Firmament Sword

Everyone’s gaze couldn’t help but turn toward the direction of the roar. Fang Ping, who had been about to leave, shuddered slightly. He stood still, staring in that direction before saying without turning his head, ”This Small World contains many creatures with unimaginably powerful Holy Beast bloodlines. Be careful and avoid them. Don’t get eaten. Your life is mine to take!”

With that, Fang Ping left without a backward glance.

Xu Luo watched Fang Ping’s retreating figure and couldn’t help but chuckle. ’It seems sparing him was the right decision!’

He was a Martial Artist with a conscience and principles. You could tell from how he had driven off the Merak Disciples at the start that he was unwilling to slaughter the innocent.

He was no match for Xu Luo, but he was unwilling to be indebted to him, hence the shouted warning.

If he weren’t Ark’s uncle, Xu Luo might have even wanted to befriend this mysterious and low-key man in black.

Phoenix came to Xu Luo’s side just then, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Gazing in the direction Fang Ping had disappeared, she asked softly, ”You let him go just like that. Are you sure he won’t come back to cause trouble?”

Xu Luo shook his head. ”He probably won’t. He’s not an evil man. And to be honest, killing him wouldn’t be as easy as I made it sound. Transformation Realm experts aren’t so easy to kill.”

Phoenix nodded, then looked at Xu Luo and gave him a radiant smile. ”Thank you!”

”We’re good friends, no need to be so formal,” Xu Luo replied, then turned his gaze toward the direction of the roars. He began to wonder, ’If I could capture a Holy Beast to guard my home, I bet no one would dare to cause trouble for my family, right?’

Immediately after, Xu Luo found his own idea laughable. ’How could a creature with a Holy Beast bloodline ever be content to stand guard for a human?’

’Even Master Mao, a top-tier Spirit Beast with Holy Beast blood flowing through his veins, would never have stayed with me if it weren’t for my Star Power.’

Master Mao poked his head out of Xu Luo’s pocket. Looking toward the source of the roars, he said excitedly, ”Kid, let’s go take down a Holy Beast! I can’t wait anymore, AHHHHHH!”

Xu Luo shoved Master Mao’s head back down and scoffed, ”You go if you want to. I’m not looking for a death wish.”

”If you’re not brave for yourself, who will be? Charge on, young man!” Master Mao’s muffled voice said from inside Xu Luo’s pocket.

”Just shut up,” Xu Luo said, rolling his eyes.

Phoenix was speechless at his side. ’Trying to compete in bravery with a pure-blooded Holy Beast cub? Do you have a death wish?’ she thought.

Just then, the other Merak Disciples gathered around. Their gazes toward Xu Luo were now filled with reverence, and of course, even more excitement.

Even though they already knew Xu Luo was strong, they had never imagined he would be powerful to this extent.

Even a Transformation Realm expert was no match for him. Merak, their small sect, had finally produced a true master!

Although Xu Luo’s skills hadn’t come from Merak, at this moment, deep down, every one of the Merak Disciples felt a sense of shared glory.

Xu Luo felt the three Star Souls inside his body begin to thrum again, pointing him in the exact direction of the roars.

A bitter smile touched the corners of Xu Luo’s mouth.

Great treasures are always protected by powerful guardians. ’Everyone wants the treasure,’ he thought, ’but the question is, can I really take on a Holy Beast cub?’

Looking at the Merak Disciples who were waiting for his decision, Xu Luo saw intense trust in their eyes.

”You guys want to go take a look?” Xu Luo asked, pointing in the direction of the ceaseless roars.

Everyone nodded.

One of the pretty young women spoke up. ”Junior Brother, don’t feel pressured. We’re just curious. We just want to see something new.”

”Yeah, Junior Brother! We’ve never seen a Holy Beast cub before, we just want to see it for ourselves!” the others chimed in.

”Why look at some Holy Beast cub? Just look at me... Master Mao is all you need to see!” Master Mao’s voice piped up from Xu Luo’s pocket.

Everyone ignored the smug, top-tier Spirit Beast.

The same pretty young woman giggled. ”Don’t be disappointed, little kitty. Maybe one day, you can become a Holy Beast too!”

The group couldn’t help but laugh.

”AHHHH! DAMN IT! How dare that little wench talk to Master Mao that way! What do you mean ’maybe’? Master Mao will *definitely* become a Holy Beast! It’s a certainty... AHHHHH!”

The group fell silent again, looking at Xu Luo with great sympathy. They felt sorry for him for having such a Spirit Beast for a pet.

ROAR!

Another earth-shattering roar ripped through the air, and the very ground seemed to tremble along with it.

At that moment, from within the distant mountain range, a behemoth rose into the air!

The group of Merak Disciples, who had just been eager to go watch the excitement, now stood with eyes wide and jaws slack, their minds gone almost completely blank.

Xu Luo and Phoenix also stared at the behemoth, their faces a mask of shock.

Master Mao quietly poked his head out from Xu Luo’s pocket, his gaze fixed and focused.

It was a colossal black tiger, several thousand meters in length. Its body was covered in massive black scales that shimmered with a cold light. Like a black mountain range, it had suddenly appeared, stretching out before them.

”Th-This... this is a so-called... Holy Beast cub?” one of the Merak Disciples muttered, dumbfounded and nearly scared witless.

BAM!

The enormous black tiger, as if enraged by something, viciously swiped its massive paw at a large mountain.

Before this behemoth, the mountain peak, thousands of meters tall, was as fragile as a toy.

With a single swipe from the black tiger’s paw, the top half of the mountain snapped off, collapsing with a tremendous RUMBLE.

Immediately following that, a massive white python, over ten thousand meters long, appeared before them with its head reared high.

The white python’s eyes were like rubies. Even from such a great distance, everyone could see them clearly. They were like two crimson suns, radiating an eerie, blood-red light!

The python swept its tail, instantly leveling everything in a radius of several thousand meters. Mountain peaks, ancient trees, and massive boulders—all were pulverized into dust by that single strike!

Afterward, a fierce battle erupted between the white python and the black tiger.

It was a true battle of titans!

The shockwaves from their battle rapidly spread outward. Countless Spirit Beasts, large and small, fled in a mad panic, nearly forming a beast tide. The scene was horrifying.

No one knew why the two giant beasts were fighting, but between them stood a small, unremarkable hill that remained perfectly untouched.

As the two terrifying behemoths fought, they seemed to be deliberately avoiding that small hill, almost as if they were being careful around it!

’That mountain... there’s something off about it!’ A glint flashed in Xu Luo’s eyes. He felt a strong pull toward the hill, because the three Star Souls inside him were pointing in precisely that direction!

This mysterious world, despite being called a Small World, was not small in the slightest. It was vast and sprawling, its towering mountains and jagged ridges hiding what seemed to be endless secrets.

No one knew where these two behemoths had come from, nor why they had suddenly erupted into violent conflict.

The black tiger, several thousand meters long, suddenly raked its claws across the white python’s body, tearing away a huge patch of massive white scales. Blood sprayed everywhere, and it was as if a crimson river was flowing from the python’s wound.

Not to be outdone, the white python sank its fangs into the black tiger’s back, ripping off a large number of black scales and gouging out a deep wound.

Watching the black and white scales drift through the air, Xu Luo muttered, ”Those are all treasures. If they were made into armor, it would be completely impenetrable! The blood is good stuff, too. It could be used as a medicinal catalyst. Of course, their essence blood would be even better!”

As Xu Luo muttered with a look of intense longing, he couldn’t help but think of Blood Pills. A single one was enough to grant a massive breakthrough.

The others stared at Xu Luo, speechless. They were suddenly beginning to understand why his pet Spirit Beast had such a personality.

’So he’s the source... Like master, like pet!’

It was just that Xu Luo hid it so well. Anyone who didn’t know better would mistake him for a shy and innocent youth. Many of the Merak Disciples now felt they had been deceived by their junior brother’s handsome face.

Two behemoths beyond all human cognition and imagination were fighting to the death, and here their junior brother was, scheming to get his hands on their scales...

The two behemoths were like a pair of colossal mountain ranges. Their every move could flatten mountains and obliterate forests. They were evenly matched, neither able to overpower the other, and yet neither was willing to back down. They fell into a tense standoff.

The balance of their standoff was soon shattered. A gigantic golden bird with a wingspan of over ten thousand meters, glowing with a brilliant, gold-like light, dove down from the clouds and charged directly toward the white python.

The white python had met its natural predator. Its life gravely threatened, it immediately reared its head and flicked its scarlet forked tongue at the golden bird.

The serpent’s tongue looked like a sharp, blood-red steel fork, stunning everyone present.

Unexpectedly, the black tiger ceased its attack on the white python. It rose up on its hind legs like a man and unleashed a thunderous roar at the golden bird. A terrifying sound wave tore through the air, forming a dreadful ripple of energy in the sky that blasted toward the avian newcomer.

The golden bird’s dive was too fast. It extended its massive talons—large enough to shatter a mountain peak—and swiped viciously at the white python’s head, simultaneously twisting its body to evade the black tiger’s energy wave.

KRAK!

The white python’s head was crushed to pieces by the golden bird’s talons!

The sight stunned everyone to their very core!

The black tiger, standing on its hind legs like a colossal black mountain, swatted the golden bird’s body with its paw, sending the giant bird flying.

The golden bird let out an enraged shriek, its voice human. ”You’re looking to die!”

”Get lost!” the black tiger also roared in a human voice. ”This is no place for you! Go back where you came from!”

The white python, its head crushed, was somehow not yet dead. It began to thrash about madly.

To their absolute horror, Xu Luo and the others realized the white python was rolling directly toward them.