"Each make a concession? Daoist Gu, what do you mean by that?" The white-robed young man was stunned upon hearing this and asked with some surprise.
"I see that you two are deadlocked. Why not both sides make some adjustments? Fellow Daoist Du can take Brother Han's subordinates back to Holy Island, but Brother Han could accompany them on the trip. If he truly finds anything objectionable upon arrival, he can raise his concerns in time. I believe that with Brother Han's reputation, the elders of Holy Island would hardly dare show him no consideration at all." The silver-haired elder said cautiously after thinking it over for a moment.
"Very well. If Fellow Daoist Han is worried, he is certainly welcome to come with us to Holy Island." After his eyes flickered a couple of times, Du Yu agreed readily without hesitation.
"There's no need for such trouble. Since Daoist Gu has spoken, I can't very well give him no consideration at all. How about this — if just one of the three envoys can withstand a single strike from me without any harm, I'll let my subordinates go with them. But if none of you can... heh heh..." Han Li said with a cold laugh, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"What? Withstand a single strike? Fellow Daoist Han, you actually dare say something like that!" Despite Du Yu's deep and reserved nature, his face turned ashen upon hearing these words.
The ugly woman and the yellow-haired man were equally furious upon hearing this.
"What? You three don't believe me? Shall I swear upon my Heart Demon as well?" Han Li asked back, his expression unchanged.
"That won't be necessary. For someone of Fellow Daoist Han's standing to say such a thing, I trust he won't go back on his word afterward." Du Yu snorted. After his anger subsided slightly, his mind began racing as he tried to figure out the true intention behind Han Li's words.
He certainly didn't believe Han Li was merely looking for a graceful way to back down — but he naturally believed even less that the three of them couldn't withstand a single strike from the other party.
The Integration-stage elders of Heavenly Abyss City nearby exchanged startled glances upon hearing this.
They all knew that Han Li's magical powers were extraordinary — he could almost be called the foremost Integration-stage cultivator below the Mahayana realm.
But to say that Du Yu and the others couldn't even take a single strike from Han Li? They found that equally hard to believe.
Elder Gu and Zen Master Jin Yue exchanged a glance. Elder Gu cleared his throat lightly and was about to say something more.
But just then, Lady Silver Light, who was sitting nearby, suddenly sent a voice transmission with barely moving lips.
Upon hearing the message, Elder Gu's expression shifted subtly. His gaze involuntarily darted toward Silver Moon beside Han Li, and the words that had been on the tip of his tongue were abruptly swallowed back.
At this moment, Du Yu fixed Han Li with a dark, penetrating gaze for a long while, then took a deep breath before slowly speaking: "Since Fellow Daoist Han insists on resolving this through combat, we have no choice but to accept. Of the three of us, I, Du, shall step forward and take your strike. I'm also quite curious to see how Fellow Daoist plans to defeat me in a single blow."
After realizing that the Heavenly Abyss City elders truly intended to remain completely neutral and would not intervene between them and Han Li, Du Yu weighed his options internally before finally making his decision.
Although he harbored some suspicion about why Han Li was so arrogantly confident, he had far greater faith in his own strength.
With his fully mastered Confucian Sacred Art, combined with the several supreme treasures he carried, he might even be able to withstand a move or two from a Mahayana cultivator — how could he possibly fail to take a single strike from a cultivator of the same realm?
The yellow-haired cultivator and the ugly woman clearly held great confidence in Du Yu's strength as well. Upon hearing that he would fight on their behalf, neither raised the slightest objection, only fixing Han Li with even more hostile gazes.
As envoys of Holy Island, wherever they went in the past, no matter how powerful the cultivator they faced, they were always treated with exceptional respect. Even upon occasionally encountering Integration-stage cultivators with peculiar temperaments, the worst they received was a slightly cold demeanor — nothing remotely as bluntly disrespectful as Han Li's treatment.
Upon seeing Du Yu agree to his terms, Han Li's lips twitched slightly before he burst into hearty laughter: "Good, Fellow Daoist Du is indeed a straightforward man. Then I shall await you in the Competition Grand Hall on the floor below."
The moment he finished speaking, Han Li stood up, took a single long stride forward, and as space rippled before him, his entire figure vanished into the void, leaving only the sound of his laughter echoing throughout the hall.
Seeing Han Li tear through space and leave with such effortless ease, Du Yu's expression tightened, a hint of gravity showing in his eyes.
He knew that with his full power unleashed, he too could tear open space and teleport away, but to do so with the same casual nonchalance as Han Li — that was beyond his ability.
This added another fraction to his wariness, though it was still within what he could mentally accept. He merely gave a cold snort to himself.
At that moment, Crab Daoist also rose without a word and flicked his sleeves toward Silver Moon and Zhu Guo'er nearby. Two streams of silver light shot forth and enveloped both of them.
A crack of thunder rang out simultaneously from all three, and they vanished eerily amid crackling arcs of silver lightning.
Clearly, Crab Daoist and the others had also gone to the Competition Grand Hall, following Han Li.
Seeing this, Du Yu felt another chill in his heart. He abruptly turned his head and asked the silver-haired elder a question: