Firmament Sword

When Xu Luo and Ling Fengxian returned to the Xu Mansion, they saw Sui Yan and a group of people bustling about, though they weren’t sure what they were up to.

Everyone sighed in relief upon seeing Xu Luo, especially Luo Xinlan, Phoenix, Lianyi, and Qiqi. They all had an idea of what he had been doing, so seeing him return safe and sound, they finally felt at ease.

”What’s Fifth Brother up to?” Xu Luo asked, his gaze landing on a very focused Sui Yan.

”Hehe, Third Brother, remember how Little Stone said he was going to give you a huge gift? Well… this is it!” Lan Xin chimed in from the side with a giggle.

Little Fatty also walked over. ”Sui Xiaoshi’s Mechanical Skill… it’s getting terrifyingly good!” he said to Xu Luo.

’Huh? Don’t tell me he’s…’ Xu Luo’s eyes lit up. While others were in the dark, he knew the origin of that tome on Mechanical Skill. He remembered Sui Yan telling him, right after acquiring it, that mastering it would allow him to build the world’s most powerful defense!

The safety of his family and friends had always been Xu Luo’s greatest concern.

Especially with the way things were now, he knew that if he left and his enemies couldn’t find him, they would almost certainly use his family and friends to force him out of hiding.

While they might not go as far as slaughtering his loved ones just to vent their frustration, the possibility of them being used as leverage was extremely high.

After all, not everyone had principles or scruples, especially not the experts from the Ancient Race who saw the Central Plains Star Continent as a backward, barbaric land.

They would only act with even greater impunity, and Xu Luo had no illusions that they would exercise any restraint.

If Sui Yan could truly build a powerful mechanical defense system, then Xu Luo could finally leave without any worries.

Xu Luo’s gaze turned to Sui Yan. He saw that Sui Yan’s every move already carried the faint air of a great master; his young face even held the bearing of a Grandmaster!

’It seems that tome of Mechanical Skill has finally found the right person to unleash its power,’ Xu Luo thought, pleased.

Sui Yan worked on the setup for thirteen straight days!

The materials required ranged from common to priceless… and the cost was astronomical. If Master Mao hadn’t stolen so many treasures previously, even the Xu Family would likely have gone deep into debt to complete the project.

During these thirteen days, Sui Yan hardly rested, remaining in a state of high excitement. In the end, Xu Luo even feared he would collapse from exhaustion and forced him to rest.

”Third Brother, this… this is probably the greatest masterpiece of my life!”

With the work finally complete, even Sui Yan, a young man who was typically quiet and reserved, couldn’t contain his excitement. He said to Xu Luo, ”Come on. I’ll activate the defenses. Hit it with everything you’ve got and let’s see how it does.”

”Me? With everything I’ve got? Are you sure?” Xu Luo gave Sui Yan an odd look. ’Fifth Brother must not have seen me fight in a long time,’ he mused. ’Does he have any idea what a full-power strike from his Third Brother even means?’

”I’m sure. Absolutely sure! This Black Tortoise Array can withstand an attack from a Sword Saint! The only way to break it is to drain its Spirit Stones. Otherwise, not even ten Sword Saints could dream of breaking through!” Sui Yan declared, his face a mask of confidence.

”What? A Sword Saint…?” Xu Luo was genuinely shocked. He stared at Sui Yan. ”You’re saying this Grand Array you built… can withstand an attack from a Sword Saint?”

”Of course, Third Brother. When have I ever exaggerated?” Sui Yan said. ”I’m not our Fourth Brother, after all!”

”Hey, Sui Xiaoshi, that’s slander! I’ll fight you for that! When have I, your Fourth Master, ever exaggerated?” Little Fatty, not expecting to be dragged into it, was instantly indignant.

”Give it a try, Third Brother. Trust me!” Sui Yan said, ignoring Little Fatty and looking at Xu Luo with excitement. ”The art of Mechanical Skill is truly a heaven-defying Divine Book. It’s a shame I don’t have better materials on hand. Otherwise, I could have built an even more perfect Mechanical Array. Then, it wouldn’t just be a matter of blocking a Sword Saint—it could trap and kill one!”

HISS! Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

Even Little Fatty, who had just been fuming, was stunned speechless.

A Sword Saint… what kind of realm was that?

They were the most powerful experts in the entire mortal world!

They were peerless powerhouses who had already stepped into the Divine Power Realm!

Reaching the Transformation Realm already made one a peerless expert. Anyone above the Fifth Layer of Transformation Realm was said to be able to rule over an entire region.

And even more powerful than the Transformation Realm were the Sword Saints, who were beings of legend!

That’s right, beings of legend. Even the great super-sects might not necessarily have an expert of the Sword Saint realm among their ranks.

Of course, the super-sects, including Dubhe, would all claim to have a Sword Saint in their ranks… It was a massive deterrent.

A single Sword Saint could easily annihilate a super-sect that lacked one of its own.

”I’m telling you, Fifth Brother… you’re trying to scare us to death! If it’s really that powerful, just tell your Fourth Brother what materials you need. I’ll risk life and limb to find them for you, and then you can set one up for my family, too…” Little Fatty said, snapping out of his daze and giving Sui Yan a sycophantic look.

”You? Find them? Dream on!” Sui Yan scoffed. ”Let’s not even talk about the other stuff. You know Water Blue Refined Gold, right? I’d need ten thousand pounds of it… think you can find that?”

”Er…” Little Fatty was at a loss for words.

He certainly knew of Water Blue Refined Gold. The memory of Xu Jie acquiring some and forging a dagger for Xu Luo was still vivid.

That in itself had been a huge deal. Getting even a dozen pounds of such a precious metal was a stroke of incredible luck. Ten thousand pounds… What a joke. It was doubtful that much even existed in the entire world.

”However, I can build a slightly weaker version of the defense here at Third Brother’s mansion anytime,” Sui Yan said seriously.

”In that case…” Huangfu Chongzhi suddenly interjected, ”let’s connect the Imperial Palace and all our family mansions with underground tunnels… Fifth Brother, could you do that?”

Sui Yan’s eyes lit up. ”Excellent idea! I can install all sorts of things in the tunnels. I’m confident no one but us would ever be able to get through them!”

”Eldest Brother… a tunnel to the Imperial Palace… Is that really… appropriate?” Xu Luo glanced at Huangfu Chongzhi.

Huangfu Chongzhi smiled. ”Third Brother, I know what you’re worried about. Rest assured, this tunnel is just for our generation. I won’t let the future descendants of the Royal Family know about it, but I will leave behind a secret edict…”

Everyone nodded, understanding Huangfu Chongzhi’s meaning.

The tunnel was meant to handle the current crisis. Once the situation was resolved, it would no longer be needed.

Leaving the secret edict was a contingency, ensuring that if a crisis ever arose in the future, the royal descendants would have a place to seek refuge.

Sui Yan said, ”If that’s the case… then I can go even bigger! I can… build a complete Underground City beneath the Imperial Capital!”

”Gods… you can’t be serious?” Lan Xin said, staring at Sui Yan in utter disbelief.

”Building a city? That seems a little… unrealistic,” Huangfu Chongzhi said, also at a loss for words. Among the five brothers, this Fifth Brother of theirs was the quietest and seemed uninterested in most things. He only ever showed this much passion when it came to Mechanical Skill.

”You’re misunderstanding me. When I say build a city, it’s not as complicated as you’re imagining! Don’t forget what my specialty is!” Sui Yan said, brimming with confidence. In his mind, he was already laying out the plans for the Underground City.

”Now I remember! That time I visited Fifth Brother’s home, I think I saw a couple of mechanical puppets…” Little Fatty muttered, the realization dawning on him. ”I asked him what they were for, and he told me his puppets could do anything… I laughed at him back then, but now it looks like he might have been telling the truth!”

Everyone was once again thunderstruck, their gazes on Sui Yan now filled with the awe one might reserve for a monster.

Mechanical puppets… that could do anything!

With that ability alone, Sui Yan could become the most powerful and wealthiest person in the world!

Imagine a war between two nations. On one side are human Soldiers of flesh and blood; on the other, mechanical puppets with bodies of steel… What would a battlefield like that even look like?

”The materials for the mechanical puppets aren’t easy to find, so don’t get your hopes up,” Sui Yan said nonchalantly, snapping out of his reverie and glancing at their expressions.

”That’s still incredibly exciting! Fifth Brother… you’re a true genius!” Little Fatty exclaimed, glancing at Xu Jie and Huangfu Chongzhi. ”Eldest Brother and Second Brother are amazing, too. Eldest Brother’s Alchemy must have reached a state of perfection by now, and the weapons Second Brother forges from common iron are already as powerful as that Water Blue Refined Gold Dagger he made before… And that’s not even mentioning Third Brother’s personal strength. Sigh. All of you are stronger than me. I’m the only one who’s useless!”

”What do you mean you’re useless? Your sense of smell is second to none!” Xu Luo said.

”And what good is that?” Little Fatty said, dejected. ”A special talent like a dog’s… I, Master Fatty, am not exactly proud of it!”

Everyone couldn’t help but laugh, though they all shared the same thought: ’Little Fatty is hardly as useless as he makes himself out to be. On the contrary, of the five brothers, he’s the best at navigating complex situations! When it comes to understanding people and the ways of the world, the other four of us combined are no match for him.’

”As long as the five of us brothers stick together, I believe there’s no problem we can’t solve,” Huangfu Chongzhi said with a smile, clapping Little Fatty on the shoulder.

Xu Luo nodded. ”Eldest Brother is right. I have a lot of materials here, including some extremely high-quality items. After I leave, Eldest Brother, you’ll be in charge of refining Elixirs and distributing them to everyone… I hope that by the time I return, all of you… will have become true, peerless experts! When that day comes, we’ll go to those super-sects… and take them on, one by one! We’ll beat them into submission! And when we’re done, we specifically won’t establish our own sect. We’ll just live our lives here in the secular world! Then we’ll see who still dares to look down on us disciples from the mortal realm!”

”Exactly! Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Little Fatty, his mood swinging back just as quickly as it had soured, was the first to clap in approval.

The eyes of Huangfu Chongzhi, Xu Jie, Sui Yan, and the others also shone with excitement. Clearly, they were all eagerly anticipating that day!

”Oh, right! Third Brother, you still haven’t tested it! Go on, attack it! With everything you’ve got!” Sui Yan urged, looking at Xu Luo with eager anticipation.