[DD]: 4

Han Li focused his gaze and saw a young-looking person standing by the bed, wearing a light gray robe. The person had a faint smile at the corner of his mouth as he looked at Han Li.

Though the light gray clothing typically gave off an older vibe, the various small accessories on the person made the overall style look quite elegant.

Han Li squinted slightly, his mind racing as he noticed the details: the luxurious attire, the youthful face, and the silent, unnoticed arrival. He instinctively looked at the person's left eye and noticed a hint of ice blue peeking through some silver strands of hair.

Could this be the famous Guang Ling Douluo?

Han Li's reaction was swift. As thoughts churned in his mind, he had already sheathed his dual blades, stood up decisively, and bowed: "Greetings, Teacher."

Now it was Guang Ling's turn to be taken aback. His handsome face twitched involuntarily. Watching the child on the bed bow and address him as "Teacher," he was momentarily at a loss for words. To be honest, with his over eighty years of life experience, he had not anticipated such a meeting.

His elder brother had warned him not to take his anger out on the child, but he had indeed planned to give this boy a hard time. He could understand the boy's opportunistic behavior, but it had affected his elder brother. If it only involved himself, Guang Ling might not care, but affecting the Angel lineage was unacceptable—a principle he had always adhered to.

"Stand up first. I haven't said I'll take you as my disciple."

Guang Ling quickly regained his composure, impatiently waving his hand to indicate Han Li should get off the bed.

"Alright."

Han Li efficiently put on his shoes, got off the bed, and stood in front of Guang Ling, who had seated himself at the table and was drinking a glass of water.

"Before coming here, I went to the Spirit Hall and inquired about the situation. The final annotation, I heard, was your suggestion?" Guang Ling said, putting down his cup and staring at Han Li.

"Yes, I insisted on adding it," Han Li replied without hesitation.

"Do you know that because of this, the Worship Hall suffered losses?" Guang Ling didn't specify the details but spoke more sternly.

"I don't know, nor do I want to know. That's not something I should be concerned about," Han Li responded calmly, unaffected by Guang Ling's tone.

Hearing his matter-of-fact reply, Guang Ling felt as if he had punched into cotton, a slight irritation rising in him. However, considering Han Li's age, he suppressed his displeasure and said, "Oh? I'd like to hear why you say that. Your answer will determine my attitude towards you."

"This isn't hard to understand."

Han Li glanced at Guang Ling and continued, "Because up to now, I'm still a viscount of the Heaven Dou Empire, not a member of the Spirit Hall. I've only awakened, and I can even pay for it. And what you mentioned is like an ordinary person seeking a job, asking for better conditions before joining. Isn't that quite normal?"

"For the Spirit Hall to have an issue with a document and blame it on me, an outsider, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Guang Ling listened to the little kid in front of him speaking with such conviction and couldn't help but nod along, finding his points quite reasonable.

When Han Li's speech paused, Guang Ling noticed the child was observing his expression, eyes flickering, clearly ready to change his stance if he saw a negative reaction.

Only then did Guang Ling realize that while the boy made some valid points, reasoning with him, a Titled Douluo, was somewhat unnecessary—because he didn't have to be reasonable at all.

By now, his initial anger had dissipated unconsciously. At the very least, he no longer had the intention of giving a harsh first impression. Thinking back to how this little rascal had directly called him "Teacher," he knew it was another display of the boy's cleverness.

His temperament was relatively lively, and for a moment, watching the boy in front of him, he felt a bit of excitement. If he had to face a well-behaved child in the future, he wasn't sure if he had the patience to teach them.

"Alright, you pass. Now, formally become my disciple."

Guang Ling, amused, looked at the boy opposite him. Seeing the joy on his face, he shook his head.

"Greetings, Teacher."

Han Li quickly walked to the table, poured another cup of tea, and respectfully handed it to Guang Ling, feeling a sigh of relief. Although things had deviated a bit from his expectations, he had finally secured strong backing.

"Good." Guang Ling looked at him with satisfaction, took the cup of tea, drank it all in one go, and pointed to a chair nearby. "Sit."

Han Li then realized his back was already a bit damp. He simply turned the chair around, straddled it, and leaned on the backrest, looking directly at Guang Ling.

As he turned, Guang Ling noticed the marks on the back of his clothes, and his smile grew wider. He liked this boy's personality even more. It seemed he wouldn't be bored in the future.

"You have quite some guts. Keep it up in the future," Guang Ling teased him.

"Forgive me, Teacher. I wanted a higher starting point, so I had to take a gamble. Even if I lost, no one would deliberately hold it against a child, right?" Han Li responded with a sheepish smile. Having achieved his goal and knowing they would spend a lot of time together in the future, he chose to be honest.

"I'm a bit curious. If the Spirit Hall's reaction hadn't met your expectations, what were you planning to do?" Guang Ling asked casually.

"Four days later, I would go to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan," Han Li answered honestly.

Guang Ling was taken aback, momentarily at a loss for words as he looked at his disciple.

After a while, he continued, "You are quite clear-headed. It seems I came just in time."

"At your young age, you already know what you want. That's very good. Can you tell me why you think this way?"

Han Li suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. After organizing his thoughts, he earnestly said, "This is a world where the weak are prey to the strong. I want to become powerful. Even if not the strongest, I want to be among the strongest. That way, no one can easily take away what I want."

Guang Ling listened to a little kid confidently telling him that he wanted to be the strongest. He smiled. But when he heard the latter part and remembered the information about his parents, he fell silent. He wasn't good at comforting people.

Was he thinking about his parents? Guang Ling couldn't help but wonder.

As Han Li spoke, he noticed Guang Ling suddenly lower his head, which puzzled him. Hmm? Why did the Teacher become emo? Did I say something wrong? He swallowed the follow-up words, "to rule the world while drunk with beauties on my knees," and closed his mouth.

A wonderful misunderstanding thus arose. It wasn't until several years later, after taking the blame countless times, that Guang Ling finally realized how foolish he had been to believe the boy's half-truths back then.

Seeing that the atmosphere had become heavy, Han Li was about to say something when suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted the silence in the room.

"Young Master, may I come in? Master Ma and Brother Su are here. They said they have something to discuss with you," Xiu'er's voice came from outside the door.

Han Li glanced at Guang Ling and, seeing no reaction from him, directly responded, "Sister Xiu'er, come in."

The door was pushed open, and Xiu'er first saw Guang Ling sitting to the side. Her smile vanished as she quickly rushed to Han Li's side, guarding him behind her, and sternly demanded, "Who are you? What do you intend to do? The people of the Spirit Hall are just outside. I advise you to leave immediately."

Guang Ling looked Xiu'er up and down, and it wasn't until he saw the ears on top of her head that he remembered this must be the little girl from back then.

His impression of Xiu'er was deeper than the matter he had handled years ago. He gave a meaningful glance at Xiu'er, who was protecting Han Li like a mother hen shielding her chick, and his gaze toward his disciple was filled with amusement.

Han Li hadn't expected such a big reaction from Xiu'er. He grabbed her hand and, noticing her puzzled expression, pointed at Guang Ling in front of him, saying, "Sister Xiu'er, this is my teacher, His Excellency Guang Ling Doulou of the Spirit Hall."

"Huh?"

Xiu'er's face instantly turned bright red. Unable to free the hand that Han Li was holding, she hurriedly bowed and apologized, "I'm sorry, Your Excellency. I misunderstood. I hope you won't blame the Young Master for my rudeness."

Han Li was momentarily stunned, then tightened his grip on Xiu'er's hand a bit more and looked at Guang Ling. "Teacher, stop teasing Sister Xiu'er. You've scared her."

Guang Ling looked at the two kids in front of him and smiled. "Alright, get up. I had no intention of blaming you. Your concern for this mischievous disciple deserves a reward."

Hearing this, Han Li's eyes lit up. He quickly pulled the still somewhat flustered Xiu'er to bow together. "Thank you, Teacher, for your reward."

Then he lifted his head and, without saying a word, just stared straight at Guang Ling, making his intentions very clear.

Guang Ling, slightly annoyed, tapped Han Li on the head with his finger. What a good disciple he had—grasping onto a single sentence to squeeze benefits from his teacher. But he rather liked this kind of personality.

"Most of my belongings are in Wuhun City. When we return, you can take her to choose something."

"No problem. Sister Xiu'er, quickly, thank the Teacher."

Han Li tugged at the still-unresponsive Xiu'er and winked at her. Only then did Xiu'er hurriedly bow and express her gratitude.

Guang Ling glanced at Xiu'er and directly instructed, "You go out first and have them wait. I still have some things to discuss with this boy. I'll join them in a bit."

Xiu'er did not dare to delay. She turned to leave, but Han Li called her back, asking her to notify the kitchen to prepare some food and also to inform the City Lord's mansion before letting her go.

"Release your Martial Soul and let me have a look."

After Xiu'er had left and the door was closed again, Guang Ling spoke.

"Yes, Teacher."

As Han Li spoke, two scimitar blades, each infused with different elements, appeared in his hands. He then handed them over to Guang Ling.

Guang Ling curiously took it and, without minding the elements on it, carefully observed it for a while. He then handed the Martial Soul back and gave a meaningful glance. Han Li immediately understood and directly manipulated the twin blades to transform into a new form. Just like before, he handed the rather splendid-looking Ice-Fire Bow to Guang Ling.

Before even touching the Ice-Fire Bow, a look of delight flashed in Guang Ling's eyes. This Martial Soul was impressive. He admired it for a while before tossing the Ice-Fire Bow back.

"Not bad, it's even better than what the reports said. When the Martial Soul is in the form of twin blades, its quality is roughly mid-tier among high-level Martial Souls. But considering the opposing elements attached and the ability to use them simultaneously, it can barely be considered high-tier. When the Martial Soul transforms into a bow, although it's hard to believe, the two opposing elements perfectly fuse. Among top-tier Martial Souls, it's one of the strongest. Its strength is not much inferior to my own Martial Soul," Guang Ling said, organizing his thoughts and speaking with satisfaction to his disciple.

Although Han Li knew his Martial Soul wasn't weak, he didn't have a clear comparison. Now, with Guang Ling's words, he understood its true strength.

"However..."

Guang Ling looked at him retracting his Martial Soul and began to speak seriously. Han Li directed his gaze towards Guang Ling, curious about what his master was going to say.

Guang Ling's expression turned serious as he solemnly looked at his disciple. "However, acquiring spirit rings in the future will be a problem. Your Martial Soul possesses both ice and fire attributes, but a soul ring can only attach one attribute. Moreover, you must ensure that after attaching a soul ring, due to the bias issue, your Martial Soul won't mutate again. Have you considered this problem?"

Oh, so it was about this. Han Li breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his teacher's words. He thought it was something more serious.

Han Li pondered for a moment and then spoke, "Teacher, I've been thinking about this issue for the past few days. I don't intend to acquire soul rings with ice or fire attributes."

"Oh?"

Guang Ling seemed to have thought of something, but his furrowed brows didn't relax.

"Teacher, I plan to attach amplification skills to my early soul rings," Han Li said firmly. "Only this way, when I reach higher levels, the skills from my early soul rings can still be a help to me."

"Even so, the amplification skills you can acquire are quite limited. Furthermore, if you decide to take this route, not only will the elemental abilities not enhance further, but your early attack methods will also be very lacking. Have you thought it through?" Guang Ling glanced at him.

"Isn't that why I have you? I'm your disciple, after all. I won't proactively engage in battles without sufficient strength," Han Li said with a cheeky smile, looking at Guang Ling.

Only then did Guang Ling remember that his disciple was as slippery as an eel, not an obedient child.

Han Li put away his smile and looked seriously at Guang Ling. "Teacher, besides conventional amplification skills, I have another idea that I want to seek your guidance on."

Seeing his serious face, Guang Ling also became more serious.

"As I just mentioned, I don't plan to acquire single-attribute ice or fire soul rings. I hope to acquire a special spirit skill, which also relates to my future cultivation direction," Han Li started with a hook, and after getting Guang Ling's attention, he continued slowly, "That is, elemental affinity or elemental control. Since my Martial Soul carries ice and fire attributes, both the Ice-Fire Blades and the Ice-Fire Bow are essentially carriers. If I gradually control these two elements through my Martial Soul, once successful, not only will it solve the issue of elemental strength, but also Ice-Fire Hammer, and Ice-Fire Spear, could become possible."

"Of course, this is just my speculation, and it requires a lot from the Martial Soul. Perhaps only some high-level tool Martial Souls with elemental attributes can do this. What do you think, is my direction for developing the Martial Soul feasible?"

After finishing his speech, Han Li looked up at Guang Ling, eager for his opinion. But he saw Guang Ling staring at him with a burning gaze, looking very excited.

"You are a genius!"

The usually elegant Guang Ling couldn't contain his excitement and uncharacteristically swore. He hadn't expected it—just as Golden Crocodile had said, on the first day of accepting this disciple, he saw a path to greater heights.