Firmament Sword

Forced to watch his own brother being tortured like this, Jiang Tianhai’s eyes turned bloodshot. He let out a roar of absolute fury and charged madly toward Xu Luo.

SWISH!

Master Mao was like a flash of light, unbelievably fast. He swiped a claw across Jiang Tianhai’s face, instantly tearing off a large, bloody chunk of flesh.

Jiang Tianhai let out a bloodcurdling scream. It felt as if his entire face had been torn apart. His voice trembling, he howled in terror, ”What is that thing!”

”It’s your Master Mao!” Master Mao’s movements were as swift as the wind. With another swipe of his claw, he tore another large piece of flesh from Jiang Tianhai’s shoulder.

At this point, there was no longer any need for Huangfu Shishi to act. She retracted her red sash and stood to the side, watching everything with a cold gaze. Though a flicker of pity stirred in the depths of her eyes, it was overwhelmed by the cathartic thrill of vengeance.

”Weren’t you acting all tough before? You passed out already?” Xu Luo glanced at Jiang Hanhai, then, without the slightest hesitation, slammed his palm into Jiang Hanhai’s Dantian, shattering it.

The excruciating pain jolted the unconscious Jiang Hanhai awake, his body trembling violently. A venomous light shot from his eyes as he stared fixedly at Xu Luo. ”You... you’re so vicious! Xu Luo, you’ll die a dog’s death! My master... will not let you go!”

”Vicious?” A sneer appeared on Xu Luo’s face. ”Am I as vicious as you? Using an inhumane toxin like the Soul-controlling Poison to plot against your own junior martial sister, and you have the nerve to call me vicious?”

As he spoke, Xu Luo stomped on Jiang Hanhai’s shin, snapping the bone. The sound of splintering bone was enough to make one’s heart tremble.

”AHH!” Jiang Hanhai shrieked. ”Kill me! Xu Luo... I’m begging you, kill me! Don’t torture me anymore!”

”If I hadn’t been able to neutralize the Soul-controlling Poison, would you have let me go? Would you have let your junior martial sister go?” Xu Luo shot a sideways glance at Jiang Hanhai, then spat viciously on the ground. ”Showing mercy to people like you is just being cruel to myself!”

Xu Luo’s words made Huangfu Shishi, who had been feeling a bit of pity and was about to ask Xu Luo to give them a quick end, immediately shut her mouth.

’That’s right,’ Huangfu Shishi thought to herself. ’If Brother Xu Luo didn’t have the ability to neutralize the Soul-controlling Poison, then... what would have happened?’ Her face paled. The more she thought about it, the more she dreaded imagining the outcome.

”If I were still under the control of the Soul-controlling Poison, Brother Xu Luo would surely have let his guard down around me. Then, in a state completely beyond my control, I would have treated him as an enemy and killed him... And then I... even if they didn’t silence me, I would have been reduced to Jiang Hanhai’s plaything...” Huangfu Shishi muttered to herself. The last trace of pity in her eyes vanished completely.

”The victor is king, the loser is vilified. Xu Luo... I admit it... I underestimated you. You’re a good person. I’m begging you... kill me, give me a quick death! Please!” Jiang Hanhai’s vocal cords were torn. His intermittent, raspy roars sounded like two pieces of metal grinding against each other as blood continuously poured from his mouth.

”You wanted to target me? I’m not afraid! I, Xu Luo, have never feared a challenge from anyone! Even if you didn’t want a fair and open fight, that’s fine by me! I’ll take on any of your schemes and plots,” Xu Luo said slowly, looking at Jiang Hanhai.

”But you thought to use the person closest to me to frame me. And what’s worse, that person is your own junior martial sister! Jiang Hanhai, if you and your brother had even the slightest shred of humanity, you couldn’t have done something so utterly devoid of it!”

”And from how practiced you seemed, it’s obvious this isn’t the first time you’ve done something like this. Who knows how many innocent people you’ve controlled before, forcing them to do things completely against their will...”

”So, now... you’re begging me for a quick death? Heh, don’t even think about it!”

Xu Luo’s voice rose, and his gaze suddenly sharpened. He stared coldly at Jiang Hanhai and said, ”Miaomiao, I see your claws are quite sharp. They should be good for a death by a thousand cuts. It’s all yours.”

”AAAAAH! Are Master Mao’s noble claws meant for this kind of work?” Master Mao roared haughtily. But a moment later, it laughed loudly and said, ”However, Master Mao likes your style this time. I’ll help you out just this once!”

”Xu Luo... Xu Luo... you’ll die a dog’s death!” Jiang Hanhai’s eyes looked like they would split from their sockets, and he was utterly terrified.

This proud prodigy of the Kaiyang Sect’s younger generation never dreamed he would one day meet such a fate.

After all, torturing his enemies had been his favorite pastime! Watching them struggle in agony and despair, begging for death, had given him a profound sense of satisfaction. He never imagined that he would one day suffer the same fate.

”Whether or not I die a dog’s death isn’t your concern. What you should be thinking about now is how to die sooner. Don’t even think about suicide. In the hands of someone at my level of cultivation, even dying is a luxury you can’t afford!” Xu Luo said coolly.

”AHH!” Jiang Hanhai finally broke down, letting out a terrified screech. ”Master... help me... Are there any Kaiyang Sect members nearby? Help me!”

Unfortunately, this place was dozens of miles from the Imperial Capital, surrounded by mountains. No one ever came here on a normal day. He could scream his lungs out, and no one would hear him.

Over on the side, Jiang Tianhai’s face was already a bloody, mangled mess, a terrifying and grotesque sight. Not a trace of his former dashing, gentlemanly appearance remained. He was terrified to his core and had long since pissed his pants. A foul stench spread through the air. Master Mao pinched its nose and leaped far away, cursing, ”You gutless piece of trash! Master Mao will deal with you later!”

Jiang Tianhai scrambled and crawled, trying to drag himself before Xu Luo. He wailed, ”Xu Luo, Xu Luo, I was wrong... Please, I’m begging you, spare me! I don’t want to die! I was wrong, I was really wrong...”

”Get lost!”

With a single kick, Xu Luo sent Jiang Tianhai flying. ”The moment you used the Soul-controlling Poison, your fate was sealed!”

”Junior Sister... Little Junior Sister, my dear Junior Sister, I was wrong! Please, talk to Xu Luo for me! Spare me! From now on, I’ll be your beast of burden, your slave... I’ll do whatever you tell me to do...” Jiang Tianhai turned his head and started begging Huangfu Shishi.

Seeing his pathetic state, Huangfu Shishi immediately turned her face away, not even bothering to waste a single word on him.

Jiang Tianhai finally tasted despair. He suddenly burst into manic laughter, then slowly stood up. He turned his mangled, bloody face toward Xu Luo and roared like a madman, ”Xu Luo, you’re no saint either! We may be shameless and sinister, but how righteous are you? Aren’t you also using schemes? In a fair and open fight, how could you be my brother’s match? Do you dare to have a fair and open fight with me now? Huh?! Do you dare?!”

Jiang Tianhai’s voice was completely distorted, like the howling of a terrifying beast.

Xu Luo glanced at Jiang Tianhai with utter contempt and said slowly, ”You’re not worthy.”

THUD. Jiang Tianhai’s knees gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. All his madness, all his pride, including the self-respect that had long since vanished—before the three words Xu Luo had spoken, it was all like a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water. It seemed real, but the slightest disturbance would reveal its fragile nature and shatter it with ease.

...

”Will this really not cause any problems? They’ve both disappeared. Won’t the Sect Leader come looking for trouble with us later?” Huangfu Shishi asked on the way back.

Vengeance was sweet, and her heart felt unburdened, but when she thought about the potential consequences, Huangfu Shishi couldn’t truly relax. Sect Leader Shangguan Qing’s strength was unfathomable, and the Kaiyang Sect’s foundation was incredibly deep. The members who were active outside didn’t represent the sect’s full power. There were many old masters who remained in seclusion year-round, only emerging when the sect faced a major crisis...

And if those people were alerted, the consequences would be unimaginable. At the very least, Xu Luo and his group currently had absolutely no power to contend with them.

”Shangguan Qing is handsome and refined on the outside, but he’s actually a deep schemer. Although he’s extremely powerful, he’s also very good at being low-key and patient,” Xu Luo said, then added with a smile, ”Remember how I scared him off a few days ago? The truth is, we both know very well that if he had really attacked, I would have had a hard time defending myself. But because I was able to use that miraculous Cultivation Technique, he grew suspicious of my identity. He’s not afraid of me; he’s afraid of provoking a powerful expert who might be backing me!”

Huangfu Shishi looked thoughtful. She lowered her head for a moment before saying, ”You’re right. The Sect Leader is powerful, but he’s also extremely cautious. Actually, Jiang Hanhai inherited that trait from him. He just never expected that someone in this world could actually break the Soul-controlling Poison. The one thing he relied on the most became the only flaw in his entire plan. So, he probably went to his grave thinking he was just incredibly unlucky.”

”What, still thinking about it? Qiqi, don’t feel burdened. We’re not the kind of bad people who enjoy scheming against others. But if someone wants to harm us by any means necessary, we have to strike back with the same methods!” Xu Luo’s voice was a little low. Torturing an enemy to death was, in fact, a first for him too.

Even back in the Stony Sect, it had only ever been a matter of killing one person every ten steps—bloody, but direct.

The brothers Jiang Hanhai and Jiang Tianhai had simply crossed Xu Luo’s bottom line. Otherwise, he never would have used such methods against them.

”The Kaiyang Sect has big ambitions for entering the secular world this time. So, until he secures enough benefits, Shangguan Qing won’t truly have a falling out with us, even if he suspects us. After all, he still wants to operate under the authority of the Kaiyang Sect’s status as the Cangqiong Royal Sect Leader Sect,” Xu Luo said reassuringly.

”The situation will clear up one day...” Huangfu Shishi said.

”Heh, you’re right. The situation will clear up one day.” A brilliant smile spread across Xu Luo’s face. ”It’s just that by the time that day comes... we probably won’t need to fear the Kaiyang Sect anymore!”