Firmament Sword

Ming Youyue, who had been silently weeping, suddenly froze, staring blankly at Xu Luo.

In an instant, Ming Youyue’s anger flared. All her earlier bashfulness vanished, replaced by an endless rage directed at the detestable man before her.

”Go to hell!”

RUMBLE!

Ming Youyue’s all-out attack was no small matter. A vast aura exploded forth.

A force like a collapsing mountain range hurtled toward Xu Luo.

The Soul Scripture Stele hovered above Xu Luo’s head, anchoring his body. With a great shout, he blasted out a sonic wave.

The attack Ming Youyue had unleashed was instantly shattered by Xu Luo’s shout!

The Jade Balance Demon Sound nearly caused her to faint. She was completely stunned, almost collapsing onto the ground.

This scene… even the silent Referee found it a bit hard to watch.

’This is just bullying a child!’

Although Ming Youyue’s cultivation had reached the Half-Step Venerable realm, a sliver higher than Xu Luo’s, the scene… was clearly under Xu Luo’s complete control.

If she weren’t a noble lady of Celestial Brilliance, if she were Xu Luo’s enemy, she would have died countless times by now!

The Referee sighed softly, thinking to himself: ’Celestial Brilliance has produced a host of geniuses in recent years, but their practical combat experience… it’s getting worse and worse. If a girl like this were to actually go onto a battlefield, what could she do? She’d just get in the way!’

Xu Luo stood there without moving, waiting for Ming Youyue to come to her senses.

The Referee shook his head slightly and announced, ”Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition, semifinals. Luo Tian is the victor!”

Ming Youyue hadn’t conceded, nor had she completely lost her ability to fight. Normally, for the Referee to declare the result directly would seem somewhat unfair.

But at this moment, almost everyone felt the Referee’s declaration was incredibly timely and humane.

If this had continued, Eldest Miss Ming would likely have been completely broken on this arena stage, her confidence and will utterly shattered.

The Referee’s timely termination of the match was for Ming Youyue’s protection.

He believed the Ming Family, a Heritage Clan of Celestial Brilliance, would surely be grateful to him.

Xu Luo glanced at Ming Youyue, who was still standing there in a daze. He shook his head and sighed. He hadn’t expected this outcome either.

The only semifinal match of this year’s annual competition ended in such a farcical manner.

Then, Xu Luo activated the token in his hand and left the arena directly.

A fierce discussion erupted in the stands.

Some said Luo Tian had no sense of chivalry. Others said Ming Youyue didn’t know her limits or what was good for her. Still others praised the Referee’s timely intervention as a great kindness…

In any case, the entire spectator stand was a cacophony of arguments, but no one was saying how spectacular the battle had just been.

After a long while, Ming Youyue finally regained her senses. She stared at the empty arena, a look of confusion in her eyes.

That shout from her opponent had made her feel the true threat of death, but that threat came… and went just as quickly.

It was like an arrow that had flown past her cheek—terrifying, but it hadn’t truly harmed her.

’He showed me great mercy…’

This thought arose in Ming Youyue’s heart, and even she found it somewhat absurd.

’I treated him like that, yet he still showed me so much mercy… This person… maybe he isn’t as bad as I thought…’

Ming Youyue suddenly felt aggrieved, and tears began to stream down her face again.

’What did I do wrong?’

Activating the token in her hand, she teleported away. Then, she ran nonstop to the peak of a large mountain and began to shout at the top of her lungs.

”AHHHH!!!!”

”AHHHH!!!!”

After shouting twice, Ming Youyue finally felt much better.

Just then, a gentle voice sounded from behind her. ”Do you know where you went wrong now?”

”Sis?” Ming Youyue froze, turning around woodenly to stare foolishly at the stunningly beautiful woman before her.

The two looked about eighty percent similar, but Ming Youyu appeared more mature and had a slightly fuller figure.

At that moment, a brilliant smile appeared on Ming Youyu’s face. Looking at her little sister, who was so much younger than her, she opened her arms. ”You see your big sister, and you’re not going to give me a hug?”

Ming Youyue no longer hesitated and threw herself into her sister’s arms, bursting into tears.

”Waaah… Sis, I feel so wronged!”

”Is it because you feel like you’ve lost face?” Ming Youyu asked with a smile.

”Yeah. Everyone must be laughing their heads off at me. I was toyed with like that on the stage, and in the end, I even have to thank him for sparing my pride. Waaah…”

”Alright, you were in the wrong this time. If you hadn’t started the conflict and just had a normal match, he wouldn’t have toyed with you,” Ming Youyu said, hugging her sister and patting her back comfortingly.

”You were there too?” Ming Youyue asked.

”Yes, I was right there, watching my silly little sister righteously admonish him,” Ming Youyu said with a laugh.

”Waaah… You’re still talking about it!” Ming Youyue whined, acting spoiled in her sister’s arms.

”Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. Let’s have a talk.” Facing this little sister who was over a hundred years younger than her, Ming Youyu was like an elder, comforting her in a soft voice.

”Okay.” Ming Youyue pulled away from her sister’s embrace, her face flushed red with shame. She looked down and fiddled with the corner of her clothes like a small child who had done something wrong.

”Have a seat.” Ming Youyu pointed to a nearby stone. ”I warned you not to provoke Luo Tian. That man is unfathomable. He may seem gentle, but deep down, he’s unyieldingly tough!”

”You haven’t been back for so many years. How do you know so much about him?” Ming Youyue was puzzled. Her sister had clearly never met Luo Tian before, so how could she understand him so well?

”Though I haven’t returned, I’ve always paid close attention to the happenings in Celestial Brilliance,” Ming Youyu said softly.

In the past, she had cultivated desperately for her freedom, challenging countless young prodigies until she finally won it. However, her actions also angered the family. As a result, Ming Youyu had been wandering the outside world for all these years, rarely returning to Celestial Brilliance.

But Celestial Brilliance was her home, after all. Her roots were here, and she actually paid attention to everything that happened in Celestial Brilliance.

She was especially close with Xie Wanrou, the two of them like sisters. Because of this, she had learned a lot about Luo Tian from Xie Wanrou.

At the same time, she knew even better what kind of person Celestial Brilliance’s Eldest Senior Brother of this generation, Jin Ming, was.

”Jin Ming isn’t as good as you think. He has used mission assignments as opportunities to eliminate quite a few people who didn’t get along with him. Of course, he did it flawlessly—it always looked like they died in an accident…”

”The Jin Family’s purpose in sending the Jin Ming brothers to Celestial Brilliance is by no means pure. They want to use Jin Ming to infiltrate Celestial Brilliance and become an existence that, while not a Heritage Clan… is superior to the Heritage Clans!”

”The reason I never told you these things is because you’re too naive. In your mind… there’s no concept of true evil.”

”People are complicated. You can’t just sum them up as ’good’ or ’bad’.”

Ming Youyue looked at her sister in confusion. These words… it was the first time she had ever heard them. No one had ever spoken to her like this before.

She had always lived in her own world, believing the world was a clean place and that everyone should be a good person.

It wasn’t until today that she suddenly felt that she had… perhaps really… been too naive all these years.

”I used to think that being naive wasn’t a bad thing. If you don’t know about all the filth, your heart will naturally remain pure. I was being too shortsighted,” Ming Youyu sighed. ”It’s also time for you to experience the outside world.”

”Are you going to take me outside, Sis?” Ming Youyue suddenly grew excited. In truth, hadn’t she always yearned for the outside world?

”It’s Luo Tian. He’ll be the one to show you,” Ming Youyu said.

”What? Him? I won’t! I won’t go with him!” A panicked expression appeared in Ming Youyue’s eyes. She simply couldn’t face that man again.

”Heh heh, don’t tell me this competition… made him find a way into your heart?” Ming Youyu teased with a smile.

”What are you talking about? He’s awful! He… how could he treat me like that? I was just speaking up for Senior Brother Jin Ming. Even if I was wrong, he shouldn’t have done that!” Ming Youyue said indignantly.

”You… you really are a child who hasn’t grown up.” Ming Youyu shook her head slightly. ”With your combat power, even if you lost… you wouldn’t have lost so miserably. But you ran into him. He’s a truly battle-hardened person. Among Celestial Brilliance’s younger generation… and even including many from the older generation, none are his match!”

”Your assessment of him… isn’t that a bit too high?” Ming Youyue was shocked. She knew her sister was also a very proud person and had never heard her give such a high evaluation of anyone else.

”Not high at all,” Ming Youyu said calmly. ”In your previous matches, you won partly due to the suppression of your cultivation realm. But on the other hand, wasn’t it also because your opponents were wary of your status?”

”But… but even so, I don’t have to stick by his side, do I?” Ming Youyue had always been quite convinced by her sister’s words.

”He’s about to do something major. Sticking with him will be good for you. When the time comes, I’ll be there too!” Ming Youyu’s eyes glittered as she spoke softly, ”This time, it will bring about a complete transformation in you!”

”What major event?” Ming Youyue asked, looking at her sister in surprise.

”To seize the Soul Scripture!” Ming Youyu said.

…

…

”After the Annual Competition, we’ll set out. My husband’s injuries have mostly healed. And if I’m not mistaken, that group of old monsters from the Blazing Flame Province are about to make their move!”

Xie Wanrou looked at Xu Luo, flames of hatred dancing in her eyes. ”This time, we will be deploying many of our elders!”

Xu Luo nodded, thinking to himself: ’Qianqian… I will definitely get the second half of the Soul Scripture and set you completely free!’

’Then… we’ll truly be free, able to go anywhere and do anything we want.’

’Then I can finally go find my brothers!’