Firmament Sword

”I happened to see two Spirit Beasts fighting in the sky. One of them was just a shadow, too fast to see clearly, only that it was a yellow blur over ten meters long. The other Spirit Beast was a massive bird, with a wingspan of at least two hundred meters. It was pitch-black, blotting out the sun, but the yellow shadow killed it in just a few swipes...”

Huangfu Chongzhi murmured from the side, ”That pitch-black bird was likely a Tier Six Spirit Beast, the Black Gold Roc. They are ferocious by nature and possess immense combat strength.”

GASP!

The people all around couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.

A Tier Six Spirit Beast!

What kind of existence was that? Few experts in the mortal world could possibly defeat one. Yet it was killed by that yellow Spirit Beast in just a few swipes…

Didn’t that mean the yellow Spirit Beast was truly a Tier Nine Spirit Beast, just as the legends claimed?

At that moment, many who had been jealous of Xu Luo couldn’t help but see him in a new, more respectful light.

’If it had been them in that situation, their first reaction would have probably been to run for their lives. How could they possibly have dared to hide and watch!’

The Emperor said softly, ”That’s right. Years ago, We… heard that a Seven-Colored Light grew in a valley in the Black Forest. We sent men to try and retrieve it, but alas, when they were still several miles away, the Spirit Beast guarding the Seven-Colored Light detected them. It released its pressure, and all the experts were forced back, coughing up blood. They couldn’t advance at all…”

The Empress looked at Xu Luo and said, ”Please, continue.”

Xu Luo nodded. ”At the time, I thought to myself that I absolutely didn’t have the ability to snatch the Seven-Colored Light from a Tier Nine Spirit Beast. But if I just gave up, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself! So, I waited there, hoping for a miracle!”

Even though many people present knew that Xu Luo had succeeded, they still found it hard to believe. How could his luck be so good?

A charming blush rose on the Princess’s cheeks. Although Xu Luo had spoken casually, she understood perfectly what he meant by ”not being able to live with myself.”

At this moment, for Huangfu Shishi, the words ”if I just gave up, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself” were more moving than any declaration of love in the world.

The place where the Seven-Colored Light grew wasn’t particularly secret. In fact, quite a few people knew about it. But since even the Royal Family had failed, how could any of the other families in the Imperial Capital dare to try?

Trying to snatch a Spirit Medicine from a Tier Nine Spirit Beast was simply asking for death!

”After waiting for a day and a night, when night fell, for some unknown reason, the Shaking Light Star suddenly shot out a beam of light. The Spirit Beast let out a great roar, soared into the sky, and chased after it…”

Huangfu Chongzhi commented from the side, ”The more powerful a Spirit Beast, the more it likes Spirit Medicine. But what they love even more is Starlight!”

”Correct. Spirit Beasts can absorb Starlight to become even stronger!” the Crown Prince added.

At this point, the crowd seemed to understand how Xu Luo had succeeded. They were all dumbfounded. By now, what could they say, other than to marvel at how his dumb luck was powerful enough to defy the heavens?

Xu Luo smiled and said, ”That’s why I said the heavens bless Cangqiong, and that it was a blessing brought by Your Majesty, the Empress, and Princess Qiqi. This isn’t flattery; it’s what I truly believe. If not for that, how could I possibly have obtained the Seven-Colored Flower?”

”You only got one flower?” Wei Ziting sneered from the side, looking at Xu Luo with disbelief. ”Don’t tell me you got the entire Seven-Colored Light plant and only took out a single flower?”

Xu Luo glanced at Wei Ziting and said with a serious expression, ”In that situation, if it were you, would you dare to calmly dig up the Seven-Colored Light?”

”I…” Wei Ziting really wanted to say, ’If it were me, of course I’d dare.’ But he knew that was unrealistic.

You had to know what you were facing.

A Tier Nine Spirit Beast!

Who would dare to calmly dig up the Seven-Colored Light at a time like that?

Someone with less courage probably wouldn’t even have the guts to get close!

Forget a Tier Nine Spirit Beast; even a Tier Nine Exotic Beast was not something a person of Xu Luo’s strength could contend with!

This was a creature that could kill a Tier Six Spirit Beast with a few swipes!

It was no exaggeration to say that a sneeze from a Tier Nine Spirit Beast could kill a normal person from the shockwave alone!

”Alright, alright. To be able to get even one flower is already a tremendous stroke of luck. Heaven has taken pity! My daughter can finally stand again!” The Empress’s eyes reddened as she spoke.

The Emperor looked at Xu Luo and said in a deep voice, ”Xu Luo, you have performed a great service. Tell us, what do you desire?”

A reward was coming!

Countless eyes flashed with fervent light—envy, jealousy… all kinds of gazes shot over from the crowd.

The Emperor doted on the Seventh Princess most of all. The Spirit Medicine Xu Luo brought back, which could allow her to stand again, was a contribution that, to the Royal Family, was even more valuable than a great military victory!

”Your Majesty, I want for nothing. I did this simply because Qiqi is Qiqi,” Xu Luo replied almost without hesitation.

Simply because Qiqi is Qiqi!

The sentence was simple, but it concealed so much meaning!

Huangfu Shishi smiled through her tears, a look of playful complaint on her face. ’You villain, Xu Luo,’ she thought. ’You won’t be happy until you’ve made me cry, will you?’

In the distance, Lianyi concealed the faint trace of disappointment deep in her eyes, and a relieved smile finally appeared on her face. She began to laugh happily. ’The Princess and the Young Master haven’t changed. The Princess still likes the Young Master. This is wonderful!’

It was only then that many people noticed how Xu Luo had addressed the Princess.

Qiqi…

Besides a select few in the Royal Family, who else could call the Princess so intimately?

Wei Ziting, standing at the side, was about to go mad with jealousy!

He didn’t even dare to call her Shishi, yet this damn good-for-nothing was addressing the Princess with such intimacy! He deserved to die ten thousand times! No, a hundred thousand times… a million times!

AHHHHHHHHHHH!

Wei Ziting roared in his heart. His own heart felt as if it had been trampled by ten thousand Tier Nine Spirit Beasts, and his handsome face twisted slightly.

But at this moment, no one was paying him any attention.

Most people were simply looking at Xu Luo with envy.

The Emperor was slightly taken aback, but then he laughed heartily. ”We had nearly forgotten that you and Qiqi were childhood sweethearts. That you can say such a thing, We… are very pleased! But We cannot fail to reward you! To reward merit and punish fault is Our principle. Ahem… Xu Luo, hear your enfeoffment!”

Xu Luo bowed. Sixteen years of bitterness and humiliation, sixteen years of ridicule and scorn, sixteen years of silent obscurity—in this one moment, all of it was about to fade away!

”Xu Luo, son of the National Guardian General, has shown commendable courage in the face of hardship, seizing a single Seven-Colored Light Flower—a Seven-Colored Flower—from the jaws of a Tier Nine Spirit Beast. He has rendered a great service to the Royal Family. As this fortune arose from the Seven-Colored, therefore… We hereby ennoble you as… the Seven-Colored Marquis! With a fief of three hundred households!”

The Emperor finished, looking at Xu Luo with a smile. ”Seven-Colored Marquis,” he said lightly, ”will you not thank Us for this grace?”

Everyone in the banquet hall was utterly stunned.

”Heavens, Your Majesty… made Xu Luo a Marquis… How many years has it been since the Empire last created a new Marquis?”

”That Marquis title came… a little too easily, didn’t it?”

”The Xu Family… their prestige is now beyond words!”

”Grand General of National Guardian and Duke of the Country Xu Ji, First-Grade Imperial Decree Lady Luo Xinlan, Princess of Vulture Lianyi, County Lord Xu Su, and now Seven-Colored Marquis Xu Luo…”

”The Military Merit Group, led by Grand General of National Guardian Xu Ji, is on the rise!”

Everyone was shocked by the Emperor’s decree. They had previously thought the Emperor might grant Xu Luo a noble title directly.

Perhaps a County Lord, or at most, a County Viscount.

But they never imagined that the Emperor, in his delight, would grant Xu Luo the title of Marquis in one fell swoop! And it was a real enfeoffment, not just an empty title!

A fief of three hundred households might not seem like much, but it meant he was a true Marquis with his own land!

That was a true noble!

Many even called nobles with their own fiefs the ”nobility of the nobility”!

”Under all heaven, there is no land that is not the king’s,” or so the saying went. But a noble with a fief was a true king on his own land!

”Your Majesty, this is not in accord…” Prime Minister Wei Feng stepped forward, steeling himself. At a time like this, he couldn’t count on anyone else. But if Xu Luo obtained this peerage so easily, the Xu Family’s prestige would become blindingly brilliant. How could he let that happen?

”Enough. Our mind is made up.” The Emperor waved his hand, giving Wei Feng no chance to speak.

Wei Feng hadn’t expected the Emperor to be so resolute and could only retreat to the side in embarrassment.

Xu Luo was also a bit stunned. He never thought that the Emperor, who had always seemed to dislike him, would open his ”golden mouth” and grant him the title of Marquis. Even if the Emperor doted on the Seventh Princess, a noble title couldn’t be that cheap, could it?

Xu Zhongtian had earned glorious military achievements and survived countless near-death experiences, yet he was only a Champion Marquis.

’Is the Emperor… trying to kill me with praise?’

’But what’s the point of doing that to me?’

Xu Luo couldn’t make sense of it, but this wasn’t the time to overthink. He immediately bowed and said, ”This… Your Majesty, this subject is terrified. This subject is of no virtue or ability. I dare not accept!”

”Heh heh, so you little fellows can feel fear too? What is there to be terrified about? Simply for accomplishing something that even We could not, you are worthy of this title!”

The Emperor wore a half-smile, and no one could discern what the Emperor was truly thinking.

”If you feel uneasy about it, then in the future, follow your father’s example. Achieve great and glorious deeds to solidify the position of Marquis that now rests on your head!”

At that moment, the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince were the first to react, stepping forward together to congratulate Xu Luo.

”Seven-Colored Marquis, congratulations!” the Crown Prince said with a sincere smile.

”Seven-Colored Marquis, my sincerest congratulations!” The Sixth Prince also wore a brilliant smile, showing no trace of anything unusual.

”Third Brother, congratulations!” Huangfu Chongzhi said as he walked over.

”Yes, Third Brother, you’ve really made something of yourself! The Seven-Colored Marquis, hahaha!” Xu Jie laughed heartily, clapping Xu Luo on the shoulder.

”Marquis, you’ll have to look after your little brother from now on…” Little Fatty Liu Feng came over to congratulate him with a fawning expression.

”You’re the only heir in your family. You’re going to be a Duke someday anyway,” Xu Luo said with a laugh.

Sui Yan came over then, looking at Xu Luo with a joyful expression. ”Third Brother, congratulations!”

Following the congratulations from his brothers, other top young masters of the Imperial Capital, such as Wang Ziweng, Sun Donghai, and Zhao Mo, also came over to offer their congratulations to Xu Luo.

The Emperor, the Empress, and the other major figures had already left with the just-arrived Imperial Physicians and the top Pharmacists of the Imperial Capital, taking the Seven-Colored Flower with them.

Just before the Emperor had ennobled Xu Luo, several top Pharmacists and the chief Imperial Physician of the palace had tearfully exclaimed that it was a miracle!

One old Imperial Physician had even fainted from excitement. The few top Pharmacists from the Imperial Capital who had been reluctant to come all couldn’t help but weep the moment they saw the Seven-Colored Flower, saying, ”To see a Seven-Colored Flower in person… my life as a Pharmacist has not been in vain!”

Afterward, these men had solemnly sworn to the Emperor that this Seven-Colored Flower was indeed the flower of the Seven-Colored Light!

That was why they had to leave in a hurry: to discuss a prescription and prepare the Seven-Colored Flower into a medicine so the Seventh Princess could recover as soon as possible.

Huangfu Chongzhi was also called away, as he had spent years researching how to formulate medicine with the Seven-Colored Flower. He understood its medicinal properties even better than the chief Imperial Physician.

In an instant, Xu Luo was surrounded by a crowd of top-tier young nobles. The feeling of being the center of attention, however, did not cause him to become conceited and lose himself.

On the contrary, it made him more vigilant. Having experienced the fickleness of human nature from a young age, Xu Luo understood better than anyone that these people would flock to him today because he was successful. If the day came when he fell from grace, they would surely scatter faster than anyone.

At that moment, an unexpected person appeared before Xu Luo.

”Seven-Colored Marquis, congratulations. I, Leng Ping, have offended you greatly in the past. I hope the magnanimous Marquis will not hold it against me.”

Xu Luo looked at Leng Ping, who stood before him with his head bowed. He was slightly taken aback, but then he smiled. ”Young Master Leng, what are you saying? What’s in the past should stay in the past.”

A flash of gratitude appeared deep in Leng Ping’s eyes. He looked up and smiled, his expression serene. ”That’s right, let the past stay in the past. We have a long future ahead of us!”

---------------------------------------

My ranking is in peril! The great author Can Jun is too powerful. Although I’m a fan of his, for the sake of my spot on the charts, I hope my brothers and sisters can lend me a hand and help Uncle Dao escape the great Can Jun’s clutches…