Firmament Sword

The spectacular Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition was nearing its end, approaching its grand climax.

The competitors who entered the top four were Senior Brother Tianhuang, Jin Ming; Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden, Luo Tian; Jiang Botao’s beloved disciple, Tang Xiao; and Ming Youyu’s younger sister, Ming Youyue.

These four had become the most dazzling stars of Celestial Brilliance this year.

Among them, Senior Brother Jin Ming was already famous and had long been a young prodigy in the public eye. His advancement to the top four surprised no one.

Tang Xiao had been a regular in the top ten of the annual competition for the past few years. With his formidable strength and various treasures, he was always considered one of the favorites to win the championship.

This was Ming Youyue’s first time reaching the top four. She had participated twice before: the first time, she made it to the top sixty-four; the second time, she was unlucky and was eliminated in the round of one hundred twenty-eight. On this third attempt, she had stormed straight into the top four. Her improvement was astounding!

But the most surprising of all was Xu Luo, who was participating in the annual competition for the first time.

He seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Ever since joining Celestial Brilliance, he had been a constant topic of conversation.

From the start of the competition, he had swept aside all opposition, advancing to the top four with an air of near invincibility. He had become the biggest dark horse Celestial Brilliance had seen in years.

Xu Luo sat on a large, gray stone atop a mountain, Su Qianqian by his side, both gazing at the red sun dipping below the horizon.

”Are you homesick?”

The sunset’s glow illuminated Su Qianqian’s exquisite face, veiling it in a holy radiance.

Xu Luo nodded gently. ”I wonder how they’re all doing. The gulf between the Divine Power Realm and the Saint Realm… is like a heavenly chasm. It’s difficult enough even in the Divine Domain, let alone back in the Lower Realm. It must be even harder for them.”

”Fortune favors the worthy,” Su Qianqian said softly. ”They are no ordinary people. I believe that with their talent, it’s only a matter of time before they step into the Divine Domain. Who knows? Perhaps some of them have already made it here!”

”That’s… also a possibility,” Xu Luo said. ”The Divine Domain is simply too vast. Even if they succeeded in ascending, finding each other… wouldn’t be easy.”

Su Qianqian added in a low voice, ”And hopefully they don’t ascend into one of the forbidden zones…”

Xu Luo froze for a moment.

Su Qianqian quickly added, ”The chances of that are tiny. I was just speculating. Don’t dwell on it. When your power is great enough, you can just tear open the void, return home, and bring them all here.”

Xu Luo smiled bitterly. ”Ascending from the Lower Realm is hard enough. Now that the path between worlds is severed, even a Supreme couldn’t tear through the void to return. Besides… that would take far too long!”

”If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have come to the Divine Domain so soon,” Su Qianqian said, her voice tinged with guilt.

”You don’t have to say that. While you were part of the reason I came to the Divine Domain, it wasn’t all because of you,” Xu Luo said, taking her hand.

Su Qianqian’s hand was soft and cool in his. She leaned her head against his shoulder and murmured, ”I often wonder… what is the point of living?”

”That’s a profound question,” Xu Luo said. ”But to me, living… is about making sure the people around me can be happy and live without too many worries.”

”But in truth, life is full of disappointments,” Su Qianqian’s soft voice drifted. ”So, when we have the chance to be happy, we should seize it. I don’t want to see you sad.”

”My big brother, Second Brother, and Fifth Brother… I wonder where they are,” Xu Luo said. ”I hope they’re doing well.”

”I’m sure that with their abilities, they must be doing fine! Perhaps… we’ll suddenly hear news of them one day,” Su Qianqian said.

”Let’s hope so.” Xu Luo reached out and wrapped his arm around Su Qianqian’s slender waist. Beneath the setting sun, their two figures nestled close together.

...

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”Hey, Blacksmith Xu, is my young master’s saber finished yet?” an arrogant voice boomed from inside a smithy.

A flash of anger sparked in the eyes of Xu Jie, who was in the middle of swinging his hammer. But it vanished as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a simple, good-natured smile.

”Steward Wang… this saber still needs a few more days. The materials you delivered are of too high a grade to be refined in just a day or two,” Xu Jie said with a smile.

”Damn it, what did you tell me at first? The best Casting Master in Xuan City… Ptooey!”

”You’re just a second-rate blacksmith! You’ve been working on this one saber for three months and you’re still not done! Listen up, Xu, don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you delay my young master’s important affairs, not even a hundred of your heads will be enough to pay for it!”

A portly, middle-aged man of about forty walked in, his face contorted in disgust. He glared at Xu Jie and said coldly, ”Did you hear what I said?”

Xu Jie watched the man with a calm expression. ”Steward Wang, you can call me a blacksmith. You can even call me second-rate. But you were the ones who came to me, begging me to forge this saber. I told you back then that a Divine Soldier isn’t common iron. It’s impossible to forge one in less than six months to a year.”

”Well now, you stinking blacksmith, are you trying to challenge me?” A mocking sneer spread across Steward Wang’s face. ”I can’t be bothered with your excuses. Just answer me this: how much longer until the saber is done?”

”At least three more months,” Xu Jie said.

”Are you fucking kidding me?” Steward Wang exploded, glaring at Xu Jie. ”My young master is going to explore some ancient ruins next month! You’re telling me it’ll be ready in three months? Are you trying to get run out of Xuan City?”

Xu Jie fixed his piercing gaze on Steward Wang. ”My apologies, but that is the fastest I can work.”

From the Lower Realm, Xu Jie had been lucky enough to ascend directly into this very city in the Divine Domain.

It was a large, remote city on the frontiers of Xi Hezhou. Upon arriving, Xu Jie had immediately put his Casting Skill to use, quickly establishing a foothold in Xuan City.

His Saint Realm cultivation, combined with his outstanding Casting Skill, allowed him to build a considerable reputation in a very short time.

Gradually, more and more people, drawn by his fame, came to ask him to forge Divine Soldiers.

Initially, his clients were Martial Artists with no significant background. Even experts at the Great Saint Realm were very polite to Xu Jie.

After all, they were the ones asking for a favor. It’s only natural to be polite, even when offering payment.

However, as Xu Jie’s fame grew, scions of Xuan City’s major powers began to seek him out.

This particular Steward Wang was a Senior Steward from the Xuan City Jin Family. He served one of the family’s current heirs: Young Master Jin Luping, also known as the Bloodthirsty Saber!

When it came to Jin Luping, there was hardly a soul in Xuan City who didn’t know of him. From the elderly down to the women and children, everyone’s face paled at the mere mention of his name.

This wasn’t just because the Jin Family was one of Xuan City’s greatest powers. It was because Jin Luping himself was not only incomparably ugly but also cruel, bloodthirsty, jealous, and lecherous—an absolute monster.

The story behind it was bizarre. Normally, when a Cultivator reached a certain level, they could alter their appearance. This was especially true during the breakthrough from the Divine Power Realm to the Saint Realm, which offered an opportunity for a complete physical transformation.

Even someone born incredibly ugly could change their appearance upon stepping into the Saint Realm.

Many Martial Artists who had offended powerful figures used this opportunity to completely alter their faces and escape their pursuers.

But Jin Luping was an anomaly. And it wasn’t because he was born ugly. His father was a handsome man, and his mother was as beautiful as a flower. When Jin Luping was born, he too was a beautiful child.

Even up to the age of sixteen or seventeen, he was a handsome, elegant youth.

However, during an expedition to some ancient ruins, Jin Luping obtained an ancient inheritance. After he began cultivating it, his appearance grew progressively uglier.

Even his breakthrough from the Divine Power Realm to the Saint Realm failed to change his appearance in the slightest!

A handsome, debonair young master had suddenly turned into this hideous fiend, and Jin Luping’s personality twisted completely.

He went from being a relatively harmless, hedonistic heir to a depraved monster with a twisted soul!

Young Master Jin was a lecher, and he had a particular taste for peerless beauties.

Before his looks faded, what woman was beyond the reach of a young master of his status? He didn’t even have to ask; countless beauties would have willingly thrown themselves at him.

But after he became ugly, those same women kept their distance. Even his personal Maids found his appearance hard to stomach.

This sudden blow caused the mind of the young master, who had been coddled his entire life, to grow increasingly warped. He went from abducting and defiling common women to preying on the women of minor families. Throughout Xuan City, few women he targeted could escape his vile clutches.

The only women in Xuan City Jin Luping didn’t dare touch were those from families as powerful as his own. No one else was safe.

No one would willingly help such a monster.

As a newcomer, Xu Jie hadn’t known any of this. But soon after accepting the job, he learned of Young Master Jin’s character, and he was instantly filled with regret.

In the hands of a good person, a Divine Soldier he forged would be like wings on a tiger, amplifying their strength. But in the hands of an evil person, it would only amplify their wickedness, making him an accomplice to evil.

If he really were to forge this saber for Jin Luping, wouldn’t he, Xu Jie… become an accomplice, fanning the flames of a villain’s arrogance?

But the Jin Family was too powerful. Unless Xu Jie wanted to leave town for good, offending Jin Luping would make his future path incredibly difficult.

In the Divine Domain, a Saint Realm cultivation was not enough to be considered a top-tier expert. Far too many people… could threaten him.

But to forge this saber for such a man—Xu Jie’s conscience wouldn’t allow it.

Thus, he had been dragging his feet, hoping they would grow impatient and take back the divine materials. That would be for the best.

Steward Wang shot Xu Jie a sideways glance and asked coldly, ”I’ll give you one last chance. Ten days! Don’t think I don’t know how fast you can forge a weapon. Why else would I have come to you? If this saber isn’t finished in ten days… you can prepare to end up as a corpse in the street!”

With that, Steward Wang turned to leave.

”Wait,” Xu Jie called after him.

A disdainful smile crept onto Steward Wang’s face. Without turning around, he said, ”Scared now, are we?”

”No,” Xu Jie asked in a heavy voice. ”I just wanted to ask you a question. This saber… if I don’t forge it, will you be the one to kill me? Or will your young master?”