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

Bai Yue'er was stunned when she heard this. She stared blankly at Su Baichen, seemingly unable to process this sudden news.

Several breaths passed before she seemed to suddenly come to her senses. Her face showed no surprise, but rather a deep unease and timidity. She put down her chopsticks, her small hands nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, her voice barely audible:

"I...I'm not old enough yet, and I haven't awakened my martial spirit. My parents are ordinary people who make a living by farming...The old folks in the village say that a child's martial spirit mostly follows their parents."

"So even if I awaken, I'm afraid... I'm afraid it won't be a good martial soul, maybe... I won't even have innate soul power."

Her head drooped lower and lower, almost burying itself in her chest.

"Sir, you look like a very important person... Am I really qualified to be your disciple? I'm afraid... afraid I'll disappoint you..."

Her words were filled with pessimistic expectations of her own fate and a deep fear of being abandoned again.

Su Baichen's suggestion was like a dazzling but scalding light. She longed to grasp it, yet feared that the light would reveal her "destined ordinariness," ultimately leading to nothing.

Chapter 193 Taking on Disciples; The Yin-Yang Eye of Ice and Fire!

Su Baichen couldn't help but smile as he listened to her words.

[Lack of talent? What a joke!]

He shook his head inwardly.

[If your innate sword intent, which you exude even before you've cultivated and can resonate with my sword heart, is considered a lack of talent, then who in the world can be called exceptionally gifted?]

This sword intent is a reflection of the soul's essence, a rarer existence than even top-tier martial souls—martial souls may vary in quality, but this innate sword intent is the most solid foundation for reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

Looking at the child before him, precocious yet timid due to hardship, Su Baichen's smile softened, but his tone carried an undeniable certainty:

"It's alright. If I say you can, then you can. The matter of martial spirit is important, but it doesn't determine everything. What I value is you as a person, your character and potential."

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze as warm as the sun enveloping Bai Yue'er. "You must trust my judgment, and you must also trust yourself."

He paused briefly, his voice lowering slightly, yet every word struck the girl's heart:

"Don't you want power? Don't you want to personally seek justice for your parents and your villagers? Do you want to live in hiding and fear forever?"

The words "revenge" struck like lightning, cleaving through the fog in Bai Yue'er's heart.

Her parents' dying words, "Live well," were her only thought to keep her going.

But what does it mean to "live well"? Is it to eke out a living, to hide and run away, and to be awakened by nightmares every night?

Do not!

A voice cried out from the depths of her heart. She remembered her parents' last gazes, the familiar faces of her uncles and aunts lying in pools of blood, and the arrogant laughter of the men in black robes... A surge of heat rushed from her heart to the top of her head, dispelling her fear and inferiority.

She doesn't want to live like this! She wants to become stronger, to embark on the path of a Soul Master, a path that grants her earth-shattering power!

She wants to take control of her own destiny, possess the power to protect what she cherishes, and make those fallen soul masters who caused the tragedy pay the price they deserve!

"boom!"

Bai Yue'er suddenly slid off the chair and knelt on both knees. Due to the excessive force, her knees collided with the wooden board, making a crisp sound.

She tilted her head back, the dirt long since washed away, revealing a delicate face filled with resolute determination. Tears glistened in her eyes, but no longer from sadness or fear, but from a do-or-die resolve.

Without any hesitation, she bent down and faced Su Baichen.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

He kowtowed three times firmly, each time with extreme force, leaving red marks on his forehead.

When she looked up again, her voice, though still carrying a childlike innocence, was exceptionally clear and resonant:

"Disciple Bai Yue'er greets Master! I beg Master to teach me skills and guide me into the path! Yue'er will definitely cultivate diligently and never let Master down. One day, I will use the sword in my hand to sweep away evil and comfort the spirits of my loved ones in heaven!"

Looking at the little girl before him, whose eyes shone brightly and who seemed to have undergone a complete transformation, Su Baichen was overjoyed and laughed loudly:

"Good! Good! Good! You have ambition! From this day forward, you will be my third personal disciple, Su Baichen's third disciple!"

After laughing, he flipped his wrist, and a bottle of Foundation Establishment Elixir appeared in his palm.

"Now that you've joined my sect, this is my gift to you."

Su Baichen gently placed the jade bottle in front of Bai Yue'er.

"This is the 'Foundation Building Elixir,' a formula that I have improved. Its medicinal properties are mild yet long-lasting, making it ideal for strengthening muscles and bones, nourishing meridians, and solidifying one's foundation."

"From today onwards, you shall soak in the solution diluted with water for one hour every day. If you persist, you will see the effect when you awaken your martial spirit."

Bai Yue'er respectfully accepted the jade bottle, still warm from her body, and held it tightly to her chest, as if embracing a heavy weight of hope and future. She bowed again, her voice choked with emotion yet unwavering:

"Disciple thanks Master for bestowing this treasure! I will certainly be diligent every day and dare not slack off!"

…………

Deep in the forest at sunset, the morning mist has not yet dissipated.

After accepting Bai Yue'er as his disciple yesterday, Su Baichen settled her in and came alone early this morning to find the legendary Yin-Yang Eye of Ice and Fire.

This place is not only a natural treasure, but also a medicinal herb garden with immense potential. If managed properly, it will surely become an important part of his future assets.

Moreover, the spring may very well contain the remains of an ancient ice and fire dragon king—such a divine object might even have given birth to a rare dragon king soul bone.

Although he himself no longer needed these things, they were the perfect help for Bai Yue'er, who had just embarked on the path of a Soul Master.

This girl is the inheritor of his swordsmanship lineage, so naturally he must pave the way for her.

Although the forest was vast and boundless, under the coverage of Su Baichen's immense soul power, which had reached the Heavenly Realm, he locked onto the valley hidden among the mountains in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The valley top was shrouded in mist, which seemed to possess a spirit and could block the perception of ordinary soul masters, but in his eyes, it was as fragile as a thin veil.

With a light leap, they pierced through the clouds and mist, and the view before them suddenly opened up.

A peculiar spring lies quietly at the bottom of the valley, with two distinct streams of water, one blue and one red, intertwining yet remaining undisturbed, where ice and fire have achieved an ancient balance.

Around the spring, life is vibrant, with various rare medicinal herbs growing vigorously, colorful and fragrant, like a fairyland.

"As expected, the abundance of medicinal herbs here is unparalleled in the world." Su Baichen hovered above the spring, his gaze sharp as lightning, scanning every corner of the valley.

Suddenly, his gaze narrowed and fell on a shadowy spot hidden by jagged rocks.

"You do know how to hide things." He chuckled lightly, making no further movements, only flicking his finger.

A slender, silvery-white sword aura pierced through the air and silently disappeared into the shadows.

With a soft thud, a slender snake-like spirit beast with dark green scales collapsed, not even having time to utter a wail.

"Oh? It's a snake-type soul beast, and it even comes with a little 'surprise'." Su Baichen swung his hand in mid-air, and a crystal-clear bone, radiating a gentle soul power fluctuation, was peeled off from the soul beast's corpse and fell into his palm.

"The head spirit bone... is of decent quality." Playing with the spirit bone in his hand, and then looking at the strange spring where ice and fire mingled at his feet, an interesting thought naturally came to mind.

[This snake...could it be the head and soul bone of that old venomous creature, Dugu Bo, in the future?]

[Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo, is famous for his signature move, "Medusa's Gaze," which originates from the extreme petrification power attached to his head's soul bone.]

A playful smile curved his lips. If that were the case, then today could be considered as having intercepted an interesting encounter ahead of time.

Su Baichen played with this soul bone that was destined to be unrelated to Dugu Bo, a meaningful smile curving his lips.

At this moment, the string of fate was quietly plucked—the opportunity that should have belonged to that master of poison now lay quietly in his palm.

There's no use keeping this head bone containing the petrification soul skill; I should just put it away.

"The word 'fate' is truly wondrous," he chuckled to himself, putting the soul bone into his bosom. The mountain wind swept through the valley, causing the ice and fire vapors on the spring's surface to ripple slightly, as if echoing this prophecy.

Chapter 194 The Immortal Herb That Gains Intelligence!

After putting away the soul bone, Su Baichen turned his gaze to the other two creatures in the Yin-Yang Well that were almost holding their breath—the Eight-Cornered Mystic Ice Grass and the Blazing Apricot.

The two immortal herbs trembled slightly on either side of the pool, seemingly just swaying with the waves, but the spiritual light flashing deep in their eyes could not escape Su Baichen's perception.

"You two little ones, you've been watching for so long, why aren't you saying anything?" His voice carried a hint of mockery, as if he had already seen through all the pretense.

At the boundary between the icy pool and the fiery pool, the crystal-clear leaves of the Eight-Cornered Ice Grass slightly contracted, and the delicate, bright red petals of the Fiery Apricot gently closed.

"Oh no, how was it discovered?" the Eight-Cornered Ice Grass lamented inwardly, the frost on its leaves seemingly trembling.

"We've hidden ourselves so well, even concealing our presence to the extreme, how could he still detect us?" Lie Huoxing was equally flustered, the flame patterns on her petals flickering.

Who knows? Anyway, we're exposed now. Hopefully, he won't eat us. We're immortal herbs; eating us would be very beneficial to them...

Waaaaah, I don't want to be eaten!

The "conversation" between the two immortal herbs created subtle mental fluctuations in the air. Although they tried their best to control it, these subtle fluctuations were as conspicuous as fireflies in the dark to someone like Su Baichen.

"Hey, I'm calling you two, say something!" Su Baichen's lips curled into a playful smile as he slowly walked to the center of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, his feet landing where the cold and heat met, yet he felt no discomfort whatsoever.

After a moment of silence, the Eight-Cornered Ice Grass finally swayed its leaves and emitted a faint soul fluctuation: "Senior, hello... I am the Eight-Cornered Ice Grass. May I ask how I can be of service to you?"

The fiery apricot blossom beside her also swayed quickly, its petals opening and closing, releasing a warm fragrance: "I am fiery apricot blossom, please give me your instructions, senior."

Su Baichen chuckled, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two immortal herbs: "What's going on with you two? I think you're both at least 100,000 years old, you should have already possessed the ability to transform, so why are you still in your original form?"

The Eight-Cornered Ice Grass remained silent for a moment, the ice crystals condensing on its leaves seemingly expressing its helplessness: "Senior's insight is truly remarkable... We have indeed passed the threshold of 100,000 years, and should have already taken human form, but..."

“But we can’t do it!” Lie Huoxing Jiaoshu replied, her voice filled with deep bitterness.

"It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't."

Then, under Su Baichen's encouraging gaze, the Eight-Cornered Ice Grass began to recount the unknown hardships it had endured throughout its long life.

These two were the earliest immortal herbs to emerge from the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire. Under the strange convergence of ice and fire, they broke through the soil almost simultaneously, absorbing the unique energy of this precious land.

Thanks to the special nourishment provided by the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eyes, their growth rate far exceeds that of ordinary plant-type soul beasts, and they developed clear intelligence in just a few thousand years.

Other medicinal herbs that grew later were not so lucky.

They are either suppressed by the extreme cold by the icy pool or scorched by the intense heat by the fiery pool, unable to develop complete intelligence, and can only instinctively absorb energy to grow.

"We once thought we were the darlings of heaven and earth." The voice of the Eight-Cornered Ice Grass was filled with nostalgia and sorrow.

"Watching the other immortal herbs grow ignorantly, while we could exchange ideas and discuss cultivation experiences, how happy we were back then..."

The fiery apricot blossoms swayed gently as she added, "Everything changed the day we both broke through the 100,000-year mark."

Just as they reached the point of 100,000 years of cultivation, a strange suction force suddenly came from the depths of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye.

It was an ancient and terrifying pressure, as if a giant beast that had been sleeping for hundreds of millions of years had suddenly awakened when it broke through its cultivation level.

From that moment on, they discovered that their cultivation could no longer improve even slightly. What was even more terrifying was that the energy they had painstakingly cultivated began to leak out uncontrollably, like a river bursting its banks, flowing back into the spring of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye.

"At first, it was just a slight loss, so we still had hope."