Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 365

“Do you know me?”Han Li’s eyes gleamed as he stared at the black-robed old man. Sensing the coldness in his gaze, the old man hastily denied it.”No, I must have mistaken you for someone else. How could I possibly know a senior like you!””Mistaken me for someone else?”Han Li, with a twitch of his jaw, shifted his gaze from the old man to the other black-robed cultivator, as if he believed the words. The gray-robed man glanced at the black-robed old man, looking frustrated. Just as he was about to say something, Han Li spoke calmly first.”Since you Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators have discovered my whereabouts, you’re very unlucky. You’ll have to give up your lives here!”Before his words could even finish, Han Li, with a grim expression, flicked his sleeve. Immediately, over a dozen blue swords were released, swaying like the wind, and in an instant, their numbers swelled to thirty or forty, covering the sky.The gray-robed man realized things had gone wrong and immediately released black energy to protect his entire body. Then, two golden and silver tridents appeared, writhing like snakes along with the black energy.Having finished his preparations, he turned into black smoke and began to flee, seemingly not caring about the lives of his fellow disciples.The remaining Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators, except for the black-robed old man, were helplessly cut to pieces by Han Li’s sword energy. The old man also fell after being struck by a blue light from Han Li’s fingertip.Han Li turned his gaze away from the old man and, with a twist of his lips, looked at the gray-robed cultivator who had already flown over a hundred yards away.As he moved his fingers, the blue lights gathered and transformed into a giant blue sword.”Go.”Whoosh.The giant sword trembled and then, like a blue rainbow, cut across the sky, instantly catching up to the black smoke.Soon, the gray-robed cultivator’s scream was heard, and the protective barrier around him was sliced through at once, scattering into ashes.With a cold expression, Han Li retrieved his magical artifact and turned his gaze to the black-robed old man, who was still unconscious. After a moment of thought, he raised a finger and pointed it at the old man’s emaciated body.Swish!A blue light instantly disappeared into the old man’s head.After a short while, when the light was withdrawn, the old man also turned into ashes and vanished, just like the others.”A traitor from the Joyful Union Sect. And Dong Xuan’er! Unexpectedly, she made a decision too. But why is she sending people to look for me?”The black-robed old man’s identity was a bit complicated. He was originally a disciple of the Joyful Union Sect who had committed a great crime by violating the sect’s rules and was supposed to have his soul extracted. However, he changed his name and appearance, joined the Ghost Spirit Sect, and had been living in hiding until now.Such a trivial matter was outside of his concern, but what was surprising was that he had once been under Dong Xuan’er’s command. Having already succeeded in forming her Core [a stage in cultivation], she had been frantically searching for news of Han Li by sending out Joyful Union Sect disciples.Because of this, the old man even had memories of infiltrating the Nine Nations Alliance. At the time, Han Li was in the Chaotic Star Sea, so there was no way he could have been found.It was because he had seen a portrait of Han Li at that time that he recognized him just now.It was an incomprehensible matter. He did not believe that Dong Xuan’er had fallen for him and had been searching for him for so long. There must be a reason he was unaware of.Unfortunately, with the old man’s position at the time, he didn’t know even the slightest clue as to why he was being searched for. After pondering for a while, he decided not to worry about it since he couldn’t figure out why Dong Xuan’er was looking for him.After all, so much time had passed, so there was a high possibility that there was no longer a reason to search for him, and he had already succeeded in forming his Nascent Soul [a higher stage in cultivation], so there was nothing to worry about.Having finished his thoughts, Han Li looked in the direction of Yellow Maple Valley one last time and then left the Taiyue Mountain Range.Unbeknownst to him, after Wu Hong’s death, a thin but clear-minded black-robed cultivator in a secluded room of the Yan Moon Sect was sighing deeply.”……!”The cultivator took out a bone token from his robes that had already lost its light and turned dim. The black-robed cultivator’s eyes, as he fiddled with the token, were filled with a fierce aura.After a while, he got up and left the secluded room.Passing through a long corridor, he reached the main hall, where he sat expressionlessly on a large stone chair. With a flick of his hand, he summoned a small bronze bell that shone brightly.Ding!With his small gesture, a huge bell sound like thunder rang out low, spreading to an incredibly distant place.Shortly after, the side door of the main hall opened, and three Core Formation cultivators rushed in. The Core Formation cultivators, consisting of two men and one woman, bowed respectfully.”Just now, your Sixth Martial Brother’s life token has lost its light. I don’t know what happened, but you must find the culprit and bring him here!””Yes, Master! Your disciples will follow your orders and capture the culprit.””Good. The next time you come to see me, the culprit must be locked up in the Immortal Confinement Prison.”The black-robed cultivator, the Soul-Locking True Lord of the Ghost Spirit Sect, finished speaking and left the main hall again.Now, only the three Core Formation cultivators remained in the main hall.”Fifth Martial Sister, immediately send a message to the Taiyue branch to find out what happened to Sixth Martial Brother. Martial Brother Que, you have connections with the branch leaders of other branches, so contact them to see if they can send out investigators.Each of you should take the most skilled disciples from the sect and search the area where Sixth Martial Brother was last seen. If you find any clues, gather again! Anyway, the one who killed Sixth Martial Brother must be a formidable cultivator. Everyone, be careful.”The black-robed cultivator among the three gave instructions to the other disciples. The other two cultivators were a graceful woman and a silk-robed scholar with a gloomy aura all over his body.The woman responded immediately, but the scholar frowned and hesitated for a moment before reluctantly nodding.”Martial Brother Que, I know that your relationship with Sixth Martial Brother was not good. No, it should be said that there was discord. But does that mean you are not going to carry out the orders that Master has personally given? Don’t forget that Martial Brother Yi and Seventh Martial Brother were severely punished for messing up the last time.”The black-robed man warned the scholar coldly, as if he was not at ease. The scholar, called Martial Brother Que, immediately changed his expression and forced a smile.”How could I dare have such thoughts? Although my relationship with Sixth Martial Brother was strained, he is already deceased, and since it is Master’s order, I will do my best to find the culprit. Don’t worry, Martial Brother.””It’s good that you know how to separate public and private matters. Then, let’s move!”The three cultivators left the main hall and soon dispersed.A few days later, the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators thoroughly searched the area around where Wu Hong was killed and discovered Han Li’s old residence.When the three disciples of the Soul-Locking True Lord heard the news and entered the cave that Han Li had made, they were speechless after seeing the traces of the Spirit Eye Spring being taken away.Already far away from the Taiyue Mountain Range, Han Yunzhi and Liu Yu were leading their spirit beast disciples, urgently crossing the mountain range towards the Yue Kingdom border.Jingzhou was located on the northwestern border of the Yue Kingdom. There were no large towns or fortresses, but there were a few small villages where people lived sparsely.Because of this, thieves and other petty criminals, as well as small-time martial artists, were rampant, and the major martial arts forces did not bother to clean up this area.Naturally, the people living here had no choice but to survive on their own, and the escort agencies that protected the merchant groups passing through this area grew in size.Today, on a certain hill in the wilderness, a scene that always unfolded in various parts of Jingzhou was being played out once again.Over 100 rough men wearing thick cotton clothes and black hoods were wielding various weapons, attacking 30 blue-clad individuals. The blue-clad individuals were also protecting a stack of carriages, creating a very common life-or-death struggle between bandits and escort agency guards.Behind the bandits, three black-clad men with similar appearances stood, coldly observing the situation.Around the carriages, young men in blue servant attire stood nervously with batons, and behind them, elegantly dressed women and a middle-aged scholar with a calm expression were seated in the front carriage.The middle-aged scholar had a black goatee and mustache, and despite his weak-looking physique, he exuded an unapproachable aura. Also, opposite him, a burly man with a curly beard, wearing a navy blue silk robe, was sitting cross-legged, leaning against the carriage.His arms were thick, and his eyes were sharp, making him surprisingly a top expert rarely seen in the martial world.Although the two men’s identities were completely different, they seemed similar in their composure even in this situation. The sounds of fighting were clearly transmitted through the carriage.The black-hooded bandits were far greater in number, but the level of the blue-clad escort agency guards was high, so it seemed that the outcome would not be decided for a while. The scholar, who had been watching the situation, suddenly smiled and said to the burly man sitting opposite him.”It seems that even if Brother Lyu doesn’t step in, the Tianwu Escort Agency won’t be defeated!””Haha! Unless the leaders of the Black Hooded Bandits come out themselves, the Tianwu Escort Agency won’t be defeated by these small fries. If those three come out, the guards will have a hard time holding on. They are known to be vicious in Jingzhou. It is said that the three leaders of the Black Hooded Bandits are skilled in coordinated attacks, making it difficult for even a considerable expert to face them all at once.”As the burly man spoke, his fighting spirit seemed to rise, and he flexed his thick fingers, making his muscles sound like they were about to burst. It seemed he had mastered an external cultivation technique that enhanced physical abilities to the extreme.”Brother Lyu, you’re something else! It seems like your hands get itchy whenever you think about fighting someone? You’re just like your Uncle Lyu.”The scholar smiled at the burly man’s appearance and shook his head as if he couldn’t help it.”Isn’t that natural, Brother Han? Our Lyu family has always revered martial arts, so we can’t help but want to fight when we meet an interesting opponent. It’s different from the Han family, who have produced famous scholars for generations. I always wonder how our ancestors, with such different goals, started building a relationship that lasted for generations.””Hehe! I happened to be organizing the letters of our deceased elders the other day and saw records of past events. If Brother Lyu is interested, I can tell you the story, but whether you believe it or not is not my concern.””Really? Our Lyu family doesn’t have any ancestors who would leave such records. At most, we have a few martial arts books. I’ve never heard anything about the two families.”The burly man with the Lyu surname immediately showed curiosity and seemed quite excited.”Oh, those three have come out! Wait a moment. Let’s deal with them first and then talk again.”The burly man, with his curly beard fluttering, turned his head sharply, sensing something, and shot out of the carriage like an arrow. Then, the burly man’s laughter and the cold friction of weapons clashing grew louder outside.The scholar sighed softly and lowered the curtain of the carriage window, not even looking outside. He seemed to have deep faith in the burly man.After a short while, all the commotion gradually subsided.The carriage curtain fluttered, and the burly man entered, dusting off his clothes. There was a reddish aura on his shoulder, indicating that he had suffered a minor injury.”Hahaha! As I heard, those three were quite something when they teamed up, so it took a little time. But you can consider the Black Hooded Bandits in Jingzhou to be gone from today onwards.”The scholar expressed his apologies for his injury.”If Brother Lyu hadn’t accompanied me, I, Han Cheonso, would have lost my life while trying to return home to pay respects to my ancestors. It seems that some of my enemies have a deep-seated grudge against me! I’m worried that Brother Lyu might get caught up in this because of me.””Get caught up? The Lyu family would not have survived safely in the martial world until now without the help of the Han family! Your business is as good as my own.”The scholar chuckled and boldly brushed off his apologetic feelings.”That’s right! I was just being sentimental for no reason.”The burly man, who was taking out a golden wound medicine and applying it to his shoulder, suddenly raised his head.”Wait! You still have to tell me the story you promised! I was so curious that I could hardly move.””Of course. The reason why the two families became connected is quite amazing. Do you remember the Seven Sages Sect that dominated Jingzhou City decades ago? Our ancestors unexpectedly met in that martial arts sect and started their relationship as martial brothers. The two, who were as close as real brothers, relied on each other…”While the middle-aged scholar’s story continued, the blue-clad individuals buried the bodies and hurried back on their way.# 367