Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 407

“With our careful cultivation, even on the battlefield, preserving our lives is a piece of cake. During the last invasion by the Botan people, we slaughtered quite a few Dharma Masters. It seems it’s time to see blood again.”

A sinister smile, unfitting for his young face, appeared on Fire Dragon Child’s face. Han Li, hearing those words, glanced at him, slightly taken aback.

The murderous aura Fire Dragon Child possessed far surpassed that of other cultivators of the same level, indicating that he had killed a considerable number of cultivators.

After Lye Rak and Fire Dragon Child discussed tomorrow’s matters with Han Li, they also shared their opinions on the sudden appearance of the giant demonic beasts and the unidentified Dharma Masters before getting up from their seats.

As Han Li personally escorted them to the front of the pavilion, Lye Rak hesitated before finally turning his head and asking,

“Fellow Daoist Han, how did your meeting go today?”

Even as he asked the question, Lye Rak’s eyes were fixed on Han Li’s face, as if trying to find any clue.

“Nothing happened. We just exchanged some old stories.”

“Haha! I see!”

Lye Rak laughed as if a great weight had been lifted, then bowed to Han Li before walking away with Fire Dragon Child.

* * *

The next day, when he attended the Grand Assembly, there was a significant increase in the number of Nascent Soul cultivators. Among them were elders from the Righteous and Demonic Sects, as well as old eccentrics from the mountains and rivers.

In this situation, the two people presiding over the meeting, Wu Peng of the Banyan Leaf Sect and Madam Cheok of the Flower Clothes Sect, were quite perplexed.

They couldn’t confirm whether these people had impure intentions, but they were forced to accept the conditions presented by the other forces.

The most important of these conditions was that the four major forces would always dispatch an equal number of personnel for missions requiring high-level cultivators. This was to prevent any one force from plotting to harm the others.

After that, something Han Li hadn’t expected happened. The Elders Council of the National Salvation Alliance, composed of Nascent Soul cultivators, received news from Lye Rak and Fire Dragon Child and decided that each sect would send one Nascent Soul elder and several Core Formation cultivators to support the entire front line.

Of course, since they were far away, it would take time for them to gather at the front line. In the meantime, the cultivators here, including Lye Rak, had to temporarily follow the National Salvation Alliance’s arrangements to block the Botan people’s attacks.

Once the reinforcements arrived, the vanguard who had already made contributions could return to their sects and would not have to participate in future battles. The reinforcements would take their place in the major battles.

After discussions at the Grand Assembly, Fire Dragon Child, Lye Rak, and others were assigned different missions and sent to the front lines. Han Li and two other Nascent Soul cultivators, along with seven or eight Core Formation cultivators, were to leave to defend a strategic point on the border of the Righteous Nation.

That place was a crucial point that the Dharma Masters had to pass through to attack Tiannan. There were about a dozen such places along the border.

Because there were massive formations installed at these strategic points, the Dharma Masters couldn’t feel at ease even if they occupied other battlefields without taking them. They were pushing hard, and the cultivators defending those places were barely holding on by using their geographical advantages, as they were not yet ready for a decisive battle.

Otherwise, with the flying speed of the Botan high-level Dharma Masters, they would have reached the front of the entire Righteous Nation in just a month.

The Dharma Master army had not yet attacked the massive barrier that Han Li was going to support, but the situation was dangerous as there was only one Nascent Soul cultivator from the National Salvation Alliance there.

Previously, the combination of one Nascent Soul cultivator and a massive formation was enough to hold off the Dharma Masters.

But now, the situation had changed.

The fellow cultivators who would accompany Han Li were Old Man Ma of the Howling Flame Pavilion of the Righteous Path Alliance and Old Man Gok Ssang-po, the old man with the protruding mouth in the green robe whom he had seen at the Grand Assembly on the first day.

Han Li noticed a spirit beast pouch on the green-robed old man’s waist, and the faint spiritual energy it emitted made him uneasy. It was proof that the spirit beast inside was extraordinary.

Since all three cultivators were in the early Nascent Soul stage, there was no hierarchy among them. They knew that the Dharma Master army could attack at any moment, so they decided to leave immediately, taking the Core Formation cultivators with them.

Old Man Ma was a good talker, laughing and chatting with Han Li and Gok Ssang-po as if they were going on a leisurely trip rather than to war.

On the other hand, Gok Ssang-po, a cultivator from the Spirit Beast Sect, had a gloomy face and didn’t say a word even after half a day, making it impossible to know what he was thinking.

However, Han Li maintained a smile throughout, responding to Old Man Ma’s words and giving a polite impression. Moreover, they seemed to think little of Han Li’s abilities, knowing that he had only recently reached the Nascent Soul stage.

* * *

Ten days later, at the summit of Yellow Dragon Mountain near Righteous Nation’s Lee Province.

Inside a beautiful pavilion, a large man was pacing anxiously. Just as he was about to sit down on a rattan chair and drink some tea, a red light shot in from outside and circled around.

The large man’s expression changed as he saw it, and he reached out his hand. The red light turned into flames and disappeared. The large man, who had barely calmed down, looked anxious again, almost on the verge of tears.

With a pale face, the large man sat for a moment before taking out a blue bell from his chest.

Ding!

A pleasant bell sound filled the main hall and began to echo through the mountain valley.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding…

As the bell rang, cultivators in various colored robes rushed out of the pavilion and scattered in all directions as they had been trained to do.

And soon, the entire Yellow Dragon Mountain was covered in a thick fog, and the area within a radius of several tens of miles became impossible to see due to the strange blue-green fog.

At this time, more cultivators appeared in the main hall where the large man was staying. There were three men and one woman, all in the Core Formation stage.

The only female cultivator was small and petite, but her face was very beautiful. The four Core Formation cultivators stood on either side of the large man and spoke respectfully.

“Senior Lu, is it true that the Dharma Master army is advancing so quickly? When we received the message last time, we were told that Senior Bok was holding them back! Could it be that the Heavenly Wind Profound Wave Formation [a defensive formation] that Senior Bok was guarding was breached in just a few days? Could the news be wrong?”

The woman hesitated, looking troubled.

“The news is wrong? I wish it were. But this message was sent by Bok Ta-ja himself. And he is said to be seriously injured. Even the surviving cultivators who were defeated are being chased by the soldiers and will arrive at Yellow Dragon Mountain soon, so we shouldn’t hope for any more luck. We have to respond with just us for now, without waiting for reinforcements.”

The haggard large man said with a sneer and a dark expression. The four Core Formation cultivators exchanged glances and smiled bitterly.

As the large man was giving them orders, a streak of red light suddenly entered. The startled large man immediately reached out and grabbed the message.

As a result, his expression became strange.

“Senior Lu, what happened? Have the Dharma Masters already arrived?”

The female cultivator asked urgently, seeing his expression, and the other Core Formation cultivators also looked tense.

“Reinforcements have arrived! Three Nascent Soul cultivators are waiting outside the barrier. Hong-reung, you go out and bring the three of them here!”

The large man’s face lit up, unable to hide his excitement. At the same time, the four Core Formation cultivators were greatly relieved, bowed to the large man, and left the main hall.

* * *

Outside the blue-green fog, three cultivators were floating in the air, examining the barrier. They were Han Li and the other two cultivators who had rushed here day and night.

Since the barrier was the most important thing in the battle against the Dharma Masters, they had sent a message and had been studying the barrier ever since.

Not long after, a light appeared in the fog, and the green fog stirred, creating a passage. However, Old Man Ma and Gok Ssang-po acted as if they didn’t see the passage. Only Han Li calmly smiled and looked at the passage.

Soon, four streaks of light emerged from the passage, revealing three men and one woman.

“We greet the seniors! May we ask for your esteemed names!”

A well-built, neat middle-aged man stepped forward first and bowed to Han Li and the others.

“I am Han Mo, an elder of the Falling Cloud Sect. These two are Fellow Daoist Ma of the Howling Flame Pavilion and Fellow Daoist Gok of the Spirit Beast Sect. The Core Formation cultivators are following behind, but we three came ahead because we were worried about the delay. Seeing the barrier, it seems the Botan Dharma Masters will arrive soon!”

Han Li introduced them first, maintaining his smile, as the other two cultivators showed no sign of stepping forward.

“So you are Senior Han. I am Chung Woon-ja of the Clear Void Gate, and these are the Mo Yong brothers of the Yellow Wind Valley and Miss Hwa Do-oh.”

The middle-aged man introduced the other Core Formation cultivators, and Han Li’s gaze lingered on the Mo Yong brothers’ faces.

‘The Mo Yong brothers?’

“How is Sub Fellow Daoist doing?”

“Senior, do you know Sub Fellow Daoist? We have been guarding this place and haven’t seen our fellow disciples for several years.”

Han Li asked with a strange expression, as if smiling, and the Mo Yong brothers were surprised as they answered.

“She must be doing well. I saw your fellow disciple not long ago. But it seems you don’t recognize me at all. Well, it was just a brief encounter, so it’s understandable.”

Han Li chuckled as he looked at the twin brothers. Even though their appearances had changed greatly from before, they still retained some of their childhood features.

The Mo Yong brothers were startled and tried to recall, but they couldn’t think of anyone. However, since the ‘senior’ in front of them said so, they felt like they had seen him before.

“Since the two fellow daoists don’t recognize me, let’s talk about it later. For now, let’s go inside.”

Han Li said to Old Man Ma and Gok Ssang-po, then told the Core Formation cultivators.

“Yes! Please follow me. Senior Lu is waiting in the main hall.”

Chung Woon-ja, who had been lost in the conversation between Han Li and the Mo Yong brothers, suddenly came to his senses and began to guide them.

Following the cultivators’ guidance, Han Li and the other Nascent Soul cultivators entered the fog, and the fog stirred again, closing the entrance.

Shortly after, Han Li and the other cultivators were able to meet the haggard large man who was waiting in the main hall.

“Thank you for coming to support us. You two must be Fellow Daoist Ma and Fellow Daoist Gok? This young cultivator is unfamiliar. May I ask for your name, Lu Mo?”

The haggard large man looked at the three cultivators with a smile on his face. He seemed to be acquainted with the other two cultivators.

“It’s not strange that Fellow Daoist Lu doesn’t know him. Fellow Daoist Han condensed his Nascent Soul a few years ago at a young age and has a promising future!”

Old Man Ma smiled as he looked at the large man.

“Ah, is that so? Anyway, it’s a relief that the three of you have come. I don’t know how many more days I could have held out alone!”

Cultivator Lu seemed slightly disappointed at the news that Han Li was a newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator, but he quickly recovered his expression and thanked everyone.

Han Li, of course, didn’t miss the haggard man’s expression, but he didn’t show it and just smiled. The large man exchanged greetings with Gok Ssang-po and then, with a serious expression, began to talk about the war situation.

“It’s good that you came. According to the latest news, the Dharma Master army has already passed the Heavenly Peak Valley that Fellow Daoist Bok was guarding. At this rate, the cultivators retreating from Heavenly Peak Valley will arrive here within half a day. It would be great if the three of you could meet them.”

The haggard large man explained the situation and directly asked the three cultivators for help.

“Of course! There’s no need for all of us to go. I alone am enough. There’s no need for Fellow Daoist Han and Fellow Daoist Gok to go.”

Old Man Ma said nonchalantly, even offering to go alone, which made Han Li and Gok Ssang-po look at him with puzzled expressions.

“There’s no need to look at me like that. I’m just going out to get some fresh air and to test the power of a rare treasure I recently obtained. Surely, the two of you don’t want to go?”

“Haha! If Fellow Daoist Ma is confident, then I have no objections.”

Gok Ssang-po chuckled and said calmly, while Han Li simply responded with a smile.

“Then, Fellow Daoist Han and Fellow Daoist Gok, please rest for a while, and Fellow Daoist Ma, please take care of it. But how about taking the Mo Yong brothers with you? The power of their lightning attribute techniques is very fierce.”

The haggard large man pondered for a moment before nodding. The old man didn’t object either. After all, this was his first time here, so it wouldn’t be bad to have someone who knew the way guide him.

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