Firmament Sword

’A visitor?’

’Who visits so sneakily?’

’If they wanted to visit, why couldn’t they just announce themselves? Why sneak in and... knock?’

Xu Luo felt like he was losing his mind. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out what this person was up to.

”Is Senior Brother Luo Tian in? My name is Lu Qi. I apologize for the late-night disturbance, but there are reasons I must come in secret. I hope Senior Brother Luo will not take offense.”

A deep, cold voice came from outside.

Xu Luo raised an eyebrow. ”The door’s unlocked.”

The door was then pushed open gently. A figure completely shrouded in a black robe stepped inside, closed the door, and cupped his fist in a salute to Xu Luo.

”Lu Qi. Greetings, Senior Brother Luo.”

”Lu Qi?” The name was unfamiliar to Xu Luo, and he frowned slightly.

The man then pulled back the cowl covering his head. Xu Luo’s heart skipped a beat; he recognized him at once. This was one of the men who had been with Wanghai back in Baihua City.

But Xu Luo said nothing, simply watching the man with a calm expression.

After revealing his face, Lu Qi suddenly dropped to his knees before Xu Luo. ”I beg you, Senior Brother Luo, save my family!” he pleaded in a heavy voice.

”What... What is the meaning of this?” Xu Luo was taken aback, though a few suspicions were already forming in his mind.

Lu Qi looked up at Xu Luo, his expression earnest. ”I know of the grudge between you and Wanghai, Senior Brother Luo. But the grudge between myself and Wanghai... runs even deeper!”

”I was Wanghai’s junior brother. We grew up together. I always looked up to him as an older brother and was completely loyal to him...”

As Lu Qi spoke, Xu Luo began to understand. After Wanghai and his group had lured away the ferocious beast and trapped it, Wanghai had turned on and killed his most loyal junior brother.

The reason, it turned out, was simply that Wanghai feared Lu Qi would try to claim the inheritance for himself.

”I never imagined I would miraculously survive. Or, to be precise... the beast was the one that saved me. It granted me its inheritance—a powerful Cultivation Technique from another world!”

”Wanghai is a monster in human skin! Killing me wasn’t enough for him. Now he wants to slaughter my entire family and steal my fiancée...”

”I’ve become something neither human nor ghost. Even if I went back to Celestial Brilliance, I wouldn’t dare see my family, let alone my fiancée. I only dared to meet my grandfather in secret and tell him to prepare.”

”But my Lu Family is a minor one in Celestial Brilliance. We have little influence and no real status. If the Wang Family decides to move against us, it would be effortless. They could find any excuse to wipe the Lu Family out, root and stem!”

”My hatred for Wanghai was overwhelming. I finally couldn’t take it anymore... and I made my move.”

”I gouged out his eyes, cut out his tongue, and afflicted him with a potent poison. Wanghai is now... a complete invalid!”

”But my recklessness... has brought a terrible crisis upon my family. Wang Daoming will never spare them. That is why I have taken the liberty of coming here to beg you, Senior Brother Luo, to save my family. I will be eternally grateful. I will serve you like a slave to repay this immense kindness!”

As he spoke, Lu Qi began to kowtow, his forehead striking the floor with loud THUDS.

”You... get up first,” Xu Luo said, his brows furrowed slightly as he looked at Lu Qi.

Lu Qi didn’t grovel. He got to his feet and looked at Xu Luo. ”I, Lu Qi... am not a useless man. The inheritance I received is not of this world. I’ve only cultivated it to the preliminary stage, but I can demonstrate it for you, Senior Brother Luo!”

As he spoke, Lu Qi’s figure gradually vanished into thin air. Xu Luo extended his Divine Sense, but he could only vaguely sense a chilling presence, unable to pinpoint Lu Qi’s exact location.

Then, a wisp of black energy emerged from where Lu Qi had been standing, spreading out like a drop of ink in water before drifting outside.

Under Xu Luo’s Divine Sense, all traces of Lu Qi had vanished completely.

The black energy in the room coalesced into a ball, but Lu Qi’s voice suddenly echoed from outside. ”Senior Brother Luo, this little trick of mine... is it presentable enough?”

Then, Lu Qi pushed the door open and walked back in. The condensed ball of black energy drifted back into his body.

Xu Luo was rather surprised. ”That’s a very strange Cultivation Technique!”

”Indeed. I can use this black energy to escape. Not even Elder Wang Daoming could stop me, though I was injured in the process and had to spend some time recovering in secret. If it weren’t for your recent activities, Senior Brother Luo, I believe... Elder Wang Daoming would have already moved against the Lu Family.”

Lu Qi looked at Xu Luo. ”I can’t even be considered fully human anymore, but my heart is still my own... I don’t want my family and my fiancée to suffer Wang Daoming’s crazed vengeance because of me.”

”And you think... I have the power to save them?” Xu Luo looked at Lu Qi and sighed softly. ”You’re overestimating me. The truth is, I have no foundation in Celestial Brilliance.”

”Even that bold declaration I made on the stage today... was merely a bluff to protect myself.” Xu Luo smiled self-deprecatingly.

”No... What you said was the truth, Senior Brother Luo! You *are* the strongest of Celestial Brilliance’s younger generation. Not even Jin Ming can compare!” Lu Qi said with conviction.

Xu Luo said, ”But are you aware that I have many enemies myself? Seeking my protection... might not be any better than your current situation.”

”Everyone in Celestial Brilliance knows that you, Senior Brother Luo, would fly into a rage for the sake of your own attendant. Anyone who even thinks about touching the people around you will have to seriously consider whether they can withstand your retaliation!” Lu Qi was blunt, not beating around the bush, directly alluding to Xu Luo killing Jin Xian.

”Alright. Since you’re being so direct, I’ll be direct as well.” Xu Luo looked at Lu Qi. ”This matter... seems to offer me no benefits. Other than making me a new enemy for no reason, I see no advantage.”

”I am willing to follow you forever, Senior Brother Luo. I will be your shadow, your servant. I will do whatever you ask of me!” Lu Qi said earnestly. ”Given my current condition, I can never stand in the public eye again. Fame and fortune... they mean nothing to me anymore. I just want the people I care about to live.”

”Furthermore, you will gain the allegiance of the entire Lu Family, Senior Brother Luo!”

Lu Qi looked at Xu Luo. ”I have already received my grandfather’s approval for this. In other words, if you are willing to accept the Lu Family, Senior Brother Luo, then from now on... the Lu Family will be your vassal family!”

”Although the Lu Family is insignificant in Celestial Brilliance, even minuscule, we are not without experts. We have three Supremes! Ten Great Saints, and thirty-seven disciples at the Saint Realm! You may look down on this meager force, Senior Brother Luo, but I believe they can be useful!”

Xu Luo looked at Lu Qi and fell into deep thought. ’Honestly, I don’t want to agree to this at all.’

It wasn’t that he was arrogant enough to look down on the Lu Family’s strength; on the contrary, their power was anything but weak.

They couldn’t compare to the Heritage Clans, of course, but for someone like him with no foundation, it was a considerable force.

The key issue was that if he agreed, he would immediately be at odds with Wang Daoming and the Wang Family. Although Wanghai hated his guts, that was just Wanghai; it didn’t represent the entire Wang Family.

Until now, he and the Wang Family had kept to themselves, like well water and river water, never mixing.

But once the Lu Family became his people, Wang Daoming’s wrath... would inevitably be directed at him.

Then, combined with Jin Ming’s forces, they would form a terrifying coalition of enemies—enough to give even a Heritage Clan a headache, let alone someone like him with no backing.

Another point was that Xu Luo couldn’t guarantee the Lu Family’s loyalty.

’Who’s to say they aren’t just looking for someone to carry them through this crisis? Once the danger is gone, what’s to stop them from just packing up and leaving? What could I do about it then?’

’I couldn’t use force against them, nor could I complain. If word got out, I’d become a laughingstock!’

Seeing Xu Luo’s silence, Lu Qi spoke again. ”I was presumptuous today. My grandfather actually forbade me from coming to you for help, Senior Brother Luo. He said that life and death are determined by fate. If the heavens truly wish for the Lu Family to fall, then it is the will of heaven, and there is no one else to blame.”

”My apologies... for troubling you, Senior Brother Luo. I am sorry.” Lu Qi stood and gave Xu Luo a deep bow. He then turned. ”Just pretend you never saw me, Senior Brother Luo, and that today’s events never happened.”

With those words, he left.

Xu Luo hesitated but didn’t call him back. After just one meeting, he couldn’t possibly bring himself to trust the Lu Family.

Most of what Lu Qi had said was true. Since Xu Luo was the one who had taken the inheritance from Wanghai, he could cross-reference the stories. He knew Lu Qi wasn’t lying about those events.

But Xu Luo still felt that something wasn’t quite right. ’This Lu Qi... his arrival is too sudden.’

’If the Lu Family wanted to side with me and seek my protection, they should have sent someone to contact me long ago. Why wait until now?’

’Besides, I can’t completely trust the Lu Family, especially since they haven’t shown any real sincerity!’

’If they truly wanted to pledge allegiance, Lu Qi’s grandfather should have come to speak with me personally, not sent Lu Qi to say all this.’

’In the end... it’s a lack of sincerity.’

Xu Luo sighed softly and decided to set the matter aside for the time being.

It wasn’t the kind of thing that could be decided on the spot.

「On the other side.」

Lu Qi left Jiulong Ridge and arrived at another, smaller floating mountain. This was Xuankong Mountain, the residence of the Lu Family.

An old man in his fifties was waiting for Lu Qi.

”Well?” the old man asked, getting straight to the point.

”He didn’t agree.” Lu Qi’s cold face was unreadable. ”Luo Tian is very vigilant. And... he probably felt that I wasn’t qualified to negotiate with him, that our Lu Family lacked sincerity.”

”Oh?” The old man chuckled with a hint of derision. ”So I underestimated him. A boy with no foundation, facing all kinds of terrifying pressure, and he isn’t even tempted by the power of my Lu Family—three Supremes, ten Great Saints, and thirty-seven Saints... He’s not just some reckless fool, after all.”

”Grandfather, what do we do now? Which side should we throw our lot in with?” Lu Qi asked. ”If we don’t make a decision soon, I’m afraid the Wang Family... will make their move.”