Firmament Sword

”Why?” Gao Ping was startled and asked instinctively. Then, as if he realized something, his expression changed. Looking crestfallen, he cupped his fist at Xu Luo and said, ”I will remember this. Since I cannot report it to my sect to repay you, I owe you for saving my life!”

With that, he turned and left.

Du Qingteng curled his lip and muttered, ”Such a prideful guy!”

Then he shouted at Gao Ping’s retreating back, ”His name is Luo Tian, the strongest of Celestial Brilliance’s younger generation!”

Gao Ping shouted back, ”Got it!”

In the blink of an eye, Gao Ping’s figure disappeared from sight. A Divine Thought from him came through the air, ”There should be treasure under the ruins. Help yourselves!”

”You don’t want any?” Du Qingteng sent back a Divine Thought.

”I’m too ashamed to take it!” After that Divine Thought returned, there was only silence. He had clearly gone far.

”Such a proud guy. What’s the big deal? It’s a matter for the sect... not a personal failing,” Du Qingteng muttered, then smiled at Xu Luo. ”Do you get it?”

Xu Luo nodded, then shook his head. ”I understand part of it.”

”It’s not that hard to understand. The three great Holy Lands are so used to being on top that everyone in them, including the servants, thinks they’re the most amazing people on earth.”

”Gao Ping meant well. He wanted to report the fact that you saved him to the Eternal River so that their higher-ups would take you seriously, maybe even reward you.”

”The things the Eternal River gives out are never junk. Don’t be fooled by how Gao Ping doesn’t have anything good on him; that’s because he’s still in his training period.”

”But he didn’t consider another problem. You’re a Celestial Brilliance Disciple. You saving him might seem like a normal thing to many people, but when the news reaches the Eternal River... it could very well be twisted into something else.”

Du Qingteng mimicked someone else’s tone, his face full of disdain.

”Who the hell do the people from Celestial Brilliance think they are? Since when does the Eternal River need their help?”

”Is Luo Tian trying to tell us he’s the strongest of the younger generation?”

”The disciples of the Eternal River have the spine to die with honor! We don’t need outsiders to save us!”

Du Qingteng looked at Xu Luo and said with a wry smile, ”Do you think that would be a good outcome?”

Xu Luo was dumbfounded. He stared at Du Qingteng, and only after a long moment did he nod and say, ”Now I understand what kind of people are in the three great Holy Lands.”

Du Qingteng gave a helpless, wry smile. ”Yeah... Weiyu Mountain isn’t much better than them.”

”Actually, Gao Ping and I used to be the same way. We never accepted that the other was better, but at the end of the day, we’re both Holy Land Inheritors. We have a similar air about us. So even though we fought, deep down, we had a mutual respect.”

”It wasn’t until I met you that I truly understood that there’s always someone better out there. It’s not just a saying.”

Du Qingteng said, ”So, I’ve decided to start by changing myself! And then... I’ll change the attitude of all of Weiyu Mountain, and maybe even all three great Holy Lands!”

”Otherwise, the three great Holy Lands... will sooner or later fall at the hands of their own people!”

”I believe Gao Ping must be thinking the same thing!”

”Is that why you even sent your servant away?” Xu Luo asked with a smile.

Du Qingteng was silent for a moment, then said, ”Yes.”

”His aptitude is actually very good, but if he stayed with me, he’d be nothing but a servant his whole life!”

”He’d never amount to anything great!”

”Besides, if he stayed with me, I’d never be able to correct my bad habits, my vices.”

”So, letting him go is good for both of us. I believe that sooner or later, he’ll understand my intentions.”

Xu Luo nodded, then glanced at the dilapidated ruins in the distance. ”Let’s go explore over there.”

”How about we see who’s more skilled? Finder’s keepers?”

Du Qingteng gave Xu Luo a look you’d give an idiot, shrugged, and threw up his hands. ”Master Luo, Luo Ancestor... give me a break. You go ahead and search. I’ll just stand guard for you!”

It was a joke. Along the way, Du Qingteng had long since witnessed Xu Luo’s treasure-hunting abilities and knew he must have some special method.

Competing with him in treasure hunting... was like hitting a stone with an egg. He’d get crushed!

Xu Luo chuckled, patted Du Qingteng on the shoulder, and smiled. ”Come on, we’ll split it fifty-fifty.”

”Now that’s more like it...” Du Qingteng muttered, following behind Xu Luo toward the ruins.

The area of the ruins wasn’t too large. The scene of broken walls and rubble looked quite desolate.

As Xu Luo drew near, he immediately activated his Treasure Hunting Skill. He was instantly surprised and couldn’t help but say, ”Gao Ping really gave us a huge gift. He’s probably going to regret this!”

Du Qingteng also extended his Divine Sense but found nothing. He kicked a piece of rubble at his feet and said, ”It’s just a bunch of crumbling ruins. At most, it proves someone used to live here. What else could there be?”

Xu Luo smiled and pointed at the ground. ”Underneath this... is a huge Earth Palace!”

”Earth Palace?” Du Qingteng glanced at Xu Luo and couldn’t help but laugh. ”Stop messing around... I admit you’re amazing at treasure hunting—you even dug up that Spirit Medicine from inside the mountain—but down here... I just scanned it with my Divine Sense. There’s absolutely nothing! An Earth Palace... you’re imagining things!”

”Why don’t we... make a bet?” Xu Luo said, looking at Du Qingteng with a smile.

”I’m telling you... don’t you dare provoke me. I’m the type who can’t resist a challenge!” Du Qingteng said, eyeing Xu Luo sideways. Still skeptical, he sent out his Divine Sense again to probe beneath the ruins. He even raised his palm and blasted a crater several zhang deep into the ground.

Then he laughed heartily. ”See? Nothing!”

”So, do you dare to bet or not?” Xu Luo asked with a toothy grin.

”I already told you, I can’t resist a challenge. A bet’s a bet. What are the stakes?” Du Qingteng refused to believe it, thinking Luo Tian was just bluffing.

”Let’s bet... whoever wins is the boss from now on, and the loser is the little brother. The little brother has to listen to the boss. How about it?” Xu Luo said with a beaming smile, his tone like a child playing house.

But Du Qingteng raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly what this bet implied.

Neither of them had a low status!

One was a Core Disciple of a Supreme Great Sect in Xi Hezhou, perhaps even the number one of the younger generation. The other... was the current Inheritor of Weiyu Mountain, one of the three great Holy Lands.

If one of them were to publicly call the other ”boss,” whether it was a joke or not, the repercussions would be enormous.

’Still... this is an interesting bet!’ Du Qingteng smiled. He didn’t think he would lose, either.

Looking at Xu Luo, he nodded and said, ”Alright, you have a deal!”

Du Qingteng said, smiling at Xu Luo, ”Come on then, Brother Luo, show me this Earth Palace!”

”Should I give you a few days to look for it?”

”Heh heh... if you can’t find it, then I get to be your boss!”

”Hahahaha, taking on a little brother who’s even stronger than me... that’s got to feel amazing!”

Seeing Du Qingteng’s smug expression, Xu Luo couldn’t help but laugh. He said to Master Mao beside him, ”Go on... find the Earth Palace and show him.”

”Why me?” Master Mao asked, looking at Xu Luo.

”Because you’re my little brother,” Xu Luo said, his face expressionless.

Master Mao looked annoyed. ’Back in the day, I almost made this human *my* little brother,’ he thought. ’Missed it by a hair... a lifetime of regret!’

Master Mao strutted over to the deep crater Du Qingteng had just blasted with his palm.

Du Qingteng burst out laughing. ”I say... if you want to concede, you don’t have to be so obvious about it, do you?”

”Idiot!” Master Mao rolled his eyes. ”I chose this spot because it saves me the effort of digging another hole!”

With that, Master Mao leaped directly into the deep crater.

Then, a large amount of dirt was flung out of the crater. A moment later, Master Mao’s voice shouted from inside, ”Alright! Get back!”

Du Qingteng didn’t believe it at all. But seeing Xu Luo move to the side, he shuffled over as well, still muttering, ”What the hell is going on... really, is this supposed to be funny? Or are you having Miaomiao build an Earth Palace on the spot? Too bad he’s not good at construction...”

RUMBLE!

A deep, muffled roar interrupted Du Qingteng’s words as the entire ground began to tremble.

Then, the spot where Master Mao had jumped in began to crack. The fissures spread out in all directions, growing wider and wider.

After that... the entire ground began to sink.

It was as if the whole valley was about to collapse into the earth.

Du Qingteng was stunned by this change. He watched, dumbfounded, then looked at the perfectly calm Xu Luo beside him. ”Wh-what’s happening?”

”This Earth Palace is very deep underground. I just had Miaomiao activate the mechanism,” Xu Luo said lightly.

”...” Du Qingteng was utterly speechless. ’Only a freak like Luo Tian could possess such an astonishing ability,’ he thought. ’If it were me, I’d never have been able to find any mechanism.’

’I’m afraid even Gao Ping and the others would never have discovered this Earth Palace!’

’His so-called treasure in the ruins must have just been a guess!’

Just then, Xu Luo glanced at Du Qingteng and said, ”Let’s go. We’ll check out this Earth Palace that Miaomiao ’built’.”

The corner of Du Qingteng’s mouth twitched. He rolled his eyes and followed Xu Luo down a passageway that had been revealed by the cracking earth.

The land was still sinking. The surrounding mountain peaks were collapsing and the ground was giving way, creating an apocalyptic scene.

Even Du Qingteng felt his heart pound in his chest, as if he could be swallowed by the earth at any moment. The sheer scale of it was too shocking.

But Xu Luo, walking in front, was as steady as a rock, strolling calmly.

”You knew all along there was an Earth Palace here?” Du Qingteng asked from behind Xu Luo.

”I knew as soon as I got close. A pity you didn’t believe me,” Xu Luo said.

”Alright, I lose!” Du Qingteng was a good sport about it, accepting his loss and acknowledging Xu Luo as his boss from then on.

Xu Luo didn’t refuse. Accepting such a ”little brother” would be quite beneficial to his future plans.

After spending these past few days together, Xu Luo had also come to see Du Qingteng as someone worth befriending.

By now, the two had reached the true entrance to the Earth Palace. Through a pair of ancient, open doors, the scene within presented itself to them.

Du Qingteng and Xu Luo... were both instantly stunned by the sight.