Battle Through the Heavens: I Can Solidify All Talents

This was not only a gesture of goodwill and courtesy, but also a warning!

The First Elder's throat felt somewhat dry. He slowly straightened up, his voice carrying a faint, barely perceptible tremor. "Senior Xiao's cultivation is truly unfathomable!"

No one could answer that question.

A mixture of fear, confusion, and immense pressure weighed heavily upon everyone's hearts.

They vaguely sensed that the Xiao Family might already have been drawn into the edge of a storm far beyond their comprehension and entirely above their level.

Only after that invisible pressure, which made their souls tremble, had completely faded did Xiao Qing slowly recover. Without realizing it, a fine layer of cold sweat had seeped across his back.

Gu Yuan... peak Nine-Star Dou Saint!

This was the peerless expert at the very pinnacle of the Dou Qi Continent whom Xiao Qing had encountered so far!

Just one brief meeting and one ambiguous remark had made Xiao Qing deeply understand what an abyssal gap truly was, while further strengthening his resolve to raise his strength as quickly as possible!

Fortunately, the Mysterious Book in his sea of consciousness had not been discovered!

The road ahead was still long—and dangerous!

Xun'er's Gift; Xiao Qing: So I'm Living Off a Woman Now Too!

A year quietly passed—

Within a secluded little courtyard of the Xiao Family.

"Creak—"

The wooden door was gently pushed open, and a little girl in a light purple dress poked her head inside.

Her features were as exquisite as those of a porcelain doll, and her slightly chubby cheeks made her look especially adorable. It was Gu Xun'er.

Gu Xun'er's large, dark eyes quickly swept around the room. Upon finding no one inside, her little lips puffed out slightly, revealing an expression that said, "He's gone again, just as expected."

"Did Brother Xiao Qing go to the Back Mountain to cultivate again?" The little girl frowned and muttered softly, her tone carrying a trace of disappointment and anticipation. "I wonder if Brother Xiao Qing will come back today to help Xun'er nourish her body..."

Just then, footsteps sounded beyond the courtyard gate. A figure carrying traces of mountain wind and dust walked in—it was Xiao Qing, who had just returned from cultivating in the Back Mountain.

"Well, if it isn't our little Xun'er. Why are you here alone? Who made our Xun'er unhappy?" Xiao Qing spotted Gu Xun'er at once, her little face slightly drooping. He could not help but chuckle, slowing his steps as he asked in a teasing tone.

"Brother Xiao Qing!"

Hearing that familiar voice and seeing that familiar figure, Gu Xun'er's previously disappointed little face instantly bloomed like a spring flower, overflowing with a brilliant smile.

She spread her short little legs and ran toward Xiao Qing, opening her arms. Her voice was full of excitement. "Catch Xun'er!"

Xiao Qing laughed heartily. Bending down, he caught the little girl who had pounced on him, lifted her up, and easily spun her around. He deliberately bounced her in his arms and teased, "Oh my, our Xun'er seems to have gotten quite a bit heavier!"

"No, I haven't!" Gu Xun'er immediately became unhappy. She furrowed her little brows and puffed out her cheeks in protest. "Xun'er isn't fat!"

Xiao Qing gently set Gu Xun'er back on the ground, then stretched out his right hand and measured above her head. With a warm smile, he said, "Doesn't getting heavier mean our Xun'er has grown taller?"

Gu Xun'er's eyes immediately lit up. She quickly nodded hard and happily agreed, "That's right! Xun'er has grown taller! Xun'er is growing!"

Thinking back to when he had first met Gu Xun'er a year ago, Xiao Qing had discovered that her small body was unusually frail. Her meridians were thin and fragile, even showing signs of atrophy.

At that time, Xiao Qing understood that this was a lingering effect of forcibly fusing with the fourth-ranked Heavenly Flame, the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame. It had left Gu Xun'er physically weak, with a face that was pale all year round.

Because she was too young and still at the foundational Dou Qi stage, she could not rely on potent medicinal pills to regulate her body. She could only slowly nourish it through gentle Dou Qi.

This physical condition, combined with Gu Xun'er's status as the young lady of the Ancient Clan and her cool, mature nature, had meant that she had almost no playmates in the Ancient Clan. When she first arrived at the Xiao Family, she treated everyone with distant indifference.

By chance, perhaps because Xiao Qing was the first young man whom Gu Yuan had called "interesting," Gu Xun'er lowered her guard around Xiao Qing somewhat.

After all, while Xiao Qing possessed immense deterrence and suppression toward the Heavenly Flames between heaven and earth, he also had a natural affinity with all flames.

Xiao Qing took advantage of the special qualities contained within his Dou Qi, making the process of nourishing her meridians particularly smooth, gentle, and restorative.

After continuously tending to Gu Xun'er's meridians for over a month, he had greatly accelerated her recovery.

Had Gu Xun'er relied only on slowly recuperating by herself, it would likely have taken at least half a year.

Now, Gu Xun'er's body had long since fully recovered. Her originally pale little face had become rosy and healthy, and paired with her exquisite features, she was so adorable that one's heart could melt.

Yet even though she had already recovered, the little girl still found excuses from time to time to cling to Xiao Qing and ask him to "nourish" Gu Xun'er's meridians with Dou Qi. She seemed to enjoy that warm, comfortable feeling, and it had become a unique interaction between them.

After their playful exchange, Xiao Qing looked at the brightly smiling little girl before him and let out a soft sigh. His tone became more serious. "Xun'er, in a few days... I may have to leave the Xiao Family with my teacher and go out to train for a while."

The place Xiao Qing intended to train was the Magical Beast Mountain Range, where there was a Fragmented Map of the third-ranked Heavenly Flame, the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame!

He had already bid farewell to Xiao Zhan and Aunt Yan Qian yesterday.

Although Xiao Zhan and his wife were reluctant to see him go, they were even more supportive and hopeful regarding the mysterious teacher's arrangements. They had also prepared many resources Xiao Qing would need for his journey.

But when facing Gu Xun'er, Xiao Qing had never known how to bring it up, so he had delayed until today.

The smile on Gu Xun'er's face froze instantly. A mist quickly gathered in her bright eyes, filled with deep reluctance. "Brother Xiao Qing... are you going out to train with that senior 'soul body'?"

Gu Xun'er's voice was somewhat choked as she tried hard not to let her tears fall.

She knew that Xiao Qing had an alchemist teacher in the form of a soul body by his side. Xiao Qing had never deliberately hidden it from her.

Seeing her tears about to fall, Gu Xun'er hurriedly turned around, her back to Xiao Qing. She quickly wiped her eyes with her little sleeve, then turned back and tried to put on a strong expression. "It's a good thing that Brother Xiao Qing is going out to train and grow stronger! Xun'er... Xun'er has a gift for Brother Xiao Qing!"

As she spoke, Gu Xun'er took out two scrolls from her small Storage Ring. They looked ancient and simple, yet faintly emitted extraordinary fluctuations. She held them out before Xiao Qing.

Looking at the two clearly high-tier Dou Techniques scrolls before him, Xiao Qing felt a complicated mixture of emotions. In the end, it turned into a helpless chuckle.

Does this... count as me living off a woman now too?

Xiao Qing did not examine the contents of the scrolls closely. Just by sensing the obscure energy fluctuations emanating from them, he knew they were no ordinary items.

He did not refuse. Instead, he solemnly accepted them and placed them into the Storage Ring he had bought with the money he had earned from alchemy over the past year.

The affection carried by this gift far outweighed its own value.

Afterward, Xiao Qing spent half a day carefully giving Gu Xun'er one final Dou Qi nourishment session. He then properly bid her farewell and promised that he would definitely bring her a gift when he returned.

A day later, a lone figure left Wutan City and headed toward Green Mountain Town near the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Along the way, Old Yao's soul body floated out from the Bone Flame Ring. Looking at the calm-faced Xiao Qing, he could not help but chuckle mischievously, his tone carrying a few traces of teasing.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Kid, when I first saw you, I thought you were a proper young man devoted wholeheartedly to cultivation. Who would've thought you were just pretending to be proper?" Old Yao floated out of the Bone Flame Ring and teased him.

"The precious daughter of a peak Dou Saint expert was coaxed into complete obedience by you? This soft rice tastes pretty good, doesn't it?"

In his youth, Old Yao had once seen the Ancient Clan's patriarch from afar within the Yao Clan—the peerless expert who had come seeking medicine, Gu Yuan, a man who had already reached the peak of the Nine-Star Dou Saint realm!

And this time, the distance had been so close!

Close enough for Old Yao to clearly sense the vast aura surrounding Gu Yuan, faint yet seemingly coexisting with heaven and earth itself.

Before an existence standing at the pinnacle of the continent, his remnant soul was like a candle flickering in the wind. Any method of concealing his aura or hiding himself appeared pale and laughable.

With merely one gaze, Old Yao felt his soul tremble as though his entire spirit had been shrouded by an invisible force, leaving nowhere to hide.

Especially since that gaze had not been indifferent, but had paused with a trace of deeper meaning—Gu Yuan had clearly recognized who he was!

At his teacher Old Yao's teasing, Xiao Qing's mouth twitched slightly, but he did not refute him.

He merely shook his head helplessly, ignored the disrespectful old man, and continued on his journey.

On the horizon, the outline of the Magical Beast Mountain Range had already become faintly visible...

Arrival at Green Mountain Town Beneath the Magical Beast Mountain Range!

Before the final streak of orange-red sunset at the edge of the sky was swallowed by the ink-blue night, Xiao Qing's footsteps finally set foot upon Green Mountain Town.

The small town was like a resting point crouched at the feet of the giant beast that was the Magical Beast Mountain Range. The air was filled with a rugged atmosphere entirely different from Wutan City.

Before he had even fully entered the town, a complicated smell rushed toward him, mixed with sweat, dust, the pungent scent of medicinal herbs, and a faint trace of blood.

The streets were simply compacted from gravel and dirt, far less even than those of the Xiao Family.

All kinds of buildings stood crowded together on both sides, mostly constructed from thick logs and heavy stone. Their style was rugged yet practical.

Many buildings had heavily worn signboards hanging outside, painted with images of swords, medicinal herbs, or magical beast heads.

Although it was still evening, Green Mountain Town had not quieted down. Instead, it was even livelier than during the day.

Rugged mercenaries carrying weapons could be seen everywhere. They gathered in groups of three or five, laughing and talking loudly, while rough drinking-game shouts and boisterous calls of heavy drinking rang out from the taverns.

Most of these mercenaries had dark skin, sharp eyes, and scars scattered across their bodies. They exuded the fierce, daring aura of people who had spent years living with a blade at their throats.

Their gazes swept over everyone on the streets as though searching for prey. Whenever they saw an unfamiliar face like Xiao Qing—young, still somewhat youthful-looking, and traveling alone—they lingered longer, their eyes full of scrutiny and investigation.

Xiao Qing's expression remained calm, and he ignored all the gazes directed at him.

Xiao Qing slowed his pace and appeared to wander casually through the streets, but his powerful soul perception had already spread like an invisible web, keenly gathering information from his surroundings.

Xiao Qing could clearly sense that most of these mercenaries were merely Dou Zhes. The occasional few with slightly more substantial auras were only high-star Dou Zhes.

With his current strength, he could easily suppress everything in Green Mountain Town in an instant!

It looks like I still need to enter the Magical Beast Mountain Range to train and fight high-tier magical beasts.

Xiao Qing began to ponder inwardly. Although he knew that Green Mountain Town had no truly powerful experts, he could not help feeling somewhat disappointed.

At that moment, Xiao Qing's gaze swept across the mercenary group compounds as he listened to the air filled with discussions of magical beast materials, medicinal herb purchases, and scattered bits of information.

Xiao Qing could not help developing a faint sense of anticipation for his upcoming training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

This would be the first true battlefield on Xiao Qing's path of cultivation.

In the original story, the Magical Beast Mountain Range not only had the sixth-tier magical beast, the Amethyst Winged Lion King, but also seemed to contain a seventh-tier magical beast capable of assuming human form!

For now, Xiao Qing needed to find somewhere to rest and inquire about the exact intelligence from the Magical Beast Mountain Range over the past few months.

His gaze swept past several lodgings that looked fairly orderly before he stepped forward, his figure gradually blending into the town's nighttime streetscape, where darkness and lamplight intertwined with wild vitality.

Xiao Qing entered an inn called Tianyuan Inn. The moment he walked inside, a smell mixed with alcohol, roasted meat, and a faint mustiness rushed toward him.

The main hall was quite lively. Several rough wooden tables were filled with rugged mercenaries loudly discussing their dangerous experiences hunting magical beasts or various rumors from the streets.

Fiery lamplight shone upon one weather-beaten face after another.

Xiao Qing did not linger in the main hall and instead walked straight toward the counter.

Behind the counter stood a slightly plump middle-aged innkeeper with shrewd eyes, lowering his head as he worked an abacus.

"One superior room. Somewhere quiet." Xiao Qing's voice was not loud, yet it clearly cut through the surrounding clamor.

The innkeeper looked up at the sound and sized Xiao Qing up.

The young man before him was not dressed extravagantly, but his clothes were clean and neat. Though his face still carried youthful traces, his eyes were calm. He was entirely unlike the common downtrodden adventurer or green young man venturing out for the first time, possessing an indescribable steady temperament.

Having seen countless people, the innkeeper judged that this youth likely had some background. A professional smile immediately spread across his face.

"Certainly! Sir, you're in luck. There's just one last Heaven-grade superior room available. It's peaceful and elegant—I guarantee no one will disturb you!" the innkeeper introduced enthusiastically.

"The room costs five gold coins per day, including hot water and two meals, morning and evening."

Five gold coins were a considerable expense for an ordinary household, but Xiao Qing did not haggle. He merely nodded and casually took the appropriate amount of gold coins from his Storage Ring, placing them on the counter.

Xiao Qing had accumulated considerable wealth through alchemy over the past year, so this small expense was nothing to him.

Seeing Xiao Qing pay so readily, and noticing the seemingly ordinary Storage Ring, the innkeeper's eyes narrowed slightly. His attitude became increasingly respectful.

"Waiter! Take this young master to Heaven Room Number Two!" he called loudly.

A clever young waiter hurried over, made a welcoming gesture, and led Xiao Qing through the noisy main hall and up the wooden stairs to the second floor.

The second floor was indeed much quieter. At the end of the corridor hung a wooden plaque reading "Heaven Room Number Two."

The waiter pushed open the door. The room was more spacious and tidy than Xiao Qing had expected, with bright windows, clean furnishings, a bed, table, and chairs all provided. Though the decor was simple, it was already rare for a frontier town.

"Young master, please rest first. If you need anything, just call for me!" After speaking respectfully, the waiter withdrew and gently closed the door behind him.

The instant the door closed, the bustle outside seemed to be cut off.

Xiao Qing walked to the window and pushed it open. A cool breeze carrying the scent of the mountains and forest flowed inside. From here, he could see the outline of the distant Magical Beast Mountain Range crouching in the night like a giant beast.

At that moment, Old Yao's voice sounded within Xiao Qing's mind. "Mm, this place will do. Rest here for the night, then investigate the mountain range's situation tomorrow. The forces in Green Mountain Town are rather complicated."

"However, with your strength nearing the Dou Ling realm, you can sweep through everything in Green Mountain Town!"

Hearing that, Xiao Qing nodded, and his gaze grew calm.

This inn would be Xiao Qing's first temporary base during his training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

And the real challenge was only just beginning.

The night deepened gradually, and Green Mountain Town was shrouded in haziness, with only dim lights flickering in the distance.

Xiao Qing was currently seated cross-legged on the bed in his inn room, yet his mind had not fully entered cultivation.