Quinn Shepherd burst into hearty laughter, his body shuddering as he sent Lina the Spirit Fox flying. He crouched low, then suddenly sprang upward, hands raised to the sky, leaping straight toward the descending Buddha coiled with a dragon and seated atop an elephant!
Thunder Chant Eight-Form, Sixth Form: Ten Thousand Buddhas Bow to the Ancestral Thunder!
Boom!
Lightning crackled in midair—one figure shot upward, the other plummeted toward the ground.
A wild gleam flashed in Quinn's eyes as he looked up, waiting for the airborne figure to crash down. The moment Elias Yun landed, thunder rolled at his ears—Quinn's fist came roaring in, each punch bursting with thunder, booming again and again, shaking the soul.
Thud, thud, thud.
Quinn's steps were heavy, like a giant elephant stomping the earth. His muscles rippled, every fiber engaged as he drove his strength to the absolute limit.
Their fists collided—Elias Yun's expression changed. He felt Quinn's yuanqi surge forth, vast and overwhelming, crushing his own energy like a rolling avalanche.
He hurriedly staggered back, frantically blocking Quinn's fists as he retreated. All his refined techniques, all his exquisite moves—none could be unleashed. He was forced to defend with bare fists against bare fists.
He simply had no time to cast any spells or techniques—none could be used.
Lina, his robe is pretty good—probably worth some money," Quinn kindly reminded her.
Lina the Spirit Fox stripped off the monk's robe. Sure enough, it was spotless and impossible to tear. The little fox was delighted: "That monk will definitely pay a lot to ransom this robe! By the way, young master, what's his name?"
Quinn leapt back up the jade cliff, heading toward the Scholars' Quarters. He shook his head, "How would I know? I asked him earlier, but he wouldn't say—probably afraid of being embarrassed after losing. Still, that monk has some real skill and self-awareness."
Not far away, Claire Yue suppressed her shock and approached with her Wolf Thrall, looking down the cliff. Elias Yun lay at the base, wearing only blood-stained white shorts, still unconscious.
His white shorts weren't nearly as valuable as the monastic robe; just plain cloth.
Elias Yun was useless—he couldn't even force Quinn to go all out. But that Quinn Shepherd is truly strong. Wolf Thrall, how do you compare?" Claire Yue asked.
Wolf Thrall's eyes flashed, tongue curling: "I have the demon-blade art, a battlefield killing blade. I could force him to use his full power! But I could only last ten moves—after that, I'd be defeated."
Claire Yue's eyes lit up. "Go."
Wolf Thrall bowed in acknowledgment, then reached behind his back. With two sharp snicks, he drew two curved blades strapped across his back—pitch-black, with no hint of any other color, as if forged from the darkest metal.
Both blades were over a yard long, narrow and curved.
Wolf Thrall strode forward, his pace quickening, then suddenly released his grip. Threads of yuanqi shot out, controlling the blades with qi—both demon blades flew silently through the air, slashing toward Quinn!
Just as the two demon blades were about to strike Quinn, their edges flared with killing light—one swept low across the ground, the other sliced horizontally at his waist!
It was as if Quinn had eyes in the back of his head. His body twisted into an impossibly flat, fish-like shape—one foot stamping down on the lower blade, the other kicking away the upper blade. It was hard to imagine a human body could bend like that.
The upper demon blade was kicked away, while the lower was stamped deep into the rock by his foot.
Wolf Thrall was startled, watching as Quinn slipped toward him like a ghost.
Wolf Thrall's yuanqi threads flickered as both demon blades whirled back, black light crisscrossing all around Quinn. The Wolf Juxu Kingdom's demon-blade art was executed perfectly, but not a single blade touched Quinn—he dodged every strike by a hair's breadth.
His blade art wasn't ordinary—it was a battlefield killing technique, with no superfluous moves, only the purpose of slaying the enemy!
Yet even such fierce blade art couldn't touch Quinn at all.
However, the ferocity of the blade light forced Quinn to retreat—he couldn't advance, and was instead pushed steadily backward.
Quinn's retreat coiled like an Azure Dragon winding into a crouch. Wolf Thrall's pupils shrank—this wasn't a retreat, it was a dragon coiling!
The dragon can grow or shrink, stretch or coil; when a dragon coils, it's ready to strike with a killing blow.
Wolf Thrall was once a person of status in the Wolf Juxu Kingdom, but was captured by Claire Yue on the battlefield. According to the kingdom's custom, he became her Wolf Thrall and now serves her, though his strength is almost equal to hers.
He was a veteran of countless battles, with a wealth of combat experience.
Quinn's retreat felt extremely dangerous to him, like being stalked by a savage primordial beast!
Wolf Thrall's demon-blade art grew more frenzied, but Quinn had gathered his strength to its peak. Suddenly, Quinn punched forward, breaking through—dragon roars thundered, and both demon blades lost control, whistling toward Wolf Thrall!
Along with the demon blades came Quinn's grand, domineering punch, its intent forming a fierce, savage dragon lunging straight at its target.
Wolf Thrall roared, unleashing his yuanqi in a burst as fierce as a blood-red sun over the desert. His clothes exploded, dragon-wolf patterns appeared on his body, and he pushed his palms forward with all his might, pouring every ounce of yuanqi into them!
Bang.
A tremendous shockwave sounded—Wolf Thrall's body slid backward, the two demon blades piercing his sides. He retreated dozens of yards before crashing into a boulder, finally stopping.
Lina, don't rob him anymore—leave him some money for medical treatment.
Quinn called back Lina, who was about to loot the spoils, shaking his head: "He used weapons, so I hit a bit harder. His injuries are serious—it’ll take a lot of money to heal."
Lina smacked her lips. "What a shame—those blades were pretty nice…"
Quinn shook his head and left. "Not as good as my blades. But his skill isn’t bad—his combat instincts are stronger than the monk’s."
Claire Yue waited until Quinn had gone before revealing herself by Wolf Thrall’s side. Blood trickled from his mouth; the two demon blades had pierced his sides and pinned him to the boulder behind, leaving him unable to move.
Mistress, I miscalculated.
Wolf Thrall looked ashamed: "I used ten moves, he only used three… Watch out!"
Just as he finished speaking, Claire Yue suddenly felt warmth at her back—a body pressed tightly against her, making her heart tremble.
Someone was pressed back-to-back against her. She hadn’t noticed when he arrived.
At that moment, Quinn’s voice sounded in her ear—they were very close: "Senior Sister, he’s your servant? You had your servant attack me—do you think I wouldn’t dare kill someone here at the Imperial Academy?"
Sweat beaded on Claire Yue’s forehead. Suddenly, she darted aside, but Quinn’s body remained pressed to her back, his voice still in her ear: "Senior Sister, aren’t you going to give me an explanation?"
Claire Yue’s scalp tingled. Her body flickered, moving at ghostly speed as she unleashed Cloud-Trace Sparrow Shadow, but no matter how she moved, Quinn stayed glued to her back like a shadow!
Cloud-Trace Sparrow Shadow was the finest movement art she’d ever learned. Even without fully activating its divine ability, she could tread the clouds and flit like a sparrow low-flying through the sky. But even this incredible movement art couldn’t shake Quinn off.
Suddenly, Claire Yue felt the muscles of the boy pressed to her back writhing under his skin like snakes, sending goosebumps over her delicate skin. She realized in horror: "A battle-skill kill move!"
Quinn began to move his feet. Claire Yue suppressed her fear and followed his every step.
She knew that battle-skill kill moves required close contact. As long as she kept her back glued to Quinn and didn’t let him turn, he couldn’t fully unleash the killing move.
Moments ago, Quinn was sticking to her; now she was intentionally sticking to him, matching his every step and not daring to separate by even half a pace.
If she let him open any space, she feared her head would fly.
To be stuck to a close-combat battle-skill expert like this—normally, it meant instant execution!
The two of them, back to back, swept across the Imperial Academy’s mountain like a dancing butterfly, light and graceful. Many scholars stopped to watch, marveling.
Quinn in brocade, Claire in green, pressed together like two wings of one butterfly—easy to inspire wild thoughts.
One sour scholar sneered, “A pair of dogs, stinking up broad daylight!”
Suddenly, a resounding boom rang out—Quinn abruptly leaned backward, slamming Claire into the pillar of Azure Sun Hall.
Lina, let’s go!
Quinn called to Lina, “Don’t think about looting her—you’d have to pry her out of the pillar first. She’s impressive, though, to keep up with my footwork. A real expert.”
Lina hurried after him, casting a regretful glance back. Claire Yue was now half-embedded in the pillar, face-first into the stone.