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

In the White Dust Realm, inside Su Baichen's study.

Cai Lin walked to Su Baichen's side and said softly, "You're clearly worried, why pretend to be so calm?"

Su Baichen looked into the distance and whispered, "A fledgling eagle must leave the nest to soar through the heavens. How far she can go depends on her own destiny."

Cai Lin asked, "And what about you?"

What exactly is this "important matter" you mentioned?

Chapter 374 Four-in-One Cultivation!

Cai Lin's beautiful eyes were fixed on Su Baichen, her gaze so sharp it seemed to pierce his soul. She wanted to know what exactly this "important matter" her man was talking about was.

Su Baichen met her gaze, and after a moment, he sighed softly, a sigh that carried a hint of helplessness and a sense of heaviness.

"You should be able to guess how strong I am now, right?" Su Baichen asked.

Cai Lin pondered for a moment. The occasional aura that Su Baichen had revealed over the past six months had already given her a clue: "Nine-star Dou Sheng late stage, right?"

“Yes, but that’s not all.” Su Baichen’s voice slowly echoed in the study.

"I am not only a late-stage Nine-Star Dou Sheng, but I also possess Emperor-level soul power, control ninety percent of the spatial laws, and my physical body has reached the strength of a mid-level Dou Sheng."

"what!"

Cai Lin's pupils suddenly contracted, and even with her composure, she couldn't help but take a half step back, her slender hand gripping the table beside her.

She had speculated countless times about the depths of her husband's character, but she never imagined the truth would be so horrifying.

Nine-star Dou Sheng late stage! Emperor-level soul! Ninety percent of spatial laws! Mid-level Dou Sheng physique!

Any one of these four qualities is enough to make a person stand out among all others on the Dou Qi Continent.

But Su Baichen—her husband—possesses all four qualities in one person.

Battle aura, soul, laws, and physique, all in one, this is beyond the description of "strongman"; this is a true existence standing at the pinnacle.

“You…” Cai Lin’s voice trembled slightly, and for a moment she didn’t know what to say.

Su Baichen smiled faintly at her reaction: "It can be said that in the current Dou Qi Continent, if we only talk about one-on-one combat, apart from Uncle Zhukun, no one can reliably defeat me. Even the Soul Emperor can only fight me to a draw at most."

Cai Lin took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. But a question immediately arose in her mind, prompting her to ask, "If that's the case, why not unite all forces and wipe out the Soul Clan in one fell swoop?"

"You helped Senior Zhukun escape his predicament, and Zhukun will help you in return. With you and Gu Yuan joining forces, surely the three of us, all at the late stage of Nine-Star Dou Sheng, can't eliminate this cancer?"

Su Baichen looked at her, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

"I know what you're going to ask."

Su Baichen spoke first: "Are you wondering why I don't unite with all parties and directly wage war against the Soul Clan?"

Cai Lin nodded. In her opinion, if Su Baichen was willing, Zhu Kun would definitely help, and Gu Yuan was also very likely to lend a hand.

With three late-stage Nine-Star Dou Sheng joining forces, even the Soul Clan, with their extraordinary abilities, could not escape annihilation.

No, you're oversimplifying things.

Su Baichen shook his head, walked to the window, looked at the distant horizon, and said, "First of all, let's talk about the ancient clans—I don't trust Gu Yuan, and I don't trust the entire ancient clans even more."

(Gu Yuan glared and puffed out his beard: You little brat, is your future father-in-law really that bad in your eyes?)

"The destruction of the Xiao clan serves as a warning from the past."

Su Baichen's voice grew cold as he said, "Gu Yuan swore brotherhood with Xiao Xuan back then, but where was the Gu Clan when the Xiao Clan was in trouble? They could even sit idly by and do nothing for their sworn brothers, so why should I believe they would genuinely help me?"

Su Baichen paused for a moment, then continued, "Moreover, even if Gu Yuan himself were willing, he might not be able to mobilize the entire Gu clan."

"Within the ancient clan, there are many factions among the elders. Gu Yuan, the clan leader, may seem noble, but in reality, he is constrained at every turn. If the entire clan were to wage war against the Soul Clan, would those old guys agree?"

Cai Lin fell silent. She had once been the queen of the snake people and knew all too well the cruelty of power struggles.

A leader who cannot fully control his own power is often the most unreliable ally in critical moments.

"I don't want to become the second Xiao Xuan," Su Baichen said finally, his tone calm, yet every word was as cold as ice.

Cai Lin sighed softly and nodded.

[Gu Yuan is a truly incompetent clan leader.]

She thought to herself: "Even with the strength of a late-stage Nine-Star Dou Sheng, I still can't fully wield power. Although I was restrained by the elders in the Snake-People clan back then, that was because I lacked strength. If I had this level of cultivation, who in the clan would dare to oppose me? Those cruel clan rules could be abolished at will—after all, I'm the strongest!"

Su Baichen seemed to see through her thoughts and continued, "Furthermore, Uncle Zhukun, the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan is indeed powerful. If we join forces, we may indeed be able to destroy the Soul Clan."

"But what will be the cost? Even if we don't fight in the Soul Clan's stronghold, we will still suffer heavy losses."

He turned around, his gaze sharp: "And if the battlefield is within the Soul Realm... I don't believe that the Soul Clan, after ten thousand years of cultivation, would have no trump cards."

"The remnant soul of a Dou Di, an ancient formation, a forbidden secret technique—if the Soul Emperor is driven to a dead end, he is capable of anything. At that time, even if Zhu Kun and I join forces, we may not be able to escape unscathed."

Cai Lin was alarmed, but she had to admit that Su Baichen's concerns were reasonable.

The fact that the Soul Clan became the most mysterious and dangerous of the eight ancient clans was no accident.

She looked up, a flash of understanding in her eyes, and said, "So you must already have a foolproof plan, right?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Cai Lin realized that it was inappropriate—asking about such a confidential matter so directly was really overstepping her bounds.

"No, I didn't mean anything by it, please don't misunderstand..." she quickly explained, her tone unusually flustered.

Seeing her helpless expression, Su Baichen couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Su Baichen chuckled and said, "Why are you panicking? I never said I didn't believe you."

"Oh..." Cai Lin felt a warmth in her heart, which spread from her chest to her limbs and bones.

She knew how precious this unreserved trust was in the treacherous world of Dou Qi Continent.

Su Baichen walked up to her, his expression solemn: "Actually, the plan has already begun. Do you remember... those 'Spirit Devouring Arrays'?"

"The Soul Devouring Array? The one set up by the Soul Palace?" Cai Lin was taken aback, then thought of the array she had discovered in the Soul Palace before.

“Yes, it’s the array that the Soul Palace secretly set up.” Su Baichen nodded, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"But I have already revealed the Soul Devouring Array to the ancient clans."

Cai Lin's pupils contracted slightly: "You want to use the ancient clans to eliminate these evil formations?"

“Not bad.” Su Baichen sneered.

"The Soul Emperor intends to sacrifice the living beings of Central Plains through the Soul Devouring Array to increase the chances of winning the final battle."

“I’m determined to cut off his path. Once the ancient clans receive the news, they will have to take action to eliminate him, whether out of morality or self-preservation. In this way, the Soul Palace’s years of preparations will be destroyed.”

“But the Heavenly Emperor of Souls will not let this go easily,” Cai Lin whispered.

“That’s the key.” A cold glint flashed in Su Baichen’s eyes.

"Based on my understanding of the Soul Emperor, he is ruthless and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. With the Soul Devouring Array destroyed, he will definitely activate the backup plan—and those plans often require even more cruel sacrifices."

He took a step closer, lowering his voice even further: "Now that the ancient clans are on guard, it has become much more difficult for the Soul Emperor to make sacrifices to outsiders. So, guess... who he will turn his sacrifices to?"

Cai Lin fell into deep thought.

If the Soul Clan cannot obtain enough life essence from the outside, then the only source is...

Chapter 375 Compressing the Lottery Scope!

Inside Su Baichen's study, Cai Lin unconsciously stroked the rim of a teacup with her fingertips.

After a long silence, she managed to squeeze out a sentence from deep in her throat, her voice trembling without her even realizing it: "The Soul Emperor... will he shift the focus of the sacrifices to his own clan?"

Su Baichen did not answer, but simply gazed at her quietly; that silence itself was the answer.

"How is this possible!" Cai Lin suddenly stood up, her sleeve knocking over the teacup. Dark brown tea stains spread across the table, like some kind of ominous sign.

"Even tigers don't eat their cubs, how could he take his own people—"

"Because what he wants is never the prosperity of a clan, but the emperorship of one person. As long as he becomes emperor, the Soul Clan can be rebuilt!" Su Baichen's voice was terrifyingly calm, and every word was like an ice pick, piercing Cai Lin's cognition.

"Senior Zhukun has guarded the ancient Tuoshe Emperor's cave for thousands of years. He knows there is a pill inside. It is a nascent Emperor-grade pill—although it is only a semi-finished product, it already contains the true source energy of an Emperor."

"The Soul Emperor has been planning this for a hundred years, and now he has begun to collect the Tuoshe Ancient Jade in order to open the Ancient Emperor's Cave."

"When he gets his hands on this half-finished Emperor-grade embryonic pill, to ensure everything goes perfectly, guess how he'll perfect it, what he'll sacrifice to complete it!"

He paused, the candlelight flickering in his eyes: "And at that point, what could be more perfect in catalyzing this pill than the Soul Clan, whose bloodline and cultivation methods are of the same origin?"

Cai Lin felt a chill run down her spine. She suddenly remembered the rumors of the Soul Palace frantically collecting souls on the continent over the years, and the sects that had been slaughtered and the powerful figures that had disappeared.

If the Soul Palace is this crazy, the Soul Clan will only be even crazier. So it's not surprising that the Soul Clan's leader, the Soul Emperor, would go to such lengths to become an emperor.

Cai Lin, recalling Su Baichen's words, looked up at him and said, "So that's why you told the Ancient Clan about the Soul Devouring Array, forcing the Soul Emperor to turn the sacrifice into the Soul Clan themselves?"

Su Baichen didn't speak, but simply nodded silently.

The air in the study seemed to freeze, utterly silent.

Cai Lin sat down again, her fingers digging deeply into her palms.

“A madman,” she whispered, her voice a mixture of fear, anger, and a barely perceptible hint of admiration—awe of the Soul Emperor’s extreme madness.

“So we have to wait.” Su Baichen walked behind her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"When he personally severs his last ties and the Soul Clan makes their sacrifice, the Emperor-grade embryonic core will undergo its final transformation. That will be his most focused and most vulnerable moment, and that will be our only chance."

Cai Lin turned around and looked up at him: "But what if he succeeds? A true Dou Di, who on this continent can stand against him?"

Their eyes met, and Su Baichen's eyes reflected the candlelight and her face.

After a long silence, he slowly spoke: "Then I must also become a Dou Di."

A seemingly casual remark sent a shiver down Cai Lin's spine.

She suddenly realized that when her husband said those words, there were no grand pronouncements or passionate fervor, only an almost indifferent certainty—as if it were not a vow, but a preordained fact.

"What is your method?" Cai Lin asked hesitantly.

Su Baichen remained silent for a moment, a rare occurrence.

He walked to the window and opened it.

The sky had darkened without us even noticing, and the night breeze carried the fragrance of flowers in.

In the distance, a few stars twinkled through the gaps in the clouds.