When he heard that Phoebe's master was here, Han Shuo was even more shocked. Phoebe had already reached the realm of a swordmaster at such a young age. What's more, when Aubrey thought that he had captured Phoebe at the Boozt Merchant Guild, he had still said that he had to treat Phoebe well so that her master would not get angry.
As Duke Ashbern's subordinate, what Aubrey did represented Duke Ashbern. It wasn't hard to figure out that Phoebe's master was no ordinary person, since even Duke Ashbern, who held tremendous power in his hands, was so wary of him.
As Han Shuo walked beside Lawrence, he had sent his three Yin Demons through the path in front of them, hoping to get a picture of the place below.
However, as the Yin Demons wandered around, Han Shuo noticed that there were numerous boundaries everywhere. Some of the invisible boundaries even stopped the Yin Demons' surveillance; it seemed like the defences of the place underneath the path were extraordinarily tight.
"Hehe, the area under the Rose Garden is more than twice as large as it appears on the surface. I'll give you a detailed tour later, we'll meet my master first!" Lawrence looked at Han Shuo proudly as he revealed his skills bit by bit, as if he wanted to show Han Shuo that cooperating with him was the right decision.
Han Shuo felt that they were already about ten metres underground after traversing a narrow path. The dim area suddenly lit up, revealing four intersecting paths that came together where Han Shuo and Lawrence stood. There were also bright lights placed on the side, illuminating the four paths as clear as day.
"Follow me!" Lawrence walked to the left, leading the way for Han Shuo. When they arrived at a white jade door, Lawrence used the scroll again to open the boundary that sealed the door. The door opened automatically after a flash of white light and Lawrence led Han Shuo inside.
"Young Master Lawrence," An extremely ugly old man with a face full of scars suddenly appeared and bowed to Lawrence.
The old man was covered in a bloody aura. No one knew how many people he had killed, but he could sense Han Shuo and Lawrence the moment they appeared. Furthermore, the closer they got to the old man, the thicker the sickening stench emanating from him.
Lawrence was clearly uncomfortable as the smile disappeared from his face. He said dryly, "Grandpa Bollands, is my master inside?"
The strange old man called Bollands stood up straight with a hunched back, then raised his head to look at Lawrence with his grey eyes and said distantly, "He's inside, but Master is cultivating."
"Then I'll wait outside for a while!" Lawrence had already pushed past Bollands with his answer, and he walked quickly forward, as if he did not want to be too close to the old man.
The stone room in front of them was the size of a basketball court, with many indentations where many of the necessities of life were placed. However, the majority of them contained numerous fine alcohols, as if the room was a storage room for exquisite wine.
Upon entering the room, Han Shuo first surveyed his surroundings before turning his attention to Old Man Bollands. The old man's face was covered in scars, as if each one had been scratched by something sharp. He looked as terrifying as a ghost from hell. Combined with the thick, bloody aura that surrounded him, it was enough to give people an extremely strong shock just by standing there.
Not only was there blood on this person's hands, his strength was of the highest order. He was probably an expert who was one level stronger than Phoebe, otherwise his aura wouldn't have been so powerful. A person who was in the great swordmasters' realm would not be a nobody no matter what country he lived in. The fact that he stayed in this secret room that didn't see daylight to serve Lawrence's master really surprised Han Shuo a bit.
"Bryan, let's wait here for a while!" Lawrence had already scooted far away from Bollands and called to Han Shuo as he sat on a stone chair.
"You're not afraid of me?" Just as Han Shuo was about to leave, the old man named Bollands suddenly looked at Han Shuo and asked.
Han Shuo nodded and replied with a smile, "Of course, what is there to be afraid of?"
"An interesting boy," Bollands smiled as he examined Han Shuo carefully. Then he frowned as if he sensed something, causing him to nod, "No wonder, you have a malevolent aura about you that can only be felt by those who feel for it carefully. From the looks of it, you shouldn't even be twenty-five, yet your hands are thick with blood at such a young age. You really are a character!"
Even before Han Shuo had entered the Bloodlust Realm, the murderous aura had always accompanied him. He hadn't killed many people before, it was just that his body had absorbed a lot of Specters in the forbidden land, so they continued to surround Han Shuo, making it seem as if his hands were dyed with blood as well.
Han Shuo smiled but didn't say much. He just nodded at Bollands and walked past him, heading towards Lawrence.
"Young man, did you know that after killing many people, the Killing Aura can be used to increase your strength?" Bollands was silent for a short moment after Han Shuo left, then he suddenly shot a strange look at Han Shuo.
As he spoke, an intense wave of killing aura exploded out like a river that had just been left unchecked. Suddenly, the stomach-churning stench of blood spread out and approached Han Shuo with cold intent, as if it were something physical.
"Oh God!" Lawrence wailed, then backed away in terror until his back was against the wall. Even then his forehead was still covered in cold sweat as he looked at Bollands with a pale expression.
However, Han Shuo, who was closer to Bollands, was not afraid. He nonchalantly circulated the magical yuan in his body quickly, causing the evil aura hidden in his body to rush out furiously and collide with Bollands' physical killing aura. As the auras collided, sounds of collision could actually be heard in the air.
Even some of the tables and chairs in the room shook continuously. What was even more terrifying was that after the evil aura rushed out of Han Shuo's body, it formed into spirals that were difficult to see with the eye, and actually began to consume Bollands' killing aura.
"When you said using killing aura, does it mean like this?" Han Shuo had a smile on his face as he said this outright. As he spoke, he also stopped his magical yuan and the room returned to normal.
At this moment, Han Shuo had already spent three months cultivating behind closed doors in the cemetery of death. Add to that the fact that he had absorbed the Specters from the forbidden land , and he had a much deeper understanding of the demonic arts than what Chu Cang lan had left behind. His manipulation of the evil aura in the Bloodlust Realm had also reached a level where he could do whatever he wanted. If Han Shuo wanted, he could absorb the killing aura in Bollands' body just like he had absorbed the Specters from the forbidden land .
Bollands had an indifferent expression on his face until then, but he looked at Han Shuo with a piercing gaze, then said with a trembling voice, "How is that possible? How could you use it more familiarly than me? Do you also know how to use this kind of power?"
Han Shuo only understood the moment Bollands spoke. All swordsmen and knights cultivated combat aura, but none of them could use evil aura and killing aura. However, Han Shuo, who cultivated the demonic arts, was very well versed in the use of this kind of strange power. Therefore, Bollands had been surprised when Han Shuo had displayed his skills.
"No, you didn't use any combat aura at all. How is that possible?" Shock, loss, and confusion instantly filled Bollands' heart. He stepped in front of Han Shuo and stared at him with burning eyes, as if he was fighting for Han Shuo to give an answer.
Han Shuo knew that this was a bad situation to be in right now. He took a deep breath and explained with a smile, "I'm cultivating a special type of martial technique, it's different from the cultivation of martial aura that most people do."
"Okay, Bollands, stay outside for now. Lawrence, you two can come in now!" A benevolent voice seemed to ring out from the walls at that moment.
Lawrence immediately pulled Han Shuo towards him, then apologised to Bollands, "Grandpa Bollands, my master has told us to come in. Let's talk later."
The wall behind Han Shuo split open at that moment and Lawrence pulled Han Shuo inside. After the two of them entered, the crack in the wall miraculously healed.
Beyond the wall was an extremely wide training area. Apart from a few oddly shaped boulders, there were no other decorations. An old man sat on one of the boulders in the middle of the field, and although he had white hair and a beard, he still looked very energetic.
The old man had a square face and seemed rather benevolent. He sat up straight in a crisp white warrior's uniform. Even though he was seated, he looked extraordinary and seemed to be quite tall when he stood up.
"Teacher!" Lawrence bowed and greeted the old man respectfully as he entered.
The old man nodded, then looked at Lawrence and said quietly, "Stand up.
Lawrence straightened up and then pulled Han Shuo to sit on a piece of rock. After the two of them took their seats, Lawrence began, "This is Bryan, Phoebe's boyfriend. I mentioned him to you earlier!"
The old man's gaze immediately fell on Han Shuo after hearing Lawrence's words, and he carefully examined Han Shuo without speaking. After quite a while, he finally nodded and said, "Although Phoebe is my youngest student, she has the most talent. Her future is immeasurable. I hope she will inherit my fighting techniques. You won't hold her back, will you?"
"Of course not!" Han Shuo replied with a smile that was neither reserved nor fearful. Instead, he seemed rather relaxed.