Elena Cloud swung her sword, cutting him off mid-sentence. Her very first move was the High-Emperor Leveling-Heaven Sword, the first form of the Pioneer Emperor's Thirty-Three-Heaven Sword Dao. She sneered, "Do you think I'm like Su Maiqing, Yan Sun, and the rest of those guys? Some are experts in arts, some in divine abilities, some in leading armies, some are just civil officials—can they really wield the Pioneer Sword Dao with any true depth?"
In Elena Cloud’s hands, the Thirty-Three-Heaven Sword Dao truly displayed endless subtleties—completely unlike the moves Quinn Shepherd had seen before.
Unlike Su Maiqing and the others, Elena Cloud was truly fighting—no mercy, unleashing the full force of her sword Dao from the start.
Still, she underestimated Quinn’s cultivation—using only Revered God–level power. Even though she fully displayed the Pioneer Sword Dao’s might, it posed little threat to Quinn.
Quinn’s thoughts shifted; his Sword Pill flew out, sword against sword, swiftly breaking through her High-Emperor Leveling-Heaven Sword.
Feeling the power in his sword, Elena Cloud’s heart stirred; she raised her mana realm and unleashed the second form—Taeming Equal-Sky Sword.
Quinn broke it again, using sword moves to dismantle every variation of her Taeming Equal-Sky Sword—his blade severing the sky itself.
Elena Cloud boosted her mana to True God level, but still felt Quinn’s power was far more overwhelming than hers at the same realm—she was inwardly shocked.
Her path was different from others—what she studied was wildly diverse, but also deeply refined; in every field, she had profound mastery.
The Pioneer Emperor once commented that in terms of intelligence, Celestial Teacher Ethan was second only to Wenten Pavilion, but her talent surpassed his by far.
In raw talent, she was not the equal of Aurora Yates, but she was cleverer than Aurora.
Aurora Yates possessed the bloodline of Heaven Duke—anything she studied came easily. Elena Cloud didn’t have such innate gifts; what she cultivated were postnatal Daos. Whether music, chess, calligraphy, painting, weapons, martial combat, or formations—she dabbled in them all.
The path Elena Cloud chose was to advance multiple heaven palaces side by side, hoping that when she broke through to Emperor’s Throne, she could leap straight to the Heavenly Court’s level—raising her cultivation and strength to rival a Heavenly Venerable.
She really did follow this path—but to push any postnatal Dao to Emperor’s Throne level was unimaginably hard, even more so than cultivating innate Daos. Every step had to be pioneered from scratch.
She knew how tough this road was—Aurora Yates and the Warfist Celestial Teacher had already become Emperor’s Throne powerhouses, while she was still stuck at High Heaven Hall.
But that’s also why her mana was so immense—among the Pioneer Heaven Court, she was one of the few who, even at High Heaven Hall, could beat the Warfist Celestial Teacher Warren "Chase" Oxley into the ground!
In the Pioneer Heaven Court, the very first person who could overpower Warfist Celestial Teacher Warren "Chase" Oxley in mana was the Pioneer Emperor himself.
The Pioneer Emperor’s mana was incomparably vast—the foundation for Quinn Shepherd’s Overlord Body Three Pillar Art came from the basic guiding art he spread.
The second was Aurora Yates—with Heaven Duke’s bloodline, her power was unmatched.
But Elena Cloud was still one realm below the Warfist Celestial Teacher—yet she could win his respect purely by strength. That was true ability.
But compared to Quinn Shepherd, she immediately felt that at the same realm, Quinn’s mana was two or three times thicker than hers!
She had no choice but to raise her cultivation all the way to Execution Platform level—only then could she withstand Quinn’s sword.
"If we’re at the same realm, even the Pioneer Emperor wouldn’t be thicker than him. In fact, in fact..."
She was uneasy—Quinn’s mana was just too immense. At the same realm, even the Pioneer Emperor seemed much inferior.
Elena Cloud had already unleashed the Thirty-Three-Heaven Sword Dao up to the Supreme Constant-Fusion Sword. But Quinn had never seen this move before, so she performed it slowly, trying to show him all its intricate wonders.
After that, she immediately performed the Thirtieth Heaven Jade Ascendant Victory Sword.
Then came the Thirty-First Heaven Dragonshift Brahma Sword, Thirty-Second Heaven Even-Nurture Jia Yi Sword, and Thirty-Third Heaven Supreme Dao-Realm Sword.
At this move, Elena Cloud stopped, waved her sword aside, and said bleakly, "I can’t beat you. But that’s my shortcoming, not the Pioneer Emperor’s. If he used the Thirty-Three-Heaven Sword Dao, its power would surpass mine by countless times. You would definitely lose to His Majesty the Pioneer Emperor."
"Thank you." Quinn Shepherd put away his Sword Pill, sincerely.
Elena Cloud shot him a glance and sneered, "You really think you can defeat the Pioneer Emperor? He’s number one in sword Dao—no one can match his mastery. His speed of understanding and depth of insight in sword Dao are peerless! The Thirty-Three-Heaven Sword Dao was something he created twenty thousand years ago. How far he’s pushed it since then, I honestly have no idea."
Quinn Shepherd was inwardly awed.
Elena Cloud said, "If the Pioneer Emperor sees your Nineteenth Sword, he can deduce the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Swords from it. With talent like that, he wouldn’t be stumped by the Nineteenth Sword. Maybe when you reach the Pioneer Heaven Court, you’ll find his Twentieth Sword Style—or maybe even his Thirty-Fourth or Thirty-Fifth Heaven Sword Dao! You’re doomed!"
Quinn Shepherd smiled slightly, "Do you really want to see the Pioneer Emperor lose to me?"
Elena Cloud’s eyes widened as she shouted, "How dare you! My loyalty to the Pioneer Emperor is as clear as sun and moon! I lost to you because of strength, not because I wanted to show you his sword skills!"
Luther the Donkey and Shu Jun were drinking with the other divine officials on the city tower. When they heard Elena Cloud’s declaration, the wine in their mouths was sprayed out in shock.
"What are you laughing at?"
Luther the Donkey flew into a rage, glaring, "Drink! If you can still see and hear, you’re not allowed to leave!"
The divine officials trembled and dared not refuse.
To Elena Cloud, Luther the Donkey was just a donkey; to everyone else in Supreme Heaven, he was the Donkey Demon King.
Quinn Shepherd glanced over, "Celestial Teacher, is there really a Thirty-Fourth Heaven Sword Dao?"