Firmament Sword

Phew!

Li Wenxi and Qiushuiduan both let out a long sigh of relief in unison, knowing they could finally relax, at least for now.

Meanwhile, the indecisive Elder Xiao finally withdrew his aura and retracted his Domain Power.

He shot Xu Luo a deep, cold glare and said flatly, ”You’d better watch yourself, kid.”

With that, Elder Xiao walked over to the black-robed youth and slowly channeled a stream of True Essence into his body.

The black-robed youth finally came to his senses, but his face was deathly pale. It was clear that Xu Luo’s roar had inflicted serious damage.

”Brother, hurry and save your nephew! He—he’s dying!” It was only then that Fang Jing’s anguished cry rang out.

All eyes turned to Ark, who lay collapsed on the ground. His face was a horrifying, bloody mess, and he was barely breathing. He was on the verge of death.

Phoenix went to the entrance of the tent and pulled open the flap. Standing outside were two stunningly beautiful women, one of whom was none other than Lianyi!

It was clear they had realized something was wrong, as neither showed the slightest hint of impatience.

Phoenix looked at Lianyi and forced a smile. ”Oh, it’s you, Sister Lianyi. Long time no see!”

Lianyi gave Phoenix a faint smile, but her eyes quickly fell upon the staggering young man inside. She let out a cry of alarm. ”Xiaoluo! You—what happened to you?” She immediately rushed to Xu Luo’s side.

Xu Luo’s body trembled slightly. He slowly turned, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and gave her a brilliant smile. ”Sis, I’m fine!”

”How can you say you’re fine? You’re spitting up blood! Who hurt you? I’ll get revenge for you!” In her distress, her voice was tinged with tears. She didn’t even glance at the others in the tent; in her eyes, there was only Xu Luo!

”I’m really fine. I’m okay,” Xu Luo said, looking at Lianyi as she supported him. Her fragrance washed over him, and he took a deep breath, murmuring, ”I’ve missed your scent.”

Lianyi’s face flushed, but her blush was overshadowed by the surprise of their long-awaited reunion and her worry over his condition. She’d had no idea he would actually be here.

She had heard that the Merak Sect was also attending the assembly and, knowing it was Phoenix’s sect, she had come to visit on the off-chance she might hear some news about Xu Luo.

She never would have imagined that Xu Luo himself would be here!

But this was no time for a happy reunion. The tent was in shambles, clear evidence of a fight. And Xu Luo was injured!

The thought filled Lianyi with rage.

Lianyi lifted her head, her eyes sweeping over Elder Xiao and the others. She paused for a moment when she saw Xu Qing, then gave her a slight nod.

Xu Qing nodded back. Clearly, the two were acquainted.

Xu Qing, however, hadn’t expected the daughter of the Heavenly Cauldron Sect Master to know this young man. And from the looks of it, their relationship ran deep.

Xu Qing thought to herself as she glanced at the barely-living Ark, her heart filled with disgust. ’This is all that scumbag’s fault. He more than deserves to die!’

Ji Bingyu, who had followed Lianyi inside, saw her Sister Lianyi supporting a handsome young man. Taking in the scene, she felt a headache coming on. She had never encountered a situation like this and had no idea how to handle it.

But she did recognize the old man. She stepped forward and bowed slightly. ”Elder Xiao, what brings you here?”

At that moment, Elder Xiao thoroughly regretted getting involved in this mess. If he’d had any thoughts of killing Xu Luo and the others to silence them before, those thoughts were now completely gone. At least… for now.

’To think this audacious kid from a minor sect is actually connected to the daughter of the Heavenly Cauldron Sect Master…!’

’Damn it all!’ Elder Xiao really wanted to curse out loud. ’Isn’t this a setup? If you had this kind of backing, why didn’t you say so earlier?’

”Ah, Miss Bingyu. I wasn’t aware you were coming…” Elder Xiao was still trying to confirm their relationships. He simply couldn’t comprehend how someone from a major power like the Celestial Cauldron Sect could possibly be involved with a minor disciple from Merak.

”I came with Sister Lianyi. She and he are… good friends,” Ji Bingyu said, unsure of what else to call them. ”Good friends” was the only thing that came to mind.

But that was enough. No matter how arrogant and domineering Elder Xiao was, that was only when facing a minor sect like Merak, which was no match for his Jade Balance Sect. When confronted with a superpower like the Celestial Cauldron Sect, which was in no way inferior to Jade Balance, all of his previous haughty arrogance vanished.

”So that’s how it is.” Elder Xiao sighed. ”Ai, this is all just a misunderstanding. A simple misunderstanding.” Internally, he was full of regret. ’I really shouldn’t have come, dammit!’

”Ark!”

Fang Jing, the Tianquan Sect Master, suddenly let out a piercing shriek, startling everyone. They looked to see him cradling Ark’s body, sobbing uncontrollably.

The black-robed youth standing nearby had a livid expression, his eyes blazing with fury. His fists were clenched tight.

”Sigh… let’s go,” Elder Xiao said to the black-robed youth.

The black-robed youth nodded silently and patted Fang Jing’s shoulder.

A devastated Fang Jing rose to his feet, still clutching Ark’s body, and walked out.

The black-robed youth didn’t look back, but everyone knew that a blood feud had been forged this day.

Elder Xiao gave Ji Bingyu a slight nod, then let out a long sigh and left without another word.

Xu Qing also nodded to Lianyi and Ji Bingyu. ”I’ll head out for now,” she whispered. ”Let’s catch up later!”

Only a few people remained in the chaotic tent.

Li Wenxi called over a few Merak disciples to tidy up the tent. Only then did she turn to Ji Bingyu and Lianyi with an apologetic look. ”I’m so sorry you had to see that.”

Lianyi helped Xu Luo sit down, then took out a bottle of elixirs. She poured two into her palm and brought them to his lips. ”Here, take these,” she said softly.

Xu Luo swallowed the two elixirs without hesitation.

Li Wenxi’s eyes flickered with a curious light, but she didn’t ask any questions. This young woman with such a powerful background clearly had an unusual relationship with Xu Luo. What was more, Phoenix didn’t seem to find it strange at all.

Ji Bingyu, as if she hadn’t seen a thing, quietly asked Li Wenxi, ”Sect Leader Li, what exactly happened?”

Li Wenxi sighed softly and explained what had transpired. When she mentioned the engagement between Phoenix and Xu Luo, Lianyi lifted her head and shot her a look.

Seeing her reaction, Li Wenxi explained with a wry smile, ”It was just an expedient measure to deal with Elder Xiao of the Jade Balance Sect. I never expected him to be so tyrannical. If you two hadn’t arrived when you did, the consequences would have been unthinkable.”

Both Ji Bingyu and Lianyi were well aware of how major sects operated, but it was rare to see someone like Elder Xiao go to such lengths to back the Tianquan Sect.

Ji Bingyu’s delicate brows furrowed. ”That’s outrageous! How could they act like that? It’s pure bullying!”

Ji Bingyu was only seventeen. Despite her exceptional talent and strength that surpassed many from the older generation, at heart, she was still a young woman. Hearing the story, she was incensed.

If Elder Xiao’s group had heard her, they would have probably burst into tears. ’That’s right, we came here to be the bullies, but we’re the ones who ended up getting bullied!’

Lianyi wasn’t much older, but having grown up in the secular world, she had seen plenty of such incidents and wasn’t particularly shocked. However, because this involved Xu Luo, she found it difficult to contain her fury.

”What a Jade Balance Sect. What an Elder Xiao,” she said coldly. ”Does he really think he can do whatever he wants?”

As she spoke, Lianyi glanced at Li Wenxi. In truth, she was also displeased with the Sect Leader.

This whole affair was fundamentally between the Merak and Tianquan sects, yet Xu Luo had been dragged into it. She didn’t care about the situation between him and Phoenix; all she knew was that Xu Luo had been injured and had now offended a major superpower!

Li Wenxi knew she was at fault. ”What’s done is done,” she said. ”For now, we need to figure out how to resolve this situation completely.”

Ji Bingyu said, ”That Young Master from Tianquan brought this on himself; his death would be no great loss. Elder Xiao from the Jade Balance Sect also went way too far. I’ll report this to our Sect Leader when I get back and ask him to intervene. I’m sure Elder Xiao won’t dare cause any more trouble after that!”

Lianyi shook her head gently. ”There’s no need. Our presence here today already prevents Elder Xiao from doing anything openly. But after losing so much face, and in front of two outsiders no less, he will definitely seek revenge in secret.”

”How can he be like that?” Ji Bingyu fumed. ”He deserved to be humiliated! How can he blame anyone else?”

Lianyi replied, ”If people like him were reasonable, none of this would have happened today.”

Phoenix came forward then, her head bowed. ”I’m sorry, Sister Lianyi,” she said to Lianyi. ”This is all my fault. I dragged Xu Luo into this. If you’re going to blame someone, blame me.”

Lianyi was exceptionally kind-hearted, and she knew Phoenix and Xu Luo were good friends. Seeing Phoenix apologize, she couldn’t bring herself to be harsh. ”We’re all women here. No one wanted this to happen, so you can’t be blamed,” she said gently. ”But you must be extremely careful from now on. The Tianquan Sect Master won’t let his son’s death go. And Elder Xiao of the Jade Balance Sect suffered a huge humiliation; he won’t let this end so easily either…”

As she spoke, Lianyi bit her lip. ”If there’s no other way, I’ll go back and beg my mother to intervene and declare the Merak Sect a subordinate of the Celestial Cauldron Sect. It’s just… that would be unfair to Sect Leader Li.”

Li Wenxi fell silent as well. For years, many major powers had wanted to make the Merak Sect a subordinate, but they had never agreed.

Becoming a subordinate sect to a major power had its benefits, but it also meant losing a great deal.

Their dignity, for example.

Xu Luo had finally recovered his senses. He took a deep breath and smiled at Lianyi. ”Sis, say no more. This involves me too. I have an old grudge with that Ark—his guards tried to hunt me down before. So, I’ll take responsibility for this myself!”

Lianyi’s expression changed instantly, her eyes misting over with tears.

Xu Luo quickly explained, ”I didn’t mean it like that, don’t get the wrong idea. Since they don’t dare to retaliate openly and can only do so in secret, I’m not afraid of them! You’ve already helped us immensely. We can’t let this escalate. Once it reaches the level of involving the Celestial Cauldron Sect itself, there will be no turning back!”

Of course, Lianyi knew this. But in her heart, nothing in this world was more important than Xu Luo.

This conviction was etched into the depths of her soul, and it would never waver, not with the passage of time, nor with any change in her status!