Firmament Sword

”You bastard, you dare to slander me? Can you produce any evidence?” the young man sneered, utterly dismissive.

Fire was about to shoot from Xu Su’s eyes. Although he had long anticipated that something might go wrong at today’s wedding, when it actually happened, Xu Su still found it hard to control his anger. He pointed into the crowd. ”Huangfu Haoyue, do you dare deny that you’re a disciple of Dubhe?”

Huangfu Haoyue, who had been standing among the group from Dubhe, lifted his head with a deadpan expression. Looking at Xu Su, he said, ”I am a Dubhe disciple, of course. But what does that have to do with you?”

”Aren’t you the one who murdered the Emperor and Empress?” Xu Su demanded furiously.

”Hahaha, what a joke! The one who killed the Emperor, the Empress, and the Crown Prince was the Sixth Prince! He wanted to stage a coup, murdering his own parents and elder brother. What does that have to do with me?” Huangfu Haoyue sneered. ”As for the Sixth Prince, he was killed by Xu Ji and the others. At the time, I, as a member of the Royal Family, was merely trying to stabilize the situation. Didn’t I send people to bring the Eldest Prince back to ascend the throne?”

As he spoke, Huangfu Haoyue slowly walked out, smirking. ”If there’s a single thing you can pin on me, then bring it on!”

”You... Shameless!” Xu Su gritted his teeth, not expecting Huangfu Haoyue to be so utterly shameless as to deny his own actions.

”Me, shameless?” Huangfu Haoyue sneered. ”On the contrary, several of the Dubhe Outer Elders who were assisting me in stabilizing the court were killed by you. Today, we’re going to settle that score!”

”That’s right! You must have grown some serious nerve to dare kill people from Dubhe. This isn’t over!”

”A minor secular family dares to oppose the Dubhe Sect? You’re simply courting death!”

Several young people from Dubhe chimed in with taunts.

Just then, an old woman stepped out from the Dubhe group. She looked at Guo Ying and said, ”You’ve disappointed me so much! Get over here and accept your punishment!”

”Martial... Martial Aunt?” Guo Ying froze. She never expected that her Martial Aunt, who had always been relatively kind to her, would come in person only to speak to her so harshly.

’What did I do wrong?’ Guo Ying’s heart filled with grievance.

At this, Xu Luo raised an eyebrow. He looked at the group from Dubhe and said lightly, ”Are you all done talking?”

”Shut up!” the old woman snapped, looking at Xu Luo with an impatient expression. ”You brat, this is a conversation for your elders. What right do you have to interrupt? Scram!”

”Are you sure you want to cause trouble today... right now?” Xu Luo’s voice grew cold. Ignoring the old woman, he stared directly at the old man he couldn’t see through. ”Will doing this,” he said slowly, ”really benefit your Dubhe Sect so much?”

”You little beast, you dare to ignore me!” The old woman flew into a rage. She raised her hand and viciously slapped at Xu Luo’s face. ”Today, I’ll teach you a lesson for being so disrespectful to your elders!”

A flash of glee crossed Huangfu Haoyue’s eyes. He thought to himself, ’Xu Luo, let’s see you escape this time!’

The others from Dubhe all wore expressions as if they were watching a good show. It was as if they could already hear the crisp sound of Xu Luo’s face being slapped.

’This feeling of showing up to cause trouble at someone’s wedding... it’s just too satisfying!’

CRACK!

The crisp sound of a slap echoed, just as expected. However, what left nearly everyone dumbfounded was that the person sent flying was not Xu Luo!

It was the old woman!

The old woman’s body spun in place several times before she stumbled, completely unable to control herself, and flew several meters away. She collapsed on the ground, her face badly swollen and her eyes dazed. Clearly, she still hadn’t figured out... what had just happened!

”This is impossible!”

”How is that possible? Elder Li’s strength has reached the Fifth Layer of the Transformation Realm! She’s a mighty expert capable of using Dharma Heaven and Earth. How could she be hit by a young man?”

”This can’t be real, can it? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?”

The group from Dubhe stared at the scene, their eyes filled with horror and disbelief.

Just then, the old man’s body suddenly moved!

He practically turned into a wisp of smoke. The onlookers could only see a blood-red shadow slashing toward Xu Luo!

”Blood Vajra Palm!”

The ultimate technique of the Dubhe Sect!

In this old man’s hands, the power it unleashed was even more astonishing!

Before the old man even arrived, the searing heat from the palm wind was enough to make one’s heart pound in fear.

Xu Luo, however, stood there, completely still.

”Be careful...”

”Ah!”

”Dodge, quick!”

The few people on their side who could barely follow the old man’s movements cried out in warning.

Qiushuiduan drew his sword, his body tensing as he prepared to charge forward.

Li Wenxi, Phoenix, Huangfu Shishi, and the others were also about to rush up and help.

Time... seemed to freeze in that moment.

Xu Luo’s eyes were immeasurably deep, as if they concealed an endless starry sky!

The old man was somewhat taken aback. He had never seen such profound eyes in anyone, let alone in a young man who was only in his twenties.

But he had no intention of stopping. He pushed the Blood Vajra Palm to its absolute limit, intending to kill Xu Luo with a single strike!

This... was their purpose for coming here today!

The figurehead, the very soul supporting the entire Xu Family, was Xu Luo!

It could be said that Xu Luo was not just the soul of the Xu Family, but the soul of all of Cangqiong!

Once Xu Luo was dead, the Cangqiong Royal Family would naturally collapse. Then, Dubhe, with a disciple like Huangfu Haoyue, could logically become the sovereign sect of Cangqiong!

That ore vein... was already occupied by Dubhe. If they could also control the Cangqiong Royal Family, they would gain unimaginable wealth and immense benefits.

Therefore, in the eyes of some people in Dubhe, Xu Luo... had to die!

”Kill!”

The old man roared. His blood-red palm radiated a sun-like heat, the palm wind as sharp as a Divine Soldier, as it slashed toward Xu Luo’s head!

In the endless starry sky, Xu Luo had witnessed attacks like the old man’s tens of thousands of times!

”You think you can kill me with this kind of speed?” A strange smile suddenly appeared on Xu Luo’s face. He thought, ’If you had used Dharma Heaven and Earth to suppress me directly, I might have been a little wary. But you shouldn’t have tried to crush me with your realm alone. In terms of realm... can you compare to a Bixi? Can you compare to a vengeful dragon-son? Can you compare to a giant dragon?’

WHOOSH!

Xu Luo executed the Shaking Light Step. His figure blurred, and no one, not even the old man himself, could see how he dodged the palm strike!

In an instant, Xu Luo’s body was right in front of the old man. He then threw a punch, tapping the old man’s ribs... with an effortless grace.

”Broken Tendons and Bones!”

Xu Luo’s icy voice followed. Then, the scene everyone saw was Xu Luo standing in his original spot, not having moved an inch.

The old man’s blood-red palm, radiating a biting killing intent, was frozen in the air not far from Xu Luo’s neck. He, too, stood there, completely still.

From his eyes, which were like vortexes of vital energy, shot a complex light of fear, despair, and disbelief. He opened his mouth and muttered, ”This is impossible!”

CRACK... CRACK!

A series of crisp cracking sounds began to emanate from the old man’s body. Then, his body went limp, collapsing to the ground like a pile of mud, his life extinguished. Only his eyes remained wide open, as if still seeking an answer.

Xu Luo’s gaze then fell upon the other members of Dubhe, and he gave a cold smile.

”Run!”

”It’s an evil art!”

”A Demon Skill... Xu Luo knows a Demon Skill! Run!”

The crowd scrambled and crawled over each other, fleeing for their lives.

Huangfu Haoyue, hidden in the crowd, was terrified beyond belief. The proud and elated feeling he’d had earlier was completely gone. Now, he desperately wished Xu Luo hadn’t noticed him at all.

”Huangfu Haoyue, since you’re here, why the hurry to leave? I have quite a few people here who would love to get a little closer to you,” Xu Luo’s voice rang out, cold and tinged with mockery.

Huangfu Haoyue’s body stiffened. Then, to his horror, he found that his body... couldn’t move!

”No!” Two Xu Family guards seized him and tied him up tightly. Huangfu Haoyue let out a desperate cry.

”Today is my brother’s wedding day. I don’t want to go on a killing spree. Go back and tell Xiang Wentian that if... this is what he wants, then he can lay down any challenge he wishes. I, Xu Luo... will accept it all!” Xu Luo stood there, his voice covering the entire city, alarming nearly everyone.

”The secular world... when did it produce such a monster?”

”He already showed an extraordinary side at the Sect Assembly.”

”During the Small World trial at the Sect Assembly, Xu Luo defeated several genius disciples from other sects!”

...

In a remote courtyard, a slightly chubby young man and a handsome young man both raised their eyebrows slightly upon hearing this.

The chubby young man looked at the handsome one and smiled. ”I didn’t think the secular world was actually hiding some experts. To dare speak to Dubhe like that, you’re either arrogant and courting death, or you have the confidence to back it up. Don’t tell me... we have competitors here?”

The handsome youth sneered, ”He’s just someone who doesn’t know what’s good for him. Even I would have to think twice before speaking to Xiang Wentian like that!”

”But those two women are both at the Xu Family estate today. Senior Brother, should we make our move today?” the chubby young man asked.

”Let’s wait. Now... is not the time. There are still some talented female prodigies from other sects who haven’t arrived yet. We’ll wait until they’re all gathered here, and then we’ll catch them all in one fell swoop,” the handsome youth said.

”Haha, Senior Brother certainly has a big appetite!” said the chubby young man.

...

”Brother, my two sisters-in-law, I apologize for interrupting your wedding. Shall we... continue now?” Xu Luo had the scene quickly cleaned up before turning to Xu Su, Xia Muyao, and Guo Ying.

Nearby, Xu Ji and Luo Xinlan still looked a bit grim, but they had calmed down by now.

They had all anticipated that something like this might happen today, knowing it would be difficult to avoid, and were mentally prepared for it.

Xu Su laughed heartily and said, ”I came from the battlefield. I’ve seen plenty of life and death. What’s this? Let the wedding continue!”

The Grand Ceremony Officer wiped the sweat from his forehead, his mouth twitching slightly. He thought, ’As expected of a son of the Xu Family. That kind of fortitude... is truly admirable.’

”Let the ceremony continue... The couple will now bow to each other!”

”The ceremony is complete! Escort the newlyweds to the bridal chamber!”