The Divine Martial Stars

“Brother Ding, you surely should say sorry to me,” Li Mu said. “What’s the background of the people you picked to send me out? They ate people without spitting their bones. They had been discussing to kill me and rob me of the treasures I carried. Luckily, those from the Western Sea Sword Sect came and took me away. Otherwise, they would have dealt with me when I was still in a coma.”

“What? Kong San and those sons of a bitches! How could they…” As Ding Yi heard the words, he was beside himself. “When I get out of this, I will definitely tear them to pieces.”

Li Mu chuckled and said, “Never mind. Anyway, those good-for-nothings have been killed by the West Sea Sword Sect.”

Ding Yi gazed at Li Mu and felt that something was wrong, but he had no time to give it a deep thought.

He gritted his teeth and said, “Xiao Duan, I got you into trouble this time. But don’t worry. I will keep you safe no matter what happens.”

The wounds on his body looked shockingly scary. As blood gushed out, Ding Yi appeared to be a man bathed in blood. If it were other people, they might have not been able to hold on for so long and fend for themselves. But when Ding Yi made this remark, it was absolutely convincing.

“Hehe, it’s really touching.” Qu Xuening laughed and applauded.

“It is true that your brotherhood is quite profound. However, Hero Ding, it is already difficult for you to protect yourself. Don’t make such a remark to puff yourself up at your own cost. I just said that as long as you surrender, I will let go of this little scholar. My words are still valid. What do you think?”

He looked at Ding Yi with a teasing look.

“Will you live up to your words?” Ding Yi sneered. “You decent people are not even as good as wild dogs in the cemetery. When have you ever kept your promise?”

“How dare you!”

“You’re courting death.”

“You’re full of nonsense!”

When the surrounding experts of the West Sea Sword Sect and the Cold River City heard these words, they all burst into a round of angry reprimand.

The eyes of Tan Rushuang, the Top Sword of West Sea, and Qu Yi, the Lord Cold River City, turned frosty as well.

People were always like this. When they did sinister things, they often felt at ease. But once their deeds were exposed, they would be so ashamed that they could not stand it.

Qu Xuening said coldly, “It seems that you have no choice but to believe me. If you want to save the little scholar’s life, then just give in.”

Ding Yi looked at Li Mu and then at Qu Xuening. Eventually, he remarked, “Fine, we have a deal. I hope you can keep your word.”

For Ding Yi, kindness and hatred were clearly distinguished. He was a real man, so how could he hurt his brother out of his fear of death?

Although the two had only been close for more than a month, Ding Yi did regard Li Mu as a friend, a brother.

A smile appeared on Qu Xuening’s face. He then said, “Well, here are four Devil-sealing Spikes. You nail them in your meridians to seal your cultivation of Genuine Vitality. After all, the secret methods of your Devil Cult are too many. Only by using our means can I be at ease.”

“Okay. Don’t forget what you’ve promised.” Ding Yi caught the four rays of light that Qu Xuening threw at him. They were four scarlet dragon-shaped spikes, made of special materials. The spikes contained the secret sealing deployment of the Zhu family. Once they pierced into a man’s body, even an expert in the Void-breaking Realm would have his cultivation be restricted.

Without any hesitation, Ding Yi inserted all four Devil-sealing Spikes into the key joints of his meridians with four splutters.

Hot blood squirted out from his wounded body again.

The deployment inside the Devil-sealing Spikes was activated. In an instant, a strange force poured into Ding Yi’s body and completely sealed his power.

By this time, Ding Yi had become almost the same as an ordinary person.

Without the support of natural qi, his face was a little pale.

However, his eyes were still burning with the desire to fight and an unyielding spirit.

In the darkness, Ding Yi’s eyes were as bright as stars.

“Good, very good.” Qu Xuening laughed out loud and said, “He does live up to his title as the future leader of the Fate-defying Sect, a branch of the Devil Cult. He dares to take responsibility for what he has done. His strength of character is comparable to the Fate-defying Immortal who had died in the hands of the nine major forces that year.”

“Cut it out.” Ding Yi uttered, “It’s your turn to let him go.”

Qu Xuening gave a smile and said, “Tut-tut, I suddenly changed my mind. What can you do now?”

“You…” Ding Yi’s eyes became frightening.

Qu Xuening burst into laughter and said, “Haha, what’s the matter? You’re angry, aren’t you?”

Ding Yi’s eyes were so fierce that they could almost kill people.

Qu Xuening smiled faintly and admitted, “Yes, I did promise you, but I didn’t say that I would not change my mind. What’s more, the sinners and evil spawns of the Devil Cult like you should be wiped out. If we don’t uproot the grass, it will grow up again when spring comes. This little scholar has colluded with the Devil Cult, so he deserves to die a thousand times. Originally, he would have to suffer from cruel torture, but for the sake of you sealing your cultivation, I will give him a quick death.”

Then, ignoring Ding Yi’s murderous glower, Qu Xuening looked over his shoulder and said to Senior Fellow Apprentice Fan, “Send him to hell.”

“Splutter!”

With a flash of broadsword light, the head fell to the ground.

Qu Xuening smiled, then remarked, “Well, he is dead now. What’s the use of staring at me like this? Well, if you have to blame someone, blame yourself. It’s you who caused his death. You were so stupid to surrender. You…”

As he spoke of this, he suddenly felt that the look from Ding Yi across the field was a little weird.

That was not the look of grief and indignation.

It was a sort of… bewildered expression.

“Watch out!” An elder from Cold River City, who was closest to Qu Xuening, caught onto the situation and shouted in alarm before making his move.

“Swoosh!”

The streak of broadsword light flashed again.

The head of this elder from Cold River City was directly sent flying.

Blood gushed out.

It was not until this moment that Qu Xuening turned around to check the situation. He was instantly horrified by what he saw.

Previously, when the first ray of broadsword light flashed past, it was not the head of Duan Shuiliu, but the head of Senior Fellow Apprentice Fan that dropped to the ground. Senior Fellow Apprentice Fan’s long broadsword was already in the hands of Duan Shuiliu, the “fragile scholar”. Just now, with a casual hack, the head of an elder in the Sage Realm was directly cut off and thrown to the air.

“You…” Qu Xuening was petrified. He was no longer as calm and composed as he was when he schemed. He found this hard to believe. At the same time, he hoped to step back and flee.

Li Mu gave him a backhand slash.

Qu Xuening’s legs from the knees down were chopped off and sent flying.

“Plop!”

He threw himself on the ground and began to holler.

It was not until this time that the others had realized the fragile scholar who was as insignificant as an ant in their eyes turned out to be a top expert with such formidable cultivation… Such a turn of the event was really shocking.

“Ning’er…” Qu Yi, Lord of Cold River City, roared and launched a strike right away.

Among the Four-city Alliance, the punch technique was the most famous in Cold River City. The Cold River’s Heaven Lockdown Palm-hitting was the most prized technique in that sect. It was said that the palm-hitting technique was passed down by the immortals from another world. Being the lord of the Cold River City, Qu Yi had mastered the essence of the Cold River’s Heaven Lockdown Palm-hitting. He was also an expert in the Void-breaking Realm. When he attacked in rage, how terrifying would it be?

When his palm flipped downward, it seemed to have an earth-shattering power. The surrounding space was also twisted.

Li Mu put away the broadsword in his right hand and conjured a fist seal with his left hand, bellowing, “The Seven Supreme Beings of the Decent Alliance on the Bitter Star claim to be invincible. Today, I’ll have the chance to witness it with my own eyes.”

“Rumble!”

The moment the fist and palm collided, there was a moment of silence between heaven and earth. Then, a wave of frightening energy burst out. The unbearable pressure that the surrounding people felt swept in their faces, forcing them to retreat one after another.

“What?” Qu Yi exclaimed.

He flew backward for dozens of meters and barely managed to regain his balance. After that, he stared at Li Mu with an astounded look.

This lord of Cold River City City couldn’t believe that his full-strength attack failed to hurt his opponent or force him to retreat. Instead, he himself was sent flying by his opponent’s punch.

Screams of astonishment were also heard from nearby.

The people who came here tonight were all first-class experts from the West Sea Sword Sect and the Cold River City. They could easily see how amazing the punch was. When Li Mu killed Senior Fellow Apprentice Fan and the elder from Cold River City, it only made people realize that this “fragile scholar” was actually a martial arts expert. Yet, after seeing him fight Lord of the Cold River City head-on and drew a tie with him just now, the crowd all saw the truth.

This “fragile scholar” was definitely not a simple expert. Instead, he was the best out of the best.

A streak of sword light dashed toward Ding Yi across the field.

It was as fast as lightning.

The head of the West Sea Sword Sect, Tan Rushuang, just made his move.

Seeing that the Lord of the Cold River City City returned with no success, Tan Rushuang immediately realized that things had gone awry tonight. Duan Shuiliu, the so-called “fragile scholar”, could not be defeated in just a couple of moves.

He was a crafty man and would never overexert himself.

Therefore, he quickly attacked Ding Yi, who had lost his combat ability.

He would catch Ding Yi first and then deal with Duan Shuiliu.

However, though he was fast, Li Mu was faster.

He lowered his shoulder and turned a somersault. The Somersault Cloud instantly appeared. Then, as if he had been teleported, Li Mu already arrived at Ding Yi’s side and hacked the long broadsword in his hand. It was exactly the Lifting Hack, one of the Wind-Cloud Six Moves.

“Clank!”

There was a very subtle sound of metal colliding.

Tan Rushuang, the Top Sword of West Sea, flew backward.

The sword in his hand had snapped into halves.

While the broadsword in Li Mu’s hand was still intact.

“Who are you?” asked Tan Rushuang, his face solemn. There was no longer any trace of contempt in his eyes. During their brief duel, he felt the daunting power of his opponent. He was a top expert with the power absolutely not weaker than his own.

Countless names and figures quickly crossed in Tan Rushuang’s mind.

Experts in the Void-breaking Realm definitely could not be unknown to the public on the Bitter Star. Yet the person in front of him was a man he had never seen or heard of before.

Li Mu paid no attention to him.

“Brother Ding, you entrusted the wrong person who almost threw me to hell. Now that you’ve been stabbed by four Devil-sealing Spikes, we’re even. What do you think?” Li Mu said beamingly. He then directly cast a technique and pulled out the Devil-sealing Spikes from Ding Yi’s body. After that, he injected a wisp of wood qi of the Eastern Wood Emperor into him to treat his injury.

Ding Yi was speechless the whole time.

“Xiao Qi, you are really good at hiding your strength.” Ding Yi sighed.

Li Mu grinned and said, “Brother Ding, you also nailed it. I didn’t see a sign at all.”

“Can you tell me who you are now?” Ding Yi asked.

The rest of the people in the area also perked up their ears.

Li Mu said, “Let me introduce myself. I’m Duan Shuiliu, the future leader of the Fate-defying Sect, a branch of the Divine Sect on Mount Shu.”

Upon hearing this, Ding Yi’s face turned a delicate shade of green.