Whoosh—
In the woods outside Oldridge Village, Quinn Shepherd struck out with his palm. Yuanqi surged from his arm, twining around it like a fiery dragon, and the air before him instantly grew scorching—so hot it seemed to ignite!
He shifted his steps, palms striking again and again. The air grew ever hotter, like a desert with ten suns blazing overhead—sweltering and relentless!
He was using Grandpa Mark’s Thunder Chant Eight‑Form, specifically the fourth form: Sun-Chaser Thunderstep.
Suddenly, Quinn’s footwork shifted, his moves transforming. Each motion now flowed like rushing river water pouring into the sea. His yuanqi switched instantly from fire to water attribute—a water dragon of mist coiled around his arm, and with every move, the roar of waves echoed, as if great currents circled him.
His technique changed again. Both hands gripped an invisible spear; water vapor formed a spear like a long dragon, surging and overturning the river and sea.
These past few days, he’d been honing his qi-control sword technique in the village, focusing solely on tempering his yuanqi. But he still needed to watch fire first to give his yuanqi the fire attribute—only then could he use qi to control the blade.
With repeated practice, the time he needed to watch the flame grew shorter. Now, he didn’t even need to look at the furnace; just picturing the fire in his heart made his yuanqi blaze automatically.
However, Butcher’s pig-slaughter saber method was a pure Battle Skill. Using it to train qi-control swordplay hadn’t yielded much result.
But when he practiced Grandpa Mark’s Thunder Chant Eight‑Form and Grandpa Blind’s spear technique, he gained far more—progressing at lightning speed.
Now, as he unleashed the fourth form of the Thunder Chant Eight‑Form—Sun-Chaser Thunderstep—the ground seemed to quake with the fury of a giant charging. His palm struck out, the air splitting with a thunderous crack: this was the true power of vital energy!
Of course, the Vermilion Bird–attribute fire vital energy couldn’t fully bring out the might of Grandpa Mark’s Thunder Chant Eight‑Form; the ideal vital energy for this technique would be Azure Dragon vital energy.
On the other hand, Black Tortoise–attribute water vital energy could unleash Grandpa Blind’s spear technique to its fullest potential.
After a long while, Quinn Shepherd stopped, swallowed two Core‑Stabilizing Pills to replenish his rapidly depleted vital energy, and carefully reflected on his shortcomings in energy manipulation.
He used to only be able to take one Core‑Stabilizing Pill before it made him feel like he’d burst, but ever since his Spirit Embryo truly awakened, even two pills didn’t overwhelm him—though he still felt uncomfortably full.
“Could the Demon Ape eat Core‑Stabilizing Pills?” he wondered. “Probably not—Grandpa Apothecary said the pills contain four elemental attributes, so for anyone without an Overlord Body, they’re basically poison. Maybe one day I’ll refine a batch just for the Demon Ape.”
Thinking of his giant sparring partner, Quinn Shepherd felt a pang of curiosity. He hadn’t visited the Demon Ape in days and had no idea how the beast was progressing with the Overlord Three‑Core Art he’d taught it.
He leaped to his feet, light as a feather, and raced toward the Demon Ape’s territory. After all, he was still just a teenager; with only elders in the village and no friends, the Demon Ape was the closest thing to a companion he had. After a few days apart, he found himself missing it quite a bit.
Before long, Quinn reached the outskirts of the valley where the Demon Ape lived. Suddenly, a shadow the size of a small mountain rose from the forest—none other than the Demon Ape itself.
The Demon Ape had grown even more massive in his absence. Seeing Quinn, it was overjoyed, thumping its chest and beckoning him to climb onto its shoulder.