Chapter 593 - The Last Question

Tang Folei pledged allegiance to the enemy to protect the sect.

It was a heroic decision of the three giants of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, to exchange two men’s lives and one man’s reputation for a chance to save the sect.

“Better to die for a noble cause than live a shameful life” was just an idealized slogan.

The three of them had known very well that a direct confrontation with the major forces of the Tranquility Academy and the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect would only have brought the destruction of the whole sect, the death of tens of thousands of disciples. The whole situation would end up as a conversation piece.

That was all.

The Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, which had existed for thousands of years, would have disappeared from the face of the earth.

“By the time disaster struck, we already knew that we had little chance of winning with the participation of the super sects of the Northern Region. We had to plan for the worst. To enhance our combat capability, Martial Uncle Qi Qingshan decided to practice the Swordplay of No Return and finally reached the Martial Royal realm. In that battle, he defeated the four top sword practitioners of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect one after another, which deterred those superior sword practitioners, forcing them to find other ways. His sacrifice created the possibility for the future,” Tang Folei said quietly.

Ding Hao was shocked.

The Swordplay of No Return was a highly forbidden cultivation method in the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. For thousands of years, almost no one had practiced it. Although it could increase a person’s strength by dozens of times in a short time, it had a fatal flaw—after successfully mastering it, one would die within ten days. It was a forbidden cultivation method that completely stimulated the potential of the body by consuming it all at once.

With this technique, it was no wonder that Qi Qingshan had been able to defeat the four sword practitioners at the peak of the Martial King realm that day.

But that kind of glory was fleeting, it wouldn’t last long.

It turned out that Qi Qingshan had decided to sacrifice his life from the very beginning.

“This plan was not made on the spur of the moment. After Lu Xiongfei came with the battle invitation, Head Jianyi, Martial Uncle Qingshan, and I secretly discussed it again and again. We tried our best to seek help from other major sects while preparing for the worst… We placed our hopes on you. We hoped that you and the other disciples who entered the Sage Battlefield could find a place to hide and revive the sect through hard cultivation,” Tang Folei said with excitement, “I didn’t expect that this day would come so fast. It seems that God pitied the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. With you being the head, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect will thrive for a thousand years.”

Ding Hao sighed and said nothing.

It was exactly as he had guessed.

“Well, Ding Hao, now it’s time for you to tell me… how did you figure out the truth?” Tang Folei said with a little curiosity, ” In this world, no one knew about this except me.”

Ding Hao looked at him and said earnestly, “There is no need to guess at all. You have been a righteous man for as far as I can remember. Despite being a little cold and rigid, you are definitely not the kind of person who would surrender to the enemy.”

The intuition of the seventh level of the Mind Essential led him to the truth. What he had seen and heard on the way explained everything: the well-preserved mountain gate, the elites of the sect imprisoned in the blood prison, together with other signs. As long as one was not blinded by hatred, he should be able to see what kind of price Tang Folei, the puppet head, had paid to protect the sect to the greatest extent.

Tang Folei was stunned. Tears filled the corners of his eyes again.

He had been prepared to lose his reputation and die, but he didn’t expect such trust from the person who had the strongest reason to kill him.

Trust was an extravagant hope for him.

But he had already earned it.

“Okay, Ding Hao, that is really nice of you,” Tang Folei nodded with relief and then said quietly, “I want to ask you one last question.”

“What is it?” Ding Hao was stunned.

Tang Folei asked a little nervously, “Can you handle the revenge of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect?”

Ding Hao thought for a while and said, “I promise that in six months, there will be no Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect in this world.”

Tang Folei’s eyes lit up with his mouth open. Clearly, he was shocked by the answer.

After a moment of shock, he suddenly burst into laughter. He laughed so hard that he was out of breath. In the end, he was on the floor with hands on his stomach.

After a long while, he stopped.

Tang Folei said in a lower voice, “All right, I’m relieved… By the way, Ding Hao, I’ve sent away those disciples who chose to follow me through the transmission formation. Maybe I’m really old. I don’t want to see any of the disciples shed blood. Please forgive them. Although they made the wrong choice, they didn’t endanger the sect…”

Ding Hao remembered the disappeared transmission formation in front of the main hall and nodded.

“Haha, good, now you know the truth. Everything is clear. Let’s do it. Kill me and explain it to the disciples waiting outside. Put an end to this. A new era will begin. The new Swordsmanship-seeking Sect doesn’t need a sinner with a sullied reputation,” Tang Folei said emotionally.

Ding Hao shook his head.

“You should be respected and honored by the whole sect. I will explain it to everyone.” Ding Hao sounded very determined.

Tang Folei shook his head with a smile and said, “Ding Hao, you don’t understand. I have completed my mission and also seen the hope of revival for the sect. I have no regrets if I die. You can do it now.”

“Impossible.” Ding Hao shook his head firmly. “It would be unfair to you.”

“Ha, ha, ha…” Tang Folei suddenly stood up and laughed. “Bulls**t. I, Tang Folei, am not a person who clings to fame. As a man, I don’t seek praise from the world. I only hope to have a clear conscience. What is fair and unfair? Did I do all this for the meaningless bouquet and applause?”

“But…” Ding Hao wanted to say something.

“There’s no need to say more,” Tang Folei said firmly, “I’ll do it myself if you don’t.”

Before he finished speaking—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With a series of explosions, blood suddenly splashed out of Tang Folei’s body.

He was covered in blood in the blink of an eye.

Ding Hao was shocked. He flashed forward and held Tang Folei with one arm. When he tried to cure him, he found that Tang Folei had shattered his heart meridians, his dantian and dissipated all his cultivation; even his soul had been broken. There was no way to save him.

“Why did you do that…?” Ding Hao continuously injected his Qi into Tang Folei’s body, trying his hardest to save his life.

“Haha, as I said, my mission has been completed… The new Swordsmanship-seeking Sect doesn’t need a dishonored person… No matter what, I have personally… killed elders and disciples of the sect, so I can’t remain in the sect…” Tang Folei said intermittently with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

Ding Hao still wanted to say more, but Tang Folei interrupted him, “Well, Ding Hao, listen to me. After I die, let it all settle down. Don’t let anyone know the truth. You are now the god of the sect. There’s no need to stake your reputation. Even with your prestige, people will still question you if you insist on explaining. I can’t become your stain. After all, you are the master of the sect cultivated by Jianyi and Martial Uncle Qingshan…”

Ding Hao couldn’t help but burst into tears.

This was an unparalleled devotion to the sect.

Li Jianyi, Tang Folei, and Qi Qingshan had devoted most of their lives to the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Even on the verge of death, they were still thinking about the good of the sect. It was almost a blind loyalty, something unheard of in his previous life before the time-travel. Ding Hao knew very well that although he couldn’t understand it, he had to respect them.

“I… I’m going to see those two guys. Haha, the two selfish heads. I’m afraid they can’t wait any longer.” The vitality in Tang Folei’s body had gradually disappeared, and a sincere smile started to freeze on his face. “When I see them, I must keep them in suspense first and then tell them what happened, I… I’ll make them feel envious, haha…”

As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Folei died with a smile on his face.

Ding Hao held the elder’s body and could sense how it was getting cold. He didn’t know what he was feeling in his heart. For the first time, he felt how small he was in front of the elders who had passed away.

“I’m sorry, Senior Brother Tang. I really can’t fulfill your wish. I can’t let the greatest leader of the Sentencing Hall die in shame. I’m not a god of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. You are. I will let all the disciples of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect know how we survived…” Ding Hao muttered to himself.

A ray of sunlight shone through the skylight, injecting a trace of vitality and light into the dark and cold hall.

Ding Hao slowly put away Tang Folei’s body and kept the head’s token for the time being.

After it was done, he slowly walked out of the main hall and stood on the steps in front of the door. Looking down, he saw a red sun in the sky emitting light rays in the myriads, breaking through the clouds, shining upon the earth. The gate of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect was once again brightened up.

There were still too many things to be done after the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect was rebuilt.

At the foot of the steps, hundreds of disciples, including Guan Feidu and Wang Juefeng, stood there quietly, waiting for the final result. There had been no sound of fighting or aura coming out of the hall; neither had there been blood and bodies in the square. They felt a little confused; all of them were clueless about what had happened.