Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 69

After leaving Old Man Heo’s room and reaching the main hall with the teleportation array again, Han Li didn’t leave immediately. He pondered for a moment before heading towards another passage.

At the end of the passage, a massive stone door blocked the way. The door shimmered with iridescent light, and it was clear at a glance that a powerful restriction was in place.

Next to the stone door was a small stone chamber. Inside, a grotesque man with a large wart on his face stared at Han Li with an expression that seemed to ignore him.

Han Li, however, didn’t show any reaction and naturally asked the man a question. But when the man didn’t utter a single word, Han Li politely bowed and prepared to leave.

However, before Han Li could take a few steps, he heard the man muttering.

‘A poor, low-level disciple dares to come to me for pill refinement? Is he crazy? He’s not even going to refine pills right now, yet he’s bothering this old man.’

Despite such insults, Han Li’s back remained calm. But when he turned around, his face was cold, and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

* * *

As soon as Han Li left the Evil Ogre Hall, he greeted two disciples and returned to the Hundred Herbs Garden with his magic tool.

On his way back, Han Li was thinking about refining the Foundation Establishment Pill. He was looking at the mountain range and lush forest below when he was suddenly startled by a loud noise.

The sound came from a place where lights flickered on a low hill. Curious, Han Li rode his magic tool towards the source of the noise.

* * *

‘Moyong brothers, try it one more time. Just one more time, let us see it.’

‘Yes. It was the first time I’ve seen lightning so close, I was so surprised.’

As Han Li reached the top of the low hill, the boisterous voices became clearer.

‘The genius brothers who entered as new disciples with lightning spirit roots [a natural affinity for a specific element, in this case, lightning], their surname was Moyong. And that strange noise just now! Are all the rising stars gathered here?’

As Han Li got closer, the top of the hill came into view. Thirty or forty disciples were gathered in a large circle, excitedly talking.

Inside the circle, there were several large, blackened pits, and smoke was still rising from the edges. As the mountain breeze blew, the smoke scattered, and the smell of burning spread everywhere.

Han Li quickly examined the young men. The two boys surrounded by disciples had handsome features and fair faces that looked very similar. Their eyes seemed bright and intelligent.

They seemed pleased with the attention and praise they were receiving, their faces flushed. They looked at each other, simultaneously formed hand seals, and chanted a spell. Then, a flash of lightning burst from their hands, followed by a huge explosion and a blinding white light that struck the ground.

‘Is that the Lightning Palm of the lightning attribute? The power and explosive effect are incomparable to the Fireball Technique. It’s true that the lightning-based techniques are the most destructive.’

Not only Han Li, but most of the people here were looking at them with envy and admiration.

The boys, who had repeatedly demonstrated the lightning strike technique amidst the constant exclamations, were clearly exhausted. After all, they were still young boys.

‘What is this? The power of the lightning spirit root is only this much? I think my wind spirit root is better than that?’

At that moment, a voice that broke the mood came from the crowd. A young man and woman were standing side by side. The man looked neat and healthy, and the woman was as beautiful as a flower, making them look like a couple.

The man had a confident look on his face, but the woman blushed, embarrassed by all the attention.

‘Who is that man? Why is he so arrogant?’

‘Wind spirit root, isn’t that also a type of spirit root? Could that man also be a spirit root user?’

‘Ah, I know. He’s Senior Apprentice Lu, a wind-type spirit root user.’

‘Why is he saying such things when they have the same spirit root?’

‘Isn’t it jealousy? He used to be the only spirit root user among the low-level disciples, but now that two more outstanding disciples have come, he’s probably bitter.’

‘Shhh! Be quiet. What if he hears you? He’s the type to hold grudges, and if you get on his bad side, you’re done for.’

The appearance of the new youth caused the people gathered nearby to whisper.

‘Ha! You guys, I’ll show you what the true power of a spirit root is!’

As the disciples talked about him, his expression changed, and he stepped into the center.

‘You two, attack me with your lightning-based techniques as much as you want. If I dodge even a little, I’ll bow my head and apologize to you kids!’

The Moyong brothers were also angered by Senior Apprentice Lu’s disregard and their faces turned pale.

‘You won’t dodge?’

‘Yes.’

‘You won’t use magic tools either.’

‘I won’t.’

Senior Apprentice Lu arrogantly accepted their conditions, as if he didn’t care about them at all.

‘Okay. If we win, then we’ll be the seniors from now on.’

The boys shouted in unison, angered.

‘Senior Apprentice Lu, are you sure about this?’

‘Hehe! There’s no need to worry about those kids. Don’t worry, Junior Apprentice Jin!’

When the woman asked with concern, Senior Apprentice Lu didn’t care at all and leisurely stepped in front of the brothers. The two boys looked at each other, simultaneously extended one hand each, clenched their fists, and began to chant a spell.

After confirming this, Senior Apprentice Lu easily cast a defensive magic technique. Then, a blue barrier appeared around him, firmly surrounding him.

‘Heavenly Lightning Chain Strike.’

The brothers’ chants ended simultaneously, and as their fingertips pointed towards Senior Apprentice Lu’s head, dark clouds formed in the sky, and lightning bolts as thick as fingers struck down. The barrier protecting Senior Apprentice Lu’s body shook. Senior Apprentice Lu’s expression changed for a moment, as if the power was beyond his expectations.

‘Rumble!’

Moreover, as if it was just the beginning, lightning bolts continuously struck down from the dark clouds, and the barrier surrounding Senior Apprentice Lu gradually lost its light. It looked as if it could break at any moment.

Senior Apprentice Lu’s face darkened, and he formed dazzling hand seals and chanted a spell. Then, the blue light intensified, restoring its original form and becoming thicker than before.

In response, the Moyong brothers also formed different hand seals towards the sky, causing the dark clouds to become larger and denser, and the power and frequency of the lightning strikes to increase. Senior Apprentice Lu’s anger doubled due to the brothers’ fierce attacks, but there was nothing he could do.

He never imagined that the opponent would have mastered the low-level intermediate chain lightning technique at such a young age. He couldn’t counterattack the attack that unfolded in an instant. But he couldn’t be humiliated in front of everyone like this.

Thus, the boys continued to grow the dark clouds and strike down lightning, while Senior Apprentice Lu diligently strengthened his defense technique with a blue shield, leading to a back-and-forth battle of attrition.

However, the Moyong brothers, who were originally on the offensive, were at a disadvantage because they had consumed a large amount of magic power while demonstrating their martial arts. If it turned into a battle of attrition, the Moyong brothers would inevitably be at a disadvantage.

So, the disciples gathered here watched as the Moyong brothers exhausted all their magic power and had no choice but to stop the lightning strikes.

Seeing this, Senior Apprentice Lu smiled again.

‘I’ve taken your attacks, so now it’s my turn to attack, right?’

As he spoke, he already removed the barrier and clasped his hands together, then spread them apart. Between them, a huge crescent-shaped blue beam of light was created, emitting a sharp glow.

‘Taste the Azure Arc Slash!’

With a sinister shout, the beam of light shot towards the two boys, making a sound like the wind whistling.

Everyone around was surprised by this attack, because they knew that the Moyong brothers had exhausted all their magic power and were unable to cast any magic techniques, let alone defensive ones.

The boys panicked and looked around, then immediately scattered left and right, hiding in the crowd.

‘Open!’

Seeing this, Senior Apprentice Lu shouted fiercely, and the Azure Arc, which was flying, split into two at his command and began to chase after each boy.

Then, one of the Moyong brothers saw Han Li, who was watching, and without hesitation, ran towards him, surprising Han Li.

However, Han Li had no intention of getting involved in this. No matter how crazy Senior Apprentice Lu was, he wouldn’t openly kill the Moyong brothers.

So, there was no reason for him to step forward and invite trouble. Han Li immediately lightened his body and moved away from where he was standing. As a result, the boy who missed his target cursed and hurriedly flew away again.

‘Boom!’

The ground where the other boy had run to vibrated, and dust billowed everywhere. Then, a man’s voice was heard shouting. It meant that someone who couldn’t run away like Han Li had clearly become a shield.

When the dust settled, a high wall had been created, and a crescent-shaped groove was carved into one side of the wall. Behind it, a young man who looked to be in his twenties was holding a strange-looking wooden staff and cursing. And right behind him, one of the Moyong brothers was smiling sheepishly.

‘Lu, you bastard, what are you doing? Don’t you know there are other people here? Why don’t you try cutting me down too?’

He shouted loudly at Senior Apprentice Lu, surprised and angry at the sudden attack. However, Senior Apprentice Lu snorted and pretended not to hear the scolding.

Then, he focused on controlling the Azure Arc that was still chasing the other boy on the opposite side. Then, the momentum and speed of the Azure Arc increased, and it was about to cut the boy down.

‘Stop!’

A young woman’s beautiful voice was heard from the sky. Then, a firebird with flames blazing all over its body flew in and swallowed the Azure Arc that was chasing the boy. The firebird turned into a circular flame and disappeared only after swallowing its enemy.

‘Who is it? Who broke my magic technique!’

Senior Apprentice Lu looked up at the sky, enraged. A woman as beautiful as a fairy was flying above everyone’s heads, fluttering in the air. It was an atmosphere that a mere mortal would not dare to look up at.

‘It was Junior Apprentice Seop! I wondered who had such strong magic power.’

Senior Apprentice Lu, who had been full of anger, saw the woman in a navy blue palace dress and seemed to come to his senses, showing a dignified attitude.

‘Senior Apprentice Lu, how about we stop this duel here for the sake of my sect’s reputation?’

The woman in the palace dress asked coldly, still stepping on her magic tool.

‘Haha, if that’s Junior Apprentice Seop’s wish, then as a senior apprentice, I should do as you say.’

Senior Apprentice Lu replied with a smile on his face, but the woman in the palace dress only nodded silently and landed on the ground. Then, she approached the place where the Moyong brothers were.

‘If Junior Apprentice Seop hadn’t come, we would have really been in trouble.’

Seeing the woman, the Moyong brothers said as they ran up to her from both sides.

‘When you return, you will do wall training, and you are forbidden from going out until you reach the Foundation Establishment stage [a significant milestone in cultivation].’

Although there was no sign of anger in the woman’s calm command, the Moyong brothers were dejected and lowered their heads at her words. Junior Apprentice Seop spoke to the Moyong brothers and then walked towards the sturdy young man who had blocked the attack for the brothers, and smiled.

‘Thank you for your help, Senior Apprentice. If something had happened to the Moyong brothers, I would have had no face to show to the sect.’

‘I-It was nothing…’

The young man seemed to lose his strength at Junior Apprentice Seop’s beautiful smile, and he stammered with a silly smile.

Senior Apprentice Lu’s expression turned vicious for a moment, but he hid it. No one noticed his expression except for the woman next to him and Han Li, who was watching him. Although Junior Apprentice Jin next to Senior Apprentice Lu had a pretty face and a beautiful figure, she was far inferior to Junior Apprentice Seop.

That’s why Junior Apprentice Jin was afraid that Senior Apprentice Lu would be captivated by Junior Apprentice Seop and stayed close to him. She was holding Senior Apprentice Lu’s arm and was hostile towards Junior Apprentice Seop.

Junior Apprentice Seop was aware of these gazes, but she didn’t care at all. However, before leaving with the Moyong brothers, she glanced at Han Li, and soon, a woman’s voice echoed in his ear.

‘You have strong magic power, but you are only interested in your own cultivation. I hope that next time we meet, you will have corrected that.’

Han Li frowned after hearing the woman’s message. It seemed that she had seen him avoiding helping the Moyong brothers. But he was not a saint, and it was obvious that the other party was trying to use him, so it was natural to avoid it.

The sturdy young man was not helping the boys out of kindness either. And now that he was on Senior Apprentice Lu’s bad side, he didn’t know when he would be in trouble.