Firmament Sword

Xu Luo smiled gently at the pretty girl and shook his head, signaling that thanks weren’t necessary. Afterward, everyone’s gaze fell upon Xu Qing, who was still circulating her energy to refine the Chaos Peach.

The Chaos Peach was known as a miraculous medicine precisely because the immense energy it contained could allow experts at the Sword Venerable and Sword King realms to achieve major breakthroughs.

Xu Qing herself was already at the Peak of the Second Layer of the Transformation Realm. Although she had been heavily injured, the battle had also led her to comprehend many things she had never encountered before.

Using the Dragon Bell to kill Wu Lei and personally witnessing Xu Luo’s overwhelming power had a profound impact on Xu Qing.

Thus, after consuming the Chaos Peach this time, Xu Qing first healed her injuries and then began to break through to the next level.

Her Sea of Spiritual Consciousness was filled with the powerful aura Xu Luo had released while suppressing the Dragon Bell. At this moment, that aura transformed into a series of vivid images, imprinting themselves upon her mind.

She could even see with perfect clarity the faint, ethereal rhymes of the Dao that drifted between heaven and earth.

Her injuries had fully healed. The immense energy contained within the Chaos Peach caused Xu Qing’s qi and blood to surge to an unprecedented peak.

In that instant, she felt her world suddenly expand. It was an unprecedented experience; not even her breakthrough from Sword Venerable to Sword King had felt so wondrous.

Like a fish swimming freely through the water or an eagle soaring high in the sky, this feeling of absolute freedom filled Xu Qing’s very soul with delight.

BOOM!

The shackles in her meridians shattered. A powerful energy cleansed them as a majestic force, like a surging river, rushed through!

’She’d never imagined that breaking through... could be so simple!’

Xu Qing continuously guided this force, breaking directly through from the Peak of the Second Layer of the Transformation Realm into the Third Layer. The energy surged like a great river, its power unceasing, as she continued to charge toward the shackles of the Fourth Layer of the Transformation Realm!

RUMBLE!

Within Xu Qing’s body, it felt like a flash flood. The shackles on her meridians were shattered with irresistible force...

The Fourth Layer of the Transformation Realm!

Riding this wave of power, Xu Qing broke through all the way to the Fourth Layer Peak in one go!

She was getting closer and closer to the Fifth Layer of the Transformation Realm, but just then, the majestic power began to stabilize.

Xu Qing felt a pang of regret, but then she chided herself for being too greedy. ’Who else could break through from the Peak of the Second Layer of the Transformation Realm directly to the Fourth Layer Peak in a single day?’

’If word of this got out, it would cause an uproar!’

Xu Qing began to slowly circulate her energy to solidify the new changes in her body. She only opened her eyes after the power in all her meridians had completely stabilized.

In the distance, three young women were gathered around a bonfire, laughing and talking quietly with Xu Luo.

As she looked at the slender yet upright figure with his back to her, a complicated expression flickered in Xu Qing’s eyes.

’This debt of gratitude... it’s far too large!’

’It’s safe to say that without Xu Luo, she couldn’t have dreamed of taming the Dragon Bell, a Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact. She might have even lost her own life in this Small World.’

’After all, she never would have believed beforehand that a fellow disciple she’d grown up with would turn out to be a traitor with sinister intentions, one who held a deep, irreconcilable hatred for the Xu Family.’

’So, Xu Luo had effectively saved her life!’

’Saving her life, a Spirit-Connected Magical Artifact, a Chaos Peach that would make any Martial Artist go mad...’

’Any one of these three things would constitute an immense debt of gratitude, let alone all three combined.’

’And before all this, she and Xu Luo had absolutely no connection to one another!’

The moment Xu Qing opened her eyes, her mind was instantly flooded with a jumble of thoughts. ’He flew into a rage for the Merak Phoenix and killed Young Master Tianquan... He has deep feelings for Lianyi, the daughter of the Heavenly Cauldron Sect Master... and it seems that Royal Princess from Kaiyang Sect knows him well too...’

She couldn’t help but give a wry smile. ’Why am I even thinking about this? What does it have to do with me? Still, the debt I owe him must be repaid... I’ve heard his feud with the Tianquan Sect runs deep. Once we’re out of this Small World, I’ll ask my uncle to put in a word for him. That way, even if other sects want to target him, they won’t be able to do it so openly anymore.’

At this thought, Xu Qing let out a long sigh of relief and slowly stood up.

”Oh, Eldest Sister is awake!” The pretty girl, who was facing Xu Qing, was the first to jump up excitedly.

The other two young women from the Jade Balance Sect also stood up, looking at Xu Qing with pleasant surprise.

Xu Luo turned back and smiled at Xu Qing. ”How are you? Are your injuries healed?”

Xu Qing nodded gently. ”Thank you for asking. I’m fine now.”

”Eldest Sister, did you break through?” the pretty girl asked, running over to Xu Qing’s side with a lively air and taking her by the arm.

”Mhm, I broke through two minor realms. I was just shy of breaking through to the Fifth Layer of the Transformation Realm,” Xu Qing said with a smile.

”Wow!”

”Really?”

”That’s great!”

The three young women from the Jade Balance Sect were overjoyed. As companions who had grown up together, they were even happier about Xu Qing’s breakthrough to a higher level than if they had advanced themselves.

”Eldest Sister, you’re incredible! At this rate, doesn’t that make you the number one expert of the younger generation?” the pretty girl blurted out in her excitement.

Xu Qing chuckled and said with mock reproach, ”Silly girl, let’s not even talk about the other sect disciples who’ve had their own great fortuitous encounters. Right in front of you... stands a master who can even slay an expert at the Dharma Heaven and Earth level. The number one? I’m still a long way off.”

The pretty girl stuck her tongue out playfully. ”Let’s not worry about them. Who knows if they were as lucky as you, Eldest Sister? As for Brother Xu Luo...”

She hesitated, sneaking a glance at the smiling Xu Luo, then said boldly, ”Even though he’s young, in my eyes, he’s already as powerful as the experts of the older generation. So, he doesn’t count!”

Xu Qing and the others couldn’t help but laugh. A resigned smile appeared on Xu Luo’s face as he thought, ’I’m at most a year or two older than you... Comparing me to the older generation? Am I really that old?’

In truth, looking at it from another angle, the pretty girl’s mindset represented that of a great many people.

From a young man of secular origin who had joined a minor sect and was looked down upon by nearly everyone, to someone who shocked and even terrified them all, Xu Luo had taken only a few short days.

Among the sects of the Central Plains Star Continent, this was considered nothing short of a miracle!

Furthermore, Xu Luo was exceptionally audacious. The trouble he stirred up, while not quite heaven-shattering, was by no means small.

In truth, there weren’t many sect disciples as lawless and capable of stirring up trouble as he was.

Generally, the most troublesome one might find was someone like the late Young Master Tianquan, Ark, and that was already considered extraordinary.

But even Ark’s audacity was worlds apart from Xu Luo’s; the difference was like night and day.

”Young Master Xu, I must truly thank you this time, though those two words are completely inadequate to express how I feel.” Xu Qing gazed at Xu Luo and said softly, ”In my entire life, I, Xu Qing, have never owed anyone such a great debt. I never imagined that this single occasion would make up for all of it. I won’t waste time on empty platitudes. If you ever face difficulties in the future, I will help you with all my strength. I believe this... will also become the stance of the Jade Balance Sect!”

Xu Luo nodded and smiled, then said suddenly, ”In that case, how about you start by persuading that Elder Xiao of yours?”

”Elder Xiao?” Xu Qing smiled faintly. She had been there that day and was well aware of the animosity between Elder Xiao and Xu Luo. ”Actually,” she said, ”the one who hates you more should be Fang Ping.”

”Fang Ping... perhaps he’ll come looking for trouble in the future, but I can handle that myself. I’m confident he won’t use the sect’s power to target me again,” Xu Luo said, full of self-assurance.

Xu Qing didn’t know that Fang Ping had entered the Small World and fought a fierce battle with Xu Luo, so she was a bit puzzled but didn’t press the matter.

She said, ”Since you don’t think Fang Ping is a problem, then I’ll have a word with Elder Xiao later. I’m sure that as long as he hasn’t gone completely senile, he won’t bother you again!”

”Then... thank you, Miss Xu,” Xu Luo said.

”Qing’er is my nickname. You don’t have to keep calling me Miss Xu. It sounds awkward. Just call me Qing’er,” Xu Qing said magnanimously.

The other three young women at their side were slightly stunned. As her fellow disciples and childhood companions, they knew all too well that while Xu Qing might appear charming and innocent on the surface, she was incredibly proud at her core. She wouldn’t give an ordinary person the time of day.

One could imagine that anyone in her position would likely be the same.

In the entire Jade Balance Sect, only the Sect Leader Xushan, a few high-ranking elders, and a handful of her closest friends were allowed to call her by the nickname Qing’er. If anyone else dared, Miss Xu would have run them through with her sword long ago.

’But now she’s actually asking Xu Luo to call her by her nickname. Don’t tell me... she’s fallen for him?’ the three women from Jade Balance Sect all wondered.

Xu Qing, however, appeared perfectly calm, showing no signs of shyness.

Xu Luo said, ”You can just call me by my name.”

Xu Qing hummed softly in agreement, then looked at Xu Luo and asked, ”Do you have any plans for after we get out of here?”

”Plans?”

Xu Luo thought for a moment. ”I’ll probably head back to the secular world first. There are still many things I need to take care of.”

”Oh...” A flicker of disappointment appeared in Xu Qing’s eyes. She had actually hoped that Xu Luo would stay at the Jade Balance Sect for a while after they left.

It wasn’t that she had developed romantic feelings for him, but rather that she had realized how immensely powerful he was. If he could stay at the Jade Balance Sect for a time, she could spar with him, which would bring unimaginable benefits to her cultivation!

’Then again... the secular world... maybe I could go and see it for myself!’ A thought suddenly sparked in Xu Qing’s mind.