Han Li knew nothing of the Qin family’s affairs, but that did nothing to dampen his elation! He paced excitedly around the room, fiddling incessantly with the Ascension Token in his hand. The more he looked at it, the more pleasing it became to his eye.
After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Han Li finally calmed down. Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he began to consider his future plans and the feasibility of going to Yellow Maple Valley to seek apprenticeship.
After a night of tossing and turning, unable to sleep, the Tai Nan Small Gathering finally came to an end. Starting from the morning of the second day, many cultivators began to leave the valley one after another, reducing the valley’s population by nearly half in an instant.
By the afternoon, several elderly senior experts appeared in the square. After offering some words of encouragement and praise, they declared the official conclusion of the Tai Nan Gathering. The Green-Face True Man was among them.
Immediately, the remaining cultivators drifted away, some in groups of three or five, others alone like solitary geese. At this moment, Taoist Qingwen and a few others approached Han Li and once again invited him to travel together.
Han Li remained silent for a moment before shaking his head and declining Qingwen’s invitation. This greatly displeased Wu Jiu Zhi and the Mo brothers, and even Taoist Qingwen’s expression darkened somewhat.
“Since Brother Han is unwilling to travel with us, I won’t force the matter. Take care on your journey, brother!” Qingwen finally said with a sigh, his tone tinged with regret.
Then, he patted Han Li on the shoulder and left the valley with the others.
Unbeknownst to Han Li, the moment Taoist Qingwen patted his shoulder, he scattered some colorless, odorless powder from his sleeve onto Han Li’s clothes. The affected area showed no unusual signs.
As Wu Jiu Zhi and the others were about to exit the valley through the thick mist, Taoist Qingwen, who had somehow fallen to the rear, took advantage of the others’ inattention. A ferocious expression flashed across his face as he suddenly flicked his sleeve, sending a streak of fire slanting into a nearby bush before disappearing. His face then returned to normal, as righteous and composed as ever, as if nothing had happened.
Han Li was unaware of Taoist Qingwen’s actions, but out of habitual caution, he did not leave Tai Nan Valley immediately. Instead, he stayed another night and slipped out of the valley unnoticed at the break of dawn.
Once out of Tai Nan Valley, Han Li determined his direction, cast the Wind Riding Technique on himself, and lightly pushed off with his toes, floating several yards away. Thus, with his clothes fluttering, he gradually disappeared into the distance.
Shortly after Han Li left, two people hurried to the spot. A thumb-sized green light orb led the way, circling where Han Li had just been before flying off in the direction he had taken, with the two closely following the green light.
Han Li traveled without stopping, covering over a hundred miles without rest until he reached a small hill. There, he finally paused to eat something and recover his strength and spiritual power.
Unknowingly, his series of unconventional actions had the duo chasing him cursing vehemently!
No wonder—who started traveling before dawn? If they hadn’t previously tampered with Han Li, they might have lost him. Even so, their original plan to set a trap ahead and ambush Han Li was ruined!
To their further fury, Han Li’s nonstop journey of over a hundred miles left them eating dust and nearly exhausted. As long-time cultivators accustomed to comfort, they hadn’t experienced such arduous long-distance travel on foot in ages.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Han Li sat cross-legged in a depression at the foot of the hill, eyes closed and motionless, as if entering a selfless state. The surroundings were silent except for the intermittent chirping of mountain insects.
Suddenly, over a dozen white lights burst from the soil nearby, shooting straight toward Han Li.
In that instant, Han Li’s eyes snapped open, gleaming coldly. His body abruptly levitated and landed lightly on an empty patch to the side.
The white lights naturally missed their target, thudding into the soil where Han Li had been meditating. They revealed themselves as over a dozen sharp, translucent ice spikes!
Han Li’s expression darkened.
He extended his right hand, fingers splayed, and with a crackling sound, a small fireball appeared at each fingertip—each only half the size of a typical fireball from the Fireball Technique.
“Try my five-fireball volley!” Han Li said coldly, staring at the spot where the ice spikes had emerged. He slightly bent his fingers and then flicked them abruptly, sending the five fireballs shooting out in a straight line.
Just as the fireballs were about to hit the ground, a yellow figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere, flashing to another location and narrowly avoiding the attack.
With a “boom,” the area was blasted into a large crater by Han Li’s fireballs. The pit radiated intense heat, with some spots showing signs of melting from the high temperature, causing the narrowly escaped individual to break into a cold sweat.
Ignoring the crater, Han Li fixed his gaze on the yellow-clad man who had leaped out—a lean, cunning-looking man in his thirties.
“Why ambush me?” Han Li asked coldly.
The yellow-clad man’s eyes shifted craftily before he sneered, “Find out in your next life!”
Then, he suddenly shouted sharply, “Now!”
Startled, Han Li tried to move but heard two faint sounds of earth breaking beneath his feet. Two large hands glowing with yellow light shot out, gripping his ankles like steel clamps, rendering him immobile.
“You’re dead, kid! With your feet stuck, let’s see you dodge my ice spikes!” the yellow-clad man gloated with a smug laugh. He raised his hands toward Han Li and began chanting.
As a result, chilling cold emanated from his hands, gradually forming white crystals that sharpened into icy spikes.
Han Li’s expression changed drastically. He pressed his hand against his waist, and with a “clang,” a gleaming long sword appeared. Without hesitation, he swung it down.
“Clang!” The sword struck as if hitting solid rock, sparks flying, but the yellow hand remained unscathed.
Shocked and furious, Han Li was contemplating another move when the yellow-clad man’s wild laughter rang out.
“Haha! Die, kid!”
Han Li’s heart sank, and he quickly looked up.
About twenty sharp ice spikes shot toward him from the yellow-clad man’s direction, covering his entire body and leaving no room to dodge.
Han Li’s expression turned grave. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and, without moving his feet, began twisting his body in an eerie manner. Surprisingly, most of the ice spikes missed him, but one pierced through his right shoulder and another through his left leg. Blood instantly soaked through his clothes.
With a “smack,” Han Li threw down his sword. His fingers danced swiftly, sealing the blood vessels near the wounds and stopping the bleeding abruptly. The previously smug yellow-clad man stared in disbelief at what had just transpired.
Han Li’s expression turned sinister. He exerted force in his calves, twisting them as if boneless. With a series of cracking sounds, his feet suddenly shrank by more than a full circle. Then, he leaped upward violently, wrenching his feet out of the giant hands like slippery fish. He flipped backward in midair, landing over ten yards away before coldly glaring at the enormous hands.
“Impossible! How could he pull his feet out under the effect of the Great Strength Technique?” a shocked and angry voice buzzed from beneath the soil where the giant hands emerged.
Then, the two giant hands parted, and a burly figure glowing with yellow light forced its way out of the earth.
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