Chapter 32

Chapter 31: Snow Mountain Sword Technique vs. Shadowless Divine Fist

Ding Dian stood at the door of the classroom, took a deep breath, and firmly held the letter containing the secret given to him by his mother.

"Hey, Hero Ding, after all these years, you haven't become numb, but the adults have," Song Qingshu deliberately said, looking at Ding Dian below. "Why don't you just say it?"

"Phew!" Ding Dian glared at Song Qingshu with hatred.

Ding Dian's gaze made Song Qingshu's heart race. He thought to himself, "My goodness, his acting could win an Oscar."

"Beat him." Ling Tuisi sneered a few times. After so many years of torture, it had no effect, and he had lost interest. He just ordered the bailiffs to carry out the punishment out of habit.

"Thud, thud, thud!" The water and fire sticks fell on Ding Dian, and the sound of flesh being hit echoed. Ding Dian remained silent, silently enduring it, and did not resist with his inner strength, fearing that Ling Tuisi would see through his ruse. After all, these minor injuries were nothing; he could heal them by circulating his true qi a few times back in his cell.

"Father, don't force Brother Ding anymore!" At this moment, a female voice from behind made Ding Dian tremble all over. He turned around excitedly and saw Ling Shuanghua, whom he had been thinking about day and night.

Ling Tuisi was both shocked and angry on the dais. He pointed at Ling Shuanghua and said, "Why did you come? Have you forgotten the vow you made that day?"

"I have not forgotten," Ling Shuanghua walked over and helped Ding Dian up, then turned around and said, "Fortunately, I received guidance from a wise person and realized that my mother's life of kindness has likely led her to the Western Paradise. She would not be suffering in the afterlife."

Ling Tuisi's expression changed dramatically, and he glared at Song Qingshu. At this moment, there was a loud crash, and the door was shattered, with a soldier being thrown in, spitting out blood.

"There's an assassin!" The shrill cry from outside made everyone inside jump.

The sound of weapons clashing echoed, and Ling Tuisi's guards were clearly struggling to hold back the attackers, retreating step by step. Soon, several swordsmen took advantage of the chaos and rushed in. Seeing Ling Tuisi on the dais, their eyes lit up, and they pounced.

Ling Tuisi's guards drew their swords and charged forward, but they were no match for the swordsmen. One by one, they fell.

"Father!" Ling Shuanghua called out anxiously as she saw one of the swordsmen leap high and stab at Ling Tuisi.

Ding Dian loved Ling Shuanghua to the extreme and could not bear to see her suffer. He trembled, and the iron chains on his body snapped. He kicked off the ground and reached the scene first, delivering a powerful punch. The force reached before he did.

The swordsman was taken aback and hurriedly tried to defend himself. Ding Dian ignored his complex sword techniques and attacked his center, changing his punch to a claw and grabbing the man's chest. The man immediately went limp.

Song Qingshu peeked from behind a pillar and saw that the man was no longer breathing. He took a deep breath and quickly hid his head again, muttering to himself, "May the Taoist die, not the poor monk. You fight, the more chaotic the better, just don't notice me. I haven't completed my martial arts training yet, and I don't want to die prematurely."

"Divine Light Skill, Shadowless Divine Fist? You are Ding Dian!" The swordsmen below had already dealt with the remaining guards and turned to see the scene. The leader exclaimed in surprise.

It turned out that before the Snow Mountain Sect's mission, they had specifically inquired about the experts in Jingxiang. They naturally knew about the highly skilled Ding Dian.

With the situation at hand, the Snow Mountain Sect had to act quickly. If they waited for the magistrate's outer guards to react, they would be annihilated. The leader understood this and said, "Junior Brother Feng, Uncle and the others can't hold on much longer outside. I'll hold him off, you go and kill Ling Tuisi, then we'll retreat." He then attacked Ding Dian with his sword.

"Ah?" Ding Dian's grab missed, and he saw a faint cold aura on the sword blade. He realized that this man's skills were far superior to the previous one. Glancing at the other Snow Mountain Sect disciples rushing towards Ling Tuisi, he kicked a chair over to block their path, then leaped over to intercept them.

Ding Dian alone held off all four Snow Mountain Sect swordsmen, finding several openings and killing two of them. This left the two most skilled swordsmen struggling to hold their ground.

Ding Dian saw that these two were far more skilled than the others and asked, "Are you the ones known as 'Cold North' Bai Wanjian and 'Fire Dragon' Feng Wanli?"

Bai Wanjian and Feng Wanli grew more and more alarmed as they fought. Ding Dian's skills were so high that they might even surpass their master. Hearing the continuous shouts from a distance, they realized the situation was hopeless. They exchanged a glance, attacked Ding Dian with a few quick strikes, and leaped out of the room. "Ding Dian, the Snow Mountain Sect will remember this grudge!"

Ding Dian had no intention of pursuing and silently returned to Ling Shuanghua's side. Ling Tuisi looked at the two of them with a livid face.

Before he could speak, the roof tiles shattered, and a black figure descended, immediately restraining Ling Tuisi. His left hand clamped around Ling Tuisi's throat like an iron vise, and his right hand pressed against his back. Any movement would result in Ling Tuisi's death.

Song Qingshu, hiding behind a pillar, secretly cursed. Wu Liucheng's appearance at this moment would ruin his plans.

Wu Liucheng angrily shouted, "Ding Dian, you learned the Divine Light Skill from my senior brother. Why are you aiding a tyrant and protecting this man who killed my senior brother? Have you been bewitched by his daughter's beauty?"

Song Qingshu's face turned interesting. What beauty did Ling Shuanghua have now? Wu Liucheng probably assumed she was a great beauty based on her graceful figure.

"Who are you?" Ding Dian was also greatly surprised. He had spent little time with Mei Niangsheng and did not know he had a junior uncle.

"Mei Niangsheng is my senior brother. Who do you think I am?" Wu Liucheng said angrily, seeing that he did not recognize him.

"Snow Mountain Beggar Wu Liucheng, it's normal that Hero Ding doesn't recognize you." A pleasant female voice sounded, and Huang Rong slowly walked in. When the fighting started at the magistrate's office, Huang Rong and her group quickly realized something was wrong and rushed back, just in time to see Wu Liucheng holding Ling Tuisi hostage.

"Huang Bangzhu..." Wu Liucheng's face turned grim upon seeing Huang Rong.

"Huang Elder, it was understandable that you left the Beggar Sect back then, but why are you now helping the Mongol Tartars to assassinate a Song dynasty official?" Huang Rong asked calmly. For years, she had followed her husband in defending Xiangyang and had neglected the management of the Beggar Sect. Many members had died in the Song-Mongol wars, and some were dissatisfied, feeling that Huang Rong was too involved in national affairs. Many felt hopeless about the future, and as a woman, her leadership was increasingly questioned.

Chapter 32: The Split of the Beggar Sect

The Beggar Sect, known as the largest sect in the world, had many members and a loose organization. Huang Rong realized that with the efforts of certain individuals, the Beggar Sect would soon split. To avoid a major conflict, she proposed a division and management plan.

She led the core members to defend Xiangyang. Many members of the Beggar Sect were from the Yan and Zhao regions, and their influence was significant. They were also homesick, so Huang Rong appointed their leader, Wang Jian, as the new sect leader, leading his followers in Hebei to secretly restrain the Khitans. Another group, uninterested in national affairs and preferring to wander in the江湖, was led by Shi Huolong, whom Huang Rong appointed as their leader, allowing them to roam freely.

This move satisfied everyone. Wang Jian and Shi Huolong received the titles of sect leaders and gained autonomy, thus avoiding further conflict.

For Huang Rong, in the face of an inevitable split, it was better to take decisive action. Instead of letting the two leaders establish themselves independently and causing a rift, she personally appointed them as leaders. This way, both positions were her appointments, and although there were three leaders, her status in the hearts of all Beggar Sect members became even more exalted, and her prestige increased.

Moreover, after this reorganization, her strength did not diminish much, and she eliminated some long-standing internal threats, allowing her to more securely assist her husband in defending Xiangyang.

The two branches that were split off also thrived over the years. The Hebei branch, led by the great hero Qiao Feng, gained such a reputation in the martial world that it almost rivaled the main branch of the Beggar Sect. Unfortunately, due to various reasons, Qiao Feng left the Beggar Sect and became the Southern Duke of the Khitans, and the Hebei branch's influence declined.

The other branch, led by Shi Huolong with the support of Elder Chen Youliang, recruited many members in the martial world and now had a higher reputation in the Jiangnan martial world than the Xiangyang branch.

Wu Liucheng belonged to the Jiangnan branch but was expelled from the sect after a dispute where he injured another elder. Although Huang Rong was no longer his direct superior, she had met him in Xiangyang before and had been paying attention to the affairs of the Beggar Sect, so she knew about his expulsion.

Intimidated by Huang Rong's prestige, Wu Liucheng hesitated. However, thinking of his senior brother, he gritted his teeth and said, "Huang Bangzhu, I know that Ling Tuisi is crucial to Xiangyang's logistics, but he killed my senior brother for the treasure. I must avenge this!"

Ling Shuanghua let out a cry of alarm. At this moment, a desperate voice came from behind the pillar, "Mei Niangsheng was killed by those dogs, the Wan brothers!"

Wu Liucheng turned to see Song Qingshu reluctantly stepping out.

He had no choice but to come out. If Ling Tuisi were killed by Wu Liucheng, Ling Shuanghua might do something drastic, and the Divine Light Scripture would be lost. Even if Ling Shuanghua became disheartened and left with Ding Dian, he would have no leverage to get the Divine Light Scripture from Ding Dian.