Melee archer with maxed-out Douluo luck

Chapter 171 A New Version of Soul Core with Inner Core Features

After chatting for a while, considering that Han Li and Dugu Bo had just come from the City of Slaughter, Guang Ling and Qing Luan urged the two to go and rest.

Silent all night.

The next morning, the group got up early, not because they had slept well, but because they were still a little unaccustomed to the new environment.

Having spent so much time in the City of Slaughter, they reacted instantly to the slightest disturbance, even waking up Guangling and Qingluan frequently.

There was no way around it; the moment these guys opened their eyes, their martial spirits immediately possessed them, and their killing intent was completely undisguised.

"I feel like if I stay with you guys for a few more days, I'll go crazy."

Guangling looked at the five people with some helplessness and complained without holding back.

"It won't be like this in a few days."

Han Li replied somewhat awkwardly that he was the one who made the most noise last night.

"There's a small town nearby, let's go there for a few days. Perfect timing, the Chamber of Commerce also needs your decision on matters."

Qingluan smiled and offered the suggestion.

"Okay, by the way, Senior Uncle, what's this about the Chamber of Commerce?"

Han Li immediately agreed, then turned his head and asked.

"What else could it be? We've recently clashed with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, isn't that something you predicted from the beginning?"

Guangling shook his head; he didn't really care about such things.

"Oh, it seems that the Seven Mysteries Sect is indeed developing quite well, much better than I expected."

Han Li looked enlightened and a smile appeared on his face.

"Yes, it's really good, especially in the last year."

Qingluan, who had the most contact with the Chamber of Commerce, smiled and said, "Xiao Li, the news that you personally paid for the Soul Master Legion's supplies before you entered the City of Slaughter has spread widely within the Spirit Hall."

"After the word spread, especially among the lower-level Soul Masters, they decisively shifted their consumption to us, and their actions also influenced some nobles."

"Nowadays, the Seven Mysteries Sect Chamber of Commerce can be said to be thriving, and even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's business in the Heaven Dou Empire has been squeezed to some extent."

"Is that so? Ha, that really surprises me."

Upon hearing his senior's explanation, Han Li was taken aback, not expecting that his actions at the time would bring him such benefits.

"More than that, you're quite popular within the Spirit Hall right now. So, have you any plans to become Pope? I can ask Xiaoxue'er and your senior uncle for you. If it's you, they probably won't object."

Guang Ling thought of the clamor within the Spirit Hall and the situation when he went to see Qian Renxue, and made a sarcastic remark.

"Stop joking, you idiot. Oh, whoever wants to be the Pope can be the Pope."

Han Li almost blurted out what was on his mind.

Qingluan shook her head helplessly, offering no comment on the master and disciple's joke about the papacy.

After speaking, Han Li pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, "The Seven Mysteries Sect's true nature shouldn't be hidden from Ning Fengzhi, right? Has a conflict occurred?"

"Ning Fengzhi didn't express his opinion, and both sides were quite restrained. After all, in your previous decisions, our positioning was more inclined to serve the common people, and we didn't have many high-end products. We followed a boutique route."

"The only conflict was because of Ning Fengzhi's daughter. She was instigated by someone and smashed up a shop in a small town. Afterwards, Ning Fengzhi personally went to apologize and compensated for three times the damages. It wasn't a big deal."

"However, it was because of his visit that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School started competing with us for the low-end market, which aroused dissatisfaction among some people within the Chamber of Commerce."

"After all, you were the one who chose us, so it's not appropriate for Guangling and me to handle this ourselves."

Qingluan recounted the whole story and awaited Han Li's reply.

Is there any malicious competition?

Han Li raised an eyebrow, seemingly unsurprised by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's choice.

"No, Ning Fengzhi is still very law-abiding, but he has also shared some of the profits because of it."

Qingluan shook her head, offering a relatively fair judgment.

"Then don't worry about it, just continue laying the canals according to the original plan. Hmm, once we get to the town, let's call all the people in charge over, I'll talk to them."

Han Li pondered for a moment and then made a decision.

Money no longer holds the same significance for him as it used to; enough is enough.

His original intention in establishing the Chamber of Commerce was to make money while trying to improve the lives of the lower classes and, incidentally, build an intelligence network. However, the appearance of his obedient son has gradually replaced the advantage of intelligence.

The fact that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is now willing to join is not an unacceptable thing for him.

Want a share of the profits? Fine. Want fame? Fine. As long as you can hold onto it in the end.

However, those below them now have extra thoughts, so it's time to give them a warning.

Also, Ning Rongrong, she smashed his shop, right? He'll remember that.

After a quick tidying up, the group headed towards the town and checked into a large compound belonging to the Chamber of Commerce.

Over the next few days, everyone enjoyed a relatively leisurely life, except for Han Li.

His perception was correct; on the very afternoon of the day he arrived in the town, the dimensional consciousness awoke from its slumber.

Then, after giving a warm greeting, it was immediately conscripted by Han Li and devoted to the boundless research cause with limited enthusiasm.

During this time, Han Li also met with several heads of the chamber of commerce. An hour later, some of them were radiant with health, while others were pale with worry. They respectfully took their leave.

On the afternoon of the fifth day, Han Li finally came out of the room and threw the inner core to Dugu Yan.

Judging from the expression on his face, he was in a very good mood.

"What great news?"

Guangling lay comfortably in the chair and asked lazily.

"A direct path to a title, or even straight to becoming a peerless Douluo."

Han Li walked to the table, poured himself a cup of tea, warmed it with his soul power, and drank it all in one gulp.

"That strong?"

Dugu Bo stood up abruptly, moved behind Han Li, gave him a fawning shoulder massage, pushed him to his seat, and even refilled his cup.

A hint of surprise flashed across Qingluan's face, but he was always rather indifferent and would never do something like what Dugu Bo did.

"Oh, that's it?"

Guangling said in a very irritating way, and even glanced at Dugu Bo with disdain, showing that she was ashamed to be associated with him.

He still had a celestial herb in the Yin-Yang Well that perfectly matched his attributes, so he felt no burden at all. He had long since realized his dream of becoming a peerless Douluo.

Well, although he also relies on his apprentices, it doesn't stop him from looking down on others.

"Get out of my way, come here, Xiao Li, explain in detail."

Dugu Bo pulled out a fan from somewhere and fanned Han Li a few times.

"Inner core, I have deduced a method for condensing a soul core by imitating the formation of the inner core. It can not only help soul masters break through, but also accelerate cultivation."

"Of course, after condensing a soul core, the total amount of soul power will not increase, but it can greatly improve soul power recovery and endurance, and combat power will naturally increase as well."

Han Li enjoyed Dugu Bo's service with a clear conscience, and even glanced at his master.

Guangling's expression changed, and she quickly stood up, shoved Dugu Bo aside, snatched his fan, and fanned herself a few times.

"Come on, good apprentice, continue. I knew your discovery would be extraordinary."

Guangling's face was full of smiles, as if he wasn't the one who had just looked down on Dugu Bo.

His actions caused Dugu Bo and Qingluan's faces to twitch involuntarily, and they looked away.

In terms of shamelessness, among all the people they know, Guangling is the most shameless.

Dugu Yan and the other two girls covered their mouths and chuckled. They were already used to the banter between the master and his apprentice. In their words, Master Guangling was still quite adorable.

Seeing his master's actions, Han Li couldn't help but chuckle.

"Inner alchemy, well, condensing the soul core, it's difficult in some ways, and simple in others. Essentially, it's about learning from the Ten-Headed Fiery Sun Serpent and gathering all three elements—essence, energy, and spirit—to form a stable core."

"Instead of what we are doing now, where we cultivate our physical body, soul power, and mental power separately, which leads to fatal weaknesses in certain areas, causing us to get stuck at the Soul Saint stage or before becoming a Title Douluo."

Han Li explained the essence of the soul core in a simple and clear way.

To be precise, the soul core he researched is not the same as the soul core that appeared in later generations; he referenced the principles of internal alchemy more.

"The three are combined into one, with the advancement of soul power actively driving the advancement of the other two, thus making up for the deficiencies in physical cultivation methods and spiritual cultivation methods?"

Dugu Bo had condensed poison pills before and had some experience with them. He muttered to himself as he pondered.

"That's true."

Han Li nodded, indicating that his statement was correct.

"But even if we succeed in condensing it, it will slow down the advancement of our soul power, since we also need to improve the other two at the same time."

Guangling stopped fanning herself and asked, somewhat puzzled, while Qingluan nodded in agreement.

"If that's all there is to it, then it is indeed as Master said, but I didn't say I was finished."

"If, as I said before, you condense a soul core, it can indeed make up for your shortcomings, but it will also slow down your cultivation speed. Although you can gradually catch up later, there are too many uncertainties in the process."

Han Li shook his head as he said this, saying that the Ten-Headed Fiery Sun Serpent had suffered because of this.

"However, if you absorb spatial power through the soul core during its condensation, directly storing your soul power within it, then it becomes simple. As long as the soul core continues to rotate, it will continuously absorb soul power from the outside world. Whether it's cultivation or combat endurance, it will no longer be a problem, and the issue of slowing down cultivation speed that you mentioned will be directly resolved."

Han Li explained the specific principles in detail and looked at the three titled Douluo.

"If that's the case, then after condensing the soul core, the cultivation speed will actually increase. In fact, any increase in any aspect could further accelerate cultivation, such as absorbing soul bones."

Following Han Li's instructions, Guang Ling did a simple deduction and came to an even more unacceptable result.

"That's it, you understand immediately when Master says it."

Han Li gave Guang Ling a thumbs up, his smile incredibly bright.

Otherwise, it would be too unwise for him to venture into the City of Slaughter just because of the test, the domain, and a slight acceleration in his cultivation.

"But the conditions for condensing a soul core are indeed quite demanding; the threshold is too high."

Qingluan glanced meaningfully at the three girls. With their current strength, they would have difficulty even sensing spatial power, let alone absorbing it.

"This is a cultivation method that belongs to geniuses. As for the cultivation mode that is suitable for normal people, we can talk about that later. I don't want to waste time on it now. Besides, that kind of cultivation method has too many flaws and it is easy to get stuck at a bottleneck."

"As for Sister Xiu'er and the others, once we deal with the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, everything will be fine. Otherwise, even if I can use spatial power, there will still be some danger, and they will have to postpone their plans as well."

Han Li smiled at the three women, then turned to look at the three titled figures, as if he were pondering something.

(End of this chapter)