Quinn Shepherd let out a long breath. Seeing the Imperial Preceptor of the Everpeace Empire felt like meeting family—a savior arriving just in time! The Preceptor had traveled from the Great Ruins to High-Emperor Heaven, personally verifying that spiritual energy could safely traverse the World Bridge.
Otherwise, they had no idea how much longer they'd have to keep up these awkward, frozen smiles.
As for testing whether spiritual energy could safely cross the World Bridge—Quinn didn’t dare step in himself, and neither did the Black Tiger God. Both worried that some flaw in their design might get them shredded inside.
Fortunately, the Imperial Preceptor arrived.
Even more crucially, they’d just blown apart the sun—if spiritual energy couldn’t cross the World Bridge, the gods and cultivators of High-Emperor Heaven might not kill them outright, but they’d surely cripple them.
But thankfully, the Imperial Preceptor arrived.
"The sun in the sky..."
The Imperial Preceptor glanced up and saw half the sun missing. His expression shifted slightly; he quickly looked away from the mutilated sun, steadied himself, and then asked, "Cult Master, where is this place? And these fellow daoists..."
"Preceptor, you arrived at the perfect moment!"
Quinn Shepherd called out loudly, "Everyone, allow me to introduce you! This is the once-in-five-hundred-years sage—the Imperial Preceptor of the Everpeace Empire. To be honest, Everpeace’s Divine Bridge was once severed, but the Preceptor was the first to reforge it and become a god, and he’s the leader of Everpeace’s reform movement! Preceptor, this is High-Emperor Heaven—the first of the Thirty-Three Heavens. That one floating above is True God Pang Yu!"
True God Pang Yu and the assembled gods were visibly moved. They descended quickly, exchanged formal greetings with the Imperial Preceptor, and Pang Yu laughed, "So you’re the once-in-five-hundred-years sage! I’ve heard the legends—thought it was just a countryside myth, never expected to meet the real thing!"
The Imperial Preceptor returned the salute, humbly replying, "You’re too kind, Daoist brother. I’m just a country bumpkin who’s never seen the wider world. That ‘once-in-five-hundred-years sage’ title is just flattery from our little nation."
Pang Yu laughed heartily, shaking his head. "That’s not true, Preceptor! If your world is just the countryside, then High-Emperor Heaven isn’t even worthy of that title. In the Kaihuang and Shanghuang eras, your realm was home to the Heavenly Court. We in High-Emperor Heaven have fought the demon race for twenty thousand years—only to protect your world."
The Imperial Preceptor was stunned, and Quinn Shepherd was equally dazed—neither had expected True God Pang Yu to say such things.
There was so much hidden information in those words that even the two of them needed time to process.
"This World Bridge connecting our two realms is a blessing for High-Emperor Heaven. If we can’t hold out, we’ll gather our strength and head for the Heavenly Court."
Pang Yu bowed deeply to Quinn Shepherd, saying sincerely, "Whether or not you can forge two new suns, all of High-Emperor Heaven will remember this great kindness!"
Quinn Shepherd hurriedly returned the salute. "You’re too kind, True God. This is simply my duty—no need to remember it so deeply."
The Imperial Preceptor glanced back at the intricate World Bridge and altar, marveling, "World Bridge migration—this is definitely something the Cult Master would invent. When I saw the heavens shift and the altar rise in the Great Ruins, a light bridge like two funnels joined together, I thought: which demon lord punched through the realms to make trouble in the Great Ruins? When I arrived at the altar and examined it, I saw its craftsmanship was truly divine—the numerology involved is extraordinary. It must use spiritual-energy conversion and migration. I suspected as much, so I came in to see for myself. Sure enough, it’s you, Cult Master. Only you could dream up something like this."
Quinn Shepherd was deeply satisfied, but replied modestly, "Preceptor, you flatter me. I owe much of this to Senior Brother Black Tiger."
He introduced the assembled gods to the Imperial Preceptor, then added meaningfully, "Preceptor, the Woodcutter Sage is also in High-Emperor Heaven."
"The Woodcutter Sage!"
The Imperial Preceptor's heart surged with emotion. His entire reform movement had begun with a single line from the doctrine of the Heavenly Saint Cult: 'what the people use daily.'
The Sage’s path had been his lifelong pursuit!
To become a sage required establishing doctrine, teachings, and achievements—the three pillars of sainthood. He had done just that.
To think this legendary figure was right here—how could he not be overwhelmed?
He dearly wished to meet the predecessor who had set him on the path of reform.
Quinn Shepherd rarely saw him so stirred, and smiled, "The Woodcutter Sage isn’t here at the moment—he’s gone to fight the demon race with twenty-four other gods. Preceptor, you’ve just arrived and don’t know High-Emperor Heaven well yet. Let me explain why the World Bridge is so ingenious."
Quinn Shepherd said meaningfully, "The inheritance of High-Emperor Heaven’s dao and divine arts has never been severed."
"What?"
The Imperial Preceptor looked utterly incredulous and blurted out, "Their dao and divine-art inheritance has never been broken? You mean their techniques and magical arts are all preserved intact? Impossible! Just look at that sun in the sky—their numerology is leagues behind Everpeace, not even up to the standards of the Imperial Academy’s students!"
Black Tiger God curled his lip, thinking, "So this sage who appears once every five hundred years still hasn’t mastered his own temperament. Just a moment ago he was overcome with excitement, now he’s lost control again. So-called sage—just an empty title!"
Quinn Shepherd felt a bit awkward and mumbled, "The sun is... a little hard on the eyes."
The Imperial Preceptor snorted, "Hard on the eyes? It makes you want to grab a blade and tidy it up! If an Imperial Academy student made something so crude, they’d be expelled and sent back to start over!"
All around, the gods of High-Emperor Heaven looked embarrassed, exchanging silent glances.
Quinn Shepherd sighed and lowered his voice, "Keep it down, Preceptor. It’s true that High-Emperor Heaven’s numerology inheritance was severed, but their dao and divine arts never broke. With my strength, among gods of equal realm here, I’d only rank in the top ten."
"Cult Master, aren’t you being a bit modest?" the Imperial Preceptor asked, puzzled.
Quinn Shepherd thought for a moment, then admitted sheepishly, "Maybe just a tiny bit. But many gods here have the bodies of Teenage True Gods—they’re faster, stronger, and their adaptability, divine-art power, insight, and cultivation techniques all far surpass Everpeace."
The Imperial Preceptor took a long breath, calming himself.
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The reason he was so overwhelmed was because Everpeace’s dao and divine arts had such a massive gap!
That gap appeared twenty thousand years ago, when magical arts and techniques were crude and disorganized. The Human Emperor Hall, Dao Gate, Great Thunderclap Temple, and the Heavenly Saint Cult spread their teachings far and wide, but each had its limitations and their arts weren’t complete.
Both Dao Gate and Great Thunderclap Temple suffered massive destruction in the cataclysm. The Human Emperor Hall had only one successor per generation, and the Heavenly Saint Cult was just founded, beginning to teach its doctrine.
Little Jade Capital Sect was also founded then, but it kept to itself and sent no disciples out to teach.
Over time, other sects formed, building their arts from scratch. But soon sectarian and righteous-versus-demonic battles plunged Everpeace’s world into chaos. The three great holy lands became stagnant, and exchanging techniques and divine arts became the hardest challenge.
This chaos lasted until the Imperial Preceptor aided Emperor Evan in reforming and changing the laws. Sectarian and righteous-versus-demonic battles became struggles between the sects and Everpeace itself.
When Quinn Shepherd became Heavenly Demon Cult Master and had the Heavenly Saint Cult fully support Emperor Evan, they crushed the resistance from Dao Gate, Great Thunderclap Temple, and other sects. Only then did the struggle shift to one of interests, and Everpeace finally had a chance to unify its arts and make a great leap forward.
Quinn Shepherd then spread the Divine Bridge spatial-numerology model, giving practitioners a chance to become gods and escape the limits of lifespan.
Even so, Everpeace’s foundation was too weak, its cultivation system still incomplete. Few could reach godhood, and true powerhouses remained rare.
But the completion of Quinn Shepherd’s World Bridge let the Imperial Preceptor glimpse the coming of a vast, majestic new era!
"Cult Master’s merit to the common people of High-Emperor Heaven is immeasurable—and to the people of Everpeace as well!"
The Imperial Preceptor suddenly bowed deeply to Quinn Shepherd, full of sincerity. "On behalf of all living beings, I thank you!"
Quinn Shepherd hurriedly returned the salute. "Please, don’t. The demon race is attacking High-Emperor Heaven—it’s barely holding on. If it falls, their next target will be the Great Ruins and Everpeace. With Everpeace’s help, we can hold out a bit longer."
The Imperial Preceptor straightened and said solemnly, "When I return, I’ll petition the emperor to send aid to High-Emperor Heaven!"
Quinn Shepherd smiled. "Then I’ll leave the arrangements to you and True God Pang Yu. You two can set the migration plan for High-Emperor Heaven’s people, organize the evacuation, and decide how Everpeace will support High-Emperor Heaven and exchange divine arts."
The Imperial Preceptor was silent for a moment. "So you’re going to be a hands-off manager again?"
Quinn Shepherd stretched and smiled, "Tiger Bro and I haven’t rested in days—we need a break, and I have some training to do. This kind of thing is best left to you, Preceptor. Oh, and about that sun in the sky—see if you can help them fix it."
The Imperial Preceptor could only nod. He turned to Pang Yu and said, "Daoist brother, Everpeace doesn’t have a complete cultivation system, but our reforms have achieved much in divine arts. There’s plenty High-Emperor Heaven can learn. Exchange between our realms will surely produce countless new powerhouses."
Pang Yu instructed several gods to guard the World Bridge, and smiled, "Preceptor, let’s go into the city for a detailed discussion."
"Please!"
Quinn Shepherd watched them leave, breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled, "Tiger Senior Brother, let’s go rest."
The two returned to the city tower, collapsed and slept soundly. When Quinn Shepherd woke, daylight was streaming in. He washed up, Black Tiger God woke as well, and Quinn asked, "Senior Brother, what kind of spirit pill do you want? I’ll cook for you."
"Spirit pill?"
Black Tiger God licked his paw and washed his face, shaking his head. "I don’t eat that stuff, don’t bother. As a god, daily cultivation doesn’t require fine food—just something to fill the belly is enough."
Quinn Shepherd froze, remembering Dragon Qilin, and felt a pang of sadness.
After breakfast, Sang Hua, Rain He, and the others came looking for them. Rain He said, "Cult Master, the Imperial Preceptor has already gone back. He said Everpeace’s army of practitioners and gods will arrive soon."
Quinn Shepherd breathed a sigh of relief. "Any news of the Celestial Master?"
Rain He and the others shook their heads. "Now that the World Bridge is complete, my master True God Pang Yu has ordered the people to evacuate High-Emperor Heaven. The Imperial Preceptor is preparing soldiers and ships in the Great Ruins. We came to find you, Cult Master, to sneak into demon territory and help the people migrate."
Quinn Shepherd looked back at Black Tiger God, probing, "Senior Brother, helping the people move out of demon territory wouldn’t count as causing trouble, right?"
Black Tiger God shook his head. "We’ve already knocked down the sun—why worry about sneaking into demon territory? That’s nothing. With me along, you can rest easy. I guarantee nothing will go wrong!"
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