Chapter 126: Heavenly Secret Pavilion Disciple

Jiang Fan touched his nose. If Qin Wenyuan was indeed the top-secret information they spoke of, then Jiang Fan knew far too many top secrets.

Soon after, the flying beast landed at the Ding family estate, located in the very center of Yunyang City.

Over a dozen martial artists in the Foundation Establishment Realm gathered nearby, their eyes filled with vigilance. Jiang Fan was secretly awestruck. Was this what a martial arts aristocratic family was like? There were over a dozen Foundation Establishment Realm powerhouses in the clan! That was almost more than the entire Lone Boat City combined! Even more impressive, the black-faced middle-aged man leading them was extremely powerful, having reached the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm! One more step and he would be a Core Formation cultivator, on par with an elder of the Azure Cloud Sect!

"Patriarch!" Ding Wanping also saw the white-robed elder, quickly dismounted, and bowed respectfully. It turned out the black-faced middle-aged man was none other than Ding Xuhui, the Patriarch of the Ding family!

Upon realizing it was Ding Wanping and a group of Azure Cloud Sect disciples, Ding Xuhui lowered his guard and asked, "What are you doing back here?" Facing his patriarch, Ding Wanping was extremely humble, completely devoid of the usual arrogance he displayed at the Azure Cloud Sect.

"Reporting to the Patriarch, Sect Master Liu ordered the ten of us to rush to Yunyang City to kill the rampaging demonic beasts from Beast Mountain."

Ding Xuhui suddenly understood. His gaze swept over the people behind Ding Wanping, and his brows furrowed again. "Why are they all low-level disciples?"

At that moment, a broad-shouldered, powerfully built young man among the clan members, exuding a cultivation base of the eighth level of Foundation Establishment, sneered, "Even a concubine-born son of our Ding family can be a team leader. Naturally, the cultivation of his teammates won't be very high."

Hearing this, Ding Wanping looked at the young man and involuntarily clenched his fists, his eyes filled with resentment. The young man before him was none other than Ding Tianxiang, the young master of the Ding family. He was a monstrous talent with an eighth-grade spiritual root. He was now a disciple of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, and after half a year apart, his cultivation had reached the terrifying eighth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Ding Tianxiang noticed his reaction and scoffed, "What, you still want to fight me, the young master?"

Ding Wanping quickly unclenched his fists, lowered his head, and replied, "I wouldn't dare."

Joining the Azure Cloud Sect, becoming an inner disciple, and reaching the sixth level of Foundation Establishment after years of diligent cultivation was already remarkable for a concubine-born son of the Ding family. However, compared to Young Master Ding Tianxiang, it was utterly insignificant.

The accompanying Azure Cloud Sect disciples were stunned to see Ding Wanping act so submissively. No wonder Ding Wanping never flaunted his family's influence; it turned out he was merely an unvalued concubine-born son.

"Is that all you've got?" Ding Tianxiang scoffed contemptuously, then surveyed the Azure Cloud Sect disciples. "A bunch of weaklings, not a single one with decent strength!"

Suddenly, Ding Tianxiang spotted Chen Siling. Her fresh and ethereal aura made his eyes light up. "The Azure Cloud Sect disciples might not have great talent, but their looks are certainly good!" He brazenly gazed at Chen Siling's beautiful curves, smiling, "You haven't reached Foundation Establishment yet, have you? Come to my room tonight, and I'll give you some pointers."

The Azure Cloud Sect disciples were filled with shame and indignation. Insulting them as 'weaklings' was bad enough, but openly flirting with one of their female disciples was truly excessive! They looked towards Ding Wanping, their team leader for this mission, hoping he would stand up and support Chen Siling.

Helpless, Ding Wanping had no choice but to brace himself and say, "Young Master, this is my junior sister from Heavenly Sword Peak. Could you please give me some face and not make things difficult for her?"

"Alright," Ding Tianxiang agreed readily, withdrawing his unrestrained gaze, much to Ding Wanping's relief. But before Ding Wanping could even boast to his teammates, a solid slap landed squarely on his face.

Ding Tianxiang's face was ferocious. The iron-hard slap left a blood-red palm print on his cheek. "Is this 'face' enough?" Ding Tianxiang said, then slapped his other cheek again.

*Smack!* The incredibly crisp sound of the slap echoed through the surroundings. "You want *me* to give *you* face? What are you, anyway?!"

After taking two consecutive slaps, Ding Wanping's face burned. His heart was filled with intense humiliation. To be slapped like this in front of the Azure Cloud Sect disciples meant he had lost all dignity! But he dared not get angry, because the person he faced was Ding Tianxiang, an unparalleled monstrous talent he could not afford to offend.

The Azure Cloud Sect disciples were silent, trembling with fear. They hadn't expected Ding Tianxiang to be so overbearing and arrogant, showing such blatant disregard for the Azure Cloud Sect. If Ding Wanping was treated this way, what fate awaited them if they dared to intervene?

After teaching Ding Wanping a lesson, Ding Tianxiang's gaze returned to Chen Siling, his blatant stare undisguised. "See?" he said. "They're just a bunch of useless trash. A year with them won't compare to a single night with me!" "Come on, this young master will give you a surprise! In every way!" With a leering smile, he reached out to grab Chen Siling's waist.

*Clang!*

But suddenly, a sword hum rang out. Cold light scattered, and a sword shadow illuminated the scene! A powerful sword energy shot straight towards Ding Tianxiang's glabella.

Ding Tianxiang immediately noticed it and said disdainfully, "A mere ant dares to attack me?" He casually punched out with a fist-force. The fierce energy, accompanied by a rumbling sound, vibrated and met the incoming sword energy.

The younger members of the Ding family looked on with admiration. "It's one of the Young Master's ultimate skills, the Earth-grade mid-level fist technique, Mountain-Splitting Fist!" "What powerful might!" "Even casually performed, it would be unmatched by anyone below the eighth level of Foundation Establishment!" "This person doesn't know his place, daring to attack the Young Master!" "Let's see how he survives this punch!"

However, no sooner had the words left their mouths than Ding Tianxiang's Mountain-Splitting Fist energy dissipated instantly, like a wisp of fog pierced by sunlight! The sword energy was incredibly sharp! It scattered the fist force and instantly struck Ding Tianxiang's forehead!

Ding Tianxiang was utterly shocked! He tried to dodge in a panic! But the sword energy had already arrived; how could he possibly evade it? Fortunately, Ding Xuhui, the Patriarch of the Ding family, was right there. As soon as Jiang Fan unleashed his sword strike, he recognized its extraordinary nature. Therefore, he was prepared and immediately threw out a jade slip. The jade slip was pierced by the sword energy, from which a cloud of mist surged forth, enveloping the sword energy.

However, Ding Xuhui had still underestimated the power of the "Sword Heart Meteor Engraving." Although most of the sword energy had been nullified, it still sliced through the mist and struck Ding Tianxiang's forehead!

*Splat!* A soft sound.

A blood-red line, about the length of an index finger, appeared on Ding Tianxiang's forehead. Beads of blood gathered into a trickle, flowing downwards. Along with the blood, cold sweat also flowed from the shocked faces of the Ding family members!

Because they all saw it: at the last moment, Jiang Fan had dispersed the sword energy. Otherwise, what would have appeared on Ding Tianxiang's forehead right now wouldn't have been a mere bloodline, but a crack piercing through his skull!

*Clang!* The sound of a sword.

Jiang Fan sheathed his sword, a cold glint in his eyes. "Next time, you die!"

Everyone's hearts trembled. A chill ran through their bodies! It was as if Jiang Fan, at that moment, was an unparalleled killing sword, one that, once drawn, would surely be met with bloodshed!