Lynn Ling's heart trembled slightly. She whispered, "Grand Venerable has lived for ten thousand years and is proficient in almost every sacred site's divine arts! He's even traveled to the Western Lands, so he should have learned their arts too, and he's visited Taeming Heaven—he definitely wouldn't have missed out on Taeming's dao and techniques. If the Chiming Divine Son studies him, he can basically grasp all the main spell-arts and divine techniques of Everpeace!"
Quinn Shepherd was still studying the stone statues. He said leisurely, "He's looking at dao and divine arts—what he's seeing is just the form. From Grand Venerable, he can't see the spirit and essence of Everpeace. Grand Venerable doesn't have that kind of thing; his backbone is too soft. If he wants to see Everpeace's spirit and essence..."
He looked up, pressed his lips together, and said with a half-smile, "He should look at me!"
Lynn Ling laughed and said, "Bragging!"
The First Human Emperor smiled and said, "Little Lynn, Quinn isn't bragging. I can let you see his spirit and essence."
With that, he gently tapped Lynn Ling's brow. Instantly, her eyes dimmed, but a light began to glow at her brow, and she could faintly make out a figure ahead.
"Look at Quinn," the First Human Emperor said.
Lynn Ling looked at Quinn Shepherd and immediately saw a blazing spirit and essence, like a raging fire—fearless of heaven or earth, daring to act, daring to break through, daring to fight!
Her heart trembled again. After a moment, her vision gradually returned to normal, and she could no longer see that blazing spirit and essence on Quinn.
"If you looked at your father, Emperor Evan, you would see the same thing—maybe even more intense than Quinn's."
The First Human Emperor said meaningfully, "The one who founds an empire isn't necessarily the strongest in cultivation, but he must be the one with the greatest spirit and the broadest mind. Emperor Evan is such a man—he has immense determination and grandeur, even greater than Quinn. I once observed the Imperial Preceptor from afar, and even he didn't possess such a powerful spirit and essence. Emperor Evan represents the spirit of an entire era!"
Lynn Ling was startled. She had never imagined that someone like the First Human Emperor would rate her father so highly!
Emperor Evan's cultivation and strength are not as high as the Imperial Preceptor's, and his talent and comprehension fall short compared to both the Preceptor and Quinn. He is outstanding, but not at the very pinnacle.
But Emperor Evan is the central figure in the Preceptor's reforms. It was his personal drive that pushed for reform, that broke the gods in the temples of the heart, and made divine arts and gods serve the common people. It's just that his brilliance was overshadowed by the Imperial Preceptor.
I want to become someone like my father—no, someone even better! Lynn Ling vowed silently.
Ten days later, Ben Coates was summoned to the imperial palace once again to face off against the practitioners of the Hanging Realm. This time, not only were there Life-and-Death realm cultivators, but also thousands of Heaven-Man and Seven Stars realm experts—an overwhelming crowd of three-headed, six-armed masters.
Once again, the Life-and-Death realm cultivators challenged Ben. In just ten days, their cultivation and strength had surged dramatically. Not only that—even the divine arts and techniques Ben used previously were now being displayed by the Chiming practitioners, executed with such mastery it seemed as if they'd practiced for decades!
Ben was startled, forced to go all out against these opponents, using every trick he had. Though his skills were still superior and he defeated most of the Hanging Realm cultivators, he did lose a few matches.
This time, Adrian Chime gave him plenty of time to rest, always waiting until Ben was at his peak before sending in the next challenger. As a result, the battles were exceptionally fierce.
Adrian Chime stood high above, watching the fighting below. He turned and asked, "What have the Everpeace envoys been doing these past few days?"
A nearby god bowed and replied in a low voice, "The Everpeace envoys have nothing to do and just wander the city. They seem very curious, as if they've never seen much of the world, always staring at the city statues for ages. Especially the envoy surnamed Qin—he sprawls on the statues to examine them. Lately, he's less curious, but has started sketching the statues instead."
Adrian Chime's brow twitched—his eyebrows were striking, with sharp peaks like curved blades. He said, "A terrifying opponent. Everpeace actually has such talent; this could be troublesome."
The god was puzzled by his meaning.
Adrian Chime produced a mirror covered in black cloth. "Take this mirror and find him. Aim the mirror at him from a distance, lift the cloth and use it to observe him, then cover it again and bring it back to me."
The god was baffled but still took the mirror and hurried off. Adrian Chime continued watching the battle.
A short while later, the god returned with the mirror still covered. "I used the mirror to observe the Everpeace envoy and rushed straight back."
Adrian Chime took the mirror, gently pulling away the black cloth. His two eyes stared at the mirror, while the vertical eye on his brow continued to analyze Ben Coates' every move in the arena, constantly deducing and interpreting.
Suddenly, Adrian Chime froze slightly, all three eyes fixed on the mirror.
In the mirror, Quinn Shepherd had his back to him, scrutinizing a city statue. Beside him stood a young woman, and floating near them were two eyeballs as tall as a person. The First Ancestor, however, had turned his face toward the mirror—his face looming large, pale, and seemingly very close, as if he were staring straight through the glass.
But what stunned Adrian Chime was not the First Ancestor, but Quinn. Through the mirror, Quinn's back looked perfectly normal—one head, two arms—but there was a fierce, warlike aura emanating from him.
That murderous intent and fighting spirit seemed to faintly take the shape of two extra heads, forming a triad with Quinn's own!
Not only that—Adrian Chime could also vaguely see phantom arms under Quinn's armpits, four additional arms!
Those four arms and two extra heads were formed from pure spirit and essence, not physical flesh!
Adrian Chime narrowed his eyes, and the vision in the mirror gradually faded away.
"Chi Creek, did you teach the Seamless War-God Art to the Everpeace envoy?" Adrian Chime called Chi Creek over and asked.