As if struck by lightning, Tang Folei stood rooted to the spot, not knowing what to say.
After a while, he laughed and said, “Well, very well, Ding Hao, I will spare your life since you surrendered. You are exempt from the fate suffered by Li Jianyi and Qi Qingshan.”
Ding Hao looked up and sighed, “Senior Brother Tang, how much longer do you plan to keep up this act? You mentioned the deaths of Head Jianyi and the grandmaster to provoke me into killing you, didn’t you? But I do know everything.”
“What… what are you talking about? You…” Tang Folei began to tremble. He waved the long sword in his hand and finally lowered it in vain. Without being aware, he was already in tears.
“How did grandmaster and Head Jianyi die?” Ding Hao asked earnestly, “Senior Brother Tang, can you tell me the truth now?”
Two streams of tears flowed out of Tang Folei’s eyes.
He seemed to have aged hundreds of years in an instant. Fully dispirited, he fell down in front of the stone chair. His face, which had been as fierce as a lion’s, was filled with endless fatigue.
Tang Folei lowered his head and smiled bitterly, feeling a little relieved.
“Martial Uncle Qi Qingshan was right. You wouldn’t be deceived by this. I don’t know whether to call you a genius or a fool… If you had killed me and taken my head to our fellow disciples, you would have ruled the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect and enjoyed endless prestige. You could lead the sect to dominate the Snow Province as the head. Isn’t that better?”
Ding Hao responded earnestly, “I won’t let a righteous hero who readily sacrificed his reputation for the sake of the sect to die in shame. You deserve the honor and will always be remembered for your noble deeds by every disciple of the sect.”
“But you should know that my hands are indeed smeared with blood of our sect’s disciples. I killed dozens of sect elders on that day, my own disciples, and dozens of other disciples. Tens of millions witnessed this and took it as a fact. Even if I tell the truth, what difference would it make?” Tang Folei gradually calmed down.
He sat quietly on the ground and said with a smile, “Ding Hao, Jianyi and Martial Uncle Qi Qingshan have fulfilled their duties to the sect. They are worthy of their reputation even in death and have earned respect from everyone. I may be despised by everyone, but I am more fortunate. Do you know why?”
“Why?” Ding Hao asked.
“Hahaha, that’s because I’ve seen the sect recover with my own eyes before I died. I have also seen the young man for whom they had high hopes for excel and become someone who can lead the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect to become a super sect. Hahaha, I cried tears of joy when I saw you kill those sword practitioners of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect with ease…” Tang Folei slightly narrowed his eyes and said as if he was sinking deep into his memory, “What a beautiful and charming scene. Haha, Li Jianyi and Martial Uncle Qi Qingshan did not get to see it.”
An unspeakable emotion welled up in Ding Hao’s heart.
Although the Land of Infinity was a cold world where the law of the jungle prevailed, there had never been a lack of heroic deeds. For thousands of years, men had risked their lives fighting for their beliefs, their friends and loved ones, the younger generation and fellow men with no regrets.
No matter how cruel the world was, some people could still calmly and generously step up and die as martyrs.
To some extent, Li Jianyi and Qi Qingshan’s sacrifice for the sect was not as courageous as Tang Folei’s. He didn’t hesitate to bear the name of the devil and dishonor himself.
This was the great wisdom and courage of man.
Ding Hao asked himself what he would have done if he had to choose. He would definitely choose to die gloriously instead of living with disgrace and condemnation.
It required a lot of courage.
Tang Folei’s sacrifice bought time sorely needed by the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, and the hope of its rise. It preserved the sect to the greatest extent.
The Swordsmanship-seeking Mountain had not been destroyed in the battle. About 80% of the disciples were still alive. The Six Peaks and Six Bases, the library, the Herb Hall, and even the residence of the nominal disciples in the martial practice field weren’t fully destroyed. All of this had to be attributed to Tang Folei’s feat of daring, becoming a “demon”.