Chapter 624: The So-called Secret
It was at this moment that Feng Chao knew he was doomed.
Although he was the leader of the Mysterious Frost Holy Guard, he could only let Ding Hao alone for the rest of his life.
With a numb body and a dry throat, the first thought that came to his mind was how to mend the relationship between him and Ding Hao, and also between him and the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Even if he had to pay a heavy price, he would be content just to stay alive in the end.
It was also at this moment—
Streams of spine-chilling aura rose around the Frozen Peak and disappeared into the distant sky.
Those were people who came from different places for different purposes. They had been hiding close to the peak. Unfortunately, the outcome of that battle had thoroughly shocked all of them. The appearance of a Supreme Weapon frightened the ones with ulterior motives, and they immediately decided to flee.
It was easy to imagine what kind of chaos it would cause in the entire Northern Region if this news was spread out.
To a certain degree, it was definitely a major event that could change the power structure of the entire Northern Region.
Under Ding Hao's tongue was a top-grade Qi-restoring Pill that he had personally refined.
He swallowed the pill right after activating the rusted sword to kill Li Xianglai and the others. Its power was spread over his limbs and bones, and he finally recovered some of his strength.
The others didn't detect any outward changes.
In fact, there were many ways for Ding Hao to break the Fifteen Stars Demon Formation, but he chose his trump card, the Supreme Power of the rusted sword.
It was the most straightforward choice.
He did this because he had long noticed that experts from many places had been hiding around this battlefield. It was unlikely that those mysterious people had shown up with good intentions. The purple dragon Qi column in the back mountain of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect was no longer a secret. The news had spread out, attracting the attention of all the major sects in the Northern Region.
Under this circumstance, Ding Hao chose to use the most invincible power to defeat Li Xianglai.
He intended to openly warn the onlookers to keep away.
Ding Hao wanted to show the Supreme Weapon and let the ones who coveted the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect—like the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect—decide whether they had the strength to resist the Supreme Power, so they would retreat in fear.
Otherwise, those people who hid in the dark would always be a potential threat. After all, it was difficult to guard against furtive attacks.
Of course, Ding Hao also wanted to show his strength to their two allies.
It seemed that he had achieved one of his goals.
At least the devious experts from the foreign provinces had been scared away.
It wasn't a good feeling to lose all his strength, but Ding Hao appeared to be fine. He slowly put away the rusted sword, cupped his hands towards the distant ice peak, and said with a smile, "Brother Song, Brother Bai, it's been more than a few months since I last saw you on the ancient westbound road. I'm grateful that you two were able to come to Snow Province to support me today."
"Hahaha, Brother Ding, don't be a stranger." The fair-skinned fat man was Song Que, the most outstanding expert of the new generation in the Blue Cloud Sect. Upon hearing Ding Hao's words, he burst out laughing. With a flash, he dashed in the void and said with a smile, "Xiao Bai and I didn't help you much in today's battle, but you dominated the whole thing. It was really impressive."
The tall, slim young man with a sword on his back glared at Song Que, but there was nothing he could do. "You damn fatty, don't call me Xiao Bai."
Bai Quanshui, the most prominent figure in the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect, was a devil-like existence in the Sword Province. People bowed down to him wherever he passed by, but this fat man was daring enough to call him Xiao Bai. This irritated him.
Ding Hao smiled and cupped his hands. "Brother Bai, how have you been?"
Bai Quanshui said with a smile, "Brother Ding, you really surprised me today!"
In the Sage Battlefield, he had cooperated with Ding Hao many times; they ended up becoming friends. They exchanged their contact information back then. A few days prior, he had just returned to the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect when he received a message from Ding Hao, so he rushed over and finally arrived in time for the battle.
Song Que and Bai Quanshui were both the most influential figures among the new generation in the Northern Region. A fair share of the experts from the older generations didn't dare to act rashly in front of them.
What's more, behind them were the most dominating sects in the Green Province and the Sword Province.
This day, they both went to the Snow Province to support him which showed how much they cherished Ding Hao as a friend. They put down their sect affairs and rushed here just because he wrote them a letter. This act of friendship touched Ding Hao.
Just then, the two of them had covered their faces with magic, so others couldn't see their true identities at all.
Otherwise, Li Xianglai would have recognized the devil Bai Quanshui, not to mention what this entailed.
The Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect and the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect were archenemies who had been at loggerheads for many years. Numerous masters of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect had died under Bai Quanshui's sword. Li Xianglai would have immediately fled if he had recognized him.
It wasn't until this moment that Song Que and Bai Quanshui removed the dense aura covering their faces and revealed themselves.
Of course, Ding Hao had already known who they were.
There was a burst of exclamation from all sides as soon as the two appeared. Another dozen hidden experts around the Frozen Peak immediately took in a deep breath, not daring to stay any longer. Turning into flowing lights, they fled at once and disappeared into the distant sky.
At the same time.
The battle between Zhang Fan and the hunchbacked old man was temporarily paused.
The battle between the two had caused the greatest damage to the mountain range, destroying everything wherever they went. Zhang Fan's physical strength was exerted to the extreme. He swung the saber with great power, with light radiating from the blade. The hunchbacked old man held a long sword in his hand. He just wandered around Zhang Fan, not daring to confront him head-on. He struggled to attack when Zhang Fan was about to jump into the air, yet the impact made him cough violently. A trace of blood appeared on the corner of his mouth.
But, when the battle in the sky had ended, the hunchbacked old man lost the reason to continue fighting.
He flashed to the void. Besides the shock he felt, his heart was also filled with regret.
At this old age, he accepted Li Xianglai's invitation and went to Snow Province for the divine materials and precious medicine that Ding Hao possessed. He wanted to take the risk and find a way to live another hundred years. Unfortunately, this decision was a crass mistake. He had bet on the wrong chips and kept making one mistake after another.
He surely was aware that escape was no longer an option, so he stayed in the void instead of running away.
Ding Hao didn't even look at him.
At that time, Li Lan had put away The Mighty.
She held Fang Xiaoan's dead body under her arm.
Adorable, the little dolphin, retrieved its bubbles. The mischievous fat cat Evil Moon came out of nowhere. He had just swallowed the souls of the dead Martial King Realm experts in Snow Province and he was licking his lips with satisfaction at the moment.
Li Yiruo, Ren Xiaoyao, and Wang Xiaoqi were visibly excited.
The battle was finally over.
The Saint Son of Falling Star had been killed, Mu Tianyang died in the battle, and Fang Xiaoan had also died while almost a hundred of his trusted elites had also been killed by Li Lan. The Tranquility Academy suffered a great loss and was on the verge of collapse.
Except for the sects that stood on the side of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect from the beginning, almost all the other sects in the Snow Province were affected by the outcome. Even if they weren't destroyed, it would take hundreds of years for them to recover.
If the three most important people of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect hadn't died, they would have undoubtedly been the biggest winners in this chaotic world.
It was a pity that things couldn't always be perfect.
From then on, the Snow Province would enter a new era.
An era that belonged to the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
As usual, the disciples who followed Ding Hao were cleaning the battlefield. Having met each other in the Sage Battlefield, Li Yiruo, Zhang Fan, Ren Xiaoyao, Song Que, and Bai Quanshui were already old acquaintances. After some greetings, Ding Hao introduced the two distinguished guests to Yin Zuimo and the others.
Zhang Fan looked at the hunchbacked old man who was hovering in the void. "Senior Brother Ding, what should we do with him?"
Ding Hao turned around and looked over.
The hunchbacked old man squeezed out a smile with difficulty and said, "There may be a little misunderstanding between us. I'm not a member of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect."
Ding Hao snorted and said to Zhang Fan, "Kill him."
The hunchbacked old man had attacked them with the same sword Qi ball as Li Xianglai did and tried to stop Zhang Fan again and again. If the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect hadn't been well-prepared before the battle, they would have suffered heavy casualties at this time. Before the battle, Ding Hao had already warned the onlookers that they would have to bear the consequences if they didn't leave immediately. But the hunchbacked old man not only stayed but also attacked Zhang Fan...
Everyone had to be responsible for their actions.
Ding Hao was at the moment intent on killing all the people who had schemed against the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.
In his heart, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect was like a taboo. Anyone who violated it would have to die.
Zhang Fan nodded and squeezed the saber in his hand.
"Wait, wait, Ding Hao, listen to me. I made a mistake this time and am willing to pay the price. There's no eternal enemy or eternal friend in this world..." the old man was a little anxious and hurriedly said, "I know a secret of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect. If you spare me this time, I will tell you..."
Ding Hao glanced at him and said coldly, "To be honest, I hate it when people say this to me. As for the so-called secret, wouldn't I know how to investigate it by myself?"
Speaking of this, Ding Hao glanced at Bai Quanshui and asked, "Brother Bai, the Extermination Swordsmanship Sect and the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect have been fighting each other for many years. Are you interested in knowing this so-called secret?"
Bai Quanshui shook his head and said, "The Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect will soon disappear anyway. What bull***t secret is this? I'm not interested."