Firmament Sword

In the fifth month after the palace coup, a large contingent from the Kaiyang Sect entered the mortal world and rushed to the Imperial Capital. Jiang Tianhai, the Kaiyang Sect’s favored prodigy, was among them. He was coming to find Xu Luo and fulfill their half-year agreement!

Huangfu Shishi had been excitedly preparing to return to the palace to see her parents. However, upon entering Cangqiong’s borders, she received all sorts of news about the palace coup. After confirming it was true, she fainted on the spot. When she awoke, she cried her heart out and had remained silent ever since.

The other major sects also began dispatching people to the Cangqiong Imperial Capital, under the pretext of observing the half-year duel between Xu Luo and Jiang Tianhai.

But as for whether they had other intentions, only they themselves knew.

Dubhe had been quiet ever since Huangfu Haoyue and the others had escaped. The massive mineral lode there, however, had long since been occupied by a powerful force.

Xu Luo had gone to investigate once during this time and found their defenses to be extremely strong. Even he couldn’t force his way in, so he could only retreat quietly and make a long-term plan.

In addition, many mysterious figures, who were clearly not from the Mortal World, had appeared within Cangqiong’s borders. These people avoided conflict, and their movements were secretive, as if they were searching for something.

Xu Luo recalled the words Wei Feng had once told him: ”Cangqiong holds a treasure; to obtain it is to ascend to immortality.” He couldn’t help but wonder, ’Could the rumor actually be true?’

The day the large Kaiyang Sect contingent was to enter the Imperial Capital finally arrived. Xu Luo and his group went to welcome them early, waiting ten li outside the Imperial City.

Not only was Qiqi, who was returning home, with them, but so was the Kaiyang Sect Leader, Shangguan Qing. A reception ten li out was by no means an excessive courtesy.

Huangfu Chongzhi stood beside Xu Luo with a serene expression, ignoring the complicated looks some people were giving him.

The sects might be powerful and Cultivators terrifying, but in the eyes of mortals, imperial authority was the true symbol of supreme power!

To forsake a perfectly good throne and forcibly abdicate, passing it to his son... Huangfu Chongzhi’s actions had left too many people bewildered and dissatisfied.

But there was nothing to be done. After all, Huangfu Chongzhi was Xu Luo’s sworn older brother.

In the Cangqiong Empire today, who didn’t know that the Xu Family was the true powerhouse?

To put it disrespectfully, if things continued on this path, in another twenty years many people might not know who the Cangqiong Emperor was, but there would be absolutely no one who didn’t know of the Xu Family!

’Such power and status... even if it’s just a fleeting illusion, it’s still so enviable!’ Who knew how many among the welcoming party shared this sentiment.

Little Fatty stood by Xu Luo’s side, his expression a mix of nervousness and excitement. He asked in a low voice, ”Third Brother, what do people from the sects look like? Are they any different from us?”

”Idiot,” Sui Yan spat out a single word from the side, his expression cold.

A great deal of time had passed, and while Sui Yan hadn’t fully recovered from the blow of losing his father, he was doing much better than before, at least in front of his close brothers.

Little Fatty rolled his eyes and grumbled, ”Sui Xiaoshi, you itching for a fight? With my current strength, your big brother here could take care of you, no sweat!”

”Don’t like it? Then let’s see you try something,” Sui Yan said dismissively.

”I...” Little Fatty looked as aggrieved as an abandoned wife. He glanced at Lan Xin, who was snickering nearby, and rolled his eyes. Then he complained to Xu Luo, ”Third Brother, you see this? This brat is showing me, his older brother, no respect at all, and right in front of his fourth sister-in-law!”

There was a reason for Little Fatty’s behavior. After his father Sui Wanli’s death, Sui Yan had become melancholic. Already introverted by nature, he had grown even more withdrawn and silent.

Little Fatty had tried everything to cheer him up, just as the brothers had used all sorts of methods to lift Xu Luo’s spirits back in the day after his failure at the Star Festival.

But Sui Yan had a somber personality, and the only thing that could capture his interest was Mechanical Skill. Little Fatty knew nothing about it, so all he could do was constantly provoke Sui Yan into sparring with him.

Sui Yan, full of pent-up frustration, never refused his fourth brother’s well-intentioned provocations. Instead, he vented all his repressed anger and grief during their spars.

Little Fatty was already a bit weaker than Sui Yan to begin with. Add to that the fact that Sui Yan currently fought like a wounded wolf—while he never dealt any truly vicious blows, Little Fatty still got thoroughly thrashed every time.

Sometimes, even Xu Luo winced in secondhand pain watching them. Little Fatty’s fiancée, Lan Xin, was so heartbroken for him that she’d secretly cried on several occasions. However, having been through her own ordeals, the former Little Witch of the Imperial Capital had matured a great deal and never showed the slightest hint of displeasure in front of Sui Yan.

Only Little Fatty himself seemed to enjoy it, tirelessly seeking out Sui Yan. The moment his injuries healed, he would swagger off to pick another fight, leading many who didn’t know the inside story to wonder if the two brothers were having a falling out.

Though they both ended up injured, the benefits were obvious. The two of them, who both lacked real combat experience, saw their fighting skills grow by leaps and bounds. The stifling gloom in Sui Yan’s heart also dissipated a great deal through their constant battles.

Sui Yan was a man of few words. Though in his heart he was deeply grateful to his flaky, unreliable fourth brother, he never expressed it. On the rare occasions he did speak, it was usually with a sarcastic remark.

Lan Xin chimed in, ”Don’t you dare drag me into this squabble between you two. I wonder who it is that gets beaten half to death, comes home wailing in pain, and starts yelling about ending the friendship, only to gleefully rush off to get thrashed again a few days later...”

Little Fatty’s face flushed slightly, and his mouth twitched. ”My dear wife,” he whispered, ”you have to leave your husband a little bit of face in front of everyone! After all, your husband is a man of status now!”

”Pah!” Lan Xin spat, her face red. ”Who’s your wife? Shoo!”

”Hehehe...” Little Fatty laughed smugly, apparently forgetting he’d just been mocked by Sui Yan. He turned back to Xu Luo. ”I get so excited just thinking about meeting those legendary figures from the major sects! Third Brother, I heard you have a nickname among them...”

”Oh?” Xu Luo raised an eyebrow. Most people didn’t know about his affairs within the sects; he hadn’t even told his brothers, like Little Fatty and Sui Yan, very much.

The only people he’d really told anything were his parents. ’So where on earth did Little Fatty hear this from?’

Little Fatty’s words piqued the interest of Huangfu Chongzhi and the others. Lan Xin pretended not to care, but she had secretly perked up her ears to listen.

Although she had frequent contact with this legendary youth of the Cangqiong Empire, she didn’t feel she knew him well at all. It seemed Xu Luo was shrouded in countless incredible secrets.

Little Fatty said with a grin, ”Don’t all the people from the sects call you ’Monster’?”

”...” Xu Luo rolled his eyes and pursed his lips. ”You might as well call me a goblin.”

”Hey, I’m not the one who said it! Auntie said it herself! I even saw the proud look on her face!” Little Fatty quickly brought up Xu Luo’s mother to prove he wasn’t just repeating hearsay.

”Speaking of which, Third Brother,” Huangfu Chongzhi said from the side, a hint of worry in his voice, ”these sects seem to be coming on a bit strong. Will everything really be alright?”

Even though he hadn’t wanted to be Emperor, it didn’t mean Huangfu Chongzhi didn’t care about the affairs of the Cangqiong Empire. The recent palace coup had been highly unusual; sects that had never before meddled in mortal affairs had become thoroughly involved.

Then there was the news about the discovery of a massive mineral lode, which had already been occupied by people from Dubhe.

Furthermore, recent reports indicated frequent sect activity within the two great empires to the south and north, Great Yan and Da Han, respectively.

Apparently, a lot had happened to Da Han’s Royal Family as well, but the news was being tightly suppressed and very little had leaked out.

As for Great Yan, it was said that many powerful experts from the sects had suddenly begun to participate in the affairs of the Mortal World.

All of it gave the distinct feeling that a storm was on the horizon.

It was as if the Mortal World, peaceful for countless years, had been turned upside down overnight.

”Don’t worry, Big Brother,” Xu Luo said. ”While some sects may have ill intentions, I have good relationships with others. Besides, the Kaiyang Sect has always been the Royal Family’s backer. For them to come with such high-level representation, it can’t be just for a disciple’s duel. More likely, they’re here to show their support for the Huangfu Family.” He sighed softly before continuing, ”They probably just didn’t expect the people from Dubhe to be so ruthless as to try and overthrow the Cangqiong government during the sect assembly.”

”Dubhe...” A flash of anger, so different from his usual calm and collected demeanor, crossed Huangfu Chongzhi’s handsome face. ”One day,” he said in a cold voice, ”I will make them pay for what they’ve done!”

Xu Luo nodded. For some reason, the image of Lin Luoxue’s flawless, delicate face suddenly surfaced in his mind. He sighed softly but said nothing.

In the distance, a dense mass of figures appeared on the horizon.

It was a large group of sect experts, riding toward them on powerful Spirit Beasts!

There were only a few hundred of them, but their momentum was like that of a mighty army!

The aura and imposing might radiating from the powerful Spirit Beasts washed over them, palpable even from dozens of li away!

Many of the ordinary horses on their side seemed to sense an unsettling presence and grew agitated. The more timid ones began to struggle, trying to flee, but their legs were too weak to obey.

Xu Luo’s eyebrow twitched in displeasure. He had never seen a sect enter the Mortal World with such ostentatious fanfare before.

’Don’t tell me... are the sects really going to start setting foot in the Mortal World?’ Xu Luo wondered. He released a gentle power from his body, enveloping his entire party, men and horses included.

The agitated horses immediately calmed down.

From Xu Luo’s pocket, Master Mao sent a telepathic message with a cold laugh. ”They don’t come in peace!”

Xu Luo replied, ”The Kaiyang Sect is the Huangfu Family’s backer, after all. It’s said that many ancestors of the Royal Family are among the Kaiyang Sect’s elder generation, so they shouldn’t be hostile toward us. But for them to arrive so brazenly and with such fanfare, they must be after something.”

Master Mao replied, ”Then we’ll just send them packing the same way they came! Cangqiong... is ours!”