Han Li was in a good mood. Holding the origin of the Martial Soul in his hand, he felt the satisfaction that comes from gaining something with little effort.
To be honest, in the original plan, he had intended to wait until the Soul Master Tournament six months later to let Tang San and the others draw attention.
But thanks to Grandmaster's recent spontaneous actions, Han Li noticed that the attention directed at him had significantly diminished.
People often just glanced at him briefly before turning their focus elsewhere. Even the gazes from the Divine Realm seemed more focused on that side. Maybe even the God-Kings were amused by such rebellious behavior?
As it turned out, in the heart of the Divine Realm, just as Han Li suspected, several God-Kings were silently watching the foolish antics of the master-disciple/father-son trio and had temporarily lost interest in observing anything else.
"Han Li's opponent is... peculiar, to say the least. We've been watching for so long, why don't we take a break? If something happens, we're close enough to return quickly."
"Given the difference in time flow between the Divine Realm and Douluo Planet, waiting for him to finish gathering faith would take forever."
"I don't mind, but surely none of you want to keep watching endlessly. Once he becomes a god, that won't reflect well on us," said Rong Nianbing, who was still flipping through the food in his hands.
After passing around the snacks he was holding, Rong Nianbing grew bored. Since they wouldn't let him establish his legacy yet, he had no choice but to watch the mundane lives of others. Having risen step by step from being human, he had seen plenty of strange people. What was there to care about? He'd rather be with his wives—after all, he had eight of them. Why waste time here?
The gods of Evil and Kindness nodded in agreement. After watching this farce for so long, they were starting to feel a bit weary.
Although Douluo Planet was unique, everything was progressing positively for the time being. It made sense to step back for a while. After all, the Divine Realm oversaw more than just one planet. Did people think their workload was that small?
Seeing Evil and Kindness agree, the other three gods followed suit, especially the God of Shura, who had already reached his limit.
Shura had initiated this observation, but throughout the process, he had been mostly passive. Particularly, one glance from the God of Destruction, who hadn't said much but had been watching him closely, made Shura feel extremely uncomfortable. If he hadn't been the one who started it, he would have quit long ago. So when someone suggested retreating, he decisively voted in favor.
"Alright, it's decided. We'll check in periodically, but let's avoid interfering too much in mortal affairs," the God of Kindness said, glancing around at the gods present.
"Agreed."
Including Rong Nianbing, all the gods present nodded and then orderly withdrew from the core of the Divine Realm, leaving the place in silence once again.
At this moment, Han Li was still unaware of these developments, having already returned to their temporary residence.
"You seem to be in a good mood. You've been so secretive lately. Are you finally going to tell us what you've gained?"
As soon as Han Li sat down in the courtyard, Dugu Yan hugged him from behind, asking with a playful smile.
"Here."
Seeing how curious all the women were, Han Li didn't avoid the question. After all, he already had the item in hand, so there was no harm in sharing it now.
A translucent white bottle, radiating a bright and draconic aura, appeared in Han Li's hand. He then began recounting Yu Xiaogang's series of absurd actions.
After hearing Han Li's story, even Shui Bing'er couldn't help but marvel at this genius idea.
Soul Masters had been developing on the continent for so many years. How had no one thought to try this with soul's bones before? If the method hadn't been passed down, it was a failure.
"So, what has his Martial Soul turned into now?"
Shui Bing'er asked, her curiosity evident.
"It's probably something that doesn't correspond to any known soul beast. His current Martial Soul is a brand-new soul beast formed by his three existing soul rings. Maybe we should call it a pig-dog beast? Or a dog-pig beast?"
Han Li recalled the changes in Yu Xiaogang after Luo Sanpao disappeared, suppressing his laughter.
"And what about his soul skills?"
Zhu Zhuqing suddenly interjected. She was familiar with how Yu Xiaogang's soul skills used to work.
Han Li paused. He had overlooked this question since he never intended to fight Yu Xiaogang.
"Farting? Or maybe blowing air?"
Han Li answered hesitantly.
After a brief silence, the courtyard erupted in stifled laughter, and the conversation quickly derailed.
After chatting casually for a while, the sky gradually darkened. Despite their cultivation levels, the group felt the fatigue from their accelerated journey and long days on the road. After eating the dinner that had been brought to them, they each returned to their rooms to rest.
The night passed peacefully. After a good night's sleep, Han Li met the others at the training ground the next morning.
"Is there anything else we need to do?"
At the breakfast table, Ye Lingling, who usually spoke little, took the initiative to ask.
"Not for now. Do you have something in mind?"
Han Li asked, swallowing his food before turning to look at her.
"I'd like to go home for a bit and also check on the academy. We've been away for quite some time."
Ye Lingling spoke seriously.
"It seems I overlooked that. Feel free to do as you like."
Han Li slapped his forehead, finally remembering that Ye Lingling was different from the others—her home was in Heaven Dou City, and she was still attending school.
"Yes, I'll head back for a bit. I won't be coming around here as often for a while. I'm planning to apply as a healing soul master at the Great Martial Soul Arena to quickly regain proficiency with my Martial Soul."
Ye Lingling's words were calm and orderly, showing that she had made plans in advance.
"Alright, that's fine."
Han Li nodded in agreement, then turned to the others.
"Besides training, feel free to find something else to do in your free time."
Everyone had pendants that allowed them to disguise their appearance, so they could move about freely in Heaven Dou City.
"Want to join us for some shopping?"
"Next time, I promise. Even though there's nothing major happening, I still have a few things I need to handle personally. I don't have time for shopping."
Han Li skillfully dodged the invitation. Shopping? No way!
"Fine."
The group gave him a few eye-rolls. They had heard this excuse so many times that they were almost sick of it, but they didn't push further.
After breakfast ended, Ye Lingling chose to head home. Han Li, after watching the others return to the training grounds, thought for a moment and then left the house, heading toward the outskirts of the city.
He still had the Blue Silver King with him, and he needed to place it in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. The Blue Silver Emperor too—otherwise, it would be difficult to use it as Lingling's soul ring later.
The Blue Silver Grass clan is the perfect sacrificial soul beast species. They can even do it twice, provided you have a way to restore them quickly.
It didn't take him long to reach the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where he found the Sky Dream Iceworm—no, it should now be called the Ice Dragon—fast asleep.
Han Li shook his head. Still, seeing how neatly it had tended to the medicinal garden, he had no complaints. It wasn't like he expected it to help in battle anyway; this was good enough.
With a kick, he woke the Sky Dream. After planting both Blue Silver Grass plants and isolating Ah Yin separately, he instructed the Sky Dream to keep watch and then turned to leave.
To his surprise, just as he exited the poisonous miasma area, he ran into Tang Hao, who appeared to be searching for something.
Still so persistent? Han Li chuckled silently. It's been months, and he hasn't found a trace. What's he still looking for?
However, Han Li misunderstood Tang Hao's purpose. This time, Tang Hao had come to the Sunset Forest not to continue his previous search, but to find a suitable soul beast for Tang San and the people of the Clear Sky Clan to replace their soul bones.
Yu Xiaogang's success had rekindled some hope in him. Although he didn't know why the intense dragon aura surrounding Yu Xiaogang had disappeared after obtaining his third soul ring, Yu Xiaogang had indeed broken through to Soul Elder, reaching level 34 in one go. He could even activate his Martial Soul possession now, alleviating his previous predicament.
Tang Hao was preparing in advance, whether they needed it or not. He wanted to find suitable soul beasts for his son and his clan. The Sunset Forest, being the closest to Heaven Dou City, was naturally his first choice.
Neither of them concealed their aura. When Han Li noticed Tang Hao, Tang Hao naturally noticed Han Li as well.
Both paused slightly before shifting their paths to the right, passing each other—this was standard practice for soul masters when encountering each other in a soul beast forest.
Watching Han Li's figure gradually disappear, Tang Hao frowned. He didn't know where this young man came from, but he couldn't sense any soul power fluctuations from him.
Roaming the Sunset Forest—was he from the Heaven Dou royal family? Or perhaps an elite secretly trained by one of the other two sects?
Once Han Li's figure had completely vanished, Tang Hao shook his head. Forget it, this wasn't something he needed to worry about right now. His priority was to find a suitable soul beast for Tang San. As a father, he couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
He continued his search, but after a while, he looked up and saw the poisonous miasma in front of him.
Tang Hao froze, his eyes widening. If he remembered correctly, that young man had just come from that direction, hadn't he?
Did that mean the young man had a way to deal with this poisonous miasma that had blocked him for months?
And generally, the more dangerous a place, the more likely it was to hide opportunities. This was almost common knowledge in the soul master world.
More importantly, was the thing he had been searching for all this time hidden in there?
With that thought, Tang Hao didn't hesitate to turn around and chase after Han Li. He didn't care which faction the young man belonged to—since he wasn't from the Clear Sky Clan, today, Tang Hao was going to make a bold move!