"Young master, it seems the Heavenly Kings are fed up with you," Lina said, blinking.
Quinn stared at her. Lina quietly hid her fox tail again. Quinn was speechless and shook his head. "You cause trouble everywhere, but it’s all small stuff. I’ve made plenty of messes myself—and bigger ones. I’ve no face to scold you. This must be the first time in Cult of the Heavenly Saint history the Cult Master’s been disliked by his own subordinates. Oh well—since I’ve mostly finished studying the Unified Method, I’ll just go down the mountain."
Lina nodded quickly.
Quinn tried a few more times, convinced he’d mastered the teleportation robe’s technique. He picked Lina up and said, "I’m not confident about this teleportation. I’ve got some pills in my bundle—if I run out of yuanqi, I’ll use them to recover."
Lina clung tightly to his chest, not daring to relax. Quinn leapt from Sacred Descent Mountain, wind whistling in his ears.
The youth’s brocade robe fluttered, and he vanished in midair.
The three Town-Sect Heavenly Kings rushed to the foot of the mountain and looked down, but couldn’t see any sign of Quinn.
"Asura Blood Eyes, open!"
Heavenly King Yu pressed his finger to his brow, and his eyes shone red. He searched for a moment, finally spotting Quinn and relaxing. "Cult Master is fine—he’s reached the edge of the Azure Firmament Thunder Ring around Sacred Descent Mountain. Once he’s past it, he’ll be safe."
Heavenly King Lu suddenly thought of something. "Senior brothers, did either of you tell the Cult Master about the Azure Firmament Thunder Ring outside Sacred Descent Mountain?"
Heavenly King Yu and Heavenly King Shi exchanged looks and both shook their heads. Shi said hesitantly, "Lu, you didn’t mention it to the Cult Master?"
Lu shook his head. "I thought you’d mentioned it… Oh no!"
The three Heavenly Kings’ faces changed dramatically. They each leapt down. The Azure Firmament Thunder Ring was set up by generations of Cult Masters to protect the sacred mountain. From the outside, it looked normal—but anyone entering would be struck by azure thunder!
Even for a Heaven-Man realm expert, falling in would mean death or crippling injury!
With Quinn’s cultivation, he’d be blasted to ashes instantly!
The three Heavenly Kings rushed into the forbidden zone to save him. Even with their immense strength, they emerged scorched and blackened.
"That thunder zone is truly dangerous."
Outside the Azure Firmament Thunder Ring, Quinn looked up and shuddered. "Good thing I saw that hidden thunder zone with my Azure Dragon Eyes and teleported out. Huh, there’s someone in the thunder zone…"
He didn’t have time to look closely—he was already falling from midair. Below lay the green hills and rivers of Everpeace, shrouded in clouds, spectacular to behold.
...
Heavenly King Lu glanced at the devastated mountainside—trees toppled by Quinn’s wild sprinting and spell arts during his meditation. Some fallen trees were still burning, crackling loudly.
“Rare as he is, he’s still not a once-in-five-centuries prodigy—those only come every five hundred years. Our Cult Master is great at everything, except he’s too good at causing trouble.”
This Town-Sect Heavenly King sighed, “Sacred Descent Mountain only gets wrecked like this when Dao Gate or Great Thunderclap Temple invades, right?”
“Enough complaining. The Founding Patriarch chose him as Cult Master. However much trouble he causes, we have to bear it. Come on, let’s go put out the fires!”
Quinn sat motionless atop the Sage’s Rock for half a day, until hunger woke him. He called Lina the Spirit Fox to hunt a roe deer. The two roasted the meat, but after eating half, neither had much appetite left.
"Tired of it, young master?"
Lina, bored, picked her teeth. "I saw some fish-dragons in the Viewing Fish Pond—they look delicious, and very plump."
"I saw them too—they’re definitely tempting."
Quinn hesitated. "I doubt I could beat those fish. But Grandpa Apothecary always said, if you can’t win—use medicine."
Lina cheered, but stopped halfway—because all three Town-Sect Heavenly Kings were standing behind them, faces grim.
Heavenly King Shi said, "Also, several cloud pearls inlaid on the screen in Floating Cloud Pavilion have disappeared—probably just fell off…"
Lina grew nervous and quickly covered her little backpack.
Quinn coughed twice, stood up, and said, "Heavenly Kings, I’ve been here on Sacred Descent Mountain for days, but I suddenly remembered I’m still a Grand Scholar at the Imperial Academy and haven’t attended many classes. I plan to leave today and return to the capital."
The three Heavenly Kings all breathed a sigh of relief. Heavenly King Shi said, "By rights, we should keep the Cult Master here to study, but your academic duties come first—we won’t keep you."
Heavenly King Yu said politely, "Cult Master, Sacred Descent Mountain is your home. Please come back often—don’t treat yourself as an outsider."
"Of course, of course."
Quinn replied just as politely, "As Cult Master, I should visit often."
"Would you like us to escort you down the mountain?"
"No need, no need. Please, Heavenly Kings, stay."
...
Quinn fidgeted uneasily—the entire grove had been destroyed by him, leaving only a few charred ironwood trees standing awkwardly.
“No one knows who picked the Sacred Heart Flowers from the flowerbed in front of Sacred Heart Hall,” Heavenly King Yu said with a smile.
Quinn glanced at Lina the Spirit Fox, who was staring at a roe deer bone, her usually twitching fluffy tail now unusually quiet.
Heavenly King Shi added, “And the lamp oil in the blue lanterns of Celestial Delight Pavilion—someone’s been sneaking drinks from it.”
Lina sensed Quinn’s gaze lingering on her fox tail and quickly tucked it under herself, sitting on it.
Quinn coughed, "Lina, your fox tail is showing."
"No, it’s not!"
The little fox yelped, "I hid it, I swear!"
Heavenly King Lu said calmly, "In front of Apothecary Hall grows an ancient medicinal tree with a copper-red nine-leaf lingzhi. The ninth leaf has been gnawed halfway through. That lingzhi was cultivated from the old tree, and its potent spores fly everywhere, sprouting new mushrooms now and then."
With a pop, a tiny lingzhi leaf sprouted atop Lina’s head. She lifted her paw, pretended to scratch, and stealthily popped it into her mouth, thinking no one noticed—only to find Quinn and the three Heavenly Kings all staring at her.
Heavenly King Shi said, "Also, several cloud pearls inlaid on the screen in Floating Cloud Pavilion have disappeared—probably just fell off…"
Lina grew nervous and quickly covered her little backpack.
Quinn coughed twice, stood up, and said, "Heavenly Kings, I’ve been here on Sacred Descent Mountain for days, but I suddenly remembered I’m still a Grand Scholar at the Imperial Academy and haven’t attended many classes. I plan to leave today and return to the capital."
The three Heavenly Kings all breathed a sigh of relief. Heavenly King Shi said, "By rights, we should keep the Cult Master here to study, but your academic duties come first—we won’t keep you."
Heavenly King Yu said politely, "Cult Master, Sacred Descent Mountain is your home. Please come back often—don’t treat yourself as an outsider."
"Of course, of course."
Quinn replied just as politely, "As Cult Master, I should visit often."
"Would you like us to escort you down the mountain?"
"No need, no need. Please, Heavenly Kings, stay."
...
"Young Master, it seems the Town-Sect Heavenly Kings are a bit fed up with you," Lina blinked and said.
Quinn stared at her. The little fox quietly hid her tail again. Quinn was speechless, shook his head, and said, "You may cause all sorts of trouble, but they’re all small ones. I’ve caused plenty myself, and they’re even bigger. I’ve no face to scold you. This is probably the first time in Holy Cult history that the Cult Master is openly disliked by his own guardians. Well, since I’ve basically grasped the Grand Unification Art, it’s time to leave the mountain."
Lina nodded quickly.
Quinn tested his teleportation robe a few more times, feeling he’d mastered the technique. He scooped Lina into his arms and said, "I’m still not totally sure about this teleportation. I’ve got some pills in my pack, just in case I run out of yuanqi and need to replenish."
Lina pressed close to his chest, not daring to relax. Quinn leapt from Sacred Descent Mountain, wind whistling past his ears.
The youth’s goldsilk robe flickered once, and he vanished in midair.
The three Town-Sect Heavenly Kings rushed to the mountain’s edge, looking down, but couldn’t spot any trace of Quinn.
"Shura Blood-Pupil, open!"
Heavenly King Yu pressed a finger to his brow. Red light flared in his eyes as he scanned below, searching for a moment before finally spotting Quinn. He relaxed and said, "The Cult Master is safe—he’s reached the edge of the Azure Firmament Thunder Ring that circles Sacred Descent Mountain. Once he’s past that thunder zone, he’ll be fine."
Heavenly King Lu suddenly grew anxious. "Did either of you tell the Cult Master about the Azure Firmament Thunder Ring outside Sacred Descent Mountain?"
Heavenly King Yu and Heavenly King Shi exchanged glances and both shook their heads. Heavenly King Shi stammered, "Lu, you didn’t mention it to the Cult Master?"
Heavenly King Lu shook his head. "I thought you two had already told him... Oh no!"
All three Town-Sect Heavenly Kings’ faces changed dramatically. They each leapt down the mountain. The Azure Firmament Thunder Ring was laid down by generations of Cult Masters to protect the sacred ground. From outside, it looked like ordinary sky, but stepping into it meant being struck by torrents of heavenly thunder!
Even Heaven-Man realm experts would be maimed or killed if they fell in!
Someone at Quinn’s level would be blasted to ash in an instant!
The three Town-Sect Heavenly Kings rushed into the Azure Firmament Thunder Ring to rescue him. Even with their formidable cultivation, they emerged with faces and hair scorched black.
"That thunder zone is really dangerous."
Outside the Azure Firmament Thunder Ring, Quinn glanced upward, still shaken. "Good thing I used Azure Dragon Eye Art to spot that hidden thunder zone and teleported out right away. Huh, looks like there’s someone in there..."
He didn’t have time to look closely before his body plummeted from the sky, down toward the lush mountains and rivers of the Everpeace Empire, veiled in drifting clouds—a truly spectacular sight.