Guo Ding Quan and the Jin brothers felt gloomy to the extreme.
For Guo Ding Quan, Master beating up his disciple was the same as a father beating his son–a law of nature, so how could he even think of avenging himself? If he did, that would fall into the crime of ingratitude and cheating his own Master, and wherever he fled to, he’d be pointed out by every man!
Meanwhile, the Jin brothers knew that the old man that had thrashed them was the one who excelled in sword arts and alchemy, a person who possessed extremely high status. Even when the Da Yuan King met him, he’d still treat the latter with utmost courtesy and politeness, so even if the older generations of the Jin Clan found out about this matter, they would still definitely not seek vengeance for them.
Which means that they had suffered this thrashing for absolutely no reason.
Ling Han!
The three of them gritted their teeth in fury. The chief culprit behind all this was Ling Han, and he had become the object of their utmost hatred.
“Young Friend Ling, are you all right?” Zhu He Xin and Zhang Wei Shan had raced over, anxious expressions on their faces.
“I’m fine!” Ling Han shook his head with a smile.
‘Of course he’s fine,’ everyone else thought. He played a trick on both the Jin brothers and Duanmu Chang Feng, and now even Duanmu Chang Feng was listening to his every command, how could he possibly not be fine?
However, when they saw the two alchemists arrive and present an overwhelmingly polite demeanor towards Ling Han, they could not control their lips from twitching, and everyone was becoming even more curious about Ling Han’s actual identity.
Who was this guy?
The heartbeat of the Fourth Prince had quickened as he decided to spare no effort to pull Ling Han into his own support camp. If he managed to obtain the support of three alchemists through Ling Han, then what else did he have to fear from a mere Liu Clan? The position of the Da Yuan King would definitely fall to him! [1]
Ling Han did not intend to stay any longer in this place, and so turned around to depart. Duanmu Chang Feng, uncaring of his own face, followed behind him to Heaven’s Medicine Pavilion. He still had to ask Ling Han for the verbal chants and illustrations for the last two moves of the Sweeping Cloud Sword Arts.
Regarding this matter, Zhu He Xin and Zhang Wei Shan were both very shocked. They had never thought that Ling Han not only had a terrifying level of achievements in terms of alchemy, but possessed extraordinary understanding even in the field of martial arts, so much that he could even guide Duanmu Chang Feng, who has been praised as “one who excelled in both sword arts and alchemy”.
Ling Han did not go back on his word. Upon their return, he taught the missing eighth move of Sweeping Cloud Sword Arts to Duanmu Chang Feng.
As for the ninth move?
He would of course not immediately teach him that last move to avoid Duanmu Chang Feng abandoning his benefactor after reaching his goal. At the very least, he would wait until he himself had broken through to the Gushing Spring Tier. By that time, there would be no harm to teach him the ninth move. Anyways, this was just a Black Grade medium level martial arts technique, and for Ling Han, it was completely unimportant.
Duanmu Chang Feng apparently understood this as well, as he excused himself shortly after obtaining the verbal chant and illustration for the eighth move. Whether he managed to get the ninth move or not would depend on his future performance.
When he returned to his room, Ling Han very quickly fell asleep, and Ling Dong Xing had completely no idea how big a commotion his son had created that night. None of those who had the qualifications to be invited to the Fourth Prince’s banquet were mouthy idiots, so the news about Ling Han had only spread around in a very small circle.
Early morning the next day, a servant from the Royal House of the Da Yuan King arrived at Heaven’s Medicine Pavilion, saying that the Da Yuan King had invited Ling Han over for a meeting.
The Da Yuan King wanted to see him?
Ling Han did not have Liu Yu Tong follow him; he alone went with that servant to the Royal House of the Da Yuan King. Very soon, when they arrived at the study, he saw this local overlord.
The Da Yuan King was already sixty years old, but because he had a high cultivation level, he did not look old at all. On the other hand, his figure was tall and sturdy, and his whole body exuded a very powerful aura, displaying the atmosphere of a ruler.
The sixth layer of Spiritual Ocean Tier.
Ling Han only took one glance, and there was no way for this man to conceal his cultivation level in front of his eyes. On the path of martial arts, every fourth and seventh layer was a different threshold. This Da Yuan King should have been stuck on this layer for a very long time.
“Greetings, Da Yuan King!” Ling Han raised his clasped hands as a salutation.
“Rise!” The Da Yuan King raised his hand, and said with a smile, “Youngsters nowadays are really impressive. Not only managing to reach the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier at such a young age, you even have three Black Grade alchemists revolving around you. Even I have not had such an honor.” [2]
The Da Yuan King had obviously already found out about the previous night’s event.
Ling Han laughed mischievously and said, “I only have some slight academic attainments in alchemy, which allowed me to share a common language with Grandmaster Zhu and the others.” [ED/N: academic as in theory.]
The Da Yuan King naturally would not believe Ling Han’s words, yet he did not attempt to point it out bluntly. He only kept his extreme curiosity to himself–curiosity how such a genius had appeared within the area under his jurisdiction… and a genius that had three alchemists willingly revolving around him at that.
“Then what about that girl of the Liu Clan?” He asked with a smile. The issue about Liu Yu Tong couldn’t be hidden from him either.
“Hehe, if one is born handsome, he’d be popular everywhere,” Ling Han said exaggeratedly.
“Haha, you!” the Da Yuan King pointed a bit at Ling Han, as if reprimanding him for being too slick in his speech. He changed the topic swiftly and asked, “Whom do you think out of my two sons is more suitable to inherit my position?”
Was it appropriate to ask him this question?
Ling Han smiled, and said, “The two Princes each have their individual merits. Who exactly is more suitable, I believe that Da Yuan King, Your Majesty, you have your own thoughts. Then what need is there for me to speak more on the subject?”
The Da Yuan King once again broke out into loud laughter as he thought silently, ‘this slippery kid, his argument is watertight’. He once again changed the topic, and said, “I have one more daughter who has yet to marry. Are you willing to become my son-in-law?”
Damn, were all the people from the Royal House of the Da Yuan King so direct? Previously, when he went to register himself for the tournament, the Chief Butler had also attempted some matchmaking on the spot. And now, this man, the actual father of the girl, was the same, as if he was in a hurry to marry off his daughter.
Ling Han hurriedly waved his hands, and said, “My heart is fully focused on martial arts, and within the next few years, I will not consider marriage.”
The Da Yuan King could not help feeling that it was quite a pity. Even Zhu He Xin, Zhang Wei Shan and Duanmu Chang Feng treated Ling Han with utmost respect, so obviously this young man had terrifying ability in the field of alchemy. If the latter could become his son-in-law, then he would become an unimaginable aid to their family branch.
But since Ling Han had already tactfully declined the offer, as a King, he could not be so shameless as to insist. Moreover, his daughter was beautiful, so it was not like there was no one willing to marry her.
“If you encounter any troubles in future, you may come and ask me for help!” The Da Yuan King gave Ling Han a very heavy promise. Even if he could not manage to become Ling Han’s father-in-law, he was still determined to maintain an affable relationship with this young man.
“Many thanks for your generosity!” Ling Han accepted this favor with grace. After all, the current him was still too weak, so he still needed this kind of support and assistance.
When he returned to Heaven’s Medicine Pavilion, he discovered that the Fourth Prince had come to pay him a visit, and had been waiting for a very long time for his return.
The Fourth Prince conversed with him for a very long time, but did not really say anything substantial. He was simply trying to maintain a good relationship with Ling Han. Obviously, the Fourth Prince knew that he was too weak to actually persuade Ling Han to join his ranks. As a result, it was only a relationship between two contemporaries, and the Fourth Prince didn’t even hint that he intended to have Ling Han join him as an underling.
On Ling Han’s side, he did not mind having another friend, and so, the two of them naturally had a very delightful conversation.
After resting one more day, the actual day of the Da Yuan Tournament had finally arrived.
The first thing on the agenda was to draw lots.
After confirming the fifty seeded participants, the other participants would be divided into groups based on the lots they drew. They would be separated into fifty small groups, which would respectively ascend to their own tournament stage. Then the battle would begin, and the last person standing on the tournament stage would be one of the top fifty participants of this Da Yuan Tournament, successfully obtaining a place of enrollment into Hu Yang Academy. [3]
Ling Han had also obtained the place of a seeded participant, and this guaranteed that in the first round of battle, he would not encounter any opponents that were too powerful–of course, no matter how strong his opponent was, he would still hold no fear.
“Big Brother Ling!” Li Hao and the others were standing nearby, waving at him.