Three days later, in the grand hall of the black giant ship, Han Li sat in the seat of honor as he received the three men and one woman — four human Integration-stage cultivators.
Nangong Wan sat gracefully beside him, keeping him company with a gentle expression.
"Greetings, Senior Han!"
The four of them bowed deeply to Han Li the moment they entered the hall.
"Rise. You must already know about my background and my relationship with Wan'er. And I have a rough idea of the main reason you've come to visit." Han Li waved his hand and spoke in a calm, indifferent tone.
"The four of us have always believed that our aptitude is second to none — it is only the limitations of the Small Spirit Heaven that have prevented us from advancing further. If Senior would be willing to take us back to the Spirit World, we will be forever grateful and never forget this great kindness." The white-haired elder among them dipped his head slightly and spoke respectfully on behalf of the group.
"Wan'er has been under your care all these years, so of course I have no objections to bringing you back to the Spirit World with me. However, before that, shouldn't you first settle everything here in the Small Spirit Heaven? I wouldn't want to leave, only for the remaining humans to be immediately enslaved by the other races." Han Li said slowly.
The white-haired elder and the others felt a jolt of alarm upon hearing this. After a brief moment of thought, the beautiful woman in blue robes stepped forward respectfully and said: "We will follow Senior Han's instructions to the letter, without a single word of objection."
The other three nodded in agreement as well.
"In that case, I'll overstep my bounds and take charge for once. After you return, select the hundred or so most outstanding junior disciples. I will bring them along with you back to the Spirit World. At the same time, I will announce that I will periodically send people back to the Small Spirit Heaven to take away the next batch of the most gifted human cultivators. As for these matters — I'll leave them in your hands." Han Li instructed without any pleasantries.
"Rest assured, Senior. We will handle this matter thoroughly and ensure you won't have to spend a single extra thought on it." The white-haired elder hastily agreed.
"Very good. Additionally, before departing for the Spirit World, I will make a trip to the other regions of the Small Spirit Heaven and teach the other races a lesson, so they won't dare easily encroach upon the humans. At the same time, I will leave behind several powerful treasures for the clan, so that even without any Integration-stage experts, they will still have sufficient means to deal with the harassment of other races. With these precautions in place, the humans of this world won't need to worry about being enslaved by foreign races even in the absence of their strong cultivators." Han Li continued in an unruffled tone.
The human cultivators before him were naturally both shocked and delighted upon hearing these words, and they all bowed in agreement. With such thorough precautions in place, the humans of the Small Spirit Heaven could truly be said to have nothing left to worry about.
After asking Han Li a few more questions regarding the specifics of evacuating the Small Spirit Heaven, these cultivators took their leave with good sense.
Throughout it all, Nangong Wan had simply sat to the side with a smile, not saying a word.
However, once the others had departed, she turned to Han Li with a radiant smile and said: "Husband, it will likely take quite some time for them to select suitable juniors. In the meantime, why don't I accompany you on a trip to visit the other races? Though I've been in seclusion for many years, I'm still far more familiar with the Small Spirit Heaven than you are."
"Hehe — well, since Wan'er puts it that way, of course there's no objection. That was my intention as well." Han Li replied with a soft chuckle.
……
Two days later, Han Li sent Stone Ancestor off from the Black Spirit Sacred Ship with a contingent of puppets to collect materials unique to the Small Spirit Heaven, then departed from the giant ship together with Nangong Wan.
Zhu Guo'er, having been formally accepted as Nangong Wan's disciple, stayed behind to watch over the ship.
Half a month later, among several volcanoes dotted with all manner of black round stones, a bizarre creature — its upper body humanoid while its lower body was nearly transparent — was flickering frantically through short-range spatial shifts, fleeing through the air just above the ground.
A thunderous rumble echoed from high above as a colossal golden hand materialized out of thin air, vast enough to blot out more than half the sky. It swept downward, waves of sacred chanting drifting from within, while an immense crushing force bore down below.
The half-transparent creature below was struck with terror. Its body flickered as it shot forward several hundred zhang in an instant, its escape speed nearly doubling what it had been before.
Yet the golden hand in the sky, though it appeared to descend with deliberate slowness, merely spread its five fingers — and in a blur, it materialized directly above the transparent being's head, slapping down with the speed of lightning.
A miserable scream rang out.
Despite having several extraordinary treasures protecting it and possessing a uniquely resilient physique, the half-transparent being was utterly helpless against the golden hand's assault. Like a fly, it was simply swatted out of existence.
With a resounding "bang," the golden hand flickered and vanished.
Only then did the air ripple high above, and two figures — one male, one female — emerged side by side.
It was none other than Han Li and Nangong Wan.
Nangong Wan gazed down at the translucent spirit below, unable to hide the shock on her face: "This is the strongest of the Wind Spirit Clan — it had already taken half a step through the gates of Mahayana, yet it couldn't even withstand a single blow from you. It seems my husband truly is no ordinary Mahayana cultivator. This wife finally believes everything you said before."
"What? So Wan'er didn't truly believe her husband's words before!" Han Li raised an eyebrow with a half-smile.
"How was I to know that what you meant by 'not an ordinary Mahayana' would be this powerful? With your cultivation, you must be among the very pinnacle of existences in the Spirit World." Nangong Wan let out a light hmph, then asked with a hint of curiosity.
"Hehe, you'll find out when we return to the Spirit World. All right, let's move on. The next target should be 'Gang Jin,' the strongest cultivator of the Giant Mantis Clan." Han Li laughed offhandedly, a teasing lilt in his voice.
Nangong Wan shot him a glare at these words, but naturally offered no further objections.