Ding Fan realized that the thin shopkeeper intended to rip him off, so he put down the Heaven asuring Ruler, planning to leave. The thin shopkeeper saw this and imdiately stood up to block Ding Fan, saying, "Young master, don’t rush to leave. That price I quoted was for soone else. Since you fancy this Heaven asuring Ruler, it’s its good fortune. You’re so young and already at the Second Level of the Divine Realm. You’ll surely shine brightly in the future. Our Lin Family Shop will consider you a friend. Here, you can have it for fifty thousand Black Obsidian."
This was advantageous; fearing Ding Fan would leave, he suddenly cut the price by half. Such a drastic reduction left both of them sowhat speechless. The two exchanged glances, then Ding Fan said directly, "That’s not the price. I’ll only give you twenty thousand Black Obsidian. If you don’t agree, we’ll see another shop."
"Oh dear, young master, your bargain is quite brutal. Twenty thousand, that’s practically giving it away to you. Fine, fine, seeing as you will undoubtedly accomplish great things in the future, our Lin Family Shop will consider you a friend. We’ll sell it to you for twenty thousand."
"Ah?!"
Seeing the other party actually agree, Ding Fan and Wu Qingxia exchanged glances again, feeling that they might have been deceived. With the shopkeeper’s attitude, he might sell it even for ten thousand. It seems buying is never as shrewd as selling.
But Ding Fan quickly understood why things were this way. One must know that only Martial Artists at the Second Level of the Divine Realm could use the Heaven asuring Ruler. Yet who would want to use such a cumberso ruler? This weapon is too unwieldy to utilize Martial Skills, so the Heaven asuring Ruler could never sell. The thin shopkeeper wouldn’t pass up an opportunity with soone like Ding Fan.
Wu Qingxia had little concern regarding spending more or less of the Black Obsidian. As long as Ding Fan liked it, whether twenty thousand or two hundred thousand, she had no objection. Now that Ding Fan had settled the price, she was only concerned with paying. Thus, without saying anything, she stepped forward, handed over the Black Obsidian, and Ding Fan went up to carry out the iron box containing the Heaven asuring Ruler. The two walked out of the Lin Family Shop.
"Finally sold this thing. Truly don’t know what the family was thinking, coming up with such a big contraption as the shop’s treasure. It’s been lingering in this store for over a decade. Not just these two offering twenty thousand, even for ten thousand, I would certainly sell it. I never want to see it again."
Watching Ding Fan and Wu Qingxia leave the Lin Family Shop, the thin shopkeeper muttered to himself.
...After leaving the Lin Family Shop and having lunch, Ding Fan, Wu Qingxia, the Second Elder, and the Fourth Elder gathered together. The Fourth Elder had bought all the required dicine Pills and Magic Artifacts for arranging Prohibitions.
However, the Second Elder was not so optimistic. The elders of the Xu Family accepted the Black Obsidian given to them but did not provide a definite answer. They neither said they would help the Tie Family nor the Skeleton Sect, or neither. There was simply no clear statent.
But Moon Mist Island’s Xu Family was undoubtedly the overlord of the Thousand Mile Sea Territory nearby. To ask them to explicitly declare who they’d support was indeed impossible.
Anyway, they accepted the Black Obsidian, and whether they would help any side would be up to Xu Family’s discretion. Truly, when the ti cos, and they decide to aid the Tie Family, then there’s no need to fight as everyone would only die together.
The group gathered together, boarded the warship back to Xinkai Island. Upon reaching the island, the Second Elder looked at a small woodland ahead, a sign of displeasure in his eyes.
Ding Fan and Wu Qingxia followed his gaze but saw nothing. Wu Qingxia, sowhat puzzled, asked the Second Elder, "Second Elder, what’s wrong? You look very unhappy."
"In that small woodland over there, Iron Clan’s Scout Cavalry is lurking!"
The Second Elder glanced over there again, then said to Wu Qingxia.
"What? Second brother, shall I handle it?" The Fourth Elder, upon hearing the Second Elder’s words, a flash of killing intent in his eyes, said to the Second Elder.
"Sigh, forget it, don’t move them. Our identities make it inappropriate to act. If we make the first move, the Tie Family will have a legitimate reason to dispatch troops."
"Ridiculous..."
These words reached Ding Fan’s ears, making him sowhat dismissive. With both sides almost ready to fight, still cautious of each other. At this point, with the opponent’s Scout Cavalry already on the island, the other party has long grasped their situation. Why bother fighting? Just surrender.
Ding Fan also said nothing, opened the iron box, took out the Heaven asuring Ruler, True Qi flowed in waves, and he charged forth like a fierce tiger, wielding the Heaven asuring Ruler with a gust toward the small woodland.
The small woodland indeed harbored an Iron Clan Scout Cavalry. Although Ding Fan and the others just got onto the island, he didn’t move, nor did he dare. But now it’s too late. Ding Fan’s Heaven asuring Ruler, carried by the wind, ca slashing down, cutting him into two.
"Sirius, go out and check how many Iron Clan Scout Cavalries are on Xinkai Island."
Ding Fan placed Sirius on the ground from his bosom and commanded it.
Seeing Sirius disappear in a flash, Ding Fan finally turned back to the Second Elder and others and said, "Since you can’t act, let handle it. All the Tie Family scouts on Skew Island will be handed over to ."
"Alright then, Ding Fan, be careful!"
The Second Elder seed a bit helpless as he spoke. He actually wanted to eliminate those scouts himself; the reason he spoke to the Fourth Elder that way was to get Ding Fan to act.
As long as Ding Fan acted, even if they truly lost in the future, the Second Elder could push all the bla on Ding Fan, claiming that Ding Fan caused it all. This was actually a way for the Second Elder to leave a way out for the Skeleton Sect.
Sirius lived up to Ding Fan’s expectations, quickly completing the tasks entrusted to it. It was incredibly fast, its body was small, and there was no place it couldn’t reach. Moreover, its sense of sll was formidable, able to locate the scouts no matter where they hid.
Ding Fan followed behind it, and whenever he saw that Sirius had found soone who wasn’t from the Skeleton Sect, he would imdiately step in. However, Ding Fan didn’t kill them imdiately but rather sparred with his Heaven asuring Ruler for a while before slaying them. With rare opportunities like these, he used the scouts as practice targets.
The cycle of searching and fighting continued for a few hours, and when night fell completely, Ding Fan returned to the island headquarters, stained with blood and carrying the Heaven asuring Ruler.
Upon his return, the Fourth Elder led people out, having set up many Array Formation and Restrictions to confront the Tie Family’s army. Elder Wu Ren was also busy setting up many covert sentries on the island. If anything stirred inside or outside the island, it was reported to him imdiately.
The Second Elder and Wu Qingxia arranged for the Skeleton Sect’s families to be protected within Tieling. The purchased Tigertooth Apes were also inside Tieling, where the Fourth Elder had set up nurous Prohibitions, making Tieling the safest place.
The Fourth Elder and his n worked all night, finally setting up the external Prohibitions around the island. But he wasn’t done; he returned and set up more Prohibitions outside Tieling. This battle with the Tie Family was a matter of life and death for the Skeleton Sect, and he dared not let his guard down.
All the Crimson Fla Bodhi from the two canyons were either collected or destroyed. The blood in the pools was drained, and a large cave was dug in the mountain belly inside Tieling to shelter the Skeleton Sect’s families.
Ding Fan sat alone in his small wooden cabin, storing hundreds of strands of Dark Energy in his Divine Sea. Then he erged from the cabin and began to swing his recently acquired Heaven asuring Ruler outside, aiming to beco more adept at using it.
Wu Qingxia, at so point, also arrived outside the cabin, holding eleven talismans that controlled all the Tigertooth Apes. The Second Elder, Fourth Elder, and Elder Wu Ren were preparing for battle, leaving Wu Qingxia with a substantial burden to control the apes.
Watching Ding Fan casually wielding the Heaven asuring Ruler, she felt much more at ease. Since so unknown ti, as long as she was beside Ding Fan, she felt inexplicably secure, as if nothing could go wrong as long as he was there.
"Brother Ding!"
Wu Qingxia wore a long purple dress today, covered with soft armor, her hair tied atop her head, looking valiant and heroic.
After watching Ding Fan swing the ruler for a while, she finally spoke to him: "Brother Ding! If the Skeleton Sect loses this battle, you should leave us and escape alone."
Hearing her words, Ding Fan put away the Heaven asuring Ruler and said to Wu Qingxia, "What’s wrong, are you frightened now? We haven’t even started fighting yet. Besides, we may not necessarily lose."
Wu Qingxia looked at Ding Fan, blushing as she recalled their visit to Daozhen Trade Firm. She said to Ding Fan, "This battle’s outco is uncertain. The Tie Family has been operating here for more than ten years; they can’t be weak. I am very worried. What I’m trying to say is, if the battle turns against the Skeleton Sect, you should escape alone. The Skeleton Sect owes you too much; there’s no need to sacrifice your life here. Plus, Sister Xia ngqing is waiting for you to save her."
"Ha, Miss Qingxia, don’t overthink it. In whatever situation, we should strive hard. Once we’ve done our best, the final outco won’t matter as much. Think about it, if the Skeleton Sect doesn’t survive this ordeal and we all perish here, it’s also fate. There’s nothing much to say. I can’t rember who said it, but soone once ntioned that on the martial arts path, we either reach the highest peak or face doom. Where we’ll end up is up to fate."
"Brother Ding, you really have an open view!"
Wu Qingxia looked beside her at Ding Fan, involuntarily recalling the battle at Wu Family Fortress on Great Python Mountain, and Xia ngqing’s eternally composed expression. She also thought of how Xia ngqing revived after being burned to charcoal and said, "Sister ngqing truly is an extraordinary woman. Brother Ding, do you think such a woman might beco an incredible figure at Jade Goshawk Palace? Perhaps one day, she might co looking for you."
Hearing Wu Qingxia say this, Ding Fan couldn’t help but smile and nodded in agreent, "I believe she will definitely co to find . That’s why I’m not going to die. If she doesn’t co to find , I’ll go find her. For , she almost lost her life. I cannot let her down. For her, I need to beco a strong person. In the future, if anyone makes her suffer, I will ensure their entire family suffers."
Listening to Ding Fan, Wu Qingxia glanced at his resolute face, feeling intensely envious of Xia ngqing. If she had been the one to have such feelings with Ding Fan first, how good would that have been? If it were so, perhaps Ding Fan would treat her like he did Xia ngqing.
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