“Oh, really?” Ding Hao acted as if he had not noticed his movement. “A sect like the Falling Star shouldn’t exist in this world.”
The head of the Falling Star Sect laughed and said, “Haha, boy, how arrogant of you. I was afraid that you would hide in the dark, but I didn’t expect that you would be so stupid as to court death. Today, I will extinguish the last hope of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Haha, look here.” He pointed to the right side of the hall and laughed. “They have come to rescue those disabled guys in the blood prison just like you. Still they ended up becoming rotten meat.”
To the right side of the hall.
Iron shelves like the ones in slaughterhouses were placed side by side.
Hanging over them were bloody corpses that had been ripped open.
A closer look would reveal that they were all disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
They were all men, young and old. Some of them had their skin removed, so it was impossible to recognize their faces.
They had been hung on the iron shelves like animals. Most of their bodies were carefully cut open. Several corpses’ internal organs had been removed, labeled, and placed on a smooth iron plate. It was extremely horrifying.
One of the corpses was still emitting warmth and twitching. It was obvious that it had just died and that it had been cut open while still alive.
The Falling Star Sect was famous for their killing techniques.
Rumor had it that they were cruel enough to dissect people alive, to better understand human anatomy, and thus improve their killing skills.
All the warriors of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect who came to rescue the imprisoned disciples died tragically at the hands of the head of the Falling Star Sect.
Gao Xue’er and the other two disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect trembled uncontrollably when they saw this.
“It is… ah, it’s Martial Uncle Liu Suifeng, the ‘Skyward Sword’…” Nizi suddenly roared with anger.
Ding Hao also recognized that one of the corpses that still had a head attached was Liu Suifeng, the middle-aged man who once led him into the ancient sect ruins on the Western Rock Mountain Range. Ding Hao remembered how elegant he had been and how he had supported the juniors. The name “Skyward Sword” had been well-known in the whole Snow Province. He had never expected for him to end up like this…
“Haha, you lowlives, feel free to tremble with fear. This will also be your fate!”
The chilling laugh of the head of the Falling Star Sect rang out in the stone hall.
As if having melted into the air, his body became invisible to the naked eye.
A lion would use all its strength to catch a rabbit, and so would the head of the Falling Star Sect. Although he didn’t take Ding Hao seriously, years of fighting experience had taught him to spare no effort. He performed the Great Void Escape Skill to cover his trace. He walked silently in the stone hall, looking for an opportunity to attack.
In his eyes, Ding Hao and the three disciples were full of flaws.
However, he enjoyed the endless fear and mental breakdown he brought to his enemies by becoming invisible, so he was not in a hurry to take action.
“Haha, Ding Hao, are you furious now? Sadly, not only can you not take revenge, but you will soon become a piece of dead meat on the chopping board. Haha, I promise that you will see with your own eyes how the three poor little ones around you will be sliced alive, and then I will take my time to dissect you. I will turn your skull into a chamber pot, making it the proudest collection of my sect, haha…”
The head of the Falling Star Sect moved about, his voice drifting from left to right. It was terrifyingly strange.
“Brother Ding, what… what should we do?” Gao Xue’er and the other two stood back-to-back and looked around vigilantly.
A sneer appeared on the corner of Ding Hao’s mouth. He flashed and disappeared in an instant.
When he returned to where he had stood, he appeared holding a man in a half-dead condition.
It was the Falling Star sect head who had disappeared.
“You…” The sect head was stunned. He looked down at the palm that was squeezing his throat as if he had seen a ghost. He didn’t understand how Ding Hao had discovered his whereabouts and caught him in an instant.
Ding Hao said nothing. He looked at him with killing intent bursting out of his eyes.
“It’s impossible!” The head of the Falling Star Sect suddenly swung a punch at Ding Hao.
There was a bantering curve at the corner of Ding Hao’s mouth. He did not dodge.
“Boom!”
The punch hit Ding Hao in the face.
Unfortunately, contrary to what he had imagined, Ding Hao’s head remained unharmed. Instead, his own fists had been smashed into pieces like a broken egg. As flesh and bones splashed out, his hands were completely damaged.
“Ah…!” The head of the Falling Star Sect roared maniacally.
All of a sudden, his body started to shake abnormally.
Hidden weapons shot towards Ding Hao’s vital parts at close range, as if they were fired by strong crossbows.
Ding Hao remained unmoving.
“Bang bang bang!”
A series of muffled sounds were heard, like that of a knife piercing leather.
However, the strangely-shaped hidden weapons were instantly broken when they made contact with Ding Hao’s body. They fell to the ground deformed, like wood chips hitting a steely mountain.
Those weapons were powerful enough to kill a high-ranking Martial King; they only pierced Ding Hao’s clothes, but they didn’t even leave a mark on his body.
“Whatever means you have, bring it on.” Ding Hao looked at him quietly like a cat playing with a mouse.
Ding Hao’s physical strength had already reached the level of a two-apertured Martial Emperor. This power alone was enough to sweep away the Snow Province. Exaggeratedly speaking, nothing in Snow Province could break Ding Hao’s body. Although the hidden weapons were powerful, they were still far too weak for Ding Hao.
The Falling Star sect head felt as if his heart had fallen into an abyss without a chance of stopping.
How did this happen?
Ding Hao’s strength had exceeded his knowledge and imagination.
“If this is all you have, go to hell!” Ding Hao put forth his strength on his wrist.
At this moment, the head of the Falling Star Sect suddenly twitched. When he opened his mouth, two beams of red light shot out toward Ding Hao’s eyes.
Ding Hao remained still.
He didn’t even blink.
“Clinking! Clinking!”
The two beams of red light shot to Ding Hao’s eyes. Like needles hitting an iron wall, they fell to the ground powerlessly with ringing sounds.
The head of the Falling Star Sect was so stunned that he did not realize that his mouth was open wide.
He would never have imagined that the trump cards he was so proud of were like buffoon tricks in the eyes of his opponent.
He sank into despair as he sensed the massive gap between them.
Ding Hao was like a monster that had no weakness from head to toe. He tried his best, but he could not hurt him at all. Even his eyes, which were the weakest parts of the human body, were as firm as steel. Had he become a god?
“Since you’re at your wit’s end, why not resign yourself to fate?”
Ding Hao shook his hand and the head of Falling Star Sect was sent flying right to the farthest iron shelf. The iron hook penetrated his chest and came out from his ribs.
The sect head gritted his teeth without saying a word while sweat was pouring down his forehead.
His Qi cultivation had long been sealed by Ding Hao. He was as weak as an ordinary person, unable to escape.
On the other side, Gao Xue’er and the other two little girls were completely stunned.
They couldn’t believe what they had seen; it was just like a dream. Brother Ding crushed the head of the Falling Star Sect like an ant. If they told others what had happened, no one would believe it. After all, the sect head used to be one of the few super masters in Snow Province, but he was like a child struggling to fight back in front of Martial Uncle Ding.
“This is not a dream, is it?”
“Let’s go to the blood prison.” Ding Hao raised his hand and waved. The stone seat of the Falling Star sect head was shattered, revealing a pitch-black entrance with a diameter of about three meters. Cold bloody wind burst out from it, like the breath of a giant man-eating beast.
That was the only entrance to the blood prison.
Ding Hao jumped in with Gao Xue’er and the other two.
Snow Province.
Heavenly Sound Valley.
It was a bright valley located between rolling hills. Instead of steep, the terrain was rather gentle. It was one of the places in the Snow Province that were first to welcome the spring. Grass covered the low hills, like a green carpet. Colorful flowers grew wildly among them. It was extremely beautiful.
For so many years, people in the Heavenly Sound Valley had been in peace with the world, leading an idyllic life.
There were only female disciples in the valley, who were famous for their music skills in the martial arts world of Snow Province.
Not long before at the Sect Grading Meeting in the Snow Province, the Heavenly Sound Valley had received Ding Hao’s help and accidentally repaired the Piao Yao Zither, one of the Sect’s most precious artifacts. They had also obtained the Questions and Answers of a Fisherman and a Woodman, a piece of divine music. With these, the sect was finally qualified to be listed among the nine major sects of the Snow Province, also becoming an ally of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
This was supposed to be the sign of a rising sect.
However, in less than half a year, drastic changes occurred in the Snow Province. The Swordsmanship-seeking Sect fell and the province was turned into a mess.
As an ally of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, the Heavenly Sound Valley was inevitably affected.
The sect was left in jeopardy after the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect’s destruction. Under the permission of the Tranquility Academy, many sects in the Snow Province started to station outside the Valley. Some even attempted to invade. If Yin Zuimo, the sect head, had not been exceptionally powerful, the valley might have already been destroyed.
Some martial arts scum lusted over the beauty of the female disciples. They gathered outside the valley and glared at them with covetous eyes.
The conflict that had been brewing for a long time finally broke out.
Smoke disturbed the peace of the valley; the battle had finally begun.
“Kill!”
“Hahaha, let’s take away all the women.”
“Kill everyone. Burn everything. Leave nothing behind.”
“Make the Heavenly Sound Valley the next Swordsmanship-seeking Sect!”
Roars and yells echoed in the valley.
The sounds of shouting and killing filled the air.
With a strange sound of music, the valley was set on fire. Many of the wooden buildings began to burn, forming a sea of flames.
