“No, really no,” Duan Tianli was horrified by Ding Hao and hurriedly explained, “We really can’t extract anything from registered disciples. We are just doing small-scale things. Moreover, most of what the Tianli Attic gets has to be given to some outer elders, otherwise they will punish us with the sect regulations…”
Wang Xiaoqi and others nodded and what Duan Tianli said was indeed true.
An outer disciple organization like the Tianli Attic had to pave the way with money if it wanted to survive without being punished by the sect rules. It would certainly be difficult for such organization to last long if it did not fix those outer elders up, since they often promoted their own interests under the guise of serving the sect. Many people believed that most of the Tianli Attic’s income went to feed those outer elders.
Unexpectedly Ding Hao gently shook his head, and once again without any expression he raised his feet.
“No… no, let me think about it, let me think about it,” Duan Tianli was scared to death. He was afraid that Ding Hao would step down and he had to endure the pain of broken bones. He sweated profusely and said, “Yes. Yes. There are still some things, and Brother Ding will be satisfied.”
Saying this, he pulled out a palm-sized small black box carefully out of his bosom. With a look of regret, he trembled as he opened it.
A soft white glow with incomparable magic spilled from the box inside and immediately attracted the attention of countless people.
Noise immediately disappeared; everyone had closed their mouths. Their eyes seemed to be glued, and they stared at the light of the box inside closely. In some people’s eyes, even unconsciously they released a little bit of greed.
“It’s a hyolite stone!”
With a shock in Ding Hao’s heart, he immediately recognized the six thumb-sized, glittering and translucent silver oval stones in the box. They were some of the legendary hyolite stones.
These stones were smooth, moist and transparent-like suet jade. They contained extraordinary color and light like autumn water, which seemed to be rippling along with the irradiation of light, emitting layers of charming smells.
Surprisingly, Duan Tianli had such treasures.
Although Ding Hao couldn’t judge the stones’ quality, the hyolite stone was a very rare treasure, often having a stable price without a market. Those six jade-like stones were embellishing; they should have a higher quality, and must be worth one hundred and twenty-two thousand liang gold.
In fact, Ding Hao only deliberately frightened Duan Tianli. Who knew that something good was actually cheated out of this guy.
Signalling Wang Xiaoqi to pack up the black box, Ding Hao turned around and slowly came to the steps of the Tianli Attic’s main entrance. The frozen plaque stood straight on the bluestone. Ding Hao held the plaque with one hand and looked at Duan Tianli from a high position. He said slowly, “I know that you are convinced in your heart. You are already planning how to retaliate against me. With those insidious and low means that you are used to, you want to recover the property you lost and the face I stepped on today at all costs, isn’t that right?”
With an uncertain expression, Duan Tianli dared not look at Ding Hao’s eyes.
Ding Hao said with a cold smile,
“I advise you to give up your old business. If you don’t want to lose your life, you will honestly be an outer disciple in the sect, so that you will have no need to worry about food and clothing for the rest of your life, and you will always be better than ordinary people. To be honest, I feel very puzzled about your arrogance and domineering ways. What nonsense is the Tianli Attic, just a doghouse for a group of outcasts who are trying to survive. You are all just losers who have struggled for so many years and can’t become inner disciples. I am a potential rising star that the sect values very much. In the future I will definitely enter the inner sect. My future is full of infinite possibilities. Don’t think I don’t dare not kill you. Do you think the sect will embarrass me, a genius with infinite potential, for such a useless faggot like you?”
Duan Tianli’s face became livid.
He knew that Ding Hao was telling the truth.
This was also why he did not dare to provoke the Honorable Alliance of Seven in the Central Academy of white shirts.
However, judging from the potential shown by Ding Hao today, he was not inferior to Li Muyun and others in the Honorable Alliance of Seven. If Ding Hao really killed him with his sword, it could be expected that he sect’s punishment would only be to face the wall and think about his own mistake for at most half a year. As long as Ding Hao’s strength continued to improve, he would get key training from the sect again sooner or later, and he would die for nothing.
He suddenly found himself unable to fight back against Ding Hao.
His rival was too hard, too strong, too calm!
“You broke my brothers Zhang Fan and Fang Tianyi’s eight ribs in total, trampled on them and broke thier leg bones, then shook their five inner organs to be misplaced, so I return all of this to you. If you don’t know how to advance and retreat again, I don’t mind killing you with one sword.” Speaking of this, Ding Hao looked at the onlookers around him and shouted: “There are some other so-called outer disciple organizations besides the Tianli Attic, and I urge you with a word that you’d better not annoy me, otherwise, take the Tianli Attic is an example!”
It was quiet all around.
Seeing what was happening, no one dared to turn a deaf ear to Ding Hao’s words.
Those small cliques of outer disciples who were originally thinking of imitating the Tianli Attic instantly put out their thoughts in their hearts, while more outer disciples were glad that they did not offend Ding Hao this time. Otherwise, they were afraid they would come to the same end as Duan Tianli and the others. This registered disciple named Ding Hao was by no means a thing in the pool, an ordinary person, in the future.
Ding Hao said those words, with his palm suddenly bursting forth with silver force.
“Crack!”
“Crack!”
The golden plaque was instantly sealed by a layer of black ice, and then gave out a burst of clicks. The iced surface cracked like spider webs. Then the whole icicle was instantly crushed into tiny ice-pieces. The frozen golden plaque of the Tianli Attic, also turned into sawdust bits…
“From then on, there will be no Tianli Attic!”
Ding Hao gave the death penalty sentence to this outer disciples’ clique.
His eyes swept across the faces of some registered disciples in the crowd, dressing in the clothes of different academies.
“At any time, martial artists should not abandon their swords, nor should they abandon their courage in their hearts. Facing injustice and oppression, if registered disciples can unite to resist, then it would not have been I, taking the lead to overturn the Tianli Attic today! For those who have struggled for several years and have not entered the inner sect, if you really stoop to this and give up your efforts, just like the Tianli Attic, then you are really finished!”
Finishing his words, Ding Hao, Wang Xiaoqi and other disciples from the Eastern Academy of green shirts elbowed their way through the crowd and left the Tianli Attic.
The crowd of onlookers was silent.
Many people had said the same thing.
But on an occasion like today’s, after a series of things, what came from Ding Hao’s mouth had a different kind of shock force, making all onlookers fall into a pensive mood.
At no time martial artists should discard their swords or their courage in their hearts!
Such words were like a seed that was deeply planted in the hearts of many registered disciples and they began to take root slowly.
While some outer disciples who had already given up their efforts, gradually restored some clarity in their lost eyes; they turned around and left. Grabbing the sword hanging at their waists, they walked to the field for practising martial arts where they had not been to for a long time. Now, was it not too late for them to make an effort?
Without loud noises, the crowd dispersed quietly.
Everyone seemed to think of something.
Everyone knew that from then on, at least in the lower third-stage, no one would dare annoy Ding Hao and his friends any more.
