Chapter 152: Liu Qing the Alchemist

Facing the sudden charge from Chu Han, he retreated calmly while two elderly men stepped in front of him, jointly blocking Chu Han’s attack.

However, their expressions shifted from initial disdain to astonishment, and finally to shock. Chu Han’s immense strength was too much for the two of them to handle together. They staggered back several steps, their hands going numb as the tremendous force nearly shattered their arms.

"He has formidable strength. Let's attack together."

One of the elders spoke in a deep voice, and the two of them immediately lunged forward, launching a coordinated assault.

With comparable strength and a long history of working together, their cooperation was seamless. Each of their strikes sealed off a portion of Chu Han’s escape routes, leaving him with nowhere to dodge. Yet, Chu Han had no intention of dodging anyway; to him, these two old men were not enough to throw him into a panic.

Faced with the duo's attack, Chu Han stepped back slightly, his hands forming hand seals in a blur as he shouted aloud, "Thunder Seal!"

As the words left his mouth, a massive lightning handprint materialized abruptly in mid-air, directly intercepting the two elders' attack. Even after blocking it, the lightning handprint did not dissipate; instead, it continued surging forward toward the old men.

Taken aback, the elders flashed to the side to evade the incoming handprint. However, completely focused on dodging, they forgot that Dan Ji was standing right behind them. Unable to react in time to Chu Han’s Thunder Seal, Dan Ji took the blow squarely in the chest. He was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a large boulder and shattering it into pieces.

Dan Ji spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning fiercely malevolent. He had suffered severe internal injuries; had he not been wearing a heavily defensive armor, he likely would have perished on the spot. Hastily shoving medicinal pills into his mouth, he began trying to heal his wounds.

Naturally, the elders noticed this scene and were struck with dismay. In their haste to dodge Chu Han’s attack, they had completely forgotten that the young master was right behind them. Filled with sudden fury, each elder gripped one end of a thick iron chain and began spinning around Chu Han at blinding speed.

A cloud of dust whipped up around them. Moving extremely fast, Chu Han stood motionless in his tracks, wanting to see what these old men were actually up to.

Before long, without Chu Han noticing, the iron chains converged around his feet. Just as he attempted to step away from the radius of the chains, the two old men exerted force simultaneously. The iron chains surged into the air, tightly binding Chu Han and pinning his arms and body together in a secure wrap.

"Ha! Let's see you act so arrogant now! Since you refuse to hand over the cultivation technique, I have no choice but to strip you of your other tricks. You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!"

Dan Ji struggled to his feet, his face pale, and limped toward Chu Han with a look of utter contempt.

Meanwhile, Chu Han began straining his muscles to break free from the chains. However, the chains proved to be far sturdier than he had anticipated; it seemed it would take a brief moment to snap them.

"Young Master Dan, can you hand this fellow over to me? Rest assured, I guarantee he won't make it out alive. If you agree, the benefits the Meng family will offer you will beyond your imagination."

Meng Bo, watching from the sidelines, saw a glimmer of hope. Since Chu Han had been captured, he had to die. Once the Meng family discovered what he had done, he would be utterly doomed. Therefore, he had to kill Chu Han with his own hands.

"I don't really care. All I want is the item he possesses. As for his life, it's yours to take."

Dan Ji nodded. His sole objective was the cultivation technique on Chu Han anyway, and he was not particularly attached to taking Chu Han’s life. However, since Chu Han’s previous attack had severely injured him, letting Meng Bo finish Chu Han off was an acceptable outcome.

Concurrently, Chu Han continued exerting his strength. The iron chains were forged from some unknown material that suppressed his true qi, forcing him to rely entirely on his physical might to tear through the bindings.

"Stop struggling. These chains are forged from deep-sea mystic silver; their durability is beyond your imagination. Moreover, they possess the property of sealing true qi. Right now, you are nothing more than a cripple. The harder you struggle, the tighter the chains will bind you."

Seeing his movements, Dan Ji laughed heartily and reached out, intending to teach Chu Han a lesson. Chu Han, however, merely wore a calm smile. Of course he had heard of deep-sea mystic silver; his family after all made a living in blacksmithing. While the material was exceptionally tough, it was not unbreakable to him.

Just as Dan Ji stepped forward, ready to strike, Chu Han tensed his arms. In an instant, the iron chains shattered into countless pieces. The broken links blasted outward like projectiles, slamming into Dan Ji and Meng Bo and sending them flying through the air, while the two elders barely managed to dodge the flying shrapnel.

Yet, while they could dodge the chains, they could not dodge Chu Han's attack. The moment he broke free, Chu Han was already standing right before the two elders—or rather, two figures of Chu Han: his actual body and a lightning afterimage.

Simultaneously, both Chu Hans launched their assault. The two elders spat blood as they crashed to the ground, breathing faintly and hovering on the brink of death. They had truly pushed Chu Han past his limit; originally, he had no intention of killing them, but leaving them alive now would fail to appease the anger in his heart.

As for Dan Ji and Meng Bo, they lay on the ground with pale complexions. Chu Han’s strength had far surpassed their imagination—this was something entirely beyond human capabilities, yet Chu Han had pulled it off decisively.

"Sir, I was wrong! I shouldn't have moved against you. Please spare me! I promise I will never do this again, and I'll keep my head down within the Meng family. I beg you, please don't kill me."

Chu Han walked up to Meng Bo. At this moment, Meng Bo's greatest regret was ever provoking Chu Han. To escape death, he could only drop to his knees and plead for mercy. Even though the Meng family might not spare him even if Chu Han let him go, anyone would cling to life if they could.

With a faint smile, Chu Han ignored his pleas and raised his hand, intending to execute him. At that critical, life-or-death moment, a covert soul attack hurtled toward Chu Han. It was concealed so masterfully that Chu Han only sensed its arrival right before it hit him. Startled, he hurriedly rallied his soul power to counter the spiritual assault.

However, since the opponent had struck first and he was forced into a passive defense, he was at a slight disadvantage, taking a few steps back. Even so, it was essentially an evenly matched clash, and he sustained no injuries.

"Friend, aren't you going too far? They have already cast aside their dignity to beg you like this, yet you still intend to kill them mercilessly. Though your face is obscured, your methods are far too vicious."

At this moment, an old man and a youth emerged from the jungle. Chu Han could sense that the soul attack had originated from the young man. Possessing such powerful spiritual strength meant this person must also be an alchemist.

"Who are you? What business is it of yours? Stop meddling in other people's affairs."

Chu Han smiled disdainfully. Since the other party was also an alchemist, they must have come to participate in the Grand Alchemist Tournament. Moreover, judging by the strength of the opponent's soul power, this person's alchemy skills would likely not be inferior to his own.

"My name is Liu Qing, an alchemist. Since you were able to block my soul attack, it seems you are an alchemist as well. Presumably, you are also heading to participate in the Grand Alchemist Tournament. As an alchemist, you ought to keep a calm and serene mind. Harboring such a heavy murderous aura will do your alchemy skills no good whatsoever."

Liu Qing spoke with a tone of evident contempt toward Chu Han's alchemy, carrying an air of reprimand that sounded utterly ridiculous to Chu Han's ears.