Bab 172: [DD]: 172
"Sure enough, you still look more handsome like this."
As soon as Han Li walked out of the room, he heard the slightly teasing voice of Dugu Yan.
Though it was teasing, her eyes sparkled as she looked at Han Li, clearly very satisfied.
Usually, Han Li wore custom-made outfits in black, white, and green. While these outfits were nice, they had become so familiar to the girls that they no longer made much of a visual impact.
Han Li smiled and looked at Dugu Yan.
"Since you said that, I can't let myself be shortchanged. The uniforms from Skywater Academy should have arrived too, right? You should return the favor, don't you think?"
"Of course, no problem. Bing'er has already gone next door to pick them up. Once you come back, you'll be able to see them. The only issue is, you might not know who to look at first."
As she spoke, she mischievously leaned over to Zhu Zhuqing and slyly touched her face, making Zhu Zhuqing blush bright red.
"All right, enough of that. I should get going now. Such a hassle."
Han Li habitually adjusted the crown on his head and prepared to leave.
"Yeah, you better hurry. If you run into Bing'er's little sister, you're in for a rough time."
Dugu Yan suddenly had a mischievous smile on her face, as if she had thought of something.
Hearing her mention Shui Yue'er, Han Li's steps faltered slightly, then he quickened his pace.
Behind him, he could hear the suppressed laughter of the three girls.
Even Han Li had to admit that Shui Yue'er was a bit much to handle. But unfortunately, she was Shui Bing'er's sister.
The main issue was that Shui Yue'er could be considered the ultimate face-obsessed person. Just two days ago, when she arrived in Heaven Dou City, the moment they met, she called him brother-in-law, brother-in-law and threw herself at him.
What made it even more ridiculous was that after he dodged her, she only looked sad for a second.
Then, she quickly changed her approach and started asking Han Li if there were any handsome boys in Spirit Hall she could be introduced to.
In her words, if there were handsome guys around, there were bound to be more handsome guys nearby. Even if they weren't brother-in-law, it didn't matter. She wouldn't compete with her sister.
Seeing her blinking eyes, Han Li knew immediately that she had been planning this since the moment they met. She was even teasing both him and Shui Bing'er in the process.
In the end, Shui Bing'er couldn't take it anymore and, blushing furiously, used her ice powers to freeze Shui Yue'er and carried her away in embarrassment.
Shui Yue'er, among all the soul masters Han Li had met, was the one he'd gladly call the ultimate face-obsessed person. If it were an extreme attribute, she would embody it perfectly.
After a loving hug from Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er finally returned to normal.
...
Once Han Li successfully left Heaven Dou City, his pace quickened significantly. Before long, he rejoined the Spirit Hall delegation.
The group then headed toward Heaven Dou City.
After about half an hour of travel, Han Li, the Holy Son of Spirit Hall, successfully met with Crown Prince Xue Qinghe of Heaven Dou Empire at the city gates for a high-level meeting.
Amid the gazes of many onlookers, the two boarded the same carriage and headed toward the prepared palace.
Inside the carriage, Xue Qinghe glanced at Han Li, who was dressed in his Holy Son's attire and teased him.
"Looks like the Holy Son is quite popular."
"Hmph, very popular indeed. I was out in the open for less than ten minutes, and I already felt hostility from four different directions."
Han Li rolled his eyes at the gloating Xue Qinghe and slouched lazily on the soft couch beside him.
Hearing this, the smile on Xue Qinghe's face vanished, replaced by a murderous expression.
"Need me to take care of them for you?"
"No need. I've already marked them. One of them is even an old acquaintance. I'll handle it myself."
Han Li lazily stretched his body, answering nonchalantly.
He had already marked those people and could trace them back to their sources later. Besides, it was just some hostility. They were probably spies from other factions. If he dealt with every single one of them, he wouldn't have time for anything else—one of them was even Tang Hao.
"It's ridiculous that my grandfather didn't send a Titled Douluo to accompany us; he's being way too careless."
Qian Renxue muttered in dissatisfaction, feeling somewhat bad for Han Li.
"Do you want me to send She Long or Ci Xue to follow you for the time being? Now that you've made a public appearance, there will be more eyes on you."
Han Li gave Qian Renxue a mental thumbs-up for being such a good friend.
He shook his head.
"No need. After all, this is Heaven Dou City. Being too flashy isn't necessary. If I always had a Titled Douluo with me, Emperor Xue Ye probably wouldn't get a good night's sleep."
"Besides, Huyan Zhen is already here, and Salas will be with me soon. That's more than enough. Also, don't tell me you think I'm powerless?"
"You're planning to reveal your strength?"
Qian Renxue looked at him in surprise. In her mind, Han Li was someone who wouldn't act unless he was confident.
"No, but if I do end up fighting, it won't matter. I've already completed my initial development."
Han Li smugly spread his hands, which earned him an eye-roll from Qian Renxue.
"Be honest with me. What level is your power at now?"
Qian Renxue suspiciously stared at Han Li. This guy who wouldn't act unless he had absolute confidence was now saying he didn't care about hiding his strength, which made her itch with curiosity.
"Just a little stronger than before. You'll find out when I make a move."
Han Li turned his head away and focused on the fruit on the table, dodging the question, which earned him another round of silent grumbling from Qian Renxue.
When the two arrived at the palace, Salas was already waiting there.
After another round of formalities, Han Li entered the palace, while Xue Qinghe lingered for a while before leaving.
Since the two great empires were hosting the event and Spirit Hall was only co-hosting, Xue Qinghe, as the crown prince, was much busier than Han Li.
As for Han Li, after entering the palace, he handed all responsibilities over to Salas and casually slipped out through the back door to go home.
As the Holy Son of one of the top powers, and since Han Li had no interest in politics, he had the privilege to do so, and no one could say anything about it.
When Han Li returned home, he found that his house had undergone quite a transformation. The girls from Skywater Academy had already taken over his base of operations, and his return made the atmosphere a bit more tense.
So, after casually greeting the members of the group, he went back to his room.
Although he hadn't paid much attention to the source of the hostility earlier, he still needed to figure out which factions those people belonged to so he could deal with them more accurately later.
Yes, he never held grudges.
However, after some investigation, he was somewhat surprised to find that two of the spies belonged to the same faction.
One spy had returned to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's base, and the other to Thunderclap Academy, which Han Li found quite amusing.
He could understand the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—after all, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had done something similar.
But for one of the Five Elemental Schools' to dare target the Holy Son of Spirit Hall, that was a bit audacious. Perhaps they were still holding a grudge over how he and his master had forced Skywater Academy to become a subsidiary of Spirit Hall years ago.
If that were the case, it would be quite interesting. Han Li wondered if Yu Yuanzhen knew about this.
Han Li smiled playfully and put the matter out of his mind. When soldiers come, you fight them; when water comes, you build a dam. He was no longer the little kid who could only hide behind his master and watch the show.
...
Amid everyone's anticipation, three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the time for the Soul Master Tournament had finally arrived.
At dawn, as the sky was just beginning to brighten, the entire Heaven Dou City was already bustling with activity. Huge crowds of people surged toward the newly constructed arena. The arena could hold nearly 100,000 people, and if not for the Soul Master Tournament, many people would never witness such a grand spectacle in their lifetimes.
In the luxurious residence of the merchant guild, Han Li was leisurely enjoying his breakfast while admiring the four girls across from him, who had already changed into their Skywater Academy uniforms. His mood was excellent—truly, they were a feast for the eyes.
Today was the opening ceremony, but following the ceremony, there would also be a match.
Of course, it would only be one match, with Team Two of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy drawing an opponent to compete in the first round of the round-robin tournament. It was more of an exhibition team battle than anything else.
After all, just an opening ceremony wouldn't satisfy the audience's excitement.
This match had long been arranged by Han Li. The opponents he had chosen for Tang San and his team were from Lanba Academy.
It wasn't that he didn't want to choose Skywater Academy, but this was the first match of Heaven Dou Empire, and Qian Renxue was still disguised as Xue Qinghe. He had to give her some face.
As for the other teams, although there was still a registration process, it was more of a formality, to show the composition of each academy's team. So even the substitutes had to go through the process.
These were the rules set by Spirit Hall, and since Skywater Academy was now a vassal of Han Li's, he couldn't be the first to break the rules.
Of course, it wasn't impossible, just unnecessary.
Besides, the girls all seemed eager to participate. The Soul Master Tournament was a novel experience for them. Many people would love to join but simply didn't have the opportunity.
After finishing breakfast, Han Li looked at the group.
"I'll head out first. You can follow Skywater Academy later. Zhuqing, there's no need to hide. I want to see who will dare to show their face."
"And if anyone does, you can deal with them however you like. Don't worry about the Soul Master Tournament."
The latter part of his statement was directed at the other three girls.
Zhu Zhuqing was still too hesitant. Perhaps she could be ruthless when it came to Dai Mubai, but she still harbored too much compassion for others.
Without waiting for Zhu Zhuqing to respond, Han Li walked out of the courtyard. He still had to reach the palace first and then head to the arena, where he would have to verbally spar with a bunch of old men—part of his official duties.
In the courtyard, Zhu Zhuqing, who had planned to hide her identity, hesitated and looked at the other three girls, only to be met with warm smiles.
"Don't worry, Zhuqing. Just do as Han Li said. If he said so, it means he's prepared. Who knows, by revealing your identity, you might even be helping him. Besides, you can't hide who you are forever, can you?"
Dugu Yan walked over and took her hand, and Shui Bing'er and Xiu'er also moved closer, gently comforting her.
After all, if it hadn't been for Zhu Zhuqing's reluctance, they would have already stormed Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. With Qian Renxue as their inside ally, as long as they didn't kill anyone, it wouldn't even be a problem.
"Sister, are you ready? We should head out."
Outside the wall, Shui Yue'er's voice called out. The girls from Skywater Academy had arrived.
"All right, we're coming."
Shui Bing'er responded, pulling the other three girls toward the door. The Soul Master Tournament had arrived, and they were ready.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone