My Cultivation Has a Progress Bar

Chapter 366: Chapter 1: A Tiger Demon

The sixth month of the 23rd year of Yuanding.

The only Emperor in the Xia Dynasty’s history to reign for over twenty years had not been seen in the great hall to discuss state affairs with the Cabinet for two months. The empire’s authority was steadily shifting towards the regional sacrificial officiants.

A few small-scale rebellions at the beginning of the year hadn’t inflicted much damage on the Shangjing City region, but their influence was profound. It was now the height of the autumn harvest, and on the tens of thousands of manors developed to their limits in Zhongzhou, millions of slaves were reaping grain for their masters.

「Pingzhou Road」

It was a crucial region for travel between the north and south. From its coast, one could gaze out at the vastness of the East Sea. It also boasted the most fertile land; when the weather was good, two crops of rice could be grown annually, just like in the south.

Most of the nobles from Shangjing City were sustained by the grain produced here. In fact, most of the fertile fields belonged to them. Every year during the autumn harvest, these nobles would dispatch their most trusted aides to oversee the work.

For people of status, this was undoubtedly the best time of year. But for the slaves and members of the Demon Race at the bottom of society, it was worse than Hell.

Within Huangde Prefecture of Pingzhou Road was Menjing County. It lay less than a hundred li from Bin Pass, which stood between Yunjiang Road and Pingzhou Road. With its scenic peach orchard and a view of the magnificent, world-renowned pass, the manors here were a favorite among high-ranking officials and aristocrats.

「The twelfth day of the sixth month.」

A very ordinary day.

To the north of Menjing County, the sky had just begun to lighten, and the morning mist had yet to disperse. The main gate of a manor with white walls and red-tiled roofs swung open, and two sturdy Tiger Demons walked out. One Tiger Demon carried a large iron pot out of the courtyard, placing it on a weathered wooden rack, while the other carried a sealed wooden bucket.

Slaves who had long been waiting in the nearby straw sheds immediately rose to their feet, each holding a chipped bowl. As they assembled into their usual lines, a middle-aged man in luxurious, wide-sleeved robes emerged from the courtyard gate.

The middle-aged man stood under the eaves, completely ignoring the slaves’ eager, hopeful gazes. He let out a lazy yawn, took a cup of water from a nearby servant, and comfortably rinsed his mouth. He then casually tossed the cup back onto the servant’s tray, and another attendant immediately handed him a Zisha teapot.

Wisps of steam rose from the teapot’s spout. The middle-aged man held it to test the temperature, then took a sip of morning tea directly from the spout. After shaking his head in contentment, he finally looked toward the slaves who had been waiting for some time.

Gazing at their murky and pitiful eyes, the middle-aged man perhaps felt a twinge of guilt, for he snapped at the servants on either side of him. "What are you waiting for? You have no eyes? Serve the meal. In the future, don’t wait for me to give the order. If they’re hungry, start serving."

"Yes, Second Master!"

After bowing and scraping their assent, the servants stepped forward to shout at the two Tiger Demons standing by the iron pot.

One Tiger Demon eagerly lifted the pot’s lid, revealing a cauldron of reasonably thick rice porridge with flecks of egg and a sheen of grease on top. The other Tiger Demon opened the wooden bucket, which contained salty tea brewed from inferior leaves.

The meal looked decent enough, but only because the slaves had to work from dawn till dusk. Without some fat and salt, they wouldn’t have had the energy to work.

The slaves queued up one by one to receive their food and tea, then shuffled over to the nearby straw sheds to eat.

A toadying servant next to the middle-aged man said, "Second Master, when the Mistress visited from the city yesterday, she brought some breakfast pastries. Would you like to try some?"

"Quiet down," the middle-aged man chided softly. "Have you forgotten what the First Master said? Never eat meat or pastries in front of the slaves!"

The servant quickly forced a smile and nodded in compliance.

When the slaves were halfway through their meal, the middle-aged man gestured with his eyes to the two servants beside him. They understood immediately and walked into the courtyard. A short while later, they emerged with a dozen or so burly men, each carrying a basket filled with sickles for the harvest.

"Second Master!"

A servant handed a gray Token to the middle-aged man.

This Token contained the Control Array for the slaves’ shackles. If any slave dared to disobey, one need only channel Spiritual Qi into the Array on the Token, and the Array carved onto the slave’s body would instantly take their life.

Combined with the dozen or so blade-wielding guards, any slave who dared to resist would be killed in an instant!

Things hadn’t always been so tense. But recently, small-scale slave rebellions were popping up everywhere, and the rune arrays on some slaves had reportedly lost their effectiveness. To avoid any unexpected disasters, the manor even had low-level Cultivators stationed inside.

"Hurry up! All of you, hurry up!"

The scolding voices came from a distance; it was the overseers, specially hired by the manor to supervise the slaves. They were professionally trained, typically working in a team of twelve with two assigned to each section. They wielded special long whips that inflicted excruciating pain without leaving a wound.

The team of overseers arrived at the courtyard gate, and their leader offered a polite salute. "Greetings, Second Master."

"It’s getting late. Get them to work," the middle-aged man said, tossing the Token in his hand to the lead overseer.

"Consider it done, Second Master."

The lead overseer put away the Token. Without lingering, the middle-aged man turned decisively and went back into the courtyard. His two servants, however, stayed behind and walked over with smiles to greet the overseer.

CRACK!

A long whip cracked through the air, followed by a man’s ferocious roar, "Come get your tools!"

The slaves’ listless expressions immediately sharpened. They formed their usual lines and walked over to receive their sickles, the overseers constantly shouting, "Faster, faster!"

Anyone who moved too slowly was sure to be met with a lash of the whip.

The tool distribution lasted for half an hour. Just as the lead overseer finished his conversation with the two servants and was about to assign tasks, he felt a pair of deeply unsettling eyes staring at him. When he met the gaze, he froze mid-stride. They were blood-red eyes, filled with hatred, and they belonged to a powerful Tiger Demon!

The lead overseer fought the urge to step back, forcing a ferocious look onto his face as he snarled, "You! What are you looking at—?"

As he snarled, he began to raise his whip, but the Tiger Demon on the other side was faster, charging forward. Two nearby guards who saw what was happening immediately drew their swords to intercept.

"Don’t use your blades! A Tiger Demon is expensive!"

"Just stop him! Don’t kill him!"

The two servants shouted one after another.

As their voices fell, the Tiger Demon had already broken through the crowd of slaves and was now at least six zhang from the lead overseer. The guards were already closing in to surround it.

BOOM!

With a deafening roar, the lead overseer felt the tang of blood assault his nostrils. The next moment, an immense force slammed into him, and he lost consciousness.

The Tiger Demon had self-detonated in full view of everyone. The resulting blast was so powerful that it vaporized everyone within ten zhang, leaving nothing but dust.

This was clearly not the kind of power a normal member of the Demon Race could produce by self-detonating!