As Quinn Shepherd's three eyes swept across these hundreds of Buddha-Children, each felt a sudden chill in their hearts. All around, Buddhist chants echoed ceaselessly, but anyone caught by Quinn's gaze couldn't help but activate all their Divine Treasuries, unleashing their full aura!
They sensed the killing intent in Quinn's eyes and believed it was directed at them!
Swept by Quinn's gaze, they instinctively erupted with all their presence—appearing overly tense and losing their composure, but also revealing the differences in their cultivated techniques and divine arts.
Some Buddha-Children had clouds of radiance above their heads, with great Buddhas seated within; others had halos behind their heads, with dozens of miniature Buddhas revolving and chanting sutras within the halo.
Some had golden springs surging beneath their feet, with lotus leaves and flowers spread across the water, allowing them to stand atop a single red lotus at the center.
There were also those who practiced variant Buddhist arts—cultivating three heads and six arms, faces like yakshas, or appearing immaculate and bathed in holy light.
Their spirit weapons were equally diverse—lutes, umbrellas, precious pearls, bows and arrows, swords, vajra rods, golden maces, and more. Some even refined exotic beasts into weapons, driving them with yuanqi to unleash them upon their foes.
The Twenty Mahayana Heavens of Buddhism each emphasize different aspects, so their methods and arts also differ.
Among these Buddha-Children, aside from Buddhist techniques, many supreme arts of the Heavenly Court were also forced out by Quinn's gaze.
Under the scrutiny of his third eye, all their cultivation levels and realms were laid bare.
These Buddha-Children weren't figures of the caliber of Young Master Cyrus Qi. Cyrus Qi was a noble of the Heavenly Court, cultivating an Emperor's Throne method—even Lady Lurien, a Youdu Commandant, had to treat him with utmost respect.
Though the Buddha-Children hailed from or were connected to the Heavenly Court, they hadn't yet touched the Emperor's Throne method. After all, such methods weren't just 'cabbages by the roadside.' Otherwise, the Heavenly Court wouldn't have sent them here to try and learn Great Brahma King Buddha's Emperor's Throne True Sutra.
"How dare you!"
Dharma King Morlun flew into a rage, shouting, "To kill in my Buddha-Realm—you're truly a devil!"
Quinn Shepherd ignored him, withdrew his gaze, and looked down at his own hands, murmuring, "It's been so long since I went all out... Even when fighting Cyrus Qi and Zhe Hua Li, I never opened all three eyes. I have no idea how far my cultivation has come."
Dharma King Morlun was momentarily stunned, about to lash out again, when suddenly a voice echoed from the ruined monastery—Indra King Buddha spoke: "Morlun, be patient. Disciples fighting will inevitably lead to casualties; are you going to intervene yourself? Life is but a foul shell. Prince Moonlight has shed his shell and is now free—truly a joyous event. The rules are set: let the Buddha-Children challenge Quinn. Whoever wins gets the final spot to enter the monastery and learn the Emperor's Throne True Sutra."
Morlun was furious but restrained himself, thinking, "Indra King Buddha is backing this brat? He can even say something so shameless!"
Still, with Indra King Buddha speaking, he dared not disrespect him. Morlun thought, "This lower-realm kid is truly capable, but to challenge every Buddha-Child is overreaching! The Emperor's Throne True Sutra is what matters; now isn't the time to turn hostile. Better get the scripture first."
Inside the ruined temple, Indra King Buddha was still immersed in the Emperor's Throne True Sutra, letting out a muffled grunt. The one who spoke to stop Morlun earlier wasn't him at all.
He was deep in study and had no time to pay attention to the outside world.
"Who is imitating my voice? It's so convincing! Of course, it must be Senior Brother Brahma King—only he could mimic my voice so perfectly that no one could tell the difference."
Indra King Buddha's eyebrows twitched. "Is this the first chamber pot being dumped on me? And by my own senior brother, no less. Hopefully, it's the only one..."
"Prince Sunlight of the Heavenly Court, here to subdue the demon in your heart!"
Prince Sunlight stepped forward, a blazing sun radiance shining behind his head. He said coolly, "You're from the lower realm? Such a barren place—it's rare for any talent to emerge, so it's no wonder you act arrogant."
Quinn Shepherd didn't look up at him, but continued staring at his own hands, thinking, "Granny Si and the others always made me seal this eye. But sealing it also kept me from knowing my true progress. Just how strong am I at full power? Now I'll finally find out..."
A sudden thrill ran through him—he shivered with excitement, trembling uncontrollably.
At last, he could unleash his full strength without worry—no more holding back, no more fear that his destructive urges or power would cause trouble for his friends and loved ones!
He could finally let himself go—become once more the fearless youth from the Great Ruins!
In the Great Ruins, as long as a youth followed the rules of the Ruins, all other constraints were just the outside world's concerns—they had nothing to do with him!
"Heheheh... hahahahaha!"
Quinn Shepherd's laughter rang out, growing louder and louder. Prince Sunlight frowned slightly and said coolly, "I am Prince Sunlight, crown prince of Sunlight Buddha-Country, and a fellow sword student with Prince Moonlight at the Heavenly Court's Sword Palace—we learned sword arts together and share a deep friendship..."
"Enough with the chatter. If you miss him so much, I'll send you down to join him!"
Quinn suddenly slapped his hand—his Sword Pill expanded and exploded, sending countless flying swords whistling into the air like a cloud blotting out the sky. The great sun behind Prince Sunlight burst forth as he laughed, "I've been waiting for you!"
Fire surged in the sun behind his head. Unlike Prince Moonlight's moonlit sword, his blade was infused with pure yang true fire—the great sun shone over all, burning everything, and his sword-light was hidden within the flames and sunlight, dazzling and impossible to look at; no one could see his blade!
Great Sun Divine Sword!
His divine sword collided with Quinn's sword rain, and in an instant, countless clangs rang out. Prince Sunlight was shocked to realize his sword moves were being broken: "His sword technique contains three—no, four entirely new basic sword moves I've never seen before!"
He was utterly stunned—four new basic sword moves!
Even just one new basic sword move would force all sword arts under heaven to be reshuffled, creating countless new variations.
Let alone four?
"That means, any sword technique I use is full of flaws in his eyes!"
A surge of fear rose in Prince Sunlight's heart, his mind racing: "Sword arts from the lower realm have advanced this far—even the Heavenly Court's sword techniques can't match him. I can't use sword arts against him; every sword move is a flaw in his eyes. Only saber techniques or spell arts might stand a chance. Otherwise, I'd already be dead... Wait, why am I not dead yet...?"
He saw Quinn Shepherd's eight thousand swords swirling like a vast cloud, the blades darting like fish, performing countless sword moves as they swept past him—yet not a single blade struck him.
Prince Sunlight stared blankly, then looked down—his flesh was riddled with neat, front-to-back blood holes, like a sieve.
His mind foggy, he reached up to touch his forehead—his finger sank right into his skull.
He felt the back of his head—a small hole, left by a flying sword that pierced his brow and exited through his skull.
"So my Primordial Spirit has already been slain..." Prince Sunlight staggered and collapsed to the ground.
Quinn Shepherd strode past his fallen body, completely unaware of all the thoughts running through Prince Sunlight's mind before death.
"After today, the Buddha-Realm will have no more sword cultivators!" The youth from the Great Ruins laughed heartily.
Eight thousand swords descended like a cloud, almost attacking all the Buddha-Children at once!
In that instant, nearly every Buddha-Child reacted instinctively. Quinn Shepherd's three eyes flashed like lightning, sweeping rapidly over the Buddha-Children who tried to block his sword arts—about a hundred or so Buddha-Children unleashed their sword techniques to resist.
The other Buddha-Children wielded all manner of divine arts and spirit weapons. Among them, several were extremely powerful—like Prince Capricorn, Princess Dragonma, and Prince Floating Cloud, whom Dharma King Morlun had named, as well as Buddha-Child Puzhao, who once coughed blood after debating the Demon Ape Battle-Void, and Buddha-Child Kongxiang. Their strength was truly formidable.
Most Buddha-Children cultivated Heavenly Court methods and weren't deeply versed in Buddhist arts—that's why there were a hundred young sword specialists among them.
Suddenly, Yama King Buddha couldn't bear it any longer. He closed his eyes and said to the other Buddhas, "Let's go. We can't watch this any further—if we do, blood will flow like a river."
Dragon King Buddha Sagara and the other Buddhas nodded, saying, "Indeed, it's unbearable." With that, they gathered their disciples and flew away, each to their own Buddha-Heaven.
Buddha-Child Seeing-Emptiness secretly glanced back, stunned. On the battlefield in front of the ruined monastery, a sudden burst of blood-red light flashed—over a hundred streaks of blood!
In that instant, the sword arts of over a hundred Buddha-Children were broken—their Primordial Spirits or bodies were cut down, dying violently!
Buddha-Child Seeing-Emptiness was horrified, his body cold and numb, unable to speak.
In that brief glance, Quinn Shepherd had already gathered his swords into a pill, transformed the pill into a saber, split the long saber in two, and darted about with lightning speed—his movements so fast they blurred, the saber-light invisible to the naked eye. Heads flew, bodies were cleaved apart!
The two beams of saber-light in his hands were like twin dragons, sweeping and slashing with grand, open movements. Suddenly, a great gate appeared behind him, revealing the darkness of Youdu. The towering gate moved with him, sweeping across the battlefield—any Buddha-Child it touched was instantly devoured, their souls and Primordial Spirits swallowed, leaving only empty shells behind!
Buddha-Child Seeing-Emptiness's scalp tingled and his body trembled. He watched as Quinn Shepherd merged the long sabers into a spear, then skewered Princess Dragonma on the tip. With a shake, the once-elegant princess was torn to pieces.
Next, Quinn slammed his spear into the ground. Countless flying swords scattered and reformed into a great bell that dropped over him, spinning wildly to deflect the incoming divine arts and spirit weapons of the other Buddha-Children.
Under the bell, Quinn fought like a madman—every punch and kick was clear and brutal. The bell transmitted the force of his blows outward, shattering the bones of the Buddha-Children who dared to attack him at close range!
"Seeing-Emptiness, you don't need to watch anymore."
Yama King Buddha sighed, "If you keep watching, it will shake your Buddha-heart."
Buddha-Child Seeing-Emptiness shuddered inwardly, wanting to speak but his throat was too hoarse. He managed to clear it a little, but his voice was still rough: "My Buddha, with layman Quinn slaughtering so many, can the Buddhas truly tolerate him?"
"If they can't, what can they do?"
Yama King Buddha lowered his voice: "I've met him once before in Youdu. Years ago, I descended to the Netherworld to ferry resentful souls, and encountered him there. I thought he was dead, but he survived—he seems to have forgotten what happened in his childhood. It's been nineteen years, hasn't it...?"