Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 841

The giant Peng in the void folded its wings and shrank within the blue light. Soon, a clear cry was heard, and from the dazzling light, a man with his upper body bare appeared, enveloped in blue light, slowly descending.

Jin Yeol narrowed his eyes, looking at the man’s chest. There, the image of a blue Peng was vividly imprinted, shimmering. The man was none other than Han Li, who had fused the Kun Peng True Blood and refined the relic.

‘True Saint Dharma Image! He definitely possesses the blood of a True Saint. Moreover, to evoke that mark, isn’t that a phenomenon that mostly appears in the body of a Saint?’

Now that the True Saint Dharma Image had appeared on his body, even if other races knew that Han Li was not a true Heavenly Peng, they would not be able to provide a valid reason to prevent him from participating in the trial.

Jin Yeol comforted himself and straightened his expression. However, Elder Seo and the beautiful woman’s expressions darkened as they looked at the pattern on Han Li’s chest. How could they not feel dejected that a member of another race possessed the True Saint Dharma Image, which most of the high-ranking members of the Heavenly Peng Clan did not have!

As golden light flashed and a gold and silver robe appeared on his body, Han Li approached the three elders with a composed demeanor and clasped his hands in greeting.

“Thanks to the seniors’ help, I have almost mastered the Heavenly Peng Transformation Technique. Please be lenient even if there are shortcomings.”

His attitude was extremely humble despite his remarkable achievements.

“Your transformation technique is already at a considerable level, and there is nothing more we can guide you on. You may return now. Two months from now, before you participate in the trial, we will register your name on the Heavenly Peng Oath Tablet. Until then, you are free to stay in the Holy City. Also, although we helped you refine the Kun Peng relic, the killing intent contained within the relic has not been completely removed. It will remain dormant in your body, but it will not erupt in the short term. We will remove it after you return from the trial.”

Jin Yeol said nonchalantly. At those words, a subtle change appeared on Han Li’s face, but he soon returned to a calm expression.

“Yes. I will participate in the trial in two months.”

At his reply, Jin Yeol nodded. Han Li respectfully bowed to the three elders and transformed into a blue light, leaving the place.

As he disappeared, the three elders’ expressions were all different. Jin Yeol was expressionless, but Elder Seo and the beautiful woman seemed to be deep in thought.

* * *

Half a day later, Han Li, who had returned to the guest house, immediately sat cross-legged. As he formed a hand seal, blue light flickered from his body.

After a while, a painful look appeared on his face, and large drops of sweat fell. Han Li sighed, withdrew the blue light, and opened his eyes.

“Interesting. The consciousness of that Heavenly Peng elder named Hongyun is so ferocious. If it weren’t for the Great Connection [a technique that links consciousness], the aftermath would have been immense. Fortunately, it has no self-awareness, so I should suppress it for now and slowly refine it.”

Even if it was only a part of consciousness, the power of a Fusion cultivator was beyond imagination. Even with Han Li’s cultivation, it would take hundreds of years to completely refine it. However, if he could refine it and make it his own, he could greatly strengthen his original consciousness.

Besides, the chaotic energy like the slight killing intent mixed in the relic was not worth worrying about. The Universal True Devil Art was incompatible with that kind of killing intent.

After organizing his thoughts, Han Li rubbed the thunder robe he was wearing.

Kwagwang!

A thunderous sound was heard, and countless gold and silver lightning bolts were absorbed into his body. He slightly lowered his head and looked at the blue Peng pattern on his chest.

“Hmph, Heavenly Peng Dharma Image? It should be called the Awakening of Insects Dharma Image.”

Han Li lightly pointed at it with his fingertip. Then, a mysterious phenomenon occurred.

The faint Peng pattern shone in five colors and transformed into a five-colored peacock, then into a golden monkey pattern that raised its head and roared. Finally, it disappeared into a white light.

If Jin Yeol and the other Heavenly Peng elders had seen this, they would have been shocked and their eyes would have widened. The True Saint Dharma Image could not change its shape frequently or disappear so easily.

Once the pattern of the True Saint Dharma Image appeared on the skin, it usually stayed with its owner for life and did not change. Han Li examined his chest with a very satisfied expression.

“I have already mastered three types of incantations among the twelve transformations of the Awakening of Insects. Although I cannot transform into a True Spirit Avatar because I do not have the True Blood of the Five-Colored Peacock and the Mountain Giant Ape, their power is beyond question.”

This was a technique he had accidentally obtained while refining Hongyun’s consciousness. In theory, he could now transform into twelve types of True Spirit forms. If he possessed all twelve True Spirit Dharma Images and mastered their divine abilities, even a True Immortal of the heavens would be reluctant to fight him.

However, this was just a pipe dream, and even if he mastered the Awakening of Insects Art to its peak, he would only be able to use a small portion of the various True Spirits’ divine abilities.

Unfortunately, among the True Spirits of the Spirit World, the renowned True Dragon and Heavenly Peng were also included in the twelve transformations, but the incantations were hidden deep within Hongyun’s consciousness, which he had not yet refined, so he did not know how long it would take to obtain them.

‘If that weren’t the case, I could have transformed into an avatar since I have the blood of the True Dragon and Heavenly Peng in my possession.’

Han Li was slightly disappointed. However, the Kun Peng transformation was originally the foundation of the twelve transformations, and Hongyun, who was the Great Elder of the Heavenly Peng Clan, was the most proficient in it. That was why he had easily mastered the essence of the Heavenly Peng Transformation Technique.

Thanks to Jin Yeol’s powerful assistance, he had refined a small portion of Hongyun’s consciousness in a short time and obtained useful information.

The Heavenly Peng Clan’s Great Elder Hongyun was a genius who appeared once in tens of thousands of years. After countless hardships, he expanded the Heavenly Peng Dharma Body Transformation Technique into the transformation techniques of other True Spirits, creating the Awakening of Insects Art.

However, the unfortunate thing was that he was in the late stage of Fusion, and even though he had painstakingly collected the blood of other True Spirits, his consciousness and physical strength could not keep up, and he eventually went mad and died from the backlash of all the True Bloods.

Strangely, this Heavenly Peng Clan Great Elder did not pass on the cultivation incantations of the Awakening of Insects Art to the Heavenly Peng Clan before he went mad. That point was a little incomprehensible.

Han Li did not know, but when Hongyun held the position of Great Elder, the Heavenly Peng Clan was at its peak. He dominated an era with his immense talent and cultivation, and with the intention of astonishing the world by mastering the Awakening of Insects Art, he did not reveal this fact to anyone.

This meant that even the other elders of his clan did not know that Hongyun had created and mastered a divine ability called the Awakening of Insects Art. In the end, with his sudden death, the Awakening of Insects Art disappeared from the world.

The fact that the incantations remained in the relic he left behind was truly something only the heavens knew. Perhaps Hongyun had regained his senses for a moment before he died and left the incantations in the relic to plan for the future.

Han Li pondered for a moment, but since the incantations of the Awakening of Insects Art had come into his hands, he had no intention of returning them to the Heavenly Peng Clan.

If the Heavenly Peng Clan elders found out about this, they would not thank him. Instead, they would most likely kill him first to prevent this matter from leaking out.

After carefully reviewing the current situation, the corners of Han Li’s mouth curved into a smile.

This time, while fusing the Kun Peng True Blood and the relic, he had an unexpected gain in addition to the Awakening of Insects Art. Due to the two powerful stimuli, his cultivation had risen for no particular reason.

He was now in the late stage of the Transformation Realm, and with the assistance of the True Essence Water, there would be no obstacles to his future cultivation.

The Heavenly Peng Clan elders were only surprised that he had mastered the Heavenly Peng Transformation Technique and said nothing about his increased cultivation. It was unclear whether this was because the change was not significant enough for Fusion stage beings to care about, or whether they were too flustered to notice.

Han Li flipped his hand and took out a jade bottle, pouring a few pills into his mouth. Then, he closed his eyes and began to cultivate.

Having just reached the late stage, he needed to stabilize his cultivation.

The next day, after clearing his mind, Han Li left his residence and headed back to the Grand Exchange.

It was the day he had promised the owner of the Myriad Thunder Pavilion. He desperately needed the Azure Luo Fruit, and he could not miss this opportunity. He safely arrived at the ninth-floor shop of the Grand Exchange and frowned as he saw the emaciated middle-aged man.

“What is going on? And who are these people? Wasn’t it a promise with me?”

The one who spoke was not Han Li, but a burly giant wearing black armor on his face.

Inside the shop, there were three other people besides Han Li. In addition to the emaciated shop owner and the furious giant, a gentle-looking young man also had an unpleasant expression.

Han Li quickly scanned them with his consciousness and confirmed that the two figures were early-stage Nascent Soul beings.

“When did I say I would only take one person to subdue the spirit beast? Anyone who doesn’t want to can leave now. I have no intention of stopping you. However, the Ice Heart Crystal, the Violet Light Iron, and the Azure Luo Fruit will be gone.”

The owner glared and scoffed. At those words, the young man and the giant exchanged glances, and Han Li simply narrowed his brows.

“I understand. Let’s go with three people. But if someone subdues the spirit beast first, the next person will have to return empty-handed, won’t they?”

“Haha, you can rest assured about that. I don’t want anyone to go alone. The three of you must use the divine ability of lightning together. Based on previous experience, there is no chance of success otherwise. If you succeed in subduing the spirit beast, I will give you all the items you want as promised.”

The owner said with a sneer at the young man’s words.

At the mention of giving the items, the giant and the young man’s expressions relaxed, and they no longer raised any objections. The owner nodded in satisfaction and turned his gaze to Han Li, clicking his tongue.

“Brother Han, your cultivation has risen from the mid-stage to the high-stage in just a few days! If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. Anyway, congratulations! Your lightning divine ability must have become even more powerful.”

“I was lucky. The power of lightning is indeed stronger than before.”

Han Li smiled and brushed it off. The black-armored giant and the young man, who had been listening to their conversation, also looked at Han Li with new eyes.

“Very well. Since everyone seems to have nothing more to say, follow me now. The place where the spirit beast is located is very secret, so you must go with me.”

“It’s no problem to follow you, but before that, you should show us the items, right?”

The gentle-faced young man muttered, rolling his eyes. At those words, the black-armored giant’s eyes lit up, and he agreed.

Han Li also did not speak, but he showed a sign of agreement.

“You want to check the items first before working! Very well. The items are prepared, so take a look.”

As if he had expected it, the owner answered without hesitation. His attitude was so different from his previous stinginess that even the young man who had spoken was a little taken aback.

Shh shh shh!

Three air-piercing sounds rang out, and three wooden boxes of different sizes flew over. The young man and the giant were overjoyed and sent their energy to pull the wooden boxes towards them.

Han Li was also surprised, but he reached out and carefully opened the wooden box. Then, a strong fragrance assaulted his nose.

Inside the wooden box was a fist-sized fruit that looked like it was made of jade, and at the bottom, there was even a strangely shaped red leaf attached.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and examined it, about to touch the fruit with his fingertip. The black-armored giant and the young man were the same. But then, the owner suddenly shouted.

“I wouldn’t touch the items in the wooden box if I were you. Although it’s weak, there is a restriction on it, and if the item is damaged, even if all three of you emptied your assets, you wouldn’t be able to compensate.”

“Brother, what do you mean? How can we know if it’s real without touching it?”

The giant was startled and withdrew his hand, becoming angry.

“With your cultivation, you can tell the authenticity by looking at it and checking with your consciousness. You can tell about 70 to 80 percent. If you really want to touch the items in the wooden box, let’s talk about it after the job is done. Anyway, if you fail, it doesn’t matter if you know it’s real or not, does it? Also, I have my reputation in this clan. Do you think I would play tricks on the three of you?”

The emaciated man did not care whether the other party was angry or not.

“I understand. I’ll trust you for now. I don’t think you would tarnish your own reputation.”

The gentle young man could not take his eyes off the wooden box, but in the end, he threw it back, and the giant also returned the wooden box with a regretful look.