Firmament Sword

SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!

Xu Luo struck to kill, with no intention of leaving anyone alive.

With a flash of azure light, he cut down several people in quick succession!

Since the enemy knew his location so quickly, had set an ambush here to kill him, and even dared to use Military Heavy Crossbows, they clearly weren’t afraid of an investigation!

And since they weren’t afraid of being investigated, sparing these men’s lives would be pointless!

What infuriated Xu Luo was that the leader, the one with the cold, sinister voice, had escaped.

There had been more than thirty people lying in ambush for him.

Xu Luo wasn’t a god. Relying on the speed of his Shaking Light Step, he had killed sixteen or seventeen of them. In the eyes of others, this was already a terrifying display of combat prowess.

This place was quite close to the Imperial City, so the Imperial Forest Army and the City Defense Army arrived at almost the same time.

Torches instantly illuminated the area, lighting it up as bright as day.

”Marquis, are you unharmed?”

”Is the Seven-Colored Marquis all right?”

When the leaders of the Imperial Forest Army and City Defense Army saw that the one who had been attacked was none other than Xu Luo, the newly-appointed Seven-Colored Marquis, they all felt a major headache coming on.

Then they saw the two Military Heavy Crossbows the enemy hadn’t had time to move. The soldiers of the Imperial Forest Army and City Defense Army stared, dumbfounded. This was no longer just a headache; their scalps were tingling with fear!

This situation had gotten completely out of hand!

Even if they wanted to cover it up, it would be impossible!

Here in the Imperial Capital, right on the edge of the Imperial City, someone had actually brought out a forbidden weapon like a Military Heavy Crossbow just to assassinate a new Marquis... What if their target hadn’t been Xu Luo, but a member of the Royal Family?

Looking at the assassins who had been killed indiscriminately, one of them had been pierced through the chest by a crossbow arrow, and his entire torso was nearly blown apart!

The crossbow arrows, as thick as a man’s arm, were as tall as a person when stood on end!

Just looking at them made one’s scalp crawl, to say nothing of imagining what it would feel like to be pierced by one.

Xu Luo stepped forward and nodded to the leaders of the Imperial Forest Army and City Defense Army. Without saying much, he took Lianyi and calmly departed.

No one dared to stop him. If it had been an ordinary noble, the Imperial Forest Army and City Defense Army wouldn’t have cared if he was the victim; they would have definitely taken him in for a thorough interrogation.

But this was Xu Luo!

They didn’t dare.

The matter was quickly reported to the Emperor, who had not yet gone to sleep. He flew into a rage on the spot and ordered a full investigation.

And so, this already restless night became even more so.

Xu Luo, however, was not restless at all. After returning to the Xu Mansion with Lianyi, she followed him to his room.

”Who on earth would be so bold? Could it be Wei Ziting? If there’s anyone who hates you the most right now, it’s definitely him!” Lianyi’s pretty face was a little pale, still shaken by the incident.

She hadn’t expected them to use Military Heavy Crossbows. If she had known, she would never have let Xu Luo charge in, not for anything.

”Even you immediately thought of him. Do you think he wouldn’t realize that?” Xu Luo said, looking at Lianyi.

”Sometimes truth and lies are intertwined. Maybe he’s exploiting that very line of thinking!” Lianyi said.

Xu Luo raised an eyebrow slightly. ”It’s not impossible, but... I still find it hard to believe he’d be that brainless.”

”Whoever obtained the Military Heavy Crossbows must have connections to the army. How many families in the Imperial Capital have such access?”

Lianyi replied, ”The Wei Family may be a Civil Servant Clan, but among their vassal families, there are Military Generals who hold significant positions in the army!”

”These things... they all have serial numbers. Every single one is registered with the Military Department. If I’m not mistaken, the two Military Heavy Crossbows from tonight either have no serial numbers or were decommissioned many years ago. In any case, it’s impossible to trace them back to the source.”

”It’s completely lawless!” Lianyi said indignantly.

”Alright, look, I’m fine, aren’t I? They overestimated the power of the Military Heavy Crossbows and underestimated my strength. I might not have it so easy next time, but they probably won’t dare to come after me again for a while!” Xu Luo said with a smile.

”Do you actually know who they are?” Lianyi asked, looking at Xu Luo in surprise.

Because throughout the entire incident, from discovering the assassins to returning home safely, Xu Luo had acted... far too calmly!

He was a newly-appointed Marquis!

How could he not be furious after such an attack?

And how could he not be afraid?

So why was Xu Luo so unnaturally calm?

”Lianyi, you’re overthinking it. How could I possibly know who they are? I just believe this won’t be the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last. Given enough time, they’ll eventually reveal themselves,” Xu Luo explained with a smile.

Although Lianyi was still skeptical, she didn’t say anything more.

After Lianyi left, Xu Luo remained alone in his room, the relaxed expression he wore in front of her now gone.

’Wei Ziting... could it be you? Do you hate me so much that you’re this desperate to kill me, even if it means exposing the use of Military Heavy Crossbows?’ A cold, murderous glint flashed in Xu Luo’s eyes.

When Lianyi had voiced her suspicion earlier, Xu Luo hadn’t confirmed it. He hadn’t told her what happened in the Black Forest.

Although Wei Ziting had hidden it well, Xu Luo had still caught the flicker of astonishment in his eyes when he saw him appear today.

’It seems he was quite surprised that I made it back alive. He only left a short while before I did. I find it hard to believe... that he could have made such arrangements in such a short time!’

Xu Luo muttered to himself, ’But if it wasn’t you, then who could it be? The Sixth Prince? That’s impossible, too. The Sixth Prince and the Crown Prince’s faction are all in the Imperial Palace right now, eagerly waiting for Qiqi’s medicine.’

...

While Xu Luo was racking his brain to no avail, in a secret chamber in the basement of Fengyue Building...

Phoenix was glaring at the middle-aged man, his face furious. ”You’ve got some nerve!” he said coldly. ”Who gave you permission to attack Xu Luo? And let me ask you, have you gotten involved in the struggle between the princes? I’m telling you, you’re lucky today that nothing happened to Xu Luo. If anything had happened to him, I’d have your life!”

The middle-aged man, however, looked at Phoenix calmly and even smiled. ”You’re fawning over his mother and sister, constantly sending things to his mansion... Don’t tell me you’ve actually taken a liking to that good-for-nothing?”

”Say that again?” An incredibly deep and powerful aura suddenly erupted from Phoenix, crashing through the secret chamber and making it almost impossible to breathe.

”It’s no use. You know my strength isn’t that much different from yours.”

The middle-aged man looked at Phoenix calmly and said faintly, ”I know you suspect that good-for-nothing is connected to the ’Falling of the Seven Stars,’ and that the major sects are all secretly investigating it. But you saw it yourself—Luo Xinlan has already left the Imperial Capital to fulfill her promise to her sect. In other words, the change in Xu Luo’s constitution was entirely due to the Seven-Turn Foundation Establishment Pill. It has nothing to do with the ’Falling of the Seven Stars’!”

”Then why did you try to kill him? And using Military Heavy Crossbows, no less. Quite the grand gesture,” Phoenix said, looking at the middle-aged man with a cold, mocking tone.

”His death would be beneficial to us. It’s a perfect opportunity to muddy the waters in the Imperial Capital. Phoenix, you understand that my reasoning makes sense,” the middle-aged man said with a sincere expression.

”I don’t understand. All I know is that by following that person and getting involved in this matter, you bring no benefit to Fengyue Building or the sect behind us!”

Phoenix said sharply, ”Not to mention, for the time being, I’m still the one in charge of this Fengyue Building...”

”Not for long,” the middle-aged man said with a dismissive smile. He then looked at Phoenix and said, ”You’ve fallen into a narrow-minded way of thinking. Within the sect, the majority support me! Because my methods are the ones that better align with the sect’s interests!”

At this, Phoenix grew strangely calm. He looked at the middle-aged man opposite him and gave a cold smile. ”Crystal, you’re good! Very good. After tolerating this for so many years, you’ve finally gotten your chance. Heh, do you think you’ll get what you want just by pushing me out? It probably won’t be long before you regret today’s actions.”

With that, Phoenix turned, opened the door to the secret chamber, and said hauntingly without looking back, ”Remember my words.”

BANG!

The door to the secret chamber slammed shut. Inside, the middle-aged man gave a cold smile, reached up, and gently tore at his face. An extremely exquisite human-skin mask appeared in his hand.

In its place, a devastatingly beautiful face was revealed.

She said coldly, ”I will never regret it!”

...

The news that the Seven-Colored Marquis, Xu Luo, had been the star of the Seventh Princess’s coming-of-age banquet and was then ambushed on his way home that night quickly spread throughout the entire Imperial Capital!

All sorts of rumors began to fly, with people saying all kinds of things.

On the second day after the incident, Xu Luo received a report from someone sent from the palace.

The assassins who attacked him were all untraceable individuals. It was as if they had appeared out of thin air; no records could be found on any of them.

The two Military Heavy Crossbows, upon investigation, did not belong to any army unit either. The controls on these weapons were so strict they were almost paranoid; no one could possibly smuggle one out of the military.

Otherwise, a heavy weapon like this, with a range of over a thousand meters, would be a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of all the nobles, and even the Royal Family!

As the saying goes, one can be a thief for a thousand days, but one cannot guard against a thief for a thousand days. Therefore, control over Military Heavy Crossbows had always been of the utmost importance.

They couldn’t find the assassins’ origins, nor could they trace the source of the crossbows.

Even the workshop that manufactured the heavy crossbows checked out with no issues!

The investigation had hit a dead end.

It was said that the Emperor was so furious he dismissed seven or eight commanders from the Imperial Forest Army and the City Guard Army in one go.

”The incident occurred at the edge of the Imperial City! If someone were to set up a Military Heavy Crossbow on high ground, wouldn’t the Imperial City itself be in danger? Wouldn’t Our own safety be compromised?”

”Such a major disturbance, with the enemy sneaking two Military Heavy Crossbows right to the edge of the Imperial City, and yet neither the Imperial Forest Army nor the City Defense Army noticed a thing! They are a bunch of useless gluttons!”

After these two sentences from the Emperor were circulated, everyone understood the true reason for his rage. It wasn’t just because of Xu Luo, but because of the Royal Family’s own safety!

...

”This... How could you possibly have another Seven-Colored Flower?”

Staring at the flower in Xu Luo’s hand, which shimmered with a seven-colored light, Lianyi’s mouth fell slightly agape, her face a mask of disbelief.

----------------------------------

Thank you all for your support, and thank you for the red-envelope rewards. Thank you, thank you all!

We have a lot of subscribers, and I know you all have votes to give. How can you prove it? By casting your votes!

Uncle Dao believes in your power! I believe you can get Uncle Dao more recommendation votes! I believe you can allow Uncle Dao to keep writing with peace of mind and without any worries!

Also, a special thanks to Brother Chun from Spring Village, also known as the legendary cameo king, Li Yifeng... Thanks to my little brother Xiao Fufu, thanks to the Baidu Tieba moderator Little Sister Xuan’Er, thanks to the voice chat admin Maomao, and thanks to all the admins in the group chat... It’s all of you who allow me to write in peace, ignoring the distractions of the outside world.

I’ve had a lot of family matters to deal with recently. Without you all, I don’t know what I would have done.

Really, thank you all!