Firmament Sword

”This is the place!” Xu Su said, pointing at a patch of water ahead. He and Xu Luo were standing on a small, weed-covered island floating on the water.

The water of the marsh was exceptionally clear. When the light was just right, you could even see straight to the bottom!

Just like that, the corner of a massive structure appeared before Xu Luo’s eyes. It seemed to be the top of the building. On one of its spires, Xu Luo even spotted a palm-sized emblem, identical to the totem on Xu Su’s hand!

”Judging by the style, it’s definitely ancient. Who knows how many years it’s been hidden in this Great Marsh. Now, it’s finally about to see the light of day again,” Xu Luo said softly.

Just then, all of Master Mao’s fur suddenly stood on end. He let out a threatening low growl. A moment later, a terrifying aura surged toward them from the distance like an overwhelming tide!

On the previously calm water in the distance, a behemoth surfaced, kicking up monstrous waves. At the same time, the creature in the water let out a furious roar!

”Oh no, it’s that Ice Spirit Beast!” Xu Su was the first to cry out in alarm.

With a WHOOSH, Master Mao leaped off Xu Luo’s shoulder. His body instantly expanded in mid-air, transforming into a massive cat over ten meters long. He charged straight for the Ice Spirit Beast in the water!

Although Master Mao had claimed he would retreat from a fully grown Tier Eight Spirit Beast, when he actually encountered one, how could the Heaven-Swallowing Fox, with the blood of an Ancient Sacred Beast flowing through its veins, allow its dignity to be challenged?

”You knew I was here! You knew my bloodline is nobler than yours, yet you still dared to charge over! You’re courting death, AAAAAH!” Master Mao roared, swiping a claw at the Ice Spirit Beast.

Xu Luo’s reaction was just as fast. The instant Master Mao moved, Xu Luo had already activated his Shaking Light Step, leaving a trail of afterimages in the air as he brandished his Long Sword and viciously stabbed at the aquatic behemoth!

’This Long Sword is much more comfortable to use!’ His previous blade, Waterblue, was incredibly sharp, but it was ultimately a short sword, and Xu Luo had always found it a bit awkward. Now that he had switched to Guo Ying’s Long Sword, it felt much better.

At the same time, Xu Luo was surprised to notice a change in Master Mao. His four legs and neck were now covered in large, yellow scales!

Originally, those areas... had been covered in the same yellow fur as the rest of his body!

Furthermore, two small, palm-sized horns, like those of a little demon, had sprouted from the top of Master Mao’s head. Xu Luo hadn’t actually noticed this change in him before.

However, he had no time to dwell on it. The closer he got to the Ice Spirit Beast, the more intense its powerful, bone-chilling aura became.

SMACK!

Master Mao’s claw viciously struck the Ice Spirit Beast, sending up a huge splash.

Xu Luo’s sword arrived as well!

THUD!

Xu Luo executed a strike from Breaking Army Seven Kills—the Fifth Kill: Breaking Torrent—and stabbed viciously at the Ice Spirit Beast’s head!

However, the smooth feeling of a sword piercing flesh that he expected never came. Instead, the precious sword in his hand, which was by no means dull, bent completely!

It was like a crescent moon!

”I can’t even pierce it! Dammit!” Xu Luo reacted in a flash, using the force from the Long Sword bending and springing back to launch himself into the air.

Meanwhile, Master Mao’s attack had landed, tearing off a large number of scales from the Ice Spirit Beast’s back. He didn’t press the attack and flew off in another direction.

”AWOOOO!”

The Ice Spirit Beast was thoroughly enraged. It let out a furious roar, and at the same time, the water in a several-hundred-meter radius instantly froze, turning into solid ice!

Even the massive wave it had kicked up froze solid in mid-air, a wall of ice more than ten meters high!

Xu Luo felt a terrifying chill wash over him. He used his Shaking Light Step to fly several dozen meters higher into the air, finally dodging the Ice Spirit Beast’s attack.

From the other side, Master Mao taunted Xu Luo, ”The hardest part of an Ice Spirit Beast is its head, you idiot!”

”Master Mao, those two horns on your head are really beautiful!” Xu Luo retorted with a grin.

”AAAAAAH! You bastard, you dare mock me!” Master Mao was clearly not pleased with this physical change and began to roar at Xu Luo.

The Ice Spirit Beast in the water was also highly intelligent. It finally leaped out of the water and landed on the solid ice, its pair of azure eyes radiating a chilling light as it stared at the man and beast in the sky.

”You ugly brute, you knew I was here and you still dared to show up. Are you trying to bully me because I’m still in my juvenile stage?” Master Mao stood in mid-air, looking down coldly at the Ice Spirit Beast below.

”Since you know you’re just a juvenile, how dare you shout at me? You think I won’t kill you?” the Ice Spirit Beast below replied, speaking in the human tongue. Its voice was like that of a middle-aged man in his prime.

Nearby, Xu Su was dumbfounded. Although High-tier Spirit Beasts could speak human languages, aside from the oddball Master Mao, he had never actually seen another Spirit Beast talk.

’Especially since the last time he was chased so miserably by this Ice Spirit Beast, it had acted more like a terrifying, mindless beast. Where was this display of intelligence then?’

”If I want to run, you can’t stop me. One day, I’ll be an adult, and then I’ll smash your head with a single slap! I refuse to believe you’re not afraid of that!”

”I can just leave this place. You won’t be able to find me,” the Ice Spirit Beast said, suddenly acting like a complete rogue.

”AAAAAAH, you’re pissing me off!” Master Mao roared in fury. He couldn’t believe this Spirit Beast could be so shameless. ”You’re a High-tier Spirit Beast, for crying out loud! Can’t you have a little dignity?”

”If you could leave this place, you probably would have left long ago,” Xu Luo said, calmly observing the Ice Spirit Beast from the side. ”The Great Marsh may be vast, but it’s filled with poisonous miasma and infested with venomous creatures. I don’t believe you’d willingly stay here and associate with those low-level beings.”

One look at the Ice Spirit Beast and you could tell it was the type that loved cleanliness, perhaps even to the point of being a germaphobe.

Its streamlined body was covered in shimmering, perfectly arranged silver scales. The only blemish was the spot on its back where Master Mao’s claw had just ruined the aesthetic.

’The Ice Spirit Beast looks a bit like the Qilins of the Ancient Era, except it has no horn and lacks their imposing aura. But it’s very possible it also has some Qilin blood,’ Xu Luo mused internally.

The Ice Spirit Beast’s eyes flashed menacingly as it scrutinized Xu Luo. ”You humans are the most annoying, always coming here to disturb me,” it said coldly. ”Whether or not I can leave this place is none of your business, is it?”

”You’re guarding this place. Could it be you’re bound by some kind of contract? Otherwise, what business is it of yours that we came here? The Great Marsh isn’t your private property,” Xu Luo said lightly. ”Not to mention, what you’re so desperately protecting... is also a human ruin!”

”You know?” the Ice Spirit Beast’s eyes widened as it asked in disbelief.

Xu Luo sneered. ”Was that so hard to guess? And here I thought you were a highly intelligent Spirit Beast. You think that was difficult to figure out?”

’I haven’t had enough contact with Spirit Beasts, so I really never would have guessed that this terrifying Ice Spirit Beast was actually the designated guardian of the Ancient Emperor Tribe’s ruins…’

The Ice Spirit Beast stared coldly at Xu Luo and said stubbornly, ”Since you know I am the Guardian Beast here, then... why did you still come?”

Xu Luo sneered. ”Because that person...” he pointed at Xu Su, ”...has already received the recognition of the Ancient Emperor Tribe! From this day forward, you, too, must become his servant! Not welcome us with attacks like you just did!”

”No, that’s impossible!” the Ice Spirit Beast suddenly grew furious and roared, ”You’re lying, human! The Ancient Emperor Tribe would never recognize an ordinary human!”

”Ridiculous. You truly are ignorant!” Xu Luo laughed coldly and said to Xu Su, ”Brother, show it!”

Xu Su nodded. He turned his palm toward the Ice Spirit Beast, and the mysterious pattern slowly materialized on it.

The Ice Spirit Beast’s fierce blue eyes stared at Xu Su’s hand for a long time before it suddenly let out a roar of absolute fury. ”Why! Why is it like this! Our Ice Spirit Beast clan has guarded this place loyally for countless years! And still, you refuse to recognize us, choosing instead to recognize an ordinary human! I won’t accept it!”

BOOM!

An incredibly terrifying aura erupted from the Ice Spirit Beast’s body once more.

Xu Luo held back Master Mao, who was itching to charge forward and attack, signaling for him not to move. Xu Luo had a feeling the Ice Spirit Beast wasn’t actually about to attack them.

As expected, the Ice Spirit Beast only unleashed its powerful aura to its absolute limit but made no further moves.

”AWOOOO!”

Finally, the behemoth that ruled the Great Marsh let out a roar filled with grief and indignation. The solid ice in a several-hundred-meter radius around it instantly melted, and it sank beneath the surface, swimming swiftly away into the depths of the Great Marsh.

”Phew!” Xu Luo and the others all let out a long sigh of relief.

If this Ice Spirit Beast hadn’t been intelligent and capable of speech, there would have been no way to bluff it.

Although Xu Luo hadn’t been completely bluffing the Ice Spirit Beast, he had felt very uncertain. If it had been dead set on a direct confrontation, he would have had no choice but to retreat with Xu Su for now and figure out another plan later.

’He and Master Mao could probably injure the creature, but killing it would be incredibly difficult.’

’Even though it was only a Tier Eight Spirit Beast, this adult Ice Spirit Beast was actually far harder to deal with than many Tier Nine Spirit Beasts! Especially on its home turf…’

”That thing is practically a demon,” Xu Su said, walking over with lingering fear in his voice.

”You’ve got that right, human,” Master Mao said. He had shrunk back to his original size and was now perched on Xu Luo’s shoulder, looking thoughtful. ”It’s about to advance! That’s why it wasn’t afraid of me at all.”

At this, Master Mao grew indignant again and roared, ”But I can advance too! When I advance and become a Holy Beast, you think you can hide... you think you can escape me? Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I’ll find you and chew you up slowly, bite by bite by bite by bite, AAAAAAH! I’ll turn you into my droppings, piece by piece by piece by piece, AAAAAAH!”

Xu Luo rolled his eyes, not bothering to deal with the crazed Master Mao. ”I was just making a wild guess,” he said. ”I didn’t expect that thing to actually be the Guardian Beast of the Ancient Emperor Tribe. And from the looks of it, its entire race seems desperate to gain the Tribe’s recognition...”