Chapter 1676

Six years after Hong Ting’s birth, Maple Leaf City has enjoyed peace, grown to over ten times its original size, and become the number one human city in the surrounding plains. In the city lord’s manor, Hong Ting completely perfects, after three months, a sword technique from the secret manual of the famous sword cultivator Zhao San Si, for which Hong Zhu exchanged many treasures. The guards praise his unrivaled talent; Hong Ting calls the technique only so-so. Hong Zhu is very proud and long past surprise, yet his accumulations were used up years ago and cannot keep pace with his son’s learning. ^{ch. 1676}

A group of spiritual sparrows implodes into golden light specks over their heads, and the specks are absorbed into everyone, most of them by Hong Ting. Everyone gains inheritances and secret manuals as a gift from yet another immortal, while Hong Ting is immersed completely in his new sea of knowledge. Such miracles have been frequent since Duke Long, leader of Heavenly Court, took Hong Ting as a disciple with great publicity. Central Continent’s righteous path, demonic path and lone immortals all pay extreme attention to Hong Ting’s growth, and Gu Immortals or their descendants secretly help him to build affinity. Finding no aperture awakening method in the manuals, Hong Ting asks when he can awaken his aperture. Hong Zhu reminds him of Duke Long’s letter, which says to wait until twelve. He tells his son to obey, because his master will absolutely not harm him. ^{ch. 1676}

Years pass, and Duke Long formally takes Hong Ting as his disciple and roams the world with him, guiding him. At twelve, Hong Ting has his aperture awakened by Duke Long. He steps onto the path of Gu cultivation and, with his peerless talent and robust foundation, advances shockingly fast. He meets many mortals and immortals and deepens his knowledge of human life, with a strong sense of justice and a loathing of evil. He looks handsome and kind but is crafty and resourceful. ^{ch. 1676}

One day Hong Ting returns to the cave and reports that the evil Xue Tu Dao, who slaughtered an entire village, is staying on a nearby mountain. Duke Long has refused him for over a year, even after Hong Ting reached rank five. Now Duke Long says the opportunity has not arrived and that killing Xue Tu Dao would be futile and create an aftermath leading to tragedy. Hong Ting insists, and Duke Long lets him try. Hong Ting leaves, promising Xue Tu Dao’s head within fifteen minutes, but forty-five minutes pass without his return. Duke Long goes to him and finds him kneeling, staring at the foot of the mountain where a small village once stood. ^{ch. 1676}

Hong Ting sobs that Xue Tu Dao had secretly come to obtain a Gu Immortal inheritance. When Hong Ting destroyed his plan, Xue Tu Dao used the inheritance’s power, and their battle crumbled the mountain and completely buried the village. Hong Ting blames himself for the villagers’ deaths. Duke Long, silent, then asks whether he wants revenge and says the opportunity has arrived, pointing to where Xue Tu Dao is. Hong Ting hurries off and easily kills Xue Tu Dao. ^{ch. 1676}

Xue Tu Dao’s last words are that he had already obtained the true inheritance and needed only to absorb it. He adds that he had barely escaped death when Hong Ting came after him, and that given time he could have become a Gu Immortal. Hong Ting stands silently before the corpse, then asks in an extremely hoarse voice whether he could have killed Xue Tu Dao easily, without implicating the villagers, had he listened to his master’s arrangements. Duke Long does not reply and only pats Hong Ting’s shoulder. Hong Ting falls into deep silence, then asks Duke Long what fate is. ^{ch. 1676}