Firmament Sword

”This array... so long as it was created by man, it can be unraveled by man!”

Facing the rapidly spinning Ten Extremes Pill Array, Xu Luo centered himself. His mind became perfectly lucid.

The Ten Extremes Pill Array appeared to have no Life Gate. Its various elixirs were perfectly interconnected and mutually reinforcing, leaving not a single flaw to be found!

In his heart, Xu Luo couldn’t help but marvel at Shao Zheng’s mastery of elixirs. ’He really is a true genius!’

’But... I might not be an expert in arrays, but setting one up... I can do that too!’

Xu Luo formed a series of hand seals, streams of energy flowing from his hands. Seven great stars... slowly rose... from behind his back!

Beidou Soul Star Array!

’Since there are no flaws and I can’t break the array, then... I’ll just set up an array within an array!’

One after another, top-level Immortal Spirit Stones emerged from Xu Luo’s storage space and appeared around him. Soon, a vast number of these stones surrounded him, radiating powerful waves of energy.

”Stars, manifest!”

With Xu Luo’s sharp cry, his hands flew through a series of seals. The top-level Immortal Spirit Stones surrounding him instantly burst forth with a brilliant starlight, like true celestial bodies, and even radiated Star Power!

The seven great stars formed the outermost defensive layer within the swirling mist!

Between the great stars were countless smaller ones, each emitting powerful Telekinesis and overflowing with negative emotions!

These smaller stars... were the very people who had tried to refine Xu Luo on the Endless Sea, only to be refined by him into stars of varying sizes instead.

Though these people were long dead, their various consciousnesses still lingered within those stars.

Now unleashed, they instantly formed an incomparably powerful force that surged toward the elixirs of the Ten Extremes Pill Array!

A series of thunderous sounds immediately erupted from within the Ten Extremes Pill Array.

BOOM!

RUMBLE!

Everyone in the surrounding stands held their breath, overcome with anxiety, completely unaware of what was happening on the arena stage.

Even a titan of Xiahou Kaiyuan’s level could only vaguely make out the situation within.

Jiang Botao exclaimed in shock from the side, ”The kid has such a powerful array on him... This... He’s an absolute monster!”

The seven great stars blocked the powerful shockwaves from the exploding elixirs of the Ten Extremes Pill Array, their rotation continuously grinding the other elixirs to dust.

The elixirs were powerful, but they were nothing compared to the stars.

The stars formed from top-level Immortal Spirit Stones provided a continuous and powerful stream of energy for this miniaturized Beidou Soul Star Array.

Meanwhile, the stars formed from the refined experts were responsible for clearing out the various support elixirs within the Ten Extremes Pill Array.

Poison elixirs, elixirs that reduced agility, elixirs that reduced strength, elixirs that affected one’s spirit... all were shattered to pieces under the assault of these varied stars!

All the energy released from the explosions was absorbed by these stars, which were filled with negative emotions.

Invisible, and able to see everything happening within the Ten Extremes Pill Array, Shao Zheng stood completely stunned. He had almost forgotten what he was supposed to do next!

’This... How is this possible? The Ten Extremes Pill Array... unless I dismantle it myself, it has no Life Gate, no flaws. How could such a perfect Grand Array be broken...’

Shao Zheng muttered to himself, then couldn’t help but spray a mouthful of blood—not from anger, but from the backlash he suffered as his array was destroyed!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

With a few more loud bangs, the Ten Extremes Pill Array completely collapsed!

All the elixirs that constituted the Ten Extremes Pill Array shattered one after another, releasing a wave of energy that stunned everyone.

Many people even began to wonder, ’Could Luo Tian... possibly come out of that alive?’

Even some of the Elders felt their hearts race when faced with an explosion of that magnitude. ’Even if I were in there,’ they thought, ’I might not escape unscathed!’

The third person on the stage... the Referee... had long since retreated to a far corner of the arena, staring at the scene in the center with a look of pure terror.

The people outside could sense the terrifying power on the stage, but thanks to the restrictive wards, their perception of it was muted.

But the Referee, who was right there on the stage, was frightened half to death!

At his level in the Supreme Junior Realm, he would have been blown to pieces if he’d been caught in the center of that explosion!

’A fixed match... Fixed my ass! A battle of this caliber might as well be a deathmatch... it’s not far off. If anyone dares say this match was fixed again, I’ll personally slap them to death!’ The Referee’s legs felt weak, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably at the thought.

In the stands, Jin Ming, still clad in black robes, saw this. An incredibly cold light shot from his eyes, and he nearly ground his teeth to dust beneath his mask. He muttered, ”Grievously injured... Some ’grievous injury.’ Able to walk out of that kind of bombardment alive and even break the Grand Array... Who would believe you weren’t faking it!”

In the stands, Jin Ming wasn’t the only one who thought this way; many of the older generation figures also frowned.

They suspected that Luo Tian’s previous injuries... had been an act!

Otherwise, how could he possibly have caused such a disturbance?

They didn’t believe for a second that Luo Tian would die in there. As a fellow disciple, Shao Zheng had neither the motive nor the need to push the Ten Extremes Pill Array to such a lethal extreme.

Was he openly trying to commit murder? With no animosity between them, why would he do that?

Therefore, the commotion inside the Ten Extremes Pill Array had to have been caused by Luo Tian himself!

Since he dared to break the array in such a manner, who would believe he was still seriously injured?

BANG!

Within the Ten Extremes Pill Array... the final batch of elixirs shattered, unleashing a boundless light.

Amidst the blinding light, a slender figure slowly emerged, his body surrounded by countless stars of varying sizes, all radiating a brilliant glow!

Xu Luo had already dismissed the Seven Great Star Dharma Aspects. Perhaps a few powerful experts noticed this... but most people could not see it.

These smaller stars were Xu Luo’s explanation... for how he had managed to break the array and walk out alive!

Xu Luo’s pace was slow. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his face was deathly pale, but his expression was utterly serene.

Glancing at a specific direction above the arena, Xu Luo pointed. With a WHOOSH, all the stars surrounding him shot toward that spot.

In broad daylight, the cluster of brilliant stars erupted with a splendor beyond imagination!

”Heavens... what kind of technique is this?”

”I’ve been at Celestial Brilliance for over three thousand years... and I’ve never heard of such a technique!”

”Are those little stars? They’re so beautiful!”

”That seems to be... the power of stars. It’s incredible! Just how many more secrets is this Luo Tian hiding?”

Shocked murmurs rippled through the crowd in the stands.

Xu Luo said weakly, ”Junior Brother, I’ve broken your array... Now... I invite you to try and break mine!”

In an instant, the countless small, brilliantly glowing stars of varying sizes formed a Star Array in the air above the arena.

From within it came Shao Zheng’s voice, full of resignation: ”Senior Brother... I surrender... I have lost!”

”You should still give it a try,” Xu Luo said with a hint of humor. ”Otherwise, people will say this was a fixed match.”

”Bah! Let anyone who says that come and try it for themselves! I’m done!” Shao Zheng’s figure materialized in the air, his face white with fright.

Those not in his position could never feel the terror he did. Shao Zheng had nearly wet himself in fear!

He desperately wanted to ask: ’What in the world are these star-like things? How can they contain so much negative emotion?’ The moment they surrounded him, they had surged toward him like a tidal wave.

It had almost been enough to make Shao Zheng break down completely!

His voice trembled as he spoke.

”Alright...” Xu Luo sighed with a hint of resignation. With a wave of his hand, he recalled the stars from the sky.

Finally able to breathe again, Shao Zheng stared at Xu Luo as if he were a monster. ”Senior Brother...” he asked, his face still pale, ”where did you... make those stars go?”

”Heh.” Xu Luo just smiled, not answering him.

Shao Zheng didn’t seem to expect an answer. The corner of his mouth twitched as he said, ”That terrifying consciousness, those frightening emotions... I’m never fighting you again!”

With that, Shao Zheng looked over at the distant Referee and shouted, ”Hey! I lost!”

It was only then that the people in the stands noticed the Referee’s strange behavior. Those who had been about to cry foul immediately shut their mouths.

Watching the Referee inching his way toward Xu Luo, everyone felt that something wasn’t quite right.

”L-Luo Tian, your stars... are they really all gone?” the Referee asked, looking at Xu Luo in terror. He then glanced sympathetically at the pale-faced Shao Zheng. ’As expected of a young genius... his mental fortitude is just too strong. If those stars had come at me, I probably wouldn’t even be able to stand right now,’ he thought.

Xu Luo nodded. ”They’re gone.”

PHEW!

The Referee, an expert of the Supreme Junior Realm and a veteran figure at Celestial Brilliance, let out a long sigh of relief. He then announced loudly, ”Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition, round of sixty-two into thirty-one! From the Medicine Garden... Luo Tian... is the winner!”

BOOM!

Once again, a tsunami of cheers erupted from the stands.

The moment Xu Luo raised both his arms, the cheers were deafening!

At that moment... Xu Luo stood on the arena stage like a god, receiving the worship of the masses!

In the stands, the muscles on Jin Ming’s face twitched violently. He took a deep breath, silently pressed the token in his hand, and turned to leave.

He couldn’t bear to watch this scene any longer.

In the Medicine Garden’s private box, Yuwen Ji and the other Elders were high-fiving in celebration. Even Shao Zheng’s master, Sixth Elder Cui Shu, showed no sign of displeasure, much less any dejection!

Shao Zheng had shown more than enough excellence today. Both his Invisibility Pill and his Ten Extremes Pill Array could be classified as strategic assets for Celestial Brilliance.

From this day forward, Shao Zheng’s status... would inevitably skyrocket!

Therefore, even though Shao Zheng had ultimately lost, it was a glorious defeat!

For the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden, in particular, this was a perfect outcome!

In Xiahou Kaiyuan’s private box, a group of Elders stared at each other, finding it hard to believe that what they had just witnessed was real.

Luo Tian had actually won...