In Quinn Shepherd’s squad, aside from himself as Academy Fellow, there was no Imperial Supervisor assigned. Leonard Goodwin’s reasoning was that Quinn, holding the high office of Academy Fellow, ought to lead a team of scholars by himself.
The scholars assigned to Quinn were all top-tier, handpicked talents from the Scholars’ Quarters, but compared with those selected from the God Ability Quarters, they were far inferior.
The Imperial Academy was teeming with powerful cultivators—there was no shortage of formidable talents. Leonard Goodwin’s decision to have Quinn lead a squad on this campaign was clearly an act of personal vendetta.
The scholars following Quinn to the front lines were all familiar faces: Wayne Shen, Elias Yun, Claire Yue with her Wolf Thrall, Serena Yunxiang, and Ethan Qin.
However, Ethan Qin was a scion of the capital’s powerful Qin clan. With deep connections, he simply spoke to Leonard Goodwin and was promptly transferred out of Quinn’s squad into another team led by an Imperial Supervisor—thus avoiding what everyone called Quinn’s doomed squad.
Quinn finished refining a batch of Red Fire Spirit Pills and stretched his back. He’d spent the last few days making pills nonstop so the Dragon-Qilin would have food at the front, leaving him no time to meet with his assigned scholars.
Elias Yun tracked down Wayne Shen, Claire Yue, and the others to discuss: “This time the Grand Rector is sending Dr. Quinn to lead our training, and it’s to a rebel zone. I doubt any of us are coming back—it’s a suicide mission. We don’t even have a single Divine Ability cultivator in our squad!”
Wayne Shen shook his head. "We do."
The others looked at him. Wayne Shen said calmly, “I’ve been suppressing my realm for days now. Don’t worry—I can break through at any time and become a Six Directions Realm Divine Ability cultivator.”
Claire Yue said, “I’ve heard the rebel sects are gathering in the south, planning to drive out Everpeace’s influence completely. Many sects that used to operate near the capital have vanished—like the Dragon Tamer Sect, which has migrated south. Now, everything south of the Yong River is rebel territory. All the rebel sects have massed there, and Divine Ability cultivators are everywhere. One Divine Ability cultivator won’t make a difference.”
Wayne Shen frowned. "Dr. Quinn’s experience in the jianghu is too shallow—he’s only a kid, how many times has he really been out in the world? With him leading us, the odds are grim. Even if I’m strong, it won’t help. Serena, you haven’t spoken—what do you think?"
Serena Yunxiang gave a shy smile and said nothing.
The group fell silent.
Elias Yun sighed, "Let’s just go to the Heavenly Records Tower and pick a couple of escape-type divine abilities. We might need them."
Departure day finally arrived. In front of the Grand Academy Hall, hundreds of scholars gathered as each Imperial Supervisor inspected their squads. Tower-ships descended and landed before the hall, and the Imperial Supervisors led their teams aboard.
"Dr. Quinn, didn’t you hire a ship?"
Leonard Goodwin came over, smiling slyly. "It’s a long trip this time—if you walk, it’ll take more than ten days. You’re an Academy Fellow, surely you can afford a ship, right?"
Quinn replied calmly, "Thank you for your concern, Grand Rector. I’m so poor I only have money left, so I spent a fortune hiring a fast ship. It’ll get us there quickly. I even forged the pill furnace on board myself—it’s very fast."
Wayne Shen and the others exchanged glances. "So stingy—he even forged his own pill furnace. It must be a tiny ship. But wait, he knows forging? He’s never studied in the Godsmith Hall, so where did he learn it?"
The Imperial Academy had its own Godsmith Hall, dedicated to artifact forging. The Godsmith Hall’s Imperial Supervisors also held important posts in the court, overseeing the shipyards and arms factories.
Since entering the Imperial Academy, Quinn had never once visited the Godsmith Hall—there was no way he could have learned forging or smithing.
Soon, the tower-ships rose into the sky, each departing from the Imperial Academy. Elias Yun and the others grew anxious as they waited—until a battered, swaying tower-ship finally appeared overhead, wobbling down to land before the Grand Academy Hall.
"Our ship’s here!" Quinn said with a smile.
Wayne Shen, Elias Yun, Claire Yue, and the others all frowned. The ship was riddled with holes, leaking air everywhere, the mast chopped off, and not even a sail to be seen.
A burly, shirtless man appeared on deck, looking vicious and clearly not a good sort. Tattoos covered his body. He waved at Quinn and laughed, "Brother Qin, I’m late, I’m late!"
Quinn approached with Lina the Spirit Fox and the Dragon-Qilin, smiling. "A day or two late is no problem. What happened to your ship? Last time I saw it, it was fine—how did it end up like this in just a few days?"
"Don’t ask! I ran a job, but that crazy woman from Three Marvels Fortress hit me with a swarm of bugs. I was going so fast, I crashed into the swarm and nearly had my precious ship shot full of holes."
Vance Skyler looked at Wayne Shen and the others, grinning. "Scholars, if you ever become officials, remember to take care of my little business. We’ve gone straight lately."
Elias Yun muttered, "With a ship this broken, won’t it just fall apart in midair?"
Quinn had the same worry—the Cloudchaser Pirate Ship really looked as if it could come apart at any moment.