At that moment, in the area of nominal disciples, numerous people looked up. Some of them prayed silently and some of them chuckled to themselves. They had different thoughts.
Nevertheless, everyone had to admit that Ding Hao was still the Ding Hao. No matter the past or right then, he was in the spotlight. What he did others dared not do, not even consider it.
He was at the center of it all.
…
…
Sentencing Hall was a vital place of the sect, being the authority of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
There were the so called Six Peaks and Six Bases in the Sect, and Sentencing Hall was one of those six bases.
It was located in the deep enclosed area, at the eighth stage of the mountain gate. Spiritual Qi was abundant there and spiritual herbs with a hundred years of life were everywhere. Sacred Cranes, White Tigers, and other Mystical Beasts ran amid it. The silver waterfall kept falling down making it all seem like a fairyland.
Sentencing Hall was located at the peak of the ancient towering mountain which had high-rising old pines and weird rugged stones.
Amid the green mountains and waterfalls, an antique and weird stone architecture was present. The rugged path on the black iron chain connected those bizarre stone constructions. Sometimes, the experts glittering with Qi of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect jumped in those strange stone structures and treaded upon them just like immortals.
The main palace of the Sentencing Hall was in the highest peak and it was constructed with black rocks. It was ancient and grave, just like a gluttonous behemoth crouching at the peak and overwhelming everything.
The stairs extended all the way down. When standing at the bottom of the stairs and looking up, the stairs were like a pilgrim road which couldn’t be seen completely. People who climbed it were like ants. The stairs seemed able to lead to the sky.
Nangong Zheng flew and landed there, bringing Ding Hao with him.
“The stairs have a name which is “Introspection High Stairs”. Whoever wants to enter the main palace of the Sentencing Hall has to climb step by step and meanwhile contemplate on feelings about the Sect, elders, friends, families and the Human Tribe…”
Nangong Zheng introduced seriously.
Ding Hao nodded and he was a little surprised.
It was the first time hearing that kind of thing.
When looking up, the stairs extended with no end in sight. It seemed that you had entered the mysterious Heaven Realm. Unexpectedly, an illusion of being unable to ever climb up the stairs occurred.
Following Nangong Zheng, Ding Hao climbed the “Introspection High Stairs” step by step.
…
When treading on the stairs, something incredible happened.
Ding Hao felt that the scene before him had changed.
The extending black stairs suddenly disappeared, along with the towering mountains and surrounding mist. What showed up before Ding Hao was a scenery that he had never seen before.
In the midst of sanguinary slaughter, a fierce battle was going on.
The sky broke, the earth collapsed, the magma burst, and there was lighting and thunder. It seemed that the end of the world was coming.
A team of superiors wearing silver amour escorted a young couple to flee the place. The pursuers were warriors in black armor. The dead bodies piled up like hills, and blood was flowing like rivers. In the battle, King Wu, Martial Emperor, and those supreme superiors all fell down. The situation was extremely dangerous. Every time, when it seemed that they would be caught by the warriors in black armor, a warrior in silver armor would leave the team resolutely and turn back to rush to the enemies…
Ding Hao saw faintly that the young couple cradled two infants who were sleeping soundly and had not realized that they were in extreme danger…
With the warriors in black armor getting closer, the warriors in silver armor became less and less and their situation became more and more dangerous…
Without any reason, an uprush of sadness came to Ding Hao when seeing that. He wanted to jump into the battlefield which was full of bodies and blood, to fight for the couple.
However; what was before him changed all of a sudden.
The dead bodies and blood instantly disappeared, replaced by trash all over the mountains.
A little boy less than a meter tall, with a dark complexion and bare feet, carrying his crying sister on his back, stumbled in the dust heap. He dug some edible food out of the dust heap using his bloody hands. Then he carefully washed it and fed it to his ignorant little sister…
The brother and the younger sister were dependent on each other.
The boy grew up and the little sister began to understand things. The two little guys survived with difficulty in the rubbish area, unaided. On that day, the boy used the money which he had saved for nearly a year to buy a little red cotton jacket for his cute little sister. The little girl put on the cotton jacket and giggled happily…
Tears welled up in Ding Hao’s eyes.
He already understood what the sight before him was…
Since the moment when the scene before him had changed.
The little boy became Ding Hao himself. He fell down the cliff and went into an adventure. Then he joined the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, took part in the five academies competition having a big advantage, went downhill for trials, and went to the ruins of the ancient Sect as well as the Valley Village, the Blood Dragon Village, and the Underground Crystal Dragon Palace…
What he had gone through flashed back. It all happened again, vividly in front of Ding Hao.
It was a very wonderful feeling.
It seemed to Ding Hao that he was an unimportant outsider who watched silently, seeing what ever happened to him…
He became sad, then became happy.
He became angry, then he was delighted.
Ding Hao’s emotions were changing fast, in response to what happened before him. He experienced ecstasy and agony, and he could not restrain himself.
Suddenly, the pictures fast-forwarded.
Then it came to the scene that Ding Hao killed Zhang Wenzhao and Tian Heng angrily, and the scene when he struck Lu Pengfei to death.
Seeing that, Ding Hao’s emotions were running high. His state of mind shook.
At that moment, Ding Hao heard a sudden sound which was like a tolling bell. Before Ding Hao knew it, a godly majestic image in purple robe appeared in front of him. He asked angrily with divine power, “Ding Hao, you killed your fellow disciples and violated sect rules. Do you admit that?”
A frightening power overwhelmed Ding Hao’s mind.
Almost subconsciously, Ding Hao was going to kneel down and plead guilty.
However, in a flash, he regained his consciousness and sense. The Divine Awareness tempered by the Mind Essential replaced his instinct, repelled his fear and awe, and controlled his body.
Ding Hao suddenly looked up. His eyes became clear, shining as if holding divine light. He yelled with a clear consciousness while straightening his spine, “Hum, why am I guilty? Lu Pengfei manipulated power, framed fellow disciples, embezzled cultivation resources of the East Academy, and did evil acts. He was sinful enough to be sentenced to death. I killed his gang in order to clear the scum for the Sect. Why am I guilty?”
“Nonsense, in the face of a deity, how dare you argue? Just plead guilty, so as not to suffer the punishment of the deity!” The godly figure in purple yelled angrily.
