Firmament Sword

Xu Luo rubbed his nose in embarrassment, then sighed softly. ”Lianyi... Speaking of her, I really do miss her. This is the longest we’ve ever been apart. I wonder how she’s doing now? Phoenix and Su Qianqian are good friends of mine...”

”Good friends? Yeah, right!” Xu Su sneered before looking at Xu Luo and asking seriously, ”The plan you mentioned... will it really work?”

”It’ll work, don’t worry. Based on my experience...” Xu Luo trailed off, rubbing his nose sheepishly and coughing twice. ”It will definitely work!”

Xu Su pursed his lips. ’What the hell kind of experience could a kid like you have?’ he thought. Still, he didn’t continue bickering with his younger brother. In fact, he agreed it was best to let Guo Ying and Xia Muyao fight it out for now. Going into seclusion to increase his own strength was the most important thing, especially at a time so fraught with danger.

”Alright. As your older brother, I’ll accept these Blood Pills. And as for the rest... leave some for our father. If possible, I’d much rather see him achieve a breakthrough.” Xu Su looked at Xu Luo, his eyes filled with a myriad of emotions. The frail younger brother he once knew was gone. Standing before him now was a true young powerhouse.

In the eyes of the sects, a boy from the secular world like Xu Luo might have no reputation, but Xu Su was certain his younger brother would one day soar to greatness and stand proudly above them all.

’He’s going to become a true legend!’ Xu Su thought.

Xu Luo smiled and said, ”Don’t worry. Aside from my sworn brothers, I won’t give these Elixirs to anyone outside our family.”

”What about this Master Mao? Huh? Master Mao contributed a lot, too! If it weren’t for Master Mao, you’d all still be trapped in that godforsaken place!” Master Mao, who had been in Xu Luo’s pocket, could finally no longer hold his tongue.

He figured if he didn’t speak up now, that brat Xu Luo would give everything away.

”Master Mao, let’s be honest,” Xu Luo suddenly asked in a grave tone, ”do you really think you need Blood Pills?”

Master Mao froze for a second, then rolled his eyes and sneered, ”I do!”

”Alright, then. I’ll give my share to you,” Xu Luo said solemnly. ”I can’t very well touch my father’s share, or people would call me an unfilial son. So, I can only give you mine. After all, Master Mao, you did perform a great service that day.”

”AGGGGH! You brat, are you mocking me? Accusing this Master Mao of getting starry-eyed over some treasure? As if Master Mao would care about a few measly elixirs! What kind of heavenly treasure is there that Master Mao can’t obtain?” Master Mao stuck his tail in the air and declared with a haughty look, ”This Master Mao was just messing with you! Who knew you’d actually take it seriously...”

”No, but Master Mao, you truly did perform a great service...” Xu Luo said, his expression still grave.

”You! Shut up!” Master Mao finally snapped, baring his fangs. ”When Master Mao says he doesn’t want them, he means it! If you say one more word of nonsense, I swear Master Mao will lose his temper with you!”

”Alright, alright. Whatever you say, Master Mao,” Xu Luo said with a perfectly straight face, though he was about to die from holding in his laughter.

Standing to the side, the muscles on Xu Su’s face were twitching violently. He wanted to laugh but felt it was inappropriate, so he could only force a stern expression. ”Alright, I’m leaving the family in your hands while I’m in seclusion,” he said seriously. ”If anyone dares to cause trouble, just beat them down!”

Xu Luo smiled. ”Don’t worry!”

With that, Xu Su turned and walked out. Xu Luo glanced at Master Mao and said, ”I’m going out for a walk. You should get back to your cultivation too. Try to refine that drop of the Thunder Beast’s essence blood as soon as possible!”

Master Mao nodded dazedly. Long after Xu Luo had closed the door and left, a pensive look remained on Master Mao’s feline face. He muttered, ”Why do I get the feeling that something’s not quite right?”

...

Undercurrents surged in the Imperial Capital. Prominent families from all across the nation flocked to the city, with some even shifting their entire family’s focus there. On the surface, this influx made the Imperial Capital seem even more prosperous.

In reality, however, many knew in their hearts that this was no longer the quiet, peaceful Imperial Capital of the past. The conflict between the civil and military factions could erupt over the smallest incident. The situation was critical, a tinderbox ready to ignite.

Unlike Little Fatty, Suiyan, and his brother Xu Su, Xu Luo did not choose to go into seclusion. Instead, he used this time to begin handling the Xu Family’s various affairs.

If he had his way, Xu Luo would have preferred for Xia Muyao to marry into the family sooner. With her talent for business, she would certainly be much better at handling these affairs than he was.

But now, the presence of Guo Ying, a disciple from a sect, had introduced new complications to the marriage between Xu Su and Xia Muyao.

Xu Luo was no jack-of-all-trades; he couldn’t possibly master all the clan’s various affairs at once. This only made him miss Lianyi more.

In the past, Lianyi was the one who handled all these things.

”I never would have thought Lianyi was from a sect... But why was she abandoned all those years ago? Will she really be happy, now that she’s back with her family?”

In the quiet of the night, Xu Luo looked up at the twinkling stars and murmured to himself. Then he thought, ’I wonder if Lianyi is thinking of me right now, too?’

At that thought, he gave a bitter, self-deprecating smile. ’It was just a stroke of luck that I received the Seven-Star Soul and changed my destiny,’ he thought. ’In the eyes of others, I’m still just an ordinary boy from the secular world.’

’Even with the considerable strength I now possess, it’s nothing in the eyes of the sects!’

’So, I have to get stronger!’

’Mother is still in that sect because of me. She must miss home terribly. She must miss me. And I, her son, have been so unfilial...’

The night air was cool as water, and a thousand thoughts swirled in Xu Luo’s mind.

Su Qianqian, on the other hand, had been having a wonderful time these past few days. She had gradually grown accustomed to this bustling mortal world and could now go out shopping on her own without needing Xu Luo to accompany her.

With her level of power, Xu Luo hardly needed to worry about her. He’d be lucky if *she* wasn’t the one bullying others. Who on earth could bully her?

Master Mao also hadn’t been seen in days; there was no telling what he was up to.

The Champion Marquis, Xu Zhongtian, had returned to the Southern Military Region the day after Xu Jie’s wedding. He didn’t need to rush back—the situation in the Southern region was stable, and he could have rested at home for a while.

But the scandal of the groom running away had made the Champion Marquis’s Mansion the talk of the Imperial Capital, and Xu Zhongtian, feeling he had lost too much face, left early.

Xu Luo had heard, however, that after Liu Ruyu married into the Xu Family, she had been gentle and virtuous. She ignored the strange looks from others and did her utmost to fulfill her duties as a daughter-in-law.

”It’s such a shame. Second Brother really made a mess of things.” Thinking of his second brother, Xu Jie, whose whereabouts were unknown, Xu Luo couldn’t help but sigh.

In a few more days, his father, Xu Ji, would be returning. The internal situation in the Da Han Empire was not looking good; Hao Liancheng was under immense pressure and would be hard-pressed to stir up any trouble in the near future.

Xu Luo had twenty-eight Blood Pills left. He planned to leave ten for his father and ten for his mother. As for the remaining eight, Xu Luo prepared to take them himself.

He had considered saving a few for Lianyi and Qiqi, but he didn’t know when he would see them again. Besides, they were both in sects; it wasn’t as if they were lacking for resources.

His own family, on the other hand, urgently needed to raise its overall strength to deal with the various challenges that might arise in the near future.

Gazing up at Beidou, the Big Dipper, a familiar feeling washed over him, and Xu Luo’s heart instantly grew calm.

”No matter what the future holds, I’ll face it head-on. I won’t run away,” Xu Luo murmured to himself.

Back in his room, Xu Luo sat on a meditation cushion and circulated the Shadow Shaking Heart Method for one Grand Circulation, bringing his body to its peak state.

Only then did he take out the Jade Marrow Bottle. As he opened the lid, a heart-soothing medicinal fragrance assailed his senses.

These were Top-Grade Elixirs that had existed for untold years. Each one contained an unimaginably powerful energy!

Xu Luo didn’t know how much of a boost a single Elixir would give him, but he believed the Ancient Emperor Tribe wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of sealing and preserving them for so long just to play a trick on their descendants.

After a moment’s thought, Xu Luo placed a Blood Pill in his mouth.

The Elixir melted the instant it touched his tongue. It had a faint, metallic taste, yet also a hint of sweetness. Like drinking from a fresh spring, it slid down his throat and into his stomach in an instant.

’Why isn’t anything happening?’

The very instant Xu Luo frowned in confusion, a majestic and boundless power erupted from his Dantian.

RUMBLE!

The sudden surge of energy almost shattered Xu Luo’s focus.

Fortunately, at that moment, both his Shaking Light Star Soul and Kaiyang Star Soul erupted with brilliant light and began to frantically absorb the energy.

Ever since his Kaiyang Star Soul had awakened, Xu Luo’s body had been continuously perfected and remolded. It had now reached a state of inner perfection!

Thus, as the Kaiyang Star Soul absorbed the energy from the Blood Pill, all the meridians in Xu Luo’s body also began to frantically devour it!

Bottlenecks in his meridians were shattered as if they were rotten wood. Wave after wave of energy, like a monstrous tide, flooded every corner of Xu Luo’s body!

His fully awakened Shaking Light Star Soul, meanwhile, focused on suppressing the tyrannical power within the Blood Pill and did not absorb much of it.

Xu Luo had entered a completely ethereal state. His soul felt as if it had detached from his body, and everything within a radius of several hundred meters seemed to be under his control.

The very world in this several-hundred-meter radius seemed to rise and fall with his breath!

He was keenly aware of everything happening within that range.

In that moment, he felt like a god. The resounding voice of the Great Dao, formless and vast, echoed in his ears.

Xu Luo felt like a fish that had been trapped in a drying pond and was suddenly blessed with a torrential downpour.

The exhilarating sensation was so intense it felt like he could ascend to immortality at any moment!

Only now did Xu Luo understand the true value of the Blood Pill. It was utterly intoxicating.

And just as utterly powerful!

’So this is the height the ancients reached in elixir refinement... a level that their descendants can hardly hope to match!’

Xu Luo focused his mind and calmed his qi. He gathered all the energy in his body and, guided by the principles of heaven and earth he had just grasped, sent it smashing viciously toward the bottleneck in his Dantian!

BOOM!