Firmament Sword

”This is your dormitory.”

Li Tie shot Xu Luo a look of disgust and said coldly. He despised the sons of illustrious noble families.

And this one, of all people, had been personally placed here by the Dean, a man famous for his impartiality. This infuriated Li Tie even more.

’Abuse of power!’

’A blatant abuse of power!’

’Even the Dean has to bow to the powerful!’

’The Dean was such a hero back in his day.’

’He led just twelve men on a daring raid into enemy territory, fighting and killing across thousands of miles!’

’And now, he has to lower his proud head before some privileged brat who was made a Marquis over a single flower!’

’And the Emperor, he’s treating this like a joke!’

’No matter how much you dote on the Princess, you can’t just hand out noble titles like they’re nothing!’

’You can’t just ignore public opinion and make a good-for-nothing like him a Marquis!’

’Even the title of Baron would be too generous!’

Li Tie seethed internally, casting himself as a righteous warrior standing up to tyranny. The more he looked at Xu Luo, the more he found him an eyesore.

To make matters worse, the Dean had personally decreed that Xu Luo would live in the most luxurious single-person dormitory in all of True Martial Academy!

Though called a ”dormitory,” it was in fact a detached, three-story villa. It came with every amenity imaginable and was shockingly spacious.

Li Tie had never even been here before. He was only seeing this area, reputed to be the most luxurious housing at True Martial Academy, for the first time today, all thanks to Xu Luo.

What angered Li Tie the most wasn’t that the academy had such fine accommodations that he himself wasn’t qualified for.

It was the question of why a good-for-nothing like Xu Luo... had the right to live here.

’After all, everyone who lived here is one of True Martial Academy’s top geniuses!’

’Other than them, it doesn’t matter if you’re part of the Royal Family and Relatives or a high-ranking noble—you have to step aside!’

’Once you enter True Martial Academy, you follow its rules. Trying to pull strings for special privileges here? Not a chance!’

’Sigh, the Dean is getting old. He’s starting to pave the way for his descendants...’ Li Tie sighed inwardly, glancing expressionlessly at Xu Luo beside him.

In truth, while this was a martial academy, the vast majority of its students prided themselves on being skilled in both literary and martial arts; they weren’t just muscle-bound warriors.

Therefore, as an outstanding student of True Martial Academy, Li Tie believed he had figured out why the Dean was giving Xu Luo such preferential treatment.

’When people get old, they tend to overthink things.’

Li Tie thought to himself, his gaze toward Xu Luo brimming with contempt.

Though he didn’t know why the man beside him had been so hostile from the very start, Xu Luo wasn’t bothered. Compared to the years of ridicule and scorn he had endured, Li Tie’s attitude was truly nothing.

Thus, Xu Luo had no intention of stooping to Li Tie’s level. He took the key from his hand, offered a faint smile, and said, ”Alright, thank you.”

With that, Xu Luo walked forward, unlocked the courtyard gate, and pushed it open. He left it ajar but made no move to invite Li Tie inside for a tour.

Li Tie’s face flushed red. He watched the thin back before him, clenching his fists so hard he was trembling with rage.

’So rude!’

’So arrogant!’

’Does he really think he can treat a senior and an honor student of this academy with such disrespect just because the Dean brought him in?’

’This is too much!’

”You’d better watch yourself. Everyone who lives here is a top genius of the academy. Among them, a worthless outlier like you had best keep a low profile. Those people have nasty tempers. Don’t blame me for not warning you. I’d rather you not get beaten to death or crippled, only for the Dean to come and blame me!”

His voice was distorted with extreme anger. After spitting out the words, he let out a long breath, finally feeling a sense of release. He turned to leave.

”Wait.”

A calm voice came from behind him. Li Tie froze but didn’t turn around. He was screaming internally: ’Curse at me! Come on, curse at me! Insult me viciously! That way... I can beat your face into a pulp! And even the Dean won’t be able to blame me!’

’This is the rule of True Martial Academy!’

’Whoever has the stronger fist is the one in charge!’

’That’s right, it’s a rule!’

’Not some unwritten rule!’

”I don’t know why you took an instant dislike to me. I haven’t done anything to provoke you, yet you speak with such a sarcastic tone. But I don’t care. And thank you for the warning. Even though your words were filled with malice, I’ll take them as a kind gesture.”

Xu Luo looked at Li Tie’s back and added lightly, ”Senior, just a piece of friendly advice: with your narrow-mindedness and temperament, you’re not well-suited for the military or the world of officialdom. You’ll be played for a fool until you’re dead. Well, that’s all. You can go.”

Sensing a few faint auras in the surroundings, Xu Luo smiled slightly, turned, and walked calmly to the door of his villa.

Unlock. Open. Enter. Close.

SLAM!

Li Tie’s body trembled slightly. A flicker of confusion passed through his resentful eyes.

He still felt no goodwill toward Xu Luo whatsoever.

But Xu Luo’s final words had struck a nerve, instantly calming the rage of Li Tie, who had been on the verge of exploding and beating him senseless.

Because his father had said the same thing. His first teacher had said it. After he came to True Martial Academy, his instructor, the Dean, and even a few of his close classmates... they had all said it!

And now, a good-for-nothing in his eyes had said the very same thing!

’Could it be... that I really am narrow-minded?’

’No!’

’Absolutely not!’

’I’m just a passionate young man with lofty ambitions who isn’t afraid to stand up to the powerful!’

’You’re all wrong!’

’I’ll prove it to all of you with my actions! You’re all dead wrong!’

’Completely and utterly wrong!’

Gritting his teeth, Li Tie turned back one last time to glare fiercely at Xu Luo’s villa and muttered, ”You just wait. You’d better hope... you don’t fall into my hands. If you do, I won’t let you off easy!”

Compared to the treacherous, turbulent high society of the Empire, the academy was a relatively innocent place.

No matter how wild the rumors from the Imperial Capital became, they were mostly filtered out by the time they reached the academy. Few people paid them much mind.

This was especially true at True Martial Academy. Even if you were a scion of the Royal Family or the heir to a powerful official, you were still just an ordinary student.

Want power?

Fine.

As long as you were better than everyone else, you could have special privileges!

”Young Master Leng, that good-for-nothing ’Civil Servant’s Rice Bowl’ has finally reported to the academy! Our chance is here!” a pimply-faced youth said to Leng Ping with a fawning smile.

The other youths all nodded in agreement. They were just ordinary students at True Martial Academy, and their family backgrounds were a far cry from that of a top young master from the Imperial Capital like Leng Ping.

To secure a promising future for themselves, they flocked to the various top young masters from the Imperial Capital, forming small cliques.

It wasn’t just Leng Ping; the likes of Wei Ziting, Sun Donghai, Wang Ziweng, and Zhao Mo all had similar circles of followers.

The academy turned a blind eye to this. The scions of every great family grew up this way, and in the near future, these little cliques would evolve into powerful interest groups.

This was the fundamental reason why the great families could stand strong for centuries.

And the Royal Family, which controlled both imperial and military power, had various ways of keeping the leaders of these interest groups firmly in their grasp, so they had no fear of things spiraling out of control.

Although rumors of what had happened at the Seventh Princess’s coming-of-age ceremony were circulating, many of the details had not been fully disclosed.

Most people weren’t qualified to know the full story.

Take, for instance, the youth currently advising Leng Ping.

”Remember, don’t even think about provoking Xu Luo.” Leng Ping looked up, glanced at the youth who had spoken, and said flatly, ”You can’t afford to.”

”Huh...?”

The group of hot-blooded youths had been worked up and excited, brainstorming ways to teach that damned good-for-nothing a lesson. Leng Ping’s words were like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads, leaving every one of them stunned.

”Remember what I said. Don’t go provoking him. Otherwise, when you get your asses handed to you, don’t come crying to me for help.” Without another glance at their expressions, Leng Ping turned and left.

”What’s gotten into Young Master Leng?”

”Yeah, is that still our leader?”

”What Young Master Leng said... didn’t it sound a little strange? Almost like...”

”Almost like he’s afraid of that good-for-nothing?”

”Nonsense! Who do you think Young Master Leng is? How could he possibly be afraid of that loser? He just can’t be bothered to stoop to his level!”

”Yeah, that’s right. Our Young Master Leng is a man of noble character. He’s just too dignified to bother with him!”

”Yeah, that must be it!”

The hot-blooded youths could only comfort their bruised egos this way.

Leng Ping’s reaction was indeed a heavy blow to the youths who had been preparing to teach ”Civil Servant’s Rice Bowl” a lesson.

However, even if their fire had been put out, someone else was bound to step up...

”Young Master Wei, that good-for-nothing ’Civil Servant’s Rice Bowl’ is at our academy now. Should we find an opportunity to...”

A handsome, debonair-looking youth spoke with a smile, but his words dripped with derision.

Wei Ziting, sitting in his chair, grunted softly. ”You can handle that sort of thing as you see fit.”

”Heh, rest assured, Young Master Wei. We’ll handle it cleanly. No one will be able to find any fault with our work!” the handsome youth declared confidently.

”Mm, just be careful. That kid... might not be as simple as he seems.” Wei Ziting rubbed his forehead lightly. He still couldn’t understand how Xu Luo had managed to escape the Black Forest alive.

Xu Luo had returned, but the Yuan Brothers, Yuan Ren and Yuan Yi, whom he had hired at great expense, had vanished without a trace.

Wei Ziting didn’t believe the Yuan Brothers would just take his money and run. ’The Yuan Brothers hate the Xu Family to the bone,’ he thought. ’They would never pass up a chance for revenge. Could it be... something happened to them?’

Wei Ziting refused to believe that Xu Luo could be some kind of expert. He had known the boy for years. And while he’d always looked down on him, he felt he knew him well.

’Even if Xu Luo took a Seven-Turn Foundation Establishment Pill and changed his constitution, cultivation isn’t like fattening a pig—you can’t just feed it and expect it to grow. Improving one’s strength requires all sorts of Spirit Medicine, not to mention time! Could he really have grown strong enough to kill the Yuan Brothers in just a few months?’

’That’s absolutely impossible!’

’Could it be... that there’s a hidden expert protecting Xu Luo in secret? Otherwise, how could he have escaped that sudden assassination attempt the other night completely unharmed? Yes, that has to be it!’

As he considered this possibility, Wei Ziting’s eyes narrowed. ’In that case,’ he thought, ’I’ll just have to find someone to test you and see what you’re really made of!’