Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 412

Gok Ssang-po, utterly shocked, trembled, then glared at Han Li as if he wanted to tear him to pieces right then and there.

“Gok, you’re not so dim-witted, are you? But it’s not my fault. How could I not notice when you were openly communicating with a hidden mage? My spiritual sense [a form of perception using spiritual energy] is a bit more advanced than others at my level, so I simply told Brother Ryuk what I heard.”

“Hahaha! After hiding in Tiannan for hundreds of years, I’m exposed so ridiculously right before the battle! Now that my identity is revealed, I have no regrets even if I die here! But, a spiritual sense slightly superior to others at the same level? How could you eavesdrop on the transmissions of others at the same level without being at the late Nascent Soul stage [a high level of cultivation]?”

Gok Ssang-po stared at Han Li with a look of disgust.

“Late Nascent Soul stage?”

The haggard cultivator and Elder Ma also looked surprised at those words. Han Li narrowed his eyes for a moment, then quickly returned to his calm expression.

“Now that you’ve admitted to being a spy, don’t blame us for whatever punishment you receive. I’d like to hand you over to the Enforcement Mages of the Alliance without taking your life, but with the great battle imminent, we have no choice.”

The haggard giant finally looked away from Han Li and stared at Gok Ssang-po, who was trapped in the barrier, his eyes gleaming coldly.

Then, without waiting for a response, he flipped his palm and took out a silver, radiant spirit tablet.

*Pachik!*

As he raised the spirit tablet high, silver light flooded out and seeped into the barrier’s protective shield.

The shield’s light intensified, and countless silver petals began to fall.

Gok Ssang-po, seeing the beautiful silver petals fluttering down, hardened his face as if he were looking at a venomous snake. He immediately formed a protective barrier and took out a magical artifact from his mouth, preparing for an attack.

“This isn’t a good sight, let’s go. No matter how high his magic power is, he won’t last long in the restriction. He’ll be annihilated by lightning and fire attacks, so let’s move and discuss what to do next.

Even though he was a Moran spy, he was also an elder of the Spirit Beast Sect, so we need to report it to the Alliance in detail. Otherwise, there might be future problems, don’t you think?”

As the silver petals began to explode, the haggard giant turned his head and stared at Han Li and Elder Ma.

Since the giant was so confident in the restriction’s power, Han Li didn’t voice any objections, and Elder Ma looked worried, taking the giant’s words to heart.

“Things have become a bit troublesome, but don’t worry too much.”

Han Li smiled lightly, changing the mood.

“What do you mean, Brother Han?”

Now, the giant couldn’t ignore anything Han Li said.

“There’s no way the Alliance doesn’t know that Moran spies have infiltrated Tiannan. They’ve probably captured quite a few before. The problem is that Gok’s cultivation is so high that it’s difficult to explain to the Spirit Beast Sect. It’s fortunate that we three cultivators belong to different factions.

No one would believe that three factions would conspire to frame the Spirit Beast Sect. If we just report it and also provide information related to the Moran tribe, the Alliance will be able to assess the situation more easily.

Also, there might already be someone in the Spirit Beast Sect who suspects Elder Gok. After acting as a spy for so long, he couldn’t have left no trace. Even if they didn’t suspect him before, if they think back, his strange behavior will surely come to light.”

“That makes sense. I also used a secret technique to copy all of our conversation with him into a jade slip, so we can use it as evidence when the time comes.”

The haggard giant’s face brightened as he lifted a white jade slip from his hand.

“That’s good then. It’s a shame that Cultivator Bok is in seclusion to recover from his serious injuries; otherwise, he would have been an even more reliable witness.”

Elder Ma felt relieved at Han Li and the giant’s words. Then, as the three cultivators discussed the details, a strange ‘shhh’ sound came from within the silver barrier.

The three cultivators, dumbfounded, turned their gazes.

*Kuwang!*

A huge green claw burst out from the lightning and fire attacks, violently striking the protective barrier where they were standing.

“The restriction is shaking! He has such power!”

The haggard giant, truly terrified, muttered in disbelief.

Han Li and Elder Ma’s expressions also darkened. The giant immediately formed hand seals with both hands and shot white light into the barrier.

The barrage of silver petals that had been obscuring their vision subsided, revealing the situation inside the restriction.

“Hah!”

The giant and Elder Ma gasped, and even Han Li’s expression hardened. Gok Ssang-po was gone from within the restriction, replaced by a bizarre half-human, half-demon figure.

A monster, neither human nor demon, was wearing Gok Ssang-po’s clothes. Muscles bulged on its face, its entire body was covered in green scales, and even its eyes were so sinister that they didn’t seem human. Its sharp ten fingers and two long snake tails were even more bizarre.

It was clearly Gok Ssang-po, but when it opened its mouth, a purplish-black tongue flicked out, sending shivers down their spines.

“It’s a Spirit Possession Technique! Gok Ssang-po has merged with the Twin-Tailed Jade Serpent!”

Elder Ma cried out, his face pale.

“A Spirit Possession Technique? Isn’t that a nearly extinct secret technique? Doesn’t he know that using such a heinous technique will prevent his soul from reincarnating!”

The giant’s face turned fierce, having heard the bloody rumors about the Spirit Possession Technique. He hurriedly took out the silver spirit tablet, poured his essence into it, and began to chant a spell.

At that moment, the monster inside the barrier also began to move.

The monster scanned the cultivators outside the barrier with sinister eyes, then its mouth tore open to its cheeks, and its tongue flicked out. At the same time, a purplish-black liquid was sprayed out, aiming at the barrier closest to them.

In the urgent situation, the giant stopped his spell and quickly raised the spirit tablet, pointing it at the barrier. Silver light shot out from the tablet, forming a dozen streams that seeped into the barrier.

The silver wall thickened again, and countless silver petals, now larger, began to form at the top of the barrier.

*Patscheuk!*

As the monster’s black liquid touched the barrier, the silver instantly turned black and began to spread in all directions.

The monster, with sharp eyes, confirmed this, then kicked off the ground with its two tails and charged forward as a green streak of light.

In an instant, the monster swung its sharp cyan claws at the black barrier.

*Kwang!*

With a tremendous vibration, the barrier broke apart, creating a hole. The monster, seeing this, was filled with joy and began to squeeze through the hole.

The haggard giant, with a tense expression, spat out a white rod-like magical artifact from his mouth and simultaneously surrounded his entire body with a protective barrier.

Elder Ma also released a wooden tablet magical artifact he used in battle and created a protective barrier with brilliant light.

Both cultivators knew the terror of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator who had used the Spirit Possession Technique. Not only were their techniques and spells amplified, but their magic power was also nearly equivalent to a mid-Nascent Soul stage cultivator.

Unlike them, who expected a long battle after seeing the monster break through the barrier, Han Li silently leaped forward.

Since he was already close to the hole in the barrier, it was almost as if he was blocking the exit.

The monster, halfway out, saw Han Li blocking its path and opened its mouth, spraying out purplish-black liquid.

“Be careful!”

“Get out of the way!”

The giant and Elder Ma, having just witnessed the power of the venom, shouted at the top of their lungs. Hearing their shouts, Han Li stared at the approaching black liquid.

He stretched out one hand, and strange navy-blue flames surged between his five fingers.

The giant and Elder Ma were startled as Han Li tried to catch the venom with his bare hand, and the monster possessed by the Spirit Possession Technique paused, then sprayed out more liquid.

Seeing this, Han Li gave a faint sneer and unleashed the navy-blue light at the monster. Then, the light and the loud sound instantly subsided.

The giant and Elder Ma quickly focused their gazes to assess the situation, and when they finally saw what had happened, the two cultivators’ eyes widened.

The huge monster that had broken through the hole was frozen stiff with a shocked expression. Its entire body was shining like crystal, as if a monster ice sculpture had been placed there. Moreover, the venom it had just spat out was frozen long and hung down like icicles.

‘The monster born from the Spirit Possession Technique has too little combat experience.’

Han Li muttered, looking at the ice sculpture, then stretched out one hand and released a huge golden electric arc. The golden and navy-blue light, which wrapped around the ice sculpture like a net, produced a series of small explosions, and the ice shattered into pieces.

A fist-sized black object popped out from within and tried to escape, but it collided with the golden net that had been prepared. Then, the golden net began to contract, and the purplish-black object disappeared within it, letting out a miserable scream.

*Kkihaak!*

With a short, dying scream, the monster’s Nascent Soul [the core of a cultivator’s power] turned into smoke and scattered within the golden light.

It was called a Spirit Possession Technique, but in reality, it was a type of demonic magic that used an ancient secret technique, so it was helpless against the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning.

The giant and Elder Ma, who had been preparing for a full-scale battle, were speechless.

Han Li, having already expected this, said nothing.

He simply summoned the Demonic Flame and the navy-blue rake, scanned them with his spiritual sense, and then handed both to the giant.

“I killed it, but please seal the magical artifact and the items inside the Demonic Flame and return them to the Spirit Beast Sect. Then, the Spirit Beast Sect won’t have anything to say.”

Han Li said, looking at the two dumbfounded cultivators.

“Brother Han, you are absolutely right! We will handle it that way.”

The giant, who had been standing there blankly after witnessing the astonishing event, came to his senses and immediately replied.

Elder Ma had no reason to object. He simply withdrew his magical artifact, which he had been preparing, with an embarrassed look.

At first, when Han Li killed the black-clad man, they thought it was because the opponent was careless, but seeing him kill a Nascent Soul stage cultivator who had used the Spirit Possession Technique with his bare hands, they were shocked.

“Now that everything seems to be resolved, I’ll go take a rest. Please contact me anytime if the mages attack.”

Han Li said to the cultivators, who still had awkward expressions.

“Of course. Elder Ma and I will take care of things here.”

The giant obediently replied. Han Li smiled and cupped his fist [a traditional greeting], then left the main hall.

It was unavoidable that he had revealed the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning and the Azure Glacial Flame a moment ago. The monster’s cultivation was too high to subdue it by cooperating with other cultivators. If he had let the monster escape, there would have been endless future troubles.

Also, now that he had already condensed his Nascent Soul, there was no need to hide his true strength. The situation was different from when he was in the Chaotic Star Sea. [a dangerous and lawless region]

Back then, his cultivation was low, and he had to avoid being noticed to survive in an unfamiliar place, but now, as a high-level cultivator, there were few who could match him, so he could reveal his strength without any problems.

Moreover, the war with the mages had already begun, and even if he tried to hide his strength, he couldn’t be sure how long he could keep it hidden.

Since the Guiling Sect and Namlong Hu had already noticed his strength during the previous Moran Grasslands expedition, it was better to reveal his strength and overwhelm others.

As Han Li organized his thoughts, he sensed an anomaly in the Violet Aurora Flame within his body.

He had moved all of the Azure Glacial Flame to subdue the monster that had used the Spirit Possession Technique at once, causing the Violet Aurora Flame, which he had just successfully refined, to become unstable. It seemed that it was still too much to operate a large amount of Glacial Flame.