Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 750

751. Uyang City

* * *

Although the Black Wind Clan’s Inheritance Pearl might have some abilities, it couldn’t eliminate all flaws. Han Li, who had been silent, spoke to the girl again.

“Once you go there, you’ll completely lose your human identity and won’t be able to see your family again. Are you aware of this?”

“Besides my grandfather, I don’t have anyone anyway. Now that my grandfather is like this, what would I do by staying here? I want to find my father and live with him.”

“Then I won’t stop you. Go with that person.”

Hearing the child’s clear determination, Han Li sighed briefly, picked up two Destruction Pills, and turned to leave.

His clean departure made the palace lady pause. The girl seemed to want to say something, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Han Li appeared to be walking, but his speed was so great that he soon became a black dot and disappeared from sight.

“Da’ya, let’s go quickly! If that person informs the nearby high-level cultivators, our tracks will be exposed, and it will be difficult to escape.”

The woman looked at Han Li’s back with a fierce gaze but eventually decided to let him go and spoke to the child.

“He’s not that kind of person.”

“How can you trust humans? Let’s leave quickly!”

After speaking, the palace lady grabbed the space near Da’ya. The child moved to the woman’s side, and the purple-robed giant was engulfed in black flames, turned to ashes, then condensed into a black dot and was absorbed into the woman’s body.

She waved her hand, and a silk handkerchief appeared, covering them, and they disappeared in a puff of blue smoke along with the child.

The next morning, several beams of light, riding on magical artifacts, rose from the human encampment a hundred miles away and flew off. It was Han Li and the Golden Jade Sect cultivators who had left to find spirit herbs.

They left like this, and no one returned. Strangely, Madam Fang and Zhang Gui pretended not to know, and as if the Heavenly Commander Han Li had never existed, they didn’t mention anything related to him.

* * *

Forty years had passed. In forty years, a newborn baby could become a middle-aged man, and a child who had just discovered their spiritual roots could become a mid-stage cultivator. However, this amount of time was merely a blink of an eye for an ancient city that had stood in one place for over a million years.

Uyang City was established when the Three Realms were first created and was one of the first ancient cities built in the Heavenly Origin Realm. Although its scale was only medium, the successive city lords had never sought to expand their territory, and despite numerous beastmen disturbances, it had never faced a crisis. It was one of the cities where body refiners stayed the most, and to this day, it was renowned in the Heavenly Origin Realm.

It was said that even the current Heavenly Origin Emperor had left Uyang City only after mastering body refinement techniques there.

There were many body refinement sects and schools, and many rare high-level body refiners resided in the city. Moreover, at the center of Uyang City was the ‘Sacred Tower,’ which specialized in storing body refinement techniques and insights, and the number of books there was among the top two in the Heavenly Origin Realm.

For this reason, many low and mid-level body refiners visited Uyang City every year. Therefore, there was no reason to fear mere beastmen disturbances.

In addition, Uyang City was a famous spirit tool forging place in the Heavenly Origin Realm, and a large number of spirit tools were made here every year and sold to body refiners and merchants of all sizes.

Among them, some auction houses that specialized in handling rare spirit tools were extremely wealthy. They each possessed extraordinary spirit tool masters, who, like alchemists and formation masters, were people who specialized in forging spirit tools. They had to master body refinement techniques, be knowledgeable in formations, and possess inherently powerful consciousness.

Only those who met these three conditions could become spirit tool masters, and to achieve great success in that path, talent was essential, but so was a great deal of practice.

The spirit tool shops controlled by the auction houses each had outstanding talents, and the spirit tools they produced often had great power and mysterious abilities. These spirit tools had to be made with great care, usually taking several months to half a year, but once they were put up for auction, they were sold for enormous prices.

The Longxing Auction House was one of the largest auction houses in Uyang City. Although it had not been at the forefront of the industry for long, it had a reputation that was not inferior to other shops with a long history. Therefore, the owner of the Longxing Auction House had become a person of considerable status in the city.

One day, in the main hall of the Longxing Auction House, a plump man wearing a flamboyant robe was pacing anxiously. He frequently looked towards the door, showing signs of impatience.

“Where did Feng go? Go to the front door again and see if Master Han has arrived.”

After a while, the fat man, unable to endure it any longer, stopped walking and shouted outside.

“Yes, sir!”

The voice of a young man and the sound of heavy footsteps faded away.

Creak!

The fat man, tired from pacing around the main hall, plopped down on a wooden chair. He quickly picked up a teapot and poured it into his mouth. Contrary to his attire, he showed no sign of refinement.

“Brother Fan, are you feeling unwell?”

A bright voice was heard from the door, and someone walked in.

“Brother Han! You’ve finally arrived. Why didn’t that brat Feng inform me first!”

The fat man, who had been sitting on the chair, jumped up and greeted the man joyfully.

“There’s no need to blame Feng. I told him to wait outside.”

The middle-aged man had some wrinkles on his face and a drooping mustache and beard. He was carrying a long bundle and walked towards the fat man with a smile that was hard to read. Judging by the way the fat man and the middle-aged man spoke, they seemed to be very close.

“Hahaha! I know that Brother Han has never broken a promise, but this matter is crucial to our position in Uyang City, so I was a little impatient. By the way, is this the item you forged yourself?”

“That’s right. Check it yourself.”

The middle-aged man smiled and handed it to the fat man, then calmly took a seat. The fat man, whose surname was Fan, didn’t refuse and placed the bundle on the table, eagerly unwrapping it.

When the bundle was opened, a golden longsword appeared, and the three-colored spirit stones embedded in the handle made it clear that it was no ordinary spirit tool. The fat man carefully grabbed the sword handle and slowly drew the sword.

Then, a clear ringing sound echoed, and a golden light flashed, revealing a small golden flood dragon. The fat man’s eyes sparkled, and when he touched the handle, the golden flood dragon instantly transformed into a golden, radiant sword.

“Amazing. This is the highest-grade spirit tool that hasn’t appeared in Uyang City for a hundred years! It has the mysterious ability to take on a form! With this, no matter what that Zhou Duan fellow brings out, we won’t lose. Brother, you’ve helped this brother greatly once again!”

The fat man sheathed the longsword and hugged it like a treasure, laughing heartily as if he were happy.

“It’s nothing. It was only possible because you provided enough materials. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to create a top-grade spirit tool.”

The middle-aged man showed no sign of excitement and took a sip of tea.

“Still, it was only possible because it was you, Brother! No matter how many materials those other useless fellows bring, they wouldn’t be able to make it.”

“There’s no need to flatter me. This sword is the last spirit tool I’ll make for you. I’ll be leaving Uyang City soon and won’t be coming back.”

The middle-aged man smiled and said something that surprised the fat man.

“Brother! What are you saying? You’re leaving Uyang City? Why? Could it be that the servants I sent have made you uncomfortable? Then tell me! I’ll break all their legs and send new ones.”

“When I had a problem during my cultivation in the past, Brother Fan, you found me and helped me. If it weren’t for you, it would have been difficult for me to overcome that cultivation hurdle! So, for decades, I’ve been making spirit tools and supplying them all to the Longxing Auction House as a way of repaying your kindness. But now, this place has become the largest auction house in the city, and if you offer this sword to the city lord, you’ll be able to surpass the other competitors. The disciples you sent me haven’t fully mastered spirit tool forging, but they can follow about half of it. There shouldn’t be any major problems in maintaining the auction house in the future. As you know, my goal is to master body refinement, and spirit tool forging was secondary. So, I can’t stay here any longer.”

“Could it be that your cultivation has reached another hurdle, Brother Han?”

The fat man understood his words and was shocked. The middle-aged man didn’t answer, but the fat man was lost in thought. He knew very well how amazing the man in front of him was.

Ten years ago, when he was in danger, the man had suddenly appeared and killed over a dozen mid-stage body refiners who had invaded his mansion in an instant. At that time, his skills were already comparable to some of the high-level body refiners in the city, and the fact that he had encountered another hurdle meant that his cultivation would increase dramatically.

‘Then, Brother Han’s cultivation will reach an even more terrifying level!’

“It’s good that Brother Fan understands. Since we’re on the topic, I’m grateful that you haven’t revealed my existence and have been procuring large quantities of pills and secret techniques that are helpful for body refinement on my behalf. But now, our connection has come to an end, so I must leave.”

The middle-aged man stood up, clasped his hands, and walked out of the main hall without looking back. The fat man’s lips moved, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop him.

He could only stare blankly at the door where the middle-aged man had disappeared, feeling lost.

Saving him was the best choice he had made in his life.

With the middle-aged man’s help, he, who had been an unknown small merchant, had grown into a big shot in Uyang City, so it was not strange that he was leaving, considering that he had repaid his kindness sufficiently.

The middle-aged man, who had left the Longxing Auction House, got on a large, deer-like beast and dashed towards the city gate.

Several hours later, after leaving Uyang City and reaching a mountain pass twenty miles away, he briefly looked back at the massive city walls, then got off his mount and wiped his face with his sleeve.

Then, something strange happened. As the sleeve brushed his face, his beard fell off, and his wrinkled face became smooth, revealing the face of a young man in his twenties.

It was Han Li, who had left with the Golden Jade Sect cultivators decades ago. Han Li looked around the city with an indifferent gaze, then, without getting back on his mount, strode off somewhere.

Soon, he turned into a black dot and disappeared into the wilderness.

* * *

Uyang City was quite far from An Yuan City. Even though Han Li walked as if he were flying, it took him half a year to reach the ruins of An Yuan City.

During his journey, he had crossed mountains and rivers, avoiding densely populated areas, but it was still too far. Along the way, he had no choice but to kill beasts and half a dozen low-level beastmen, as he was walking alone through the wilderness. If it had been a large merchant caravan, even the low-level beastmen probably wouldn’t have dared to touch them.

The ruins of An Yuan City had not changed much over the years. The remains of the broken city walls were piled up endlessly, and a thick layer of dust had accumulated on them.

Han Li stood motionless, pondering something. His Vajra Art [a body refinement technique] had already reached the seventh level, so if he could overcome this hurdle, he would reach the peak of the seventh level.

His cultivation speed was faster than he had expected, partly because the spiritual energy was denser than in the human realm, but it also seemed to be due to the improvement in his constitution thanks to the various spirit herbs he had taken before.

When he had previously entered the beastmen’s lair with Jin and the others, he had used his knowledge of formations and divine abilities to easily obtain a spirit herb called the Seven-Leaf Yin Blood Grass. The Golden Jade Sect group was delighted and left him a document stating that they would allow him to enter the Illusory Jade Pool, and in return, they took back the jade pendant and returned to the sect.

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