Chapter 375: Ancient Giant Bloodline

He was nearly three meters tall. An ordinary person standing before him wouldn't even reach his abdomen. Despite his immense height, there wasn't a trace of flab on his body. His bare upper body was covered in hard, chiseled muscles that bulged like stones. Thumb-thick veins, like gnarled tree roots, tightly wound around his skin. His rugged, knife-carved face, with a pair of bell-like, tiger-like eyes, emitted a chillingly sharp gaze. His long, dark, disheveled hair fell casually over his shoulders, exuding an intensely wild aura.

The disciples in the room couldn't help but swallow. Even Wang Yunguo, a top disciple of the Taishang Sect, felt a sense of suffocation. He showed fear, bowing respectfully and saying, "Brother Xue, I hope you are well!"

The man before them was the second-ranked disciple of the Giant Sect, Xue Wanzhong! He was a formidable powerhouse whose physical strength had reached the terrifying second layer of Core Formation. Among his peers across the Nine Sects, no one dared to easily challenge him, except for Xia Chaoge and the Giant Sect's chief disciple.

Xue Wanzhong looked straight ahead, not even glancing at Wang Yunguo. He simply cupped his hand towards Lu Xiunian: "Xue Wanzhong, disciple of the Giant Sect, greets Elder Lu!"

His voice was like muffled thunder, and being in a not-so-spacious room, the intensity of the sound was considerable. Everyone's ears rang from the shock.

Lu Xiunian's eyes showed surprise: "There are rumors that you possess the bloodline of an ancient giant! I once dismissed them as rumors, but it turns out they are true." While the Giant Sect members cultivated incredibly robust physiques, no matter how imposing, they couldn't achieve such an inhuman form. It could only be due to a bloodline.

Jiang Fan's eyebrow twitched slightly: "Ancient giants? Such beings exist in the world?"

Chuan Chuan, sitting beside him, opened her eyes and glanced at Xue Wanzhong. She said calmly, "In ancient times, there was a terrifying species of being. They were thirty meters tall, robust, ferocious, and lacked intelligence."

Jiang Fan found it new and asked, "Aren't they similar to demonic beasts?"

Chuan Chuan scoffed, "Demonic beasts? Even Demonic Emperors were merely their food!"

Jiang Fan gasped. Demonic Emperors were their food? That terrifying?

Chuan Chuan continued, "They devoured everything, sweeping across the land like locusts, eating whatever they saw. Countless human powerhouses were consumed, including many at the Soul Transformation stage."

Jiang Fan was horrified. Even such beings couldn't escape being devoured? "What happened then?" Jiang Fan asked, a little uneasy. If such beings still existed, it would be extremely unsettling.

Chuan Chuan said, "Later, all races rose up and united to fight against the ancient giants. After a full cycle of sixty years of war, they finally exterminated all the ancient giants. This period is historically known as the 'Sixty-Year Demon Purge'. In this war, we don't know the casualties of other races, but all our human saints perished, our elders declined, and the entire human race was pushed to the brink of extinction. The flourishing human civilization was interrupted from then on. It has yet to recover to its former glory."

Jiang Fan's breathing hitched slightly. The human race in ancient times had actually endured such a catastrophe. Fortunately, the ancient giants were all extinct. Otherwise, living in the same era as such beings would be terrifying to imagine.

"But what about Xue Wanzhong?" Jiang Fan asked in surprise.

Chuan Chuan showed a hint of disdain: "Some humans, fearing death, willingly absorbed the blood of ancient giants and evolved into half-giants. This way, the ancient giants would consider them kin, sparing them the fate of becoming food. After the war was won, a few human leaders, out of benevolence, spared their lives. Through reproduction, the ancient giant bloodline in their descendants became progressively thinner with each generation. By Xue Wanzhong's generation, very little remained, and their forms were very close to normal humans."

Jiang Fan's eyebrows furrowed. He said with some dissatisfaction, "Benevolence? That human leader certainly displayed his benevolence. But who would show benevolence to the countless human compatriots who died tragically?"

Chuan Chuan looked at Jiang Fan in surprise. When this matter was mentioned, warriors of the current era, whether out of respect for their ancestors or fear of the half-giant descendants' power, dared not express dissatisfaction. Someone like her, openly showing displeasure, was an anomaly among her peers. Jiang Fan's attitude gave her a sense of comfort, as if she had met someone who shared her views.

"Well said!" Chuan Chuan slapped her thigh. "If it were me, I would have killed all those half-giants long ago! Abandoning humanity when the race faced annihilation, what's the point of keeping such traitors alive? That so-called human leader, appearing benevolent, actually had ill intentions!"

"Uh..." Jiang Fan looked at Qin Wangchuan, who was full of indignation, and said, "Sometimes I really feel like you're not a child. You know so much ancient history and can express such epic views."

Chuan Chuan rolled her eyes at him, her small face drawn long. "You're unlearned yourself, yet you blame others for knowing a lot."

To be lectured by a little girl. Jiang Fan was both annoyed and amused.

"What are you two whispering about?" Suddenly, Xue Wanzhong glared at them, uttering a muffled, thunderous reprimand. Due to his ancient giant bloodline, his hearing was far superior to that of humans. Therefore, even though Jiang Fan and Chuan Chuan were whispering, he still heard them.

Jiang Fan's smile faded, and he said calmly, "We weren't talking about you." He held no ill will towards Xue Wanzhong. While half-giants were looked down upon, Xue Wanzhong couldn't choose his birth. For that, he couldn't be blamed. However, Xue Wanzhong's next words made it hard for Jiang Fan not to feel disgusted.

"You weren't talking about me! But you were talking about my ancestors!" Xue Wanzhong looked down at him and snorted, "How dare you defile my ancestors' reputation? Kneel and kowtow in apology to my ancestors!"

Jiang Fan shook his head, his expression calm: "Are you referring to your ancestors' reputation for betraying humanity? As a descendant, you're not ashamed, but rather proud of it?" He grew increasingly dissatisfied with the actions of that human leader. If Xue Wanzhong was an isolated case, it would be fine. But if the entire half-giant lineage shared this sentiment, it would be terrifying.

"Presumptuous! How dare you insult my ancestors by calling them traitors?" This undoubtedly touched Xue Wanzhong's most sensitive spot. He immediately let out a heavy snort through his nostrils and swung a backhanded slap. His arm was more than twice the length of an ordinary person's, with an extremely long reach. So, while he appeared some distance from Jiang Fan, in reality, a single slap could easily reach him. Moreover, his attack was terrifyingly powerful. Everyone heard a whoosh, and the palm, larger than Jiang Fan's head, was already striking towards Jiang Fan's face.

Wang Yunguo secretly rejoiced. "Let you be arrogant, do you really think Xue Wanzhong is as reasonable as I am? Time to learn a good lesson!"

Xie Liushu's heart skipped a beat: "This time, Jiang Fan is going to suffer, isn't he?" Unlike the Red-Scaled Fiend Dragon, whose power was greatly diminished on land, the one standing before Jiang Fan now was a genuine second-layer Core Formation realm expert, and a body cultivator at that. Jiang Fan couldn't possibly block the force of that slap.

Lu Xiunian's heart missed a beat. Good heavens, how dare he strike Jiang Fan in front of the Azure Cloud Sect's Grand Elder? He had intended to intervene but was surprised to find that Qin Wangchuan had no intention of stopping it. This puzzled him. Wasn't he worried about Jiang Fan getting hurt?

*Smack!*

A dull, explosive sound suddenly erupted. Everyone thought Jiang Fan had been slapped. But to their surprise, Xue Wanzhong's enormous palm had been effortlessly blocked by a crystal-clear, jade-like hand. The owner of that hand was none other than Jiang Fan!