Firmament Sword

”Damn, that’s just miraculous! Second Brother... Second Master, you’re truly a great power who knows Divine Techniques! Quick, tell me, what’s going on?” As the youngest of the five brothers, Sui Yan had completely lost the stone-faced expression he wore in front of outsiders. With a fawning look, he grabbed Xu Jie’s hand, shamelessly asking for an explanation.

Xu Jie chuckled, saying with a hint of pride, ”This is just one of the most rudimentary techniques in Artifact Refining. It’s only good for showing off in front of ordinary people.”

Then, Xu Jie’s expression turned serious. He said to Xu Luo, ”Third Brother, this dagger will show no flaws in front of ordinary people. But if you ever encounter a true expert, you must not take it out. My Artifact Refining skills aren’t good enough yet; they’ll see right through it.”

Huangfu Chongzhi nodded from the side and said, ”That’s right. Water Blue Refined Gold... even a Sword Saint would drool over it.”

Sui Yan’s eyebrows shot up. He looked at Xu Jie and said, ”Second Brother, you actually managed to get such a huge piece of Water Blue Refined Gold. That’s amazing!”

Xu Jie gave a wry smile. ”Fifth Brother, no need to needle your Second Brother. The origin of this piece of Water Blue Refined Gold... I’ll tell you guys when I get the chance. For now, let’s go find Liu Feng.”

Huangfu Chongzhi smiled and also helped change the subject. ”Right. It’s been a long time since we brothers have all gotten together.”

Everyone has their own secrets. Even between brothers, one shouldn’t pry. They all understood this principle. So, although Sui Yan was practically drooling over the Water Blue Refined Gold dagger in Xu Luo’s hand, he was sensible enough not to say anything more.

...

”Miss, please wait a moment.”

On the bustling Cyan Dragon Avenue, the busiest street in the Imperial Capital, a fair and chubby young man with a jovial face—an image ruined by a black eye—was smiling as he stopped a pretty young woman.

”Ah, you... you’re talking to me?” The pretty young woman was clearly surprised, standing there with a bashful expression, at a complete loss.

The Maids beside the pretty young woman glared at this Little Fatty, their brows furrowed in extreme displeasure.

Although the Cangqiong Kingdom had a liberal atmosphere where unmarried young women could freely go out shopping, aside from those profligate playboys, it was still extremely rare to see someone accosting a person on the street in broad daylight like this.

”Miss, the perfume you’re wearing is a secret blend of rose, orchid, qiong leaves, Jade Mushroom Flower, Three-Star Grass... right?”

The Little Fatty rattled off the names of more than ten different flowers and herbs in a single breath, making the young woman across from him stare with wide-eyed astonishment, looking at him in disbelief.

Even the glaring Maids had strange looks in their eyes as they stared at the Little Fatty. Then, as if they’d remembered something, their faces couldn’t help but twitch.

Liu Feng!

Liu Feng the Flower Fool!

The Young Master known to everyone throughout the Imperial Capital, the one given the nickname ’Flower Fool’—Liu Feng!

The Little Fatty seemed not to notice their strange looks and continued, ”Although this secret perfume has a fresh and elegant scent with the richness of rose, it’s not suitable for you, miss.”

”Why?”

The pretty young woman blinked her eyes cutely, looking at the Little Fatty.

But inwardly, she was sneering. ’Magnolia Rose Perfume is my favorite perfume, and it’s also my family’s most valuable signature product, with extremely low production.’

’Countless noble ladies in the Imperial Capital want to buy it but can’t. And now you’re telling me it’s not suitable for me... Hmph. Don’t think that just because you’re the Flower Fool, I have to listen to your nonsense. If you can’t give me a good reason today, I won’t let you get away with this!’

”Your natural scent, miss.” The Little Fatty had a profound expression on his face, and he even let out a sigh after speaking.

A flash of smugness flickered deep in his eyes. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted several people watching him with great interest from a short distance away. The Little Fatty first froze, then a look of joy spread across his face.

”Woah! First Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, Fifth Brother, what are you guys doing here?” With a WHOOSH, the Little Fatty dashed away from the pretty young woman’s side and charged straight for the group. He opened his arms and rushed to embrace Xu Luo. ”Waah! Third Brother, Third Brother, Third Brother! Let me give you a hug! Your little brother missed you to death!”

The pretty young woman, left standing there, watched the Little Fatty’s retreating back with a stunned expression. She turned to her Maids and asked, ”Am I dreaming?”

The Maids all shook their heads.

The pretty young woman’s slender eyebrows shot up, all traces of her bashfulness gone. She said angrily, ”What does that damned fatty mean? He just runs off after saying half a sentence?”

The Maids’ mouths twitched, but they didn’t dare to respond.

”Hey, you damned fatty! What’s wrong with my natural scent?!” After the young woman’s shout, the entire bustling Cyan Dragon Avenue fell deathly silent for dozens of meters around.

Everyone stared in shock at the pretty young woman. Then, their gazes shifted to the Little Fatty who was running away, and the shock in their eyes was replaced by suggestive looks.

Only after shouting did the young woman realize her poor choice of words. A bashful expression returned to her face, and she weakly tried to explain to the surrounding crowd, ”It’s not what you think...”

”Ooooh...” The people in the crowd made a sound of understanding, the suggestive looks in their eyes growing even stronger.

The young woman was absolutely furious. Glaring at the Little Fatty who was now hugging a young man, she gritted her teeth and said, ”Damned fatty! Flower Fool! Damn you! I’ll remember this! Just you wait!”

With that, she stomped her foot and left in a huff.

Xu Luo, with a helpless expression, let the Little Fatty hug him. He said with a wry smile, ”It seems you’ve just provoked another pretty girl.”

”Tch, the little princess of the Lan Meng Clan. Just a spoiled little brat who’s good at pretending. I’ve seen her at banquets many times, yet she dared to pretend she didn’t know me. It serves her right to be teased. Pay her no mind!” The Little Fatty let go of Xu Luo and grinned, not caring in the slightest.

”I say, Fourth Brother, I’ve heard that little princess from the Lan Family is not to be trifled with,” Sui Yan said from the side with a mischievous grin. ”She’s on excellent terms with many of the noble ladies in the Imperial Capital, and even a few of the favored princesses of the Royal Family are close friends with her. I’m afraid you’re in for it this time.”

”Tsk. You think I’d be afraid of her?” The Little Fatty scoffed, declaring with an air of bravado, ”A real man, afraid of a little slip of a girl? What a joke! It’s been ages since I’ve seen Third Brother. Come on, let’s go get a drink!”

”...” Xu Luo and the others exchanged a look, all seeing the same thought reflected in each other’s eyes.

’The Flower Fool dares to act like a real man?’

...

At the entrance of the Fengyue Building stood a green monolith over ten meters tall, upon which were inscribed two large, flamboyant words: ’Chong Er’.

This green monolith was a single, uncut block of jade. Its quality was so pure that the green color seemed to seep out from within. Its value was immeasurable.

Yet now, it was used as a warding stone at the entrance. Such extravagance, in the entire Imperial Capital, was likely only found at the Fengyue Building, aside from the Royal Family.

The two words on the monolith were inscribed over a hundred years ago by a great scholar. Legend has it that when the scholar arrived at the Fengyue Building and saw the massive warding stone at the entrance, he remarked, ”The stone is fine, but it’s missing something.”

The Fengyue Tower Master happened to be there at the time and, greatly admiring the scholar, casually said, ”Then perhaps you, sir, could leave some of your precious calligraphy on it.”

The great scholar did not refuse. He had the Fengyue Building prepare an enormous Fountain Pen. Grasping the end of the Fountain Pen’s shaft, the scholar rose into the air and wrote these two flamboyant, dancing words.

Chong Er!

Two simple words, yet they were vigorous and powerful, like a dragon roaming the nine heavens, almost seeming ready to burst forth from the monolith and fly away.

At the time, however, no one understood what these two words meant. Everyone was perplexed.

The Fengyue Tower Master of that era was also a woman of exceptional talent. Seeing that no one understood the meaning of the two words, she said with a gentle smile, ”Boundless Wind and Moon.”

Afterward, legend says that the exceptionally talented Fengyue Tower Master and the great scholar, whose power had reached a transcendent level, both vanished from the world together.

Many people said that the great scholar and the Fengyue Tower Master were both peerless experts who had shattered the Broken Void together to attain the Dao and ascend as immortals.

Of course, it was true that the great scholar was himself a peerless expert.

As for whether the Fengyue Tower Master of that time was also powerful, and whether the two of them truly ascended to immortality—that’s hard to say. After all, there is no evidence to prove it.

However, it was a universally acknowledged fact that every generation of the Fengyue Tower Master was a breathtakingly talented and beautiful woman, and that the Fengyue Building was backed by an incredibly powerful foundation.

Even members of the Royal Family didn’t dare to casually cause trouble in the Fengyue Building.

The Cangqiong Kingdom had been at peace for over a thousand years. Its national power was strong and its economy was prosperous.

After many generations of effort and accumulation, the great clans had long possessed astonishingly vast fortunes.

Therefore, even though the Fengyue Building was the most expensive establishment in the entire Cangqiong Kingdom, it never lacked for customers.

”Here, you can find anything you’re looking for!”

This was a slogan for the Fengyue Building. From food, drink, and entertainment to all kinds of intelligence—as long as it didn’t involve disputes between kingdoms or interfere with the internal struggles of the Royal Family...

...it was no exaggeration to say that this establishment, with its transcendent status, could ”satisfy anyone’s needs.”

Of course, there was one prerequisite: you had to have money!

Although Xu Luo and his friends couldn’t be called fabulously wealthy, they were not short on money. Given their status, it was perfectly normal for them to patronize the Fengyue Building.

However, some people didn’t necessarily see it that way.

The five brothers of Xu Luo’s group had just arrived at the entrance of the Fengyue Building when they ran into another group of young masters from powerful families.

Counting their servants, the other party numbered twenty to thirty people. There were seven or eight young masters walking at the front, surrounding a lavishly dressed youth like stars around the moon. They were chatting and laughing as they made their way toward the Fengyue Building.

The two groups met at the entrance. Someone from the other crowd let out a chuckle. ”Guess who I see? Haha, isn’t this the Second Young Master of the Xu Family, the one who wants to steal the Civil Servant’s Rice Bowl?”

”Brother Ziting, is your grandfather, the Prime Minister, worried about his position being stolen? HAHAHAHA!”

The speaker was incredibly arrogant. Although his voice wasn’t very loud, it was definitely audible to Xu Luo and his group, who were less than ten meters away.

Xu Luo was startled for a moment, then his eyes narrowed slightly. A chilling glint flashed in his gaze as he looked at the arrogant young man.