After scanning with his spiritual sense, Han Li was alarmed to discover that the brocade-robed giant was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator! He was actually a Mulan Divine Master! Hadn't it been said that the Mulan only had three Divine Masters?
Han Li's heart lurched with shock. Before he could even figure out what was going on, the brocade-robed giant raised his hand and made a grabbing motion in midair toward the descending Thunder Bead.
Han Li's expression turned grave. Without a moment's hesitation, he pointed a finger, and the Thunder Bead immediately spun, attempting to change direction.
But the action came a fraction too late.
A massive cyan hand materialized above the Thunder Bead out of nowhere, snatching it out of the air with lightning speed.
There was no room to dodge at all!
Han Li's eyebrows shot up. Without the slightest hesitation, he formed a double-handed seal and detonated the seized Thunder Bead.
Golden and cyan light exploded within the giant hand. In an instant, both hand and bead were annihilated, vanishing without a trace.
The brocade-robed giant let out a cold snort, but after a flicker of cyan light across his face, his expression returned to normal.
Han Li made no attempt to flee. He simply stared coldly at his opponent in silence.
The brocade-robed giant raised his head and regarded Han Li for a moment, then said mildly: "You are Han Li — the cultivator who possesses a Gold Lightning Bamboo treasure!"
"The Mulan are said to have only three Divine Masters. And who might you be, sir?" Han Li did not answer the giant's question, instead posing one of his own.
"Good! To know I am a Mulan Divine Master and still remain this composed. It seems you truly are the person Divine Master Zhong spoke of. My name is Tian Zhong — the fourth Divine Master of the Mulan!" The brocade-robed giant spoke without surprise or alarm.
"The fourth Divine Master? This is the first I've heard of it. But sir, your manifested hand couldn't even suppress a single one of my Thunder Beads. I'm afraid you only recently advanced to the late stage — you haven't even finished consolidating your realm yet, have you?" Han Li stared at the giant and spoke bluntly. At the same time, he casually pointed toward the cluster of sword lights before him, and the swords hummed in unison, transforming into a shimmering haze of cyan light that shielded him.
"Tian did indeed advance to the late stage only a few years ago. But do you really think that means you can fight me? You are truly arrogant enough." The brocade-robed giant sneered, a trace of mockery curling at his lips.
"He cannot fight you alone, but what if I join him?" A pleasant woman's voice suddenly rang out from one side.
Han Li was startled for a moment, then overjoyed.
"Who?!" The brocade-robed giant was taken aback, his gaze flickering as he barked sharply.
"I didn't expect that in just over a hundred years, Fellow Daoist Tian would advance to the late stage. It truly surprises me! I wonder whether your abilities have truly grown to match."
As these words rang out, white light flashed, and a beautiful woman in a red dress appeared in the air to one side, gazing coldly at the brocade-robed giant.
"So it's Madam Feng. But isn't Fellow Daoist Feng worried about Fellow Daoist Long Han appearing here alone? You two always fight side by side." The brocade-robed giant's expression shifted slightly when he saw the red-robed beauty.
"Rest easy! With my husband among over a thousand cultivators, even if you Divine Masters personally intervene, you won't be able to touch him. I, on the other hand, would very much like to test the abilities of the fourth Divine Master for myself. Fellow Daoist Han, please go and rescue the others." The woman's last two sentences were directed at Han Li. She then raised her hand, spreading her five fingers, and a small, translucent, fiery-red bottle appeared in her palm.
Before she could even circulate her power to activate it, the bottle flashed with red light. A ball of fierce flame enveloped it, and it drifted gently upward.
"The Fire Spirit Bottle!" A hint of gravity appeared on the brocade-robed giant's face as he murmured under his breath.
Upon hearing the woman's words, Han Li did not stand on ceremony. His body transformed into a streak of cyan light and shot high into the sky.
The brocade-robed giant's face darkened. He suddenly detached a spirit beast bag from his waist and tossed it into the air. After a burst of radiance, two identical winged beasts appeared — covered in cyan feathers, with tiger heads and eagle bodies.
"Sky Tiger Beasts!" Han Li recognized the creatures at a glance and blurted out their name.
These were extremely rare flying beasts of the Mulan steppes, proficient in both earth and wind type spells — notoriously difficult to deal with. And these two appeared to be at the late Core Formation stage, which made them no small threat.
At that moment, the two Sky Tiger Beasts spread their wings wide, and their bodies vanished in a flash of cyan light. An instant later, one after the other, they reappeared near Han Li, glaring at him with predatory intensity.
Han Li pulled back his escape light and halted abruptly.
"Instant teleportation!" Han Li cursed inwardly. He had heard that this type of beast possessed teleportation abilities, but he never expected it to be true.
If that was the case, shaking off these two creatures would not be easy at all!
But Tian Zhong was not finished. His body swayed, and a cyan human-shaped shadow separated from behind him. It then walked forward on its own, as if it were a real person.
The cyan figure was identical to Tian Zhong in appearance, but its entire body was composed of a hazy cyan luminescence, its features dazzling and bright — as though it were nothing more than a phantom.
"An External Avatar!" This time, it was the beautiful woman who showed a flicker of surprise.
Not because the opponent had an avatar — but because such a bizarre form of External Avatar was something she had never seen before.
The cyan figure vanished in a flash and shot toward Han Li.
The red-robed beauty did not move to intercept, because the brocade-robed giant opened his mouth and spat out a crystal-clear, five-colored wheel. He addressed her as he did so: "That way, I can properly exchange pointers with both of you."
Having said this, he pointed a finger at the colored wheel, which immediately transformed into a swath of multicolored radiance and drifted swiftly toward the woman.