Battle Through the Heavens: The Road to Rise Begins at Canaan Academy

He smiled faintly and stroked his chin. "I have no master. As for my alchemy, I learned it from a mysterious senior."

"Ah!"

Fa Ma shook his head helplessly. He had thought Qin Chen was that person's student, but now it seemed they were cut from the same cloth.

No, the other man's talent was far greater than his own!

With countless thoughts running through his mind, Fa Ma cupped his hands toward Qin Chen. "Thank you for telling me, sir."

"You're too polite, President." Qin Chen smiled.

"Mr. Qin!"

As soon as the two finished speaking, Jia Xing Tian stepped forward, his tone carrying a hint of solemnity and expectation. "Would it be possible to speak somewhere private?"

Understanding flashed through Qin Chen's eyes. He smiled. "Of course."

Intimidation

Inside a secluded room.

Looking at Jia Coward... no, Jia Xing Tian, and Yao Ye, both wearing grave expressions, Qin Chen smiled. "Senior..."

"You flatter me, sir."

Jia Xing Tian waved his hands repeatedly, his tone humble. "How could this old man dare accept the title of 'senior' before you? If you do not mind, you may simply call me Old Jia."

Qin Chen did not refuse and nodded along. "Then this junior will take the liberty. Since Old Jia sought me out specifically, I assume there is an important matter to discuss?"

"Indeed."

Jia Xing Tian drew a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Mr. Qin, to be honest, this old man is currently troubled by many matters. Your alchemy is miraculous, and you will surely be able to help my imperial family overcome this crisis."

"I would like to ask for your assistance in refining several pills. If you succeed, my Jia Ma Empire will repay you with everything we have."

Princess Yao Ye stood at the side. She too understood the predicament facing the empire, and immediately added, "Mr. Qin, as long as you are willing to help us, whatever you ask of us, so long as we can do it, we will never refuse."

"Well..."

Qin Chen's gaze moved between the two. After a moment, he slowly said, "Since you are both asking so earnestly, I naturally will not stand by and do nothing. But what pills do you need?"

At his words, a trace of delight appeared on Jia Xing Tian's aged face. He hurriedly said, "To be honest, the imperial family has a guardian beast. It suffered many hidden injuries during its early campaigns. Over the years, we have used countless heavenly treasures to treat it, yet we have never been able to cure it completely."

"According to President Fa Ma, to fully heal its injuries, we need a sixth-tier pill called the Primordial Bone-Sculpting Pill. I would like to ask for your help in refining it."

"Additionally, this old man has been stuck at the peak of the Dou Emperor realm for many years, unable to advance even an inch. Therefore, I would like to ask you to refine another Sect-Breaking Pill for the imperial family."

Since this was their first collaboration, and fearing that he might displease Qin Chen, Jia Xing Tian did not list every pill the imperial family needed. He only mentioned the two most urgent ones.

He had been trapped at the peak of the Dou Emperor realm for years, longing every moment to break through to the Dou Sect realm. However, breaking through to the Dou Sect realm carried tremendous risks. One careless mistake, and his cultivation would decline instead.

It was not that he lacked an opportunity to break through, nor was it that he had no chance of succeeding. He simply did not dare to try.

The Jia Ma Empire was currently beset by troubles both within and without. If his breakthrough failed, the entire Jia Ma imperial family would be finished.

"No problem." Qin Chen nodded lightly. "I can refine both pills."

"Thank you, sir." Jia Xing Tian was instantly overjoyed. He cupped his hands and said, "Please name whatever reward you desire. My imperial family will certainly do everything in our power."

Princess Yao Ye followed suit and solemnly bowed.

Qin Chen waved his hand, indicating that they need not stand on ceremony, then slowly said, "As for the Primordial Bone-Sculpting Pill, the reward I want is simple. Old Jia only needs to accompany me to the Misty Cloud Sect when the time comes."

"Everything shall be as you command, sir." Jia Xing Tian agreed without hesitation.

If the Nether Sea Flood Dragon's injuries could be fully healed, the imperial family would no longer need to fear the Misty Cloud Sect so much.

"As for the Sect-Breaking Pill..."

Qin Chen's gaze lingered on Jia Xing Tian for a moment before he said gravely, "In my judgment, even if Old Jia obtains the Sect-Breaking Pill, your chance of successfully breaking through to the Dou Sect realm will still be extremely slim."

"What?"

The smile on Jia Xing Tian's face froze instantly.

Yao Ye's expression also changed slightly. Qin Chen's words were undoubtedly like a bucket of cold water poured over them.

However, Jia Xing Tian was, after all, an old monster who had ruled the empire for many years. His temperament had long been tempered into extreme "steadiness." After a brief loss of composure, he quickly regained his calm.

He took a deep breath and cupped his hands. "Does Mr. Qin have a way to increase my chances of reaching the Dou Sect realm?"

Princess Yao Ye held her breath as well, her beautiful eyes fixed tightly on Qin Chen. Could this alchemy master truly possess a method for entering the Dou Sect realm?

"I do have a method." Qin Chen smiled mysteriously.

"Please enlighten me, sir." Jia Xing Tian hurriedly pressed.

Qin Chen's gaze slowly swept over the two before he leisurely said, "Old Jia may not know this, but to break through one's shackles, aside from one's own talent and sufficient resources, a high-level cultivation method is also indispensable. The cultivation method Old Jia currently practices is merely at the Xuan tier, while I happen to possess an earth-tier, earth-attribute cultivation method."

"Besides that, I also have a sixth-tier pill formula called the Azure Nether Longevity Pill. It can not only increase one's lifespan by ten years, but also restore vitality to the body."

As Qin Chen's words continued entering his ears, Jia Xing Tian, who had been forcing himself to remain calm, instantly lost his composure. Even his breathing became hurried.

Qin Chen secretly laughed at the sight and continued, "If these two things are used together with the Sect-Breaking Pill, they will be enough to raise Old Jia's chance of success to over sixty percent."

This earth-tier cultivation method was naturally the one he had obtained from that cave.

Only after quite a while did Jia Xing Tian barely calm his turbulent emotions.

He looked at Qin Chen and said solemnly, "Mr. Qin, what price must Jia pay to obtain these things?"

"Right now, I am extremely short on medicinal ingredients. I wonder whether Old Jia could give me some rare herbs?" Qin Chen smiled.

"Certainly. As long as this matter succeeds, you may choose any medicinal ingredients within the Jia Ma Empire as you please."

To satisfy Qin Chen, Jia Xing Tian added, "Starting today, the imperial family will issue orders to every province in the Jia Ma Empire, instructing them to send medicinal ingredients to the Holy City at the earliest possible time."

"Old Jia truly is straightforward."

Qin Chen nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject. "Besides that, I have one small request."

"Please speak, sir."

Rather than state his request directly, Qin Chen brought up another matter. "Old Jia must understand that, looking across the entire northwestern region, the Jia Ma Empire's status is not particularly high."

"Mm."

Jia Xing Tian nodded slightly at that.

As the ruler of the empire, he understood the Jia Ma Empire's position in the northwestern region better than anyone.

Even if he truly broke through to the Dou Sect realm, the empire's standing would not rise by much because of it.

Not to mention anything else, among the several great empires bordering the Jia Ma Empire, which one lacked Dou Sect-level combat power?

"Therefore, I suggest that Old Jia find an ally. As for the candidate..."

A meaningful smile appeared on Qin Chen's face as he slowly said, "The Snake-People Tribe would be a good choice."

"The Snake-People Tribe?"

Jia Xing Tian immediately frowned deeply, clearly not expecting Qin Chen to say such a thing.

The Snake-People Tribe and the surrounding humans were enemies. How could they possibly ally with a human empire? It was simply absurd.

Jia Xing Tian was about to say something, but at that moment, a seductively enchanting voice suddenly rang out in the room. "What is it, old man? Could it be that you have some prejudice against my Snake-People Tribe?"

"Medusa Queen!?" Seeing the stunning woman in ornate robes who had suddenly appeared, Jia Xing Tian's pupils shrank. When he caught sight of Medusa's long, fair jade-like legs, a chill instantly shot up from his spine to the top of his head.

"Dou Sect!!!"

Changes

At the edge of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, inside a secluded cave.

Within the cave, a flame several feet tall surged continuously, emitting an extraordinarily scorching heat that roasted the surrounding rock walls until they glowed faintly red. From time to time, fragments of stone fell to the ground.

Unlike ordinary flames, which had only one color, it displayed many dazzling hues of red, orange, yellow, and white, as though several different flames were tightly interwoven.

Yet upon closer inspection, one would discover that although these flames were pressed closely together, each retained its own distinct form and level of temperature.

The streak of white flame among them was like their emperor, radiating an overwhelmingly domineering pressure. Though the flames of other colors each possessed their own liveliness, none dared overstep in the slightest.

A quarter of an hour later, the dazzling flames slowly dissipated, revealing a thin youth dressed in red.

"Teacher..."

As usual, Xiao Yan called out to his teacher in his mind.

"..."

Yet Yao Lao's familiar response did not come from within his mind. There was only an unfamiliar silence.

Unwilling to give up, Xiao Yan swallowed and softly called again, "Teacher..."

"..."

"Teacher."

"..."

No matter how Xiao Yan called, he never received any response from Yao Lao.

At this sight, his heart suddenly sank, and his brows knitted tightly together.

"Nalan Yanran..." Suddenly, Xiao Yan thought again of that girl with whom he shared such a "deep fate."

He had never expected that after coming to such a remote part of the Magical Beast Mountain Range to cultivate in peace, he would still encounter her.

He had originally thought Nalan Yanran was an overbearing, spoiled, pampered young lady. Now, it seemed that was not the case. She too went out to gain experience, and it was life-and-death training just like his!

It was also then that Yao Lao saw her strength clearly.

A Grand Dou Master!

Nalan Yanran had already reached the Grand Dou Master realm, while Xiao Yan was merely a low-star Dou Master. Coupled with the burden of his yellow-tier cultivation method, even though he had initially mastered an earth-tier combat technique, he could not possibly be her opponent.

Thus, Yao Lao made a difficult decision.

He separated a wisp of sub-flame from his Bone-Chilling Spirit Flame and gave it to Xiao Yan, allowing him to devour and absorb it with the Flame Mantra. He hoped to use this to evolve the Flame Mantra into a Xuan-tier cultivation method.

Separating the sub-flame would consume a great deal of his own strength, worsening his already weakened soul, which had been exhausted from searching for beast flames. But for this disciple in whom he had placed such high hopes, he had no other choice.

After all, he had even handed over the soul cultivation method. How could he give up halfway because of this?

The facts proved that Yao Lao's idea had been correct. After devouring the sub-flame of the Bone-Chilling Spirit Flame, the Flame Mantra had indeed successfully evolved into a Xuan-tier cultivation method.

Perhaps because it was only a sub-flame, the other beast flames within Xiao Yan's body were not driven out by the Bone-Chilling Spirit Flame. Instead, they coexisted in a delicate balance.