Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 740

According to the scriptures detailing the Vajra Body Technique, mastering the seventh level would allow one to fight a Core Formation cultivator using only the body’s natural strength. If that were the case, it would also be possible to forcefully expel the Icebound Seal from his body.

And then, he could cultivate his magic power and re-condense his Core.

It usually takes over a hundred years to condense a Core, but if he were to retrieve the large amount of spirit herbs he had buried in the desolate lands and consume them, his cultivation speed would increase several times over.

The Minor Heavenly Tribulation [a trial of cultivation that tests one’s strength and resolve] was expected to arrive in 300 years, but to prepare for the possibility of a miscalculation, mastering the Vajra Body Technique as quickly as possible was the fastest path. However, cultivating the Vajra Body Technique was not as easy as it sounded.

According to what he had heard through the Heavenly Orchid Tree clone, even in the Spirit Realm, where spirit energy was abundant, there were only a handful of people who had mastered the Vajra Body Technique. For an ordinary person, no matter how talented, it was not something they could guarantee.

However, Han Li was someone who had reached the Nascent Soul stage with a mortal body. His patience and will far surpassed those of ordinary cultivators in the Spirit Realm, and his body was also strong, having refined the killing intent and consumed the Heavenly Corpse Pearl and Dragon Scale Fruit.

In particular, through the consumption of the Dragon Scale Fruit and the cultivation of the Bone Forging Technique, his body had reached the level of an ordinary demon beast, and he had absorbed the vast essence of his Core, including his second Core, into his body, so his potential was enormous.

Now, all he had to consider were the inhuman pain and time he would have to endure while cultivating the technique, and the location. It was not wise to cultivate far from the city, especially since the latter part of the Vajra Body Technique required breakthroughs through insights gained in battle.

It would be better to stay at the Heavenly Cauldron Trading Company for a while and cultivate, and if it became inconvenient or unavoidable, he could leave then. In any case, the Blood Oath’s curse would be completely erased by the power of the vast essence within his body, so it would never bind him. Having made up his mind, Han Li picked up the books and rose from his seat.

He left the tavern and went to a secluded corner where no one was around. He placed the books between his hands and applied a light force. The thick books exploded into pieces of paper, fluttering down.

Afterward, he went to a blacksmith and, pointing to the Earth Dragon tendon and the materials inside, gave some instructions and then handed over two low-grade spirit stones. The blacksmith was a little taken aback by his words, but after receiving the spirit stones, he nodded with a wide smile.

Han Li smiled calmly, left the place, and stopped a demon beast-drawn carriage. He threw a silver coin, quickly climbed in, said ‘Yeoun Inn,’ and closed his eyes to rest.

The coachman was about to get angry at Han Li’s actions, but after receiving the silver coin, he hesitated and started running west. Here, various kinds of beasts were tamed to pull carriages. Walking around a place like Anwon City would take several hours.

However, the carriage he was riding in was luxurious, like a private carriage of some wealthy person. Just as Han Li was waking up, the coachman’s voice came from outside.

“Sir, we have arrived at Yeoun Inn!”

Han Li opened his eyes and got out of the carriage without a word.

Before him was a large mansion with pavilions, and on the largest building, ‘Yeoun Inn’ was written in golden ancient characters.

Next to the pavilions, tents were lined up, and carriages pulled by various beasts were neatly arranged. Han Li saw a servant standing at the door and gestured, and one of them ran toward him.

“Sir, what is your order?”

“I believe the people from the Heavenly Cauldron Trading Company came today. Do you know where they are staying?”

Han Li asked, throwing a small silver piece.

“Ah, you are from the Heavenly Cauldron Trading Company. I will guide you right away!”

The servant’s face brightened as he received the silver coin. Han Li followed the servant without saying anything.

“Brother Han, you’ve finally returned! Brother Jang gave instructions to introduce you to the Madam as soon as we saw you. Please follow me.”

Before he even reached the west courtyard, a young man appeared and greeted him happily, grabbing Han Li’s arm in a flurry. However, Han Li raised an eyebrow and naturally moved his shoulder, causing the other’s large hand to miss.

The young man seemed surprised and lost his words for a moment.

“Who is it? It’s Brother Ra. Is Madam Bang looking for me?”

This young man was the one called ‘Seventh’ among the Heavenly Cauldron Trading Company’s cavalry.

“Yes, that’s right. The Madam was very curious after hearing about you and said she wanted to meet you right away.”

“I am now a member of the Trading Company, so I must follow orders. Then, Brother Ra, would you be so kind as to guide me?”

“Kind? It’s my duty!”

The young man had already realized that Han Li was superior to him after his hand missed, so he no longer acted rudely and quietly led the way.

In response, Han Li sent the inn servant back and followed the young man named Ra to the west courtyard, naturally greeting the Trading Company’s guards and cavalry he encountered.

The two of them went through various passages and passed over a dozen detached houses before finally arriving at a separate detached house. However, two men stood guard in front of the elegant and tranquil detached house.

As Han Li and the young man named Ra approached, the men scanned them with cold gazes.

At a glance, the two men were not ordinary body refiners. The aura that made one’s heart chill just by their gaze indicated that they were more skilled than Jang Gyu.

“Brothers, this is Brother Han, who has newly joined our Trading Company. The Madam has ordered him to be brought here, so please let us through.”

The young man named Ra said politely, cupping his fist in greeting.

“Is this the one who has mastered the Vajra Body Technique to the third level? He looks young. Did he swallow some pill that makes him look younger?”

The slightly smaller one scanned Han Li up and down, speaking in a rather blunt tone, as if he were talking to himself or to the other man.

“If that’s how you feel, then so be it.”

Han Li was taken aback, but he smiled lightly and replied.

“But I don’t believe you’ve cultivated the Vajra Body Technique to the third level. Can we test you?”

The giant grabbed Han Li’s wrist with a cold gaze. Han Li did not avoid it and offered his wrist to the other man. The five fingers, which were strangely cold, touched his wrist and exerted explosive power, not at all like a human’s body.

A faint golden light appeared on his wrist from the opponent’s immense power, but it disappeared in an instant, and he just let it happen.

After a while, the giant’s expression changed drastically when he realized that Han Li was completely unfazed even though he had already used 70 to 80 percent of his strength. He hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and exerted even more force, emitting a black light from his fingertips.

Then, Han Li erased his smile, snorted softly, and lightly shook off his wrist. At that moment, the giant felt a tingling sensation in the five fingers that had been holding Han Li’s wrist, and they felt momentarily paralyzed.

“Huh!”

He gasped in surprise, and his body was lifted by an immense force and sent flying towards the stone wall. At that moment, the other giant, who had been silent all along, blurred and quickly flew several feet to catch the flying giant. However, his expression changed as he tried to grab his companion’s clothes with one hand, and he soon joined his other arm and exerted force.

Bang!

A loud noise rang out, followed by a series of thudding footsteps.

The silent giant had caught his companion, but his body had been pushed back a dozen or so steps before he stopped.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and examined the giant who had belatedly stepped forward. Judging by the fact that he had managed to catch him after he had revealed a bit of his monstrous strength, his body refinement technique seemed to be superior to the first giant. The young man named Ra was already speechless.

The two giants guarding the door were Madam Bang’s guards.

Usually, they did not even bother with the cavalry, and their body refinement techniques were so renowned that even the leader, Jang Gyu, was secretly impressed. Even those who were considered skilled would be defeated miserably if they competed with them.

But the newly arrived Han Li had defeated the two giants with just one hand. Was the third level of the Vajra Body Technique this powerful? The young man named Ra was lost in thought.

However, he had no way of knowing that Han Li’s strength was due to the Dragon Scale Fruit he had consumed for hundreds of years in the mortal realm and the Bone Forging Technique. Otherwise, even if the Vajra Body Technique had increased his strength, he would have had similar strength to the two giants.

“Brother Han, your skills are truly amazing. My brother and I are sincerely impressed. Please come inside.”

The giant who had stepped forward later used his technique to expel the bad energy from his body, and his expression returned to normal. Now, they looked at Han Li with even more respectful eyes.

Han Li smiled without saying anything, cupped his fist in greeting to the two of them, and calmly entered the courtyard. The young man named Ra was not qualified to enter, so he naturally remained outside.

As he saw that the door of the detached house was closed, he was about to knock when a pleasant female voice came from inside.

“Are you Master Han? Please come in! I have been waiting for you.”

Han Li’s eyes sparkled as he quietly opened the door and entered, but his expression changed slightly as he scanned the inside. There were many people in the room.

In the upper seat sat a woman in her thirties with fair skin and beautiful features, wearing a blue robe. Behind her stood a young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties, wearing a navy robe, who looked somewhat similar to the woman.

Opposite the woman sat a man in a golden robe with a youthful face, sending a cold gaze. Next to him were a young couple who seemed to be a pair. The man looked refined, and the woman was as beautiful as a flower.

They had already known what had happened outside, and they carefully examined Han Li as he entered.

The woman looked surprisingly pleased, the young man in the navy robe showed curiosity, but the man in the golden robe slightly narrowed his brows. And the young couple looked surprised.

“Master Han, it was I who asked the guards to test your skills. I just wanted to see if the third level of the Vajra Body Technique was as impressive as I had heard. It is one of the most difficult body refinement techniques to master, and even those who have mastered the second level are rare, so mastering the third level is truly remarkable.”

The woman rose and slightly bowed, holding her front lapel.

“I am already a member of the Trading Company. A little sparring is nothing. I wonder if Madam is satisfied with my skills.”

Han Li smiled nonchalantly.

He had decided to stay at the Heavenly Cauldron Trading Company for a while, but he had no intention of being used as an unnamed pawn, so he had deliberately revealed his skills. Perhaps, after what had just happened, Madam Bang would be looking at him with different eyes.

“The power of the third level of the Vajra Body Technique is more impressive than I had imagined, and it has broadened my horizons. Oh, yes, let me introduce you to Master Han! My son, Ban Cheong, is learning immortal techniques at the Golden Jade Sect. These three are my son’s fellow disciples.”

Madam Bang smiled brightly and briefly introduced the other people in the room.

“So, you are the young master and the immortal masters.”

Han Li cupped his fist in greeting to them calmly. Even though he could not release his divine sense, he could sense their cultivation since they were nearby.

They were all cultivators above the Qi Condensation stage. Ban Cheong and the couple seemed to have just entered the Qi Condensation stage, and their energy was weak, but the man in the golden robe had a cultivation close to the late stage of Qi Condensation.

‘He is not someone to be taken lightly.’

Perhaps because of the skills Han Li had just shown, they did not act arrogantly and simply greeted him. Soon, the man in the golden robe smiled and asked.

“I, Jin Mo, have never learned body refinement techniques, but my master has experience fighting high-level body refiners. I heard that that senior alone could kill six or seven demon beasts, and I thought it was an exaggeration. But after seeing Brother Han’s Vajra Body Technique, I realized it was not an exaggeration! However, Brother Han’s monstrous strength is not only due to cultivation but also seems to be innate.”

The man seemed to have a wide range of knowledge, as he recognized that Han Li’s monstrous strength was not commensurate with the third level of the Vajra Body Technique.

“You have a keen eye, Brother Jin. As you said, it is something innate.”

Since he could not explain the Dragon Scale Fruit and other things anyway, he acknowledged the other man’s words. The man in the golden robe nodded and dispelled the doubts in his heart.

*