Martial Arts and Spells United

Han Li, ever since mastering the Wind Riding Technique, had grown increasingly interested in the other two spells: the Spirit-Fixing Talisman and the Telekinetic Art. He poured a great deal of time and energy into them, hoping that one day, just like with the Wind Riding Technique, he would suddenly grasp their essence and have his mind cleared.

But after repeated study, Han Li unexpectedly discovered that his inability to perform these two spells might not be due to his own shortcomings. Instead, it was possible that the external conditions required for their casting were simply not present.

According to the book, the Spirit-Fixing Talisman was a type of spell talisman that required a pre-made talisman paper. Therefore, Han Li had previously used yellow paper bought from a nearby town, and using a brush, he painted on the symbolic patterns from the book to create what he thought were talismans.

Although the book did not specify what kind of paint to use for drawing the talisman patterns, recalling Doctor Mo’s talisman with its silver symbols, he naturally used the expensive luxury item: silver powder. Whether or not this pigment was effective, Han Li did not know, but at the very least, these self-made talismans looked exactly like the examples in the book.

Unfortunately, looking alike was still not enough.

When Han Li used the incantations to activate these talismans, the symbols on them did not emit the dazzling silver light as Doctor Mo’s had, nor did any other strange phenomenon occur. It could be said that his spellcasting was a complete failure, placing him in a difficult position. He did not know whether the failure was due to an error in the incantation or hand gestures, or because the talisman making itself was unsuccessful.

But after this recent research, things were different.

By delving into various related materials and books on the legends of spells, Han Li finally discovered that the talismans used by cultivators were certainly not made from ordinary paper and paint as known to mortals. They should be made from certain materials unique to cultivators, and perhaps even required special methods during their creation. Therefore, even if his incantations and hand gestures were flawless, casting the spell would still be impossible.

The Telekinetic Art followed the same logic.

Han Li had previously thought that the Telekinetic Art could be practiced by using any random object as a target. So, the objects he manipulated with his incantations and gestures were common items like furniture or blades, which of course produced no effect.

But now, reminded by the matter of the talisman paper, he understood. The objects manipulated by the Telekinetic Art were certainly not ordinary items, but specific articles used by cultivators.

So, Han Li tested various strange and unusual items he had obtained from Doctor Mo, including the Soul Summoning Bell and the seven silver blades used for the Seven Ghost Soul Devouring Art, treating them as objects for the Telekinetic Art. Unfortunately, none of these items could be successfully manipulated. This greatly disappointed Han Li. It seemed that the Telekinetic Art also did not target these magical instruments, but something else entirely.

Now that he knew the general source of the problem and understood that without the corresponding items, he could not perform the Spirit-Fixing Talisman or the Telekinetic Art, Han Li shifted his focus away from them. Instead, he began to consider combining martial arts secret techniques with his spells to rapidly increase his strength and reach a new level in a short time.

With this unprecedented idea in mind, Han Li embarked on a difficult journey of self-training, and soon achieved some small success.

After some experimentation, he finally managed to fuse the Smoke Step and the Wind Riding Technique together.

Calling it a fusion was perhaps an overstatement. It was simply a matter of first casting the Wind Riding Technique on himself, and then immediately following up with the Smoke Step. The key was to perfectly control the coordination and timing between the two, or errors would easily occur. This cost Han Li a considerable amount of mental energy and practice.

However, the result was that the shortcomings of the Wind Riding Technique—its lack of agility—and the Smoke Step’s excessive consumption of stamina were both gradually improved. His movements and shifts became as swift as lightning and thunder, with only a shadow visible and no person seen, making his footwork even more elusive and unpredictable.

Not long after, Han Li also made his own innovation in the use of the Fireball Technique.

Originally, according to the standard use of the Fireball Technique, after the small fireball appeared, the caster was supposed to use their own magic power to propel the fireball toward the target to kill the enemy. This was the spell's intended usage, but Han Li disagreed.

Han Li believed that the small fireball propelled by magic power was too slow. Even a master of light-footed martial arts could easily dodge it. This greatly limited its effectiveness in Jianghu combat, making it somewhat flashy but impractical. Therefore, when using the Fireball Technique, he only cast it halfway. Once the fireball appeared, he simply did not launch it. Instead, he utilized its property of destroying everything, controlling it in his hand and using it as a short, divine weapon.

In this way, with his improved, extreme movement techniques and the high-temperature fireball in his hand, Han Li was now confident that he could easily kill any master.

With these new advantages, Han Li could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He no longer had to worry about his own insufficient strength. Now, he finally had the confidence to go to Lan Province to be cured of the poison.

At this time, Han Li’s Eternal Spring Art, with him consuming magical medicine like snacks every day, had quietly reached the eighth layer, greatly increasing his magic power.

In terms of sheer magic power depth, Han Li had already surpassed Yu Zitong when his body was still intact. However, in terms of the number of spells mastered and actual combat techniques, he still could not catch up to Yu Zitong in his prime. After all, when Yu Zitong was training in his family’s spells, he had elders above him to offer guidance and peers beside him for sparring—a far cry from Han Li’s half-baked experience.

Han Li was unaware of this, and even if he knew, he would not have cared. He had never been arrogant enough to think that knowing a few superficial spells allowed him to contend with a true cultivator. His enemies were still primarily mortals of the Jianghu world.

Thus, Han Li was in a good mood. Just as he was filled with ambition and preparing to find an excuse to leave the Seven Mysteries Sect and head down the mountain, the Wild Wolf Gang suddenly proposed peace talks with the sect.

The news caused an uproar on the Seven Mysteries Sect’s side. Everyone knew that recently, the Wild Wolf Gang had held the advantage in the conflict, constantly suppressing the Seven Mysteries Sect. Under such favorable circumstances, why would the other side suddenly want to negotiate? Could there be some trick? This aroused many suspicions.

For a time, voices for and against the peace talks rose within the Seven Mysteries Sect. Various high-level members also held differing opinions, with Li Feiyu being one of the staunchest opponents.

Since both the factions for and against the talks had similar strength and could not argue a decisive winner, Sect Leader Wang finally made the decision: to first talk with the other side. If the conditions were not too excessive, they would make peace. If they were too harsh, then the conflict would continue.

This kind of compromise plan, while unable to satisfy both groups, was the only middle ground available. And so it was decided.