Supreme Emperor of Swords

The cynical man looked at Ding Hao intently. Gradually, there was a smile on his mouth. He already knew what pill Ding Hao was refining, and he was shocked by his speculation.

Finally, the green liquid in the air turned into a green solid. It looked more dazzling and its smell contained booming vitality, refreshing the people around it.

“It’s done!” Ding Hao declared.

Then he stopped making the emblematic gestures. His sleeves floated in the air as he waved his hands. It looked elegant and beautiful. That movement was the technique of collecting pills. He had learned it from ‘Cloud Covering the Moon’, Ximen Qianxue’s technique of collecting pills. The three dazzling green lights which were trying to escape, were all collected by Ding Hao.

After he had finished that movement, Ding Hao’s forehead was covered with a layer of sweat.

It was difficult for Ding Hao to refine the Pill of Qi-restoring and Rejuvenating with his Heaven Fire Qi, without using an alchemy stove. Fortunately, the technique of refining elixir imparted by the Saber Master was an unparalleled ancient technique. Ding Hao finally succeeded refining three “Pills of Qi-restoring and Rejuvenating”.

“Kid… You really give me too much surprises.” The cynical man sighed again and again. Instead of refusing, he immediately took one of those dazzling pills, sat on the ground, and began to heal himself.

With the help of the rare Level Five Pill, supplemented by his own thick Qi of a great grandmaster, soon, the cynical man’s face looked ruddy, as the pure potency flew into his limbs and his viscera. His body began to heal vigorously.

“Haha, the effect is amazing, far above the ordinary Pill of Qi-restoring and Rejuvenating. According to this view, I can completely restore in half a month.” The bandaged man stood up and laughed happily after he had thoroughly digested the pill.

“From today, every three days, I will send you the three best Pills of Qi-restoring and Rejuvenating. Your injury should be able to completely recover in 15 days.” Ding Hao calculated and said.

“Good! Good! Good!” The cynical man replied and smiled, “I didn’t expect you were an alchemist. Who’s your master? And the yellow flame… Isn’t your natal Qi ice Qi? Why does it become fire? Never mind, you have your secrets. I won’t ask. By the way, since you are an alchemist, can you help me to make some other pills? Such as ‘Nine Dark Spirit Pill’, ‘Heaven Fate Pill’, ‘Spring Wind Dew Pill’, ‘Recover from Dead Pill’, ‘Martial Grand Emperor Pill’, and the ‘Nine Turns Human King Pill’…”

Those pills the man was mentioning were all Level Eleven or Twelve god-level Pills. Noticing the greedy man was still going to talk, Ding Hao hurriedly adjusted his mood and quickly interrupted him. “Stop, do you think I can make pills like cooking meals? Even if I knew the prescriptions for the Dan Dan elixir, can you provide all kinds of Spiritual Herbs?”

The cynical man was stunned and knew that he had been too greedy.

He took out a booklet and threw it to Ding Hao. He said, “Boy, have it. That’s my experience in exchange for my life. If it weren’t for… Alright, never mind.”

Ding Hao took the booklet and briefly browsed it. He found that it was all about Mu Tianyang, including his fighting style, his sword method, his cultivation, and his fighting habits. All that information was quite different from the legends he had heard in the Snow Province. They were more detailed and more comprehensive. The estimate about Mu Tianyang’s true strength was truer.

Ding Hao soon understood that all of those were recorded by the cynical man after he had challenged Mu Tianyang.

Ding Hao was right. The information was indeed at the cost of Wang Juefeng’s life.

However, Ding Hao didn’t know the details. After learning of Ma Yifei’s death, Wang Junfeng chose to challenge Mu Tianyang though he knew he had no chance to win and would even be killed. However, during the battle, Wang Junfeng accidentally thought of Ding Hao and decided to share some insights with Ding Hao, so he escaped. After his return, he thought hard and recorded his experience in that battle to the death in the form of words.

Wang Junfeng knew that Ding Hao would return to the Sect sooner or later, and he had prepared that booklet earlier.

“Thank you,” Ding Hao said seriously and bowed respectfully.

“OK! OK!” The cynical man waved his hand impatiently and said, “Don’t be so serious. It’s strange. Now get out of here. I still have work to do. By the way, remember to send pills on time!”

Ding Hao did not know whether to laugh or to cry; then, he stood up and left.

He had been watching Ding Hao until he disappeared. Then the cynical man looked dignified and muttered to himself.

“From being an ordinary person to a big Martial Mentor, you only used one year. Besides, you can freely refine ‘Pills of Qi-restoring and Rejuvenating’… Ding Hao, how many secrets do you have? People who love you are willing to die for you. People who hate you plot to kill you! You’re so special. Is this worthy of reopening the Sword-hidden Peak?”

…

After returning to his own room, Ding Hao began a quiet cultivation life.

In addition to cultivation, he would spare a certain amount of time every day to go to the garbage area of the back mountain to teach the children of the “Invincible Mysterious Martial Arts Academy”. As the time approached, the annual entrance test of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect was coming. Ding Hao had high hopes for those children.

At the same time, the nominal disciples of all the academies were also madly practicing. More than a month later, the year-end examination of the five academies would take place. Their fate would be determined by the test. Better late than never, so they crazily practiced.

However, Fang Tianyi, Wang Xiaoqi, Li Canyang and Li Yiruo rarely practiced. They were busy every day. Though knowing that their words had little weight, they were still trying hard to inquire about the High-leveled people’s attitudes and decisions on regards to Ding Hao. They wanted to help him.

The Sect looked calm and peaceful, but there was a hidden undercurrent.

For more than a decade, for the first time, there was such a tense atmosphere.

Many people gradually realized that to that extent, it had become an intricate angular field between factions.

Ding Hao had just been a fuse.

But most of the time, the fuse was cannon fodder. The competition and compromise of the major factions were likely to end with Ding Hao becoming cannon fodder.