Firmament Sword

THUD. Little Fatty dove straight to the ground, pounding it with all his might and howling, ”This is so unfair!”

Sui Yan, Huangfu Chongzhi, and Xu Jie all stood there with dazed expressions.

Xu Jie looked at Xu Luo and asked for confirmation, ”Tier Five... Sword Venerable?”

Xu Luo smiled and nodded. ”That’s right. I was really lucky this time. Thanks to an exotic treasure, I broke through to become a Tier Five Sword Venerable!”

”It was Master Mao! Master Mao brought it back for you!” Off to the side, Master Mao, who had shrunk back to the size of a kitten and was beaten black and blue, limped over and roared at Xu Luo, ”You ungrateful little brat! If it weren’t for Master Mao, do you think you could have broken through to this realm?”

Xu Luo chuckled slyly at Master Mao. ”Um... didn’t I already thank you?”

”AHHHH... You bastard! Dammit! Is that what you call thanks? Is this how you humans show gratitude? By fucking beating Master Mao to a pulp? Huh? AHHHHH!” Master Mao was completely fired up, enraged, and started roaring.

”You nearly got me killed. What other kind of thanks were you expecting?” Xu Luo said with lingering fear. Recalling the experience of the past seventy days, a chill still ran down his spine. He didn’t even want to think about it. Seventy days... it was simply too terrible to look back on.

Even though he had now broken through to the realm of a Tier Five Sword Venerable, becoming an expert who truly stood at the pinnacle of the secular world, he was still unwilling to go through it again.

Although Huangfu Chongzhi and the others didn’t know what Xu Luo had experienced over the past seventy days, it was clear that it hadn’t been pleasant. They didn’t press for details and were all just genuinely happy for Xu Luo’s advancement.

Xu Luo himself couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. He was happy that his brothers were happy for him, but the process... it was simply too terrifying. In short, he never wanted to think about it again.

Xu Luo looked at Huangfu Chongzhi and the others and asked, ”Has anything happened in the past few months?”

Huangfu Chongzhi smiled and said, ”Two things. One is good news. As for the other, I’m not entirely sure what it is...”

”Oh?” Xu Luo was slightly taken aback. He looked at Huangfu Chongzhi and said, ”Tell me the good news first. I could use something to be happy about!”

Huangfu Chongzhi glanced at Xu Luo. ”Haven’t you noticed someone is missing from our group?”

Xu Luo glanced at the group, confused. ”Missing? Who’s missing? Isn’t everyone here?”

Little Fatty chuckled from the side. ”Haven’t you noticed that Second Sister-in-law is gone?”

”Second Sister-in-law?” Xu Luo looked again and, sure enough, didn’t see Mo Yun. Seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces and Xu Jie’s somewhat bashful expression, Xu Luo was taken aback. ”What happened?”

”Hehe, we’re all going to be uncles!” Little Fatty chuckled. ”Second Sister-in-law... is pregnant!”

”Ah, really?!” Xu Luo looked at Xu Jie with admiration and chuckled. ”Second Brother, way to go!”

”You punk...” Xu Jie laughed good-naturedly, his face filled with joy.

Huangfu Chongzhi said, ”Also, the rewards from my father, the Emperor, have been announced. A while ago, while you were in seclusion, the Sixth Prince also paid a visit...”

After hearing Huangfu Chongzhi’s explanation, Xu Luo smiled at Sui Yan. ”Well now, Marquis Sui!”

Sui Yan’s mouth twitched. He looked at Xu Luo and said, ”Third Brother...”

”Alright, don’t say another word. I’m happy for you! With such a great contribution, how could His Majesty not reward you?” Xu Luo patted Sui Yan’s shoulder happily. ”You all know my attitude toward official titles, fame, and fortune. It’s for the best that His Majesty didn’t reward me.”

”That may be so, but this time, my father...” Huangfu Chongzhi sighed softly. ”My father is getting old.”

Everyone fell silent. Even the most powerful Emperor grows old one day. It was something no one could change. And when people get old, they sometimes do foolish things. Whether the Emperor was truly growing senile, however... that was a matter of opinion.

”There’s one more thing. Your father sent a letter, but we’re not sure what it’s about,” Huangfu Chongzhi said, having someone bring over the letter from Xu Ji.

Xu Luo opened it with a smile, but after reading a few lines, his expression grew solemn. By the end, his sharp eyebrows were knitted tightly together.

”What is it?” Noticing Xu Luo’s strange reaction, Huangfu Chongzhi and the others couldn’t help but grow tense.

”My brother... is missing.” Xu Luo frowned, looking at the letter’s contents, and said softly, ”It says he was taken... by a sect called the Stony Sect.”

”What? Something like that...” Huangfu Chongzhi said in surprise. Then, with a look of self-reproach, he added, ”I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would be something like this. This letter arrived seven or eight days ago...”

Xu Luo waved his hand. ”Big Brother, you don’t have to blame yourself. Even if you had read the letter then, there was nothing you could have done. Against a sect... our power is still too weak!”

As Xu Luo spoke, a glint of anger flashed in his eyes. ”You don’t need to worry about this. Just focus on your cultivation here. I’ll go take care of it!”

”Xu Luo, don’t be too hasty. It’s been a while, and the fact that someone could send news from there means your brother is fine for now,” Huangfu Chongzhi said, looking at Xu Luo. ”Although your strength has increased greatly, you’re still a bit weak when facing a sect. This is a matter for all five of us brothers, so we’ll face it with you!”

Xu Luo gave a grateful smile but shook his head. ”No. I understand how you feel, but when it comes to dealing with a sect, there’s no point in you going. The only thing you need to do right now is cultivate constantly. On this trip, I’ll also try my best to find some Spirit Medicines. Then I’ll try to refine some medicines to improve your constitutions. Not all Elixirs will affect future advancement.”

Huangfu Chongzhi nodded silently. ”You’re right. It’s just that we don’t have such a good Pill Formula. If I really had that kind of formula, I could definitely refine an Elixir with no side effects.”

”Does that kind of Elixir even exist?” Little Fatty asked, his eyes lighting up.

Huangfu Chongzhi glanced at Little Fatty. ”If it didn’t, how do you think those young geniuses in the sects possess such incredible strength at such a young age?”

Xu Luo added, ”Exactly. The reason sects are so powerful is because of their resources. This time, I’ll keep an eye out for things like that. Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, your futures... will all become much brighter!”

As Huangfu Chongzhi and the others looked at Xu Luo, they suddenly had a strange feeling.

It felt as though Xu Luo had emerged from his seclusion even more confident than before!

The things he said made people instinctively want to believe him.

’Could it be... that this is the confidence that comes with strength?’ Huangfu Chongzhi and the others thought to themselves.

The matter concerning his brother could not be delayed. Without much hesitation, Xu Luo prepared to set off. This time, he only brought Master Mao with him, even leaving Xiaohai behind to guard the fief.

Xiaohai was very envious of Master Mao’s strength and had also been cultivating diligently these past few months. It was just that Spirit Beasts cultivated much more slowly than humans. Without external help, improving was an extremely difficult task.

After waving goodbye to Huangfu Chongzhi and the others, Xu Luo and Master Mao hit the road.

Following the map from the letter, Xu Luo executed the Shaking Light Step. His figure transformed into a wisp of green smoke and quickly vanished from sight.

”Sigh. Once again, we couldn’t help Third Brother,” Little Fatty muttered dejectedly, plopping down onto a lounge chair. ”I wonder if he’ll be in any danger this time.”

”Third Brother has become very strong. He should be fine,” Sui Yan said from the side.

Xu Jie sighed and said nothing, heading directly for his workshop. A moment later, the CLANG CLANG of a hammer striking metal could be heard.

Huangfu Chongzhi was also silent for a moment before offering a gentle smile. ”He should be fine. He knows what he’s doing now.”

”I hope so!” Little Fatty said. Then he too turned and walked toward the training grounds.

’I have to cultivate. I have to cultivate harder!’

...

”Miaomiao, have you ever heard of this Stony Sect? What kind of name is that? Stony... heh,” Xu Luo asked Miaomiao as they traveled.

”Why would Master Mao have heard of such a third-rate little sect?” Master Mao said dismissively. ”It’s probably just a third-rate minor school. Stony... Ptooey! Master Mao could smash it with a single slap!”

”Stop bragging. Back at Merak, why didn’t you rush out and slap those people to death?” Xu Luo rolled his eyes. Although he was anxious about his brother’s safety, he also knew that so many days had passed. If something had already happened to his brother, panicking now would be useless.

”Master Mao hadn’t powered up yet! If you don’t believe me, just try me now! If I see that white-haired guy again, Master Mao will definitely slap him to death!” Miaomiao shamelessly boasted.

”You mean Qiushuiduan? Don’t think for a second you can beat him just because your strength is equivalent to a Tier Seven Sword Venerable now!” Thinking of the incomparably sharp Sword Intent that radiated from Qiushuiduan, Xu Luo naturally thought of Merak’s Sect Leader, Li Wenxi, and also Phoenix.

’I wonder how they’re doing now,’ Xu Luo muttered to himself, then gave a bitter smile. Although he seemed very powerful now, in reality, he was still no match for those major sects.

’In the eyes of those sects, I’m just someone a little stronger than an ant.’

’Sects... One day, I’ll make you all become ants in my eyes!’ Xu Luo swore to himself.

The map left in the letter pointed directly to a location within the Da Han Empire. It was a region of vast, snowy mountains, desolate and uninhabited for hundreds of miles around. Even traces of wild beasts were few and far between.

”Is the Stony Sect in a place like this?” Xu Luo murmured, gazing at the endless stretch of snow-capped mountains before him.

”Sects always like to establish themselves in places far from the secular world. It wouldn’t be strange at all for a few sects to be hidden here!” Master Mao said, then hopped down from Xu Luo’s shoulder. He left a few paw prints in the snow and then exclaimed, ”It’s cold!”

”A fluffy thing like you can feel the cold?” Xu Luo retorted sarcastically. He then looked up and saw what appeared to be a few small black dots dozens of miles in the distance.

”There are people over there. Let’s go take a look,” Xu Luo said, speeding off in the direction where he had spotted signs of human activity.

...