Quinn Shepherd was flung into the wall again and again; soon, almost every wall in Oldridge Village was marked with a mural of mountains and rivers—only Granny Sue’s house remained untouched.
Quinn was about to charge in once more, but suddenly realized his yuanqi was completely drained. He slumped in defeat.
Defeated.
The Overlord Body was defeated—utterly routed. Not only was his swordsmanship no match for Village Chief, even his yuanqi was outclassed. It seemed he could only accept the Human Emperor mantle now.
Village Chief’s expression softened. "You can always restore your yuanqi and come challenge me again."
Quinn steadied himself. "Alright!"
Village Chief’s face darkened as he watched the herdboy bolt away, racing off to cultivate his bizarre Overlord Three-Core Art and recover his strength.
"You cheated," Apothecary said, watching Quinn’s retreating figure.
Village Chief was stunned. "How did I cheat?"
Apothecary sneered, "Your sword technique burns through yuanqi at a ridiculous rate. With your cultivation, you could use it twice at Five Luminaries Realm, maybe three times at most. How many times did you cast it just now? Seven, right?"
Village Chief’s face fell. He muttered, "You can’t imagine how robust my yuanqi is. With precise control, I can cast it four times, each time using the bare minimum… But Quinn’s yuanqi really is formidable. I thought by Five Luminaries Realm our reserves would be about equal, but…"
Apothecary chuckled, "Turns out he’s a giant water tank, and you’re just a bucket."
Village Chief sighed and shook his head. "He had me beat by a wide margin in Spirit Embryo Realm, but at Five Luminaries Realm I shouldn’t be outclassed. I have no weaknesses at this stage, but… neither does he. You noticed, but don’t go spreading it around."
Apothecary smiled, "He lost to you using the same sword technique, so why would I tell anyone? But just now you said the Human Emperor mantle brings only burdens and no benefits. Isn’t that a bit off?"
Village Chief drawled, "What benefits could there be? If there were any, I’d know."
Apothecary’s eyes gleamed. "I’ve heard legends about the Human Emperor and the Human Emperor Seal. Supposedly, the seal is tied to ancient inheritances—some dating back tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years. Some sacred lands were founded by Human Emperors. They say the Human Emperor Seal was more powerful than an imperial jade seal."
Village Chief replied nonchalantly, "Those are tales from ages ago. Now the Human Emperor Seal is just a lump of black iron. Who’d obey a chunk of iron’s orders?"
Apothecary smiled faintly. "There’s a legend that when the Human Emperor Seal appears, it can command all the heroes under heaven."
Village Chief yawned lazily. "The Human Emperor Seal is with Quinn now. Let him wave it around and see which sect listens. If he doesn’t get beaten to death, he’s lucky."
Apothecary grumbled, "You know it’s so dangerous—why give him the Human Emperor Seal at all?"