Battle Through the Heavens: Rising from Canaan Academy — Section 49

Moreover, although she was now a four-star Dou Zong, this realm had almost entirely been raised through the various heavenly treasures and medicinal pills Qin Chen had fed her. Strictly speaking, at least three stars of this cultivation did not really count.

If calculated that way, didn't Qin Chen's strength already surpass her own?

So that most difficult barrier seemed to have been crossed by Qin Chen without a sound?

"Hiss!"

Just as Medusa's thoughts ran wild, a warm, large hand suddenly reached over and swept her slender snake body into its embrace.

"Stop messing around, Xiaocai. Go to sleep..."

Qin Chen turned over, his voice thick with drowsiness. After speaking, his snoring soon resumed.

"..."

Medusa stiffened in Qin Chen's arms. Her bewitching vertical pupils widened slightly. She watched quietly for a moment, and only after confirming that Qin Chen was not pretending to sleep did she forcibly suppress the urge to hit him.

Though she was not in human form at the moment, being held in Qin Chen's arms like this sent an unusual sensation spreading through her body, leaving her thoroughly uncomfortable.

Forget it. He doesn't know I'm awake, she silently reassured herself.

She couldn't really slap him awake, could she?

What if this bastard woke up and shamelessly said, "Not only were you lying on top of me, but you even want to hit me"? Wouldn't she have no way to defend herself?

Given what she knew of Qin Chen, if he were awakened, there was no telling what nonsense he might say. And with Little Swallowing Heaven Python's consciousness occasionally causing trouble, she would not gain the slightest advantage.

With a soft sigh, Medusa voluntarily relinquished control of the body. Little Swallowing Heaven Python's eyelids slowly closed, and it once more fell asleep.

The room quickly returned to silence, with only Qin Chen's steady snoring echoing within.

Yet at that very moment, Qin Chen's eyelashes gave the faintest tremble.

Time passed like a galloping white steed, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

This day, the sky was clear and bright, and a gentle breeze blew warmly.

Qin Chen rarely stepped out of the Mittel Family estate. Following Hai Bodong and the others, he slowly made his way toward the Royal Square in the southern part of Jia Ma Holy City.

The reason was simple. The final round of the Jia Ma Empire's once-every-eight-years Alchemist Grand Meeting would be held today, and its champion would also be decided today.

In truth, Qin Chen was not particularly interested in the Alchemist Grand Meeting itself. With his current alchemy skills, the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Grand Meeting was practically children playing house.

What truly interested him was one of the participating alchemists—Yan Li, the vice president of the Alchemist Guild of the Chu Yun Empire.

It had been nearly a year since he and Xiao Yixian had parted ways. With the formidable power of the Woeful Poison Body, Xiao Yixian had surely already made quite a name for herself in the Chu Yun Empire.

However, the situation in the Chu Yun Empire was chaotic, and ordinary scouts could not uncover any useful information.

That was why Qin Chen wanted to inquire about Xiao Yixian's recent circumstances through Yan Li, to see whether that ill-fated young girl was doing well now.

While chatting idly, the group arrived at the Royal Square.

At this moment, the square was already packed with people, shoulder to shoulder.

Nearly all the somewhat renowned young alchemists of the Jia Ma Empire had gathered here. Their gazes burned as they stared at the competition platform in the center of the square, yearning to make a name for themselves in this grand meeting.

So long as they achieved outstanding results in the meeting, the major factions of the empire would certainly compete to recruit them. At that time, glory, power, and beauties would all be within easy reach!

The square was immensely spacious, and its perimeter had long been guarded layer upon layer by fully armed soldiers maintaining order.

The venue was divided into VIP seating and spectator seating. Given Qin Chen's current connections in the Jia Ma Empire, he naturally took a seat in the VIP section.

The moment he entered the VIP section, Qin Chen spotted quite a few familiar faces: the heads of the major factions in the imperial capital, such as Nalan Jie and Mu Chen, as well as younger members of their families, such as Nalan Yanran and Liu Ling.

Oh, and Xiao Yan too.

Everyone wore different expressions upon seeing Qin Chen arrive.

Jia Xing Tian and Fa Ma already knew part of his background, so they merely nodded with smiles, their expressions unchanged.

Nalan Jie, Mu Chen, and the others, however, looked entirely different. After what had happened at the Nalan Family that night, the way they looked at Qin Chen carried varying degrees of apprehension.

What was more, even now, they still could not see through Qin Chen's strength. That was very wrong!

Seeing this, the old fox Jia Xing Tian proved quite quick-witted. He immediately burst into laughter and broke the delicate atmosphere. "Hahaha, little friend Qin Chen is here! Come, sit, sit!"

As time passed second by second, young men and women dressed in alchemist robes of various colors entered the square one after another. With their arrival, the cheers from the spectators grew louder and louder.

Then, the appearance of one figure instantly pushed the atmosphere to its peak!

"Look! It's him! That young man who took first place yesterday!"

"I heard his name is Yan Xiao. He's only around twenty years old—truly young and promising!"

"It was him yesterday! He defeated the alchemist from the Chu Yun Empire and brought great honor to our Jia Ma Empire!"

"Yes, yes! Talent like this is truly seen only once in a century!"

Faced with the endless discussions around him, Xiao Yan, whose face was concealed by a mask, turned a deaf ear. After arriving at his position from yesterday's competition, he closed his eyes and focused, adjusting his condition as he waited for the match to begin.

After Xiao Yan arrived, more and more alchemists followed. By the time the blazing noon sun rose high into the sky and cast its golden light across the earth, the seats on both sides of the square had already been packed solid with a sea of people.

"Dong—"

A long, resounding bell suddenly rang throughout the square!

"Cough, cough..."

Fa Ma slowly stepped onto the high platform and cleared his throat. He first briefly explained the rules of the final round, then sharply flicked his sleeve. His calm yet imposing voice clearly reached everyone's ears.

"The third round of assessment begins now!"

The instant his words fell, Xiao Yan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. At almost the same moment, he keenly sensed a malicious gaze fixed firmly upon him.

He glanced to his right and saw a black-robed youth staring at him with a sinister expression. The youth's lips moved continuously, clearly uttering provocative words.

Xiao Yan could not hear his voice, but he could guess what he meant. The corner of his mouth rose slightly as he slowly extended his right hand, raised a thumb, then abruptly turned it downward!

"Good!"

"Well done! That's exactly how it should be! Don't let that guy from the Chu Yun Empire look down on us!"

"Go, Yan Xiao! Defeat him and take the championship!"

This extremely provocative gesture instantly ignited the entire venue!

Thunderous applause and shouts erupted from the spectator stands. Many people even rose to their feet in excitement, waving banners and cheering for Xiao Yan.

Seeing this, the black-robed youth's face instantly turned livid. He snorted coldly and abruptly took out a medicinal cauldron from his storage ring, intending to recover the situation through absolute strength.

In the VIP section, Qin Chen watched the fervent crowd below, and an unconscious faint smile appeared on his lips.

People really could empathize, after all.

Even though his alchemy skills had long surpassed everyone present, watching this passionate scene still stirred a few ripples in his heart.

Back then, he had once been the same.

Just as Qin Chen's thoughts drifted, a burst of shocked cries suddenly erupted from the square.

"Heavenly flame! That's a heavenly flame!"

"My heavens! It really is a heavenly flame!"

"All flames submit... What terrifying power is this..."

At the center of the square, Xiao Yan slightly extended his palm, and a cluster of pale white flames rose from it.

The instant the flame appeared, the flames within the medicinal cauldrons of the surrounding alchemists seemed to have encountered a monarch. They immediately wilted, and even their flickering weakened considerably!

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Yan became the focus of the entire venue, drawing everyone's attention!

Because Xiao Yan would leave the Jia Ma Empire after the three-year agreement, and because his whereabouts had already been discovered by the Soul Hall, Yao Lao had not told him to deliberately conceal the heavenly flame.

After all, by then, even if the Soul Hall noticed something unusual in the Jia Ma Empire and sent Protectors again, they would no longer pose any threat to them.

This scene of all flames submitting somewhat exceeded Xiao Yan's expectations. Looking at the astonished gazes coming from all directions, he helplessly shrugged.

It might have looked impressive, and the heavenly flame in his hand was only a mere sub-flame, but only he knew the pain he had endured while subduing it.

Xiao Yan lightly waved his hand and sent the cluster of white flames into his medicinal cauldron. Only then did the flames of the other contestants gradually return to normal.

"Boom!"

However, only moments later, Xiao Yan once again firmly drew everyone's attention to himself.

His medicinal cauldron exploded!

At this moment, Yao Lao in the storage ring also let out a sigh. It seemed this was not the first time he had seen Xiao Yan blow up a cauldron.

Xiao Yixian's Recent Circumstances

The violent explosion thundered through the square, shaking even the ground slightly. Countless fragments of the medicinal cauldron flew in all directions, carried by scorching gusts of wind.

As for the spectators who had initially cheered for Xiao Yan, they now stood dumbfounded, completely silent.

Every face was filled with disbelief. At this moment, everyone had only one thought—Yan Xiao's defeat was already inevitable!

Yan Li was initially stunned for a moment, then clutched his stomach and burst into loud laughter. "Hahaha, what a piece of trash! Now that you don't even have a medicinal cauldron, what are you going to use to compete with me?"

"Alas..."

On the viewing platform, the royal family's little princess looked at the medicinal cauldron fragments scattered all over Xiao Yan's side. Her delicate brows furrowed as she regretfully shook her head.

Even Liu Ling nearby clenched his fists, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

Although Yan Xiao's defeat meant he had one less powerful rival, the champion of this Alchemist Grand Meeting was about to be taken by someone from another country. As a genius of the Jia Ma Empire, that left him feeling extremely stifled.

"..."

On the high platform, Fa Ma looked at this absurd scene, and the corner of his mouth could not stop twitching.

He had placed great hopes on Xiao Yan and had imagined countless ways the latter might lose, but never in his dreams had he expected this fellow to eliminate himself from the competition in such an outrageous manner.

"It seems the championship of this grand meeting is fated to pass this little fellow by." In the VIP section, Jia Xing Tian let out a regretful sigh, his tone full of disappointment.

Then his expression suddenly turned extremely gloomy. His hand quietly made a throat-slitting gesture, and his voice was cold enough to pierce bone. "Had I known this, I should have dealt with him last night..."

As the ruler of the Jia Ma Empire, he naturally did not wish for the champion of their nation's grand meeting to be taken by a foreigner—especially one from the Chu Yun Empire, a nation that had always been at odds with them.