Chapter 92: The Slaughter of Innocents
No matter how much the minister’s daughter loved Zhang Han, she could not accept senseless slaughter. She begged him to let her go, but he ignored her, forcibly abducting her.
Killing an entire family in broad daylight and kidnapping the bride without even attempting to cover it up—this was a blatant provocation against the Kingdom of Yelang.
The minister was so enraged that he nearly coughed up blood on the spot.
The Kingdom of Yelang immediately sent forces to capture Zhang Han alive. If they did not publicly execute him, how could they maintain their dignity?
But Zhang Han killed every last one of them, growing stronger with every battle. His cultivation advanced at a terrifying speed until he reached the Soul Formation Stage. At that point, he personally slayed the reigning king and claimed the throne for himself.
Once he became king, he made the minister’s daughter his empress and began gathering all the beautiful women in the nation to fill his harem.
From that moment on, Zhang Han became a violent and unpredictable tyrant.
A maid who spilled soup, a eunuch who accidentally made eye contact with a concubine, a court official who dared to voice his concerns—all were beheaded under the pretext of offending imperial dignity.
He even issued harsh new laws, declaring that stealing even a single tael of silver was a crime punishable by death.
A minister who had studied in Great Zhou tried to reason with him, explaining that such laws would only undermine long-term stability.
Zhang Han ignored him. Instead, he accused the minister of defying imperial authority and executed him.
In an instant, fear gripped the entire Kingdom of Yelang.
People were too terrified to even drink alcohol, afraid that if they got drunk and caused a disturbance, they might be accused of “provoking trouble” and executed.
Yet, shopkeepers took no joy in this change. There were no more drunken brawls, but there were also fewer customers at the taverns.
One elderly minister, fearing for his life, requested permission to retire and return to his hometown.
Zhang Han coldly declared, “You are a Nascent Soul cultivator in the prime of your life, neither old nor sick. To retire is to deceive the emperor!”
Execution.
Another minister, actually old and suffering from internal injuries, asked to withdraw from court to live in seclusion.
Zhang Han responded, “As a subject, you must serve with unwavering loyalty until death. This is betrayal.”
Execution.
After witnessing these examples, no minister ever dared to request retirement again.
Before leaving home for court each day, they would draft their wills, fearing today might be their last.
One particularly brave minister suspected Zhang Han of cultivating demonic techniques and secretly reported him to the Great Wei Dynasty.
But no matter how thoroughly Great Wei investigated, they found no trace of demonic cultivation in Zhang Han.
In the end, they could only conclude that he was simply highly talented—and just happened to enjoy killing people.
After all, demonic cultivators always carried the resentment of their victims, but Zhang Han had no such aura.
Moreover, true demonic cultivation required direct killing. Ordering guards to kill for him or issuing harsh laws that increased executions would not improve a demonic cultivator’s strength.
When Zhang Han learned that someone had reported him for practicing demonic arts, he flew into a rage.
He declared the minister guilty of treason and exterminated his entire clan.
From that day forward, no one ever dared question Zhang Han again.
Zhang Han was in his warm chamber, reviewing memorials. He carefully scanned each document, searching for any excuse to order executions.
Unfortunately, the ministers had become smarter.
Their reports contained nothing but minor joys, such as bountiful harvests, or slight worries, like a decrease in crime rates.
Some even reported neutral matters, like the growing popularity of the executioner profession.
Perhaps he should disguise himself and visit the commoners—see if anyone deserved to die.
“Click.”
A faint sound reached his ears.
A maid’s hand had trembled while placing the teacup lid, making a slight noise.
Her face instantly turned deathly pale. She immediately knelt down, banging her head against the floor, begging for forgiveness.
Zhang Han waved his hand impatiently. “You disturbed my reading. Drag her out and behead her.”
He believed he was being fair—since he had executed previous maids for similar mistakes, he could not make an exception now, lest he appear unjust.
“Guards? Guards!”
When no guards immediately entered, his irritation grew. He assumed the guards were slacking off.
Such dereliction of duty was punishable by death as well.
The door to the chamber opened.
A young man stepped inside and turned to the two guards at the door.
“Wait outside. Do not enter. Understood?”
The two guards did not dare say a single word and nodded frantically.
Then, the young man turned to the terrified maid.
“Go wait outside. I have some business with your king.”
The maid, as if granted a divine pardon, fled the chamber.
Zhang Han remained silent.
A moment ago, he had been ordering executions without a second thought.
Now, he was drenched in cold sweat, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
He forced himself to remain calm.
“I do not know why the Human Sovereign has come here today, but if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.”
The young man—Jiang Li—smiled.
“Didn’t I just say? I came to take care of something. And I need your help—specifically, to take care of you.”
“…Me?”
Zhang Han forced a laugh.
“Surely you jest, Your Majesty. I have broken no laws of the Human Sovereign Hall. You are the Human Sovereign—you cannot kill the innocent.”
Jiang Li laughed at that.
“Oh? So I, the Human Sovereign, cannot kill the innocent, but you— a mere king of a tiny nation—can slaughter at will?”
“Where is the logic in that? Do you think you can bully the righteous?”
He continued, his voice cold.
“I’ve been eliminating the Divine Repository Sect for months now. Congratulations—you’re the last one left.”
Jiang Li had not entrusted this task to anyone else—not even the commanders of the Human Sovereign Hall.
The fewer people who knew about the Divine Repository Sect, the better.
Even his Ruyi Gourd had been threatened into silence, prevented from telling Yu Yin the truth.
To this day, Yu Yin still believed Sun Yuan was just a demonic cultivator.
For months, Jiang Li had meticulously hunted down each follower, ensuring no traces of the sect remained.
Now, only Zhang Han remained.
Though Zhang Han had a high cultivation level, his status within the sect was low. He lacked the authority to preach and had been subjected to the strictest Sixfold Confinement Mantra, preventing him from revealing any sect secrets.
Hearing Jiang Li utter the words “Divine Repository Sect”, Zhang Han felt a bone-chilling terror.
His last sliver of hope vanished.
He had always believed he had gained “Divine Repository Power”, not “karma”. But deep down, he had always known—was this really any different from demonic cultivation?
Jiang Li calmly flipped through Zhang Han’s files.
“You knew your power was questionable. You thought it was pure coincidence that your job as an executioner allowed you to gain it. I would have let you live.”
Zhang Han opened his mouth to defend himself—
But Jiang Li continued.
“You started by killing criminals. I would not have killed you for that.”
“But then… you changed.”
“You began killing not for justice, but for power.”
Jiang Li closed the file.
“Just think of this as me slaughtering the innocent.”
He flicked a finger.
Zhang Han died instantly.
No struggle. No sign.
Jiang Li saw no need to explain.
The Divine Repository Sect had brought endless suffering to the Nine Provinces.
They all had to die.