Battle Through the Heavens: Beginning the Path to Rise at Jia Nan Academy — Chapter 38

With its profound mysteries, it was enough to rival a mid-tier Xuan-class cultivation technique.

However, because they lacked the Ice Spirit Cold Spring and Blood Lotus Pill, Yao Lao had to constantly use his soul power to protect Xiao Yan's body throughout the process of devouring the child flame.

In the end, the technique evolved, and Xiao Yan truly gained the means to defeat Nalan Yanran. But the price was Yao Lao falling into slumber.

"Blackrock City, the Alchemist Guild..."

Muttering Yao Lao's earlier words to himself, Xiao Yan's gaze became resolute once more.

His teacher had done so much for him. How could he betray his teacher's expectations? No matter what, he would press onward without hesitation.

The birth of an expert required vast resources. This time, Xiao Yan and his teacher had come to the Magical Beast Mountain Range not only to seek beast flames, but also to search for medicinal herbs.

Without Yao Lao's help, finding enough resources in the Magical Beast Mountain Range was nothing more than wishful thinking for Xiao Yan.

Therefore, if he wanted to obtain sufficient resources within a short time, he had to head to a larger city that was safer and had more people.

And Blackrock City, which they had visited before, was the most suitable place for him. It also happened to have flying magical beasts that could take him to the imperial capital.

"Blackrock City, I, Xiao Yan, am coming!"

Pulling on his clothes, Xiao Yan's eyes sharpened. With a stomp of his foot, he raced toward the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Northwest of Jia Ma Holy City lay a mountain range shrouded in clouds and mist.

The towering peaks resembled sharp swords piercing the heavens, their hilts rooted in the vast earth as they faintly emanated fierce sword qi.

The tallest and most majestic peak in this range was known as Misty Cloud Mountain.

Clearly, this was the headquarters of the Misty Cloud Sect. At this moment, within the Sect Master's Hall—

Sect Master Yun Yun sat in the seat of honor. Her plain white cloud robe was embroidered with patterns of clouds and swords intertwined, while her black hair was held up by nothing more than a jade hairpin. Her entire body exuded a tranquil, cool temperament.

Below her, Nalan Yanran wore a moon-white disciple's robe. Her posture was straight and her expression composed. Behind her stood two white-haired elders side by side.

"Teacher."

Looking at Yun Yun seated above, Nalan Yanran bent slightly in salute.

"You're back?"

Seeing that her disciple had shed her childishness and gained a touch more heroic spirit between her brows, Yun Yun nodded in satisfaction.

A four-star Da Dou Shi!

Not only had her realm advanced rapidly, but the Dou Qi within her body had also become much more condensed.

Then Yun Yun looked at the two elders behind Nalan Yanran and waved with a faint smile.

"You have worked hard. Go rest first."

"Yes."

The two elders bowed again before slowly withdrawing from the hall.

After the two elders left, the coolness on Yun Yun's beautiful face swiftly melted away, replaced by concern. "Your father wrote to you yesterday. He said your grandfather is critically ill and wants you to return home."

"Arrange your time as you see fit for now. Just make sure to arrive for the Three-Year Agreement on time."

Nalan Yanran was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then nodded. "Yes, Teacher."

Although she still wanted to say something more to her teacher, her grandfather was seriously ill, so she could not stay any longer.

For some reason, she always felt that her teacher had changed greatly.

It had begun several months ago. After her teacher returned from an outing, subtle changes had started to appear.

Her teacher seemed to place greater importance on her cultivation. Although she had always been attentive before, she had never demanded so much of herself as she did now.

There had also been criticism and instruction, especially regarding the mistakes she had made, such as the Three-Year Agreement.

Moreover, the way her teacher had looked at her just now seemed... seemed as if she were comparing her to someone.

"How strange..."

With that thought, Nalan Yanran gave Yun Yun a deep bow before turning and leaving the hall.

Looking at the hall, which had once again become cold and empty, Yun Yun's thoughts returned to her experience in the Magical Beast Mountain Range several months ago.

When she remembered that Qin Chen possessed the strength of a Dou Wang at such a young age, then thought of that other youth who had progressed just as rapidly, her disciple—whom she had once been so proud of—seemed like nothing more than an ordinary person by comparison.

At the same time, she had learned that the young master of the Xiao Clan had recovered his talent and was currently traveling to gain experience.

After thinking it over several times, she felt that she had been too lenient in guiding Nalan Yanran. If this continued, she feared that Nalan Yanran would struggle to face future challenges and shoulder the great responsibility of the sect.

It definitely was not because of a certain man that she had begun to entertain thoughts of stepping down and retiring, just like her own teacher...

Transition

The Snake-People Tribe and the surrounding nations had long harbored deep grievances against one another. Their generations-old enmity had created a profound divide between their peoples.

These problems could not be solved through force alone. They required a long time to gradually wear away.

As the leader of the Snake-People Tribe, Medusa naturally understood the relationship between her people and the neighboring nations better than anyone.

Her earlier use of force had truly been a last resort. The Snake-People Tribe had no conditions with which to negotiate with other nations, while the human empires had always coveted the snake-women of the Snake-People Tribe. Thus, force had been their only means of solving problems.

Now that Qin Chen could serve as an intermediary, allowing them to sit down and speak peacefully with the neighboring nations, prevent casualties during the Snake-People Tribe's migration, and build a bridge of communication between the two sides, nothing could be better.

The reason a nation went to war was simply that those at the top could not reach an agreement for one reason or another.

Just as the saying went, when the old men above could not solve a problem, they could only push it onto the young men below and have them settle it with force on the battlefield.

Within the imperial palace of Jia Ma Holy City, inside a quiet hall.

Jia Xing Tian and Yao Ye sat facing each other across a round table. Both had tightly furrowed brows, and an unspoken heaviness filled the air.

"What do you think of what happened today?" After a long while, Jia Xing Tian was the first to speak, his voice deep.

Yao Ye fell silent for a moment before letting out a soft sigh and smiling bitterly. "They are the stronger party now, while we are the weaker one. Other than cooperating sincerely, we have no other choice."

"Must we truly submit to them so easily?" Jia Xing Tian frowned.

The first condition Qin Chen and Medusa had proposed was that the Jia Ma Empire select a resource-rich territory and cede it to the Snake-People Tribe in the future.

How could he, the guardian of the Jia Ma Empire, possibly accept that with ease?

"There is no other way."

Yao Ye shook her head helplessly. The bitter smile on her cold, beautiful face did not fade as she slowly said, "Leaving aside what kind of power lies behind the mysterious Mr. Qin, Medusa Queen alone is already someone we cannot contend with."

"I do not know why they came here while concealing their identities, but I do know that if we anger them, Medusa Queen alone could easily wipe out everyone in the imperial family."

Jia Xing Tian remained silent. Clearly, he understood the stakes as well.

"Besides, I do not think this is necessarily a bad thing."

"Oh?"

A trace of confusion flashed through Jia Xing Tian's eyes. He looked at Yao Ye, signaling for her to continue.

Meeting Jia Xing Tian's gaze, Yao Ye parted her red lips and analyzed the matter slowly. "In truth, Mr. Qin was not wrong at all."

"The Jia Ma Empire is currently surrounded by powerful enemies. If we can find a strong ally and build good relations with them, it may be a turning point for us. One more friend is far better than one more enemy who can easily destroy the imperial family."

"Great-Grandfather, just imagine—what if the person who came today had not been Mr. Qin, but a ruthless villain?"

"This..."

Jia Xing Tian's expression changed slightly. His withered fingers unconsciously rubbed the armrest of his chair.

If things were as Yao Ye said, if the visitor had been a completely unscrupulous villain, then he would have had no ability to resist at all. Once he died, the entire empire would descend into chaos.

At that thought, a chill quietly rose from the depths of his heart.

In his moment of anger, Jia Xing Tian had not considered this point immediately. He had kept focusing on Qin Chen's terms, thus overlooking the reason that had created the current situation.

"What you say does make some sense..." After thinking for a while, Jia Xing Tian nodded helplessly.

Who could blame him for being weaker than the other side?

Seeing Jia Xing Tian accept her reasoning, Yao Ye smiled softly. After a brief pause, she continued, "Great-Grandfather, do you remember the other conditions Mr. Qin mentioned?"

"Of course." Jia Xing Tian nodded.

During their discussion, Qin Chen and Medusa had proposed many conditions. One of them was for the imperial family to gather medicinal herbs for him over the next few years.

"In my view, this is not merely a task. It is also a form of assurance."

"Assurance?" Jia Xing Tian's brows drew together, his tone filled with confusion.

To him, this condition seemed like nothing more than an ordinary request. How could it be connected to any sort of assurance?

Seeing this, Yao Ye patiently explained her thoughts. "Mr. Qin and Medusa clearly have the strength to destroy the Jia Ma Empire, yet they have not done so. That shows they have no intention of managing it themselves and still need us for now."

"On the surface, this appears to be oppression. In reality, it gives us an opportunity to show them goodwill."

"If the empire faces danger in the future, especially once the Snake-People Tribe has begun trading with the Jia Ma Empire along our borders, they may help us for the sake of this relationship."

"Besides, we have already received some benefits they promised us. Mr. Qin is so generous that he presumably is not the sort of person who would stand by and watch us die."

"Very well."

Jia Xing Tian's gaze flickered for a moment before he finally sighed. "I hope things truly turn out as you have analyzed."

Then he thought to himself, Perhaps this will instead make the imperial family's position more stable.

If an empire's imperial family was not the strongest, then what reason was there for it not to be overthrown?

It was not that Jia Xing Tian could not see the essence of the situation. He merely wanted an excuse to convince himself.

After all, ever since Yun Shan had announced his secluded cultivation, Jia Xing Tian had been the publicly acknowledged strongest expert in the Jia Ma Empire. He had already put on all the airs he needed to. It was time to find a way to end things gracefully.

"Whew!"

Jia Xing Tian let out a long breath and felt his entire body relax. "Then do as they said. Send orders to the provinces near the Tagore Desert, forbidding them from capturing snake-people of the Snake-People Tribe and ordering them to release all snake-person slaves they have already captured."

"Also, have them gradually open trade routes with the Snake-People Tribe and prepare for the future handover of territory."

"Yes, Great-Grandfather!" Yao Ye smiled and nodded firmly.

She had always been accurate in judging people, but she was not the one making the decisions. If Jia Xing Tian had refused this matter, she truly would not have known what to do.

As she thought this, Yao Ye's slender jade fingers quietly brushed over the storage ring on her hand.

"Alright, I will leave the rest to you. I will go into seclusion first."