Many people who were present were asking their consciences, that if it had been themselves, would they have dared to be like Ding Hao, bringing things to such an cruel extent, leaving almost no room for turning around.
And there were only two words in the answer—
No chance.
And many more people were speculating about what the cyan Jade Plate that Ding Hao had taken out was—what could have emitted such a terrible power?
And following which, in which direction would that storm be headed?
Everyone had felt that their brains had grown useless at that juncture. They were completely unable to imagine what Ding Hao would actually do next.
With his deeds, Ding Hao gave them the answer.
Again, he went to Lu Pengfei’s side.
And as for Lu Pengfei, who was still the upstart of the five academies, holding on to the entire authority of the Eastern Academy; the self-styled “Heavenly Sword of Shock”, never again revealed any trace of arrogance from then on; and neither did he have the courage to be arrogant.
When Ding Hao’s both feet had once again appeared in his field of sight when he had knelt down on the ground, he broke down instantly, devastated.
Being as intelligent as he was, Lu Pengfei had finally understood at that moment—his great opportunity had completely passed.
And the familiar sort of fear of the olden days had engulfed him instantly.
He started to shake and uncontrollably cry out in desperation.
“I was wrong, Senior Brother Ding, I’m wrong- please let me go; I’m just a bastard- just let me go,” Lu Pengfei’s face was filled with snot and he kowtowed heavily on the ground. Blood matted his forehead. He pleaded in agony, “I’m willing to pay any sort of price- I can give you the first position of the academy, and I can even pass you the ‘Dictionary of the Heavenly Sword’s Divine Swordsmanship’ – these are after all, Medium Grade Earth Ranking Sword Skills. And from now on, I will be your slave- I’ll be your most obedient dog.”
Ding Hao looked at him in silence. His gaze was cold and forbidding. “If you had known that things would come to this, why did you do it?”
“Yes, yes yes- it was all my fault. I’m a beast. I didn’t know better. But of course, I won’t dare to do it anymore. Senior Brother Ding, I beg you. I’m begging you to please give me another chance- please give me one last chance…”
Lu Pengfei’s heart had completely been engulfed by fear.
Under the threat of death, he had surrendered all his pride completely.
And that time, he had truly taken the ultimate loss.
After saving up so painstakingly for such a long time and wrecking his brains to think of all the possible solutions, and even hiring someone as congenital an expert as Lu Qi, it was such a pity that Ding Hao was simply the nemesis of his life. With just a slight maneuver, he had so easily robbed him of everything that he had possessed.
Compared to the beginning when he had been filled with pride, to then being on his knees in earnest plea, Lu Pengfei had tasted the despair of falling step by step into a hopeless situation.
And at the moment when Lu Qi had been sent flying off with a kick, Lu Pengfei’s heart had submerged completely into the depths of a bottomless pit. Reviewing the time of that half of a year was like living in a dream—he had started to feel an insane extent of regret all of a sudden. Why had he insisted on competing with Ding Hao? Why had he insisted on opposing him?
If all of that had never happened, he could still have been a careful disciple of the Eastern Academy. The annual exams were not a problem to him at all, and getting into the list of the academy’s Swordsmanship-seeking Sect’s core disciples would have only been a matter of time.
But at the moment, everything was gone.
A form of regret that he had never felt before was like a form of virus that swallowed his heart.
If he could only have another chance…
“Chance?” Ding Hao’s gaze did not seem to waver at all. He nodded his head slowly, saying: “Are the chances that I’ve given you too little? If I hadn’t considered the Eastern Academies’ disciples, you would have become a corpse half a year ago. Now, there’s no chance for you and I only regret not having finished you off with one blow of the sword in the underground ruins.”
As for those things, if you were to miss them, you would never be able to get them back.
It was just like Zhang Fan’s departure.
That was a form of friendship that Ding Hao had missed out on.
Ding Hao had once fervently believed that he would have been able to practice at the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect with Zhang Fan, Wang Xiaoqi and Fang Tianyi in a carefree manner. He had felt that he would have been able to become the warrior of his clansmen, holding the honor of protecting them.
And even if it were the arrangement of a duel with the terrifying “Child Prodigy” Mu Tianyang, Ding Hao had still been filled with hope, fantasizing about the future.
Asking friends over, drowning out their sorrows over beautiful wine, roaming the earth with a sword, was not a usual thing of the humanly world.
But at the moment, all of that was no longer possible.
Zhang Fan had chosen to leave.
And the Eastern Academy, on account of the dark, cruel ambitiousness of a despicable fellow such as Lu Pengfei, had also fallen apart completely.
Returning to the past seemed like an impossibility.
And as Ding Hao’s gaze was scanning the faces of the Eastern Academy’s disciples who were near and afar, they had seemed to feel greatly unfamiliar.
“I can’t have any lingering hopes for the people who have abandoned me; and the people who brings confusion to my heart will only bring further trouble after today.” Ding Hao’s sense of solidarity, and the pride of wearing the cyan robe on his body, had started to fade in and out on the day when he had finally decided to assassinate that former disciple of the academy, Zhang Wenzhao.
Without knowing why, at that moment, a name which had not been very familiar to Ding Hao had started to come into mind without any warning.
Qi Qingshan!
The most mysterious predecessor of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, who had lived an existence almost as taboo as religion, and who had been swathed in a life like a riddle, just as those myths and legends that had hazy and almost unknown storylines, had on account of those three words, “Qi Qingshan”, become sharper in the mind of Ding Hao.
Ding Hao shook his head and waved off those negative feelings.
He reached out his hand and pressed it against Lu Pengfei.
A six-petal snowflake flower, transparent and mesmerizing, almost like a cute and pretty yet lethal white spirit had started to dance teasingly in Ding Hao’s fingers. A film of silver frost had gradually wrapped up Ding Hao’s palm and the seemingly pervading icy air carried a despair that had never been felt before.
“No…” feeling Ding Hao’s unflinching murderous intent, Lu Pengfei shouted with a sense of desperation. “No, I beg of you- you can’t kill me- Senior Brother Ding, I know that, for long, you have regarded me as a sectmate. And if you were to kill me, you would be crushing your personal belief with your own hands.”
“You and I ceased to be sectmates a long time ago,” Ding Hao said faintly. “Moreover, I wish to thank you, for being you who clearly made me see what kind of a belief should be carried on for a long time, and what kind of a benevolence should never be had.”
Ding Hao’s frost covered palm was like a crystal and it neared Lu Pengfei’s forehead almost instantly.
That kind of killing intent and the shadow of death was impending inch by inch, which caused Lu Pengfei to break down in tears completely.
“No, I know the secret- this bronze grimace mask man…” Lu Pengfei refused to give up his last struggle. “I know who he is- he is a great threat. You would never be able to imagine such a threat- it clings around you all the time and if you don’t kill me, I will tell you who he is.”
Ding Hao’s palm finally stopped for a while.
Lu Pengfei was in an ecstatic frenzy and he breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly saying, “Senior Brother Ding, as long as you swear not to kill me in the future, I will tell you who he is…”
