Chapter 653: A New Arbitrator

Obviously, he did not know the identities of these two people.

But Zhao Lie’s complexion changed drastically. He unconsciously took a few steps back, as if extremely fearful of Ding Honglei. He exclaimed, “Ding… why are you here?” He hurriedly motioned for the Mysterious Frost Holy Guards to retreat.

“Oh… Haha, some people want to hurt my man when I’m not around. Of course, I have to show up. Otherwise, won’t you guys have it too easy?” Ding Honglei stroked a strand of hair on her temples with her fingers. She looked exceedingly seductive and her posture was enticing, as if she was sleepy and sneering lethargically.

Zhao Lie’s face suddenly darkened and looked ghastly.

That Mysterious Frost Holy Guard, who had struck the blow earlier, seemed to have understood something by now. He was so scared that his face paled and he retreated backwards secretly.

“You want to retreat now? It’s a little too late.” With a cold snort, Elder Chen suddenly attacked.

His figure merely trembled, as if he was not making any moves at all.

Opposite them, a clear palm print appeared on the golden breastplate of that Mysterious Frost Holy Guard.

The Mysterious Frost Golden Armor, which was designed by an expert armorsmith of the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost, was extremely resilient, an armor almost at the level of a Precious Weapon. Yet it could not ward off this power. The Mysterious Frost Holy Guard cried out in pain and spat out a jet of blood from his mouth. His body collapsed in the distance. He had clearly been seriously injured.

Ding Hao was shocked.

Elder Chen’s strength was simply horrific. Even with his eyesight, he could not see clearly how Elder Chen had struck just now.

The Mysterious Frost Holy Guard was badly injured. Although his injury was not fatal, it would still take him many months to recover.

Elder Chen looked at the falling Mysterious Frost Holy Guard who had just spat blood and said in a cold, expressionless voice, “You ought to be killed for being an accomplice to these murderers. Considering the fact that you’ve rendered meritorious service in slaying demons, I’ll spare your life and keep you under observation. Go recuperate for half a year and turn over a new leaf. If you focus on cultivating and on protecting the Human Clan, I’ll spare you in the future.”

His expression was matter-of-factly, as if he was just reprimanding a subordinate.

“Yes, thank you for your mercy, Your Excellency.” The injured Mysterious Frost Holy Guard was not enraged when he heard this. On the contrary, he looked grateful as if he had been granted amnesty, thanking the old man repeatedly. Then, bolstering himself with his remaining breath, he turned into a streak of light, disappearing into the distant horizon.

Bai Quanshui, Zhang Keyi and the others exchanged glances in horror.

He did not know Ding Honglei, nor had he seen Elder Chen before.

However, looking at the shocked, fearful and reverential expressions of Zhao Lie and the Mysterious Frost Holy Guards, they had already guessed that this gorgeous middle-aged woman and the gray-haired old man, who had suddenly appeared, must be some dignitaries of great standing.

But judging from the beautiful woman’s tone, it appeared that she was on Ding Hao’s side?

Bai Quanshui heaved a secret sigh of relief.

He slowly let his Qi course around his body and let off a muffled groan. Using his powerful Sword Qi cultivation, he had broken through Ding Hao’s seal at the risk of getting slightly injured. At last, his strength was totally restored. He immediately stood beside Ding Hao, watching alertly and vigilantly.

Ding Hao reacted to this with gratitude and guilt. He quickly gave Ding Hao a reviving pill to heal his injury.

Bai Quanshui did not stand on ceremony. He took it with a smile and swallowed it.

“Zhao Lie, you’re no fool. Since you are merely be used by others, I won’t make things difficult for you. Be good and come apologize to Ding Hao. Then I treat this matter as finished,” Ding Honglei said, suddenly clawing at the void.

Not far away, there was a stir of air ripples. With a hideous scream, the terrified Evil Moon, who was hiding in the dark, was shackled in her clutch. Ding Honglei caught it in her arms and fondled it lightly. It could not move.

Evil Moon was originally hiding in the dark and had wanted to help Ding Hao at the critical moment. Zhao Lie and others had not detected it, but Ding Honglei did very quickly.

Zhao Lie’s expression changed rapidly, turning green and red by turns. He was clearly in a dilemma.

But in the end, he spoke boldly. “Ding Honglei, so what if you have appeared? Ding Hao had killed so many Human Clan Sect Leaders of Snow Province, and also that Mysterious Frost Holy Guard, Mu Tianyang, on Frozen Peak. Now he has appeared at the scene of the massacre of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect. These crimes are all heinous and deserve death. Lord Dong has already issued a killing order, and he must surely die.”

“Ha ha ha, Dong Qifeng is an old muddlehead. If he dares hurt my man, does he really think that that useless position of his in the Law Enforcement Hall won’t get challenged?” Ding Honglei snickered.

Zhao Lie’s complexion changed totally. “Watch your words. Even you cannot call Lord Dong directly by name. I will definitely report this matter truthfully to the Law Enforcement Hall.”

Ding Honglei burst into a guffaw. “You’re just a servant and know nothing. How dare you threaten me here with your puny position?”

With this, she gently raised her arm and threw Ding Hao a jade-colored disc, half the size of a palm. She smiled and said, “Young fellow, this toy is a reward for you. In the future, if some stupid mad dog comes barking at you, let him have a look at this.”

Ding Hao reached out and caught it. He felt his arm sink, and his whole body almost stumbled in the air, as if he had clutched an ancient mountain.

“This is…” Ding Hao focused his eyes and looked, only to find an ancient jade token in his hand.

The jade token was oval, two inches long and one inch wide. It felt cool to touch and smooth in the hand. Around its rim were dragon carvings, and on its obverse side was the large character for “Law”. He could not guess who made it.

The character “Law” looked extremely strange. At first glance, it made whoever looked at it feel dizzy. Every stroke of the character was bold and majestic, as sharp as a knife or an ax, containing the ultimate Truth of the Heaven and the Earth with its Great Tao.

On the reverse side of the jade token, there was a mountain covered with ice and snow, magnificent and lofty, surrounded by clouds and mists, looking peerlessly and formidably imposing.

It was only half the size of a palm, but extremely heavy, weighing at least an incredible 25 tons. Carved out of some rare material resembling white jade, it had a metallic texture.

Ding Hao glanced at it and did not know what it was.

But opposite him, when Zhao Lie caught sight of it, his eyes suddenly emitted an incredible light, as if he had seen a ghost. He stared at the jade token and could not help but shriek, “The Arbitrator’s Token? Ding Honglei, how dare you give the Arbitrator’s Token to Ding Hao? Do you know what a great crime that is?”

“So this thing is called the Arbitrator’s Token.”

Ding Hao thought to himself.

It sounded like something of great value, but what was the use of it?

Ding Honglei gently stroked Evil Moon’s smooth and soft white fur, still looking lazy and unruffled. She chuckled. “What do you mean, giving it to him privately? This token was originally a reward from the Palace Master to Ding Hao. I’m merely acting as a go-between. From now on, Ding Hao is the fourth official Arbitrator of the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost. Zhao Lie, why don’t you come and meet your new Arbitrator?”

Zhao Lie could not help but tremble all over. Clearly, he was shocked to the core.

“Impossible! What qualifications does Ding Hao have to receive the Arbitrator’s Token? He doesn’t even belong to the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost. He…” Zhao Lie screamed, as if trying to convince himself.

“Seeing the token is like seeing the Palace Master in person. Zhao Lie, you are so disrespectful. Are you looking for death?” Elder Chen’s expression was ice-cold, his gaze as sharp as a knife as he fixed Zhao Lie with a gimlet stare.

Zhao Lie felt as if his neck had been hooked by Death’s sickle. An irresistible chill rushed up his spine from the tailbone to the top of his skull.

He gradually came to his senses and instantly understood. He was shocked and looked at Ding Hao embarrassedly, gritting his teeth and finally half-kneeling in the sky. He said in a deep voice, “Zhao Lie, the Inspector of Sword Province, salutes the Lord Arbitrator.”

No matter what the truth was, since Ding Hao was holding the Arbitrator’s Token, he had to bow his head.

Otherwise, the crime of disrespect would mean that he had no way to argue his case even if he was killed.

Ding Hao looked down and scrutinized the jade token in his hand. Even though he did not know what a so-called Arbitrator did, the scene before him had made him understand something.

Given Zhao Lie’s stature as the Inspector of a large province like Sword Province, he was no different from a feudal prince of the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost. In Sword Province, he was the local emperor, but because of this token, he had to kneel down to Ding Hao, which indicated that the authority granted by this Arbitrator’s Token far exceeded that of an Inspector’s.

“Get lost.” Ding Hao waved his hand.

He did not like Zhao Lie and his men at all, so he spoke brusquely and rudely.

Zhao Lie gritted his teeth and stood up. Without saying a word, he turned around and left with the other Mysterious Frost Holy Guards in the shortest possible time.

By then, Bai Quanshui and the others were all too shocked to speak.

No one had expected such a turn of events. Ding Hao had turned from a criminal of the Law Enforcement Hall to the fourth Arbitrator of the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost. His identity had changed so fast that everyone was tongue-tied with astonishment. He was like a meteor soaring to the skies.

It was said that an Arbitrator was almost as powerful as the Palace Master himself. He was aloof from the masses and had the right to enforce the law.

Ding Hao suppressed the shock in his heart and turned to look at Ding Honglei, looking puzzled.

“Well, young fellow, don’t look so surprised. You deserve all this. Do you still remember what you did in Guo City?” Ding Honglei ignored Evil Moon’s tearstained face and mad struggle, stroking it gently and speaking in a beguiling voice.

“What I did in Guo City?”

Ding Hao was lost in thought.

At that time, he had just happened to come across the Demon Clan laying a massive siege to the city, and forced the Demon Royal to retreat. As a member of the Human Clan, it was right for him to do that given the situation. It was really nothing great, was it?

Ding Honglei, who might have seen Ding Hao’s bewilderment, continued. “The Demon Clan in Earth Province are in revolt. Among the ten major cities inhabited by humans, only Guo City remains. Tens of millions of humans in the other nine cities have been burned to the ground almost overnight. Their corpses are piling up like mountains, their blood flowing like rivers.”

“What?”

Ding Hao, Bai Quanshui, and the rest were shocked. They looked at one other in horror and could not help exclaiming.

This piece of news was simply too shocking.

In other words, Earth Province had become the realm of demons. The massacres completely broke the agreement in the Land of Infinity between the Human Clan and the supreme masters of the Demon Clan. It was now almost a Holy War. Had the Demon Clan in Earth Province gone crazy? Were they going to start another Holy War?

Yet why had they not heard about this in the outside world?