Second Ancestor and the others watched Quinn Shepherd depart, then turned to see that the First Ancestor had vanished as well.
The First Ancestor was never truly dead; his flesh body had turned to stone, allowing his spirit to slip free and live in seclusion in Nether City. Coming and going is just a matter of thought for him.
His Primordial Spirit is immensely powerful and moves at incredible speed—he’s likely already returned to his petrified body.
"What do we do now?"
All the Human Emperors looked to Second Ancestor, saying, "Now that they're gone, they're bound to fight again—and it'll be us who suffer for it."
Third Ancestor wore a bitter expression: "If Human Emperor Quinn loses again, it'll be my corpse that gets smashed next."
The other Human Emperors also looked troubled. To reach a level where one could defeat the First Ancestor in the same realm in less than a year is nearly impossible. Each of them was the most outstanding figure of their era—though limited by their times, unable to reach the absolute peak, every one achieved god-level mastery in their own specialty.
But the First Ancestor perfected every aspect to a god’s level, and even beyond.
It’s been less than a year since Quinn Shepherd last lost to the First Ancestor. No matter how much his strength has surged, at best he’s only raised his cultivation realm.
But simply raising one’s realm isn’t enough to defeat the First Ancestor.
For a cultivator, advancing one’s realm is not too difficult—but strengthening one’s foundation is another matter entirely.
Advancing in realm is like building higher floors on a tower; strengthening the foundation means reinforcing and expanding the base without damaging what’s already built, so the tower can hold more and rise higher. The difficulty is obvious.
Only by strengthening his foundation can Quinn hope to defeat the First Ancestor in the same realm—which requires raising his vision and depth to the First Ancestor’s level!
"How old is Human Emperor Quinn?" Second Ancestor suddenly asked.
Connor Hayes thought for a moment and said, "Village Chief mentioned his age once—if you count by the living world, he should be nineteen."
Second Ancestor said, "Nineteen—a bright, energetic young man. Most people’s lifelong achievements begin at this age. At what age did you all first sketch out your signature arts and techniques?"
Third Ancestor thought for a moment: "Old man, you took me as a disciple when I was twelve. At twenty, I created the embryo of the Heaven-Turning Yin-Yang Palm, and my Yin-Yang Great Ninefold Art also started forming then. It took centuries after that to perfect both arts."
Fourth Ancestor said, "I never practiced my teacher’s arts or seals—he was a failure, and learning from him would only make me worse. So I created my own techniques and divine arts. I was better than the old man: at seventeen, I already had the idea for my Dharma-Path Ten Crossings Art, and reached mastery in middle age—then beat the old man up."
Third Ancestor snorted and glared, sneering, "So beating me makes you special, huh?"
Fourth Ancestor grinned, "Of course it does—it’s impressive."
The other Human Emperors each shared the age at which they first established their own cultivation methods and divine arts. Most had set their lifelong direction somewhere between their teens and thirties—only Travis Tuo and the Sixth Ancestor were late bloomers.
"Quinn Shepherd is nineteen now, so that means he's right at the creative peak."
Second Ancestor pondered, "Maybe his cultivation method already has its own path, and his divine arts are taking shape. Maybe this time, he won't lose to the First Ancestor. But if he does lose again, it would be a devastating blow..."
Lambert Poe said, "Just having a prototype for your method and divine arts means you have a shot at beating the First Ancestor? His techniques aren't just prototypes—they're perfected, flawless, with no gaps at all."
The Human Emperors fell silent.
"But he's got the Overlord Body..."
Connor Hayes said nervously, "Overlord Body should be pretty amazing, right? My disciple, Su Muche, that rascal, always brags his disciple has the Overlord Body—he almost talks it up to the sky..."
Everyone shook their heads. "Even the Overlord Body needs time to grow. At nineteen, how far could he have gotten?"
After a moment, Second Ancestor made up his mind. "Let's manifest a miracle and head to the Human Emperor Hall! Quinn Shepherd is coming from the living world—it'll take him a day or two to reach the hall. If we go ahead, when we get there, let's all gang up and beat down the First Ancestor!"
"Yes! Group beatdown on the First Ancestor! We have to make him surrender and not dare to fight Quinn Shepherd again!"
The Human Emperors were fired up, nodding in agreement. One after another, their forms faded and they vanished from Nether City.
Red Plume the bird-god watched the Human Emperors manifest and leave, then turned his head to Lord Hades beside him and asked cautiously, "Aren't you going to stop them? They're all dead—doesn't running off to the living world mess up Nether City's rules?"
"No need."
Lord Hades shook his head. "The Human Emperor Hall doesn't belong to the living world or the Netherworld—it's outside our jurisdiction. Human Emperors have always been a fearless bunch; once they go to the hall, they're not under Nether City's control."
Red Plume blinked. "The Human Emperor Hall isn't part of the living world or the Netherworld?"
"The Human Emperor Hall is a fragment of the Kaihuang Heaven Court—Nether City can't reach it."
Lord Hades withdrew his gaze and turned to leave. "Heaven Court fragments—the biggest one fell and became the Great Ruins. There are other shards, some crucial, like the Thirty-Six Heaven Palaces and Seventy-Two Treasure Halls; those aren't places Nether City can govern. The hall is in one of those palaces—Jadebright Palace. If they go to Jadebright Palace, my authority can't reach them. The reason Nether City can suppress ghosts and gods here is because it contains a Heaven Palace—Visha Palace—which lets us keep order."
Outside Dragoncrest City, Quinn Shepherd rode the clouds, activating the Human Emperor Seal and following its guidance toward the Human Emperor Hall.
He had just left when a three-headed, six-armed god-demon and a young boy arrived in Dragoncrest—Chi Creek and Ben Coates.
"Why does Teacher want to see Everpeace's customs and culture?"
Ben Coates was puzzled. "We finally made it back from High-Emperor Heaven—why not head straight for the Southern Lands?"
"The Southern Lands have already sunk, become the South Sea, and have been at the bottom for over three hundred thousand years—whether a day longer or shorter, they're still there. Since we're back in the ancestral land, there's no rush."
Chi Creek's three heads looked around, moving at a leisurely pace. "I'm here to observe Everpeace's customs and culture—to see this era's potential, whether it has the foundation to contend with the Heavenly Court."
"What have you seen so far, Teacher?" Ben Coates asked.
"There are signs of revival, but it's not enough yet."
Chi Creek said, "Right now, Everpeace is as fragile as a soap bubble—easily burst, unable to withstand a single blow. In the future, disaster is inevitable. Everpeace's dao and divine arts are advancing rapidly, but the time is too short and there are too few true powerhouses. It's only survived this long by clinging to the afterglow of the Pioneer Era. But the Pioneer Era is dead, and eventually, its protection will fade. That's why Everpeace will surely be destroyed in the future. No need to look further—let's go."
Ben Coates was confused, unsure where Chi Creek had seen all this. Chi Creek was already walking away, so Ben hurried to catch up.
Quinn Shepherd, in his rush to reach the Human Emperor Hall, narrowly missed crossing paths with them.
As he hurried along, he activated the Overlord Three-Core Art. Inside him, the Divine Treasury of the Dao and the Demon Treasury kept turning, his vital energy growing more and more turbulent. Back in Taeming Heaven, he had already begun merging the Demon-Path Six Directions Treasury and Demon-Path Seven Stars Treasury; now, he was at the critical moment.
His vital energy grew ever deeper and more robust, and the barriers between the two treasuries began to blur. But he hadn't devoted much effort to his demon-path, so he was still lacking a bit of mastery.
Even so, the fusion of his demon treasuries was nearly complete, and the power swirling within him surged ever higher.
He had only just begun to study the demon-path, so his foundation was still shallow—he needed more time to truly master it.