One of the disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect exclaimed, “Bro… Brother Ding?”
“Brother Ding?”
The warriors were stunned. Having realized what happened, they looked horrified. The smile on the face of the leading disciple froze. There was only one person whom these female disciples would call Brother Ding—
It was Ding Hao, the “Saber and Sword Addict.”
“You… Ding Hao… Why are you here? Let… let go of me. Don’t mess around. All of the masters of the major sects are on this mountain. You can’t escape… The head of our sect is also here…”
The disciple of the Falling Star Sect had finally recognized Ding Hao. He was so frightened that he turned pale and started to stammer.
Reputation was to a man as a shadow was to a tree.
He had acted arrogantly when he called Ding Hao a nobody; he was scared out of his wits when the real Ding Hao appeared. The prestige of the “Saber and Sword Addict” had been spread all over the Snow Province as early as half a year before at the Sect Grading Meeting. For Ding Hao, killing him was like crushing an ant.
He didn’t say a word. He only flipped his hand.
“Boom!”
The disciple of the Falling Star Sect was smashed into the gravel, leaving a pool of blood.
The other warriors were all scared to death. They screamed in terror and ran for their lives, regretting not having more legs.
Ding Hao stood still.
Rays of golden light shot out from under his feet, followed by booming sounds. The warriors had barely managed to run a few meters before they exploded into a blood fog, disappearing into thin air.
“Brother Ding, you… are back?” Gao Xue’er rubbed her eyes, fearing that it was just another illusion.
Ding Hao waved his hand. With a flash of golden mist, the Qi seals in their bodies were unlocked. He apologized, “I’m sorry I’m late.”
“No, Brother Ding. I thought I was dreaming. You really are here.” Gao Xue’er was surprised and delighted at the same time, but she then remembered something and said, “Ah, no, Brother Ding, hurry… There are dozens of Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship masters inside the mountain gate. The head of the Falling Star Sect is also there. You should leave as soon as possible before they find out. There will always be another chance as long as you are alive…”
Nizi and Huanhuan also pushed Ding Hao and urged him to leave, “Right, Brother Ding. Leave quickly. It’s dangerous here…”
Even at such a moment, the three little girls still placed Ding Hao’s safety before everything else.
Ding Hao gently patted her on the shoulder and said affectionately, “Girls, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. They will soon pay the price… By the way, where are the others?”
The confidence in his tone and expression gave them a sense of security.
Gao Xue’er and the other two girls suddenly felt hopeful and peaceful like never before. If the majority of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect disciples had not been kept under control, Ding Hao wouldn’t have sneaked into the mountain out of caution. He would have made a grand entrance with his overwhelming power and killed the enemies all at once.
At that moment, the most important thing was to find out where the captured disciples were.
He had to rescue all his fellow disciples and ensure their safety before killing the enemies.
The Swordsmanship-seeking Sect had suffered heavy casualties in this great disaster. Ding Hao did not want to see any more deaths.
“The enemies have sealed most of our fellow disciples’ cultivation and sent them to the Great Abyss under the cliff of the landfill area in the back mountain. They have been mining for one day and night. Some of us have been imprisoned in the underground blood cell after rebelling, including Grand Martial Uncle Wang Juefeng, Guan Feidu, and Lu Yuqi… We don’t know if they are alive or dead.”
Gao Xue’er explained the situation to Ding Hao in detail.
This little girl had been very observant. She knew well what was happening to the sect.
Ding Hao thought for a moment and said, “Well, let’s go to the underground blood cell first, and then the to the back mountain.”
“But…” Huanhuan said out of concern, “Brother Ding, it is actually the head of the Falling Star Sect who is overseeing the prison…”
Ding Hao smiled and replied, “It doesn’t matter. He’s just a clown. Do you dare to come with me?”
The three of them looked at each other and shouted in unison, “Sure!”
These little girls were fearless at heart as they dared to go out to bury the bodies of their fellow disciples. For the past days, they had endured enough. They had the chance to follow whom they admired; even if it meant the greatest danger and pain, they would not complain. It was an honor to die as disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
“All right, let’s go!”
Ding Hao nodded.
A flickering golden flame enveloped them. They disappeared in a flash.
In the sixth step area of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
The underground blood prison of the Sentencing Hall.
The smell of blood permeated the air.
Under the dim cold light, in a stone hall on the entrance to the underground blood prison, the head of the Falling Star Sect sat quietly. A strange bloody aura shrouded him like a shadow.
He had made a name for himself as a killer. In the Snow Province, countless famous masters had died by his hands.
The Falling Star Sect was known for its use of hidden weapons. As the head of the Falling Star Sect, he had almost reached the acme of perfection in this skill and could kill people without leaving a trace. His Qi cultivation was extremely mighty, having reached the level of high-ranking Great Grandmaster many years before. Over the years, he fought less and less, so no one knew his real strength.
In the battle against the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect that took place well over a month in the past, he killed more than twenty masters.
His performance in that battle impressed Han Yangjian of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect. He personally named him to guard the blood prison.
The top masters of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect were locked in this prison; all of them were dangerous felons. There had been persistent attempts to rescue them despite several failures. His assassination, escaping and discerning skills could be of use to guard against sneak attacks.
Over the month, the head of the Falling Star Sect had successfully killed dozens of people who had tried to break into the prison in succession.
At the moment, he was sitting cross-legged on the huge stone seat with his eyes closed and slowly running his cultivation.
Powerful Qi fluctuations were released like tides, spreading up to thousands of meters around him. Not even the sound of insects and grass could escape his ears.
The head of the Falling Star Sect spared no effort in guarding the prison.
Because he saw this as an opportunity for his sect to rise.
In the past, he had followed the Tranquility Academy and Fang Xiao’an in the hope that the Falling Star Sect could at least take a slice of the pie. He had not expected the complete defeat and heavy losses in the competition with the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. He had been somewhat disheartened, after seeing his sect remain in jeopardy while the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect rose to number one in the Snow Province.
All of a sudden everything changed.
The Swordsmanship-seeking Sect collapsed in an instant with the intervention of foreign super-sects.
Fang Xiao’an and the others of the Tranquility Academy did not seem to show much sincerity towards the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect, but he seized the opportunity and declared to stand by their side.
As expected, he earned Han Yangjian’s appreciation and promise. Once the excavation of the mysterious crystals in the back mountain was completed, the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect would support the Falling Star Sect to become the overlord of Snow Province.
In troubled times, only by attaching himself to the strongest could one obtain the greatest benefits.
The head of Falling Star Sect had always lived by this principle.
He felt he made the right choice this time.
Whenever he thought of this, he couldn’t help but feel bursts of excitement and was more determined to do his best to serve Han Yangjian.
At this moment, he was sitting quietly in the stone hall while killing intent was emanated around him.
For a killer like him, Qi acted as the Divine Senses of other experts; he could use it to monitor everything around him. Nothing within a 500-meter radius could escape his observation.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes.
For some reason, he felt his heart pound with fear.
It was as if something extremely terrifying was about to happen.
However, the killing intent he released did not detect anything.
The Falling Star sect head muttered to himself, “What’s the matter? Why am I feeling a little unsettled?” Frowning slightly, he slowly stood up.
The next moment—
“Perhaps it is because you’re about to die,” said a voice that was suddenly heard coming from the stone hall.
The sect head was astonished. Someone had invaded the stone hall and he didn’t even notice it. Who could have such a terrible strength?
A golden light flashed. Twenty meters away from him, four people appeared.
One of them was a young man in a jade-like cyan robe. He was both handsome and elegant. The other three were shabbily-clothed ordinary Swordsmanship-seeking Sect disciples.
“Ding Hao?” The head of the Falling Star Sect narrowed his eyes.
He knew Ding Hao because he had attended the Sect Grading Meeting of the Snow Province six months prior, not to mention the tension between the two sects which made him more aware. Even if he had not seen him before, he had heard various rumors about him, so he recognized at once that this young man was Ding Hao, the first genius of Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, the “Saber and Sword Addict.”
“Ding Hao came out of the Sage Battlefield alive?”
“How did he return to the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect so quickly?”
“Why didn’t I notice him?”
Questions flashed through his mind one by one.
As the king of killers, whatever he encountered, the first thing he would do was to find the most reasonable explanation and bring the situation under his control. Thanks to his rich experience, he gradually calmed down.
Half a year back, when Ding Hao performed the Beast Transform, he had only reached the level of Martial King.
How much more powerful could he be in half a year?
“He must have used some precious weapon to sneak into the stone hall. It seems that he didn’t come out of the Sage Battlefield empty-handed… However, there’s nothing to worry about.”
Once he caught Ding Hao, the last hope of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect would be destroyed.
Moreover, he could even use it to impress Han Yangjian.
Thinking of this, the head of the Falling Star Sect became a little excited.
“I’ve searched high and low for you, only to find you by sheer luck.” The head of the Falling Star Sect slowly moved his feet. A murderous aura spread out across the entire hall.
