Accepting Disciples With Ten-Thousandfold Returns: Starting From Battle Through the Heavens

Because of his golden finger, every disciple was incomparably important to him. Each additional disciple was a tremendous source of support.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's eyes immediately lit up, and an excited expression appeared on his face.

In his view, if Gu Xun'er could take Qin Hao as her master, not only would the two of them be able to stay together, but more importantly, becoming Qin Hao's disciple would clearly bring Gu Xun'er enormous benefits.

"I'm sure! I hope Master Qin Hao can grant my wish! I don't want to be separated from Brother Xiao Yan!"

Gu Xun'er said with a firm expression.

"Very well. Since that is the case, you shall be my fourth disciple!"

Seeing Gu Xun'er's expression, and sensing neither any hidden warning nor hostile aura, Qin Hao simply went along with it and agreed.

Previously, Qin Hao had not wanted to keep Gu Xun'er by his side because they had no relationship. But things were different now. She had become his disciple. Whether she was sincere or not, the master-disciple bond had been established.

"Disciple Xiao Xun'er pays respects to Master!"

After hearing Qin Hao's words, Gu Xun'er immediately bowed to him.

"Congratulations, Host, for accepting Gu Xun'er as a disciple! Reward: one strand of Ancient Emperor Origin!"

The system notification sounded the moment Gu Xun'er became his disciple.

"Ancient Emperor Origin? What is that?"

Upon hearing the system notification, Qin Hao instinctively connected to the system space. Very quickly, he discovered a golden orb floating within it.

After probing it, a stream of information soon surfaced in his mind.

"Gasp..."

"This thing's effect is actually this heaven-defying!"

After digesting the information, he quickly understood what it was for.

The Ancient Emperor Origin had a simple purpose: strengthening one's bloodline. After fusing with it, one's bloodline could be elevated to the Emperor-grade level.

The so-called Emperor-grade was a level above God-grade. Under normal circumstances, only a true Dou Emperor could possess an Emperor-grade bloodline.

Even the descendants of Dou Emperors could possess, at most, a God-grade bloodline.

But the Ancient Emperor Origin was different. It could elevate a God-grade bloodline to Emperor-grade.

However, it came with a restriction. Only those with an Ancient Emperor bloodline could fuse with it. If other bloodlines fused with it, not only would they fail to improve, but they would explode and die from bloodline conflict.

To put it plainly, only members of the Ancient Clan could use it. More precisely, it had clearly been tailor-made for Gu Xun'er.

Qin Hao was not surprised by this in the slightest. Whether it was Qinglin, Xiao Yixian, or Xiao Yan, the system rewards he received for taking them as disciples—whether cultivation arts or inheritances—were all incomparably compatible with them.

The Ancient Emperor Origin was no exception.

"Tsk, tsk..."

"This thing is a little too hot to handle..."

Qin Hao could not help clicking his tongue. Unlike the rewards Qinglin and the others had received, Qin Hao did not intend to give the Ancient Emperor Origin to Gu Xun'er anytime soon.

At the very least, he would not take it out before he possessed sufficient strength to protect himself.

Once this thing was exposed, it would bring endless trouble. After all, it was something that could raise the grade of one's bloodline. If the ancient emperor clans learned of it, countless people would surely go mad.

They would never believe that Qin Hao had only a single strand of Ancient Emperor Origin.

Even within the Ancient Clan, if they learned that Gu Xun'er's bloodline advancement was related to him, many people would likely be unable to sit still, let alone the other emperor clans.

Super Return! Heaven-Tier Dou Technique: Great Sun Heaven-Burning Palm!

"This is a high-grade storage ring. Inside are pills I prepared to aid your cultivation! Consider them your initiation gift from your master!"

After coming back to his senses, Qin Hao did not waste any words. He took out another high-grade storage ring. Inside it were a bottle of pills, one cultivation art scroll, and two Dou Technique scrolls.

The reason he did not take the pills out directly was because what he had given Gu Xun'er was not Marrow-Washing Spirit Liquid, but pills meant to assist Dou Fighters in cultivation.

Nor was he worried that Gu Xun'er would overthink it. If nothing unexpected happened, she clearly understood that Qin Hao had long since seen through her cultivation level.

"Thank you, Master!"

Gu Xun'er immediately accepted the storage ring. She was not too surprised that Qin Hao had taken out a high-grade storage ring, because over the past few days, she had discovered that Xiao Yan, Qinglin, and Xiao Yixian all possessed high-grade storage rings.

Ding! The Host has bestowed upon disciple Gu Xun'er one bottle of second-grade Qi Condensation Pills, treasures that aid cultivation. Conditions for return have been met! Hundredfold return triggered! Obtained 100 bottles of Qi Condensation Pills!

Ding! The Host has bestowed upon disciple Gu Xun'er the high-grade Xuan-tier cultivation art, Scarlet Sun Profound Flame Art. Conditions for return have been met! Thousandfold return triggered! Obtained the high-grade Earth-tier cultivation art, Scarlet Sun Glazed Art!

Ding! The Host has bestowed upon disciple Gu Xun'er the mid-grade Xuan-tier Dou Technique, Crimson Flame Finger. Conditions for return have been met! Thousandfold return triggered! Obtained the mid-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique, Crimson Flame Profound Heaven Finger!

Ding! The Host has bestowed upon disciple Gu Xun'er the high-grade Xuan-tier Dou Technique, Crimson Sun Palm. Conditions for return have been met! Ten-thousandfold return triggered! Obtained the low-grade Heaven-tier Dou Technique, Great Sun Heaven-Burning Palm!

Almost the instant Gu Xun'er accepted the items, the system notifications rang out in Qin Hao's mind.

After hearing the returned rewards, Qin Hao kept a calm expression on the surface, but inwardly, he was ecstatic.

He was especially excited about the returns from the two Dou Technique scrolls.

These two Dou Techniques would clearly provide a considerable boost to Qin Hao's current strength.

Especially the low-grade Heaven-tier Great Sun Heaven-Burning Palm. He had not expected to receive a Heaven-tier Dou Technique in return.

The second-grade Qi Condensation Pills were refined by Qin Hao during the past few days at the Xiao Clan. He had originally prepared them for Qinglin and the others after they broke through to the Dou Fighter realm.

The Qi Condensation Pill was a pill formula from the inheritance of an Emperor-grade alchemist, and it was highly suited for assisting cultivation at the Dou Fighter realm.

As for the returned cultivation art, although he had obtained a high-grade Earth-tier cultivation art, it was not particularly useful to Qin Hao at the moment. After all, the cultivation art he practiced far surpassed Heaven-tier.

This time, all the cultivation arts and Dou Techniques Qin Hao gave Gu Xun'er were Xuan-tier. It was not because Qin Hao was stingy or unwilling to give her higher-grade cultivation arts and Dou Techniques.

Rather, Gu Xun'er was currently only a Dou Fighter and could at most cultivate Xuan-tier cultivation arts and Dou Techniques. As for Earth-tier techniques, one needed to at least reach the Great Dou Master realm before one could barely cultivate them.

After receiving the storage ring, Gu Xun'er also inspected its contents. When she saw the several items inside, a strange glint flashed through her eyes.

She discovered that all the pills Qin Hao had given her bore pill patterns. These were pills of perfect quality. They were not inferior in the slightest to the pills her clan had given her, and their quality was even somewhat better.

Furthermore, the grades of these cultivation arts and Dou Techniques were not low. Although techniques of this grade were nothing special to her.

Still, in her view, Qin Hao being able to take out cultivation arts and Dou Techniques of such quality meant that he had not held anything back and was genuinely treating her as a disciple.

Just as Qin Hao had thought, Gu Xun'er had initially become his disciple mainly so that she could remain with Xiao Yan. She had not held much recognition for Qin Hao as her master.

But now, Qin Hao's standing in her heart had risen considerably, and she felt much more acknowledgment toward him.

"Alright, since that's settled, let's set off at once!"

Qin Hao's voice sounded again, with a smile on his face. Clearly, he was in an excellent mood.

He had never expected such an unexpected surprise when he was about to leave the Xiao Clan: taking Gu Xun'er as his disciple.

He had planted flowers with care, yet they had not bloomed; he had planted a willow without thought, and it had flourished!

If anyone dared tell Qin Hao that being lovestruck was a bad thing again, he would definitely slap them across the face. Wasn't this the benefit of being lovestruck?

Not only had he successfully taken in a disciple, but he had also received two powerful Dou Techniques in return. The gains were simply outstanding.

The group immediately left the Xiao Clan and headed outside Wutan City.

After leaving Wutan City, the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King, which had been following beside Qin Hao and the others, directly revealed its true form. A fierce aura instantly spread through the area.

"Holy shit... What is that..."

Caught completely unprepared by the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King's appearance, Xiao Yan was startled out of his wits and looked as though he had seen a ghost.

Over the past few days, he had naturally seen the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King in its cute miniature form. He had clearly regarded it as nothing more than an ornamental magical pet.

But he had never imagined that the harmless-looking cute pet in his eyes could be so terrifying.

Qinglin and Xiao Yixian both knew the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King's true background, so their expressions did not change in the slightest.

As for Gu Xun'er, although she also looked surprised, she was clearly doing so mostly to match Xiao Yan's reaction. Evidently, she already knew the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King's true nature.

"Let's go!"

Qin Hao did not waste any words and directly called everyone onto the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King's back.

"Th-this... what kind of magical beast is it?"

Only after a long while did Xiao Yan recover. Feeling the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King's terrifying speed, he could not help asking.

"Brother Xiao Yan, if I'm not mistaken, this should be the peak sixth-rank magical beast, the Twin-Winged Scarlet Qilin King!"

Before Qin Hao could speak, Gu Xun'er explained it to Xiao Yan.

"Peak sixth-rank!"

Upon hearing that rank, shock surfaced in Xiao Yan's eyes once again.

After leaving Wutan City, Qin Hao did not head directly for the imperial capital. Instead, he made his way toward Desert City.

Yes, Desert City, not Stone Desert City.

The reason for going to Desert City was naturally only one: the former Ice Emperor Hai Bo Dong, one of the Jia Ma Empire's Ten Great Experts, who was living in seclusion there.

More precisely, it was for the remnant map of the Heavenly Flame in Hai Bo Dong's possession. This thing was still extremely important, and since he had come to the Jia Ma Empire, Qin Hao naturally would not let it slip by.

That afternoon, Qin Hao and his group entered Desert City. After making some inquiries, Qin Hao quickly learned where Hai Bo Dong was living in seclusion.

After winding through several streets, Qin Hao and the others arrived at a shop called Gu Tu. The shop was not large, and all kinds of maps were displayed inside.

Heavenly Flame Remnant Map! Hai Bo Dong's Instant Change of Face!

After entering the shop, Qin Hao swept his gaze around. Soon, his eyes settled on a shelf to the side. Amid the pile of maps lay one that looked extremely ancient.

Qin Hao recognized at a glance that the map's material was exactly the same as that of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame Remnant Map he had obtained in the Magic Beast Forest, though it was somewhat smaller than that remnant map.

If nothing unexpected happened, this was clearly Hai Bo Dong's handiwork.

Qin Hao walked straight over, picked up the remnant map, and headed directly toward the counter.

Behind the counter, an elderly man who looked somewhat aged was lowering his head and drawing a map, as though he had not noticed Qin Hao's group arriving at all.

But Qin Hao could clearly sense that the instant he picked up the remnant map, the old man's hand paused noticeably, and his expression changed for a brief moment.

"How much is this map?"

Qin Hao asked.

"You recognize this thing? Or have you seen it before?"