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

[My own child! This is my own child!]

My child, whom I carried for five years and gave birth to!

[We can't hit him...at least not too hard...]

But...no, I just can't swallow this!

She suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze sweeping across the courtyard like lightning. Finally, those eyes, burning with rage, settled on her own younger sister—Cai Die.

“Colorful Butterfly!” Colorful Scales’ voice was as cold as ice in the twelfth lunar month.

"You come here too!"

Butterfly was standing to the side, secretly relieved that she wasn't the main target of this "disaster".

She even watched her niece being disciplined with a hint of schadenfreude—who told this little girl to always snatch things from her and cause trouble ever since Su Baichen came back?

"Huh? Sister, I didn't do anything wrong!" Cai Die blinked innocently, but her feet moved forward involuntarily.

Cai Lin's gaze fell on Cai Die's clothes, and her pupils suddenly contracted.

That light purple flowing dress was made of specially made ice silk, and the cuffs were embroidered with her favorite wisteria pattern—it was one of the few dresses she treasured!

“Heh,” Cai Lin let out a cold laugh, a laugh that sent chills down Cai Die’s spine.

"Then can you tell me why you're wearing my Ice Silk Flowing Cloud Dress?"

Oh no!

Cai Die's heart skipped a beat. These past few days, she had been so busy "outwitting" Su Ling'er that she had completely forgotten to change out of her clothes.

[It's all my brother-in-law's fault! My clothes were either accidentally burned during "cultivation" or torn during fights...]

No, it's mainly his fault. He took all my new clothes when he came back last time...

Two blushes rose on her face, and she quickly explained, "Sister, actually it's because..."

Cai Die originally wanted to take the opportunity to reveal that Su Baichen had returned, in order to divert her sister's anger.

But the enraged Cai Lin didn't give her a chance to speak.

"No need to say anything more!" Cai Lin interrupted her, the wooden stick in her hand drawing a dangerous arc in the air.

"I'll just beat you up to vent my anger!"

Having said that, she stepped forward and grabbed Cai Die's wrist with lightning speed. The strength of a nine-star Dou Zong completely suppressed Cai Die, who was only an eight-star Dou Zong, making her dare not resist (bloodline suppression!), and rendering her unable to move.

"Sister, it really is brother-in-law! He's already at the gate!" Cai Die shouted anxiously.

Cai Lin paused noticeably, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes—a mixture of surprise, doubt, and grievance. But she quickly regained her cold, hard expression.

"Your brother-in-law?" she scoffed.

"Ha! Even if the King of Heaven himself came today, it wouldn't make a difference!"

She caught a glimpse of Su Ling'er sneaking towards the courtyard gate out of the corner of her eye, and immediately gave her a warning look: "Su Ling'er, you dare to try and run away?"

The little girl trembled all over and stood obediently in place, tears welling up in her big eyes.

She had originally wanted to ask her father for help, but now it seems she can't.

Cai Lin turned her attention back to Cai Die, raising the wooden stick high. The stick tore through the air, whistling as it swung downwards—

"Okay, don't be angry."

A gentle and familiar voice came from behind, like a spring breeze sweeping through the stagnant air in the courtyard.

Cai Lin froze. Her hand, gripping the wooden strip, hovered in mid-air, trembling slightly.

She could feel a warm body pressing against her from behind, a pair of strong arms encircling her waist. The warmth of that embrace, the breath, the rhythm of that heartbeat... For ten years, a full ten years, she had relived it countless times in her dreams.

It's him.

It really is him who's back.

The wooden strip slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground with a "thud." Cai Lin slowly turned around, her movements as gentle as if afraid to shatter a fleeting dream.

When she looked up and saw that face etched in her heart, tears welled up uncontrollably in her eyes. She threw herself into his arms, wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and buried her face in his shoulder.

"When...when did you get back?" Her voice choked with sobs, trembling with disbelief.

Su Baichen hugged her tighter, gently stroking her long hair with one hand and patting her back softly with the other: "I just arrived. I was eager to see you as soon as I got back."

His voice was deep and gentle, and when his gaze fell on Cai Lin's face, it was filled with deep affection and remorse. Ten years of separation had added some fine lines to the corners of her eyes, but her beauty and pride remained undiminished.

While Cai Lin was still immersed in the excitement of their reunion, Su Baichen quietly reached out and kicked the troublesome wooden stick into the bushes nearby. Then he gave Cai Die and Su Ling'er a wink.

Why aren't you leaving yet?

Cai Die immediately understood, grabbed the still-dazed Su Ling'er, and the two of them slipped out of the courtyard quietly but quickly, not forgetting to considerately close the gate behind them.

Cai Lin naturally sensed Su Baichen's subtle movements, but she did not stop him; she simply hummed softly in his arms.

At this moment, the headdress, the clothes, and the messy room all become irrelevant.

The important thing is that he came back. He came back to her.

Su Baichen looked down at his wife in his arms, and ten years of longing surged into his heart like a tide.

The several flirtations Cai Die had been giving him over the past few days, coupled with his restraint when his daughter was present, caused all his suppressed emotions to erupt completely at this moment.

He bent down, slipped one arm under Cai Lin's knees, and easily lifted her into his arms. Cai Lin gasped and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What are you doing?" Her cheeks flushed.

Su Baichen didn't answer, but simply carried her and strode towards the main house.

His steps were firm, his gaze burning; all the longing and yearning accumulated over ten years of separation were transformed into action at this moment.

Cai Lin initially wanted to say something, but when she looked up and saw the undisguised affection and longing in her husband's eyes, she swallowed her words.

She buried her face in his chest, listening to his steady and powerful heartbeat, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

It's been ten years.

She also missed his warmth, his scent, everything about him.

As Su Baichen kicked open the door and closed it with his heel, Cai Lin finally whispered:

"Keep it down... Ling'er and the others next door might hear..."

Even so, she held him even tighter.

Outside the window, the setting sun casts its orange glow across the courtyard.

The wooden stick lay quietly in the grass, as if telling the story of the danger that had just occurred.

Inside the closed door, the couple, separated for ten years, could finally express all the words they had accumulated over the years in the most intimate way.

On the old tree outside the courtyard, a few birds chirped as they returned to their nests, then gradually quieted down, as if they did not want to disturb the warmth of this long-awaited reunion.

Chapter 219 Ling'er's Excellence; Cai Lin's Lament!

After a passionate night of lovemaking, Cai Lin nestled in Su Baichen's arms, her breathing gradually calming down.

The candlelight flickered outside the gauze curtains, casting a warm glow on her smooth shoulders. She reached out her finger and unconsciously drew circles on Su Baichen's chest, finally asking softly:

"How have you been in that world these past ten years...?"

Su Baichen stroked her soft, long hair, his thoughts drifting into the distance: "Hmm, not bad. I've taken on a little apprentice to inherit my swordsmanship."

He recounted his ten years of experience in the Douluo World—from the initial confusion upon arriving in this other world to taking on disciples and passing on the sword path; from the cautious maneuvering among various forces to the sudden enlightenment upon breaking through his bottleneck. He spoke of those strange soul rings and bizarre martial souls, and of the customs and culture of different lands, his tone calm yet subtly profound.

Cai Lin listened quietly, occasionally letting out a soft "hmm".

When she heard the part about Liu Muxi, the goddess of life, her eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.

As a woman herself, she could clearly sense the unspoken emotions—the deliberately slowed tone, the seemingly unintentional assistance, and the hesitant silence on the eve of parting.

But she didn't ask any further questions. She simply buried her face deeper into his chest, inhaling his familiar yet long-lost scent.

"I won't talk about me anymore." Su Baichen looked down at the person in his arms, his brows furrowed slightly.

"Tell me about yourself. How come you're only a nine-star Dou Zong?"

He lightly touched the back of her neck with his fingertips, sensing the flow of Dou Qi within her body, and said with a puzzled look, "Back then, I secretly left behind quite a few rare and precious materials. With your and Xiao Cai's aptitude, you should at least be a Dou Zun..."

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp pain shot through the soft flesh of his waist.

"Hmph!" Cai Lin used her last bit of strength to twist it, turned her head away, leaving him with only a puffed-up profile.

Su Baichen was both amused and exasperated, and quickly relaxed his physical defenses—a move he was very familiar with, but had never truly gotten used to.

"Why did you pinch me like that? It really hurts."

"It's all your fault!" Cai Lin turned her head, her beautiful eyes filled with reproach.

"What does this have to do with me?" Su Baichen was completely confused.

Cai Lin was silent for a moment, then her voice suddenly lowered, carrying a complex emotion that was hard to describe: "Not long after you left... I found out that I was pregnant with Ling'er."

Then, she slowly began to recount the years he had been absent from her life.

At first, she only experienced occasional nausea and fatigue, which she didn't pay much attention to.

Until one day while taking a bath, she inadvertently touched her lower abdomen with her palm and sensed a strange pulse of life.

She thought it was her imagination, but over the next few months, her abdomen gradually swelled up, and the flow of fighting energy within her body quietly changed.

When she finally confirmed that she was pregnant, she stood there in the courtyard for a long time, stunned.

I placed my hand on my lower abdomen, and at first I felt bewildered, then an overwhelming joy surged through me, followed by a deep loneliness—at such an important moment, that person was not there.

The news spread quickly.

Cai Die was the first to rush into the courtyard, carefully touching her slightly protruding belly, her eyes reddening.

Yun Yun rushed over from the cultivation room, carrying a box of medicinal herbs to help with pregnancy.

Cao Ying worked through the night to refine seven kinds of nourishing pills.

The Little Fairy Doctor stayed by her side for three days and three nights, never leaving her side.

Even Zi Yan, who was always searching for medicinal herbs in the deep mountains, held a strange fruit she had found somewhere and waited eagerly at the door.

However, as her pregnancy progressed, she found that her cultivation level was increasing more and more slowly.