Firmament Sword

A withered, extremely short old man with half-lidded eyes spoke feebly. ”How foolish. Do you take the Heavenly Brilliance Disciples for pushovers? Or do you think their Guardians are just for show?”

”Ming’Er handled this matter very well. He set a trap for them, leaving no trace. They were just lucky to have avoided it. Next time… they might not be so fortunate!”

Jin Ming, who had been sitting there silently, gave a faint smile. A gleam of hatred flashed in his gloomy eyes as he said softly, ”Next time… I’ll set an even bigger trap for them! They’ll have no choice… but to fall into it!”

”Once we enter those ancient ruins, there will be plenty of opportunities!” the withered, short old man cackled. ”Out there, the people from Celestial Brilliance won’t be the ones calling the shots.”

The man, who looked to be in his thirties, nodded. His face was still filled with resentment as he said, ”In any case… we can’t let those vile bastards from Celestial Brilliance off easy! Especially… that one named Luo Tian. I never thought… I’d actually run into him here. Hmph. Once we’re inside those ancient ruins, I’ll make him regret ever being born!”

Jin Ming remained calm and silent, but a flicker of gratitude crossed his eyes. This young man was his own younger brother, Jin Sheng.

Unlike Jin Ming and Jin Xian, who had joined Celestial Brilliance in their youth, Jin Sheng had always remained at home, practicing their family’s ancestral Cultivation Technique.

This was a common trait among almost all the great and powerful clans. They never put all their eggs in one basket, preferring to have their influence blossom in many places at once.

This Jin Sheng was also a peerless genius, and his innate talent was scarcely inferior to that of his older brother, Jin Ming.

As a top-tier family in Xi Hezhou, the Jin Family’s ancestral Cultivation Technique was also of the highest caliber. Coupled with a vast supply of resources, Jin Sheng’s current strength had already reached the realm of a Half-Step Venerable!

Upon hearing the news of his younger brother’s violent death and his older brother’s expulsion, Jin Sheng had flown into a rage, vowing to avenge them both.

He would use blood to honor the memory of his younger brother, Jin Xian. He would use his actions… to show everyone that while Celestial Brilliance was powerful, the Jin Family… was not some weak clan to be pushed around at will!

”No matter who it is, anyone who provokes the Jin Family will pay the price in blood!”

This was the fundamental reason the Jin Family had dispatched such a large contingent this time. They could not openly turn against Celestial Brilliance, but this grudge… had to be avenged.

While the other factions that had rushed here upon hearing the news were primarily interested in seizing treasure from the ancient ruins, the Jin Family’s motives were different. Forty percent of their goal was treasure; the other sixty percent was revenge!

Jin Ming let out a long, slow breath, his gloomy eyes filled with killing intent as he muttered, ’Did you think I was the lead disciple for all those years for nothing? Everyone who looked down on me… will pay the price!’

…

…

The night passed uneventfully. Everyone was up early the next morning. With a full day and night left before their departure, they could use the time to relax to their hearts’ content.

That fellow Tang Xiao wanted to sneak out and see what the city’s brothels were like, but he was discovered by Yu Tianjie, who insisted on tagging along no matter what.

Then, Lv Di found out. Who would have thought the quiet fellow had such a hidden wild side? He also demanded to be taken along.

Then, Zhong Jiuyan discovered them and insisted on joining too.

Yu Tianying stepped out of his room, saw the furtive-looking group, and after asking their purpose, immediately gave his younger brother a harsh scolding.

It was the usual fare: ”You’re so young, and you want to go to a place like that?” ”Is that really a place for someone like you?” ”They’re nothing but painted skeletons! You’ll lose your true self!” and so on.

But at the very end, the dolt completely changed his tune. ”To ensure none of you are led astray or fall into depravity, I must insist on coming along!”

After everyone gave him a collective look of disdain, they prepared to set off.

But then, Wang Tong and Shao Zheng crept out, announcing they had overheard everything. If the group didn’t take them along, they’d snitch!

”Goddammit… I just wanted to see what a brothel looks like, not host a damn convention there!” Tang Xiao was so exasperated he could have cried.

He pointed at Shao Zheng. ”I’m telling you… you’re just a kid! If we dared to take you to a brothel, wouldn’t the Captain skin us alive when he finds out?”

”Exactly! Go back to your room and play, you little brat!” Yu Tianjie added.

”A place like that isn’t suitable for children!” Wang Tong said, immediately selling Shao Zheng out.

Zhong Jiuyan added with a straight face, ”Didn’t Junior Brother Shao Zheng say he needed to study the Ten Extremes Pill Array to stand guard for us?”

Shao Zheng shot them all a look of contempt and sneered, ”Don’t even think about ditching me. Hmph. Even back at the sect, I heard that the most wonderful place in the mortal world is a brothel! If you dare leave me behind, I won’t just tell the Captain on you, I’ll tell Senior Sister Ming, too! I’ll let her see your true colors!”

”Dammit, this kid is asking for a beating!” Yu Tianjie snarled, baring his teeth.

Shao Zheng sneered and met his gaze, not backing down in the slightest.

In the end, Yu Tianying, the oldest of the bunch, scratched his head and said, ”Why don’t we… just take him with us!”

”Where’d the Captain go? He should’ve been up long ago!” Tang Xiao suddenly remarked from the side, a little surprised that their leader hadn’t shown his face yet.

”Yeah, that’s right, where is the Captain? I wonder if he’s interested in that sort of place!” Lv Di added with a chuckle.

”Tch. The Captain not only has a thing going on with that noble lady from the Xie Family, but his relationship with the gorgeous Junior Sister Su Qianqian from the Scripture Pavilion is also super ambiguous. Why would he join in?” said the dolt, Yu Tianying.

Tang Xiao thought for a moment, his eyes darting around, before he mumbled, ”The Captain hasn’t shown up, and Junior Sister Ming Youyue… hasn’t shown up either… Heh heh!”

”Heh heh heh.” The whole group couldn’t help but laugh.

After the previous day’s experience, these peerless prodigies of Celestial Brilliance had finally dropped their airs and pretenses and started to become a true, cohesive unit.

Likewise, they no longer hid their true personalities from one another.

Just then, a cold snort came from the shadows. Ming Youyue emerged with a sneer, and beside her was an expressionless Xu Luo.

”Ahem…” The group was instantly dumbfounded. They never imagined that their leader and the only girl on the team had discovered their little plot long ago and had been hiding in the shadows, eavesdropping the entire time.

Ming Youyue looked at Tang Xiao and sneered. ”Xiaotangtang, you’re really something else. Getting bold now, are we? Wanting to go have fun at a brothel. You’re so impressive. Does your master, Elder Jiang, know about this?”

”I suspect that if we were to tell him, Elder Jiang would know for sure,” Xu Luo added from the side.

On the verge of tears, Tang Xiao said angrily, ”You two are so cruel! I just wanted to see what a brothel was like! Do you really have to do this to me?”

”And whose fault is it for gossiping about me behind my back?” Ming Youyue’s face was like ice as she stared coldly at Tang Xiao.

Everyone shivered. ’So that was the real problem!’ They all turned to glare at Tang Xiao, thinking, ’If it weren’t for your big mouth, Junior Sister Ming wouldn’t be threatening to snitch on us!’

Yu Tianjie immediately kicked him while he was down. ”Captain, Boss… Junior Sister Ming, I swear to god, this has nothing to do with me!”

The dolt, Yu Tianying, put on a serious face. ”It has nothing to do with me, either. I was just afraid they might be led astray…”

”I had nothing to do with it,” Zhong Jiuyan said calmly.

”I don’t know anything!” Shao Zheng said, his face a mask of innocence.

Tang Xiao pointed at the disloyal pack, so angry he could barely speak. ”You… you… Holy hell, you guys have no shame!”

Wang Tong adopted a grave and earnest tone. ”Senior Brother Tang, you’re still so young. How could you fall so low as to go to a place like that? Sigh. Thankfully, the Boss and Junior Sister Ming stopped your foolish impulse in time. Otherwise, with just us here… it would have been truly difficult to talk you out of it!”

”That’s right. A place like that is full of painted skeletons. Go there and you’ll lose your true self!” Yu Tianjie said, directly quoting the lecture his idiotic older brother had just given him and aiming it squarely at Tang Xiao.

Tang Xiao was so furious he could only roll his eyes.

Just then, a smile suddenly blossomed on Ming Youyue’s face. ”Hee hee, actually, I’m pretty curious myself! And today, this Young Master Ming wants to go check it out!”

As she spoke, Ming Youyue spun around, her form shifting from that of a stunningly beautiful young woman into a dashing young gentleman. She then cupped a fist toward Xu Luo. ”Brother Luo, might your humble younger brother, Ming Yue, invite you to join him for a visit to the brothel?”

Xu Luo’s expression was inscrutable. Just when everyone thought their captain would scold her for such nonsense, he nodded with a perfectly straight face. ”An excellent idea!”

With that, the two of them strode out the door.

The others stared at each other, utterly dumbfounded.

A moment later, Tang Xiao was the first to snap out of it. He let out a whoop and dashed outside. ”Boss… Brother Ming, wait for me!”

”And me…”

”Me too!”

”Wait for me!”

The band of peerless prodigies from Celestial Brilliance transformed into a pack of fools, clamoring as they rushed toward the largest brothel in Qingchuan Ancient City—the Divine Maiden Tower!

Qingchuan Ancient City, the largest city in the southwestern region of Xi Hezhou, boasted an incredibly long history and a profound cultural heritage.

So how could it possibly lack something as popular and beloved among the common folk as a brothel?

The Divine Maiden Tower was extremely famous, particularly its branch in Qingchuan Ancient City. In fact, many people came to Qingchuan Ancient City just to visit the Divine Maiden Tower!

There were no actual divine maidens in the Divine Maiden Tower, but there were plenty of ”goddesses” who made men never want to leave!

But it would be a grave mistake to think of the Divine Maiden Tower as just an ordinary brothel. In reality, it was considered a major power in its own right throughout all of Xi Hezhou!

Even the top-tier great families would not dare to easily offend the people of the Divine Maiden Tower, because its intelligence-gathering network was the most powerful… in all of Xi Hezhou!

Nearly every top power in Xi Hezhou maintained some form of cooperative relationship with the Divine Maiden Tower.

This included the Supreme Great Sect backing this very group of young people… Celestial Brilliance!

The Divine Maiden Tower had branches all over Xi Hezhou, and it was said they existed in other continents as well. However, the one in Qingchuan Ancient City was the largest… and also the most ancient, possessing an incredibly long history.

It was the birthplace of the Divine Maiden Tower!

Therefore, Xu Luo’s visit here was not simply for fun and games.

He also wanted to use this opportunity to see if he could dig up some useful information at the Divine Maiden Tower.

He also wanted to see how this Divine Maiden Tower compared to the Fengyue Building that Merak had run back when he was in the Lower Realm…

And to see if he, too… could build an intelligence network just like it!