Firmament Sword

And so, the young man who had captured the attention of the entire Merak Sect became one of its members amidst a storm of controversy.

”Those people are really going too far. The things they’re saying are so nasty!” said one of Li Wenxi’s disciples, the young woman who had stood guard outside Li Wenxi’s courtyard that day, speaking up for Xu Luo.

”They don’t know Xu Luo and look down on his secular origins. But I believe Xu Luo will use his actions to make them all shut up!” the girl who had greeted Xu Luo at the sect gate said with a determined expression.

”Whoa, no way. You have that much faith in Xu Luo? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for him?” a group of girls teased.

The first girl’s face flushed red, and she didn’t dare to respond.

Phoenix sat to one side, smiling as she watched her junior sisters fool around. Thinking of the many doubts about Xu Luo within the sect, she couldn’t help but sneer inwardly: ’You think he was that eager to join the Merak Sect? If Master hadn’t been worried about causing too much of a stir and the news spreading in a way that would be bad for Xu Luo, his strength is already more than enough for him to be a Guest Elder of the sect!’

Faced with the chorus of doubt that filled the sect, Xu Luo remained unperturbed. His heart wasn’t truly here, and he had never thought of competing with others for resources.

The sect’s resources were indeed enviable, but not to the point where he would have to bow his head for them!

But while he didn’t want to cause trouble, trouble insisted on finding him.

A young man who looked to be eighteen or nineteen, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, approached. If not for the widespread acne on his face, he might have been considered handsome.

”You’re Xu Luo?” the young man said, looking coldly at him. ”My name is Sun Wu. When you see me, aren’t you going to call me Senior Brother?”

Xu Luo looked up, glanced at the young man, and smiled. ”Senior Brother.”

The young man had expected Xu Luo to be provoked and refuse to call him Senior Brother. That way, he could first use the sect’s rules to pressure him and then teach him a harsh lesson.

He never imagined that this ridiculously handsome young man before him would be so timid... and just give in immediately?

”AHEM...” For a moment, the young man didn’t know what to say. He coughed twice, then looked at Xu Luo and said, ”You’re new here. Even if you are the Sect Leader’s Registered Disciple, you need to remember that in this sect, all the younger members are your senior brothers and sisters. When you see them, you must be polite and courteous. Understand?”

Xu Luo suppressed a laugh and nodded with a very serious look. ”I understand, Senior Brother.”

The young man was completely disarmed by Xu Luo’s timid expression. Just then, he suddenly spotted the little head poking out of Xu Luo’s pocket. An idea struck him, and he pointed a finger at Master Mao. ”This little cat is quite cute. Give it to me!”

The corner of Xu Luo’s mouth twitched. ’He’s really asking for death,’ he thought. ’Can’t blame me for this.’

As expected, Master Mao flew into a rage on the spot. Xu Luo could mess with it all he wanted because it needed the Star Power from his body. Besides, they had been together for so long that a bond had formed between them.

Otherwise, in the eyes of a magnificent Heaven-Swallowing Fox, where would a mere human even rank?

Not to mention, such a tiny human who didn’t even have whiskers—an essential weapon...

”MEOW!”

Master Mao shot out of Xu Luo’s pocket like a flash of lightning, so fast that no one could react. It swung its paw and slapped the young man hard across the face!

Fortunately, Xu Luo had reminded Master Mao not to blow things out of proportion, or it would be embarrassing for everyone. So, Master Mao had retracted its claws and only used its soft paw pads to slap the young Sun Wu.

But a slap from a Tier Nine Spirit Beast... even a restrained one, was far more than a young man like Sun Wu could handle.

The tall and sturdy-looking body was sent flying seven or eight steps by Master Mao’s slap. He landed face-first on the ground, getting a mouthful of dirt. After struggling a few times, he finally sat up, completely dazed. He didn’t come to his senses for a long while.

The other Merak Disciples who had followed Sun Wu to watch the show were all petrified on the spot, so stunned by the scene that they nearly lost the ability to think!

”Alright, stop playing around, Miaomiao,” Xu Luo said lightly, calling back Master Mao, who was eyeing the others, itching to make a move.

Teaching one blind fool a lesson was enough. If he let Master Mao have its way and beat all of them up, things would really get lively today.

When their masters came looking for an explanation, even with his thick skin, Xu Luo wouldn’t have the face to stay here any longer.

Master Mao walked back with a look of displeasure, its tail held high and its eyes icy. It grumbled to Xu Luo via voice transmission, ”A human like that should be slapped to death with a single paw. How dare he treat Master Mao like a common kitten! Aaaah!”

”Come on, if you revealed your true form, wouldn’t you scare these kids to death?” Xu Luo complimented Master Mao subtly.

Only then did Master Mao’s anger turn to joy. ”I’ll give you that, kid. You’ve got some insight!”

Just then, the young man named Sun Wu finally came to his senses. He touched his burning, badly swollen face and stared at Xu Luo in disbelief. ”You... you dare hit me?”

Lines of frustration appeared on Xu Luo’s forehead. He looked at Sun Wu and said in a low voice, ”Senior Brother, please don’t slander me. So many people are watching. I didn’t lay a hand on you.”

”It was your cat that hit me! I... I’ll fight you!” Sun Wu scrambled to his feet, unleashed the power within his body to form a True Essence Aura, and glared furiously at Xu Luo.

”That’s enough! Aren’t you going to scram? Isn’t this embarrassing enough for you?” a cold female voice suddenly rang out.

A woman who looked to be in her thirties walked over from a distance, looking at the group of Merak Disciples with displeasure.

Upon seeing this woman, all the Merak Disciples fell silent like cicadas in winter and scattered like birds and beasts.

The woman then looked at Xu Luo and said coolly, ”I don’t care how you became the Sect Leader’s Registered Disciple, but since you are now a member of the Merak Sect, I expect you to abide by its rules from now on. We’ll let today’s matter slide, but if I catch you again, it won’t be this simple.”

With that, the woman turned and left coldly.

Xu Luo was rather dismissive of the woman’s attitude. She hadn’t even bothered to find out the truth and just blamed both sides equally. Moreover, she was extremely cold toward him. It seemed there were quite a few hidden troubles within the Merak Sect.

Later, Phoenix, having heard about the incident, came to his door to console him and tell him not to worry. She also explained the woman’s identity.

”She has always been part of the Supreme Elder’s faction. She’s also one of the Supreme Elder’s disciples. Now that the Supreme Elder is in seclusion comprehending the Transformation Realm and the Grand Elder has retired from sect affairs, people like her have lost their backing, so of course they’re disgruntled.”

”What happened today was clearly the fault of those young disciples. She couldn’t find any fault with you, so naturally she was upset,” Phoenix said with a smile. ”So, you don’t need to lower yourself to their level.”

Xu Luo smiled and said, ”As long as she doesn’t provoke me, why would I provoke them? Still, having people like that in the sect is always a destabilizing factor.”

Phoenix knew what Xu Luo was thinking and shook her head with a smile. ”It’s fine. They wouldn’t dare cause trouble for Master. Even if the Supreme Elder successfully comprehends and breaks through to the Transformation Realm, she would never dare to lightly challenge Master. Not only did Master reach the Transformation Realm earlier than her, but Master Qiu has also entered the Transformation Realm. In terms of strength, we have the upper hand.”

Xu Luo nodded and said no more.

Phoenix looked at Xu Luo and said, ”In a few more days, we’ll be leaving for the sect assembly. I’ll warn those young disciples not to cause any trouble.”

Sister Ying, on Phoenix’s shoulder, said, ”It’ll be a blessing if *he* doesn’t cause trouble for others!”

Xu Luo glanced at Sister Ying and thought, ’So petty. Didn’t I just share a little treasure with you? Why are you so greedy?’

After Phoenix took her leave, Xu Luo began to cultivate alone in his room.

He activated the Shadow Shaking Heart Method, and wisps of Star Power seeped out of his body. Master Mao also cultivated nearby with a solemn expression.

Now that his Shaking Light Star Soul had fully awakened, it was like a fountain of energy, providing Xu Luo with a vast supply.

The Kaiyang Star Soul had also completely awakened through continuous accumulation, and it was ceaselessly reforging Xu Luo’s body.

Xu Luo’s physical body had now become shockingly powerful.

His bones, bloodline, and even his essence, qi, and spirit... had all reached a level that other Martial Artists of the same realm could hardly hope to match.

In terms of physical body alone, not even a Sword King at the Transformation Realm could compare!

As Xu Luo’s cultivation deepened, the third of the Seven Star Souls in his body... the Jade Balance Star Soul... faintly began to show some reaction.

Recently, Xu Luo had been trying hard to activate the Jade Balance Star Soul, but despite many attempts, he had not succeeded.

The Jade Balance Star Soul had consistently shown faint reactions, but it had never lit up.

Xu Luo was very much looking forward to it. When the Shaking Light Star Soul lit up and activated, his destiny had changed. He went from a weak-bodied young man to a genius who could cultivate.

He also obtained three ultimate techniques: Breaking Army Seven Kills, the Shadow Shaking Heart Method, and Shaking Light Burst.

With these, Xu Luo successfully embarked on the path of the strong, fighting countless battles and making a name for himself in the secular world.

With the activation of the Kaiyang Star Soul, Xu Luo’s body was constantly being reforged, as if reborn from ashes like a phoenix. His physical constitution was now astonishingly strong!

Therefore, Xu Luo was incredibly eager to find out what kind of change the activation of the Jade Balance Star Soul would bring him.

The reason Xu Luo hadn’t consumed the final Blood Pill was precisely that he was saving it for the Jade Balance Star Soul. Through his past experiences, Xu Luo had learned that a massive amount of energy was required to activate a Star Soul and make it light up.

But the last time he had taken a Blood Pill and his power had skyrocketed, the Jade Balance Star Soul hadn’t reacted at all. This left Xu Luo unable to make heads or tails of it.

’Could it be that activating the Jade Balance Star Soul doesn’t require a vast amount of energy?’

Just then, the melodious sound of a flute drifted from the distance. Although Xu Luo was no expert in music, he could tell it was an exquisite piece!

And at that very moment, the Jade Balance Star Soul in Xu Luo’s Dantian faintly... emitted a glimmer of light.

Immediately after, a terrifying suction force suddenly erupted from the Jade Balance Star Soul, instantly draining a tenth of the energy in Xu Luo’s Dantian!

Xu Luo was startled and, without a moment’s hesitation, tossed the last Blood Pill into his mouth.

BOOM!