In truth, his martial ascension is itself a valid method—it's just that, from the Pioneer Era until now, he remains the only person ever to succeed.
And before the Pioneer Era, there had never been anyone like him.
As the Warfist Celestial Teacher, Warren Oxley (the Old Farmer) devoted all his energy to the martial path. He knew nothing else, and it was precisely this single-minded focus that earned him the title Martial Emperor!
Throughout history, he stands as the number one figure in martial Dao!
Had he been as scatterbrained and eclectic as Quinn Shepherd, dabbling here and tinkering there, he would never have achieved what he has today.
Focus—that's the key to his success.
Still, even knowing this, seeing Quinn Shepherd casually produce twenty-six Seventh Divine Treasuries hits him hard.
Even before Quinn came up with twenty-six Seventh Divine Treasuries, Victor Bloom had already created the Jianmu World-Bridge—a feat just as astonishing. A single Jianmu tree links heaven and earth, fusing all the divine treasuries into one.
Worse still, the Jianmu World-Bridge has made martial ascension much easier—allowing Hugh No-Return to ascend directly from the Jianmu, crossing the void and reaching the Heaven Palace.
Though the Old Farmer puts on a tough front, he's long since been convinced by Quinn Shepherd and Victor Bloom. Now, the blow is simply doubled.
"I really can't stand these clever types. Always acting like I'm dumb, saying I never study, never work hard, just think a bit and—bam!—twenty-six solutions. These bastards practically want to tattoo 'smarter than you' on their foreheads and wait for you to praise them!"
He’s been taking hits like this since his youth—the Woodcutter Sage, the Scholar Celestial Teacher, the Fishing Celestial Teacher—each one smarter than him, leaving him feeling like the dumbest of the four.
That feeling has followed him for twenty thousand years since the Pioneer Era, leaving him full of complaints.
The Old Farmer tried his best to look kindly and gentle, and said warmly, "So you have twenty-six solutions—why destroy the Other-Shore Divine Treasury, then?"
Quinn Shepherd laughed, "Those twenty-six methods are just theoretical deductions—I haven’t tested them yet. Once I’ve tried them all, I’ll pick the simplest one for you. Then you can teach it to the martial artists of War-Ox Realm and finally solve their lack of a Divine Bridge Treasury."
"Pick the simplest one..."
The Old Farmer felt his kindly expression about to twist into a grimace, but steadied himself and forced a smile: "Just keep the Other-Shore Divine Treasury—don’t destroy it. Open a second treasury instead. With more treasuries, you’ll have more power."
Quinn Shepherd paused, then clapped his hands in admiration: "Uncle, you truly are wise—worthy of the Martial Emperor title! I never thought of that!"
The Old Farmer felt rather pleased, thinking, "These clever folks do tend to overthink things."
"But stuffing so many treasuries inside your body would be a chaotic mess—a real headache."
Quinn Shepherd thought for a moment and said, "I think some treasuries might be unnecessary—having extras could just be a burden... Uncle, hold on, I need to calculate whether my body can actually hold that many treasuries!"
The Old Farmer’s brow twitched. He grunted, watching as Quinn Shepherd spread his hands—yuanqi constructing a model of the human body and its divine treasuries. With a snap of his fingers, each treasury rapidly expanded.
Quinn Shepherd walked among the treasuries, observing closely. Suddenly, another burst of yuanqi flew out, forming a Heaven Palace with the South Heaven Gate towering high.
He used yuanqi to shape twenty-six different treasury forms, listing them out one by one, trying to fit them all beneath the South Heaven Gate.
The Old Farmer watched carefully, but soon realized he couldn't make heads or tails of it. He snorted inwardly, thinking, "Show-off!"
Quinn Shepherd kept rearranging and combining, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. After a long while, he withdrew his yuanqi and shook his head. "Uncle, you’re oversimplifying. If it’s just ordinary Seventh Divine Treasuries, the South Heaven Gate could fit five or six. But some of these treasuries can't even fit under the gate—they’d have to connect directly to the Heaven Palace. I think one treasury is best; having more is pointless."
The Old Farmer kept up his kindly act and said, "In that case, I’ll destroy your Other-Shore Divine Treasury so you can keep experimenting. I’ll stay at the Imperial Preceptor’s manor—when you open a second treasury, just send someone to fetch me."
Quinn Shepherd hurriedly said, "Uncle, you should stay here instead—the Imperial Preceptor is broke, and daily expenses are a problem. Plus, I’m skilled in medicine and can help you heal."
"No need!"
The Old Farmer replied stiffly, then softened his tone: "Your cultivation is what matters—I won’t disturb you. There’s a poison expert at the manor named Warren Foyne, also skilled in medicine. I’ll have him treat me."
Quinn Shepherd laughed, "Warren Foyne is my senior brother, the Poison Prince. His medical skills aren’t as good as mine, but he’s not bad. If that’s settled, I’ll send some money to the manor for your living expenses."
The Old Farmer pressed, "Hurry up—where exactly is your Other-Shore Divine Treasury?"
Quinn Shepherd quickly pointed out the location of the Other-Shore Divine Treasury. Without another word, the Old Farmer jabbed a finger—there was a thunderous crash, and the painstakingly forged Other-Shore Ark shattered, gone forever!
Quinn Shepherd’s yuanqi surged, blood trickling from his lips. As the Old Farmer turned to leave, Quinn quickly suppressed his injury and said, "Uncle, the halo behind my head is a blessing from the Earth Mother Primordial Lady—can you break it with sheer force?"
"That’s easy!"
The Old Farmer threw a punch, and the halo behind Quinn Shepherd’s head shattered with a crackle!
Quinn Shepherd was stunned, and couldn’t help but praise, "Uncle, your strength is unmatched!"
The Old Farmer felt quite pleased. Just then, his expression changed—he stared at the back of Quinn Shepherd’s head, where countless runes in the shattered halo began to reassemble themselves.
The runes were minuscule, and he vaguely sensed that they were drawing power from the earth, quickly restoring the halo to its original state.
Quinn Shepherd’s expression changed as well, and he stood there, stunned.