Han Li and Hua Yu were on top of the walls of the Southern Lust City, looking into the distance. Both of them had calm expressions, but if someone who was perceptive looked at them, they would notice that Hua Yu was trembling slightly with a bit of excitement.
She had eaten nearly 70 Magical Resources, and she could feel her whole body fussing with warmth. Many of the resources she had eaten were Poisons, but Han Li had assured her that when the combined forces of all the Resources worked on her, the poison would be neutralized. That had indeed happened, and she could feel her body steadily growing stronger.
Like a confluence of warmth, her whole body felt hot. She had already reached the cusp of physiques between Power Born and Evolved levels. Soon enough, she would gain a [Below-Average Power Birth Physique].
Evolved top-tier strength bodies could withstand even normal blades, and they could topple trees with their best attacks. Han Li could also topple trees now. He hadn't tested himself after forging his Bones, but he knew he could easily destroy mountain boulders with a punch.
But regardless, that was nothing compared to even the weakest [Below Average Power Born Physiques].
Suddenly, Hua Yu's eyes constricted to pins, and her nerves bulged like thick snakes coursing through her skin. She trembled, her teeth grinding against each other as she fell on the wall and squirmed.
Han Li calmly looked at her and took a sip of wine from the flagon of thick alcohol in his hand. She looked to be in pain, he noted calmly as his gaze moved to the distance. Far away, a dust cloud was rising, and he could tell why that must have happened.
His eyes darkened.
Exactly ten minutes later, heaving, puffing in pain, Hua Yu stood up with a sweaty body. Her green dress was now soaked from head to toe, giving her an extremely alluring appearance, with her twin mounts an especially sweet sight for those who adored feminine beauty.
With a groan, she snatched the flagon from Han Li's hand and downed several sips before looking at the dust cloud—a serious expression cast over her excited face. "Your conjuncture was indeed the right one," she said.
Han Li nodded.
According to Hua Yu's quick information hunt, The Clan Heads of Rock, Raven, and Starlight Clan were all in their own places, cultivating. But what about the enemy and the place where Li Shuanwei would spawn?
As far as Han Li knew, a Power Born woman had captured Li Shuanwei before he entered the Demon World, and Li Xingguang had chased after that woman in rage, yelling and revealing himself in the middle of Han Li's marriage.
But. But!
He had not been saved, and that woman Power Born, Li Shuanwei's captor, had not been put down. That woman, Demonic Ice Fairy, was still out there, exactly where the cloud of dust was rising from.
A silent sigh left Han Li.
Only People at the Power Born level could raise such a ruckus. Even the ground was slightly shaking.
"Do you feel strong?" he asked, looking into Hua Yu's emerald eyes.
The woman took a deep breath and clenched her hands. "I feel invincible. Three or four punches, and I can destroy this fortress wall of the Southern Lust city. I am strong. Beyond my own expectation."
Han Li flourished his dark sword and struck it at her. She didn't dodge.
It was sharp. It would cut anyone at the level of Evolved like Tofu, but striking her neck, it stopped and just vibrated with a "Shing!" sound. It couldn't move even a centimeter into her skin. She had a body stronger than iron.
She smirked.
He smiled, too.
"Strong indeed. A Power Born is indeed on their own level."
But then, their eyes became slightly downcast. Both Han Li and Hua Yu looked towards the dust cloud with a silent and defeated back. No matter how strong they could be, there were always bigger mountains with deeper foundations.
If no one among the Power Born Clan Heads was fighting the Demonic Ice Fairy, it was obvious why the fight had suddenly begun out of nowhere. It was painfully obvious.
It was around time for Li Shuanwei to return from the Demon World, and he should have returned. Exactly there, the man who had chopped his mother's hand with nary but a single wave of his hand, utterly inconceivable. That guy was fighting a Power Born.
This time, Liyue immediately noticed him upon entry, and the wooden spear in her hand fell out. She walked towards Han Li and gently placed her hand on his chest. She took a deep breath and asked, "Where is Mother Yue?"
Han Li patted her head, "Not the time for this. We'll talk."
She was reluctant but silent; she didn't say anything and just nodded. Her eyes kept breaking out tears, but she sniffed and, keeping his hand tightly in hers, followed him. She really, really had thought of many things that could have gone wrong in his nearly week-long trip. The relief was like a stuck blade taken out of her heart.
They then also met Li Yao, who looked at Han Li with a sigh of relief and gave him a long embrace. Hua Feilan asked Hua Yu something from the side.
Li Yao said, "I saw your mother in the room a second ago, but I didn't tell Liyue. Yue Li looks roughed up. You guys seemed to have gone through some serious stuff..."
Han Li sighed and, with all of them, and a quickly caught chicken with him, returned to the room where his mother was sleeping.
Then, he woke her up once more; still rather fuzzy in the head, she put all of them—Liyue, Li Yao, Hua Feilan, and the chicken—into her Empty Space before once again falling asleep a bit later onto Han Li's chest. Han Li had also made her put the important stuff, like extra Magical Resources in their hands, into her Empty Space.
The room was once again deadly quiet. Only him, Hua Yu, and his mother were here now.
Han Li looked at Hua Yu. "That was really a humbling experience... I had overestimated myself and also The Trials. There was no chance that Nu Kai and I stood a chance against Li Shuanwei. He is someone we can't judge."
But there was no reason to fight him now.
Even now that he had forged his bones, Li Shuanwei was beyond him.
"Nu Kai?" Hua Yu frowned.
"Someone I know. Anyway, let's go." He took his mother in a princess carry and looked at Hua Yu with a deep breath.
She could carry them and fly. That would be their way of travel.
"Any plans?" She asked. She had many ways of her own to avoid a chase.
Han Li smiled. "There is a friend of mine, Yang Wei. Let's move towards him; you can't interfere in this, and nor can we move too close, but if I invite him, he should come to me on his own. I have a bit of frustration to release, and he seems like an opportunity that is ready for the picking."
Hua Yu corked her eyebrows.
He smiled, and they both walked out of the house. Floating at the level of the rooftops of the homes, Han Li looked down at the city from his vantage point. Everything was shaking slightly due to the fight in the distance.
"I have a route in mind. One where no one can chase us..." Han Li said. He had not much of a reaction to being afloat, and Hua Yu was not physically carrying them; her soul sense was at the level of psychokinesis, and it was hefting them.
"To which route?" She asked.
She preferred moving in her own hidden route, but maybe he had more ideas of better routes.
"There is an underwater cavern, and through it, we can reach another part of the continent. No one would chase."
They moved quickly and were soon far away from the city. Moving towards Yang Wei with a letter of challenge.
After 3 hours, the battle in the distance ended, and four figures flew and landed on the wall where Li Xingguang had parted with Han Li. Their faces were filled with frustration and even pity.
"If that Hua Yu actually helped, we would have killed the Ice Fairy!" The Raven Head spat.
As all of them began to bicker, though, Li Shuanwei, who was silently standing beside his father with a calm gaze, paused and looked at a small floating glob of water in front of them and frowned.
"...What is this?" he asked and frowned.