"How should we deal with Senior Sister Claire?" Quinn Shepherd struggled to his feet, glancing at the girl beside him who was still shaken with fear.
"Maybe..."
Granny Sue's eyes instantly lit up. She nudged Quinn's shoulder with her own, nearly knocking the boy over just as he managed to stand, and grinned mischievously: "Why not keep her as your little wife? You were the cutest when you were little, though now that you've grown up you're not quite as adorable. But if you and this girl have a chubby baby, that would be just as cute. Granny still loves children..."
Quinn glanced at Senior Sister Claire, whose face was swollen like a pig's head, and hesitated: "Granny, maybe let's not..."
Pfft.
Crippled Joe had somehow appeared behind Senior Sister Claire. With a single, casual stab, he ran his blade clean through the girl's heart, his face still wearing that guileless, honest smile: "Then we'll just kill her."
Quinn stared in shock, stammering, "Grandpa Joe, why did you kill her?"
"You said you didn't want her, so of course I killed her." Crippled Joe wiped his blade, his smile even more innocent, as if genuinely puzzled.
Quinn felt awkward. He'd never thought about having children with Senior Sister Claire. After all, he was just an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy, and the people he saw every day were all old monsters like Grandpa Mark and Granny Sue, or fierce types from neighboring villages—rarely anyone his own age.
He had no playmates, but his heart was still that of a boy.
"Let's head back," the Village Chief said, glancing once more at the ruins in the canyon.
The Apothecary smiled at Quinn: "We're all missing an arm or a leg—no one's going to carry you, so you'll have to walk back yourself. Oh, and here are the Four Spirit Bloods. You didn't come home last night, but I prepared them for you anyway."
Quinn nodded, took the four white porcelain cups, drank the Four Spirit Blood, and struggled forward. As he walked, he ran the Overlord Three-Core Art to absorb the blood's power and told them about the strange things he'd encountered in the canyon ruins.
Granny Sue's expression flickered. "Gods and demons? A giant dark face, skeletal maidens? Interesting..."
The other villagers also found it interesting, but had little more to say.
Quinn couldn't help but ask, "Granny, aren't you at all curious about the stories hidden in these canyon ruins?"
The Apothecary sighed, "Once, this was a prosperous divine kingdom, now reduced to ashes. The gods' bones rattle and dance at night—perhaps they're still unwilling to let go?"
Deaf Uncle stared at his lips. "No matter how unwilling, they're still dead. What's the use? So being curious about these stories is probably pointless."
"Deaf Uncle, are you really deaf?" The Apothecary eyed his ears—two iron ears, forged snow-white, even blocking the ear holes—and asked curiously.
Gradually, his speed surpassed anything he'd managed before, though Quinn himself remained oblivious—he only felt more and more exhilarated as he ran.
Sweat began to seep from his pores, but instead of being clear, it was murky—black grime and tiny white fat granules mixed in. Quinn, however, was unaware of the changes in his body.
The Apothecary, the Village Chief, and the others exchanged shocked glances in silence.
"Grandpa Mark, when did you first start tempering your body with vital qi?" the Apothecary suddenly asked.
"At the peak of the Spirit Embryo realm," Grandpa Mark replied gravely. "While practicing boxing, I suddenly unleashed my first divine ability—a fist technique that tempered my body, with vital qi coiling like an Azure Dragon."
The Apothecary looked to Crippled Joe. Crippled Joe said, "Me too, at the peak of the Spirit Embryo realm. That day, I ran in the wind, trying to catch up to the gale, hoping that once I did, I could walk on its very tip in the sky. Then I discovered the secret of qi-tempering the body—qi blowing through a hundred apertures like the wind. But my joy made me fall from the wind's tip, nearly killing me."
The Apothecary sighed, "Same for me. I tried to treat my Spirit Embryo Treasury as a furnace, my vital qi as medicine, refining myself as if I were a medicinal ingredient. That’s when I discovered the mystery of qi-tempering the body—qi burning the flesh like fire. But Quinn has started tempering his body even before breaking the wall."
Crippled Joe laughed, "The Overlord Body really is overwhelmingly powerful—something us Spirit Bodies can only envy."
The Apothecary’s expression grew strange, but he said nothing more.
Overlord Body?
If it really were the Overlord Body, he wouldn't be so surprised.
Crippled Joe and Grandpa Mark could attribute everything to the Overlord Body, but the Apothecary knew the truth: Quinn, with an ordinary physique, had achieved qi-tempering ahead of even Spirit Bodies. Even this knowledgeable master was amazed.
Granny Sue exclaimed excitedly, "If Quinn truly awakens his Overlord Body and gains Overlord qi capable of weapon control, he might surpass even the legendary Imperial Preceptor of the Everpeace Empire at his peak!"
The Apothecary’s heart sank as he glanced at the Village Chief.
The Village Chief was silent.
In truth, there was no Overlord Body, nor any Overlord vital qi. Ordinary qi cannot control weapons, so when Quinn discovers this, the lie will be exposed.
But before that, Quinn must first "awaken the Overlord Body," which requires breaking the wall—the Spirit Embryo Wall.
How can an ordinary person break the wall?
The Village Chief frowned. Would continued consumption of Four Spirit Bloods help? How long could he keep up the deception?
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Gradually, his speed surpassed anything he'd managed before, though Quinn himself remained oblivious—he only felt more and more exhilarated as he ran.
Sweat began to seep from his pores, but instead of being clear, it was murky—black grime and tiny white fat granules mixed in. Quinn, however, was unaware of the changes in his body.
The Apothecary, the Village Chief, and the others exchanged shocked glances in silence.
"Grandpa Mark, when did you first start tempering your body with vital qi?" the Apothecary suddenly asked.
"At the peak of the Spirit Embryo realm," Grandpa Mark replied gravely. "While practicing boxing, I suddenly unleashed my first divine ability—a fist technique that tempered my body, with vital qi coiling like an Azure Dragon."
The Apothecary looked to Crippled Joe. Crippled Joe said, "Me too, at the peak of the Spirit Embryo realm. That day, I ran in the wind, trying to catch up to the gale, hoping that once I did, I could walk on its very tip in the sky. Then I discovered the secret of qi-tempering the body—qi blowing through a hundred apertures like the wind. But my joy made me fall from the wind's tip, nearly killing me."
The Apothecary sighed, "Same for me. I tried to treat my Spirit Embryo Treasury as a furnace, my vital qi as medicine, refining myself as if I were a medicinal ingredient. That’s when I discovered the mystery of qi-tempering the body—qi burning the flesh like fire. But Quinn has started tempering his body even before breaking the wall."
Crippled Joe laughed, "The Overlord Body really is overwhelmingly powerful—something us Spirit Bodies can only envy."
The Apothecary’s expression grew strange, but he said nothing more.
Overlord Body?
If it really were the Overlord Body, he wouldn't be so surprised.
Crippled Joe and Grandpa Mark could attribute everything to the Overlord Body, but the Apothecary knew the truth: Quinn, with an ordinary physique, had achieved qi-tempering ahead of even Spirit Bodies. Even this knowledgeable master was amazed.
Granny Sue exclaimed excitedly, "If Quinn truly awakens his Overlord Body and gains Overlord qi capable of weapon control, he might surpass even the legendary Imperial Preceptor of the Everpeace Empire at his peak!"
The Apothecary’s heart sank as he glanced at the Village Chief.
The Village Chief was silent.
In truth, there was no Overlord Body, nor any Overlord vital qi. Ordinary qi cannot control weapons, so when Quinn discovers this, the lie will be exposed.
But before that, Quinn must first "awaken the Overlord Body," which requires breaking the wall—the Spirit Embryo Wall.
How can an ordinary person break the wall?
The Village Chief frowned. Would continued consumption of Four Spirit Bloods help? How long could he keep up the deception?