Firmament Sword

”You always talk about the Xu Family’s old general, Xu Dingsheng. He’s just a retired general, isn’t he? Is there something so special about him?” Wei Ziting asked, puzzled.

”A retired general?” Wei Lei shook his head slightly. ”That old man once annihilated a small sect!”

HISS! Wei Ziting sucked in a sharp breath, looking at Wei Lei in disbelief. He cried out, ”What? Annihilated a small sect? How small could it have been? No matter how small... it was still a sect!”

”Exactly,” Wei Lei said with a gloomy expression, sighing. ”Many years ago, there was a sect disciple whose strength had already reached the Sword Venerable Realm. In the secular world, that level of power is practically the apex. And that disciple was only in his early twenties back then. You could say he had a boundless future.”

”And then what happened?” Wei Ziting pressed.

”That sect disciple was arrogant and extremely lecherous. Very few women he set his eyes on could escape his grasp.” Wei Lei looked at Wei Ziting and said, ”He didn’t even need to use force.”

”Of course,” Wei Ziting nodded and said. ”Young, handsome, overwhelmingly powerful, and from a sect. What noble lady wouldn’t throw herself at him?”

”Yes.” Wei Lei nodded, then continued, ”Until one day, that sect disciple saw a young woman of unparalleled beauty and incredibly noble bearing. Even within a sect, you would rarely find a woman of such quality. So, he was captivated. But to his surprise, the woman rejected him!”

”Even if she was an unparalleled beauty, she was still just a secular woman. Who could possibly resist the allure of a sect?” Wei Ziting was confused.

”A princess,” Wei Lei sighed. ”That woman was His Majesty’s own younger sister! The very woman who was once on the verge of marrying Xu Ji!”

”Something like that actually happened? I’ve never heard a word about it!” Wei Ziting was astonished.

”You weren’t born yet, so of course you wouldn’t have heard,” Wei Lei said. ”After being rejected, the sect disciple flew into a rage from the humiliation and abducted the princess on the spot. And at that time, the Royal Family and the Xu Family were in the middle of negotiating that very marriage alliance...”

”That sect disciple was a bit too arrogant. Did he not know the identity of the woman he was abducting?” Wei Ziting asked.

”Of course he knew! But as a sect disciple, why would he care about a mere Secular Royal Family?” Wei Lei said.

”Idiot!” Wei Ziting said.

”An idiot indeed. The incident directly enraged His Majesty, and it also enraged the Grand General of that time, Xu Dingsheng. When their men found the sect disciple, they discovered that the fiercely spirited Royal Princess had been killed by him for resisting to the death...” Wei Lei heaved a long sigh. ”In the end, a furious Xu Dingsheng killed that sect disciple with a single slap.”

”Wait... You’re saying Xu Dingsheng killed a sect disciple at the Sword Venerable Realm with a single slap?” Wei Ziting’s face changed as he stared at Wei Lei in disbelief.

”That’s right, killed with a single slap. And it didn’t end there. When the sect learned of this, they dispatched numerous experts to the Imperial Capital, vowing to make the Xu Family pay their blood debt in blood. But the result...” Wei Lei looked at Wei Ziting and gave a bitter smile. ”For every one that came, one died. For every pair, a pair died. In the end, the entire sect mobilized. Over thirty experts at the Sword Venerable Realm swore to bathe the Imperial Capital in blood. But before they could even enter the Imperial Capital City gates, they were intercepted outside the walls by Xu Dingsheng and two Royal Honored Guest Elders. Of those thirty-plus people, not a single one escaped alive! And yet, Xu Dingsheng and the two Royal Honored Guest Elders were completely unscathed! Just like that, the small sect was annihilated!”

”My god, something like that really happened? Were those two Royal Honored Guest Elders that powerful? And was that small sect stupid? Sending themselves to their deaths like that?” Wei Ziting stared dumbfounded at Wei Lei. ’It’s only today that I’ve learned the truth. The Xu Family I’ve always looked down on... has such terrifyingly deep roots. It’s enough to make my blood run cold!’

”Those two Royal Honored Guest Elders were merely assisting the old general, Xu Dingsheng. As for the small sect, they weren’t stupid. The one who died was the Sect Leader’s favorite son!” Wei Lei said, looking at Wei Ziting. ”Now do you understand why the Royal Family only seeks to balance the Xu Family, and would never dare to suppress them forcefully?”

”Then... where is Xu Dingsheng... now?” Wei Ziting’s mouth felt a little dry as he asked with difficulty.

”That old man... Ten years ago, after the Wansong Town tragedy, the Xu Family’s prestige suffered a heavy blow. It was that incident that led him to step down from his position as Grand General and pass it to Xu Ji. Afterward, he drifted away and vanished without a trace. To this day, he has never appeared in public again,” Wei Lei said. ”Perhaps he found a place to live in seclusion, never to meddle in worldly affairs again. Or perhaps he met with some accident and died. Both are possible.”

”How could someone that powerful just ’meet with some accident and die’?” Wei Ziting suddenly felt all his confidence drain away. Only now did he realize the true strength of his Wei Family’s mortal enemy.

”Actually, you don’t need to worry. Though we are on opposing sides, I have to admit, that old man is a very righteous person. He would never act as unscrupulously as that little bastard in the Xu Family does now.” The thought of Xu Luo filled Wei Lei’s heart with immense hatred.

”Xu Luo...” Wei Ziting murmured the name, unable to hide the hateful glint in his eyes. ”If it weren’t for him, how would I have ended up like this? If it weren’t for him, how would my Wei Family be in this state today? That man... I will kill him sooner or later!”

”Let’s go. We need to hurry back and deal with the matter of our hidden assets. Most of our assets here in the Imperial Capital are lost. Now we just have to see if our enemy will move against our assets elsewhere. If they do, then even if it means mutual destruction, I’ll fight them to the bitter end!” Wei Lei said through gritted teeth, but his face was filled with dismay.

「Fengyue Building.」

Crystal’s face was a mask of disbelief and intense fury. She stared at the beautiful young woman before her, her voice completely different from its usual tone, now tinged with panic. ”They really... not a single one made it back? This... how is this possible? Xu Luo is a Great Sword Master at best! The weakest person we sent was a Great Sword Master, and the strongest was a Sword Venerable! How could not one of them have made it back alive? How is that possible? I don’t believe it’s true!”

”But it is true.” The beautiful young woman looked at Crystal with a helpless expression and sighed softly. ”I can’t believe it either. The Xu Family’s foundation is so deep, hiding so many masters. There’s no way Xu Luo alone could have kept all of them there.”

”But this... I... how am I supposed to report this to the sect? Now the Sect Leader... the Sect Leader has recovered, and Master, she... what should I do?”

”We definitely can’t report this to the sect now. Otherwise, none of us will meet a good end. Never mind that Phoenix is already on good terms with Xu Luo. Even if that weren’t the case, we lost so many unaffiliated experts in this operation, and even an Inner Sect Disciple at the Sword Venerable Realm...” The beautiful woman’s eyes flickered as she said softly, ”Right now... we have no choice but to see this through to the end...”

”And how do we do that?” Crystal had gradually calmed down, looking at the beautiful woman.

”We keep sending people to kill him!” the beautiful woman said, gritting her teeth. ”This time, we won’t launch a frontal assault on the Xu Mansion. I refuse to believe he’ll stay at home forever and never go out!”

”Exactly. I’ve heard that he’ll be setting out for his fiefdom in a few days. We’ll intercept and kill him on the road!” Crystal said coldly. ”This time, let’s see where you can run!”

”That’s right. We’ll ambush him on his journey and make sure he can’t escape even if he grows wings!” The beautiful young woman’s face was now dark and overcast, her tone icy and grim.

”By the way, the Imperial Capital seems rather restless tonight. Did something else happen?” Crystal looked at the beautiful young woman and asked softly, her voice tinged with curiosity.

The beautiful young woman frowned slightly. She thought for a moment before replying, ”I’m not too sure about that. It seems like someone is deliberately muddying the waters.”

”I see... I don’t think this matter is that simple.” Crystal seemed to have her own suspicions.

The beautiful young woman asked tentatively, ”Tower Master... should I... go and investigate?”

Crystal said flatly, ”There’s no need. We don’t know who’s behind it, but it’s effectively providing cover for us. Why should we get involved in these muddy waters?”

”This is bad! Tower Master! Tower Master, something’s happened!”

Suddenly, a panicked cry came from outside, followed by frantic pounding on Crystal’s door.

WHOOSH!

The lamp in the room lit up instantly. Crystal asked coldly, ”What is it?”

”Tower Master, several of our Crystal Tower’s businesses in the Imperial Capital have been completely destroyed! The people are all dead, all valuables are gone, and the properties were put to the torch...”

”Which ones?” The coldness in Crystal’s eyes deepened.

”The pharmacy on Cyan Dragon Avenue, the jewelry store, and two restaurants...”

”Damn it!” It was as if flames were about to erupt from Crystal’s eyes. The beautiful young woman beside her also looked shocked and said, ”Those shops... they’re all our businesses, aren’t they?”

Crystal nodded forcefully and gritted her teeth. ”That bitch Phoenix! She really did tell Xu Luo everything! Damn her!”