A young girl appeared—dressed in simple azure clothes, her face oval-shaped and delicate, eyes long-lashed and large, with fair skin and a graceful figure. She looked like nothing more than an ordinary shepherdess, fragile and gentle, with slender hands that didn't seem to possess a trace of strength. There was no powerful aura about her, only a sense of innocence and simplicity.
She held a green bamboo staff, as if she were herding sheep.
The whole scene seemed as if it had stepped right out of a painting.
The flock of sheep she led was adorably calm, completely unaffected by the presence of numerous powerful prodigies atop Spirit Mountain. There was no fear, no hesitation. They strolled forward leisurely—yet, their speed was so fast it was startling. One moment they were far in the distance, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the foot of Spirit Mountain.
"Has the human race run out of warriors, that even a little girl has to show up at Spirit Mountain? And she's herding a flock of sheep and goats. Does she think Spirit Mountain is some kind of pasture?"A sneering voice came from one of the prodigies atop the mountain.
Even though they knew this girl might not be as ordinary as she seemed—possibly a peerless prodigy—they couldn't help but mock. After all, the human race had already produced Yi Tianxing and even summoned someone as powerful as Xiang Yu, who could match the Behemoth King blow for blow. This had already started to shift many of the other races' perceptions of humanity.
Though each race had their own prodigies—and some even stronger than the likes of Yi Tianxing—it was unthinkable for any race to only have one or two. That would spell doom.
But humanity was different. Their top-tier experts were sealed away, leaving a massive gap between commoners and cultivators. Yet, from such a weakened state, humanity had climbed step by step to where they were now. The sheer number of surviving prodigies spoke volumes of their race's hidden potential.
Could the human race truly ascend to become a mighty race?
At first, many other races had doubted this. But witnessing the appearance of such figures with their own eyes was forcing them to reconsider. Could humans truly be catching up to the other great races of the Eternal World?
Despite suspecting that this shepherdess was extraordinary, some still chose to mock her.
"Are you the master of this mountain? The one hosting this feast?" the girl asked with a gentle smile as she sat atop one of the sheep. "Perfect. Ah Qing's flock is a little thirsty and hungry. May we eat some of your food?"
Her large eyes blinked innocently. There was no deceit in her gaze, only purity and clarity. Anyone who looked into those eyes would feel their own wicked thoughts vanish like smoke, their schemes suddenly shameful and profane. Just looking at her invoked guilt.
"You're from the human race. As a guest, you're welcome," Stone Emperor replied after a brief pause. "But you've come too late. There are no more seats."
"That's fine," Ah Qing replied cheerfully. "I'll just sit on my sheep. I don't need a seat. Just something to eat would be enough."
"..."
Her answer left the Stone Emperor speechless. Seats at the feast represented identity and status. Each seat corresponded to a place on the guest list. What she was suggesting defied that structure completely.
He hadn't refused her outright, merely saying there were no more seats—a hidden message that, if she wanted one, she'd have to defeat someone and claim theirs. It was the unspoken rule.
But Ah Qing didn't play by those rules.
She dismissed the importance of seats altogether, declaring her sheep good enough to sit on. Now the Stone Emperor was in a bind. If he denied her, he'd look petty and contradict his earlier words. But if he allowed it, it would disrupt the entire structure he'd set up, breaking the delicate balance of power and status at the feast.
He frowned slightly, staring at Ah Qing with growing seriousness. This wasn't a naive remark—this was intentional.
"Ah Qing the Shepherdess… Could she really be that Ah Qing?"
Yi Tianxing's pupils contracted as the realization struck him. In all his memory, there was only one shepherdess named Ah Qing who matched this aura.
Legend spoke of a girl from the Spring and Autumn period, a shepherdess from the State of Yue. Though she looked delicate and pure, she was an extraordinary prodigy. She'd once encountered a white ape who fought with a bamboo stick, and from their frequent mock battles, she gradually developed a transcendent sword technique.
That white ape, it was said, was no ordinary beast—but a sword immortal in disguise.
Ah Qing's mastery over the sword was so profound that she created the myth of "Three thousand Yue troops—none could stand against her."
Her swordplay was a mystery, even to those she trained. Though she once taught 80 Yue swordsmen, they never managed to learn a single full move from her. But from what little they glimpsed, they witnessed the shadow of divine swordsmanship. That glimpse alone was enough to make their techniques peerless in the world.
In swordsmanship, Ah Qing ranked among the very best.
"If that's really Ah Qing of the Yue Sword… just how powerful has she become in this Eternal World?" Yi Tianxing wondered.With her talent and comprehension, her cultivation must have skyrocketed here, becoming unstoppable.And most unsettling of all—he couldn't sense her cultivation level at all. It wasn't necessarily that she had become unfathomably strong… it might also mean she was using some secret method to completely conceal her realm.
Unless she revealed it herself, no one could guess.
Stone Emperor finally responded, "Ah Qing, you jest. There are only so many seats at the Rare Fruit Banquet. The amount of rare delicacies and resources required is immense—even I cannot add more seats."
Ah Qing tilted her head slightly. "So, that means… I have to fight for one?"
She pouted. "Ah Qing doesn't like fighting. Herding sheep is so much nicer. The little lambs are so cute. When they grow up, I can sell them for money and buy lots of tasty food. But…" she looked around, "I'm hungry now."
Her gaze settled on the Golden Behemoth King.
Staring at his massive, towering form, she frowned. "Ugh. That big lump is so ugly. Not cute like my little sheep. This isn't good."
"You little brat!"The Golden Behemoth King snorted furiously, his massive body trembling. To be compared to sheep—by a human girl no less—was beyond insulting. As royalty of the beastmen, he was a symbol of strength and might. Now, she was likening him to livestock.
His eyes glowed with barely contained rage.
Then—
"You are a sheep!"Ah Qing pointed her green bamboo staff directly at the Behemoth King and chirped out those words like a child playing make-believe.
Laughter erupted across Spirit Mountain.
The mighty Golden Behemoth King… called a sheep by a human girl. It was absurd. Ridiculous. Hilarious.
Some tried to hold it in out of fear, but their faces betrayed their barely suppressed laughter.
Then something unbelievable happened.
A strange phenomenon unfolded before everyone's eyes.
Golden light enveloped the Behemoth King. His colossal body began shrinking rapidly, his form twisting and changing. In mere moments—under the stunned gaze of every prodigy present—
The Golden Behemoth King had become… a golden sheep.
His golden wool swayed pitifully in the wind.
Every single prodigy on Spirit Mountain, whether they had laughed openly or held it in, now stared in absolute shock at the absurd, impossible scene before them.
Ah Qing… had spoken him into becoming a sheep.
And that was only her greeting.