Firmament Sword

”Luo Xinlan and her people have escaped. It’s a shame those women from the Luoshui Nunnery were completely useless; they didn’t manage to hurt Luo Xinlan’s group much at all. The Hidden Dragon Army has also shown its hand. Master, should we... now...” Wang Ziweng looked at Huangfu Haoyue.

Huangfu Haoyue’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he gently shook his head. ”No. I still need them to lure out Huangfu Chongzhi. Just keep sending men to secretly hunt them down along the way. We must leave some of them alive. They absolutely must meet with Huangfu Chongzhi, and then we’ll eliminate him along with them. Otherwise, leaving him alive is just asking for trouble.”

Huangfu Haoyue continued, murmuring to himself, ”Still... the strength of Xu Ji’s family... truly is... quite beyond my expectations! A family of three, with three at the Transformation Realm... Tsk, tsk. How interesting.”

Wang Ziweng nodded. ”And then there’s Xu Luo...”

”Hmph, Xu Luo...” The moment he heard the name, Huangfu Haoyue’s face turned ashen. He had never suffered a loss before, but Xu Luo had bested him time and again, dragging his name through the mud and causing him to lose all face in the Imperial Capital.

If it weren’t for his grander ambitions, he would have been unable to stop himself from having Xu Luo assassinated on the spot!

”He won’t escape!” Huangfu Haoyue said through clenched teeth.

”Indeed. Capturing Xu Ji alive was a brilliant move, Master. Though I am a dullard, even I can see the many benefits. You are truly our Master!” Seeing Huangfu Haoyue’s fury at the mention of Xu Luo, Wang Ziweng immediately laid on the flattery.

”Oh? And what benefits have you identified?” Sure enough, Huangfu Haoyue dropped the subject of Xu Luo and turned to ask Wang Ziweng.

”First, with Xu Ji in our hands, they will have to tread carefully, even if they join forces with the Eldest Prince. Luo Xinlan and Xu Su will certainly try everything to rescue him. They will ally with the Eldest Prince at all costs, but this matter is so momentous that it will easily create a rift between them.”

”Second, a living Xu Ji serves as a deterrent to both the Cangqiong Military and the nobles. It lets them know that the Military God they so admire is in our hands. Anyone who knows what’s good for them will stay in line. At a critical moment, the act of killing Xu Ji can shock everyone into submission!”

”And third, of course, we can use Xu Ji to lure out Xu Luo...” Wang Ziweng’s expression grew complicated at the mention of Xu Luo. After all, he and Xu Luo had shared a sort of friendship. Now that they stood on opposite sides, scheming against him like this felt... awkward.

”Xu Luo is a wildcard. He has too many secrets,” Huangfu Haoyue said flatly. ”You can tell just from the fact that his family somehow has three members in the Transformation Realm. What’s more, it doesn’t look like any of those three advanced through normal, step-by-step cultivation...”

Just then, a Transformation Realm Powerhouse who had been silent until now spoke up. ”According to our intelligence, Wanshi... was, in all likelihood, destroyed by Xu Luo. The treasures within that ruin... were naturally taken by him as well. We didn’t pay it much mind at the time, but in hindsight, there was probably something extraordinary in there!”

Huangfu Haoyue said coldly, ”Before long, all those extraordinary things will be ours!”

With that, he glanced at Wang Ziweng. ”You’re no dullard. You’re leagues better than a self-righteous idiot like Wei Ziting! Continue to serve me well, and I will not treat you poorly.”

With a look of gratitude, Wang Ziweng carefully withdrew.

After he left, Wang Ziweng sneered inwardly. ’Wei Ziting? Who does he think he is! In the entire Imperial Capital, the only peer who has ever earned my respect is Xu Luo! It’s just a shame... that before long, there probably won’t be anyone left in the Imperial Capital worthy of my notice. What a pity... what a true pity!’

...

On this day, Xu Luo finally crossed into the territory of the Cangqiong Empire. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first, but the closer he got to the Imperial Capital, the stronger the feeling of unease in his heart grew, as if... something terrible was about to happen.

The closer he drew to the Imperial Capital, the more palpable the tension in the air became. Yet, strangely, he heard no news as he passed through the various villages and towns.

Upon finally reaching an ancient city, Xu Luo immediately decided to investigate.

”Miaomiao, go find out what’s going on,” Xu Luo said to his pocket.

Sister Ying and Master Mao’s gains from the Small World had been unbelievably immense. Both of them had stumbled upon a great fortuitous encounter.

The two of them were masters of stealth. They didn’t emerge from the Small World until the very end, and they did so without anyone noticing. No one saw when or from where the two rascals appeared.

Sister Ying followed Phoenix back to Merak, saying she needed to go into seclusion.

Master Mao, of course, found his way to Xu Luo. The two traveled together, so the journey wasn’t lonely.

”Kid, let me tell you, Master Mao today is a whole new Master Mao! You better show me some respect, or I’ll scratch that pretty little face of yours to ribbons and see if any of the little ladies still like you then! AHHHHHH!”

Master Mao’s roar came from inside Xu Luo’s pocket.

”Itching for a beating again, aren’t you?” Xu Luo sneered.

Master Mao had indeed received a great opportunity in the Small World, and his power had skyrocketed. He had long been itching to win back the face he had lost countless times. At first, however, he felt a little guilty. After all, Xu Luo had tasked him and Sister Ying with protecting Phoenix, but the two of them had vanished without a trace. Even though Phoenix was safe and had also had her own great fortuitous encounter, Master Mao still felt a bit sheepish.

But as the days went by without Xu Luo mentioning it, Master Mao’s courage gradually returned.

Especially since he hadn’t heard that Xu Luo had received any great fortuitous encounters in the Small World, his confidence swelled.

With a SWOOSH, Master Mao leaped from Xu Luo’s pocket, landing on his hind paws and standing up tall. A sneer spread across his feline face as he faced Xu Luo. ”Not convinced? Let’s go a round! Master Mao’s power has now reached the realm of Dharma Heaven and Earth!”

As he spoke, an enormous black vortex materialized behind Miaomiao, ripping at the very air. It was as if a black hole had appeared in the sky, swallowing everything; not even light could escape its pull!

”AHHHHHH, kid! Scared yet? This is Master Mao’s Dharma Heaven and Earth! Devouring Heaven and Earth!”

Master Mao cackled with immense arrogance.

”Looks to me like you’re just asking for a beating!” With that, Xu Luo’s figure flashed. He executed the Shaking Light Step, his speed now significantly greater than before, and threw a punch straight at the Dharma Aspect behind Master Mao.

The moment he unleashed the Tyrant Technique, its power was immense. Combined with Xu Luo’s incredibly tough physique, he was like a War God, radiating an unstoppable aura!

”Damn it! You dare to clash head-on with Master Mao’s Dharma Aspect? If I don’t teach you a lesson today, you’ll never learn your place! AHHHHH!”

Master Mao roared, ”DEVOUR! AHHHHHHHHH!”

The enormous vortex surged toward Xu Luo to devour him, its powerful suction pulling in all the surrounding trees and boulders!

Xu Luo’s face distorted under the pressure, and his clothes whipped about violently. He was being dragged by the overwhelmingly powerful suction, finding it almost impossible to resist!

BANG!

Xu Luo’s fist slammed brutally into the black-hole-like vortex. The full might of the Tyrant Technique was finally unleashed, creating a thunderous BOOM.

With another BANG, the black vortex shattered and dispersed.

At that same instant, a small mountain several hundred meters behind Xu Luo crumbled into dust!

’Master Mao’s Devouring Heaven and Earth Dharma Aspect is actually this powerful!’

But the most shocked of all was not Xu Luo, but Master Mao, whose Dharma Aspect had just been shattered.

He hadn’t used his full strength, of course. Master Mao had no real intention of killing Xu Luo, so he’d held back. Still, his Dharma Heaven and Earth was by no means a Divine Technique that could be broken so easily.

”Damn it! You obviously haven’t reached the Fifth Layer of Transformation Realm! How could you break my Dharma Aspect so easily? This makes no damn sense! AHHHHHH!” Master Mao roared in bitter disappointment. Then, looking at Xu Luo pitifully, he said, ”Master, what was it you were saying just now? You wanted Miaomiao to go scout for information? Right! Miaomiao is on it...”

With that, he vanished from sight with a SWOOSH. His grumbling lingered in the air. ”This makes no sense at all! AHHHH! Why... How... Master Mao refuses to accept this! AHHHHHH!”

Xu Luo couldn’t help but laugh, though he too was inwardly stunned by Miaomiao’s breakthrough. The cultivation of a Spirit Beast was typically a much slower process than that of a human.

Because Spirit Beasts have much longer lifespans than humans, it was considered impressive for a Spirit Beast that was several hundred years old to reach the equivalent of a human Martial Artist’s Sword Venerable Realm.

But that rule simply didn’t apply to Miaomiao. Its rate of improvement was nearly as fast as Xu Luo’s own!

Xu Luo, for his part, not only trained with incredible diligence but also had astonishingly good fortune, benefiting from one great encounter after another—not to mention the seven mysterious Star Souls in his body.

’But what did Miaomiao have? How could it possibly advance so quickly? Could it be... that the Holy Beast bloodline in its body has truly and fully awakened? Or is that drop of essence blood from the Thundering Saint Beast really that powerful?’

However, after witnessing the power of the Blood Pill and the strength of the White Flood Dragon Saint Beast, Xu Luo could grudgingly accept Miaomiao’s unbelievable rate of advancement.

Little did he know, in Miaomiao’s mind, Xu Luo was the real freak of nature!

Because Xu Luo’s rate of advancement was even faster than its own!

No matter how hard it tried or how desperately it fought, it could only trail behind Xu Luo. Miaomiao already felt lucky just to not be left completely in the dust.

’Damn it... how can Master Mao have such a negative thought? What’s this nonsense about being lucky not to be left behind? Hmph! Just you wait, smelly brat! One day, Master Mao will surpass you!’

As these thoughts ran through its mind, Miaomiao nonchalantly strolled into a moderately sized ancient city.

Master Mao hummed a cheerful little tune to himself, trying to forget the frustration of having been put in his place by Xu Luo yet again. He swaggered down the main street of the ancient city just like... well, like a cat. ”Today is a wonderful day, this old cat’s gonna eat some fish, ahhhhh...”