Chapter 206: Collision with Ning Fengzhi at the Crown Prince's Mansion, Tang Hao Takes the Blame Once Again
The night passed uneventfully.
The next morning, as agreed, the group gathered at the training grounds.
When the four of them arrived, they found that Han Li was already there, tinkering with something at the edge of the training field.
"What are you doing?" Shui Bing'er walked over, noticing the incomplete soul bone in Han Li's hands, her curiosity piqued.
"A simple energy gathering formation with a built in gravity alteration effect. It's nowhere near the setup we had in Spirit Hall, but at the very least, we should have some basic infrastructure."
Han Li responded with a smile before burying a piece of soul bone, intricately engraved with strange patterns, into the ground.
"Alright, you should feel it now."
As soon as he finished speaking, the group immediately felt their bodies grow heavier a force pressing down evenly across their entire bodies.
"About two to three times normal gravity. Good for daily training."
Xiu'er was the most sensitive to such changes. With a quick assessment, she gave her conclusion.
"Yeah, Xiu'er is right. At our level, normal training methods are only supplementary now. This setup should be enough for our daily cultivation."
Feeling the weight on his body, Han Li nodded in satisfaction.
This was his second major product release, following his disguise and stealth accessories. Judging by the results, it was working just fine.
Among them, only Zhu Zhuqing seemed slightly unaccustomed to the new conditions. The other three handled it with ease.
"Take your time adjusting. Don't push yourself too hard at the start; otherwise, it'll do more harm than good."
Han Li specifically reminded Zhu Zhuqing, knowing her tendency to overexert herself. He didn't want what was meant to be a buff to turn into a debuff instead.
"Mm." Zhu Zhuqing, now back to her usual demeanor, nodded.
"Here, carry these with you. They don't have the gravity effect, but they still gather energy."
Han Li casually tossed a small trinket to each of them. He had made them from leftover materials, sculpting each into the form of their martial souls in their spirit possessed states essentially high quality custom figurines.
The group received them with delight, and Dugu Yan was so pleased that she immediately kissed Han Li on the cheek, showing just how much she liked hers.
The morning continued as Han Li taught them Xuan Tian Gong one by one. Once they felt the significant boost in their cultivation speed, their excitement only grew.
As for the other techniques, Han Li was still reconstructing them to better fit Douluo Continent's laws. It would be better to teach them after they were fully optimized.
With the training session concluded, Han Li made an announcement.
"You guys can plan your training schedule however you like. I'm heading out for a bit."
"To talk to Qian Renxue about Ye LingLing? Need me to come with you?" Dugu Yan asked casually.
"I am going to see Qian Renxue, but it's not just about Ye LingLing. I also need to handle Zhuqing's situation."
Han Li chuckled, recalling Yu Xiaogang's absurd assumptions from the previous night.
"Next time. When we go pick up Ye LingLing, I'll bring you along."
He glanced at Dugu Yan to reassure her.
"Alright, that works too."
Dugu Yan wasn't particularly close to Qian Renxue, and she figured it'd be awkward just sitting there while they talked. So, she had no issue staying back.
"What about Zhuqing's situation? Is there anything else to worry about?"
Shui Bing'er gently squeezed Zhu Zhuqing's hand and voiced the question on her behalf.
"Even if there is, it's not our problem. We'll just dump it on Qian Renxue. No one knows Zhuqing is with us anyway. By the time the heat dies down, even if they figure it out, it won't matter anymore."
Han Li shamelessly declared.
Zhu Zhuqing was from Star Luo Empire, but she disappeared inside Heaven Dou Royal Academy, under the watch of her teachers and teammates from Shrek.
How was any of that his problem?
"Make sure Qian Renxue never hears you say that, or she'll challenge you to a fight on the spot."
Hearing his ridiculously irresponsible statement, Shui Bing'er laughed, covering her mouth.
"Eh, doesn't matter. Whether I dump it on her or not, she'd have to handle it anyway."
Han Li made it clear he had zero sense of guilt.
"Alright, I'm off."
With that, he turned and left the courtyard, heading toward the Heaven Dou Crown Prince's Mansion.
Of course, he wasn't actually going to completely ignore the issue.
After all, this was his doing. It'd be a bit much to pretend it had nothing to do with him at all.
Besides, he still needed Qian Renxue to create an excuse to bring Ye LingLing over. Letting Dugu Yan handle that alone wasn't a great idea.
Given their exchange of intel the previous night, Qian Renxue had already anticipated Han Li's visit.
This time, she didn't keep him waiting at all.
The moment his arrival was reported, he was immediately invited inside.
As Han Li stepped into the mansion, he only restored his aura and disguise in front of her, making Qian Renxue raise an eyebrow.
"With your abilities, why don't you just use the token to walk in normally? Why insist on using the stealth route?"
Han Li blinked.
Oh yeah… why DID I keep doing that?
He wasn't sneaking in for an assassination or anything. If he just went through formal channels, it'd be perfectly fine.
"…Habit, I guess? Maybe it feels more ceremonial that way. Next time, for sure."
Han Li responded shamelessly.
Qian Renxue shook her head.
"…You really are just like Grandpa Guang Ling."
Qian Renxue skipped over the topic and looked at him, her voice carrying a hint of complaint, "You acted way too fast. Just yesterday, you came to me for her academy identification, and by the end of the same day, you had already taken Zhu Zhuqing away, making such a big scene. Couldn't you have at least given me a heads up?"
"If I said it wasn't intentional, would you believe me?"
Hearing her complaint, Han Li felt a little guilty, but he really hadn't planned it that way.
Zhu Zhuqing was just a random setup he had made in passing he never expected everything to explode yesterday. The real culprit was Yu Xiaogang stirring up trouble, okay?
Seeing Qian Renxue's skeptical expression, Han Li thought of how she had deliberately spread intelligence portraying him as a lecherous Holy Son of Spirit Hall, tarnishing his reputation.
Left with no choice, he briefly explained the events of the previous day.
"No wonder they were hesitant when reporting to me. They're really not that useful."
That was Qian Renxue's evaluation of the Shrek group.
"But how were they so sure that Ning Rongrong wouldn't interfere? Just because of Yu Xiaogang? He doesn't have that kind of influence."
Qian Renxue immediately pinpointed a logical flaw in the whole situation.
According to her current intelligence, Tang San was still just a talented commoner with some luck and hidden secrets.
"You're not hiding anything from me, are you?"
She suddenly turned to Han Li, her tone sharp. Something about this whole thing felt off.
"Uh…"
Just as Han Li was about to respond, a knock on the door interrupted them.
"Your Highness, your teacher and Sword Douluo have arrived."
"I see. Escort my teacher and Sword Douluo to the reception hall. I'll be there shortly."
Qian Renxue gave her instructions, then turned to Han Li, "I need to see what they want. Will you wait here for a bit?"
"Yeah, go ahead. I can hear everything from here anyway."
Han Li smugly tapped his temple, making it clear he intended to eavesdrop.
"Suit yourself. Just make sure you're confident they won't notice."
Qian Renxue knew his insanely powerful spiritual sense was beyond normal, so she didn't really mind.
Given the timing, Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo were most likely here because of yesterday's events.
If Han Li listened in now, it'd save her the trouble of having to recount it later.
If she wasn't still unsure whether Han Li's disguise could fool Sword Douluo, and if Ning Fengzhi weren't so familiar with "Xue Qinghe," she wouldn't have minded bringing him along to eavesdrop in person.
Leaving those words behind, Qian Renxue transformed back into Xue Qinghe and headed toward the reception hall.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the three took their seats.
"Teacher, have you come today regarding Junior Sister Rongrong's team?"
Following their usual manner of speaking, Xue Qinghe asked directly.
"That's correct. But Qinghe, I'm not here for Rongrong she wasn't involved."
Ning Fengzhi, ever the cunning fox, immediately distanced his daughter from the situation.
To be fair, Ning Rongrong really hadn't been involved. At most, she was just a background character in the mess.
"Yes, you're right. I've already looked into it, and it indeed had nothing to do with Junior Sister Rongrong. Then, may I ask what brings you here?"
Xue Qinghe smiled and acknowledged Ning Fengzhi's claim, then feigned confusion as if he didn't understand why the man had come.
"First, tell me how do you plan to handle this situation?"
Ning Fengzhi took a sip of tea and looked at his prince disciple.
"A soft approach. Perhaps you're unaware, but Zhu Zhuqing has gone missing. I've already sent people to search for her, yet there's been no trace of her whatsoever."
Xue Qinghe frowned, then sighed bitterly before looking at Ning Fengzhi.
"Missing?"
Ning Fengzhi's brow twitched slightly.
Ning Rongrong hadn't mentioned this when she returned, and while Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's intelligence network was strong, it hadn't picked up on this detail yet.
"Yes. She disappeared after leaving the training ground, as if she had vanished into thin air."
Ning Fengzhi exchanged a brief glance with Sword Douluo, both of them instinctively having the same thought.
She vanished inside Heaven Dou Imperial Academy?
Could this be the work of Tang Hao?
They had already learned from Ning Rongrong that Zhu Zhuqing had attacked nearly everyone indiscriminately.
The last time they had seen Tang Hao, Ning Fengzhi had sensed how much the man had changed his temperament had grown gloomy and unpredictable.
With how he was now, it wouldn't be impossible for him to pull something like this.
Tang Hao… Tang Hao…
You really are a damn troublemaker.
Ning Fengzhi rubbed his temples, suddenly regretting his past agreement with Tang Hao.
The man was a walking disaster completely unpredictable and impossible to control.
"Is something wrong, Teacher?"
Seeing his mentor fall silent, Xue Qinghe tilted his head in feigned confusion.
"It's nothing. I just overthought things."
Ning Fengzhi dismissed his own concerns with a casual laugh, but his excuse was terribly unconvincing.
It was as if he had completely forgotten that just one minute ago, he had claimed he wasn't here because of Ning Rongrong.
"Hmm. Well, I'll also send out men to help search for Zhu Zhuqing. No matter what, she's still Rongrong's friend."
Quickly shifting the topic, Ning Fengzhi clearly didn't want Xue Qinghe to dig any deeper.
"I appreciate the help, Teacher."
Xue Qinghe knew Ning Fengzhi was hiding something.
Or rather, he had suspicions or some inside knowledge.
But since the man had already dodged the subject, it wouldn't be appropriate for Xue Qinghe to push further.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/johanssen