Firmament Sword

CRACK!

A loud noise erupted from Wei Feng’s study, causing a passing Maid to tremble, her face turning pale.

Before the Maid could recover, another loud noise came from within.

BOOM!

Even the ground shook violently.

Panicked, the Maid pushed the door open, only to see a massive row of bookshelves toppled over in her master’s study. The room was a mess, littered with the fragments of various antiques.

Wei Feng stood in the middle of the room with a savage expression, his hair disheveled. He gritted his teeth, looking as if he wanted to devour someone.

”Get out!”

The roar rushed toward the Maid who had pushed open the door.

The terrified Maid scrambled out, then, remembering herself, she carefully closed the door.

”Get out! All of you! Get the hell out!”

The Maid’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest as she fled in panic. In all her years with the Wei Family, she had never seen the master so furious!

’Even when that major incident happened to the family a while ago, the master hadn’t lost his composure like this...’

Inside the study, Wei Feng’s eyes were bloodshot, and a trickle of fresh blood stained the corner of his mouth.

”A bunch of useless gluttons! Trash! Worse than pigs and dogs!” Wei Feng shrieked and roared, finally collapsing into a chair, where he sat staring blankly into space.

Just last night, the Prime Minister’s Mansion had been burgled.

The countless rare treasures accumulated by the family over several centuries had been completely plundered!

The massive treasury was empty, not even a speck of dust left behind!

And the Guards watching the treasury hadn’t noticed a thing!

If not for the fact that items had also gone missing from Wei Feng’s study, drawing his attention, no one in the entire Wei Family would have even known their vault had been emptied!

Although the loss of his family’s accumulated wealth made Wei Feng feel like coughing up blood, it was not the reason for his explosive rage.

What truly angered him, or rather, terrified him, was the loss of some calligraphy scrolls from his study.

Many people might find it strange. Could a few pieces of calligraphy be more valuable than a fortune accumulated over centuries?

After all, as long as a person is alive, they can always create more calligraphy. But wealth... that requires the hard work and accumulation of generations.

But to Wei Feng, wealth could be earned again if lost. These calligraphy scrolls, however... were things that could cost people their lives!

At this moment, the Prime Minister, a man of immense power, second only to the emperor, felt an impulse to flee in panic!

He didn’t know who had done this or what their motive was. Was it a crazed master thief acting on a whim, or was it a targeted attack aimed specifically at these scrolls?

’If it’s the latter... then... the sky is about to fall!’

This was why Wei Feng was so furious, so terrified.

Yet, besides being terrified, there was nothing he could do!

He didn’t even dare send people to investigate the matter!

Because if the culprit had done this unintentionally, and his frantic investigation angered them into making the scrolls public, then he, Wei Feng, and the entire Wei Family, would be utterly finished!

”Who was it? Who did this?” Wei Feng forced himself to calm down. His long career wielding immense power in the court had taught him a clear lesson.

He currently seemed to be at the pinnacle of glory, enjoying the Emperor’s favor, with his protégés and disciples spread throughout the land. The other high officials in the court, including his peers among the Nine Ministers, all had to act according to his pleasure.

But if he were to fall from power... his entire world would collapse. Countless arrows, both seen and unseen, would fly his way in an instant. The slander and mudslinging would be endless.

”No, this matter... must be suppressed! No matter what, I have to keep it under wraps!” Wei Feng took a deep breath, speaking slowly as he smoothed his hair.

Then he shouted to the outside, ”Someone come attend to my bath and help me change!”

...

Returning to his private dormitory at the academy, Xu Luo closed the door and headed straight for the basement.

The moment he opened the door, Xu Luo felt a mountain of gold bearing down on him...

Without a second thought, he used the Shaking Light Step and dodged to the side.

CRASH... CLATTER...

A massive amount of gold, silver, and treasures came pouring out of the doorway, spilling everywhere.

The iridescent splendor was dazzling.

Xu Luo was nearly blinded. He tentatively called into the room, ”Miaomiao?”

”What do you want with Master Mao? Master Mao worked hard all night and is trying to sleep!” Miaomiao’s voice came from inside the room, putting Xu Luo at ease.

Staring at the mountain of treasures, Xu Luo asked in a daze, ”How did you carry all this back? And didn’t you worry you’d crush someone when they opened the door, piling it all up like this?”

”Hmph, you treacherous, cunning human. You’re always teasing your Master Mao. This is just a little surprise for you!” Miaomiao said, strutting out from inside with a regal gait, stepping on jewels with an arrogant look on its face.

It then looked at Xu Luo smugly and said, ”Is this a lot? Just a pile of junk. It was a pain just storing it in Master Mao’s storage space... besides, this rubbish is only a tenth of the total haul.”

”...” Xu Luo stared at Miaomiao, speechless, and asked in disbelief, ”You really emptied the warehouse of Prime Minister Wei’s family?”

”Hmph, who is Uncle Meow Meow? Uncle Meow Meow is the one and only, powerful, handsome, mighty, wise... Tier Nine Spirit Beast, the Heaven-Swallowing Fox, AHHHHHH!” After roaring, Miaomiao said to Xu Luo, ”This useless gold and silver is for you. Consider it a small reward for the Star Power you give me.”

”Hmph, you think Star Power is as cheap as you say?” Xu Luo rolled his eyes and casually swept the gold, silver, and jewels scattered on the floor into his Storage Ring.

Only recently had Xu Luo realized that the ring on his hand was a true treasure!

He had previously thought that Lin Luoxue had just casually given him a ring that could store items. Although Xu Luo knew such a thing was priceless, he hadn’t given it much thought.

But as Xu Luo’s own level increased, he discovered that every time his mental power grew, the space inside the ring expanded as well!

By now, the space inside the ring was as large as two basement rooms!

Storing all this gold, silver, and jewelry in the ring immediately took up more than half the space. Xu Luo couldn’t help but shake his head and smile wryly.

He thought to himself, ’The Wei Family is truly as wealthy as a nation. The Prime Minister’s Mansion alone holds such astonishing riches, not to mention all the shops and land the Wei Family owns across the country!’

”What about the calligraphy scrolls I asked you to steal?” Xu Luo asked Miaomiao after he had cleaned up all the treasure.

”Here, take them...” With a flick of its paw, a large pile of assorted papers suddenly appeared on the ground. Countless scrolls lay scattered about. Miaomiao complained, ”Just some stupid writing, but it was guarded more heavily than the treasury. Hmph, if Uncle Meow Meow wasn’t so incredibly powerful, getting these things would have been quite difficult!”

Xu Luo’s attention was now completely focused on the scrolls.

Back when he couldn’t cultivate, Xu Luo had collected some calligraphy from court officials, so he was somewhat familiar with their handwriting.

”These few... are from Lord Zhao, Zhao Mo’s father. Yes, vigorous and grand, with strokes like a soaring Dragon and Snake. This is Lord Zhao’s handwriting.”

”These... are from Lord Sun, Sun Donghai’s father. His style is like iron strokes and silver hooks, very difficult to imitate. Although he hasn’t reached the Grandmaster realm of establishing his own school of calligraphy, his style is still unique!”

”This one, this one seems to be from Lord Wang, Wang Ziweng’s father? Lord Wang is generous and stout, but his calligraphy is very thin, which is also quite distinctive. However, his writing isn’t exceptional enough to be its own school... Prime Minister Wei’s skill is incredible!”

Xu Luo muttered to himself as he looked at the scrolls. Although he didn’t have a photographic memory, he still remembered the handwriting of the court officials.

Looking at these scrolls, it wasn’t just Xu Luo; even if the people who were being imitated saw them, their first reaction would undoubtedly be to think they had written them themselves!

”This is Lord Leng’s... this is Lord Zhang’s, and hmm, these are Lord Li’s...” Xu Luo murmured, looking at the scrolls on the floor. He sneered and said softly, ”Prime Minister Wei truly lives up to his reputation as a master calligrapher who has integrated the strengths of all the previous dynasty’s experts. Truly amazing!”

Then he looked at Miaomiao. ”Um, Master Mao, I have one more favor to ask of you...”

...

「The next morning」

A very strange thing happened in the homes of the high-ranking officials in the Imperial Capital.

On the desks in the studies of nearly every notable minister in the court, one or several calligraphy scrolls had been placed.

Lord Wang Moxuan was a powerful minister in the court, one of the Nine Ministers, in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. He controlled the Empire’s finances and held a position of utmost prestige and authority!

Lord Wang had been in a relatively good mood recently.

Ever since the failure of the Centennial Star Festival and the subsequent emergency at the Empire’s Border Region, the Minister of Revenue had been swamped with work every day.

It was only recently that the Grand General of National Guardian, Xu Ji, and the Champion Marquis, Xu Zhongtian—the two Xu’s of the North and South, the twin pillars of the Empire—had acted like two indestructible floodgates, forcefully holding back the restless armies of neighboring countries at the border.

The neighboring armies had launched several small-scale raids but were met with fierce counterattacks and driven back each time. They had been much quieter lately.

The strain on the treasury had eased considerably, and as a result, Wang Moxuan found himself smiling much more often.

Every morning after washing up, Lord Wang would go to his study for a while to organize his thoughts for the day, even if he didn’t read. It was a habit he had maintained for years and never broken.

No one ever dared to enter Lord Wang’s study without permission, let alone touch anything inside.

But this morning, after washing up and entering his study, just as he was about to call a Maid to bring him breakfast, he discovered seven or eight calligraphy scrolls lying on his massive desk.

”Hm? Who has been in my study?” Wang Moxuan’s brows furrowed slightly. His first reaction was to wonder who had entered his private study.

None of his sons would be so bold, and his grandchildren would be even less likely to dare enter.

So how did so many scrolls suddenly appear out of nowhere?

Filled with doubt, Lord Wang walked towards the desk, his gaze falling upon the scrolls...

”Hm? What... what is this?” Wang Moxuan’s eyes widened, fixated on the scrolls on the desk. The lord, usually a master of composure, was completely stunned.

He snatched one of the scrolls and stared at it intently, crying out, ”Th-th-this... this is my handwriting, but I’ve never written this! What in the world is going on?”

Just then, a soft knock came from the door, and a Maid’s voice followed: ”My lord... your breakfast has arrived.”

Wang Moxuan replied in a low voice, ”I’m not eating. Tell everyone not to disturb me.”

”Oh, understood.” The Maid outside replied, though she felt it was strange. Her master had a sensitive stomach and always placed great importance on breakfast; he never skipped it.

Wang Moxuan forced himself to calm down, walked around the desk, and sat in his chair. He picked up the scrolls one by one and examined them carefully.

No matter how he looked, it was his handwriting!

But for the life of him, he could not remember ever writing such things!

”Could it be... that someone imitated my handwriting... and wrote these?” The moment Wang Moxuan thought of this possibility, a chill ran down his spine, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.

”But how did these things end up on my desk?” Wang Moxuan murmured. ”If someone were to use these to issue orders... I... I would have no way to defend myself! Who is it? Who is so bold? And who delivered them to me?”

At almost the exact same time, similar strange incidents were occurring in the homes of the Imperial Capital’s most powerful ministers.

Lord Leng, Lord Sun, Lord Zhao... a whole series of high-ranking court officials were all sitting in their studies.

Drenched in cold sweat!