Battle Through the Heavens: I Can Solidify All Talents

When he had first arrived here, memories from his previous life had surfaced uncontrollably.

Xiao Qing recalled the original novel's description of that ill-fated young girl, especially the unforgettable remark that her "waist was the most slender and delicate"!

Xiao Yi Xian!

That name flashed through Xiao Qing's mind.

Judging by the timeline, she was probably only seven or eight years old at the moment. She likely had not yet been toyed with by fate and ended up in Green Mountain Town, much less joined the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion. Naturally, the title "Xiao Yi Xian" had yet to exist.

The awakening of the Woe Poison Body was probably still several years away.

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Qing quickly shook his head.

He thoroughly cast those stray thoughts, tinged with sentiment and foresight, out of his mind.

Right now, the most important thing was not those events that had yet to happen, but improving his own strength.

There was still plenty of time before the true storms began. Xiao Qing had to seize every moment to grow stronger.

Xiao Qing took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.

The Burning Mantra quietly circulated within his body. The surrounding energy of heaven and earth began to be drawn in, flowing in thin strands into Xiao Qing's meridians and being refined into pure Dou Qi.

Xiao Qing's efficiency in absorbing and refining energy far exceeded that of ordinary people.

Outside the inn, the bustle of the town gradually subsided. Only the occasional, faint beastly roars drifting from the direction of the Magical Beast Mountain Range hinted at the danger and opportunity within that region.

Inside the room, the young man remained wholly focused, his breathing deep and steady as he immersed himself in cultivation, gathering strength for the coming journey into the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Target: Tier 5 Magical Beast Demon Flame Wolf; Conflict

Green Mountain Town was still shrouded in morning mist when Xiao Qing set out from the inn.

Without wasting a moment, Xiao Qing headed toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range beyond the town, which resembled the spine of some colossal beast.

Along the way, Xiao Qing's powerful Soul Power swept out invisibly, keenly picking up the conversations of mercenaries along the streets and in and around the taverns.

"Hey, heard about it? The Black Water Squad got wiped out in Dark Water Ravine the day before yesterday. Seems they ran into a swarm of Tier 2 Bloodthirsty Bats..."

"The area around Sky-Severing Cliff to the south has been way too quiet lately. Damn it, last time I almost got my heart ripped out there by a Tier 2 Purple Lightning Rat!"

"The inner region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range? Who'd dare go there?! Last time, Xiong Da and several other high-star Dou Zhes joined forces with more than ten men to sneak into Deadly Swamp looking for rare herbs. Only one came back. He said there was a magical beast lying in there that could spew poisonous gas. Terrifying stuff!"

Those mercenaries who entered the mountains year-round might not have been particularly strong, but their understanding of the outer region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and even parts of its inner region, made them living maps.

They knew where danger lay, where was relatively safe, and what powerful magical beasts occupied which places. That information had often been bought with the blood and lives of countless companions!

Xiao Qing silently gathered and analyzed those scattered bits of information in his mind, quickly forming a rough understanding of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

I've gathered enough information. Xiao Qing thought, quickening his pace as he formally stepped into the fringe of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Ancient trees towered overhead here, while dense shrubs covered the ground. The air carried the scent of damp earth and faint decay, completely unlike the bustle of the town.

Xiao Qing's goal was clear. "The Gloomy Forest in the inner region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range is rumored to be home to a Tier 5 magical beast comparable to a human Dou Wang—the Demon Flame Wolf! Perfect. I'll use it to test my current strength first."

Xiao Qing's expression was calm as water, as though the fearsome Tier 5 magical beast he was about to face was merely an ordinary wild beast.

With his current peak Da Dou Shi cultivation, his many high-level Dou Techniques, and Old Yao's guidance from the side, he had the confidence to contend with and even defeat a Tier 5 magical beast!

However, not long after leaving the town and before even venturing deep into the mountain range, Xiao Qing keenly sensed several malicious gazes staring fixedly at his back like venomous snakes.

Their greed and brutality were completely undisguised!

As expected, I've been targeted. Xiao Qing frowned slightly, irritation flashing through his heart.

These hyena-like mercenaries specialized in targeting lone travelers who looked like easy prey. They murdered, robbed, and committed every evil imaginable.

The strongest person in Green Mountain Town on the surface was Mu She, leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, who had only recently advanced to Dou Shi. With Xiao Qing's cultivation nearing Dou Ling, he naturally feared no one.

Still, being watched by these flies was unpleasant.

We haven't even left Green Mountain Town's territory, and they're already this impatient? They're really... courting death.

Xiao Qing deliberately slowed his pace.

Sure enough, seeing Xiao Qing apparently alone, the figures hiding in the shadows could no longer hold themselves back. They emerged from behind several boulders and bushes, swiftly surrounding him and blocking his path.

The leader was a fierce-looking middle-aged man carrying a broadsword like a door panel. His greedy eyes fixed on the two Storage Rings on Xiao Qing's fingers as he sneered. "Kid, be smart! Hand over those two Storage Rings, and if I'm in a good mood, maybe I'll spare your life!"

Even the lowest-grade Storage Ring was worth tens of thousands of gold coins. Two of them were enough to drive these desperadoes mad.

Not far away, a gloomy man with a vicious scar across his face cursed under his breath. "Damn it, Hu Li moves fast!"

He did not pity Xiao Qing. He was merely annoyed that he had acted too slowly and someone else had snatched away the fat prize right before his eyes.

Some mercenaries and passersby nearby, who had either been preparing to enter the mountains or had just returned from them, stopped and watched from afar. They pointed and whispered, but not a single person stepped forward to intervene.

In this lawless place, the strong devoured the weak. That was the only rule.

"Boss, look at how delicate this kid is..."

A fat middle-aged man beside Hu Li, his eyes lewd, licked his thick lips and lowered his voice. "How about... after we take his valuables, you hand him over to me?"

Hu Li frowned slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with his subordinate's strange preferences.

In the end, he still nodded indifferently, as if Xiao Qing were already fish on his chopping block, free to be dealt with however he pleased.

Xiao Qing's eyes instantly turned cold, like ice that had lasted ten thousand years.

"Rotten oranges are still rotten oranges. Gathering together won't turn them into fine wine."

Xiao Qing spoke calmly, his voice carrying an icy chill.

As soon as the words fell, Xiao Qing raised his right hand. A wisp of ghostly white flame danced from his fingertips like a living sprite—it was the Bone Chilling Flame Sub-flame!

The flame looked weak, yet it radiated both extreme cold and extreme heat.

"Go."

With a light wave of Xiao Qing's hand, the ghostly white flame instantly turned into two thin lines, shooting toward Hu Li and the fat middle-aged man who had spoken so obscenely.

The sneer on Hu Li's face instantly froze, replaced by boundless terror!

He did not even have time to circulate his Dou Qi before the ghostly white line of flame touched his body.

"No—!"

Before the horrified eyes of the crowd, Hu Li and his fat companion's bodies instantly melted away and vaporized!

Not even a trace of ash remained, as though they had never existed in this world at all!

Instant kill!

Then Xiao Qing flicked his fingers repeatedly, sending several ghostly white lines of flame toward the mercenaries nearby who had been hiding in the shadows and harbored malicious intentions toward him, including the gloomy scar-faced man!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

After several soft sounds, those places were likewise empty. Only the faint burnt smell lingering in the air proved that life had once existed there.

Silence!

Deathly silence!

Every onlooker seemed to have had their throats seized. Their eyes were wide, their faces filled with terror and disbelief!

As they stared at the young man whose expression remained calm, as though he had merely swatted a few mosquitoes to death, a chill surged from the soles of their feet straight to their scalps!

No one knew who screamed first, but the dozens of people who had been watching instantly fled desperately toward the town.

They feared that if they ran even a step too slowly, that strange ghostly white flame would descend upon them.

Xiao Qing did not even glance at the fleeing figures, as though he had merely done something insignificant.

He lightly patted dust from his clothes that did not exist, then turned his gaze once more toward the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

"Finally, some peace and quiet..."

Then Xiao Qing moved, transforming into a blurred figure as he swiftly vanished from the spot.

Only several patches of black ash remained, silent warnings to those who came after.

Defeating a Tier 5 Magical Beast as a Da Dou Shi!

Inner region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Gloomy Jungle—

Xiao Qing's figure darted through it, his steps light and soundless.

His powerful Soul Power had long since spread out, thoroughly scanning this area several times.

"Found it..."

Xiao Qing's gaze sharpened as he looked toward a concealed cave several hundred meters ahead.

A dim crimson glow flickered faintly from the cave entrance, while a scorching and violent aura radiated from within.

That was Xiao Qing's target—the Tier 5 magical beast, the Demon Flame Wolf!

His gaze precisely locked onto the cave nearby that leaked dark red light and the scent of sulfur.

"Tier 5 Demon Flame Wolf... you'll do."

Xiao Qing murmured softly. The vast, surging Dou Qi within him, which had reached the peak of Da Dou Shi and had one foot in the Dou Ling realm, was no longer suppressed!

Like an awakened giant dragon, it slowly rose as he stopped concealing his aura.

The robust Dou Qi of a peak Da Dou Shi slowly rose. He walked step by step toward the cave, carrying unmistakable provocation as he pressed toward it.

Awooo—

A wolf howl filled with rage and ferocity suddenly exploded from within the cave, shaking leaves from the surrounding trees!

In the next instant, an enormous dark red figure burst out like a cannonball, carrying scorching airwaves and a skyful of dust!

The Demon Flame Wolf!

It was as huge as a small hill. Its dark red fur seemed to be formed from cooled lava, with magma-like crimson light flowing faintly through the cracks.

On its savage wolf head were a pair of massive crimson eyes. A cluster of dark red flame patterns on its forehead throbbed violently, displaying the terrifying might of a Tier 5 magical beast.

Every time its thick limbs struck the ground, the earth trembled slightly. Its claws scraped across stone, leaving behind deep scorched marks.

Facing this vicious creature, which would force even an ordinary Dou Wang to treat it with grave caution, Xiao Qing's eyes instead blazed with fervent light.

The terrifying pressure of the Tier 5 magical beast descended upon Xiao Qing like a tangible mountain!

"Good!"

Xiao Qing shouted. Faced with pressure enough to make a Dou Ling tremble in fear, he not only did not retreat, but his eyes burned with even hotter battle intent.

With a thought, the surging Dou Qi within him erupted!

Dou Qi Armor, form!

His shout fell.

A layer of incredibly solid, nearly tangible golden-red radiance instantly covered his entire body!

Unlike the somewhat illusory Dou Qi Armor of ordinary Da Dou Shis, a layer of astonishingly solid golden-red armor instantly covered Xiao Qing's body!

The armor seemed forged from the purest energy crystals, its entire surface flowing with a glass-like sheen. It was heavy and sturdy, and even its fine details bore patterns with a metallic texture.

Even more astonishingly, mysterious ghostly white patterns like condensed ice crystals covered its golden-red surface, radiating a bizarre aura where extreme cold and extreme heat intertwined perfectly!

This was the manifestation of his extreme refinement of Dou Qi, the fundamental power of the Law of Fire, and the traits of the Bone Chilling Flame Sub-flame, all fused together into a unique Dou Qi Armor!

This unique Dou Qi Armor possessed defense far beyond those of the same rank and also carried passive corrosive and retaliatory properties. Any attack that touched the armor would instantly be weakened by both the ghostly white chill and the flames of the law!

It was both an indestructible shield and a shield covered in spikes that struck back passively!

This was also the source of his confidence in being able to fight a Tier 5 magical beast at the peak of Da Dou Shi!

Roar!

The Demon Flame Wolf had clearly sensed the strange and dangerous aura emanating from the human before it, but as the overlord of this region, its ferocity only intensified.

At the same time, Xiao Qing's strange and powerful aura had completely enraged it. Its hind legs suddenly exerted force, and its massive body turned into a red afterimage. Its gigantic claw, burning with black Demon Flame, came crashing down with the force to tear everything apart!

Before the claw wind even arrived, the terrifying heat had already scorched the air into distortion!

"Good! Eight Extremities Collapse!"

Instead of retreating, Xiao Qing advanced. The Burning Mantra within him circulated at high speed as vast Dou Qi nearing the Dou Ling realm surged madly into his right fist!

The ghostly white patterns on the golden-red armor flowed toward his fist like living creatures, making it seem as though he wore a gauntlet burning with icy flame! He threw a fierce punch, meeting the demonic claw head-on!

Boom—!!!