Quinn Shepherd tried to struggle to his feet, but suddenly there was a cracking sound from his legs—both femurs were riddled with fractures from the fall, and the moment he put any force on them, they snapped completely.
Pain wracked his body, sending him into spasms; then his arms broke as well. Quinn dared not move a muscle, not even twitch, barely allowing himself to breathe.
He didn’t dare use any strength at all now, terrified that even a heavy breath would shatter all his ribs.
His mana was completely spent; he couldn’t even draw out the Dragon Spittle Elixir from his Glutton Dragon Pouch to heal himself.
The pain drowned him, sweat pouring from his body in torrents.
Every sword wound on his body burst open, blood streaming out. Quinn felt himself burning up, as if his body were molten lava—but he knew this was just an illusion, a trick of the mind as his body cooled from blood loss.
He’d learned about this kind of thing from the Apothecary.
If he kept bleeding, there was no doubt he would die.
From the nearby crater came a thumping sound. Quinn’s heart sank: "So I’m actually the false Overlord Body... No, I just haven’t worked hard enough—I haven’t unleashed the Overlord Body’s full power yet..."
He’d nearly fought to mutual destruction—barely winning by half a move—but now he was completely spent, unable to fight any longer.
Suddenly, three streams of energy burst from the crater beside him, like three rainbows arcing into Quinn and plunging straight into his body.
Quinn immediately felt his bones shifting inside him—fractures re-knitting, cracks healing themselves, and the wounds all over his body rapidly closing up!
Just moments ago, he’d lost several teeth—but now they were growing back!
Quinn blinked in shock, then heard a sound like crashing waves—a roar coming from inside him, the surging of his yuanqi. His cultivation was recovering at an astonishing rate!
His strength was returning too, the scars in his muscles knitting up on their own. Very soon, Quinn felt that most of his injuries had healed.
And not just that—the three rainbow streams carried a strange power that triggered a dramatic change in his Spirit Embryo Treasury. Quinn immediately saw his yuanqi liquefying, swirling around the Spirit Embryo, as if it were soaking in a warm ocean—unbelievably comfortable.
"The last time I felt this comfortable was when I was about three years old," he recalled, "I fell asleep on Granny’s bed, dreamed I was looking for a latrine, finally found one, and ended up wetting the whole bed. Then Granny grabbed me by the legs and tossed me into a snow pit."
Quinn blinked, realizing this must be the so-called Three Origins—Heaven Origin, Earth Origin, and Water Origin.
As the power of the Three Origins surged into him, his Spirit Embryo Treasury kept transforming—his Spirit Embryo rapidly grew, and the altar beneath its feet expanded, like a tiny continent forming.
The yuanqi exhaled by the Spirit Embryo’s mouth and nose billowed upward, gathering into a mass of red light suspended in midair.
It didn’t look like a sun.
And the mass of liquefied yuanqi looked more like a water sphere than a moon. His Spirit Embryo Treasury still couldn’t compare to a true god’s treasury.
Quinn tried to run the Overlord Three‑Core Art—his technique still felt a bit sluggish, likely from lingering internal injuries.
"Congratulations, Human Emperor, on your Three Origins breakthrough."
Suddenly, the mountains vanished, and the sun and moon in the sky disappeared as well. Quinn found himself lying in a grand hall, cold stone slabs beneath him.
Quinn struggled upright and saw five elders, each seated at one of the five cardinal directions, lofty and ancient—almost as old as the Three Origins Elder.
He looked around. This wasn’t the Three Origins Hall he’d entered before—it felt like a different grand hall, and these five elders didn’t resemble the Three Origins Elder.
Quinn steadied himself, every muscle aching, his arms and legs still trembling.
"Where are those three elder immortals from before?" Quinn asked, his voice quivering.
"The Three Origins Elder is not here."
One of the elders, short in stature but with a booming, resonant voice, said, "We are the Five Luminary Hermits, and this is the Five Qi Hall. We witnessed the Human Emperor achieve the Three Origins breakthrough here, and our respect for you is great. After your breakthrough, you were sent to the Five Qi Hall, where you will soon face the Five Qi trial."
"I actually managed a Three Origins breakthrough?"
Quinn was both shocked and delighted, though his legs kept trembling uncontrollably, refusing to stop.
"He really is a false Overlord Body! I’m the true Overlord Body!" the youth boasted.
The Five Luminary Hermits heard this and looked puzzled—like monks in a fog—clearly not understanding anything about Overlord Bodies or false Overlord Bodies.
Quinn tried to steady himself, but his legs still shook and his arms trembled uncontrollably.
One of the hermits frowned slightly. "Human Emperor, you are the second person ever to achieve a Three Origins breakthrough. Do you intend to attempt the Five Qi breakthrough next?"
Quinn simply sat down on the floor—better to risk looking silly than fall over—and asked, "Is the Five Qi breakthrough harder than the Three Origins breakthrough?"
"A bit more difficult," came the reply.
An elderly woman among the hermits smiled kindly. "If the Human Emperor can accomplish a Three Origins breakthrough, your foundation will be even more solid. The Five Qi breakthrough shouldn’t be too difficult for you."