Cunning Mountain Lord

"Roar!"

Speak of the devil, a tiger's roar came from outside the tiger's den.

The Mountain Lord had killed Yang Li and dragged his corpse back, preparing for a grand feast. This would also speed up the conversion of the Ghoul and heal his own injuries.

With the Ghoul, he could have subordinates to run errands and lure others, no longer needing to rely so heavily on Old Zhang.

But when he returned to the fork in the road, Old Zhang was gone.

The Mountain Lord assumed Old Zhang had gone to his lair to steal something and immediately rushed over.

Upon arriving at the stone chamber, he found it was indeed as he suspected. His lair's door had been opened, and he let out an angry roar.

Zhao Han didn't go out; instead, he prepared lime and water.

"You're not Old Zhang, your scent is different. Who exactly are you?" the Mountain Lord asked cautiously from outside, his voice muffled.

"This tiger is quite cunning," Zhao Han sneered. If you won't come in, then I'll go out.

He walked out of the double doors, facing the Mountain Lord directly.

His gaze, however, remained fixed on the Mountain Lord's side, where a large wound was still oozing blood.

The Mountain Lord sensed danger and instinctively took a step back, his expression wary. He asked with confusion, "You must be one of those four. What did you do to Old Zhang? Why didn't my Ghoul find you?"

"Old Zhang, you say? Naturally..."

Zhao Han didn't finish. He retrieved a bundle of lime from his system space and threw it.

"Whoosh!"

Unexpectedly, even though the Mountain Lord was injured, he was a feline, naturally agile. With a sideways leap, he dodged the lime.

"Still pretty quick, but I have more than just this lime."

If only I had caustic soda, its power is much greater than lime.

He scattered two more waves of lime, both of which the Mountain Lord evaded.

However, the ground was now covered in lime.

"Go!"

He sprinkled water all around, and soon the ground frothed and smoked.

"Let's see where you can hide," Zhao Han said, looking at the Mountain Lord and continuing to scatter lime.

"Despicable and shameless scoundrel! If I weren't severely injured, I could have killed you with a casual palm strike," the Mountain Lord roared in anger.

He wasn't exaggerating.

In his prime, a casual palm strike carried a force of two thousand jin, comparable to the strongest Bone Refining Realm experts.

The Muscle Refining Realm had a force of six hundred jin!

The Skin Refining Realm had a force of three hundred jin!

The Bone Refining Realm had a force of one thousand jin!

And the peak of Bone Refining... had a force of two thousand jin!

A force of two thousand jin could easily kill a Muscle Refining Realm Martial Artist, effortlessly.

Not to mention the Mountain Lord in his prime, whose Ghouls were all former Skin Refining or even Muscle Refining Martial Artists, far more terrifying than Ghouls formed from ordinary people.

Even when facing a Bone Refining Realm expert, the Mountain Lord could still kill them.

The single remaining ordinary Ghoul, the Mountain Lord usually ignored it. He didn't even release it when fighting the Willow Tree Demon, keeping it deep within his stomach.

Yet, it became his lifeline.

Old Zhang was forcibly brought by this ordinary Ghoul, lured with promises to do his bidding.

Currently, his strength was less than a fifth of its peak. He even needed Old Zhang's help to face a Skin Refining Warrior, making him extremely cautious.

In a direct confrontation, the Mountain Lord's injuries would only worsen. Even if he won, it would bring him no benefit.

"Aoo..."

Suddenly, the Mountain Lord stepped on an area where the lime and water reacted, immediately feeling a burning sensation and crying out in pain.

"Good opportunity!"

"Mad Saber Three Stacks Wave, First Wave!"

Zhao Han immediately drew his saber and lunged forward, slashing fiercely. His killing intent was palpable, and his aura was incredibly powerful.

"Muscle Refining Realm, you're actually a Muscle Refining Realm Martial Artist!"

Feeling the terrifying aura emanating from Zhao Han, the Mountain Lord's tiger face drastically changed.

"It's too late to realize that now!"

"Die!"

The saber strike descended, unstoppable, directly severing the Mountain Lord's ear.

"Aoo..."

The Mountain Lord let out a pained scream and quickly retreated, not caring if the ground was covered in lime water.

It knew the difference between an injury and a fatal blow.

But Zhao Han didn't care about that. His shoes were waterproof, so the lime had no effect on him. He swung his saber down again with all his might.

"Spare, spare me! I'm willing to be your mount. Don't humans love powerful mounts the most..."

The searing pain on the Mountain Lord's soles made it retreat continuously, begging for mercy.

Zhao Han's eyes lit up when he heard the word "mount."

This Mountain Lord looked mighty and imposing. In its prime, it was at least at the Bone Refining Realm. If it became his mount, it would indeed be a great help.

But then he thought again. This Mountain Lord could control ghouls and had become a spirit, able to speak human language. Who knew how many people it had eaten to gain such a boon.

The Mountain Lord was cunning and weird. It knew the tiger but not its heart. It might betray its master. It couldn't be kept!

"Alright, I'll spare your life!" Zhao Han sheathed his saber, speaking of mercy but already thinking of how to deal with it.

Seeing that Zhao Han actually intended to spare it, the Mountain Lord smirked mockingly.

However, its outward expression was one of extreme pain and pleading, showing that its acting skills were on par with humans.

As for why the Mountain Lord didn't escape, it was because its injuries were too severe.

Fleeing would aggravate its wounds and worsen them, possibly leading to its death before Zhao Han could even make a move.

"Mas, master, I, Hu Li, am willing to pledge allegiance to you!"

The Mountain Lord dodged the lime water and walked over slowly, putting on a docile appearance.

"Very good, I'll take you on as a follower."

Zhao Han sheathed his saber, seemingly letting down his guard.

The Mountain Lord suggested, "Master, you can take whatever you want from my lair. I'll go out and eat those corpses first, so I can recover faster."

"Alright, but let me touch you first."

Surprise flashed across the Mountain Lord's face, but it obediently stepped forward to let Zhao Han pat its head.

This was a good opportunity to ambush Zhao Han, but the Mountain Lord didn't attack. Instead, it let Zhao Han do as he pleased.

"Pat, pat, pat..."

As Zhao Han touched the Mountain Lord's head, he gently patted it ten times. Feeling a faint surge of power throughout its body, he simultaneously looked at the system panel.

[Tiger Subduing Fist: Simplified, Proficient, Novice 0/50, Punched a Tiger 50 times]

Zhao Han inwardly sneered:

"Heh heh, it's not that I don't want you to be my mount, it's that the System wants your life!"

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a short knife appeared in Zhao Han's hand as he was touching the Mountain Lord's head. It plunged directly into the Mountain Lord's forehead.

"Roar..."

The Mountain Lord cried out in pain and stumbled backward. The blood flowing from its forehead and severed ear quickly stained its face red.

"Mas, master, wh, what are you doing?" the Mountain Lord asked plaintively, its face contorted in a look of confusion.

"Act, beast, keep acting! Do you really think I'm an idiot with your shoddy acting!" Zhao Han pulled out his steel saber, blocking the Mountain Lord's retreat, and slowly advanced.

The Mountain Lord's expression darkened, realizing its acting had failed and Zhao Han had seen through it.

This human was even more cunning than it was. He didn't take it seriously at all.

Anyone else would probably have truly taken it as a mount. An assistant comparable to the Bone Refining Realm would be a great help to anyone.