Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 548

Having confirmed with his spiritual sense that there was nothing wrong with the tea, Han Li picked up the teacup and took a sip.

“Cultivator Lyu, do you not enjoy tea?” Old Man Bitter Bamboo asked, looking puzzled, as the puppet merely sat there, expressionless, staring down at its teacup.

“Since it stopped eating grains, it hasn’t put anything in its mouth.”

“I see. I almost made a blunder.”

A hint of displeasure flashed across Old Man Bitter Bamboo’s face, but it vanished in an instant, as he was adept at controlling his expressions. In fact, it was extremely rare for a cultivator to say such a thing in front of the host who was serving tea. This was also proof that the other party might be a Nascent Soul [a high-level stage in cultivation] late-stage cultivator.

With this, Old Man Bitter Bamboo became more wary of Cultivator Lyu.

“You must have already heard why we came here. What do you think of my trade conditions?” Han Li seemed to like the tea, taking two or three sips before putting down the teacup.

“To be honest, it’s a bit difficult. O-Peng is about to evolve, so no matter how many demon cores you offer, I don’t want to trade. If its vitality is damaged by plucking its feathers now, who knows when it will have another chance to evolve.”

Old Man Bitter Bamboo frowned.

“Does that mean you don’t want to trade?”

“I doubt you two would just leave if I refused. How about this? In the cultivation world, everything is decided by strength! If you can defeat me in a battle of techniques, I will agree to the trade. If…”

“If we lose, Lyu and I will leave the island immediately and never mention this matter again.”

“Very well. It’s been almost a hundred years since I last sparred with another cultivator, so I need this opportunity. Then, which of you two will test your skills against me?” Old Man Bitter Bamboo looked at Han Li and Cultivator Lyu at the same time.

“If you don’t mind, how about you spar with me?” Han Li expressionlessly controlled the puppet to answer.

“I’ve also been very curious about what kind of techniques Cultivator Lyu uses. Let’s go to the top of the mountain.” Old Man Bitter Bamboo got up from his seat first, and Han Li and the puppet followed suit. At that moment, the Core Formation stage elder [a mid-level stage in cultivation], who had been waiting quietly on the side, unconsciously revealed a hint of excitement.

Duels between Nascent Soul cultivators were not something one could see anytime they wanted.

Shortly after, Han Li was floating a hundred or so feet above the mountain peak, with the puppet and Old Man Bitter Bamboo facing each other a few dozen feet away. Nearby, seven or eight Core Formation stage cultivators had gathered after hearing the news.

“Go!” At Old Man Bitter Bamboo’s shout, over a hundred green lights shot out simultaneously, transforming into more than a hundred green flying swords. The flying swords, now beams of light, formed a strange array and circled above Old Man Bitter Bamboo’s head, the energy within them was immense. Even Han Li, who had been calm, changed his expression upon seeing this.

‘A sword formation! Old Man Bitter Bamboo has refined so many flying swords, so he must have mastered a sword formation.’ He had expected it, but seeing it in person was still quite shocking.

“It seems the opponent is not weak, so it’s a good opportunity to see the puppet’s power. Let’s start by examining the puppet’s defensive capabilities!” Great Yan Divine Monarch said excitedly. He seemed to have complete faith in the puppet’s abilities.

“Yes, I understand.” It was natural to have high expectations for the puppet, which was painstakingly made with rare materials. The puppet opened its mouth, and a palm-sized shield popped out. The silver shield, which was gleaming, grew larger and blocked the front.

Then, the puppet formed a hand seal, and a multicolored protective barrier appeared in front of it, enveloping its entire body.

“Hmm? Cultivator, are you perhaps from the Poison Saint Sect of the Southern Border? Your technique is similar to the Poison Saint Sect’s famous spirit sigil technique.” Old Man Bitter Bamboo asked in surprise, seeing the strange sigils that had appeared on the puppet’s face.

“No, I am not.” Han Li was also surprised by those words, but he controlled the puppet to answer coldly.

“I must have been mistaken. But it really is similar.” Old Man Bitter Bamboo answered, but he didn’t seem to believe it much. The puppet did not take any action after deploying the barrier. Old Man Bitter Bamboo felt as if the opponent was subtly looking down on him.

As he chanted an incantation, the flying swords above his head vibrated as if in response, and at the same time, over a hundred sword energies burst out from the sword formation, flying densely before merging into one, emitting a tremendous spiritual light.

The puppet did not take any action even as the sword energies approached. It merely pointed the silver shield, increasing its size.

Under Han Li’s gaze, the massive sword light collided with the silver shield.

*Boom!*

A loud explosion echoed, and light flashed violently, but the silver shield did not budge, blocking the sword light. Not only Old Man Bitter Bamboo, but also Han Li’s expression changed.

“It seems the power of the Yuan-Gang Shield is stronger than expected. I refined it, but I didn’t have time to nurture it, yet it’s already this powerful. But it’s only possible because the puppet is maximizing the shield’s defensive capabilities. If you were controlling it, you wouldn’t be able to unleash even half of its power.”

“That’s probably true. Cultivators are all affected by the power of the magic treasure itself, the amount of magic power they can inject, and the consciousness that controls it. But a puppet, refined with various rare materials, can unleash up to three times more magic power than an ordinary cultivator at once.”

Over time, as he learned puppetry from Great Yan Divine Monarch, his mastery had reached the highest level. Perhaps not as much as Great Yan Divine Monarch, but there would not be many in the human realm who were as skilled in puppetry as him.

“Although you refined the Yuan-Gang Shield and gave it to the puppet, didn’t you specially craft it considering the puppet’s physical characteristics? Even if you injected the same amount of magic power, the shield wouldn’t be able to display its full power.” Han Li nodded at Great Yan Divine Monarch’s words and did not say anything more.

In the distance, Old Man Bitter Bamboo, having failed even after injecting more magic power into his attack, was preparing to unleash the highest attack of his formation.

As he pointed at the flying swords in the air, the swords hummed and gathered in one place, transforming into light and forming a huge wheel shape with a diameter of one zhang [approximately 3.3 meters], which began to spin. As Old Man Bitter Bamboo threw in hand seals, its speed increased, and a dazzling light erupted from the center. Eventually, a green beam of light was generated in the middle and shot towards the silver shield.

*Boom!*

A heavy rumble was heard, and the green beam of light, condensed like a ball, made the center of the silver shield cave in. At that moment, the humanoid puppet reached out its hand. The silver shield scattered light and returned to its original small shield form.

The green light mass collided with the shield’s original form, but it did not break the shield. The silver shield emitted light, repelling the green light mass.

*Bang.*

The green light that was repelled scattered and disappeared in the air. Old Man Bitter Bamboo inhaled sharply, staring at the puppet. He had not activated the sword formation to its maximum power, but the opponent had neutralized all of his attacks with just a shield.

“We’ve confirmed the power of the Yuan-Gang Shield, so let’s skip the Five Elements Cover. It’s a protective barrier activated using the Five Elements Jade, so it’s naturally better than the shield. Then, how about we check its attack capabilities now?”

“Understood.” As Han Li answered, the humanoid puppet immediately flashed purple and formed a hand seal. A faint red light flickered in its hand, and a small bow appeared. It was a bow with detailed craftsmanship, only a few inches in size. The bow was in the shape of a flood dragon, with even the scales vividly engraved.

“The Flood Dragon Piercer Bow!” Old Man Bitter Bamboo was aghast upon seeing it.

“It’s not the Flood Dragon Piercer Bow, but the Thunderfire Bow, which imitates it. To tell you in advance, this was made using real flood dragon bones and tendons, so it will unleash power greater than the Flood Dragon Piercer Bow.” As the puppet held the bow in one hand, a small green arrow appeared in the other, accompanied by a thunderous sound.

As an incantation was chanted, red flames flowed from the bow, and golden lightning flashed from the green arrow, the sound of which was deafening.

*Kuwakwang!*

The puppet skillfully drew the arrow, and the red flames and golden lightning merged, creating a tremendous energy. The fierce aura that seemed to pierce the sky created a huge shockwave that spread out, and the protective barriers of the Core Formation stage cultivators who were watching from the side shook, and those with insufficient magic power were pushed back.

“Please wait a moment! There’s no need to fight any further, I admit defeat.” Old Man Bitter Bamboo shouted loudly upon seeing that. At the same time, he released a triangular spirit tablet, protecting his body with a mixture of green, red, and yellow light. In addition, over a hundred flying swords flew around him as if protecting him.

Han Li was quite surprised by Old Man Bitter Bamboo’s cautious attitude.

“The power of the Thunderfire Bow is truly amazing, the opponent is very tense.”

“It contains spiritual power equivalent to a strike from a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, so it’s understandable. Besides, the Thunderfire Bow is not an ordinary item. It’s a bow made from the bones and tendons of a Crimson Fire Flood Dragon, with an arrow made from a modified Golden Thunder Bamboo. It would be stranger if one didn’t feel a sense of crisis in the face of such a treasure. If you don’t intend to kill the opponent, let’s stop here!”

“Understood. I’m not one to enjoy killing anyway. But if we do that, I’ll miss the opportunity to test the puppet’s abilities.” Han Li shook his head as if there was nothing he could do.

“It can’t be helped. Still, seeing you easily overwhelm a cultivator who has reached the peak of the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm is enough. My life’s work was not in vain!” Great Yan Divine Monarch muttered as if sighing. Han Li’s expression darkened at those words.

At the same time, the tremendous spiritual energy that the puppet was emitting gradually dissipated, and the bow that had been aimed at the opponent was lowered.

Old Man Bitter Bamboo, having confirmed that the flames and golden lightning had disappeared, also breathed a sigh of relief, sweat trickling down his back. The moment the arrow was aimed at him, he felt that he could have died. He was now certain that the opponent was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

It was fortunate that he had come out of seclusion. Even with the Myriad Wood Grand Formation, it would have been a disaster to make these people his enemies.

After that, the three cultivators returned to the wooden hall at the top of the mountain. After the duel, Old Man Bitter Bamboo became extremely polite and immediately ordered the late-stage Core Formation elder to retrieve O-Peng’s feathers.

While that was happening, he chatted with the two cultivators. The puppet remained expressionless and did not say a word, while Han Li smiled and changed the subject, never revealing anything about his identity. Old Man Bitter Bamboo smiled bitterly inside, but there was nothing he could do.

A quarter of an hour later, the elder came in with a jade box and respectfully placed it in front of his master. Old Man Bitter Bamboo pushed the jade box towards Han Li and Cultivator Lyu. Han Li received the jade box and opened it, and a red light emanated from it. He thought that Cultivator Lyu was the type of person who disliked interacting with other cultivators, so he only talked to Han Li.

Half a day later, Han Li and the puppet flew up from Bitter Bamboo Island and disappeared into the sky in an instant.

# 550