Chapter 431 Saber and Sword Addict
In the next few days, Ding Hao appeared more and more in the square where the statue of the Northern Mysterious War God was located. He would choose three or four popular games to observe carefully every day. He had watched almost all the games among the young generations of the nine major sects. In the process, he had showed extremely critical and excellent vision. Each match he chose proved to be the most exciting matchup in the round.
Therefore, many people took him as the bellwether.
Every time the game started, people would first see which zone he appeared at, and then they could be assured that the game had to be the most exciting one. As they got more and more familiar with him, the awe toward him gradually dissipated and some brave ones even began to gather around him.
In that process, his kindness was showed completely.
He would explain some exciting moments that ordinary people couldn’t understand, comment on the gains and losses of the two duels, and predict the final outcome. His forecasting was completely accurate. With his explanation, the rogue cultivators and wandering cultivators could finally understand the real highlights of the game.
Later, some people attempted asking him for some cultivation questions, because they thought he looked approachable. Unexpectedly, he would always explain those questions patiently.
For those independent cultivators, it was unimaginable to get the guidance of a genius in a famous sect like Ding Hao. As the news spread, more and more people went to hear his instruction.
Ding Hao’s prestige and fame began to grow further among ordinary warriors.
He was happy with that.
In addition to the sense of happiness from helping people, the other important reason was that he would also be greatly inspired in the process of communicating with those ordinary rogue cultivators and wandering cultivators. Although not profound, some skills and tricks those people came up with on the edge of life and death were extremely useful.
With Ding Hao’s comprehension and strength, if he applied the tricks to his own martial arts system after perfecting them, they would have an extremely terrifying power.
In the next few days, he extracted the essence of those simple and practical skills and removed their dross. Under the guidance of the Saber Master and the Sword Master, the two old eccentrics, he combined some of the simple sword and saber techniques, resulting in a new skill; it was applicable to the seven most common weapons, including saber, sword, axe, battle-axe, stick, and long stick. Therefore, he named it Seven Black Cut and taught it to the surrounding wandering cultivators and rogue cultivators.
That skill was simple, easy to learn and had great power. When its essence was practiced, it would match the skills in the middle area of the Earth Rank, which was most suitable for those cultivators to practice.
Within a few days, the Seven Black Cut spread throughout the Mirror Lake.
There were even some warriors who didn’t use those seven weapons who were changing their weapons in order to cultivate the Seven Black Cut. Seeing the opportunity to make money, some businessmen wanted to get rich by selling the secrets of the Seven Black Cut’s Ultimacy. But they quickly restrained themselves and publicized the secrets for free, after being warned by Ding Hao.
That was a big benevolence. Because, with the spread of such a mighty skill, the warriors who had been fighting with demons and walking on the line of life and death would gain a new way to save themselves.
Many people remembered Ding Hao’s righteous act, so they called the Seven Black Cut the Sage Cut and touted Ding Hao as a little Sage.
In the future, Ding Hao would be able to rally multitudes at a call in Snow Province. Such prestige was due to his benevolence offered that day.
But that part was to be recounted later. Let’s not mention it at the moment.
The Seven Black Cut was the first complete combat technique created by Ding Hao, so it could be imparted to others at will.
In those days, he participated in three or four martial arts contests again and won them all. No one could stop his rusted sword and the Wen Qing Saber. After watching his competition, many people admired his magical saber and sword techniques. Especially, the sword and saber intents he showed in the battle with Feng Xingyue, the Heart-cleansing Sword of the Ming Xin Sect; they were strikingly magical, which amazed many elders.
It was said that Feng Xingyue, the genius of the Ming Xin Sect, praised after the competition, “Ding Hao is such a saber and sword addict. He’s unbeatable.”
Since then, Ding Hao finally had a loud name—Saber and Sword Addict
….
Perhaps, even Feng Xingyue himself couldn’t expect what a big influence the nickname he gave out of emotion would bring to the Snow Province, the Northern Region, and even the entire Land of Infinity. He would also be eternally engraved in the Collected Biographies of the Supreme Emperor—Supreme Emperor of Swords—because of that nickname.
With the passage of time, that Sect Grading Meeting which attracted the attention of the whole Snow Province slowly came to a close.
Due to the strong rise of Ding Hao and the previous painstaking management of Li Jianyi and the other elders of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, the sect had finally surpassed the Tranquility Academy with a six-point advantage and was promoted to be a level seven sect, to be the No. 1 sect in the entire Snow Province in the final total rank. Although the Tranquility Academy was also a level seven sect, it ranked second because of the total score, and lost its former glory!
Although such a result had been expected by some people for a long time, when it finally became a reality, it still shocked countless people.
People seemed to see the birth of a new dominator.
Without doubt, such a result would trigger a fiercer battle between the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect and the Tranquility Academy in the near future.
At the same time, due to some compromises that the Leiyin Sect had to make, the Double Wind and Lightning didn’t participate in the Grading Meeting that time for some mysterious reason. In addition, the several experts of the sect were also absent from the Sky Battlefield, so it lost its rank and was eventually pushed out of the nine major sects, which also meant that a sect that had stood firmly in the camp of the Tranquility Academy since long ago would lose the support of the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost in the next ten years.
The Heavenly Sound Valley was the one who replaced it.
That process could be described as thrilling.
Because, at the beginning, without the advantage in the Sky Battlefield, the Heavenly Sound Valley was firmly suppressed by the previous nine major sects. But later, the power of Piao Yao increased greatly because of its resurgence. Even if the spirit of the zither had not yet fully recovered, and only less than one percent of the power of the past had been restored, it still became a considerable variable.
Relying on that treasure, Yin Zuimo, the Head of the Heavenly Sound Valley, with the reputation of the Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds, demonstrated the strength of a Snow Province’s dominator in the battle of the Sky Battlefield, with the Questions and Answers of a Fisherman and a Woodman that she had not fully grasped, to successively defeat the senior experts of the six other sects. Latecomers getting ahead of others, the Heavenly Sound Valley gained dozens of points in a short while.
In addition, the Leiyin Sect inexplicably performed poorly in both the Sky Battlefield and the tournament arena. That way, Yin Zuimo finally made the Heavenly Sound Valley one of the nine major sects in the Snow Province with an advantage of a point, ranking last.
The new nine major sects of the Snow Province were born.
That was a reshuffle of the Human Tribe forces of the Snow Province in a strict sense.
Being out of the nine major sects was already a blow to the Tranquility Academy. And the goodwill showed by the Heavenly Sound Valley and the Zero Thought Sect—a Buddhism sect which had remained neutral—toward the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, was even a bigger blow to the Tranquility Academy. On the surface, through hard work, the power of the past first sect of the Snow Province seemed to be falling apart overnight.
And all that was because of Ding Hao, a youth under the age of 17.
On the day the Sect Grading Meeting ended, the Divine Design Valley indeed updated the Hidden Genius List of Snow Province. Ding Hao’s ranking went straight up, rising all the way to the third place on the list at an incredible speed, only below Mu Tianyang, the Child Prodigy of the Tranquility Academy, and Sheng Huangzi, the only son of the Green Flood Dragon King.
For the Tranquility Academy, Mu Tianyang’s still occupying the first place in the Hidden Genius List was undoubtedly the last piece bereft of shame, which helped to keep a touch of face.
However, in the eyes of others, Ding Hao’s ascent rate was too horrifying. Who could guarantee that Mu Tianyang could still hold the first place after six months or one year?
Every dog has its day. People had thought that Ding Hao was trying to kill himself in the battle of the Frozen Peak. But at the moment, it seemed that the winner was gradually unknown.
……
The Sect Grading Meeting ended.
During the lengthy closing ceremony, people still didn’t get to see the new inspector. All the process was presided over by the white-haired old man called Elder Chen. Ding Hao had asked Li Jianyi in private. But surprisingly, even Li Jianyi, the Head of a sect which was one of the nine major sects, had never seen Ding Honglei with his own eyes.
It was said that the new inspector liked to put on airs. In recent days, Fang Xiaoan, the School Master of the Tranquility Academy had asked several times to see the inspector, but he hadn’t been allowed to enter the gate of the inspector’s tower. Even the old man who was called Elder Chen was resolute in doing things. He didn’t care about anyone. The Heads of the nine major sects were called to come and go. He never gave them good looks.
And it was for that reason that the recent Sect Grading Meeting was extremely fair.
Many sects had made various tricks secretly and had established various contacts before, which, however, were completely useless. The Tranquility Academy suffered a big loss in this respect. Before the Grading Meeting, they had paid a heavy price to bring Zhuo Feifan to their side. If Zhuo Feifan hadn’t died, the Tranquility Academy would have been completely sure to win again, considering all the things they had prepared in the past ten years, even if the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect outdid them in strength…
What a pity!
It was their fate!
As the meeting ended, the heat around the Mirror Lake gradually dissipated.
The gathered warriors and rogue cultivators also began to leave.
For them, the process of the battles was the most exciting feast. If luck would have it, they could learn a move or half of it. The final result, however, would not have much impact on their own destinies. Whether the Tranquility Academy or the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect dominated Snow Province, the Human Tribe still had to work hard to compete with demons to survive.
What happened next had nothing to do with them.
That time in the Mirror Lake, their biggest gain was to get the Seven Black Cut skill from Ding Hao, which was something they had never dreamed of before. Such a set of combat skills in the middle area of the Earth Rank was enough to change the fate of many people. Before, no sect would spread such skills, and few experts were willing to put down their airs and create a set of skills for those independent cultivators who were as cheap as ants and stood at the bottom of the martial arts system’s pyramid…
However, for the nine major sects, everything had just begun.
Next, the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost would determine the various resources and treatments that each sect would receive in the next ten years, according to the previous tradition and points, and re-divide their influence zones in Snow Province. The Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, the new dominator, would get more land and people. And the territory of the Tranquility Academy would be relatively smaller… That was a lengthy bargaining process, full of various calculations and scrambles, not easier than fighting with real swords in the Sky Battlefield.
Ding Hao was naturally not interested in such a process.
He planned to return to the Sword-hidden Peak of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect to seclude himself for a period of time, to comprehend what he gained during the meeting, and to strive for further development: to break through to the high area of the Congenital Grandmaster Rank. Then, he planned to go to the Heavenly Sound Valley as previously arranged. To doctor a dead horse as if it were still alive, he was thinking to combine the famous songs of the previous life and the Invincible Fighting Method to awaken the spirit of the Great Saint’s Lost Sound and the Tian Que.
But just then, news suddenly arrived.
“Junior Brother Ding, get ready. The inspector wants to see you.” Li Jianyi, who was supposed to be bargaining with the heads of other sects in the inspector’s mansion, suddenly appeared in front of Ding Hao in a flash of light with a rare uneasy state. He grabbed Ding Hao and turned away.
In the next moment, Ding Hao only felt an overwhelming force wrapping him, and then his sight blurred.
By the time his sight returned to normal, he had appeared in front of a pale cyan hall.
It was a crystal cyan hall, which seemed to be carved out of a whole huge jadeite. Vaguely, it was releasing green flames. It was square and its base stone platform was a hundred meters high. Standing before the base, Ding Hao felt that he was as small as an ant.
Looking up, he saw eight solemn statues of the Martial Soldier; more than 20 meters tall, standing quietly at the entrance of the main hall, with a shield in one of their hands and a sword in the other. Carved with extreme skill, they released a fierce aura, which made them so vivid. The eight Z-shaped stairs led to the main hall from the ground up, which was even more spectacular than the Heart-seeking Ladder of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Stepping on the stairs, people felt as if they were flying to the sky on their way to become immortal.
The mysterious inscriptions, personally engraved by the high-rank inscriptionist of the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost, covered every inch of the entire wall and ground of the hall. Combined with the natural color of the bluestones, the hall emitted a faint cyan light, dreamy and mysterious. There was also a vague ominous aura emanating from the hall.
It was the hall of the inspector!
It was the core building of the inspector’s mansion on the shore of Mirror Lake, also the most magnificent building within thousands of miles.
Ding Hao had glanced at the hall from a distance before, but didn’t expect that he would currently appear in front of the hall up close. Li Jianyi, who was even a little nervous, was next to him. It was the first time that Ding Hao had seen his Head so disoriented. A troubled expression appeared on Li Jianyi’s face.
“To everyone’s surprise, the inspector who has never appeared before others is asking to see you, which is a bit weird. Junior Brother Ding, you have to think carefully. Some information we got shows that Inspector Ding Honglei has an extraordinary status in the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost, far more honorable than the inspectors of other provinces. Even the Elder Chen, his servant, also has a very important status. Strangely, he himself asked to come to Snow Province as an inspector this time. And he doesn’t want to see the heads of the nine major sects, but asked to see you as his very first command…”
“Well, I heard that Mu Tianyang has been recognized by some giants of the Holy Palace of Mysterious Frost and has a good status in the palace. I wonder how’s the relationship between him and Inspector Ding Honglei…”
“Don’t be overly proud or overly humble before the inspector… You’ve always done well in this aspect.”
“Junior Brother Ding, you only need to answer the inspector’s questions honestly this time, don’t try to fight for any benefits for our sect. Your returning safely is better than any other things…”
On the way to the main hall, Li Jianyi had a tendency to turn into Monk Tang and had repeatedly said a lot. He tried to tell Ding Hao as much information as he could about that strange but noble inspector. Since it was so strange, he didn’t know whether it was a blessing or a curse.
Hearing the last sentence “Your returning safely is better than any other things…” Ding Hao couldn’t help but feel warm in his heart. He suddenly felt that the supreme Head was a bit cute at the moment, like a fluffy father, caring about his child.
Walking up the steps, the two got to the base stone platform and went to the gate of the main hall.
There were twenty or thirty people standing there, most of whom were familiar faces to Ding Hao. They were all experts in Snow Province, including the heads of the nine major sects. Looking solemn, they stood at the gate looking at Ding Hao with strange eyes, as if they were looking at a monster.
“Go in. Be careful.” Li Jianyi patted Ding Hao’s shoulder.
There was a slight warmth in his palm.
Ding Hao took a deep breath and slowly went to the gate.
The white-haired Elder Chen looked at Ding Hao carefully for a moment with his sharp eyes. There was an undisguised harshness and fastidiousness in his expression. After a long time, he nodded slowly and said indifferently, “Come with me.”
Following the white-haired old man, Ding Hao entered the main hall step by step.
Entering the gate, the light in front of him dimmed. The passageway of the hall was wide, deep and extremely quiet. Elder Chen walked without a sound, like a white haired ghost walking on the rough bluestone ground. Ding Hao suddenly felt an unprecedented pressure. It was so quiet there, as if he could hear the sound of blood flow inside his own vessels.
“Here we are. Go in by yourself.”
The main hall was divided into two parts. Elder Chen stood at the arched door of the inner hall and pointed inside with a blank expression.