After watching an amusing event that could be considered either a spectacle or a farce, Han Li started heading home. By the time he arrived, the girls were already waiting for him to have dinner.
During the meal, Han Li casually mentioned the situation with the Ye family and briefly touched on matters related to Heaven Dou Academy to put their minds at ease.
"Why does everyone think Zhuqing is already dead?"
Shui Bing'er asked curiously, looking at Han Li.
If it were just about Yu Xiaogang, she wouldn't be surprised. After all, Han Li often criticized him without restraint. When they asked him about Zhu Zhuqing, calling Yu Xiaogang crazy would have been an understatement.
But Ning Fengzhi's reaction was unexpected. He shouldn't have had this attitude.
"Well, it's probably because Tang Hao is also in Heaven Dou City," Han Li replied with a strange expression on his face, partly due to his involvement.
However, the reputation of this Clear Sky Douluo was great among the upper echelons of the sects. It wasn't surprising that both Yu Xiaogang and Ning Fengzhi placed the blame on him.
"Tang Hao? Is he here to look for a soul bone? But what does that have to do with Zhuqing?"
Dugu Yan asked in surprise.
The group knew that Han Li's Blue Silver Emperor's Right Leg Bone was left by Tang Hao's soul beast wife. They assumed Tang Hao's presence in Heaven Dou City might be related to discovering some clues. But how did that connect with Zhu Zhuqing's disappearance?
"Didn't I mention it? Oh, I might have forgotten," Han Li thought for a moment. It seemed that last time, he had only talked about Tang Hao. Because they hadn't crossed paths with Tang San and Xiao Wu, he hadn't brought it up.
"Of course, it's because his son is also here, and Zhuqing fought him yesterday. Given his behavior, it's reasonable for Ning Fengzhi to have suspicions," Han Li said with a mischievous smile directed at Zhu Zhuqing.
"Tang San is his son?"
Zhu Zhuqing ignored Han Li's expression, but inside, she was shaken. The only person named Tang in the previous group was him.
"Yes, otherwise, they wouldn't have guessed that Tang Hao kidnapped and killed you," Han Li shrugged, carefully observing her expression.
Unfortunately, Zhu Zhuqing maintained her stoic face, revealing nothing, which left him a bit disappointed.
"So according to what you're saying, that Tang San isn't entirely human either. He's a good match for that shapeshifting 100,000-year-old soul beast?"
Dugu Yan hesitated before finding the right words to describe the two teammates Zhu Zhuqing had mentioned before.
"Maybe that soul beast named Xiao Wu is the soul ring and soul bone Tang Hao intended for his son. Based on his past actions, it's not unlikely," Shui Bing'er calmly analyzed, disagreeing with Dugu Yan's assessment.
"Both of your ideas are possible, but who knows what they're thinking until it happens," Han Li neither agreed nor disagreed. In his view, it wouldn't be surprising if Tang Hao chose any path.
Zhu Zhuqing kept her head down and didn't participate in the conversation.
She wasn't concerned about Tang San, but Xiao Wu... After all, they had been classmates. Even knowing now that Xiao Wu was a 100,000-year-old soul beast, Zhu Zhuqing still felt a hint of compassion.
Given what had happened, she leaned more toward Shui Bing'er's interpretation. Xiao Wu had chosen to support Tang San before, and Zhu Zhuqing wouldn't interfere with Han Li and the other's actions.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. We can discuss these matters later. For now, focus on your training. You can relax a bit, but make sure to meet your daily quotas. Is that clear?"
Han Li looked at the group. Gossip was fine, but training couldn't be neglected.
"No problem," they replied casually. Compared to their previous lifestyle, this current lifestyle felt like a vacation.
"Zhuqing, you continue with your special training. It's not time to relax yet," Han Li said, turning to Zhu Zhuqing. She had only recently joined and was still too weak, so she couldn't afford to rest yet.
"Alright," Zhu Zhuqing replied with determination. The brief interaction had made her realize the gap between herself and the others, and now she was determined to catch up.
At the very least, she wanted to become much stronger than she was now.
Over the next few days, Han Li and the others returned to their regular training routines.
Meanwhile, Qian Renxue began quietly making contact with the Ye family, without any news leaking out. This further raised Han Li's opinion of her. He hadn't expected her control over Heaven Dou City to be as strong as it was.
But that was fine with him. At his core, Han Li was a lazy person, and not having to help was even better.
During this time, Han Li wasn't idle either. He continued to assist Zhu Zhuqing in further developing her Martial Soul.
Every night, he made sure not to skip the medicinal baths and physical conditioning, even when it became less necessary. He remained consistent.
Zhu Zhuqing noticed this but had mentally prepared herself from the moment she chose to rely on Han Li, so she accepted his actions.
In any case, this was a much better situation than what she had faced before.
Han Li didn't make any other moves, spending most of the time helping her with training, though their relationship gradually began to change.
Of course, this was more of a side task; most of Han Li's focus was actually on refining the techniques he had acquired from Tang San, and he had nearly completed this process.
Once he could easily grasp the underlying principles, modifying these techniques became much simpler.
Under Han Li's guidance, several techniques had begun to involve the application of principles, albeit at a basic level. Though still in the early stages, they were sufficient for immediate use.
The Mysterious Heaven Skill was relatively refined, primarily adjusted to suit his condition, so Han Li didn't make any major changes to it. As for Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon, which was essentially a technique for training control, Han Li left it untouched and simply passed it on to the others for them to practice.
However, the other techniques underwent significant transformations at his hands.
When he renamed them all with the prefix Mysterious, it was more of a playful jest, as he didn't bother coming up with new names—their functionality was what mattered.
Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, after being modified by him, could now harness the wind and dark elements during its use. With the support of these two elements, it became even more elusive, and its speed increased significantly. If one didn't mind, it could even be used as a method of long-distance travel.
The only regret Han Li had was that he hadn't been able to enhance it to the level of something like the Lingbo Weibu, where using the technique would also increase one's soul power.
The most significant changes were made to the Mysterious Jade Hand and the Purple Demon Eye. The Mysterious Jade Hand, for the group, was somewhat of a minor skill.
Han Li decided to keep only its framework and completely overhauled the content. With his efforts, he expanded the scope of the Mysterious Jade Hand to encompass the entire body, transforming it into an active skill that temporarily connects with elements to form a shield, much stronger than a regular soul power shield.
As for making it a permanent fixture like the original Mysterious Jade Hand, that was out of the question—not least because all of the members under his care were girls, which made him uncomfortable.
The biggest transformation was in the Purple Demon Eye. In Han Li's view, it was less a technique for training the eyes and more a method for cultivating spiritual power.
The various functions of the eyes were merely external manifestations of spiritual power. The key point was that it also included techniques for spiritual power attacks.
Although Han Li had spiritual power attack methods, they previously relied on soul bones to be effective. Even now, though he understood how to apply them after mastering the principles, teaching these techniques to the girls would be challenging.
Throughout the entire Douluo Continent, aside from some soul masters with spiritual-type Martial Souls, most soul masters—even titled Douluos—relied primarily on raw spiritual pressure and aura to overwhelm enemies, rather than effectively using spiritual power to attack.
The Purple Demon Eye, a comprehensive technique combining cultivation and attack, was undoubtedly top-tier and directly addressed this issue.
During his modifications, Han Li focused on solving the problem of energy acquisition. After all, if one had to collect purple energy every day for over ten years like Tang San, how long would that take to cultivate?
After conducting various tests, Han Li finally found a substitute for purple energy: killing intent and the all-purpose power of faith.
In essence, the cultivation of the Purple Demon Eye involved capturing high-level energy to enhance and temper spiritual power, and in this regard, killing intent and the power of faith was more than adequate.
Conveniently, Han Li had an abundant supply of both. While large-scale distribution wasn't feasible, it was more than enough for a few people to cultivate.
As for hidden weapons, Han Li didn't delve too deeply into them. He had little interest in the techniques and craftsmanship required for their creation, except the explosives in the Buddha Fury Tang Lotus.
However, just because he didn't research them himself didn't mean he'd give up on them. Plenty of people were interested in such things, and as the saying goes, "specialization brings mastery." He had already sent people from the merchant guild to gather information in Gengxin City.
When the time comes, there will be plenty of skilled craftsmen from the Blacksmiths' Association ready to assist, ensuring that they take it seriously.
After finishing the modifications, Han Li handed them over all at once, allowing the girls to choose and learn at their own pace.
To be honest, aside from the Mysterious Heaven Skill and the Purple Demon Eye, the other techniques were somewhat marginal for the group at their current level. Yes, that's the truth, including the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
To put it accurately, once someone reaches the Soul King level, battles become more about overwhelming force, making these techniques less significant for increasing one's power.
These skill-based techniques are best suited for early-stage cultivation and high-level duels—one for pecking between novices and the other for clashes between experts. But the group didn't fit either category right now.
Still, having more skills for self-defense is always beneficial. Just look at how the girls used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to play around—it looked pretty good.