Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, you ignorant child! I didn't come looking for you, yet you dare bring your misfortune to me! Are you trying to overturn the heavens?
Quinn Shepherd's sword qi reached the Jadecrest Divine Palace, but it was shattered as if it had struck an invisible wall.
Do you think that just because your cultivation and realm are high, you can climb above me and throw your weight around?
God-Emperor Jadecrest stood there, four faces and eight arms, towering above all. He looked down at Quinn Shepherd and his companions approaching the divine palace, sneering: "You Nine Heavenly Venerables created the Divine Treasury and Heaven Palace, inventing fourteen realms, but these realms have only existed for less than two thousand years!"
His palm reached out, grabbing toward Quinn Shepherd and the others: "Let me tell you, two thousand years ago, it was not the Divine Treasury or Heaven Palace realms that ruled the primordial cosmos, but bloodline! Bloodline determined your strength, bloodline determined your status. And I am the first demigod, the apex of all species!"
His palm reached Quinn Shepherd, and this was not power formed from vital qi, but pure strength.
As the first son of the Ancient God Emperor, he not only inherited the emperor's bloodline that controls the world's Dao, but also the bloodline of Queen Serena Gong, one of the three Maker God-Kings.
His palm contained innate Dao rules. As his five fingers curled down, Moon Heavenly Venerable, Dragon-Qilin, and the others looked up to see the patterns in God-Emperor Jadecrest's palm resembling mountains and rivers of Dao, his five fingers embodying the Five Elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—arranged in mutual generation and restraint, forming a Five Elements formation!
Between his fingers and palm, the divine arts created by the Nine Human Heavenly Venerables seemed like grains of rice—tiny and insignificant. In scale and understanding of Dao, the Nine Human Heavenly Venerables' divine arts have never matched his.
The realms were founded by the Nine Human Heavenly Venerables: Spirit Embryo, Five Luminaries, Six Directions, Seven Stars, Heaven and Man, Life and Death, Divine Bridge, Revered God, True God, Jade Terrace, God-Slaying Platform, Jade Capital, Lingxiao, Emperor's Throne, Heaven Court—a total of fifteen realms.
To this day, the Seven Divine Treasury realms have existed for nearly two thousand years, and the Eight Heaven-Palace realms have been established for over a thousand years. Yet most gods are still exploring the boundaries of the seventh Heaven-Palace realm, trying to find where its limits truly lie.
Even the Heavenly Venerables are still pushing these realms to their limits.
Yet two thousand years ago, across endless ages, the demigod race had already begun studying bloodlines and created a unique civilization of their own.
Demigod power is inherited from the ancient gods, who mastered powerful Dao rules. As demigods grow, their control over Dao rules also becomes stronger.
This is why the demigod race has thrived for hundreds of millions, even billions of years. And after learning the Divine Treasury Heaven-Palace system in the past million years, they were able to suppress humanity and other acquired races.
God-Emperor Jadecrest's palm descended, his voice booming: "Your human Heavenly Venerables are just titles casually bestowed by ancient gods who saw your creativity. They are name only, without real benefit. Do you truly think you can make a scene in Heaven?"
His palm came down, unleashing terrifying force. Beneath his hand, Moon-Venerable couldn't help but want to act, but suddenly her vision blurred—she realized they had somehow arrived on the back of God-Emperor Jadecrest's hand!
Moon-Venerable couldn't tell how they passed through God-Emperor Jadecrest's terrifying Five-Elements Dao rules to arrive on the back of his hand. Her heart trembled: "Cloud-Venerable's divine arts were never this profound. Could it be... could it be...?"
She looked ahead at Quinn Shepherd's back—he continued leading them along God-Emperor Jadecrest's arm, never stopping.
All around Quinn Shepherd, terrifying Primordial Magnetism Divine Arts twisted space. In the sky of the Earth-Mother Origin World, countless stars flashed, growing larger and brighter. Even the magnetism within the earth went wild, drawn together with the magnetism of the stars above!
God-Emperor Jadecrest was both shocked and furious. His other seven arms rose, palms slapping toward Quinn Shepherd and his companions on the back of his hand.
In terms of raw combat strength, Quinn Shepherd was separated by an unbridgeable gap. God-Emperor Jadecrest, son of the Ancient God Emperor and Queen Serena Gong, was a fully mature demigod whose power could rival those at the Emperor's Throne realm.
He survived the Bloodrust War, slaughtered the Creators, and received the Ancient God Emperor's blessing. His strength was boundless, making him one of the era's most powerful beings.
His power even surpassed many ancient gods.
Yet each of his palms, no matter how many times they struck, could never touch Quinn Shepherd. Every time he attacked with Dao rules, Quinn and his companions would vanish just as the blow landed, reappearing on the back of his hand.
He couldn't see what divine art Quinn Shepherd was using!
In Jadecrest Divine Palace, thousands of demigods reacted, soaring up to attack Quinn Shepherd and his companions!
Demigods are born with overwhelming power, far stronger than humans. As they grow, the gap only widens; after reaching maturity, their mastery of Dao rules becomes even greater.
Before, they experienced birth, aging, sickness, and death. But now, with the Nine Human Heavenly Venerables having created the Seven Heaven-Palace realms, demigods only need to cultivate to the Revered-God realm to achieve immortality and remain forever at their peak.
The sight of thousands of charging demigods made one shudder. Moon-Venerable despaired; though she was one of humanity's Heavenly Venerables, she too was still exploring the Heaven-Palace realms. In this era, the Heavenly Venerables were not the strongest beings in existence.
On the contrary, there were countless demigods whose strength surpassed the Heavenly Venerables.
Loren Shaw, the Creator, also turned pale. From ancestral memory, he knew that in the war where the ancient gods slaughtered the Creators, it was countless demigods who led the charge!
The terrifying scene of adult demigods mastering Dao rules and charging the Creators—he hadn't experienced it himself, but had seen it in ancestral memory!
No wonder we lost...
He thought to himself: 'Demigods reproduce faster than us, their Daos are more varied, their races more diverse, and they grow rapidly. For us Creators to reclaim our homeland, it will be unimaginably difficult.'
Just as he thought this, Quinn Shepherd's voice rang out: 'Heaven-Guide Venerable never taught me the Seven Heaven-Palace realms, nor did he teach me how to become a god.'
He raised his hand, darkness surging through Jadecrest Divine Palace as Netherworld Dao forces appeared in the Earth-Mother Origin World.
Quinn Shepherd said calmly, 'It was I who created the God-Making Method, comprehended the Heaven-Palace realms, and taught them to all living beings. You...'
A trace of pride appeared on his face: 'I taught them!'
He spread his fingers wide, and the Gate of Bearing Heaven rose in Jadecrest Divine Palace. Wherever it passed, countless seemingly invincible demigods instantly lost their Primordial Spirits, their souls sent to the Netherworld, dying unnatural deaths.
Countless corpses fell like rain, smashing through Jadecrest Divine Palace's halls and walls.
Quinn Shepherd squeezed his fingers tightly, Netherworld miasma howling into the Gate of Bearing Heaven. The gate vanished from sight.
He continued forward, walking along God-Emperor Jadecrest's arm to stand before him, expressionless: 'Jadecrest, even your Heaven-Palace, I taught you.'
God-Emperor Jadecrest's enormous face showed panic. His body rapidly shrank, aura growing ever stronger, with rays of Dao light bursting from within, flinging Quinn Shepherd and the others away.
His power was indeed terrifying, far beyond Quinn Shepherd's. Yet he had no confidence in defeating Quinn, as every attack he made was a flaw in Quinn's eyes!
And Quinn Shepherd's divine arts—he couldn't understand them at all!
If it really came to a fight, with faces on all sides and eight arms, his combat strength meant he didn't fear Quinn Shepherd at all. But Quinn had no reason to fear him either!
Light flashed around Quinn Shepherd and his companions, and they appeared before him once more.
'Can we talk now?' Quinn Shepherd's expressionless face broke into a smile, which grew larger as he spoke warmly.
God-Emperor Jadecrest asked, uncertainly, 'Talk about what?'
Quinn Shepherd grew ever more genial. 'After the Jade Pool Grand Assembly, Quinn Heavenly Venerable and I secluded ourselves to study divine arts. Now that the Sky-River Court is founded, I've come out to stretch my legs. In the past, with no human Heaven Court, we relied on God-Emperor Jadecrest's demigods for protection. But now that we have Sky-River Court, we need not trouble the God-Emperor further.'
God-Emperor Jadecrest composed himself and smiled. 'So that's it. Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, why not say so earlier? With such a show of force, I thought you were here to destroy my race.'
Quinn Shepherd laughed heartily. 'I always act with courtesy before force.'
Courtesy before force?
God-Emperor Jadecrest surveyed his nearly destroyed divine palace, corpses strewn across the halls and walls, even the dried Jade Pool filled with the bodies of demigods.
He couldn't help but twitch, forcing a smile. 'Is this your version of courtesy before force, Shepherd Heavenly Venerable?'
Yes.
Quinn Shepherd clasped his hands behind his back. 'If we can't reach an agreement, things will be a hundred times bloodier than now. That's why I act with courtesy before force. You know I was made a Heavenly Venerable for my mastery of divine arts. All your demigods who practice Heaven-Palace cultivation learned from me. If I unleash my full power...'
He glanced around at the surviving demigods in Jadecrest Divine Palace and smiled. 'They'll all die. Your race will be wiped out. I can't kill you, and you can't do anything to me, so let's talk about our future.'
God-Emperor Jadecrest stifled his anger and smiled. 'What do you want to discuss, Shepherd Heavenly Venerable? Please be direct.'
Humans shall be governed by humans. Gods shall be governed by gods.
Quinn Shepherd said, 'From now on, demigods who protect humans will move those humans to Sky-River Court territory. Demigods living in Sky-River lands will return to their own territory. What do you think?'
God-Emperor Jadecrest smiled wryly. 'My race has grown grain since ancient times, always eating and drinking as we wish. It's tradition. This season's harvest hasn't even arrived, and you're already here to take it. If I agree, how will I explain this to my people?'
Quinn Shepherd replied coolly, 'If your race is wiped out, you won't need to explain anything. Ancient traditions are outdated. If something needs changing, change it.'
God-Emperor Jadecrest raised an eyebrow and laughed. 'I haven't congratulated you on founding Sky-River Court. I'll give you some face—these grains are yours. At the Jade Pool Grand Assembly, you were in seclusion, and I was at the Heaven Court Assembly. We didn't meet. Now I see why you were made Heavenly Venerable. Why not discuss things in the hall?'
Quinn Shepherd replied politely, 'No need. I've troubled you long enough. I won't disturb you further. Farewell.'
God-Emperor Jadecrest replied politely, 'Then I won't keep you, Heavenly Venerable.'
Quinn Shepherd said, 'Stay, stay.'
He turned to leave. God-Emperor Jadecrest stared at his back, murderous intent surging from his four faces. Suddenly, countless ruined fragments of Jadecrest Divine Palace flew up, as if time reversed, and the entire Heaven Palace rapidly restored itself!
Soon, Jadecrest Divine Palace was fully restored, exactly as before!
Yet the powerful demigods slain by Quinn Shepherd remained dead—the palace was filled with corpses.
God-Emperor Jadecrest's eight arms trembled as he suppressed his murderous urge. 'This divine art... this divine art...'
He watched Quinn Shepherd leave the palace. The collapsed South Heaven Gate rose and closed behind him.
'I really can't understand!' He clenched his teeth until they bled, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness.
Quinn Shepherd and his companions walked toward Sky-River Court. Quinn said, 'Moon, when we get back, you should go to God-Emperor Jadecrest's lands and move the humans to our territory. Find fertile places for farming and education. You're right—if one generation doesn't awaken, there's always the next. Every generation has a few who awaken. They're our hope.'
Moon Heavenly Venerable followed quietly behind, then suddenly asked, 'Shepherd?'
Quinn Shepherd turned his head, beaming. 'Why did you start calling me Shepherd?'
Nothing.
Moon Heavenly Venerable smiled. 'Shepherd is such an evocative name. It makes me think of a youth tending cattle and sheep on endless green pastures. Is that how you got your name?'
Quinn Shepherd laughed. 'You're overthinking it.'
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