Han Li: What is Douluo Continent?

"It's over."

Meanwhile, in the main hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

The shrewdness and ease on Ning Fengzhi's face vanished without a trace in an instant.

What replaced them was profound despair.

Sword Douluo Chen Xin gripped the Seven Kill Sword at his waist even tighter, his face so grim it looked ready to drip water.

"Fengzhi, get Yunfei out of there now!"

Bone Douluo shouted anxiously.

They had witnessed firsthand just how ruthless that dark-faced young man's methods were.

He was practically a living Yama King wearing the skin of an honest man!

Liu Yunfei was an auxiliary-type soul master with no combat ability at all, yet he had actually taken the initiative to provoke such a baleful star.

How was that any different from a little white rabbit jumping into a wolf's den on its own?

But the light screen was one-way.

The anxious shouts from Douluo Continent could not reach Liu Yunfei's ears at all.

On the screen, Liu Yunfei had already arrived at that secluded stall.

Looking down at Han Li, who sat cross-legged on the ground, he tried to make his tone sound gentler, though it still carried a trace of the pride of a disciple from a great sect.

"Brother."

Liu Yunfei pointed at the copy of Eternal Spring Technique on the gray cloth.

"How much is this manual?"

Han Li had originally been resting with his eyes closed. Hearing someone ask the price, he slowly opened them.

He raised his head and gave Liu Yunfei a glance.

With that single glance, a faint glint flashed almost imperceptibly through Han Li's calm, ancient-well-like eyes.

The man before him was dressed extravagantly, but neither the style nor the fabric of his clothes resembled anything from either Yue Kingdom's cultivation world or its mortal world.

More importantly, Han Li could not sense even the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power from him.

Instead, he sensed a strange energy very similar to the one possessed by the "werewolf" he had encountered in the forest a few days ago.

"Another strange cultivation system?"

Han Li calculated silently, but his face revealed no emotion.

He still wore that honest, simple expression as he stated the price flatly.

"One copy of Eternal Spring Technique, two low-grade spirit stones."

Two low-grade spirit stones.

Hearing that price, Liu Yunfei groaned inwardly.

He had only just arrived in this world. He had not even seen what spirit stones looked like—where was he supposed to find two of them?

But he was, after all, from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and he was quite skilled at business.

Liu Yunfei's eyes shifted, and an enthusiastic smile spread across his face.

"Brother, to be honest."

"I left in such a hurry that I happened to spend all the spirit stones I had on me."

As he spoke, Liu Yunfei brushed a hand over the soul tool at his waist.

A flash of light appeared, and a coin emitting a faint golden glow appeared in his palm.

This was a gold soul coin circulated on Douluo Continent.

It was forged from pure gold, engraved with the emblem of Spirit Hall and intricate patterns, and had a satisfying weight to it.

"How about I trade this for it?"

Liu Yunfei held the gold soul coin out before Han Li, his tone carrying a hint of probing temptation.

"This is pure red gold, with exquisite craftsmanship."

"Take it to a pawnshop in the mortal world, and you can definitely exchange it for plenty of silver."

As they watched Liu Yunfei offer over that gold soul coin.

The audience on Douluo Continent stopped breathing.

At Shrek Academy.

Tang San felt a layer of cold sweat instantly seep out across his back, and his scalp went numb.

"This is bad..."

Others might not have noticed the detail, but he remembered it perfectly clearly.

Back when Su Yuntao died.

This young man named Han Li had taken several identical Gold Soul Coins from Su Yuntao's corpse!

In the scene, Han Li's gaze fell upon the Gold Soul Coin.

The Spirit Hall insignia on it, along with its distinctive weight and metallic luster—

They were practically cast from the same mold as the "scrap metal" he had looted from that strange man and stored in his storage pouch.

Han Li said nothing.

He merely gazed quietly at the Gold Soul Coin, then looked up at the eagerly expectant Liu Yunfei.

Within those brief one or two breaths—

Han Li's demonically meticulous mind had already raced through countless thoughts.

"The same currency, the same strange energy fluctuation."

"This man and the strange man I killed came from the same place."

"He isn't wearing that strange man's distinctive clothing, so they may not belong to the same faction, but they definitely know each other."

"Is he here for revenge?"

"No. If he were here for revenge, he wouldn't be making such a pointless trade with me."

"Then did we just happen to run into each other?"

Han Li's eyes, hidden in shadow, gradually grew profound.

In this cultivation world where the strong devoured the weak, even the slightest carelessness could lead to death and the dissipation of one's Dao.

Since the other party came from the same place as someone he had killed, there was a risk that his murder and looting could be exposed.

Leave no roots behind.

Those four words surfaced in Han Li's mind once more.

However, private fighting was forbidden in the Great South Valley market.

Moreover, Han Li was indeed curious about this completely unfamiliar power system and wanted to take this opportunity to probe the other party's background.

With that thought, a remarkably gentle—even somewhat simple-minded—smile suddenly bloomed across Han Li's dark face, which had previously been as still as an ancient well.

He reached out and accepted the Gold Soul Coin.

"This big brother is right."

"The quality of this gold is indeed quite good. Trading it for a basic cultivation technique would be acceptable."

As Han Li spoke, he enthusiastically picked up the Eternal Spring Technique from his stall and handed it to Liu Yunfei.

"However, Big Brother doesn't seem to be from around here?"

"This market is full of all sorts of people. If Big Brother doesn't mind, why not come to my place for a cup of tea? I can also explain the market's rules to you."

That smile, that tone.

Warmhearted, sincere—he looked every bit like an honest and hospitable man.

Yet in the eyes of everyone on the Douluo Continent—

That smile was even more terrifying than a demon's savage grin.

Inside the grand hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi had already closed his eyes in despair.

He knew.

Liu Yunfei was doomed.

"Sure, then I'll have to trouble you, little brother."

Liu Yunfei nodded repeatedly, inwardly overjoyed.

To him, the dark-faced young man before him was simply a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.

He had completely intimidated the other party just by casually producing a piece of gold.

As long as he could build a good relationship, he would definitely be able to pry more information about the cultivation world out of this bumpkin.

When he returned to the sect with that information, the sect master would surely reward him handsomely.

In the scene, Han Li gave a simple, honest smile and deftly rolled up the gray cloth on the ground.

He tucked the talismans and herbs close to his body.

Then he rose to his feet and made an inviting gesture.

"This way, Big Brother. The house I rent is not far ahead."

Watching this scene, Tang San on Shrek Academy's training field could not help but suck in a sharp breath.

He knew that look and manner far too well.

In his previous life at the Tang Sect of Bashu, the elite disciples tasked with assassination wore precisely that seemingly harmless yet secretly murderous expression when luring prey into a trap.

"This Han Li is far too good at disguising himself."

Tang San murmured softly, a thin layer of sweat already covering his palms.

Heaven Dou City, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Fengzhi slumped helplessly in his chair.

"It's over. That child Yunfei has always had everything go his way in the sect; he has no idea how treacherous people can be."

Sword Douluo Chen Xin also sighed and shook his head.

"That dark-faced brat didn't even blink when he killed people."

"If Yunfei goes with him, he'll surely die."

The thick fog of Great South Valley churned all around them.

Han Li led Liu Yunfei through the bustling square and followed a secluded bluestone path deeper inside.

The farther they went, the fewer stalls and people there were around them.

Along the way, Han Li made occasional small talk with Liu Yunfei.

"Big Brother, the fabric of your clothes is quite fine. You must come from a wealthy and influential family in the mortal world, right?"

Liu Yunfei had been worrying over how to find a topic to build rapport. Upon hearing Han Li's question, he immediately puffed out his chest.

"Of course."

"My family is rich enough to rival a nation. In Heaven... in our place, it's one of the foremost powers as well."

He had originally wanted to say the Heaven Dou Empire, but swallowed the words at the last moment and casually changed his phrasing.

Liu Yunfei thought he had concealed it well.

Yet a sharp glint flashed through Han Li's eyes as he walked ahead.

A family? Wealthy enough to rival a nation? A major power?

Han Li rapidly analyzed those words in his mind.

He knew roughly of all the prominent mortal families within the Yue Kingdom, but he had never heard of anyone from any family carrying such strange energy fluctuations.

This man spoke hesitantly, clearly hiding his origins.

More importantly, how could someone from such a major power fail to recognize even the most basic low-grade spirit stone?

"It seems this person, like that werewolf, most likely comes from some hidden place I know nothing about."

"This gold coin must be the common currency of that place."

Han Li's vigilance had already risen to its peak.

When dealing with unknown things, he had always had only two approaches.

Either stay as far away as possible, or thoroughly uncover their true nature and then eradicate them completely to prevent future trouble.

Since the other party had taken the initiative to approach him, he could only choose the second option.

Before long, the two arrived before a row of crude bluestone houses.

These were temporary lodgings that Great South Valley specifically rented out to visiting independent cultivators.

Han Li walked to the stone house at the very end and pushed open its wooden door.

"Please come in, Big Brother. The room is humble, so please don't mind it."

Liu Yunfei stepped inside.

The room truly was simple, with only a stone bed and a battered wooden table.

There was not even a window, and the lighting was exceedingly dim.

Liu Yunfei casually sat down on a wooden stool.

Han Li closed the wooden door behind him, walked to the table, and picked up a rough teapot to pour two cups of water.

"Plain tea and water, Big Brother. Please wet your throat."

Liu Yunfei waved his hand. His mind was full of cultivation techniques and the secrets of the cultivation world; how could he be in the mood for tea?

"Little Brother, forget the tea."

Liu Yunfei leaned forward and lowered his voice.

"I've only just arrived, and there are still many things about our cultivation world that I don't understand."

"That Eternal Spring Technique you gave me earlier—what realm can it cultivate to?"

"Other than that, do you have any more powerful spell manuals? Money is not a problem."

As Liu Yunfei spoke, he pulled several gold soul coins from the storage soul tool at his waist and lined them up across the table.

The glittering coins were especially eye-catching in the dim room.

Hearing this, Han Li sat down opposite Liu Yunfei.

He glanced at the gold soul coins on the table, then let his gaze linger briefly on the inconspicuous belt at Liu Yunfei's waist.

"A storage artifact?"

Han Li was slightly startled inwardly.

Storage bags were common in the cultivation world, but for low-level independent cultivators, they were still a considerable fortune.

This person did not even recognize spirit stones, yet he carried a storage artifact.

It was like a three-year-old child carrying a gold brick through a crowded market.

The honest smile on Han Li's face gradually faded.

He did not take the gold soul coins from the table.

Instead, his right hand lightly moved inside his sleeve, silently pinching a low-grade talisman.

"Big Brother, I can tell you everything you want to know."

Han Li's voice became utterly flat, without the slightest trace of emotion.

"But before I answer Big Brother's questions—"

"This little brother has a few doubts of his own and would like Big Brother to clear them up first."

Liu Yunfei froze for a moment.

He felt as though the atmosphere in the room had suddenly changed.

The warm and hospitable country youth from before now gave off a somewhat chilly air.

Liu Yunfei swallowed and forced a calm smile.

"Ask whatever doubts you have, little brother."

Han Li placed the gold soul coin in his hand on the table.

Then, he took several more identical gold soul coins from his storage bag.

"Clang."

The coins collided, producing a crisp ring.

The smile on Liu Yunfei's face instantly froze when he saw the coins Han Li had taken out.

He was from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect; no one could be more familiar with currency than him.

These were clearly the gold soul coins circulated on Douluo Continent!

How could this country bumpkin from the cultivation world possess money from their world?

"I got this money a few days ago from a strange man in the woods, one whose eyes glowed green and whose hands were covered in wolf fur."

Han Li looked at Liu Yunfei, speaking as casually as if they were making small talk.

"That strange man had quite a bad temper. The moment he showed up, he wanted my life."

"I had no choice but to kill him, then burn him to ashes."

"Big Brother, since you have the same coins as him—"

"You should know him, right?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yunfei's expression visibly grew tense.

Glowing green eyes, hands covered in wolf fur.

The scene that had previously appeared on the heavenly screen immediately surfaced in his mind. Wasn't that exactly how the Spirit Hall deacon Su Yuntao looked?

So the ordinary-looking young man before him was the killer who had slain Su Yuntao.

"Y-you... you've misunderstood."

Liu Yunfei stammered as he shrank back. The chair scraped against the bluestone floor with a harsh screech.

"I don't know him. I really don't know him!"

"This money... this money is commonly used where we come from. Lots of people have it."

As Liu Yunfei explained himself, he tried to mobilize the soul power within his body, intending to summon his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

But he realized with dismay that he was merely an auxiliary-type soul master.

Even if he summoned his martial soul, what use would it be? Increase the other party's attributes?

Han Li remained perfectly still in his chair, quietly watching Liu Yunfei's panicked state.

"Since it is commonly used currency, that means there must be quite a few people where you come from."

Han Li's eyes shifted slightly.

"Where exactly do you come from? A cultivation clan beyond the Yue Kingdom, or some hidden overseas island?"

"And what is your purpose in coming to Great South Valley?"

Faced with Han Li's barrage of questions, Liu Yunfei's mind turned into a complete mess.