“Oh, don’t worry, sir. I’ll be responsible for all my expenses along the way. As to the fees related to border crossing and transmission gates, I’ll provide my portion as required,” Ding Hao said with a smile. He took out a gold ingot and said, “This is compensation for the trouble I may bring. I’ll continue on my way when we arrive in the Sword Province.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to take you with me. The places we’ll travel to are all dangerous, and there will probably be a lot of delays along the way.” Hua Huai’an shook his head apologetically. “Sir, we can’t take another person. There are a lot of caravans going to the Sword Province. You may want to find another one.”
Ding Hao sighed. He nodded and replied, “In that case, sorry to disturb you.”
Then he turned around and was about to leave…
The wet nurse was holding Hua Mojian in her arms. They were also getting ready to return home. Unexpectedly, the little boy said with a smile, “Big brother, you are so handsome.” He then looked at his father and begged, “Father, take big brother with you, he can’t be a bad person. It’s dangerous for him to go outside alone.”
“What do kids know?” Hua Huai’an scolded him with a straight face.
Hua Mojian burst into tears after such rejection.
Hua Huai’an was frustrated. He quickly comforted him with a few words, but the boy kept crying and making a scene.
He reluctantly turned to Ding Hao and said, “Well, little brother, I will make an exception since you and my son are thus fated. You can come with us.”
Seeing this, Ding Hao smiled. He handed over the gold ingot and said, “Well, thank you, sir.”
Watching Ding Hao walking toward the caravan’s carriage, the one-eyed man approached Hua Huai’an and asked in confusion, “Boss, are you really going to take this man with you? I doubt he can punch his way out of a paper bag. Plus judging by the clothes he wears, I’m afraid he’ll be a burden. Moreover, the caravan has never taken anyone with unknown origins because it may bring trouble…”
Hua Huai’an shook his head and said, “This man looks unfamiliar, so he shouldn’t be from the city. Maybe he’s just an ordinary scholar. It is all right to take him with us. Besides, we can make a small profit with that gold ingot. Old Qiao, ask your fellows to watch him closely.”
The one-eyed Old Qiao nodded.
In the blink of an eye, the sacrificial ceremonies were completed and the Camel Caravan finally set off.
The group marched to the city. They were soon allowed to use the space gate transmission formation, thanks to the precedent of having submitted requests before. After each one entered the gate, they instantly arrived in Wei River City, which was ten thousand miles away.
That was no longer the territory of the Ice Province.
It was the Earth Province.
The next space gate transmission point was another five hundred Li away. It was in another big human settlement in the Earth Province.
The caravan only passed by Wei River and continued their journey.
Ding Hao sat in the last carriage and exited the city with the group.
“Why do I have such a stupid master? Alas…” Evil Moon lay on Ding Hao’s shoulder, snoring and complaining.
After arriving in the Ice Province through the space gate by the Mirror Lake, as usual, Ding Hao had lost his way. He had wandered around with the cat for a long time. They learned that the Camel Caravan was heading to the Sword Province, so they went to meet them and ask for a ride.
That place was too wild and vast. No matter how powerful he was, it was quite easy to be lost in the wilderness when flying around.
Ding Hao had originally intended to hire a guide. Unfortunately, the journey was long and no one was willing to make the trip alone, so he came up with such a bad idea.
He heard Evil Moon’s silent complaints but decided to ignore the greedy fat cat.
The carriages were being pulled by semi-demon horses with strong legs. Crafted with ironwood, the carriages were as hard as steel; their bodies were engraved with simple inscriptions, which could produce a floating power to reduce the weight, so they were moving very fast.
That kind of long-distance carriage was a good example of the transportation used in that martial arts world. It was quite valuable. Those 20 or so carriages could be counted as half of the Camel Caravan’s wealth.
In a trance, Ding Hao felt as if he were racing on the highway as he did in his previous life.
He stayed quietly at the back, no matter how bumpy the road was.
Two fellows who were sent to supervise Ding Hao were sitting on the front of the cart.
Ding Hao thought in his heart, “At this speed, it’ll take at least three days to reach the Sword Province, but it’s all right. It will take some time for Song Que and Bai Quanshui to mobilize their sects. I would certainly not be enough if I went on my own to destroy the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect. I’ll have to rely on those super sects…”
If he were to leave the Northern Region, Ding Hao had to get rid of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect first.
That, or at least render it unable to pester the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect in the Snow Province. That would be the only way he could leave with peace of mind.
He didn’t know how long it would take for him to find his sister. He didn’t want a tragedy to happen again, just like it did right after exiting the Sage Battlefield: coming back only to find that disaster had befallen the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
This time, Ding Hao was traveling alone.
After exacting revenge from the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect, he would set off for the Southern Region alone. Besides, Zhang Fan and a few other masters were needed by the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. After all, the Snow Province had not been completely settled. None of the others could help him, so it was better not to have them tag along.
Ding Hao had settled all the internal affairs before he left the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
He had set up thousands of inscription formations around the cave abyss in the back of the mountain. The purple dragon Qi column would be sealed inside for three years. He had also transformed the massive mysterious crystal floating at more than 3,000 meters in the abyss into a practice ground.
By then, the first batch of elite disciples selected by the sect would have already been transmitted into the practice grounds to do closed-door training.
In the end, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect’s leadership was inherited by Li Lan, Li Jianyi’s daughter.
Li Lan was indeed a very suitable candidate after Ding Hao had firmly refused to take the position. Whether judging from martial arts, bloodline, wisdom, prestige, or potential, Li Lan was qualified to take such a responsibility. What’s more, she had Ding Hao’s endorsement, the god of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Everything was settled the day following that night’s romantic affair.
Ding Hao had long declared his position, so Wang Juefeng and Leng Yixuan had long been mentally prepared. Everything was going well.
Li Lan became the first female head in the history of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
This news was a sensation in the Snow Province.
Ding Hao gave the small divine fire tower he acquired from the Fake God City to Li Lan, Li Yiruo, Wang Juefeng, and Ximen Qianxue. Although it didn’t guarantee the instant acquisition of divine power, the ignition of the towers meant that the seeds of such power were planted in their bodies. It was a matter of time before such seeds bore fruit.
To Ding Hao’s surprise, the anti-martial arts Ji Yingqi volunteered to follow Kong Yiru of the Tranquility Academy.
“I want to stay with Professor Kong and read all the classics of the Human Clan in the Snow Province to enrich myself…”
Ding Hao granted her request in the end.
In Kong Yiru’s view, Ji Yingqi had perhaps been sent by Ding Hao to spy on him.
However, Ding Hao knew that Ji Yingqi genuinely wanted to read widely and enrich herself; the path Kong took was perfect for her. Having experienced hardships in the Sage Battlefield, he trusted that Ji Yingqi would not do anything to hurt the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect and him, no matter what happened.
He felt a tug in his heart when he thought of Li Lan.
He had never thought that he would lose his virginity to her after time traveling to this world.
The famous Asura Fairy of Snow Province had become his woman. It gave him a sense of achievement, flattering his vanity. Ding Hao sometimes would relish that very thought.
He looked back and realized that the Snow Province was getting farther and farther away.
However, Ding Hao knew that no matter where he would be in the future, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect would always be his home in this universe. Even if he traveled all around that world, he would still keep this place in his heart. He would return one day.
Not to mention that more than one confidante was waiting for him.
Something strange happened while Ding Hao was lost in thought.
All of a sudden, there was a burst of noise in front of them, followed by angry roars and fighting sounds. The fellows of the caravan jumped out of their carriages and pulled out their weapons as if they were confronting a formidable enemy. Meanwhile, the armed people of the escort agency had rushed forward.
A merchant who was responsible for guarding Ding Hao warned him, “Little scholar, stay in the carriage. Otherwise, you may be injured by sabers or spears.”
Ding Hao nodded, silently accepting her decision.
He closed his eyes to run his Qi silently. It kept rising inside his body, flowing to his meridian channels, major apertures, and the flesh.
The Invincible Fighting Method was an extremely brilliant cultivation method. Even a Martial Emperor Realm expert had trouble detecting the Qi fluctuations in Ding Hao’s body. It was not surprising that the caravan staff members who were mostly in the Martial Soldier Realm were unable to sense the power in Ding Hao’s body. They thought he was timid and didn’t dare to look back when they saw him up close. His reaction made them act contemptuously.
What appeared in front of them was a small Blood Demon Wolf.
The beasts were at the Demon Soldier Realm and had yet to develop more wisdom, as they ran on animal instincts. Having been starved for a whole winter, the demons were in their most active state when they unexpectedly encountered the caravan. A fight was inevitable.
The fight lasted for more than four hours. In the end, more than 100 Blood Demon Wolves were killed.
The remaining dozens realized that the odds were against them, so they fled.
The Changfeng Escort Agency lost six masters.
The air was filled with the smell of blood.
Hua Huai’an looked grave.
That was a bad start, encountering demons in a pack all of a sudden. They suffered heavy losses while having only made less than a quarter of the journey.
The armed escorts were peeling the skin of the Blood Demon Wolves in the distance. Their meat was too stinky and sour to eat. Their bones couldn’t be used to channel Qi nor to refine pills and weapons. Only the firm fur could be made into leather armor which was able to isolate Qi to the greatest extent. It was perfect for making magic weapons and armor.
“We won’t be able to reach Red Rock Valley before nightfall after such a delay. We’ll have to spend the night in the wild.”
Hua Zhi sighed and ordered his men to be more vigilant.
