Chapter 371: Love struck Fools and Yu Xiaogang's Wild Ride
It was well into the evening when Han Li finally carried Qian Renxue back to the courtyard.
Qian Daoliu took his granddaughter from Han Li's arms, his face still marked with tear stains. With great care, he carried her into her room before solemnly saying, "Thank you."
Han Li simply waved a hand, saying nothing.
He wasn't particularly fond of alcohol, but so far, the only two times he had drunk alone with someone had been with Qian Renxue.
And both times, she had cried.
The difference was, last time, she cried after drinking, and this time, she cried first, then drank.
Either way, it wasn't much different.
Yet each time it happened, her spiritual power would surge dramatically, so at least there was some benefit.
Drinking, shopping, more drinking, more shopping…
Qian Renxue had completely unleashed her emotions tonight.
At one point, she even started buying lingerie in front of Han Li, asking which designs he thought looked best.
If it weren't for Han Li using his spiritual power to blur their faces from others' memory, they would have instantly become the biggest sensation in Tian Dou City.
Of course, Qian Renxue herself wouldn't forget.
And when she sobered up, she would probably scream in regret.
Last time, she had avoided him for a long time before she could finally act normal again.
Thinking about the potential future drama, Han Li couldn't help but smile slightly.
Since Qian Renxue had already stopped watching, Han Li also lost interest in Spirit City's affairs.
Watching too much of that nonsense might give him an eye infection.
His son could handle the monitoring.
And besides, Bibi Dong was definitely not in a normal state of mind right now.
She was desperately suppressing the Rakshasa Heart, which only meant that her eventual breakdown would be even more catastrophic.
Han Li didn't need to watch the whole soap opera.
He only needed to show up for the grand finale.
Why waste time on some old love drama starring an aging, pathetic fool?
Wouldn't it be better to cultivate with the cool and elegant Silver Dragon King instead?
So after greeting Qian Daoliu, Han Li vanished from the courtyard.
Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well – Restoration Space
As soon as he returned, Gu Yue exited her meditation.
After experiencing law cultivation through dual cultivation, her progress had been too smooth, and now it was difficult to adjust to the slower pace of self training.
"You were drinking?"
She sniffed the air slightly and frowned.
"With a woman?"
Han Li glanced at her and casually replied,
"Yeah. The future Angel God."
Gu Yue's expression shifted slightly.
"…She's one of the five first tier gods you mentioned?"
Han Li shook his head.
"No. She's the sixth one. Not originally in my plans."
Gu Yue was silent for a moment before suddenly saying,
"Let's cultivate."
"Alright."
Han Li found her reaction a little odd, but he didn't dwell on it.
After all, his reason for returning was to train.
Spending time with Qian Renxue was already a form of relaxation.
As their hands intertwined, Gu Yue's voice suddenly sounded in his ears.
"I prefer the scent of fresh grass."
Immediately after, a surge of elemental energy water and wind mixed together wrapped around Han Li before violently ejecting him from the restoration space.
Then, without waiting for his reaction, Gu Yue's spiritual energy merged with his to begin their cultivation.
Han Li blinked.
Well, someone's in a bad mood.
He didn't have time to overthink it her insights into the laws were already flooding his mind.
Due to her sour mood, she burned through a lot of spiritual energy.
So this time, their session ended much faster than usual.
When Han Li still had one third of his spiritual power remaining, Gu Yue had already exhausted herself and withdrew to recover.
Han Li sighed helplessly as he sorted through his new insights.
Lying on the grass, he stared at the simulated starry sky in the restoration space, momentarily lost in thought.
This world really was just one big romance novel.
Even with the apocalypse approaching, people were still busy falling in love.
Han Li wasn't stupid.
If the Silver Scale Pendant was just a misunderstanding, and if their continued dual cultivation could be explained as purely practical, then today's behavior was way too obvious.
Gu Yue's experiences were limited.
Ever since she was "born," most of her time had been spent sleeping and recovering.
That's why her approach to things was so clumsy.
Still, there was no denying it.
She liked him.
Han Li sighed.
"I really am a sinful man…"
Also…
Had she forgotten their original deal?
She was supposed to be expendable.
If he couldn't win, he was supposed to sacrifice her as cannon fodder.
But now, if she kept acting like this, how the hell was he supposed to throw her away when the time came?
Wouldn't that make him the bad guy?
Han Li clicked his tongue in annoyance and shut his eyes.
Forget it.
Better to just focus on getting stronger.
If he won, then he wouldn't have to throw anyone away.
Right now, he wasn't alone anymore.
And as for Gu Yue…
Well, at this moment, she didn't smell like the Laws of the Universe.
She just smelled…
Jealous.
While Han Li was busy improving his strength, Qian Renxue, after waking up, also threw herself into the Angel Shrine. Meanwhile, over in Spirit City, Bibi Dong and Yu Xiaogang were not idle either.
Just as Han Li had predicted, under the influence of the true supreme rules of the continent, the still restrained Rakshasa Heart had its impact. After personally testing it several times and having others take it outside for a week of trials, Her Majesty the Pope finally decided to support Yu Xiaogang.
Hu Liena couldn't stop her.
She also tried cultivating Yu Xiaogang's modified simplified version of Xuan Tian Gong. Indeed, it was better than the common version circulating on the continent, though still far inferior to the official Xuan Tian Gong she was practicing. So, after one day of experimentation, she gave up.
She had wanted to persuade Bibi Dong to test it longer and even inform the Worship Hall, but Bibi Dong refused, using the excuse that she couldn't reach them. Left with no choice, Hu Liena backed down, though her impression of Yu Xiaogang worsened. Outwardly, however, she could only force a smile her teacher's authority had grown stronger than ever.
Hu Liena was frustrated.
But Bibi Dong? She was delighted.
She suddenly felt that the absence of those old men from the Worship Hall had come at the perfect time. The sheer peace of not having them around to bother her was wonderful.
As for the rest of the Spirit Hall personnel? She didn't care.
And none of them could stop her.
Soon, copies of Yu Xiaogang's "improved" cultivation manual, with his name prominently displayed, were printed and rapidly distributed across the continent using Spirit Hall's vast network.
It was… surreal.
But undeniably efficient.
After all, Bibi Dong had done this before more than twenty years ago, she had promoted a book called The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls in a similar fashion.
However, this time, having learned from her past experiences and not wanting to recall the Worship Hall elders just to annoy herself, she didn't publicly endorse it. Instead, she covertly spread it using Spirit Hall's channels.
A fun fact:
The printing costs?
All covered by Bibi Dong herself.
Because let's be honest, Yu Xiaogang's entire fortune after being thoroughly scammed by Han Li's people was less than 20,000 gold soul coins.
What could he even afford to print with that?
A pamphlet?
The Public's Reaction
The members of Spirit Hall were shocked.
But after flipping through the book and giving it a try, they quickly lost interest.
It was far inferior to the official Xuan Tian Gong they were practicing.
So they set it aside.
"This? This is what's supposed to be an improvement on His Highness the Holy Son's technique?"
They even felt a strange sense of pride in rejecting it.
Then, as if in tribute, they sent Han Li another wave of faith power.
However, just because Spirit Hall didn't care didn't mean others wouldn't.
Despite clear disclaimers from every Spirit Hall branch explicitly stating that the book was not an official product and that they were not responsible for any consequences people still rushed to try it.
Because there are always fools.
And there are always desperate, ambitious people who can't resist shortcuts.
Many found the initial effects promising and thought they had struck gold.
Still, a large portion of people ignored it.
Some had heard of Yu Xiaogang and didn't dare to mess with anything related to him.
Others, especially commoners who had just started learning the real Xuan Tian Gong through Spirit Hall, didn't even bother.
These people, many of whom were illiterate, had barely begun to grasp their first technique.
Without an instructor, they had to rely on pictures to learn.
And when Spirit Hall members told them plainly that Han Li wasn't involved and that they wouldn't take responsibility if anything went wrong…
They just burned the books for firewood.
"What, we're supposed to teach ourselves? What if we mess up? What if we die? Spirit Hall already said they won't help us!"
To them, it was a no brainer.
So, in the end, the only ones who actively pursued this so called "improved" version were…
The greedy, the reckless, and the naturally arrogant fools.
Han Li's Response
Of course, Han Li knew all of this.
But he didn't care.
Why interfere in something that was only helping him?
Let them train harder.
The faster they cultivated, the sooner someone would drop dead.
And when that happened, when the public outrage erupted, Han Li could swoop in and harvest another wave of faith this time, even more devout than before.
Besides, it was funny.
Right now, Yu Xiaogang was practically worshipping Bibi Dong.
But this same guy, who was so submissive and spineless to outsiders, was actually the worst when it came to turning against his own people.
And Bibi Dong?
She was already mentally unstable.
Yu Xiaogang, meanwhile, was still in the Rakshasa God's trials.
How happy would the Rakshasa be to see her successor growing complacent?
Han Li was willing to bet that if the Rakshasa God didn't sabotage Bibi Dong, he would personally go apologize to Tang San's corpse.
And once Yu Xiaogang inevitably screwed up…
And once Bibi Dong completely snapped…
Oh, it was going to be glorious.
Meanwhile, for Qian Renxue…
Han Li figured it was a great opportunity to cheer up his dear little sister.
(Not that she was actually younger than him, but details.)
She had been stuck in a long series of mental trials for her God Exam.
And Han Li?
He wasn't a petty man.
He just deeply cared for his allies.
Wouldn't it be too cruel to let Qian Renxue suffer endlessly in her divine trials?
She needed positive emotions, too.
So why not gift her the sight of Yu Xiaogang's downfall?
The Rise of "Master Yu"
Thus, with the subtle approval of certain influential figures, Yu Xiaogang's fame exploded.
For a time, his name eclipsed even Han Li's in the public discourse.
If an outsider had seen this, they might have mistaken him for the true creator of Xuan Tian Gong.
Bibi Dong was thrilled.
Yu Xiaogang was ecstatic.
The people who switched to his technique were celebrating, convinced they had discovered a hidden treasure.
The previously calm continent suddenly erupted, boiling over like a pot of water left on high heat.
And Han Li?
Still dual cultivating.
(End of Chapter.)
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