Firmament Sword

Xu Luo’s heart skipped a beat. ’Is this a sign that the Kaiyang Sect is brazenly trying to meddle in secular imperial power? It seems... the allure of that Spirit Stone Vein and the legend... is far greater for these major sects... than I’d imagined!’

Although Huangfu Shishi had always been naive, she was a member of the Royal Family and had received the highest level of secular education from a young age. Hearing the Sect Leader’s words, her delicate brows arched slightly. She said nothing, but sighed inwardly. ’After my fortuitous encounter in the Small World, Shangguan Qing immediately accepted me as his Direct Disciple upon my return. He was so incredibly attentive, and for a while, I truly felt the Kaiyang Sect was my second home.’ But now, after everything that had happened, the Sect Leader’s attitude... was subtly changing. ’It makes you realize,’ she thought with a sigh, ’that even a great man of his stature can’t see past the allure of personal gain.’

Though Huangfu Chongzhi had no desire for the throne, he was far from unintelligent. Hearing Shangguan Qing’s words, he smiled faintly and cupped his fist. ”I must first thank Sect Master Shangguan for his noble intentions, but... this is, in fact, an internal matter of the Cangqiong Royal Family. We wouldn’t want to trouble you to concern yourself with it.”

”Insolent! How dare you speak to the Sect Leader that way?” a disciple from the Kaiyang Sect shouted, his face flushed with anger.

”The Sect Leader came here personally for the sake of your Cangqiong Royal Family,” the youth mounted on the giant, scaled bird said, looking at Huangfu Chongzhi with a cold expression. ”I know what you’re relying on, Huangfu Chongzhi. But do you really believe a young man with nothing but a third-rate sect behind him can truly shelter your Royal Family from the coming storm?”

”That... is also an internal affair of the Cangqiong Royal Family. There’s no need for any of you to trouble yourselves.” Huangfu Chongzhi gave a faint, dismissive smile. ”You’ve all traveled a long way. It would be best to get settled in and rest for now.”

”You—” The youth on the giant, scaled bird was genuinely furious. He couldn’t believe they were so utterly tactless, publicly embarrassing him time and again. It was completely unacceptable. If the Sect Leader hadn’t been there, he would have already lashed out to teach these ignorant fools a lesson.

”Enough. He has a point. We’ve traveled a long way, so let’s get settled in first. We can discuss other matters afterward.” Shangguan Qing suddenly raised a hand, halting the young man’s outburst. He glanced at Xu Luo but said nothing more.

Afterward, the group from the Kaiyang Sect was led by an official escort to the most luxurious guesthouse in the Cangqiong Imperial Capital.

After escorting the group to the guesthouse, Xu Luo and the others took their leave, having agreed to host a banquet for them at the Imperial Palace that evening.

”Unbelievable! They’re just a bunch of sect members, but look at them! Every single one has his nose in the air, acting like we all owe them money!” Little Fatty said indignantly. His romanticized image of sects had come crashing down, shattering his wonderful illusions and leaving him deeply disgruntled.

”I fear those people are plotting something,” Huangfu Chongzhi sighed, then looked at Xu Luo. ”What do you think?”

Xu Luo nodded and spoke softly. ”News of the Spirit Stone Vein has already spread throughout the Sect Realm. On top of that, there’s an ethereal rumor going around: ’Cangqiong holds a treasure; to possess it is to ascend to immortality.’ Those words alone are probably enough to stir the hearts of countless people.”

”Immortals? What nonsense!” Xu Su chimed in from the side. ”There may have been many powerful cultivators who achieved greatness throughout history, but true immortals with eternal life... they’ve only ever existed in legends. How could they possibly be real? It’s utter nonsense!”

”It all depends on where the legend originated,” Xu Luo said. ”When I first heard it, I also thought it was ridiculous nonsense. But seeing how these major sects are acting, I’m starting to think that maybe... there are things we don’t know—or more accurately, things beyond our reach. Otherwise, these sects, which almost never get deeply involved with the secular world, wouldn’t have suddenly inserted themselves into our affairs, and in such a high-profile way!”

”Who cares if it’s true or not? What’s this legend got to do with us, anyway?” Little Fatty said dismissively.

For once, Sui Yan didn’t call Little Fatty an idiot. Instead, he sneered, ”Are you dense? If that legend is true, then whoever controls the Cangqiong Royal Family will have the upper hand!”

The corner of Little Fatty’s mouth twitched, and he said dejectedly, ”But they’re sects! If they decide to use force, how could any of us possibly stand against them?”

”He’s right. We’ve grown strong incredibly quickly, and by secular standards, we’re considered peak experts. But compared to the sects... we’re just standing on a small hill, while they are towering mountains,” Huangfu Chongzhi said, his tone bleak.

At that, everyone couldn’t help but look toward Xu Luo. Xu Ji spoke up after a moment of thought, ”Xiaoluo, give us your thoughts. You know more about the Sect Realm than anyone here. Besides, everyone present owes their current cultivation realms to you. When it comes to facing the sects, you have the most right to speak.”

Xu Luo didn’t bother with modesty and said directly, ”One mountain can’t hold two tigers.”

Huangfu Chongzhi’s eyes lit up. ”You mean there’s more than one sect with designs on Cangqiong? And they won’t make a move on us until they’ve settled things amongst themselves, right?”

Xu Ji looked revitalized as well and nodded. ”Exactly! None of these sects see a secular imperial power like us as any real concern. So, they won’t act against us until they’ve either fought it out or reached some kind of agreement. However...”

As he spoke, Xu Ji’s brow furrowed. He continued in a low voice, ”What if these sects... reach some kind of agreement amongst themselves? What do we do then?”

”Right, that’s not impossible,” Xu Su asked from the side. ”Xiaoluo, didn’t you say that the relationships between several of the major sects were decent?”

Once again, all eyes turned to Xu Luo.

Xu Luo smirked. ”You’re all just intimidated by the major sects’ reputations. First off, when there’s no conflict of interest, sure, they all stay in their own lanes. But once there’s something to gain, how could they possibly coexist peacefully? Secondly, even if they’re at a stalemate, none of them daring to make a reckless move, and they try to negotiate some sort of agreement—just like Kaiyang wouldn’t dare move rashly against Dubhe right now... well, does that mean we can’t give them a little... nudge?”

”Of course!” None of them were fools. It was just as Xu Luo had said: they had been intimidated by the sects’ reputations. Hearing his words, they all felt a sense of sudden clarity.

”If these sects really want to negotiate a compromise and maintain some kind of balance, then we’ll just have to be the ones to shatter it! The sects’ reputations might be intimidating, but this... is the secular world! We won’t let them do as they please!”

In that moment, a sense of clarity washed over the group, and the mood lightened considerably.

Afterward, Xu Ji and Xu Su took their leave. They each had to inspect the Imperial Capital’s armies. No matter what, their first priority was to ensure the city’s security and prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos.

In the private chamber, only the four sworn brothers remained: Huangfu Chongzhi, Xu Luo, Liu Feng, and Sui Yan.

The four sworn brothers exchanged a look, a shared sense of wistfulness passing between them.

The events of the past year had been like a dream for all of them, almost completely changing the future and fate of each brother.

Huangfu Chongzhi was the first to speak. ”Since we all got back to the Imperial Capital, we four brothers haven’t had a real chance to just sit down and talk. Let’s each share what we’ve been through. It’ll help us better face whatever challenges lie ahead.”

Xu Luo nodded and glanced at the other three. ”Then... I’ll start. I hope my experiences can give you all a better understanding of the Sect Realm.”

Taking a deep breath, Xu Luo began, ”I’ll start from... when I went to attend the Sect Assembly...”

”Phoenix’s sect isn’t a major one, but because Tianquan was after me, her master, Sect Leader Li Wenxi, helped me by getting me into the Merak Sect. At that time, among the younger generation in the Sect Realm, my strength was probably in the upper-middle tier...”

”On the way to the Sect Assembly, I was hunted by Tianquan. While Tianquan isn’t a particularly powerful sect, they were enough to keep me scrambling. Thankfully, I managed to get through it, and I even scared off one of their elders.”

”Later, on the edge of the Celestial Break Mountain Range, many sects were gathered. That was the first time I learned about the major sects of the Central Plains Star Continent. The strongest of them all is our greatest enemy... the Dubhe Sect!”

Xu Luo spoke slowly, a wry smile touching his lips. ”The thing is, I’m actually on good terms with a few of Dubhe’s disciples. My sister-in-law, Guo Ying, is also from the Dubhe Sect.”

Both Huangfu Chongzhi and Sui Yan couldn’t help but gasp. They already knew that Huangfu Haoyue’s sect was powerful—any sect that could easily dispatch several Transformation Realm Sword Kings was clearly no ordinary power—but they had never imagined Dubhe was *that* strong. No wonder even the Kaiyang Sect was unwilling to get into a major conflict with them.

”Doesn’t that mean what we’re up against in the future is terrifying?” Little Fatty asked, his face falling.

Xu Luo nodded. ”You could say that. However... I’m on pretty good terms with another major sect, the Jade Balance Sect.”

As he spoke, Xu Luo continued, ”The top-tier major sects are Dubhe, Jade Balance, Kaiyang, Celestial Cauldron, and Shaking Light. These five sects, named after stars in the Big Dipper, are likely the five most powerful sects in the entire Central Plains Star Continent. I’m on good terms with the Jade Balance Sect. And the Sect Leader of the Celestial Cauldron Sect, Ling Fengwu, is Lianyi’s mother! Barring any major surprises, they shouldn’t become our enemies either.”

”Whoa... I never would’ve thought Sister Lianyi had such a powerful background!” Little Fatty exclaimed.

Huangfu Chongzhi and Sui Yan were also visibly moved. To have two of the five great sects on friendly terms with them was indeed excellent news.