A Record Of A Mortal's Journey To Immortality

by Srtyi

A poor and ordinary boy from a village joins a minor sect in Jiang Hu and becomes an Unofficial Disciple by chance. How will Han Li, a commoner by birth, establish a foothold for himself in his sect? With his mediocre aptitude, how will he successfully traverse the path of cultivation and become an immortal? This is a story of an ordinary mortal who, against all odds, clashes with

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Read A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality - Chapter 1: The Village by the Forest online free - Novel Full

Chapter 1: The Village by the Forest

"Second Fool" opened his eyes and stared at the mud and thatch roof over his head. The quilt covering his body was a deep yellow color and had a musty smell, but it was so old that its original color couldn't be distinguished anymore.

Next to him lay his second brother, Han Zhu, who appeared to be in a deep slumber. Sounds of snoring intermittently floated over as he slept.

Five feet away from the bed was an earthen wall that had suffered from numerous cracks due to passage of time. From the other side of the wall came the nagging voice of his mother and occasionally the deep breathing of his father, who was smoking his pipe.

Second Fool slowly closed his eye, trying to force himself to sleep. He knew that if he didn't go to sleep now, he wouldn't be able to wake up early the following day, and if woke up late, he wouldn't be able to go up to the mountains with his good friends to gather firewood.

Second Fool's real name was Han Li. This elegant name was not given to him by his parents. When he was born, his parents had offered two pieces of cornbread to the village's Elder Zhang in return for giving the baby Han Li a second name.

(TL: "Second Fool" in Mandarin has a pleasing sound despite of its meaning)

When Uncle Zhang was young, he had attended school with the wealthy children from the city. He was the only one in the village to know how to read a few words, so more than half of the children in the village were named by him.

Han Li was called "Second Fool" by those in the village. Despite of his name, he wasn't stupid looking or foolish; on the contrary, he was actually the smartest person in the village. But just like the other children, aside from when they were home, nobody called him by his official name "Han Li". Instead, they called him by his pet name "Second Fool"

The reason why he was nicknamed "Second Fool" was due to the fact that there was already someone named "Fool" in the village.

But this type of nickname was nothing. There were children in the village named "Doggy" and "Dumb Egg". These names weren't nearly as pleasant-sounding as "Second Fool".

Because of this, Han Li had some consolation even though though he was not very fond of his nickname.

Physically, Han Li was very ordinary. He was tan and matched the generic descriptions of a child born in a farming community. Deep in his heart, however, he had matured faster than others of the same age. Ever since he was young, he had yearned that one day, he would be able to walk away from his small village and explore the fertile lands of the outside world that Uncle Zhang had always talked about.

Han Li had never dared to speak of his dreams to anyone else in the village because they would be deeply shocked. After all. leaving this place was a notion that even adults didn't easily think about, let alone a small child. Children around his age only knew how to chase chickens and pet dogs. They had never entertained the strange notion of leaving the village.

Han Li's family had a total of seven members., including two older brothers, one older sister, and one younger sister. He was the fourth eldest in his family and had turned ten this year. Together, they lived a hard yet honest lifestyle. Very rarely did they get to eat meat and fish, but the entire family was content with living with what meager resources they had.

At this moment, Han Li was hovering between a state of sleep and consciousness. As he slowly drifted to sleep, only one thought was on his mind: While in the mountains, he had to picked more red berries for him younger sister whom he doted the most!

The next morning, at noon, Han Li was shielding himself from the scorching sun overhead with the shade cast by a pile of lumber on his back. Wrapped around his chest was a pouch filled to the brim with red berries that bounced with each step as he walked home. He had no idea that at this moment, there was a guest in his home, a guest that that would change his destiny forever.

This guest was actually someone who had very close blood ties with Han Li; it was his Third Uncle!

Rumors said he was the shopkeeper of a restaurant in the nearby city. According to his parents, Third Uncle was the most capable within their family. The Han family had, after a few hundred years, finally produced someone like his Third Uncle, a figure with status and respect that was unrivaled within the family.

When Han Li was young, he had only met his Third Uncle a few times. Han Li's older brother was a blacksmith's apprentice in the city thanks to Third Uncle's introduction. Every so often, this Third Uncle would even bring some food for his father and mother to bring home to eat. Because he had looked after Han Li's family with great consideration, Han Li had a very good impression of him. Even though his parents never said anything, he knew that in their hearts, they were very grateful.

Han Li's eldest brother was the family's pride and joy. As an apprentice to a blacksmith, minus the living expenses, every month he would be able to bring home 30 copper coins. And when he finally graduated from his apprenticeship, he would earn even more money!

Every time his father and mother talked about their eldest son, their spirits would soar with pride. Although Han Li was young, he was tremendously envious. The best work he could find was to be the apprentice of a craft master and rely on the crafts he made to earn money.

So when Han Li saw the brand new satin robes and the round face that belonged to his Third Uncle, Han Li was overjoyed.

Setting down the firewood in a corner outside of the house, he went to the front of the house to greet his Third Uncle. "Third Uncle, Han Li greets you." After doing so, he obediently stood to the side and listened to his Third Uncle chat with his parents.

Third Uncle beamed at Han Li as he opened his mouth, praising his nephew. "What a sensible child!" After complimenting Han Li, he turned his attention back to Han Li's parents and explained the reason for his visit.

Because Han Li was young, he wasn't able to fully understand the words his Third Uncle was saying, but he could roughly understand the meaning of it

It turned out his Third Uncle's restaurant had the backing of the Seven Mysteries Sect. This sect was divided into the inner and outer divisions, and not too long ago, Third Uncle had been officially recognized as an outer disciple. That meant that he could bring a child from the age of 7 to 12 to take the Inner Disciple Examinations.

Once every 5 years, the Seven Mysteries Sect would formally issue invitations for youngsters to take the test for becoming Inner Disciples. The test would officially begin the following month. Third Uncle was a smart and astute man who was childless, so naturally he thought of Han Li, who met the age requirement.

The moment the usually docile Father Han heard the words "Jiang Hu" and "Sect", along with many other phrases he had never heard before, he felt very hesitant. Bringing his smoking pipe to his lips and giving it a puff, he sat down without saying a word.

(TL: "Father Han" is the title of Han Li's father)

According to Third Uncle, the Seven Mysteries Sect could be considered one of the best sects within several hundred miles.

If one were to become an Inner Disciple, not only could he or she cultivate martial arts as well as eat and sleep for free, one would also receive a monthly allowance. Not only that, but for those who participated in the Inner Disciple Examinations but do not pass, they could still enter the outer division and become a outer disciple like Third Uncle. They would still be able to have the opportunity to help the Seven Mysteries Sect handle its external affairs.

Upon hearing the possibility that his son could receive a monthly allowance, and could even become as successful as his Third Uncle, Han Li's father finally decided to give his approval.

After getting the approval from Han Li's father, Third Uncle felt elation in his heart. Leaving behind two silver coins, he said that in a month, he would return and escort Han Li to the testing area. During this period of time, Han LI's father had to ensure that Han Li was clothed and well fed to improve his constitution so that it would be easier for Han Li to pass the test. After giving instructions, Third Uncle bid farewell to Han Li and his father, patted Han Li on his head, and left for the city.

While Han Li didn't fully comprehend his Third Uncle's words, he could understand that he would be able to earn money in the big city. It seemed that his dream from before was going to come true, making him so excited that he couldn't fall asleep for the first few nights.

After one month had passed, Third Uncle returned to the village, escorting Han Li to the testing site. Before he left, Han Li's father repeatedly instructed Han Li on ways of proper behaviour. One must be honest, have the capacity to endure, and avoid unnecessary conflicts with others. Meanwhile, Han Li's mother urged him to take care of his health and to eat and sleep well.

The day finally arrived when Third Uncle came to take Han Li away by carriage. As his parents gradually disappeared from his sight, Han Li bit down on his lips in order to prevent his tears from flowing down his eyes.

Although he had always been more mature than other children of the same age, he was still a ten year old child. This was the first time he had left home, so he naturally felt depressed. A homesickness developed in his heart. He was determined to rush home after he struck riches, never to be separated from his parents.

What Han Li didn't know was that, from this moment on, money has lost its meaning to him. He had already chosen to embark on a path different from ordinary mortals. He had chosen to enter the world of cultivation, walking his own path towards immortality!

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Chapter 2: Green Ox Town

Han Li's home was said to be a small city, but it was actually no more than a large town called Green Ox Town. Only those who lived in the mountain region and the natives with no knowledge of the outside world called the town Green Ox City. The only reason why Han Li knew about this was because he had been informed by his Uncle Zhang, who had been working as a gatekeeper for more than ten years.

Green Ox City wasn't a very large town, so there was only one main road, known as Green Ox Street, that spanned from the east and west borders of the town. There was only one tavern in the town, located in the west end. For any traveling merchant that didn't want to sleep outdoors, this tavern was the only solution.

There was only one road for carriages in the western part of Green Ox Town. It ran from the gates of the town and the Green Ox Tavern all the way to the Spring Fragrance Restaurant, the only other place where anyone would visit besides the tavern.

Spring Fragrance Restaurant wasn't big by any means and was actually quite old-fashioned. However, this establishment had a certain charm that was appealing to many travelers. Every day at noon, there would always be a crowd of people, making the place constantly swamped.

A bearded man with a round face emerged from a carriage along with a dark skinned, rotund little boy who looked to be around ten years old. They both walked into the restaurant swaggeringly. All of the regular customers knew who this man was: he was the shopkeeper of this restaurant, "Fatty Han." The boy, however, was not someone they were familiar with.

"Elder Han, this tanned little boy resembles you a lot. Could it be a child from a prostitute you spent the night with?" someone joked.

The moment the joke was uttered, the entire restaurant roared with laughter.

"Peh! This is the son of my blood brother, my very own nephew! Of course he'll look like me," Fatty Han said proudly instead of being angered.

This duo traveled for three whole days with no rest before arriving at the town. They were Han Li and his Third Uncle, who was known as "Fatty Han" by the townspeople.

Fatty Han greeted a few regulars, brought Han Li to the back of the restaurant, and entered a remote courtyard.

"Xiao Li, you should rest here for a while. When the time comes for the Inner Disciple Examinations, I'll call you. For now, I must leave in order to attend to a few regulars." Fatty Han pointed at a side room in the courtyard and kindly motioned for Han Li to enter it.

(TL: "Xiao" in this context means "little")

With that said, Han Li's Third Uncle turned around and hurried back inside the restaurant to tend to his customers.

As he reached the door, he felt a sudden unease in his heart and reminded Han Li, "Don't run about. You might get lost in the town if you wander around, so it's best if you don't leave this courtyard."

"En!"

After hearing Han Li's honest response, he nodded in relief and walked out the door,

After his Third Uncle left the courtyard, Han Li suddenly felt exhausted. The moment his head landed on his pillow, he fell into a deep sleep and began snoring, surprisingly without the fear of a normal kid staying alone in unfamiliar surroundings.

When the night came, a servant came by with some food, and although it wasn't a lavish meal, it was still delicious. After Han Li ate the food, the servant cleared away the remaining dishes when his Third Uncle leisurely walked in.

"How was it? Was the meal suitable to your taste? Do you miss home?"

"Yes, I miss home…" Han Li replied in his childish voice.

Third Uncle seemed satisfied with Han Li's response and began to talk to him about his daily life and then bragged many of his experiences. Gradually, Han Li began to lose his shyness and started to laugh and talk with his Third Uncle.

In this manner, two days quickly passed.

On the third day, after Han Li finished dinner, he was waiting for his uncle's stories of Jiang Hu when a carriage stopped in front of the restaurant door.

(TL: Jiang Hu – World of Martial Artists)

This carriage was painted a shiny black color and even the horse was a rarely seen golden steed. But what attracted the most attention was that on the frame of the carriage was the word "Mystery" written in silver words in the middle of a red triangle emblazing a black banner. The image on the banner also emitted a unfathomable air.

Seeing this banner, each and every martial arts expert within the area knew that this carriage belonged to one of the two local overlords in the area, the Seven Mysteries Sect. It seemed that an esteemed guest had arrived in Green Ox Town.

The Seven Mysteries Sect had been previously known as the Seven Supreme Sect. Two hundred years ago, the sect was established by an extremely famous martial master named "Sovereign of the Seven Supreme". Having once swept across and dominated the Jing Province and the nearby Shu Province for a few decades, the Sovereign of the Seven Supreme was resoundingly famous. But after he was afflicted with illness, the power of the Seven Mysteries Sect took a devastating hit and its influence dropped drastically. In the end, the Seven Mysteries Sect was forced out of the main city of the Jing Province by the combined efforts of its rival sects. A hundred years ago, the sect was forced to relocate to an extremely remote area called the Celestial Rainbow Mountain, and from then on, they built up their roots in that third rate region and became a local powerhouse.

Locally, the only other power that could rival the Seven Mysteries Sect was the Feral Wolf Gang.

The Feral Wolf Gang was a originally a gang of horse-mounted bandits from the Jing Province that had no qualms about burning, killing, looting and pillaging. After a while, an army dispatched by the imperial court encircled and fiercely suppressed the bandits. Some of the bandits accepted the amnesty granted to them by the imperial court while the remaining bandits reformed themselves into the Feral Wolf Gang. The Feral Wolf Gang was exceedingly cruel and bloodthirsty, retaining their former characteristics from back when they had no qualms about committing atrocities. Thus, whenever they clashed, the Seven Mysteries Sect were always at a disadvantage.

Even though the Feral Wolf Gang controlled more towns than the Seven Mysteries Sect, the gang didn't know how to manage the towns to effectively run a business and generate income, so in comparison, the wealth of the towns controlled by the Seven Mysteries Sect vastly outstripped the towns under Feral Wolf Gang's control. Jealous of the Seven Mysteries Sect's prosperity, the Feral Wolf Gang made plans to take over the Sect's territory, resulting in the longstanding conflict between the two major powers. The conflict gave the current Sect Leader of the Seven Mysteries Sect endless headaches. Because of the Feral Wolf Gang, the Seven Mysteries Sect had been increasing the number of disciples in recent years.

After the carriage stopped, a skinny forty year old man jumped down. His movements were extremely nimble, indicating he was a powerful expert. He seemed to be very familiar with Fatty Han's restaurant and walked pompously straight towards the room Han Li was residing in.

Upon seeing the forty year old man, Fatty Han immediately greeted him respectfully.

"Protector Wang, why has an esteemed person such as yourself made the trip personally?"

"Hmph!" Protector Wang coldly snorted.

"The roads here haven't been peaceful lately. Because of this, there's a need to strengthen the defenses, so I decided to come personally. Stop wasting my time, is this is the child you wanted to nominate?"

"Yes, yes, this is my nephew. I hope that Protector Wang will take care of him."

Looking at the impatient look on Protector Wang face, Third Uncle immediately retrieved a heavy-looking pouch and tossed it over to Protector Wang.

After he assessed the weight of the pouch, Protector Wang's impatient demeanor relaxed visibly.

"Fatty Han, haha you sure know how people's hearts work! Don't worry, on the road back, I will make sure that all of your nephew's needs are well cared for. Anyway, it is getting pretty late now, let us be on our way."

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Chapter 3: Seven Mysteries Sect

The smell inside the carriage was unpleasant, but this could hardly be surprising. The optimal seating capacity for this carriage was only ten people, but currently, there were 30 young children squeezed into the carriage. Even if young children had smaller bodies than adults, the space inside the carriage was intolerably cramped.

The intelligent Han Li, when he first entered the carriage, had already chosen a seat near to the sides and was now stealthily observing the other children.

The children who had registered or been nominated to take the test at the Seven Mysteries Sect could be segregated into three different groups based on their clothing and bearing.

In the first group, there was a youth wearing silk clothing seated in the center of the carriage, surrounded by the majority of the children.

This youth's name was Wu Yan. He was 13 years old, one of the oldest children to be seated inside the carriage. Normally, he would not be even here since his age had already exceeded the age limit, but one of his older female cousin was married to someone of authority inside the Seven Mysteries Sect. Therefore, Wu Yan's age was purposely overlooked and he was allowed to join the selection. Wu Yan's family ran a martial arts dojo, so he had access to a considerable amount of wealth. From a young age, he had practiced external martial arts. Even though his talent could not be considered excellent, when facing against Han Li's type—those children who had never practiced martial arts before—it was more than enough for Wu Yan to trample them underfoot.

It was very clear that children like Wu Yan, those with backings from powerful and wealthy families and had practiced martial art, could be considered the elite within the group of children inside the carriage.

They were from different backgrounds: some came from the families of shopkeepers, some came from the families of workers, or families of craftsmen, etc. However, they all had one special thing in common :they grew up in the city. Thus, from an early age, they had learnt from the elders of their family how to observe people and know what was beneficial for them. Because of this, these people surrounded Wu Yan and repeatedly called out "Young Master Wu"and "Big Brother Wu" to curry favor. Wu Yan seemed to be used to being fawned over.

The third group of people were people like Han Li: this group came from remote and poor villages. They usually made do with what they had, were poor, and had suffered a life of hardship and strife. Only five to six people belonged to this third group, creating a minority inside the carriage. They usually kept to themselves, and had a quiet demeanor, not even daring to speak or laugh loudly. They were a refreshing change when compared to those loud children.

After the horse carriage exited Green Ox Town, it sped westward and made a few detours to visit other locations and collect even more children. On the fifth day, they managed to arrive at the Celestial Rainbow Mountain, the home of the Seven Mysteries Sect, near sundown.

The first thing the children saw after exiting the carriage was the beautiful, captivating sunset. It was only when Protector Wang started to rally the children that they woke up from their daze and continued proceeding forward.

Celestial Rainbow Mountain was originally Setting Wind Mountain. Legend has it that during ancient times, a five-coloured wind blew past this location, instantly transforming the mountain. After this place was discovered by humans, they realized how beautiful the sunset looked behind the rosy pink clouds. Inspired by the majestic image, the humans decided to rename this place Celestial Rainbow Mountains.

The Celestial Rainbow Mountain was the second largest mountain in the Jing Province after the Bai Mang Mountain. It was extremely spacious, spanning a radius of ten Li. The Celestial Rainbow Mountain was actually a mountain range consisting of ten mountain peaks, each of them being incredibly dangerous, and under the control of the various divisions of the Seven Mysteries Sect. The main mountain peak of the Celestial Rainbow Mountain was named the "Setting Sun Summit"; it was treacherous and dangerous beyond comparison. Not only was it extremely steep, there was only a single path between summit and the foot of the mountain. After the Seven Mysteries Sect rebuilt their roots in this area, they set up a total of thirteen checkpoints on the path up the mountain. Some of these checkpoints were hidden while others were out in the open. They were prepared for every single route that the Feral Wolf Gang might use to invade the mountain.

As Han Li followed the escorts in front of the group, he surveyed his nearby surroundings. Suddenly, the escorts stopped as waves of friendly and amicable voices rang out.

"Little Brother Wang, why did you arrive so late? You're two days late."

"Division Head Yue, we were delayed by the journey here, sorry for causing you to worry." Protection Wang, standing in front of all the children, replied respectfully as he bowed to a red-faced old man. Protector Wang's stern facade was instantly replaced by a look of fawning.

"Which batch of children is this?"

"This is the batch number seventeen."

"En!" This Division Head Yue pompously looked towards Han Li and the other children.

"Send them to the courtyard, let them rest for tonight. Tomorrow morning, we'll begin the selection process. Send those who fail or break the rules back down the mountain."

"Understood, Division Head Yue."

Walking atop of the mountain's stone steps, the children were tremendously excited, but no one dared to speak loudly. Despite their young age, the children somehow knew that this place would determine their destiny.

Protector Wang was in the lead and greeted several figures on the way to the children's sleeping quarters. It could be seen that he was familiar with a lot people and was quite popular in the region.

The majority of the people they met on their way were all wearing green clothes and equipped with a blade or sword. Even those that appeared empty handed wore pouches full of mysterious items around their waists. From their actions, one could tell that all of these people were somewhat proficient at martial arts.

Han Li and the rest of the children were brought to a mountain peak that seemed lower in height in comparison to the other mountain peaks. On the summit, there was a house made of mud, built for the children to sleep in during the night. As he slept, Han Li dreamt that he was wearing silk, with a golden sword in his hands, possessing peerless martial arts and trampling on those who bullied him back in the village. He continued to dream until the second morning, when he reluctantly awoke, reminiscing the satisfying feeling of sleep.

Protector Wang did not let the children enjoy breakfast. Instead, he brought all of the children down the mountain to a steep slope containing many bamboo shoots. There, Division Head Yue and a few other youths whom Han Li didn't recognize were already waiting for them.

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Chapter 4: Bone Refining Cliff

In front of the children, Division Head Yue hollered, "Everyone, listen up. Inside the bamboo forest, there's a small path on which you'll proceed forward. At the end of the path, you will reach the Bone Refining Cliff of the Seven Mysteries Sect. The first obstacle you will face is the bamboo forest, the second obstacle will be the traversing the stony region, and your last obstacle, shall be ascending the cliff. Only those who have managed to climb the Bone Refining Cliff by noon will be disciples of my Seven Mysteries Sect. Even if you finish after noon, although you can't be an Inner Disciple, you can still become a Unofficial Disciple as long as your performance demonstrates remarkable prowess.

Han Li naturally did not understand what it meant to be a Unofficial Disciple. He only knew that all he had to do was to climb the cliff. Casting his gaze forward at the uneven, steep slope, he saw many lengthy bamboo shoots sprawled across the surface of the cliff. Seeing this, it seemed that the first obstacle should be pretty easy!

Studying the other children, Han Li was unwilling to lose to those in his age group. The atmosphere quickly became tense for the other children as well.

Division Head Yue cast a glance at the rising sun and said, "Okay, it's almost time, prepare to set off! Don't be afraid, your seniors will be protecting you from behind in case there's any danger."

Han Li turned his head and glanced at those unrecognizable youths.

These people were the senior disciples, so they should be from an earlier batch. Han Li could not help but think, "How impressive, if I managed to join them, could I wear the same robes of an Inner Disciple?"

As he was blindly pondering, Han Li discovered that the other children had already rushed into the bamboo forest. Seeing that he was left behind, Han Li quickly started moving forward..

Once the thirty children rushed in, they stopped moving as a group and scattered within the spacious bamboo forest.Behind Han Li was a lanky senior disciple with a cold look on his face, silently following Han Li. Han Li was a little fearful, but he did not dare to start a conversation and waste time. Slightly intimidated, he lowered his body and proceeded treading on the steep slope.

This stretch of bamboo forest looked ordinary on the outside, but after Han Li walked for a distance, he found that it was slowly becoming more and more difficult to move forward. His footsteps got heavier, and gradually, Han Li began to use one hands to pull the bamboo shoots, using the momentum of the bamboo springing back to its original position to propel him forward..

Han Li persisted in this manner for quite some time, At a certain point, he became extremely exhausted, so he had no choice but to find a empty space to sit down and rest, his breath leaving him in heavy bursts of air.

After taking a breather, Han Li turned his gaze and saw the lanky senior behind him. Although the ground was very steep, this senior disciple was standing nonchalantly on the ground as if this was nothing to him. His body was totally devoid of dirt, standing erect like the bamboo shoots near by, while he silently looked at Han Li in the distance.

Looking at the cold glance of this senior, Han Li felt fear in his heart, and rapidly turned his head back. He also heard sounds of heavy breathing in front and deduced that one of the faster children was also making use of this opportunity to rest. After a short break, Han Li swiftly resumed his journey.

The slope was perilously steep, and Han Li's energy reserve got smaller and smaller.

He decided to lie flat on the ground and claw his up forward instead of moving on his legs so that if he exhausted his energy, he would not fall flat on his face. Luckily, his clothes were made of strong materials; if not, his limbs and knees joint might have been damaged by being dragged across the rocky ground.

As he almost reached the end of the bamboo forest, Han Li felt that it was very tough to complete the last few steps. This was because as the stones and rocks on the ground increased, the number of bamboo shoots decreased.

Han Li finally reached the point where there were no more bamboo shoots for him to use for support. Han Li slowly moved inch by inch past this last stretch of road and overcame the first obstacle.

The moment he walked out of the bamboo forest, he could only see a vast expanse of land. In front of him was an incomparably huge, rocky mountain. On top of the gargantuan mountain were a few skinny kids, slowly climbing up the stone cliff along with a few senior disciples keeping a close watch on them. Han Li did not dare to hesitate any longer and rushed to make his way to the front of the huge rocky mountain.

The mountain consisted of layers and layers of sedimentary rocks stacked upon each other and looked pretty eroded. In some places, the stones crumbed when touched. Of course, there were also solid slabs of stones, but finding them was extremely perilous. Han Li had only practiced the most rudimentary of martial arts and his hands were already filled with injuries after his trek through the bamboo forest. At the same time, his clothes were torn and tattered around his knees, and the flesh and muscles hidden by his clothing were also scraped and injured. Although the wound on his knee was small, Han Li gritted his teeth every time it came into contact with the jagged rocks, the pain almost more than he could bear.

The few children in the lead had already climbed the furthest. Seeing the others ahead of him, Han Li refused to give up. The moment any thoughts of giving up flashed past his mind, images of his Third Uncle and his family would appear, giving him the motivation to carry on. With the memories of those he loved urging him to continue, Han Li relentlessly proceeded forward.

Before Han Li left for the Inner Disciple Examination, Han Li's father and Third Uncle reminded Han Li that the test would be extremely tough. If he did not persevere to the end, Han Li would have no chances of joining the Seven Mysteries Sect. At this moment, Han Li no longer cared about joining the sect. Instead, the only source of motivation pushing him forward was an unwillingness to give in and the urgency to catch up to the others in the lead.

Han Li raised his head and noticed that Wu Yan was currently in the lead. Wu Yan was older than Han Li and had even practice Martial Arts; not surprisingly, he had a stronger body compared to the other kids.

Once again, Han Li turned his gaze backwards and saw that he had surpassed quite a few children, many of which were still rushing forward. Sucking in a deep breath, Han Li increased the speed of his ascent.

Despite of exhausting the majority of his strength, he still hadn't shortened the distance between him and those in the lead. As the unyielding sun climbed towards the center of the sky, Han Li's body got heavier and heavier, making it harder for him to reach the summit. In the meantime, Wu Yan had already reached the top of the huge mountain.

Near the summit of the 30 zhang tall mountain was the incredibly steep Bone Refining Cliff. Over ten ropes, each with knots the size of a fist, hung from the top of the cliff. Wu Yan selected one began to climb up the cliff.

Han Li gazed over at Wu Yan, who was in the lead, and felt resigned in his heart. He knew that he could not catch up to those in front in the short amount of time that left until noon.

The notion of failing was quickly erased by the sudden pain that flared up from his injuries. The waves of fiery pain sapped the strength from his limb. Feeling his body fall downward, Han Li frantically grasped a stone with one hand. His heart was beating erratically as he rapidly pasted his body onto the side of the mountain, not daring to make any sudden motions.

After a moment, he calmed down, using his hand to test the strength of the stone slab. Only after he determined it was secured in place did he manage to let go of his worries.

Looking downwards, Han Li saw that the lanky senior was in a half-squatting position with his arms extended out, preparing to catch Han Li if he fell. Seeing that Han Li was safe, however, the senior retracted his arms.

Han Li felt relief in his heart. If he really fell down the cliff, all of his efforts would have been wasted! After a short moment, he slowly inched forward and crawled towards the remaining ropes hanging down the Bone Refining cliff.

Finally, he arrived at the bottom of a rope. The sun had almost reached the center of the sky, indicating that there was only one hour before the time limit was up. At this moment, Wu Yan had already ascended the cliff and he turned his head to gaze at the remaining children. Just as Han Li was climbing the rope, his gaze coincidentally met Wu Yan, only to see him giving a thumbs down gesture to the slower competitors. After laughing maniacally, Wu Yan continued onward.

With anger rising in his heart, Han Li grabbed ahold of the rope and began to climb.

However, Han Li had long since used up all his energy. Currently, even holding the rope tightly was a challenge for him, let alone climbing the rope.

Miraculously, Han Li climbed up to the first knot on his rope. Sitting on it, he felt as if that his body had turned into cotton, unable to move a single finger. He turned his head and look at all the children behind him. Some of them had already given up, sitting down on the stone mountain and breathing heavily. Like Han Li, they had exhausted all of their strength and were on the verge of collapse.

A bitterness rose in his heart; he had underestimated this test too much. Luckily, he was not one of the last few children who had given up. Looked at the senior disciples' cold gazes, he decided to carry on. Even though he had no chances of completing the test before noon, finishing late was better than hanging limp on a rope..

Han Li extended both of his stiff hands and used the strength had recovered during his break to slowly climb up the rope. but at this moment, Han Li hands stopped responding to his will; he even lacked the strength maintain a grip on the rope. Han Li paused there, lingering for a moment before reluctantly deciding to remain there seated on the knot.

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Chapter 5: Doctor Mo

After a brief moment, Han Li felt a tightening sensation on his waist as his body grew light. His body was suddenly lifted upwards.

Turning his head, Han Li saw the lanky senior helping him ascend the cliff. With one hand around Han Li's waist, the senior disciple climbed up the cliff with nimble legs. Han Li could not help but noticed that the sun had already reached the centre of the skies. It was noon.

"So I failed the test after all." Han Li felt depression set in in his heart. It seemed unfair. Even though he had desperately pushed forward, almost to the point of disregarding his life, why couldn't he compared the other children?

In an instant, the Bone Refining Cliff appeared before him. There were six other children resting on top of the cliff. Out of the six, only Wu Yan had the strength to have a conversation with a middle-aged old man wearing a dark blue garb. Division Head Yue as well as Protector Wang were also standing near him. They were waiting for the senior disciples to escort the rest of the children up the Bone Refining Cliff.

After all the children had been escorted up the cliff, Division Head Yue stepped forward with a solemn expression on his face as he began to address the kids:

"This time round, only seven of you passed. Out of this group, six will enter my Bai Duan Division and formally become our sect's Inner Disciples." Division Head Yue spoke slowly at the crowd of children.

"As for Wu Yan, the first disciple to reach the top of the Bone Refining Cliff, he performed outstandingly and, as such, will be directly sent to the Seven Supreme Division to learn the sect's secret skills and martial arts." After speaking, Division Head Yue glanced at the old man wearing the dark blue garb. The old man twirled his beard around one hand while nodding in satisfaction at Division Head Yue..

"As for the others… ," Division Head Yue contemplated the outcome of the remaining children for a moment before rubbing his chin and saying softly:

"Zhang Tie and Han Li, although these two did not pass the test, they still performed admirably. Their determination will allow them to cope with the pain of practicing martial arts. The two of you will be Unofficial Disciples assigned to an instructor of our sect for the next half year. After half a year, you would be tested again. If you pass, you'll be able to become Inner Disciples, but if you fail, you would be sent to join the Outer Disciples, helping the sect handle its external affairs."

Han Li stole a glance at the person named Zhang Tie. Like Han Li, Zhang Tie had begun climbing the rope but failed due to reach the summit of the Bone Refining Cliff before midday.

"Protector Wang, give the rest of the children some silver coins and send them back to their homes." said Division Head Yue as he gave a cold stare at the children who failed the exam.

"Understood!"

Protector Wang complied with the order and he led the remainder of the children back down the cliff.

"Zhang Jun, Wu Ming Rui, the two of you will assist me in sending the rest of these children to the Vice Division Head and Instructor Li."

Two senior disciples stepped forward and separated Han Li and the rest into two groups before leading them down the cliff. One of the senior disciples was the lanky senior that had always been behind Han Li. As they were descending the cliff, Han Li could not help but steal a glance at Wu Yan and discovered that he was still chatting with the old man in a dark blue robe, seemingly without any intent of moving from the spot.

"He's different from the rest of you. In the future, he will most likely be a core disciple. Only core disciples are sent to the Seven Supreme Division to train in the sect's secret arts. Once he completes his training, at the very least, he will have the rank of a Protector." The voice belonged to the long and thin face, who could tell what Han Li was thinking. From his tone, Han Li could hear undisguised hints of envy mixing with jealousy.

"Hmmph, isn't Wu Yan just pulling strings and depending on his family's connections? If it wasn't for his older cousin being married to Sect Leader Ma, how could he be selected as a core disciple with such meager skill? He already surpassed the age limit but he was still sent to the Seven Supreme Division," the senior said in a freezing tone that was comparable to a cold wind on a winter day.

"Zhang Jun, have you gone mad? How dare you gossip about the Sect Leader's decisions? If this news was spread, both of us could suffer from cruel punishments and end up in dire straits!" The other senior with the long and thin face, after hearing Zhang Jun's words, felt a shock in his heart and rapidly checking his surroundings to make sure no one heard Zhang Jun. Only after discovering that there were no other disciples did he heave a sigh of relief.

The senior with the cold countenance snorted, as if he were harbouring hatred in his heart, but after Wu Ming Rui's warning, he stopped talking. Only then did Han Li understand that the senior with the cold countenance was Zhang Jun. Listening to their conversation, Han Li could roughly understand what they were talking about. The fact that Wu Yan entered the Seven Supreme Division because of the backing of the Sect Leader rather than on his own skills!

As they walked along the mountain path, these two seniors both thought of the sect's internal affairs, which filled them with sadness. Lacking the mood to converse, they silently led the children forward. The rest of the children also dared not speak out of turn; perhaps they were thinking of the differences between the Seven Mysteries Sect and their home towns.

Just as they were passing through a forested region, a sixty year old man emerged from the woods. He was tall and thin with a yellow tinge to his skin and a head full of white hair. As he approached them, he coughed with every step, causing many of them to worry that he was suffering a great deal and could collapse at any moment.

The senior disciples, upon seeing this old man, did not show a trace of worry on their faces. Instead, they respectfully greeted the old man with a bow.

"Doctor Mo, this disciple greets you. Is there anything that you need this disciple to handle?" Zhang Jun, unlike his previously cold demeanour, now had an expression full of respect. To Zhang Jun, this old man in front of him, was worthy of more respect than Division Head and even the Sect Leader.

"Oh, is this the latest batch of disciples?" The old man continued coughing and asked with a hoarse voice.

"Yes, among the eight of them, six are official Inner Disciples and two are Unofficial Disciples," responded Zhang Jun.

"Coincidentally, I'm currently in need of some manpower, specifically an alchemy apprentice and an herb gatherer. Let these two follow me instead." Doctor Mo randomly raise his finger and pointed, just as luck would have it, towards Han Li and Zhang Tie, the two Unofficial Disciples.

"This disciple will obey your words. These two Unofficial Disciples actually caught eyes of the esteemed Doctor Mo, their karma must be exceptional…The two of you, why are you still standing there? Hurry and come to pay your respects to Doctor Mo. If you are able to learn a thing or two about the arts of healing from this esteem elder, you will be extremely fortunate." The two seniors had no traces of hesitation or objection on their face. The senior with the long and thin face, Wu Ming Rui, flattered Doctor Mo in order to curry favor with him..

Han Li and Zhang Tie, upon seeing the two senior disciples' sudden change of heart, had no objections. They could only accept in silence and follow the old man into the forest.

Doctor Mo led the two of them, and down a small path that meandered through the forest. The path turned east and west before suddenly stopping in front of an entrance leading to a luscious green valley.

On the left side of the valley was a courtyard used for farming medicinal herbs that emitted a fragrant smell into the air. After they entered the courtyard, Han Li spotted many herbs that were unknown to him. On the right side of the valley were lines of houses in various sizes. Looking in all four directions, Han Li saw no exit besides the gateway from which they entered.

"This valley is called the God Hand Valley. Other disciples will not dare enter this valley unless they are suffering from injuries." The old man stood in the middle of the line of houses and pointed to a smaller house. "For now, this will be your home. Rest and replenish your energy. When night falls, look for me in my house so I can inform you about several things."

" The two of you can call me Old Mo." The old man huffed and considered for a moment before saying:

"Doctor Mo is also acceptable."

After speaking, Doctor Mo ignored the two of them and slowly walked towards an impressive looking house, coughing with each step.

Completely exhausted, Han Li did not bother to check with Zhang Tie before entering the house and selecting a bed to fall asleep on. He was satisfied, because at this moment, he was halfway to becoming an Inner Disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect.

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Chapter 6: Nameless Oracular Formula

"Get up, get up."

A barely audible sound came from above Han Li, rousing him from his deep slumber. As soon as he opened his eyes, a huge face appeared in front of him. In shock, Han Li pushed himself backwards. Only then was he able to see that the owner of the face that had frightened him to death was the boy named Zhang Tie.

"Hurry up and come eat something. After you've finished, we need to see Old Mo." Zhang Tie passed some steaming white buns over to Han Li.

"Where did you find this food?" Han Li stared blankly for a moment before accepting the buns.

"At a kitchen near the valley, I saw a ton of people eating food, so I also grabbed a portion. After I had finished, I realised that you hadn't eaten yet, so I grabbed two buns for you." Zhang Tie smiled sincerely at Han Li.

"Thank you very much, Brother Zhang." Han Li was somewhat touched. Seeing that Zhang Tie looked quite a bit older than himself, he couldn't help but blurt out the words "Brother Zhang."

"No…no problem. I'm too used to labor. If I'm idle even for just a moment, I always feel a bit….uncomfortable. If you ever need any help in the future, don't hesitate to tell me. I have nothing else but strength." Zhang Tie seemed to be somewhat embarrassed, as he began to stammer.

Han Li hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch and was somewhat starved. In just a few bites, he devoured one bun. With just a bit more effort, both of the large buns completely disappeared into his stomach.

"It's getting late, we should go see Old Mo." Han Li burped a few times and looked out the window towards the setting sun. After mentally calculating the time, he decided that it was probably about time to go see Doctor Mo.

Zhang Tie didn't object, following Han Li to Doctor Mo's house.

There were rows of bookshelves along all four walls of Doctor Mo's residence. These shelves were densely packed with various books.

"Old Mo!"

"Old Mo!"

Doctor Mo's back was tightly pressed against his chair as he was currently engrossed in reading the book in his hands. He didn't seem to have noticed the two people's arrival, nor had he heard their greetings. The two of them were still children after all, so when they saw Doctor Mo ignore them, they were at a loss on what to do, unsure of what would be the best course of action. Thus, they could only stand to one side and wait.

Finally, by the time Han Li's feet had begun to turn numb, Doctor Mo slowly placed his book down onto the table next to him. He coldly looked over at the two children and picked up his teacup to drink a few sips before slowly saying:

"From this day on, you two will be accepted as my Unofficial Disciples. I will teach you some general knowledge on picking medicinal plants and refining medicines. I may also teach you two some life-saving healing techniques. But I will absolutely not teach you any martial arts." Doctor Mo expressionlessly put down his teacup.

"I will teach you two a set of body and spiritual cultivation chants. Although it won't allow you to successfully subdue your enemy, it will strengthen your bodies. If you guys really want to learn some martial arts, you can go learn them from some other instructors. If you do so, I won't object, but I'll check your progression on this set of cultivation chants in half a year. If you don't meet the standard, I'll force you out to become an outer disciple. Do you two understand?" Doctor Mo's tone suddenly became much more serious. It looked like he attached great importance to this set of chants.

"We understand." Han Li and Zhang Tie replied in unison.

"You two should leave now. Come back tomorrow morning." Doctor Mo waved his hands at the two of them, gesturing for them to go out. He then picked up his book and began reading it again.

Before Han Li left, he couldn't help but glance back at the book in Doctor Mo's hands. It was a pity that he didn't know how to read; he could only tell that the title was made up of three large, black characters. Unfortunately, Han Li didn't recognize them.

As soon as Han Li walked out of Doctor Mo's residence, Han Li couldn't help but let out the breath he had been holding. He didn't know why, but just now, he hadn't even dared to breathe in Doctor Mo's presence. His mind had also been incredibly tensed. Now that he had left, he immediately loosened up, returning to his normal state.

During the following few days, Han Li's excitement never faded. He'd finally become a disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect. Although he was still just a Unofficial Disciple, it was still better than the children that had been sent home. Even if he didn't pass the test in half a year, he could still become an Outer Disciple like Third Uncle. In Han Li's opinion, Third Uncle was a person of great status and position, so he didn't concern himself over the examination in half a year. He even secretly hoped from the bottom of his heart that he wouldn't pass. That way, he could leave the mountain earlier to see his parents and his most beloved younger sister.

During the following few days, Doctor Mo would teach them some medicinal knowledge in the mornings. In the afternoons, he would make them study the body's twelve main meridians, energy channels, and acupoint locations.As for the little he taught them of martial arts, he made them maintain the horse stance and hit straw dummies.

A month later, the two of them were completely isolated from the other children. They no longer spent time learning anything else besides the chant. Ever since Doctor Mo had begun teaching them, they spent most of their time practicing the nameless chant. Doctor Mo strictly ordered them to not tell the chants to anyone else. If even a small segment was leaked, Doctor Mo would harshly punish them and kick them out of his apprenticeship.

During this period of time, Han Li began to have a better understand of the Seven Mysteries Sect and Doctor Mo. The Seven Mysteries Sect had a disciple named Wang Lu, who possessed the teachings handed down by the Sovereign Seven Supreme. Wang Lu became the Sect Leader of the Seven Mysteries Sect, and he split the sect with the help of the three other Sect Leaders.They divided the sect into two segments – the Inner and Outer Branch. The Outer Branch had a total of four divisions, namely the Flying Bird Division, Treasure Gathering Division, Four Seas Division, and External Blade Division. The Inner Branch also had four divisions, namely the Hundred Forge Division, Seven Supreme Division, Consecrated Division, and Blood Blade Division. In addition to the Inner and Outer Branch, there was a Council of Elders that reported to the Vice Sect Leaders and the Sect Leader.

Doctor Mo was originally not a disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect. A few years ago, Sect Leader Wang carelessly fell into an enemy's trap while outside of the Celestial Rainbows Mountain and was heavily injured by the multiple attacks from the opposing party. As he wavered on the brink of death, his allies were unable to do anything about it. Just then, they happened to encounter Doctor Mo whose brilliant healing and effective medicines saved Sect Leader Wang's life. Sect Leader Wang naturally couldn't help but feel extremely grateful for Doctor Mo. He later found out that in addition to his profound medical expertise, Doctor Mo was a strong martial arts practitioner, which convinced Sect Leader Wang to invite Doctor Mo to join his sect. The elders carefully picked a small valley in the mountains to erect a residence specifically for Doctor Mo's use in order to make the shift as comfortable as possible. The valley soon became a venerated place within the Seven Mysteries Sect thanks to Doctor Mo. Although none of the disciples had ever witnessed his skills, nor did they know how strong his martial arts was, Doctor Mo had used his brilliant medical expertise to save quite a few disciples' lives. Thus, although he was normally expressionless and was a man of few words, he received a great amount of respect from the Inner Disciples.

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Chapter 7: The Difficulties of Cultivating

Han Li slowly transferred energy from his meridians back to his Dantian. He had managed to reach the 7th cycle of Qi circulation today, and Han Li knew that his body had already reached the limit of what it could handle. If he were to try to do another cycle, all his meridians would completely rupture, inciting a pain worse than death. Even though he was a courageous person, Han Li couldn't help but break out in cold sweat at the thought of this pain.

It had already been half a year since Han Li joined the sect, and the official Secret Disciple exam had ended a bit over two months ago.

Only a small portion of the Secret Disciples were officially promoted to the Inner Branch. Most Unofficial Disciples weren't able to pass this point and had no other choice but to pack their belongings and become a disciple of the Outer Branch.

The children that didn't pass would generally enter the Treasure Gathering Division or the Flying Bird Division. For those that showed outstanding performances, they would receive another step further in their training and would then have the chance to join the more respected External Blade Division. Of course, it was only natural that the Four Seas Division was the most respected of the four Divisions, but unfortunately they only accepted those that made names for themselves through their martial arts. If one didn't have a certain level of expertise in martial arts, it was pointless for them to even dream about joining the Four Seas Division; these immature and inexperienced children were even less worthy of any mention.

When Han Li recalled the details of the examination from two months ago, he couldn't help but feel a bit frightened.

A few dozen miles away from the Celestial Rainbow Mountains was a neighboring desolate mountain where a group of people were sparring. There were a few senior disciples who excelled in martial arts and were fiercely locked in combat. With each and every test, Han Li couldn't help but to feel a little bit of joy at the misery of others.

During their entire stay at the Seven Mysteries Sect, Han Li and Zhang Tie had never taken such a terrifying test before. Doctor Mo had said that his examination would only test them on the cultivation chant, but Han Li didn't believe the test would be as easy as it sounded. Looking back, Han Li could clearly remember the intense effort he had to put into his cultivation.

According to Doctor Mo, this oracular chant was only a single part of a set. Within half a year, Han Li and Zhang Tie had successfully comprehended the first layer of the cultivation chant, which Doctor Mo would be examining. If the two were able to overcome Doctor Mo's expectations, then they could become Doctor Mo's personal disciples and even share the same benefits as the Inner Disciples.

Not to mention, Han Li had also heard from others that the treatment the Inner Disciples and Outer Disciples received was so vastly different that it spoke volumes of how enormous of a difference there was between the two. He then realized how ignorant he had been and cast away any thoughts of becoming an Inner Disciple. Han Li would be satisfied by just joining the Seven Mysteries Sect and receiving some silver to send back to his family. Everything else had seemed irrelevant because, above all else, he truly desired to help his poverty-stricken family. His only goal were to be able to take money home so he could provide his family with a better life.

After learning Doctor Mo's chant, Han Li had not once left the house. He spent every possible moment of day and night relentlessly practicing the chant. Because Doctor Mo hadn't given them any pointers on how to cultivate, Han Li could only theorize by himself. After discussing with other young cultivators, he discovered they were using the Seven Mysteries Sect's "Positive Yang Energy", a self-meditated cultivation method.

Relying on both the chant and the Positive Yang Energy, he cultivated assiduously for 3 months, but Han Li was shocked to realize that his progress was extremely slow! He had spent a great deal of effort and yet he was rewarded with one small thread of cool energy inside of his body. The energy was so infinitesimal that he could barely notice that it was there. If he hadn't checked his body carefully for results, he would have not noticed the strand of energy..

Could this be the rumoured True Qi the instructors had talked about? Han Li suddenly came to this realization.

The other disciples cultivating the Positive Yang Energy had told him that there was a distinct flow of warm energy and Qi being generated within their bodies. However, the thread of energy in Han Li's body was extremely cold, completely opposite from the energy gained from cultivating Positive Yang Energy! Looking at the results, it was obvious Han Li was very far behind the other disciples.

Those who used the True Qi from the Positive Yang Energy cultivation were able to punch a fist-sized hole through a small tree trunk and leap three meters into the air. Han Li, however, after circulating the strange Qi in his body, felt practically no different from his normal state. The only difference he could tell was that his spirit was more vigorous and his appetite was even more ravenous than before he came to the mountain. But what use was that? Seeing that the other children on the mountains were gaining ridiculous power, Han Li couldn't help but feel dejected.

After realizing that he had barely made any progress, Han Li had nearly given up on his several months of hard work. He thought that with such a huge gap between himself and the others, he would not have a chance to catch up to the other children in the remaining amount of time before Doctor Mo's test and successfully pass it. It would be better to plan for his trip back home instead.

Incidentally,Han Li one day came across the cultivating Zhang Tie and realized something. Ever since Zhang Tie had started his cultivation with this mysterious oracular formula chant, his body showed no changes at all. There was no effect; not even a small amount of True Qi could be seen!

Knowing that he had at least succeeded in forming one strand of True Qi, Han Li regained the confidence he had thrown away earlier. With the remaining amount of time, he furiously tried to cultivate the oracular chant.

He worked even harder than before, training like a madman.

Han Li began to use every single second to meditate and cultivate. Even when he was sleeping, he kept his body upright in a meditative position in hopes of having even a slight breakthrough. Of course, this intensive training method could not be maintained for longer than a few days. If he strained himself past his limit, his lack of sleep would make him unable to efficiently cultivate.

What puzzled Han Li the most was that after Doctor Mo imparted the oracular chant to the two of them, he stopped interacting with them. Even their questions on cultivation had been ignored by him as if he did not even notice their existence.

Every day, Doctor Mo would bring out the book with the three black characters written on the back cover and study it, staring intently as if the lines of text outlined the image of a beautiful woman and the cover was made of pure gold. At the beginning, Han Li and Zhang Tie thought that Doctor Mo no longer wanted to be a medical doctor but rather was studying bitterly to pass an imperial exam. After the two children learned to read, however, they recognized the three words on the back cover, which read "Scripture of Longevity." Doctor Mo was reading a book about how to cultivate oneself to the point of extending one's lifespan.

In that moment, the two children suddenly realized that Doctor Mo wasn't trying to pass the imperial exam; he was trying to live thousands of years like a river turtle.

(TL: turtles were thought to be able for live for thousands of years)

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Chapter 8: Entering the Sect as a disciple

After half a year of relentless cultivation, Han Li was finally going to undertake Doctor Mo's test.

Zhang Tie was fidgeting as he stood close to Han Li. His behavior was nothing strange. Zhang Tie had told Han Li that for the past six months, he had made no progress on the oracular chant given to them by Doctor Mo.

Han Li knew that Zhang Tie's efforts in cultivating the oracular chant were no less intense than his own. Although Zhang Tie was unlike Han Li, who practiced like a madman, the efforts he expended could still be considered conscientious and diligent!

Strangely, the oracular chant seemed to be useless to Zhang Tie. No matter how much effort he put in, he wasn't able to produce even the slightest amount of effects. It seems like Zhang Tie would never successfully cultivate the oracular chant.

Han Li's mind was unsettled. He knew that Zhang Tie would probably fail the test. Even though Han Li was slightly successful in learning the oracular chant, he was not stronger than Zhang Tie in any way, so there was a high chance of both of them failing Doctor Mo's test.

Fearing the worst, Han Li assiduously cultivated. By the time of exam, the strange energy flowing in his body had increased by a little. If the energy was as thin as a strand of hair in the past, it was now slightly thicker, resembling a thread off cotton. Even so, this did not reassure Han Li, who feared he might not pass Doctor Mo's test.

"Are you guys prepared? Let me take a look at the fruits of your cultivation." Doctor Mo squinted his eyes as he sat and coldly stared at the two of them.

"We are ready!" Han Li and Zhang Tie could only put forth a bold face and agree.

Doctor Mo, slowly rose from his chair and stood up. He put the book that always seemed to be nearby down on the table.

"Extend your hand"

"Circulate your Qi for me to see."

Doctor Mo held Zhang Tie's right wrist with one hand and placed his other hand on top of Zhang Tie's Dantian.

After the time it took to brew a cup of tea, Doctor Mo retracted his hands and closely evaluated Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie's face was flushed as he nervously put his hands behind his back, lowering his head and not daring to look Doctor Mo in the eye. He knew Doctor Mo had most certainly discovered that he made no progress in the oracular chant and would probably punish him to teach the two of them a lesson.

"It's your turn."

To their surprise, Doctor Mo didn't even show the slightest indication that he would punish Zhang Tie. Some slight hints of disappointment flashing past Doctor Mo's eyes were the only reactions Doctor Mo had. After examining Zhang Tie, he turned to Han Li and motioned for him to come closer.He then held Han Li's wrist and began the inspection.

"His touch feels just like ice. It doesn't feel like the touch of a living human," Han Li mused in his mind.

The skin on Doctor Mo's hand was dried and full of calluses. As he held Han Li's hand, Han Li could feel slight waves of sharp pain.

Perhaps it was because the external interference agitated the energy within Han Li's body, but the strange flow of energy actually started to circulate by itself. It flowed through his meridians and energy channels, passed all his acupoints from his Dantian to his head, and flowed to his four limbs. It completed a full cycle before flowing back to his Dantian. The moment the strange flow of energy circulated throughout his entire body, Han Li's pain from Doctor Mo's touch immediately dissipated.

"Ai!" Doctor Mo involuntarily let out a sound of surprise; it appeared that he had discovered the strange flow of energy in Han Li's body.

"Quick, circulate your energy according to that chant that I taught you once again." Although Doctor Mo tried his best to suppressed his elation, traces of madness and excitement still flashed through his eyes, causing Han Li to be secretly alarmed.

"Slowly, slowly…let me take a good look." Doctor Mo added as his usually cold tone of voice became rushed, placing his other hand on Han Li's Dantian.

Han Li could feel both of Doctor Mo's hand tremble slightly. As Han Li circulated the strange energy, Doctor Mo became quite agitated.

"Not bad! Not bad! This feeling…this is the feeling that I wanted. I'm not wrong, I'm not mistaken! Hahaha"

Doctor Mo, after a thorough examination, could no longer hold back and started laughing maniacally, both his hands tightly clutched on Han Li's shoulder. Even his normal squinty eyes enlarged as they intensely stared at Han Li. It was as if he had seen a rare and valuable treasure, his eyes flashing with faint traces of madness.

Han Li's ears were ringing from Doctor Mo's unceasing laughter and he felt slight pain on his shoulder. Seeing the madness in Doctor Mo's eyes, Han Li could not help but feel terror in his heart.

"Good, very good." Doctor Mo, from the expressions on Han Li's face, could tell that he was terrified. Only then did Doctor Mo know that he had been overeager, so he controlled himself and regained his composure.

"In the future, you must work as hard as you're working right now. From this day onwards, you will be promoted to my personal disciple." After saying that, Doctor Mo released his tight grip from Han Li's shoulder and proceeded to pat him in encouragement.

Doctor Mo regained his usual calm look almost as if his loss of control had never happened. But from his occasional glances at Han Li, one could tell that he was still tremendously excited.

"As for you…" Doctor Mo finally shifted his gaze onto Zhang Tie.

Zhang Tie was thunderstruck by the events that unfolded earlier. Seeing that Doctor Mo shifted the topic of conversation to him, Zhang Tie awake from his daze with a start.

Just thinking that he failed the assessment and would be asked to leave the mountain caused traces of bitterness to appear on Zhang Tie's face as he looked at Doctor Mo.

"Your talent is questionable. Despite such a long period of time, you still could not produce even a small trace of energy. Accepting you as my personal disciple would be too much of a stretch." Doctor Mo repeatedly shook his head.

Zhang Tie's heart fell down to the bottom of an abyss after seeing Doctor Mo shaking his head.

But suddenly, Doctor Mo seemed to have thought of something interesting, as he gazed at Zhang Tie with a bizarre expression in his eyes.

"Looking at your bone structure, I may have a suitable cultivation technique for you. I wonder if you are willing to learn from me.." Doctor Mo's sudden shift in conversation caught everyone by surprise. It was as if Doctor Mo wanted to allow Zhang Tie to pass the test.

The moment Zhang Tie heard Doctor Mo, how could he reject the offer? He immediately gave his consent and said that he would be willing to learn from Doctor Mo.

"Excellent! The two of you can depart first. Tomorrow, I will hand you both new cultivation techniques." It could be seen that Doctor Mo's current spirits was excellent!

Han Li and Zhang Tie both looked at each other, and felt that today's test had been full of twist and turns. After all, both of them actually passed, making them feel satisfied and pleased.

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Chapter 9: Way of the Armored Elephant

Looking back, Han Li couldn't help but give a knowing smile.

In the half year that Han Li spent with Zhang Tie, because their personalities matched well with each other, the two had naturally became very close friends.

Han Li slowly stood from his crossed-legged position and rubbed his calves. After sitting in the cross-legged position and meditating for a long time, his legs had become numb, and even some of his bloodstreams felt clogged.

After kneading them for some times, his legs returned back to their normal state. Standing up, Han Li dusted himself in his usual custom before exiting the stone chamber.

Turning his head back to look at the stone chamber used for cultivation, Han Li couldn't help but sneer at himself.

This entire chamber was made of solid granite while the doors were made of a giant piece of crocidolite. If a normal human wanted to break into this room, he or she would need to spend at least three hours hacking at the doors with an enormous axe.

(TL: crocidolite: https/en./wiki/Riebeckite)

In the Seven Mysteries Sect, only the Sect Leader, Elders, and Division Heads were allowed to use this type of silent cultivation chamber. Not even Inner Disciples were allowed to use them as they pleased! This cultivation chamber was created for those practicing profound cultivation techniques to guard their practice against any external disruption and in order to prevent qigong deviation. Han Li didn't know what methods Doctor Mo had used, but the Sect somehow granted him the usage of his own personal cultivation stone chamber, built into the side of the cliff of the God Hand Valley.

(TL: Qigong deviation is when cultivation goes awry.)

After the cultivation chamber was built, Doctor Mo had assigned it for Han Li's sole use. Seeing such a gift, Han Li couldn't help but feel humbled by Doctor Mo's benevolence.

Doctor Mo's treatment of Han Li was perhaps too good to be true. Ever since Han Li had became his official apprentice, Doctor Mo had personally dipped into his own supply of herbs for Han Li to consume. Not only that, Doctor Mo also created an unknown medicinal bath for him to soak his body in. Han Li didn't know what types of herbs were being used, but as he watched Doctor carefully refine those herbs, his normally impassive face revealed a hint of reluctance. Even Han Li could figure out that these herbs were extremely valuable.

Clearly these benefits were extremely useful to him, causing Han Li's cultivation speed to increase severalfold.Han Li had recently succeeded in mastering the first level of the mysterious formula chant imparted to him by Doctor Mo.

During his process of breaking through, his meridians had nearly ruptured several times and he had suffered from some moderate internal injuries. But thanks to Doctor Mo's expertise in the healing arts, the injuries to his meridians were easily repaired, and with the aid of the medicinal herbs, Han Li did not suffer from any serious, permanent damage.

Every time Han Li was even slightly injured, Doctor Mo would become even more worried than Han Li himself. This worry manifested itself the entire time he treated Han Li, making Doctor Mo very tense. It was only when Han Li's injuries began recovering that he let out a sigh of relief.

Doctor Mo's concern went far beyond that of a normal relationship between master and disciple and caused Han Li to feel a little uneasy about the situation. If it were not for his Third Uncle or the fact that no one ever walked out from these valleys, Han Li would have thought that Doctor Mo was actually his long lost relative based on the attention that he had been showing to Han Li.

(TL: the author did not make it clear how Han Li's Third Uncle prevented him from thinking this)

Walking out of the cultivation chamber, Han Li lazily stretched his body and walked away from the cliff. After he had become an official disciple, Han Li and Zhang Tie moved from their original quarters into their own personal house.

As he passed by Zhang Tie's room, Han Li shot a glance inside.

As it turns out, Zhang Tie wasn't inside. Han Li thought that he was probably by the Crimson Water Peak's waterfall, cultivating his new martial arts technique.

After the examination, Doctor Mo instructed Han Li to continue practicing the oracular formula chant and refused to teach him any martial arts. However, in an attempt to pacify Han Li, Doctor Mo personally instructed Han Li in the art of healing without holding anything back. Whenever Han Li had a question about medicine, Doctor Mo would answered right away, even going as far as allowing Han Li to look through the various books in Doctor Mo's library to find an answer to his question.

As for Zhang Tie, Doctor Mo fulfilled his previous promise and imparted a set of martial arts to him.

The martial arts Zhang Tie practiced was extremely peculiar. According to Doctor Mo, it was an extremely obscure branch of martial arts named the "Way of the Armored Elephant". Even the name of this particular martial art was rarely heard of, let alone the existence of practitioners who actually cultivated it.

It differed from the martial arts of regular practitioners in Jiang Hu. Generally, the progression of cultivation for normal martial arts ranged from easy to difficult. As the level increased, so would the difficulty. Thus, the higher the level, the more effort it would take for one to achieve a breakthrough. Zhang Tie's particular martial art style was divided into nine laters, with the initial three layers being the easiest to cultivate, following the same principle as normal martial arts. However, starting from the fourth layer, the difficulty of breaking through was increased to a monstrous level in addition to suffering the excruciating backlash caused by practicing the Way of the Armored Elephant. Many cultivators of this set of martial arts could not bear such excruciating pain and would stop their progression at the fourth level. Not to mention the 5th level nor the 6th level, the excruciating pain would only increase with each level!

(TL: Jiang Hu= World of Martial Artists)

After breaking through from the sixth layer into the seventh, there would be no further bottlenecks, and cultivation would be much smoother. The only drawback was that the cultivator would need to suffer from monthly bouts of intense pain.

This intimidated many people who desired to cultivate the Way of the Armored Elephant. This particular branch of martial arts was slowly dying out.

This martial arts style was very peculiar. When it reached a high enough level, its strength would become truly astounding. It was said that those who reached the ninth layer had bodies as tough as gemstones. They were impervious to all weapons, even fire and water! Even palms strike, fist techniques, and legendary swords and sabres wouldn't be able to injure them.

But what made people most envious was that after cultivating this branch of martial art, practitioners would gain the tremendous strength of an elephant. After reaching a high enough level, their strength would be limitless. They were capable of catching live wolves and ripping tigers apart, as well as other unparalleled feats.

Those who had heard of this style both feared and adored it. Other than the creator of this martial art, there was no other individual who had managed to cultivate it to the 9th level. Legend has it that the creator of this martial art was born without the sense of pain! That was the reason why he was be able to create such a perverse martial art and execute it to it's greatest potential.

Although Doctor Mo had explained the benefits and consequences in its entirety to Zhang Tie, Zhang Tie had no concerns about the harm it could bring to his body. He coveted the strength the Way of the Armored Elephant could bring him and promised right away to cultivate in this style of martial arts. Without even looking for another style suitable to him, Zhang Tie had already reached the peak of the first layer in two months.

In order to break through the first layer of the Way of the Armored Elephant, Doctor Mo had suggested that every afternoon, Zhang Tie should go to the Crimson Water Peak's waterfall and cultivate under the impact of the surging waters.

According to Zhang Tie, this method really did have a godly effect. The difference between the peak of the first layer to second layer was only paper thin, and as long as he worked a little harder, he would breakthrough the bottleneck with relative ease!

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Chapter 10: Mysterious Bottle

Han Li slowly followed the path from the God Hand Valley out of force of habit. His steps automatically carried him towards the Crimson Water Peak.

He did not have anything important to do at the moment, and as such, he followed his normal schedule and visited Zhang Tie, who was training at the Crimson Water Peak. Zhang Tie grimaced in pain, allowing the impact of the waterfall to temper his body as he cultivated the Way of the Armoured Elephant.

Not everyone could withstand the torturous pain from cultivating this particular martial arts. Even the first layer already required one to suffer excruciating pain. To reach the ninth layer, wouldn't it require one to cultivate to the point of insanity, losing their skin in the process?

"Hmm I wonder if Zhang Tie already regrets his previous decision. The excruciating torture one had to endure to practice the Way of the Armored Elephant is impossible to imagine," Han Li thought as he walked, carelessly kicking the fallen leaves and branches that were blocking his way.

"Maybe after a few more days, the two of us will go and beg Doctor Mo for another martial arts skill for Zhang Tie so that he won't need to suffer from excruciating pain each time he practicies." Having absorbed himself in thought trying to think of methods to allow Zhang Tie to escape from this torturous path of practice, Han Li slowly roused himself to look at his surroundings..

Han Li inclined his head as he gazed at the line of trees by his side. Currently, the year was approaching the late stages of autumn. The tree's branches were all naked and devoid of leaves. The red and golden leaves had fallen on the path and stalked into thick piles. Walking on them felt like walking on cotton. Han Li found this experience extremely comfortable.

In that moment, the sounds of weapons clashing drifted over from a nearby mountain peak, as well as the many loud cheers.

After hearing the noises, Han Li glanced in the direction of the mountain peak, annoyed that his good mood had been disturbed.

The noise came from disciples of the Hundred Forge Division. They were training the disciples selected to join their division in the various arts of weaponry.

Everytime Han Li saw other sect members gathering and undergoing their training sessions, slight hints of jealousy surfaced in his heart. He wanted to wield a real weapon and demonstrate his skills as well. What a waste! After he officially became a disciple under Doctor Mo, he had been strongly forbidden from practicing such things. Doctor Mo strongly emphasized that Han Li was to devote all of his time to the nameless oracular chant.

Therefore, Han Li could only stare with wide and envious eyes. Occasionally, to scratch his itch, he would borrow a few weapons from some of the other sect members he was on good terms with and practice with them.

Seriously, how useful could it be to cultivate the mysterious oracular chant? Up until now, Han Li had not seen any positive effects of his constant cultivation. Other disciples had already strengthened their body and mastered impressive martial art techniques. If the path of martial arts was compared to a marathon, Han Li was sorely standing on the starting point, not advancing at all.

Even Zhang Tie, who had cultivated for two months, had some beneficial changes to show for his efforts. His skin and muscles had become tougher, and his level of strength was also noticeably higher than before.

However, if Doctor Mo had not accepted Zhang Tie as an Unofficial Disciple, he would not have passed the Unofficial Disciple Test two months ago. If he had not passed the test, then staying on the mountain would be impossible, let alone sending money back home!

If Zhang Tie was unable to cultivate another branch of martial arts, his path would be forever sealed.

On one hand, Han Li was grumbling about the unfairness of their situation. On the other hand, he was reassuring himself that since he passed Doctor Mo's test, he would not be kicked out of the Seven Mysteries Sect.

Han Li retracted his gaze from the other sect members, but he continued to think about Doctor Mo's irritating commands. Distracted and in low spirits, he gazed at the two lines of trees alongside the road as pangs of dejection struck him.

All of a sudden, Han Li sucked in a mouthful of cool air, his facial expression turning ugly. Out of reflex, he squatted down and used both his hands to tightly clamp on the big toe of his right foot, doubling over in the grass. A sudden, painful flare-up had caught Han Li unaware. His face became as white as a pastry while waves of fiery pain assailed him from his right foot..

Evidently, Han Li had accidentally kick against an extremely hard object hidden in the piles of leaves.

Han Li arched his body and used both of his hands to wrap around his foot. After he lower his head and removed his shoes, he began to blowing heavily on his injured toe; while his brain flooded with pain, he was worried that his swollen toe might have been injured to an extent that would impact his day-to-day activities

After a long moment, Han Li craned his neck and peered downwards to that pile of leaves, trying to find the ungodly, dastardly stone that caused him to be injured.

Haphazardly lying about, the fallen leaves were all the same reddish yellow colour. They obscured him from finding the target he sought.

Han Li wrinkled his forehead, and surveyed the ground before finding a slightly long and thick tree branch. Holding the branch, he stood up carefully.

Unwilling to give up, Han Li used the branch in his hands and continued to probe piles of leaves.

Ai! He spotted an object the size of a fist.

Han Li paused momentarily and considered the object in front of him. The culprit, the sinful object that caused injury to his great self, actually had the shape of an elongated bottle. The surface of it was stained with mud and and its original color was impossible to discern, Overall, it looked extremely commonplace.

Initially, Han Li thought that this was an ordinary little bottle, but in his hands, the bottle was extraordinary heavy, its weight vastly different from that of a normal porcelain bottle.

Could this bottle be made of gold? No wonder it caused so much pain when he kicked it. but.. bottles made of gold were rarely seen…

Made of gold….? Han Li's interest in this bottle peaked as he temporarily forgot about the waves of pain arising from his toe.

As Han Li wiped off the excess layer of mud, the original colour of the bottle began to unveil itself. The bottle emanated a shiny green glow, and there were intricate black green leaf patterns engraved on its surface. At the head of the bottle, there was a bottle cap that tightly sealed the mouth of the bottle.

Hmm, could the interior be hiding something precious? Han Li placed the bottle close to his ear and gently shook the bottle, but he didn't feel any movements from the inside of the bottle.

Unwilling to give up, Han Li placed his hands on the cap of the bottle, and tried to pry it open. However, no matter how hard he tried, it was to no avail.

Curiosity was burning in his heart, and just when he was about to use another method to open it, the pain from his foot suddenly flared up again.

Damn! He had forgotten that the toe of his right leg had been injured after coming into contact with the porcelain bottle.

Looking at his injury, it seemed he could not visit Zhang TIe today. Han Li decided to return to his residence and apply some medicine on his injured toe before taking his time to figure out the secrets this mysterious bottle was holding

In order to keep the bottle from being spotted by others, Han Li stashed it inside his robes regardless of how dirty the bottle was. Turning back, he limped step by step back to his home.

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Chapter 11: Difficult to Open Bottle

Han Li didn't meet many people on the way back except for a few senior disciples who were curious at why Han Li was limping his way back. But because he didn't say anything, they didn't pay much attention to him.

As he returned back to his room, the pain in his toe got increasingly unbearable. Han Li sat on his bed and took off his shoes to examine his injury.

The swelling was incredible! His right toe had an impressive bulge on it, while the cuticle on his toe turned blood red and resembled a big chili.

Han Li quickly took out a bottle of herbs from beneath his pillow. Concocted meticulously by Doctor Mo, this medicine sped up blood clotting to an astonishing degree. Doctor Mo didn't easily give away medicine of this caliber. It was originally meant for Zhang Tie, who would inevitably suffer an injury while practicing the Way of the Armored Elephant. Han Li didn't think that he would be the first to use the medicine.

Opening the medicinal bottle, a strong herbal fragrance filled the room. He applied a small amount on his injury and immediately felt a relaxing sensation. Just as Doctor Mo had said, it had an immediate effect; Elder Mo's medicine was truly amazing!

Han Li took a clean cloth and wrapped up his foot up before putting his shoes back on.

Excellent! The pain was slowly subsiding.

He began to take small steps, as if testing his pain threshold, nodding in satisfaction as he felt that moving was easier than before.

Now, it was time to solve the enigma posed by the mysterious bottle that had caused such an injury to him.

Han Li took out the bottle from his robes and wiped it cleanly to restore its natural luster.

This bottle wasn't all that big, and a single hand could wrap around the entire length of its neck. It was actually smaller than the bottle that contained Doctor Mo's medicine. The bottle had a shiny green luster and was engraved with a dark green leaf pattern that seemed almost alive. When Han Li felt the contours of the designs on the surface of the bottle, it was almost as if there were actual leaves embedded onto the bottle itself.

Weighing the bottle in his hand, Han Li had no idea what type of metal was used to make this bottle, or if it was even porcelain. The bottle didn't have a cold, metallic feeling to it, nor did it have the gloss of porcelain.

Han Li had observed the bottle for a good while, and the only thing he could be certain of was that he didn't know what material was used to make it. The shade of green seemed intrinsically part of the material itself, not a color that added after it was made.

Seeing how tightly the bottle was sealed, Han Li naturally became curious. Eyeing the bottle, he strongly desired to see whether or not there was something inside.

Once more using his strength, he tried to pry open the cap of the bottle.

One try, two tries, three tries…It was as if the cap of the bottle was melded into the neck. It was almost as if it was refusing to move.

Han Li was astounded; back when he first picked up the bottle, due to waves of pain assailing him, he couldn't use his full strength to open it so he didn't realize how stubborn the bottle was. But now that Han Li had finished tending to his foot and was using his full strength, he was surprised that he could still not pry open the bottle

Han Li tried to twist the lid once more until his arms began to ache, but there was still no success, so he had no choice but to stop.

He stretched and loosened his arms, moving his wrist about. Just now, as he had expended a large amount of energy to open the bottle, and his efforts had strained his wrist.

Holding the bottle under his eye, he began to inspect it even closer. Unfortunately, there was no secret mechanism under the lid that would allow him to easily open it.

This made Han Li frustrated. He wasn't able to open the bottle, so how would he know if there was something inside or not? If it was sealed up this tightly, then there was definitely something precious inside.

Han Li held the bottle tightly in his hand, looking at it with a vacant look. In the end, he had decided that he would let Zhang Tie, who was many times stronger than him, give it a try and see if he could open it. He knew that the current Zhang Tie could easily lift over 10 buckets of water up and down the mountains as if it was nothing. These days, it was Zhang Tie who refilled the water in the huge water tank every day.

After he decided, Han Li headed towards Zhang Tie's place, hoping that he would return soon.

Waiting for someone was truly unpleasant; Han Li felt that time was passing by extremely slowly. Finally, after waiting for a long time, a creaking sound was heard as Zhang Tie pushed open the door.

Looking up, Han Li saw that Zhang Tie was wearing only a thin piece of clothing. His entire body was steaming as he perspired freely. Han Li knew that this was the result of his cultivation, so he didn't find it strange.

Seeing as Han Li was already in his house waiting for him, Zhang Tie was stunned. But before Zhang Tie could say anything, Han Li impatiently thrusted the bottle towards him.

"Brother Zhang, please lend me your assistance and help me open this bottle."

"Where did you find this? It looks rather nice!" Zhang Tie remarked as he took the bottle.

Zi! Zi! Zi! [TL Note: Sound of twisting bottle]

"Ai! This bottle is so tightly sealed. It's so hard to pry it open! What was used to make this?" Zhang Tie cut straight to the chase: he wasn't able to open the bottle either.

"Gah! I can't do it; this bottle won't open! Why don't you find a senior disciple to help you?" Zhang Tie shook his head apologetically and handed the bottle back to Han Li along with the suggestion.

"Even you can't open this?" Han Li was getting more anxious and couldn't help but pace around the room.

"Ai! What happened to your leg?" Zhang Tie inquired as he noticed Han Li's foot.

"It's nothing; I kicked a rock on the road." Han Li didn't know why but he didn't want to tell Zhang Tie about his surprise encounter with the bottle just yet. Right now, he wanted to keep the bottle his own personal secret.

Han Li was feeling very disappointed in his heart. He didn't want to sit around and chat with Zhang Tie at the moment, and after briefly asking about how his cultivation was progressing, Han Li immediately left the room and returned back to his own place to think of a way to resolve his personal problem.

Returning back to his room, Han Li put the bottle on the table and stared intensely at it. At the same time, his mind was trying to think of solutions to open the mysterious bottle.

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Chapter 12: Breaking the Bottle

Peng!

Han Li tightly grasped the bottle with his hands, and, with anger in his eyes, used his entire strength to smash the bottle against the table.

"If I can't use my own body's strength, then I shall use other means to break it open," decided Han Li after thinking of numerous ways to open the vexing bottle.

Han Li had long since figured out that using brute strength and violence was not a solution.

This type of method, although simplistic and crude, was usually the most effective.

But the moment he thought of that beautiful bottle with it's mysterious and intricate designs being smashed into smithereens, Han Li could feel a dull ache in his heart pulling him back, causing him to be extremely unwilling to let go of such a beautiful treasure. If there were any other methods to open the mysterious bottle, Han Li would choose those instead of using brute force.

If he asked the other senior disciples for help, they might be able to open it, but Han Li had unknowingly started to treat the mysterious bottle as a treasured item and was extremely reluctant to let others know of its existence.

The current Han Li was almost driven to insanity by his curiosity regarding the mysterious bottle. Although he knew that it might just be an empty bottle, he was still willing to bet that the bottle was protecting something precious!

The more he was unable to open the bottle, the more his curiosity grew.

If he couldn't solve the mystery inside the bottle, then he would never be able to sleep well at night.

After he decided on his course of action, Han Li stealthily sneaked in a tool shed, selected a small iron hammer from the multitude of tools lying about there, and brought the hammer back to his residence.

(TL: I know this might be confusing. Wielding a hammer requires body strength and Han Li previously said he wasn't going to rely on his body's strength. However, wielding a tool is viewed differently from using one's own strength because it adds a certain mechanical advantage that can accomplish what the body is unable to do)

Back in his house, Han Li pried half a brick from a corner in his room, and placed the bottle on top of the brick.

Han Li raised the hammer with his right hand, and swiftly smashed down onto the bottle's body!

Peng!

Afraid of using too much strength and accidentally smashing whatever was inside, Han Li used only a fraction of his strength in order to test the bottle's hardness.

Only after inspecting the bottle and finding that it was undamaged did Han Li relax. He started increasing the amount of strength he used in each strike.

Peng! 50% strength.

Peng! 70% strength.

Peng! 100% strength.

Peng! 120% strength.

Han Li exerted more and more of his strength into each hammer blow. As the motions of his arms got more and more frantic, the speed of the blows grew faster and faster. Even after he had cracked the brick underneath, the bottle laid there innocently without a single scratch on its surface.

Han Li was dumbstruck, unable to comprehend the hardness of the bottle. Using his hands to feel its surface, there were no traces of damage. That lustery green surface, remained unblemished without any signs of Han Li's furious attempts.

This was completely beyond Han Li's expectations!

Han Li was absolutely certain now that this bottle was made from an unusual material. There was a 90% possibility that this item was lost by someone of a high status. The owner may have already sent people to comb the mountainside in search for this mysterious object. If Han Li wanted to keep it, he had to be sure to hide it in an extremely secretive location and not let others know of its existence.

In his heart, Han Li followed the philosophy of "finders, keepers, losers, weepers." As long as one did not obtain the item by stealing or robbing, to Han Li, the item obtained was his by right. If it was some ordinary item, Han Li might have been willing to return it back to the owner, but this mysterious bottle? Not a chance! Looking at the bottle, he surmised that this item had most likely been misplaced by either some rich kid from a big family or someone with a high status. Sadly, Han Li did not have any good impression of people from both of these categories.

Since childhood, Han Li was from a extremely poor family. Despite of working very hard and living like dogs, they were often unable to afford to have a full meal. In the Seven Mysteries Sect, there was two types of person. The first type were those who threw their money about, wasting it on decadent luxury. They treated money as if it were water, spending it freely and without concern. Every time Han Li saw this, an uncomfortable feeling of rage would rise in his heart. The second type of people were those who looked down on the disciples who were born in rural villages. They would often abuse the less fortunate with scathing words and malicious actions. If there so happened to be any conflict between them and the villagers, however small the conflict was, the second type of person would usually form into groups and beat up the poorer kids. Han Li himself had his fair share of abuse. He had been beaten up by the rich kids until his face was swollen and he was unable to get up from bed. Han Li had to rest for a few weeks in order to fully recover.

As for those within the sect that possessed both money and status, Han Li also did not have good impressions of them. A good example was Protector Wang. Despite of accepting his Third Uncle's bribes, Protector Wang did nothing to aid Han Li when he was taking the test. Instead, Protector Wang had been biased towards Wu Yan. Despite the fact that Han Li did not have the chance to see many of the grand figures residing in the sect, their image had long been tarnished by the actions of Protector Wang.

Whenever these two types of people lost their belongings, Han Li had no intentions of returning the items. He would even prank them by hiding the items in obscure locations.

After thinking of this, Han Li decided to remove the pouch which always hung upon his neck. His mother had personally sewn the pouch out of water-resistant leather. Inside the pouch was a good luck charm made from the tooth of a wild boar. His mother hoped this would protect him from danger and illnesses.

Han Li open his pouch, and hid the mysterious bottle alongside his good luck charm. He then swiftly sealed the pouch and replace it around his neck.

After doing so, he surveyed his surroundings; luckily, there was no one who had seen him or the mysterious bottle.

After taking so many precautions, Han Li felt more secure and threw away all of his concerns that the owner would discover the object and take it from him.

Han Li stealthily replaced the hammer in the tool shed and walked nonchalantly back around the God Hand Valley. As he limped back to his residence, the night was approaching.

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Chapter 13: Strange Phenomenons

Because Han Li's leg was injured, Zhang Tie personally delivered the food to Han Li's house and accompanied him for dinner.

Looking at the clumsy Zhang Tie in his house, moving the chairs and setting the table, Han Li could help but find it funny. Zhang Tie's care caused traces of warmth to enter his heart.

After the table was set, both of them joked around as they ate, pushing food in their mouths while asking about their individual cultivation progress.

The moment Han Li brought up the Way of the Armoured Elephant, Zhang Tie sighed dejectedly.

Currently, Zhang Tie had only managed to cultivate the martial skill to its first layer but was already half tortured to death by the immense pain. He had to soak himself in foul-smelling herbal baths every night as well as suffer beatings from Doctor Mo designed to toughen his body and strengthen his bones.

This method of boorish cultivation had caused Zhang Tie many sleepless nights. Because his entire body was swollen from the beatings, the moment his skin touched his bed, he would grit his teeth in pain.

To him, cultivating the Way of the Elephant was nothing but a nightmare.

With regards to Han Li's cultivation of the nameless oracular chant, Zhang Tie could not help but feel envy in his heart.

He felt that Han Li only needed to spend his time peacefully in mediation like a monk. Hearing Zhang Tie's emotions, Han Li had nothing to say in his defense. He was also aware that his cultivation was much easier when compared to Zhang Tie's arduous labor.

Han Li could somewhat understand Zhang Tie's fear towards towards the Way of the Armored Elephant." As he progressed through the nine layers of the Way of the Armored Elephant, he would have to bear unimaginable pain.

Despite the difficulty, Zhang Tie had persisted, refusing to give up. Han Li could not help but admire and respect Zhang Tie for his unyielding personality.

If Han Li were in Zhang Tie's shoes, he would never have chosen to practice such a domineering skill. Even if the skill could turn him into a world-shaking expert overnight, he would still reject it.

The two of them had almost finished dinner as they were talking excitedly about martial arts. Once the meal was over, Zhang Tie cleared the bowls and bid his farewell. Before leaving, he still reminded Han Li to take care of his injured foot and to go to sleep early..

Standing at the door, Han Li watched as Zhang Tie left and quickly returned back to his house, closing all the windows except for a slight opening in the skylight to allow some air to flow through before taking out the mysterious bottle from his leather pouch.

Han Li was only a ten year old child with a short attention span. After studying the bottle for a short period of time, he quickly got bored. With his foot injury, Han Li also felt somewhat tired out by today's turn of events. Unknowingly, he fell asleep on his bed with his hand holding onto the bottle.

Time passed by. Just when Han Li was sleeping soundly, he suddenly felt an icy cool feeling flowing from his hand.

Han Li involuntarily shivered, and he forcefully opened his heavy eyelids, gazing at his hand in a daze.

"Oh!" He immediately sat up with his mouth open in shocked to such an extent that saliva dripped down from his gaping mouth. He no longer felt sleepy; instead, his attention was fixed on the strange sight in front of him.

Rays of white light could be seen beaming through the gap from the skylight. The beams concentrated around the bottle Han Li held in his hand, forming many rice-sized white dots of light on the surface of the bottle. It gave the impression that the bottle was enveloped by the rays of white light.

The rays of light looked extremely gentle, not menacing at all, and that icy cool feeling originated precisely from the rays of light!

Han Li swallowed a big gulp of saliva, and finally turned his eyes away from the bottle. As if it burned his hand, he quickly threw the bottle to one side before scrambling to the other side of the room.

After a moment of vigilance, he realised that nothing was wrong and slowly inched towards the mysterious bottle.

The mysterious bottle enveloped by the white light, other than looking beautiful, seemed to possess an aura that was not of this world.

Han Li hesitated for awhile before using his finger to poke the bottle a few times. Seeing there was no reaction, he cautiously picked up the bottle again. Putting the bottle on the table, he laid on the nearby bed and closely examined this never-before-seen phenomenon.

Han Li focused his full attention on the mysterious bottle for about an hour and half without even blinking before he finally realised some of the secrets that the mysterious bottle was hiding.

The mysterious bottle was incessantly absorbing the rice-sized beads of white light surrounding it. No, not simply absorbing; it was as if the beads of white light had a will of their own and were fighting with each other in order to be the first to enter the bottle.

Han Li viewed this extremely bizarre event and used his fingertip to touch a bead of white light.

It felt icy cold! Other than this, there was nothing special about it.

Han Li inclined his head and looked upward.

The rays of white light were still beaming through the gap in the skylight as if they had no intention of stopping.

Han Li surveyed the interior of his room to make sure the doors and windows were all closed before inclining his head to look at the skylight once more.

Han Li was suddenly hit by a thought. He lightly pushed open the door, popped his head out and peek at his surroundings.

Luckily, it was the middle of the night; other than insects, there was no one else.

Han Li returned back to his room, grabbing the bottle and putting it back inside the pouch before hurrying outside again.

He ran towards a remote location before stopping

Surveying all four directions and ensuring there was no one nearby, Han Li cautiously removed the bottle from his pouch and placing it gently on the ground.

While the mysterious bottle had been sealed in his pouch, the white rays of light had disappeared.

However, Han Li was not worried.

As he expected, after waiting for a while, rays of white light began congregating around the bottle from all four directions. This time round, the rays were much more dense than the rays produced in his house. They tightly enveloped the mysterious bottle in a shroud of white light, forming a ball of light the size of a human head.

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Chapter 14: Mysterious Liquid

"Ah!" Han Li cried out with excitement and pumped his fist into the air.

By doing so, he revealed that he was indeed still a child.

His assumption seemed to be correct; when the bottle was in the dark room, the amount of light attracted to it was quite small. But when in an wide and open area, the amount of light attracted to it was far greater in quantity.

But what caused the light to gather? What use did they serve? Although he didn't know the answer, Han Li felt he was close to solving the riddle behind the mysterious bottle.

Han Li knew that he would soon unravel the secret of the mysterious bottle, which made him tremendously excited.

At dawn, the light that had gathered around the bottle slowly faded away

After making sure that there was no one near by observing his actions, Han Li returned his attention to the bottle's status.

Then, he bent down to pick the bottle and inspected it.

However, there seemed to be no difference since it was still impossible to open!

Han Li felt disappointed, but seeing how morning was arriving, he unwillingly put away the bottle and prepared to leave.

After all, he still wanted to return to the stone chamber to practice his cultivation.

For the next following nights at fixed intervals, the bottle would undergo the same experience. Countless specks of light would fly towards the bottle like moths to a flame, and no matter how big or small the specks of light was, they were greedily devoured by the bottle.

Initially, Han Li thought that the bottle would continue to undergo the same process for an unknown amount of time, but on the 8th day, something unexpected happened.

Han Li went back to the remote place in the mountains and placed the bottle in its regular spot. The absorbance of the specks of light continued for half an hour when all of a sudden, the bottle stopped absorbing.The dark green designs on the bottle began to emit a green radiance as golden words manifested on surface of the bottle. The strange words on the bottle were imposing and firm, but the written strokes were unusual. The words seemed to belong to an ancient era, the characters flickering incessantly.

But this weird occurrence had ended as suddenly as it began. Aside from the golden words that were now imprinted onto the bottle, everything else remained the same.

After seeing so many strange things happening with the bottle in the past few days, Han Li was no longer as surprised as he had been in the past. Even the appearance of the golden words did not surprised too much.

Casually grasping the bottle in his hand, he tried to open the bottle on a whim.

And much to his extreme surprise, the lid popped off with barely any effort.

No way! Han Li stared at the bottle in shock.

With next to no effort or thought, Han Li's problem regarding how to open the bottle had been suddenly resolved. How could it be so easy to open?!

Repeatedly looking down at the bottle to confirm that what he was looking at was not fake, he tried to calm his agitated heart before looking straight into the bottle.

Inside the bottle was a jade green drop of liquid no bigger than a soybean. As it flowed around inside the bottle, the entire inside of the bottle reflected a green luster

What was this drop of liquid?

Han Li was disappointed; he had put in so much effort only to be rewarded with some seemingly mundane liquid.

Disappointed, Han Li put the bottle back into his pouch before turning around and dejectedly returning to his room. His previous excitement had been thrown

to the farthest corners of the earth in a sudden rollercoaster of emotions.

Although he had finally opened the bottle, he was absolutely disappointed with the result.

Han Li was prepared to take his time to discover what secrets that drop of jade green liquid held. Perhaps in the future it would be able to give him an unexpected surprise!

Right now, what he wanted to do most was to go back and sleep. For the past few days, he had not been able to sleep properly, which even cut into his daytime cultivation, making his progress so inefficient to the point where even Doctor Mo had inquired him about it.

Ever since Han Li had become Doctor Mo's disciple after breaking through the first layer of the chant, he felt that there was no longer a need to practice the chant. Disappointed by the chant's effects on his body, or lack thereof, he was unwilling to continue relying on it to cultivate.

For that, Doctor Mo fiercely reprimanded him.

As a result, Han Li was unenthusiastic and without spirit every time he cultivated.

Seeing this, Doctor Mo became desperate and angry, beginning to doubt his choice in a disciple.

Thinking about his situation, Han Li couldn't help but feel wronged. But.. he was just not in the mood for cultivation.

But what Han Li couldn't imagine was that, after waking up on the second day, he was once again motivated and threw his entire body into cultivating like a madman.

The reason for him to cultivate in such a manner was simply because of a single, simple statement Doctor Mo had made.

"For every single layer you improve with this oracular chant, I will increase the amount of silver issued to you by another fold." Doctor Mo had seen the thirst Han Li had for money and figured out a way for Han Li to be enticed. This way, Han Li motivated would have enough motivation to cultivate.

For the next few days, Han Li dedicated himself to cultivation, hoping to break through to the second layer.

Everyday from morning to noon and from noon to night, he would enter the stone cultivation chamber and cultivate. Any thoughts about how repetitious, mundane, or boring this lifestyle was immediately got thrown out of Han Li's head.

For the sake of Han Li's cultivation, Doctor Mo had even temporarily sealed off the God Hand Valley. Even when he treated patients, he would treat them outside the valley for fear of disrupting Han Li.

Han Li was now so focused on breaking through that he even forgot about analysing the effects of the bottle's jade green liquid.

Autumn went by as winter came, then spring rolled in before summer arrived.

In a flash, four years had gone by.. Han Li was now 14 years old.

He grew up to be a taciturn, determined and tan-skinned rustic youngster. Based from his external appearance alone, he looked no different than any other common peasant farmer. His looks did not warrant any attention; he was not extraordinarily handsome, and neither did he have a noble's elegance.

The was the result of living at the stone cultivation chamber everyday. He would travel back and from from there to his home. Occasionally, he would go to Doctor Mo's residence to learn about medicine and to read from Doctor Mo's collection of books. The entire valley was his world to live in, and thanks to his hardwork, he had finally broken through to the third layer!

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Chapter 15: Four years later

Doctor Mo was extremely satisfied with the amount of effort Han Li dedicated to his cultivation.

However, he still felt that Han Li's rate of progress at breaking through to the next layer in the oracular chant was too slow.

These past few years, the illness Doctor Mo was suffering from had been getting more serious. He would cough countless times a day, with the bouts of coughing getting more and more frequent while lasting longer and longer.

As the condition of his body got worst, Doctor Mo started to pay more attention to Han Li's cultivation. From his relentless urging, one could see the anxiety in his heart.

For some reason, Doctor Mo attached enormous importance to Han Li. Not only did he increased the payment in terms of silver, even Doctor Mo's gaze was filled with tender emotion akin to that of observing a rare treasure.

Despite this, Han Li, who had reached the third layer in the oracular chant, noticed an underlying truth with his extremely acute senses. Han Li inadvertently discovered that behind Doctor Mo's warm and friendly gaze hid a trace of coldness and extreme greed, which made Han Li feel uncomfortable

That gaze that Doctor Mo threw at him actually caused Han Li to be frightened from the tips of his hair all the way to the marrow in his bones. He felt that Doctor Mo saw him more as an object instead of as a living being.

This made Han Li felt puzzled. What could he possibly have that Doctor Mo desired?

"Of course, there was nothing I have that he would be interested in," Han Li assured himself after thinking deeply.

There were even times when Han Li thought that he was overly tired from cultivating the nameless chant, but he would shake his head in shame. He could not help but blame himself; after all, berating Doctor Mo behind his back was an ungrateful act.

However, he did know the exact reason why, in the deepest recesses of his heart, he still held a feeling of caution whenever he interacted with Doctor Mo. As time passed, this feeling of caution got stronger and stronger.

Currently, there was a huge problem facing Han Li. He had already reached the bottleneck of the third layer, but Doctor Mo's stock of precious herbs had already ran dry.

Obviously, Han Li was not a genius by any means. If it was not for the assistance of the medicinal herbs, his cultivation progress would have long stagnated.

Every time he met Doctor Mo, Han Li could not help but to feel a sense of shame.

Doctor Mo had practically spent all of his fortune to painstakingly aid Han Li in his cultivation, creating favourable conditions for Han Li, and yet… Han Li was unable to satisfy his request.

This made Han Li extremely unwilling to meet Doctor Mo's gaze whenever there was a enquiry by Doctor Mo regarding his state of progress.

Strangely enough, for God knows what reason, the highly skilled Doctor Mo was unable to know Han Li's progress without being told by Han Li. Thus, he was kept in the dark regarding the problem of Han Li's bottleneck.

However, not long ago, the guilt in Han Li's heart caused him to seek out Doctor Mo and confess about the bottleneck he faced in his cultivation.

After Doctor Mo heard that in the past year, there had not been the slightest progress in Han Li's cultivation, his normally expressionless face became extremely unsightly.

To Han Li's surprise, Doctor Mo did not rebuke him. Instead, he told Han Li that he would be gone from the valley for a period of time to gather the necessary herbs and reminded Han Li to continue devoting his efforts into cultivating the oracular chant.

Two days later, Doctor Mo brought along a case filled with tools needed to extract herbs and left the Seven Mysteries Sect.

After he left, Han Li was all alone in the God Hand Valley.

As for his good friend, Zhang Tie, he had already cultivated to the third layer of the "Way of the Armored Elephant" two years ago and had disappeared without a trace. Zhang Tie only left a letter of farewell, stating that he wanted to explore Jiang Hu. This incident caused a great disturbance in the sect. After that, there were rumors that Zhang Tie's family was spared from punishment after Doctor Mo pleaded on their behalf. Han Li felt that the entire matter was extremely bizarre, and after thinking about it, he was sure that there was more than meets the eye regarding this matter. Regardless, Han Li held no position of importance in the sect; thus his words were ignored, and this matter had long since been swept under the rug. After contemplating, Han Li thought, "Could it be that Zhang Tie was afraid of the backlash caused by the fourth layer of his martial skill that he ran away?"

Putting his thoughts of Zhang Tie aside, Han Li cultivated for a few days inside the valley but was still unable to make the slightest bit of progress. Since he was a hot blooded male, he decided to explore the Celestial Rainbow Mountains instead of staying cooped up in the God Hand Valley.

As he walked along the mountain paths, the paths that he knew so well actually held a tinge of unfamiliarity; he could not help but feel slight traces of sadness in his heart.

This past few years, because of his cultivation, it was as if Han Li was staying in a prison, unable to take a single step outside the valley.

The disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect should have already long forgotten his existence.

On the roads, Han Li met a few disciples that were under patrol duty. From their perspective, this stranger wearing the robes of an Inner Disciple filled them with suspicion. It was only after much explanation that Han Li managed to convince them that he was indeed a disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect..

To avoid any more situations like that, Han Li decided to traverse along the small trails that were separated from the main road.

As he expected, he met no other disciples, and this enable him to travel faster with no interruptions.

Looking at the beautiful scenery and listening to the birds chirping, Han Li felt that, for that moment, it was as if all that was troubling him had melted away.

Suddenly, the sound of weapon clashing rang out as the air erupted with a cacophony of cursing voices emitted from the ravine of a nearby mountain.

"What? There are so many people gathered in such a remote location?"

Great curiosity arose in Han Li's heart, and no longer fearing the questions of other disciples, he followed the noises and came close to the source of the sound.

What a big crowd! Han Li stare mutely in shock.

The ravine, completely hidden by the forest, was a small area. Despite this, there was a total of a hundred people crowding together in the ravine! There were also people standing on the branches of giant trees.

Two groups of people were staring at each other, and a thick sense of enmity emanated from both groups.

The group of people standing on the left side consisted of a total of 11 or 12 people while the group on the right side consisted of 6 or 7 people.

Han Li discovered that these two groups were of similar age as him! All of them were about 15 – 20 years old.

A slight smile hung on his lips as he thought, "What a coincidence!"

From this group of people, Han Li could pinpoint a few familiar faces.

"Fang Yu Bao, Zhang Da Lu, Ma Yun, Sun Li Song…., Ai! Fatty Wang is even more obese than the last time I saw him! This person is… Metalhead Liu. Ze! Ze! He was actually so tanned back then. To think that his skin was so fair and white now, has he became someone that lives on the earnings of a woman so he can sit and be lazy the whole day?" Han Li sniggered as he climbed onto the huge tree as he began to lose himself in his memories.

(TL: Ze! Ze! – sound of clicking one's tongue)

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Chapter 16: Little Abacus

Down below, two barehanded youths were locked in close quarters combat. One was fat but held a steady composure and possessed herculean strength. This was Han Li's good friend, Fatty Wang. Fatty Wang's plump body boasted fists of mighty strength and a loud yell to accompany every punch. With each punch, a gust of wind followed. The other fighter was like a rat. He did not bother to block any of the punches thrown at him and instead chose to evade them. It appeared that he wanted fight a war of attrition, exhausting Fatty Wang before finishing him off.

Seeing how his good friend was in the battle, Han Li naturally hoped Fatty Wang would win.

After a while, Fatty Wang still showed no signs of slowing down. Although Han Li did not practice martial arts, his intuition told him that Fatty Wang would not lose.

He looked around in hopes of finding someone who could explain what was happening here.

Han Li saw a person sitting not too far away on a rock. It was a youth constantly gesturing while crying out, "Hit his head, kick his waist, ai ya! Almost! That's right, kick his butt, use all of your strength…"

This youth was beaming radiantly as he cheered.

It almost felt as if he was standing right next to Fatty Wang, giving words of encouragement as his personal coach.

Han Li concluded that this person was pretty interesting, so he slowly climbed down the tree to get to where he was.

"Senior, do you know the two who are fighting and why they're fighting?" Han Li asked politely.

"What do you mean 'do I know'? Is there anything that I, Little Abacus, don't know? Of course I know everything about the fight! Who are you? How come I've never seen you before? Did you just join the sect? No, that's not right, there's still over half a year until the next disciple examination, so who are you then?" This person was very enthusiastic at first, but when he realized he had never seen Han Li before, his expression became serious and even a little suspicious.

"I am Han Li, a friend of Fatty Wang, who is fighting there," Han Li replied simply.

"Fatty Wang's friend? I know all of his friends, and you're not one of them!" The person became more and more wary.

"Oh, I've been in closed door training for the past few years. Not knowing who I am is not surprising," Han Li half lied.

"Is that right? You too joined the sect as a disciple 4 years ago? To think that would be something, that the omniscient me didn't know ." He looked at Han Li's clothes, appearing to believe in Han Li's word.

The person known as Little Abacus and Han Li talked about a few unrelated subjects until he finally answered Han Li's question.

"Junior Disciple, what you don't know is that this is all because of a woman. That is…" the self-proclaimed smartypants said as he began to explain in great detail. Indeed, he seemed to know most of the sect matters that were floating around.

It seemed that there were 2 people involved. One was called Wang Yang, who was Fatty Wang's cousin, and the other was Zhang Chang Gui. The two were both disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect, but one was an Outer Sect Disciple while the other was an Inner Sect Disciple.

While these two had grown up in the same town, neither of them had ever spoke with each other. This all happened because of a girl. The girl was betrothed to Wang Yang from an early age, but one day, while traveling back home, the head of the Zhang family had caught a glimpse of her and decided to give her to Zhang Chang Gui. Using his money and influence, he had taken both her and her family, ignoring Wang Yang's engagement. This grievous news had dealt a heavy blow to Wang Yang as he had long since been infatuated with her. Knowing that there was no way he'd be able to oppose the Zhang family, he jumped to his death in the river.

Even though it was a tragedy, his death should have ended the matter.

But who could have guessed his close cousin Fatty Wang, after learning what had had happened, would refuse to let his cousin go unavenged? After confronting Zhang Chang Gui, the two vowed to duel, agreeing that the loser would be the winner's slave.

Zhang Chang Gui may have been arrogant, but he was not stupid. He understood that, in martial arts, he was inferior to Fatty Wang. He requested that he be allowed to bring friends who could help out and join in to fight multiple rounds. Fatty Wang readily agreed. (TL: is fatty wang stupid? =.=) Afterwards, Zhang Chang Gui used his money to look for disciples within the Outer Sect to help him. Although Fatty Wang was poor and had no money, he was a good friend to many disciples within the sect, and many of them had decided to come to his aid

As a result, many had come to show of their support, which led to a great amount of hostility on the verge of exploding.

Hearing this, Han Li had realized that this conflict had grown too serious to settle without any bloodshed.

Unexpectedly, a small spar had blown up into such an enormous affair.

"You are here to help Fatty Wang, right? If they don't abide by the rules, then we will move in and beat them until they wet themselves in fear. Let them know that we peasants are not easy to bully." The youth spoke without stopping for a single breath.

Han Li gave a bitter smile as he realized that he should not get involved. After all, picking a side would only serve to make enemies, and because of his few years of cultivation, his impulsiveness had long since been whittled away. Plus, Han Li had never learned any martial arts and wouldn't be able to beat even the weakest disciple. After watching the competition, it would be better for him to return back to the valley.

"Good!" Suddenly, the youth cried out loud.

Upon hearing the youth, Han Li turned his head back to look at the fight. As it turns out, Fatty Wang's enemy slipped up and was struck in the forehead by a large fist, smacking him to the ground already unconscious.

Immediately, a part of the crowd cheered in support while the others had nasty looks on their faces.

Fatty Wang's face had a look of pride on it as he pumped his fist upward. Slapping his butt, he walked swaggeringly back towards his side, smug about his victory.

From Zhang Chang Gui's side came two people who took the fainted disciple away.

Then, each side produced one individual. One was carrying a saber while the other carried a sword.

(TL: In this novel, when we mention 'saber', we mean 刀 Dao, the Chinese Saber, a single edged sword. When we say 'sword', we mean 剑 Jian, the Chinese Sword, thin and double-edged.)

Each of them had fiery looks on their faces, but neither said a word. Holding their weapons up, they began to clash, the sound of ringing metal filling the air.

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Chapter 17: Senior Disciple Li (1)

Their weapons could only be seen as flashing blurs as the saber and the sword clashed with no clear victor.

Han Li wasn't able to keep up with the fight at all, only understanding that the fight was very intense. The difficulty or effectiveness of their movements and which person had the advantage were far beyond his scope of knowledge.

"Junior apprentice brother Han, I don't know which sect master you've trained under, but I'm sure your martial arts has made massive improvements after training in isolation, right?" Little Abacus curiously asked.

Every Inner Disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect, after two years of practicing their fundamentals in the Hundred Disciples Hall, would be separated and be apprenticed to a master to learn more profound martial arts. Only after they finish their apprenticeship would they be able to hold a permanent position within the sect.

In the case that a disciple displayed remarkable strength in the Disciple Examination, they wouldn't even need to practice fundamentals for two years. Instead, they would directly enter the Seven Supreme Division, where the Sect Leader or Vice Sect Leaders would personally impart some knowledge onto them, giving them a formidable advantage akin to a carp leaping over a dragon gate.

(TL: https/en./wiki/Fish_in_Chinese_mythology)

Within those two years of practicing one's fundamentals, those with outstanding potential, would also be noticed by some elders and accepted as their personal disciple. Backed and taught by such a powerful figure, these disciples' prospects couldn't even be compared to those of other disciples.

After hearing that Han Li had only just come out of seclusion, Little Abacus was even more sure that he hadn't heard of this person before. He naturally assumed that Han Li was a prestigious Inner Disciple, so he had been very respectful to him in hopes of gaining favor.

"A few years ago, an honored elder took me in as his disciple, but please understand, I cannot disclose just who this elder is." Han Li knew what the other disciple was trying to do, so he had to maintain a matter-of-fact expression while also pretending to carry around an air of arrogance.

"Is that right? Senior Apprentice Brother Han is quite lucky then. Your position within the Inner Sect must be high and your potential unlimited. This Junior Disciple hopes that, in the future, Senior Disciple will lend a hand towards his juniors." Little Abacus didn't particularly care about why Han Li concealed the name of his master. Whichever honored elder he was, he was surely stronger than his own master, so Little Abacus's tone had immediately changed.

"Senior Disciple Han, just one look at you and I know that you are definitely not someone ordinary and that you will be successful without any difficulties." He continued to flatter Han Li.

"This person's skin is so dark, and his face looks rather stupid as well. How could he be the disciple to an honored elder while I am so clever but haven't been noticed by any elders yet?" Little Abacus secretly muttered to himself while maintaining a respectful expression.

Han Li had recognized the change in his speech as well. One second he was Junior Disciple Han, and the next he was Senior Disciple Han. This was far too funny for Han Li to bear.

However, Han Li didn't look down on Little Abacus for that. Trying to gain favor with those higher than oneself was one's natural instinct. Someone who wanted a better life first needed to know his or her place. The people who understood this were ones who were successful in life.

But what was most disappointing was that the words Han Li had just said were primarily true. Han Li could only be considered nothing more than smuggled goods when compared to those true personal disciples of honored elders. Any other disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect could easily beat him. If he were to try to flaunt his status and be arrogant, the truth would be quickly revealed.

Han Li forced out a smile as he calmly listened to Little Abacus's flattery. It was almost as if he were at a dinner party.

"Senior Disciple Han must be strong in martial arts. If he were to enter the ring, he would definitely beat these fighters into sorry states, definitely…" Little Abacus continuously flattered Han Li while also watching the match.

"Ai! How strange, such a prestigious disciple should have formidable internal strength but why does he look utterly unimpressive? He looks scrawny and weak, and his eyes don't have the shine of those who had broken through their acupoints. No matter how closely I look, he is nothing but a normal kid that doesn't know any martial arts." Little Abacus became more and more bewildered.

"The outcome has been decided." Han Li's light voice had immediately broke Little Abacus from his pondering.

Surprised, Little Abacus swiftly look back at the ring.

As it turns out, the saber wielder had his weapon knocked to the side. One arm was limp, while the other clutched at a wound. His face was ashen, but he did not declare his surrender. This wasn't surprising, since the strength between the two disciples wasn't all that much different. If he hadn't slipped up just then, they would have been evenly matched.

When Little Abacus saw this, there was a look of disappointment on his face, and he said softly, "What a shame."

"What's wrong? What do you mean by 'shame'?" Han Li didn't see anything noteworthy, but it seemed that this was not the case for the youth next to him.

"If Fatty Wang's team had won this fight, then this would have been their 3rd victory, and their best-three-out-of-five contest would have ended. It's a shame that he couldn't end it here!"

"Oh!"

"But that doesn't matter. Right now, the remaining person on Wang Dapang's side is our strongest disciple in martial arts. He uses the Lightning Fast Saber, which is incomparably fierce and able to smash through metal! Haha! To be able to witness Senior Disciple Li's strength firsthand, I didn't come here for nothing. No matter who appears on Zhang Chang Gui's side, our victory is assured." Little Abacus, who was just depressed about their loss, quickly became excited once more as he began to talk about this Senior Disciple Li.

"So this will be the final match?" Han Li asked. He wondered who this Senior Disciple Li was. It seemed he really knew nothing about the major figures in the sect.

At this moment, a grim figure came up to Fatty Wang's side. The youth was holding a long sabre as he walked up to the middle of the ring. Without saying a single word, he closed his eyes.

"Senior Disciple Li! Senior Disciple Li! Senior Disciple Li!"

Seeing this youth come up to the ring, everyone grew excited as they all began to call out his name. With each shout, they grew louder until they eventually began to shake the entire ring with the magnitude of their voices. At this moment, there wasn't one single person that was cheering for a specific side; there was only one unanimous cry for this youth.

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Chapter 18: Senior Disciple Li (2)

Was this Senior Disciple Li very famous? What is his background? Han Li was extremely surprised by this Senior Disciple Li's popularity.

"You don't even know who is Senior Disciple Li?"

"Well, I was in seclusion for a few years."

"Oh yes, I had actually forgotten. My memory is really bad. How could there be any disciple in the Seven Mysteries Sect who don't know about Senior Disciple Li? It was this preconception that caused me to accidentally forgot about your seclusion." Little Abacus suddenly realised as he hurriedly apologised.

"Could you tell me more about this Senior Disciple Li?"

"Senior Disciple Han, of course I can! Well, every junior disciple within the sect knows the story of Senior Disciple Li." Little Abacus, seeing Senior Disciple Li's opponent hesitating, took this opportunity to explain the legend of Senior Disciple Li to Han Li.

"Senior Disciple Han, I don't like to boast, but the story of Senior Disciple Li is known to both the junior and senior disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect.

After a short introduction, Little Abacus began to reveal the story of Senior Disciple Li, and the story was legendary indeed.

This Senior Disciple Li entered the sect about 4 years ago but was from a different batch than Han Li. He too failed the preliminary test and entered the sect as an Unofficial Disciple. But after half a year, not only did he achieve the best results out of all the Unofficial Disciples in his group, he also sparred with the other senior disciples. Defeating over 30 senior disciples single handedly and breaking many records, Senior Disciple Li had gained a lot of attention from the higher ups in the sect. After an intense inspection, everyone was shocked that the bones of Senior Disciple Li were extremely ordinary and even his potential was determined to be limited. This made all the higher ups disappointed, so none of the higher ups accepted him as their personal disciple. After the 2 years of basic training, he was delegated as a disciple of a Protector and only after managing to learn the most basic of martial skills in the Seven Mysteries Sect. The Windstorm Saber Technique that he was proficient in was one of the most commonly taught martial skill in the Seven Mystery Sect.

If that were the end of his story, Senior Disciple Li could not be considered legendary but rather someone with a good beginning and a weak ending. But after a short while, relying solely on this seemingly common martial skill, the Windstorm Saber Technique, he swept across all of the disciples in that year's annual competition. Using just a single technique and ranked 16th, he became the cream of the crop within his generation, which garnered the attention of the higher ups once again.

In the subsequent yearly competitions, Senior Disciple Li was incomparably bold and powerful, sweeping across all of the competitors like a sharp sword. He obtained an astonishingly high rank, gaining pride and face for all the new disciples. In last year's annual competition, he actually was ranked 3rd! One must know that the disciples in the first 2 ranks had already been in the sect for over 10 years! These two disciples were members of an older generation, their age roughly 27 or 28, and they hade a much greater internal strength compared to Senior Disciple Li. There were also many who believed that if Senior Disciple Li had the same level of internal strength as the 2 top ranked disciples, Senior Disciple Li would undoubtedly be ranked the 1st.

Precisely because of this, Senior Disciple Li captured the attention of the higher ups once again and was specially nominated to be sent outside of the sect to undergo training and p help out with the Seven Mystery Sect's various external affairs. While disciples of the same generation were still undergoing training, Senior Disciple Li had long rendered meritorious service for the sake of the Seven Mystery Sect and had even been nicknamed "Tiger Li" in Jiang Hu. After which, he was allowed to enter the Seven Supreme Division and obtained the chance to practice higher grade martial arts.

Han Li could not help being moved. After he heard the story, if everything he heard was real, Senior Disciple Li was indeed extraordinary. Senior Disciple Li started as an Unofficial Disciple and yet he could achieve the results he had today, how admirable indeed!

On the side of Zhang Chang Gui, they reluctantly sent out someone out after a long period of discussion.

The disciple they sent out looked to be relatively strong, unsheathing a gleaming sword with the thickness of a finger from the scabbard that hung around his waist. The disciple holding the sword was certainly not a person with an ordinary background.

After Senior Disciple Li sensed that someone entered the ring, he slowly opened his eyes, which seemed to be filled with radiance.

Senior Disciple Li shouted out loud.His sudden shout, akin to a thunderclap. reverberated through the entire region, causing buzzing sounds in everyone's ear. His opponent was likewise affected by the shout and an expression of fear began to surface on his face.

As he shouted, Senior Disciple Li had already drawn his saber. With a flash of movement, one deceptive action released over tens of blade shadows, trapping his opponent in a encirclement of numerous blades.

However, Senior Disciple Li's opponent was quick witted and vigilant. Although he had panicked slightly, the movement of his sword were insidious and crafty, and he managed to parry all of the blade strikes with an impenetrable defense!

"Who is this person?" Han Li could not help but ask.

"He is the son of the fifth Elder, Zhao Zi Ling. The skill he executed was Willow Swordplay is extremely tough to fight against."

"How good is he compared to Senior Disciple Li?"

"Naturally, Senior Disciple Li is still stronger." Little Abacus said with pride glowing on his face.

"Hmm, why did Zhang Chang Gui not sent out a stronger expert instead?"

"Hehe! Zhao Zi Ling was already the strongest among them. Among us, the junior disciples, who would be able to defeat Senior Disciple Li? No matter who they send, it is useless." Little Abacus gloated with a hint of taking pleasure over their opponent's misfortune.

Indeed, although Zhao Zhi Ling's swordplay was not chaotic, he had lacked any killing intent. He was pressured almost to the point of defeat by Senior Disciple Li. Also, those with more experience could tell with a single glance that Zhao's defeat was only a matter of time.

Han Li watched for a moment before another suspicion rose in his heart.

"There is one thing i still find strange. Why are all the disciples here of the younger generation? What about all our senior seniors? Even if the rules prohibit them from entering the fight, for the sake of excitement, there should still be one or two coming and to spectate. However, there isn't even a single senior disciple. Why is that so?" Han Li candidly voiced out the suspicion in his heart.

Little Abacus, after hearing Han Li's question, had a total change in his expression and had a bizarre look on his face as he gazed at Han Li. This made Han Li feel extremely puzzled. Could it be that he had asked a question that was considered taboo in the sect?

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Chapter 19: Battle in Jiang Hu

"Senior Disciple Han, you are really deaf to the outside world. This was such a massive event in the sect and yet you didn't know about this? Even though you were in seclusion, your master should have spoken of it to you." Little Abacus's tone seemed to get more and more suspicious.

After hearing the question, Han Li did not even bother to speak. Instead, he took out a medallion and passed it over for Little Abacus to inspect.

"Senior Disciple Han, what are you doing? When have I ever doubted you? How could I not believe you?! The moment I saw you, I realised that you looked familiar, I must have met you a long time ago, hehe!" Little Abacus quickly scanned the medallion, and upon finding out that Han Li was indeed the disciple of some Elder, he frantically laughed to defuse the tension.

"Now, can you tell me?" Han Li was still concerned about the question he asked earlier.

"Of course, there's no problem."

"Damn, this is terrible, I hope I didn't offend this guy." Little Abacus mumbled as his heart shuddered, then he told the whole truth of the matter to Han Li.

For the past few years, the Seven Mysteries Sect and the Feral Wolf Gang had more and more clashes. for the sake of the control of the nearby wealthy towns. In total, the two major powers had over 10 clashes, and they both suffered plenty of casualties. Trained as mounted bandits, the members of the Feral wolf Gang were extremely ferocious as if they were unafraid of death, and they would go berserk at the sight of blood. The disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect despite having superior martial arts, did not possess the right kind of killing intent that was necessary, and when fighting the Feral Wolf Gang, they would always avoid causing too much damage. Thus, in the end, the Seven Mysteries Sect would suffer more casualties. After a few rounds of battle, the higher ups of Seven Mysteries Sect could not take this lying down and thus, they had mobilized the majority of disciples within their sect to smash the Feral Wolf Gang's members into smithereens. There was two reasons why the Seven Mysteries Sect did so. First, the control of the towns within its territory was too valuable to be lost, and secondly, to have the disciples become used to bloodshed, allowing them to gain practical battle experience in Jiang Hu.

Even so, despite the Inner Disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect holding the advantage during the last few battles, there had been too many casualties. Even some of the older seniors had failed to return to the sect alive. After Little Abacus said this, he could not help but sigh.

After that, the sect leaders changed the strategy by letting the Inner Disciples take care of some minor missions and gain experience elsewhere in Jiang Hu. After they were used to combat, they would come back and join the clash against the Feral Wolf Gang. By doing so, it effectively minimised the number of casualties.Now, after each Inner Disciple had two years of training in the sect, they would be sent down the mountain to take charge of some minor missions to gain experiences before they were tasked to fight against the Feral Wolf Gang.

(TL: Repetitive, I know)

And so, the older senior disciples had already been sent out of the mountain, leaving only a few defenders and the junior disciples who had not yet completed their training.

After listening, Han Li suddenly understood why were there differences on the mountain now compared to 4 years ago.

Dang! A sound rang out as a sword flew into the sky.

Zhao Zi Ling's left hand was pressing on a wound on his right hand, and as he retreated a few steps, his face turned pale while he breathed heavily.

Under Senior Disciple Li's ferocious saber techniques, Zhao Zi Ling had no time to retreat, and thus, he had no choice but to use the sword in his hand to block the attack. Because his internal strength was insufficient, the weapon he held had been flung into the air because of the clash.

"Senior Disciple Li, you are formidable indeed. This junior brother admits his defeat." Zhao Zi Ling forcefully smile as he bowed slightly.

Loud exclamations rang out among the spectators.

"Senior Disciple Li, what a graceful martial skill!"

"Senior Disciple Li, excellent saber techniques!"

"Senior Disciple Li, please me some guidance!"

Cries of admiration rang out for their idol, the sound reverberating through the entire region.

Senior Disciple Li kept the huge saber lifted in the air while his cheeks turned red. Initially, it seemed that he wanted to say something, but his expression suddenly changed as he furrowed his brows as if thinking of something.

Senior Disciple Li said coolly, "I still have urgent things to do. Good bye."

Turning around, Senior Disciple Li relied on a movement technique to swiftly leave the area.

"Ze Ze! Not only is Senior Disciple Li proficient in the saber arts, his movement technique is superior as well!."

"Yup!"

"Yup!"

Words of praise began to ring out.

Han Li furrowed his brows. This Senior Disciple Li's martial arts were indeed not bad, but it seems that he liked to be in the limelight, just like a teenager.

After he reflected, Han Li could not help but smile bitterly. He himself was not any older than Senior Disciple Li, and yet, his thinking was so overly matured, just like a old man's. It seems that after practicing the oracular chant, his mental state had matured at a faster rate when compared to his peers.

"Junior Brother, up to now, I still haven't learned your true name," Han Li eyed Little Abacus nearby as he suddenly thought of the question.

"My name is Jin Dong Bao. However, Senior Disciple Han can just refer to me as Little Abacus." Little Abacus was excited after Han Li asked for his name. He figured that he had gained the favor of Han Li and would be able to use him to back him in the future.

"Next time you are sick or injured, come look for me. I will treat you for free." Han Li patted his shoulders, turned his body and walked back into the forest region.

He left behind a dumbstruck Dong Jin Bao, who was still pondering over what Han Li's words meant.

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Chapter 20: Essence Extraction Pill

After leaving the mountain region, Han Li could still hear the voices discussing how to settle Fatty Wang and Zhang Chang Gui's dispute. Han Li decided not to concern himself about the matter.

Whenever he thought Little Abacus's dumbstruck expression, he could not help but laugh out loud. His small excursion outside the valley had indeed lifted his spirits, and he was no longer as depressed as before.

He ventured out of the forest and walk straight ahead. A small creek appearedat the end of the path.

Han Li inclined his head upwards and looked at the fiery hot sun before lowering his head to avoid the glare and to drink some water from the creek. He felt that taking a bath right now would not be a bad idea.

As he bent downwards, with both of his hands entering the cool creek water, a voice filled with pain sounded out and reached his ears.

Han Li was surprised. To think that there would people in such a remote region.

Following the sound of the voice, Han Li wandered upstream and found a person wearing a disciple's robe lying on the floor, his body convulsing while his limbs flailed about.

The moment Han Li saw the person, he knew that the disciple was suffering from an acute illness and if he didn't help now, there might be danger of death.

Han Li rushed over and took out a wooden box from his robes. From the wooden box, he drew out silver needles that seemed to reflected the light as he pierce them into the acupoints on the disciple's back.

After he was done with the acupoints on the disciple's back, he turned the body of the disciple around and began to work with the acupoints located on his chest.

When the disciple's body was turned, Han Li sucked in a breath. He was shocked beyond measure. This person… this person, who was flailing about earlier, was none other than the Senior Disciple Li that participated in the battle earlier!

Stunned, Han Li could only gaze at the facial features of Senior Disciple Li.

The current Senior Disciple Li did not have the air of a peerless expert at all. There was no heroic demeanor to be seen anywhere, only a cold face full of pain and suffering as his features contorted together and white foam leaked from his mouth. It was obvious that Senior Disciple Li from suffering from too much pain to bare, and he was almost to the point of being unconscious.

Han Li regained his calm as he muttered to himself. Akin to flowing water, the silver needle in Han Li's hand begin to prick the acupoints on Senior Disciple Li body continuously over 10 times. At the final prick, Han Li wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead and released a breath. The usage of the silver needle and strength needed to pierce each acupoint exhausted a huge amount of energy from him.

After Senior Disciple Li's body was riddled with silver needles, he finally woke up and regained consciousness.

"You are…" Senior Disciple Li tried to say something, but he didn't have enough strength, so he could not say more than a few words.

"I'm from the God Hand Valley. Save your breath and slowly recover your strength. I can only remind you that your illness is very strange. In my estimation, only my teacher Doctor Mo would be able to save you. But sadly, he is currently away from the mountain." Han Li took the pulse of Senior Disciple Li as he furrowed his brows in thought.

"The… Medci..ne..is..at.." Senior Disciple Li's face paled as his lips shivered, lifting his arms to gesture at something, but he was unsuccessful.

"You have medicine to cure the illness in your body?:" Han Li roughly understood his meaning, and he questioned Senior Disciple Li.

"Ye….s" Senior Disciple Li saw that Han Li understood his meaning, relaxed his features and nodded his head.

Han Li was no longer polite as he searched Senior Disciple Li's body for the antidote. He found many useless stuff, and amongst them, there was a small white jade bottle which he took out. This bottle was made of expensive material and was also tightly sealed. He guess this was what Senior Disciple Li was looking for.

As he took the bottle and glanced at Senior Disciple Li, his guess turned out currect. Senior Disciple Li's expression was full of joy as he frantically blinked his eyes.

Han Li unsealed the bottle, and contrary to his expectations, there was no fragrance of herbal components drifting out, but rather extremely pungent smell.

The moment Han Li smelled the pungent smell, his expression turned nasty as he cautiously took out a pink colour pill out from the bottle. This pill was extremely beautiful to behold, yet the pungent smell that was emitted from the pill caused people to have difficulty breathing.

"Is this a medicinal pill?" Han Li regained his calm face.

Senior Disciple Li was still unable to speak, but he blinked his eyes to convey to Han Li that this was the right pill.

"This Essence Extraction Pill was created from orchids, crabtailed flower, 100-year old egg of blue ant… as well as 23 other rarely seen ingredients. After the pill is concocted, it takes on a pinkish hue and emits a pungent smell. Ingesting it could unlock all of the potential of the human body, consuming the lifeforce in exchange. Am i right?"

Han Li coldly glanced at Senior Disciple Li as he listed the pill's descriptions word by word with an unmistakable tone in his voice.

The moment Senior Disciple Li heard Han Li words, his face paled as if devoid of blood, and a frantic expression appeared on his face.

"If you ingest this medicine, you would need to repeatedly ingest it after a certain period of time in addition to suffering the excruciating pain. If you refuse to ingest the second pill after eating the first, in the best scenario, you would be paralysed and in the worse scenario, you could even die! From the first time you ingested this pill, fate has already decreed that you would be dead in less than 10 years as the pill forcefully unleashes your potential at the expense of burning your life force," Han Li said without stopping.

"Don't you try to lie to me that this is not the Essence Extraction Pill." Han Li said.

After hearing what Han Li had said, an expression of hopelessness appeared on Senior Disciple Li's face while an indescribable shock appeared in his eyes.

"Are you shocked because this particular medicine is very rare, and yet I know what it is?" Han Li could tell what Senior Disciple Li was thinking.

"The answer is simply. I, too, have eaten a pill like this."

Han Li's words broke the tension as he continued to shock Senior Disciple Li. After a while, Senior Disciple Li had an expression of disbelief.

"The way I ate the pill was different was different from how you ate it. I only ate a total of 1 pill, but I seperated the pill into 10 portions, which I slowly ingesting over a long period of time. The small amount of drug I consumed was not able to do any harm to my body. Because this particular pill and the smell it emitted was too obvious, I had a very strong impression of this pill, so I easily recognized yours. I had always thought that other than me, there would not be a second person to ingest this type of pill, but who would have thought, my fellow disciple had consumed the pill as well."

After saying this, Han Li gaze contained a hint of admiration as well as pity for Senior Disciple Li.

Unwilling to see the pitiful gaze fixed on him, Senior Disciple Li closed his eyes. However, his heartbeat was erratic and his mind was in chaos.

"You should have have consumed these pills for a few years already. If you refrain from consuming it now, I could beseech Doctor Mo to concoct an antidote for you. Although the medicine cannot recover the life force you lost, it should still be able to grant you 20-30 years worth of life. But sadly, your martial skills would be lost forever. If you continue ingesting this pill, I can deduce from the backlash that happened earlier that you would have at most 5-6 years worth of life left, but obviously, your martial arts would only get better and better, even stronger than the might you displayed today. Since you dared to eat such a pill, this tells me that you are a person with an iron will. Since only you can decide your own fate, do you want to throw away this medicine or keep relying on it?"

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Chapter 21: Painkilling Medicine

Senior Disciple Li's eyelids lightly shuddered as he pondered intensely, trying to decide which was the better path for him.

After a short moment, his tightly closed eyes snapped open as he stared intently at the pill in Han Li's hand with a feverish gaze.

Han Li did not say anything more and inserted the pill into Senior Disciple Li's mouth. The white foam around his mouth did nothing to stop him from swallowing the pill, and after it was fully ingested, Han Li slowly retracted all of the silver needles from Senior Disciple Li's body.

After the retrieval of all the silver needles, the Essence Extraction Pill began to take effect. Senior Disciple Li's pale face started to take on a reddish hue. At this moment, his body started to convulse again and his limbs started to shiver as a low drone issued from his throat.

Senior Disciple Li did not want to be a laughing stock in front of Han Li, so he tried unsuccessfully to suppress his pain-filled voice.

The low drone involuntarily got louder and louder as the shivers got more intense. It was only after a long period of time that the droning began to slowly subside.

Finally, Senior Disciple Li recovered as his face returned to its normal, pale colour, and his body stopped convulsing. This signalled that he successfully endured the last of the backlashes from consuming the Essence Extraction Pill.

Senior Disciple Li straightened his body, crossed his legs, and close his eyes in order to enter mediation, attempting to circulate his Qi to heal his injuries. Han Li found a clean, large rock nearby and sat down on it, watching Senior Disciple Li.

After the time it takes to cook a bowl of rice, the Senior Disciple Li, who was in a state of meditation, abruptly wrenched open his eyes and drew his saber in a flash, placing the shining blade on Han Li's neck.

"Give me a reason not to kill you!" Senior Disciple Li's eyes were full of coldness and filled with killing intent.

"I just saved your life. Is that not a good enough reason?" Han Li stated calmly with no change to his expression except for the twitching of his brows. If one did not study Han Li's face intently, they would not have seen it.

Senior Disciple Li's face slightly softened, but his eyes were still filled with killing intent as he stared at Han Li.

"Before I made the decision to save you, I already guessed that you might kill me to protect your secret, but I didn't think that your action would be so fast." Han Li bitterly laughed as his faced was filled with self-mockery.

"Ke! Despite knowing that saving you would bring calamity upon myself, I, a student of medical arts, couldn't simply sit by and watch you die." Han Li sighed.

As Senior Disciple Li heard his words, his face took on a somewhat embarrassed expression, and he shifted the saber from Han Li's neck a little but did not fully remove the blade.

Han Li secretly let out a breath of relief, and he continued his speech more determinedly.

"You have no need to worry that I would divulge your secret. One look at my face and you would know that I'm not one to gossip, if you are still worried, I could swear a binding oath. You should be able to tell that I'm not skilled in martial arts, so if you discovered that I broke my vow, you could easily kill me," Han Li calmly suggested.

"Okay, swear a binding oath then." Senior Disciple Li said straightforwardly.

It was only now that Han Li relaxed. Before he saved Senior Disciple Li, he could infer that Senior Disciple Li was not one to forget kindness, but he was not 100% sure of his assessment. If he was wrong and Senior Disciple Li was a person that returned kindness with viciousness, he would have nothing in left in his defense but to use his secret life-saving method.

Knowing that he would not have to use it, Han Li stealthily retracted his hand from within his robes.

After Han Li swore a binding oath, Senior Disciple Li finally retracted the saber and returned it to its sheath.

Han Li slightly felt a slight trace of blood on his throat, caused by the keen edge of the saber. It was sticky to the touch, and as Han Li heartbeat returned to normal, he could feel cold sweat trickling down his back.

"What a close call! My evaluation prior to saving Senior Disciple Li was not comprehensive enough. I'm determined to learn from this mistake and to prevent my life from being in the control of someone else's hands ever again." He still had some fear lingering from this event.

"If there's no guarantee of my safety, I will definitely not save others in the future." Han Li decided immediately.

This was the first time Han Li had saved someone, but the experience left him with a bad taste in his mouth. This event only helped to reinforce that the world was full of unexpected turnout, and the last vestige of kindness in him was slowly being discarded away. Even though he had not turned evil, he was far from being a saint.

"You have saved my life and agreed to keep the matter a secret. I, Li Feiyu, owe you a big favor henceforth. As long as I'm still alive, no matter what you need help with, you can look for me. As long as I am able to accomplish the task, I will definitely help you." As he reclaimed the items that Han Li ransacked through, Senior Disciple Li stated his vow straightforwardly, using his own name as a guarantee after he fully recovered from the pill's backlash.

"I fear that I currently have nothing to trouble you with, but you should already have plenty of troubles, no?" Han Li had a slight smile on his face as he faced Senior Disciple Li with another question.

"How did you know?" Li Feiyu was startled and slightly lost his composure.

"Anyone would have easily guessed. You are just a normal disciple under a Protector, yet with your skills, you have surpassed disciples of the Vice Sect Leaders, Division Heads, and Elders. How could they possibly let you live peacefully!?" Han Li's response was like a needle drawing blood; with a single prick, he went straight to the heart of the matter.

Senior Disciple Li's expression was gloomy and overcast as he agreed in silence.

"Your troubles are your own, I have no wish to interfere and cannot interfere even if I wanted to, but, for the excruciating backlash from consuming the Essence Extracting Pill, I could help you lessen the pain."

"Is this true?" Li Feiyu suddenly snapped to attention as his previous gloomy expression was replaced with anticipation and excitement. He was giddy since the backlash of the Essence Extraction Pill was extremely torturous.

"Why would I lie to you when there is nothing beneficial for me to gain by doing so?" Han Li glanced at Senior Disciple Li. He had already concocted a remedy that would greatly lessen the pain felt by others, a medicine that he researched in his spare time for Zhang Tie. It was extremely effective, greatly cutting off the nerve's ability from to feel pain.

"This is truly excellent! Excellent!" Li Feiyu clasped his hands as he looked at Han Li with wonder and excitement.

"Why are you looking at me with such an expression? I do not have the medicine on me right now. I need to return to God Hand Valley before I can concoct it for you."

After Li Feiyu heard what Han Li said, he had a slightly embarrassed look on his face. He had just threatened to kill Han Li and now, he was requesting his help.

"Tomorrow at noon, wait for me at the entrance of the God Hand Valley. I will hand you the remedy in that location, but since Doctor Mo is currently away, I can't allow anyone to simply enter the God Hand Valley," Han Li explained.

"Very well, I shall be there on time. Thank you, my dear brother." Scared that Han Li would change his mind, Li Feiyu quickly responded with his confirmation.

"My name is Han Li, the personal disciple of Doctor Mo. Your cultivation in martial arts is so high, you can just directly call me Junior Brother Han in the future."

After Han Li heard the words "my dear brother" he couldn't help but shiver and thus, quickly told Senior Disciple Li his name to prevent him from calling Han Li any more embarrassing titles.

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Chapter 22: Qigong Deviation

Looking at of Li Feiyu's back, which was gradually disappearing as he walked away, Han Li quietly stood where he was, lost in contemplation.

After they had agreed to meet at noon the next day, Senior Disciple Li took the initiative to bid Han Li goodbye, saying that he had to meditate to fully heal his injuries.

After they had spoken for a long time, Han Li did not ask Li Feiyu why he had consumed the pill. Han Li knew that even if he had asked, it would be useless because things that already happened could not be changed.

From his observations, Li Feiyu was willing to forsake his future, just for a short 10 years of fame and glory. This probably meant that he had some underlying reason, which left him with no choice but to do so. No one would willingly commit suicide, so if Han Li really did question Li Feiyu, it would be like rubbing salt on his wounds.

Obviously, what Han Li did was correct. Before Li Feiyu left, when he saw that Han Li did not question him about the reason why he was taking the Essence Extracting Pill, he was grateful for Han Li being considerate. Han Li knew that although Li Feiyu did not mention anything, he assumed that he owed Han Li a favor.

Han Li was prepared to fulfill his promise to Senior Disciple Li, so not only would he not spread the secret, he would also concoct the pain-relieving medicine for Senior Disciple Li.

The reason for him doing so was simple. Since Senior Disciple Li was not a vile person, nor did he really want to kill Han Li, Han Li thought that he might as well use this opportunity to increase the amount of favors that Senior Disciple Li owed him. So, in the future, Senior Disciple Li would find it hard to turn down his requests.

In the next few years, Li Feiyu's martial skills would only exponentially increased as the Essence Extraction Pill burnt his life force, so he would be of immeasurable help to Han Li in the future. Even if Han Li did not need this favor, it did not matter much. Being able to help a character like Senior Disciple Li also caused Han Li to feel happy in his heart. Although Senior Disciple Li may not be a good person, Han Li knew that after the events that transpired today, Li Feiyu wouldn't jeopardize him.

Han Li ran the whole sequence of events that happened today through his mind again. It was only when he was certain that everything had been accounted for that he returned to God Hand Valley.

After he strolled back to the God Hand Valley in a relaxed manner, Han Li began preparations to concoct the pain-relieving medicine for Senior Disciple Li. It was relatively simple for Han Li to concoct this medicine, as he could find all the ingredients he needed in the nearby medicinal herb garden. The only thing that was slightly complex was the concocting process. One must give it their full attention; if not, the chance of failure would be high.

After a busy afternoon, Han Li concocted a year's supply of the pain-relieving medicine Senior Disciple Li needed. He did not produce more intentionally as he wanted Senior Disciple Li to seek him out after all of the medicine was consumed so that he could increase his importance in Senior Disciple Li's eyes. This way, Senior Disciple Li would not be able to easily forget his favor.

In the middle of the night, Han Li was suddenly struck by a sense of loneliness as he raised his head to gaze at the stars in the pitch black sky and begin reminiscing.

He was thinking of his family back in his village!

He had left the village 4 years ago, and ever since he arrived at the mountain, he had been assiduously cultivating the nameless oracular formula every day and had no time to visit his family. The only thing he did to lessen his heartache was to send taels of silver back every month, hoping that his family was living a better life. He deeply treasured the letters that his parents wrote, even though there wasn't much written in the letters other than telling him that everything was good in his family, his Second Brother had married, and things were getting better because of the silver he sent back. Reading these letters made Han Li feel much better. However, over the years, Han Li felt that the tone of the letters was gradually becoming more and more polite, as if they were writing to a stranger! Initially, this caused fear to blossom in his heart, as he did not know what to do in this situation. However, as time passed, this feeling of fear gradually numbed as the image of his family in his mind gradually became blurred.

He reminisced about matters of the past, thinking back to that warm feeling of the time when he was still back in the village, when melancholy suddenly hit him. That warm feeling was very valuable to him as he knew that he would never be able to savour it again.

Han Li placed his hand on his chest, using his fingers to grip the good luck charm that was in the leather pouch hanging around his neck.

Whenever he was frustrated, he would only need to hold the good luck charm to calm himself down… But tonight, after holding it, his heart only got more and more flustered, and he was unable to calm down.

He was unable to control his emotions because there was depression in his heart, which in turn caused bizarre bodily reactions from Han Li. His blood started to surge as the Qi in his body ran rampant.

"Qigong Deviation!" These two words appeared in his mind. Han Li stood up, and drew in a huge breath, forcibly suppressing his chaotic state as he told himself to calm down. Now that Doctor Mo was away, he could only depend on himself to solve this crisis.

He did not know why he was suffering from Qigong Deviation, and his mind continued to ponder. Even though now was not the best time to question the reason, he still tried finding the root cause and cut the problem at its root as it was the best way to recover from Qigong Deviation.

Han Li rotated his head as he surveyed his surroundings, but nothing seemed suspicious.

He touched his chin with his right hand and at the same time, his hand also knocked against something on his chest.

"Leather pouch, Good Luck Charm", the names of these 2 items appeared in his mind.

"Could it be the good luck charm that caused the reaction?" Han Li was not sure, but he had no time to hesitate now as the condition of his body was getting worse and there were signs that he would soon be unable to control the surging Qi.

Han Li tore the leather pouch off his neck decisively and flung it away from him.

"No, something is wrong, I feel even worse. The surge in my Qi and blood is getting more violent."

Han Li forcefully suppressed the surging Qi as he stared at the leather pouch with his bloodshot eyes, hoping to find the reason why he had suffered more after he flung the pouch away.

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Chapter 23: Tests

Maybe lady luck was smiling on him. Abruptly, a sudden thought flashed past his mind.

He quickly rushed towards the leather pouch which he had discarded and with a deft movement, took out the good luck charm that was hidden inside neatly and quickly.

The moment his palm brushed against the good luck charm, a refreshing feeling was emitted from the bottle and eventually calmed his heart. His previous frustrations and melancholy all disappeared without a trace, and his Qi and blood stopped surging, returning back to his normal state.

Currently, Han Li had no interest in discovering the root of the problem that occurred earlier. Holding the good luck charm in his palm, he brought it forward in front of his eyelids, pressing it against his face. Gently caressing it, Han Li focused all of his attention on the bottle.

After half a day, Han Li heaved a sigh of relief, diverting his attention away from the good luck charm.

Han Li didn't know that the phenomenon that happened to him earlier was not because of "Qigong Deviation" but rather because he suffered from a "Heart Demon" that all cultivators would eventually face. Luckily, he discovered it in its early stages and fought it off by focusing on an object that was familiar to him. If he hadn't, the Heart Demon would have entered his soul and controlled his body from within, causing him to bleed to death from of the meridians. Of course, Han Li wouldn't learn about this until after he truly stepped on to the path of cultivation in the future.

Han Li circulated his Qi around his whole body and realise there was nothing abnormal. What made him gasp in astonishment was that instead of suffering injuries, his cultivation level had unknowingly increased by a great extent! Although he did not make a breakthrough from the third layer to the fourth, but because of his struggle against the Heart Demon, he had reached the peak of the third layer earlier than expected and was only a hair length away from breaking through to the 4th!

Because of this unexpected stroke of luck, Han Li had a smile on his face. However, he had to forcefully suppress the agitation in his heart. He was afraid that his unstable emotions would lead to another attack by the Heart Demon. Han Li was uncertain whether he could survived it intact if another attack took place. He took the good luck charm that had save his life and replaced it inside the leather pouch before hanging it on his neck.

"Yi!" Han Li realised that there was an object long forgotten by him inside the leather pouch. An object that had been left lying about in there for a few years – the mysterious bottle!

Han Li had completely forgotten about the mysterious bottle. The moment he saw it, he remember the past events.

The current Han Li was an archive of knowledge and wisdom that far surpassed the Han Li from four years ago. In these 4 years, he had read all the books in Doctor Mo's residence and gained much knowledge. He also cultivated the nameless oracular chant, which effectively strengthened his mind. Looking back at the disturbance to his Qi, he could effectively deduce that this mysterious bottle was a treasured item with effects that were far from ordinary

What Han Li needed to do now was to delve into and unravel the secrets of the bottle and to see if it could be use to benefit himself. There was no way he would just leave it lying around in the leather pouch and waste such a mysterious object.

Han Li took out the bottle and inspected its entire surface as if he were trying to look for something that he had missed out on during his inspection 4 years ago.

But no matter how much he inspected, there were no new discoveries.

Han Li wasted no time and opened the cap of the bottle. Floating inside was the mysterious bottle was the jade green droplet of liquid that had manifested 4 years ago! It was no different than from when it first appeared in the bottle..

However, Han Li was positive that the secret of the bottle lay in the jade green droplet of liquid. To test his theories, he would need to find some small animals to do some horrific experiments.

It was midnight, the sky pitch black outside. The darkness made it simply impractical for him to hunt for live animals. And after experiencing the attack of the heart demon earlier, Han Li was already somewhat exhausted. Even if he could catch a live animal, how would he be able to see if there were any changes to the test subject if it was pitch dark? Any actions Han Li could make would be a waste of effort.

After contemplating, Han Li decided rest and recover his energy before experimenting the next day. He told himself that there would be a big surprise waiting for him tomorrow, and with that thought, he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, after washing himself, Han Li went to eat a hearty breakfast. After that, he immediately went to speak to the head of the kitchen of the Seven Mysteries Sect, procuring two lively grey hares for a few tales of silver before returning back to the valley.

After he returned to the valley, Han Li chose a more spacious location inside the herb garden and tied the rabbits to a stake, letting them stay outside in the blazing sun for quite a period of time.

After the rabbits were dizzy from the heat and were almost dying of thirst, Han Li took out the mysterious bottle and poured the mysterious jade green droplet of liquid into a bowl before diluting it with water.

The mysterious droplet of liquid was about the size of a bean, and easily dissolved in the water, causing the whole bowl of water to turn into a jade green color.

Han Li placed the bowl near the rabbits and waited for them to drink the water. Being out in the blazing sun for such a long period of time, the rabbits scampered up and drank the water in the bowl in big gulps. Han Li was unwilling to allow the rabbits to drink the entire bowl of diluted water, and after half of the water was gone, he removed the bowl from the rabbits' reach.

After that, he stood to the side and observed, patiently waiting for any reactions from the rabbits.

After a short moment passed, about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the rabbits started to frantically jump about, their actions becoming more and more agitated and ferocious. Their bodies began to undergo an astounding mutation. Their fur and skin started to protrude lumps the size of a chicken egg. The lumps multiplied until they covered the rabbits' bodies. From afar, Han Li felt that the rabbit looked quite comical. The lumps had caused the rabbits to grow bigger by a single size, swelling up until both of the rabbits grew to the size of watermelons.

Looking at the mutation of the rabbits, along with their tortured shrieks, Han Li felt a bit of fear in his heart.

What just happened before his eyes was completely outside of his expectations. If the mysterious liquid was a potent poison or a miraculous medicine to increase cultivation, he would still not be so shocked. He did not expect was that the rabbits would actually grow lumps all over their bodies and expand to such a size, becoming grotesque beyond belief.

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Chapter 24: A Panicked Decision

Looking at the rabbits in front of him, he saw that they continued to grow larger and expand.

Han Li had at last realized that something was wrong. He suddenly remembered something. He looked at the porcelain bowl in his hand like a snake and threw it to the side by the medicine field. He then turned around and took to his heels, running straight away from the rabbits for more than ten meters before stopping.

Just as he thought of turning around, one after another, two sounds simultaneously exploded over. Han Li shuddered and turned his head for a look. As expected, each of the two rabbits had turned into a bloody carcass, exploding into several chunks. Flesh and blood was scattered, covering a patch of grass with a blanket of blood. Two pits appeared in the the places where the rabbits had been originally tethered to. Surrounding the pits were the rabbits' messy remains. Bloody chunks of meat sprinkled the ground. This was a spectacle too terrible to observe.

Han Li let out a breath and sat down on the ground. He feared that if he had not reacted quickly enough at that instance, he would've been caught in the explosion. Although he might not have been seriously injured, his whole body drenched in rabbits blood and dregs of meat would have not been a pleasant affair.

Waiting until after his heart calmed, Han Li stood up and walked next to the pits.

After seeing the mutilation at the site, he took a look at the shattered porcelain bowl by the medicine field and was dumbfounded.

Han Li originally believed that he would have discovered the green liquid to be some sort of panacea, but he did not expect it to be such a frightening thing. Poison was poison, but it made the rabbits die so tragically! No matter what he said to himself, he could not pass this off as a trick. It was far too frightening! Han Li was not unfamiliar with deadly poisons. Under Doctor Mo's several years of instruction, Han Li was experienced with many poisons capable of delivering an instant death, but not none of them was capable of killing a man so terribly.

After a while, Han Li regained his composure. Keeping his head calm, he made plans to depart from the medicine field.

Because it was soon going to be noon, he had to finish mixing the secret medicine to give to Senior Disciple Li. As for everything here, he would deal with it once he finished delivering the medicine.

With these thoughts in mind, Han Li did not take another look at the scene of the explosion, leaving all these troubles behind for later, and returned to his residence. After resting for a moment, he brought the medicine to the entrance of God Hand's Valley.

Han Li was very punctual. He arrived at the entrance just as noon arrived. Li Feiyu seemed to have been anxiously waiting for him for a while now.

He alone waited at the valley's entrance. He wore a white embroidered gown. However, he carried along the longsword that had previously left Han Li a deep impression. Since Han Li had not arrived yet, Li Feiyu's face showed a sliver of worry, anxiously looking towards the direction of the valley.

As soon as he saw Han Li finally arrive, he put away his expression of anxiety. The corner of his mouth slightly rose, his face exposing a smile.

"Junior Disciple Han, you are truly quite punctual! You said noon, and you arrived right on time. I was waiting here for almost an hour," Li Feiyu said half jokingly, half complaining.

"I am quite embarrassed. Blending the medicine took too much time yesterday, so I didn't sleep until it was very late. In the morning, I woke a bit late. As soon as I finished taking care of a few matters at hand, it was almost noon already." Said Han Li. Half of what he said was true.

"Junior Disciple Han…medicine, the medicine, did you finish mixing it?" Because Senior Disciple Li was anxious and a little hurried, he had actually spoke with somewhat of a stutter.

Han Li did not directly answer Senior Disciple Li's question. He calmly smiled, slowly taking out a large medicine bag out from his bosom. With a swing of his arm, he threw the medicine over to Li Feiyu.

"Every time before you consume the Essence Extraction Pill, take the medicine by mixing a spoon of the medicinal powder with cooled boiled water, and it will alleviate all of your pain."

"Thank you, Junior Disciple Han! Thank you, Junior Disciple Han!" Senior Disciple Li was wild with joy. Even if it could only ease his pain, he would have regarded it as great news. The pain from taking the Essence Extraction Pill made it so that he would shiver even when it wasn't cold. He had tried many painkillers, but they all had no effect. Since Junior Disciple Han knew all of the characteristics of the Essence Extraction Pill and had taken it before, perhaps this medicine would actually be effective.

"Don't thank me yet. Wait until after the medicine works before thanking me. In addition, this is only a year's worth of medicine. I currently used up all of the medicinal ingredients I had available. I won't be able to make any more for you until I gather enough medicinal ingredients," Han Li spoke bluntly.

"No problem. Isn't this a year's worth? This is enough for the time being. Regardless of whether or not this medicine is effective, I, Li Feiyu appreciates Junior Disciple Han's kind intentions." Senior Disciple Li had at last acquired what he desired. His expression returned to normal and was no longer artificial. He very straightforwardly expressed a humble feeling of respect towards Han Li.

Han Li faintly smiled. Not saying anything else, he took the initiative to part ways with Senior Disciple Li.

With the secret medicine in Li Feiyu's hand, his head was filled with thoughts of quickly returning and testing the efficacy of the medicine. Seeing that Li Feiyu had no urge to bother Han Li any further, the two mutually took their leave.

After returning from the valley entrance, Han Li first went to clean up the medicine fields. The rabbit remains, bloodied earth, and broken bowl shards were soon completely swept into a hole. Then, he endlessly covered the two earth pits by pushing it flat with dirt. Just like that, it appeared as if there were no difference in the landscape between its current state and its state before the experiment.

Satisfied, Han Li clapped his hands to get rid of any dust particles. He looked all over the place, checking if there was anywhere he had overlooked.

When his eyes fell onto where the porcelain bowl had shattered, he could not help but mutter to himself.

He remembered very clearly that when he threw away the bowl, the diluted water within had spilled all over a small portion of the medicine field, landing on several medicinal herbs. He couldn't help but be somewhat hesitant since he didn't know whether these medicinal herbs would become poisonous after absorbing the water. Also, if someone were to eat these poisonous herbs, would they also experience the same horrible death as the rabbits? Should Han Li immediately destroy these poisonous plants? This chain of questions abruptly rose in Han Li's mind.

Han Li had pondered for half a day, unable to come to a decision. After examining the plants once more, he decided to only do another small experiment. If in the following days, the medicinal herbs really became poisonous, it still wouldn't be too late for him to destroy them.

After deciding, he looked around to see if there was nothing else he could do and went back to the stone room to practice. He hoped that he would be capable of breaking through and continue advancing his foundation.

Han Li currently no longer cared about the chant's specific usefulness. His cultivation of this chant had already become instinctive. If he did not cultivate it, Han Li wouldn't know what else he he could do in the mountain valley. Stubbornly cultivating this chant to a greater layer of cultivation had already became his current life's entire goal.

After an afternoon absorbed in cultivation, Han Li dispiritedly discovered that he truly was not a genius. Although he felt the distance from the fourth layer could be pierced through by a finger, he couldn't advance an inch forward and had diligently cultivated the whole afternoon in vain.

It seemed he couldn't cultivate any further without the support of medicinal elixirs. Otherwise, it would be very likely that he would forever stay at the peak of third layer, unable to advance any further.

Han Li's mind began to hope expectantly that Doctor Mo would return a bit earlier and was lucky enough to have found enough medicinal ingredients to help Han Li break through his current predicament.

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Chapter 25: Interference of Success

Another night passed. Han Li woke up at the crack of dawn and walked towards the medicine field. He wanted to observe whether or not the medicinal herbs had changed in any way.

Before he even entered the medical field, he could suddenly smell several rich medicinal fragrances.

Han Li was slightly dazed, but soon after, his mind stirred. "Perhaps it's……"

He couldn't help but increase his pace until he finally arrived in front of several medicinal herbs that were emitting an intense fragrance.

Were these the medical herbs from yesterday? Han Li didn't dare to trust his eyes. Using his hands, he fiercely slapped his slightly drowsy face until the pain made him stop.

"The leaves of this Yellow Dragon Grass has some hints of purple, the Bitter Lotus Flower actually has flowered nine petals, and the skin of this Forgotten Sorrow Fruit has turned black, ha ha! Ha ha!" Han Li couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. Usually, Han Li was calm and composed, but this time, he couldn't help but laugh heartily while facing the sky.

"This time I came across a great fortune. These medicinal herbs only needed one night to develop properties that require two years of age. All of their appearances turned to that of herbs aged more than ten years. Seeing the color of the leaves, the shape of the fruit, and the petals' fragrance…there are all qualities that belong to rare herbs that have already matured for quite some time." Han Li carefully examined all of the medicinal herbs, confirming they were identical to those described in medicine books. They were truly rare medicinal ingredients that have been aged for a great length of time.

"If I can mature medicinal herbs with this method, how many rare medicinal ingredients will I have?! I can also sell the medicinal herbs that I don't use. If that happens, how much silver will I make…?" Han Li was unable to restrain his excitement and started to let his imagination run wild.

Han Li's thoughts further developed and he became more elated. He felt that he had truly picked up a treasure this time. All of a sudden, he somersaulted a few times. At this moment, he no longer maintained his normal calm appearance and expressed the excitement entirely like that of a normal 14-15 year old adolescent.

After a while, Han Li had finally calmed down, and his brain recovered its sharp wit. He began to think of how to deal with the somewhat difficult problems that were brought by this huge meat pie that fell from the sky.

(TL: "huge meat pie that fell from the sky" is a Chinese idiom for a fortuitous encounter)

First of all, there seemed to be no problems with the external appearance of these medicinal herbs. However, he still had not tested their medicinal properties. After all, they only became like this after they absorbed that strange liquid. Who knew whether their internal elements were abnormal? Yesterday, he had seen those rabbits' miserable demise with his own eyes. He still had to be careful.

Secondly, the green liquid within the small mysterious bottle had already been used up. He did not know whether the strange phenomenon that created the liquid drop would happen again. Perhaps it was an occurrence that only happened once. At night, he would go to confirm it himself.

If there were no problems with these two matters, then he truly needed to grasp the details and particulars of the drug-inducing ingredients in this manner. Then he would have complete control over this inconceivable method.

Han Li later pondered, arriving at the conclusion that if he were unable to resolve his few difficult problems that were earlier mentioned, this huge meat pie would only be a passing flower lost in a fog.

After everything was taken into account, Han Li began experimenting.

He first went to the large kitchen outside of the valley and asked the manager for another pair of grey haired rabbits. Han Li's actions made the kitchen manager both happy and somewhat puzzled. Why does this youngster keep on buying live rabbits? Could it be he wants to butcher them himself and practice his culinary skills?

Han Li didn't care about what others thought of him. He didn't keep the rabbits at the medicine fields like before; instead, he bound them to the gate of his room so that he could conveniently observe how they change at any time.

After that, he went to the medicine fields and carefully picked the matured medicinal herbs. He made quite a few rolls of bone and muscle enhancing medicines and mixed them into the rabbits' favorite foods. Everyday, he fed them three such meals to test whether these medicinal herbs were poisonous.

With this finished, Han Li anxiously waited for nightfall. He felt time pass very slowly. Later, the moment he had been expectantly waiting for had finally arrived

Just as the sky began to grow dark, Han Li ran out and took the small bottle from the back of his room and set it on the floor. He concentrated on the small bottle, anticipating its change.

As a quarter of an hour went by, the bottle showed no activity.

Then half an hour went by, but the bottle still didn't show any activity.

And three quarters of an hour……

As time elapsed, Han Li's heart had sunk more and more. He had stayed awake until daybreak. The bottle, however, was still no different from before.

He was completely dispirited. Could it be that this bottle was truly usable only once? Or did he not do something correctly?

Han Li strengthened his spirit and looked at his surroundings.

"There are no suspicious areas apart from the somewhat black sky." Han Li said to himself.

He suddenly stopped, at a loss for words. He lifted his head and gazed at the sky. The sky was black and cloudy; not a thing could be seen. "The sky is a bit dark…" At these words, Han Li suddenly understood

"Could it be that it's because the clouds are preventing any light from the moon or the stars from falling on the bottle?" Han Li recalled that the bottle's previous transformation occurred during a clear sky. There had been nothing in the sky sheltering the moons and the stars, but today, there was gloomy weather. The whole sky was covered with black clouds.

Han Li's hopes were raised but he saw the color of the sky turn a bit pale. He knew that a clear sky would not happen tonight. He put away the bottle and prepared to test it again once the sky was clear.

However, contrary to Han Li's expectations, the next half month had uninterrupted drizzling and persisted until now.

Han Li looked at the continuous waves of drizzle outside. His mind was gloomy, and he continued to grow more anxious as he waited for the weather to clear. It had continued to drizzle down constantly without end or even the slightest intention of stopping.

He turned around towards the interior of his room and looked at the two rabbits, which had escaped the rain. They had a healthy and lively appearance, making Han Li even more depressed. Ever since the rabbits ate their medicine-infused food, not only were there no problems, they were even more vigorous than before. In these past ten days, Han Li had carefully watched them everyday to confirm the rabbits had no symptoms of poisoning. Instead, because they ate the bone and muscle strengthening medicines, they became even more healthy.

Not only did this good result fail to make Han Li happy, it also made his mind somewhat worried about his losses and gains. He hadn't the slightest means to make himself calm. Whether or not the bottle could produce more green liquid had already become the key to all of his problems. In addition, the lingering, lousy weather made it so that he was unable to test his theory. How could this not make Han Li utterly depressed?

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Chapter 26: Medicinal Student

Just as Han Li became convinced that the rain would be endless, the sun finally rose into the sky and cleared away the clouds.

Han Li had already discovered the secret of the bottle half a month ago, and thus he was naturally impatient. On that clear night sky, Han Li saw once more the miracle from 4 years ago. Little by little, small orbs of light encircled the bottle before merging into one big sphere.

Upon seeing this miracle once more, Han Li raised his head excitedly. It seemed like the bottle was usable more than one just time. It could repeatedly regenerate the droplet of mysterious liquid as long as there was moonlight!

After another 7 days of waiting, the mysterious droplet of liquid finally formed. When Han Li saw the contents of the bottle, he was tremendously happy and excited. Now that he knew that he had a steady stream of precious herbs, he would no longer have to worry about insufficient resources.

It was important to know that the degree of how precious an ingredient was determined by its age. The older a medicinal herb was, the more precious it would be, and obviously, the medicinal effect would be much stronger. At the same time, an ingredient that was more precious would naturally be harder to find. Some ingredients could only be found in the depths of the forest or hanging from sheer cliffs. For those who didn't risk their lives, there was no way that they would be able to find precious ingredients.

Although there were several pharmacies that specialized in cultivating these rare herbs, these herbs were generally harvested so quickly in order to satisfy the large demand that they never got a chance to grow very large. For that reason, most weren't stupid enough to try and cultivate herbs for a long period of time and instead chose to harvest them as soon as possible.

Only the wealthy families could afford to grow and cultivate rare herbs for stockpiling in the case of a crisis. Since the herbs were not only rare strands but also planted for a long time, their effectiveness was many times greater than that of common herbs. There wasn't a need for a specialist to cultivate the plants either! Not only did these families pass on their money from generation to generation, the herbs they had spent so much time on would be passed down as well. As a result, time was not an issue for these families. For centuries, these herbs would be cultivated in this way. In the case of both money and rare herbs, common people had no access to such a stockpile.

Occasionally, rare ingredients would appear briefly on the market, only to be purchased by the richer families. This slowly increased the prices of herbs and ingredients to the point that some of the herbs had been labeled as priceless.

Han Li hadn't been too optimistic about Elder Mo's ability to procure the precious herbs needed for his cultivation. But now, there was no need for him to worry. With this mysterious bottle, he would be able to create many ingredients in a short amount of time.

With a strange feeling in his heart, Han Li had been experimenting with the mysterious droplet of liquid on herbal ingredients for the past 10 days.

One time, he diluted the green liquid and sprayed it on some herbs. The result after two days was that the plant effectively grew two years' worth. This was much better than the original product, and with this experiment, Han Li had learned an important rule.

On the next experiment, Han Li did not bother to dilute the jade green droplet, letting a drop of the green liquid fall onto a stalk of ginseng. On the second day, Han Li had unexpectedly saw that the ginseng became virtually indistinguishable from wild hundred year old ginseng. This experiment made Han Li happier than ever, not because he now owned a rare ingredient, but because he had confirmed the usage of the mysterious droplet of liquid.

Afterwards, Han Li decided to set aside some of the green liquid for experimentation, while the rest would be placed in other containers like porcelain, jade bottles and even silver bottles. However, he soon discovered that none of the bottles were able to contain the liquid for longer than a minute. After the liquid was taken out from the bottle, it needed to be used within a minute. Otherwise, it would slowly disappear without a trace. Even the diluted form of the liquid had the same result, albeit it could last for a longer amount of time. Even if other liquids were mixed together, they would disappear without a trace soon afterwards.

After many attempts, Han Li gave up on in storing the liquid in any other container. It appear that he wouldn't be able to stockpile this mysterious liquid. Not going to lose any sleep over it, Han Li proceeded on experimenting on the potency of the liquid on the herbal ingredients.

Han Li brought out the a bundle of Three Crow Grass and used the liquid on it. Almost immediately, it had turned into a hundred year old yellow colored Three Crow Grass. Just from a single drop of the liquid, its age would increase by a 100 years!

After seeing such an effect, Han Li made extensive use of the liquid for the next two months. Every time he was able to acquire more liquid within this bottle, he would drip it onto this strand of Three Crow Grass. It gradually turned from a yellow color to a yellowy black color. In the end, it turned jet black which was the result of it successfully aging to become a thousand year old Three Crow Grass.

After the success of this particular experiment, it would appear that with patience, the Three Crow Grass would be able to be constantly aged and thus improved. However, there wasn't much point to this. He was already satisfied to know that he was able to deliberately harness the liquid's effect. Besides, he didn't need such ancient ingredients; just about a hundred years old would be enough for him.

After this long series of experimentation, Han Li finally decided to take a break. It came to his attention that Elder Mo had been away from the mountain for quite a long time now.

Right now, Han Li was holding the thousand year old Three Crow Grass in his hand while he sat back on his bed with a lackadaisical expression.

His eyes were looking at the Three Crow Grass as if he was studying it. But in reality, if one were to look at the disorderly eyes of Han Li, they would know that he wasn't paying attention to the Three Crow Grass at all. Instead, he was staring off into the sky, thinking of everything else.

He no longer had the feeling of joy from when he first created this 1000-year old Three Crow Grass. Instead, he was now thinking about the dangers this little bottle could bring to him, and what precautions he should take.

Han Li had seen time and time again in the books of Elder Mo's library about people who suffered terrible fates as a result of acquiring a precious treasure. This bottle in his hand was definitely a precious treasure. If someone else were to discover the existence of this bottle, then he doubted that he would live to see the next day. For example, if a hall leader was to find out, then there was no way they would let this go. They would stop at nothing to seize the treasure and kill the owner, before letting anyone else find out.

"I cannot tell anyone of this bottle, and I must be careful of how I use it. The way how this bottle collected light is far too noticeable and could easily be discovered by anyone watching," Han Li thought to himself. He had to keep his mouth shut about this in order to ensure no one would be able to find out his secret.

"However, I am in a position where I need to use herbs to cultivate. If I don't use this bottle, it would be a terrible waste. I must find a way to get the best of both worlds." He thought about his cultivation needs for a moment with some sadness. It went without saying that his cultivation was the top priority. Even Doctor Mo was aware that Han Li had barely made any progress in the past few years.

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Chapter 27: Creating Legendary Elixirs

While Doctor Mo was away, Han Li knew that the bottle would temporarily be safe within God Hand Valley because he was the only one there. Normally, no outsider would rashly enter the valley. This guaranteed a small time period where it was unlikely for anything unexpected to occur.

Han Li had already estimated when Doctor Mo would return. If Doctor Mo could not find any good medicinal ingredients in the nearby regions, he would probably want to go look in more remote locations. It was very likely that he would have to go to one of the ancient forests deep in the mountains where men rarely ventured. Only in those kinds of desolate regions would there be any chances of obtaining a few rare medicinal ingredients. However, Doctor Mo would need at least a year in order to travel into the mountains, gather medicinal ingredients, and return to the valley.

Doctor Mo had already been absent for almost half a year. Han Li estimated that he had another six to seven months before Doctor Mo returned to the Seven Mysteries Sect. With the time he had left, Han Li would do his utmost to hasten the growth of as many useful medicinal herbs as possible. He knew that he could not blindly squander the green liquid, so he planned to acquire only the medicinal ingredients that he would use in a few precious formulas.

Han Li quickly proceeded to make the medicines that would augment his strength and help him break through bottlenecks. They were exactly the medicinal formulas that Doctor Mo had left the valley to concoct. However, Doctor Mo was forced to venture outside of the valley due to a lack of necessary medicinal ingredients. Any one of these ingredients would be virtually impossible for an ordinary household to obtain on the market because of their sheer rarity. The cultivators of Jiang Hu would even fight over these rare treasures with all their might.

(TL: Jiang Hu, martial world https/en./wiki/Wuxia#Jianghu)

With Doctor Mo's extremely brilliant medical expertise, he could concoct medicines that only he knew how to concoct, including never before seen formulas. Even so, although Doctor Mo knew the method of producing these medicines, he was unable to do anything if he lacked the ingredients. Doctor Mo could only sigh.

When Han Li had previously studied the art of healing under Doctor Mo's tutelage, he had been greatly interested in these rare recipes. Although he never previously expected that he would be able to concoct these precious elixirs, he remembered many of these recipes. Doctor Mo had met Han Li's enthusiasm to learn these formulas with an indifferent attitude. Whenever Han Li asked, Doctor Mo would teach Han Li with great detail; nothing was concealed from his disciple. Doctor Mo probably believed that his formulas and knowledge would be lost forever if he didn't pass them down.

Concocting these formulas had now become Han Li's pastime. He eagerly went to the fields every day to accelerate the growth of the medicinal herbs in accordance to the formulas' requirements. When doing so, he didn't dare to relax in the slightest since he knew that his time was limited. He had to hurry and finish mixing these medicines before Doctor Mo returned. Once the doctor arrived, Han Li would conceal and put the bottle away, no longer able to easily use the bottle once more.

Han Li did not have even the slightest degree of confidence that he would be able to use the small bottle in Doctor Mo's presence without revealing its power. He knew in his heart that Doctor Mo was an extremely shrewd and careful person. So Han Li did not intend to tell Doctor Mo about the bottle's secret.

Han Li thought the relation he had with Doctor Mo was quite peculiar. It was definitely not as simple as an ordinary master-disciple relationship.

Doctor Mo often looked at him with a peculiar look. This always made Han Li think that Doctor Mo was concealing a deadly secret from him. Especially in the past two years, Han Li felt that this feeling had grown even stronger. This made Doctor Mo and Han Li incapable of having the intimate relationship between a common master and disciple. If there were nothing to say, there would be silence.

Doctor Mo had actually treated him exceptionally well in his daily life, never physically or verbally abusing Han Li. In addition, Doctor Mo spared no pain or effort to help create the best conditions for Han Li to cultivate the chant. However, there seemed to be a barrier of separation that existed between the master and disciple, an awkward atmosphere that drifted between them.

Doctor Mo clearly realized that this gap existed. However, he did not feel the slightest need to remedy the mutual indifference between master and disciple, leaving it to be. The only time when he directly involved himself in Han Li's life was whenever he urged Han Li to increase the pace of Han Li's cultivation. Every time Doctor Mo visited Han Li, the grotesque aspect of his gaze gradually lessened, so much so that after a long period of time, it was no longer displayed.

However, Han Li's keen sixth sense faintly informed him that Doctor Mo hadn't truly abandoned his plans, but rather ingeniously concealed his intentions. Thus, Han Li's vigilance against Doctor Mo had deepened further. Under these circumstances, how could he possibly dare let Doctor Mo know of the bottle's secret?!

Han Li had learned an unshakable lesson from reading a large amount of history books: "refrain from hurting others but guard against those trying to hurt you."

Regardless of whether Doctor Mo truly wanted to harm him, strengthening Han Li's vigilance wouldn't be a bad decision, even if his feelings were mistaken. If Doctor Mo had truly intended to harm him, Han Li's strengthened vigilance could possibly prevent him from suffering a severe injury. If his sixth sense was mistaken, then a strengthened vigilance wouldn't harm him. Either way, Han Li wouldn't take the initiative to harm his master. Han Li was still Doctor Mo's apprentice and would do his utmost to be a filial apprentice.

Han Li wasn't too comfortable with his feelings regarding Doctor Mo. After all, this kind of strange master-disciple relationship was completely unheard of in the Seven Mysteries Sect. Thinking of this, Han Li could not help but sigh.

The mysterious green bottle absolutely couldn't used once Doctor Mo returned. However, Han Li knew that even if he managed to somehow hide it from Doctor Mo, another person from the Seven Mysteries Sect might uncover the secret by accident. His best choice was to hide the bottle away forever and act as if it had never existed.

Unwilling to forever separate himself from the bottle, Han Li made up his mind to use the bottle cautiously and secretly once Doctor Mo returned. Once he came upon this decision, Han Li relaxed his mind and fell asleep on his bed.

In the following months, Han Li secretly used the bottle's green liquid to accelerate the growth of large quantities of precious medicinal ingredients. He then used these medicinal ingredients in accordance to the formula, concocting many rare medicines. But in the process of concocting the elixirs, many failures had occurred. Each failure had left Han Li a lasting soreness since the ingredients used to make the medicines were rare and of the highest quality. Each failure represented a waste of an innumerable amount of silver. However, he could not be blamed. These were the first time he compounded these formulas, so failing several times was inevitable. Even if Doctor Mo had personally compounded these medicines, he would have made one or two mistakes. Only in this way could Han Li console himself.

" Yellow Dragon Pellet," "Pure Spirit Powder," "Gold Essence Pill," and "Vitality Raising Pellet." These rare medicines, rarely seen on the market, were placed in tens of small bottles. One by one, they were neatly arranged in front of Han Li. As Han Li looked at these small bottles, his face lit up with delight. With these miraculous medicines, he could reach the fifth and sixth layer with expending too much effort, not to mention the fourth layer.

Inside these medicines, "Yellow Dragon Pellet" and "Gold Essence Pill" would assist him in increasing his strength, thereby raising his power, and had the wonderful effect of rebuilding his body and bones. "Pure Spirit Powder" was a world-famous detoxifying panacea, capable of dissolving thousands of deadly poisons. Lastly, "Vitality Raising Pellet" was a legendary medicine that had a surprising effect on internal injuries. Regardless of how many grave internal and external injuries one suffered from, so long as the person eating the pill remained alive, any injury would be immediately healed, allowing one's life to be preserved.

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Chapter 28: Doctor Mo Returns

Originally, Han Li hadn't planned on concocting medicinal pills for other purposes than aiding him in his cultivation. But after thinking about it, he decided that, no matter what, he was still a martial artist! Who knew if one day he would be struck by a natural disaster or get embroiled in the rampage of one of the various martial factions in Jiang Hu and killed? It would be for the best to prepare some medicines for wounds and poisons in advance, because if he were to be injured or poisoned without having any medicine nearby, that would be too unfortunate.

With this mindset, Han Li had decided to make more of two types of medicines, Pure Spirit Powder and Vitality Raising Pellet, to prepare himself for any accidents. One person could only live one life after all, and Han Li didn't want to die an untimely death.

Because he was constantly making medicines, his cultivation with the chant had slowed down considerable. But this was unavoidable, since there were many things in the world to be perfected, and there would surely always be something that one had to give up on.

(TL: AKA cost-benefit analysis)

After refining medicinal pills for half the day, he began to consume them, starting with the "Yellow Dragon Pellet" and the "Gold Essence Pill." These two medicines each truly deserved to be considered the panacea of legends that could shock everyone with its power. After eating them, he had effortlessly broken through the bottleneck and reached the fourth layer of the chant.

Once he reached the fourth layer, Han Li had immediately felt the difference between his current and past self. His five senses had exploded into a whole new realm as everything had suddenly turned brighter and much more distinct. Previously, he wasn't able to make out minute features out in the distance, but now he was able to see them on an enlarged scale, clearer than ever. With his eyes, he could easily see the small insects that were crawling about the edges of his room. His sense of hearing had completely changed as well. Sounds he had never heard before could be heard to a noticeable degree, like the rustling sounds of an earthworm crawling through the ground or the buzzing sounds of an insect flying through the air. These sounds were so loud, it was almost as if they were taking place next to his ear. Everything could be heard so clearly, but aside from that, Han Li could even make out some new scents thanks to his improved sense of smell.

Han Li was overjoyed, because this was the very first time that his efforts in practicing this chant had actually paid off. This made him realise that the oracular chant he was condemning before was not totally useless; instead, it had a mysterious and unique aspect to it that could only be unlocked through cultivation.

Previously, even though his senses did indeed improve each time he had broken through to a new layer, none of those changes were as drastic as when he had reached the fourth layer. It was almost as if he had become a completely different person.

Aside from this, he also felt that his body movements were a lot quicker than before. Even his mind and vitality had grown stronger. Even if Han Li didn't sleep for 3 or 5 days, he still felt as wide awake as always.

With so many changes occurring, Han Li sat there and took note of each and every single change to his body. These changes opened a new world of sensation to him, and so he was reluctant to do anything other than relish in these feelings.

Only now did he realize that all of these changes had appeared only at the fourth layer of the chant. It could be considered that he was at the small-success stage of the oracular chant only after reaching the fourth layer.

He couldn't help but think that this fourth layer had brought about such an unforgettable sensation! If the fourth layer was like this, then surely breaking through to the fifth or even sixth layer would be even more magnificent!

Soon after Han Li finally broke through and understood the subtleties of this cultivation method, his master—Doctor Mo—had finally returned to the valley. However, he wasn't alone, as he had brought back a mysterious person.

The moment Doctor Mo returned to the valley, Han Li heard his all too familiar cough. He had been in his cultivation room striving to advance one more layers, but the moment he had heard Doctor Mo's voice, he left the room to head down to the valley and greet him. It had been a year since he had last met his master, so it was time to meet Doctor Mo once again.

The moment Han Li saw Doctor Mo, he was extremely shocked. Doctor Mo was still the same in figure, but there was an ashen complexion on his face with the smallest hint of anger. Although he had originally been yellow with illness, he had never looked so haggard in such an extreme manner as he did now.

But what surprised Han Li the most was the mysterious person behind Doctor Mo. The person was wrapped in a black mantle that completely covered every single part of the body so that not a single inch of skin could be seen. The figure was rather large and was taller than Han Li by at least two heads. Because of the mantle that covered the entirety of the person's body, Han Li wasn't able to determine the person's facial appearance. At the very least, he could tell that the person's expression was especially fierce and extremely ugly.

Han Li suppressed the questions on his mind as he hurriedly greeted Doctor Mo with a respectful tone and waited for Doctor Mo to say something back.

He knew that while the Doctor Mo did not care for such traditions, there was a need for the disciple expected to greet the master respectfully. This was something that could not be discarded as a useless tradition since it flattered the master, making the master more likely to treat the disciple well.

Han Li had also understood Doctor Mo's thoughts. Since Doctor Mo had always pushed him to practice the chants to cultivate and had not seen Han Li in a very long time, he would undoubtedly ask about how far he had gotten with the chant.

As expected, the moment Doctor Mo saw Han Li approach him, he stared blankly for a moment before coughing twice and speaking up.

"How far have you gotten with the chant? Have you made a breakthrough?" There was an anxious look of hope on his face.

Han Li long since expected that this question would come and had prepared an answer beforehand.

"I'm still the same, without experiencing any significant change." Han Li didn't want to tell the truth of his progress because there would be no way for him to explain his sudden massive increase in training speed. It would have been impossible for Han Li to break through from the third layer to the fourth layer with his own talent in such a short amount of time.

"Extend your arm." Doctor Mo's expression sank and his voice became stiff.

Han Li carefully paid attention to Doctor Mo's expression. His heart shook for a moment before becoming calm once more.

He wasn't afraid of having his pulse taken to measure the True Qi in his body. This was because, after reaching the fourth layer, Han Li had discovered that he could freely manipulate the inner workings of his body, such as the intensity of his True Qi. He could easily control his True Qi so that it would resemble that of the third layer. With this underhanded method, he had no fear of Doctor Mo's inspection.

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Chapter 29: Rising Conflict

Doctor Mo's face showed no emotion. His eyes were half open and half closed while his hand was wrapped firmly around Han Li's wrist.

His attention was completely concentrated on the True Qi within Han Li's body. He remained silent for quite some time.

After the time it takes to make a cup of tea, Doctor Mo let out a deep breath, as if he were releasing all the vexation from his mind, and opened his eyes. A vigorous brilliance shot from his cloudy eyes, rendering any man incapable of facing him.

His expression was somber. It was very obvious to Han Li that he was dissatisfied, but Doctor Mo did not release harsh words of criticism.

He swung his arms indifferently, showing Han Li that he was about to leave.

Han Li perceptively followed close behind him. Although he was very curious about the mysterious man at his side, Han Li knew it was not the time to inquire as he wished.

After he entered the room, Doctor Mo somewhat tiredly sat in the armchair and leaned back into it, half sitting, half reclining. The vigorous brilliance had already scattered, revealing his old sickly self.

The mysterious man had followed closely from the beginning. When Doctor Mo sat down, he stood behind Doctor Mo's chair, his back upright and motionless.

Han Li knew that Doctor Mo was currently dissatisfied, but he was unwilling to open his mouth and stir Doctor Mo's foul mood up. Mimicking the mysterious man, he walked to the middle of the room and lowered his head toward Doctor Mo, staying tactfully still. He waited for for Doctor Mo to start his questioning.

For a long time, nobody spoke. Han Li was somewhat baffled and lost his patience. He thought quietly about raising his head and stealing a glance at Doctor Mo.

"If you want to look, look. Why would you possibly want to be sneaky?" Just as he raised his head halfway up, Doctor Mo's cold, strict voice traveled over.

Han Li was startled for a second and then, he obediently raised his head. His gaze circled around Doctor Mo's face and immediately withdrew from it.

Han Li's face had an unusual expression. His heart sunk as if he were in a perilous situation, constantly rolling around in his chest.

How did Doctor Mo's face suddenly become so strange? On his gray, withered face, there was a faint layer of black Qi. It was as if the black Qi had life, extending an innumerable amount of tiny tentacles and scurrying threateningly across his face. This caused Han Li to be even more fearful. Doctor Mo had replaced his former, everyday rigid expression with an expression of fierce resolution. He was watching Han Li attentively with a truly malicious gaze. The corner of his mouth revealed a slight mocking sneer.

Han Li felt the situation wasn't favorable towards him. A somewhat restless mood spiralled in his mind while an ominous atmosphere began to spread freely in the room.

He cautiously and vigilantly decided to retreat half a step. He withdrew a cylinder from his sleeve, causing his stressed mental state to relax a bit. At this moment, he suddenly heard Doctor Mo's soft mockery.

"A petty trick? You even dare to take it out and show it off?"

Doctor Mo's body moved. He stood from his half reclined position with a strange momentum. "Hehe." With a smile, his body flickered towards Han Li's side as if he were a spectre before giving a cold laugh.

Han Li's expression greatly changed. He knew this turn of events was far from good and hastily lifted his arm. However, his entire body went numb and he was incapable of moving a single step.

It was only until this moment that he saw that Doctor Mo's finger leave the accupoint on his chest.

Doctor Mo was truly too fast. To Han Li's surprise, he couldn't even perceive in the slightest when Doctor Mo had taken action.

"Venerable Senior Mo, What are you going to do? Has this disciple done something wrong? Sir has always talked without hesitating. Is there any need to press this disciple's accupoint?" At this moment Han Li was no longer capable of keeping his calm. He said this to Doctor Mo with a forced smile.

Doctor Mo did not speak at all. He only hit his back a few times and lightly coughed. His appearance was much like a senile senior, too weak to resist the wind.

Han Li had just seen Doctor Mo assume a decisive and violent appearanc. How could Han Li possibly dare to regard him to be some common ill old man? Instead, Han Li attached Doctor Mo's artificial frailness with even more importance.

"Doctor Mo, what about your status? There is no need to lower yourself to this disciple's level. What disadvantage would you have from undoing this disciple's accupoint? This disciple will take responsibility and forget about this matter."

Han Li had continued to spout many pleasant, flattering lines.

However, Doctor Mo did not pay any attention to him and instead reached into Han Li's sleeve and removed the hidden cylinder. Then, he looked at Han Li with a gaze of mockery and contempt.

Seeing this situation, Han Li's heart suddenly sank to its greatest depths. He originally had the intention of using speech to arouse sympathy from Doctor Mo, but his plan had completely failed.

It appeared that Doctor Mo wouldn't give the slightest opportunity for Han Li to gain an advantage.

Han Li gradually grew quiet. His face became eerily calm, and he looked back at Doctor Mo with a gaze lacking even the slightest amount of emotion.

Suddenly, everything in the room had seemed to become entirely still. There was absolute silence, like the calm before a storm.

"Good! Good! Good!" Doctor Mo had suddenly let out three "Good"s.

"You are worthy of being a person that I, Mo Juren, have taken notice of. So you can hold a straight face even at this moment, calm in your hour of peril. It seems the advantage I gained by pressing your accupoint was not in vain." Doctor Mo suddenly praised Han Li.

"Just how do you plan on dealing with me?" Han Li didn't answer Doctor Mo's words and asked a question instead.

"Hehe! How will I deal with you?" Doctor Mo repeated Han Li's question, refusing to answer.

"How will I deal with you? It will depend on your own performance."

"What do you mean?" Han Li wrinkled his brow, vaguely guessing a few of Doctor Mo's intentions.

"I won't say. Use your intelligence. You should be able to somewhat understand, right?"

"I can only guess a bit, but I don't understand the exact specifics of your plan." Han Li did not deny it, stating it very bluntly.

"Very good, that is the correct way. You can ask me any questions, don't keep them to yourself." Doctor Mo face wore a sinister smile. The black Qi on his face thickened into many layers, causing his appearance to become even more malevolent.

"I know you have always been guarded against me and did not truly see me as your master. But regardless, it does not matter. I also do not truly see you as my disciple." Doctor Mo said this with a slight snort.

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Chapter 30: A Hero's Final Road

"How old do you think I am?" His cheek muscles throbbed visibly as he stiffly asked a strange question.

"Based on your appearance, you look to be older than sixty years old, but since you asked this question, your age must not match your appearance. You are either way older or way younger than you appear to be."

"Ze ze! For a brat from the countryside to become a sharp and intelligent person, you sure live up to the name of an "Eternal Spring Arts" cultivator!" Doctor Mo's mouth continued to praise Han Li, but he stared at his disciple with a feverish gleam.

"You guessed correctly. I am only 37 as of this year." A number that caused Han Li to feel disbelief came out from Doctor Mo's mouth

"That's impossible?" Han Li said in surprise, unable to maintain his composure.

"Impossible! It is indeed impossible! The people who see me, not even mentioning sixty, would tell others that I am an elder in my seventies. I'm afraid no one would would be able to guess my true age, " Doctor Mo said as his voice suddenly became high and sharp in pitch. To Han Li's ears, the ear-piercing sound caused extreme discomfort, as if it touched upon a sore spot within his heart.

"I, Mo Juren, used to be so famous in my early years that at one point in time, within the Lan Province of the State of Yue, I barehandedly established my own spot within the heavens, making an name for myself. Heihei! At that time, everybody heard of my prestigious name "Ghost Hand" within the Lan Province; whether they were good or bad, those who follow me lived while those who went against me died." Doctor Mo resumed his normal pitch and used a deep and slow tone to narrate his story. Following his own narration, his eyes took emitted a sharpness that was comparable to a blade's edge, as if he were back in the past when he was high spirited and in a position of power.

Listening to Doctor Mo's story, Han Li was secretly shocked. He never thought that his master would have had such a renowned name at one point in time.

"Regrettably, good things don't last forever. Right when I entered my thirties and was preparing to take a big step forward in spreading my name, I fell under the plot of a despicable character and was poisoned by my own trusted aid. Even by relying on my impressive medicinal knowledge I was only able to prevent the poison from flaring up but was unable to completely recover, causing my power to decrease dramatically. As a result, I was unable to maintain my position in the north. Fearing that my enemies' clans would take advantage of my weakness, I was forced to abandon my profession and family in order to disappear without a trace. I could only travel to other parts of the State of Yue to look for a cure to help me regain my previous skills." As he was narrating, Doctor Mo became lost within his own story and tightly clenched his two fists. His fingernails dug into his palm, causing flesh blood to flow, but he did not notice this. Only his face revealed any expression; his teeth gnashed together, giving him a savage appearance. Doctor Mo's vicious expression could cause anyone who witnessed it to tremble in cold sweat, showing that he still harbored a bone-deep hatred for the despicable figure who poisoned him.

Listening to the deep hatred within his words, Han Li could not help but feel goosebumps. A cold feeling began to rise within his heart.

"Heaven has eyes, and through some mysterious means, I came upon a strange book called "Scripture of Longevity." I spent tremendous amounts of energy trying to understand it, and from reading it, I found a shortcut to recover my former martial prowess. I followed the steps, and…" Doctor Mo suddenly stopped, but his face betrayed him by showing anger and remorse.

"As a result, you now look like a demon," said Han Li as he tried to help Doctor Mo complete his sentence.

"That's correct. I didn't think that by following the steps within the book, I would regain my former powers at the cost of an accelerated aging into a prematurely aged old man that resembles a mixture between a human and a corpse." Doctor Mo sadly dropped his head and was too dejected to express any anger at Han Li's satiric comment.

"By now, you should have found out the reason for your accelerated aging, right?"

"It was because my method was inappropriate, causing evil Qi to invade my body. For me, the energy consumed in a single day is equal to the energy needed to live ten days as a normal human. As a result, I am constantly overtaxing my lifespan. Thankfully, I have proficiently trained in a skill to take care of my body and have followed the instructions in the book to concoct a secret medicine which decreases the speed of my aging, allowing me to last all these years."

"How is the oracular chant that I cultivate relate to your problem?" Han Li asked bluntly concerning the core of the issue.

"Not long after I became the way I am now, I learned from the book of a method to solve this issue, and is the 'Eternal Spring Arts' which you are cultivating. I only need to have a cultivator of the fourth layer to use his Eternal Spring Arts Qi to help me massage and stimulate my hidden acupoints to regain my lost life force."

(TL: acupuncture points – acupoints )

"Why do you specifically need me? Can't you just find a random person to cultivate the chant?" Han Li muttered to himself for a moment, revealing a question that has been buried within himself for a long time.

"Do you think this Eternal Spring Arts Technique can be cultivated by just any random person? This chant not only requires a young man to cultivate from the an early age but also requires its cultivators to have body that contains 'Spiritual Roots.' Even though I don't know what 'Spiritual Roots' are, I have looked through countless hundreds of disciples before you, all of which were incapable of cultivating the Eternal Spring Arts Technique," said Doctor Mo with an annoyed face.

"It requires such conditions?" Han Li stared blankly; he never thought that training in this chant would require such strict conditions.

"In my last remaining months, I thought that I would never find someone who could cultivate the incantations, so I gave up and started to wander. I never thought that I would suddenly meet the Sect Leader of the Seven Mysteries Sect, who was also being plotted against. As a similar individual suffering from similar circumstances, I gave a hand and saved the Sect Leader's insignificant life. Immediately, the Sect Leader invited me to the Seven Mysteries Sect, where I became a valued member. I had planned on living the remainder of my life on the mountain, hidden in seclusion. Heihei*! But all of a sudden, a miracle happened! Originally, I was worried that my medicinal skills would not be passed on, so I invited the two of you into the valley to accept you two as my disciples. As luck would have it, on a whim, I let you two try to cultivate the Eternal Spring Arts Incantation. Maybe it was because I was still holding onto a small bit of hope. But there seemed to be demons and gods at work* since I suddenly let you two try out the Eternal Spring Arts incantation. In reality, even if you two had been unable to cultivate the incantation, I would have still accepted you guys as my disciples and bestowed upon you all of my medicinal knowledge, but I never would have thought that you would have a reaction to the incantation. Haha! It seems Heaven never halts one's path to cultivation!"

(TL: *Heihei= small chuckle

*demons and gods at work (idiom)= when an event is only explainable by the supernatural)

Doctor Mo revealed all this in one breath, causing his face to look red from the lack of air. He appeared very pleased with his stroke of good fortune.

"I have not yet cultivated up to the fourth layer of the Eternal Spring Arts Technique, so why did you stop me at this moment to discuss this matter with me?" Han Li finally asked the question he was most concerned about.

"You only have yourself to blame for this! I spent so much blood and energy on you, yet you still can not satisfy my demands, always playing tricks on me. You are only lacking this one last step, yet you choose to continue on slowly, unwilling to advance to the next layer. Originally, I was planning to wait another two years, but when I went down the mountains this time, I was recognized by a member of an enemy clan. Through an intense battle, even though I won and had killed my enemy, I consumed large amounts of energy, which greatly shortened my lifespan. Even if I were to use all of my abilities, I would only be able to prolong my life for another year. How can I possibly wait any longer?" Doctor Mo's originally proud expression vanished without a trace, replaced by a savage expression as he roared out at Han Li.

After Han Li finished listening, his expression remained the same. He didn't reveal even a trace of being stirred.

However, his heart was like a raging sea, which was completely different from his confident and unwavering appearance.

Even though he knew from the beginning that Doctor Mo had been placing an unsettling importance on Han Li's cultivation, he never thought that there would such an intense story behind this. Doctor Mo's identity and experience far surpassed the scope of his imagination.

(TL: Title Explanation. As you know grand "heroes" in wuxia and xianxia aren't always kind and benevolent. They are often vicious, ruthless and merciless, and are 'heroic' from their grand feats and strength. The actual title is defined as a formidable character which I found to best translated as "Hero".)

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Chapter 31: Insect Corpse Pill

Han Li felt numbed as fear, regret, and helplessness filled his heart. Despite trying to delay the inevitable, he was still unable to figure out how to extricate himself from this predicament, and as a result, he grew panicked.

He was, after all, still very young unable to win against Doctor Mo's vast years of experience in Jiang Hu. Doctor Mo could most likely counter any cunning and ruthless method that Han Li came up with. Feeling as exposed as a paper tiger, Han Li started sweating profusely.

Doctor Mo took note of the myriad expressions that flashed past Han Li's face and was immensely satisfied with the pressure he caused. From his experiences, only when one was unsettled and confused would it be easier to extract the truth.

"You really think that I was delaying my cultivation on purpose?" Han Li was surprised that Doctor Mo came to this conclusion.

"Obviously. It's already been two years and yet you weren't able to reach the fourth layer? You really think I can't read what you're thinking? In the past, you only spent 3 years reaching the first three layers so even if the fourth layer was difficult to cultivate without the aid of spiritual herbs, it would impossible for you to have no progress in your cultivation," Doctor Mo explained as his eyebrows arched up, emitting a killing intent. It was as if all the dissatisfaction that he ever felt was bubbling out to the surface today.

"Seems like no matter how I try to explain, Doctor Mo will never believe me." Han Li smiled bitterly. Never would he have thought that because trying to hide the progress of his cultivation would lead him into a deeper hole filled with Doctor Mo's endless suspicion. He really kicked the stone on which he had placed himself.

(TL: "kicking the stone on which he had placed himself" = digging your own grave)

"Enough! I have no wish to listen to any more of your bullsh*t. I shall give you one more year. Do you think you will be able to reach the fourth layer by then?" Doctor Mo coldly laughed as he stare icily at Han Li, waiting for his answer with a serious expression on his face.

Han Li's mind was very clear. He knew his answer would not only affect Doctor Mo's life but also his own survival.

"I should be very clear that there is no way I will be able to say no. Come, unlock my acupoints." Han Li relaxed as he accepted the inevitable.

After Doctor Mo heard his words, his face recovered slightly as praise reflected in his eyes. However, he did not unlock Han Li's acupoint immediately. Instead, he took out a exquisitely carved seal boxed from within his robes.

"I can't be assured by your words alone. What would happen if you say one thing but do another; if you refuse to put invest any effort in your cultivation, there would not be any difference from now. Because my own life is at stake, I have to add another layer of insurance," stated Doctor Mo in an icy tone.

Before opening Han Li's acupoints, Doctor Mo had to take extra measures to ensure his success. He cautiously unsealed the box, removed a white pill and placed the pill in the center before unsealing Han Li's acupoint. Before Han Li could move, Doctor Mo already placed the white pill in front of him.

"You are an intelligent person. There is no need for me to waste time talking too much, you should know what to do." Doctor Mo looked at him, harboring malicious intents in his heart.

Han Li moved his numbed limbs about, and without saying anything, he took the white pill out from the box. In front of Doctor Mo, Han Li immediately placed the white pill inside his mouth and swallowed it, unwilling to show any signs of weaknesses.

Clap clap! " Excellent! He who suits his action to the times are great men indeed. As long as you help me return back to normal, I will reward you greatly. There is already a rift between us, so it is impossible for me to accept you as my disciple and pass onto you other techniques, but still, granting you a life of wealth is still possible for me." Doctor Mo clapped his hands as he sincerely promised Han Li his reward.

"Now, you should be able to tell me the effect of the pill i just consumed in case I accidentally overstep the restrictions and lose my life," Han Li expressionlessly asked Doctor Mo.

"Keke, the name of this pill is the Insect Corpse Pill It's concocted from pure herbal components but in addition, the recipe requires different poisonous worm eggs. After being consuming, it will incubate inside your body for a year. You can rest assured, though. In this one year, I can guarantee that it will not affect you. After one year, once you consume the antidote, the pill will melt away, leaving no traces behind. However, if you do not consume the antidote after a year, the worm will hatch within your body and consume your innards for nourishment, eating you from inside out and leaving you in so much pain that you would rather die than suffer the agony. The pain will last for a total of three days and nights, and you will slowly die an agonizing death." Doctor Mo slowly explained the effects of the pill as he silently warned Han Li.

After Han Li heard the effects of the pill he just consumed, shudders involuntarily spread throughout his body as his expression changed for the worst. Anger inflamed his heart, but before he could do or say anything, Doctor Mo unleashed his trump card.

"Oh right, I heard that your family is living pretty well thanks to you. Do they have enough silvers to spend? If not, just let me know. Since you'll be doing me a great favor, I will specially take care of your family members for you." Doctor Mo smiled as he patted Han Li's shoulder.

Han Li froze as his face turned green. Doctor Mo's words made it impossible for his spirit to be calm and still.

Using the last vestige of his determination, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to keep silent. He was worried that he would say something to Doctor Mo that he might regret. Han Li understood that there was no way Doctor Mo would not use his family against him.

"Don't worry, Doctor Mo. I promise to reach the fourth layer within a year." Without a choice, Han Li bit his lips as he assured Doctor Mo.

Under Doctor Mo's threats, Han Li could only submit. He was still unable to sever the last trace of humanity in his heart and disregard the lives and death of his parents.

Now, the weaknesses of Han Li was grasped by Doctor Mo, and even if he wished to die, he would still have to seek the approval of Doctor Mo. Han Li knew that he had been thoroughly defeated this time.

After Doctor Mo heard Han Li's words, he released a sigh of relief. His nervousness was not less than Han Li's, but Doctor Mo's face was akin to a stone mask as he had managed to keep his emotions under tight control.

"This Eternal Spring Arts in indeed extraordinary. This young brat is still so young but is already difficult to handle." Doctor Mo did not know whether he felt envy or jealousy in his heart.

Actually, the effects of the Eternal Spring Arts varied for those who cultivate it. As for Han Li, he had already been quite intelligent since he was young, so after cultivating the Eternal Spring Arts, his wisdom grew beyond his peers.

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Chapter 32: Heroic Spirit

Han Li turned his body as he prepared to leave. When he reached the entrance, he asked a final question.

"Ever since he arrived, the brother standing behind Doctor Mo has not said a single word. Where did he come from?"

After hearing Han Li's question, Doctor Mo deigned not to answer and only replied with a cunning laugh.

"You are so intelligent, why don't you take a guess? I'm sure you will be able to find out."

Han Li shook his head and proceeded to leave Doctor Mo's residence. It was unknown whether he was just unwilling to make a guess or unable to get the correct answer.

After he stepped out of the door, Han Li's expression turned heavy and downcast.

"In this conflict between Doctor Mo and I, I was as helpless as a baby chick, completely under his control. I was really too naive, thinking that my small amount of cleverness would be able to outfox him. In the end, the Five Poisons Water that I concocted was unable to display its full might and was wasted. When I return, I must seriously think about how to best increase my strength."

Thinking of this, he turned to the direction of his residence and began walking in large strides. He appeared to be extremely unwilling to be controlled by Doctor Mo.

Back at Doctor Mo's residence, Doctor Mo stared dumbstruck at the floor. There was a bowl-sized hole cut out on the wood panels. Just now, due to his carelessness, he almost died to the poison that had corroded the floor. Because the poison was so potent, Doctor Mo could not help but curse in anger:

"That son of a turtle, when did he learn to concoct such a deadly poison! I have never taught him before. It seems like I have underestimated him; he can be extremely cruel and merciless, even to an extent that he can turn his back on old associates."

(TL: "son of a turtle" or "turtle egg" is a Chinese pun for "bastard")

Han Li did not know that he had caused such a great shock to Doctor Mo. After returning to his room, he slumped his head on his bed as sleep overtook him. The battle of strength and wits had exhausted him, and thus, he needed rest to recover.

After a long period of time, Han Li slowly roused himself from his sleep as he sat up and looked to the skies. Dawn was already approaching. It seemed as if he had slept much longer than he expected.

The Han Li who had awakened did not get off from his bed immediately. Sitting on his bed and resting his chin on both of his hands, he started analyzing ways to escape from Doctor Mo's control.

Obviously, he was safe for this one year period. Because Doctor Mo needed to protect his own life, he would certainly not make any moves against him within this period of time. But after the year passed, it would be hard to guarantee anything.

Han Li did not worry about the "problem" of Eternal Spring Arts. He had already broken through to the fourth layer a few days ago. He was not worried because he was extremely confident that he could even reach the 5th level after a year.

The "problem" of the Insect Corpse Pill was easily settled as well. When the time came, Han Li would just need to stop suppressing his true abilities and simply wrestle the cure away from Doctor Mo.

All of a sudden, Han Li thought of something. He pulled out the medicinal bottle and took from it a droplet of jade green medicinal pill before consuming it. After a while, the effect of the medicine took place as he silently observed himself inwardly.

"Ke! Doctor Mo did really tell the truth about the Insect Corpse Pill. The Pure Spirit Powder, which was a panacea for most of the world's poisons, was unable to have any effect when consumed to combat the effects of the Insect Corpse Pill. It seems like I must really wait for a year before I can obtain the antidote." Han Li murmured.

He got down from his bed and paced around his room, trying to think of other alternatives to his problems.

Han Li did not completely believe the words that Doctor Mo had told him earlier. Despite of this, he had no choice but to comply to Doctor Mo's demands because he held Han Li's weakness in his palm.

Han Li was unsure if Doctor Mo's promise was real. If it was real, it was simple as merely following Doctor Mo's instructions–—Han Li would be assured and would have no need to come up with any preparations. But if Doctor Mo was lying to him, Han Li knew that he would probably suffer a fate worse than death a year from now if he did not prepare any countermeasures.

Han Li repeatedly analysed all of the possible ways to attack his problem and felt that there weren't any good solutions.

Now both Han Li and Doctor Mo could be considered on the same straits. Han Li was afraid that Doctor Mo would harm him after he accomplished his objective. On the other hand, Doctor Mo was worried that Han Li might not practice his cultivation assiduously and that the delay would cost him his life.

Initially, Han Li had some methods that he could use to threaten Doctor Mo, but who would have expected that Doctor Mo would grasp his weaknesses so quickly and use his family as insurance?

"Could it be that I don't even have the slightest control over my own life?" Han Li helplessly sighed.

"No, there is no way that I would allow this to happen. Leaving my destiny in the hands another would undoubtedly be the most foolish decision I have ever made."

Despite saying so, even after contemplating for a long period of time, Han Li was still unable to think of any good solution. Eventually, he decided on a solution that wasn't exactly a solution.

He decided to increase his strength in every aspect. Even if Doctor Mo wanted his life one year from now, Han Li would still have some insurance against Doctor Mo.

This was truly a stupid idea. He could only passively defend and could not actively attack. But currently, he could not think of any other way besides increasing his own strength!

After making his decision, Han Li decided to go out for a walk. He opened his door and walked outside his residence, stretching his body while yawning.

"My destiny lies in my own hands! I will never let others control my fate!"

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