First Meeting with Ning Rongrong, Compendium of Formations

Heavenly Thunder Bamboo can transform into any shape, meaning that in the future, Li Han can turn it into any corresponding weapon to deceive his enemies regardless of the methods he employs.

This is an excellent form of concealment.

Li Han is extremely satisfied with this soul skill.

If he combines his first and second soul skills, he can pull off many different maneuvers.

As for offensive means, he has the system and is not lacking in that department, so he is in no rush.

The path he is currently taking is to completely max out the inherent attributes of the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo.

The 800-year Lone Bamboo soul ring increased its flexibility and defensive power, while the 1,800-year Chameleon Vine soul ring increased its speed and camouflage capabilities.

Since both soul rings are wood-attributed, the wood-attribute power of the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo has become increasingly potent.

For his third soul ring, he can consider adding a lightning attribute; this would not only enhance the power of the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder but also provide an additional lightning-type soul skill, allowing for better control over the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder.

"My soul power has risen to level 25.

Perhaps the Three-Turn Heavy Origin Technique is not as difficult to cultivate as I imagined.

Every time I absorb a soul ring, I am absorbing far beyond the limits, so the soul power I gain also far exceeds that of an ordinary person.

In this way, the time it takes for me to break through to the next ten-level threshold is significantly shortened.

When I eventually disperse my cultivation to start over, if my first soul ring can directly absorb one of three or four thousand years, I might be able to instantly boost my soul power to level eighteen, nineteen, or even twenty.

If that happens, the time spent on cultivation in between will also be drastically reduced."

Thinking of this, Li Han's eyes lit up.

The greatest advantage of the Three-Turn Heavy Origin Technique in this world is its ability to absorb soul rings to increase soul power.

This can significantly shorten the time required for re-cultivation.

"I'll think about future matters later. Time to leave this place."

Li Han immediately deactivated the Golden Light Talisman and swam toward the surface of the pool.

"The Yellow Dragon Pill and Golden Marrow Pill are almost finished; I should gather more medicinal herbs this time.

These two types of pills can be consumed up to level thirty, and they will be useful later when I disperse my cultivation to start over, so the more, the better.

I should also collect some soul beast essence blood to refine a few more Golden Light Talismans; these talismans are truly useful.

Right, I can also refine Godly Travel Talismans to increase movement speed.

Collecting the essence blood of some agility-type soul beasts will suffice."

Planning in this manner, Li Han stayed in the Soul Hunting Forest for another two days, only departing once his Storage Bag was full.

Removing his disguise, Li Han walked on the road back to Nuoding Academy.

A day later, he arrived at a mountain forest.

Passing through this forest, Nuoding City would be just ahead.

Suddenly, Li Han's divine sense automatically sensed someone running rapidly from a distance.

"This fluctuation of soul power, a level twelve soul master?"

It was a six-year-old girl in tattered clothes, running desperately. Her face was full of terror, and she looked back from time to time as if being chased by some ferocious beast.

When she ran past Li Han, the little girl was startled and fell directly to the ground.

"Are you alright?"

Li Han hurriedly stepped forward to help her up.

"Th-thank you, I'm fine."

The girl scrambled to her feet and prepared to run again.

"Is this little girl Ning Rongrong?"

Upon closer inspection, Li Han realized the girl's identity.

The system's voice rang out.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for checking in on the character Stone Butterfly Fairy. Reward: Compendium of Formations."

Before Ning Rongrong could run away, a middle-aged man in purple robes chased after her from the same path. A phantom of a wild bull appeared behind him, and four soul rings—two yellow and two purple—flashed; he was actually a Soul Ancestor.

"Want to escape? Keep dreaming!"

The middle-aged man sneered, waving his right hand as a powerful surge of soul power erupted.

"First soul skill! Earth Mud Swamp!"

The ground beneath Ning Rongrong and Li Han suddenly turned into a swamp, and both of them sank into it simultaneously.

"Ah!"

Ning Rongrong let out a cry of alarm; the more she struggled, the deeper she sank.

Within moments, her legs were completely submerged.

Li Han frowned, feeling the powerful restrictive force within the mud swamp.

What is happening?

How did he end up trapping himself as well?

"Hahaha, I've got you. I never expected this merit to fall to me, Chen Niu, in the end! Becoming a branch hall master is no longer just a dream!"

Chen Niu, an elder of a Martial Soul Hall branch, is a level 43 assault-system battle Soul Ancestor.

"Let me go! You bunch of Martial Soul Hall villains! Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo won't let you get away with this!" Ning Rongrong said angrily.

"Heh, I'm afraid they'll have enough trouble saving themselves." Chen Niu sneered, looking at Li Han, who was also trapped.

"Oh? I didn't expect to catch an extra little mouse. Consider yourself unlucky; since you've learned things you shouldn't have, just die here." Chen Niu prepared to strike.

Li Han frowned; he certainly wouldn't sit still and wait for death. As his soul power circulated, he prepared to make his move.

"Your target is me, don't involve an innocent person. Let him go, and I'll go back with you." Ning Rongrong waved her right hand, standing firmly in front of Li Han.

Li Han glanced at her, surprised.

At this moment, Ning Rongrong had not yet developed the willful arrogance she would have at twelve; her excellent upbringing gave her plenty of kindness.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this," Ning Rongrong said with an apologetic look.

"Truly worthy of being the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, how kind. But it's a pity; since you ran into me, this brat is just unlucky. What Martial Soul Hall is doing right now cannot be known by anyone!"

Chen Niu threw a right punch, and a powerful gust of wind slammed toward Li Han's head. If this punch landed, Li Han's small head would surely explode like a watermelon.

"No!" Ning Rongrong shrieked. Unable to bear the sight of Li Han's death, she turned her head away and closed her eyes.

But a flash of green light erupted from Li Han's body, and he grabbed Ning Rongrong. Then, a verdant, dripping-green longsword emerged from his hand. He thrust the tip downward into the Earth Mud Swamp, and it instantly elongated.

Just before Chen Niu's punch arrived, the longsword carried the two of them out of the constraints of the Earth Mud Swamp.

"What!" Chen Niu was shocked. Looking again, Li Han and Ning Rongrong had already landed safely on open ground.

"This..." Ning Rongrong looked at the youthful face inches away in shock, clearly not expecting the boy before her to be able to lead her out of such a predicament.

"You brat! You've got some skills! But this only delays your death!" Chen Niu's face darkened in annoyance; he hadn't expected a strike he deemed certain to be neutralized by a boy.

In an instant, the four soul rings on his body erupted with even stronger soul power fluctuations. He was getting serious.

"Run!" Ning Rongrong said, preparing to flee, but Li Han waved his right hand, gripping the Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords formed from the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, and two yellow soul rings emerged.

"We can't run away, so we might as well fight with all our might." Li Han had fully mastered the camouflage ability of his second soul skill; even without activating it, he could maintain the disguise. Therefore, the soul rings appearing now were two yellow ones, rather than one yellow and one purple.

"Oh? An optimal soul ring configuration? It seems you aren't an ordinary soul master. Who are you?" Chen Niu asked in a low voice.

Li Han did not answer, merely calculating in his heart how to deal with this man.

This person's strength is that of a Soul Ancestor, over level forty. I just broke through to Soul Grand Master, level twenty-five, which means there is at least a fifteen-level gap. A head-on collision will be hard to win. The only chance is a thunderous strike from the Heavenly Thunder Bead.

Given the current situation, this should be the plot of the Sword Douluo movie; Ning Rongrong and Sword Douluo are being hunted by Martial Soul Hall. It's just that the timing seems a bit delayed; it should have happened before Tang San enrolled. Never mind, the movie's timeline is a mess anyway, no need to worry about those details.

For now, as long as I hold out until Chen Xin appears, there shouldn't be any problems. So, the conservative plan is to stall for time; if that fails, I'll greet him with the Heavenly Thunder Bead.