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

Cai Die had already harbored deep feelings for Su Baichen.

That ethereal man not only possessed a captivating appearance, but also owed her a debt of gratitude that changed the fate of her and the entire snake-people race.

He was strong, gentle, and omnipotent, almost fulfilling all her ideal fantasies about a partner. That gratitude and admiration had quietly transformed into affection and love in their daily interactions.

However, the difference in their social status stood like an invisible chasm in her heart.

She always felt that she was just a little maidservant by his side, how could she dare to have any improper thoughts? She carefully hid her feelings, hoping that she could just stay by his side silently.

But now, Cao Ying's words have awakened her. Sister Cailin is equally proud and ambitious, yet she dares to take the initiative.

Xuan Yi, one of the three giants of the Pill Tower, is of noble status and has the opportunity to form a bond with the young master. If she continues to be timid and hesitant, will she truly be forever destined to be a maidservant who stands at a distance, looking up at him?

That deep-seated longing, like wild grass touched by the spring breeze, began to grow wildly.

"I...can I really do it?" Cai Die murmured to herself, two blushes rising on her pretty face. She felt both shy and an unprecedented impulse surging within her.

Looking at the quirky and clever Cao Ying in front of her, she suddenly felt that what this little girl said might actually make some sense.

In the vortex of emotions, a seed called "striving" quietly sprouted.

……

Meanwhile, at the other end of the castle, Su Baichen, who had just returned to his room, suddenly sneezed.

"Um, who's thinking about me?"

He was completely unaware of the turmoil that was about to be stirred in another girl's heart.

Su Baichen had just finished preparing everything needed to refine the Colorful Scale Flame.

Various rare medicinal materials were neatly arranged in the jade box, and array runes shimmered faintly on the ground, preparing for the weakened period after Cai Lin's successful tribulation.

He let out a soft breath. This preparation had taken a lot of effort, but the fusion and transformation that followed would ultimately depend on Cai Lin's own will and destiny.

"It's finally over..." He thought to himself, then remembered that he hadn't paid attention to his quirky disciple for several days: "By the way, that girl Cao Ying, I haven't seen her for the past few days. I wonder what level she's reached in her cultivation. I hope she's not slacking off again."

A smile unconsciously crept onto Su Baichen's lips as he raised his hand, intending to tear open the space in front of him to investigate.

Just then, a slightly aged yet remarkably steady voice came from behind, carrying just the right amount of respect:

"Mr. Su, please wait. We have received news regarding the matter you previously instructed us to discuss."

Su Baichen paused, turned around at the sound, and saw the second elder of the snake-people standing a few steps away, bowing slightly.

The old man had a gaunt face, and his serpentine eyes gleamed with a restrained brilliance. His aura was completely concealed.

Upon seeing it was him, a sense of understanding flashed through Su Baichen's mind.

His feelings toward this Second Elder were quite complicated. This elder was undoubtedly one of the few wise men in the Snake-People tribe, who knew how to assess the situation and was the tribe's true strategist.

Before Cai Lin completely controlled the Snake-People race, it was this Second Elder who, through his skill and prestige, secretly controlled nearly half of the Snake-People's power. Yet, once the situation was settled, he swiftly withdrew his influence and devoted himself to assisting them. He was a wise and shrewd man who knew when to yield.

"Oh?" Su Baichen turned around, temporarily suppressing the urge to see his disciple, and asked in a calm tone, "What news has caused the Second Elder to come in person?"

Chapter 49 The Appearance of Yun Yun!

During this period, Su Baichen did indeed explain a lot of things, all sorts of things. Now, when Su Baichen thinks about them now, it's like looking through a thin fog, all blurry and unclear.

The Second Elder was taken aback for a moment upon seeing this, but quickly composed himself and respectfully replied, "Uh, it's...it's about the ransom!"

"Ransom?" Su Baichen raised an eyebrow, the word seemingly touching a corner deep in his memory.

Seeing this, the Second Elder quickly explained in detail: "Yes, Mr. Su. Do you remember? A while ago, the Jia Ma Empire and the Chu Yun Empire, along with some surrounding forces, took advantage of our search for the Strange Flame and sent a lot of people deep into the Tagor Desert with unclear intentions. As a result, most of them were discovered and captured, including several Dou Wang level experts."

He paused, stealing a glance at Su Baichen's expression. Seeing that the other seemed to remember something, he continued, "At that time, you instructed us to have these captured people write back, asking their respective forces to pay a huge sum of gold coins to ransom them."

"As you instructed, we have had most of the prisoners write their letters, and responses have been received from all sides."

"This is the current list of all prisoners in custody, along with the preliminary ransom amount. Please take a look."

As he spoke, the Second Elder took out a finely crafted animal hide list from the storage ring on his finger, held it with both hands, and respectfully handed it to Su Baichen.

Su Baichen looked at the list handed to him and suddenly remembered everything.

That's right, it was indeed his order. The reason was simple: his mysterious "system shop" was filled with a dazzling array of cultivation techniques, fighting skills, elixirs, divine weapons, and even all sorts of strange and wonderful treasures, all requiring gold coins as the currency.

His previous personal savings were simply a drop in the ocean compared to the astonishing prices in the mall.

Upon learning that the Snake-People had detained many spies from human empires and various forces, including powerful figures like the Battle King who could dominate certain areas, he immediately realized that this was an excellent opportunity to "generate revenue."

Those powerful factions, eager to redeem their experts and key members, would surely be willing to spend a fortune in gold. Therefore, he proposed this "letter of redemption" plan to the Second Elder, who was in charge of the matter.

However, his attention was later completely drawn to the evolution of Queen Medusa's Rainbow Scales, and he forgot about the matter.

If the Second Elder hadn't brought it up today, he probably wouldn't have remembered until the gold coins were delivered to his door.

"Yes, thank you for your help, Second Elder. You've done a good job." Su Baichen took the list, his tone calm. He was never stingy with rewards for his capable subordinates.

He casually took out two small jade bottles from his storage ring, and handed them over without even looking at them: "Here are some little trinkets, take them and use them."

The Second Elder subconsciously took the jade bottle, uncorked it, and took a gentle sniff. The rich medicinal fragrance instantly filled the air, invigorating him.

Although he wasn't an alchemist, he still had some knowledge and immediately judged that these were at least grade five pills! And he gave away two of them!

As for whether it was the "Battle Spirit Pill" that enhances battle qi, the "Rejuvenating Purple Spirit Pill" that heals injuries, or some other precious pill, he was too overwhelmed by the immense surprise to discern the exact nature of it.

A fifth-grade elixir!

For the snake people, this is an extremely rare and precious treasure!

The snake people have a constitution that is cold and are not naturally compatible with fire, but alchemy is inseparable from the control of fire.

This resulted in the snake-people being unable to produce alchemists. In the past, the pills they needed were all obtained by exchanging huge sums of rare medicinal herbs or minerals with human alchemists, often at the mercy of the other party and suffering all kinds of exploitation.

In the clan's storeroom, countless medicinal herbs lose their medicinal properties because they cannot be processed in time, and end up gathering dust or even being discarded.

Nowadays, Mr. Su casually rewards two Rank 5 pills, and his generosity makes the Second Elder's heart pound with excitement.

He was originally in charge of many miscellaneous tasks within the clan. For minor matters like submitting lists, he could usually just send a capable subordinate over.

But considering that this was something Mr. Su had specifically instructed him to do, and fearing that his subordinates might make a mistake due to carelessness, thus displeasing this unfathomable and important person, he decided to make the trip himself.

Unexpectedly, this trivial errand he ran brought him such a generous reward!

The Second Elder gripped the jade bottle tightly, as if holding the light of hope for the future of the Serpent People. He bowed deeply, his tone filled with unprecedented gratitude and awe: "Thank you for your generous gift, Mr. Su! I will obey any orders you may give, even at the cost of my life! If there are any changes to the list, or if the ransom arrives, I will come to report immediately. If there are no other instructions, I will take my leave now."

Su Baichen waved his hand casually: "Okay, go down."

"Yes, yes! I will obey your orders, sir!"

The Second Elder responded repeatedly, bowed again, and then carefully backed out of the main hall. He turned and left only at the door, his steps light with excitement.

After the Second Elder left, the temple returned to tranquility.

Su Baichen then leisurely unfolded the animal hide list. The list was quite meticulously made, listing not only the names of the prisoners, their affiliations, and the locations of their capture, but also their strength levels and the preliminary ransom amount.

His gaze slowly swept over a series of names, some unfamiliar and some vaguely known.

"Mu Chen...is he from the Mu family of the Jia Ma Empire? A three-star Dou Wang, the ransom must be considerable."

“Feng Li…is also from the Jia Ma Empire, and seems to have quite a reputation. It’s worth the price.”

The list is long, involving dozens of figures from the Gama Empire, the Izumo Empire, and several surrounding small kingdoms and sects.

As Su Baichen looked at the items, he silently assessed in his mind what good things he could exchange for in the system shop after these gold coins were deposited into the treasury.

Perhaps we could give Cai Lin a cultivation technique that's more suitable for her current Seven-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python physique? Or maybe we could find her some interesting gadgets?

Just as his thoughts were wandering, his gaze inadvertently fell on a name in the middle of the list.

At first, he didn't pay attention, but the next second, the name exploded in his mind like a thunderclap, causing him to stop tapping on the armrest abruptly and sit up straight involuntarily.

Yunyun?!

Su Baichen almost thought he was seeing things. He steadied himself and looked closely—yes, it was written in black and white, clearly stating: Yun Yun, a disciple of the Yunlan Sect, a five-star Dou Wang, was captured on the eastern edge of the Tagor Desert…

"Holy crap! Are you kidding me? How could Yun Yun, the future sect leader of Yunlan Sect, be here?!" Su Baichen exclaimed inwardly, his face showing undisguised shock.

Su Baichen had a rather complicated impression of Yun Yun.

Well, this is a character with a tragic fate, one that evokes pity. Born into the Yunlan Sect, she was originally a favored daughter of heaven, but she suffered betrayal from her master Yunshan, the destruction of her sect, and her love affair with Xiao Yan was fraught with difficulties, ultimately ending in unrequited love and her departure to a distant land.

Although he later met Hua Yu, the sect leader of the Flower Sect, by chance in Zhongzhou and inherited his life's fighting spirit and the position of sect leader, which can be considered a great fortune, his life was always tinged with a tragic color.

“Based on this timeline…” Su Baichen stroked his chin, lost in thought: “That kid Xiao Yan should have already transmigrated by now. It’s probably still… fifteen years before Yun Yun met the young Xiao Yan in the Monster Mountain Range?”

His gaze fell once again on the "Five-Star Fighting King" label on the list, and he couldn't help but shake his head slightly.

"In fifteen years, he has risen from a five-star Dou Wang to a three-star Dou Huang... This cultivation speed, in the vicinity of the Jia Ma Empire in the Northwest Continent, might be considered a genius, barely ranking in the upper-middle range."

"But if you put it in the Central Plains, a place where heroes rise up and geniuses emerge in great numbers, it really wouldn't be good enough. At best, it would be considered average, or even lower-class."

Thinking of this, Su Baichen couldn't help but picture his apprentice, Cao Ying.

He is known for his terrifying talent in alchemy and his rapid cultivation.

"That girl Cao Ying, when she was in her early twenties, she was probably already a Dou Zong cultivator and could refine eighth-grade pills, right? She is a true prodigy."

"Compared to her, Yunyun is indeed on a completely different level, both in terms of talent and ultimate achievement."

Chapter 50 The Heartless Yunshan

Although Su Baichen felt sympathy for Yun Yun's life experiences, what troubled him more than her tragic life was why she was in the snake-people's dungeon.

Moreover, Yun Yun's name was prominently listed in the "not applied for return" column on that list!

She doesn't want to go back?

how can that be!

With Yun Yun's talent, she is among the top in the Yunlan Sect. If she stays in the sect, she will receive the full support of Yunshan and the sect's resources, and her future is limitless.

From any perspective, Yunshan had no reason to give up on such a disciple with unlimited potential.

The mystery surrounding this place, like an invisible thread, drew Su Baichen's thoughts, making him deeply interested in the reason why Yun Yun appeared here.

"Someone come here!" Su Baichen called out towards the door.

"Mr. Su, what are your orders?" The maid waiting outside the door entered respectfully.

"What's the story behind Yun Yun? How much do you know?"

Upon hearing this, the maid thought for a moment and replied, "Mr. Su, I don't know much. I only know that she was captured by the Second Elder and the Third Elder."