Venerable; it’s to take out Shepherd Heavenly Venerable. You’re smart—you must have figured that out already."
A woman said coldly, "The Heavenly Venerables sent you with us to anchor the formation and help us kill Shepherd Heavenly Venerable. Are you planning to betray us now?"
Logan was torn, glancing at Quinn.
Quinn lounged among the beauties, smiling. "Don’t worry, God-Blade Logan. I’ve long known your true purpose here, and I know you don’t really want to kill me—just to test your saber against my sword and purge your own heart-demon. I understand your struggle."
Logan breathed a sigh of relief and said to the three, "I saved your lives. If not for me, you’d never have made it here—would’ve died on the ark. I ask you to let go of your grudge against Shepherd Heavenly Venerable in exchange for that debt."
"Alright, alright."
The woman snapped impatiently, "Logan, the God-Blade, don’t get ahead of yourself. Don’t forget—your job is to protect us! Saving us was your duty, nothing more. If you’d done your job better, we wouldn’t have lost two-thirds of our people. That’s already a huge stain on you!"
"Logan, the God-Blade, it’s Heavenly Court that gives you your place in the world."
The young man added, "Think about it. Help us take down Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, and you’ll be set for life. With your cultivation, you shouldn’t be wasting away in the Prodigy Legion as a glorified instructor. You could be a regional governor. Ever wonder why you’ve never been promoted?"
Another laughed, "It’s because you’ve never clung to anyone powerful. Don’t miss your chance this time—and don’t grab the wrong coattails."
Logan’s face was like still water.
Quinn stood, brushing aside the beauties around him. He patted the divine dragon, now stuffed and round-bellied, and suddenly laughed. "Logan, the God-Blade, I don’t think we need to duel saber and sword anymore. There’s no point."
Logan lowered his gaze, expression calm as a meditating monk. "Why do you say that, Overlord Body?"
"A saber should rather break than bend."
Quinn flicked his sleeve; the remnants of the feast vanished, the beauties gone, all dissolving into drifting divine sense. He said calmly, "I respect the saber—its weight, its boldness, its willingness to settle debts and favors with a single swing. I admired how you waited forty thousand years for a fair duel. But seeing you cringe before these people, afraid to stand up for yourself, I’m disappointed."
Logan’s eyes widened slightly. "You think I’m timid and hesitant?"
"I’m a Heavenly Venerable, and you dare challenge me? You’re just taking advantage of my youth and weakness."
Quinn said, "These are disciples of Heavenly Venerables, and yet you bow and scrape, letting them insult you without a word. Someone who bullies the weak and fears the strong isn’t worthy of my sword. Do you deserve the title God-Blade?"
Logan’s eyes opened, blade-light flashing within, held in check.
Quinn continued, "The true saber god I’ve known was wild and bold, feared no authority, dared to swing his blade at Heaven itself, never backed down from the strong, never bullied the weak. Against tyrants, he’d drink blood from his blade and take emperors’ heads. Among commoners, he’d live humbly as a butcher. That’s a saber god. But you..."
He sneered, "You’re just a craftsman who’s polished his saber techniques, not even as good as Zhe Hua Li. You say you’ve defeated your heart-demon, but I think you’ve got plenty left inside."
Fury blazed in Logan’s eyes, his aura exploding like a treasure saber splitting the sky in two!
"Overlord Body, how dare you look down on me!"
Logan was livid. His vital energy and blood surged skyward, forming a colossal scarlet saber beam—ten thousand zhang long—then, as his qi and blood condensed, it grew ever shorter!
The shorter the blade, the stronger its power!
"Overlord Body, the saber techniques you saw before were what I grasped after becoming a True God. The ones you saw on the ship were what I’d learned in recent years."
Logan’s gaze was icy. He condensed his qi and blood to the limit, forging a long saber in his single hand. Murderous intent surged as he said coldly, "The Logan you saw on the ship is not the Logan standing here. My Saber Dao has changed. Let me show you what it is now!"
The three Heavenly Venerable disciples exchanged glances and smiled. The woman chuckled, "If Logan, the God-Blade, makes a move, we can save ourselves the trouble. Shepherd Heavenly Venerable isn’t weak, and killing him is no small crime..."
The young man glanced at the fierce-looking Daoist nearby, frowning. He muttered, "Who is that Daoist? Why is he here?"
The three studied the sinister Daoist’s face, sure they’d seen him somewhere before, but couldn’t recall where.
Logan unleashed his full aura—the power of the God-Blade erupted. "En garde!"
Blade-light flashed, blood sprayed across the sky.
One Heavenly Venerable disciple didn’t even have time to react—Logan’s saber struck like lightning, cutting him down!
The other two, shocked and furious, shouted together and lunged at him. "Logan Cross, are you rebelling?"
Logan ignored them, letting his Saber Dao flow free.
His saber technique was precise and disciplined—every strike measured, every angle calculated, each move crafted with the meticulous care of a master artisan.
Yet in that precision, wild passion now surged—an aura that could slay the heavens with a single cut.
If the sword was the weapon of a gentleman, then his saber was the blade of a king.
He broke free from the shackles of his old saber technique, destroyed the gods in his heart, and trampled every fear—leaving only pure Dao behind!
As his saber rose, its light formed layer upon layer of heavens—stars glittered, blue skies and white clouds appeared, torrential rain, sunny days, whirling winds, thunder and lightning splitting the sky. Its power was boundless.
Each level of Dao, a new heaven.
He was Heavenly Court’s saber god, the number-one God-Blade—his saber surged like the heavens, fell like a wall of steel, fusing intricacy and grandeur into one!
Once, he pursued the ultimate mysteries of the Saber Dao, strong but not truly fearsome.
Now, he brought knowledge and action together, merging all he’d learned into his qi, blood, and spirit.
This Logan, even with a single arm, was truly terrifying!
The two Heavenly Venerable disciples fought desperately beneath his Saber Dao sky. Three Heavenly Palaces floated behind each of them—their cultivation was the Lesser Heavenly Court technique.
Logan was still injured, able to draw only on True God-level power at best.
To the Heavenly Venerable disciples, Logan was a maverick—his techniques were unorthodox, his divine arts nonstandard.
Saber techniques were the acquired Dao; their cultivation came from the ancient gods’ innate Dao. The difference was like clouds and mud.
They practiced the Emperor’s Throne techniques taught by the Heavenly Venerables—three kinds, no less. With those, they entered the Dao and mastered supreme divine arts, far above Logan’s wild, unrefined path.
Yet now, two against one, they struggled for their lives—danger at every turn.
The battle erupted and ended in a flash.
Amidst the blade-light, blood sprayed.
Logan swept his saber sideways, cutting the young True God in half at the waist.
The remaining woman panicked, leaping skyward to escape. Logan roared, hurling a flying saber—her head hit the ground, but her body kept running, sprinting out of the Creator’s city before finally collapsing in the dust.
Logan sheathed his saber, the blade of qi and blood vanishing into his body with a swish. He turned to Quinn, his gaze as sharp as a blade.
"Overlord Body, what do you think of my saber technique now? Am I worthy to challenge you?"
Quinn watched Logan’s transformation—his aura, his saber technique—and smiled with satisfaction. "You’ve done well. God-Blade Logan, have a seat."
Logan strode over, his robes fluttering, the air beneath stirred by his presence as if thousands of saber auras collided and surged.
He sat down before Quinn, his breath steady once more.
Nearby, the fierce Daoist turned and praised, "One-handed, and your saber technique is still impressive."
Logan met his gaze, and suddenly his mind thundered—he remembered where he’d seen this Daoist before. His body shook as he exclaimed, "You’re Yue Tianshi!"
Quinn was startled. "Yue Tianshi? Which Yue Tianshi?"
Suddenly, Quinn realized—recalling what Yun Chouxiu had said on the ship.