Chapter 372: Fermentation The Brewing Storm Has Begun
"You seem to be in a good mood."
After another round of cultivation, Gu Yue glanced at Han Li, noticing the faint smile on his lips.
"I am. Everything is progressing smoothly."
Han Li responded casually while holding a jade token, sending a message before putting it away.
He had been maintaining regular contact with his allies across the continent, and the progress of their divine trials was remarkable. Even his master, who was the last to begin the trials, had officially started the sixth test today.
Meanwhile, Qian Renxue had successfully drawn the Angelic Sacred Sword and vanquished her dark counterpart, completing the seventh trial. After a brief rest, she planned to push forward into the eighth trial.
At this rate, someone might even ascend to godhood before the esteemed Pope herself.
Moreover, thanks to Yu Xiaogang's so called "improved cultivation method," a chain reaction had begun across the continent. Though the chaos hadn't completely fallen upon him yet, it was only a matter of time.
Let the bullets fly a little longer once the public backlash erupted, there would be no way to suppress it.
And when that happened, Han Li would harvest another wave of faith power.
How could he not be in a good mood?
To top it off, his Amplification Formation had improved by another one percent, reaching 95% effectiveness a small step, but an important one.
"Amazing. Everything is going according to plan."
Turning to Gu Yue, Han Li asked, "Based on your current progress, how long do you think it will take before you fully master the power of creation?"
"The fastest? Three months. The slowest? Half a year."
Gu Yue smiled faintly as she answered.
Not long ago, she never would have imagined achieving such a feat. At best, she had hoped to experiment with this power, never expecting such astonishing results.
After all, even among the most gifted deities, mastering a Supreme Law took decades.
Yet now, she had been refining Creation Power for less than a year.
What an unbelievable pace.
Realizing this, Gu Yue's gaze toward Han Li softened even more.
"Half a year? Perfect timing."
Han Li, of course, had already noticed her subtle expression.
But he gave no response.
He knew Gu Yue's rapid progress was unnatural not just because of his assistance, but because the power of creation had always been dormant within her divine core.
She wasn't really learning it from scratch it was more like she was unlocking what was already inside her.
On the other hand, the others in their group were advancing rapidly purely because of him.
What a privilege it was to have a cheat code guiding their divine trials.
"When the time comes, ascend with me."
Han Li turned to Gu Yue, giving the most cautious yet optimal suggestion.
Once he forged his divine seat, she could use that moment to fully integrate Creation Power into her divine core and ascend to the God King level.
During his ascension, Douluo Star would be safest he would cut off the God Realm's shackles and temporarily free himself from their oversight.
Since he was fused with the planet, the God Realm wouldn't dare act recklessly against them.
Unlike Jinlong Wang, Gu Yue wasn't naturally hostile toward the divine.
Once they both ascended, the God Realm would lose the chance to interfere.
The only issue was what to do with Bibi Dong's divine core after dealing with her.
Currently, Han Li held the rights to that core.
He wasn't sure if the God Realm's higher ups would be able to contain Rakshasa's influence.
Without Tang San paving the way, he had become the first to experiment with this.
That unpredictability was his biggest concern.
If necessary, he would discard the Rakshasa divine core.
It wasn't worth the risk of exposing his true nature before he fully ascended.
However, if he could take it safely, it would be a huge gain.
After all, a Tier 1 Deity's core was no small prize.
At this thought, Han Li chuckled to himself.
Aside from his unprecedented mastery of fate, his entire divine path had been piecemealed together truly the work of a "fragment collector."
Well, as long as it worked, that's all that mattered.
"Look at Ye Xiu from Glory his 'Scattered Account' still dominated the competitive scene. I might be a 'rogue build,' but who's to say I can't crush the God Realm?"
A smirk played on his lips.
"Mm hmm!"
Gu Yue nodded rapidly, like a pecking chick.
This had been her greatest concern all along.
The ascension of a God King wasn't exactly subtle it was an event that would definitely attract the God Realm's attention.
But now, with Han Li's guarantee and protection, she felt a lot more at ease.
Since awakening, she hadn't even realized how blindly she had come to trust Han Li.
But then again, wasn't this just how Douluo worked?
"I wonder what you'll do, Bibi Dong?"
Han Li's grin turned malicious, laced with anticipation.
Gu Yue, uninterested in his musings, shook her head and closed her eyes, focusing on recovery.
For her, six months was the absolute limit but she wanted to shorten it even more.
She had spent so much time bonding with Han Li's soul that she could sense the impatience and unease buried deep within him.
She was not just another ornamental human woman who needed Han Li's help to ascend to godhood. Without realizing it, she had developed a subconscious sense of rivalry.
"Your Holiness, these are the latest reports from across the continent."
Yue Guan cautiously placed a stack of documents from various branches of the Spirit Hall in front of Bibi Dong.
Ghost Douluo had been sent to conduct on site investigations, leaving Yue Guan alone with the Pope. This made him extremely uneasy the oppressive aura surrounding Bibi Dong had grown stronger, and his body instinctively recoiled in fear.
Bibi Dong remained expressionless. She flipped through the reports briefly before tossing them aside.
"Is it confirmed that the problem stems from the newly published 'improved' cultivation method?"
"It appears so. After receiving your order, the Spirit Hall Research Institute conducted trials on death row inmates. Out of ten forced to break through using the new method, only three survived. Two of them became completely crippled."
"The only survivor at the Soul Saint level suffered severe meridian damage, permanently capping his cultivation and diminishing his combat effectiveness."
Yue Guan recalled the grim data from the research institute and answered honestly.
Yu Xiaogang was completely finished.
This thought crossed Yue Guan's mind.
He had never held much regard for that failure of a man, and after this incident, his disdain only deepened. Unlike his past plagiarism of theoretical works, this time, Yu Xiaogang had truly ruined people's lives.
Even if some managed to survive, he could already foresee Yu Xiaogang's miserable fate.
Of course, he dared not show his true thoughts before Bibi Dong. He was one of the few who knew about her past with Yu Xiaogang, and with her current volatile state, he feared that even the slightest misstep could get him killed on the spot.
In hindsight, perhaps he should have agreed to Han Li's offer. The members of the Elder Hall had all hidden away, and their situation now seemed far more favorable than his own. Yue Guan felt a deep pang of regret.
"Is there any unrest?"
Bibi Dong's expression turned grim. She had personally tested this method before, and her own trials had yielded no problems. How had things deteriorated to this point?
"There is, but before we could intervene, loyal followers of the original Xuantian Technique suppressed them. Out of caution, when the manuals were distributed, each branch of the Spirit Hall had already made it clear that they were not officially endorsed and that any consequences would not be the Hall's responsibility."
Yue Guan cautiously observed Bibi Dong's expression, subtly refining his wording to avoid provoking her further.
Bibi Dong said nothing.
What "cautionary measures"? The truth was that the Elder Hall's faction had looked down on this so called improvement and had instinctively defended Han Li's reputation. Now, their initial resistance had ironically absolved the Spirit Hall of any direct blame, shifting all the scandal onto Yu Xiaogang.
Damn you, Han Li!
If you were going to release a technique, then just release it! Why did you have to tamper with it?
Bibi Dong cursed in her heart.
She was the only high ranking member of the Spirit Hall who hadn't cultivated the original Xuantian Technique.
After all, she had long since reached the Transcendent Douluo level.
The weakened version of the technique that Han Li had publicly released wasn't stronger than her current meditation method.
And as for the original version?
She would never swear loyalty to Han Li just to obtain it.
She had no objections to Hu Liena and the others practicing it, but for herself? Absolutely not.
If Han Li ever found out about her thoughts, he'd probably slap her across the face on the spot.
She had tampered with his technique, and now that things had gone south, she wanted to shift the blame onto him?
He would never let that slide.
"Send orders to all Spirit Hall branches. Suppress any rumors I don't want to see any disturbances. Also, lock down the spread of this information."
After a long silence, Bibi Dong issued her command.
"Understood, Your Holiness. But even so, I fear this won't stay contained for long."
Yue Guan bowed in acknowledgment, then hesitantly reminded her.
He knew full well that she was also implying that news of Yu Xiaogang's involvement should be suppressed.
But Yu Xiaogang had been too arrogant he had boasted far and wide, basking in the spotlight. There was no way to cover this up completely.
"Do what you can."
Bibi Dong understood this reality as well. After a long pause, she finally spoke.
"As you command, Your Holiness."
Yue Guan accepted the order and departed, though he had little faith in its success.
Paper cannot contain fire.
Even with the Elder Hall's absence, many of Bibi Dong's own supporters would likely begin defecting to Han Li's side after this incident.
Her previous actions had already left them discontented using the Spirit Hall's resources to promote an outsider's work had been controversial enough.
Now that this disaster had unfolded, her credibility had crumbled further.
Externally, the Pope was still the Pope, but if an internal rift erupted, Yue Guan saw no chance of her coming out on top.
Perhaps it was time to start looking for a way out.
He sighed, suddenly recalling one big problem the disciple he had painstakingly trained, Xie Yue, was Hu Liena's brother.
Han Li had never shown hostility toward Xie Yue. In fact, he had even acknowledged his potential.
That was probably the only silver lining in this mess.
With a sigh, Yue Guan quickened his pace.
Regardless of his personal doubts, for now, he still had orders to follow.
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