Melee archer with maxed-out Douluo luck

Chapter 36: Flexible Strategies for Survival

"You brat, you're so sweet-talking." Guangling shook his head and didn't say anything.

Training is training, but his original purpose was to protect and guide Han Li. If Han Li really wanted to foolishly take the night watch himself, he would watch, since it was Han Li's choice. Now that Han Li had chosen to use his power, he had no objections, after all, he was Han Li's teacher.

"I'm going to absorb a spirit ring tomorrow and set a new record. I won't let pride affect my condition, right, Master?" Han Li poured a bowl of the contents of another pot and handed it to Guang Ling.

"I had almost forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it. You were planning to absorb a soul ring over a period of three thousand years."

In the firelight, Guangling's vision was somewhat blurry. Ever since he took this disciple, his original understanding had been constantly being shattered.

Just now, for example, he hadn't even remembered that this kid was going to absorb a spirit ring that was over three thousand years old. When entering the mixed zone, knowing Han Li's combat strength, he subconsciously overlooked the fact that he was a Great Soul Master who hadn't yet obtained a spirit ring.

"You're a real prodigy, kid. I'm willing to keep watch this night."

Guang Ling chuckled, a look that seemed out of place on his youthful, handsome face. No wonder people often say that taking on disciples is similar to raising sons; it turns out he's reached that age quite early. Fortunately, it's not too late, and the people he's met aren't bad either.

Han Li didn't say anything, but smiled and handed over the freshly cooked food. The two chatted casually.

As night deepened, Han Li finished his cultivation for the day, greeted Guang Ling, and then relaxed on the blanket, drifting off to sleep.

……

In the early morning, Han Li woke up on time thanks to his usual good sleeping habits.

Lifting the blanket, Han Li stood up, greeted his master who was still full of energy despite not having slept all night, and then took care of his personal hygiene.

After a casual breakfast, Han Li packed his things away, leaving no trace of the camp. Under Guang Ling's watchful eye, he regained his vigilance and continued forward following the map's directions.

Compared to yesterday, Han Li's progress today was not very smooth. Even though he used his powerful mental strength to drive away some of the soul beasts, some less intelligent soul beasts still took the initiative to attack him, greatly slowing down his progress.

"call"

Han Li exhaled, and a red and blue mixed arrow shot into the eye socket of the Gale Wolf not far away. As the wolf's head exploded, a purple soul ring condensed and appeared above its corpse.

"It's really fast, and with that wind blade, it's so annoying. Also, aren't they saying that thousand-year-old soul beasts have no intelligence? I feel like this thing is even smarter than Feng Xiaotian." Han Li couldn't help but complain in his heart.

This wasn't a spirit beast he encountered directly, but rather one that crept over quietly after he sensed movement while he was fighting a rock-armored boar.

To Han Li's surprise, the Gale Wolf, which was only a little over two thousand years old, did not launch a direct attack. Instead, it kept circling around their fighting area, harassing Han Li and the Rock Armored Pig with wind blades, seemingly trying to kill them both. This made Han Li, who had no defensive skills, feel somewhat restrained, and for a moment he was unable to quickly kill the two soul beasts.

Fortunately, the Rock Armored Boar went berserk after being attacked, giving Han Li an opportunity to put the arrow into its mouth, freeing him to deal with the cunning Gale Wolf alone.

And this wolf, true to its nature of choosing to harass from the periphery, seemed to sense danger the moment the rock-armored boar died, turning and running away, decisively abandoning the food on the ground.

But Han Li, who had been harassed for half a day, was not about to let it get away so easily. He decisively deviated from the planned route, stuck to it with ice arrows, and forced it to turn around and fight back before finally taking it down.

Well, of course, Han Li admits that it was because he had Guang Ling backing him up that he dared to chase after them without even thinking.

Through this battle, Han Li clearly recognized his current strength. Relying on his extraordinary mental fortitude, coupled with his external soul bone and the unconventional Ice-Fire Bow martial soul resulting from the fusion of ice and fire, plus his advantage in range, he should be able to outlast a nearly three-thousand-year-old soul beast if he was well-prepared. Of course, the soul beast would have to be a regular soul beast, one with average bloodline strength.

In close combat, he could at most deal with soul beasts that were around 1,500 years old. Even though his physical strength was stronger than that of a typical Beast Soul Master, in his Ice and Fire Blade state, the ice and fire elements were not fully fused, and the enhancement was not enough to create an overwhelming advantage. He still lacked explosive soul skills, and the strength of his outward-released blade energy could not make up for the level difference. After all, most soul beasts had stronger physical bodies than human soul masters.

Fortunately, he is about to obtain a new spirit ring, and his strength will leap forward once again.

Han Li thought to himself, hoping that acquiring the spirit ring would allow his external spirit bone to upgrade again.

The daily level-up provides too little benefit to the external soul bone. He urgently hopes to improve his control over the elements so that he can use many of the methods he envisions, without having to rely entirely on passive bonuses and the strength of the martial soul itself.

After briefly confirming that the Gale Wolf had no other output, Han Li, with a slight sense of regret, returned to his previous route with the help of his tentacles and continued deeper into the area.

Around noon, he had arrived at the location marked on the map and found the cliff where the Golden Scaled Eagle lived.

Han Li carefully observed for a long time before abandoning his original plan to hunt alone and instead calling for reinforcements. The reason was that he had discovered two Golden Scaled Eagles, and the information in his mind told him that one of the Golden Scaled Eagles was over five thousand years old, which was beyond his current ability to deal with.

"Master, we're counting on you."

Han Li retreated a distance before calling out to someone behind a tree.

"Not planning to give it a try?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Guangling walked out and asked with a slightly teasing tone.

"No, I'm not here to fight, but to obtain a spirit ring. There's no need for that. Besides, I lack a way to deliver a fatal blow. If we engage in a protracted battle here, who knows what kind of spirit beasts we'll attract? It's better if you take the lead." Han Li shook his head and explained his reasoning.

"Okay, wait for me a moment."

After Guangling finished speaking, he appeared at the cliff edge at an extremely fast speed. Before the two golden-scaled eagles could react, the pressure of his title slammed into the two soul beasts, and they immediately fainted.

Guangling ignored the larger eagle, picked up the smaller one, returned to Han Li's side, and threw it on the ground.

"Three thousand five hundred years, which should be less than three thousand six hundred years, just in line with your requirements."

"Hmm, I'm more satisfied than the intelligence report mentioned."

A hint of joy flashed in Han Li's eyes. It was more than two hundred years less than his physical body's capacity to withstand, which made it much safer.

"Good, that's good. Alright, let's get started." Guangling glanced at the still unconscious Golden Scaled Eagle.

"How about we go to the outer perimeter, Master? After all, you just unleashed your titled aura, and it will probably take me quite a while to absorb it, given my level." Han Li hesitated for a moment before awkwardly speaking.

Guangling was taken aback at first. It seemed his apprentice didn't trust his abilities. Then, seeing his apologetic smile, he recalled his usual way of doing things.

"Forget it, let's just put his mind at ease. Besides, what he said might not be unreasonable," Guangling thought to herself.

"Then it's your decision."

Before Han Li could speak, Guang Ling picked up the Golden Scaled Eagle with one hand and Han Li with the other, and quickly flew towards the outer perimeter.

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(End of this chapter)