Firmament Sword

”I ran into a real powerhouse today.” Ignoring the sharp-tongued Heaven-Swallowing Fox, Xu Luo simply recounted the day’s events.

”Tsk, tsk. A Tier Eight Great Sword Master. What a mighty powerhouse! AHHHHH! Uncle Meow Meow could swat them dead by the dozens with a single swipe! AHHHHH! Xu Luo, you really are an idiot! HAHAHAHA!” Uncle Meow Meow gloated, devoid of any sympathy.

”Swat them dead by the dozens with one swipe?” Xu Luo sneered. ”I bet there’s one thing you definitely can’t do!”

”Brat, you dare say there’s something Master Mao can’t do? Uncle Meow Meow is a magnificent Tier Nine Spirit Beast, a Heaven-Swallowing Fox! Is there anything your Master Mao can’t do?” Uncle Meow Meow felt deeply insulted, its fur bristling as it roared.

”You wouldn’t be able to steal anything from the home of the guy who injured me today. Hmph, don’t think I don’t know. You knew I was at the True Martial Academy long ago, but you didn’t dare to act. You were just scared of the powerhouses here!” Xu Luo sneered, his tone dripping with scorn. ”For all I know, the person you’re afraid of is this very Tier Eight Great Sword Master!”

”Bullshit! Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit!!! AHHHHHHHH! You damned bastard, how dare you look down on your Master Mao!!! A good-for-nothing Great Sword Master is less than a fart in Master Mao’s eyes!”

Uncle Meow Meow roared, hopping about with its tail stuck straight up in the air. It paced back and forth around the room before its sapphire-blue eyes darted about. It leaped in front of Xu Luo, stared into his eyes, and sneered, ”Hmph, what a treacherous, cunning human. You’re trying to trick Uncle Meow Meow into doing your dirty work, aren’t you?”

Xu Luo felt a pang of guilt, thinking helplessly, ’It’s just a Spirit Beast. Even if it is a Tier Nine Spirit Beast... does it really need to be this clever?’

Though he felt exposed, Xu Luo’s expression remained unfazed. He retorted with a sneer, ”If a certain someone who calls themselves an all-powerful Tier Nine Spirit Beast hadn’t been bragging about how a Tier Eight Great Sword Master is nothing to them, I wouldn’t have even bothered with you! What could I possibly trick you into doing? If I were really trying to trick you, I’d trick you into helping me kill him for revenge. If you steal his things, you’re the one who gets to enjoy them. What does that have to do with me?”

Miaomiao’s eyes were fixed on Xu Luo, and Xu Luo met its gaze without hesitation.

After a long moment, it gave an exaggerated roll of its cat-like eyes and said, ”Weak little human, do you dare make a bet with Master Mao?”

”What’s the bet?” Xu Luo’s heart skipped a beat, but he feigned indifference.

”Hmph, you still have that guy’s scent on you. Master Mao will go clean out his house tonight. If Master Mao succeeds, you must release two hours’ worth of Star Power for Master Mao to absorb!”

”No way! Two hours is too long! One stick of incense at most!”

”Three and a half sticks of incense!”

”One and a half!”

”Three sticks! Stop haggling with Master Mao! Master Mao hates negotiating! AHHHHH!”

”One and a half. I can’t handle any more than that. Do you think Star Power grows on trees?”

”AHHHHHHH, you’re going to be the death of Master Mao! Two sticks of incense! If you try to haggle again, Master Mao is calling it quits!”

”Fine, deal!” Xu Luo said quickly.

Uncle Meow Meow was so delighted it nearly leaped into the air. In Uncle Meow Meow’s eyes, this pile of treasures—priceless to humans—was nothing but trash compared to Star Power!

After a moment, Uncle Meow Meow suddenly muttered to itself, ”Hm? Wait a minute... Did Master Mao just get played by you?”

With that, Uncle Meow Meow shot Xu Luo an unfriendly glare.

”How did I play you?” Xu Luo asked, his face a mask of calm.

”You only bet on what happens if Master Mao wins, but you never even mentioned what happens if Master Mao loses. That’s not like you... unless, in your heart, you never thought for a second that Master Mao would lose!” Miaomiao analyzed aloud, pacing back and forth on the floor.

”Could it be... that guy’s house has some treasure you’ve got your eye on? Mmm, that must be it. Hehe, you pitiful human. The one who can trick your Master Mao hasn’t even been born yet! Now you listen to Master Mao: even if I find some amazing treasure, it’ll be Master Mao’s spoils of war! AHHHHH! It has nothing to do with you! Got it?”

Xu Luo suppressed a laugh and nodded with a serious expression, then asked, ”Are you really sure you can win?”

”Nonsense! When has Master Mao ever failed? Hmph, Master Mao won’t take advantage of you. If Master Mao can’t steal everything that guy owns, I’ll kill someone for you, free of charge!”

Uncle Meow Meow was clearly easy to provoke. No matter how intelligent it was, it was no match for Xu Luo in this department.

Before midnight, Master Mao was already gone.

Alone in the underground training room, Xu Luo looked at the pile of colorful treasures on the floor and couldn’t help but smile wryly. He murmured, ”I wonder which family was so unlucky. They’re probably in an uproar right now, huh?”

As he spoke, Xu Luo’s gaze gradually sharpened. ’Wei Yun. He once held a key position in the military’s intelligence division. He suddenly left the military over ten years ago... Intelligence division... Intelligence division...’

A complete thread was now more or less forming in Xu Luo’s mind.

All that was missing now was evidence!

”I hope Miaomiao has a good harvest tonight, too,” Xu Luo sighed softly. He then sat down cross-legged, calmed his mind, and began to circulate his energy to recover from his injuries.

...

Wei Yun was in a terrible mood today. In fact, he hadn’t known a single day of true happiness since the day he left the Military Department to become an Instructor at True Martial Academy over a decade ago.

Originally, even though he, Wei Yun, could not inherit the Wei Family’s estate, he was gifted from a young age. With outstanding aptitude, he had demonstrated extraordinary strength in his youth and was destined for a bright future.

However, on a rainy night more than ten years ago, a mysterious person delivered a letter that changed the course of his life forever.

Now, whenever he recalled that rainy night, Wei Yun hated himself with an unmatched ferocity. He hated that he was born into the Wei Family!

He hated his own brother, born of the same mother, for making him do such a thing.

This was treason!

Wei Yun had been young back then, his heart still filled with passion and righteousness. He couldn’t believe that the contents of the letter were written by the elder brother he had always respected and admired.

Although he burned the letter as soon as he finished reading it.

At the same time, his conscience, his passion, and his righteousness were all burned to ash along with it.

The job was done beautifully. Relying on his position in the military and his clever mind, Wei Yun carried out the entire affair flawlessly!

The most brilliant part was that even if it aroused suspicion, absolutely no one would be able to find any evidence or leverage!

It was a heaven-shaking conspiracy, but at its core, it had the distinct flavor of an overt plot!

In the end, the Civil Servant Group within the Cangqiong Kingdom won a great victory. The Wei Family won a great victory!

In the end, the enemy general, Hao Liancheng, was promoted to Grand General on the back of that far-reaching military victory!

He had reached the pinnacle of his career!

The old General Xu Dingsheng, whom Wei Yun had once greatly admired, resigned his post and drifted away. Grand General Xu Ji, with whom Wei Yun had once been on good terms, was nearly ruined beyond recovery, forced to bear that enormous stain for the rest of his life. Vanguard General Wu Dayong, known in the army as the Tiger General, was riddled with arrows and died a gruesome death on the spot...

So many ”once upon a times” had turned to the dust of history, yet the memories remained lodged in Wei Yun’s heart. He knew he could never go back.

Less than a year after the defeat at Wansong Town, Wei Yun chose to retire and entered True Martial Academy to become an ordinary Instructor...

If it weren’t for what happened back then, he, Wei Yun, would at least be a major figure in the military by now!

Unfortunately... one wrong step led to another. Now, even if he wanted to turn back, the vengeful souls of the soldiers who died back then would probably not allow it.

Today, he hadn’t wanted to show himself. His very existence was far too sensitive. If possible, he wanted everyone to forget a person like him even existed!

After the defeat all those years ago, could Xu Ji have not suspected him, his former friend?

Wei Yun simply didn’t believe that Xu Ji hadn’t suspected him. But without proof... no one could touch him based on suspicion alone.

Wei Yun had heard about Xu Luo as soon as he entered True Martial Academy. Originally, Wei Yun hadn’t given the useless second young master of the Xu Family a second thought.

Although he didn’t join others in gossiping and mocking Xu Luo behind his back, in his eyes, a person like Xu Luo had never even registered!

Just another frail, weak aristocratic youth. Why would he, Wei Yun... have any interest in paying attention to him?

However, a series of subsequent events changed Wei Yun’s opinion of Xu Luo. Gradually, he grew wary of the National Guardian General’s Mansion’s second young master!

Wei Yun himself used to work in intelligence. His perspective on things was fundamentally different from that of an ordinary person.

To others, Xu Luo had simply stumbled into an incredible stroke of dumb luck: he had brought the Seven-Colored Flower—the blossom of the Seven-Colored Light—back from the Black Forest, cured the Princess’s illness, and earned a reward from the Royal Family.

But in Wei Yun’s eyes, Xu Luo had endured countless hardships, evaded powerful and ruthless Adventurers, and must have possessed a considerable understanding of the primeval jungle, as well as an extraordinary intellect... only then could he have survived in a perilous and complex place like the Black Forest.

He must also possess extraordinary intelligence to have calculated the exact time the Tier Nine Spirit Beast would be chasing the Starlight, seizing that one-and-only opportunity to steal the Seven-Colored Flower!

Furthermore, a few days ago, when Wei Yun had returned to the Wei Family estate for his sister-in-law’s funeral, he had a long talk with Wei Ziting.

When he heard from Wei Ziting that he had hired assassins to kill Xu Luo—and that the hired men were connected to that old case—his heart went cold.

Feeling powerless to berate Wei Ziting for his stupidity, Wei Yun had returned to True Martial Academy practically in a daze.

He wasn’t afraid of an investigation into the past affair. In fact, all evidence on his end had long since turned to dust. The only way there could be a problem was if his elder brother had left a loose end.

But Wei Feng was even more intelligent than him. How could he possibly leave leverage for his enemies to exploit?

What Wei Yun feared was the matter being brought up again, being dredged back up!

There was no shortage of clever people in this world, nor of those with ulterior motives. If this matter was brought up again while the Wei Family was down on its luck, and then exploited by the Wei Family’s political enemies...

Then the Wei Family... would truly be in for a catastrophe!

While one power clashing with another might require evidence, when many powerful factions target a single one, evidence... becomes almost irrelevant.

Besides, fabricating evidence was a specialty of every major power!

At that point, beset by troubles from within and without, the Wei Family would truly be cornered!

Wei Yun could imagine it. Back then, all eyes were on the Xu father and son. Countless Civil Servants had frantically impeached Xu Ji and Xu Dingsheng, demanding they take responsibility for the defeat at Wansong Town and the chain reaction of events it caused.

No one paid any attention to the Wei Family then. But now, if this matter was raised again, countless accusations would surely be hurled at the Wei Family as well!

And the one who had set this all in motion was, unbelievably, that little good-for-nothing from the National Guardian General’s Mansion who had been a laughingstock for over ten years...

Wei Yun found this deeply ironic, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but be vigilant. Thus, when he saw Xu Luo today, he couldn’t resist testing him.

The result left him shaken to the core!