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

He slightly opened his eyes, a hint of coldness flashing across them. The newcomer exuded an arrogant aura, showing no intention of restraint. "In that case," he thought, "let them learn some manners first."

Su Baichen did not get up, but simply pointed lightly at the sky above the courtyard.

Om-!

An invisible ripple suddenly spread out from the courtyard, and countless intricate and mysterious array patterns flashed in the void, instantly transforming into a net that covered half of the inner courtyard.

The formation activated silently, subtly separating this space from the outside world, awaiting the intrusion of the "guests".

In the distance, dozens of dark figures streaked through the air at incredible speed, carrying with them the ancient and noble aura unique to the ancient race.

The leaders were even more arrogant, completely unaware of the subtle anomalies in the space ahead, and plunged headlong into the invisible array territory.

"Commander Lingquan, wait!" In the group, a middle-aged Dou Zong with a calm face and sharp eyes suddenly frowned and raised his hand to stop himself.

"There are unusual spatial fluctuations ahead, quite subtle, which may be suspicious."

Upon hearing this, the young man called Lingquan scoffed and waved his hand dismissively: "Uncle, you're being too cautious. This barren land of the Northwest Continent, the tiny place of Canaan Academy, what could possibly threaten my Ancient Clan's Black Annihilation Army? It's just ordinary spatial turbulence."

Ling Quan, the newly appointed deputy commander of the Black Annihilation Army of the Ancient Clan, is only a Dou Huang in strength, but he was able to assume this position due to the favor of certain connections within the clan.

"Within the clan, he had to restrain himself because his talent was not top-notch, but once he came to this so-called outside world, he could no longer suppress his arrogance that had been suppressed for so long."

What's more, he also harbored a burning desire in his heart—the one he was going to bring back was the clan leader's daughter, the true pride of the ancient clan, Miss Xun'er!

If one could seize this opportunity to make a name for oneself, and even gain some favor from the young lady... wouldn't the future be bright?

Alas, he was still young and inexperienced.

[Lingquan is a child with decent talent, but his temperament... is too impetuous and arrogant.]

Gu Zhen, whom Lingquan called "Second Uncle," shook his head and sighed inwardly upon seeing this.

As Lingquan's second uncle, he had struggled in the clan for many years, relying not only on his strength, but also on his almost instinctive sense of crisis honed from countless brushes with death.

The unease I feel at this moment is far more real than what I see with my eyes.

He hesitated for a moment, then decided to trust his intuition and turned to seek the opinions of the two Dou Zun powerhouses who were truly in charge of the trip.

However, this turn of his head caused his pupils to suddenly contract!

Behind him, apart from him and Lingquan who was still dreaming beside him, there was nothing else!

The dozens of elite Black Annihilation Army soldiers who were just following closely behind, along with the two Dou Zun masters, seemed to have evaporated into thin air, leaving no trace or aura behind!

"Lingquan! Stop!" Gu Zhen shouted sharply, his voice carrying an unprecedented solemnity.

"What's wrong, Second Uncle? We're almost at the inner courtyard, you..." Lingquan was interrupted from his thoughts and turned his head impatiently. He stopped mid-sentence.

He stared wide-eyed at the empty void behind him, and the color drained from his face.

"Where is everyone else?! What... what's going on?!"

"We've been tricked and trapped in some kind of sophisticated spatial formation!" Gu Zhen quickly calmed down, secretly gathering his fighting spirit, and his sharp eyes swept across the seemingly calm void like those of a hawk.

"The visitors are ill-intentioned and their methods are unpredictable."

"What? How dare you scheme against my ancient clan!" Ling Quan was first shocked, then a surge of anger rose to his head.

His long-held sense of superiority made him subconsciously believe that in this corner of the continent, no one dared to truly oppose the ancient race.

He took a sudden step forward and shouted sharply into the surrounding void:

"Who dares to use such treacherous tricks to ambush my ancient clan!"

"I am Ling Quan, commander of the Ancient Clan's Black Annihilation Army! If you know what's good for you, immediately dismantle the formation, kneel down and beg for forgiveness, and I might consider a lenient punishment! Otherwise, the wrath of the Ancient Clan will surely annihilate you, body and soul!"

Gu Zhen, who was listening from the side, was dumbfounded, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

He had lived for so many years and weathered many storms, but he had never seen such a... "straightforward" fool!

In a bizarre formation where friend and foe are unclear and the depth of the enemy is unknown, how dare they so arrogantly announce their identity and utter threats? Do they want to die even faster?

We are not afraid that the other party will kill us to silence us in order to protect themselves!

The thought that her peaceful retirement and peaceful old age might be ruined by this foolish nephew made Gu Zhen's anger flare up.

He could no longer care about anything else; in a flash, he swung his arm in a wide arc—

Snapped--!

A crisp, resounding slap landed squarely on Ling Quan's face, silencing his unfinished rant.

"Ah! That bastard! How dare he..." Lingquan covered her instantly swollen cheek, turned her head and looked, both shocked and furious.

"Second, Second Uncle! Why...why did you hit me!"

"Hit you? I'd love to slap you awake!" Gu Zhen was so angry that his beard was trembling as he lowered his voice and shouted.

"I'm your second uncle? I think you're the one who's my second uncle! You're good for nothing and good for nothing! Can't you see what's going on? And you still dare to shout like that! Are you trying to kill us, uncle and nephew?"

After finishing his rant, Gu Zhen took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger. He straightened his robes, solemnly clasped his hands towards the void, and said loudly, "May I ask which senior is cultivating here? I am Gu Zhen of the Gu Clan, passing through this place with my nephew Ling Quan. If we have caused any disturbance, please forgive us! I apologize here!"

He adopted an extremely humble posture and spoke with utmost respect, a stark contrast to Lingquan's earlier arrogance.

At the same time, he secretly circulated his fighting spirit to its limit, his mind was extremely tense, and he carefully sensed every slight change around him.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, a clear, calm voice, tinged with a hint of amusement, seemed to ring out simultaneously from all directions, echoing softly in their ears:

"Oh? The ancient people... aren't all mindless brutes, at least one of them knows a bit of manners."

Hearing the voices, Lingquan, still feeling ashamed and angry from the slap, and with his original arrogance resurfacing, forgot the lesson he had just learned and, with his neck stiff, tried to speak again: "You cowardly rat hiding its head and tail..."

Before the word "generation" could even be uttered, a sudden change occurred!

Boom—!

The once peaceful array space was suddenly illuminated by blinding lightning without warning!

Several bolts of silver lightning, as thick as buckets, condensed instantly from nothingness like whips of divine punishment, carrying a destructive and violent aura as they struck down towards Ling Quan!

Too fast! So fast that he didn't have time to make any effective reaction, and he couldn't even use the simplest defensive measures such as his battle aura armor.

"what--!"

Lingquan only had time to let out a short scream before he was completely engulfed by the bolts of lightning.

Chapter 242 Xun'er Leaves!

Blinding electric light leaped and exploded wildly on his body, each strike tearing his skin and causing his body to convulse violently, with wisps of black smoke rising up along with the smell of burning.

The lightning seemed to be very measured, only injuring the skin, flesh, and bones without directly taking his life. However, the immense power and pain contained within it made Lingquan instantly understand what it meant to be worse than dead.

Gu Zhen watched from the sidelines, his scalp tingling with fear, his heart filled with turmoil!

The lightning appeared without warning, and its power was so exquisitely controlled that it was clear the array master's control over the formation and its power had reached a state of perfection.

This "senior's" strength far exceeded his imagination!

Seeing Lingquan screaming in agony amidst the lightning, his life rapidly fading, Gu Zhen dared not hesitate any longer. He bowed deeply once more, his voice filled with earnestness and reverence: "Senior, please calm your anger! My nephew has been spoiled since childhood and lacks discipline. It was truly an unintentional mistake; he offended you with his careless words!"

"We humbly beg you, senior, to show mercy and spare him this time! The entire ancient clan will forever remember your great kindness!"

Perhaps it was Gu Zhen's sincere attitude that had an effect, or perhaps the purpose of the punishment had been achieved.

As expected, the raging silver lightning gradually weakened and dissipated after Gu Zhen finished speaking.

Lingquan, whose body was charred black, whose clothes were tattered, and who was limp on the ground convulsing, finally stopped screaming and only let out a weak groan.

Seeing this, Gu Zhen secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but his vigilance was raised to the highest level.

He carefully straightened his slightly disheveled robes, straightened his body, and bowed deeply in the most likely direction from the void, using the most solemn ancient clan etiquette. His tone was solemn and respectful: "Senior's supernatural powers are truly admirable."

"I am Gu Zhen of the Ancient Clan. I have come to Canaan Academy on the orders of my clan leader. I have important business to attend to. It was purely coincidental that I entered your formation by mistake. I had no intention of offending you."

"We implore you, senior, for the sake of our ancient clan, to do us a favor, remove the formation, and let us leave. Our ancient clan is by no means ungrateful; we will surely repay this kindness in the future!"

Inside the room, Su Baichen's gaze pierced through layers of space, landing on the two people in the formation.

He glanced at the polite and cautious Gu Zhen and the charred-faced Ling Quan, sighing inwardly.

[The old man is shrewd; his rhetoric is indeed flawless. He revealed his ancient clan identity and the clan leader's orders, yet remained silent about the specific tasks...]

More importantly, this guy didn't dare utter a single word of "Please show yourself, senior" from beginning to end, probably because he was afraid I would try to silence him.

Every change in expression and every fluctuation in the aura of the uncle and nephew was clearly perceptible to him.

dong dong dong-

A knock on the door broke the tense silence.

"Big brother, it's me, Xun'er."

The voice from outside the door trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly. Su Baichen's gaze swept over the two people in the formation, his expression unchanged, and he calmly replied, "Come in."

The door opened slightly, and Xun'er walked in slowly.

She didn't look at Su Baichen immediately, but kept her head down and didn't speak. Her usual lively spirit seemed somewhat dim at this moment.

"Big brother, I... have to go," she said softly, her fingertips unconsciously twisting her sleeve.

“I know,” Su Baichen replied almost without hesitation.

Xun'er suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with astonishment: "Huh?"

She hasn't mentioned this to anyone, not even her brother Xiao Yan. How could he...?

"Your family has come to pick you up." Su Baichen said calmly, as if stating something perfectly ordinary.

"Huh?" Xun'er was startled again.

"Here's what happened... Just now..." Su Baichen calmly recounted everything that had occurred.

From how Lingquan made his arrogant remarks, to how he activated the formation to trap the two of them, to how Lingquan's defiant shouts attracted heavenly lightning, and finally to Gu Zhen's smooth, cautious, and watertight words.

As she narrated, Xun'er's expression gradually darkened. She felt an undisguised disgust for Lingquan.

[This newly promoted Ling Quan has truly disgraced the ancient clan! He lacks any composure or calmness whatsoever, only knowing how to act arrogantly and domineeringly relying on the family's prestige.]

As for Gu Zhen, although he's a bit slick, his ability to handle situations is quite appropriate. Perhaps he could be put in charge of more external liaison and negotiation matters upon our return.

(If Gu Zhen could hear these thoughts, he would probably be heartbroken: "My dear young lady, I only wish for a peaceful retirement, but with your words, my retirement day seems to be a long way off...")

"Big brother, please let them go." Xun'er turned to Su Baichen, her tone sincere, even tinged with a hint of apology.

"It was our people who were rude. Xun'er apologizes on their behalf."