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

A soft sound, like the tearing of cloth, clearly reached the ears of Poseidon and Sendou Ryu.

Their pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints!

Before their incredulous eyes, the space in front of Su Baichen, like a fragile painting, was forcibly torn open, revealing a dark crack with chaotic light and shadow flowing along its edges!

Beyond the crack, there was not a seascape, but a deep, distorted, bizarre void.

Su Baichen stepped into the crevice, and his figure was instantly swallowed by darkness.

The next moment, the spatial rift closed silently as if it had never existed, leaving no trace. Only slight ripples in the space proved that the astonishing scene just now was not an illusion.

The sea breeze began to flow again, and the sound of the waves remained the same.

But Poseidon and Qian Daoliu, the two peerless Douluo of level ninety-nine standing at the pinnacle of the continent, were like two statues, frozen in mid-air for a long time, staring at the place where Su Baichen disappeared, their backs soaked with cold sweat.

[Tear... tear space apart?!]

This goes beyond mere physical strength. It's a near-fundamental manipulation and trampling of the rules of space! Even the sea god and angel god they serve rarely describe in their inherited records the ability to so easily and casually tear apart stable space with their bare hands and traverse it!

Who exactly is this person?

From the distant direction where Tang Chen disappeared for the second time, a muffled thud came, as if something heavy had fallen into the sea, splashing up high water.

But at this moment, no one cared about Poseidon and Sendoru anymore.

Their minds were completely occupied by the spatial rift that had been casually opened and the mysterious young man in white who called himself a "traveler".

"Qian Daoliu, I have important business to attend to, so I must return to Seagod Island first."

Poseidon's voice sounded particularly solemn in the breeze, her sea-blue dress swaying gently in the wind, her eyes reflecting the churning clouds in the distance.

She had to return immediately—the sudden appearance of a person with god-level strength on the Douluo Continent was no small matter, and she had to personally report it to the Sea God.

Qian Daoliu nodded slightly, his golden hair gleaming faintly in the sunlight, his expression equally solemn.

"I also need to rush back to the Spirit Hall," he replied in a deep voice, his gaze unconsciously drifting towards the horizon.

Such a change would likely shake even the God of Angels. He must quickly communicate with the divine oracle to find out what this sudden arrival of a "god-level" powerhouse truly means.

Without another word, the two turned around almost simultaneously, transforming into two streaks of light, one blue and one gold, and sped off in different directions, leaving only the sea breeze stirring up fine waves that washed over the silent shore again and again.

And at this very moment—

Tang Chen was still floating on the sea, sprawling on his back, rising and falling with the waves, looking just like a piece of abandoned driftwood.

"...?"

He watched the two figures disappear rapidly into the horizon, and his lips twitched slightly.

"Qian Daoliu—you son of a bitch!" Finally, a roar shattered the tranquility of the sea.

"We're from the same continent, after all!!!"

"Take me back with you! I'm too exhausted!!!"

The waves crashed over him, splashing his face with salty seawater.

…………

A few days later, within the territory of the Heavenly Dou Empire, a small mountain village that should have been peaceful was shrouded in deathly silence.

Thick smoke rose slowly from between the charred beams, mingling with the lingering morning mist and blurring the dilapidated outline.

The corpses of villagers lay scattered on the ground, the soil stained dark brown, and the heavy, pungent smell of blood hung in the air, impossible to dispel even with the wind.

Su Baichen stepped across the blood-stained gravel path, his gaze calmly sweeping over the horrific scene before him.

Most of the corpses had withered faces and skin clinging to their bones, as if all life had been drained from them.

"His life essence was forcibly drained... It must have been the work of a fallen soul master." He muttered to himself, his tone flat and emotionless.

In the Douluo Continent, fallen soul masters are despised by everyone.

They strayed from the path of Soul Masters, taking pleasure in plunder and slaughter, and indulging in the blood and essence of living beings to enhance their evil powers. Their actions were utterly intolerable to Heaven and Earth.

An ordinary Soul Master would probably be filled with righteous indignation upon seeing such a tragic scene.

But Su Baichen just watched quietly, his heart not even stirred much—after all, he was someone who had survived the Soul Hall's pursuit.

Compared to the insidious and vicious methods of the Soul Palace, the scene before them seemed rather "crude".

He couldn't help but think of the Soul Clan Chief, Soul Emperor, whom he had never met before. This man was truly ruthless among ruthless people!

In the original novel, the "Emperor-Slaying Formation" set up by the Soul Clan patriarch, Soul Emperor, was incredibly powerful.

Based on the entire Central Continent, it sacrificed the lives of millions of living beings and eighty percent of the elites of the Soul Clan, converging into a Ghost Blood Blade powerful enough to cleave even a Dou Di.

That was true ruthlessness, where even blood relatives were sacrificed to achieve one's goals, with heaven and earth as the furnace and all living beings as the firewood.

The Soul Emperor had truly planned everything perfectly.

The Soul Clan's overall strength is enough to withstand the remaining Dou Di families.

In terms of top-tier combat power: he is a late-stage Nine-Star Dou Sheng, while Void Devouring Flame is an early-stage Nine-Star Dou Sheng.

He even foresaw that Gu Yuan might eventually become a Dou Di, and could use the Emperor-Slaying Formation to deal with him.

It can be said that everything that could be calculated has been calculated.

But no matter how much they planned, they couldn't have foreseen Xiao Yan's unexpected turn of events.

You should know that even when Xiao Yan became a high-level Dou Sheng, in the eyes of the Soul Emperor, he was just a slightly larger ant.

But in the end, this guy actually became a Dou Di who possessed the Emperor Flame.

The strange fire is specifically designed to counter his sinister methods. The Soul Emperor is so unlucky, his luck is terrible!

Chapter 192 A Child Born with Sword Intent!

Just as Su Baichen was lamenting the Soul Emperor's unfortunate fate, a very faint call, like the mournful cry of a kitten, suddenly drifted on the wind:

"Help! Is anyone there?!"

The voice was as faint as a whisper, almost blown away by the wind, yet the despair and survival instinct it contained pierced Su Baichen's ears with deadly precision.

"There are still survivors?" Su Baichen frowned slightly. With a thought, a vast and pure soul power quietly spread out like an invisible tide, instantly covering the ruins of the entire village.

The soul force detected something unusual at the edge of a water vat—not a fluctuation of soul force, but an extremely subtle yet exceptionally tenacious life force.

He moved swiftly and was already beside the water vat.

Su Baichen flicked his sleeve, sending the water vat flying. There was a cleverly carved-out hidden compartment on the ground, just big enough for a young child to curl up in.

A girl of about five years old had her eyes tightly closed, her face as pale as paper, her lips cracked and bleeding, her body trembling slightly from the cold and weakness, and she was unconsciously murmuring, "Father... Mother... Cold... Hungry..."

The moment Su Baichen's gaze fell upon the girl, a sudden jolt ran through the depths of his consciousness!

A faint yet incredibly pure and sharp aura emanated from the girl.

That was neither soul power nor spiritual power, but a sharp aura—it was formless and intangible, yet it seemed capable of piercing the void and severing the dust!

"This is... sword intent! Innate sword intent!" A startling light burst forth in Su Baichen's eyes.

He was well-informed and knew how rare this innate "intention" was. It was a manifestation of the soul's innate harmony with a certain law of heaven and earth, one in ten thousand, and a mark of a truly top-notch swordsman!

Even in his long travels, he had only seen a handful of such cases, and the purity of the girl's sword intent was even greater.

"What a beautiful, unpolished gem!" Su Baichen thought with delight, but his movements were incredibly gentle.

He carefully lifted the girl out of the cold, damp, dark compartment. To his touch, he found that the girl was thinly dressed and her body was icy cold.

He immediately took out a pill that was as smooth as jade and emitted a faint fragrance, carefully pried open the girl's teeth, put it into her mouth, and used a trace of gentle soul power to help her neutralize the medicinal effects.

The pill melted instantly upon entering her mouth, and its pure medicinal power flowed rapidly through the girl's limbs and bones like a warm current.

Gradually, a sliver of color returned to her pale cheeks, her furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and her icy body began to warm. Finally, with a very soft murmur, the girl fell into a deep sleep, her breathing becoming even and long.

Su Baichen took off his outer robe and carefully wrapped the girl in it. He looked down at her tender face, still bearing traces of tears, and a gentle smile appeared on his lips.

It seems fate had ordained him to pass through this place, sense the unusual atmosphere, and happen to recognize this innate sword intent. Such exceptional talent should not be wasted here; it would be a terrible waste.

"Having survived a calamity, possessing extraordinary talents, and having met me again... Child, it seems you are destined to become my disciple." He murmured to himself, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"I will accept this master-disciple relationship."

……

An hour later, in a fairly clean restaurant in the small town.

Su Baichen sat by the window, quietly watching the little girl across from him wolf down her food.

She changed into clean clothes and her hair was simply combed. Although there was still lingering fear and sadness in her eyes, there was a hint of life in them.

The congee, side dishes, steamed buns, and hot soup on the table are disappearing at a visible rate.

Not long ago, the girl woke up from her coma. After an initial period of fear and wariness, she recounted her ordeal in fits and starts under Su Baichen's gentle questioning.

Her name was Bai Yue'er, and her home was in that destroyed village. A day ago, a group of fierce-looking "black-robed men" (that's how she described them) suddenly broke into the village, killing anyone they saw. The fire and screams shattered the peace.

At the last moment, her parents hid her in a secret compartment under the water tank to save her life, repeatedly instructing her not to come out no matter what she heard.

She remembered her mother's tearful eyes at the end and her father's heavy breathing as he pressed down on the stone slab.

She listened to the killing and maniacal laughter outside in the darkness, tightly covering her mouth until everything fell silent. After waiting for an unknown amount of time, she dared to try to push the water vat away, but she was too weak to move it even an inch.

Cold, hungry, and terrified, just as her consciousness began to fade and she thought she was about to follow her parents to the afterlife, the light above her head suddenly returned...

"Hey, little girl."

Seeing that she had almost finished eating, Su Baichen asked, "Besides your parents, do you have any other relatives in this world to rely on?"

Bai Yue'er's hand holding the chopsticks suddenly paused. She raised her head, her large, clear eyes looking at Su Baichen, filled with a pain and confusion beyond her years.

She slowly, but forcefully shook her head, her voice weak yet clear: "No more. Yue'er's only family is her father and mother, but they... they're gone..."

Her words abruptly stopped. She lowered her head, bit her lower lip tightly, and her shoulders trembled slightly, but she forced herself not to cry anymore.

[A person of impeccable character, orphaned and destitute, with a resilient spirit, and even more rare is this innate swordsmanship...]

Su Baichen's mind raced.

[With exceptional talent and unburdened by worldly ties, you are the perfect candidate to inherit my swordsmanship. How could I possibly miss such a fortunate opportunity?]

"Ahem," Su Baichen cleared his throat, his expression becoming more serious, his gaze gentle yet firm as he looked at the girl.

"Moon, I see you are exceptionally talented and have extraordinary potential. I wish to take you as my disciple, teach you my skills, and guide you onto the path of a Soul Master. Are you willing?"