Firmament Sword

But it was no use. A group within the crowd seemed to know them all too well, and their voices were especially loud. Every time an official scrambled out, they would offer a loud running commentary.

Most of these officials were Civil Servants from Prime Minister Wei’s faction. This sudden turn of events utterly humiliated these self-proclaimed Gentlemen, who in their shame wished they could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.

But the crowd of onlookers had packed the once-spacious Cyan Dragon Avenue, blocking it completely… Not even a drop of water could get through!

The officials could only try to duck into the shops lining the street. The shop owners, for their part, wouldn’t dare offend such important figures, but the gawking crowd had no such reservations.

It’s unclear who struck the first blow, but someone landed a vicious kick on the pale, fleshy backside of Lord Wu—the man rumored to one day succeed Prime Minister Wei. The kick sent the sheltered, indolent Lord Wu tumbling head over heels.

Once one person started, the rest followed. More people eagerly joined in, raining punches and kicks down on Lord Wu.

Some particularly vicious matrons even aimed for his lower body, beating Lord Wu—a man whose reputation and future had been as bright as the midday sun—until he was wailing and begging for mercy.

He was nearly beaten to death on the spot.

”A corrupt official like him deserves to die!”

”That’s right! Debauchery in broad daylight! He deserves to die!”

”Doing something so shameless in broad daylight! Beating him to death would be letting him off easy!”

”He’s paraded around like a saint, but behind the scenes, isn’t he just a belly full of depravity? Is this corrupt official supposed to be the future hope of our Cangqiong?”

”Kill him!”

The air was thick with such inflammatory cries, further stoking the emotions of the crowd.

First, there was safety in numbers—the law couldn’t punish the whole crowd. Second, the chance to kick the ass of such a high-ranking official was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

’This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! Years from now, I can say I once kicked the ass of a great official who could have become the next Prime Minister…’

’Those are some serious bragging rights not just anyone can claim!’

After his Sword Qi was shattered, Huangfu Haoyue stood there, dumbfounded. He stared, aghast, at the unfolding chaos. He felt something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

’After all, regardless of who was right or wrong, it seemed he, Huangfu Haoyue, had been the one to start it…’

’He had seen Su Qianqian in the crowd and couldn’t resist approaching her to chat—and, if possible, to bring her directly to his side!’

’In his mind, he was far superior to Xu Luo in every single way!’

’Status, position, power... In what way could Xu Luo possibly compare to me?’

But who could have imagined that Su Qianqian would not only ignore him but also knock one of his subordinates unconscious with a slap and then scream that someone was trying to abduct a girl off the street? Everything that followed spiraled completely out of Huangfu Haoyue’s control.

He could hear voices in the crowd denouncing people by name, and a bizarre feeling crept into his heart.

’This is clearly a setup!’

’But how could it be such a coincidence? And... why was I the one they chose?’

Even someone as arrogant as Huangfu Haoyue understood the kind of impact this incident would have on the Cangqiong Empire once word got out.

’It was absolutely vile. A group of high-ranking Imperial officials, engaging in debauchery in broad daylight in the most prestigious district of the Imperial Capital…’

The thought of all the people he despised excitedly gossiping about this incident, casually mentioning his name in the process, made Huangfu Haoyue’s skin crawl as if it were being gnawed by a million ants.

He raised his head and shot a cold glare at Su Qianqian, who stood to the side with an excited expression. The pitiful, helpless look she’d worn while acting earlier was long gone. Hatred boiled in his heart.

”Good. Just wonderful,” Huangfu Haoyue snarled through clenched teeth, his handsome face livid. ”Your talent for slinging mud has truly reached the pinnacle. Killing two birds with one stone, too…”

”Are you one of the birds?” Su Qianqian asked, looking at Huangfu Haoyue with feigned innocence. A faint, disdainful smile touched her lips as she sneered, ”What did I tell you before? Would it kill you to be a little more low-key? Abducting a girl in the middle of the street… and you, a member of the Royal Family and Relatives… real classy!”

”I… I abducted you, my ass!” Huangfu Haoyue was so enraged he nearly coughed up blood.

Xu Su shot Huangfu Haoyue a cold look. ”The evidence is irrefutable. Are you still going to deny it? I’m not afraid to take this matter all the way to His Majesty. Don’t think you can act with impunity in the Imperial Capital just because you’re one of the Royal Family and Relatives!”

Huangfu Haoyue demanded furiously, ”And who the hell are you?”

Huangfu Haoyue was both alarmed and furious at this nobody who had appeared out of nowhere to play the hero.

He’d long known that there were hidden experts in the Imperial Capital, but he’d never heard of one so young!

And it was obvious that this man and Su Qianqian were in it together!

”Who I am isn’t important. What’s important is that you tried to abduct a woman in public!” Xu Su said with a grave expression, looking at Huangfu Haoyue. ”For that, I’m going to teach you a harsh lesson and show you that there are people in this world you can’t afford to provoke!”

With that, Xu Su charged at Huangfu Haoyue again, his powerful aura erupting explosively!

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Three consecutive punches slammed viciously toward Huangfu Haoyue!

”You’re infuriating!” Overcome with rage, Huangfu Haoyue’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. He immediately unleashed his school’s ultimate technique, intending to kill the man before him.

’That brat’s scheme is absolutely vicious,’ Su Qianqian mused, her beautiful eyes darting about as she watched the disgraced officials. ’Grandpa was right. People in the mortal world are truly wicked! They can kill without a knife! Sometimes, wisdom really is more effective than brute force!’

Although Xu Su had already reached the Transformation Realm, his mindset and combat experience hadn’t caught up. So, while he could firmly suppress Huangfu Haoyue, taking him down quickly would not be easy.

But this was more than enough.

Xu Su had always been level-headed. As he faced the thoroughly enraged Huangfu Haoyue, he found his movements becoming more and more fluid. ’The opponent Xiaoluo chose for me is perfect!’ he thought.

One could only wonder if Huangfu Haoyue would have coughed up blood and died from sheer rage had he known the truth.

The difference of an entire major cultivation realm ultimately proved decisive. After more than twenty exchanges, Xu Su landed a punch squarely on Huangfu Haoyue’s chest. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying backward, crashing hard in the middle of Cyan Dragon Avenue.

Meanwhile, Wei Ziting, who was in charge of security in the Imperial Capital, finally arrived with his men. Faced with the explosive scene and the nearly unfixable mess, Wei Ziting was completely stunned.

He was especially horrified to see the officials, men who were frequent visitors to the Wei Mansion. Wei Ziting felt his vision darken, and he thought he was going to faint.

”How did it come to this?” Wei Ziting muttered to himself, quickly ordering his men to protect the officials who had been beaten half to death.

Someone in the crowd yelled, ”See that? Prime Minister Wei sent his son to protect these corrupt bastards! Officials protecting their own! There’s your proof!”

”That’s right! They’re all in it together! That old dog Wei Feng is no better!”

”I heard his wife cheated on him, and Wei Feng killed her for it! Haha!”

Wei Ziting’s face turned livid with rage. He roared, ”Who said that? Show yourself!”

”You think you can stop the wagging tongues of the people? You think your family’s scandal won’t spread if you just shut us up? Hahaha! Don’t kid yourself, you little Wei Family pup!”

The voices in the crowd rose and fell from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint the speakers.

In that moment, Wei Ziting finally understood the rage Xu Jie must have felt when they had spread the rumor that Mo Yun was a general from an enemy nation.

Unfortunately, he lacked Xu Jie’s ability to drag the slanderers out and tear them limb from limb. All he could do was grimly lead the wretched, disgraced officials away from Cyan Dragon Avenue.

He didn’t even have the presence of mind to spare a glance for Huangfu Haoyue, who lay heavily injured in the middle of Cyan Dragon Avenue. He simply ordered his men to secure him and sent someone else to report the incident up the chain of command.

Right now, Wei Ziting just wanted to find his father and discuss what to do.

Once this incident began to fester, it would undoubtedly trigger a terrifying storm in the Imperial Capital, and perhaps throughout the entire Cangqiong Empire!

He, Wei Ziting, could not bear the consequences.

Within the crowd, a number of people who had fanned the flames of public outrage slipped away unnoticed.

「Far in the distance」

On the top floor of a tall building, Xu Luo sat by a window, taking in the entire scene. He raised his wine cup, drained it in one go, and a cold smile touched his lips.

’Slinging mud? Anyone can do that.’