The Book Pavilion

Medusa stood there thinking for a long while before turning and walking over to a stone statue.

It was an enormous statue of a snake.

Medusa formed seals with both hands, and a green Fire Lotus emerged from the statue's mouth, hovering above her head.

"I don't know whether bringing the plan forward will succeed, but countless subjects stand behind me, waiting for me to lead them out of this desert."

"And whether that Long Xiao will bring disaster upon us is still unknown."

"The heavenly flame is my only chance to break through to Dou Zong... please watch over my transformation."

Queen Medusa murmured to herself, then closed her eyes.

The green lotus core flame soon spread over her head, then slowly began to burn, enveloping her.

Meanwhile, Yue Mei led Long Xiao toward her tribe.

She was one of the Snake-People Tribe's Eight Great Commanders and had a tribe of her own.

"Handsome, where exactly did you come from? You're so young. How are you this powerful?"

Yue Mei asked as they walked.

"Oh, I ended up here after encountering a spatial storm. As for where I came from, you probably wouldn't recognize it even if I told you," Long Xiao said lightly.

He did not tell Yue Mei the truth, because there were some things he could never explain clearly to people living at the bottom like them.

"Oh, all right."

Yue Mei answered, thinking that Long Xiao's origins must be truly extraordinary. The power of space was something one could only begin to grasp upon reaching Dou Zong.

Long Xiao also looked Yue Mei over. Though she was alluring and captivating, she still fell far short of Medusa.

Medusa's beauty had already transcended the mortal realm. Had she been human, she would surely have enchanted hundreds of millions of young men. Her bearing alone was utterly captivating.

As they passed a stone hall, Long Xiao stopped and turned his gaze toward it.

Two female soldiers in snakescale armor stood outside its entrance, holding spears as they watched their surroundings.

"Mei'er, what is that place?"

At Long Xiao's affectionate use of "Mei'er," Yue Mei's pretty face immediately flushed crimson.

"This is our Snake-People Tribe's Book Pavilion," Yue Mei promptly explained.

Long Xiao murmured in acknowledgment. What he needed most right now was knowledge of the Dou Qi Continent. Wasn't this Book Pavilion the perfect storehouse of information?

He had to go inside and take a look.

"Show me around the Snake-People Tribe's Book Pavilion."

"Sure, follow me."

Yue Mei nodded, though she felt a little disappointed. Could these lousy books really be more attractive than me?

Long Xiao followed closely behind her into the Book Pavilion.

It was spacious inside.

The Book Pavilion contained many ancient scrolls and secret manuals passed down through the ages, some of which had already yellowed.

Long Xiao stepped forward, picked up a secret tome, and began leafing through it.

"The Dou Qi Continent?" A hint of surprise appeared on Long Xiao's face as he flipped through the old book. "This place really is interesting."

"Mei'er, I'd like to be alone for a while. Is that all right?"

Long Xiao closed the tome as he asked.

Yue Mei nodded. "All right, then. If you need anything, just tell me. I'll be right outside. I can help you look through any of the books in this Book Pavilion, no matter what kind they are."

"All right."

Long Xiao answered, and Yue Mei turned and left.

Once Yue Mei was gone, Long Xiao eagerly sat down cross-legged.

"Extinction Immortal Eye!"

In an instant, golden light shone from Long Xiao's eyes, and a vast surge of divine soul power enveloped the entire Book Pavilion.

The Extinction Immortal Eye was Long Xiao's secret divine soul technique. He only needed to envelop books in his divine soul power to read their contents.

Soon, a wealth of information about the Dou Qi Continent appeared in his mind.

This world is even more shabby than I imagined. They're still using gold coins as currency? The outside world already uses spirit stones.

Dou Zhe, Dou Shi, Da Dou Shi, Dou Ling, Dou Wang, Dou Emperor, Dou Zong, Dou Zun, Dou Sheng, Dou Di... these cultivation rank names really are interesting.

Based on my current cultivation, I should count as a five-star Dou Zong. But this so-called Dou Qi is merely a derivative of spiritual power. Cultivating this stuff doesn't yield much strength. (Important! They cultivate different things, so being at the same rank does not mean having the same combat power. For example, a certain Blood Transformation cultivator could crush a certain God King. The comparison to Dou Qi ranks is just to make things easier to understand; otherwise, too many ranking systems would get confusing.)

Even a peak Dou Zong would probably go down with a single punch from me, without my needing any other tricks.

And these heaven, earth, mystic, and yellow-tier cultivation methods and combat skills don't even qualify as minor divine abilities. I can't be bothered to read them.

Divine soul power is called soul power here, and it has ranks too. These alchemists are also divided by grade...

Long Xiao had now learned almost everything about the Dou Qi Continent. He had even read through the records concerning Medusa's lineage.

He had to admit that every successive Medusa had been a formidable woman. Each had been born for battle.

As for his current location, he was in the Jia Ma Empire on the Dou Qi Continent's Northwest Continent!

A very, very weak native empire.

With that in mind, Long Xiao no longer had much to worry about. He probably would not encounter any danger.

But as for him and Medusa...

Long Xiao shook his head bitterly. It was all far too coincidental, leaving him with an inexplicable sense of strangeness.

Why is my mind filled with Medusa's image?

Unable to figure it out, Long Xiao put all the Book Pavilion's books away and left.

When he stepped outside, he saw Yue Mei waiting for him.

Seeing Long Xiao emerge, Yue Mei hurried over to greet him.

"How did it go, handsome? Is there anything you need my help with?"

"Not for now. Let's head back."

Long Xiao shook his head.

The female Snake-People guards nearby found it very strange that Commander Yue Mei was treating this human man so courteously. Such a superbly handsome human pretty boy certainly stirred envy.

Still, they had never seen Commander Yue Mei treat anyone so courteously except Her Majesty.

It was not their place to question it. They simply had to behave themselves and pretend they had seen nothing. Commander Yue Mei's true methods were brutally ruthless.

Along the way, Yue Mei's red snake tail swayed gently, betraying the joy in her heart.

But suddenly, Long Xiao stopped again and looked into the distance, where a violent fluctuation emanated.

"Handsome, what's wrong?" Yue Mei stopped and asked in confusion.

Long Xiao gazed toward Medusa's lake, where violent energy was churning.

Could something have happened to Medusa?

At that thought, Long Xiao's heart trembled. His figure flashed, and he vanished from the spot.

Yue Mei stood frozen in place. She had not even seen how Long Xiao had left.

P.S. This book takes place in a parallel universe and is not one hundred percent faithful to the original.

As for combat power, the barriers of the Battle Through the Heavens Plane are too weak. Anyone who has read Tiancan Tudou's books knows that, put plainly, the Dou Qi Continent lacks origin qi because its laws of heaven and earth are incomplete. Therefore, no experts above Dou Di will enter during the Battle Through the Heavens arc, or they would cause the plane to collapse.

During the adventures in the Battle Through the Heavens World, the protagonist won't be instantly annihilating heaven, earth, and everything in between. Some people will also compare the setting later on to invincible-protagonist novels they've read. That honestly leaves me sweating. I only want to say one thing: this is fanfiction. Isn't the scale of the setting entirely up to the author? Should I make the protagonist strong enough to instantly kill a Dou Di? What would be the point of that? This isn't fanfiction for a certain "Luo," where entering at max level would be perfectly reasonable. The aftershocks of a battle between Dou Di spread across tens of millions of li, while Dou Sheng can move mountains and fill seas with a wave of their hands. They aren't that weak, are they? Once they reach the Great Thousand World, they'll be weakened because of the nature of their cultivation. For example, a Dou Sheng can create a small world in Battle Through the Heavens, but simply cannot do so in a world with stronger planar barriers. A Heaven Connection realm cultivator in the Great Thousand World can't perform that feat of a Dou Sheng, can they? This is just a little primer on fanfiction for those who call themselves veteran readers. Those who have read Battle Through the Heavens can skip it.