Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 772

“Begin!”

As soon as the golden-armored man’s words fell, Han Li and Cultivator Ong moved simultaneously.

With a flick of Han Li’s sleeve, seventy-two small swords poured out like a school of fish, transforming into shimmering golden lotuses that swirled around him. At the same time, he opened his mouth and spat out a small cauldron. The treasure emitted a bright spiritual light and grew to the size of a mat, vibrating with a deep hum. It was the Void Sky Cauldron.

Cultivator Ong also formed a hand seal, releasing a navy-blue light from his body. Initially, the navy-blue light was as small as a grain of rice, but it swelled rapidly, enveloping him. Then, the man extended a hand and grasped at the air, causing a dazzling silver light to flash.

In his hand was a silver, radiant wheel, its surface covered with layers of spell inscriptions, clearly not an ordinary object.

He tossed the silver wheel into the air, where it spun and emitted a silver light, growing explosively in size.

Soon, it astonishingly resembled a sun, three or four mats in size, hovering above Cultivator Ong’s head. However, having completed his preparations, he looked at Han Li and flinched.

The seventy-two golden flying swords were one thing, but the sight of the constantly humming giant cauldron made his heart grow cold.

Although he couldn’t discern its exact divine ability, treasures with special forms like cauldrons, lamps, and mirrors usually possessed unique powers.

In particular, the spiritual pressure emitted by the Void Sky Cauldron overwhelmed other treasures, naturally increasing Cultivator Ong’s vigilance.

After a moment, Cultivator Ong moved first.

As he formed a hand seal, the surrounding navy-blue light contracted, unexpectedly transforming into sand-like grains that soared upwards. The sand grains flickered faintly and quickly doubled in size, suddenly turning into a thick cloud of sand that blocked half of the light barrier.

At the same time, the giant silver wheel hid within the sand cloud.

“Hyaaa!”

With a shout, the sand cloud glowed strangely in a deep navy-blue, falling towards Han Li. The sound of the sand grains rubbing against each other echoed like thunder.

Han Li didn’t move at all, and the golden lotuses everywhere spun and soared imposingly. The lotus shadows emitted a great golden light, exerting a spiritual pressure comparable to the falling navy-blue sand cloud.

Then, the moment the sand cloud and golden lotuses touched, the petals trembled and exploded in size. Each lotus grew to the size of a mat, rapidly spinning in the air, its petals piercing the sand cloud like blades.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Sand grains flew everywhere, and explosions followed. The seventy-two golden lotuses had blocked the navy-blue sand that was falling like a giant mountain.

Cultivator Ong’s eyes flashed with doubt at the sight, but he chuckled and boosted his magic. Then, a silver light flashed within the sand cloud, and the giant wheel emerged, colliding with one of the golden lotuses.

Seeing the wheel’s momentum to cut through its opponent, Cultivator Ong wore a cunning smile. The Gold Severing Wheel was forged from Li Gold Sand, obtained from the Great Desolate World, making it extremely sharp.

Wheel-shaped treasures usually possessed cutting divine abilities, making them even more formidable than flying daggers or swords. Moreover, this wheel had a history of slicing through numerous flying sword-type treasures.

Therefore, he had no doubt that the golden flying sword would be cut in an instant.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Metallic explosions echoed continuously, and gold and silver clashed with astonishing force. It seemed impossible to determine a victor in such a short time.

Then, Cultivator Ong’s expression subtly changed. The golden lotus had suddenly enveloped the silver wheel.

Buzz!

Then, a mournful vibration was heard from within, and the silver wheel shattered into pieces, disappearing within the lotus.

Before Cultivator Ong could react, Han Li pointed at the giant cauldron in front of him. The cauldron lid flew off, and the vibration grew louder as countless threads poured out from within.

The blue threads, like the wind, passed through the golden lotus shadows and wrapped around the navy-blue sand covering the sky, pulling it back into the cauldron.

Cultivator Ong, caught off guard by the lightning-fast attack, only regained his senses after a portion of the navy-blue sand had already been sucked into the cauldron, severing his connection with it.

“A spirit treasure!”

Cultivator Ong exclaimed in shock. Unlike the Gold Severing Wheel, the navy-blue sand was a treasure he had personally cultivated and refined. Ordinary treasures could not do such a thing.

If all the navy-blue sand were taken, a hundred years of effort would vanish like a bubble. Without hesitation, he immediately opened his mouth and spat out blood.

He dipped his finger in the blood and traced elegant spell inscriptions in the air, then struck the spell inscriptions with his other palm.

Poof!

The spell inscriptions shot out and disappeared, then reappeared in front of Han Li, transforming into a giant demon head that lunged at him.

Cultivator Ong’s intention was to prevent Han Li from using his magic, stop the cauldron’s attack, and recover the navy-blue sand cloud.

However, Han Li paid no heed, continuing to gather the navy-blue sand with the Void Sky Cauldron, then immediately opened his mouth and spat out golden lightning.

Boom!

The thin golden lightning bolts danced wildly, piercing the demon head mercilessly. The demon head let out a chilling scream and scattered. It was only natural that an unknown demon head would be destroyed in one blow by the Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning, which even the ancestors of the Demonic Realm dared not trifle with.

Cultivator Ong’s face stiffened at the sight, then his complexion worsened as if he had thought of something.

By this time, the Void Sky Cauldron’s blue aura had absorbed about half of the navy-blue sand cloud in the air.

Cultivator Ong watched it with a cold gaze, then formed a bizarre hand seal with both hands, chanting incantations with a solemn expression as he pointed directly ahead.

The sand grains, which had been fluctuating under the attack of the blue aura and golden lotuses, suddenly stopped and began to spin, emitting light. As the light faded, the sand grains instantly grew as large as rocks and fell with tremendous force.

Then, the golden lotuses slowed their rotation with dull thuds. Moreover, the Void Sky Cauldron’s blue aura could no longer pull in the sand grains that had turned into rocks.

The situation had changed rapidly. Han Li examined his opponent, and saw that Cultivator Ong’s entire body was emitting a spiritual light.

His hair was disheveled, and white light flickered from his nose and mouth, clearly a sign that he was drawing on the power of his true essence.

Han Li’s face darkened. He stroked the top of his head, and a gray aura spread out, sweeping through the air.

Then, the navy-blue rocks, which had been as heavy as mountains, lightly trembled and returned to their original sand-like form. The sand cloud completely disappeared from the area where the gray aura had swept.

“Hah!”

Cultivator Ong’s face turned pale, and he released his hand seal. The golden-armored cultivator, who had been watching the battle indifferently from outside the light barrier, also looked surprised.

“Just what is that that took away my Azure Crystal Sand?”

Cultivator Ong glared at Han Li, grinding his teeth.

“Do you think I’d tell you?”

Han Li smiled lightly, answering with ease. Han Li was curious as to why his opponent was acting this way, but if he didn’t have a Nascent Soul stage master, he would have already unleashed a storm of attacks, giving him no room to breathe.

Han Li was quite confident in his own strength, and with the ability to use the Origin Magnetic Divine Light, the Spirit Devouring Heavenly Flame, and the Great Geng Sword Formation, he was not afraid of even a late-stage Soul Transformation cultivator.

At that moment, Cultivator Ong’s expression changed constantly. Han Li’s strength had exceeded his expectations. However, he had to win this battle.

He gritted his teeth and flipped both hands with a fierce aura, revealing a yellow copper token the size of his palm. In his other hand, a silver talisman appeared, densely covered with silver inscriptions.

Seeing this, Han Li’s navy-blue eyes flickered, and he formed a sword seal with one hand. The golden lotuses that had been circling above his head trembled simultaneously and converged into one place.

In an instant, the seventy-two lotuses transformed into a giant golden lotus with a diameter of over ten mats [a mat is a unit of area, roughly the size of a small mat], which flew away with a clear cry. He then summoned the gray aura he had released, creating a gray barrier to protect himself.

At that moment, Cultivator Ong spread his hands, and the copper token rang, emitting a white light. He disappeared, and a giant with a bare upper body, two mats tall, appeared. The giant’s skin shimmered like a cyan crystal, and his eyes overflowed with spiritual light. Surprisingly, he was a humanoid puppet.

Crack.

The silver talisman turned into a silver mist, condensing into the shape of a black wolf. The black wolf’s gloomy cyan eyes stared at Han Li.

Even after activating these two treasures, Cultivator Ong didn’t stop. He struck the back of his head with one hand, summoning a navy-blue aura. The navy-blue Nascent Soul [a nascent soul is a core of energy formed after reaching a certain cultivation level] held a small, dark bell in both hands, with a solemn expression.

“The Thousand Soul Bell! Has that old man Ming gone senile to give such an important treasure to his disciple?”

The golden-armored cultivator, who had been unconcerned by the appearance of the puppet and the black wolf, frowned when he saw the bell held by the Nascent Soul.

“Senior! I only borrowed it from my master for a while. It shouldn’t violate the rules, right?”

“There are no such restrictions in the spirit land battle. However, forcibly using a tyrannical treasure like the Thousand Soul Bell will greatly damage your vitality, even if you win. Is it really necessary to go that far for just one spirit land?”

The golden-armored cultivator glared and warned him.

“Thank you for your advice. But I have already made up my mind.”

Even as he spoke, the giant golden lotus was approaching, so he had no time to hesitate and had to throw the black bell. At the same time, the cyan puppet soared upwards, leaping towards Han Li. With each step it took in the air, spell inscriptions on its body flashed, and it grew twice its original size. The black wolf’s body blurred, and it silently turned into a black mist, disappearing from the spot.

Ding!

The black bell emitted a clear chime as it floated up. The moment the chime penetrated his ears, Han Li’s consciousness rang, and he staggered as if struck by lightning.

He was startled and quickly activated the Great Development Technique. Then, a clear aura circulated in his mind, and his face turned white before returning to normal.

‘Is it because it’s a spirit treasure? It truly cannot be compared to ordinary treasures.’

Once his surprise subsided, Han Li, enraged, counterattacked fiercely. Forming a hand seal with one hand, Han Li condensed his consciousness and sent it fiercely towards his opponent.

Cultivator Ong, who had activated the Thousand Soul Bell’s soul-seizing attack, was greatly shocked to see Han Li stagger for a moment before returning to normal.

Although the soul-seizing attack was not the Thousand Soul Bell’s most powerful divine ability, it was particularly effective against cultivators of the same level, and most cultivators could not withstand it.

Just as he was about to pour out his magic power without reservation, an unknown pain tore through his consciousness. It felt as if someone was rummaging through his mind with a sharp awl.

Having been struck by the Soul-Piercing Needle, he did not possess a consciousness as powerful as Han Li’s, so he screamed, curled up, and covered his head. His Nascent Soul also disappeared into his body for a moment.

For a very brief moment, he had no power to use the Thousand Soul Bell.

At that moment, Han Li’s eyes turned cold, and without even looking at the puppet rushing towards him, he pointed at the giant lotus in the distant sky. Then, the lotus spun and began to suck in the black bell with a ferocious aura.

While the golden lotus was smoothly enveloping the Thousand Soul Bell, the cyan puppet, which had grown to about six or seven mats in size, threw a punch at Han Li.

A loud boom echoed, but the puppet’s fist was blocked by the giant cauldron that the Void Sky Cauldron had transformed into. However, the cauldron that had been struck hummed and shrank by half. The puppet’s brute strength was enormous.

Even within the spinning giant lotus, ghostly cries echoed, and a jet-black bell the size of a mat appeared. Despite the petals splitting sharply, the bell remained undamaged.

As a result, the golden petals also slowed their rotation. Startled, Han Li hurriedly tried to boost the treasure with his magic, but a black light flashed behind him.

Then, the black wolf appeared silently like a ghost and lunged. The beast’s sharp claws pierced through as if there was no protective barrier. Although the Origin Magnetic Divine Light was a powerful divine ability, it was powerless against attacks that were unrelated to the five elements. Seeing this, the giant wolf’s eyes flashed, and it thought it had succeeded in its surprise attack.

But at that moment, a golden fist appeared strangely and mercilessly struck the beast’s head.

Thud! Thud!

The giant wolf, struck repeatedly, was crushed and unable to get up. As the wolf screamed and was flung away by the tremendous force, Han Li turned around, his body now shimmering as if covered in gold.