Battle Through the Heavens: Starting with Cao Ying as an apprentice

The words kept echoing in her mind, each one seemingly declaring that the "backer" she had just found was actually unreliable.

Looking at Zi Yan's blank expression, Su Baichen finally smiled genuinely—but to Zi Yan, that smile was even more terrifying than the coldness he had shown before.

"I don't think your childhood was complete either." Su Baichen picked up Zi Yan and walked out of the room.

"I should give you a complete childhood."

"No—!" Zi Yan's screams echoed in the pharmacy.

She desperately tried to turn her head to look at Cai Lin, but Cai Lin turned her face away and refused to look at her again.

【Little Ziyan, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that I'm powerless to do anything about it... I have to listen to him too.】 Cailin sighed inwardly.

You're really asking for trouble; I've already warned you.

The sound of Zi Yan's wails grew fainter and fainter outside the room. Cai Die walked to her sister's side and asked softly, "Sister, are you really alright?"

Cai Lin shook her head and smiled helplessly: "Don't worry, Bai Chen knows what he's doing. Besides..."

She looked out the window, a hint of tenderness in her eyes: "Sometimes, having someone to discipline you is a blessing. This little guy must have been too lonely all these years."

Cai Die nodded thoughtfully. She understood what her sister meant—sometimes, true family members are those who discipline you, get angry for you, and give you a "complete childhood."

The sounds of Zi Yan's "protests" and Su Baichen's "calm guidance" coming from the direction of Su Baichen's room mingled together, adding a touch of vitality to the morning.

Chapter 185 Bloodline Evolution!

Inside the sealed chamber, the enormous, pitch-black egg stood silently. A dark luster flowed across its surface, faintly emanating the oppressive aura of an ancient, monstrous beast.

Cai Lin's slender fingers gently stroked the eggshell, and the warm pulse from her fingertips eased her tense heartstrings slightly—at least her sister's breath was still there, steady and strong.

"It's been two days..."

She has repeated this sentence countless times.

Su Baichen gently wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder: "Eighth-grade pills are no small matter, and fusing bloodlines is no easy task. Cai Die has fragments of the bloodline of an ancient magical beast within her body. If this evolution is successful, her future will be limitless."

Cai Lin understood this principle perfectly well. However, the image of Cai Die taking the elixir kept replaying in her mind—her beautiful face, which resembled her own by seven parts, was filled with determination, yet her eyes held an excitement for the unknown.

"Isn't she in a bit too much of a hurry?" Cai Lin's voice was a little hoarse.

"She had only just stabilized at the Dou Huang realm when she..."

"This is her own choice." Su Baichen tightened his arms, his voice gentle yet firm.

"Don't forget the light that shone in her eyes when she learned that the pill could awaken ancient bloodlines. Butterfly was never a fledgling that needed your eternal protection. She longed to become stronger and to one day stand shoulder to shoulder with you, instead of forever standing in your shadow."

The sound of crunching came from the corner. Zi Yan sat cross-legged in the middle of a pile of empty jade bottles, stuffing pills into her mouth like a greedy squirrel.

The "education of love" she received a few days ago made her realize the reality: if she couldn't beat this man, then she would join him.

She is now devoutly carrying out the new leader's instruction to "cultivate diligently," but in a rather unique way: she is replacing cultivation with drug use.

"Sister Cailin, you really don't need to worry," Ziyan said indistinctly, as dregs of the pill fell from the corner of her mouth.

"I can feel the life force inside that egg growing stronger and stronger, even more vigorous than the sixth-grade pill I stole last time!"

Cai Lin turned to look at her, a complex expression flashing in her eyes. This little girl, who looked no more than twelve or thirteen years old, was probably older than herself, yet she always seemed like she would never grow up.

A few days ago, the battle between Cai Die and Zi Yan almost blew the house apart. Cai Die went all out, but Zi Yan's spatial talent was unpredictable. The two fought from inside the house to the yard, and then from the yard to outside. Finally, they both collapsed from exhaustion, still glaring at each other.

"I! Won't! Give! Up!" Zi Yan shouted as she lay on the ground.

“Three! Inch! Nails!” Butterfly retorted, equally unwilling to be outdone.

Recalling that scene, a slight smile finally appeared on Cai Lin's lips.

However, that smile quickly froze—if the Butterfly successfully evolved and its strength increased dramatically, Zi Yan would likely no longer have the upper hand. At that time…

"Boss!" Zi Yan suddenly jumped up and rushed to Su Baichen, her little face full of panic: "You said before that after the Butterfly evolves, how strong will it become? Will it be able to beat me now?"

Su Baichen pretended to be deep in thought: "An eighth-grade pill, ancient bloodline... Hmm, conservatively speaking, my strength can be raised to the high-level Dou Huang, or even directly reach the peak of the nine-star Dou Huang!"

"I can definitely suppress you, a mid-level Battle King."

Zi Yan's face turned deathly pale, and a complete mini-drama was already playing out in her mind: the evolved butterfly looked down at her from above, its wings of energy spreading out to blot out the sky, while she was being humiliated and forced to utter that shameful "sister"...

"No! Absolutely not!" Zi Yan screamed and pulled out another jade bottle. This time, she didn't even chew it and swallowed it whole.

"I want to advance! I want to break through to the Dou Huang realm! Boss, give me some more oil—no, give me some more pills! I'm going to grind myself to death! If I don't die from grinding, I'll cultivate to death!"

Su Baichen watched, both amused and exasperated, as the little girl ate the pills like candy. Just as he was about to say something, a sudden change occurred—

hum!

A deep tremor emanated from inside the black giant egg, initially as faint as a buzzing sound, but in the blink of an eye it turned into a thunderous roar.

The dark luster on the eggshell surface began to swirl wildly, condensing into ancient and mysterious runes. The air in the secret chamber instantly became viscous, and an invisible pressure descended like a mountain, even causing space itself to slightly distort.

"Step back!" Su Baichen pulled Zi Yan behind him, and the three of them nervously stared at the giant black egg.

boom!

A terrifying shockwave of battle energy suddenly erupted from the center of the giant egg. The defensive array on the wall flashed with light, but it was still shaken open and cracked.

Cai Lin's heart was in her throat. She could feel that the power contained both the ancient, savage aura and the familiar battle qi fluctuations of Cai Die—the two were fiercely clashing and gradually merging.

Cracks appeared on the eggshell.

It started as a tiny crack, but then spread rapidly like a spider web.

A blinding light shone through the cracks, its colors constantly shifting from fiery golden-red to deep, dark blue, finally settling on a noble, dark purple.

Each flash of light was accompanied by a heartbeat-like rhythm, as if some ancient being was awakening from its slumber.

Click, click...

The cracking sounds grew more frequent. Cai Lin held her breath, her nails digging deep into her palms without her noticing.

Su Baichen placed his hand on her shoulder, offering silent comfort. Zi Yan also stopped taking her drugs, staring wide-eyed at the scene, muttering, "Goodness, this bloodline evolution is really something..."

Finally, with a crisp explosion, the black giant egg shattered completely!

But the broken eggshells did not scatter and fly everywhere; instead, they transformed into countless points of light in the air, swirling and converging like a galaxy.

In the center of the light, a graceful figure slowly emerged.

The first thing to appear was a pair of long, straight legs, the skin of which shone with a white jade-like luster under the light, yet also faintly revealed mysterious patterns like snake scales—a sign of successful bloodline evolution.

The light spots continued to surge upwards, outlining a slender waist and a full, proud figure, finally coalescing into that face that Cai Lin knew to the core.

No, they're not exactly the same anymore.

The butterfly slowly opened its eyes. Its originally emerald green eyes now had a ring of dark gold vertical pupils in their depths, but in the blink of an eye, they returned to normal.

Her aura was vast and boundless, and though she merely stood still, the entire secret chamber trembled slightly. Peak Dou Huang? No, she had probably already touched the threshold of that level…

Behind her, a pair of illusory purple wings were slowly closing, with ancient magical beast totems faintly visible at the edges.

“Sister.” Cai Die spoke, her voice carrying a more ethereal resonance than usual, like an echo in a valley.

Cai Lin could no longer hold back. She rushed forward and hugged her sister tightly, tears streaming silently down her face. The worry and fear of the past two days all turned into the overwhelming joy of having her sister back.

She could feel how terrifying the power contained within the body in her arms was, but what comforted her even more was that Cai Die was still her Cai Die, the little sister who could be spoiled, willful, and determined to persevere in order to become stronger.

Su Baichen watched this scene with a smile, his eyes full of satisfaction. Zi Yan, on the other hand, quietly shrank her neck and muttered, "It's over, it's over, we really can't beat them this time... Should I call her 'sister' now? No, no, that's too spineless..."

Cai Die looked over her sister's shoulder at Zi Yan, a sly glint in her eyes.

She gently pushed Cai Lin aside, walked to Zi Yan, and bent down—yes, bent down, because her height seemed to have increased slightly after the evolution.

"Little Ziyan." Cai Die's voice was as sweet as honey, yet it sent chills down Ziyan's spine.

"Didn't someone just say they would never call me 'sister'?"

Zi Yan: "..."

She glanced at the lingering energy ripples behind the butterfly, sensed its unfathomable aura, swallowed hard, and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Butterfly, Sister Butterfly, you've successfully evolved? Congratulations! Congratulations!"

Chapter 186 Ancient Celestial Serpent; Time Flies

"Haha, little Ziyan, you're so cute!"

The butterfly's laughter was crisp and clear, filled with undisguised pride and joy.

Like a triumphant general, she proudly raised her delicate chin and casually placed her hand on Zi Yan's little head, ruffling it without any restraint.

Zi Yan's carefully styled purple pigtails quickly became messy and disheveled between her fingers.

Seemingly not satisfied with that, the butterfly's nimble fingertips deftly swiftly untied the ribbon binding her hair.

Her silky purple hair cascaded down in an instant, making it easier for her to "do as she pleased." She rubbed it even more vigorously, as if teasing a small, ruffled animal that was powerless to resist, her eyes gleaming with the bright light of a triumphant prank.

Zi Yan bit her lower lip tightly, and in her pair of amethyst-like eyes, an indomitable flame was burning and leaping wildly.

As the little tyrant of Canaan Academy, her inherent arrogance had never been "bullied" like this before. The surging power within her surged several times, wanting to break free from this hateful hand and overturn the smug "older sister" in front of her.

But whenever the thought of resistance reached its peak, the force coming from above would suddenly increase.

The power wasn't violent or harmful, but it carried an absolute sense of suppression, like an invisible mountain firmly pressing down on her head, easily extinguishing the flame that had just ignited within her with a "poof".

[Waaaaah, I feel so awful, I'm hopeless!]

This young lady, fallen from grace, has been tricked by a snake... I will remember this humiliation!

[Just you wait! When my bloodline awakens or I grow up and become much stronger, I'll definitely pin you to the ground and make you call me "sister" obediently! Let's see if you'll still be laughing then!]

Zi Yan angrily made a "grand vow" in her heart, her little face turning slightly red.

In the end, she only let out a heavy, unwilling snort from her nose, then abruptly turned her head to the side, facing the butterfly with the back of her head, expressing her silent but stubborn protest through her actions.

That angry profile clearly said, "You just wait."

╭ (╯ ^ ╰) ╮

Su Baichen took in the whole scene, and a slight smile couldn't help but appear on his lips.

He didn't stop the "energetic" interaction, but turned his gaze to Cai Die and asked about the important matter: "Cai Die, what bloodline have you awakened?"

Cai Lin, standing beside her, nodded in unison, her beautiful eyes filled with concern and understanding. In fact, she had already had a vague guess when Cai Die unleashed her aura earlier.

Upon hearing this, Cai Die finally let go of Zi Yan's hair for the time being and replied with a slightly serious tone, "Yes, based on the information that emerged during the bloodline inheritance, it should indeed be the bloodline of the ancient celestial serpent."