Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 403

Mo Paeryeong’s face also turned pale upon hearing the man’s voice, and she hurriedly explained,

“Young Master, please don’t misunderstand. That man is a disciple of an elder from the Cheongeuk Sect. One day, he saw me and has been acting like this ever since. Even though I’ve made it clear that I am your concubine, he still behaves this way. I’ll go out and tell him to leave immediately.”

“Is that so? Does Senior Ryeo know about this?”

Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked calmly.

“I told Elder Ryeo, but he seemed uncomfortable with that man’s master, a Cheongeuk Sect elder. He said we should discuss it again when you returned.”

Mo Paeryeong secretly sighed in relief when Han Li didn’t seem angry.

“Oh, the Cheongeuk Sect! One of the four major sects of the Righteous Path Alliance. It’s understandable why Senior Ryeo would be cautious. But even so, for a mere Core Formation cultivator to cause such a commotion, he’s quite bold. Let’s go out and see what his intentions are.”

“As you command!”

Han Li left the room first, and Mo Paeryeong followed behind him with an elegant demeanor.

“Cultivator Mo, finally… Huh! Senior…”

Seeing the figures descending from the pavilion, the young man was delighted, thinking it was a woman, but he stopped abruptly upon seeing Han Li. He recognized Han Li’s cultivation.

Mo Paeryeong quietly followed behind and stood beside Han Li. Baek Seogun’s facial expressions changed rapidly as he tried to figure out what was going on.

“A disciple of the Cheongeuk Sect?”

Han Li asked the young man with a slightly stern face.

“Yes, this junior is under Elder Ro of the Cheongeuk Sect. Senior, are you perhaps Senior Han?”

Baek Seogun was quite bold, asking questions politely and respectfully even in front of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

“Who do you think I am? Why are you bothering my concubine? There must be another reason for doing such a foolish thing.”

Han Li’s voice turned cold.

“That’s right. Actually, my master wanted to meet you, Senior, but since we had no news, this junior committed this rudeness. But I truly like Cultivator Mo. If you, Senior, could grant my wish, I would be extremely grateful.”

“Whether you’re grateful or not is none of my concern. I don’t have a habit of giving away my concubines, so you’d better not dream. And I have no dealings with the Cheongeuk Sect, so why do you suddenly want to see me?”

Han Li looked somewhere and chuckled, and at the same time, an immense pressure of spiritual energy emanated from his body.

Startled, Baek Seogun tried to resist the pressure and stand up, but he could only tremble and couldn’t move at all. He staggered back and his knees buckled, when a white figure appeared in the air and gently touched the young man’s shoulder.

Then, Baek Seogun was finally freed from Han Li’s pressure and could stand in place. A white-haired old man in a white robe, with neat features and a benevolent expression, was smiling at Han Li.

“Cultivator Han, please don’t be angry. Everything was done at my instruction. Otherwise, how could we have met you?”

“Who are you, and why do you want to meet me? If my memory serves me right, I don’t think we’ve had any dealings with your sect.”

As the old man appeared, Han Li completely withdrew his spiritual pressure.

“Haha! I am Ro Wiyeong, and I hold an elder position in the Cheongeuk Sect. However, the reason I wanted to meet you is difficult to explain here, so let’s meet separately tonight! Then, Cultivator Han, you will understand the situation.”

Elder Ro waved his hand without any sign of displeasure and sent a pre-prepared green jade slip flying.

Han Li expressionlessly flicked his sleeve, sending out a blue aura. He took the jade slip and checked its contents, which contained a location. As he raised his head to ask something, the old man quickly clasped his hands and disappeared with his disciple.

Han Li’s brow furrowed.

The other party seemed to be misunderstanding something. It was as if he had been in Jeoncheonseong all along but had deliberately avoided meeting them.

Han Li stroked his chin and tried to recall, but he couldn’t remember anything. So, he decided to put this matter aside for now and returned to the pavilion with Mo Paeryeong.

“Where is Senior Ryeo now?”

“I heard he went to discuss countermeasures because the situation at the front is urgent.”

“Discuss countermeasures? Where is the meeting being held?”

“I heard the meeting is being held at the Jeoncheonseong Council Hall. I heard that only cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage can attend. Would you like to go, Young Master?”

‘Council Hall!’

Han Li murmured and recalled the huge hall in the center of Jeoncheonseong that he had seen before. The hall, surrounded by layers of restrictions, must be the Council Hall that Mo Paeryeong was talking about.

“I was planning to find out about the mages anyway, so I’ll go. You stay here and wait for me.”

Han Li already had a plan, so after hearing about Senior Ryeo’s whereabouts, he immediately left the pavilion. The Council Hall was easy to find as it stood majestically in the very center of Jeoncheonseong.

This building was merely a symbolic presence unless it was a major event related to the survival of the Nine Nations Alliance.

However, upon hearing the news of the Moran Tribe’s invasion after 100 years, the Nine Nations Alliance did not hesitate to open the Council Hall and provide it as a meeting place. The Nine Nations Alliance was finding it difficult to stem the tide of the approaching mages.

When Han Li arrived in front of the Council Hall, the guards at the main gate recognized his cultivation and asked for his name before quickly reporting it inside.

Soon after, Han Li was led inside by another cultivator. There were not many people talking inside the hall, only about a dozen or so.

It was much fewer than he had imagined, but he understood after thinking about it.

Although there were many Nascent Soul cultivators staying in Jeoncheonseong, they belonged to different major forces. It was enough to send a few representatives from each, and there was no need for all of them to be present.

Elder Ryeo was sitting on the left side of the table, smiling, and next to him was the familiar face of Hwaryong Dongja.

Except for an old man in a yellow robe, the others were all strangers.

Han Li glanced at the old man in the yellow robe and sighed inwardly. He was the Spirit Fox Ancestor he had seen in the past at the Yellow Maple Valley.

The Spirit Fox Ancestor did not show any reaction even after seeing Han Li. It was unclear whether he did not remember him, who was just a Foundation Establishment cultivator back then, or if he was pretending not to know him.

Han Li soon turned his gaze to the others. In the very center of the hall sat an old man with a pale face and a woman in a gorgeous palace dress.

Han Li’s eyes changed as he checked their cultivation.

Both were in the mid-Nascent Soul stage, and they seemed to be the ones presiding over the meeting. As Han Li scanned the cultivators sitting in the hall, they were also observing the young man who had suddenly appeared.

Most of them were puzzled by his appearance. There were hardly any male cultivators who practiced secret arts or related techniques to maintain their youth.

“Junior Brother Han, you’ve finally returned. Come and sit. We were discussing the Moran Tribe issue with Sect Master Oh and the other cultivators.”

Elder Ryeo greeted him with a smile. Hwaryong Dongja next to him also looked at him with a smiling face.

Han Li calmly clasped his hands to the various cultivators in the hall and sat on a wooden chair next to Elder Ryeo.

“Ah, you must be Cultivator Han from the Falling Cloud Sect. I am Oh Bung from the Beyeop Sect. I heard from Brother Ryeo that you reached the Nascent Soul stage in just 200 years. You are a rare talent in Tiannan [a region]. I look forward to your future even more.”

The cultivator with the pale face spoke to him as soon as he sat down. Although Han Li’s current cultivation was a bit lacking, no one could ignore his potential.

“You flatter me. I was just lucky.”

The Beyeop Sect was one of the largest cultivation sects in the Nine Nations Alliance, along with the Hwaeui Sect.

Han Li said a few modest words and turned his gaze to the old man next to him. If the old man was a cultivator from the Beyeop Sect, then the one next to him was likely from the Hwaeui Sect.

As expected, Oh Bung cleared his throat and introduced him when he saw Han Li’s gaze.

“Ah, this is Madam Cheok from the Hwaeui Sect. She and I are temporarily in charge of matters related to the Nine Nations Alliance. And the others are…”

The old man introduced the people gathered in the hall to Han Li one by one. When it was the Spirit Fox Ancestor’s turn, the old man answered expressionlessly and did not make any special remarks.

Han Li was puzzled but did not show it and nodded calmly. After the introductions were over, Oh Bung became serious again and got to the main point.

“Cultivator Han, you have joined the meeting at the right time. We were just discussing how the mages’ power is exceeding expectations. I heard that Elder Yeo and others at the front have been defeated again. They even used giant demonic beasts to break through the barriers of two major strongholds.

Our casualties are not small, and Cultivator Pung from the Amyeong Sect even lost his life in battle. We have already lost two Nascent Soul cultivators in battle. The momentum of the Moran Tribe this time is unusual, and their advance is rapid, so your cooperation is essential.”

As the Beyeop Sect cultivator mentioned the serious situation, everyone’s smiles disappeared.

“Sect Master Oh, we are also aware of that news. Among the cultivators fighting the mages at the front, there are not only disciples of your alliance but also disciples from various sects who are taking turns being dispatched. But I have not heard how Cultivator Pung was defeated. Brother Oh, please explain. Isn’t it really strange that Nascent Soul cultivators are dying one after another in such a short time? Could it be that the other side has already sent out a large number of high-level mages?”

The old man in the blue robe asked with a dark face, his voice hoarse.

Han Li saw that he was the elder of the Mado Eoryeong Sect, whom Oh Bung had just introduced. He didn’t know what kind of relationship he might have with Ryu Ok or Ham Woonji.

“The high-level mages have not officially come forward yet. Cultivator Pung and Cultivator Shin, who died before him, were also killed in one-on-one battles with the opposing mages, not in a coordinated attack.”

Oh Bung explained to the green-robed old man with a troubled face.

“That’s absurd. Even if they encounter a mid-Nascent Soul mage, they should be able to escape… Could it be that a Divine Master has appeared among the Moran Tribe!”

“That’s not it either. They were just early-Nascent Soul mages. But both mages are strange. The power of their spiritual arts is too strong, far exceeding ordinary mages, and they use bizarre treasures. They even managed to hold down the Nascent Soul of a cultivator who was trying to escape, preventing them from teleporting.”

Oh Bung sighed as if he had expected to receive such questions.

“A treasure that prevents the Nascent Soul from teleporting? Is it an ancient treasure? Or a magic treasure?”

One of the cultivators was surprised and interrupted upon hearing that. The other cultivators, including Han Li, couldn’t help but change their expressions.

One of the reasons why it was difficult to kill a Nascent Soul cultivator was because of the Nascent Soul itself. If they escaped from their body with their Nascent Soul and teleported, they could escape in an instant. But it was astonishing that there were mages who possessed treasures that could prevent that.

“The specific information has not been clearly identified even by the disciples of our alliance who witnessed the battle. However, they said that when they stretched out their hands, a black and red light appeared and disappeared, and they couldn’t stop it even if they tried…”

“Sect Master Oh, what is there to hide in this situation?”

The green-robed old man urged him when he saw him hesitating.

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