The measurement of the sky’s height and thickness was a heavy blow to Quinn Shepherd and the others, but it hit Dao Lord Lucas Lin the hardest.
Dao Gate’s doctrine, cultivation methods, and divine arts are all founded on the principle that ‘Dao follows nature’—pursuing the essence of all things within nature itself, so that their techniques, divine arts, and even mindset approach true nature and thus the Dao.
Suddenly, he realized that even the celestial phenomena within nature were fake. No wonder his state of mind collapsed!
Studying a false nature—how could anyone comprehend the true Dao from that?
Dao Lord Lucas Lin, who had been walking forward in a daze, suddenly went weak at the knees and collapsed to the ground with a thud. His expression was blank, his eyes vacant. Several Daoists rushed over to help him up, but they heard their Dao Lord mutter, “No one has ever mastered the Fourteenth Dao Sword. My master spent his whole life trying to comprehend the Fourteenth Sword. His talent was more than enough, yet he still failed... Turns out it wasn’t that he couldn’t master it, but that even nature itself was fake. How could you possibly master it by studying false nature... Cough, cough!”
He coughed violently, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, utterly despondent. ‘Dao follows nature’—that’s Dao Gate’s doctrine. Now that even nature is fake, one can only imagine how devastating this is for him.
Quinn Shepherd turned to Victor Bloom and asked, “Is the sky in High Heaven the same as it is here?”
Victor Bloom looked up at the sky and nodded.
It’s the same sky, the same stars—High Heaven is no exception.
Crisis, crisis—danger and opportunity always come together. Every danger is also an opportunity.
Quinn Shepherd smiled and said, “Ordinary people only see danger, but the wise see the opportunity hidden inside it. Only those with real ability can seize that chance! Dao Lord, which kind of person are you?”
Dao Lord Lucas Lin’s chest heaved violently.
Just now, he had felt that the heavens were fake, the celestial phenomena were fake, and that these false phenomena had locked Dao Gate’s progress, making it impossible for anyone to comprehend the ultimate mysteries of the Dao Sword.
But Quinn’s words made him see the arrival of opportunity: now that he knew it was fake, he could seek the real thing. That meant he might be able to master the Fourteenth Dao Sword!
“You’ll be the Human Emperor, and I’ll willingly follow.”
Dao Lord Lucas Lin steadied himself and said, “I think the doctrinal dispute between Dao Gate and the Cult of the Heavenly Demon can be set aside.”
Quinn Shepherd nodded: “That’s exactly what I was thinking. I believe we can form an alliance, and when our strength is sufficient, we’ll pierce the heavens!”
Warren Moran walked over and extended his hand. “Warren Moran of Little Jade Capital, willing to ally with the Human Emperor and Dao Gate!”
Quinn and Dao Lord Lin each extended their hands, stacking them together. Quinn turned to Victor Bloom, who walked over and extended his hand as well: “Victor Bloom of High Heaven, willing to ally with the Human Emperor, Dao Gate, and Little Jade Capital. But shouldn’t our alliance have a name?”
Warren Moran laughed, “Why not call it the Heaven Alliance?”
The three of them said in unison, “Good! Let’s call it the Heaven Alliance!”
The four of them withdrew their hands. Dao Lord Lucas Lin bowed to everyone, then left with the Dao Gate experts.
“Lord Quinn, should we report this to the emperor?” Volcano Envoy stepped forward and asked in a low voice.
“Of course we should tell the emperor.”
Quinn Shepherd said, “But only tell the emperor. Don’t go spreading it around, or you might lose your head.”
Volcano Envoy nodded quickly, summoned the other officials from the Heaven-Watch Bureau, and hurried off.
Warren Moran let out a long breath and said, “Human Emperor, forgive me, but I must tell Elder Qingyou!”
Quinn Shepherd nodded, “Immortal Qingyou knows what can and can’t be said. Just tell him.”
Warren Moran said to Mu Qingdai, “Senior Sister, go find Brother Longyu. I’ll go see Elder Qingyou!”
The two of them immediately split up and left.
Now only Quinn Shepherd, Victor Bloom, and Jing Yan remained. Quinn glanced at Victor and said, “Brother Victor, you don’t seem shocked at all. Even Dao Lord couldn’t help but lose his composure, but you’re as calm as ever—I’m impressed. I lost my composure too; when it comes to mental discipline, I’m still a bit inferior to you.”
Victor Bloom’s expression didn’t change. “I am shocked. I’m still in shock. I always thought High Heaven was lofty and far from the world’s filth, but it’s also a cage. The shock and blow to me are beyond words.”
Quinn studied him but couldn’t see any sign of shock. He asked suspiciously, “Really?”
Jing Yan whispered, “Cult Master Quinn, that’s just how my young master looks when he’s shocked—the most he’ll do is frown.”
Quinn frowned. “What about when he isn’t shocked?”
“He looks the same.”
Quinn was taken aback. Victor Bloom looked up at the sky and suddenly asked, “Brother Quinn, what do you think is outside the heavens?”
Quinn Shepherd nodded, “Sage Nicholas knows what can and can’t be said. Just tell him.”
“I don’t know.”
Quinn Shepherd headed toward the capital. “When we’re strong enough, let’s go see what’s outside the heavens.”
Victor Bloom followed him. The three entered the city; Victor and Jing Yan returned to the blacksmith shop, while Quinn went to the Imperial Academy. There, the numerology experts had already established the spatial model for the Golden Scripture Scroll. Dao Gate had copied a version, the palace had one, Elder Qingyou had one, the Academy kept a copy, and of course, the Cult of the Heavenly Demon had a copy as well.
Establishing the Golden Scripture Scroll meant that cult-master-level experts who had been stuck at the Divine Bridge realm now had a chance to break through. There might soon be a surge of new gods. Of course, not everyone could cross the Divine Bridge; mastering the techniques in the Golden Scripture Scroll required very high numerology skill.
If your skill isn’t high enough, even with the techniques and spatial model from the Golden Scripture Scroll, you still can’t complete the Divine Bridge.
Quinn arrived at his residence to find Elder Qingyou, Village Chief, and others there, all looking grim. Warren Moran was beside them—he’d clearly already told them about Quinn and the others’ calculations.
“I just remembered someone.”
Village Chief looked up at the sky and suddenly said blankly, “Maybe he knows some secrets. Elder Qingyou, do you know who I mean?”
“I do—the one who slashed at the heavens.”
Elder Qingyou’s eyes flashed. “The Heaven-Slaying Blade.”
Quinn was slightly startled. “Grandpa Tu?”
Legend has it the Heaven-Slaying Blade slashed at the sky, cut open the heavens, and many witnessed that scene. His blade split the sky, the gods appeared, and he fought them. In the end, his corpse fell to the mortal world. He was called the maddest martial maniac—if not for that battle, the Heaven-Slaying Blade wouldn’t have disappeared.
Elder Qingyou said, “If the Heaven-Slaying Blade hadn’t left back then, Imperial Preceptor Evan couldn’t have made the sword school surpass the martial school, and wouldn’t be called Sword God. The gods who fought the Blade weren’t from High Heaven but from beyond the sky. I never thought about it before, but now I see—the Blade must know a lot. Not long ago, the Heaven-Slaying Blade and Divine Spear visited Little Jade Capital, sensed the aura of a High Heaven god, and left in a hurry. Too bad we don’t know where he is.”
Village Chief mused, “That lunatic must be off chasing those fake gods from High Heaven. Ever since his waist was reattached, he’s been half-crazy. If Blind hadn’t stuck by him, who knows what trouble he’d have caused. He knows a lot of secrets, so let’s go find him. Quinn, let’s go see the Butcher.”
Quinn hesitated. “Imperial Preceptor Evan still owes me a hundred treasures, and he’s about to return to the capital…”
Village Chief shook his head. “Are the treasures of Loulan’s Golden Palace really worth anything? The Grand Elder of the Golden Palace is just a scavenger. The treasures he collected all his life aren’t even worth a look from Cripple.”
Quinn hesitated, then quickly called Fox Lina over and instructed, “Lina, Imperial Preceptor Evan still owes me a hundred treasures. When he returns, help me collect them.”
Fox Lina’s eyes lit up. “Young master, what treasures?”
Quinn said, “The treasures he brought from Loulan’s Golden Palace. We’ll pick a hundred!”
Fox Lina was overjoyed, but hesitated. “Young master, my eye for treasures isn’t as sharp as yours—I’m afraid I won’t pick the best ones.”
“I’ll teach you the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique. Once you master it, you’ll be able to tell which treasures are valuable.”
Sage Nicholas said, “If the Heaven-Slaying Blade hadn’t left back then, Imperial Preceptor Evan couldn’t have made the sword school surpass the martial school, and wouldn’t be called Sword God. The gods who fought the Blade weren’t from High Heaven but from beyond the sky. I never thought about it before, but now I see—the Blade must know a lot. Not long ago, the Heaven-Slaying Blade and Divine Spear visited Little Jade Capital, sensed the aura of a High Heaven god, and left in a hurry. Too bad we don’t know where he is.”
Quinn taught Fox Lina the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique, then summoned Long Qilin and placed Village Chief on its back. “Village Chief, how can we find Grandpa Tu?”
Village Chief replied calmly, “It’s simple. If I release my aura, it will alarm the visitors from High Heaven, and also Grandpa Tu and Blind. That way, they’ll know we’re here. The visitors from High Heaven will definitely send out their aura to challenge me, and when we go over, we’ll meet Grandpa Tu and Blind.”
He said softly, “The matter of the High Heaven visitors should be settled.”
Just as he was about to release his aura, he suddenly looked surprised. Elder Qingyou and the other Little Jade Capital experts also looked surprised, all glancing in the same direction.
Quinn was about to ask, when he too sensed a terrifying tremor.
Village Chief murmured, “It’s those guys from High Heaven. Odd, I haven’t released my aura yet, but they already have… No, they’re fighting!”
His face showed shock. “The Four Lords of High Heaven are killing each other! What’s happened? Quinn, I’ll go ahead!”
Boom!
A loud crash came from the rocking chair. Village Chief vanished from Long Qilin’s back, then several more vibrations followed as Elder Qingyou, Elder Youhe, and Elder Youyun also disappeared.
“Moran, after Qingdai finds Longyu, you two come join us!” Elder Qingyou’s voice echoed from afar.