Swoosh!
The sword light flashed like lightning.
An ice mountain in the southwest was suddenly burst open. Dozens of people rushed out in a flash.
Those people were radiating like the sun, exhibiting overwhelming power. In an instant, they reached the sky above the Frozen Peak and surrounded Ding Hao from all directions. The killing intent was felt everywhere.
Those people were definitely not martial artists from the Snow Province. They were outrageously powerful.
Their general positions had some mysterious design: although having a messy appearance, they were in line with some martial arts principles. The aura they emitted happened to seal up all the space around them. Among them, Ding Hao was like a tiny spring being slowly engulfed by an expansive desert.
Countless people present were shocked.
Those people must have been hiding in the distance for a long time, but they didn’t even notice.
A laugh came from a distance. “Haha, Ding Hao, you didn’t expect this, did you?”
With a flash, hundreds of flowing lights cut through the void like streaks of lightning, flying over one after another from the distant sky. In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the surroundings of Frozen Peak. The leader was dressed like a scholar with a long sword hanging from his waist. He looked righteous and kind, like a master of the previous generation, but the ferocity and pride on his face made him look creepy.
It was Fang Xiaoan, the head of the Tranquility Academy.
Beside him were the elite masters from the Tranquility Academy who were loyal to him, as well as masters from other sects. They were all experts from the Snow Province who had participated in the attack of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
“Oh, a pack of strays who have been hiding for ten days. I thought you had long escaped; I never would have guessed that struggling souls like you would dare to seek death. Some people just won’t shed tears until they see a coffin.” Ding Hao was not worried about being besieged by dozens of masters from foreign provinces. His eyes were as sharp as ice blades, falling on Fang Xiaoan and the group. He nodded and said, “You came at the right time. Today, all of you are going to die!”
Fang Xiaoan and the others were frightened and couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
However, Fang Xiaoan suddenly calmed down when he saw the fifteen supreme experts surrounding Ding Hao in the air.
His eyes fell on the surrounding martial artists of Snow Province. He shouted arrogantly in an unquestionable tone, as if he were giving orders. “It’s the Tranquility Academy’s business. Please leave immediately. Don’t regret it later.”
During those days, he had been intimidated by Ding Hao and Zhang Fan, but he still acted like a superior dominator in front of other warriors of the Snow Province.
Under Fang Xiaoan’s intense gaze, the martial artists of Snow Province who went there to watch the battle had to leave in a hurry while seething with anger.
A fierce battle was about to break out.
It would definitely be the most terrifying battle.
It seemed that the Tranquility Academy had long prepared for the killing trap and was going to fight to the death with Ding Hao.
Feng Chao, the leader of the Mysterious Frost Holy Guards, was hovering in the void. He cupped his hands and said to the experts from foreign provinces on the snow-capped peak, “My friends visiting from afar, today’s matter has been settled. Please leave now.” His tone was polite but forceful.
He represented the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost. Even though he was not as strong as those experts from other provinces, he was of a much higher status.
No one in the Northern Region would have dared to provoke the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost.
Among the experts who were besieging Ding Hao, a middle-aged man who seemed to be a scholar said in a tough tone, “Everyone! Today, we are carrying out the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect’s order to avenge the death of our elder Wan Jiansheng and disciple Han Yangjian, and to kill the virtueless Ding Hao. Please stay away, lest you get hurt in the fierce battle. For those who overestimate their ability and insist on staying… hehe… you’ll have to bear all the consequences.”
It turned out that they were from the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect.
The Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect was a super sect in Sword Province, the second province of the Northern Region. It was famous for its fierce sword practitioners, and even many among the big sects were fearful of them.
Some experts from foreign provinces, who had been trying to fish in troubled waters, realized they had no chance after assessing the current situation. It wouldn’t be wise to provoke the Mysterious Frost Holy Guards, let alone the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect. After weighing the consequences, most of them snorted, turned into beams of flowing light and disappeared into the sky.
Of course, some people stayed behind.
The fat man and the tall, thin young man with a sword acted as if they didn’t hear anything. They looked joyfully at what was happening, as if it were a show.
The mysterious expert in purple light also remained still.
Xie Jieyu’s entire body was shining with phoenix fire. The red mist made her look more beautiful and otherworldly. It was difficult to tell the expression on her fair-skinned face, which was as flawless as the finest white jade. She stood quietly in the same place. On her shoulder, Ding Ding, the little girl with goat-horn braids, was happily licking a lollipop, as if she had not heard a thing.
The two Demon Kings behind the Goddess of Martial Arts didn’t move either.
“Humph, there are still a few of the death-seeking kind.” The middle-aged scholar of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect snorted, but he also had the feeling that the people who had stayed were masters among masters and weren’t easy to deal with. He decided not to provoke them and asked others to be on guard.
Fang Xiaoan winked and led more than a hundred masters to encircle the ice peak where Zhang Fan and the others were.
Fang Xiaoan’s face looked grim. “The trap has been set up. You, little minions of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect really think you can turn the situation around? Hehe, you can go to hell with Ding Hao and meet your damn Sect Leader there, haha!”
It had only been a few months, but his temperament had completely changed. He had turned from a noble and majestic elder to a cruel and evil man.
Li Lan, Ximen Qianxue, and the others didn’t say a word. They took out their weapons.
Zhang Fan remained silent. He slowly drew his longbow and aimed it at Fang Xiaoan in the sky.
Fang Xiaoan’s expression changed dramatically.
He had lost his reputation after being defeated by this young man in two moves before, which became a thorn in his flesh. However, even if he hated Zhang Fan to the point of madness, he could do nothing about it. After all, Zhang Fan was inhumanly strong. He was no match for him. And then his arrow had shocked him even more. In the battle of the Heavenly Sound Valley, if Zhang Fan had used his bow and arrow, he would have had a chance to make it out alive.
Being pointed at with a longbow, Fang Xiaoan felt a chill of pure fear, as if he were facing the god of death.
Fortunately, right at this moment, a figure flashed out and stood in front of him.
It was a skinny old man with a hunched body, sparse white hair, and two whiskers of white beards on his chin, who seemed weak enough to be blown down by a gust of wind. Even the Qi he emitted was also filled with a decadent aura of death. However, this aura was so robust that he blocked the pressure released by Zhang Fan’s longbow the moment he stepped forward.
He was a master.
Zhang Fan was stone-faced, not making the slightest change. He raised both arms, pulled the longbow until it created a moonbow, and then loosened his hand.
An incredibly fast flowing light was shot from the bowstring and instantly appeared in front of the old man.
Boom!
It triggered a thunder-like explosion.
A wave of transparent energy rippled before the old man. The void seemed to have been melted by this shoot. The four or five people standing beside the old man were swept by this ripple. Half of their bodies vanished instantly.
“Ahem, ahem, ahem… What a good archery… ahem, ahem, ahem… Almost tore my old bones apart.”
The hunchbacked old man coughed as if he had fallen ill. However, there were no scars on his body. A dazzling ball of light appeared on his fingertips. It was as bright as the sun, releasing a spine-chilling aura, which was as sharp as that of a precious sword.
Just then, it was that light sphere of sword Qi which blocked Zhang Fan’s earth-shattering arrow.
Many people were stunned by this.
That hunchbacked old man was a formidable super master.
He had to be at least on a level above the Four-apertured Martial Emperor Realm, to be able to block Zhang Fan’s deadly arrow. That hunchbacked old man was truly formidable.
Zhang Fan’s stone-like face revealed no emotion. He was unaffected even though his arrow had been blocked. He still slowly pulled out his longbow, focused his strength on his waist and legs, and lowered his body. In an instant, the bow was pulled like the curve of the moon, and he shot another arrow.
The flowing light flashed across the sky.
It was like a pair of golden scissors mercilessly cutting across a blue curtain.
It was more powerful than the previous arrow.
The terrifying might surged like the wrath of a god. One couldn’t help but think of the apocalyptic arrow the ancient magic god, Hou Yi, had used to shoot the supreme being of the Demon Race, the Golden Crow.
This time, the old man didn’t look as casual as before.
With a cough, he took a step back with his left foot and stood on the void with a T-step stance. The bright light sphere in his hand suddenly bloomed and turned into a meteor. In a split second, it collided with the orange arrow.
Boom!
Another terrifying explosion reverberated.
Wave after wave of transparent power ripples were spread out uncontrollably like raging waves, as they swept through the void. This time, Fang Xiaoan and the others had been quietly hiding in the distance, so they weren’t affected.
“Cough, cough, cough. My body is about to be shattered…” The hunchbacked old man took three or four steps back in the void before barely managing to stand firm. The bright Sword Qi sphere returned to his hand, but its color had dimmed a little.
Zhang Fan was still stone-faced. He slowly pulled the bowstring for a third time.
Right at this moment…
Ding Hao’s voice suddenly reached him from the distant sky, “Xiao Fan, protect the others. Don’t make a move.”
Zhang Fan was stunned; he immediately put away his longbow. He took out an enormous black war saber from his Storage Ring. Between the hilt and the blade, a palm-sized black and round magic stone sparkled with an enchanting light.
