Chapter 85

Xia Daoming cut the ropes of the short and sturdy Ding Clan martial master, handed him Shi Fengyuan's saber, and said coldly: "Kill your young master, and I will spare your life."

"No, no, this little one doesn't dare!" The short and sturdy martial master was scared to the point of peeing himself on the spot, his face turning pale as he shook his head repeatedly.

"Alright, since you cherish your life and insist on protecting the life of this animal, then you can go accompany him!" Xia Daoming stabbed him directly with the saber.

That martial master clutched his stomach on the spot, looked down at the saber inserted into his stomach, then looked up at Xia Daoming, his face filled with disbelief.

"Slash!"

Xia Daoming pulled out the saber, and the martial master clutched his stomach, falling to the ground and twitching continuously.

Xia Daoming did not look at him, but handed the saber to the other martial master whose ropes had been cut.

"Kill your young master, and I will spare your life!"

This martial master glanced at his companion lying in a pool of blood and twitching continuously, and without a word, took the saber and stabbed it into Ding Chuding.

Ding Chuding clutched his stomach, staring fixedly at Xia Daoming, and said: "Why do you want to do this?"

"A certificate of allegiance!"

"A certificate of allegiance?" Ding Chuding was puzzled.

"Him killing you is his certificate of allegiance to me. Whether it was voluntary or forced, as long as this news spreads, the Ding Clan will definitely exterminate him and his whole family. Only in this way can I feel at ease letting him go to the Ding Clan to be an eyewitness to this tragic slaughter."

"And us, the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall, killing Shi Fengyuan and the others is our certificate of allegiance to you, the Ding Clan. I imagine that with this certificate of allegiance and the testimony of your subordinates, the Ding Clan should fully trust us." Xia Daoming said indifferently.

"But I still don't understand; hasn't the Xu Clan's ancestor already returned to his peak state? Why do you still insist on defecting to the Ding Clan? And with your ability, why do you need to go through so much trouble to defect to the Ding Clan?" Ding Chuding was still confused.

"Your intelligence is not enough to understand!" Xia Daoming said indifferently.

"You..." Upon hearing this, Ding Chuding's face twisted, his eyes blood-red as he stared fixedly at Xia Daoming.

Killing someone is just a matter of a head falling to the ground!

This is killing someone and then punishing their heart!

The expressions of Liang Jingtang and the others were quite unpleasant.

Because it seemed they also didn't understand Xia Daoming's intention!

"Slash!" The fifth-rank Great Wu Shi pulled out the saber fiercely.

Ding Chuding clutched his stomach and slowly lay down on the ground.

"You are all elites of the Shi Clan; you should know the Black Evil Palm, right? How about this: you each give my master and senior brother a few palms, and I will give you a quick death!" Xia Daoming did not look at Ding Chuding, but turned to the remaining six martial masters of the Shi Clan.

Everyone was stunned!

The sun had unknowingly fallen behind the western mountains.

The inner courtyard of the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall was a mess.

Ding Clan elder Ding Banghong looked at his grand-nephew lying in a pool of blood, his clothes tattered, with black palm prints visible in the torn parts, and could not help but have tears of an old man streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry, Elder Banghong; the Shi Clan had many people, and the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall had limited ability; we failed to protect Young Master Chuding!" Liang Jingtang, who also had black palm prints visible on his body, said with a face full of grief and self-reproach.

"The incident happened suddenly; you have already done very well! Ji Gu said that if it weren't for your little disciple and Escort Zhuo arriving in time, I'm afraid you and Instructor Yuchi would have both met with misfortune!"

"However, this little disciple of yours is truly surprising; he is young and yet already a sixth-rank Great Wu Shi. It seems your Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall has successors, Liang Jingtang!"

Ding Banghong was an elder after all, an eighth-rank Great Wu Shi, not someone ordinary people could compare to; he quickly suppressed the grief in his heart and comforted Liang Jingtang.

Ding Banghong did not have the slightest doubt about Liang Jingtang's explanation.

This naturally was not because Ding Banghong had a problem with his intelligence.

In fact, Ding Banghong was a notoriously cunning and crafty old man in the Ding Clan.

It was just that Ding Banghong could not find a single reason for Liang Jingtang to kill Ding Chuding!

On the contrary, one could find a basketful of reasons for helping Ding Chuding fight against the Shi Clan.

And the Black Evil Palm prints on Liang Jingtang and the others and Ding Chuding could not be faked at all!

Besides, with only these few people in the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall, and the people who died included three sixth-rank Great Martial Masters alone.

Could Ding Banghong possibly suspect that the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall killed two families and carefully designed this shocking tragedy?

"Sigh, speaking of successors, I really want to ask for a favor from the elder." Liang Jingtang sighed long and hard, then bowed and cupped his hands toward Ding Banghong with a heavy face.

"Please speak, Hall Master Liang." Ding Banghong said with a warm attitude.

"You also know that the son I had high hopes for died young, and later I finally found a good seedling, but last year, because our Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall was relatively close to the Ding Clan, he was crippled as a warning to others."

"This time, in order to protect Young Master Chuding, our Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall killed Shi Fengyuan and the others who came to persuade us to surrender. Once the news reaches the ears of the Xu Clan, the Xu Clan will definitely exterminate all the personnel of our Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall lineage."

"Therefore, I want to ask the elder to allow us to withdraw our families from Li Cheng first, so that they won't be killed if the Xu Clan vents their anger."

"I, along with my three disciples Zhuo Xingji, Yuchi Xiao, and Jiao Yongbao, will all stay behind; I only want to let my little disciple escort the families away with the escorts from the Xingyou Escort Agency, which can be considered leaving a seedling for our Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall." Liang Jingtang said, his expression very desolate.

"This..." Ding Banghong stroked his chin, his face revealing a look of difficulty: "Hall Master Liang's request is reasonable, but there is no such precedent. I am worried that once this opening is made, others who have submitted to our Three-Family Alliance..."

"Who can know whether they are loyal? Naturally, one has to hold their families hostage, but does Elder Banghong really need to doubt our Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall?"

"I just want to give my family a way to live so that I can fight without worries. If Elder Banghong doesn't even agree to this request, Liang really..." Liang Jingtang's expression became grief-stricken, and even his eye sockets turned red.

Xia Daoming, who was on the side, watched and praised him secretly again and again.

Master is an acting emperor who was delayed by martial arts!

Ding Banghong looked at Liang Jingtang's grief-stricken expression, looked at the miserable state of Yuchi Xiao and the others covered in injuries, and looked at the Shi Clan corpses lying all over the ground; it seemed he still had to save some face.

"Fine, fine, I will make an exception this once, but this news must not leak! So the movements must be fast; at the third watch tonight, your families will leave from the South Gate! Also, you should not stay in the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall anymore; transfer to Wutong Lane where the Ding Mansion is located and wait for orders at any time."

"Many thanks, Elder!" Liang Jingtang wept with joy and bowed to the ground.

At the third watch that night, Xia Daoming and the escorts and guards from the Xingyou Escort Agency escorted the families of the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Hall lineage and left quietly from the South City Gate guarded by the Ding Clan.

On the South Gate tower.

A prime-age sixth-rank Great Wu Shi looked at the winding horse team moving away, his eyes revealing a look of greed and unwillingness.

With him was the Ding Clan elder Ding Banghong.

"Grandfather, is it really okay to just let them leave like this? Isn't it too much of a pity? Why don't I take some men and sneak out to..." The prime-age sixth-rank Great Wu Shi made a throat-slitting gesture.

"It is a pity, but Liang Jingtang and the others have already killed Shi Fengyuan and the others and completely defected to our Ding Clan. If we kill them all, once there is a fish that slipped through the net and the news spreads, it will force Liang Jingtang and the others to rebel against the Ding Clan, and it will also inevitably chill the hearts of others who have defected." Ding Banghong waved his hand and said.

"Since that is the case, then we can only really let them go." The prime-age sixth-rank Great Wu Shi said with a look of regret.

"Let them go? Chuyong, you are still too young!" A cold sneer curled the corner of Ding Banghong's mouth.

PS: There is another update at noon; continuing to ask for support.