Firmament Sword

”Those two continents are even more distant from the Central Plains Star Continent. One is called the Sect Continent. There are no nations on that continent, only a multitude of sects. They are incredibly powerful, and their way of life is completely different from the secular world.”

”A place like that actually exists?” A look of longing appeared in Xu Luo’s eyes.

Su Qianqian said, ”That’s right. The other is called the Ancient Race Continent. That place... is the most powerful place in this world!”

”The Ancient Race Continent... The most powerful place?”

”Legend says that during the Ancient Era, powerful primordial beasts ran rampant and natural disasters were endless. Human survival was incredibly difficult. But it was this very environment that forged the mighty humans of antiquity. They trained in various Cultivation Techniques, becoming powerful enough to fight against the primordial beasts.”

”Later, a great cataclysm shook the world, and the Ancient Era slowly faded away. However, many descendants of those ancient experts survived. Generation after generation, their lineage has been passed down to the present day. They are now known as the Ancient Race!”

”Other descendants of those ancient experts traveled to another continent, where they founded sects and schools, taking on vast numbers of disciples. This has continued to this day, and that land became the Sect Continent.”

”None of this was a secret in the past, but as the years went by, it all became lost to time. For the two ’ordinary’ continents of the world, the Central Plains Star Continent and the Southern Celestial Divine Continent, it’s naturally difficult to know of the other two.”

”However, descendants of the Ancient Race can be found on both the Central Plains Star Continent and the Southern Celestial Divine Continent. After all, back in the Ancient Era, not all of them remained on those two continents...” Su Qianqian looked at Xu Luo and said, ”And I... am actually a member of an Ancient Race here on the Central Plains Star Continent!”

”You... you’re a descendant of the Ancient Race?” Xu Luo stared at Su Qianqian in shock. ”No wonder you’re so powerful at such a young age.”

”Heh, my family still preserves some ancient cultivation methods. But... you’re amazing too! To be from the secular world and reach your current realm at this age is astounding!” Su Qianqian said.

Xu Luo shook his head slightly. ”The Ancient Race and the Sect Continent... they sound incredible. So you’re saying the man who tried to assassinate my brother and me today could be from an Ancient Race?”

Su Qianqian nodded, her expression grim. ”In all likelihood. Only the Ancient Race could be that powerful. While the sects aren’t weak, it’s highly unlikely someone with the strength of a Sword King would be walking the secular world, let alone attack you so readily...”

Xu Luo gave a bitter smile. ”True. Experts like that are lofty and remote. Why would they ever concern themselves with people from the secular world?”

Su Qianqian nodded. ”Exactly. An expert with the strength of a Sword King is a lofty existence even within the sects. In their eyes, people of the secular world are no different than ants.”

”I hope I never see that man again...” Xu Luo said, a lingering fear in his heart as he recalled the Sword King’s power from earlier that day.

”I don’t think he’ll be back. Since he’s hiding in the secular world and colluding with secular people, I’d guess... he’s most likely on the run from his enemies!” Su Qianqian said, her beautiful eyes narrowing. ”If that’s the case, he definitely won’t dare to show his face around here again.”

”Let’s hope so,” Xu Luo sighed softly. ”I never imagined an expert of that caliber would be hiding in the secular world. If my strength hadn’t recently improved, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have survived today.”

Su Qianqian comforted him, ”Don’t worry, it’s alright. The people of the Ancient Race may be powerful, but they still have to abide by certain rules. If they don’t, someone will eventually put them in their place.”

”One day, I will go to the Sect Continent and the Ancient Race Continent to see them with my own eyes,” Xu Luo said.

”That’s... not as easy as you might think. But I believe you can do it!” Su Qianqian said, smiling as she looked at Xu Luo. ”After all, you’re the kind of guy who’s good at making miracles happen!”

”You really think so?” Xu Luo smiled wryly.

”Am I wrong?” Su Qianqian laughed as well.

...

「The next morning.」

Xu Su, impeccably dressed, went directly to the morning court session.

Many of the ministers at court had already heard about yesterday’s incident on Vermilion Bird Avenue. When they saw Xu Su arrive, their faces lit up with excitement.

The conflict between the civil and military factions of the Cangqiong Empire was nothing new. In this vast and ancient Empire, the struggle between these two powers had been ceaseless since its founding day.

Every Monarch had been a master of maintaining balance. They would never permit the civil and military factions to collude, nor would they allow either side to become too powerful—especially not the Military Merit Group, which commanded the army.

In the more than 1,400 years since its founding, the Cangqiong Empire had long since developed a comprehensive system of governance. And within this system, the civil and military factions were not the most powerful!

The vast collective of nobles who shared the Royal Family’s bloodline—they were the ones who truly held the nation’s fate in their hands. They controlled the Empire’s economy and could easily influence both military and political affairs.

They were the true foundation of this Empire, the very source of the Cangqiong Royal Family’s enduring supremacy.

As long as these nobles of royal blood remained unshaken, the very foundation of the Cangqiong Empire would remain unshaken!

For this reason, no matter how fiercely the civil and military factions fought, almost no one dared to provoke the Royal Family Descendants.

Even a man like Wei Feng, the most powerful official in the court, would not dare to do such a thing lightly.

You might be the most powerful official in the court, but you can’t stand against the nobles of royal blood! They... are the true masters pulling the strings from behind the curtain.

Families rise and fall, but the nobles of royal blood... as long as the Royal Family endures, they will never fade!

Therefore, from ancient times to the present, an incident where a Royal Family descendant like Huangfu Haoyue was brutally beaten in the Imperial Capital and made to suffer such a public humiliation was practically unheard of.

And so, the royal nobles who stood behind Huangfu Haoyue, the very ones who held the fate of the Cangqiong Empire in their hands... were furious!

They didn’t even bother to consider whether Huangfu Haoyue was right or wrong. All they knew was that a noble with the blood of the Royal Family flowing through his veins... could not be humiliated like this!

’An explanation must be demanded for this!’

’Forget the son of a General, not even the General himself... has the right to do such a thing!’

’To bully a noble of royal blood and expect to act as if nothing happened? How is that possible?’

And so, a group of royal nobles who lived in the Imperial Capital—figures who almost never appeared in public—made an unprecedented appearance at the Empire’s morning court.

There, with neither side mentally prepared for it, they came face-to-face with an equally furious Xu Su.

”You are Xu Su? The son of the National Guardian General who injured one of the Royal Family Descendants?” asked an old man in his sixties. Dressed in a yellow robe, he exuded a powerful and dignified aura as he stared coldly at Xu Su.

”That’s right, I am,” Xu Su replied. He glanced at the old man; his robes clearly marked him as one of the royal nobles. Xu Su, however, was not surprised, his attitude neither servile nor arrogant.

From the day he had injured Huangfu Haoyue, Xu Su had been mentally prepared to face the royal nobles.

”You’ve got a lot of nerve!” the old man sneered at Xu Su. ”Even His Majesty must address Huangfu Haoyue as his royal cousin. And you dared to strike him?”

Xu Su smiled. ”I’ve already done it. What’s the point of asking if I dared?”

”Kid, you’ve got guts,” the old man said, a mocking smile on his lips. ”Let’s hope you’re still this gutsy in a little while!”

”You can rest assured, I always will be,” Xu Su replied calmly. ”As the son of a General who has braved life and death fighting bloody battles on the Border Region for years, I’m certainly more... ’gutsy’ than the average person!”

”Good. Very good.” The yellow-robed old man’s face grew cold.

”He’s courting death! So arrogant and domineering, just because his father is a General. Anyone who didn’t know better would think *you* were a member of the Cangqiong Royal Family!” a middle-aged man in a long purple robe said coldly.

”Your father has only won a few battles, and he’s suffered crushing defeats in the past. Now his son, relying on His Majesty’s trust, acts like a tyrant, running rampant through the Imperial Capital. How very accomplished!” another middle-aged man in a purple python-embroidered robe jeered from the side.

Xu Su glanced at the two men, recognizing them as more royal nobles. He didn’t engage in a war of words, simply turning his head aside and ignoring them.

The other officials watched with bated breath. Meanwhile, the Civil Servants aligned with Wei Feng’s faction were laughing to themselves.

’He’s offended the royal nobles... It doesn’t matter if he’s Xu Ji’s son; even Xu Ji himself would be in for a world of hurt!’

”His Majesty, the Emperor, has arrived!” A sharp voice cut through the hall, and the entire chamber fell silent in an instant.

Dressed in a yellow dragon-embroidered robe and wearing the imperial crown, Huangfu Haoran walked slowly toward the Dragon Throne at the highest point of the hall. The ministers all knelt in greeting, shouting, ”Long live Your Majesty!”

All the civil and military officials in the court were kneeling, but the few royal nobles remained standing proudly, like cranes in a flock of chickens.

”You may all rise.” Huangfu Haoran waved his hand, his gaze sweeping across the hall. His eyes briefly fell on Xu Su, clad in his Soft Armor, before moving on to the royal nobles. He remarked nonchalantly, ”Today’s court session is quite lively!”

Xu Su kept his head slightly bowed, but from the corner of his eye, he saw many gazes directed at him, all filled with schadenfreude.

Xu Su sneered inwardly. ’Waiting for a show, are you? In that case, I’ll give you a spectacular one!’

Just then, the same old man in the yellow robe stepped forward and bowed slightly to the emperor. ”Your Majesty, I wish to impeach Xu Su, the eldest son of the National Guardian General, for committing violence in the streets with intent to assassinate a Royal Family Descendant!”

”Your Majesty, we also wish to impeach Xu Su, eldest son of the National Guardian General’s Mansion, for committing violence in the streets with intent to assassinate a Royal Family Descendant!”

”We, your subjects, second this impeachment!” a dozen Civil Servants chimed in after the royal nobles had spoken, stepping forward and kneeling.

Huangfu Haoran nodded slightly, then looked at Xu Su. ”Xu Su,” he said in a deep voice, ”what is your explanation for this?”

Xu Su bowed to the emperor and declared in a loud, clear voice, ”Your subject denies their accusation! Furthermore, I wish to impeach the Sixth Prince for defying imperial decree and ordering assassins to kill me and my younger brother, Xu Luo!”

Wang Moxuan, Sun Yunpeng, Zhao Wenzhao, Leng Mengde, and the other high-ranking ministers of the court all narrowed their eyes, watching the two sides. ’Now things are getting interesting!’ they thought.

A group of royal nobles, joined by a crowd of court officials, had launched a full-scale attack on Xu Su, the eldest son of the National Guardian General. But Xu Su was no pushover. He had turned the tables on them, aiming his accusations directly at a Prince!

A matter like this... How would Your Majesty handle it?

Instantly, nearly every eye in the hall turned toward the man upon the Dragon Throne.