Shi Nian had already died before Han Li had even captured him.
His body was in tatters, with the only intact part being his head. His eyes were wide open, still showing clear signs of fear.
He had been scared to death.
The cause of death was, of course, Tang Hao's stomp.
After enduring torture, his physical and mental state had already been extremely fragile, so his death wasn't all that surprising.
In the past, he had often used his martial soul's abilities to make others die in such a manner. Now that he had died from fear himself, there wasn't much more to say about it.
Han Li scanned his body with spiritual power and extracted a barely noticeable storage soul tool into his hand. Flames instantly engulfed the corpse.
A rainbow-colored light fell to the ground—it was head soul bone. After washing it with water, Han Li picked it up.
A 30,000-year-old mental-type head soul bone—decent, but not enough to make him emotional. After all, it wasn't a surprise.
As for the corpse, Han Li had no intention of preserving it. What he had said to Tang Hao earlier was merely talk.
Given the miserable state of the body and the Clear Sky Hammer lacking any distinct features, it would be impossible for the three board members to identify him. Tang Hao was just feeling guilty and scared of being exposed. Otherwise, someone else wouldn't have even considered it a threat.
Glancing once more in the direction of the small forest, Han Li shook his head, then concealed himself again and flew toward Heaven Dou City.
In the small forest, Tang Hao had vented his frustration by smashing things but eventually stopped.
The only good news was that he was certain the man was dead.
The last time Ning Que fought him, aside from his Martial Soul True Body, all his other soul skills had been revealed, and none of them were healing-type. Even if he had taken Shi Nian away, there was no way to save him.
Tang Hao, still holding his breath, began to assess the night's losses.
The most critical soul bone was gone. He had planned to give it to Tang San for absorption.
That soul bone had allowed a mere Soul Sage like Shi Nian to break through his mental defenses. Even if Shi Nian's martial soul was special, that soul bone had to be at least 50,000 years old, and possibly even 70,000 years old.
Of course, that was his estimation. He didn't know that during the attack, Han Li had secretly interfered and gauged his mental strength.
A high-aged head soul bone… Thinking of this, Tang Hao swung the Clear Sky Hammer again, causing an invisible shockwave to explode in the air.
If Xiao San could absorb that soul bone, with his mental strength, that Seven-in-One Fusion Technique from Canghui Academy would be easily shattered with a flick of his finger, making the finals much more secure.
Moreover, he hadn't even inquired about the secret of the Seven-in-One Fusion Technique. If he had found out, perhaps the disciples of the Clear Sky Clan could have replicated a similar skill.
That stomp wasn't meant to kill Shi Nian. It was to break his mental defenses completely, so the subsequent questioning could proceed smoothly. Even his earlier answers were meant to lay the groundwork, and he was prepared to feign agreement to let Shi Nian go.
A trace of his soul power had still been protecting Shi Nian's heart, enough to keep him alive until he answered all the questions. But Ning Que's sudden attack made him instinctively withdraw his soul power to defend against the ice arrow.
Naturally, his soul power dissipated, and now that Shi Nian had been taken away and his corpse had gone cold, there was nothing left to ask.
Thinking of this, Ning Que's words before leaving once again attacked his rationality, making his aura unstable.
What did he mean by just a suggestion? Did that mean the illusion he experienced was something he had imagined? How could that be possible? He loved Ah Yin so deeply—how could he have such blasphemous thoughts?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
He convinced himself it was all for revenge, brainwashing himself until he finally calmed down.
As for Shi Nian students, they might know a little about the technique, but that could wait until after they were eliminated, Tang Hao thought with some regret.
Originally, everything had been planned: the soul bone for Tang San, and the Seven-in-One Fusion Technique for the clan. Now it was all for nothing—a complete waste of effort.
Ning Que! Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan! He would get his revenge!
In a fit of rage, Tang Hao smashed a few more trees before pulling his hood back up and heading toward the city. Though the noise wasn't too loud, it was still too close to Heaven Dou City, so it was safer to leave quickly.
Meanwhile, Han Li had already returned home.
Seeing him come back, the girls gathered around and brought out food. He had been gone for most of the day, and although they had confidence in his strength, they were still a bit worried since he had mentioned discovering Tang Hao's trail before leaving.
Noticing their expressions, Han Li placed the storage soul tool on the table, and then took out the soul bone. While eating, he vividly recounted what had happened.
"If Tang Hao finds out it was you, he'll probably die of anger."
Dugu Yan played with the soul bone for a moment before putting it back on the table. At their current level, absorbing soul bones required attention to compatibility and age. Although the skill sounded decent from Han Li's description, 30,000 years was still a bit low.
"This identity can't be used anymore. If you continue, Tang Hao might not resist coming to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan."
Shui Bing'er calmly reminded him.
"Hmm."
Han Li nodded as he swallowed his food. Even without Shui Bing'er's reminder, he knew he wouldn't use the same identity again, and likely wouldn't need to in the future either.
Ning Fengzhi, over there, seemed to have realized something and had already started taking selective actions. On Tang Hao's side, he was rushing to bring the Clear Sky Clan back into the world, rendering many of his previous arrangements useless.
But this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Without constant surveillance from the Divine Realm, using larger movements to cover up smaller actions was precisely what he had hoped for.
After chatting for a while, everyone returned to their rooms. The death of an inconsequential Soul Sage didn't affect them.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, they headed to the competition venue as usual, and along the way, they saw a few students from Canghui Academy.
The injuries they had sustained in yesterday's match were superficial, and after receiving treatment and a night of recovery, there was no trace of them left.
With some arrogance, they walked toward the venue, meeting the gazes of the crowd.
Although they lost yesterday's match, they were still considered the dark horse team of the tournament. At least in the preliminary stage, no one dared to underestimate them, and it seemed they were enjoying the attention.
For now, they hadn't realized that Shi Nian had already disappeared.
Just like yesterday, by the time Han Li and his group arrived at the spectator section, everyone else was already there. The only difference was that Hu Yanli had been replaced by Yu Tianxin, who still looked a bit pale.
When Yu Tianxin saw them approaching, he nodded in greeting.
He had no choice. Except for the second team of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, he didn't know when it had started, but all the famous contestants of his age had gathered around this area.
Although the Spirit Hall was considered the greatest threat to his clan, given his education, since everyone else had come over, even if it was just to gather intelligence, he had to follow suit.
Didn't he see that even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was trying to get closer? Even if the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was slow to act, they could still follow the trend.
Han Li glanced at the somewhat uncomfortable Yu Tianxin with a smile but didn't say anything. He hadn't done anything but watch the matches. If people wanted to stare, let them stare.
"What do you think? Who will win today between Hu Yanli and the second team of the Imperial Academy?"
Huo Wushuang furrowed his brows tightly, looking troubled as he tried to predict the outcome.
He had always been cautious. Although his team, Blazing Academy, currently held the second-best record after Skywater Academy, especially since they had already defeated Godwind Academy, he still habitually fretted over things.
"Oh, brother, you're overthinking it. None of them are our opponents anyway."
Huo Wu glanced at her brother with some helplessness.
"I think it'll be Elephant Armor Academy. And I hope they win."
Feng Xiaotian spoke, his expression somewhat serious.
After considering the situation, he realized that Godwind Academy was in the same predicament as Thunderclap Academy.
With a limited number of spots to advance, he could only hope that Elephant Armor Academy would win. Only then would they have a chance to avoid elimination based on win-loss ratios.
"I hope Elephant Armor Academy wins too," Yu Tianxin added. He was in an even worse position than Feng Xiaotian, having already lost to the second team of the Imperial Academy.
"Having a soul bone makes a difference, huh," Huo Wu muttered, a little jealously. Then she looked over at Han Li's group.
"What about you, Holy Son Han? Who do you think will win?"
"Probably the second team of the Imperial Academy," Han Li replied casually.
Tang Hao had already started making moves, so naturally, Tang San's restrictions had been lifted. Although Hu Yanli had a soul bone and was his subordinate, with Tang San's ability to use the Clear Sky Hammer along with his hidden weapon techniques and the help of his teammates, they could easily wear down Elephant Armor Academy.
You could question his intelligence, but when it came to battle power — aside from Han Li and his companions — Tang San was undoubtedly the best among them, and that was beyond debate.
"Hu Yanli would be heartbroken if he heard that," Huo Wu teased. Unlike them, Hu Yanli was completely submissive in front of Han Li, so it was surprising that Han Li didn't have much faith in his team.
Han Li shot her a playful glare.
"How are these two things related? A match depends on more than just strength. There's also the matter of performance on the day. I'm just making a random guess."
Huo Wu's eyes darted around as she looked at Han Li.
"Since we all think Elephant Armor Academy will win, and you believe the Imperial Academy's second team will take it, how about we make a bet?"
"A bet? What's the wager?"
Han Li asked, glancing at the others with interest.
"If we win, you reveal your strength — as in, show us your soul rings. If you win… hmm, how about we owe you a favor?"
Huo Wu thought for a moment but couldn't come up with anything valuable enough to offer if Han Li won, so her voice lacked confidence by the end.
Han Li chuckled, glancing at her, then at the others. It was obvious they were intrigued too.
It seemed all the major forces had sent them to probe him, but Han Li didn't mind. Not only was he currently unafraid of revealing his strength, but the chances of him losing this bet were also slim.
Even though Han Li wasn't quite sure what use their favor would be, given the atmosphere, he saw no reason to turn down the benefits being offered.
"And what about the rest of you? Do you agree?"
Han Li asked, surveying the group. After a moment of hesitation, they all nodded. Aside from their clan tasks, they were genuinely curious about his strength.
"Alright, I'll take the bet," Han Li agreed without hesitation.