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

Her hair was slightly disheveled, her cheeks were flushed with emotion, and she was muttering to herself.

"I've made it so obvious, so clear, why won't you even glance at me a few more times!"

The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, so she simply sat up and bit the pillow hard.

"Playing dumb! All you do is play dumb!"

Just then, from the previously empty shadows behind him, a deep, smiling voice suddenly came, very close:

"Oh? Who is it that doesn't look at our Xue'er a few more times?"

"Of course it's Su—"

Jin Xueer subconsciously tried to speak, but her words stopped abruptly at the last second.

The hairs on her body stood on end instantly, and a chill ran from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head.

This sound...something's not right!

It looks familiar, it seems like—

She stiffly, slowly, turned her head away.

When her gaze fell upon that handsome face so close to hers, with a half-smile, Jin Xue'er's mind went blank. She was so frightened that her soul almost left her body, her legs went weak, and she fell backward onto the bed with a thud.

"what--!"

The scream was short and sharp.

When she realized that the person who came was indeed Su Baichen, she barely managed to suppress her fear, which turned into shame, anger, and exasperation.

She got up angrily, like a cat with its fur standing on end, and rushed to Su Baichen in a few steps, tilting her head up so that her nose almost touched his chin.

"Su Baichen! Are you crazy?! You came in without saying a word, did you scare me to death?!"

She widened her eyes, trying to overwhelm the other person with her imposing presence beyond her height, in order to cover up her earlier loss of composure.

However, the standoff lasted only a few breaths. Her bluffing not only failed to sway Su Baichen in the slightest, but she also deflated first and quietly took a half step back.

"What...what do you want to do?"

Jin Xueer finally realized that something was very wrong.

The man in front of me was too calm, frighteningly calm.

That calm was not gentle, but a profound, almost indifferent calm that came from a complete understanding of everything.

Based on her years of "observation" of Su Baichen and her understanding gained through "certain" privileges, this state meant that he had seen through something that shouldn't have been seen through and was scrutinizing her.

Su Baichen did not answer, but only slightly raised the corners of his lips, his eyes staring at her like an abyss, as if examining an old object that had been lost and found, or as if scrutinizing a long-hidden secret.

"Bai Chen, don't look at me like that... I'm a little scared."

Jin Xueer's voice was weak, and she took another half step back, her back pressed against the bedpost.

"Jin Xue'er." Su Baichen called softly, his voice so gentle, yet it struck her heart like a heavy hammer.

"Master! I'm here! I'm here!" Jin Xue'er shuddered, a tingling sensation running down her spine. Almost reflexively, she straightened her back and lowered her head even further.

"I'm going to ask you a question, and you must answer truthfully." Su Baichen raised his hand, his five fingers clenched, and in an instant, a vast and boundless spatial power spread out like a tide, completely sealing off the entire room inside and out.

An invisible barrier was formed, making it difficult for ghosts and gods to enter or leave without his permission.

Jin Xue'er felt the suffocating pressure in the air, her face turned pale, and she said in a trembling voice, "Master...please ask."

Su Baichen lowered his head, took a deep breath, and when he looked up again, his gaze was like a torch, piercing straight into her soul: "Xue'er, you should... know about the existence of the 'System', right?"

Jin Xueer's heart skipped a beat, as if something had fallen from a great height, causing her to be shaken violently.

She nodded, forcing back her panic, and whispered, "Um... I know."

Lying? In front of Su Baichen, who already possesses the perception of an Emperor and has even attained the Dou Di realm through spatial proficiency, any lie would seem pale and laughable.

"Do you know where it went?"

Su Baichen's question followed immediately, his gaze fixed on her, not missing any subtle change in her face.

"Huh? The system...didn't it disappear a long time ago? I didn't know..."

Jin Xueer tried her best to suppress her panic, her eyes darting around, attempting to deceive everyone.

Su Baichen was silent for a moment, then spoke in a calm yet unwavering tone that was utterly despairing: "But I know."

"Or rather, it never really disappeared."

He took a step forward, closing in on Jin Xue'er completely, and said, word by word, "It has simply changed its form of existence, from lines of cold code and rules to the flesh-and-blood, emotional being standing before me now...you."

"It's you, Xue'er."

This is not a question, but a statement, a verdict.

Before Jin Xue'er could offer any excuses or denials, Su Baichen continued, a hint of reminiscence and sharpness flashing in his eyes: "Moreover, from the moment I realized this possibility, I had already begun to plan and test the waters."

“I opened more than a hundred blind boxes in a row before, and deliberately did not call out the name of ‘system’ in my mind. Instead, I silently said ‘Little Gold’.”

"But it still responded. That familiar feedback pattern, tinged with both ingratiation and helplessness, couldn't be wrong."

……

"The last test was the moment I took out the Heavenly Profound Cauldron."

Su Baichen's gaze suddenly turned icy, as if it could pierce through all pretense and reach the essence: "Your mastery and skill in controlling the Heavenly Profound Cauldron are no less than mine!"

"Who could do this if they hadn't lived with it day and night, been one with it, and shared all its knowledge and authority?"

The air in the room seemed to freeze; you could hear a pin drop.

Su Baichen leaned down, meeting Jin Xue'er's gaze as she slumped to the edge of the bed, her body stiff. His voice, deep and enchanting, shattered the last barrier:

"So, you painstakingly adapted to the rules step by step from the ethereal 'system,' gradually gathering intelligence and transforming into the 'Little Gold' you are today..."

"No, I shouldn't call you Xiao Jin anymore."

"I should call you—"

"The spirit of the system, right?"

"!!!"

The moment the words fell, Jin Xueer—or rather, the "system" itself that was once high and mighty, issuing tasks and providing blind boxes—trembled violently, as if all her strength had been drained away. She collapsed backward, sinking into the soft mattress, shivering.

Those eyes, which were once lively and cunning, occasionally flashing with data-driven glints, now held only the terror and bewilderment of being completely seen through, and a trace of utter embarrassment at having nowhere to hide.

"me…"

Chapter 445 Defeat the System!

Su Baichen's gaze swept over her indifferently, his aura icy and chilling, like a cold pool seeping into one's bones.

This unprecedented sense of alienation completely threw Jin Xueer into a panic.

"Bai Chen... let me explain!"

She stepped forward hastily, her hands unconsciously clenching the hem of her clothes, her knuckles turning white from the force.

"I...I did exist in the form of a system before, but I never harmed you! Not even the slightest bit of malice!"

Her voice trembled, like a small animal afraid of being abandoned, desperately trying to prove its loyalty:

"For so long, I've been through thick and thin with you, and survived countless life-or-death situations with you... I've never even thought of betraying you, not even once!"

She tilted her head back, her eyes quickly reddening, tears welling up but stubbornly refusing to fall.

"I swear! I swear to God! As long as you don't kick me out... I'll do anything!"

In the end, all that former fearless arrogance had vanished, leaving only humble pleading:

"Don't send me away...please, don't abandon me..."

Seeing this, Su Baichen, who had been deliberately keeping a straight face, could no longer maintain his composure and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The carefully maintained seriousness vanished, replaced by hearty, unrestrained laughter.

"Hahaha--!"

Jin Xueer was initially filled with fear, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, her eyes red, but when she saw Su Baichen laughing so hard his shoulders were shaking, she was completely stunned.

Who am I? Where am I? What was I just doing?

It wasn't until she saw Su Baichen laughing so hard he almost choked that that familiar feeling of being tricked suddenly came to her mind like a wake-up call.

[Holy crap! I've been tricked again!!]

The moment this thought popped into her head, Jin Xueer's anger level skyrocketed like a rocket, completely off the charts!

"Su—Bai—Chen!"

"You tricked me again!!!"

As soon as her angry and embarrassed shout fell, Jin Xue'er, like a wildcat whose tail had been stepped on, pounced on Su Baichen with red eyes.

Seeing this, Su Baichen not only did not dodge, but instead opened his arms and steadily pulled her into his embrace.

With a powerful twist of his waist and abdomen, he lifted her up by the waist, spun her around half a circle, and then lowered his head to precisely silence her chattering little mouth.

"Well--!"

Jin Xue'er, who had been so aggressive, froze instantly, as if she had been doused with a bucket of ice water. Before her anger could even erupt, it was completely extinguished by this sudden gentleness.

Instead, her mind went blank, and then two blushes spread from her cheeks all the way to her ears.

Su Baichen reluctantly released her when she was almost out of breath. Looking at the girl in his arms who perfectly matched all his aesthetic fantasies, he leaned close to her ear and gently blew a warm breath.

"Xue'er, I heard from Ling'er that when you took human form, you did so according to the most perfect image in my heart?"

Upon hearing this, Jin Xue'er gritted her teeth in anger, secretly cursing Su Ling'er for being so disloyal, but outwardly she turned her head away arrogantly and stubbornly said:

"No way! Don't flatter yourself!"

"We just kissed for so long, why are your lips still so hard?" Su Baichen raised an eyebrow with a mischievous smile.

"It seems the kiss was too short and ineffective. I guess I need to kiss it again."

"What? No... um!" Jin Xue'er's protest was swallowed up again before she could finish speaking.

This kiss was deeper and longer than the previous one, leaving Jin Xueer feeling weak all over, her hands and feet numb, completely losing the strength to resist, and she could only let him do as he pleased.