“Die!” Nalan Xingde shouted loudly. He moved as fast as lightning. Although he made a move later than her, he reached her first. His finger was like a sword as it broke the wind caused by Madam Wuyan’s palm strike and touched the space between her eyebrows with lightning speed.
“You… dare… kill… me?” Madame Wuyan was stunned.
A drop of blood dripped from between her eyebrows.
She was Zhong Ling’s senior, and the latter was the first lady of the Nalan family. That was how they were related. Therefore, her status was extremely high in the Nalan family. She was trusted by Zhong Ling. Due to Zhong Ling’s domineering manner, she normally looked down upon Nalan Xingde who was submissive. However, the decisiveness and fierce attitude Nalan Xingde had shown today made her faintly feel that something wasn’t right…
“Could it be that this man has been waiting patiently for a long time to plot something?
“I must find a way to tell Zhong Ling about it!”
Madam Wuyan thought so and tried to escape. But her consciousness became more and more blurred. She staggered and fell on her back. Before she completely fell to the ground, her head had exploded with a bang. There was some Sword Qi dissipating…
The people in the hall weren’t able to react to the series of rapid changes.
Ding Hao had been watching all this, but he did not stop them.
“Heavenly Wrath Sword” Nalan Xingde was quite famous on the Eastern Continent. Today Ding Hao saw that he was really extraordinary. He didn’t use all his strength, but when he made a move, majestic Sword Qi was released. He was indeed a rare master of swordsmanship. Ding Hao secretly compared with him and found that Nalan Xingde’s comprehension of swordsmanship was not inferior to his except for the Sword Intent.
“He has killed Madam Wuyan and the others so decisively. Was I really wrong about Heavenly Wrath Sword before?” Ding Hao was a little uncertain.
“From now on, I will not allow anyone to bully my children.” After doing all this, Nalan Xingde turned around. His gaze was gentle as he looked at Nalan Chu and Nalan Youxia. He looked guilty as he said word by word, “My children, you have suffered. As a father, I have let both of you down.”
Then, he cupped his hands in front of Ding Hao and said, “I forgot myself in fury just now. Without your permission, I took action and stained this hall with blood. I’m really sorry.”
Ding Hao waved his hand and said, “It doesn’t matter.”
A red flame flew out from Ding Hao’s fingertip. It flew around the blood and corpses on the ground of the hall. In an instant, it burned all the corpses and blood. Even the smell of blood in the air had completely disappeared.
“Your strength is really unfathomable and admirable.” Nalan Xingde was also slightly shocked when he saw this.
“I’m flattered.” Ding Hao smiled. He had changed his attitude.
“Your Honor, I want to take Chu and Youxia back to the Nalan family once and let them recognize their ancestors. I want to ask your permission.” Nalan Xingde said humbly, “If it weren’t for you and other friends from the Vast Ocean taking care of them these days, I would have made a big mistake. I will always remember your kindness and this favor. If you need any help in the future, you can send someone to the Nalan family. I will never refuse you.”
Ding Hao smiled faintly and said, “Chu has saved my life. She is also my direct disciple. My men from the Vast Ocean and I took care of her not for you to repay me.”
“Yes, what I said was wrong.” Nalan Xingde smiled and said, “When I was young, I went to the Ocean Forest and knew that the people who practiced physical cultivation there were all real heroes who were ready to stand out for justice. I am honored that you can accept Chu as your direct disciple. After Chu and Youxia recognize their ancestors, I will immediately send them back to the Red Stone Manor and let Chu continue to learn martial arts from you. What do you think, Your Honor?”
Ding Hao looked at the two children and said, “Let them decide on their own.”
Nalan Xingde nodded and said, “Chu, Youxia, are you willing to go back with me, your incompetent father? I know that you are close to the owner of the manor and want to follow him. If you go back this time, it won’t take you too long a time. As long as you make an arrangement for your mother and put her memorial tablet in the ancestral temple of the Nalan family, you can come back.”
“Haha, bad guy, big bad guy!” Nalan Youxia laughed foolishly, not knowing what had happened at all.
Nalan Chu’s delicate small body trembled slightly. She subconsciously looked up at Ding Hao. After hesitating for a while, she suddenly recalled what her mother had said before she passed away and what Ding Hao said a few days ago. Finally, she made up her mind and nodded.
“No matter what, I have to fulfill my mother’s wish.
“If she were still alive, she must have hoped that my brother and I can recognize our ancestors.”
“Haha, that’s great. That’s great. Chu, thank you for forgiving me, your incompetent father…” Nalan Xingde laughed excitedly. Obviously, he was relieved.
“Master, I want to go back with my father for a few days to fulfill my mother’s wish.” Nalan Chu knelt down on both knees and showed a respectful gesture to Ding Hao as a disciple.
Ding Hao accepted this calmly and nodded. “Go ahead. Be careful. If you suffer any grievances, come to me.”
“Yes.” Nalan Chu nodded.
After seeing Nalan Xingde, Nalan Chu, and her brother off, Ding Hao stood thoughtfully at the gate of the Red Stone Manor.
“Chu and her brother are ill-fated, but finally there was a good turn in their life. Nalan Xingde’s better nature has asserted itself. Unfortunately, the herb girl wasn’t able to live until this day.” Shan Xiong sighed.
Many people in the Celestial Master guard camp knew Nalan Chu’s past experience. They all liked this sensible cute girl very much.
“The tribes in the Ocean Forest have always been looked down upon by the people on the Eastern Continent. The herb girl was deeply in love and had suffered lots of grievances for Nalan Xingde. She had given birth to a pair of children out of wedlock and had raised them with great difficulty. She will finally be recognized as a descendant of the ancestors of the family. I believe that her soul will live in peace in heaven,” said Jin Keyan.
The herb girl from the Heavenly Wasteland Tribe was just an unknown woman, but so many things had happened because of her relationship with Nalan Xingde. The people who practiced physical cultivation and the herb girl were all residents in the Ocean Forest. Seeing what happened today, they were truly gratified.
Evil Moon, the Demon King, appeared on Ding Hao’s shoulder and said with a yawn, “Meow. Nalan Xingde looks like he deserves a spanking…”
It had a good relationship with Nalan Chu and was prejudiced against Nalan Xingde.
“Woof, woof!” Blackie was shaking its three heads. No one knew what it meant by doing so.
Ding Hao did not speak. He turned around and walked toward the depths of the hall.
He returned to the secret room and continued to cultivate and comprehend the sword technique of Sword Intents of the 24 solar terms.
Evil Moon jumped to the ground and said to Blackie doubtfully, “Meow. Don’t you feel that Human Pet seems to have something on his mind? I feel that someone will have bad luck again.”
“Woof, woof!” Blackie shook its three heads, which were knocking each other.
In the secret room…
Swoosh!
A streak of Sword Qi lingered around Ding Hao.
The sound of droplets of rain splashing was heard. Faint vitality permeated the air. There seemed to be the sound of a swan goose flapping its wings. However, when he looked carefully, there was nothing but the streak of Sword Qi.
Everything was an illusion.
“Rain Water is the second solar term of the 24 solar terms. The celestial longitude of the sun is 330 degrees. Its three characteristics are river otters displaying fish, swan geese coming, and plants budding. The splashing of rain brings the vitality of spring…” said Ding Hao to himself with closed eyes.
River otters displaying fish meant that river otters would display the fish they had caught on the river bank in early spring. They seemed to be offering sacrifices to gods. It indicated the revival of everything in spring and ice thawing in the river. Swan geese coming meant the return of the swan geese after sensing the change in the weather from a distance. Plants budding was describing the trivial vitality of the green buds.
These were the three most typical characteristics of the solar term Rain Water.
In Ding Hao’s mind, he imagined such scenes. He began to wave his sword. It seemed that he didn’t use any strength waving the sword, but hazy Sword Intent was released. Suddenly, the illusion of rain splashing, swan geese honking, and plants budding began to appear gradually and even became clearer…
In the end, the environment around Ding Hao seemed to have completely changed. He seemed to be in the wilderness of endless grass and trees. In the scene of early spring, swan geese were flying north and everything was flourishing.
After an unknown period of time, Ding Hao withdrew his sword and stood still.
The illusion around him gradually dissipated.
He opened his eyes in satisfaction.
“My idea is absolutely correct. The changes of the 24 solar terms are unpredictable, containing the Great Tao between heaven and earth. They are the embodiment of the rules of the universe. To incorporate them into the Sword Intent is better than any magical power!”
The more he cultivated, the more confident he became.
If he could finish cultivating the Sword Intent in this way, he would definitely stun the world.
Now he had only mastered a little bit of the Sword Intents of two solar terms, namely the Beginning of Spring and Rain Water, but he had already felt how horrible such power was. If he performed the two Sword Intents in succession, there would be some changes to them and their power would multiply.
Ding Hao had a hunch that after he comprehended the Sword Intents of six solar terms in the Sword Intent of spring, the power would multiply. If he comprehended all the Sword Intents of the four seasons, the Sword Intent would be unprecedentedly powerful.
“However…” Ding Hao suddenly thought of something else. He frowned and said to himself, “The four Sword Intents of spring, summer, autumn, and winter can be transformed into those of the 24 solar terms. What about the saber technique and the Saber Intent? If I also comprehend the Saber Intents of the 24 solar terms, I’m afraid that there won’t be anything new about them. Moreover, they will be overlapping with the sword technique and Sword Intents. Maybe when they are performed together, they will interfere with each other…”
After thinking for a while, Ding Hao gave up the idea of comprehending the Saber Intents of the 24 solar terms of the saber technique.
At present, Ding Hao still comprehended the four Saber Intents of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. On the basis of these four Saber Intents, what should he do if he gave up transforming them into the Saber Intents of the 24 solar terms?
Ding Hao had no idea.
“If something can work in concert with the 24 solar terms, maybe the true harmony between saber and sword can be achieved. In that way, I can definitely exert the greatest power…” thought Ding Hao. Unfortunately, he had not come up with a feasible idea for the time being.
Ding Hao put away the divine sword Sky Attack and the Sword Intent rush cushion. He sat cross-legged in the same place and began to run the Invincible Fighting Method to restore the Qi in his body and to nourish his Divine Senses.
