Chapter 501 Han Ping: So Your Backer Is Only This Much
"Senior, this is a misunderstanding, senior!"
Tiger Lord heard that hellish voice and hurriedly begged for mercy.
"Misunderstanding?"
Han Ping spoke with a cold, mocking smile. "Then if I accidentally slaughter you, that can also count as a misunderstanding."
"Ah?"
Tiger Lord could see that the other party clearly intended to use him as a warning today. But he did not want to die; he had not enjoyed life enough yet.
Since begging was useless, he could only drag out his backer. "Senior, I am a demon commander under Lady Su. If you kill me, Lady Su will definitely turn against you. At that time, you may not gain anything good from it."
"Lady Su?"
Han Ping did not act immediately. Killing a small tiger demon would not solve anything at the root. Only by subduing the power behind him could the Han Family take root in Xu Kingdom.
Seeing this, Tiger Lord felt a surge of hope and continued, "Correct. The reason we can guard a region of Xu Kingdom is all thanks to Lady Su's pardon."
Han Ping asked, "And which force is she from?"
Tiger Lord replied, "Lady Su is from the Ancient Nation of Southern Yin. Her grandmother is a Marquis, and she turned Xu Kingdom into her fief. The king of Xu Kingdom is merely her junior."
Han Ping naturally had heard of the Ancient Nation of Southern Yin, a Half-Saint force located in the southeastern region of the Xuanzhou Continent.
The Ancient Nation of Southern Yin was vassal to Qingqiu. Two Half-Saints—one human and one demon—sat in town there. Humans and demons lived mixed together, and the nation had many half-demons.
Compared to other forces, relations between humans and demons in the Ancient Nation of Southern Yin were relatively harmonious.
Han Ping smiled. "So your backer is just a little fox from the Ancient Nation of Southern Yin. I thought it was something remarkable. Forget her— even if her grandmother came, she still would not be able to save your cat life today. Die!"
As he finished, Han Ping casually slapped out his palm. It looked like nothing more than a light, effortless gesture.
Yet Tiger Lord felt the end of the world descending. He wanted to flee but found that every path of retreat had already been sealed.
"No!"
With a miserable scream, Tiger Lord's soul was annihilated. His body turned to ashes, leaving only a single demon core dropping to the ground.
Several cultivators watching from afar trembled uncontrollably at the sight.
To them, Tiger Lord was an extraordinary existence. Yet someone like that was casually crushed by the Han Family's ancestor. Just how terrifying was this ancestor?
Most importantly, this ancestor seemed completely unconcerned about Xu Kingdom's backer. Clearly, he had an extraordinary background of his own.
"Xu Kingdom is about to change."
An elderly cultivator muttered to himself.
The cultivators beside him also began contemplating the future of their households. Even though Xu Kingdom was a mortal nation, it still supported a number of cultivators.
If Xu Kingdom changed hands, where were they supposed to go?
Han Ping ignored the onlookers. After dealing with Tiger Lord, he turned his gaze to his granddaughter.
Han Xiulin still had not recovered from her shock. In her mind, Tiger Lord was an unbeatable existence. Yet in this senior's hands, he could not even withstand a single move.
Han Xiuyuan saw his younger sister still frozen and said, "Little sister, hurry and greet Uncle-Grandfather."
Uncle-Grandfather?
Hearing this familiar yet distant title, Han Xiulin froze for a moment. Then disbelief appeared on her face as she tentatively said, "Xiulin greets Uncle-Grandfather."
"No need for formalities."
Han Ping asked, "How did you survive under that tiger demon?"
Han Xiulin replied, "Reporting to Uncle-Grandfather, Tiger Lord raised us as precious medicine. Among the group, my bloodline was the best, so he planned to raise me for a few more years. That was why he did not eat me."
Han Ping nodded slightly. "Your body indeed carries a strong medicinal fragrance. Had he refined you into a Human Pill, his cultivation would surely have broken through a minor realm. It seems Tiger Lord had great ambitions."
"Uncle-Grandfather is wise."
Han Xiulin stared at her grandfather with open admiration and continued, "Tiger Lord wanted to break through Heavenly Origin within one hundred years, and I was the main ingredient he valued. In just these three years, I reached Body Tempering seventh layer solely by eating spiritual medicine."
Han Xiuyuan felt a stab of bitterness at those words. He had wandered outside for so many years and had not even succeeded in Awakening. Meanwhile, his younger sister was captured by a tiger demon for three years, came back unharmed, and even stepped onto the immortal path. Comparing people was infuriating.
Han Ping asked, "So there are still many medicinal slaves in that cave?"
"Yes."
Han Xiulin nodded. "Not only medicinal slaves, but plenty of Jiang Ghosts as well. Some are even Dao Foundation level."
Han Ping smiled. "No matter. A mere Dao Foundation can be extinguished with a flick. Come, let's rescue the people taken by the tiger demon."
"Yes."
As they spoke, the group descended toward Tiger Lord's cave dwelling.
Inside the cave, chaos reigned. The Jiang Ghosts were running around like headless flies, and some even wailed in despair.
"The King has fallen! Run!"
"It's over—everything's over!"
The living captives inside the cave were stunned by the scene.
On ordinary days, these Jiang Ghosts were arrogant and overbearing, not even placing the Prefect in their eyes. When had they ever looked so pathetic?
What on earth had happened outside?
Why had Han Xiulin suddenly disappeared?
At that moment, a thunderous voice resounded through the cave.
"Perish."
As the word fell, all the Jiang Ghosts turned to ash, without even a chance to scream.
The medicinal slaves were dumbfounded, frozen in place as they turned toward the source of the voice.
Rustling footsteps followed, and four figures slowly approached.
When the captives recognized one of them, they cried out in shock.
"Han Xiulin!"
"It's me."
Han Xiulin responded calmly to their exclamations.
"What… what is going on?"
A girl who usually had a good relationship with Han Xiulin asked cautiously.
Han Xiulin did not intend to hide anything. "My Uncle-Grandfather returned from cultivation. After discovering I was captured by Tiger Lord, he came to the mountain and crushed Tiger Lord. Now all of us are free."
The medicinal slaves broke into tears of joy upon hearing this.
"We survived!"
"We can finally go home. I miss my family so much… I wonder how they are now."
Han Xiulin did not interrupt and simply watched silently.
But soon, voices of doubt rose from the crowd.
"This is bad. Tiger Lord has been crushed. Won't the demons backing him come to Hao Prefecture for revenge? Wouldn't we all die anyway?"
"That's right. Tiger Lord was sent from above. If he dies, the great demons from the capital will never let us go. What should we do?"
The crowd murmured anxiously, their eyes gradually shifting toward Han Ping and the others.
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