Brother Brightheart flared with anger at Quinn’s words, shouting, “Blasphemy! How dare you insult the Buddha!”
Quinn Shepherd smiled, his heart settling into perfect calm. His eyes brimmed with unmatched confidence—no matter how strong Brother Brightheart was, no matter what techniques he used, he had already lost in spirit!
Across from Grandpa Mark, the old monk hesitated. Quinn’s words sounded wild and lawless—not just insulting Buddha, but gods and demons too—yet to the monk’s ears, they weren’t blasphemy at all, but words of profound truth!
Only with no Buddha in your heart can you become Buddha.
If there is Buddha in your heart, you can never become Buddha.
Only with no demon in your heart can you become demon.
If there is demon in your heart, you can never become demon.
Brother Brightheart’s state of mind wasn’t there yet—he couldn’t grasp these words. But the old monk understood them well. It was only after stepping into the Heaven‑Man Treasury that he truly comprehended their meaning, but now, having reached the Life‑and‑Death Treasury, he still couldn’t break the Buddha in his heart. The deeper his cultivation, the more he feared gods and demons, the more he saw the vastness of Tathagata.
Easy to know, hard to do.
Hearing the same truth from a kid like Quinn Shepherd sounded bizarre. Stranger still, that this child claimed to have broken free of the gods and Buddhas in his heart!
Granny Sue and the others grew tense again. Brother Brightheart hadn’t made a move yet, but his aura alone was enough to give Quinn a crushing sense of pressure, sapping his fighting spirit.
Tell me, who dares strike at the Buddha?
But Quinn did!
His footwork was Cripple’s Stealing-Heavens Leg Art, blindingly fast. Before Brother Brightheart could even blink, Quinn was in front of him; before he could raise his hand, Quinn’s thunderous punch smashed into his chest.
The Nine-Dragon Thunder Rush packed nine layers of force into a single blow. The first layer hit like a fire dragon bursting from Quinn’s fist, slamming into Brightheart’s chest with a resounding clang.
Golden light blazed on Brother Brightheart’s skin, and a faint golden bell shimmered into view.
The second layer followed instantly—Twin Dragons Twisting! Two dragon forces tangled together, drilling straight for Brightheart’s heart!
Clang—
Another bell rang out. The two forces struck so quickly, the bell sounded twice almost at once, deafening!
Then came the Nine-Dragon Thunder Rush’s third layer—Three Dragons Shattering Stone—followed by the fourth, Four Dragons Assault, then the fifth, Five Dragons Demon-Refining Force, the sixth, Six Dragons Cycle, and the seventh, Seven Dragons Upend the Seas!
Seven layers exploded in succession—seven bell chimes rang as one. The golden bell’s glow on Brightheart finally dimmed, forcing the tall, thin monk back a step.
The eighth layer, Eightfold Heavenly Dragon Force, burst forth, making Brightheart retreat again as the golden bell regained its luster. Then Quinn unleashed the ninth—Nine Dragons Thunder Gale—and the golden bell on Brightheart shattered with a crash.
Quinn was astonished. Even the Demon Ape couldn’t withstand the full nine layers of the Nine-Dragon Thunder Rush; whenever he fought it, he’d stop at six or seven to avoid seriously injuring it. But Brightheart neither dodged nor blocked, taking all nine layers head-on!
He remembered Granny Sue’s words and hadn’t held back this time, unleashing his full strength—Spirit Embryo Treasury and all. Yet all he managed was to force Brightheart back a few steps.
“You never received the true transmission of the Thunder Chant Eight-Form.”
Brightheart’s feet shifted, yuanqi exploding beneath him. He moved with blinding speed, palm raised—thunder erupted as he punched, and a dragon’s roar burst forth!
Boom—
Before the punch even landed, Brightheart’s yuanqi took the form of an azure dragon—faint, but fierce, domineering, and savage!
He had manifested the first layer of the Nine-Dragon Thunder Rush with his yuanqi—a sign of deep reserves. More importantly, his heart-method was a perfect match for the Thunder Chant Eight-Form, exactly what Quinn lacked!
Quinn braced himself and took the blow head-on. The first layer was shockingly strong, but before he could absorb it, the second—Twin Dragons Twisting—followed. Two dragon-shaped yuanqi twisted his arms, bending them, before the third—Three Dragons Shattering Stone—slammed into his forearms!
Blood spattered from Quinn’s arms as he staggered back, feet scrambling, crushing the stone platform beneath him.
Four dragon forces lunged; Quinn grunted, his yuanqi surging into his eyes. He activated Divine Firmament Heaven Eye, shaping his yuanqi into a spear and thrusting it between the four attacking dragons. With a crisp ring, the spear pierced Brightheart’s palm, scattering his Five Dragons Demon-Refining Force before it could erupt.
Two forces collided, and the yuanqi spear in Quinn’s hand shattered and dispersed.
Quinn raised his eyebrows, looking at Brightheart’s palm, where a drop of blood trickled down his fingertip. That spear had pierced his hand.
Of course, Quinn’s own arms were a bloody mess—his injuries far worse.
Quinn drew a deep breath, his yuanqi suddenly blazing. He lunged at Brightheart.
Spring-Thunder Charge to the Eastern Sea!
This time, he used fire force instead of water—like a river of flames pouring from the sky, surging into the sea, as if to ignite the ocean itself!
Brightheart was unmoved, meeting the attack head-on, eyes shining. "Without the heart-method, it’s all empty show—just a facade."
He countered with Spring-Thunder Charge to the Eastern Sea as well. His palm moved—thunder erupted, a single clap shattering Quinn’s fiery momentum.
But Quinn wouldn’t give in. Suddenly, fire blazed from his hands. He turned his palms into blades, hacking at Brightheart like a madman!
Pig-Slaughter Saber Art—Sun Over the Eastern Sea, Thousand-Fold Waves!
It was a wild move—the Butcher’s saber art. Without madness, it couldn’t reach its full power. It surged like the rising sun, a thousand waves in the Eastern Sea, a blade force that could cleave anything!
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
A thousand waves stacked, a thousand blades layered—there was nothing it couldn’t kill, nothing it couldn’t break!
Brightheart’s face changed, but Quinn frowned. He saw what was coming: Brightheart was about to use the eighth form of Thunder Chant Eight-Form—Thousand-Hand Buddha!
The monk met Quinn’s palms with his own, like a Thousand-Hand Buddha blocking the wild saber strikes!
Quinn’s heart sank. His hands weren’t real blades, just blades in form. Brightheart’s defense was too strong—he couldn’t break through.
"Then I’ll go faster! Faster! Even faster! So fast you can’t block my blade! Night Battle in the Storm-Lashed City!"
Quinn fought like a madman, slashing wildly. Only one thought filled his mind—faster, faster, faster, a quick blade to lop off the Buddha’s head!
“There’s no pig alive that Pig-Slaughter Saber Art can’t kill!” Quinn’s yuanqi surged, his voice fierce.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Brightheart frantically blocked with Thousand-Hand Buddha, but suddenly Quinn’s blade-hand struck his throat. The golden bell on his skin rang out. The second slash broke through his thousand-arm defense, striking his throat again—another bell chime.
The third, fourth, fifth, sixth slash!
Each slash was faster than the last, landing again and again on the same spot—Brightheart’s throat!
“Senior Brother, back when we trained together, we both knew your Thousand-Hand Buddha had a flaw.”
Across from the old monk, Grandpa Mark said calmly, “Looks like you passed that flaw on to your disciple.”