Firmament Sword

Xu Luo finally threw the same words that Hao Nu had said earlier right back at them… and he was paying them back double.

Just then, a woman’s panicked cry came from inside the vehicle. ”Don’t come near me… Y-you… what are you doing?”

Blood trickled from the corner of the young man’s mouth, his eyes flashing with venomous hatred as he stared at Xu Luo. ”If you have the guts, then kill me! Otherwise… I won’t let you take Susu! If you want to take her… you’ll have to do it over my dead body!”

Just then, Master Mao’s exasperated voice came from the vehicle. ”You little wench, what are you doing tearing at your own clothes? This master has no interest in women!”

The entire street fell deathly silent. Countless people’s mouths twitched violently.

They were all pondering in their hearts. ’A cat… a woman…’

More people, however, were thinking, ’What kind of cat is that! It’s like a demon! And to think that noble lady wanted to forcibly buy it as a pet… what was she thinking? She must have been cursed with eight lifetimes of bad luck!’

Xu Luo bared his teeth in a grin, looking at the young man. ”You think I don’t dare to kill you? Trying to score points by spouting heroic nonsense? You want to die, is that it? Fine, I’ll grant your wish!”

As he spoke, Xu Luo swung the Beidou Sword in his hand, pressing it flat against the young man’s neck!

”Ah… Don’t kill me! My father is the Piaomiao Palace Master!” the young man shrieked, his voice raw.

The moment the young man’s words came out, everyone on the street froze, staring at him in utter disbelief.

Then, many pairs of eyes began to scrutinize the young man.

”You know… he really does look a bit like him. Years ago, I was fortunate enough to see the current Piaomiao Palace Master once. There’s definitely a resemblance in the young man’s eyes and brows.”

”But I heard the Piaomiao Palace Master only has one son… and he should be in his seventies by now. He’s always stayed in Piaomiao Palace, living in seclusion. Where did this young man come from?”

”That’s right. The current Piaomiao Palace Master has only one son, the next in line to inherit Piaomiao Palace. So where did this young man come from?”

”Could he be an impostor?”

A wave of discussion immediately broke out all around.

Xu Luo shot the young man a cold look.

At this life-or-death moment, the young man had nothing left to lose. He roared, ”I’m his illegitimate son!”

”Oh…” A collective sound of understanding, like a low hum, rose from the crowd on the long street. Knowing smiles spread across the faces of many men.

Someone commented, ”That’s probably true. Otherwise, how could he afford a vehicle carved from Immortal Cold Jade?”

”Hahaha, now this is getting good! I hear the Piaomiao Palace Master’s wife is a noble lady from a Supreme Great Sect. The Palace Master is known for being henpecked, and now an illegitimate son pops up. What a show!”

”Piaomiao Palace has always presented itself as a bastion of righteousness. I wonder how they’ll explain this…?”

The crowd on the street buzzed with discussion, their gazes toward the young man in midair now filled with a strange mix of pity and fascination.

Xu Luo had already beaten the young man’s face until it was swollen like a pig’s head, making his expression unreadable. But the venom in his eyes revealed the depths of his hatred for Xu Luo.

Just then, the door of the hovering Immortal Cold Jade Vehicle opened. An exceptionally beautiful woman emerged, weeping, her clothes in disarray.

A cat sat perched on her shoulder, lecturing her in a tone that was both earnest and cutting. ”If you’re going to be a Maid… you should act like one! Look at you now! What a disgrace! Do you have any sense of a Maid’s decorum? It’s not that this master is picking on you, but you’re pampered and spoiled, selfish and cold, only ever thinking of yourself. A little wench like you… who would want you? Only that blind fucking idiot would have fallen for you!”

Sharp gasps came from all directions. Everyone was screaming internally: ’My god, that cat is vicious! What terrible karma did those people from Piaomiao Palace accumulate in their past lives to run into such a disaster in this one?’

Even the corner of Xu Luo’s mouth twitched. He saw the venom in the young man’s eyes and sneered, ”What, still not ready to admit defeat?”

The young man gritted his teeth. ”You’ve humiliated me and forced me to air my family’s dirty laundry. I’ll remember this. This score isn’t settled!”

”Then I’ll just kill you. That’ll settle things once and for all!” Xu Luo threatened, pressing the Beidou Sword forward.

The young man immediately let out a howl like a stuck pig. ”Don’t kill me! I beg you… please don’t kill me!” His knees buckled, and he actually knelt before Xu Luo.

It was quite a feat, really—to be beaten so badly and still manage to kneel in midair…

Monkey sent a mental message to Xu Luo. ”Don’t kill him. If he really is the Piaomiao Palace Master’s illegitimate son, killing him will bring the Piaomiao Palace Master’s wrath down on us, no holds barred! But if we let him live… Piaomiao Palace isn’t a monolith. Plenty of people covet the Palace Master’s position. Keeping him alive will throw their entire sect into chaos. They won’t have the time or energy to come after us with their full strength!”

Xu Luo glanced at Monkey in surprise, thinking, ’Who said this monkey was stupid? He’s as cunning as they come!’

”That vehicle…” Xu Luo glanced at the Immortal Cold Jade Vehicle, still hovering in the air. The two Holy Beasts that pulled it were dead, yet the vehicle remained suspended about a meter off the ground, motionless.

Clearly, the vehicle carved from Immortal Cold Jade was supported by a Floating Array!

A cold smile touched Xu Luo’s lips. He looked down at the young man kneeling before him and said, ”I can spare you. Just sell me this vehicle.”

”This vehicle isn’t mine… It’s my father’s! I… I don’t have the right to sell it!” the young man wailed, tears streaming down his face. ’If only I’d known I was provoking such a monster,’ he thought, ’I never would have done this just to impress a woman!’

”Hm?” Xu Luo grunted in displeasure, pressing the Beidou Sword against the young man’s neck.

”Don’t kill me! I’ll sell! I’ll sell!” the young man shrieked in terror.

”Then… how much?” Xu Luo asked lightly, looking at the young man. ”I’m a very fair person, you know.”

Everyone on the street was left speechless. They were all thinking, ’The Piaomiao Palace Master’s illegitimate son is no saint, but you’re certainly no pushover either!’

Forcing the great Piaomiao Palace Master’s illegitimate son into such a state was something not just anyone could accomplish.

The young man was also speechless, his mouth twitching violently. The pain throbbing in his face was a constant reminder: ’This man is a demon. Compared to him, I’m just a wet noodle!’

”O-one… Spirit Stone,” the young man stammered, weeping.

”Hm. You catch on quick,” Xu Luo commented with a nod. With a wave of his hand, the Immortal Cold Jade Vehicle vanished, absorbed into the world of the Bronze Divine Hall.

The priceless, top-of-the-line luxury vehicle vanished from sight.

A smile touched Xu Luo’s lips. Then, his brow furrowed as he looked at the young man. ”Are you still here? Scram. Or do you want me to give you a send-off?”

”Ah! I’m going! I’m going!” The young man leaped from the air to the ground. He didn’t spare the woman a second glance, let alone his servant. After a few quick flashes, he vanished from the street.

The Hao Nu scrambled up from the ground and desperately chased after the young man’s disappearing figure.

Now, only the veiled woman remained, standing there trembling, too scared to make a sound.

”You can go, too,” Xu Luo said, glancing at the woman. A thought of Su Qianqian made him sigh inwardly, and he lost all interest in teaching this woman a lesson. Besides, Master Mao had already scared her half to death.

He had thought she would be some powerful Chosen of Heaven, but now she just seemed like a fragile woman.

Even if she really did come from a powerful background, as the young man had implied, her actual status couldn’t be that high.

After all, the Divine Domain was a place that valued strength above all else!

The woman gave Xu Luo a long look, then suddenly curtsied. In a soft, weak voice, she stammered, ”I… I’m sorry… I-I really didn’t know the cat… was your… family. I, I thought he was just an ordinary pet… I… I didn’t… I didn’t mean any harm. Please… forgive me…”

”Forget it. Just be more careful in the future. Oftentimes, a single glance from you can be enough for your subordinates to kill people just to… curry your favor.” Xu Luo waved his hand dismissively. ”Now go!”

”I… I can really… go?” the woman asked, watching Xu Luo cautiously.

”I don’t need a Maid,” Xu Luo said with a sharp grin.

The woman was so frightened she stumbled back a few steps, her hand flying to her chest. Seeing that Xu Luo wasn’t making another move, she finally relaxed. ”Then I’ll be going.”

With that, she retreated into the crowd, looking back every few steps.

The dense crowd parted for her, and no one mocked her. By now, most people understood what had really happened.

The incident… likely had little to do with the woman herself. She had probably seen the cat in Xu Luo’s pocket by chance, thought it was cute, and mentioned it to the man beside her.

To win a smile from the beautiful woman, the man ordered his attendant to buy the cat for her.

But the brutish servant took it too far and tried to take it by force…

That must have been how it all happened. The bystanders, and Xu Luo himself, had more or less figured it out after seeing the woman.

Monkey had figured it out as well, but he felt the pressure mounting. In a grave voice, he said, ”That vehicle is a hot potato, but it’s a true treasure. I’m sure that when the Piaomiao Palace Master finds out about this… he’ll be absolutely furious!”

Xu Luo, however, looked completely unconcerned. He smiled. ”What’s the relationship between Piaomiao Palace and Celestial Brilliance?”

”Well… it’s so-so, I guess. Didn’t someone say the Piaomiao Palace Master’s wife is a noble lady from Celestial Brilliance?” Monkey said.

A glint flashed in Xu Luo’s eyes. He smiled. ”If I get the chance, I’d love to meet this noble lady!”

Monkey was stunned for a moment. He thought for a long while before it finally dawned on him. He looked at Xu Luo with a delighted surprise. ”Brother, that’s brilliant!”

Monkey continued, sighing with emotion, ”You humans are so hard to figure out. So many schemes within schemes!”

Xu Luo gave Monkey a sidelong glance. ”If you don’t understand, Brother Hui, how did you catch on so quickly?”

”I’ve just taken a lot of beatings! I had to learn to be a little smarter!” Monkey argued.

”Humans have a saying about being as ’cunning as a monkey’…” Xu Luo said with a laugh.