Firmament Sword

”Heh heh. I didn’t think you’d actually have the guts to follow me so quickly. What, were you afraid I couldn’t hold back and would have my way with that pretty princess of yours? Hahahaha!” In the darkness of the night, a figure clad head-to-toe in black, wearing an infiltration suit and a hood that left only his eyes visible, stared mockingly at Xu Luo and let out a lewd cackle.

”Shaking Light Burst!”

Xu Luo offered no words. He activated Shaking Light Step, but instead of using Breaking Army Seven Kills, he directly unleashed the immensely powerful Shaking Light Burst!

’Words were useless against someone like this. Only by crushing him, by grinding him underfoot, could he vent the hatred in his heart.’

Moreover, Xu Luo wasn’t being the least bit arrogant. This person, who concealed his entire body and hid his identity, gave off an unfathomable aura. It was a feeling Xu Luo had only ever gotten when facing the Sect Leaders of major sects, like Shangguan Qing and Xiang Wentian.

Xu Luo’s speed was astounding. The man hadn’t expected him to forgo asking about the hostage and just open with a killing move... ’He’s truly ruthless and cunning!’

The youth cloaked in darkness waved his hands, forming a series of seals at an incredible speed. As he moved, layers of defensive barriers appeared before him. A faint smile touched his eyes, as if mocking Xu Luo.

Though the night was dark, cultivators at their level could see each other’s expressions with perfect clarity.

BOOM!

A world-shaking explosion erupted as the Shaking Light Burst, condensed from Star Power, unleashed its devastating might... slamming viciously into the man’s defenses.

The youth in the infiltration suit grunted, stumbling back three or four steps. He then let out a long breath and sighed in admiration, ”What a powerful attack! As expected of the man who dared to face the Dubhe Sect alone. Xu Luo... I truly underestimated you. However... an attack of this level is not enough to defeat me!”

Though he said this aloud, inwardly, the youth was horrified. ’If I hadn’t cultivated a unique technique that lets me conjure powerful defenses in an instant, Xu Luo’s attack would have gravely injured me, or even... insta-killed me!’

Xu Luo was also secretly shocked. ’I used nearly all my strength in that Shaking Light Burst, yet he seems completely unscathed!’

One had to understand, this was not the same Shaking Light Burst from when Xu Luo had first learned it. As his cultivation realm had risen, its power had multiplied many times over. The trials in the mysterious starry sky, in particular, had made its might utterly astonishing.

And yet, the man before him had blocked it!

But Xu Luo wasn’t the type to back down from a tough fight. If one strike wasn’t enough, he would use two!

He raised his hand and unleashed another Shaking Light Burst, blasting it ferociously toward the youth.

A ball of Star Power seemed to resonate with the stars in the heavens, its might amplified by the star-filled night sky!

Beneath his hood, the youth’s face paled. Seeing Xu Luo unleash such a devastating move again, he cursed inwardly. He had assumed that Xu Luo could use a technique like that once at most. Clearly, his judgment had been wrong!

But when he got a clear look at the light that seemed to resonate with the stars in the sky, a look of joyful surprise filled his eyes. The first time Xu Luo had used it, he had been too focused on defending to look closely. Now, he saw it clearly and roared in his mind: ’Star Power! That’s definitely Star Power! That thing... it’s on Xu Luo!’

As he was thinking this, Xu Luo’s second Shaking Light Burst was already upon him. The youth executed a movement technique; this time, he didn’t dare to block it head-on and tried to dodge.

However, he had still underestimated the power of the Shaking Light Burst. The very instant he began to move, the volatile ball of Star Power violently exploded!

There was none of the world-shaking noise from the first time. Instead, a silent light, as brilliant as the midday sun, flared up, illuminating the area for hundreds of meters in every direction as if it were day!

’Wait... it’s not that there’s no sound, it’s that I can’t hear!’ The youth realized abruptly, his eyes filled with a mixture of shock and fury. He roared, ”I’ll kill you!”

HUMMM!

With a soft tremor, a light suddenly flared up behind the youth. A Dharma Aspect that resembled one of the Ancient Deities rose from his back. This Dharma Aspect was seated cross-legged, its left hand resting on its knee with the palm facing up, forming a technique seal. Its right hand was raised, palm facing outward, fingers slightly curled as if about to grab something.

As the Dharma Aspect rose, the youth violently spat out a mouthful of blood. Black blood also trickled from both his ears.

Without a doubt, he had been tricked by Xu Luo!

Into this second Shaking Light Burst, Xu Luo had incorporated an attack from the Jade Balance Demon Sound!

It had nearly shattered the man’s eardrums in an instant!

That was why he hadn’t heard the world-shaking boom from the Shaking Light Burst’s explosion.

It was only because his reactions were fast enough; anyone with a slightly weaker cultivation realm would have lost half their life from that one blow.

After the Dharma Aspect rose behind the youth, its raised right hand, which looked like it was about to grab something, suddenly swiped toward Xu Luo. The left hand, which was forming the technique seal, flicked its fingers, sending several beams of light shooting toward Xu Luo at incredible speed.

’This youth is a formidable opponent!’ Xu Luo thought. ’Two Shaking Light Bursts, and I even added the Jade Balance Demon Sound to the second one, yet I still failed to injure him severely. It only wounded him slightly. It seems killing him won’t be easy!’

”Miaomiao, are you confident you can break through this guy’s defenses?” Xu Luo sent a mental message to Master Mao while using Shaking Light Step to evade the terrifying attacks from the man’s Dharma Aspect.

”I can give it a try. You’d best get close to him; that’s the only way Master Mao will have an opening!”

Xu Luo acknowledged, knowing full well that getting close to such a powerful opponent would be incredibly difficult. To his surprise, however, his enemy seemed to have been completely enraged. After manifesting Dharma Heaven and Earth, he actually lunged forward, and the giant palm of the Dharma Aspect, resembling that of an Ancient Deity, swelled to an immense size as it swatted down at Xu Luo.

”Tyrant Technique!”

Watching the giant palm descend, Xu Luo roared in his heart and unleashed the Tyrant Technique, thrusting his Seven Star Sword straight at the Dharma Aspect’s massive hand!

The collision was like two great stars crashing into each other, erupting with a horrifying burst of energy that nearly shattered the sky itself. If not for both men deliberately controlling the blast and allowing the energy to dissipate into the air, the residential area below would have long since been razed to the ground.

Xu Luo was thrown back several hundred meters, his qi and blood roiling. He glanced at his pocket—Master Mao was gone!

The youth didn’t fare much better. Though he was only pushed back a few dozen meters, his Seven Star Sword had pierced a massive hole in the right hand of his Dharma Aspect. It healed at an extremely fast rate, but the entire hand had dimmed considerably, no longer looking as solid as it had before.

”You really are strong! And... Star Power, tsk tsk... I don’t know whether to call you lucky or unlucky!” The youth let out a joyful laugh, then said, ”Hand over the thing on you, and I’ll spare your life!”

”What?” A chill shot through Xu Luo’s heart. Aside from the soul of the Star Ancestor he’d met in Merak, who knew a great deal about the stars, and Master Mao, this was the first time someone had identified the power he possessed. Xu Luo was utterly stunned, but a look of grim determination appeared on his face. ’No matter what, I absolutely cannot let him leave here alive. Otherwise, my secret will be impossible to keep!’

In fact, as he had risen to prominence, people had always speculated that his ascent was related to the Cangqiong Star Festival. But that was all just speculation; no one had any proof, much less dared to make a definitive claim. Xu Luo knew in his heart that sooner or later, someone would set their sights on him. He just hadn’t expected that day to come so soon.

”Breaking Army Seven Kills!”

”Vibrating Eight Desolates!”

At a time like this, Xu Luo could no longer hold anything back. He unleashed the most powerful move in the Breaking Army Seven Kills technique!

In that mysterious starry sky, he had used this very move to slay the incomparably tyrannical ancient dragon!

As Xu Luo’s Spiritual Power focused to its absolute peak, a flaw in his opponent’s defense was finally revealed!

CLANG!

The Seven Star Sword let out a piercing cry as a vast torrent of Star Power surged forth!

In that instant, all the starlight in the night sky flared up simultaneously. Limitless stellar energy poured down the beams of starlight, flooding into Xu Luo’s body before erupting... through the Seven Star Sword!

It was like an avalanche, like the oceans themselves reversing their course!

Fear finally appeared on the youth’s face. He never would have dreamed that this young man before him had become so powerful. If he had known... he definitely wouldn’t have made such a move today.

But regret... came too late!

The very space was torn to shreds, only to be swiftly repaired by the powerful laws of heaven and earth. As for the youth, he was utterly annihilated by this most powerful move of the Breaking Army Seven Kills!

Not even a trace of him was left behind. He had vanished completely from the world.

A streak of yellow light shot out from the void, shrieking, ”AAAAAH, THAT SCARED MASTER MAO TO DEATH! AAAAAH!”

With his opponent’s demise, Xu Luo’s mind grew hazy, just as it had after he’d slain the dragon in that mysterious starry sky.

It was impossible to slay an expert far stronger than himself without paying a price.

”Senior Brother!” a mournful cry rose from below, followed by a pained shriek and a furious curse. ”Where did this damn cat come from... Get lost!”

”AAAAAH, YOU DARE CALL THIS MASTER A DAMN CAT? GO DIE! AAAAAH!” Master Mao’s furious roar immediately followed.

Xu Luo frantically circulated his Shadow Shaking Heart Method and shot toward the sound. There, he saw a pale, chubby youth with several bloody scratches on his face. He wore an expression of pure rage and was holding a person in his grasp. He bellowed, ”Xu Luo... if you want your woman to be unharmed, then don’t move!”