“Don’t you think Bai Quanshui used you? He told everyone you were going to come here, luring Bai Sha here to test your real strength. And he also used you to scare away those who hold a grudge against him in the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect,” Sword Master reminded Ding Hao.
Ding Hao smiled. “He’s told me about these things even before I came to the Snow Province; it’s all part of the plan.”
“Plan? What plan? How come I didn’t know that?” Saber Master was very surprised.
“You were trying to read the Fake God characters with Sword Master at the time. You didn’t respond no matter how I summoned you guys,” Ding Hao explained.
The two old guys nodded.
Sword Master added, “Looks like the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect is not as united as we expected it to be. Bai Quanshui is the openly accepted would-be leader, yet he’s still being challenged internally. This is kind of messy. Little Chap Ding, now you’ve walked out of the sect and will start to face the real dangers of this world. You can’t act as willfully as you used to. After all, this is not the Snow Province anymore, and your strength isn’t enough to convince everyone.”
“That’s right. You’d better not meddle with those super sects’ internal affairs too much, or you’ll get into trouble you could’ve avoided. Don’t think some things can simply be solved with your strength once you get involved,” Saber Master also reminded him, “You should leave Bai Quanshui to solve his own matters.”
Ding Hao nodded and felt warm inside. “These two old fellas really care about me.
“They’re like my real family in this world, making me feel the warmth of a home.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve made plans about this issue; I won’t interfere too much. I’ll leave the Northern Region once I deal with the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect.” Ding Hao spoke of his plan in detail.
“That will do.” After listening to that, Saber Master and Sword Master no longer offered advice.
“Little Chap Ding, is it really worth it? Sacrificing so much for the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect?” Saber Master sounded somewhat serious. “What you did for them is so much more than what the sect has done for you. Now, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect is more like a burden to you. You shouldn’t let those worldly things hold you back if you want to be a young and free powerhouse dominating the world.”
“Yes. You develop a weakness once you get attached to someone. Your future enemy will probably deal with you starting with the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.” Sword Master was also worried.
The Saintly Being of Saber and Sword was a body made for massacres. Ding Hao was bound to step on a road made of skeletons and blood to become a hero; Ding Hao’s fate had also been decided long before. One day, he would have to face a godlike enemy, which was a terrifying prospect.
Ding Hao silently stood before the magnificent building and looked at the nearby scenery; night wind played with his black hair.
“If someone lives in this world without any friends or family, how lonely would that be? If I have no one in my heart, how would I be any different from those rocks or withered trees?” Ding Hao smiled calmly. “I would rather love someone and be loved back than be completely free. For me, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect is where I started. My most precious memories came from that place. Even if I die, I won’t give them up.”
Saber Master and Sword Master both sighed and fell silent after hearing his answer.
The two old monsters remembered their previous master’s choice. They thought of the things that happened in the old days, not knowing what to say. After all those years, things seemed to be repeating once again.
Ding Hao stood before the rails for a while and turned around to fly back to the palace.
“I’ll cultivate in seclusion for the next few days. No one is allowed to disturb me,” Ding Hao said to the guards and maidservants.
“Yes, master.” A dozen people left respectfully.
Ding Hao went ahead and set up formations everywhere inside the palace to block all auras. He also cast warning formations outside the palace and then returned to the center of the formations. Then, he sat cross-legged and slowly closed his eyes to cultivate.
It had been a month since he entered the five-apertured Great Grandmaster Realm. After going through those fierce battles and being nourished by the purple Dragon Qi in the Great Abyss located in the back mountain of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect—and with the help of the Purple Emperor Jade in Stone—Ding Hao felt he had accumulated enough Qi inside his body. The Qi was dense; it was enough to make the next breakthrough.
Before a martial artist entered the Primordial realm, every step forward was quite arduous.
Many people failed to break through to the Primordial realm in their lifetimes.
It was also known that many people would be unable to advance further after entering the Primordial Realm—
That was, because it took immense energy to complete the cultivation requirement of every level above the Primordial Realm.
If people solely relied on their own cultivation or simply drew energy from heaven and earth, it would undoubtedly be a long process that would finally drive them into despair, unless they were in a place rich in heaven and earth energy. They would have to consume magical medicine and mysterious crystals in large quantities, which was something normal people couldn’t afford.
Money, partner, method, and status were all necessary.
Some people might be talented, but they would still fail to reach the highest level without enough cultivation resources.
Therefore, the road of martial arts was long and strenuous. Every step they took required all kinds of luck and energy.
For normal martial artists—especially for those in the Primordial Realm, it took a lot of energy and time to open an aperture. The more well-versed they were in cultivation, the harder it was for them to break through. It could normally be counted as a smooth process if a Great Grandmaster Realm expert spent half a year or even one year to open the next aperture.
If they met bottlenecks during their cultivation, then it would very likely take forever to break through.
It had only been a month since Ding Hao entered the five-apertured Great Grandmaster Realm, still, he had already reached the realm’s completion and could try to open the next aperture. If anyone knew about that kind of speed, their jaws would definitely drop.
Ding Hao’s Saintly Being of Saber and Sword constitution had no bottlenecks, which was too domineering.
As long as he accumulated enough energy, he would surely level up.
Ding Hao silently sat at the center of the palace and soon reached a state of emptiness. He cleared his mind of all thought and focused on cultivating. His mind’s eye was only able to see energy inside and outside of his body as it circulated according to the rule of heaven and earth, becoming increasingly clear.
The six-apertured Great Grandmaster Realm was a small divide.
Once entering the realm, cultivators would be able to perform the Human Emperor Change skill, and start to vaguely feel the strength of laws in heaven and earth.
Many people ended up getting stuck in a realm and would never be able to advance further in their lifetimes.
Of course, that was not a problem for Ding Hao.
He practiced the Heart Essential and carefully led Hell Ice Qi to circulate in the Yangming Sixth Channel of Hand to open meridians he had never reached, trying to dredge the meridians with Qi until it reached the sixth big aperture—Xuelong. The fluid Qi transformed into silver threads that went deep into the aperture.
It did not take long.
Finally, another big aperture was lit. It shone brightly inside Ding Hao, as if another star had come into being inside the universe of his body.
The six-apertured Great Grandmaster realm with Twelve Meridians.
Ding Hao started to feel the differences of the new realm, feeling that his senses had gotten sharper. He could vaguely feel great yet invisible force between heaven and earth, which was an unchangeable matter. However, he would gain nothing if he tried his best to feel this carefully.
Ding Hao knew that it was because his cultivation was not enough. The great force he vaguely felt might just be the power of rules. It seemed that a six-apertured Great Grandmaster could not notice anything beyond that. However, that was okay, since he would naturally be able to feel more when he reached the Martial King or the Martial Emperor Realm.
The Twelve Meridians advancement meant that the Six Strange Veins could also be cultivated to open a new aperture.
He closed his eyes again to circulate Heaven Fire Qi.
Time flew.
No one interrupted him for two days; those young and beautiful maidservants would leave his meals outside the palace.
Ding Hao finally made the Twelve Meridians and Six Strange Veins advance to the six-apertured Great Grandmaster realm at the same time and stabilized them.
“I think this is it. This should be the end of the latest breakthrough. I should cultivate for one or two months more before I attack the next realm. I came to the Sword Province to handle the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect this time, so I have to prepare for other things,” Ding Hao said to himself.
He took a large quantify of magical herbs and precious medicines from his storage space and started brewing all kinds of elixirs.
Those were all necessary things according to the plan.
Half a day passed in the blink of an eye.
Outside, Bai Quanshui’s voice was finally heard—
“Brother Ding, how’s your preparation? That damned fatty from the Blue Cloud Sect has brought people here…”
He smiled upon hearing that.
Three days later.
Near the Heaven-Splitting Mountain Range in the Sword Province.
The Heaven-Splitting Mountain Range was where another sword practitioner sect—the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect—was located.
The mountain range was like a dead land, unlike many other places that were covered in trees. All the places he was able to see were silent and black. There were no plants; only rocks as black as dried blood. Steep mountains rose up like evil swords dashing toward the sky.
All the other Sword Province’s martial artists were usually barred from entering that place. Anyone who went there uninvited would most certainly be killed.
Only disciples from the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect could go there.
The dead land appeared to be black and quiet; there were actually many restricting formations and the area was heavily guarded.
There were no birds in the mountains and there were no men on the trails.
That day however, just when it was almost high noon, some uninvited guests broke the silence near the Heaven-Splitting Mountain Range.
Flowing lights flashed in the sky.
Hundreds of figures dashed forth like arrows leaving the bow. They flew toward the dead land, tearing apart the clouds in the sky.
Black and foggy walls of light suddenly appeared a few kilometers ahead of them. The walls were hidden behind the clouds, blocking the way to those flashing figures.
However, the next second—
Boom, boom, boom!
Streaks of terrifying Sword Qi attacked the black walls of light. Sword Qi tore the walls into pieces, as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.
Those figures streaking across the sky didn’t stop for a second. Like lightning, they advanced toward the center of the Heaven-Splitting Mountain Range.
An angry voice rang out from within the range, “Who is it? You dare trespass on our Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship sect? Do you have a death wish?”
