Battle Through the Heavens: I Can Solidify All Talents

The little girl stood by the roadside, pleading with passersby in a trembling voice.

Yet the pedestrians merely gave her cold glances before quickening their pace.

Some pretended not to see her, while others deliberately detoured around her. No one was willing to get involved in this trouble, and no one paid attention to the pitiful child.

In this harsh border city, where survival was difficult, people seemed long accustomed to turning a blind eye to the suffering of others.

"Ma... ma'am, sob... please..."

When Qing Lin saw a middle-aged woman passing by with a vegetable basket, she seemed to have grasped her last lifeline. Summoning the greatest courage of her life, she stepped forward, tugged at the woman's sleeve, and pleaded tearfully.

With Qing Lin's usual extreme inferiority and timid nature due to her bloodline, taking this step had already exhausted every bit of courage she possessed.

"Get lost!" The moment the middle-aged woman was grabbed, undisguised disgust appeared on her face.

She violently shook off Qing Lin's hand with such force that the frail girl staggered and fell to the ground.

"You worthless half-human, half-snake freak! Only that senile old fool would take you in! Well, look what happened now! Misfortune fell on her—did she die yet?!"

As though she had touched something filthy, the woman vigorously brushed at her clothes and left while cursing.

Those vicious words were like icy knives stabbing fiercely into Qing Lin's young heart.

"Sob... no... that's not true..."

Qing Lin sat on the ground, curling her tiny body up as she helplessly shook her head, trying to deny the venomous accusation.

But those words lingered in Qing Lin's mind like a curse, causing the defenses of her already sensitive and fragile heart to crumble as she gradually began blaming herself for her grandmother's death.

"Was it... really because of Qing Lin?"

Xiao Qing watched the scene quietly, understanding everything.

In this city where humans and the Snake-People Tribe were hostile toward one another.

A child like Qing Lin, who possessed both human and snake-person blood, was often regarded as an ominous curse and rejected and discriminated against by both sides.

The scorn and ridicule she had endured far exceeded what ordinary people could imagine.

Her plight could not help but evoke pity.

Based on the scattered information from the original work and the scene before him, Xiao Qing could roughly infer Qing Lin's circumstances:

Qing Lin's mother, a human woman, had endured unimaginable pressure and abuse after becoming pregnant with a snake-person's child. After giving birth to Qing Lin, she died of depression.

Afterward, this kind old grandmother had taken Qing Lin in, giving her a barely sheltering "home" and a trace of warmth.

However, the old grandmother was already advanced in years and near the end of her life. Being able to care for Qing Lin for two years was likely already her limit.

Now, the only person in this world who had given Qing Lin warmth had also left her.

Normally, mixed-blood children like this found it difficult to live past the age of two because of their unusual constitutions and harsh living environments.

That Qing Lin had struggled on until nearly four years old showed just how tenacious her vitality was.

And that deep within her heart, she still retained a faint trace of hope and curiosity toward this world.

Seeing this, Xiao Qing hesitated no longer.

Xiao Qing walked toward the tiny figure curled up in the dust, crying so hard she was nearly fainting.

At the same time, an invisible, intangible force of the soul, carrying a stern pressure.

Silently spread outward from Xiao Qing, precisely enveloping the indifferent onlookers around them.

At once, those passersby felt a chill shoot up their spines.

It was as though some terrifying existence had fixed its gaze upon them, and immense fear inexplicably rose in their hearts.

No longer daring to watch the spectacle, they turned pale and scattered in panic, crying, "Ghost!" and "Something's wrong!"

The venomous middle-aged woman received Xiao Qing's special attention.

A faint soul impact made her head swell and her vision darken. She staggered a few times before fleeing in panic, and she would likely spend the next several days dizzy and disoriented.

It was merely a small punishment and a warning.

After clearing the area, Xiao Qing walked up to Qing Lin.

He crouched down, his calm gaze falling on Qing Lin's tear-streaked little face, especially her large eyes, red and swollen from crying.

At that moment, the pupils of those eyes faintly displayed a greenish sheen beneath the glimmer of tears.

And in the deepest part of those pupils, Xiao Qing's sharp Spirit Realm soul perception clearly saw three tiny jade-green dots arranged in a triangular pattern!

Those three dots seemed to contain some mysterious power, emitting an exceedingly obscure, almost imperceptible special fluctuation.

If Xiao Qing's soul power had not far surpassed that of ordinary people, he would never have caught this anomaly.

This is the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils...

Xiao Qing sighed inwardly.

As expected, they are extraordinarily mysterious!

This special constitution, nurtured innately, possessed limitless potential. If she could grow smoothly, her future achievements would be boundless.

"Grandma... sob... Qing Lin harmed you..."

Sensing someone approaching, Qing Lin timidly raised her tearful eyes. Through her blurred vision, she saw a big brother dressed neatly and possessing an extraordinary bearing.

Xiao Qing's outstanding temperament, so out of place amid the surroundings, instantly made the already self-conscious Qing Lin feel incomparably ashamed of herself.

Qing Lin instinctively hugged her thin arms tightly, buried her little face in her knees, and trembled as she refused through tears:

"Don't... don't come near Qing Lin... Qing Lin carries misfortune... terrible misfortune..."

Clearly, Qing Lin had already fallen deeply into the self-doubt and denial brought about by that middle-aged woman's cruel words.

Xiao Qing felt a slight ache in his heart. He reached out and gently took Qing Lin's thin, malnourished little hands, which felt icy cold.

His movements were as gentle as possible, and he lowered his voice until it was exceptionally soft, as though afraid of startling a frightened little beast:

"I don't believe such a well-behaved and sensible Qing Lin could bring misfortune."

Xiao Qing looked into Qing Lin's eyes, his tone firm yet gentle.

"Come on, let's go inside and see your grandmother."

In truth, Xiao Qing had long sensed that the old grandmother had died naturally and had nothing whatsoever to do with any so-called "misfortune."

"Big... big brother... waaah, sob..."

Feeling the warmth from Xiao Qing's palm and hearing those words, which held not the slightest disgust but were instead full of trust and gentleness.

Qing Lin was like a drowning person clutching her only piece of driftwood. The sorrow and grievance she had been desperately holding back burst forth like a breached flood, and she threw herself into Xiao Qing's arms, sobbing loudly.

At that moment, in Qing Lin's world that had nearly been consumed by darkness, Xiao Qing's arrival was like a ray of warm sunlight tearing through the gloom.

It illuminated her wounded heart and brought a long-lost warmth of acceptance and care.

Xiao Qing gently patted Qing Lin's back, allowing her to cry out all the grievances in her heart.

Once her sobs had eased slightly, Xiao Qing said softly, "Let's go see Grandma first, all right?"

Qing Lin nodded through her sobs, her little hand tightly clutching Xiao Qing's clothes, as though afraid that this sole source of warmth would disappear as well.

Finally Leaving the Tagor Desert

Xiao Qing carefully examined the old woman's condition and confirmed that she had died naturally.

At first, seeing her grandmother lying there without any sign of life had thrown Qing Lin's mind into chaos.

After calming down, Qing Lin knew that the grandmother who loved her most had truly passed away.

Xiao Qing noticed half a hard, dried bun at the bedside. It was clearly the usual food of the grandmother and granddaughter.

The inside of the little house was even more dilapidated than it looked from outside. Other than an old wooden bed and several crude clay jars, there was almost nothing.

A white-haired old grandmother lay peacefully on the bed, her expression serene. She had clearly passed away in her sleep.

"Grandma..."

Qing Lin's tears welled up again, but she bit her lip tightly and did not make a sound.

That afternoon, after burying Qing Lin's grandmother beneath Qing Lin's tear-filled and reluctant gaze, Xiao Qing returned to the simple little house.

"Qing Lin," Xiao Qing asked softly, "do you have any other relatives?"

The little girl shook her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz. "Only Grandma... Grandma said Qing Lin's mother... passed away a long time ago..."

Xiao Qing fell silent for a moment.

According to the original work, Qing Lin's mother had suffered countless scornful looks after giving birth to a mixed-blood child and eventually died of depression. Qing Lin had survived until now only because this kind old grandmother had taken her in.

Xiao Qing looked at Qing Lin. "What are your plans for the future?"

Qing Lin shook her head blankly, her little hand unconsciously tightening around the hem of her clothes.

At that moment, a burst of noisy commotion suddenly came from outside.

Several burly men barged in, led by a man with a scar across his face.

"Old woman, it's time to pay this month's rent, isn't it?"

Scarface shouted loudly, then noticed the situation inside the house.

"Huh? Where's that old hag?"

Scarface's gaze fell upon Qing Lin, and he grinned maliciously. "You little bastard, where did your grandmother hide?"

Qing Lin was so frightened that she hurried behind Xiao Qing.

Xiao Qing frowned slightly. "Who are you people?"

Only then did Scarface notice Xiao Qing. He sized him up from head to toe and sneered. "Where did this pretty boy come from? That old hag owes our Black Snake Gang three months' rent. Since she isn't here, we'll take this little bastard as payment!"

As he spoke, he reached out to grab Qing Lin.

Xiao Qing's eyes turned cold. Without any visible movement from him, Scarface suddenly screamed and flew backward, crashing heavily outside the doorway.

The other burly men immediately drew their weapons.

Yet in the next instant, they all froze in place, as if bound by an invisible force and unable to move.

"Get out." Xiao Qing spoke a single word indifferently.

The burly men felt as though they had been granted amnesty. They fled in a panic, scrambling away without even bothering with Scarface lying on the ground.

However, the matter was not so simple. Xiao Qing did not yet want the young Qing Lin to see him kill.

Once they stepped beyond that doorway, their fates were no longer under their own control. At some point that night, several more piles of human-shaped ashes would appear in this world...

Qing Lin stared wide-eyed at the scene, her little face full of astonishment.

"It's all right now." Xiao Qing turned and gave her a gentle smile. "Those bad people won't come again."

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Qing took out a pill emitting a faint fragrance from his Storage Ring. "Take this medicine. It'll be good for you."

This was a mild, first-tier Foundation Building Pill he had refined back when he had first begun practicing alchemy.

Though its grade was not high, it would greatly benefit Qing Lin's currently frail constitution.

Qing Lin obediently accepted the pill and swallowed it carefully.

She thought it was medicine one took when sick. In Qing Lin's understanding, she did not know that there were such precious things as medicinal pills.

Very soon, a hint of color returned to Qing Lin's pale little face, and she looked much more energetic.

"Big brother... thank you." Qing Lin spoke softly, her eyes filled with gratitude.

Xiao Qing looked at Qing Lin's special eyes, and a plan had already formed in his mind.

A rare special constitution like the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, one that appeared perhaps once in a thousand years, would be far too wasted if left buried in this desert border city.

"Qing Lin, are you willing to come with me?" Xiao Qing asked softly. "I'll teach you how to cultivate, so you'll have the ability to protect yourself and never be bullied again."

Qing Lin froze for a moment, then nodded forcefully, tears glimmering in her eyes. "Qing Lin is willing! Qing Lin will be obedient!"

Xiao Qing smiled faintly and took her little hand. "Then pack up whatever you need to take, and come with me."

"Mm!"

Qing Lin nodded hard.

As the sun set, the two figures, one large and one small, left Desert City and headed toward the Jia Ma Empire.