After a short while, the great shaman who had gone to warm the wine brought it over. Another great shaman gently swirled the wine until it was clear, then carefully strained a bowl and respectfully placed it in front of Quinn Shepherd.
"Did you poison it?" Quinn asked pleasantly.
The two Loulan Golden Palace great shamans hurriedly replied, "We wouldn't dare!"
Quinn laughed heartily. "I'm a divine physician myself, trained under the Jade-Faced Poison King. If you try to play with poison in front of me, you'll only make yourselves a laughingstock."
The two great shamans kept up their awkward smiles.
Quinn's expression suddenly darkened. Pointing at the wine in front of him, he said to the shaman who had warmed it, "Drink it."
The great shaman's face changed dramatically, legs trembling. Quinn's face grew even colder. "Drink it!" he ordered.
The shaman's facial muscles twitched uncontrollably. Trembling, he picked up the bowl and took two sips, forcing a smile: "There's no poison..."
He had barely finished speaking when his body suddenly convulsed. Then, as if deflating, he shriveled up, growing shorter and shorter until only a human skin was left. Outside the skin was his robe, and inside, something squirmed. A swarm of insects burst through the skin, spilled out of the clothes, and crawled in all directions. One by one, the insects ignited and burned to ash.
The other shaman who had strained the wine looked ashen.
Quinn's expression didn't change. He tapped the table and said, "Pour another bowl."
The shaman who strained the wine said miserably, "There's poison in the wine..."
"It can't kill me."
Quinn replied calmly, "Keep pouring. Where are the dancers? Call them up—let's have some music and dancing."
The shaman quickly poured another bowl, called for the dancers, and the music and dance began again.
Quinn ate, drank, and enjoyed the performance. When the mood struck, he clapped along to the beat. The banquet lasted a long time; only when the sun hung low in the west did Quinn finally feel satisfied, waving his hand to dismiss the singers and dancers.
The wine was clearly laced with deadly poison—a kind of voodoo, cultivated gu insects that devour soul and flesh. Yet Quinn drank almost the whole jar and remained completely unharmed.
"What a letdown."
Quinn stood up. The table was a mess; he'd eaten and drunk everything. Even a dozen adults couldn't have finished so much food and wine, yet he showed no sign of being full. Everything he'd consumed was refined inside him by the Spirit Renewal Great Nourishment Art.
"You've lived so many lives—eleven thousand years—and still haven't found your own path. You just keep following others, hopping from one road to another, until you've worn down all your edge."
Quinn shook his head. "I've waited for you so long, and you still don't dare show yourself—how ridiculous. I thought you'd be my worthy opponent, but it turns out the older you get, the more afraid of death you become. Once I seized the initiative, you didn't dare fight me head-on."
The Loulan Golden Palace shaman was utterly baffled, not knowing who Quinn was talking to.
"If you can't fight, what's the point of dreaming?"
Quinn headed for the exit, sneering, "Just go home. Oh, and since you invited me to dinner, make sure you pay before you leave."
He walked out of Jade Perfume Pavilion, drifting away.
In the Green Bamboo Garden, the Loulan shaman was still completely lost. He waved the singers and dancers away. After a while, Ben Coates stepped out of the shadows, bloodstained and gloomy.
"Human Emperor sword technique..."
He muttered, "It's actually the Human Emperor sword technique! It seems a bit off, but I can't be mistaken. That kid used the Human Emperor sword, fused with the Imperial Preceptor's sword, plus the Grand Buddha Mahayana Scripture and the Nine-Dragon Emperor Art from the Ling family. He combined all those arts..."
Quinn had fused so many techniques and divine arts—and all of them were top-tier. The moment they clashed, his Dao Sword was suppressed, and his mind thrown into chaos.
That's why he didn't dare fight Quinn head-on.
He had no idea how many moves of the Human Emperor sword Quinn had learned.
The Human Emperor of the previous era was the supreme powerhouse—Ben didn't dare challenge him.
In that era, countless near-divine figures walked the world. Ben was one of them, Heavenblade was another, and there were many more brilliant individuals—but none shone as brightly as the Human Emperor.
The Human Emperor was the brightest star of the previous age!
Ben had met another Human Emperor in the era before last, and another eight hundred years before that.
Generation after generation of Human Emperors appeared throughout his long life, each dazzling enough to eclipse his own brilliance. The lineage even stretched back to his very first life—and before that, there were already Human Emperors walking the world!
He'd always been curious about this ancient tradition. Every Human Emperor mastered different arts and divine powers, but all were extraordinary. Some sages who appeared once every five hundred years were also Human Emperors!
He'd tried to approach this lineage, but each time, he nearly died at a Human Emperor's hands, so he gave up the idea.
Now, in Quinn, he saw the inheritance of the previous generation's Human Emperor. But that Human Emperor had vanished long ago—rumor said he'd been dead for three or four centuries.
Ben had seen that Human Emperor's sword—it belonged to the strongest person of the previous era, the strongest sword. Just one glimpse, and its light was forever burned into his heart, impossible to forget.
If not for that, he wouldn't have panicked and lost his composure, allowing Quinn to seriously wound him and seize the initiative. So he escaped using water and earth arts, burrowing underground—only to be spotted by Quinn's Azure Heaven Eye. Quinn attacked him with a bamboo staff, iron hammer, and butcher's knife, inflicting even more injuries and forcing him to flee.
Ben's mastery of escape techniques was unparalleled; the Little Jade Capital's arts were the finest in the world.
His soul was nearly divine—Quinn couldn't kill him yet. Plus, Ben's cultivation from past lives was still hidden within him. Though his current body was weak and couldn't bear that power, if Quinn pushed him to the limit, Ben could unleash it and kill Quinn in return!
After Ben fled, Quinn knew he couldn't keep him and didn't give chase. Instead, he returned to Jade Perfume Pavilion, forcing Ben to stay hidden and delay healing his wounds.
"If that ancient organization learns the Human Emperor isn't dead and has an heir, things will get very lively," Ben muttered.
The shaman who had poured wine for Quinn hurried over, forcing a smile: "Prince, how are your injuries? By the way, Quinn didn't pay for his meal..."
Ben murmured, "I don't need anyone to know I lost—though I've lost plenty of times before..."
The shaman froze, suddenly feeling his soul locked in place. Terror flashed across his face.
A moment later, his flesh dissolved, his soul shattered, and only a pile of clothes remained on the floor.
Ben walked out and paid for the meal, thinking, "Luckily, I've tangled with that organization before—I know how to contact them. The capital won't be safe for me now. Once Quinn reports to Barrett, I'll have nowhere to hide. But if I really want to disappear, not even Barrett can find me."
He left Jade Perfume Pavilion, slipped into the shadows, and vanished without a trace.
Meanwhile, Quinn returned to the Academy and found Barrett. "Ben Coates is indeed the old monster from Loulan Golden Palace. I wounded him—he probably won't show his face again."
Barrett was stunned. "He got away? If he works his witchcraft against you, what then? Heavenblade couldn't kill him and had to go into hiding—how much more dangerous for you? That old bastard's cultivation is still at Six Directions Realm, but in ten years he'll break into Seven Stars, and soon after, Life-and-Death. Give him a decade or so, he'll be back at Divine Bridge Realm—and then you're dead!"
Quinn laughed. "How about you stick close to me, then he won't dare make a move."
Barrett frowned. "He knows my name. In ten years, he could use witchcraft to kill me too. No, sticking with you is only a temporary fix. I have to hunt him down and cut him off for good!" With that, he called for his green ox and hurried away.
Quinn returned to his dorm and looked around, feeling a bit uneasy.
"If Barrett can't find Ben, and that guy keeps stalking me at night, I'll never get any sleep! No, he must be rooted out. I'll leave it to the Holy Cult disciples—unless he flees back to Loulan Golden Palace, he won't escape my network!"
Just as he thought this, a dorm manager came over. "Dr. Quinn is now a Divine Arts practitioner—it's time to move to the Divine Arts Quarters."
Other managers were helping Wayne and Serena move as well. "Wayne and Serena have also broken through—they're moving to Divine Arts Quarters too."
Wayne and Serena hurried over to Quinn, thanking him. "If not for your Six Directions Numerology Canon, we couldn't have reached Six Directions Realm so quickly."
Quinn replied modestly, "It was nothing."
Wayne looked awkward, while Serena felt a bit deflated. For Quinn, it was a small favor; for them, it was a huge help. Wayne wondered if he still had a chance to surpass Quinn and become the Holy Cult's leader herself.
"Farewell, Scholars' Quarters!"
Wayne waved to the scholars who came to see him off, smiling, "Whoever wants to be senior brother, fight for it yourselves!"
Yue Qinghong and Monk Yun Que looked uninterested, exchanged glances, and laughed, "You three go ahead to Divine Arts Quarters—we'll catch up in a few days. Let someone else be senior brother!"
Quinn, Wayne, and Serena headed to Divine Arts Quarters, with the dragon qilin trailing behind, determined never to let Quinn out of his sight—he wouldn't miss a meal!
"Oh, right."
Quinn smiled, "The Crown Prince will leave the capital in a few days for disaster relief, and I'm joining him. If you're free, come along for some real-world experience. Wayne, now that you're a Divine Arts practitioner, you could become a Holy Cult incense master in a few years."
Wayne's scalp tingled—he really didn't want to go. "Every time I travel with you, it's life-and-death danger. I'll pass. I just broke into Six Directions Realm and need to consolidate my cultivation..."
Serena's eyes sparkled. "I'm in!"
Just then, a manager from Divine Arts Quarters arrived. "Wayne, the Crown Prince personally named you for this trip. Besides you, a dozen other Divine Arts practitioners are going too."