The People's God: Sacrificing Trillions to Ascend

The smell of burning flesh filled the air as the lightning dispersed. Han Wu glanced over to see that Lang Lidao had been charred beyond recognition. He was far past well-done. Not a single hint of uncooked flesh remained.

Well, I guess I’m not getting information from Lang Lidao after all,Han Wu thought to himself.

“I’m sorry,” Qin Shuang hastily apologized as realization set in. “I lost control.”

Han Wu couldn’t bring himself to scold her and instead waved her apology off. “Forget it. He was a small fry anyway.”

The five surviving bandits were still processing the fact that a single bolt of lightning had turned their boss into a briquette. Their targets were more powerful and scarier than they had realized.

Han Wu glanced at the five of them. “Does anyone here know anything about the White Lotus Sect? Share something useful, and I’ll let you live.”

The five of them gulped. They wanted to live.

“I know!”

“I’ll talk!”

The five of them fought to speak first, terrified that someone else would say what they knew.

With their eager divulging of information, Han Wu quickly pieced together the movements of White Lotus Sect’s human trafficking operations, including the locations of two warehouses where captives were held.

Qin Shuang described her family members’ appearances and asked if any of the five recognized them. Unfortunately, none of them did.

“Your family’s situation was different,” Han Wu said, trying to reassure her. “They might’ve been held somewhere else.”

Qin Shuang could only hope so. True to his word, Han Wu didn’t kill the five, though he still drained every drop of their internal energy. He then loaded them and Lang Lidao’s corpse onto the small boat they’d arrived in and set them out onto the water to survive on their own.

The five of them had lost their powers, but at least they had survived. They were even secretly grateful for Han Wu’s mercy.

As they were drifting away from Han Wu’s ship, Han Wu suddenly shouted, “Bandits! Someone help! They’re getting away!”

Torches lit up across the surrounding ships. The passengers, still furious from last night’s raid, were out for blood. The five powerless bandits were found within minutes and beaten to death on the spot.

“I gave them a chance to live.” Han Wu sighed as he watched from the deck. “It’s not my fault they couldn’t run fast enough.”

Had the five bandits heard that, they would’ve cursed Han Wu as being more despicable than a stray hound that chases passersby.

This bandit raid was a minor episode, but the information they provided had given Han Wu’s group a real lead. They decided to head for the two warehouses and scope them out for more clues.

The rest of the voyage was smooth, and they arrived at Huai City without a hitch. At the Sun siblings’ insistence, they headed for the Sun family home first.

The Sun family had received Sun Fuqiang’s letter in advance and thus knew that Han Wu was not only incredibly powerful but also capable of healing people from the brink of death—as he had when he saved Sun Fuqiang’s life.

Naturally, they pulled out all the stops, welcoming Han Wu with the most lavish ceremony they could arrange. Han Wu’s group had expected a simple family dinner. Instead, it turned into a banquet for over a thousand people. The event gave them a clear picture of the Sun family’s immense influence.

After the banquet, Han Wu met with Sun Fuqiang’s father, the patriarch of the Sun family, to discuss the White Lotus Sect. Han Wu shared his knowledge, and the family patriarch immediately rallied his people, servants, retainers, and his guest fighters to launch an assault on the warehouses.

His efficiency surprised Han Wu. They had docked that morning, ate at noon, and by evening, over a thousand people had the White Lotus Sect’s warehouse surrounded.

Han Wu’s group went in first to scout. The four of them entered the site, but found nothing unusual on the surface. When they stilled their minds and focused, however, they detected faint sounds coming from underground. It was the sound of muffled sobbing.

“The captives seem to be underground,” He Xu said.

Jia Gui was already searching for an entrance. Guided by He Xu’s hearing, they soon found it. The wailing grew a thousand times louder as they descended.

Row upon row of iron cages filled the space. Each held people—men and women, all stripped bare. When they noticed the newcomers, none of them called for help. They just moaned or stared blankly.

“Those animals!” Qin Shuang was furious. Every person in those cages was someone’s family. The thought of her own family being treated this way only strengthened her resolve to free them all.

Their intrusion alerted the White Lotus Sect guards.

One came running with a short whip, shouting, “Who are you? This is the White Lotus Sect’s territory. You must have a death wish!”

Qin Shuang raised her palm and fired a lightning orb that hit the guard square in the chest, scorching him to a crisp. He was badly hurt but alive. Qin Shuang had restrained herself.

He Xu and Jia Gui quickly wielded their Divine Weapons, allowing them to fight toe-to-toe against First-rate fighters temporarily.

Han Wu focused on cutting the iron cages open with Peerless. The White Lotus Sect had conditioned some of the captives, and even with the cage doors open, they didn’t dare step out. They just sat there, staring.

Han Wu couldn’t be bothered with them. His priority was Qin Shuang’s family. He went through all the cages, but they were nowhere to be found.

The commotion drew out the senior White Lotus Sect member in charge of overseeing the warehouse. These captives were their merchandise. His superiors would surely punish him for allowing Han Wu to release them all. At this point, his only recourse was to capture Han Wu’s group and hand them over.

The overseer was a First-rate fighter. Han Wu, on the other hand, was technically only Second-rate in his Demon King Transformation form. Fortunately, the Peerless White Blade’s overwhelming might pushed his offensive capability to a level even First-rate fighters couldn’t withstand.

A few exchanges left the overseer wounded. With no other choice, he resorted to Divine Invocation. A familiar Divine Authority descended.

“My Lord, how’s your butt feeling?” Han Wu greeted with false concern.