Quinn Shepherd soared into the air and looked upward, seeing that the Five-Thunder War Gourd's tremors had gradually subsided. Dawn Fortune was leading the women of House Fortune to draw away the surrounding lightning.
"Cult Master Quinn, your swords!" Dawn Fortune called out loudly.
Quinn recalled his flying swords. Eight thousand blades converged in midair, forming a sword pill the size of an orange.
"How did the sword pill shrink so much?"
Quinn was slightly taken aback and was just about to grab the sword pill when several House Fortune girls flew over, looking tense. "Cult Master Quinn, don't touch it!" they warned.
Quinn stood motionless as the girls chanted quietly. Strands of lightning flew off his body, which they carefully collected.
"You still have thunder power in your body that hasn't erupted yet. Since you haven't touched anyone else, the lightning's force hasn't triggered."
One of the girls said, "If you touch anything, the lightning will burst out. The thunder inside that big gourd is divine thunder—terrifyingly powerful. We'll help you draw it away so you'll be fine."
Quinn thanked them. Suddenly, a deafening rumble echoed. He quickly looked over and saw Bruno, the Dragon-Qilin, stomping on flame clouds and trying to land. Before he could touch down, the lightning power in his body erupted.
Thunder crackled and lashed out wildly from Bruno's body. The chubby beast bounced up and down like an electric ball, each strike leaving him more charred and blackened.
The House Fortune girls rushed over, but Quinn pretended not to notice. He reached out and grabbed the sword pill; its weight remained, but it was much smaller now, fitting easily in his hand and far easier to control than before.
He couldn't help but rejoice: "To have tempered it this far with the Five-Thunder War Gourd—I'm not far from refining my swords into water now!"
"Cult Master, didn't you say not a single hair would be harmed?" Bruno complained, thick smoke billowing from his mouth.
Quinn pretended not to hear. He stowed the Five-Thunder War Gourd in the True Dragon Nest and charged toward True Heaven Palace.
"Cult Master!"
Bruno tried to rush over, but more House Fortune girls surrounded him, saying, "You chubby lump, don't run around! You're huge, and you were just carrying that big gourd, so you've got the most lightning. Run again and you'll get yourself fried!"
Bruno quickly stood still and grinned, "Ladies, I haven't lost my looks, right? My dragon scales are the most beautiful—so majestic! They can't be ruined!"
"Well..." The girls all looked troubled.
Bruno grew suspicious and tried to twist his head to check his body, but he was too fat and his neck too thick to turn.
The Imperial Preceptor of the Everpeace Empire was the first to land before the gates of True Heaven Palace. All around the palace gate lay charred corpses and thunder-blasted craters, with black smoke and even flames still rising from some spots.
The True Heaven Palace Mistress collapsed on the ground, struggling to lift her head and look at the middle-aged man approaching. She whispered, "I'm pregnant—please, for the sake of my child, don't kill me..."
The Imperial Preceptor walked past her, replying coolly, "Whether you're pregnant has nothing to do with me. I bear you no personal grudge and won't go out of my way to harm you. I only want True Heaven Palace and the Western Lands."
The True Heaven Palace Mistress was momentarily stunned.
Raina Bear arrived with Kira Bear at the palace gate. The True Heaven Palace Mistress’s eye twitched, and she whispered, "Nai Kui, I'm pregnant..."
"Many of the Bear clan daughters who died were pregnant too."
Hatred burned in Raina Bear's eyes. She snatched the Black Tortoise Pearl from the Mistress, then took the Azure Dragon Pearl from Kira Bear, lowering her voice: "Did you ever pity them?"
Bathed in the Azure Dragon Pearl's light, the True Heaven Palace Mistress tried to struggle, but her body and Primordial Spirit instantly turned to wood—becoming a wooden statue caught mid-flight.
Raina Bear let out a long breath and entered True Heaven Palace with Kira Bear. "I won't kill you," she said coldly, "but I won't forgive you just because you're pregnant. From now on you'll be a wooden statue, forever kneeling at the palace gate."
Behind them, women from all the great houses rushed into True Heaven Palace, hunting down the last Yu clan cultivators.
Quinn also entered True Heaven Palace. The palace complex was vast, with many streets and alleys; inside, the last of the Yu clan still hid among the buildings and lanes.