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

Bai Yue'er looked around curiously; everything here was completely different from the small town where she lived.

"Master, what are we doing in Wuhun City, coming all this way?" Bai Yue'er tugged at Su Baichen's sleeve and asked softly.

Although she had witnessed Xuanhuo's power, she still felt an invisible pressure while in the Spirit Hall's headquarters.

"I'm here to see someone." Su Baichen's gaze swept calmly over the distant Papal Mountain, his tone as indifferent as if he were saying he was going to see a neighbor.

"Meet someone? Who is it? Is he very powerful? More powerful than Brother Xuanhuo?" Bai Yue'er asked one question after another.

Su Baichen smiled and ruffled her hair: "Well, it's not bad for this continent. But..."

He paused, a cryptic smile playing on his lips, and said with a laugh, "Anyway, no one is as strong as me."

His voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable certainty, as if he were stating that the weather was fine that day.

Bai Yue'er looked up at her master's calm profile, and the slight unease she felt due to being in a strange and powerful environment instantly vanished.

If the master says there's no problem, then there must be no problem! Her eyes brightened again, filled with curiosity about the "important person" she was about to meet.

The master and apprentice followed the flow of people, slowly making their way towards the Papal Palace, the building at the very center of Wuhun City, which symbolized the highest power and majesty of the Wuhun Hall.

Chapter 198 First Encounter with Yueguan

At the entrance of the Spirit Hall.

The guards stood ramrod straight before the towering palace gates, their armor reflecting a blinding gleam in the sunlight.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

Su Baichen stopped, his plain white robe swaying gently in the breeze. He looked up, a calm smile on his face: "I have something to discuss with your Pope. Please inform him."

"You think you can just see our Pope whenever you want?" The guard sized up the young man, who looked to be no more than twenty years old, his tone impatient. "Get out of here!"

Su Baichen sighed softly. He turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on Xuan Huo, who was half a step behind him, and nodded almost imperceptibly.

Xuanhuo understood and slowly stepped forward.

Just as the guards were about to drive him away again, they saw the air around the man in red suddenly distort—not the shock of a burst of soul power, but a strange ripple, like water.

The next instant, a wave of scorching heat rushed towards them, and the guard's armor instantly became scalding hot.

Yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black, red—

Nine spirit rings appeared one by one. The moment the last blood-red spirit ring appeared, the temperature of the entire square suddenly soared, and the air crackled due to the high temperature.

The guard's eyes widened, his throat went dry, and his legs trembled uncontrollably.

A Title Douluo... and a Title Douluo with a 100,000-year soul ring!

Su Baichen looked at the guard again, his smile still gentle: "May I inform them now?"

"No, no problem! I'll go report right away!" The guard's voice trembled as he bowed deeply, not daring to look at the blood-red ninth spirit ring again.

"Oh right, give this to him." Su Baichen took out an envelope from his pocket. The paper was ordinary and there were no marks on the seal.

The guard took the envelope with both hands; the cold touch of the envelope contrasted sharply with the surrounding heat.

He dared not linger, turned and rushed into the Papal Palace, the clanging of armor echoing rapidly through the corridor.

"interesting."

A slightly effeminate voice came from the side. Su Baichen turned his head and saw a man dressed in a magnificent white robe with gold trim walk out from behind a pillar.

The man was handsome with fair skin and long golden hair that shimmered in the sunlight. He was toying with a golden chrysanthemum in his hand.

The man's gaze passed over Su Baichen and landed directly on Xuan Huo, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"My friend, is your martial soul... also a top-tier plant-type martial soul?" He stepped forward slowly, his voice gentle.

Xuan Huo didn't answer, but looked at Su Baichen again. After receiving approval, he turned to the man and briefly replied, "Yes, what's wrong?"

"Ha, that's great! Let me introduce myself. My name is Yue Guan, and my martial soul is the Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum. I'm a level 91 Title Douluo, with the title 'Chrysanthemum'." The man smiled brightly, gently spinning the golden chrysanthemum in his hand.

Upon hearing this, Su Baichen's gaze lingered on Yue Guan for a moment.

[Yue Guan... Level 91, recently became a Title Douluo, his soul power is still unstable. His Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum, a celestial herb-level martial soul, is similar to Xuanhuo's Blazing Apricot Blossom, both being fire-attribute celestial herbs, so they seem to have some connection.]

As that calm gaze swept over him, Yue Guan suddenly felt a strange pang of heart palpitation.

Those eyes were so penetrating, as if they could see right through your skin and into your soul, revealing all your secrets.

He subconsciously avoided Su Baichen's gaze and refocused his attention on Xuanhuo.

Plant-type Soul Masters are already rare, and top-tier plant-type Soul Masters are even rarer.

Plant-type Soul Masters who can cultivate to the level of Title Douluo can be counted on two hands across the entire continent.

He himself is the best example—if he didn't possess a top-tier martial soul, level nine innate soul power, and receive resource support from the Spirit Hall, it would be almost impossible for a plant-type soul master to reach the top.

The person before them was not only a Title Douluo, but the aura emanating from his martial soul was also...

That was an aura similar to his, a pressure at the level of a celestial herb!

"My martial soul is the Fiery Apricot Blossom," Xuanhuo said calmly.

Upon hearing this name, Yue Guan's pupils constricted sharply. The Myriad Treasures Sky-Piercing Chrysanthemum and the Fiery Apricot Blossom, two legendary immortal herbs, had actually appeared before him simultaneously in the form of martial spirits!

"The Fiery Apricot Blossom... is also a Celestial Herb-level Martial Soul!" Yue Guan's voice trembled slightly with excitement. Since becoming a Title Douluo, apart from his old partner Ghostly Charm, he had almost no Soul Master friends with whom he could communicate on an equal footing.

Now, encountering Xuanhuo, who is also a celestial herb martial soul, that feeling of loneliness was instantly shattered.

"May I ask your title?"

"Fire," the man in red replied briefly.

"Fire Douluo..."

Yue Guan repeated the title, his eyes shining even brighter.

“Since you share the same martial soul and have come from afar, it is not proper to stand at the door to welcome you. Please come with me into the hall to wait.”

He turned to the side, making an inviting gesture with elegant posture. Su Baichen nodded slightly and, together with Xuan Huo, followed Yue Guan into the Spirit Hall.

Yue Guan led the two to the waiting room in the side hall. The room was spacious and elegant, with soft animal skin carpets and wisps of smoke rising from the incense burner, emitting a calming fragrance.

"His Holiness the Pope is currently handling state affairs, please wait a moment." Yue Guan personally poured tea for the two of them, her movements fluid and elegant.

"Thank you." Su Baichen took the teacup and gently blew on it to cool it down.

Yue Guan's gaze never left Xuan Huo. After receiving Su Baichen's tacit approval, he finally couldn't help but speak: "Brother Xuan Huo, to be honest, I have quite a bit of experience in the research of plant-type martial souls."

"Although the Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum and the Liehuo Xingjiaoshu are both immortal herbs, their characteristics are completely different. I wonder if Brother Xuanhuo's martial soul also inherited the 'ultimate fire' characteristic of the Liehuo Xingjiaoshu?"

Xuanhuo glanced at Su Baichen, and seeing his master nod slightly, he slowly replied, "Ten out of ten."

"Ten percent!" Yue Guan gasped. "That's astonishing! My Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum only inherited 70% of the 'Indestructible' characteristic of its original form. How did Brother Xuanhuo develop his martial soul to this extent?"

"Opportunity".

The brief answer did not dampen Yue Guan's enthusiasm; on the contrary, he became even more excited and began to talk at length about his experience in developing plant-type martial souls, techniques for matching soul rings, and unique methods for circulating soul power.

Xuan Huo initially gave only brief responses, but as the conversation deepened, the two found themselves getting along better and better, and Yue Guan's excited exclamations could be heard from time to time in the waiting room.

Meanwhile, deep within the Papal Palace.

Qian Xunji sat behind a tall desk, his brows furrowed. He was about forty years old, with a dignified face, and his white robe embroidered with gold accents highlighted the Pope's nobility.

The table was piled high with official documents awaiting his review, but his mind was elsewhere.

In his hand, he held that plain white letter.

"A slap sends the blacksmith flying, and outsiders come to meet him."

Two short sentences, fourteen characters, written with the most ordinary ink on the most ordinary paper. Yet Qian Xunji's fingertips trembled slightly.

Chapter 199 Reunion with Qian Daoliu.

Iron Man... Nine Rings Exploding Simultaneously... Tang Chen...

Those long-buried memories surged back like a tide. Years ago, his father, Qian Daoliu, had talked with him all night, recounting some of the most terrifying names of that era. There was one in particular, whose name even his father mentioned with deep dread.

"That was a powerful being who shouldn't exist in this world." Qian Daoliu's voice still seemed to echo in my ears.

"Tang Chen is known as the world's number one attacker; with all nine rings exploding simultaneously, no one below the god level can withstand him. But that person... only used one slap."

"A slap?" Qian Xunji couldn't believe it at the time.

“Yes, a slap.” Qian Daoliu closed his eyes, as if unwilling to recall that scene. “Tang Chen flew backward and fell into the sea. And that person didn’t even move a step from beginning to end.”

"Is he a god?"

“I don’t know.” Qian Daoliu shook his head and continued, “But the power of that strike was beyond the comprehension of mortals. He disappeared afterward. No one knows where he went or what his background was, but I know one thing.”

"what's up?"

"He must be on the Douluo Continent!"

Qian Xunji suddenly stood up, the envelope almost crumpled in his hand.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

The guard said the messenger was a young man, accompanied by a Title Douluo with a 100,000-year spirit ring. This combination was strange enough—how could a young man who commanded the respect of a Title Douluo be ordinary?

"Someone come here!"

The temple doors opened, and a cardinal bowed as he entered: "Your Holiness the Pope."

"Pass down the order to receive today's guests with the highest honors. Where are they?"

"Lord Chrysanthemum Douluo has led the guests to the waiting room in the east wing."

"Very good." Qian Xunji straightened his robes.

"I am going to the Elders' Hall now. Before I return, I must fulfill all the guests' requests without the slightest negligence."

"Yes!"

After the cardinal withdrew, Qian Xunji gripped the envelope tightly, and in a flash, he disappeared from the hall. The next second, he appeared a hundred meters in the air, six pure white wings unfurling on his back, transforming into a streak of light and flying deep into the Spirit Hall.

The Elder Hall is located in the core area of ​​the Spirit Hall, the true foundation of the Spirit Hall, and the secluded residence of the Super Douluo of all generations. Ordinary Soul Masters would never be able to set foot inside even half a step in their entire lives.

Qian Xunji landed in front of the palace, folded her wings, tidied her appearance, and then slowly stepped forward. In front of the huge gilded gate, two golden-armored guards knelt on one knee.

"I want to see my father."