Firmament Sword

A brilliant, water-blue light erupted from Xu Luo’s hand. After a series of piercing metallic clashes, he had shattered all of his opponent’s ice blades with a single swing!

”He’s holding a Divine Soldier! Don’t meet him head-on!”

”Watch out for his sword!”

”Be careful of his sword!”

The Wei Family experts roared one after another. At the same time, one of the men shielding Wei Shan stumbled back, one arm hanging limply at his side as he stared at Xu Luo in utter horror.

”My arm!” The Wei Family expert’s voice was filled with rage and terror.

He had just taken a direct hit from Xu Luo’s Great Mountain Collapse. He’d assumed that a young man of similar strength, no matter how talented, couldn’t possibly do anything to him. He never expected the power from his opponent’s fist to be so bizarre; it had directly obliterated the meridians in his arm!

His arm was ruined!

”Wei Lin, are you all right?!” Ignoring Xu Luo, several Wei Family experts surrounded the crippled Wei Lin, shielding him.

”His power is bizarre. You have to be careful.” Wei Lin’s face was contorted with pain, and his voice trembled.

Wei Shan was horrified. ’If Wei Lin hadn’t been in front of me just now,’ he thought, ’I would have been the one with the ruined arm!’

Xu Luo stood his ground, not pressing his advantage. He watched them coldly, thinking, ’If Miaomiao were here, she could probably finish them all off in an instant.’

Just then, Wei Shan lifted his head, looked at Xu Luo, and snarled, ”You little bastard! Don’t think you can take us on just because you’re relying on that fine sword. I will kill you today!”

”Then bring it on,” Xu Luo replied, his expression calm and utterly unfazed.

Wei Shan whispered to the men beside him, ”Kill him!”

The men charged at Xu Luo again. This time, however, they moved in unison, as if executing some sort of Array. Their movements were methodical.

A thought struck Xu Luo. ’Could it be a Sword Array?’

’But so what if it’s a Sword Array?’

Using the Shaking Light Step, Xu Luo moved with incredible speed, clashing with Wei Shan and his men.

Inside the Wei Family Manor, tiger-like roars echoed. Xiaohai spared no one—not the old, the young, nor the women and children. The powerful Spirit Beast was simply crushing everything in its path with overwhelming force! Its innate ferocity had been completely unleashed.

Rivers of blood flowed in its wake!

The entire Wei Family Manor was filled with cries and wails, while the perimeter had long since been locked down by the Hongcheng City Guard Army.

No one could cross the City Guard Army’s defensive line to get in or out. Countless people watched from a distance, wondering what madness had possessed the City Lord, who had always feared the Wei Family. In their hearts, however, most were cheering wildly.

The Wei Family had been a scourge on the people of Hongcheng for as many years as they had been in power!

The people of Hongcheng had long since hated this family to their very bones. Seeing this turn of events, they were all overjoyed.

...

The atmosphere in the Xia Family was also tense. They had never expected Xu Luo to be so unyielding, daring to charge into the Wei Family’s territory all by himself. But what they found most unbelievable were the insane actions of the City Lord and Deputy City Lord.

”What are they trying to do? Is the Wei Family such a pushover?” Xia Bao roared as he returned to the council hall, glaring at Xia Long. ”When the time comes, they can just pack up and leave! But what about us? What are we supposed to do?”

”What does this have to do with us?” Xiaen gave Xia Bao a strange look. ”Why do I get the feeling you’re so angry? Are the Xia and Wei Families… allies now or something?”

”You… Xiaen, you reckless fool! It’s true the Xia Family and the Wei Family are rivals, but if the Wei Family falls, do you think Prime Minister Wei at the imperial court will just let our Xia Family off the hook?” Xia Bao said, seething with rage.

”Let’s not even get into the question of whether Prime Minister Wei’s influence can reach Hongcheng if the Wei Family here falls. I’ll just say one thing.” Xiaen’s expression grew agitated and angry as he stared at Xia Bao. ”The person making a move against the Wei Family today is Xu Luo, son of the Grand General of National Guardian! It’s Xu Luo! Not the Xia Family! Even if Prime Minister Wei wants to take action, he’ll have to go through the Xu Family first! With the Xu Family taking the heat for us… Xia Bao, glaring at me won’t do you any good! I just don’t get it. The fall of the Wei Family would be an incredible boon for our family. We’d be rid of a powerful rival!”

Frowning, Xiaen continued, ”If I may say something I probably shouldn’t… why is it that when you hear the Wei Family is in trouble, you look as though you’re mourning your own parents?”

”You’re courting death!” Xia Bao exploded with rage. Although his parents were long dead, he couldn’t stand the humiliation of being spoken to like that, especially since he already had a guilty conscience.

”Enough! Both of you, stop arguing!” Xia Long, sitting in the seat of honor, looked at Xia Bao with disappointment. There were many things he was aware of, but out of consideration for their kinship, he had always been reluctant to take things too far.

But while he showed them leniency, they never showed him any in return. Today, especially, had been a complete humiliation for Xia Long.

Now, with the Wei Family on the verge of disaster, Xia Bao had run back to say all this, pushing Xia Long to his breaking point.

Xia Long’s voice was deep as he bellowed, ”Xia Bao, you colluded with the Wei Family and betrayed Mu Yao’s whereabouts time and time again! I didn’t want to stoop to your level, but you are relentless. A traitor who bites the hand that feeds him is a menace we can’t afford to keep. Men, seize him!”

”You dare!” Like an enraged cat, Xia Bao leaped to his feet, pointing and cursing at Xia Long. ”You’re just riding on your status as the direct heir! You have no ability, and you can’t command anyone’s respect! What right do you have to sit in the Patriarch’s seat? Weren’t we the ones who built up this family’s fortune over the years? And now that you’ve latched onto a powerful connection with the Grand General of National Guardian, you want to discard us now that you don’t need us anymore? To get rid of all of us who served the family with merit? Is that it? Xia Long… I’m telling you straight, you’re dreaming! Don’t even think about it!”

PSH!

A sharp Long Sword pierced through Xia Bao’s back, the tip emerging from his chest.

Xia Bao instinctively looked down, staring blankly at the blood-stained tip of the blade protruding from his chest and its cold, shimmering light. His mind went completely blank.

A cold voice spoke from behind him. ”First, for colluding with outsiders and framing your own clansmen. Second, for using your position to embezzle tens of thousands of silver from the family over the years. Third, for kidnapping seventeen young women, leading to the tragic deaths of over thirty people. You are the only scum of your kind in the Xia Family! Xia Bao, tell me yourself. Do you not deserve to die?”

Xia Bao’s consciousness began to fade, his mind a complete blank. He could have sworn the icy voice was incredibly familiar, but for the life of him, he couldn’t recall who it belonged to.

THUD. Xia Bao collapsed to the floor, his eyes lifeless. He was dead.

An old man in his sixties pulled the Long Sword from Xia Bao’s body with a look of disgust. He wiped the blade clean on the dead man’s clothes, then looked coldly at Xia Hu, who stood frozen, having lost all courage to speak. ”You’re no saint yourself,” the old man said faintly.

Xia Hu dropped to his knees with a thud, stammering, ”Please… please don’t kill me. Don’t kill me… Old Clan Leader, I beg you, spare me…”

The old man said coldly, ”Take him away!”

Men immediately rushed forward to drag Xia Hu away. Others came to carry away Xia Bao’s corpse and clean the bloodstains from the floor.

Only then did Xia Long walk over, looking sheepish. He faced the old man and said in shame, ”Father… I have been incompetent…”

”You are indeed incompetent!” The old man glared at Xia Long with bitter disappointment and sighed. ”If Mu Yao had been born a man, I would have passed the position of Patriarch to her long ago!”

Xia Long lowered his head, silent.

The old man was the pillar of the Xia Family, Clan Leader Xia Dade!

The old master truly was a man forged in the crucible of battle—ruthless, decisive, and swift in his methods.

If the Wei Family hadn’t run into trouble, the old man might not have resorted to such drastic measures. But now, seeing the Hongcheng Wei Family on the verge of collapse, he had arrived just in time to personally execute the long-disloyal Xia Bao, shocking everyone in the Xia Family into submission.

”Do you really think the Xu Family is short on money? Or that Mu Yao is some greedy woman? You bunch of short-sighted fools! If I, an old man, hadn’t swallowed my pride and begged Mu Yao to stay with the Xia Family for a few more years to build a solid foundation for us, she would’ve washed her hands of this whole mess long ago!” Xia Dade sighed and continued, ”That treacherous bastard Xia Bao got what he deserved. As for the rest of you, while you may have your own agendas, at least you haven’t done anything too outrageous. All of you, remember this: never do anything that harms the family’s interests. Otherwise… Xia Bao’s fate will be yours!”

”Yes, Old Clan Leader! We will be careful in the future!” The high-ranking members of the Xia Family were all kneeling on the ground, trembling in fear, not daring to even breathe too loudly.

Xia Dade glanced at Xia Long, who was standing awkwardly to the side. He sighed inwardly, knowing that his son’s weakness was largely due to his own overbearing nature. His heart softened slightly. ”From now on, if anyone dares to harm the family’s interests again, you deal with them as you see fit. No matter what happens, I will take responsibility for you!”

”I understand, Father.” A flicker of emotion passed through Xia Long’s eyes.

The old man’s actions today would surely be met with mixed reactions within the family. While some would rejoice, others would undoubtedly whisper behind his back that he was merely suppressing dissent. But the old man had done it anyway! Xia Long understood the reason perfectly. ’He’s doing this to establish my authority in the family!’

As he thought this, a grim, cold light flashed in Xia Long’s eyes. He declared in a deep voice, ”Convene a meeting of the family’s senior members immediately!”

The senior Xia Family members in the room sensed the change in Xia Long and sighed to themselves. ’A great purge is coming… It seems that overthrowing the Patriarch’s branch… will be absolutely impossible for the foreseeable future!’

...

The few Wei Family experts all possessed the strength of High-tier Great Sword Masters. Although Xu Luo held his own thanks to the advantage of his Shaking Light Step, killing them would be no easy task.

He was in no rush, however. The Wei Family Manor was filled with the sounds of battle. The Old City Lord had already charged in with the City Guard Army. The great tree that was the Wei Family was now teetering on the brink of collapse.

He wasn’t anxious, but the Wei Family experts surrounding him were frantic. They watched as their entire family was about to be annihilated. At that point, what would be the use in killing Xu Luo?

Just then, Wei Shan suddenly cried out in pain. In a moment of carelessness, his left shoulder had been pierced by Xu Luo’s sword. Blood gushed from the wound!