"." The young lady's eyes sparkled, fixed upon Han Li's face, and she asked gently. "Should I refuse, I suspect I would still find it difficult to leave the noble circles." After a light sigh, Han Li replied honestly and earnestly. At that moment, he was seated in the pavilion of Jin Yue, with an elder and a beautiful woman sitting on either side of her. These two newly arrived, early-stage combined-tier elders of the Tian Peng Clan were observing Han Li intently, though their gaze lingered particularly on the Wind and Thunder Wings behind him, their faces subtly glowing with warmth. "Master Han, your choice is truly wise. As long as our sacred heir passes the trials, our clan will surely not overlook your contributions." The young lady spoke with evident delight, yet her tone remained calm and composed, as though she had anticipated Han Li's agreement all along. "If the trials indeed prove as demanding as the senior has described, then this act of assistance will not be particularly difficult for me. Yet, at the same time, I do not wish to end up in the situation of a hero being discarded once the bow has been drawn." Therefore, there are still two conditions that I hope the noble house will promise to me first. Only then can I be free of any concerns and devote my full attention to assisting the noble house's heir." Han Li paused, then continued. "Conditions? As a member of a foreign clan, you may as well state them." The elder named Xu, sitting beside him, furrowed his brows and asked. "I would like one lotus spire of the Kungpeng and the right to be recorded on the secondary scroll of the Heavenly Peng Oath." Han Li smiled lightly. "Lotus spire, secondary scroll of the Heavenly Peng Oath." Upon hearing this, not only did the man named Xu and the other woman's expressions change, but even Jin Yue's face slightly grew surprised. "Impossible! Our clan possesses only about a dozen lotus spires in total. Each one is a sacred relic bestowed upon the clan after the passing of our successive Grand Elders. How can we possibly grant one to you? As for the Heavenly Peng Oath, even the secondary scrolls are limited to just three copies. There is hardly any room left for you to be recorded." The elder with red hair grew increasingly serious and firmly rejected the request. "Very well, these two items are indeed our clan's treasures—indeed, it would be difficult to promise them. Young sir, perhaps you might consider another condition instead?" The beautiful woman beside him sighed and added. The young lady said nothing, merely her eyes flashing with thought, as though weighing her options. "I seek the Kuo Peng Sutra—not merely for myself. Only after ingesting the Sutra can I command the power of the Kuo Peng and transform myself into the form of a Heavenly Peng. Only then can I present myself as a noble heir without being detected by other clans. With the Sutra, combined with the Kuo Peng feathers I have refined and the genuine Kuo Peng blood I have integrated, I believe I shall be worthy of being recorded in the supplementary scroll of the Heavenly Peng Oath. Only then can I be certain that the noble family will not have other intentions toward me later." Han Li spoke calmly. "How did you come to know all this? Did someone within the clan inform you privately?" The elder with the Xu surname asked, his face turning stern. "Not exactly." Han had stayed at the Tianzhi Pavilion in the city for an entire day, surely able to gather all the information from its extensive archives. I nearly forgot—once human cultivators achieve mastery, they all possess the ability of immediate recall. Jin Yue spoke calmly. "Even so, we absolutely cannot accept these two conditions," the elder shook his head repeatedly. "Why not? If the noble house fails to produce a Supreme Master during this trial, it will be demoted from its rank among the seventy-two branches of the Feilin Clan and eventually absorbed by stronger branches. Compared to this, I find Han's proposed conditions quite manageable. Unless you three have already planned to treat me differently after this trial." Han said slowly. Upon hearing this, both Xu Elder and the young woman looked somewhat displeased. "Very well, I accept," the young woman suddenly declared after a moment of silence. "How can this be—this still requires further consideration," the senior elder remarked. "The elder and the beautiful woman were both startled, quickly interposing to stop him. "There's no need to elaborate," said the young woman, adopting a colder tone. "As Brother Han has pointed out, these two conditions are of little significance when compared to the fate of the entire clan. This matter I shall settle." With a wave of her hand, she cut off the two companions beside her, who, after exchanging hesitant glances, finally fell silent. "I can fully agree to the two conditions you have proposed," she continued, her gaze sharpening into a blade-like intensity. "However, to ensure that you will fully commit to helping the two holy princes pass their trials, I shall require an additional blood oath from you. Should our clan fail to produce a Holy Master after the trials, I, as the Grand Elder, shall personally sacrifice a portion of my lifespan—breaking the celestial pheasant vow—to extinguish you." Tomorrow I will have everything arranged and will send someone to fetch you, so that we may hold your enlightenment ceremony and formally integrate you into our clan," the young woman said with unwavering determination. "The Grand Elder meant… I suddenly realized." "A few days ago, I received several flying spirit-level generals who had just returned from escorting the tribute goods. Through their accounts, I've learned quite a bit about this human clan. Though they hold only a mid-level flying spirit general rank, they actually possess at least the capabilities of a beginning-level spiritual commander. With such abilities, they are absolutely confident in helping our holy prince pass the trials—sacrificing a little would be nothing at all. Moreover, once the matter is settled, if this foreign noble is willing to remain quietly within our holy city, avoiding contact with his own people, we won't necessarily need to resort to our final measure. On the contrary, we should remain vigilant—our own rivals may be plotting something during this trial." The young woman gently brushed her shoulder-length dark hair with her hand, speaking calmly. "The Grand Elder is most perceptive!" This time, both the red-haired elder and the beautiful woman truly felt reassured. It was Feng Xiao, Bai Lei, and Bai Ning—the three siblings who had returned with him to the city. Upon seeing Han Li, they showed an unusually warm enthusiasm, staying with him at his residence for nearly half a day before finally departing. After personally seeing them off at the door, Han Li's smile faded slightly, and he returned to his room after a brief pause, closing the door firmly. On the stone wall, hundreds of stone carvings of the great swan birds rise, each glowing with vibrant colors due to an unknown restriction, forming a seven-colored luminous veil that completely shelters the entire plaza. At the center of the plaza stands a raised platform resembling a sacred altar, entirely constructed of pure, translucent white jade. Han Li now stands upon this jade platform, with about fifteen Tianpeng people standing solemnly around him—both men and women, all dressed in white robes, each possessing the cultivation level of Lingxu. Three senior Tianpeng elders—Jin Yue, the elder with red beard, and others—stand before Han Li, with two young women in attendant attire standing behind them, each holding a silver circular disc that appears softly white. "Master Han, everything has been prepared." Moreover, in order to ensure that you can fully harness the powers of the Kungpeng Relic and the Kungpeng Blood before the trial, I and the other three senior elders will employ our greatest divine abilities to help you completely assimilate both within a short period of time, after which we will impart to you the transformation technique unique to the Tianpeng clan. I hope Master Han will not let us down. The young lady's eyes shone with radiant light as she gazed steadily at Han Li. "Senior, please rest assured. As I have already committed to the several elders, I will certainly give my utmost effort," Han Li replied seriously. "Excellent. First, you will merge with the true blood of the Kungpeng. Then, Elder Xu will join forces to awaken the latent power of the spiritual blood, forcibly fusing it with your own blood until the two become one and inseparable. This process will undoubtedly be painful, but I believe you will be able to endure it. Subsequently, you will consume the Kungpeng Relic, which I will personally assist you in fully integrating. During this phase, you must remain vigilant—do not inadvertently suffer a reversal of the Kungpeng power contained within the relic, which might lead to After all, you are not truly of the Tianpeng lineage, so this move carries some risk." The young woman added several more instructions, which Han Li naturally agreed to one by one. Seeing Han Li's earnest demeanor, the young woman nodded in satisfaction and then waved her hand behind her. Instantly, one of the two attendants stepped forward and gently placed a silver tray before the woman. Jin Yue glanced calmly at the tray, then lightly tapped the glowing screen with a slender, pale finger. The white light flashed several times before fading silently, revealing a small, jade-like bottle about the size of a thumb—simple in design, neither gold nor jade. As she looked at the bottle, a soft silver glow emanated from her body, instantly elevating her appearance to one of sacred purity. At the very moment the bottle appeared, the other Tianpeng members, without exception, inclined their heads slightly in reverence, their faces filled with deep respect. (First update!)