Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 697

The higher-ups of the Star Palace all speculated that this incident was related to Han Li.

Hadn’t everyone heard that Great Cultivator Han and Elder Seomun had past grudges during the battle in the main hall?

However, the suspicion remained just that, and everyone felt a chill in their hearts, with no one daring to mention the name ‘Han Li’.

Although they couldn’t recklessly provoke a Great Cultivator, the lack of evidence also played a part.

At the time of Elder Seomun’s death, Han Li had been constantly with Elder Jo, supposedly discussing insights on cultivation.

Of course, they knew it was just a smokescreen, but any sensible cultivator had to keep their mouths shut.

He was a being who could make a Nascent Soul cultivator disappear from the world without even lifting a finger.

If it were any other cultivator, they could just capture them and use soul-searching techniques, but how could they do that to a Great Cultivator?

Thus, even the elders who were close to Elder Seomun during his lifetime kept their mouths tightly shut.

Moreover, a battle that required the Star Palace’s full strength was about to begin, so they absolutely could not afford to offend the other party.

Therefore, from Ling Yuling to the Star Palace elders, everyone turned a deaf ear and a blind eye, pretending not to know about this matter.

After spending about half a day discussing insights with Elder Jo, Han Li returned to his secret chamber.

After hearing the news of Elder Seomun’s death, Elder Jo remained motionless for a long time, and finally, he let out a bitter smile and expressed his helplessness.

He called the two Core Formation disciples who were guarding Han Li’s stone chamber and quietly left the building.

If someone was capable of dealing with a Nascent Soul cultivator with other divine abilities while chatting with him, then monitoring him was a waste of time.

In such cases, it was best to keep a distance. At least that way, the other party wouldn’t feel any murderous intent towards him!

Five days later, when Han Li came out of his secret chamber and returned to the Star Palace’s main hall, there were over thirty Core Formation cultivators gathered there, in addition to the Star Palace elders.

Most of them were late-stage Core Formation cultivators, clearly the core figures of the Star Palace that the elders were nurturing.

When the cultivators saw Han Li slowly walking in, their gazes all turned towards him.

Most of them had looks of awe or suspicion, but as soon as Han Li’s gaze fell on them, they all lowered their heads, not daring to make eye contact.

Previously, even though they knew Han Li was a Great Cultivator, some had doubted whether his divine abilities could stop the Myriad Demons. [A powerful demonic force]

However, after Han Li silently eliminated a Nascent Soul cultivator within the Star Palace, they developed faith in him instead.

This was a result that neither Ling Yuling nor Han Li had expected.

She was satisfied that everyone’s morale had been boosted by this incident, but Han Li paid no attention to it.

‘Cultivator Han, please take a seat. First, let me explain the Reverse Star Alliance’s attack plan,’ Ling Yuling said politely, looking at Han Li.

Han Li nodded and took a seat below her, but he brushed his sleeve and took out a white jade slip to read. He didn’t seem to care about the other cultivators at all.

Ling Yuling smiled calmly, but her gaze towards the other cultivators in the main hall was extremely serious.

While she was giving various instructions and explanations, Han Li kept most of his attention on the jade slip, but he also separated a small portion of his consciousness to grasp the Star Palace’s various countermeasures and formations.

The Star Palace’s plan was simple: to destroy only 36 of the 108 Wind Transformation Pillars of the Wind Transformation Heavenly Formation, which were installed around the Heavenly Star. [A powerful formation]

According to the predictions of the Star Palace’s formation experts, these 36 pillars were the core of the formation, and destroying them would cause the Wind Transformation Heavenly Formation to collapse on its own.

Of course, before that, they would have to capture the eye of the formation, which was being directly guarded by the Myriad Demons.

The Nascent Soul elders and Core Formation cultivators received Ling Yuling’s strict orders with solemn expressions.

Personnel were assigned to attack each Wind Transformation Pillar. Some places were led by groups of two or three Nascent Soul cultivators, while others were composed only of Core Formation cultivators.

Han Li, who had been listening, pondered with a strange feeling and realized the reason.

The fact that they knew the locations and power of the Wind Transformation Pillars so well was probably because there was a spy from the Star Palace among the higher-ups of the Reverse Star Alliance.

Ling Yuling quickly handled the matters, and after an hour, most of the cultivators had been assigned specific tasks.

She turned her head and said with a smile, ‘Cultivator Han, how about you, Elder Ma, and Elder Jo form a group to attack the eye of the formation? The Myriad Demons will be guarding that place directly.’

‘Very well. However, I will only be responsible for the Myriad Demons, and I will not touch the other cultivators unless they attack me first,’ Han Li replied calmly, finally raising his head to look at the woman. Ling Yuling was surprised by his composed expression and immediately agreed to his words.

Although she had heard about it through the Heavenly Star Twins, she did not know what Han Li’s true strength was.

Ling Yuling was worried that he might underestimate the enemy and ruin things, so she explained the divine abilities that the Myriad Demons had shown and the powerful treasures he had recently obtained.

However, Han Li listened silently without any change in his expression.

Ling Yuling sighed inwardly at this sight, but it was difficult to ask him if he was confident now. In any case, if they did not win this battle, the Star Palace would be finished.

‘Let’s go!’

At the woman’s cold command, all the cultivators gathered in the Star Palace’s main hall stood up and rushed out.

The Foundation Establishment disciples and other low-level disciples were already waiting at the gates located in all directions of the Star Palace, waiting for the Core Formation cultivators to arrive.

Han Li clapped his hands together, and the jade slip he was holding disappeared.

The incantations of the Primal Magnetic Divine Light written inside were so difficult that even after studying them for several days, he had only gained a slight clue.

‘I still haven’t figured out how the Primal Magnetic Mountain assists in the cultivation of the Primal Magnetic Divine Light.’

Han Li thought as he followed Ling Yuling and the other elders out of the stone-made main hall.

Contrary to his expectations, there were long, ten-zhang-long demon beast carriages parked outside. [A zhang is about 3.3 meters]

The entire body was shimmering with jade-green light, and it was densely covered with various spells, indicating that it was a carefully crafted item.

In front of it, four cyan demon beasts were lying on the ground, and Han Li was dumbfounded for the first time since coming to the Star Palace.

The fifth and sixth-level demon beasts were definitely Flood Dragons. According to his memory, the Flood Dragon clan was extremely protective of their own kind.

‘Even if the Star Palace dominates the Chaotic Star Sea, to make Flood Dragons pull carriages… Aren’t they afraid of incurring the wrath of the enraged demon beast clan?’

‘Why is Cultivator Han so surprised by mere low-level demon beasts?’ Ling Yuling asked with a smile, looking at him with an incredulous expression.

‘The bodies of the demon beasts are from the Flood Dragon clan, but the souls inside are strange,’ Han Li’s pupils turned a shade of navy blue, and his expression changed.

‘You have a great eye, indeed! The souls inside the Flood Dragons are definitely not from Flood Dragons. My father obtained the corpses of these low-level Flood Dragons after winning a bet with the Golden Flood King during his travels in the outer star sea, and he put the souls of deep-sea serpent demon beasts into them.’

‘I see. But are you planning to use this to attack?’

‘Although Brother Han may not know, this carriage was personally crafted by my father, so it’s quite useful.

The demon beasts’ divine abilities are also quite useful, and the carriage itself has special functions that can help attack the enemy. If this battle wasn’t so important, I wouldn’t have brought it out.’ Ling Yuling whispered secretly, raising her eyebrows.

Han Li scanned the demon beast carriage a few times with his consciousness at Ling Yuling’s words and simply nodded.

Then, the four of them boarded the carriage, and a tall, bald giant controlled the demon beasts.

He was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but his bare upper body was covered in solid muscles, giving him a strong impression.

Swish!

The giant swung a white whip, and a sharp sound of air being torn apart was heard. The green Flood Dragons, which had been lying leisurely, quickly rose to their feet, shaking from tail to head, and roared loudly.

Their speed, as they transformed into white light, was comparable to that of an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

An hour later, Han Li’s group arrived at a gate in a certain part of the Heavenly Star.

In the sky above the huge island, the power of the wind and fire was surging in all directions, constantly attacking the navy blue barrier.

Even though the protective barrier was being maintained, the explosions were thundering like thunder, causing the mortals and low-level cultivators inside the city to feel extremely uneasy.

Han Li was staring into the distance from the sky above the Heavenly Star, where the gate was located.

Outside the navy blue barrier, nothing had changed from before he had entered, and everything was dyed in blue and red, making it impossible for him to see far even with his divine abilities.

Looking below, thousands of cultivators seemed to have gathered near the gate, sitting cross-legged and circulating their energy, or checking their magical artifacts and talismans, preparing to engage in battle.

And Elder Jo and the purple-robed giant had left the carriage and were talking carefully with a few other elders.

‘Brother Han, there is something I would like to ask of you separately.’

‘What is it?’ Han Li turned his body to look at her. Ling Yuling, wearing a green palace dress, opened her mouth as if she had made a firm decision.

‘This battle will be a battle for the survival of the Star Palace. However, there is news that the Reverse Star Alliance has gathered even cultivators who have not appeared in the mortal world for a long time. Even with Brother Han’s help, the odds of winning are probably only half.

If we win, I won’t have to bother you, Cultivator… but if we lose, I would like to ask you to take care of the people in the place recorded in this jade slip.’ Ling Yuling gritted her teeth and extended her hand, handing over a blue jade slip.

‘What do you mean?’

‘These people all have close relationships with me. I am confident that no one knows about them, but if the Star Palace is defeated and the Reverse Star Alliance tries to uproot the Chaotic Star Sea, who knows what will happen!

I would rather have Cultivator take them away. Since Cultivator is not originally from the Chaotic Star Sea, it should be possible.’ Ling Yuling sounded like someone leaving a will. Han Li was speechless as he looked at her. When he didn’t say anything, the woman smiled and continued.

‘Of course, I’m not asking Cultivator to grant my request without any conditions. My father set three conditions for helping me back then, right? We used one to stop the Myriad Demons.

If Cultivator agrees to this request, how about we consider it using the second opportunity, regardless of the outcome of this battle?’

‘Cultivator Ling, think carefully. Is it okay to waste an opportunity that could save your life like this? It doesn’t align with the intentions of the Heavenly Star Twins, who must have been worried about you.’

‘I know. But I’ve already become the Palace Lord of the Star Palace, and if we are defeated in the war and the Star Palace’s ten-thousand-year legacy is cut off in my hands, how can I use the remaining two opportunities with a clear conscience?

It’s better to protect the lives of those close to me. Also, I am a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, so I can protect my own life unless something unexpected happens.’

‘Since Cultivator Ling has said so much, I will do as you wish. I accept this deal. If the Star Palace loses this time, I will take them and leave the Chaotic Star Sea.’

‘Thanks to Brother Han, I feel less worried. Even if this battle doesn’t go smoothly, you should be able to escape somehow.’ Ling Yuling’s gentle words and warm face made her beauty even more prominent.

Having received the desired promise, Ling Yuling quietly retreated without disturbing Han Li any further.

* * *

Several hours later, when everyone had finished preparing, the gates of the Heavenly Star City were raised simultaneously.

Tens of thousands of cultivators poured out of each gate like a burst dam, quickly leaving the navy blue protective barrier and entering the blue and red barrier where the power of wind and fire was swirling.

The Reverse Star Alliance cultivators, who were guarding the Wind Transformation Heavenly Formation, immediately noticed the massive movement of the Star Palace cultivators.

As if they had prepared in advance, they dispatched a large number of cultivators to respond while simultaneously boosting the Wind Transformation Heavenly Formation to its maximum power.

Although the super-large formation did not have a significant impact on cultivators above the Core Formation stage, it exerted great lethality on Foundation Establishment cultivators.