Battle Through the Heavens: Oh no, I've become the succubus Xiao Yan!

On the evening of the third day, Xiao Yan finally saw the Monster Mountain Range.

It wasn't just an outline drawn on a map, but a truly colossal mountain stretching across the sky and earth. The mountain ridges stretched endlessly, like a sleeping dragon, extending from east to west without end. At its foot lay dense forest, becoming increasingly desolate as one ascended, until the highest peak disappeared into the clouds.

The air has changed.

The wind in Wutan City is dry and carries a smoky, fiery scent, but here the wind is damp and heavy, carrying the smell of decaying leaves and earth with every breath. Occasionally, a low, guttural roar echoes from the distance, rolling in like muffled thunder from the depths of the mountains.

Xiao Yan stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up for a while.

"Let's go," said the old medicine doctor, "let's find a quiet place first."

He didn't rush to venture deeper. In the dense forest on the outskirts of the mountain range, Xiao Yan found a sheltered cave and sat down cross-legged. He closed his eyes and sensed the state of his internal fighting spirit.

Peak of the Battle Spirit Realm.

The battle qi flowed through his meridians, having completely condensed from a gaseous state into a liquid state, as thick as mercury. But the battle qi continued to compress and condense, like an oyster about to form a pearl—just one final push away.

The resonance between the Fire God Body and the Burning Technique became even more pronounced within the mountains. The energy of heaven and earth here was several times denser than in Wutan City, with fire-attribute energy being particularly active, as if the mountains themselves were a giant furnace. The Burning Technique operated automatically, greedily absorbing the fire-attribute energy in the air.

"Now is the time," Yao Lao's voice rang out. "Your battle qi has reached its limit. Suppressing it any further will only damage your meridians. Break through."

Xiao Yan took a deep breath and activated the Burning Technique.

The liquid battle qi spun wildly in his dantian, faster and tighter. The flames of the Fire God Body surged from the depths of his bones, seeping into every drop of battle qi, like the quenching process during iron forging—scorching, hammering, and then burning again.

boom--

A muffled sound came from the dantian.

Under extreme compression, the liquid battle qi finally crossed that threshold. One drop, two drops, three drops... the liquid battle qi began to crystallize, condensing into a thumb-sized crystal core in the center of the dantian.

Fighting King.

Xiao Yan opened his eyes.

  

On the cave wall, his breath carried a faint warmth. The Battle Qi Crystal Core slowly rotated in his dantian, each rotation accelerating the flow of Battle Qi throughout his meridians. The flames of the Fire God Body were no longer outwardly crimson, but had seeped into the crystal core itself—the color of that crystal core was not the pale gold of ordinary Battle Kings, but an amber color with a hint of crimson.

"A Battle King," Yao Lao floated out, looking at him, "A Battle King at fifteen. This talent, tsk tsk."

"Master, this is nothing."

"Don't be so smug," the old apothecary said, but a slight smirk appeared on his lips.

Xiao Yan stood up and stretched his limbs. After breaking through to the Dou Wang level, he felt every cell in his body cheering—his strength, speed, and perception had all reached a new level. This was the power of a Dou Wang.

He stepped out of the cave and looked into the depths of the mountains.

"It's time to practice."

Less than two hours after venturing deep into the mountains, Xiao Yan encountered a mercenary group.

There were seven or eight people, poorly equipped, led by a man with a scar on his face—unlike the group they had encountered on the road, this group was clearly in a worse state. Several of them had injuries, their bandages soaked with blood, and two others were being supported by their companions.

Xiao Yan jumped down from the treetop and blocked their way.

"What happened to you?"

The scarred man watched him warily, his hand on the hilt of his knife. Anyone would be nervous if someone suddenly jumped down from a tree.

"Who are you?"

"I'm just a Kamen Rider passing by," Xiao Yan said. "You guys are pretty badly injured. Do you need any help? I'm a fairly kind person."

The scarred man hesitated for a moment, and a young mercenary beside him answered for him: "A pack of wolves! At least thirty or forty second-tier wolf-like magical beasts, and the leader is at the peak of the second tier! We were gathering herbs on the outskirts when we got surrounded by them—"

"Shut up!" The scarred man glared at him.

The young mercenary shrank back and remained silent.

Xiao Yan examined their injuries—most were scratches and bites, not too serious, but two of them had been poisoned by wolfsbane, their faces were turning blue, and they would be in danger if they weren't treated soon.

"I have antidote pills," he said, taking out a bottle from his storage ring and pouring out two pills. "They're second-grade, and can cure the poison of second-tier magical beasts."

The scarred man's eyes lit up, but he remained wary: "How could a child like you possess a second-grade pill?"

"I am an alchemist."

The scarred man was stunned.

In the Monster Mountain Range, healers are the most sought-after people—without exception. Especially the esteemed alchemists.

"...Thank you, sir." He finally relented, took the pills, and gave them to the two poisoned individuals.

After the medicine entered their bodies, the two men's complexions visibly improved. The scarred man completely lowered his guard and became even more respectful.

"Alchemist, your kindness is beyond words. My name is Tiezhu, and this is my team."

"My name is Rock Owl."

"Lord Yan... Lord Yan, you're going into the mountains alone?" Tie Zhu frowned. "The surrounding area has been rather unsettled these past few days. Those wolves have gone mad for some reason and have huddled together at the foot of the mountain. Going in now might be dangerous."

"I know, someone reminded me on the way."

"Then, sir...?"

Xiao Yan smiled. "Don't worry about me. Which direction are those wolves going?"

Tie Zhu pointed northwest: "It's in that pine forest at the foot of the mountain, less than ten miles from here. Lord Yan, you mustn't go there—"

Xiao Yan waved his hand. "Thanks for the reminder."

Xiao Yan turned and walked towards the northwest.

Tie Zhu called out from behind, "Hey! Sir—have a safe journey!"

Xiao Yan didn't even turn his head.

Tie Zhu watched his retreating figure and said to the young mercenary beside him, "This sir... is quite capable."

"Big brother, how did you know?"

"I didn't even see his movements when he jumped down," Tie Zhu said, touching the hilt of his sword. "And he casually pulled out a second-grade pill without even blinking. A pharmacist of that age must have a powerful backer. We can't afford to offend him, so let's not ask any more questions."

---

Less than half an hour later, Xiao Yan heard the howling of wolves.

Not just one, but a whole swarm. The howling echoed from the depths of the pine forest, sending chills down one's spine.

Xiao Yan stood at the edge of the pine forest, releasing his soul power—the soul perception of the spiritual realm instantly covered an area of ​​several hundred meters.

Thirty-seven second-tier wolf-shaped magical beasts were scattered throughout the pine forest. The leader was in the center of the forest, almost twice the size of the other wolves, with grayish-white fur and eyes that gleamed with a ghostly green light.

Peak of the second tier. A magical beast at the Battle Master level.

For Xiao Yan, it was no different from the lonely bamboo by the roadside for ten years.

He walked into the pine forest.

The first wolf spotted him, howled, and pounced on him—

Xiao Yan didn't even draw his Xuan Heavy Ruler. He raised his hand, and a crimson battle qi shot out from his fingertips, accurately piercing the wolf's skull.

The wolf's carcass lay on the ground, and the other wolves, stimulated by the smell of blood, pounced on Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan sighed.

"Too weak."

He unleashed the aura of a Battle King.

Crimson battle aura erupted from his body, carrying scorching heat and an oppressive force. The air within a hundred meters trembled, and fallen leaves on the ground were whipped up by the shockwave, swirling in the air.

The wolf pack fell silent instantly.

The thirty-six wolves stopped in their tracks, their fierce glint turning to terror. They were magical beasts, not fools—the aura emanating from the human before them was many times stronger than that of their leader.

The greyish-white wolf king emerged from the depths of the pine forest and let out a low growl—not a threat, but a test.

Xiao Yan glanced at it.

The wolf king trembled and turned to run away.

The other wolves followed it, retreating like the tide. In less than ten seconds, only Xiao Yan remained in the pine forest.

"That's it?" Xiao Yan was a little disappointed. He hadn't expected the Wolf King to just throw mud at the road.

"Just second-tier magical beasts," said Yao Lao. "If you unleash your Battle King aura, it would be strange if they didn't run away. Keep going deeper; fifth and sixth-tier magical beasts are your real opponents."