Firmament Sword

Cai Pan was left alone on the hill. He released his Divine Sense to survey the surrounding terrain, and his mouth twitched for a long moment.

”What cliff? Damn it, that scared the hell out of me! It seems this new big brother of mine... isn’t so bad after all!” As he spoke, he suddenly roared, ”My big brother is Beidou’s Eighth Star! Who will dare to mess with me now?”

Who dares... who dares... who dares...

Mess with me... mess with me... mess with me...

The echoes carried through the mountain forest.

Xu Luo, already far away, stumbled in mid-air and nearly fell. He muttered to himself, ’Has that guy gone crazy? Or is he serious?’

’Whatever. Let him do as he pleases. The guy’s actions didn’t warrant death. He’s sly, but also kind of amusing.’ Xu Luo muttered as he sped off into the distance.

He decided to first go back and see the Huo Family ancestor. After so long, he... actually kind of missed him.

...

On the Ancient Race Continent, the Huo Family was now under complete lockdown. All important direct-line descendants who could be contacted had been recalled to the family’s ancestral land.

This was a remote and desolate mountain village where every resident was named Huo. The Huo Family’s ancestor, Huo Tongtian, was born here and spent his childhood in this very place.

These days, the only permanent residents were the caretakers of the Huo Family’s ancestral hall.

Therefore, though the place looked unremarkable, it held extraordinary significance for the entire Huo Family.

All the Huo Family descendants wore grave expressions. Although they were unsure of what was happening, being summoned to the family’s ancestral land like this clearly meant that a momentous event had occurred.

Many of the younger generation gathered together, discussing the situation in hushed tones.

”What in the world is going on this time? It’s all so formal... I was out gaining experience and doing just fine. I’d just discovered a very powerful venomous insect when I suddenly received a family summons telling me to return immediately. A few more days, and I probably could have caught it.”

”Tell me about it. There was this beauty from a side branch of the Ding Family, an absolute goddess! I was *this close* to winning her over, but then... ugh, don’t even get me started, it’s a tragedy. By the time I see her again, who knows whose woman she’ll be. I might even have to call her sister-in-law!”

”I’ve been pursuing an ancient herb for seven years. I’d finally found a clue and was probably close to finding and catching it, but then who would have thought I’d get a family notice telling me to return immediately for a matter of life and death... Ugh. And we still don’t even know what’s going on. It’s so infuriating! By the time I get back, that ancient herb will have long since vanished!”

”I heard this whole thing is related to Beidou’s Eighth Star again!”

”Damn it, it’s that cursed Eighth Star again! If you ask me, everyone should just go back to what they were doing! It’s the Eighth Star this, the Eighth Star that, all day long. Are you sick of it or what? Just look at our family this time. How many people did we send? Openly and in secret, there must have been over a hundred, right? All of them high-level Divine Power Realm masters. And what was the result? Did a single one come back?”

”Yeah! You took the words right out of my mouth. I think so too. Some guy from a barren, backward place claims to be a reincarnated star... Could it be any more ridiculous? What a load of bullshit! Who actually believes that? And yet so many idiots fall for it.”

These direct-line descendants of the Huo Family spoke without restraint, not bothering to choose their words carefully just because the family’s ancestor wanted to obtain Beidou’s Eighth Star.

At that moment, someone brought up Huo Feng and said coldly, ”When you get down to it, this is all that bastard Huo Feng’s fault. Why the hell did he have to go gain experience on the Central Plains Star Continent? If you’re going to get experience, fine, but why did he have to get involved with Beidou’s Eighth Star? He should’ve taken a good, long look in the mirror. Was he even qualified to get involved in something like that?”

”Speaking of that, I’m starting to think... that Huo Feng and Beidou’s Eighth Star are somehow working together.”

”Whoa, you think so too? I was thinking the exact same thing! Think about it—everyone else who runs into Beidou’s Eighth Star ends up dead or injured. Take Huo Wanzhang and that unlucky crew, for example. Those who didn’t die were badly wounded. And yet Huo Feng, who is so much weaker, came back completely unscathed, like nothing even happened.”

”Exactly. The Eighth Star caused such a huge commotion on the Sect Continent this time. I wonder if he’ll even make it back alive. Heh, if he manages to return in one piece again, then... there’s definitely something fishy going on!”

”Right! Definitely fishy! Maybe he’s even an inside man for Beidou’s Eighth Star!”

The descendants of a great family were not, in fact, stupid. Once they focused their attention on a particular matter, their intelligence and deductive abilities were quite astonishing.

A voice filled with displeasure suddenly rang out, ”I’m talking about you lot. You don’t lift a single finger for the ancestor, but you’re all experts at standing around making snide remarks and running your mouths about others. What’s your problem? What, I’m not allowed to come back alive? The fact that I can survive all kinds of dangerous situations means I’m smart! It means I know how to judge a situation! It means I know what to sacrifice and what to keep! I wasn’t stupid enough to die out there, so why do you all look so disappointed?”

As the voice faded, a handsome young man appeared before the crowd with his head held high and chest puffed out. He wore a brazenly arrogant expression, the kind so infuriatingly smug it made people want to kick him to the ground and stomp on his face.

It was none other than Huo Feng, the very person this group had just been discussing!

”Ah, you... You actually made it back alive?” The faces of the young men who had just been gossiping about Huo Feng instantly grew awkward. Although they were all direct-line descendants, it was clear that their status was not as high as Huo Feng’s, who held the ancestor’s favor.

Although deep down they all wanted nothing more than to give Huo Feng a vicious beating, and some even felt a flicker of killing intent, they still had to maintain a veneer of civility on the surface.

The Huo Family was proficient in fighting outsiders and equally proficient in fighting among themselves. They did not fear conflict, but the problem was that this place... was the true ancestral land of the Huo Family. It was sacred ground.

This was the place where the Huo Family had been founded; its significance was extraordinary. Anyone who dared to cause trouble here would face a punishment many times more severe than usual.

”Heh heh. You’re not happy to see me back?” Xu Luo said, looking provocatively at the young man who had spoken. He recognized this person as someone he had seen with Huo Lin before.

After Huo Lin lost his influence, this group of people had all abandoned him and started to form new cliques.

Several new cliques had now formed among the Huo Family’s direct-line descendants, and their core members were all capable of competing for the position of future Patriarch. Whether in terms of cunning, methods, or personal strength, they were all considered the best of the best within the Huo Family.

Only Huo Feng... was still a lone wolf. But because he had the ancestor’s favor, he possessed a competitive edge that no one dared to underestimate. In the entire Huo Family, he was considered a true oddity.

Of course, the reason for this was simple: this Huo Feng was a fake!

At this, someone sneered from the side, ”Seeing Young Master Feng return, we are naturally happy for you... you’ve cheated death yet again! But, it seems those followers of yours... where have they all disappeared to?”

Xu Luo’s eyelids drooped. He couldn’t even be bothered to acknowledge the person who spoke, simply turning his head away.

”You... Huo Feng! We are all direct-line descendants of the Huo Family, and this is our ancestral land. How can you be so rude? In terms of seniority... I am of your uncle’s generation!” Though this young man wasn’t old, he was indeed from the same generation as Huo Feng’s father, Huo Fengyan.

”You want respect? Fine...” Xu Luo sneered. ”Go earn the ancestor’s favor, and then I’ll respect you!”

”You...” The young man, who was from the same generation as Huo Fengyan, was so furious he was practically fuming.

Many of those nearby also frowned, feeling that Huo Feng had gone too far.

It was one thing for him to be arrogant and domineering on a normal day, but to do it here, in front of all the Huo Family’s direct-line descendants, by openly using the ancestor’s name to suppress others—that was truly hard to accept.

”What ’you’? You have the nerve to bring up your seniority? Are you an idiot? Who here today isn’t a direct-line descendant? And what were those people with me? They’re from a side branch! Are they even qualified to come in here?”

Xu Luo looked at the ashen-faced young man with utter disdain, like a parent disappointed in a hopeless child. ”Besides,” he said, ”even if those few were from the direct line, they wouldn’t be able to come anymore...”

”Why not?” someone asked from the side.

The speaker was a man with dignified features and a righteous air. He was Huo Lin’s older brother, Huo Peng. He had been training out in the world until Huo Lin’s fall from grace, at which point the Huo Family Master had urgently summoned him back to take Huo Lin’s place in the competition for the future Patriarch’s seat.

And since Huo Lin’s fall was heavily related to Xu Luo, it was certain that Huo Peng, as Huo Lin’s older brother, did not have a favorable impression of ”Huo Feng.”

But Huo Peng had gained experience out in the world for many years; his cunning and composure were far beyond what his naive, sheltered younger brother could ever hope to match. His expression was unreadable as he smiled at Xu Luo, as if he were completely unaware that the person before him was the very enemy who had brought about his brother’s downfall.

”As for the reason, I can’t tell you.” Xu Luo glanced at Huo Peng and thought, ’What a hypocrite! Then again... I love messing with hypocrites like you!’

”There is nothing that cannot be spoken of openly. Though they were from a side branch, they were still members of our Huo Family. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to inquire about their fate, isn’t it?” As he spoke, Huo Peng glanced at the others. ”After all, the side branches deserve respect too. Wouldn’t you all agree?”

”That’s right. A person... can’t be too cold and ruthless. Otherwise... who would dare follow you in the future?”

”Exactly. It looks like those few loyal and devoted experts from the side branch probably perished on the Sect Continent. Heh, what good luck. It’s the same story every time, and he always comes back acting like nothing happened.”

”That’s cold-blooded! But to be that cold-blooded toward your own family members... it’s truly chilling.”

”Who knows what really happened? Maybe a certain someone is secretly colluding with that Xu Luo...”

A few direct-line descendants, relying on their own not-insignificant status, continued to sneer and make sarcastic remarks from the sidelines. They had no hope of competing for the Patriarch’s seat, but their own strength was not weak, so they didn’t care one bit about Huo Feng’s feelings.

In their eyes, it was still up in the air who would rise to power in the future!

And even if Huo Feng did take the seat, so what? He was so young; who would he be able to suppress?

A faint smile remained on Huo Peng’s face. He looked at Xu Luo and sighed softly. ”You see... it’s not just my opinion. Everyone is very curious. Why is it that every single time, the guards by your side are all wiped out, while you... manage to return alive and completely unscathed?”

”Are you an idiot?” Xu Luo raised his head to look at Huo Peng, taking in the cold, fleeting killing intent that flashed in the other man’s eyes. Then, Xu Luo sneered, ”You don’t need to overthink it, and there’s no need to get upset. I’m merely stating a fact. Because you are, most assuredly, an idiot!”