Battle Through the Heavens: The Rise Begins at Canaan Academy

She could clearly sense the terrifying power contained within that energy vortex. It was no less impressive than the commotion caused by her evolution.

However, her heart was not stirred in the slightest. Instead, a faintly proud smile appeared on her lips.

All of this stemmed from the surging power within her body.

A two-star Dou Zong!

And so, half a month passed.

The enormous energy vortex slowly ceased spinning. With a sharp crack, the massive vortex collapsed, and boundless energy poured down like a torrential rain, gathering in midair into a huge stream of energy that shot directly into Qin Chen's cultivation chamber.

The instant the stream of energy entered his body, the solid bottleneck within Qin Chen shattered layer by layer like cracked glass.

In an instant, a terrifying aura far surpassing anything from before erupted from his body, carrying threads of lightning as it slammed viciously into the walls of the cultivation chamber.

Qin Chen slowly opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed through them before vanishing. He clenched his fist, feeling the powerful strength endlessly surging through his body, and a satisfied smile curled across his lips.

Then he closed his eyes again, and a vast soul force swept outward in all directions like a tide.

For a moment, every scene within Holy City appeared in his mind.

Qin Chen was not satisfied. He controlled his soul force and continued spreading it beyond Holy City. Only when it could no longer extend even an inch further did he stop.

"My soul force has indeed become much stronger than before. I'm probably not far from the so-called Spiritual Realm."

As his soul force returned to his body, Qin Chen murmured softly.

After familiarizing himself with his control over Dou Qi and soul force, Qin Chen looked at his palm. There lay a pitted crimson pearl that still emitted tremendous energy.

The energy required to break through to the Dou Huang realm naturally would not have depleted the Earth Core Pearl to this extent. The reason for this was mainly that most of its energy had been lost.

But that was normal. After all, many heavenly treasures were unsuitable for direct human use.

That was also why alchemists were so sought after. Through profound alchemy techniques, they could refine and compress the tremendous energy contained within heavenly treasures.

This greatly reduced the energy loss during their use, allowing cultivators to absorb their essence more efficiently.

Unfortunately, Qin Chen was not yet capable of refining pills of that level. Besides, even if he had such a pill in hand, he would not be able to withstand its immense medicinal power.

"The Earth Core Pearl still has plenty of energy left. It's just enough for me to break through to the two-star Dou Huang realm." Qin Chen made his decision after only one glance.

The Earth Core Thunder Pearls in his storage ring were already sufficient. There was no need to keep refining more.

With the tempering of the Green Lotus Core Flame, Qin Chen did not need to worry about his Dou Qi becoming unstable. At most, he would need more time to adapt.

"Let's begin!"

Qin Chen sat cross-legged, formed hand seals with both hands, and guided the Dou Qi within his body along the circulation route of his cultivation method, entering cultivation once more.

The crimson Earth Core Pearl floated before him. Streams of pure energy continuously seeped out, winding through the air like tiny crimson snakes before constantly merging into his body.

Outside the cultivation chamber, Medusa sensed the energy of heaven and earth churning once more. Her delicate brows furrowed, and her breathtaking face was filled with astonishment.

She had clearly sensed that Qin Chen had already broken through to the Dou Huang realm. Why was he still cultivating? Could it be that he wanted to advance directly to the two-star Dou Huang realm?

Skipping levels consecutively was a major taboo in cultivation. If it caused his foundation to become unstable, the road ahead would surely be fraught with difficulties.

Xiao Yan's Current Situation, Experiment

"Phew!"

After carefully sensing him once more and confirming that Qin Chen's aura was stable, Medusa finally relaxed slightly.

Since he insisted on continuing his cultivation, he must have absolute confidence. She would let him do as he wished.

"Peak two-star Dou Huang..."

Feeling the vast Dou Qi surging within his body, Qin Chen's lips curved into a satisfied smile.

In only a few months, he had leapt from the peak Dou Wang realm to the two-star Dou Huang realm. Even in the Central Plains, where geniuses gathered in abundance, such speed would rank among the best.

As expected of an Earth Core Pearl that even Dou Zong experts coveted, the energy it contained was truly terrifying.

"Although the Dou Qi within my body is still condensed, my fine control over it is somewhat unfamiliar." With a thought, Qin Chen condensed a wisp of pale green Dou Qi at his fingertip and muttered to himself.

Over the past few months, his strength had risen too quickly. What he needed now was to solidify his foundation and adapt to the explosive growth in his power.

What was the best way to achieve that?

Of course, battle!

At the same time, elsewhere in the Tagore Desert.

This was an endless world of magma. Dark red lava flowed slowly like coagulated blood, the air thick with a pungent sulfur smell, while scorching heat waves nearly roasted one's skin until it cracked.

Logically speaking, no life should exist in such an extreme and harsh environment. Yet today, two uninvited guests had arrived beneath the rolling magma.

A streak of light wreathed in pale flames was darting rapidly through the magma.

"Why has he been down there for so long?"

Staring at the dead-silent surface of the magma, a tall and powerfully built young man frowned deeply. His face was full of worry as he paced anxiously back and forth.

He was Xiao Yan's eldest brother, Xiao Ding!

The reason their group had found this place so quickly was naturally thanks to the barely alive Rob.

Though that fellow did not know what Qin Chen's group and Xiao Yan's group were searching for, that did not stop him from using this information to preserve his own life.

Bang!

Just as Xiao Ding's thoughts ran wild, the crimson magma erupted. The streak of pale flaming light suddenly burst from the lava and landed on a nearby rock surface.

The flames slowly dispersed, revealing a panting Xiao Yan within.

"Third Brother!"

Xiao Ding hurried forward and supported Xiao Yan, whose face was pale. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Xiao Yan waved his hand and smiled.

"You got it, right?" Relieved, Xiao Ding asked with a smile.

At those words, Xiao Yan shook his head, a trace of helplessness on his face.

"It isn't there?" Xiao Ding froze, then said in a low voice, "Could Rob have lied to us?"

"What he said was true."

Recalling the figure he had encountered in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Yan looked utterly helpless. "It's just that someone already beat us to it..."

Jia Ma Empire, deep within the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

At this moment, two streaks of green and purple light clashed repeatedly in the sky.

Whenever they collided, violent energy surged like monstrous waves, crushing the surrounding sea of clouds into dust. Deafening explosions rang out continuously, making the magical beasts watching from below tremble in fear.

Unfortunately, the gap in strength between the two was too great. After only a few exchanges, the purple light quickly began to falter.

The purple light dimmed, revealing the massive beastly body of the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King within.

Seeing this, Qin Chen circulated his Dou Qi within the green light, and the energy sword in his hand shone brilliantly.

Whoosh!

A concentrated green ray, nearly tangible in form, shot from the sword. Accompanied by a piercing shriek that tore through the air, it flew straight at the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's brow.

The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's beast pupils contracted sharply, and it hurriedly used every means at its disposal to block the attack.

Boom!

The green ray pierced through its defenses and struck the layer of purple crystal covering its body. Fresh blood immediately began to gush forth.

The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King let out a wail, its enormous body convulsing violently in midair. "Brat! I am the king of the Purple Crystal Winged Lion tribe! You dare kill me—"

"Too noisy!"

Seeing that the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King was exhausted, Qin Chen swiftly closed in. Before it could react, he slammed a palm filled with vast Dou Qi onto its massive lion head.

Crack!

With a crisp sound, the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's hard skull shattered instantly. Its huge body fell straight into the forest below like a puppet with severed strings.

Qin Chen dispersed the sword in his hand, his lips lifting slightly.

It seemed his body had been tempered quite well by all these heavenly treasures. He could already contend with a sixth-tier magical beast.

Of course, he could not compare to Zi Yan. After all, the royal bloodline of the Ancient Void Dragon was simply too powerful.

Arriving before the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's corpse, Qin Chen pressed his palm against its forehead. Vast soul force continuously poured in from his palm, and before long, he tore out a weak and illusory soul.

Then Dou Qi surged from Qin Chen's palm, eventually forming a transparent energy film that completely wrapped the unconscious soul.

After finishing this, Qin Chen flicked his finger. A dark red pill flew out from his storage ring and hovered before him.

Inspired by the Purple Fire Pill from the original story, Qin Chen had created this pill using the Heart Flame of the Fallen Heart Flame as its primary ingredient. It could temporarily produce flames of the Fallen Heart Flame.

He placed the pill inside the energy film. As Qin Chen activated his Dou Qi, a wisp of invisible flame slowly rose and began roasting the illusory soul.

"Aaaah!!!"

The Fallen Heart Flame truly was the nemesis of souls. The moment the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's soul came into contact with it, it awoke at once and let out agonized cries.

"Bear with it. It'll be over soon." Qin Chen watched quietly and spoke indifferently.

"Damn brat, you... Aaaah!!!"

As time passed, the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's cries grew fainter and fainter. Only when its soul had completely dissipated did the cries finally cease abruptly.

"So it still doesn't work..."

Qin Chen frowned and let out a helpless sigh.

The soul was the foundation of all living beings. Its origin lay in the soul essence nurtured deep within, a kind of extremely pure and strange energy found in heaven and earth.

No matter what kind of creature it was, its soul would contain more or less a trace of soul essence deep within.

The souls of magical beasts were indeed weaker than those of humans, but the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King was at the Dou Huang realm. The essence contained in its soul surpassed that of many humans.

Yet during the refining process just now, Qin Chen had tried many methods, but in the end, he had not sensed even a trace of soul essence.

It seemed that obtaining soul essence through such a crude method had been wishful thinking. The method Soul Hall used to extract soul essence was likely a secret technique of the Hun Clan.

"Protector Wu, I hope you won't disappoint me..." Looking toward the imperial capital of the Jia Ma Empire, Qin Chen thought to himself.