Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 145

Cultivators were generally beings unknown to ordinary people.

However, those gathered here were high-ranking officials who had lived lives far from ordinary, so they were naturally well-informed about such matters. Some even had records of their ancestors encountering hermits. Moreover, there was a story that the imperial palace was under the protection of cultivators, so they were naturally objects of reverence.

That such a cultivator had appeared at Prince Hyung’s residence caused most of the distinguished guests to show signs of excitement.

Upon hearing that, Jin Yan unconsciously turned his gaze towards Han Li, but Han Li was still only pretending to be a simple country youth.

Jin Yan didn’t dare to ask first and turned his head back to focus on Prince Hyung’s words.

“I was also curious about that, so I asked him directly, and he himself admitted that he was a cultivator. Furthermore, when I earnestly requested, he agreed to stay at our Prince Hyung’s residence for a few months and give us teachings on the Dao [the Way, a concept of spiritual enlightenment]. During our conversation, I learned that he was looking for a disciple with a connection to the Dao in the mortal world.

That’s when you all came to mind, and I wanted to give you the opportunity to bring your talented children to show to Master Oh. However, whether or not they truly have a connection to the Dao is up to their own fate.”

At first, people were just expressing envy and admiration, but as they reached the latter part, they were overjoyed.

To them, cultivators were no different from living immortals.

They believed that if a cultivator emerged from their family, everything would be smooth sailing from then on, as they could live for hundreds of years through cultivation and wield magic and harmony.

Han Li was wearing a surprised expression like the others, but he thought it was strange. Originally, when Prince Hyung mentioned a cultivator, he expected to hear that traces of demonic cultivators had been found.

But unexpectedly, it was a cultivator looking for a disciple, which was strange! There was no way a cultivator who had invaded another country would be running around so carelessly. While he was making various speculations, the so-called Master Oh appeared, drawing everyone’s attention.

He was wearing a colorful Taoist robe, with white hair and a beard fluttering, and his skin was like a baby’s, making him look like an immortal to anyone who saw him.

Even though he hadn’t shown anything, half of the crowd already believed he was a cultivator. Han Li was speechless at the sight of this man who seemed to have jumped out of an immortal painting.

He was only a Qi Refining Stage five cultivator, a beginner whom he could crush with a single finger. Yet, those who claimed to be of high status in the mortal world were vying to flatter him, begging him to accept their children as disciples.

Jin Yan also seemed tempted, so the young people behind him were needless to say. They were all excited, fearing they might miss this opportunity if they were late. As Jin Yan hesitated, Han Li’s voice reached his ears.

“That person is not a demonic cultivator, so don’t worry. I’m only here to protect Jin Ga, so it’s up to you whether you want to bring your grandchildren to greet him. Just know that his cultivation is not that high.”

Jin Yan was surprised and looked around, but it seemed that no one else had heard this voice except him. He only heard Elder Hwa asking why he wasn’t introducing the children to the cultivator yet.

Now, Elder Hwa seemed surprised that it was a cultivator who had cured the illness he couldn’t fix. Elder Hwa, who had awakened Jin Yan, was also hurrying to approach the so-called Master Oh with his grandchildren.

When Jin Yan saw even Elder Hwa rushing to approach, he was finally swayed. Even though Han Li had told him that the other party was not a high-level cultivator, wasn’t he still a cultivator who wanted to take disciples? No matter how high Han Li’s cultivation was, it was like a pie in the sky [something unattainable].

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of making his young grandchildren Han Li’s disciples, but after interacting with him, he realized that he had no intention of doing so.

His father had also told him before his death that the Yi Hwa Won Seon Sa [a title for a Taoist hermit] had come to the Jin family to see if there were any children with a connection to the Dao, but had returned disappointed. Now that a new opportunity had come, he couldn’t let it pass.

Jin Yan made his decision and hurriedly gathered the children and moved. Even after seeing this, Han Li said nothing.

He had already told Jin Yan the truth, so it was not his business if he wanted to send his children under that person.

While Han Li was thinking this, two of the Jin family children who had gathered around Master Oh turned to look at him, wearing triumphant smiles.

They were clearly trying to mock him for not getting such an opportunity. Those children had judged that Jin Yan was not recommending such an opportunity to Han Li because he cared for them more.

Han Li secretly shook his head, finding it annoying to deal with them, and turned his gaze elsewhere.

Now, there were hardly any people sitting still. However, the only place Han Li’s gaze was directed was towards an old man and a boy on one side of the main hall.

The gray-haired old man, in his sixties, was wearing a blue robe and calmly enjoying his tea.

Moreover, the handsome boy was looking at Master Oh with a dumbfounded expression. After confirming that the two were sitting leisurely, Han Li gave a faint smile.

Unexpectedly, the two were cultivators, and their skills were considerable. The old man had reached the ninth stage, and the boy had reached the fifth stage.

What was surprising was that he could only faintly sense their spiritual power, as if a mere Qi Refining Stage cultivator had hidden it. Unless one was a cultivator with a vastly different level like himself, they would not be able to tell that they were cultivators at all.

It was clear that the so-called Master Oh did not know that he, as well as the old man and the boy, were of the same kind.

The technique of hiding spiritual energy from cultivators of a similar level caught Han Li’s interest. How advantageous would it be in a fight against a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator if he mastered such a technique!

As he thought this, Han Li’s eyes narrowed even more as he looked at them. But upon closer inspection, the boy seemed a bit strange. No matter how he looked at it, his physique seemed like a girl dressed as a boy.

Startled by this discovery, Han Li stared blankly at the girl, and she, feeling his gaze, blushed and glared back at him. The old man, seeing the behavior of the girl dressed as a boy, gave Han Li a stern look, but the young man was not at all intimidated and smiled at him!

The old man, feeling a bit uncomfortable, closed his eyes. Han Li, who was watching this, was slightly surprised.

‘He closed his eyes? Could it be…’

Before he could finish his speculation, the old man moved as he had expected. When the old man opened his eyes again and looked at Han Li, a purple light was swirling in his eyes.

Unexpectedly, he was trying to cast a bewitchment spell on Han Li to publicly humiliate him. For Han Li, it was just a funny thing. For a mere ninth-stage cultivator to try to cast a bewitchment spell on a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator was just asking for death.

If he used even a little magic to counterattack, the old man would suffer a considerable blow as a result of the bewitchment spell bouncing back.

However, Han Li, who was interested in the opponent’s technique, did not go that far. The old man, who had been mocking Han Li, realized that something was wrong and tried to avoid his gaze, but it was already too late.

A yellow light flickered in Han Li’s eyes, and his gaze was drawn to him like a magnet. Now, even if he wanted to turn his gaze away, he couldn’t do it at will. The old man regretted his rash actions.

He had never imagined that such a young man would be a cultivator and that his achievements would be higher than his own. If he had known that, he wouldn’t have thought of subduing his opponent with a nightmare spell.

The more the old man thought about it, the more nervous he became, and he instantly began to sweat profusely. And with a face that had already turned pale, he could only stare at Han Li.

The girl discovered the old man’s abnormality and pulled on his sleeve.

As a result, surprisingly, she was able to escape Han Li’s gaze, and she barely felt the backlash of the nightmare spell. The old man felt like he had come back from the dead, as if he had just been pulled out of hell.

His back was soaked with sweat, and his clothes were all damp. He immediately told the girl dressed as a boy something and never looked at Han Li again.

The old man also knew that his easy release was intentional on the part of the other party. If that wasn’t the case, his consciousness would have been damaged at the very least, and he would have suffered for a long time.

He didn’t know why the other party had shown such mercy, but it was best to stay away from such a person. He had clearly used his Heavenly Eye Technique [a technique to see spiritual energy] to confirm that he couldn’t sense any spiritual power from the other party and then used the nightmare spell, so it was a bewildering situation for him.

‘Could it be that he has already reached the Foundation Establishment Stage…’

The more the old man thought about it, the more his face turned pale. If his guess was correct, he had just messed with a big shot that even a small clan couldn’t touch carelessly. The girl dressed as a boy was even more surprised to see the old man’s face changing colors so frequently.

Her grandfather, who usually had no emotional fluctuations in most matters, was so agitated, and she became curious about the identity of that ordinary young man.

She unconsciously tried to glance at Han Li, but before she could act on her thoughts, she was scolded by the old man, who had noticed his granddaughter’s behavior.

“Don’t even look at that young man! If my guess is correct, he is already a cultivator who has succeeded in reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, so you must never provoke him.”

“Yes? Really? But he’s so young?”

The girl had a look of disbelief, but she didn’t dare raise her voice at the old man’s tense appearance.

Although she had a look of disbelief, she knew that her grandfather was not one to say anything without reason, so she followed his words. Han Li was also satisfied with his own cleverness in giving the opponent a sharp lesson without causing any harm. He moved his lips and sent a voice transmission.

“When you leave Prince Hyung’s residence, don’t leave immediately, but wait for me at the back gate.”

The old man trembled at the sudden commanding voice.

‘Could it be that he’s not going to let us go? But judging by his actions, he doesn’t seem to be that vicious. But why would a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator have business with me?’

Even though he tried to comfort himself that the other party didn’t have bad intentions, he couldn’t help but feel restless.

Meanwhile, Master Oh had already examined most of the young people and had not found anyone with a connection to the Dao.

Those who had received the result that they did not have the aptitude to become a cultivator were naturally very disappointed.

‘A connection to cultivating the Dao, what a joke, he’s just looking for someone with spiritual roots [the innate ability to cultivate]. But it seems he’s really looking for a disciple, otherwise, he could have just picked a few random people.’

Han Li thought as he watched the old Taoist examine each person to see if they had spiritual roots. However, the chances of finding someone with spiritual roots among only 50 or 60 people were too low. As he was thinking this, the white-haired Taoist shouted.

“This child has a connection! I can take him into my sect.”

Startled by the sound, Han Li also turned his gaze in that direction. The plump young man in front of the Taoist was dumbfounded by Master Oh’s words.

The middle-aged man with a bulging belly standing next to him, wearing a purple silk robe, asked back.

“Master! Are you really saying that our Dong Gyeong has a connection to the Dao!”

The middle-aged man had a look of disbelief. It was incredibly surprising that his son, who liked to eat and play, had caught the eye of the master among so many young men and women of talent.

“Haha! Don’t worry, benefactor! I have checked several times, and your son has the aptitude, so he can cultivate the Dao with the young prince.”

Master Oh stroked his white beard.

“Thank you! Thank you, Master! Our family may not be a great merchant, but we have some land, so as a token of gratitude for taking my son, I will give you that land. Hurry, hurry and greet your master.”

The middle-aged man was excited. The young people who had been disappointed at not catching the master’s eye also began to examine the one he had chosen.

But the one who was chosen for having a connection to the Dao was none other than Dong Fatty, whom they had been mocking for being stupid and fat!

It was really hard to accept that such a fool had aptitude. Not only the young people but also the adults of each family were thinking similarly.