All Things Ready

During this period, a major incident occurred within the Seven Mysteries Sect.

The new generation of disciples' idol, Senior Brother Li, with his keen alertness, had seen through the scheme of two spies planted by the Wild Wolf Gang who were attempting to steal the list of disciples going down the mountain for their trials. He and over a dozen fellow disciples captured them alive, earning himself a considerable merit.

A few days later, Sect Leader Wang, in front of many disciples, bestowed upon Li Feiyu the position of Protector, formally elevating him into the ranks of the sect's middle management. This caused quite a stir, and Li Feiyu’s reputation grew even louder.

Han Li was completely unaware of all this. He was undergoing his special training inside his sealed wooden hut. Apart from occasionally going to the kitchen to fetch some food, he had not interacted with anyone for many days, and naturally had no knowledge of his friend’s current glory.

Summer passed and autumn arrived. Time flew like a shuttle, and the day before their agreed-upon meeting finally arrived.

In the thorn forest at the bottom of the ravine, an incredibly eerie figure flickered in and out of sight among the branches bristling with sharp thorns. Those dangerously sharp spikes posed no obstacle to him at all. Like a wisp of smoke, he glided spectrally through the dense net woven by the thorny thickets, appearing close by one moment and emerging from afar the next. The entire process was silent, as if he were truly not made of flesh and blood, but an incorporeal entity.

Finally, this figure came to a stop on a tree trunk, standing upright on a branch as he gazed into the distance. It was Han Li, whose training had finally borne fruit.

At this moment, his clothes were already tattered and torn, exposing the flesh beneath. His hair was disheveled, his face streaked with dirt, making it impossible to discern his original features. The most astonishing sight was the small iron bells hanging from his neck, waist, arms, thighs, and ankles.

Seeing these iron bells, and then recalling Han Li’s ghost-like movement through the forest, one could easily understand how eerily effective his footwork had become.

He stood motionless, staring in the direction of Divine Hand Valley, and muttered to himself:

"Right on time. I finally managed to master the Smoke Step on the last day. With this, I have a sliver more certainty of protecting myself."

Though his face was hard to see clearly, the joy in his eyes could not be concealed.

After months of research and grueling practice, Han Li had mastered several formidable secret techniques. He had a fair amount of confidence in these abilities, believing that while they might not be enough to contend with Doctor Mo’s unfathomable skills, they gave him some hope for self-preservation.

A gust of wind blew, and Han Li felt a chill on his skin. He looked down at his “ventilated” outfit and imagined his current appearance, a wry smile touching his lips.

Recalling the process of practicing the Smoke Step, he still felt a lingering trace of fear. Training his footwork in the thorn forest was truly a life-threatening affair. In the beginning, his movements were clumsy, and he was inevitably scratched bloody all over by the thorns on the branches.

Fortunately, he still had the Nourishing Elixir in his possession. Not only could it heal internal injuries, it also possessed incredibly miraculous effects on external wounds. After taking one pill, the bleeding would stop immediately and the wound would scab over. By the next day, even the scar would have vanished without a trace.

Han Li had marveled at this for a long time. This medicine was far superior to ordinary wound-healing balms. He just couldn’t understand why it was named "Nourishing Elixir." In his opinion, a name like "Scar Removal" or "Bleeding Stopper" would have been much more fitting.

If the master who created the "Nourishing Elixir" had known Han Li’s thoughts, he would likely have been so furious that he spat blood. His meticulously crafted, holy healing medicine was being compared to the common "Gold Wound Powder" of a back-alley physician! How could this not enrage such a master!

However, it was precisely because he practiced in such a dangerous environment that Han Li was able to stimulate his full potential, bringing the Smoke Step to a functional level of proficiency in such a short time, ready for immediate use.

Furthermore, just a few days prior, and as expected, Han Li had successfully broken through to the sixth layer of the Eternal Spring Art, the highest level for which Doctor Mo had provided the mantra. Without the assistance of those dozen or so bottles of miraculous medicine, even if he had pumped all his strength into it, he doubted he could have achieved this in his lifetime.

After several years of cultivation, Han Li had also gained considerable insight into the Eternal Spring Art. He felt that this technique was very peculiar, differing greatly from ordinary martial arts in both its training methods and its effects.

First, Han Li believed that whether this art could be successfully cultivated, and the speed at which it progressed, depended on the individual. It all came down to the practitioner’s aptitude and how well it matched the technique.

Those with superior aptitude would naturally have a smooth and unobstructed path. He estimated that even without external help, they could reach a high level through sheer hard work.

Conversely, for those with poor aptitude, once they reached a certain level, they would find themselves unable to advance another step without the aid of medicine. Han Li guessed that such a person would be stuck there for life, with no room for further progress. It was exactly as he had experienced himself. The first three layers were cultivated very smoothly, but upon reaching the fourth layer, it suddenly became incredibly difficult with no progress at all.

But with miraculous pills and potions, the impossible became possible, allowing one to break through the limitations of aptitude and climb higher. From this, one could see just how heavily this technique depended on the power of medicine!

However, his own habit of consuming spiritual medicine like candy, taking one or two pills a day, was probably unmatched by anyone else in the world. So it was only logical that the supposedly more difficult fifth and sixth layers were cultivated without any effort, completely lacking the hardship he had felt at the fourth layer.

As for the fully mastered sixth layer of the Eternal Spring Art, apart from making Han Li feel even more energetic and sharpening his mind, he hadn’t discovered any other marvelous functions yet. It was strange. Since he began cultivating the Eternal Spring Art, with each layer, his mental faculties, intellect, and five senses were all strengthened, but its effect on his physique was negligible. It only made his body stronger and his step lighter. The energy stream it formed—which Han Li called Pseudo True Qi—could, like ordinary true qi, be circulated freely within the meridians. However, aside from making his sense of touch more acute, it had no practical combat application. It couldn’t unleash the terrifying power of real true qi.

Furthermore, now that he had cultivated to this point, he felt that there must be more mantras beyond the sixth layer, and that their marvelous functions were likely all in those final, unrevealed layers.

Thinking of this, he shook his head helplessly and sighed. Given his current relationship with Doctor Mo, getting his hands on those later layers was something he shouldn’t even dream about.

Curbing his stray thoughts, Han Li leaped up, landing softly on the ground without a sound. Then he strode purposefully towards the small wooden hut.

Tomorrow was the day he would meet Doctor Mo. Before then, he would make full use of his talent, pre-planning the steps of their encounter in his mind. He carefully considered every possible nuance that might occur, formulating the optimal response plan for every potential danger that had yet to arise.