Chapter 15: Four Years Later

Doctor Mo was very satisfied that Han Li devoted all his time to cultivation, but he still found Han Li’s progress in the nameless technique too slow.

In recent years, Doctor Mo’s condition had worsened. His coughing fits became more frequent and lasted longer.

As his health deteriorated, Doctor Mo seemed to grow increasingly concerned about Han Li’s cultivation progress. His repeated urgings carried a palpable sense of anxiety.

Doctor Mo clearly valued Han Li highly. Not only did he provide him with far more silver than other disciples, as promised, but he also looked at Han Li with a peculiar gaze, as if beholding a rare treasure, filled with care and affection.

However, with his senses sharpened by reaching the third layer of the technique, Han Li occasionally noticed, behind those warm and caring looks, fleeting glimpses of greed and longing that unsettled him.

These expressions sent a chill down Han Li’s spine. They made him feel that Doctor Mo wasn’t looking at a living person but at an object.

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

Nothing, he concluded with certainty.

Sometimes, Han Li even wondered if his intense training had made him overly sensitive, and he felt a bit guilty for secretly suspecting Doctor Mo, thinking it somewhat ungrateful.

Yet, deep in his heart, in its most hidden recesses, Han Li retained a trace of wariness toward Doctor Mo. As time passed, this wariness only grew stronger.

Now, a major problem confronted Han Li: he had hit a bottleneck in his cultivation. Worse still, after years of consuming large quantities of precious medicines for training, Doctor Mo’s stock of valuable herbs had been completely depleted.

It was clear that Han Li wasn’t some heaven-gifted prodigy. Without the aid of medicines, his cultivation progress had come to a complete halt.

This made Han Li feel deeply ashamed when facing Doctor Mo. His master had poured nearly all his efforts and resources into creating the best conditions for Han Li’s training, yet Han Li couldn’t meet his expectations.

This made it hard for Han Li to face Doctor Mo and his constant, eager inquiries.

Strangely, despite Doctor Mo’s high martial prowess, he couldn’t discern the specifics of Han Li’s cultivation and could only gauge his progress through pulse readings. As a result, he remained unaware of Han Li’s predicament for some time.

Recently, driven by his unease, Han Li finally confessed his cultivation struggles to Doctor Mo.

Upon learning that Han Li hadn’t advanced in the technique for a year, Doctor Mo’s sallow face grew even paler, and his usually expressionless face became even grimmer.

Doctor Mo didn’t scold him. He simply told Han Li he would leave the mountain for a while to gather herbs and urged him to train diligently and not slack off.

Two days later, Doctor Mo left the Seven Mysteries Sect alone, carrying luggage and herb-gathering tools. With his departure, Han Li was left as the sole occupant of the God Hand Valley.

His fellow disciple and friend, Zhang Tie, had suddenly disappeared two years ago after reaching the third layer of the “Elephant Armor Technique.” He left only a farewell letter stating his intent to venture into the martial world, causing a stir in the Seven Mysteries Sect. It was said that Doctor Mo intervened to spare Zhang Tie’s recommender and family from repercussions. Han Li found the event too abrupt and felt saddened for days. Later, he vaguely suspected something was off, but as a young, insignificant disciple, no one sought his opinion, and the matter was dropped. Han Li speculated that Zhang Tie might have fled to avoid practicing the fourth layer of the “Elephant Armor Technique.”

After a few days of fruitless training in the valley, Han Li’s youthful nature took over. He left the God Hand Valley and began wandering the Rainbow Glow Mountain. Walking along these familiar yet slightly foreign mountain paths, Han Li felt a touch of nostalgia.

For years, he had been confined to the valley like a prisoner, never stepping outside to train. Most likely, his fellow disciples had long forgotten about him.

On the way, he encountered some patrolling disciples who, seeing his unfamiliar face despite his inner disciple attire, warily questioned him. It took considerable explanation to clear things up.

To avoid further trouble, Han Li stuck to narrow, secluded paths, steering clear of crowded areas.

As expected, he faced no more bothersome interrogations, allowing him to wander freely and farther.

Gazing at the scenery so different from the valley and listening to the chirping of various birds, Han Li cast aside all his worries.

Suddenly, the sound of clashing weapons, along with shouts, curses, and cheers, faintly reached him from a hidden spot beneath a cliff.

So many people gathered in such a remote place, with such intense commotion!

Han Li’s curiosity was piqued. No longer worried about being questioned, he followed the sounds of fighting to the cliff’s vicinity.

What a scene! Han Li was slightly stunned, taken aback.

Beneath the cliff, completely concealed by trees, over a hundred people were gathered, crowding the small area. Even a few larger nearby trees had people perched on their branches, watching from above.

In the center of the crowd, two groups faced each other with open hostility.

The left group was larger, with eleven or twelve people, while the right had six or seven.

Han Li noticed that everyone, whether spectators or participants, was around his age—just teenagers.

A faint smile crept onto Han Li’s face. What a coincidence!

Among the crowd, he easily recognized several familiar faces.

“Wan Jinbao, Zhang Dalu, Ma Yun, Sun Lisong… Huh! Wang Da Pang is even fatter than before—truly living up to his family’s chef background, well-fed and well-raised! And who’s this? Liu Tietou! Tsk, tsk! That pitch-black charcoal head has turned into a fair-faced pretty boy!” Han Li climbed onto a tree, mentally naming the familiar faces below.