Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 275

“I already killed a cultivator of the Inverse Star Alliance on the way back from Ling Xian and the Heavenly Star City. Can that be substituted?” Han Li asked calmly. The old man seemed intrigued by Han Li’s question. “You’ve already killed one?” “Yes.” “Unfortunately, it only counts if you deal with an enemy during the war after you’ve applied. It doesn’t matter how many cultivators you’ve killed before.” “In your opinion, when do you think this war will start?” “It will probably start soon. If things go as expected, the war will break out within a few days. The Inverse Star Alliance has already begun to capture islands in the Inner Star Sea, so it won’t be long before they attack the Heavenly Star City. They’ll want a quick victory too.” At those words, Han Li didn’t hesitate and said coldly, “Then I’ll apply. I’ll kill a cultivator of the same level and use the teleportation array to go to the Outer Star Sea.” “Good thinking! Then keep this ring with you. It proves that you are a temporary member of the Star Palace. When the war starts, show the ring and join the battle.” The old man took out a yellowish ring from his pocket and handed it over. Han Li took the ring and put it on his finger without hesitation. The old man smiled at the sight. “Then enter the city. You can move freely for half a day every day, and when the war starts, we’ll notify you through the ring. Wait for the call at your residence.” After speaking, the old man slowly closed his eyes again and didn’t open his mouth anymore. Han Li, who had been staring at him, turned around and headed towards the city. As he entered the city gate, the streets inside the Heavenly Star City were deserted. There were a few cultivators flying around, but all the common people were hiding in their homes. Han Li thought it was fortunate to see such a desolate scene. Clearly, the markets in the city were also mostly closed or reduced in size. If he hadn’t stopped by the South Bright Island to prepare the necessary items, he would have had a lot of trouble. He lowered his head and chuckled before splitting the air and flying to his residence. Most of the shops in the market below the Star Mountain were closed, and there were hardly any people walking around. He shook his head and flew straight to the 39th floor of the Star Mountain. As he entered the Star Mountain area, his keen senses warned him of the strict security. There were far more spiritual senses scanning him than outside the city, but they withdrew their attention after confirming the yellow ring. Han Li pretended not to notice anything and arrived in front of his cave. The restrictions outside the cave were maintained exactly as they were before he left. He sighed deeply as he looked down at the restrictions floating in the air. He had returned after a brief trip, barely escaping numerous crises, only to have to abandon his residence, where he had spent so much time. After using his spirit plate to release the restrictions, he silently entered the cave. The inside was also the same as before. Han Li went to the secret room where the Gold Devouring Beetles were kept. He felt relieved to see that the beetles were doing well. He immediately moved all the Gold Devouring Beetles into a new spirit beast pouch and went to the herb garden to collect all the spirit herbs. After finishing his planned tasks, Han Li returned to his bedroom and lay down on the bed to plan his next steps. The condition that he had to kill a cultivator of the same level from the Inverse Star Alliance to use the teleportation array to the Outer Star Sea was not a difficult task for him. However, what worried him was that the Star Palace cultivators might find out about him possessing the Heaven Refining Cauldron before the war even started. After all, there was no way to stop the old monsters from returning. If this news got out, he would be in danger from both the Star Palace and the Inverse Star Alliance. Another concern was that even if he fulfilled the promised condition, they might make excuses and prevent him from using the teleportation array. In fact, what could he do if a huge force like the Star Palace went back on their word? Although he had obediently accepted the Star Palace’s conditions outside the city gate, he couldn’t just sit still and wait for their call. One option was to scout the security situation around the teleportation array and, if there was an opening, take the opportunity to escape. After all, being on the outs with the Star Palace wasn’t that scary for him, who had already made enemies of numerous Nascent Soul stage [A stage of cultivation in this world] old monsters. Comforting himself in this way, Han Li fell into a deep sleep. He was exhausted after finally returning to his residence after so many twists and turns. * * * The next morning, Han Li woke up with a clear mind. As the day broke, he slowly left his cave residence and flew into the sky to survey the surroundings. Although it wasn’t as busy as usual, there were far more cultivators than when he entered the city yesterday. It seemed that now was the time when he could move around freely. Without hesitation, he circled the area and confirmed that no one was watching him before flying to the 50th floor. Soon, he reached the sky above the Star Palace Hall, where the teleportation array was located, but he didn’t stop. He pretended to pass by while using his spiritual sense to scan the surroundings. He was able to explore smoothly up to the outside of the building, but when he tried to go deeper inside, he sensed a restriction that blocked his spiritual sense, a mix of yellow and blue. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and withdrew his spiritual sense without directly touching the restriction. Han Li’s expression darkened. The restriction was not something that his powerful spiritual sense couldn’t penetrate, but if he did, the cultivators inside the hall would notice. Han Li’s brow furrowed. Because of the restriction, he couldn’t determine the number or cultivation levels of the cultivators guarding the hall. However, it was unlikely that a Nascent Soul stage cultivator would be guarding this place. At most, a Core Formation middle or late stage cultivator would be in charge. In any case, there were many more important places, so the higher-ups of the Star Palace wouldn’t have sent a Nascent Soul stage cultivator to the Star Palace Hall to stop those who were trying to escape. Han Li flew far enough away and changed direction, returning along a slightly different path than the one he had taken before. He was planning to try scanning again as he passed by the Star Palace Hall this time. Before he could carry out his plan, a deep voice echoed in his ears. “How is it, Elder Jang? Is it really impossible to get the person guarding the teleportation array to agree for less than three thousand spirit stones per person? We can’t afford more than that.” Han Li was instantly intrigued by the voice. His gaze landed on two cultivators flying low in the distance. One was a middle-aged man with a dark face and gray clothes, and the other was a very gaunt-looking man. Both were at the middle stage of Qi Condensation [A stage of cultivation in this world]. The two cultivators were talking very carefully in the empty air, but they were caught in Han Li’s powerful spiritual sense range. “Be careful. Let’s talk through voice transmission.” The gaunt man looked around nervously. Han Li quickly used his concealment technique to hide his appearance and aura. Of course, he couldn’t be detected by a cultivator at the middle stage of Qi Condensation. At the same time, Han Li focused all of his spiritual sense, which had been spread out, on the two men. He wanted to eavesdrop on their voice transmission. This was possible because Han Li’s cultivation was far higher than the two cultivators. To eavesdrop on the voice transmission of cultivators at the same level, one would need to master a special top-grade secret technique. The gaunt man smiled bitterly and said as if he couldn’t help it. “Even though the person is a distant relative of mine, it’s too risky to smuggle cultivators to the Outer Star Sea at will. They say they absolutely won’t do it without paying five thousand spirit stones per person. They’re only sending us because we’re all useless Qi Condensation stage cultivators. If it were Core Formation stage cultivators, it would be impossible.” “But five thousand is too much. Where would Qi Condensation stage cultivators like us get so many spirit stones?” The gaunt man sighed at the dark-faced middle-aged man’s complaint. “But it’s too dangerous to stay in the Inner Star Sea. If we mountain cultivators get caught up in this, we’re likely to lose our lives. Besides, if the forces of the Star Palace and the Inverse Star Alliance are evenly matched and the war lasts for years or even decades, when will we have time to cultivate? We all have precious materials or magic tools that we’ve saved up, so we can sell them to gather spirit stones. We need to stay alive to make use of spirit stones.” “I guess so. But it’s not like we can all go bankrupt just to go to the Outer Star Sea…” “Alright. Let’s hear what the others decide.” The gaunt man also seemed a bit troubled. After speaking, they increased their speed and flew away. Han Li didn’t follow them hastily. He wrapped a strand of his spiritual sense around the gaunt man’s body. Then, he followed the two cultivators with his gaze, slowly chasing after them from a distance. Their speed was too slow for Han Li. After flying for several hours, they finally entered an ordinary-looking house on the 4th floor of the Star Mountain. … Shortly after, Han Li appeared in the air above the roof of their house. The area was relatively quiet, and apart from similar-looking buildings in the distance, there were quite a few jade-colored bamboos planted, making the scenery quite pleasant. Han Li’s eyes lit up as he surveyed the surroundings. The building had a small formation called the Flowing Water Formation, which wouldn’t stop anyone from breaking in, but it was designed to detect and warn of intrusions. However, Han Li didn’t care and quietly infiltrated the building. * * * Han Li, who had disappeared without a sound, reappeared in the courtyard. He had hidden the fluctuations of his entire body’s magic power, so it would be difficult for even a Core Formation stage cultivator to find him, let alone a Qi Condensation stage cultivator. This was also because Han Li was being cautious in case there was a Core Formation stage cultivator among them. Han Li stood still and placed the entire building within the range of his spiritual sense. His expression changed slightly as he shifted his gaze to the left annex. There was no one in the other rooms, and seven cultivators were gathered in the small annex. The dark-faced middle-aged man and the gaunt man he had just seen were among them. Two of the seven were women. One was a rather beautiful woman, and the other was a young woman with an ordinary appearance. The one with the highest cultivation among them was a man in silk clothes with piercing eyes and a hooked nose. He was handsome except for his nose, and he was also well-built. He had already reached the late stage of Qi Condensation and was almost at the peak. He was at a level where he could attempt Core Formation soon. The others were mostly at the early or middle stage of Qi Condensation, which was the minimum level required to go hunting in the Outer Star Sea. They were all silent with dark expressions, as if they had just finished a conversation. Han Li calmly waited for them. He planned to decide his next course of action after obtaining information through their conversation. After a while, the middle-aged woman couldn’t hold back and spoke first. “Elder Yeok, didn’t Elder Hwang already say that the other party won’t send us to the Outer Star Sea unless we pay five thousand spirit stones? We need to decide now whether to fulfill the Star Palace’s conditions and use the teleportation array fairly, or pay the spirit stones and sneak away. Once the war breaks out, we won’t be able to choose.” A white-faced cultivator next to the young woman retorted in an unpleasant tone. “It seems that Madam Ryu’s opinion is to pay the spirit stones. You cultivators are wealthy enough to afford it, but my wife and I don’t have enough even if we sell all our assets. Surely, Madam Ryu isn’t planning to use the teleportation array alone?” The middle-aged woman was also displeased and retorted with dissatisfaction. “When did I say I would go alone? I was saying that we should listen to Elder Yeok, who is the most experienced and has the highest cultivation among us.” The man in silk clothes spoke calmly. “Both of you, stop. What kind of place is the Outer Star Sea that Elder Ryu, who is at the Qi Condensation stage, would go alone? We all need to move together to have a higher chance of survival. And if we’re lucky, we might catch spirit beasts and refine spirit medicines that can help with our cultivation, so we must go to the Outer Star Sea. However, it’s too dangerous to kill a cultivator of the same level from the Inverse Star Alliance as the Star Palace demands. We also don’t know if the Star Palace will keep their promise.” A sturdy young man stepped forward. “Surely not. The Star Palace has never broken a promise before. Isn’t that too much suspicion?” The young man was clearly young, but he spoke like an old man. The man in silk clothes snorted at his question. “Even if it’s unlikely, it’s not impossible. The Star Palace might do anything if they’re in a crisis. It’s nothing for those in power to break their promises and pretend they don’t know.” The room fell silent again, and everyone was lost in thought. # 277