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

Grief and doubt intertwined in her heart, and a heavy sense of powerlessness almost suffocated her.

"Waaaaah..."

Just as the female doctor was overwhelmed with grief and mourning the lives lost in the village, a faint, intermittent sobbing sound, like a candle flickering in the wind, drifted into her ears.

The sound was extremely faint, yet it was like a flash of lightning piercing the darkness!

The female doctor suddenly raised her head, her eyes flashing with intense light as her previous grief and indignation were replaced by a desperate hope. She held her breath, straining to pinpoint the source of the sound.

"There are still survivors!"

Without hesitation, she immediately quickened her pace and rushed towards the direction from which the crying was coming, stumbling along the muddy path.

Chapter 72 Leaving the Snake-People Clan; The Current Situation of the Xiao Family

One month after Cao Ying successfully broke through to the Dou Zhe realm.

The majestic and imposing black stone city gate of the Snake-Man tribe.

Su Baichen stood in front of the door, his tall figure accentuated by a moon-white robe. He was surrounded by a faint, gentle fighting spirit, yet it also concealed a chilling pressure.

Beside him, Cao Ying wore a light purple outfit, her eyes now showing more heroic spirit after breaking through to the Dou Zhe level; Cai Die wore a red dress, her slender figure revealing resilience; Yun Yun wore a green dress, her temperament as aloof as bamboo.

The most eye-catching creature was the eight-colored Sky-Swallowing Python coiled on Su Baichen's shoulder—its scales shimmered with eight-colored light, displaying the majesty of an ancient divine beast amidst its dazzling brilliance. Its snake eyes were lively, and it was now gently pressed against Su Baichen's neck, flicking its thin tongue.

At the city gate, the Snake-People Elder looked at the Eight-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python on Su Baichen's shoulder with worry, his voice hoarse but full of tenderness: "Mr. Su, now that Her Majesty the Queen has left with you, we, the Snake-People, have only one request—please be sure to treat her well."

He paused, his gaze falling on the eight-colored python, and said in an increasingly earnest tone, "We have watched Her Majesty the Queen grow up, from an innocent young snake to the queen who rules the tribe. She has carried too much on her shoulders. Now that she has left the tribe and is all alone, we will have to trouble you to take good care of her and protect her in the days to come."

As soon as the words fell, the soul of Cai Lin inside the Eight-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python suddenly trembled.

The eight-colored python seemed to sense something, and gently rubbed its head against Su Baichen's cheek, as if to convey this feeling.

Su Baichen clearly felt the gentle rubbing against his shoulder. He looked down at the Eight-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python, his eyes instantly filled with doting affection. He raised his hand and gently stroked her shimmering scales. His voice was gentle but carried an undeniable firmness: "Elder, rest assured, Cai Lin is my person. As long as I, Su Baichen, am alive, I will never let her suffer the slightest grievance."

Seeing the intimate scene between the man and the snake, the Grand Elder finally felt relieved. His tense back relaxed slightly, and a relieved smile appeared on his face. He bowed deeply to Su Baichen and said, "With Mr. Su's words, we can rest assured."

He naturally knew that the news that the Queen had awakened from her slumber that day, become Su Baichen's woman, and was willing to leave with him had already spread among the snake-people elders.

At first, everyone had some doubts, but when they saw how much Su Baichen cherished Cai Lin, and thought about his unfathomable strength, all their doubts vanished—only someone like him could protect their queen.

"Oh, right." Su Baichen seemed to remember something, raised his hand and waved, and two jade bottles and two puppets half a person's height appeared in front of him.

The jade bottle was smooth and lustrous, with a faint fragrance of elixir emanating from it, the scent of a top-grade elixir. The two puppets, clad in heavy black iron armor, were surrounded by a dense aura of Dou Zong-level Dou Qi. Although their aura was slightly stagnant, they still exuded awe-inspiring power.

"These are pills that are very beneficial to the cultivation of the snake people, so I'm giving them to you."

He handed out the jade bottle, then pointed to the two puppets and said calmly, "These are two Dou Zong level puppets. Although they are limited by their limited Dou Qi and cannot fight for long periods of time, each one can only be used three times. However, in critical moments, they are enough to resist powerful enemies and relieve the Snake People's urgent needs."

The Grand Elder reached out and took the jade bottle and the puppet. The moment his fingertips touched the puppet's armor, he was stunned by the immense pressure of a Dou Zong level puppet, his body stiffening and his entire body frozen in place. His pupils contracted sharply, his lips trembled slightly, and he was momentarily speechless. A Dou Zong level puppet!

Such beings are extremely rare in the entire Gama Empire, yet Mr. Su so easily gifted them to the Snake-People! This kindness is as heavy as Mount Tai, leaving him momentarily at a loss for how to repay it.

When the Grand Elder came to his senses and wanted to express his gratitude, he looked up and saw that Su Baichen, along with Cao Ying, Cai Die, Yun Yun, and the Eight-Colored Sky-Swallowing Python on his shoulder, had already disappeared, leaving only a faint trace of battle aura lingering around him.

The Grand Elder gazed at the empty sky, tightly clutching the jade bottle and puppet in his hands. Facing the direction Su Baichen had left, he solemnly bowed deeply, his voice choked with emotion: "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Su. The entire Serpent Clan will forever remember it!"

……

Meanwhile, on the border of the Gamar Empire, in the city of Utan.

The city is dominated by three powerful families, who have been engaged in fierce competition and subtle power struggles lately, creating a tense atmosphere. The Xiao family is the youngest of these three families—and also the one that has achieved its current status the most.

After nearly half a year of hard work, the Xiao family finally gained a foothold in Wutan City. From being outsiders, they gradually rose to become one of the three major families in Wutan City, alongside the Jialie and Aoba families, and secured a place in the city.

At this moment, the meeting hall of the Xiao family mansion was brightly lit and filled with the aroma of wine. In the center of the hall was a long wooden table laden with food and wine. Members of the Xiao family sat around the table, their faces beaming with joy, raising their glasses in toasts, and laughter filling the entire hall.

"Great! We've finally settled down in Wutan City!" A young member of the Xiao family raised his glass, his face full of excitement, his voice booming.

"All the hard work these past few days has finally paid off!"

“Yes!” Another clansman nodded repeatedly, his face showing relief at surviving the ordeal. “During this time, we’ve been fighting openly and covertly with the Jia Lie family and the Oba family every day, vying for resources and territory. We almost suffered a setback several times. It’s really not easy!”

"However, to be fair, the Galley family and the Oba family are indeed powerful, worthy of being the local bullies of Utan City."

Someone exclaimed, "They fought us for so long, pushing us to the brink of defeat several times, but thankfully we won in the end!"

"Hahaha! Of course! Our Xiao family is not to be trifled with! With the patriarch leading us, we will definitely be able to gain a foothold in Wutan City and create new glories!"

Everyone laughed and chatted, raising their glasses in celebration, creating a lively and joyful atmosphere.

In the main seat of the hall, Xiao Zhan, the current patriarch of the Xiao family, had a resolute face, with a hint of composure and weariness between his brows. He looked at the joyful appearance of his clansmen and also wore a "smile" on his face, but the smile did not reach his eyes, which concealed an unspeakable heaviness and bitterness.

No one knows how much pressure he was under during this time.

When the Xiao family first arrived in Wutan City, the two powerful local families, the Jialie family and the Aoba family, did not suppress them, the outsiders, and even treated them with a somewhat distant calm.

Not long after, someone leaked the news, and the two families learned of the Xiao family's current predicament—the once renowned Dou Wang family of the Gama Empire had now been forced to migrate to avoid disaster, with its strong members dwindling and its strength greatly diminished.

Since then, the Jia Lie family and the Ao Ba family have been relentlessly suppressing the Xiao family, seizing their cultivation resources, taking over their shops and territories, and even secretly sending people to attack members of the Xiao family. Their methods are ruthless and they are pressing forward step by step, attempting to drive the Xiao family out of Wutan City completely.

Those were the most difficult times for the Xiao family. The clan lacked powerful members and was nearly overwhelmed by the combined pressure from the two major families.

It was Xiao Zhan who single-handedly shouldered the burden of the entire Xiao family, working tirelessly day and night, strategizing and leading the Xiao family members to resist powerful enemies time and time again, and to launch counterattacks from desperate situations. He managed to carve out a bloody path between the two major families, allowing the Xiao family to successfully gain a foothold in Wutan City.

It was precisely because of this that he successfully took over the position of clan leader from the former young patriarch of the Xiao family, becoming the true power holder of the Xiao family.

But behind this glory lies endless pressure and exhaustion, countless sleepless nights, and the perseverance to find hope in despair time and time again.

Looking at the joyful faces of his clansmen, Xiao Zhan smiled slightly, nodded gently, picked up the wine glass on the table, took a sip of strong liquor, and felt the spicy liquid slide down his throat, but it did nothing to dispel the heaviness in his heart.

Chapter 73 The Tragic Xiao Family; Law of the Jungle

As night deepened and the clansmen gradually dispersed, the hall returned to calm, leaving only Xiao Zhan sitting alone in the main seat, gazing at the empty hall with increasingly profound eyes.

A moment later, he slowly rose and walked to the bookshelf in the corner of the hall. The bookshelf was filled with ancient books, seemingly ordinary, but actually concealing a mystery. Xiao Zhan reached out and gently pushed the ancient book on the top shelf. With a soft "click," the bookshelf slowly moved to one side, revealing a dark passage. A faint smell of dust filled the passage, and a faint light could be seen at the end.

Looking at the dark passage, Xiao Zhan didn't hesitate at all. He took a deep breath and stepped inside. After walking for about half an incense stick's time, he arrived at the end of the passage—a small secret room.

In the center of the secret room stood a long offering table, upon which were neatly arranged the ancestral tablets of the Xiao family. The tablets were simple and solemn, bearing the marks of time. In front of the offering table, three sticks of incense burned, their smoke curling upwards, filling the air with a faint fragrance of incense.

Xiao Zhan walked to the offering table and knelt down heavily on both knees. The sound of his knees hitting the ground was particularly clear in the silent chamber.

He lowered his head slightly, his forehead pressed against the cold ground, his voice hoarse with suppressed emotion and endless bitterness as he spoke, word by word: "This unworthy descendant, Xiao Zhan, pays homage to my ancestors. Today, I earnestly beseech them to bless the Xiao family, so that we may soon escape this predicament and rebuild our former glory..."

As the words fell, tears finally welled up and slid down her cheeks, dripping onto the cold ground and spreading out in a small wet patch.

This year was a devastating disaster for the Xiao family.

The Xiao family was once a renowned Dou Wang family in the Gama Empire, producing numerous Dou Ling and Da Dou Shi experts, possessing immense strength and dominating the region. But now, they have fallen to this state—from a top family in the Gama Empire to a small family in Wutan City, with family members scattered, strong individuals dwindling, and their strength greatly diminished.

All of this was due to the sudden death of his father, Xiao Lin, the former patriarch of the Xiao family. Xiao Lin was a Dou Wang powerhouse and the pillar of the Xiao family. His death left the Xiao family leaderless and in chaos.

Immediately afterward, during their migration to avoid disaster, the Xiao family was attacked by unidentified villains. These villains were powerful and ruthless, and the clan's Grand Masters and Spirit Masters suffered heavy casualties, almost wiping them out completely.

If it weren't for a mysterious reinforcement that suddenly appeared during their migration and helped them evade the pursuers, the Xiao family would probably have been completely wiped out in the vast wilderness before they even reached Wutan City.

Even if they managed to reach Wutan City and establish a foothold, the Xiao family was no longer the glorious family it once was.

The strongest member of the clan was only at the low-level Great Battle Master realm, and compared to the Galie family and the Oba family, their strength was vastly different.

If the Xiao family still had a Douling expert, Wutan City would not have formed the current three-way balance of power; instead, the Xiao family would be the only dominant force, and no one would dare to provoke them.

But reality is ultimately cruel.

"Hey……"

A heavy sigh escaped Xiao Zhan's lips, filled with endless bitterness, helplessness, and exhaustion.

During this time, he persevered, leading his people through one crisis after another. He appeared strong, but only he knew how heavy the pressure was, so heavy that it almost suffocated him.

Countless nights, he sat alone in the secret room, gazing at the ancestral tablets, questioning himself again and again whether he was too useless, which led to the Xiao family's current predicament.

Even so, he never thought of giving up—because he was the head of the Xiao family, the hope of the Xiao family, and he had to persevere, he had to lead the Xiao family out of the predicament and restore its former glory.

After a long silence, Xiao Zhan slowly raised his head, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and his gaze gradually hardened. He bowed deeply once more before the ancestral tablet, his voice filled with unwavering determination: "Rest assured, ancestors, your unworthy descendant Xiao Zhan will do everything in his power to protect the Xiao family and lead the clan to restore its former glory!"

Inside the secret chamber, wisps of smoke curled upwards, and the ancestral tablets stood silently, as if watching over the burdened patriarch of the Xiao family, witnessing his determination and perseverance.

…………

A few days later, in a small inn in Qingshan Town.

As dusk approached, the hall was filled with the sounds of people. At a table by the window sat four people, Su Baichen and his group, who had just left the territory of the Snake-People. Their long and arduous journey had come to a temporary end, and the simple meal on the table was steaming.

However, this brief tranquility was broken by the deliberately hushed conversation of several burly men at the next table.

"Hey bro, did you hear about what happened the other day?" a man with a scar on his face asked mysteriously.

"What did you hear? You're just spouting nonsense." His companion across from him looked puzzled.

"Holy crap! It's that thing in the south... the poison gas that wiped out the village! You don't know yet?" The scarred man's tone was exaggerated, as if the other person had missed out on some earth-shattering news.

"Oh—it's that thing!" His companion suddenly realized, his face turning grim as he angrily said, "Damn it, it makes me furious just thinking about it! The whole village, hundreds of people, just gone like that! It was like hell on earth..."

"Who says otherwise!" Scarface took a swig of wine, slammed the bowl down on the table, and said angrily.

"It was those ruthless poison masters from the Izumo Empire who did it! They used living people to test their poisons, sparing neither the elderly nor children. They're utterly inhuman!"

"Alas, what a tragedy... I heard it was just a little girl who somehow escaped and survived."

"How pitiful, losing her home and family at such a young age, how will she survive in the future..."

The conversation at the next table could be heard clearly.

"Master!" Little Cao Ying slammed down her chopsticks, her face flushed red with anger, her clear eyes burning with pure fury: "Those poison masters of the Izumo Empire are simply inhuman! How could they be so cruel to ordinary people! You...you're so powerful, why don't you take action and wipe them out!"

She was still young and kind-hearted. Although she was exceptionally gifted, she had not yet truly witnessed the most naked cruelty in the world.

In her view, it was only natural for her master, Su Baichen, to possess great power, to uphold justice and eliminate evil.

Yunyun and Caidie, who were sitting with her, reacted very differently.

Yun Yun paused slightly in her teacup, her eyelids lowered, and her long eyelashes cast a faint shadow on her face.

A trace of reluctance flickered in her heart, but more than that, she felt a profound sense of helplessness. She had witnessed far too much infighting and darkness between forces, and there were things even more secretive and cruel than this.

She simply shook her head gently without saying a word, her gaze turning to the twilight outside the window, as if reminding Cao Ying, and herself, that this was the commonplace in the Dou Qi Continent.

Cai Die remained calm, gracefully picking up a piece of green vegetable with her chopsticks, as if she had only heard the most ordinary news.

As the second young lady of the Snake-People tribe, she survived and rose to prominence in the even more brutal desert laws, leading her tribe to survive in the cracks.

She had heard far too many cries of the weak throughout her long life. She wasn't cold-blooded; she simply understood the nature of this world more deeply than anyone else—the law of the jungle, an age-old truth. Excessive sympathy was utterly useless here.