When the group of people were discussing, suddenly, a rapid sound of drumbeats rang up.
The disciples on duty in the main hall quickly came in and reported while half-kneeling, “Sect Chief and Elder Martial Uncles, Lu Xiongfei, the chief of the Tranquility Academy, has shown up at the Sword-cleansing Pond. He asked to see the Sect Chief.”
A bright light flashed in the corner of Li Jianyi’s eyes. He looked at Tang Folei, Qi Qingshan, and the others, then raised his hand and said, “Let him in.”
“Yes.” The disciple on duty took the order and left.
“Lu Xiongfei is the first master of the Tranquility Academy. He has always been strong. When he was the president of the Tranquility Academy, he was against the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect publicly and indirectly, and his hands were stained with the blood of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. After he retired from the Academy these years, he kept a low profile. However, his arrogant temper has not changed too much… he comes with ill intent!”
Li Jianyi sneered.
“I’m afraid he is after the Crystal Mine. The night owl enters a house as an unlucky omen. Why do we wish to listen to what he has to say?” Qi Qingshan raised his head and took a sip of wine.
He and Lu Xiongfei were of the same generation, and there were a lot of grievances between them. They had fought against each other countless times, so they were deadly enemies. He was radiating a strong killing intent once he heard that Lu Xiongfei would go there.
Over the years, it was the first time that the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect and the Tranquility Academy communicated with each other.
But the timing was not right; Lu Xiongfei was quite bold, daring to risk his life alone.
While they were talking, the disciple on duty returned.
An old man with white beard and hair followed him in a vigorous manner.
The man seemed to be in his 80s or 90s, with a long beard floating in front of his chest. His hair, beard and eyebrows were all white, like silver needles, but he was in good spirits. He was strong, ruddy, and looked like a male lion. He had an imposing manner and not one wrinkle on his face. His eyes were as sharp as lightning, giving people an odd feeling since he had white hair and a youthful face.
He was Lu Xiongfei, the first master in the Snow Province, and the former president of the Tranquility Academy.
He was also Lu Xianr’s grandfather.
Lu Xiongfei had no fear on his face while facing the enemy. He took the initiative and looked at the layout and decoration of the whole main hall with ease. His eyes swept over the faces of a group of masters of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, finally resting his eyes on Li Jianyi, the Sect Chief.
Lu Xiongfei laughed loudly and said in a thunderous voice, “When I took charge of the Tranquility Academy, I made a great wish that one day I would step into the main hall of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, to drink wine and play with my sword. Today is the first time for me to come here. Hahaha, however, it seems that my wish will come true soon.”
“How dare you!”
“Ridiculous!”
“The Tranquility Academy has been replaced by the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. One day, the Peach Blossom Hall will be the place where the disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect practice their swords.” The Peach Blossom Hall was the president’s main hall of the Tranquility Academy.
Lu Xiongfei’s arrogant behavior made the masters of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect glare and reprimand him.
“Hahaha, the catastrophe is imminent. What can you do even if you bark wildly and shout loudly?” Lu Xiongfei laughed, with his eyes full of contempt. He did not place the many masters of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect in his eyes at all. He laughed loudly and said, “The Grading Meeting for all sects has made a group of corrupt people take advantage of it for no reason. If it weren’t for the little guy named Ding Hao, do you think that today your Swordsmanship-seeking Sect would be able to exist in this world?”
“Old jerk, you’re so arrogant!”
With an angry roar, Tang Folei, who was the most hot-tempered, stood up with a loud bang. The Qi flame around him surged like a red sun. His Qi was about to fix on Lu Xiongfei. He was about to attack him.
Lu Xiongfei, however, did not care.
Below his white brows, a thick provocation surged in his eyes full of violence.
“Well, Old Dog Lu, you didn’t hesitate to risk your life. You are not talking nonsense, are you?” Qi Qingshan, who had been silent, slowly stood up and his long gray hair danced without wind. He stared at Lu Xiongfei and said, “If you have anything to say, just say it out loud. You are a man hundreds of years old. You don’t have to pretend to be domineering, otherwise, the juniors will look down on you!”
“Hahaha, Old Man Qi, I heard that you were disheartened because of your first disciple. You ignored all the affairs of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect for a long time. Later, just for Ding Hao’s sake, you broke your oath again and got involved in the secular world. It’s a pity that such a genius like Ding Hao fell into the hands of your Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Old Man Qi, the time of your death is coming. I’m afraid that your old bones may not be able to protect the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect from the disaster.” Lu Xiongfei raised his white eyebrows and showed his madness.
“You’re not in the position to care about my own business. You are putting on a big show with crocodile tears for me,” Qi Qingshan said with a sneer.
Lu Xiongfei nodded and said word for word, “Well, let’s see how long you can be proud of yourselves. Since that’s the case, let’s make it clear. You’d better give up the crystal mine in the back hill so that I may give your Swordsmanship-seeking Sect a way out!”
“What?”
“What a big tone!”
“Who do you think you are?”
There was a sudden cursing in the hall.
Although Lu Xiongfei used to be the top master in Snow Province, that was already in the past. If he dared to say such a thing, he was courting death.
“You are talking too big.” Li Jianyi pounded on the table and stood up.
The Sect Chief, who had been silent, sneered and said, “The era of your Tranquility Academy has passed. Today, in Snow Province, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect is the first sect. The Crystal Mine is the divine treasure that God gave to my sect. If you want it, you can exchange it with blood and bones. Let’s see if the sword in the hands of my excellent Sect can still cut the bones from the bandits!”
The Sect Chief’s words had a strange charm, which made everyone become very passionate.
However, what they got was Lu Xiongfei’s disdainful sneer.
“Hahaha, a group of people who are going to die here are still trying to show off your skills. To tell you the truth, I am not only here to represent the Tranquility Academy.” Lu Xiongfei laughed. “Not only you have to hand over the crystal mine obediently, but also move away from the Swordsmanship-seeking Mountain within a month. As long as you can do these two points, as we are both from the same Human Clan, I will leave a little foundation for your Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Otherwise, when I come here again, I will kill you all in the Swordsmanship-seeking Mountain!”
As soon as he finished speaking…
Lu Xiongfei’s momentum skyrocketed, and his expression suddenly became cold and vicious.
The instantaneous outburst made many people present feel breathless.
Some core disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect looked at the crazy lion attitude of the old man with horror. They faintly had an illusion that they were facing an invincible magic god. They looked up. In their sight, the old man’s figure expanded several times, almost holding up the dome of the hall.
“Just by yourself?” Qi Qingshan walked down the stairs step by step.
He stared at the old rival with long gray hair fluttering and did not see how he acted. Lu Xiongfei’s momentum burst out, and he disappeared in an instant.
The core disciples of the third generation of Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, who had an illusion before, only felt startled. When they looked at Lu Xiongfei again, the feeling of looking up disappeared, and Lu Xiongfei was just like an ordinary old man.
“What if the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect gets itself involved?” Lu Xiongfei sneered.
Qi Qingshan’s pupils contracted. “What did you say?”
A complacent hint in Lu Xiongfei’s eyes flashed. He sneered and said, “Do you think that the purple dragon Qi that rose to the sky has only alarmed sects in Snow Province? It seems that you don’t know what the purple column means… To be honest, the matter has already alarmed super sects in other provinces. Many masters are on their way. If you don’t submit, the only thing you can do is to die. Our Tranquility Academy doesn’t mind hitting you when you are down!”
After that, Lu Xiongfei laughed, turned around and slowly walked out the door.
“Think about it. Li Jianyi, Qi Qingshan, the world is in chaos now. Snow Province is no longer the previous Snow Province. Even our Tranquility Academy… Alas!”
With a sigh, the former top master of Snow Province disappeared in the distance.
In the last sigh, people clearly heard the fox’s sorrow for the hare’s death.
The arrival of super sects from other great provinces meant that the Tranquility Academy would also suffer a great impact. Since the world was in chaos, it was up to all sects to deal with it. Would they go forward bravely or retreat in a low-key manner?
All people fixed their eyes on Li Jianyi, Tang Folei, and Qi Qingshan.
Tang Folei snorted coldly and said, “No matter what, we can’t lose our ancestors’ inheritance. We would rather be a broken jade than a complete tile. There can only be one sect in the Swordsmanship-seeking Mountain Range, that is, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect!”
The tinkling words rang in everyone’s ears.
In a dusky space.
The sound of water dripping was always ringing in the ears. Like water dripping from the roof of a corridor, it was continuous like a sand clock.
The road underfoot looked rough and was covered with thick bluish-gray and a moss-like substance, but it was very slippery when people stepped on it. As they went further and further, the terrain became stranger, and the stone wall overhead became shorter and shorter.
That was the seventh section of the ancient road to the west.
It was a world in an underground limestone cave.
The dim space, the oppressive air and the more obvious pressure of the power of law made all people feel depressed when they entered it. As time went by, there would be an illusion of being swallowed by the dim light. If they continued to go down like this, there would be many people who would even go crazy!
The stalactite that fell from the stone wall above flickered with a strange brilliance, beautiful and deadly.
Ji Yingqi had already been on Ding Hao’s back. Because of Ji Yingnan’s strength, it was difficult for him to protect his sister in such an environment. Ding Hao’s whole body was blooming with golden brilliance, enveloping the little girl and cutting off the external pressure.
It was a terrifying space.
Like an underground maze, the underground world was full of tens of thousands of passages in all directions, and they were also like the most complicated ant holes in the world. It was easy to get lost. Moreover, the space elements there were extremely chaotic, and the void at many places was flashing with a purple-black light, which indicated that it was a spatial fault that could collapse at any time.
The pressure of the power of law there was even greater.
Even a strong master at the congenital grandmaster’s level would be suppressed there like an ordinary person. If they walked slowly, they would easily feel tired and couldn’t walk quickly, let alone fly. The air was filled with a faint sense of danger.
Ding Hao’s intuition told him that it was a terrible place.
