Ten Thousandfold Returns for Taking Disciples: Starting from Battle Through the Heavens

But before Qin Hao, such tricks were laughably crude.

"Huh? You can actually sense my presence?"

After witnessing this, a startled and uncertain voice rang out. Immediately afterward, a figure slowly revealed himself—it was Mo Cheng.

"Kid, leave that little girl behind and get lost. I can spare your life!"

Mo Cheng spoke again, his gaze toward Qinglin filled with burning desire.

"You overestimate yourself. You're neither human nor ghost, yet you dare set your sights on my disciple? You truly don't know the meaning of death! Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish!"

Upon hearing this, a cold gleam flashed in Qin Hao's eyes. Chilling killing intent erupted from his body, accompanied by the aura of a Dou Emperor that instantly swept outward.

"What!? This aura... a Dou King!? No, that's not right! This isn't a Dou King—it's a Dou Emperor! You... you're a Dou Emperor!?"

Feeling the terrifyingly oppressive aura erupting from Qin Hao, Mo Cheng's expression changed drastically. The fervor and greed in his eyes vanished without a trace, replaced by boundless terror.

He had never imagined that Qin Hao, who looked so harmless, was actually a terrifying Dou Emperor-level expert.

"My lord, spare me! I am Mo Cheng of the Mo Clan, an outer sect deacon of the Misty Cloud Sect. I failed to recognize your greatness and offended you. Please show mercy for the sake of the Misty Cloud Sect and spare my life! I'm willing to pay any price!"

Mo Cheng did not choose to flee. He was merely a Dou Spirit, and he knew full well how terrifying a Dou Emperor was. Forget himself—a Dou Spirit—even a Dou King dreaming of escaping before a Dou Emperor would be delusional.

Thus, he immediately chose to yield. At the same time, he brought up his identity as an outer sect deacon of the Misty Cloud Sect, hoping Qin Hao would be somewhat wary.

As for Qinglin beside Qin Hao, upon hearing Mo Cheng's words, the expression on her little face became extraordinarily vivid, as though she had heard something utterly unbelievable.

Although Qinglin had taken Qin Hao as her master, she had never had a clear understanding of his cultivation.

In her view, Qin Hao might not be weak, but because he looked so young, he could not possibly be all that strong. At most, she thought he was a Great Dou Master or perhaps a Dou Spirit.

Yet now, hearing that her master was actually a powerful Dou Emperor, how could she not be shocked?

Though Qinglin had not seen much of the world, she knew perfectly well what a Dou Emperor represented. In the Jia Ma Empire, such a person was truly among the highest-ranking figures. An indescribable excitement rose from the depths of her heart.

"The Misty Cloud Sect's face? What a joke. The Misty Cloud Sect has no damned face before me. A piece of trash like you dares target my disciple? Even if Yun Yun were here today, she couldn't save you!"

Qin Hao's lips curled into a mocking smile. Not to mention that he had no ties to the Misty Cloud Sect, even if he did, he would never spare anyone who dared target his disciple.

"Die!"

"Crimson Flame Finger!"

Qin Hao's icy voice rang out as he pointed into the void. In an instant, an incomparably sharp crimson-gold finger light tore through the air, carrying a terrifying aura of destruction as it descended directly upon Mo Cheng.

"No..."

Upon sensing the aura of that finger strike, Mo Cheng's eyes filled with endless terror. Facing an attack from a Dou Emperor, he clearly had no ability to resist whatsoever.

In the next instant, his body exploded into a rain of blood. Mo Cheng had been blasted apart by Qin Hao's single finger strike, leaving behind only a storage ring.

With a wave of his hand, Qin Hao took the storage ring. His spiritual power instantly entered it, leaving everything inside nowhere to hide.

As the Mo Clan's Great Elder, Mo Cheng naturally possessed considerable wealth, far richer than an ordinary Dou Spirit. However, to the current Qin Hao, it was nothing much.

There were quite a few items inside, but none that caught his eye.

"The Mo Clan of Salt City... In that case, there's no need for it to continue existing!"

Qin Hao had originally not intended to bother with this villainous family from the early part of the original story. But now that they had provoked him, he did not mind wiping out the Mo Clan completely.

Qin Hao's original next destination had been Qingshan Town, located at the edge of the Magic Beast Forest. His target went without saying: Xiao Yixian, who possessed the Calamity Poison Body and appeared in the original story.

He believed that with Xiao Yixian's aptitude, she would surely meet the system's requirements unless something unexpected happened. The only thing he was uncertain about was whether Xiao Yixian had arrived in Qingshan Town in this timeline.

Now that Mo Cheng had provoked him, Qin Hao decided to deal with the Mo Clan first. Taking a detour to Qingshan Town afterward would not be too late.

In any case, with the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King as transportation, it would not waste much time.

Qin Hao immediately gave the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King at his feet a kick.

The next moment, under Qinglin's astonished gaze, the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King instantly reverted to its true form.

"Ah..."

"M-Master, Little Red, it..."

Seeing the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King's transformation, Qinglin's little mouth fell open, her face filled with disbelief.

She had never expected that "Little Red," whom she had often held in her arms and played with over the past few days, would suddenly undergo such a massive transformation.

Upon hearing Qinglin's name for it, the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King wore a helpless, utterly defeated expression.

A dignified peak sixth-tier magical beast, the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King, was actually being called Little Red.

"Little Red is a peak sixth-tier magical beast, the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King. This is its true form!"

Qin Hao explained.

"A peak sixth-tier magical beast! Doesn't that make it equivalent to a peak human Dou Emperor!? Little Red is actually this strong!?"

Upon hearing of the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King's strength, Qinglin's mouth opened wider and wider. The shock on her face could not be concealed at all.

"Alright, get on. It's time for us to leave!"

Qin Hao spoke, then directly brought Qinglin onto the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King's back.

With a flap of its wings, the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King shot into the sky and sped toward Salt City.

Thanks to the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King, Qin Hao reached Salt City in less than half a day.

Compared with Stone Desert City, Salt City was far more prosperous. If Jia Ma Sacred City was the capital, then Salt City was a provincial capital, while a place like Stone Desert City was at most a third-tier city.

Because of Mo Cheng, the Mo Clan held an extraordinarily elevated status in Salt City. It was the largest and wealthiest family in the entire city.

That night, more than half of Salt City's residents were drawn by a heaven-shaking phenomenon.

An enormous fiery phoenix phantom appeared above Salt City, dazzlingly bright against the pitch-black night.

Then, accompanied by a clear phoenix cry, the terrifying fiery phoenix phantom descended directly toward the Mo Residence at the center of the city.

At first, quite a few people thought the Mo Clan had been blessed by the heavens and that an auspicious omen had descended upon them.

Yet when they hurried over after hearing the news, hoping to share in a bit of that "fortune," what met their eyes was the Mo Residence, already reduced to blackened ruin.

The entire Mo Residence had been completely turned into rubble. Not a single person inside had survived, instantly causing a massive uproar.

Naturally, Qin Hao was the one responsible. What he had used was none other than the earth-tier Dou Technique, Phoenix Dance Across the Nine Heavens.

As for the Mo Clan's treasures, Qin Hao had already looted them before making his move. Though the Mo Clan was far inferior to the major powers of the imperial capital, even a mosquito's leg was still meat. Naturally, Qin Hao would not pass it up.

Early the next morning, Qin Hao and his group left Salt City without alerting anyone from beginning to end. As for what impact the destruction of the Mo Clan would have, it had absolutely nothing to do with Qin Hao.

After leaving Salt City, Qin Hao headed straight toward Qingshan Town.

Because Qin Hao had taken a detour to Salt City earlier, traveling from Salt City to Qingshan Town without further detours required passing through the outskirts of the Magic Beast Forest.

Qin Hao did not take this to heart. He had even dared venture deep into the Magic Beast Forest behind Canaan Academy, let alone the outskirts of the Magic Beast Forest on the Jia Ma Empire's side.

Near noon, Qin Hao and his group entered the bounds of the Magic Beast Forest.

Most of the magical beasts in the outer region of the Magic Beast Forest were only first or second tier. With the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King present, no magical beast dared approach them.

However, Qin Hao encountered quite a few mercenaries along the way, all of them entering the Magic Beast Forest to hunt magical beasts. In just a short while, he came across no fewer than a dozen battles of varying scales.

In some battles, the mercenaries held the upper hand. In others, the mercenaries were being chased down or slaughtered by magical beasts.

Qin Hao had no intention of intervening in any of it.

It was not that Qin Hao was cold-blooded. Rather, since they had chosen to become mercenaries, they had to be prepared to be killed. When they slaughtered other magical beasts, they should have considered that one day, they too might die at the claws of magical beasts.

Qin Hao had met them only by chance and had no connection to them, so naturally he would not play the saint.

Unless... there was something in it for him!

"Awwooo..."

As Qin Hao passed near a valley, a series of wolf howls suddenly reached his ears.

After glancing over, he saw a pack of enormous snow-white wolves. They were clearly a pack of snow wolves.

Strictly speaking, snow wolves did not count as magical beasts. They were merely wild animals, with only the leading wolf king barely reaching the level of a first-tier magical beast.

At that moment, the pack of snow wolves had completely surrounded a thick, towering ancient tree.

Pairs of green eyes stared fixedly upward into the tree, while low growls continuously emerged from their mouths.

"Hm?"

At that moment, Qin Hao suddenly noticed something strange about the snow wolves: they had all been poisoned.

A faint mist, so thin it was almost imperceptible, filled the air around the wolf pack.

The source of that "mist" was clearly above the ancient tree.

Under the cover of the mist, the auras of the snow wolves were silently weakening.

Curious, Qin Hao looked toward the top of the ancient tree.

Soon, a girl in white appeared in his field of vision.

The girl wore white robes and looked to be eleven or twelve years old. A medicine basket was slung over her back, filled with medicinal herbs of various kinds.

Her features were gentle, and her figure was slightly slender. Especially her willow waist, so slim it could barely be grasped in one hand, gave her an inexplicably fresh and ethereal air.

However, her little face was slightly pale at the moment, and her eyes were fixed tightly on the pack of snow wolves below.

She held a paper packet in her hand containing white powder, which she was carefully scattering around herself.

Yet the tension and anxiety in her eyes could not be hidden at all. There was not much medicinal powder left in her hand. If the snow wolves had not collapsed by the time it ran out, her situation would become dangerous.

The instant Qin Hao's gaze fell upon her, his expression froze slightly.

At that very moment, the system's familiar voice sounded in his mind once again.

"Ding! The system has detected a disciple-taking target who meets the requirements!"

The moment he heard that voice, Qin Hao, who had been somewhat indifferent before, was suddenly jolted awake.

"This is... Xiao Yixian?"

After coming back to his senses, Qin Hao once again examined the girl in white below. Soon, a name surfaced in his mind.