Battle Through the Heavens: Rising from Canaan Academy

"I'd like to borrow the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's Purple Spirit Crystal!"

Yun Yun's red lips parted slightly. Her voice held no affectation, yet it was as clear and pleasant as pearls falling onto a jade plate.

Qin Chen stroked his chin and quietly watched the figure bathed in azure light.

Although he had crossed paths with Yun Yun once in the Tagore Desert, Qin Chen had never seen her true face before. Now that he did...

She truly was breathtakingly imposing!

It was just a pity that such a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms had met such a tragic ending in the original story.

Many people said Yun Yun was an ungrateful, unreasonable bad woman.

But Qin Chen believed that Yun Yun had already done well enough.

On one side was the teacher who had raised her; on the other was the young man who had saved her life. No matter whom she helped, she would be in the wrong.

Being able to prevent the man she loved from killing her teacher while also helping her lover escape his predicament was already wisdom and responsibility beyond the reach of ordinary people.

In such a dilemma, she had neither completely sided with one party and betrayed the kindness of the other, nor cowardly fled from reality. Instead, she struggled to maintain a balance in the cracks between them in her own way.

How could those people who only knew how to point fingers from the moral high ground possibly understand such struggle and perseverance?

It was not that she could not distinguish right from wrong. It was simply that, in the whirlpool of gratitude and righteousness, every choice she made was like walking on a blade's edge, each step carrying a heavy price.

Putting himself in her shoes, what would Qin Chen have done if he had faced such a situation?

He did not know. Perhaps he would only have an answer when he truly encountered it.

Therefore, he chose to pursue strength!

If Yun Yun had possessed the strength of a Dou Di back then, she could have directly helped Xiao Yan retrieve Xiao Zhan, then slaughtered every member of the Hun Clan. Wouldn't every problem have been solved easily?

Why would there have been such agonizing, impossible choices?

Qin Chen's thirst for strength might have stemmed from ambition, but even more so, it came from the deep helplessness of being unable to change the situation.

"Humph! Foolish human, you overestimate yourself!"

As the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's words fell, the negotiation between woman and beast completely broke down. Dou Qi erupted from both sides, and they clashed once more.

For a time, the sky blazed with light. The sounds of colliding energy were deafening, and waves of pressure spread as the battle grew increasingly fierce.

"The one fighting the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King is actually a woman. I wonder who she is."

Qin Chen glanced to the side and found Xiao Yan staring fixedly at the curvaceous figure in the sky with a lecherous expression.

Suddenly, Xiao Yan sensed that something was off. He instinctively turned his head, only to find Qin Chen looking at him as though he were an idiot.

"Wh-what is it?" Xiao Yan subconsciously swallowed, feeling rather strange.

"Ah..."

Qin Chen sighed and said regretfully, "I thought you were someone who saw things through to the end. Now it seems you haven't taken the humiliation of your clan to heart at all."

To be honest, Qin Chen could not understand it. Among the current ten strongest experts of the Jia Ma Empire, there were only three Dou Huangs—two men and one woman. Yun Yun was Nalan Yanran's teacher, so how had Xiao Yan failed to recognize her?

That was one thing. After all, Xiao Yan had not yet seen much of the world. But why had even Yao Lao failed to recognize her?

That old man had been hiding in the Jia Ma Empire for so long. How could he possibly not have figured it out?

Qin Chen seriously suspected that the shameless old man knew perfectly well and was pretending otherwise!

"You're talking nonsense!" Xiao Yan retorted, craning his neck.

You can question my character, but you cannot question my efforts!

What had he endured all that suffering for over the past few months for? Was it not to defeat Nalan Yanran in the three-year agreement and wash away the humiliation she had brought upon the Xiao Clan?

"Is that so? Then tell me, who is that woman?" Qin Chen raised a brow, clearly unconvinced.

"She..." Xiao Yan was momentarily speechless.

Qin Chen pointed at Yun Yun, who was still locked in battle, and asked again, "Then tell me, what attribute is the Dou Qi that woman in the sky cultivates?"

"Wind attribute." Xiao Yan curled his lips.

"What realm is she at?"

"Dou Huang."

Seeing that he still had not caught on, Qin Chen simply laid it all out. "Which sect did Nalan Yanran join?"

"Misty Cloud... Wait!" Xiao Yan's expression changed.

With things spelled out this clearly, even an idiot could guess that woman's identity.

The Misty Cloud Sect's sect leader, Nalan Yanran's teacher—Yun Yun!

Saving Someone

When Xiao Yan realized that the woman in the sky was Yun Yun, it was as though someone had poured a basin of cold water over him. The heat in his heart rapidly cooled, and disgust appeared on his handsome face.

If not for this woman backing Nalan Yanran, how would the latter have dared to swagger into the Xiao Clan and call off the engagement? How would the Xiao Clan have become the laughingstock of the Jia Ma Empire?

"Then what is she doing here?" Xiao Yan frowned tightly after coming back to his senses, asking in confusion.

Qin Chen chuckled and teased, "Although the Purple Spirit Crystal has decent medicinal effects, that is not why it is valuable. The reason it is so sought after is because its medicinal properties are mild, making it most suitable for low-level cultivators."

"Think about it. Within the Misty Cloud Sect, who is worth Yun Yun going to such lengths for?"

"Nalan Yanran!" Xiao Yan clenched his teeth and slowly spat out the four words.

How could he possibly be happy after learning that the person who had humiliated his clan was about to become stronger?

"Hehe."

Qin Chen smiled faintly at the sight and tempted him, "Well? Do you want me to help you deal with her? If Nalan Yanran obtains the Purple Spirit Crystal, your chances of winning the three-year agreement will drop considerably."

"No!"

Xiao Yan hesitated for only a moment before immediately rejecting Qin Chen's proposal. "I want to defeat Nalan Yanran fair and square during the three-year agreement. So what if she obtains the Purple Spirit Crystal? I believe in my teacher!"

"Good!"

Yao Lao was also pleased by Xiao Yan's backbone.

He had been somewhat worried before, but now it seemed he had worried for nothing. His disciple's mind had basically matured.

"Tch, how boring." Watching the two grow sentimental, Qin Chen turned his head and continued watching the battle high above.

The battle began at noon and continued until the sun slanted toward the west.

"Ah..."

Qin Chen yawned. Even he was getting bored from watching the battle overhead, yet when he turned to look, Xiao Yan was still watching with great interest.

After another incense stick's worth of time passed, the battle finally neared its end.

"Amethyst Seal!"

The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King roared, and the purple glow around its massive body instantly intensified.

When the purple light spreading through heaven and earth reached its peak, the blinding radiance abruptly contracted, forming a deep-purple beam about half a foot thick. With lightning speed, it instantly appeared before Yun Yun.

Sensing the purple beam not far in front of her, Yun Yun's expression changed slightly. The Dou Qi within her immediately began to circulate, surging out of her body like roaring mountains and crashing seas.

"Fierce Wind Spiral Dance!"

Yun Yun gave a soft cry. The space before her rippled faintly as countless azure wind blades were summoned. They spun rapidly into spirals and swept toward the purple beam in a sky-covering torrent.

It's over. Qin Chen secretly shook his head.

Large magical beasts like the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King excelled in both defense and offense. Combined with its fire attribute, the power contained in its attacks far surpassed that of magical beasts at the same level.

Yun Yun's Dou Qi, on the other hand, was wind-attributed and emphasized speed. Compared with other attributes, its destructive power was already somewhat weaker.

Now that they were evenly matched in strength, using her weakness against the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's strength meant her defeat was inevitable.

Sure enough, the azure wind blades only held against the purple beam for a brief moment before rapidly collapsing.

Seeing this, Yun Yun hurriedly set up more than a dozen wind shields before herself.

But...

It was useless!

The purple beam smashed through Yun Yun's wind shields with overwhelming force and finally entered her delicate body.

Seeing that its attack had succeeded, the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King beat its massive wings and flashed before Yun Yun. Its clawed forepaw rose high above her head, intending to kill her in a single strike!

"Extreme Wind—Falling Kill!"

Just as the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King was about to succeed, a trace of ruthlessness flashed through Yun Yun's beautiful eyes. She mobilized every last bit of Dou Qi she could command.

The azure longsword in her hand suddenly trembled. A deep ray of light the size of a thumb abruptly condensed at its tip. With a sharp cry, the ray caused the surrounding space to tremble faintly before shooting toward the enormous lion head ahead.

"Crack!"

Faced with Yun Yun's desperate counterattack, the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King instinctively dodged. It narrowly avoided the fatal blow, but even so, the azure ray still struck the horn on its head and forcibly severed it.

The pain of its broken horn did not stop the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's attack. Its foreclaw, carrying fierce force, slashed viciously at Yun Yun's front.

"Creak!"

A piercing sound rang out. Yun Yun spat out a small mouthful of blood, and her beautiful face instantly turned from rosy to pale.

Yet, borrowing the force of that strike, her body spun sharply through the air. Her azure wings flapped, and after several flashes, she vanished between heaven and earth.

"Search for her! You must find that human woman!"

The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's savagery was completely stirred by the severing of its horn. Its enormous beast eyes stared fixedly in the direction Yun Yun had disappeared.

Following the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's roar, the surrounding magical beasts stirred and continuously surged in all directions, searching for Yun Yun's trail.

"It seems the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King still had the upper hand." Xiao Yan spoke calmly.

He had not expected the battle to end so hastily. Although both sides had suffered injuries, he could still tell that Yun Yun no longer had the strength to fight.

Now that Yun Yun had been struck by a sealing technique, she was probably unable to leave the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

After learning Yun Yun's identity, Xiao Yan would not resort to underhanded methods, but that did not mean he would go save Yun Yun.

Curling his lips, Xiao Yan was just about to call the other two to leave when suddenly...

"Whoosh!"

A sound of something cutting through the air rang out. Qin Chen transformed into a streak of light and flew directly toward the direction Yun Yun had vanished.