"Don't block it, dodge!"
Wang the Manager, still gripping Han Li's hand, screamed through the pain, trying to warn the Young Prince.
Obviously, his warning came a split second too late.
Upon hearing the shout, the Young Prince instinctively shifted his body to the side, attempting to evade the edge of the enormous green sword. But the blade abruptly changed from a chopping to a slicing motion, sweeping lightly across his legs. The protective black qi around his body was cleaved apart in an instant, doing absolutely nothing to stop it.
As a result, after his two calves were cleanly sliced off, the Young Prince screamed once and passed out on the spot. Having grown up pampered and indulged since childhood, even though he was quite shrewd, he had never truly endured any suffering — and naturally could not bear the excruciating agony of having his legs severed.
This scene, however, gave Han Li quite a fright. For a moment he thought that the Green Origin Sword Light, having gone unused for so long, had malfunctioned and actually killed the man!
Once he figured out what had happened, Han Li picked up the unconscious prince with a mix of exasperation and amusement, and flew back toward the Four Friends of Mengshan.
Han Li was in a fine mood after his decisive victory, but he also felt a touch of puzzlement. Based on the dangerous sensation he had initially gotten from the Young Prince and Manager Wang, these two should have been much harder to deal with — yet he had captured them with suspicious ease. Could it be that his mysterious spiritual intuition was starting to fail him?
Han Li shook his head, finding it a bit strange.
At this moment, the remaining black-robed cultivators lurking in the distance witnessed the scene and knew there was no point in lingering any longer. After exchanging glances, they truly scattered and fled, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Han Li had no intention of giving chase. These were merely peripheral figures on the same level as the Four Friends of Mengshan — not worth the effort of hunting down.
While lost in thought, he flew back to where the Four Friends of Mengshan were waiting and casually tossed the two prisoners toward them, saying in a flat tone:
"Stop the bleeding on these two. I still need to get information out of them."
The young man and the second eldest of the Four Friends immediately caught the prisoners, not daring to show the slightest hesitation. By now, the Four Friends' respect for Han Li was not merely superficial — it came from the depths of their hearts. Han Li's spectacular display of power moments ago had left an indelible impression upon all of them.
"Truly, Senior's cultivation techniques are profound beyond measure. This junior's eyes have been opened wide!" the dark-faced elder said with a face full of reverence.
"It's nothing — just a petty little trick."
Han Li noticed the awe on the faces of the Four Friends and felt a certain smugness inside, but on the surface he still put on an expression suggesting it was hardly worth mentioning, which only deepened the impression that this Senior Han was unfathomably deep.
Just then, a series of thunderous booms rang out — "clang, clang, clang" — causing Han Li's expression to change slightly.
The Four Friends hurriedly looked over. The middle-aged woman among them made out what was happening and immediately pointed with a panicked look, calling out to Han Li:
"Senior, look quickly! Your magical treasure!"
Han Li had already turned around and looked up. The Sky-Covering Bell, which had been trapping the bald giant, was emitting deafening crashes from within while its outer surface was undergoing an impossible transformation. With each impact, a huge bulge would bulge outward from the bell's wall without any apparent cause. After more than a dozen such crashes, the bell had become completely unrecognizable, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to its original form.
But the situation was even worse than that — the yellow light on the bell had dimmed, and the bald giant inside looked as though he might shatter the bell and burst out at any moment.
Han Li's heart lurched with shock!
Although he had no idea what could be causing such a bizarre phenomenon, it was clear the Sky-Covering Bell could no longer contain the man. He would have to find another way.
With that thought, Han Li recalled the dozen or so magical treasures circling above his head and tossed out seven or eight beast-shaped puppets, which lined up shoulder to shoulder with the four puppets already deployed, forming a barrier in front of Han Li and the Four Friends of Mengshan.
The instant he finished — BOOM! — an explosive blast erupted, and the Sky-Covering Bell was literally torn to shreds. From within it, a figure that was part man, part something else entirely shot out like an arrow.
"What is that?"