Firmament Sword

Wei Ziting’s expression was grim and uncertain. He had thought that even if Xu Luo had taken the Seven-Turn Foundation Establishment Pill, a Spirit Medicine from a major sect, it would have only changed his constitution—turning him from a great piece of trash into a smaller one.

But he never expected things to go so far beyond his predictions.

The Xu Luo of today was not only no longer a good-for-nothing, but had reached a level in a very short time that was frankly alarming to him.

’This... how is this possible?’ Wei Ziting thought. He looked at his dejected cronies and said, ”What are you worried about? Major sects have all sorts of Elixirs that can grant rapid boosts in strength. Since Xu Luo’s mother could get him a Seven-Turn Foundation Establishment Pill, who’s to say she didn’t get him other Elixirs to enhance his power?”

The others, naturally not as knowledgeable as Wei Ziting, immediately thought his words made sense.

The handsome youth said, ”Young Master Wei, if that’s the case, doesn’t that mean Xu Luo has really shed his title as a good-for-nothing and become a real threat?”

”He’ll never amount to anything!” Wei Ziting said with conviction. ”Haven’t you ever heard the saying ’haste makes waste’? Relying on powerful Spirit Medicine can certainly grant you a huge boost in a short time, but it leads to an unstable foundation. Hmph. Without a stable foundation, his future achievements will go no further than this!”

”Young Master Wei is wise!” the handsome youth chimed in with timely flattery. ”Then, for now...”

Wei Ziting waved his hand. ”Ignore him for now. Let him run wild for a while. Someone will deal with him eventually.”

...

Back in his own dorm, Xu Luo was lost in thought.

He muttered, ”Wei Ziting, you sent that ’Swift Heavenly King’ to test me. I wonder if you’re satisfied with the results?”

As he spoke, a short sword suddenly appeared in his hand. With a slight narrowing of his eyes...

With a HISS, the aquamarine blade released a stream of Sword Qi over a foot long!

The Sword Qi was brimming with killing intent—the hallmark of a Sword Master!

A Swordsman could also produce Sword Qi, but it was unstable and very short, at most the length of a palm.

Upon reaching the Sword Master realm, one’s Sword Qi could extend over a foot long and become stable.

Sword Qi is formless, but its power is immense!

After completely absorbing the Seven-Colored Light, the Shaking Light Star Soul had fed a massive amount of energy back to Xu Luo, allowing him to break through to the realm of a Tier One Sword Master in one go.

He could also finally use the third of the Breaking Army Seven Kills—Severing the Primordial Spirit!

With this, Xu Luo had mastered the first three of the Breaking Army Seven Kills. Perhaps influenced by the Shaking Light Star Soul, the depths of his heart were always filled with an indescribable killing intent.

If it weren’t for the fact that they were at True Martial Academy, Xu Luo would have killed the ’Swift Heavenly King’ for that single malicious punch.

His opponent hadn’t just wanted to injure him; he had wanted to kill him!

They were students at the same academy. They didn’t even have any bad blood between them, let alone deep-seated hatred. Clearly, his opponent’s actions could only be driven by personal gain.

”Sigh...” Xu Luo sighed aloud. ’I originally thought the academy would be a quiet haven where I could study in peace. Now it seems that even a supposedly pure academy is filled with the shadows of competing interests.’

His Shaking Light Step had become more and more proficient. The kick he’d used to send the ’Swift Heavenly King’ flying today was, in fact, the Shaking Light Step!

That ’Swift Heavenly King’ was truly unlucky. Banking on his specialty in speed, he actually tried to compete with Xu Luo in that very area. If he had known about the Shaking Light Step, a leg-based Cultivation Technique, he would have slapped himself hard across the face a couple of times.

On the surface, Xu Luo still appeared to be that same overlooked youth from the Xu Family. In reality, his current strength had already surpassed the vast majority of his peers. He had started late but surged ahead, leaving many of his contemporaries far behind.

’Wei Ziting, I haven’t even settled the score with you for sending someone to kill me, and now you provoke me again... You just wait. Once I’m done with what I’m busy with...’ Xu Luo’s eyes flickered with an icy, bone-chilling light.

This battle also established Xu Luo’s prestige within True Martial Academy. When he appeared on campus again, many of the students who had previously looked down on him had all changed their attitudes.

Even if they still didn’t quite believe in their hearts that Xu Luo was now strong, they at least didn’t dare to be as openly disrespectful and mocking as before.

What attracted Xu Luo most about True Martial Academy wasn’t the skilled instructors, but the massive collection of books in its library!

The rules at True Martial Academy were not rigid. Students weren’t required to stay at the academy every day. As long as you could pass the assessments, it didn’t matter if you never showed up.

That was why people like Huangfu Chongzhi, Xu Jie, Sui Yan, and Liu Feng were, in fact, students of True Martial Academy.

However, they rarely came to the academy for classes, as they were usually busy with their own affairs.

Huangfu Chongzhi’s skill level was already high enough to graduate from True Martial Academy. Xu Jie spent his days forging and sharpening swords. Sui Yan researched Mechanical Skill all day long. And Little Fatty Liu Feng’s favorite pastime was hitting on beautiful women on the street...

Therefore, for seven or eight days straight, Xu Luo practically lived in the academy’s library, forgetting to eat or sleep as he absorbed all sorts of knowledge he’d never had the chance to learn before.

He spent the rest of his time training diligently on the training grounds, putting into practice the things he read in the books.

One day, just as Xu Luo entered the training grounds, he saw that someone else had arrived before him. Bare-chested, the person was circling a training post, striking it relentlessly with loud grunts and shouts.

Xu Luo found the person somewhat familiar and soon recognized him. It was Sun Donghai, a young master from the great Sun Family of the Imperial Capital!

Sun Donghai had always been very low-key. Rumor had it that he didn’t get along with the other noble young masters of the Imperial Capital. Instead, he spent his days mixing with a crowd from the Jianghu, for which he was often ridiculed behind his back.

No matter how strong people from the Jianghu were, in the eyes of the top aristocrats, they were nothing more than a group of lower-class commoners.

In the eyes of many great nobles, people from the Jianghu were like chamber pots—dragged out when needed, then kicked into a dark corner when they weren’t...

But Sun Donghai enjoyed befriending people from the Jianghu. Since he was a teenager, all sorts of Jianghu characters could often be seen by his side.

Over there, Sun Donghai also saw Xu Luo and gave him a slight nod.

Xu Luo returned the gesture with a smile, but he didn’t expect that after nodding, Sun Donghai would actually walk over to him.

”Xu Luo, you really hide your strength well. Even I misjudged you. Interested in a little spar?”

Sun Donghai’s voice was a bit low and not very loud, but it gave off a feeling of straightforward frankness.

Perhaps because he’d spent so much time with people from the Jianghu, the young man from the Imperial Capital’s top circle of nobles didn’t act like an aristocrat at all.

”Haha, I’m no match for you,” Xu Luo replied with a smile, declining the offer.

”No, I think you’re very dangerous!” Sun Donghai shook his head with a serious expression, then stared at Xu Luo and said, ”That ’Swift Heavenly King’ may be impulsive and brainless, acting as someone else’s pawn, but he still had the strength of a Tier One Sword Master! The fact that you could severely injure him with a single kick means your true strength is definitely above that of a Tier One Sword Master!”

Looking at Sun Donghai’s burning gaze, Xu Luo gave a wry smile. ”You think too highly of me. When my mother was getting me medicine before, she also got a few Elixirs for rapid strength enhancement. She was afraid I’d be at a disadvantage in the academy...”

Sun Donghai looked at Xu Luo with some disbelief. After a moment, he broke into a grin and said, ”Since you’re not willing to spar with me, then forget it. But I want to give you a word of warning: be careful of that Wei Ziting. He’s a petty man who holds a grudge over the smallest slight.”

With that, Sun Donghai picked up the clothes he had draped to the side, put them on, and left the training grounds.

’This Sun Donghai... he’s rather interesting,’ Xu Luo murmured. He then thought about the Sun Family behind him. Although they were a prominent family, they had always remained low-key and had no clear political leanings. It seemed that, like his own family, they were part of the Royalist Faction.

’But who knows if there’s something else hidden beneath the surface.’

”But no matter what, this Sun Donghai seems like someone worth befriending,” Xu Luo said softly to himself, then walked further into the training grounds.

This quiet life continued for half a month. During this time, Xu Luo remained extremely low-key. The two battles from when he first enrolled were gradually forgotten, and few people spoke of them anymore.

One evening, just as Xu Luo returned to his dorm, he saw an old man standing at his door. Xu Luo paused for a moment, then walked forward.

”Uncle Cai, what are you doing here?”

”Young Master, something has happened at home. The Young Miss sent this old servant to bring you back.” The old man was a Steward from the Xu Mansion, a loyal and devoted servant of the Xu Family for many years.

”Alright. I’ll change my clothes and go back with you right away.” Since it was Lianyi who had sent Uncle Cai, it meant at least that nothing had happened to her, so Xu Luo didn’t ask any more questions.

He left the academy grounds with Uncle Cai, boarded his family’s carriage, and they returned to the Xu Mansion in silence.

Uncle Cai didn’t take Xu Luo through the front gate but led him through the back. He then guided Xu Luo toward the family’s forbidden grounds.

The so-called forbidden grounds were the most important area in a family estate, a place where ordinary people were not allowed to set foot.

The Xu Family’s forbidden grounds were in the central part of the estate. The ancestral hall was located there, and on the other side was the entrance to an underground passage.

This underground passage could be used as an escape route and also concealed several secret rooms and a dungeon!

Such a setup was not unusual for the great houses of the Imperial Capital. After all, they were ancient families; how could they not have a few secrets?

”Uncle Cai, what is this?” Xu Luo was a little surprised to see Uncle Cai open the door to the woodshed and activate a mechanism to a secret underground chamber.

If it weren’t for the fact that Uncle Cai was unfailingly loyal and had once been his grandfather’s trusted confidant, Xu Luo would have really started to suspect that the old steward had some ill intentions toward him.

”The Young Miss is interrogating a prisoner down below. Young Master, please follow this old servant,” Uncle Cai said, leading the way down.

Xu Luo frowned slightly and followed behind Uncle Cai, wondering why Lianyi was being so mysterious.

After leading Xu Luo to a secret room, Uncle Cai pressed a spot on the wall lightly, then bowed and exited.

At that moment, the sound of a conversation clearly reached Xu Luo’s ears.

’How could it be them?’