A day later, a streak of azure light shot out from the mountain range where the Xu family was located. It circled once before
He glanced back toward the mountains below with a faint, detached look, then spurred his light forward once more.
After several flashes, the streak of light vanished without a trace beyond the distant horizon.
Over the days that followed, Han Li wandered through the Tianyuan Territory, traveling from city to city — large and small — for the better part of several years.
His tracks appeared near many renowned sects and noble families in the vicinity of these cities.
Sometimes Han Li would pay a direct visit, engaging in spirited exchanges with high-ranking cultivators. Other times he would simply observe from a cold distance before slipping away unnoticed.
Though he had traversed only a tenth or so of the Tianyuan Territory, even those few short years were enough to deepen his understanding of the human race's situation considerably.
The number of Spirit Integration cultivators among humans was, in truth, far from comparable to that of the Horned Flood Dragon tribe, let alone the Flying Spirit Clan and other alien races.
Aside from those gathered under Tianyuan City and the Three Emperors, the Spirit Integration cultivators hiding within the various noble families and sects were few in number.
As for independent Spirit Integration rogue cultivators like himself, they were rarer still among humans.
The monster race, from what he had heard, seemed to have a slight edge over the humans in this regard, though the difference was not vast.
If the two races combined their strength, their overall power was probably comparable to that of a mid-tier race he had encountered on the Fengyuan Continent.
This was largely because the territory occupied by the human and monster races lay in a relatively remote corner of the Fengyuan Continent, where no particularly powerful alien races had taken root. Otherwise, even with the super-grade protective formations and Tianyuan City standing guard, whether the two races could truly have endured in the
After all, according to his understanding, many alien races far more powerful than humans and monsters had also flickered briefly in the river of time before vanishing entirely.
As a consequence, with his identity as a Spirit Integration cultivator, Han Li encountered not the slightest danger during his travels. He even happened to cut down a handful of wicked cultivators along the way, which gradually spread his name across the Tianyuan Territory.
Many smaller sects and noble families learned that a new Spirit Integration cultivator — young in appearance, with unfathomably deep Magical Power — had emerged among the humans.
Eventually, even the great powers in the Xuanwu Territory and the Tianling Region sent envoys to recruit him.
Naturally, Han Li declined them all.
And so, five years passed in the blink of an eye…
One day, at the midpoint of a picturesque, verdant mountain straddling the border between the Xuanwu Territory and the Tianyuan Territory, three human cultivators of different attire sat inside a stone pavilion, chatting and laughing with great ease.
The first wore a white scholarly robe and possessed sharp, sword-like brows and bright eyes. In his early thirties, he cut the figure of a dashing and refined gentleman.
Beside him sat a round-faced youth in a yellow Daoist robe, a battered, dark wooden sword strapped across his back — a young Daoist who appeared no older than seventeen or eighteen.
The last had an ordinary complexion with slightly tanned skin and wore a plain azure robe — a young man of perhaps twenty-three or twenty-four.
This young man was none other than Han Li.
At this moment, Han Li's lips were faintly curved, wearing an expression somewhere between amusement and indifference as he listened to the young Daoist across from him rattle on without pause.
"It's not that I, Qi Lingzi, am boasting, but the founding ancestor of our Misty Sea Observatory — the Misty Sea Sect he established in the lower realm — was truly the greatest sect under heaven, dominating the entire mortal world and suppressing the myriad demon beasts on all four sides. Ancestor Xuanling himself was hailed as the number one cultivator in all the world. Now that I, Qi Lingzi, have inherited his mantle and taken charge of the Misty Sea Observatory, if you two fellow Daoists were to join as well, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. Once the three of us reach the pinnacle of our cultivation, with our combined strength, even if we cannot make our observatory the foremost sect among humans, we could certainly dominate a region without the slightest difficulty…"
"Haha, Qi Lingzi! On this journey alone, you've spouted this to me and Brother Han at least seventeen or eighteen times. Your Misty Sea Observatory — even counting you and that little attendant — has barely a handful of people, and yet you dare invite me, Hai the Young Master, and Brother Han to join? Even if your ancestor really was imposing back in the mortal realm, here in the Spirit Realm he was nothing more than an ordinary Deity Transformation cultivator. Otherwise, how could your Misty Sea Observatory have fallen into such decrepit shape?" The handsome young man let out a sly laugh, flicked his wrist, and produced a green paper fan, which he snapped open with a snap and began fanning himself with a leisurely air.
"Pah, pah — Hai the Young Master, what do you know! It's not that our Misty Sea Observatory's techniques are inferior. It's that the Misty Sea Supreme Art our ancestor left behind has unusually strict requirements for a cultivator's aptitude. When the ancestor ascended to the Spirit Realm, he unfortunately encountered a once-in-a-millennium spatial storm. Though he broke free, he was gravely wounded. After hastily establishing the Misty Sea Observatory, he soon perished. Otherwise, how could our observatory have ended up stuck in such a desolate backwater?" The young Daoist flushed red and retorted indignantly.
"I'd say your ancestor actually had remarkable foresight. With the Misty Sea Observatory's strength, if it had truly occupied some sacred mountain or spirit vein, whether your lineage would even still exist in the Spirit Realm today would be doubtful at best. Wouldn't you agree, Brother Han?" The handsome youth known as "Hai the Young Master" snapped his fan shut and turned to Han Li with a swaying, self-satisfied nod.
"Young Master Hai's words do hold some merit. However, Fellow Daoist Qi Lingzi's technique is indeed peculiar and profound — it most likely does impose special requirements on a cultivator's natural aptitude," Han Li said with a faint smile.
"Haha, see? Even Brother Han says so! That just proves our Misty Sea Observatory's heritage is no ordinary thing. Well, what do you say? If you're willing to join, I'll transmit the Misty Sea Supreme Art to both of you right away!" The young Daoist's narrow eyes squeezed into slits the moment he heard Han Li's words, and he spoke in a tone dripping with temptation.
Hai the Young Master rolled his eyes and shot back without any patience:
"I cultivate the most orthodox body-refining art there is, and my talent for body cultivation is exceptional — I've already pushed the Diamond Art to the third layer. You, this so-called observatory master, have barely established your Foundation not long ago. You might not even be able to beat me, so what could you possibly teach? If I'm going to swear a master, it'll be to a truly prestigious sect. And Brother Han — what you said just now was awfully vague. 'Some merit'? What I said was spot on. The reason Senior Xuanling built the Misty Sea Observatory in such a remote, godforsaken ravine was almost certainly to ensure his lineage's survival."
As he spoke, Hai the Young Master grew increasingly pleased with himself.