Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 163

Han Li, having marked Taoist Cheongmun, launched a joint attack with Jin Gyocheon and Senior Brother Wang.

Without a word, Han Li’s hand brushed his storage pouch, and more than a dozen magical artifacts—gold, black, and red—simultaneously circled above his head, rushing toward his opponent with fierce, piercing sounds. Han Li had no intention of rehashing old stories or revealing his past in front of everyone. Cheongmun, and even Senior Brother Wang, who was watching from the side, changed their expressions at the overwhelming offensive.

Senior Brother Wang was surprised, realizing there must be a reason why Han Li had killed so many Foundation Establishment cultivators alone.

Cheongmun’s face hardened as he enveloped his entire body in a blue light. Judging by this attack, his opponent was determined to kill him. He reached out his hand before Han Li’s magical artifacts could reach him, and five blue beads flew up, forming a pentagon in front of him. A blue light flashed, and Taoist Cheongmun was safely protected inside the pentagonal blue shield.

Belatedly, Han Li’s Golden Light Mother Blades, Five Dragon Rings, and Flame Wheel Car flew in, creating a loud burst of flames, but they couldn’t penetrate the opponent’s shield.

‘Han Li, my Azure Wood True Cover cannot be broken by anyone below the Core Formation stage, so give up your dreams,’ Cheongmun said, smiling and acknowledging Han Li.

‘We’ll see about that!’ Han Li sneered.

Then, forming a hand seal, the magical artifacts that had been fiercely attacking the blue shield rose into the air. As the three-colored magical artifacts gathered, Cheongmun was flustered, not knowing Han Li’s intentions. However, he was not an easy opponent either. He stretched out both hands and released two gleaming golden discs, emitting an eerie aura.

‘Go!’ Following Cheongmun’s command, the golden discs flew toward Han Li.

Han Li frowned and took out his white shield, the White Phosphorus Shield. Before the two discs could reach him, three streaks of green light, each a foot long, blocked the golden lights aimed at Han Li’s flanks.

‘You evil Taoist, you seem to have forgotten about me!’ Senior Brother Wang said, smiling at Han Li as he controlled the green lights. Han Li, feeling relieved, smiled back.

However, Cheongmun’s expression was terrible. His dark face flashed with anger. He couldn’t think of a better way right away. He had to concentrate all his attention just to operate the Azure Wood True Cover and the Golden Lock Rings. He hadn’t mastered the Great Connection [a technique allowing simultaneous control of multiple artifacts] like Han Li, so he couldn’t freely control so many magical artifacts.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have other good magical artifacts, but he was already concentrating on two, making it difficult to use more. This was a major weakness for cultivators, leaving them vulnerable. It was rare to attack with more than ten magical artifacts like Han Li, and in reality, it was only three, so the consumption of magical power wasn’t that severe. If he had really operated more than ten magical artifacts at the same time, even with Han Li’s ability to divide his consciousness, his magical power wouldn’t have kept up.

Five was about the limit of his magical power. That’s why he preferred sets of multiple magical artifacts that could fully utilize the Great Connection ability. When he was at the Qi Refining stage, the reason he could control the eight blades of the Golden Light Mother Blades was because the seven child blades followed the movement of the mother blade in unison, which was completely different from the delicate manipulation he was doing now.

Just as Cheongmun was contemplating his next move, Han Li’s magic was completed.

‘Giant Sword Technique!’ At Han Li’s cold words, the magical artifacts circling above Cheongmun’s head emitted a dazzling light. In that light, they merged, and a giant sword, mixed with gold, black, and red, appeared in the air. It was a huge long sword.

This Giant Sword Technique was found after collecting the entire Azure Origin Sword Art, and it was a type of sword control technique that could only be used after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

Cheongmun and Senior Brother Wang were competing with the power of their magical artifacts, but their gazes turned to the giant sword. Even a fool could see how powerful the magic was. Cheongmun was shocked and, without even retrieving the golden discs, took out a new magical artifact—a gleaming brass mirror.

Han Li, with a frosty expression, immediately controlled the giant sword. The giant sword fell silently, with such amazing force that it seemed capable of piercing through not only the shield but also the cultivator inside it in one go.

Senior Brother Wang, taking advantage of Cheongmun’s distraction, couldn’t even think of breaking the opponent’s magical artifacts and was just staring at the scene in a daze. Just before the attack, Cheongmun, with an unusually cautious face, hurriedly threw the brass mirror upwards. The brass mirror quickly soared above the shield, emitting a yellow cloud about a foot in size, which then condensed to form a huge rotating shield.

‘Clang!’ A huge explosion was heard, and the brass shield emitted a yellow light. However, the shield, barely holding on against the power of the sword that had struck like lightning, shattered instantly. Now that there were no obstacles, the sword touched the blue shield, causing another tremendous roar. Cheongmun, experiencing this terrifying power firsthand, began to panic.

His two hands flashed, pouring all his spiritual power into the shield. He intended to increase the defense of the Azure Wood True Cover to block this attack. ‘Crack!’ The three lights emitted by the giant sword and the blue light of the shield mixed, creating a strange sound. So far, the shield hadn’t been breached due to Cheongmun’s desperate efforts.

Han Li strengthened his hand seals. He was going to increase the attack power of the giant sword, break through the shield, and kill his opponent to avenge the ambush he had suffered in the past. Conversely, Cheongmun was squeezing out his spiritual power, waiting for the moment when his opponent would exhaust his magical power with the sword control technique and open a path for him to survive.

Only then did Senior Brother Wang, who had regained his senses, break the out-of-control golden discs and shoot three streaks of green light at Cheongmun. Since Han Li and his opponent were evenly matched, he thought that even a little help from him would be enough to defeat the Taoist. If that happened, he would get a considerable amount when the treasures from Cheongmun were distributed.

However, this was just Senior Brother Wang’s wishful thinking. When Cheongmun’s expression changed, a yellow light covered his entire body, and he disappeared from inside the shield along with it. As he disappeared after pouring out his spiritual power, Han Li’s three-colored sword immediately fell, creating a huge pit in the ground.

Senior Brother Wang’s green lights also cut through the air, and he turned his head in the direction where the yellow light had disappeared. Cheongmun appeared twenty feet away from where he had been, and next to him stood a young man in a yellow shirt with a languid expression.

‘He’s the one who saved my life before, so I can’t just let him die so easily,’ he said calmly, smiling as he looked at Han Li. ‘Brother Han, I didn’t expect to see you again like this. I’m late with my greetings, Ogu Ji.’

The young man with a languid face, as if he didn’t care about anything in the world, was surprisingly the one he had met at the Tae Nam Gathering. The boy Ogu Ji, who had been practicing martial arts techniques that a pickpocket might use, had now appeared as an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, scattering strange yellow energy.

‘What is there to say to someone who is already on a different path? Now that you’ve come, the four of us can deal with them,’ Taoist Cheongmun said, barely regaining his senses and glaring at Han Li with a vicious look. Ogu Ji also sighed at those words and didn’t speak to Han Li again.

‘Whistle!’ Cheongmun suddenly whistled. At that sound, Cheolra and Bingyao, who were being attacked by Liu Jung and the others, immediately flew to where Cheongmun and Ogu Ji were.

‘There’s one more! This is getting troublesome,’ Liu Jung said, seeing Ogu Ji and realizing the situation was not good. Just now, when five people fought against two Blood Fiends [cultivators who use blood magic], they could only push them back but not injure them. Those Blood Fiends were somehow different from ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, and now all four of them had gathered.

Thinking about something, Liu Jung gathered everyone and flew toward Han Li. Han Li was feeling bitter as he looked at Ogu Ji, who had just appeared. The boy he had once liked had grown up and appeared on the side of the enemy he had to fight to the death.

‘Transform into Demonic Beasts!’ The Four Great Blood Guardians realized that they were at a disadvantage if they fought with ordinary magical artifacts and techniques. In any case, the Yellow Maple Valley cultivators had more people, so even if two people took on one Blood Fiend, there were still people left over. They heard Cheongmun’s voice and all emitted a red light, transforming into four large and small blood-colored cocoons. It seemed they were planning to transform into demonic beasts and wipe out Han Li’s group here.

The Yellow Maple Valley cultivators had heard from Han Li about what would happen if the opponents turned into monsters. They also knew that they would be unable to move while they were transforming, so they all began to attack the cocoons without hesitation, using their magical artifacts and techniques. However, these cocoons were so hard that they weren’t damaged no matter how much they were attacked.

The expressions of Liu Jung and the other cultivators hardened. ‘If anyone has a hidden trump card, use it now! Once they finish transforming, the situation will only get worse!’ Liu Jung withdrew his magical artifact, and a golden talisman was placed between his two fingers. Then, as he began to chant a mysterious incantation, a dazzling golden light spread from the talisman.

Han Li was a little surprised at this sight. If a talisman that had to be activated by chanting a spell by a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was not an ordinary object. Now was the time for the others to start preparing as well. Among them, the most noticeable were Senior Sister Jin Gyocheon and Song Mong, who each took out talismans with different magical treasures drawn on them. Then, they immediately sat cross-legged and began to emit blue and gray light, drawing envious gazes from the others.

Talismans were items that not just anyone could possess, even if they were Foundation Establishment cultivators. Those who had talismans proved that they had a large family background or were favored by their masters or sect seniors. It was difficult for them to buy such items themselves. The rest of the people, not wanting to be outdone, activated even more powerful and exquisite magical artifacts and techniques, making the second attack almost blinding.

Han Li didn’t take out a talisman, nor did he use the Giant Sword Technique that had just shown such great power. Instead, he chose the attack that consumed the least amount of magical power among those he could use. Four puppets appeared in front of Han Li. While the puppets emitted beams of light with their cold eyes, Han Li focused on recovering the magical power he had just consumed, using them as a shield. He couldn’t afford to run out of magical power at this point, when the Black Fiend Cult leader hadn’t even appeared yet.

Conserving his magical power as much as possible to prepare for any eventuality was the basic principle he had decided on before coming here. If he lacked magical power, no matter how clever he was, he wouldn’t be able to realize it. When the puppets appeared and began to shoot beams of light from their mouths, the other disciples briefly sent surprised glances, but soon focused their attention on their own attacks. In any case, what kind of cultivation method or technique one practiced was the most important secret for a cultivator, so no one was so tactless as to ask about it.

However, those who knew about puppet techniques guessed that Han Li had obtained the relevant techniques from Yi Hwa-won. It was a well-known fact that Yi Hwa-won had killed Heavenly Bamboo Cult cultivators and possessed their techniques. So, they only showed a little curiosity about the puppet technique they were encountering for the first time. Now that Liu Jung’s golden talisman was ready, his body trembled slightly. The talisman, transformed into a streak of golden light, flew toward the place where the Four Great Blood Guardians were located.