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

Tension and anticipation filled the air. A grand celebration—or rather, a brutal selection—that would determine the future of the Serpent People was about to begin.

Today, the new Medusa Queen will emerge from among numerous competitors, inheriting that supreme power and responsibility, and leading the Serpent People to continue to survive in this harsh desert.

The solemn sound of horns echoed low through every corner of the palace, foreshadowing the coming storm.

Chapter 12 The Cruel Ritual (Data Requested)

On the somber and oppressive high platform of the Serpent People's Palace, fate played a cruel joke on these two sisters who possessed Medusa's bloodline.

Two beautiful snake-woman figures stood there, their faces similarly stunning, yet their eyes were completely different.

One was resolute and determined, the other gentle yet harboring an imperceptible stubbornness. The cold words uttered by the elder presiding over the ceremony struck a chord in the hearts of every snake person present:

"There can only be one Medusa Queen! Defeat the opponent, and the remaining one will be the current Medusa Queen! She will lead my Snake-People race out of this desert and to the pinnacle!"

The elder's gaze swept over the two sisters, his usual kindness replaced by the coldness required for the ceremony.

That look filled both sisters with a sense of desolation. They knew better than anyone the cruelty of this inheritance ceremony—loser meant death.

The younger sister lowered her head, her slender fingers tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, her body trembling slightly.

Seeing her younger sister's fear, and then glancing at the elder she had always respected, whose face was now cold, the last trace of hesitation in her heart turned into a barely audible sigh. She made up her mind.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the elder sister slowly walked towards the magnificent costumes that symbolized the power of Queen Medusa, which were placed in the center of the high platform.

Instead of putting the clothes on herself, she gently picked them up, then turned towards her sister and swam towards her.

Seeing her sister's actions, the younger sister's tears instantly welled up and rolled down her cheeks like pearls from a broken string. She understood that her sister was giving her the chance to live!

"Why are you crying?" The older sister swam to her younger sister, tilted her head back, and gently wiped away the tears on her sister's face. Her voice was so soft that only the two of them could hear: "I am the older sister. It is only natural for an older sister to take care of her younger sister."

After saying this, the older sister stopped looking at her younger sister's grief-stricken face, resolutely turned around, and swam towards the stone pillar on the side of the platform that symbolized failure and the end.

She willingly embedded her slender wrists and snake tail into the cold clasps on the stone pillar, binding herself to the altar that represented sacrifice.

"You!" The supervising elder trembled with rage at the sight. Her preferred choice for queen was none other than her elder sister, who possessed greater talent and a more decisive personality!

But now, the elder sister has actually chosen to die, handing over the throne to her seemingly weak younger sister! This has disrupted her entire plan, but she cannot openly interfere with the ancient rules of the ritual. She can only grit her teeth and squeeze out an angry command: "Kill her! Complete the ritual!"

The younger sister trembled at the stern shout. Looking at her older sister, who was bound to a stone pillar and waiting to die with her eyes closed, she felt as if a thousand knives were scraping at her heart at the same time.

"I...I..." she choked, unable to move.

"Sister, don't be afraid." The older sister's voice remained calm, carrying a heartbreaking tenderness: "Kill me, and you can live, and lead your people..."

The younger sister's tears flowed even more fiercely as she struggled between the elder's stern urging and her older sister's gentle encouragement, as if an eternity had passed.

Finally, she seemed to have made up her mind. She raised her tearful eyes, looked deeply at her sister, then glanced at the elder with the ashen face, and then she began to move.

She didn't lunge at the weapon, nor did she gather her fighting spirit; instead, just like her sister had done, she slowly and resolutely swam towards her bound sister.

The older sister felt her younger sister's approach and felt a sense of peace, even a sense of relief. She completely relaxed and awaited death.

However, the expected pain did not come. Instead, she felt something cold and heavy gently fall into her hair.

She opened her eyes in astonishment—and before her stood her sister's face, tear-streaked yet radiantly smiling. And atop her head was the crown that belonged to Queen Medusa!

"Sister! What are you doing?!" The older sister's voice was filled with fear and confusion.

“Sister,” the younger sister said, her tone more relaxed and firm than ever before, “I don’t want to be Queen Medusa. I’m afraid of responsibility, and I’m not capable of leading the snake people out of this desert.”

"But you're different. You're more talented than me, you're braver than me, and you understand responsibility better than me. You should be Queen Medusa, leading everyone to a better future!"

Before she could finish speaking, a dazzling red light suddenly erupted from her body! A powerful yet extremely unstable energy fluctuation instantly swept across the platform!

"Not good!" The elder's expression changed drastically as he instantly understood his sister's intention: "She's trying to forcibly activate her bloodline potential to teleport! Stop her! This will shatter her to pieces!"

The elder shot out, attempting to intercept.

"No! Stop!" The older sister was bound by chains and unable to move, so she could only let out a desperate cry.

The younger sister, bathed in red light, smiled a poignant yet resolute smile: "It's alright, sister. You must live on, become the greatest Medusa Queen, and lead everyone... out of the desert..."

boom!

A burst of crimson light erupted, the powerful energy surge causing even the elders who rushed forward to pause in shock. When the light faded, only the crowned, chained elder sister and the faint embers of energy left behind by her departed younger sister remained on the high platform.

The entire square fell silent. The snake people below the stage looked at each other, at a loss. The ceremony came to an abrupt end in a way that no one had expected.

…………

Meanwhile, in another part of the vast Tagor Desert.

Su Baichen, along with his little apprentice Cao Ying, had been wandering aimlessly in the scorching desert for several days.

"Damn, can my luck be this bad? I've been searching for so long and haven't even found a single hair of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame?"

Su Baichen couldn't help but complain under his breath. He had used every trick in the book these past few days, his powerful mental energy sweeping across the sandy lands like a spider web, and he had pushed the Glazed Heavenly Flame within his body to its limit, trying to sense the aura of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, which was also a different kind of flame, but he had found nothing.

This made him question his life choices. Was his luck really that bad? He had been searching for days without finding it.

"Master, what are we looking for? This place is roasting me like a dried fish!"

Cao Ying complained weakly, her face flushed red from the sun, and she kept fanning herself with her hand.

Although she was young, she could tell that her master had been distracted these past few days, definitely searching for something extremely important. However, the desert environment was simply too harsh, and her cultivation was still shallow; she was already finding it difficult to cope.

Su Baichen was in a state of confusion and didn't pay much attention to his disciple's complaints. He just cried out helplessly to the heavens in his heart, "God, please give me some hints, even the slightest clue!"

As if in response to his shout—

Just as Su Baichen finished wailing in his heart, he keenly sensed an extremely faint but abrupt spatial fluctuation coming from above his head! He subconsciously looked up.

Suddenly, a black dot appeared out of nowhere in the azure sky and rapidly enlarged in his field of vision!

"What is that?" Su Baichen narrowed his eyes.

The black dot was falling extremely fast, and a human-shaped outline could be vaguely discerned. "Hmm? It looks like a person?"

The next second, as the figure drew closer, Su Baichen clearly saw the snake's tail—distinct from human lower limbs—struggling weakly in the air. His pupils contracted, and he couldn't help but swear:

"Holy crap! No, wait! It's a snake-man!!"

Before he could finish speaking, the figure plummeted like a meteor, trailing a trail of remaining crimson energy, straight down toward where he and Cao Ying were!

Chapter 13 Amnesia

Because of her master's voice, Cao Ying naturally noticed that a snake-woman was hurtling towards them, and immediately cried out in alarm, "Master, she's coming at us! Catch her quickly!"

The purple figure traced an ominous path in the air before plummeting down with a whooshing sound.

"Got it!" Before Su Baichen finished speaking, his figure disappeared from the spot like a ghost and reappeared in mid-air the next instant.

With a gentle flick of his sleeve, he supported the falling snake woman, dissipating her momentum, and then steadily held her in his arms. His touch revealed a cool, icy surface, mixed with a faint smell of blood.

He floated lightly back to the ground. Su Baichen looked down and frowned slightly. In his arms was an extremely young female snake-person. Even in her current disheveled state, her beautiful face was still undeniable. However, her face was deathly pale, devoid of any color. Pain and despair were etched between her tightly furrowed brows, and dark red blood kept oozing from the corner of her mouth. Her breath was so weak that it was almost imperceptible.

Her purple gauze dress was torn in many places and stained with dust, suggesting she may have been through a fierce battle.

Most strikingly, wisps of chaotic energy could be faintly seen swirling within her disheveled, cascading purple hair—traces left by the uncontrolled spatial forces, powerful and dangerous.

After Su Baichen returned to the ground, Cao Ying rushed over, her little face full of tension and curiosity.

This was the first time she had seen a snake-man so closely. Her gaze was involuntarily drawn to the pale purple snake tail, but she was even more concerned about the injured person.

"Master, how is the snake woman? Is she... is she still alive?" Young Cao Ying looked up, her voice trembling slightly.

Su Baichen did not answer immediately, but gently laid the snake woman on the soft ground. He extended his right index finger, and a wisp of pure cyan battle qi quietly condensed at the tip of his finger. As if it had a life of its own, it carefully probed into the snake woman's body, traveling between her meridians and internal organs.

A moment later, he withdrew his battle aura, his brows furrowing even more deeply. He said solemnly, "Her breath is weak, her heart meridian is damaged, and her life is hanging by a thread. She must have used an extremely domineering spatial escape technique, but her own cultivation was insufficient, and... she was determined to die, with no will to live, which caused her to be backlashed by the violent spatial power when she used it, damaging her very foundation. Her internal organs are all cracked, and her battle aura crystal core is also covered with cracks. It's already a miracle that she can still hold on to a breath."

"Contemplating suicide?!" Young Cao Ying blinked her big eyes, her face filled with incomprehension. In her simple world, life was incredibly precious: "Why? Isn't living good? She looks so beautiful..."

Su Baichen shook his head helplessly, his gaze sweeping over the snake woman's unique attire and the noble air that couldn't be concealed even in her unconscious state. He pondered, "I don't know the specific reason. But judging from her temperament and this seemingly ordinary yet exquisitely made clothing, she is definitely not an ordinary snake woman. Her status among the snake people is probably not low."

"Moreover, the spatial escape technique she used was of an extremely high grade. With her mere Dou Wang cultivation, she was able to forcibly manipulate and utilize spatial power, which is only initially controlled by at least the Dou Zong level, to escape. Although she suffered a backlash, it was enough to prove the power and rarity of this escape technique. What kind of desperate situation did she encounter that would drive her to such a price, even to the point of wanting to die..."

Upon hearing this, Cao Ying's mouth gaped open in surprise. Although she was young, she understood from her master's daily teachings that any technique or fighting skill that could touch upon spatial power at the Dou Wang stage was a treasure of the world.

"Alright, there's no point in thinking about it anymore." Su Baichen glanced at the setting sun and stood up. "Meeting her is fate, we can't just stand by and watch her die. Let's take her and find a safe place to stay before making any further plans."

After saying that, he picked up the unconscious snake woman again, and with his other hand he pulled Cao Ying up. His fighting spirit surged, and he transformed into a streak of light, flying towards the depths of the distant mountains.

…………

As the setting sun painted the sky orange-red, Su Baichen led the two to a dry and spacious cave at the foot of a secluded cliff.

Inside the cave, Su Baichen skillfully lit a campfire, dispelling the evening chill and dampness. He sat by the fire, quietly roasting the food he had hunted along the way. The oil dripped into the fire, sizzling and releasing a gradually spreading aroma.

Cao Ying sat cross-legged on a flat rock not far away, cultivating her fighting spirit according to the methods taught by her master. Her small figure looked particularly serious in the flickering firelight.

Inside the cave, on a bed of dry grass, lay the unconscious snake woman.

Suddenly, her body twitched slightly. Her long eyelashes fluttered violently like butterfly wings, fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, and an expression of extreme fear appeared on her face, as if she were trapped in a terrible nightmare.

Her fingertips unconsciously curled, gripping the dry grass beneath her tightly. A single, crystalline tear silently slid down her cheek, mingling with the purple hair at her temples. Her chapped lips parted slightly, uttering broken, desperate murmurs:

"No...please...please...let me go..."

"Sister...don't go...no!"

"Why...why did it have to be like this..."

As she spoke, the snake woman, who was unconscious, suddenly took a breath and opened her eyes instantly. Her snake eyes, which should have been eerie, were now filled with fear and confusion.

She sat up abruptly as if by reflex, the violent movement aggravating her internal injuries, causing her to let out a suppressed groan of pain.

She looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings: stone walls, a campfire, humans... The fear in her eyes gradually gave way to confusion. She instinctively hugged her arms tightly, her snake tail swaying uneasily, her voice hoarse and weak: "Where...am I? Who...am I?"

The commotion caused by the snake woman's awakening naturally attracted the attention of Su Baichen and Cao Ying.

Su Baichen merely glanced at it indifferently, without getting up, continuing to slowly turn the food in his hands, as if everything was under control. He knew that excessive attention might make the person who had just escaped the brink of death even more uneasy.

But Cao Ying was different. Upon hearing the snake woman's voice, she immediately snapped out of her meditation and saw the snake woman sit up, a joyful smile instantly spreading across her face.

Young and innocent, she was full of curiosity and had a lot of courage. She immediately jumped down from the rock, ran to the snake woman's side in a few steps, squatted down, and blinked her clear, bright eyes, saying with a cute and kind expression, "Snake Woman, you're awake! That's great! My name is Cao Ying, and the person grilling things over there is my master. We saved you! You fell from the sky, and my master caught you! Don't be afraid, you're safe now, the bad guys can't find this place!"

The snake woman stared blankly at the exquisitely beautiful human girl with pure eyes before her; the concern in her words seemed genuine.

She tried hard to recall, but her mind was blank and filled with a tearing pain. She rubbed her still throbbing temples, her eyes even more confused, even tinged with helplessness, and asked softly, "Th...thank you. But...do you know who I am? I...I can't quite remember."

Her voice carried a weak confusion, as if she had lost something most important.