Chapter 575 - The Return of Ding Hao

“Hahaha, old man, why bother pretending to be kind? You have slaughtered your own kind and destroyed my sect. These crimes are inexcusable. One day, you will be punished…” a disciple of Swordsmanship-seeking Sect with bloodstains all over his body said loudly as he sneered, “The disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect are righteous and fearless. How would we succumb to a despicable man like you? Hahaha, I would rather die than join the Tranquility Academy!”

This boosted the morale of the other disciples.

“That’s right. Hahaha, it’s just death, not a big deal.”

“Sooner or later, you will pay back a thousand times over for the blood shed by our sect!”

“Even if we die, we will die as upright men of the Human Clan. How could we work with despicable people like you who collude with the Demon Clan?”

“Bah! Lu Xiongfei, old jerk, you were considered a role model of the human clan in Snow Province, worthy of being called a master. Unfortunately, you lost your moral compass and fell into decadence. You will remain despicable until death. You’d better cut your own throat now.”

In the cold wind, the barely standing group of prisoners were in such high spirits that they burst into laughter.

Lu Xiongfei’s face changed again and again, and he finally snorted. “Hum, stubborn fools, let’s see how long you can keep your mouth running!” He nodded to the people around him.

A handsome middle-aged man with a white beard strode into the square with a cold smile.

As he stretched out his hand, Qi gushed out, pulling the first disciple who challenged him out of the crowd. He sneered and asked, “Kid, what’s your name?”

The Swordsmanship-seeking Sect disciple was only 16 or 17 years old. The corners of his mouth were still covered with fluff. His face was young, but he was not daunted by this. He laughed and replied, “My name is Zhao Xingcheng from the enforcement team of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. I know you. Your name is Jin Xiang, the head of Golden Gate Sect in Snow Province. How ridiculous. I remember how just half a year ago, when the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect won first place in the Sect Grading Meeting in Snow Province, you chased after our head, Li Jianyi, every day and wanted to form an alliance with us. Now you bow to the Tranquility Academy, acting as our executioner. What a disgrace… you dare to stand in front of me?”

Jin Xiang became enraged after the scolding; his face changed from pale to red. His eyebrows rose as he spoke, “Okay, Zhao Xingcheng, you want to show some backbone, don’t you? Let’s see how strong your backbone is in the frying pot.”

Before he finished speaking.

A stream of Qi gushed out from his hand; he took Zhao Xingcheng up in the air and threw him to the boiling oil pot.

Jin Xiang didn’t immediately drop Zhao Xingcheng inside. He controlled his Qi to leave him hanging above the oil pot. He sneered and said, “Kid, you can feel the heat of the oil, can’t you? I’ll give you one last chance. I will give you a quick death as long as you shout ‘Li Jianyi is a coward’!”

Some of the timid onlookers didn’t dare to watch anymore.

Even the toughest man would be unable to withstand the pain of being fried alive in a boiling pot.

“Hahaha, Jin, please do if you can. Let’s see if I will beg for mercy…” Zhao Xingcheng laughed loudly. “I am just an ordinary disciple of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect who came from a humble family. I was a jerk before I entered the sect, and I never had the chance to take a close look at our sect head. But I won’t yield, and that is for my senior brothers and martial uncles who died fighting. Take that, Jin, haha!”

“All right, let’s see how long you can stand it…” Jin Xiang sneered. He lowered Zhao Xingcheng using Qi. The boiling oil immediately reached his knees.

A sizzling sound could be heard.

Then, a strong smell of meat wafted through the air.

Zhao Xingcheng began to convulse madly. His face was contorting because of the sharp pain. He clenched his teeth and didn’t even make a sound. He bit so hard that his lip bled and his teeth broke. Bean-sized sweat drops poured out from his forehead; soon he passed out…

“Junior Brother Zhao…”

“Jin, you beast! If you are that capable, come at me!”

“I swear, if I, Feng Delun, don’t die today, sooner or later, I will cut you into pieces…”

“Well done, Junior brother Xingcheng. You are a man. You have my respect today…”

The other disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect were infuriated; they rushed forward, but they were firmly blocked by the armored warriors. Their Qi had been sealed so they were even weaker than ordinary people; it was impossible for them to pass through. They could only watch their fellow man, who was as dear to them as their brother, being brutally tortured.

Jin Xiang smirked and raised up Zhao Xingcheng again.

The smell of meat filled the air.

Zhao Xingcheng’s feet and calves were completely charred black, especially his feet. All the muscles on his feet had fallen apart, revealing his scorched black bones. It was a terrible sight.

Jin Xiang controlled his Qi and produced a surge.

Zhao Xingcheng woke up with a groan.

“Brat, ready to surrender now?”

Zhao Xingcheng was already too weak to speak. He opened his eyes slightly and sneered. “Bah!” He spat out a mouthful of blood on Jin Xiang’s face…

“Good boy, wait to be killed alive! From then on, there will be no more Zhao Xingcheng from the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect in the world, haha!”

The voice fell.

Jin Xiang loosened his hand. Zhao Xingcheng fell straight into the huge pot.

The crowd exclaimed, and some people quickly covered their eyes.

Zhao Xingcheng’s fearlessness won the admiration of many people. It was really a pity that a man of such backbone would die so tragically.

Although, something unexpected happened at that moment—

The rarely-used Transmission Door on the other side of the War God Square suddenly emitted rays of light and was flung open. Several people appeared in the blink of an eye.

“What? Zhao Xingcheng of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect? Junior Brother Zhao?”

With a cry of astonishment, one of them transformed into a flowing light and charged at the oil pot like lightning. Before anyone could react, they saw Zhao Xingcheng, whose body had already fallen into the boiling pot, being pulled out…

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Before the crowd could realize what had happened, there was already another person in the square.

A handsome young man in a cyan shirt, with a jade-like face, was holding the heavily injured Zhao Xingcheng in his arms. He landed in front of the other disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect.

Jin Xiang’s expression changed. He loudly shouted, “Who is that? How daring to disturb the execution!”

Being faced with such a powerful intruder, dozens of armored warriors immediately drew the spears and sabers from their sheaths and surrounded the handsome young man.

Zhao Xingcheng only felt heat coming from the back of his heart. After such warmth, the piercing pain in his body disappeared magically. He opened his eyes slowly; the midday sun showed a face that he had never expected.

“It… it’s…”

“Senior Brother Ding?” Zhao Xingcheng thought he was dreaming. It must be his hallucination.

But others thought differently.

Jin Xiang had intended to show off in front of Lu Xiongfei by killing this troublemaker, but when he saw the young man’s face, he suddenly felt a tremor in his heart. He suddenly stiffened at the thought of the name. He stepped back a little and shouted, “Are… are you Ding Hao?”

Ding Hao?

Boom!

The entire War God Square erupted into an uncontrollable hubbub.

Ding Hao, the “Saber and Sword Addict,” had performed impressively during the Sect Grading Meeting half a year before, showing an unparalleled strength which could be seen as the peak of the young generation. He had almost rivaled Mu Tianyang, the top genius of the Tranquility Academy, and even created the Seven Black Cut. He was greatly respected by the middle and lower-level martial artists in the Snow Province.

Who would have thought that he would come back at this time?

Did this mean that he was able to enter and leave the Sage Battlefield?

This was a shocking piece of news.

But… wasn’t his return a little late?

It was all too late, for there was no Swordsmanship-seeking Sect in Snow Province any more.

Someone among the crowd sighed quietly, out of pity for the poor young prodigy who had yet to make a rise when the cruel fate befell.

“Senior Brother Ding?”

“It’s really Martial Uncle Ding…”

“Martial Uncle Ding is back! He’s really back…”

The imprisoned disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect burst into cheers.

The name Ding Hao seemed to have a magical power that was deeply believed by many disciples. As the sect head, Li Jianyi had said before his death that even if the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect was captured and all masters were killed, there would be hope as long as there was a peerless genius like Ding Hao.

However, the disciples of Swordsmanship-seeking Sect soon realized something exclaimed again, “Martial Uncle Ding, go! Just go!”

“Don’t worry about us. Leave this place and don’t come back. One day, when you rise to prominence, come back for revenge!”

“Everyone, let’s fight with these villains. No matter what, we have to cover Martial Uncle Ding’s escape!”

Aroused by that call, other disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect also came to their senses after their excitement. They immediately realized that the supervisor of this execution was Lu Xiongfei, a famous predecessor. Although Ding Hao had made a name for himself, he was not ready to fight against such an experienced master. It would be best for him to leave as soon as possible.

Otherwise, once he was captured, the last hope of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect would be completely destroyed.

“Hahahaha…”

Lu Xiongfei guffawed loudly in the square, his laughter reverberating with Qi like a clap of thunder.

“Great, Ding Hao, you came back in time. Unfortunately, you are simply seeking death. There is a way to heaven, but you still chose hell. I was also worried that you would run away by the time you heard the news. Haha, you come to me yourself!”

Lu Xiongfei stood up and made a gesture.

Boom!

Blood-red inscription chains rose from all sides of the War God Square. They were frantically intertwined, forming a massive restriction shield that locked the whole square down; it blocked all escape routes. Everyone was trapped inside.