The Woodcutter Sage dismounted from his donkey at the foot of the slope, preserving his dignity. Zechariah Lee, however, was still astride the tiger and had no donkey to dismount from.
A cold sweat broke out on Zechariah Lee's forehead. He glanced at his right arm—Logan Cross had no right arm, and wielded his saber with his left. Zechariah's knife-dao brilliance all depended on his left hand.
If Zechariah wanted to perfectly reproduce Logan Cross’s flawless knife-dao, he’d have to sever his own right arm!
More sweat beaded on his brow, and resentment welled in his heart.
He hadn’t even fought Quinn Shepherd yet, but already he was being forced to cut off an arm. Who could endure that? Who would accept it?
Yet if he didn’t sever his right arm, his knife-dao could never be as perfect as his master Logan Cross’s. If he faced Quinn with an imperfect saber path, he’d be unsure of victory.
“Heart-realm has little impact on raw strength.”
Suddenly, a voice came from behind, snapping Zechariah Lee out of his dilemma.
Quinn Shepherd raised an eyebrow, glancing at the approaching Asura demon—Jiang Yi. He’d been busy forging and didn’t really know Jiang Yi.
At that moment, Jiang Yi was covered in blood—whose, it was hard to tell. Judging by his wounds, he was in dire shape.
It looked as if he’d been hacked to ribbons, his body slashed in over a hundred places like fish fillets.
Despite his grave injuries, Jiang Yi’s fighting spirit remained fierce. He exuded a suffocating presence—blood and the stench of corpses seemed to roll off him in waves.
Jiang Yi’s gaze shifted from Zechariah Lee to Quinn Shepherd. “Heart-realm isn’t strength. True power lies in the body, Primordial Spirit, and divine arts. Heart-realm’s influence is minimal. An outsider can see clearly—Zechariah, you’ve fallen into his trap, can’t you get out?”
Zechariah Lee’s eyes brightened. He steadied his breathing, regaining composure.
Jiang Yi was one of his few true friends in High-Emperor Heaven. They’d often shared insights, saved each other’s lives—a brotherhood forged in battle and adversity.
Jiang Yi continued, “The greatest influence on strength is your body, Primordial Spirit, and divine arts. Zechariah, both your body and Primordial Spirit are stronger than his, and your dao is even more refined. Your knife-dao comes from God-Knife Logan Cross, and you’ve learned True Demon Sumo’s demonic arts as well—your divine arts are unmatched. Quinn Shepherd hasn’t even cultivated a Teenage True God body yet; how strong can his arts really be?”
Zechariah Lee’s confidence returned. He smiled, “Sometimes, a true expert needs a good friend. I’ve got a great teacher—and you, Jiang Yi, are my best friend.”
With Jiang Yi’s encouragement, Zechariah Lee’s heart-realm climbed back to its peak.
His true strength lay in his Teenage True God body and Primordial Spirit.
Though his knife-dao hadn’t reached true Dao-entry, in terms of real power Zechariah Lee feared no one in the Sand-Table World.
His greatest advantage was his Teenage True God body—no question about it. That gave him superior speed, strength, reflexes, and raw power in every move compared to Quinn Shepherd.
His second advantage was his Primordial Spirit—powerful as a Teenage True God's. At the Seven Stars realm, the Primordial Spirit's impact wasn't always clear, but mastering it could decide victory.
He had two masters: Logan Cross and True Demon Sumo. Sumo's name meant 'Vajra' in demon tongue, and his Primordial Spirit was formidable. Zechariah Lee had learned advanced techniques from Sumo to push his own Primordial Spirit further.
On this front, he was certain Quinn Shepherd couldn't compete.
His third advantage was his knife-dao and demonic saber. The saber was his spirit weapon, personally forged by Logan Cross, whose blade arts had been honed for nearly forty thousand years!
His only real weakness was his heart-realm, but that didn't matter much for pure strength.
He admitted his heart-realm was inferior to Quinn Shepherd's, but that wasn't the key to victory.
Jiang Yi smiled, looking genuinely pleased. "You're still stronger than me—Quinn just got in your head with his words, that's all."
Zechariah Lee smiled back. With a friend like this, what more could he ask for?
One true friend was enough.
Quinn Shepherd frowned—a single Zechariah was already trouble, and now with Jiang Yi, his odds of winning looked bleak.
Suddenly, Sabrina's head popped up, her two braids dangling as she waved excitedly at Quinn. "Grain-thresher! Don't worry, I'm here! Is it just us left? Where are Rain He, Shu Yao, and Royal Halberd? Did they all die?"
Before she finished, Rain He emerged with a helpless look, and Shu Yao followed, frowning deeply.
Sabrina bounced with excitement. "Rain He, Shu Yao, what were you two hiding in that hollow for? Now we've got four people—taking on those two should be easy! Where's Royal Halberd? Is he hiding with you?"
Rain He looked even more resigned, and Shu Yao’s frown deepened.
The two of them had been lying in wait to ambush Jiang Yi and Zechariah Lee, but Sabrina’s outburst forced them out—so much for subtlety.
Zechariah Lee said coolly, "I sensed you both long ago. You can't hide killing intent. As for Royal Halberd, I killed him with one strike."
Rain He sighed. "Sabrina, we saw Royal Halberd’s body. Everyone else is dead—just us four left. They died bravely, taking down demon elites with them. That’s why we have the numbers advantage now."
Rain He felt powerless before the naive girl from God Sang Ye’s house. Sabrina had ruined their plan by exposing their position.
Even with more people, Rain He and Shu Yao knew it might not mean much.