Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 738

After Captain Jang’s reminder, Han Li smiled and agreed, then turned into an alley and disappeared from sight. Jang Gyu, watching the direction he had gone, scratched his chin with his large hand.

“Is Captain Jang worried that Brother Han might not return?” Nam Giza, standing next to the scarred giant, asked with a smile.

“We’ve already signed the blood oath, so that’s unlikely. It’s just that I get the feeling Brother Han is no ordinary person. I can’t figure out what he’s thinking at all.”

“He’s mastered that level of body refinement at such a young age, so he might have an unusual background. He certainly doesn’t seem to be from the Heavenly Origin Realm.”

“I think so too. But as long as he’s not connected to any of the major powers within the Heavenly Origin Realm, the Cheondong Merchant Guild won’t suffer any harm, even if there’s an issue with his background! If we nurture him well, he might even master the Vajra Body to the 5th level someday, which would be a great help to Madam.”

“Vajra Body 5th level? Captain Jang, aren’t you expecting too much? A body refiner like that is a master who can rival even a Core Formation cultivator.”

“I know I have high expectations. But if he’s at his current level of cultivation at such a young age, isn’t it possible that he could master the Vajra Body to the 5th level within 100 years? If I didn’t have such expectations, I wouldn’t have signed a blood oath with him in the Azure Sand Desert.”

“That makes sense. Well, that’s settled then. We were asked by Madam Bang to look after the transport convoy, so we’ll be on our way.”

“Oh, you’re not even going to meet Madam? You have a long journey ahead, so please be careful!”

Soon, Nam Giza and the other cultivators left the group and disappeared into the distance.

“It’s a shame. It would be great if our merchant guild had its own cultivators.”

After they had gone, a cavalryman approached and expressed his regret.

“Our own cultivators! That’s just a pipe dream. The Cheondong Merchant Guild is one of the three major guilds in the Heavenly Origin Realm, but is the amount of spirit stones we actually collect enough to constantly hire cultivators? Low-level Qi Refining cultivators are no different from us body refiners, so they’re not very useful, and Foundation Establishment cultivators cost too many spirit stones. We can only hire them occasionally for big deals like this. Not to mention Core Formation cultivators and above. The rare materials, magical artifacts, and talismans they can find anywhere are much more expensive than the spirit stones we can offer. Even if we put in the effort to raise our own intermediary cultivators, they’ll all eventually leave.”

The giant also lamented.

“Indeed, outstanding body refiners are always eager to leave the Heavenly Origin Realm for dangerous areas outside to find elixirs that can help them grow a spirit root once they’ve achieved a certain level. Once they become cultivators, they can practice immortal arts and greatly extend their lifespan! That’s why, despite the countless body refiners who have died, there are still many who risk venturing outside the Three Realms.”

The cavalryman clicked his tongue.

“Enough. This isn’t a problem for people like us to worry about. Right now, we need to hurry back and see Madam.”

Jang Gyu waved his hand, as if he didn’t want to talk about it anymore, and the cavalryman shut his mouth. The group left the area and plunged into the crowded streets.

At that moment, Han Li stepped out onto a nearby street and sighed as he looked at the seven blazing suns in the sky.

From the moment he left the Azure Sand Desert and entered the great prairie, Han Li could feel the dense spiritual energy surging from all directions. Its concentration was several times greater than that of the mortal realm, so if he could find a suitable place to cultivate here, his training speed would probably be ten times faster.

Unfortunately, he had scattered his nascent soul, and the restriction Bing Feng had placed on him prevented him from absorbing any spiritual energy. He walked along the road, observing the passersby and looking at the various shops lining both sides.

The shops were basically similar to those in the mortal realm, and there were no particularly strange items. Then, he stopped and stared intently at one shop before entering.

Inside the shop, there was a table made of birch wood, and on it were various weapons such as spears, swords, and axes. It was a shop that specialized in weapons.

Although it wasn’t very large, there were quite a few customers looking at the items, and two men who appeared to be the owner and a clerk were standing there.

“Sir, are you looking for anything in particular? How about this Golden-Backed Nine-Ringed Saber? It’s made from refined black iron, so it can cut through steel like mud, and it’s heavy enough to deal with wolf beasts!” A clerk, who had just been explaining something, noticed Han Li and approached him. He pointed to the saber with nine rings that Han Li was looking at.

“My strength is too weak to use such a heavy weapon,” Han Li said, glancing away and shaking his head.

“Then how about this Moon Arc Sword? It’s made of purple copper, so it’s as light as a feather and a very sharp, high-quality soft sword.”

“It’s too short, so it would be difficult to handle,” Han Li said, looking around casually, as if he didn’t like it.

“Too short?” The clerk, who had been smiling, was momentarily speechless.

“What is this?” Han Li suddenly walked a few steps and pointed to a black rope on the table.

“That’s a Dragon-Binding Rope. It’s made of gold thread, so it’s used to tie things up. Even low-level demon beasts with great strength can’t easily break free from it.”

“A Dragon-Binding Rope, I’ll take a look at it.”

Swish!

Han Li picked up the rope and swung it without hesitation. The rope stiffened and moved like a thin club.

The clerk, who was watching from the side, widened his eyes. When he saw Han Li swinging the soft rope like a club, he realized that he was no ordinary person. The clerk thought that he was likely a body refiner, and his gaze changed.

“It’s not bad. But it’s a bit thick. Do you have anything similar but thinner?” Han Li asked, frowning slightly after swinging it a couple of times.

“If you’re looking for something thinner… I don’t think we have anything like that in this shop.”

“Are you looking for something thinner? I have a good item, would you like to see it? Of course, it’s quite expensive.”

Suddenly, a deep voice came from behind Han Li.

Han Li slowly turned around and saw two sturdy men standing there. One was large and had shoulder-length hair, giving off a wild aura, while the other had a yellowish face and was slightly thin.

Both were wearing leather robes, and the disheveled man had a long golden spear and a large bundle on his back. However, the thin man was only holding a wooden box in one hand.

Han Li’s eyes sparkled as he examined them. He noticed that both of them were wearing rings with spirit stones embedded in them. They were cruder than the one Jang Gyu had, and the spirit stones were much smaller.

‘Magical artifacts and body refiners.’

Han Li thought of the two words and, realizing their identities, raised the corners of his mouth.

“If the item is suitable, the price is not a problem.”

“Then it’s not appropriate to trade here. Let’s talk in a quiet place with my brother and me,” the thin man said, scanning Han Li with a grin.

“Alright!” Han Li replied without hesitation. He followed the two men out of the weapon shop. The two men seemed familiar with the area, as they led him through various alleys to a small, inconspicuous one. There were no people around, and it was very quiet.

“Here we are. Shin, show the item to this gentleman!” the thin man said to the giant.

“Understood, brother!” The tall giant took the bundle off his shoulder.

With a clanging sound, various items fell to the ground, including medicine bottles, animal hides, horns, and all sorts of other things. The thin man bent down and picked up a palm-sized wooden box.

“Take a look! This is a demon beast tendon that my brother and I obtained after killing a Ground蛟 [Ji Jiao – a type of mythical dragon] with other body refiners. It’s very thin and tough, and it’s also very elastic, so it can be stretched several times its length.”

“Ji Jiao?” Han Li didn’t know what kind of demon beast they were talking about. But he assumed it was a type of low-level demon beast, so he opened the wooden box without changing his expression.

Inside the box, a thin, yellowish object was rolled up and tied with a red string. Han Li didn’t hesitate to tear off the red string, and the rolled-up demon beast tendon sprang out with a thud!

He raised one hand and moved it slowly. Before he knew it, he was holding one end of the tendon with his five fingers. The stiff tendon flowed down smoothly, full of elasticity.

And a rope nearly two yards long was unfurled.

The thin man saw Han Li’s nimble movements and exchanged a look with the disheveled giant. By then, Han Li was already examining the Ji Jiao tendon.

Having killed countless low-level demon beasts, he could instantly grasp its properties, characteristics, and how to modify it for easier use.

He played with the rope for a while and then flicked his hand. The tendon moved as if dancing in the air, wrapped around his wrist, and coiled like a bracelet.

When he lowered his hand again, the demon beast tendon was completely hidden in his sleeve.

“Not bad! It’s certainly a rare material for a low-level demon beast tendon. But it’s not very useful for cultivators, so it can only be used as a bowstring. If you two don’t make unreasonable demands, I’ll buy it,” Han Li said calmly, looking at the two men.

“You seem to be a body refiner, so let’s trade with spirit stones. Just give us thirty spirit stones instead of the Ji Jiao tendon!” The thin man said with a sinister smile, stating the price.

“Thirty? The price is a bit high, but I’ll trade,” Han Li said. He knew from his interactions with Liu’er and the other girls that the mortals in the spirit realm used things like gold and silver as currency.

However, body refiners needed a large number of spirit stones to use magical artifacts, so they traded with spirit stones, just like cultivators. Of course, low-level spirit stones in the spirit realm were not as valuable as those in the mortal realm.

This was because most body refiners and cultivators who used magical artifacts mainly used mid-level or high-level spirit stones. Given the dense spiritual energy in the spirit realm, there were likely more top-grade spirit stone mines than in the mortal realm.

Even so, thirty low-level spirit stones was a high price to pay for a useless material from a low-level demon beast.

Han Li had hidden his belongings and treasures deep in the desert, thinking that spirit stones might be useful in the spirit realm, so he had prepared a dozen or so mid-level spirit stones just in case.

He took out a yellow spirit stone from his pocket and threw it to them. The disheveled giant stepped forward, caught it, checked it, and nodded in satisfaction.

Seeing this, the thin man took out a pouch from his pocket, wrapped 70 low-level spirit stones in the demon beast hide on the ground, and threw it to Han Li.

“Count them carefully. I like how generous you are, so let’s trade again if we have the chance!”

“If we have the chance. Well, I have some business to attend to, so I’ll be going first,” Han Li said with a smile, cupped his fist towards the two men, and calmly turned and left.

As he disappeared at the end of the alley, the giant’s eyes, who was holding the mid-level spirit stone, changed.

“Brother Po, he’s a stranger and seems to have quite a few spirit stones. Why don’t we…”

“Don’t have such useless thoughts! Didn’t you see that he doesn’t have any magical artifacts? There are two types of body refiners who don’t carry magical artifacts: those who are too poor or those who are confident in their own cultivation! Which category do you think that guy falls into?” The thin man said, his face hardening as he rebuked him.