Battle Through the Heavens: The Path to Rise Begins at Canaan Academy — Section 8

"Gulp."

The mercenaries in the courtyard instantly turned pale with fright. Their hands holding their weapons trembled slightly, and no one dared take another step forward.

The commotion naturally alerted Rob. He hurriedly ran out from the compound, forcing an extremely awkward smile at Hai Bodong. "G-Greetings, sir. M-May I ask what orders you have?"

Hai Bodong glanced at him and said blandly, "You're Rob?"

"Y-Yes, yes, yes. I'm Rob." Rob nodded wildly like a pecking chicken.

"I have something I'd like you to help with. Are you willing?"

Rob's heart tightened, but he could not summon even the slightest thought of resistance. "The Sand Mercenary Group awaits your orders, sir."

"Mm." Hai Bodong nodded in satisfaction and tossed him a jade bottle. "Work hard, and you'll be well rewarded."

It was actually a bottle of third-tier medicinal pills!

Rob picked up the jade bottle and looked inside, and joy immediately flooded his heart. The smile on his face became more than a hundred times more sincere than before. "Rest assured, sir. This subordinate will spare no effort."

Stone Desert City, inside a large inn.

Qing Lin had changed into clean clothes, but her pretty face was still pale. She tightly covered the scales on her arm and said in panic, "S-Sorry... I-I didn't mean to scare you..."

Her voice carried a trace of a sob. She did not dare meet Qin Chen's eyes, while her slender fingers clutched the hem of her clothes so tightly that her knuckles had turned faintly white.

Whether human or snake-person, whenever they saw the scales on her body, they would reveal looks of fear or disgust. Some would even beat and kick her. The source of it all was the mixed bloodline flowing through her veins.

She feared that the young man who had just saved her would look at her the same way as everyone else. Even more, she feared being abandoned once again because of it.

She deeply hated the snake scales on her body. At night, she would even endure the pain and pick them off one by one, leaving behind only bloody, mangled wounds.

Though the scales could be picked off, their vitality was extremely tenacious. Within a few days, they would grow back. Again and again, Qing Lin not only failed to escape the scornful gazes of others, but also subjected her body to endless torment.

Seeing her like this, Qin Chen could not help feeling a trace of pity. He crouched down until he was level with Qing Lin and said gently, "Don't be afraid. This isn't your fault. Besides, how could such beautiful scales possibly scare me?"

The scolding and beating she had imagined never came. Qing Lin's frightened expression froze. She had never imagined that someone who saw the scales on her body would speak to her in such a calm, even understanding tone.

Qing Lin swallowed and cautiously asked, "Y-Young Master, don't you hate me?"

"Haha." Qin Chen chuckled softly, then rubbed Qing Lin's little head. "Why would I hate you?"

"B-But everyone else says I'm an ill-omened person."

"Hah!"

Qin Chen curled his lip and said disdainfully, "That's nothing but the stupidity and prejudice of the weak. There has never been absolute good or evil, nobility or baseness in this world. How could a person's right or wrong be defined by something as trivial as bloodline?"

"If they were truly capable, they wouldn't bully the weak. They would punish those who genuinely commit evil."

Qing Lin opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but she lowered her head again and murmured, "Young Master, am I useless?"

Qin Chen was slightly stunned before realizing that his earlier attempt at comforting her had apparently been a little too intense.

Thinking this, he opened his arms and pulled Qing Lin into an embrace, smiling. "Of course not. My Qing Lin is incredibly useful."

Held in someone's arms for the first time, Qing Lin's small body instantly stiffened. Then a crimson blush rapidly climbed her pretty face, and much of her earlier sadness vanished at once.

Feeling that the delicate body in his arms had stopped trembling, Qin Chen gently patted Qing Lin's back. Then he stood, pointed at the wooden tub in the room, and said mildly, "All right, get in quickly. Otherwise, the medicine will wear off soon. I'll head out first. Call me if anything happens."

After saying that, Qin Chen turned and walked out, gently closing the door behind him.

Inside the room, Qing Lin still maintained the posture from when she had been embraced, her cheeks burning hot.

Looking at the medicinal liquid in the wooden tub, which gave off waves of fragrance, Qing Lin took a deep breath and temporarily suppressed her chaotic thoughts. As her little hands moved lightly, her fair, tender body covered in scales was slowly exposed to the air. Yet before anyone could admire it closely, it had already sunk beneath the warm medicinal liquid.

The instant the medicinal liquid touched her skin, a gentle energy slowly seeped into her body, gradually relaxing her tense frame.

Young Master had said that the medicinal liquid inside could help her cultivate qi and become a true cultivator. Qing Lin had no interest in becoming some so-called expert. She only wanted to cultivate successfully so that she could help Qin Chen.

An hour later, after Qing Lin had completely absorbed the medicinal power within the tub, the liquid had changed from its original pale greenish-white into a faint bluish-black. Fine black impurities floated on the surface.

Qing Lin slowly stood up from the wooden tub. The exposed skin of her body was even more delicate and fair than before. The small injuries she had sustained from bumps and scrapes had all healed, and the impurities within her body had been thoroughly expelled.

The moment Qing Lin stepped out of the room, she met Qin Chen's long-awaited gaze. Her cheeks flushed, and she asked softly, "Young Master, did I succeed?"

"That's right. You succeeded."

Qin Chen nodded and gave her an affirmative answer. "From now on, not only can you cultivate like everyone else, but your progress will also be incredibly fast. Before long, you'll become a true powerhouse."

Although Qing Lin was only at the first stage of Battle Qi right now, the potential of the Green Snake Three-Flower Eyes was practically limitless. There was no such thing as a cultivation bottleneck. As long as the snakes she contracted were strong and numerous enough, reaching the Battle Venerable realm in five years and the Battle Saint realm in ten would not be a problem at all.

It seemed the medicinal liquid he had concocted using Earth Core Tempering Milk was quite effective. It was just a little too extravagant. If others learned that such a precious heavenly treasure had been used to help Qing Lin cultivate qi, especially experts like Battle Kings and Battle Spirits, their Dao hearts would probably shatter.

Chapter 16: Traces of a Heavenly Flame

In truth, at every stage of Battle Qi cultivation, there were quite a few methods that could rapidly increase one's strength without destabilizing one's foundation. It was simply that the price was too great. Ordinary cultivators could not merely fail to afford them—they would not even get the chance to see them.

Looking at Qing Lin, who was immersed in joy, Qin Chen smiled faintly and said, "Young Master has something he wants Qing Lin to help with right now. I wonder if Qing Lin is willing?"

Upon hearing this, Qing Lin's eyes lit up. She nodded wildly like a pecking chicken. "Please tell me, Young Master. As long as I can help you, Qing Lin is willing to do anything."

"Then let's set out now. I'll explain everything to you slowly on the way."

With that, Qin Chen gently lifted Qing Lin into his arms. He summoned his Battle Qi wings and gave them a flap, sending the two of them soaring into the sky and speeding toward Hai Bodong outside the city.

East of Stone Desert City, Hai Bodong was leading the Sand Mercenary Group in excavating the sand.

This was the general area he had deduced from years of experience. Yet after digging for half the day, the members of the Sand Mercenary Group had found nothing but sand. There was not even the slightest trace of a Heavenly Flame.

The midday sun was brutally scorching. Especially in a place like the Tagore Desert, where fire-attributed energy was abundant, every mercenary was drenched in sweat, their faces full of irritation and exhaustion. If not for Hai Bodong, a Battle Spirit expert, overseeing them, along with the generous payment, these mercenaries would have long since thrown down their tools and quit.

Just then, a scream suddenly rang out.

"A B-Battle King expert!?"

"What? A Battle King?"

Everyone looked up at the sky, and cries of alarm immediately broke out among the crowd, causing quite a disturbance.

Hai Bodong's expression darkened as well. If the person who had come was from the Jia Ma Empire's government, things would be troublesome.

However, when he saw those familiar Battle Qi wings, the corner of his mouth twitched. That brat had finally arrived!

At the same time, Qin Chen in the sky spotted Hai Bodong below. With a flap of the fiery-red wings behind him, he landed on the ground within a few breaths.

When Hai Bodong saw the little girl in Qin Chen's arms, he could not help rolling his eyes. This brat had really gone and found himself a maid?

That alone would have been fine, but if he was going to find one, why choose a snake-person hybrid? It was not that Hai Bodong discriminated against snake-people; he simply felt that Qin Chen was being far too frivolous.

Alchemists were not only strange-tempered—their tastes were this unique too?

And that age...

Qin Chen completely ignored the old man's strange gaze and smiled. "Elder Hai, how's the progress?"

At that, Hai Bodong's expression became solemn, though his tone was somewhat helpless. "This place is too large. There hasn't been much progress so far."

He then pointed to Rob beside him and said blandly, "This is the leader of the Sand Mercenary Group, Rob."

"Greetings, sir." Rob hurriedly stepped forward and bowed. Though the person before him was young, he did not dare show the slightest disrespect toward a Battle King expert.

Qin Chen did not blame him. He had long expected this situation. He chuckled and looked at the timid Qing Lin in his arms. "Qing Lin, can you sense anything unusual here?"

In the original story, Qing Lin could sense the Medusa Queen far outside the city even while she was inside it. Now that they were so close, there was no reason she would fail to sense the underground Double-Headed Fire Spirit Snake.

It was the little girl's first time witnessing such a "grand scene." With so many people staring at her, she was momentarily dazed. Her little hands tightly clutched Qin Chen's collar. Only when his question reached her ears did she come back to herself. But when she realized she was still being held in Young Master's arms, the blush that had only just faded quickly climbed onto her cheeks again.

"Please wait a moment, Young Master..." Qing Lin answered softly, then closed her eyes and carefully sensed her surroundings.

A moment later, Qing Lin slowly opened her emerald-green eyes. She raised a small hand, slender as a scallion stalk, and pointed in one direction. "Young Master, th-that direction seems to have a special aura."

"Good. Let's go take a look." Qin Chen was delighted and led everyone over.

Under Qing Lin's guidance, Qin Chen and the others soon arrived at a flat patch of sand. It was utterly ordinary within the Tagore Desert, with no distinguishing features whatsoever. As far as the eye could see, there was only endless yellow sand.

"Here?" Hai Bodong frowned slightly. Clearly, this map expert did not quite trust Qing Lin.

Not just him—even the mercenaries looked doubtful. Many of them had been here before. If there really were any treasures here, how could they have failed to find them?

"Start digging. If you find any passageways or massive rocks, report it immediately." Qin Chen called Rob and the others over and spoke calmly.

Judging by the timeline of the original story, the Green Lotus Core Flame had not yet been taken by the Medusa Queen. That meant the passage to the underground world had not been opened. Still, nothing was absolute, so it was best to give proper instructions.

Hearing Qin Chen's command, Rob did not ask any questions. He immediately had the mercenaries begin digging.

"My lords, the second team has discovered a massive rock." Before long, a bald, burly man came running over in a panic and reported to Qin Chen and Hai Bodong.

"Very good. Take us there." Qin Chen chuckled and took Qing Lin's little hand as they walked over.

The corner of Hai Bodong's eye twitched, but he followed as well.

Led by that mercenary, the group soon arrived at a sunken area. A huge black rock was exposed within it. The mercenaries were still digging, but there was no sign of the rock being fully uncovered.

"All right, stop." Qin Chen called for them to halt, then said, "All of you, move aside."

"Hoo..."

Hearing this lord's order, the mercenaries could not help letting out long sighs of relief. At last, they would not have to keep digging holes like moles.

After everyone had left the pit, Qin Chen took a deep breath, circulated his cultivation technique, and concentrated the Battle Qi within his body between his palms.

A blazing pillar of energy shot from his palms and blasted directly into the rock.

The powerful aura frightened the mercenaries so badly that their legs went weak. Several nearly fell to their knees. Their usual way of fighting was just wildly hacking with weapons—when had they ever seen something like this?

As energy continued pouring into it, the hard rock gradually turned into blazing magma, and a passage leading to the underground world slowly took shape.

Is this the power of a high-tier cultivation technique? Hai Bodong thought.

If he, a Battle King, had been the one opening this passage, the Battle Qi in his body would have been drained dry. He certainly could not have been as relaxed and effortless as Qin Chen.

Looking at the cave entrance emitting wisps of heat, Qin Chen smiled. He then lightly brushed his storage ring and tossed a pill radiating cold air into the opening.

The moment the pill entered, the rock walls within the cave rapidly cooled and solidified at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It had to be said that alchemists on the Battle Qi Continent were truly versatile. Any problem could be solved with medicinal pills. If one encountered a problem that could not be solved, then the pills were surely not high-grade enough.

If anyone else had opened the passage this way, they would not be able to enter it for a while and could only wait for it to cool naturally. If external force were used to forcibly cool it, the passage would collapse.

Of course, as long as one's strength was sufficient, none of that would be a problem.

Chapter 17: World of Magma