......

Lu Ding was helpless. “Not arguing with you now, I still have to go to Songyuan Valley. You go back and take your father’s apology offerings. After I finish at Songyuan Valley, I’ll accompany you to Snow City.”

“Do not under any circumstances go alone, this is an order. If you dare defy this order, whether you live or die, you will be immediately dismissed. Understood!?”

Lu Ding had always valued investigators who showed promise.

Not to mention Zheng Feng’s father died tonight.

As the saying goes, if you’re going to deliver a Buddha, deliver him to the western temple — anyway, he’s already in the north; what else can be done?

Their own investigator, their own protection.

Getting beaten, getting scolded was acceptable; Lu Ding would not shield him for that. If you mess up you must admit it, stand at attention when punished; after all, he was going to offer apology.

But killing Zheng Feng entirely was out of the question.

This man was still useful to him.

Zheng Feng felt moved, knelt and thanked him. “Thank you, Grand Duke Lu.”

Lu Ding didn’t help him up; this headbow he could take.

“Go back quickly. Come find me later at Songyuan Valley. Zhan Tingzhou, let’s go!”

Lu Ding turned his head not once as he left with Zhan Tingzhou.

At the same time.

On the other side.

Songyuan Valley.

At this moment Songyuan Valley was still operating as usual, unaware that a catastrophe was approaching.

At the mouth of Songyuan Valley.

Lu Ding arrived with his people, openly and aboveboard.

No tricks.

Facing the array blocking the road ahead.

Human King’s Loose Hands tore it apart in one move, a dimensional-crushing divine art; truly an old master of traditional cures, specialized in handling obstinacy.

With Lu Ding’s shout, “Into it, now!!!!!!”

The investigators leaped forward like fish into water.

Voices rose and fell.

“749 investigators handling a case, don’t move!!!!”

“I told you not to move and you still do; you won’t listen to warnings, then die!!!!”

“That’s right, behave yourselves. Here, put the cuffs on.”

“What are you hiding? Is it evidence? Take it out, I told you to take it out!!!”

“Running? Run then! Meeting me is you getting lucky. If you run into someone else, you won’t just lose a leg.”

Chaos burned high in Songyuan Valley; since Lu Ding dropped by, he had no intention of letting them off.

The commotion outside drew Songyuan Valley’s elders who flew out one after another to confront Lu Ding.

That scholar-warrior sleeve.

That signature look of not even glancing properly at others.

No need to announce oneself, who did not know the Corpse-Shattering Taishui.

Let alone Songyuan Valley trying to make trouble in the western region.

Lu Ding and their patriarch stood in the crowd; they would certainly recognize Lu Ding first!!!

Sure enough.

The valley master, an old man, stepped out first.

Smiling and cupping his hands, he spoke: “Long have I heard of Grand Duke Lu’s name. May I ask the reason for your arrival today?”

He spoke with the same demeanor, as if the life or death of his disciples below meant nothing.

Lu Ding found the old man interesting.

A little profound.

Lu Ding raised two fingers. “Exterminate the family.”

He withdrew one.

“Fill the valley.”

He withdrew the second.

Just that simple.

The valley master laughed, first paying Lu Ding a compliment. “With Grand Duke Lu’s ability, exterminating the family and filling the valley would be effortless.”

Then his tone suddenly shifted. “But heaven cherishes life; would Grand Duke Lu not care for the subordinates you brought with you?”

Lu Ding looked at him, raised a hand, and activated the Way of the Jinche, a flurry of slash attacks cutting through the battlefield below, repeatedly repelling Songyuan Valley’s God Ascension Qi Refiners who had besieged his investigators.

“You’re threatening me?”

Arms folded, the old man said, “Fine, let’s hear what leverage you have.”

The valley master glanced at where his sect’s strong were dead.

His eyes opened slightly, his expression shifting a little.

“I, aged as I am, have lived many seasons, endured countless battles, and consider myself somewhat versed in survival methods.”

“As everyone knows, Grand Duke Lu’s offenses are peerless; his slashing cutting arts cannot be stopped. The only counter is the death-substitute life-saving method.”

“I, being little clever, have some study of this art. In a head-on clash, Grand Duke Lu’s slashes may run rampant and I might be outmatched, but before my death-substitute treasures are exhausted, causing casualties among the subordinates Grand Duke Lu brings—this I can still do.”

Due to Lu Ding’s presence, the artifact market in the new city had driven the price of death-substitute treasures through the roof.

Nothing is perfect.

Even the Way of the Jinche, unmatched in offense, had a countermeasure.

Times change; people are not fools.

But this countermeasure came at a heavy cost.

Even before prices rose, death-substitute artifacts were worth a fortune.

And these things were not infinite.

Once used, they inflicted permanent damage to the soul, difficult to recover from.

Lu Ding listened. “So you were prepared in advance.”

The old man mistook this for praise and said self-deprecatingly, “I would not dare claim preparation in front of Your Grace; I only know what I have done and am clear on my position, so I had no choice.”

Lu Ding’s expression slowly hardened, his face turning cold. “Do you really think I’m complimenting you?”

Suddenly he kicked; Moon Arc Kick drew a silver crescent wheel in the air like a curved blade.

Rip!!!

The old man was cleaved in an instant, blood sprayed on the spot, his entrails spilling to the ground with a wet splat.

But only for a moment.

Songyuan Valley’s master restored himself again.

He did not resist; he wanted Lu Ding to see his backing. See if Lu Ding could not kill him.

Unexpectedly, Lu Ding simply unleashed his momentum: “Since you know what you’ve done, and the consequences are here now, on what grounds do you negotiate with me!?”

“Scare me!?”

Lu Ding waved his hand, pointing at the investigators below. “Do you want to see them? Which of them is afraid to die!?”

“Do you think the new city now is the old new city? Do you think they’re still those useless investigators before!?”

“They’d rather decapitate themselves at the waist and stake their future on the line, and you use them to threaten me!?”

“I have reached God Ascension, Ninth Restriction; do you think I cultivated all this for nothing!?”

Boom!!!

An energy wave burst forth. For the first time in broad daylight, Lu Ding revealed his extraordinary nine-petaled blood lotus!!!

Three Dinghai Pearls circled his body as he rotated. Though Lu Ding had no enlightenment of any Divinity yet, the posture alone radiated full deity bearing, black smoke accenting the scene, ink-dark charm heavy.

The valley master’s face went pale.

God Ascension Ninth Restriction—when... when did he reach it!?

The last intelligence indicated Lu Ding had only reached God Ascension Fifth Layer!?

Four realms difference!?

Where did they go?

How did he suddenly jump from God Ascension Fifth Layer to Ninth Restriction!!!?

Although both men now had ninth-layer status, and Songyuan Valley’s master was one rank higher than Lu Ding, he had no confidence in matching Lu Ding in combat performance.

Otherwise he would not have resorted to this ploy.

But all of that premise relied on Lu Ding being known to be God Ascension Fifth Layer!!

Also, didn’t the Corpse-Shattering Taishui usually not carry artifacts?

Why did the crimson blood beads orbiting his fists emit such brutal oscillations?

Lu Ding, with Fear-Killing Asura activated, pointed at Songyuan Valley’s master with a brazen, mocking face.

“Don’t say I didn’t give you this old dog a chance.”

Lu Ding stepped aside. “Go, kill.”

“If you have the guts, if you can, kill a man right before me. Damn it, count how many death-substitute artifacts you’ve got, count them in your head one by one. I’ll smash each and every one for you, let you feel death closing in step by step!!!”

“When you get to the last piece, inform me, shout out—so I can savor the last chance to humiliate you!”