Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 940

Han Li turned his head to look at the place where the golden light had flown from.

In the distance, a long-haired alien was standing beside a golden bead, accompanied by a large navy-blue puppet. Faint golden lightning still crackled on the hands of the dark navy-blue puppet.

The alien, Gapcheonmok, possessed not only two high-level puppets. The appearance of a third puppet that emitted Evil-Slaying Divine Lightning [a type of powerful lightning] truly exceeded Han Li’s expectations.

After a moment of surprise, the Great Peng [a mythical bird] flapped its wings, soaring above the silver battleship. Its body swelled further while emitting a blue light. Then, with lightning crackling on its two claws, it struck the battleship with full force.

Kwakwang!

The claws pierced through the silver battleship, forcefully tearing it apart. Thunder rumbled, and a large hole was ripped into the warship.

The Great Peng opened its mouth and unleashed thick lightning bolts, which flashed and disappeared into the hole. Screams and cries echoed from within the warship. It was impossible to know how many Gakchi people had died inside.

However, the Great Peng did not stop there. It flapped its wings, creating a white vortex. The massive warship was caught in the vortex and plummeted downwards.

Ku-kwa-kwakwang!

The ground shook violently as the warship crashed. The Great Peng let out a long cry, folded its wings, and returned to its human form. Han Li turned his gaze from the ground and formed a hand seal.

Dozens of blue flying swords appeared simultaneously, transforming into blue threads and shooting out. A moment later, the warship that had fallen to the ground was torn apart by the numerous flying swords and eventually exploded.

Most of the Gakchi soldiers and the two-headed eagles had been eliminated by Pyorinsoo and Jehon. Only a few soldiers who had fled from the beginning were lucky enough to survive.

Once the battle was over, Han Li released the Spirit Beast Ring, summoning Jehon and Pyorinsoo back. Only then did he turn his head and fly towards Gapcheonmok.

Gapcheonmok felt a chill run down his spine at Han Li’s cold gaze, but he put on a smile and clasped his hands in greeting.

“I sincerely thank you for your help. I will definitely keep my promise. As soon as I return to my clan, I will give you the Commander Puppet.”

“To think you would dare to drag me into this, you have quite the nerve! Did you not consider that I might kill you as well?”

In an instant, Han Li’s eyes turned even colder.

“You jest. If you had wanted to do that, Senior, I would already be dead. How could I possibly still be alive? Besides, I had to make a choice to survive, so please understand.”

“How did you know I was here? I was quite confident in my stealth technique, believing that I wouldn’t be detected by anyone below my level.”

“How could my cultivation possibly allow me to detect your stealth technique, Senior? It was all thanks to this that I was able to locate you.”

Gapcheonmok hesitated for a moment before taking out a bead. Upon closer inspection, it was unexpectedly a mix of black and white, with faint spiritual energy swirling on its surface.

“What is this?”

“This is an Unyielding Thought Bead, a treasure made from the rare spirit beast, the Twisted Blood Beast. It temporarily boosts a cultivator’s consciousness by more than double, amplifying their senses to an incredible level. It needs to be cultivated within the body for several years after each use, and the aftereffects are significant, but it is very useful in critical moments.”

“It amplifies consciousness by double?”

Han Li was startled.

He wouldn’t have been this surprised if it had been said to double cultivation. Although rare, there were means to temporarily increase a cultivator’s magic power or realm.

Consciousness was something that gradually strengthened with cultivation and was also influenced by cultivation techniques. However, it was not easy to affect consciousness with external objects.

“Unyielding Thought Bead! Twisted Blood Beast!”

Han Li muttered, his gaze towards the bead changing.

“However, the Twisted Blood Beast, which is essential for refining the Unyielding Thought Bead, has long been extinct in the Spirit Realm. Moreover, once this bead is used, no one else can ever use it. If someone were to swallow another’s bead, their consciousness would become chaotic, leading to madness and death.”

Gapcheonmok, sensing the change in Han Li’s expression, quickly added.

“I see.”

Han Li, who had momentarily felt a murderous intent, was greatly disappointed and lowered his gaze. But the more he looked at the bead, the more familiar it seemed. It was as if he had something similar in his storage pouch…

Blinking, Han Li suddenly remembered the time he had collected Spirit Candle Fruit in Chuma Valley. The core he had obtained after killing an unknown mutated demonic beast back then was very similar to the Unyielding Thought Bead.

‘Could that demonic beast have been a Twisted Blood Beast!’

If he had the Unyielding Thought Bead, the number of Xujin Insects [a type of magical insect] he could control at once would greatly increase. It would be a tremendous advantage that could defeat an enemy in a life-or-death situation.

However, Han Li, fearing that the other party might notice something, did not ask any more about the Unyielding Thought Bead. Instead, he looked at the puppet next to Gapcheonmok and spoke calmly.

“It seems the Gakchi people treat you well because of these. You must not be of ordinary status. Who are you?”

“I am merely a member of the Upper Clan’s 3rd level. I just have some skill in puppetry, which has given me a bit of a name.”

Gapcheonmok replied as if it were nothing special.

“If even the Gakchi elders value you, your puppetry must be extraordinary.”

Han Li’s eyes sparkled, and Gapcheonmok chuckled at his words.

“Senior, this is not a place to linger. Let’s talk about the rest as we go.”

“Hmph, that’s a reasonable point! But when did I say I would go with you? Let’s just go our separate ways. I don’t want to get caught in the crossfire again by being with someone like you.”

Han Li snorted and turned his body.

“Wait a moment! As you already know, the enemies have heavily blockaded the surrounding area. No matter how excellent your escape techniques are, Senior, it will be difficult for you to get out easily. I know the location of a secret teleportation array, which we can use to escape immediately.”

As a blue light flashed on Han Li’s body, Gapcheonmok quickly shouted. He seemed worried that Han Li would really leave.

“A secret teleportation array? You’re not lying, are you?”

“You can rest assured. It’s a secret teleportation array prepared by the Thirteen Heavenly Luck Clans for special cultivators like me. You’ll know as soon as you see it. If I’m lying, I’ll accept any punishment.”

Han Li pondered for a moment at Gapcheonmok’s words. The Gakchi patrols were indeed becoming more frequent. Even silver battleships were appearing often.

He was not confident that he could break through such heavy security without being detected. If he could use a teleportation array to leave this place immediately, it would be much safer.

Also, although he had nothing to do with either the Gakchi or the Thirteen Heavenly Luck Clans, he had clearly seen the Gakchi people occupying and massacring Nokgwang Star. Even if he offered the jade box, he would not be treated well.

However, the Thirteen Heavenly Luck Clans did not greatly discriminate against external races. It seemed like a good idea to stay in the Thirteen Heavenly Luck Clans’ territory first and then slowly find a way to go to the Pungwon Continent.

Moreover, he needed to deal with the jade box he possessed, so someone with a high position in the Manggo Clan would be helpful. Han Li nodded with a much gentler expression.

“Alright. I’ll do as you suggest, cultivator.”

His tone changed as soon as he decided to go to the Thirteen Heavenly Luck Clans. Hearing this, Gapcheonmok was overjoyed and expressed his gratitude. With his special spirit stones for controlling puppets almost depleted, he had no confidence in reaching the teleportation array without Han Li’s protection.

Gapcheonmok retrieved all the puppets that had been captured by the Gakchi and flew into the sky with Han Li. Golden and blue streaks of light flashed and disappeared from view.

Around a massive city covered by a pale yellow protective barrier, over a hundred silver battleships of varying sizes floated. On the largest of these battleships, a dozen or so Gakchi Nascent Soul cultivators [a high level of cultivation] were looking down at the city below.

At the head of the table sat a young woman with silver-white skin and purple-gold eyes. While the others were pointing at the city below and whispering, she was silently lost in thought.

Suddenly, a flash of spiritual energy appeared outside the pavilion, and a red streak of light flew towards the young woman.

“…”

The young woman raised her eyebrows and pointed at the red light. The red light transformed into a small ball of flame and fell into her hand. She immediately infused it with her consciousness.

“This is outrageous! These useless things!”

The woman’s expression hardened as she muttered coldly. The cultivators were startled and stopped talking, looking at the woman.

“Your Excellency, what has happened to make you so displeased?”

A hunchbacked man asked cautiously.

“Hmph, the news is that the Upper Clan 7th and 8th level cultivators who went to capture Gapcheonmok were all killed as soon as they teleported. One unit couldn’t even activate the teleportation array!”

The woman’s eyes flashed purple.

“No matter how skilled Gapcheonmok is in puppetry, he is only a cultivator of the Upper Clan’s middle level. How could he possibly annihilate the pursuing troops?”

A long-faced woman looked incredulous.

“According to the survivors, it wasn’t Gapcheonmok’s doing, but the work of another person.”

“Another person? Besides Hengsu City, are there still areas where the Seong Clan remains?”

The hunchbacked man seemed a little surprised.

“They were defeated by a cultivator of the Upper Clan’s 7th level, not a Fusion Stage cultivator [an even higher level of cultivation]. That’s why I called them useless! How could so many people be defeated by a cultivator of the same level?”

The others did not dare to speak rashly at the young woman’s anger.

“Contact the Do Envoy immediately. Tell them the location where the incident occurred and let them handle the matter regarding Gapcheonmok. We will focus on attacking Hengsu City.”

“The Do Envoy is also carrying out another mission. Will they come?”

Another cultivator hesitated before asking.

“Inform them that the person who caused this incident is the one they were trying to capture. Then they will take care of it.”

“What? Are you saying that the person who rescued Gapcheonmok is the same person the Do Envoy was looking for!”

The people gathered were startled and looked at each other.

“Let’s end this matter by handling it that way. The important thing now is to capture the city in front of us within three days! If we break through this place, the remaining Geumgap City will be isolated. Let’s move according to the plan.”

“Yes!”

The Gakchi high-level cultivators bowed in unison to receive the order. Soon, they left the pavilion and flew to the large battleships they were in charge of.

Kwarurung!

An hour later, all the battleships emitted a light of spiritual energy and made a tremendous roar. Countless Gakchi soldiers, two-headed eagles, and Jiaolong [a type of dragon] emerged from the battleships, forming ranks and filling the nearby sky without a gap.

And puppets of various colors flew from the battleships. Most of them were human-shaped, with the smaller ones being the size of ordinary people and the larger ones being at least a dozen feet tall.

In addition, there were only three beast puppets, each over a hundred feet in size.

There was a giant turtle puppet with spikes on its back, a puppet with a tiger’s head and a monkey’s body, and finally, a winged ant puppet. The ant puppet was as white as jade, as if it had been refined using crystal.

As the Gakchi people were about to attack, changes occurred in the city below. The formations throughout the city began to glow, and thick pillars of light were emitted from the formations, flowing into the protective barrier in the sky.

Woong!

The protective barrier glowed even brighter, and giant magic characters the size of a hand appeared on the surface of the barrier. And countless figures flew from the buildings inside the city towards the glowing formations.

“Begin the attack!”

As the silver-haired woman on the giant ship gave the order, the three beast puppets launched their attack first.

First, the giant turtle puppet emitted countless spikes as a strange light flowed on its back, and the tiger-headed puppet spewed out golden pillars of light.

And the ant puppet continuously released a thick green mist from its mouth.

Kururung! Ku-kwa-kwakwang!

In an instant, explosions and shouts mixed together, sweeping through the area like a fierce wave.

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