Zechariah Lee shouted and stepped toward Quinn Shepherd.
"I concede!"
Outside the Sand-Table World, Furylo's voice boomed like thunder: "Your saber technique is rigid and precise, calculated to perfection, but now your heart-realm is in chaos. You'll only lose faster and die sooner! If your sworn brother dies, avenge him. Throwing away your own life without revenge is just the act of a brute!"
Zechariah Lee's face twisted; suddenly, he drew his saber with his left hand.
Outside the Sand-Table World, Furylo frowned but did not intervene in Zechariah Lee's actions within the Sand-Table World.
The Sand-Table World was jointly forged by him and the Woodcutter Sage. If he interfered, the Woodcutter would do the same, and things would become hopelessly entangled. He had no chance of winning then.
The Woodcutter Sage's sudden arrival disrupted Furylo's arrangements and plans, catching him off guard, so he could only settle for this wager. He could not break his own rules, or else he might lose everything.
He needed time.
Though Furylo greatly admired Zechariah Lee—even if Zechariah had another master—he still considered him his own successor. But for the sake of the demon race's grand cause, no matter how much he admired Zechariah, he could only grit his teeth and let go.
Zechariah Lee's eye twitched. On the hilt of his demon saber, the demonic eye grew ever more mysterious and unfathomable. But the eye was not fixed on Quinn—it stared at Zechariah's right arm.
Zechariah Lee raised his right arm, saber already lifted.
Quinn had been right—he could not perfectly execute God-Knife Logan Cross's saber technique. To do so, he would have to sever his own right arm; otherwise, it would only be a burden.
The reason he descended to the lower realm was to seek a solution, to wield his saber with both hands, to reach saber-dao enlightenment, and step out of Logan Cross's shadow.
That last sword from Quinn had been dazzling—he knew even he couldn't dodge it. If he wanted to surpass Quinn, he would have to cut off his arm and push Logan Cross's saber technique to its very limit.
Yet severing his own arm meant he would never escape Logan Cross's saber technique, never forge his own path in saber-dao. It would mean cutting off his own future.
Zechariah Lee's expression shifted from gloom to brightness; the saber-light fell, striking the ground.
"I admit defeat."
He dropped to his knees—not toward Quinn, nor Rain He and the others, but toward Jiang Yi's corpse.
Zechariah Lee kowtowed, stood, picked up Jiang Yi's corpse, and turned his head. "I've seen your sword technique. I won't let my master see it—because I will personally kill you myself, to avenge my brother!"
Quinn stood solemnly and nodded. "If that day ever comes, I will die without regret."
Zechariah Lee strode away, heading for the Departure-Demon Fire Wall. With a hiss, his demon saber flew up, slashing open the wall and carving a path. Cradling Jiang Yi, he stepped into the flames and vanished.
Quinn's eye twitched; Zechariah Lee's actions left him uneasy.
Zechariah Lee was no weaker than him. That blade splitting the sea of fire had reached the peak of precision; his body, magic power, Primordial Spirit, and the depth of his saber-dao were all on par with Quinn's—perhaps his physique was even superior.
Right now, Zechariah Lee was just like Quinn after being crushed by the First Human Emperor—teetering on the edge of collapse and transformation.
If he could break through and find his own path, just as Quinn had created the first form of the Calamity Sword—Open the Calamity—he too would forge his own saber-dao, stepping out of Logan Cross's shadow to seek vengeance on Quinn.
"If I had struck him down as he turned to leave through the fire wall, it would have ended things... If it were Grandpa Lame, he definitely would have done it, without a second's hesitation!" Quinn's expression darkened and brightened by turns.
Outside the Sand-Table World, the Black Tiger God caught Quinn's expression perfectly and immediately became agitated, shouting, "Master! Master! Did you see that? This kid's eye keeps twitching, his face changes every second, sometimes he even blurts out in shock! Clearly his heart-realm isn't steady—he's just muddling through!"
The Woodcutter Sage shot him a glare. The Black Tiger God's face changed instantly, and he bowed his head in submission.
The Woodcutter Sage reached out, gripping the handle of his divine axe. At the same time, Furylo extended his hand and grasped his demon spear—both drew their weapons simultaneously.
Inside the Sand-Table World, Quinn immediately sensed something was wrong. The space began to collapse, starting from the point where axe and spear crossed; the realm shrank and crumbled, swallowing up entire mountain ranges!
"Move!"
Quinn didn't wait for a response—he grabbed Sabrina, runes swirling around him in dazzling patterns. "Rain He, Shu Yao—get over here, now!" he shouted.
Rain He and Shu Yao just stood there, staring at him blankly, still in shock.
Behind them, the collapsing space rushed closer. Quinn gritted his teeth, activated his teleportation art, and vanished with Sabrina in a flash of light.
Only then did Rain He and Shu Yao snap out of it. Their faces changed as they glanced back, then shot up into the air. Rain He shouted, "Shu Yao—let's break through the fire wall together and get out of here!"
Both moved at top speed, racing straight for the Sand-Table World's fire wall. Only as their feet hit the ground did they realize the danger—their full sprint even outpaced Quinn's, but the collapsing space was even faster!
The fire wall loomed right ahead, but no matter how fast they ran, the distance never closed.
Not only did they fail to get closer—the gap kept widening, while the collapse closed in behind them!
Cold sweat broke out on Rain He and Shu Yao's foreheads. The collapsing space contained the force of the Woodcutter Sage's axe and Furylo's demon spear—the same power that had transformed a fifty-by-thirty-one-zhang plaza into a world of mountains.
Now, as the world collapsed, all that force was about to be released!
That power was far beyond what Seven Stars–realm cultivators could withstand—they'd be vaporized instantly, body and soul!
"Was that iron-forging Quinn calling us just now—was he trying to get us out with him?"
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Only now did they regret it—stunned by the brilliance of Quinn's sword, they'd lost their senses and missed what he was saying. By the time they realized, it was already too late.
Just then, a flash of light—Quinn appeared at their side, runes swirling around them. Light exploded, and Rain He and Shu Yao spun through space. When their feet touched solid ground and they opened their eyes, they found themselves outside the plaza.
"Go!"
Quinn shouted, racing forward: "Hide behind the great hall!"
Rain He and Shu Yao hurried after him. The three dashed behind the hall, where Sabrina was already hiding. As soon as they stopped, Quinn crouched down, shut his eyes, opened his mouth, and covered his ears. Sabrina immediately copied him.
Rain He and Shu Yao hadn't caught on yet—a terrifying shockwave erupted from the plaza. Blinding light burst from both sides of the hall, and in an instant, their eyes were scorched blind, blood streaming from them as they squeezed their eyes shut!
Next, the shockwave from the collapsing space hit: Rain He and Shu Yao's bodies stretched at incredible speed, almost pulling them out into noodle-like strings.
A terrifying noise erupted—suddenly, they couldn't hear a thing. It was eerily silent.
Warm blood trickled from their ears.
On the great hall, the gods of High-Emperor Heaven flared with divine might, raising a wall of divine light to block the shockwave. Even so, Rain He and Shu Yao were battered nearly to death.
Quinn and Sabrina, crouched down, were unharmed. When the light and shockwave faded, they closed their mouths, opened their eyes, and stood up.
Rain He and Shu Yao crashed to the ground, unable to move. When they finally got up, their faces were covered in blood.
After a while, the two still couldn't hear or see anything.
"They're still too young—they've never experienced anything like this before."
Quinn shook his head, checked their injuries, and said, "I've been through things like this before—when gods and demons fight nearby, you know what to expect... They're fine. I'll brew some medicine to regrow their eye and ear membranes."
Sabrina asked anxiously, "What happened to their eyes and ears?"
"Their eye membranes got scorched, and their ear membranes torn. It's not serious."
Quinn rummaged through his Glutton Dragon Pouch for herbs. "If their eyeballs burst or their ear bones broke, I couldn't fix that—their brains would be cooked. But their eye membranes aren't completely gone, and their ear membranes just have small tears, so they can heal. Rain He and Shu Yao's bodies are tough—even tougher than mine. If it were me, my eye membranes would've been burned away entirely."
Sabrina stuck out her tongue and looked around. Half the buildings in the City of Departure were destroyed—collapsed houses and pavilions everywhere, with demons writhing in agony on the ground.
Furylo drew his demon spear, and his three faces spoke in unison, their voices echoing through the City of Departure: "A gambler pays his losses! All demon kin, abandon the city! True Demon Sumo, lead everyone out!"
The demon gods accepted the order, gathering their kin and preparing to withdraw.
"Heavenly Master, today isn't the right time to duel. Another day, perhaps."
"Agreed, agreed."
Furylo leapt from the hall and led his people away. Quinn was brewing medicine for Rain He and Shu Yao when he saw Furylo approaching and paused, surprised.
From behind, Furylo's head was covered in thick, curly black hair—no fourth face. Two pointed ears stood upright amidst the curls.
"He has three faces."
Quinn felt a weight lifted—since first meeting Furylo, he'd wondered how many faces the demon god had. Now he finally knew.
Sensing Quinn's gaze, Furylo turned his neck, revealing a smiling face. "You're Quinn, the iron-forger?"
Quinn was about to reply when the Woodcutter Sage suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking Furylo's view.
Quinn peeked out from behind the Woodcutter Sage and smiled. "Yes, I'm Quinn. Greetings, Vajra Demon God."
"You understand demon speech? Furylo does mean Vajra."
Furylo nodded, eyes deep with meaning. "We are fated to meet again."
With that, he turned away and strode off. "Zechariah Lee, come along."
(Author's note: Third update today! We've been first on the monthly ticket board for three days now—this is the longest streak for Shepherd of the Divine! Another update at midnight!)