Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 424

The next morning, Han Li left the encampment and headed towards the central area of Thousand Sun City. Soon, a large stone building came into view.

Since Thousand Sun City was hastily constructed, the grand hall where the leaders of the four major powers gathered was quite ordinary. Compared to the Heavenly Dao Alliance’s conference hall, it was simply larger and seemed like a near replica.

However, the fact that the guards at the entrance of the grand hall were Core Formation cultivators was unusual. They scanned Han Li with their spiritual sense and immediately approached him.

“Senior, only those above the mid-Nascent Soul stage are permitted to attend today’s meeting…”

“Check this.”

Before the guard could finish speaking, Han Li tossed him a white jade slip. It was the invitation he had received.

“You are Senior Han! This junior was rude. Please, come inside!”

One of the guards checked the jade slip and stepped aside with even greater respect. Han Li smiled and was about to enter when he suddenly turned his head.

He saw a man and a woman slowly walking from a side alley.

The man was a handsome young man, appearing to be only about twenty years old, with fair skin and wearing a flamboyant gold robe. His gait was also very confident.

However, upon closer inspection, his eyes revealed the passage of time, and there were faint wrinkles around them, suggesting that his actual age was much older.

In addition, he had a subtle feminine aura, giving him an incongruous feeling, like a man dressed as a woman.

He was at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, so he must have come to attend this meeting. Given his strange aura, he was likely a demonic cultivator.

‘Which sect is he from?’

Han Li quickly shifted his gaze to the woman following behind him.

“…!”

After seeing her face, Han Li was shocked. It wasn’t because of her alluring appearance, but because she was Dong Xuan’er.

If that was the case, then the seemingly young old monster walking in front of her must be a cultivator from the Joyful Union Sect, the most powerful demonic sect.

After a long time, Dong Xuan’er had also reached the mid-Core Formation stage. It was an impressive achievement considering her spiritual root aptitude. As Han Li stood and watched them, the surrounding Core Formation cultivators also noticed their arrival.

One of them muttered to himself.

“Even the old monster of the Joyful Union Sect has come.”

‘Old monster Go?’

Han Li immediately recalled someone. In the Joyful Union Sect, besides the late-Nascent Soul stage cultivator, there was another old monster with the surname Go.

He was born with both yin and yang in his body and cultivated the Joyful Union Sect’s supreme demonic art. He called himself the Unrestrained Daoist, but others called him the Unrestrained Old Monster.

Whether it was his nature or a problem with his cultivation method, he was known for his lustful behavior and did all sorts of bizarre things. He wouldn’t leave any beautiful person alone, regardless of gender, and had made enemies with many sects.

However, because of his high cultivation and the protection of the Joyful Union Sect, there was no way to deal with him. Moreover, since he only violated cultivators and let them go without killing them, the elders of the affected sects would keep the matter quiet, making it difficult to bring it to public attention.

‘Is that old monster him?’

Han Li had no reason to fear him, but he still felt uncomfortable. Coincidentally, the handsome young man also noticed Han Li in front of the grand hall and smiled, making eye contact with him.

Han Li felt a chill run down his spine and barely returned the smile. He didn’t even glance at Dong Xuan’er and entered the grand hall.

“Do you know him? Your heart was beating faster just now.”

The young man, who had been walking leisurely, lost his smile as soon as Han Li disappeared and looked at Dong Xuan’er.

“He is someone I knew before, but I was surprised to suddenly encounter him after so long.”

Dong Xuan’er regained her composure and replied.

“Someone you knew? He is at the early-Nascent Soul stage and is participating in this meeting, so he must be the famous Elder Han. He is not the same person you mentioned before, is he?”

At the old monster’s question, she just turned pale and didn’t answer. Then, a coldness flashed across the Unrestrained Old Monster’s face.

When the old monster and Dong Xuan’er arrived at the entrance, the Core Formation cultivators immediately let the old monster pass, but Dong Xuan’er was guided to a side hall because she couldn’t enter the grand hall.

At that time, Han Li, who had entered the grand hall first, found the entrance to the main hall and quickened his pace.

When he entered the main hall, there were about seventeen or eighteen cultivators sitting on chairs. They didn’t pay attention to Han Li when he entered, either closing their eyes or glancing at him indifferently.

However, one of them greeted him with goodwill.

“Fellow cultivator Han, it seems you have finished your seclusion. If you don’t mind, please sit next to me.”

It was Long Han of the Lanming Sect, the organizer of the Heavenly Dao Alliance.

“Thank you, Brother Long.”

Han Li didn’t refuse and took a seat next to him, quietly observing the people around him.

Soon after, the Unrestrained Old Monster also appeared at the entrance.

He looked around at the cultivators, smiled, and found an empty seat, sitting down without hesitation.

As soon as he sat down, a strong fragrance wafted out, and an old man in a navy blue robe, who was sitting not far from him, immediately showed a displeased expression upon smelling it.

The old monster didn’t care about the old man’s reaction and looked at Han Li across from him with an interested gaze.

Han Li sat still, but he felt uneasy.

He immediately closed his eyes and pretended to meditate, but in his mind, he was thinking about the relationship between the old monster and Dong Xuan’er.

Dong Xuan’er had been kidnapped by the young master of the Joyful Union Sect back then and had joined the demonic path. No matter how notorious the Unrestrained Old Monster was, he wouldn’t have done anything to his own sect’s disciple, so there must be another relationship.

While Han Li was feeling troubled, other cultivators gradually entered and filled the seats.

Since they were all mid-Nascent Soul stage cultivators, some of them knew each other, and some had grudges. The quiet main hall occasionally became noisy.

Now, the Unrestrained Old Monster had withdrawn his gaze, but Han Li was still sitting with his eyes closed and didn’t move. Since there weren’t many people he knew among the cultivators above the mid-Nascent Soul stage, there was no reason to chat.

“Soul-Shattering Fellow cultivator! You have also come. I heard that your Nine Soul Secret Art has reached its peak. Congratulations.”

‘Soul-Shattering?’

At someone’s greeting, Han Li opened his eyes.

A thin old man in a gray robe was warmly greeting a black-robed old man at the entrance of the main hall.

The old man in the gray robe entered with a smile on his face.

“Fellow cultivator Han, do you know Soul-Shattering True Immortal?”

Long Han, who was sitting next to him, noticed Han Li’s change and asked.

“No, I just heard from Senior Brother Zheng that he is a very powerful person.”

Han Li said without batting an eye. He couldn’t say that he had killed a disciple of the Soul-Shattering Sect in the Yue Kingdom, could he?

“I see. Elder Qing must have had an incident with Soul-Shattering True Immortal. However, with Fellow cultivator Han’s reputation, there is nothing to be afraid of! Among the mid-Core Formation stage cultivators, there is only one person that Fellow cultivator Han should not provoke. That person is someone that even the three great cultivators of the Southern Sky are troubled by.”

“A person that even the three great cultivators are troubled by? Is there such a person?”

Han Li raised his eyebrows, showing interest.

“Yes, that person fought with Zhiyang, one of the three great cultivators, and injured Zhiyang, almost killing him. He is used to living alone, but he might appear since the Mo people are invading. If he joins the battlefield, he would be a great help.”

“He injured a late-Nascent Soul stage cultivator! He is truly amazing.”

“You must have heard of him. Isn’t the name ‘Heavenly Hooligan’ familiar to you?”

“Heavenly Hooligan! I have heard of him.”

Han Li smiled wryly, recalling the time when he had disguised himself as a low-level cultivator and experienced the events in the forbidden area where the Spirit Eye Spring was located. At that time, the spies of both the righteous and demonic paths were very wary of the Heavenly Hooligan.

“I thought only Brother Long and his wife could stand against the three great cultivators.”

Han Li said jokingly, and Long Han shook his head.

“If Feng Bing and I were to face them alone, we wouldn’t be a match. Of course, if the two of us attacked together, the situation would be different.”

Han Li smiled and was about to reply when he felt a cold gaze. Feeling wary of the hostile gaze, Han Li turned his head.

However, he was surprised to see an old man with a long beard, wearing a cyan robe, whom he had never seen before. The old man shifted his gaze indifferently when Han Li turned to look at him.

“Fellow cultivator Han, do you not know him?”

“Judging by Brother Long’s tone, it seems like I should know him.”

“He is Dong Wendo, the Grand Elder of the Spirit Control Sect. He is the real power of the Spirit Control Sect, so everyone knows his face even if they don’t interact with him. I heard that he was close to Gu Shuangpo. Since Gu Shuangpo was exposed as a spy of the Mo people and died, even though the evidence is clear and he cannot argue, he must have some dissatisfaction with you. It would be best to be careful.”

Han Li smiled wryly at Long Han’s advice and expressed his gratitude. While they were talking, the remaining chairs were almost all occupied.

Funnily enough, whether it was intentional or unintentional, the demonic cultivators were all seated on the right side of the main hall, and the righteous cultivators were all seated on the left side of the main hall.

The remaining cultivators of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the National Salvation Alliance were seated on both sides, as if it didn’t matter to them.

Among them, there was one more face that Han Li knew. It was Fellow cultivator Huang of the Yihang Chamber of Commerce, who was sitting on the demonic side and smiling at Han Li. Han Li slightly bowed his head to him in response.

At that time, Long Han, who was next to him, introduced him to other cultivators of the Heavenly Dao Alliance. One was an ordinary-looking, plain woman, and the other was an old man with a gloomy face.

Han Li made eye contact with them and memorized their appearances.

When all the cultivators had gathered, they were all coldly observing each other without any private chatter. Since none of them were unknown in the cultivation world, they had various thoughts, whether they knew each other or not.

As the main hall became quiet, three cultivators walked in from a side door. Everyone’s attention was focused on them.

A black-robed giant, an old man in green, and a Taoist with a sword on his back.

Han Li calmly opened his eyes, but his heart was pounding.

‘Those are the only three cultivators who have reached the late-Nascent Soul stage in the Southern Sky in the last thousand years.’

Their expressions were different, but most of them, like Han Li, waited for them to speak first with a blank expression.

The three cultivators slowly walked to the middle of the main hall and stood side by side. The black-robed giant in the middle, with a grim expression, spoke coldly.

“There is no need to explain who we are. Then, is there anyone who objects to us presiding over this meeting?”

Along with his cold voice, an immense pressure of spiritual energy swept through the main hall.

While everyone’s expressions changed slightly, Han Li sensed the powerful magic power and at the same time, he felt something was strange.

Judging from the strong yin energy, it should be the demonic Joyful Union Old Monster, but the old monster’s appearance was too different from what he had imagined. Rather than the Grand Elder of the Joyful Union Sect, his cultivation method was similar to the demonic art of the Ghost Spirit Sect!

Han Li didn’t know, but all the Grand Elders of the Joyful Union Sect in history were called the Joyful Union Old Monster. The black-robed giant had also learned a demonic art that had little to do with the Joyful Union Sect, but his title was the Joyful Union Old Monster.

Even though everyone felt uncomfortable with the giant’s pressure, they didn’t challenge the authority of the three great cultivators.

The main hall became as quiet as a graveyard for a moment.

“Since there are no objections, let’s skip the unnecessary formalities. This morning, the Mo people sent an envoy to deliver a challenge. If we do not accept the conditions, they will have a decisive battle in the border area in seven days.”

The black-robed giant explained with a blank expression.

“A challenge?”

“Seven days later…”

“What are the conditions?”

The hall became noisy.

“As Fellow cultivator Ye said, since the other party has declared war, let’s all check it first and discuss it. It is earlier than expected, but surely the people gathered here are not afraid of the Mo people, are they?”

The Taoist with a sword on his back said calmly with a smile. Although his voice was not loud, it penetrated the heart like a spring breeze, calming the excited minds.

As the surprised cultivators quieted down, someone muttered.

“It’s the Tranquil Heart Incantation of the Taiqing Sect.”

Although it was a grumbling tone, the middle-aged Taoist pretended not to hear and took out a bright red jade slip from his pocket. He smiled and handed it to the old man in the gray robe opposite him.

“This is the Mo people’s declaration of war, so please check it in turn.”

The old man quietly received the jade slip and infused it with his spiritual sense. His face darkened for a moment, but he regained his composure and passed the jade slip to the person next to him.