Battle Through the Heavens: I Can Solidify All Talents

What am I thinking?!

But judging by his age, he seemed much younger than Her Majesty the Queen... Could it be...

A bold thought surfaced uncontrollably, making Hua She'er's heart skip a beat.

Her Majesty the Queen... actually likes this kind of young, handsome type?

This discovery seemed to open the door to a whole new world for Hua She'er.

Xiao Qing was only twelve or thirteen years old, while Queen Medusa was nearly a hundred!

Of course, in the eyes of the Snake-People Tribe, Queen Medusa was only equivalent to a human in her twenties or thirties, right in the prime of her youth.

Naturally, the Snake-People Tribe's age could not be compared directly with that of humans.

Queen Medusa held an exalted position among the Snake-People Tribe. She was powerful, and her beauty was unmatched.

Her love life had always been the subject of private speculation within the tribe, yet there had never been the slightest sign of anything.

Now, this sudden "hidden beauty in a golden house" involved a human boy. If word got out, the entire Snake-People Tribe would likely be shaken!

Hua She'er tried her best to maintain a calm expression, but inwardly, her thoughts were in turmoil.

She secretly decided that she had to guard the side hall closely and keep her sisters' mouths shut...

At least until Her Majesty the Queen made her position clear, she absolutely could not allow rumors to spread unchecked.

Yet as she looked at the side hall drawing closer, Hua She'er seemed to foresee...

After tonight, the Royal Palace—no, perhaps even the entire Holy City—would never return to its former "peace."

Though it was called the West Side Hall, its scale was nearly no different from the Queen's bedchamber.

Even Queen Medusa herself had often come here to stay for a day or two.

The hall was spacious, built primarily from cool-toned stone rare in the desert.

Its walls were carved with intricate snake totems, while enormous glazed windows were set with colored crystals.

They filtered the blazing sunlight outside into soft, brilliant halos that spilled into the hall.

A special fragrance lingered in the air. Unlike the rich, secluded scent of the Main Hall, this one was quieter and more tranquil.

"Sir, this side hall will be your residence."

Hua She'er stopped inside the entrance and stepped aside. Her tone remained formally respectful, but the probing in her eyes had not diminished.

"Everything you may need is available inside. Guards will be stationed outside. If you require anything, you may instruct them at any time."

Xiao Qing's gaze swiftly swept across the hall as his Soul Power silently spread outward.

In an instant, he clearly sensed the entire structure of the side hall, along with several concealed guard auras hidden in the shadows.

Xiao Qing gave Hua She'er a slight nod and said, "Thank you."

Seeing how indifferent he was, with neither the fear of entering an alien race's forbidden grounds nor amazement at the Royal Palace's side hall, Hua She'er's strange feeling deepened.

After hesitating for a moment, Hua She'er could not help asking tentatively, "May I ask how I should address you, sir? And your relationship with Her Majesty the Queen is..."

"Xiao Qing."

Xiao Qing stated his name directly, cutting off her probing.

"As for the matter between your Queen and me, if she wishes to tell you, she naturally will."

His words were light, yet carried an unquestionable authority that made Hua She'er fall silent at once.

Hua She'er realized that the boy before her was far from as simple as he appeared. His calmness and the faint pressure he exuded even reminded her of how she felt when facing Her Majesty the Queen.

"Yes, Mr. Xiao." Hua She'er lowered her head, not daring to ask more. "Then please rest. I shall take my leave."

After Hua She'er withdrew from the hall and gently shut the heavy doors carved with coiled snake patterns, Xiao Qing slowly walked to the center of the room.

Xiao Qing did not hurry to rest. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the broad stone bed covered in soft beast hide and sank his mind into his body.

"Teacher, the earth vein energy beneath the Snake-People Tribe's Holy City seems rather unusual."

Xiao Qing communicated with Old Yao in his mind.

He possessed the [Law of Devouring], and his perception of energy flow far surpassed that of ordinary people.

The moment he entered the Holy City's vicinity, he had vaguely sensed an obscure yet immense energy fluctuation coming from deep underground.

It differed slightly from the desert's overall Fire Attribute nature, carrying a trace of coldness and antiquity, as though it could erupt at any moment!

"Yes, I sensed it." Old Yao's voice carried a trace of solemnity. "The Snake-People Tribe has taken root here for a thousand years. The location of this Holy City was certainly not chosen at random!"

"The earth veins here seem to have been guided or sealed by some force. The energy gathers without dispersing. Though it feels cold, it contains vitality within. For a race like the Snake-People Tribe, with their cold constitution, it truly is an excellent place for cultivation."

"And... there seems to be something else hidden deep within that energy..."

Xiao Qing pondered this.

It seemed the Snake-People Tribe was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Queen Medusa's urgency to break through to the Dou Zong realm was likely not solely for the tribe's survival. It might also be connected to the secret of these earth veins.

Xiao Qing stopped thinking about it. His immediate priority was to consolidate his newly attained Three-Star Dou Wang cultivation and familiarize himself with the evolved [Law of Devouring] and Spirit Realm Soul Power.

He closed his eyes as the Earth Rank Low-grade Burning Mantra within him began circulating slowly.

The energy in the surrounding space, including the faint cold aura leaking from the earth veins, was quietly drawn into his body.

With the [Law of Devouring], Xiao Qing's efficiency in absorbing and refining energy far surpassed those of the same rank.

Energy of all attributes entered his body and was tyrannically transformed into the purest Dou Qi, nourishing his meridians and cyclone.

Outside the hall, Hua She'er arranged for four of her most capable snakewoman guards to stand watch at the entrance.

She repeatedly ordered them not to disturb him and not to reveal anything about Xiao Qing to the outside world.

Yet as she looked at the tightly shut doors, the unease and curiosity in her heart only grew stronger.

This human boy named Xiao Qing was like a stone cast into a deep pool, destined to stir up unforeseeable waves within this ancient Holy City.

After all, he was the first man Her Majesty the Queen had ever brought back!

Night gradually shrouded the Tagor Desert, and beneath the cool moonlight, the Snake-People Tribe's Holy City seemed even more mysterious and secluded.

Night fell—

Within the West Side Hall, Xiao Qing sat cross-legged on thick, soft beast hide patterned with dark lines, his eyes closed.

The Night-Illuminating Crystals embedded in the ceiling gave off a gentle glow, stretching his slightly slender yet upright figure across the cold stone walls carved with Coiled Snake Totems.

Within Xiao Qing, the Earth Rank Low-grade Burning Mantra circulated slowly in a unique rhythm.

The Dou Qi of a Three-Star Dou Wang coursed swiftly through his broad, resilient meridians, carrying dense vitality and power.

His newly broken-through realm required this sort of patient refinement to stabilize completely.

His Spirit Realm Initial-Stage Peak Soul Power spread soundlessly from him like an invisible spiderweb, clearly feeding every minute change within the side hall back into his mind.

The dust floating in the air, the Sand Scorpions occasionally crawling through cracks in the stone, even the faint, rhythmic breathing of the guards outside—none could escape his notice.

Deeper within, the [Law of Devouring], evolved to Heaven Grade Initial, revealed itself once more.

Xiao Qing did not release this devouring power. He merely let out faint strands of black devouring intent.

Even so, the thin energy permeating the surrounding space, whether it was the scorching Fire Attribute energy inherent to the desert—

Or the strange aura faintly seeping from beneath the Holy City, carrying a trace of coldness—

All seemed to be drawn by an invisible force field, gathering toward him in wisps.

Those energies then silently merged into every part of Xiao Qing's body, where they were tyrannically refined and absorbed, becoming resources to stabilize his cultivation.

Only by becoming powerful enough could he truly seize the initiative in this tangled situation, rather than relying solely on a fragile agreement.

I wonder just how terrifying the [Law of Devouring] would be if unleashed at full strength?

Xiao Qing stopped allowing himself to be distracted and immersed his full focus within his body. He guided his law-infused Dou Qi through his body again and again, cleansing and filling the cyclone at his dantian until all the Dou Qi in his body became increasingly solid and radiated a dazzling glow.

Outside the hall, the four snakewoman guards on duty stood tall, tightly gripping tempered spears. Their icy spearheads glimmered beneath the moonlight.

From time to time, their eyes drifted toward the tightly shut, heavy doors carved with savage snake heads. Curiosity, vigilance, and an indescribable trace of... excitement mingled in their gazes.

"Captain Lisha, is the person inside really human?"

The youngest-looking guard could not help whispering, her voice filled with barely restrained curiosity.

The captain called Yue Lisha was an especially voluptuous snakewoman, with a natural seductive charm at the corners of her eyes.

She glared at her subordinate and rebuked her in a low voice, "Quiet! Have you forgotten Her Majesty the Queen's orders? Don't ask what you shouldn't ask, and don't look at what you shouldn't look at!"

Even so, Yue Lisha's own gaze lingered on the doors for an extra moment.

That human boy named Xiao Qing was indeed handsome. More importantly, he remained utterly composed despite being in the heart of an alien race's territory. He was clearly no ordinary person.

Her Majesty the Queen had placed Xiao Qing beside her own bedchamber. The meaning behind that was not something guards like them could help but think about.

The Holy City had been peaceful for too long. This sudden variable was like a stone thrown into deep water, with ripples spreading where no one could see.

At the same time, within Queen Medusa's bedchamber—

Luxurious purple gauze curtains hung low, blocking all prying eyes from outside.

The air was thick with medicinal fragrance and a faint scent of blood.

Queen Medusa had removed her regal purple robes and wore only a thin silk undergarment as she reclined on her side atop a jade couch covered in thick velvet blankets.

Her face still bore the pallor of blood loss, while fine beads of cold sweat seeped across her smooth forehead.

Though the wound in her abdomen, pierced through by the Finger of Nirvana, had healed, the agony that felt as though even her soul had been torn apart—and the humiliation of having her power forcibly knocked down and her life and death placed in another's hands—gnawed at Queen Medusa's heart like venomous snakes.

Her slender, jade-like fingers clenched the blanket beneath her, her knuckles turning white from the force. Her pale violet eyes, capable of bewitching all living beings, now churned with emotions too complicated to understand.

There was anger in her heart, along with deep concern for her tribe's future.

Ten years of service!

Gathering medicinal ingredients!

Helping her evolve!

The conditions proposed by that boy were branded into Queen Medusa's mind.

Reason told her that this might be the Snake-People Tribe's only way forward—a chance to break the shackles of their bloodline through outside help and produce a Dou Zong expert.

Yet emotionally, her pride as Queen made it difficult for her to accept this coercion, which was practically an agreement forced beneath the city walls.

"Xiao Qing."

Queen Medusa's red lips moved as she silently spoke his name, her pearly teeth gently biting her lower lip.

Queen Medusa recalled that earth-shaking Earth Rank Dou Technique, the three completely different Heavenly Flames obediently circling him, and that unfathomable Soul Power which even made her heart tremble.

Who exactly was this human?

What was Xiao Qing's purpose in demanding medicinal ingredients?

Was there an even more terrifying existence standing behind Xiao Qing?

Was the "High-Rank Dou Zong" who had pierced through the earth's crust truly his teacher, as Xiao Qing claimed?

Countless questions circled in her heart, leaving her unable to find peace.

But regardless, she needed to recover from her injuries as soon as possible.

Queen Medusa took out a deep-blue medicinal pill that emitted a refreshing chill and swallowed it. She then closed her eyes, guiding what little Dou Qi remained in her body as she slowly repaired her damaged meridians and internal organs.

A faint purple Dou Qi glow enveloped her graceful body like a massive cocoon, rising and falling in the silent bedchamber.

That night, one in the open and one in the shadows, both raced against time.

When the first ray of dawn the following morning pierced through the desert's darkness like a golden sword and brought warmth back to the land, Xiao Qing opened his eyes on time.

A sharp gleam flashed through his eyes like a meteor streaking through the night, then vanished as his gaze returned to its ancient, tranquil depth.

A night of cultivation had not only completely stabilized Xiao Qing's Three-Star Dou Wang realm, but also made his control over his newly gained power smoother and more complete. His spirit had returned to peak condition as well.

Xiao Qing rose and casually stretched his limbs. A series of faint crackling sounds immediately came from within his body, like bowstrings trembling softly. It was a sign of overflowing strength.

Almost the instant Xiao Qing finished cultivating, Hua She'er's deliberately heavy footsteps sounded outside the doors, followed by her voice, still carrying a trace of complicated emotion.

"Mr. Xiao, are you awake? Her Majesty the Queen requests your presence."