Firmament Sword

”Xu Luo, you... you... you’re spouting nonsense!” The Sixth Prince’s face was livid as he glared at Xu Luo. ”That’s not what happened at all! Your brother was clearly taking deliberate revenge!”

”Bullshit! What proof do you have? How dare you! For a Prince, you sure have no self-respect. You’re just great at slinging mud, aren’t you? My brother and I might not be big shots, and our status can’t compare to yours, but we’re not just clay dolls for you to order around as you please!”

Xu Luo’s face was glacial as he pointed at Huangfu Chongxiao and raged, ”Speak! Why don’t you say something? Cat got your tongue? What proof do you have that my older brother was taking revenge? Who was he avenging? *Who* did he get revenge on?”

The Sixth Prince was fuming, but his heart suddenly turned to ice. He had just realized a fatal flaw in his argument.

’Even though everyone in the upper echelons of the Imperial Capital knows about the relationship between Guo Ying and the Xu Family, there’s absolutely no proof that Guo Ying and Xu Su have any connection whatsoever!’

The Sixth Prince’s heart sank. ’This isn’t good,’ he thought. ’That bastard Xu Luo can stir up trouble even when he’s in the wrong. Now that he actually has the moral high ground, he’ll never let this go.’

At that moment, the Sixth Prince finally recalled the meaningful words his father, the Emperor, had spoken to him before he left...

And then he thought about the scandal involving Prime Minister Wei’s family that had suddenly broken today, along with the disgraceful incidents involving Civil Servants close to him on Cyan Dragon Avenue...

The Sixth Prince suddenly felt like he’d been played. He thought frantically, ’Could it be? Was all of this orchestrated by that damn bastard Xu Luo?’

The moment he considered this possibility, the Sixth Prince’s heart went cold. Back in the Imperial Palace, his father had flown into a rage over this very issue. Although he hadn’t said how he would punish those officials, it didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Their careers... were undoubtedly over.

How could anyone just pretend nothing had happened after such a massive scandal?

You could say that this time, Prime Minister Wei had failed yet again!

And he had failed miserably. He couldn’t even protect his own protégés, which was a massive blow to his prestige.

”Why so quiet?” Xu Luo sneered at the Sixth Prince. ”Still want to take my brother away?”

The Sixth Prince’s face was livid. He knew he’d made a huge mistake today, but it was too late now. If he just tucked his tail and ran, how could he ever show his face again? Not to mention that his younger Imperial Uncle, Huangfu Haoyue, would definitely hold it against him.

”Even if Huangfu Haoyue was in the wrong, that is a matter for the Royal Family’s Imperial Clan Court to handle! Xu Su is one of the Empire’s Military Generals, yet he knowingly broke the law. Shouldn’t he be arrested?” the Sixth Prince said, as if he had finally found a solid justification. He gave Xu Luo a frosty look. ”What do you have to say to that?”

”Bah! How did my brother break the law? It was just a simple conflict. Huangfu Haoyue was being arrogant and tyrannical, harassing a young woman. My brother saw an injustice and righted a wrong. How does that become a crime in your eyes?” Xu Luo sneered at the Sixth Prince. ”Or are you saying that you, the Sixth Prince, now represent the laws of the Empire?”

”Xu Luo!” The Sixth Prince completely lost his temper. That was an accusation he wouldn’t dare accept, even on pain of death. In the entire Cangqiong Empire, who besides His Majesty would dare claim to represent the law?

”Don’t you dare slander me! The truth of the matter will be decided by the public, it’s not for you to run wild! Men, restrain Xu Su! I’d like to see who dares to stop me!”

The Sixth Prince decided to go all in. If he backed down here today, he could forget about the throne—he’d lose every last shred of his dignity!

Just then, a loud voice suddenly roared from the crowd, ”As you command!”

WHOOSH!

A figure shot out from nowhere, lunging toward the brothers, Xu Luo and Xu Su.

BOOM!

A terrifying pressure erupted from the man’s body!

It was overwhelming, like a collapsing mountain peak or a bursting dam. The unstoppable aura instantly sent the Sixth Prince and his Palace Guards stumbling and scattering.

A beam of Sword Qi, like a rainbow piercing the sun, slashed through the air, heading straight for the two brothers.

”Huangfu Chongxiao, you dare try to kill us!” Xu Su roared. His own aura erupted as he threw a punch, slamming it into the beam of Sword Qi.

BANG!

A deafening crash echoed out. The terrifying shockwave blasted in all directions, completely demolishing the tall, surrounding wall built from massive bluestone blocks.

A seemingly bottomless crater appeared in the ground, like the gaping, man-eating maw of a monster!

As for the Palace Guards, their faces were masks of horror as they protected the Sixth Prince and scrambled to retreat.

Many of them coughed up blood on the spot!

Xu Su took two steps back, his eyes glinting with a cold light.

Xu Luo, however, narrowed his eyes. He watched the attacker, lost in thought for a moment, before roaring, ”So, Sixth Prince! Coming here to arrest someone was just a pretense. Your real goal was to kill us! I’ll have to ask His Majesty later if our Xu Family has committed some great treason. Otherwise, why would you resort to such a vicious attack?”

The Sixth Prince was so overwhelmed by the sheer force of the aura that he could barely breathe, let alone speak. But hearing Xu Luo’s words, he was so enraged he nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Talk about slander! This was the very definition of slander!

’How could I have sent this person?’ he thought. ’If I had an expert of this caliber by my side, I would have had him secretly assassinate you long ago! Why would I wait until now?’

But unfortunately for him, he had no way to defend himself against the accusation.

The Martial Artist, disguised as a Palace Guard, gave the Sixth Prince no chance to explain. He continued to charge at Xu Su and Xu Luo, shouting, ”Rest easy, my lord! I will execute these two who dare defy an imperial command right here and now!”

”You’re full of shit! Who the hell are you?” The Sixth Prince roared with all his might, spitting out a mouthful of blood from the effort.

But by then, the man had already closed in on the Xu brothers, a savage grin on his face. ”You two little brats, you’re actually quite strong. In a few more years, I might not even be your match. But for now... die!”

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

With the force of a thunderclap, the Long Sword in the man’s hand slashed toward the two brothers.

His aura was overwhelming, a crushing force!

’A Sword King!’

Xu Luo and Xu Su were both utterly shocked. Neither of them could have imagined that such a powerful Martial Artist was hidden right here in the Imperial Capital.

This was completely beyond Xu Luo’s expectations. He even began to wonder if Wei Feng was the one who had hired this man.

In the mortal world, High-tier Sword Venerables like the Grand General of National Guardian, Xu Ji, were already exceedingly rare. Even among the cultivation sects that had contact with the mortal world, a High-tier Sword Venerable was considered a powerhouse. It wasn’t that Martial Artists beyond the Sword Venerable realm didn’t exist, but they were exceptionally rare and almost never appeared before the public.

Although Wei Feng was the Imperial Chancellor of the Cangqiong Empire and the most powerful minister in the court, how could he possibly mobilize an expert on the level of a Sword King?

’Could it be...’ Xu Luo’s expression turned ugly as a possibility dawned on him. He executed the Shaking Light Step to dodge the man’s attack, thinking, ’Even if you were truly sent by His Majesty, I will kill you today!’

”Breaking Army Seven Kills... the Sixth Kill!”

”Rage Sea Tide!”

The jet-black Seven Star Sword suddenly appeared in Xu Luo’s hand. At the same time, he unleashed the Sixth Kill of the Breaking Army Seven Kills for the very first time!

HUMMM!

A low hum vibrated through the air. The onlookers felt as if they could hear the roar of a rising and falling tide.

A terrifying power surged through the Seven Star Sword and swept directly toward the Sword King Realm expert!

The Sword King, disguised as a Palace Guard, was astounded. He thought he had already overestimated the Xu brothers’ strength, but he never imagined that the two young men would be this powerful.

’What kind of Cultivation Technique is this? It’s actually making me feel... fear. Impossible!’ the Sword King Realm expert roared in his mind. At the same time, he unleashed an ultimate technique he had almost never used before.

”Thunderclap Strike!”

CRACK!

A flash of light, like a bolt of lightning, shot from the Sword King’s Long Sword and flew toward Xu Luo at an incredible speed.

KABOOM!

A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering boom resounded through the world!

Rage Sea Tide, the Sixth Kill of the Breaking Army Seven Kills, sent the Sword King Realm expert flying backward.

Xu Luo, however, had been unable to block the opponent’s Thunderclap Strike and coughed up a large mouthful of blood.

A Half-Step Sword King still had an unimaginable gap to cross to reach a true Sword King. In the lower realms, Xu Luo could rely on the power of his Cultivation Technique to defeat higher-level opponents, but at the Sword King level, it was nearly impossible to simply overwhelm someone with a powerful technique alone.

Xu Su caught Xu Luo, asking with a concerned look, ”Xiaoluo, are you alright?”

”I’m fine...” A furious rage burned in Xu Luo’s eyes. He looked at Su Qianqian, who had just rushed over, and said, ”Qianqian...”

Su Qianqian’s brows shot up in anger. She stared at the Sword King who had been blasted back by Rage Sea Tide and declared, ”Say no more. I want to see which Ancient Race has such a shameless Sword King, one who dares to interfere in the mortal world!”

As she spoke, Su Qianqian was already lunging toward the man. Xu Su handed Xu Luo over to the men from the Xu Mansion and charged forward like a madman himself.

The attempt on his brother’s life enraged him more than any attempt on his own would have.

The Sword King, wounded by the Rage Sea Tide, had planned to press his advantage and eliminate the Xu brothers. But when he heard what Su Qianqian said, he froze.

In her rage, Su Qianqian had blurted out the words ”Ancient Race,” which had shocked him to the core. He looked again at the stunningly beautiful young woman and realized that her aura had already reached the Peak Realm of a Tier Nine Sword Venerable.

Then there was Xu Su, who, despite his lack of combat experience, had an aura that had also reached the Sword King Realm. The man instantly knew: ’Killing them today is impossible. What’s more, if I stay any longer, my identity will almost certainly be exposed...’

”Fine. I’ll spare you today, but I’ll be back for your lives another time!” With that, the man flipped in mid-air and, with a soft POP, vanished.

Su Qianqian’s crescent-shaped Sword Qi slashed through the empty air and struck the ground, carving a deep trench into the bluestone of Vermilion Bird Avenue—a trench a palm’s-width wide, over half a meter deep, and more than ten meters long!

”Damn it! He’s fast!” Su Qianqian cursed. She glanced at Xu Su, who had rushed to her side, and couldn’t help but say, ”Brother Xu Su, you’ve reached the right realm, but your Cultivation Technique and Body Technique are terrible!”

Xu Su gave a wry smile. ’This is already pretty good, you know,’ he thought. ’Do you think everyone is like you, with countless Top-grade Techniques to choose from since birth?’

On Vermilion Bird Avenue, the area before the National Guardian General’s Mansion was a complete wreck. Large sections of the wall had collapsed, and the ground was crisscrossed with trenches carved out by the Sword Qi from the recent battle.

Miraculously, the main gate of the National Guardian General’s Mansion remained completely unscathed.

Xu Luo silently circulated the Shadow Shaking Heart Method to begin healing his severe injuries, his eyes locked on the Sixth Prince, who was cowering in the distance under the protection of his Palace Guards.