Firmament Sword

All the members of the Wang Family watched, wide-eyed, as their Patriarch, Wang Daoming, was swarmed by countless attackers. In an instant, not even his bones remained.

BOOM!

In that moment, the thousands of Wang Family members scattered like monkeys when a tree falls. Having completely lost the will to fight, they each tore open the void and fled in all directions.

The Wang Family, once a renowned and powerful name in Celestial Brilliance, was thus annihilated.

The whole affair seemed utterly absurd, yet it exposed the greatest weakness of a large, established family.

The Patriarch is like the lead ram of a flock. Wherever the leader goes, the flock follows. If the lead ram misjudges and leaps off a cliff, the rest of the flock will follow it over the edge.

Countless examples of this exist in the natural world.

A flock of birds following its leader in the wrong direction; a pod of whales following its leader to become beached on the sand...

Because of one small mistake by Wang Daoming, the entire Wang Family of Celestial Brilliance... was led to its doom.

Time cannot be reversed, and there are no ”what ifs” in this world.

In many matters, it is difficult to distinguish right from wrong.

From the moment this incident erupted, to it spiraling out of control, and finally to the annihilation of the Wang Family, Xu Luo had remained silent.

His mood... had not become cheerful just because the crisis was resolved.

There was little pleasure in eliminating his enemies.

Because the development of these events had completely exceeded his expectations.

To be fair, Wanghai had been narrow-minded. From his various provocations to later hiring assassins to kill him, he had indeed deserved death. As for Lu Qi and his grandfather from the Lu Family, who had devised a vicious plot against him, their deaths were also of their own making.

But Xu Luo had never intended to wipe out anyone’s family.

Every grievance has its source, every debt its debtor. He only wanted to punish the main culprits, not implicate the innocent.

He never imagined the Wang Family would be so ruthless, directly slaughtering all three hundred-plus members of the Lu Family. This butcher-like act thoroughly enraged Xu Luo, and so, he released the Sound Transmission Stone.

His goal... was naturally to strike a blow against the Wang Family, to make Wanghai, Wang Daoming, and the other murderers pay with their lives.

He also hadn’t expected Wang Daoming’s reaction to be so extreme, fleeing with the family’s elite...

And he certainly hadn’t expected the Heavenly Brilliance Sect Master, in his fury, to issue an order to hunt them down... leading to the annihilation of the entire Wang Family!

So many things had happened that Xu Luo had never predicted. All these factors combined had finally brewed a terrifying storm.

And it had swept away too many innocent people.

’This wasn’t the result I wanted. It’s not what I wished for.’

’I’ve never considered myself a particularly good person, but I do have my own principles and bottom line.’

’There... must have been a better way to resolve this.’

’This is a world where the strong prey on the weak, but I can’t bring myself to be so cold-blooded and ruthless...’

For days, Xu Luo had been reflecting on his actions. He hadn’t left his room or gone to inquire about anything. Sun Xiaohong was the one who told him everything.

Xie Yurou and Su Qianqian had also come to speak with him, their faces filled with sorrow and sympathy as they recounted the events.

Su Qianqian seemed to know something more but didn’t say it aloud. She only told Xu Luo about the many evil deeds the Wang Family had committed over the years.

From her account, their list of wrongdoings was long and stained, their crimes too numerous to count. It seemed almost no one in the entire family was clean.

Xu Luo understood that even if everything Qianqian said was true, in reality, you couldn’t say that every single person in any family was a bad person—not even in a family like the Huo Family of the Ancient Race in the Lower Realm.

Didn’t the infamous Huo Family still produce a refined gentleman like Master Huo Qi, who found solace in landscapes and nature?

「On the fourth day,」 Xu Luo finally reached a realization. ’In the end, this all comes down to my own weakness. If I were powerful enough... I wouldn’t have to care what anyone thinks! If Wanghai wanted to harm me, I could just charge into the Wang Family and cut him down! If Lu Qi and his grandfather wanted to plot against me, I could just storm their home and take their heads!’

’A single general’s success is built on the bones of ten thousand. Although my own hands aren’t drenched in that much blood, my heart... has long been steeped in it. It’s lost its former innocence.’

’If I want to prevent something like this from ever happening again... I have no choice but to become stronger!’

As Xu Luo’s state of mind shifted, the Shadow Shaking Heart Method began to circulate on its own. Extreme Yin Power and Extreme Yang Power coursed through his body, and a vast expanse of starlight showered down upon him.

The flaw that had always existed in Xu Luo’s mental state was quietly mended at this moment!

This flaw was named ”Evil.”

Deep down, Xu Luo had always been a kind person, adhering to his principles and bottom line. Even though he had killed many people, he had never broken this personal code.

Until now. Now, those principles and that bottom line had finally been shattered, completely beyond his control.

No matter how detestable the people of the Wang and Lu Families were, there were still innocents among them. And he... Xu Luo... had well and truly played the part of a villain.

Even if it was indirectly.

’I never thought... my state of mind would... achieve a state of completion because of this.’

A self-mocking smile touched the corners of Xu Luo’s lips as he murmured, ”Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs. Could it be that the ultimate stage of using the Heart as Proof of Dao is to have no good or evil in one’s heart and to see all things in the world as equal?”

An indescribable Dao-rhythm emanated from Xu Luo’s body, making him seem like a different person in an instant.

A profound Dao-rhythm bathed Xu Luo. This was his Dao, and his alone!

No one is born perfect. In this world, no one is without a single evil thought in their heart.

Except for a newborn baby.

Untouched by the baptism of this mortal world, their hearts... are pure.

Beyond that, as long as one has desires, evil thoughts will arise.

Perhaps it’s just a fleeting thought, one that is never acted upon, but once an evil thought is born, it becomes embedded in the depths of the heart.

It was like how, before doing what he did, Xu Luo might not have been entirely oblivious to such a tragic outcome, but he had subconsciously... ignored it.

At that time, Xu Luo had only one thought in his mind: if he didn’t do it, then... sooner or later, both the Lu Family and the Wang Family would become colossal shadows hanging over his head.

The reason people are people is because they have all kinds of desires!

’I am a man, not a god!’

A beam of light shot up from Xu Luo’s body, soaring into the heavens!

Viewed from a great distance, the shimmering, star-like light resembled a long rainbow, dazzling and brilliant!

This scene was witnessed by countless people, all of whom were left stunned.

”Heavens... That’s the direction of the Medicine Garden! Which senior is breaking through to cause such a commotion?”

”That light is piercing the heavens! What realm did they break through to?”

”Even a breakthrough to the Venerable Realm... doesn’t have this kind of power, does it?”

”Could it be... Luo Tian?”

”That’s impossible! Luo Tian just broke through to the Great Saint Realm. His current stage is at most the Early-stage Great Sage Realm. How could he possibly create such a huge disturbance?”

”Perhaps it’s one of the Medicine Garden’s seniors, a truly profound and powerful expert, who has comprehended the Dao and is breaking through!”

As people chattered excitedly, the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden immediately sealed off the entire First Mountain, forbidding any outsiders from entering.

Yuwen Ji stood on a mountaintop, gazing at the long rainbow of starlight that shot into the sky. He murmured, ”The Medicine Garden has finally produced another peerless expert! The Medicine King Ancestor was truly wise beyond measure... His thoughts can transcend the river of time!”

The rainbow of starlight persisted for over two hours before it gradually faded away.

Meanwhile, in his room, Xu Luo’s realm had leaped directly from the Early-stage Great Sage Realm to the High Tier Great Saint Realm!

This breakthrough was completely unexpected. In all his years, Xu Luo had never imagined his mental state would achieve completion in such a way, much less that his power would advance by leaps and bounds like this.

He had just emerged from his seclusion when Yuwen Ji and the other Medicine Garden Elders, along with a group of seniors Xu Luo had never seen before, arrived together.

Yuwen Ji’s eyes swept over Xu Luo, his face filled with pleasant surprise. ”You’ve already reached the High Tier Great Saint Realm?”

The others all stared at Xu Luo in shock, nearly speechless.

Having just broken through, Xu Luo hadn’t concealed his aura, so it was easy for the arrivals to determine his realm from the energy he exuded.

The seniors had been alarmed by the sky-piercing starlight because they had never seen anyone create such a massive phenomenon during a breakthrough.

It was almost unheard of, even in legends!

None of them had witnessed the spectacle of stars appearing in daylight, the Seven-Star Pearl alignment, and the Five-Colored Divine Light stirring the heavens and earth. If they had, they probably would have been howling to have Xu Luo refined, just like those people in the Lower Realm.

Xu Luo scratched his head and said, ”I don’t know how it happened either. I just suddenly advanced...”

”...” A group of the seniors couldn’t help but roll their eyes. ’This kid is infuriating!’ they thought. ’To make a breakthrough sound so easy in front of us old fossils... Damn it all! Wait until you’re trying to step into the Venerable Realm, kid... then we’ll see you say that!’

But on second thought, for a kid this young to have already reached such a realm, maybe he really would create a miracle!

After all, he was the successor chosen across generations by the Medicine King Ancestor himself!

Strictly speaking, Yuwen Ji wasn’t Xu Luo’s master—the Medicine King Ancestor was!

At most, Yuwen Ji was just accepting a disciple on the Medicine King Ancestor’s behalf. In terms of seniority, he was countless generations below Xu Luo.

But no one would delve too deeply into such matters. After all, Yuwen Ji treated Xu Luo extremely well, and he was old enough to be Xu Luo’s great-grandfather. Calling him ”teacher” wouldn’t cause Xu Luo to lose any face.

”Good, this is wonderful! Ever since Luo Tian joined the Medicine Garden, all the disciples have become more motivated than ever!” Lu Xue said, her face alight with joy. She looked at Xu Luo with the care and pride of an elder.

One of the seniors laughed from the side. ”Forget the young ones; even us old folks feel inspired. I had given up hope of reaching the High Tier Ultimate Venerable realm in this lifetime, but after seeing this kid’s rate of progress, this old fossil suddenly feels... I still have a long life ahead of me. Maybe... I can still give it a shot!”

”Elder Qian, you’re too modest! Who doesn’t know of your strength? Advancing to the High Tier Ultimate Venerable realm is just a matter of time for you!”

”Enough, you old rascal, you’re not so bad yourself. No need to flatter me.”

In front of Xu Luo, the group of seniors began to banter with each other.

Yuwen Ji and the other Medicine Garden Elders watched in surprise, as even they rarely saw these seniors speak so casually.

This showed that this group of seniors had now, from the bottom of their hearts, completely accepted Xu Luo’s identity as... the New Medicine King!

As time went on, the turbulent affairs of the Wang and Lu Families gradually subsided. After all, life had to move on.

The matches for the round of 32 advancing to the top 16 were also finally over.

Xu Luo also received information about his next opponent.

”A peerless prodigy, a master of the sword path—Miao Jianfei!”