More than an hour later, just as Han Li was about to fall asleep under the warm sunlight, there was finally a noise from the wooden cabin behind him. The door creaked open.
Dugu Yan, having changed into a fresh set of clothes, walked back to him with her head lowered, her face still a bit flushed.
"How do you feel?" Han Li asked, directly addressing the main issue while deliberately ignoring the earlier awkward incident.
"I feel like my body's strength has increased quite a bit, but I can't describe the specific changes," Dugu Yan replied, relieved that he was avoiding the previous blunder, though her cheeks were still warm.
"Give me your hand. I'll help you see exactly how much the age of your soul ring has increased," Han Li said, sitting up straight and looking at the girl who seemed like a different person.
"Okay," Dugu Yan hesitated for a moment but then extended her hand, seemingly unwilling to show any weakness in front of him.
Han Li found it amusing to see Dugu Yan trying to keep up appearances. He reached out with his left hand to grasp her wrist, while his right hand moved towards her forearm.
He noticed that when he grabbed her wrist, her body couldn't help but tremble and instantly tense up, only to relax slowly afterward.
With his right hand infused with soul power, he squeezed her arm gently, a rough estimate forming in his mind. He then let go of her hand.
"Congratulations, Sister Yan. Your third soul skill's age has increased by around 450 years. The improvement is quite good. If your subsequent enhancements can reach this level, absorbing a soul ring of around 4,000 years, at least in the short term, shouldn't be a problem. Considering the potential success of your martial soul evolution afterward, your third soul ring reaching 5,000 years should still be feasible," Han Li conservatively estimated Dugu Yan's third soul ring age.
"Can it reach 5,000 years?" Dugu Yan asked excitedly. Despite having seen many things that challenged her understanding recently, experiencing it herself still made her a bit exhilarated.
"In a few days, after you absorb the immortal herb, you'll quickly reach the Soul Elder level. Then you can verify it personally. Do I have any reason to deceive you?" Han Li replied, amused but understanding.
"Thank you, Xiao Li," Dugu Yan said earnestly, raising her head and meeting Han Li's gaze.
She suddenly felt that this scene was very familiar and then remembered that just an hour and a half ago, she had said the same thing to the young man in front of her.
Thinking about the earlier incident made her face flush red again. Still, she forced herself to speak: "No, I mean, thank you. And about what happened before, you mustn't mention it to anyone."
"Did something happen earlier?" Han Li asked, looking at her with a hint of confusion.
"No, nothing happened. Absolutely nothing at all," Dugu Yan quickly responded after a brief moment of surprise. But it was clear that even her trembling voice couldn't deceive herself.
"Is that all then? Goodbye?" Han Li half-turned his body, waving his right hand at her.
"You..." Dugu Yan opened her mouth, wanting to stop him, but she couldn't think of a valid reason.
"Don't worry, Sister Yan. I didn't see anything," Han Li said as he reached the edge of the platform. Then, without waiting for her response, he smiled and jumped down.
"Get lost! Aaaah..." Dugu Yan looked at the now empty platform, first stunned, then furiously swung a few punches at the air as if hitting someone. She then crouched down with her head buried in her knees, lost in thought.
However, she didn't realize that her earlier feelings of embarrassment and anger had lessened, and her mind was now occupied with the slightly mischievous smile Han Li had shown before jumping off.
Leaving the platform, Han Li headed directly toward the direction where his master was cultivating.
As he got closer, he could hear Dugu Bo's laughter and quickened his pace. Upon arrival, he saw the two engaged in a game of chess. Dugu Bo was laughing because he had the upper hand, while Guang Ling, with a darkened face, was deep in thought, trying to find a way out. Dugu Bo was constantly trying to distract him with conversation.
Noticing Han Li's arrival, Dugu Bo's eyes lit up. He promptly abandoned his attempts to distract Guang Ling and turned his head to ask, "Finished? How did it go? Where's Yan Yan?"
"It's done. Sister Yan absorbed the secret medicine well. Just this time, her third soul ring's limit increased by about 450 years. With a few more sessions and the martial soul evolution, she should be able to absorb a 5,000-year soul ring," Han Li replied with a smile. "As for Sister Yan, she's resting right now."
"Come, come, Xiao Li, sit down. You've worked hard," Dugu Bo said, pulling Han Li to his side and producing a chair to seat him. His handsome face was creased with a smile.
"It's not hard; it's my duty," Han Li replied, though recalling the earlier incident made him sound a bit less confident.
Guang Ling, who was very familiar with Han Li, detected the insincerity in his voice. He glanced up at Han Li but found nothing unusual. He then lowered his head again, contemplating his next move on the chessboard.
To be fair, Dugu Bo's chess skills were significantly stronger than Guang Ling's.
Although Han Li couldn't understand the chess game, he could tell from Dugu Bo's ability to chat with him while playing and still manage to make his master frown, that Dugu Bo was clearly in control.
In the end, Guang Ling, using the excuse that it was time for a meal, manually overturned the chessboard, allowing Dugu Bo to finally have his moment of smug satisfaction.
Happy times are always short-lived. Thus, every morning, Han Li would go to the platform to help Dugu Yan refine the whale glue to enhance her physique. In the afternoons, they would each train individually.
Soon, a week had passed.
That morning, after Dugu Yan had taken the whale glue and Han Li had tested her, he decided to stop the treatment.
"Have we reached the limit?" Dugu Yan asked, noticing that this time's improvement seemed less significant than the previous times.
"Yes, you've barely reached 4,200 years. Your body has temporarily developed a resistance to the secret medicine. Continuing to take it in the short term won't yield much improvement. The remaining medicinal power is still hidden in your body, preparing for the martial soul evolution. It will be released together then," Han Li explained seriously as he let go of her hand.
"Alright, I'll follow your lead. When do we start?" Dugu Yan looked at Han Li with anticipation.
"Let's rest well today and let the body recuperate. We'll start tomorrow," Han Li replied, exhaling as he glanced around.
"What's this? You seem a bit reluctant to leave here," Dugu Yan teased, bumping her shoulder against his and resting her head on his shoulder, blowing lightly on his ear as she spoke.
"Don't mess around," Han Li said, removing her hands from his shoulders and giving her arm a light pat, indicating that she should behave.
Since that day, Dugu Yan had become increasingly uninhibited around him, shifting from flirtatious words to playful touches, showing no resistance to physical contact with him. She was taking the opportunity to tease him again.
"Not exactly reluctant, but this place does have its advantages. If it weren't so far from Wuhun City, I might want to stay here longer," Han Li responded casually.
"True, the environment here is great and suitable for training, but it's too remote. Not seeing people often is somewhat inconvenient," Dugu Yan agreed, nodding as she adjusted her hair.
"Alright, you should rest well and use your soul power to nurture your body. Try to get into the best condition. I'm going to talk to Master and Senior," Han Li said, leaving her with that advice as he descended from the platform.
He hadn't walked far when he heard the familiar sound of chess pieces and Dugu Bo's voice.
Recently, chess had become a regular activity for the two titled Douluos. Guang Ling's chess skills were terrible, yet he loved playing with Dugu Bo, finally allowing the Poison Douluo, who had felt frustrated for a long time, to regain some pride on the chessboard.
Seeing Han Li approaching, Dugu Bo casually called out, "Come, Xiao Li, watch how I beat your master."
Han Li smiled but didn't respond to the invitation. Instead, he said, "Senior, Sister Yan's physical improvement through medication has reached its limit for now. It's time to end this and prepare for her martial soul evolution."
"Reached the limit already? Alright, we'll go with your plan. When do we start the martial soul evolution?" Dugu Bo, hearing this important news, set down his chess piece and turned to ask.
"Tomorrow. Let's let Sister Yan rest today. This afternoon, you can talk to her and prepare. As for the outcome of the evolution, we'll see what fortune brings," Han Li reiterated the pre-planned schedule.
"Alright, no problem," Dugu Bo agreed cheerfully, standing up. He glanced at Guang Ling, who was still hesitant and quickly added, "I concede. You win this round. I'm going to check on Yan Yan."
With that, he dashed off, leaving Guang Ling stunned.
Realizing what had happened, Guang Ling crushed a chess piece in frustration. Just as he was about to win, his opponent had simply run off. What kind of situation was this?
Seeing his master's angry gaze shift toward him, Han Li quickly changed the subject, "Master, I need your assistance to protect me while I absorb the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew."
"Alright," Guang Ling sighed, most of his resentment fading. Increasing one's strength was the priority.
"Shall we go to your place or stay here?" Guang Ling pointed to a flat stone nearby.
"Here is fine," Han Li replied, walking over to the large stone and sitting cross-legged on it.
With a flip of his wrist, a small, vividly green herb appeared in his hand.
Looking at the three snow-white leaves in the center of the herb, each holding a droplet of dew-like liquid, Han Li unhesitatingly applied them to his eyes.
As soon as the droplets touched his eyes, Han Li felt a cool sensation spreading from them, causing him to shiver slightly.
However, the coolness quickly subsided, replaced by a sensation as if his eyes were soaking in warm water, constantly being nourished. It was an indescribable comfort, with faint energy continuously merging with his eyes, gradually improving them.
After an unknown period, Han Li finally felt that he had absorbed all the energy in his eyes and returned from the mystical state.
Opening his eyes, Han Li found them to be even brighter. His right eye, with its eagle eye ability, was already autonomously active, one black and one red, with light seemingly flowing between them.
At this moment, Han Li noticed that everything in front of him was much clearer than before. He could see even the dust particles in the air distinctly, and it seemed that he could see further without relying on his eagle eye.
He instinctively activated his eagle eye. In the next moment, it seemed as if he could see through the mountain to the outside, and the various elements in the air appeared before him as energy clusters.
Following his intuition, he closed his eyes again. Sure enough, his mind continued to present the surrounding view to him, even more complete and clearer than using his eyes.
A hint of joy appeared on his face. He opened his eyes again and looked in Guang Ling's direction.
"Master, help me test my mental strength."
"No problem, go ahead," Guang Ling replied, eager to know the current extent of his mental power.
"Master, be careful. My soul bone now has a threefold enhancement."
With that, he condensed his mental strength into an invisible spike and fiercely attacked Guang Ling.
Guang Ling didn't take it lightly. He set up a barrier in front of him, purely for defense.
Invisible ripples spread out in front of him, quickly disappearing.
Han Li let out a muffled groan as if his brain had been struck by a heavy hammer. It took a while for him to shake his head and stand up.
"Not bad. Your mental strength attack has reached the entry level of a Spirit Douluo. Considering the soul bone's enhancement, your normal mental strength should be comparable to an average Spirit Sage," Guang Ling said with a smile, giving a fair assessment.
"A Spirit Sage, huh? That's pretty good," Han Li said with a smile, not disappointed.
"Hey, you don't know how to be satisfied. You should know that the biggest gap between a Spirit Sage and a Spirit Douluo isn't soul power but mental strength. Many people have long reached level 79 in spirit power, but their mental strength, which relies on natural growth, gets stuck at the Spirit Sage stage, unable to advance."
"You're only a Spirit Elder and have already reached the level of a Spirit Sage in mental strength, which is extremely rare. Plus, you're still young. Even if you do nothing from now on, your natural growth will push your mental strength into the Spirit Douluo level by the time you reach level 50. That's something others can only dream of."
Guang Ling walked over and gave him a hard flick on the forehead.
"Why do you always like flicking my forehead?" Han Li muttered, rubbing his head.
"You've got to discipline your disciple early. Who knows, by the time you're in your twenties, I might not be able to beat you anymore. So, I'm collecting some interest in advance," Guang Ling said, putting an arm around his shoulder and giving him a few pats, smiling mischievously.
"By the way, from what I saw earlier, your two soul bones should have made significant progress as well," Guang Ling asked, tilting his head.
"Yes, the increase in mental strength has extended their lifespan a bit. The enhancement for mental attacks, as I mentioned earlier, has reached threefold. As for the eagle eye, the previously mentioned x-ray vision has significantly improved, and it now includes elemental vision."
"As for the ability to see through the soul power operation routes, the increased mental strength has greatly reduced the consumption. However, I still can't break through your soul-power defense. But for those at the Spirit Sage level, it shouldn't be a problem, though they might detect it. For anyone below Spirit Sage, hehe, it's a massacre," Han Li added with a cunning smile.
"Kid, your way of fighting is cheating. If someone's mental strength isn't as strong as yours, getting poked by your mental power while they're releasing a soul skill would probably make their soul power go out of control on the spot. Coupled with your mental power attacks that can add elemental effects, if they're unlucky, their soul rings might even explode." Guang Ling took a sharp breath.
"Even if you don't play dirty, you can attack others' weak points in their soul power defenses. The advantage is just too great."
Guang Ling couldn't even imagine how soul masters of the same level would stand a chance against Han Li once he grew up.
"Isn't it all thanks to your excellent teaching, Master?"
Han Li obediently massaged his master's shoulders, flattering him.
"That is true."
Guang Ling accepted his flattery without the slightest blush.
For a moment, their laughter echoed far across the basin.
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