Firmament Sword

”Xu Su... to be honest, I’ve never been able to stand the sight of you.”

Yuan Jing looked at the tall, handsome man standing before him and said faintly, ”Your family background is the only thing you have on me. When it comes to talent, I’m your equal. My strength has always surpassed yours. As for academics, I’m not inferior to you there, either. My grades at True Martial Academy were enough to make you feel ashamed. And military leadership? They call you a young Wise General, but that’s mostly just a title people use to suck up to your father! And yet, the world has always called you the number one of the military’s younger generation.”

”You, a turncoat who betrayed your master for glory... are you even worthy of comparing yourself to me?” Xu Su said, looking coldly at Yuan Jing as a glint of contempt flashed in his eyes.

”A man must climb higher. In this world, things are rarely so black and white. You’ve never been in my shoes, so how could you possibly know my suffering?”

Yuan Jing looked at Xu Su. ”Your Xu Family is very powerful, especially your younger brother. I heard he has already joined a sect. If that’s the case, you should understand that the power of the sects is something the secular world can never hope to contend with!”

”Don’t flatter yourself. The sects may be powerful, but what does that have to do with a scoundrel like you who betrayed his master for glory?”

Xu Su sneered at Yuan Jing. Since his opponent wasn’t in a hurry to attack, he was happy to stall for time. ”To be honest,” he said with another sneer, ”while I never liked you, I didn’t particularly hate you either. After all, choosing which master to follow is your own prerogative.”

As Xu Su spoke, a mocking light appeared in his eyes. ”But I never imagined that you, who were supposed to be the Sixth Prince’s trusted confidant, would betray him so completely. The Sixth Prince may have deserved to die, but you, Yuan Jing... you deserve it even more!”

”Hahahaha! The Sixth Prince’s confidant?” Yuan Jing roared, his face twisting with agitation. ”Xu Su, and you call yourself the son of a noble house? Don’t you know what those Royal Family whelps are really like? I deserve to die? The Sixth Prince is dead and can’t speak for himself, but let me tell you this: he... he only ever saw me as a pawn! He never once took me seriously!”

”So, by your logic, Huangfu Haoyue... he’s the one who truly takes you seriously?” Xu Su’s face was a mask of sarcasm. ”An ungrateful wretch like you is nothing more than a disposable pawn in Huangfu Haoyue’s eyes!”

”Nonsense!” Yuan Jing shrieked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. The barb had clearly hit a nerve, and he flew into a rage. ”Young Master Hao Yue is nothing like you say! He’s completely different from the likes of the Sixth Prince!”

”Heh.” Faced with Yuan Jing’s fury, Xu Su merely let out a soft, mocking chuckle.

That chuckle was the final straw. Yuan Jing roared, ”Xu Su, I’ve always been stronger than you! And this time, thanks to a Top-Grade Elixir from the sect, my power has skyrocketed! Today, I will personally knock you from your high horse! Don’t worry, I’ll hang your head on the city gates of the Imperial Capital... no, I’ll place your skull at the very peak of the Star Hall! I want you to witness with your own eyes... the glory of me, Yuan Jing! Hahaha! How’s that? Aren’t I being good to you? The Star Hall... it’s not a place just anyone can climb, you know!”

Xu Su smirked. Then, his figure blurred into motion. His mocking words drifted on the wind, reaching Yuan Jing’s ears.

”You think you’re the only one in the world who can get a power-up? Comparing strength with me... heh. I’ve never met a bigger idiot. Didn’t Huangfu Haoyue tell you? That I, Xu Su... have already reached the Transformation Realm?”

Overwhelming terror surged in Yuan Jing’s eyes. His jaw went slack, his face a mask of utter disbelief.

The Xu Su who had been standing before him had completely vanished from his Divine Sense. Not even a shadow remained!

Having reached Tier Nine Sword Venerable Peak only through a sect’s elixir, Yuan Jing simply refused to believe that this man was now a Transformation Realm Powerhouse.

’How could he be?!’

The thought flashed through his mind, and in the next instant...

THUD!

With a sickening crunch, Xu Su slammed a fist into Yuan Jing’s chest, shattering it completely. The immense force tore through Yuan Jing’s back and instantly obliterated more than a dozen elite soldiers standing behind him!

”The former... confidant of the Sixth Prince... You really think a suspicious man like Huangfu Haoyue would ever truly trust you?” Xu Su looked coldly at the rapidly fading life in Yuan Jing’s eyes, not a shred of pity in his gaze. He uttered two final words: ”Fucking idiot.”

Those two words were the last that Yuan Jing heard before his consciousness faded. He didn’t know why, but in that final moment, he found himself completely agreeing with Xu Su’s assessment.

Xu Su glanced up at his father, who was still locked in a standoff with the other Transformation Realm Powerhouse, then gritted his teeth and roared, ”Hidden Dragon Army, with me! Charge!”

”Yes, General!” Seeing Xu Su fell the enemy commander with a single blow, the Hidden Dragon Army’s morale surged. With a thunderous roar, they charged at the troops Yuan Jing had brought with him.

Up in the sky, the Transformation Realm Powerhouse facing Xu Ji suddenly broke into a faint smile. ”To think that there are actually people in this secular world who can break through to the Transformation Realm on their own. I must say, I’m impressed.”

”You’re from a sect. Why are you getting involved in a struggle for secular power? Aren’t you afraid of the sect that backs the Royal Family?” Xu Ji stared coldly at the Transformation Realm Powerhouse. The man’s life force was incredibly potent; to Xu Ji, who was also at the Transformation Realm, his opponent seemed like a blazing sun, radiating scorching light.

”Sects... need powerful financial backing, too. Sect disciples also have to eat and sleep. If secular power wasn’t important, why would the Kaiyang Sect choose the Huangfu Family as their worldly representatives?” the Transformation Realm Powerhouse said nonchalantly before turning his gaze to Xu Ji. ”Come. Forging your way into the Transformation Realm on the battlefield... your strength should be enough to give me a pleasant surprise. Ten moves!”

”What do you mean, ten moves?” Xu Ji’s gaze was ice-cold.

”If you can survive ten of my moves, I’ll let you leave. Rest assured, I am a man of my word. If you survive, no one in this Imperial Capital will give you any more trouble,” the Transformation Realm Powerhouse said calmly. ”Otherwise, if we were to make a move, not one of you would leave the Imperial Capital alive.”

”As Transformation Realm Powerhouses from a sect, you’d dare attack a group of ordinary people? Have you no shame?” Xu Ji demanded angrily.

”Indeed. It is precisely because we have our pride that we have no intention of attacking them. But you... you are also a Transformation Realm Powerhouse. Attacking you, therefore, is perfectly acceptable,” the man replied, unprovoked and with an air of nonchalance.

”Fine! Ten moves! Remember what you said!” Xu Ji gritted his teeth. With a sharp SHING, his Long Sword left its scabbard. The entire aura around him shifted in an instant as the unique, murderous pressure of a Hundred Battle General surged toward his opponent like a tidal wave.

It might not be effective, but it had become second nature to him.

”Impressive killing intent,” the opposing Transformation Realm Powerhouse actually commented with admiration. Then his figure flashed, and he flicked a finger toward Xu Ji’s blade.

To Xu Ji, who was also at the Transformation Realm, this childish-looking move was a grave insult.

With a cold cry, Xu Ji turned his blade and slashed directly at the man’s finger.

The Transformation Realm Powerhouse suddenly changed his attack, reaching out to grab the blade itself...

Xu Ji roared, pouring all of his strength into the blade, and the Long Sword emitted a sound like a dragon’s cry.

CLANG!

With a screech of metal, the Long Sword in Xu Ji’s hand was actually crushed to pieces in the man’s grasp.

But a look at the Transformation Realm Powerhouse’s hand showed that it was now crimson with blood.

Xu Ji’s mind suddenly recalled something his son, Xu Luo, had once told him. He was so stunned he almost cried out loud.

”Blood Vajra Palm!”

’It’s the Blood Vajra Palm of Dubhe!’

’The sect backing Huangfu Haoyue... is actually Dubhe!’

This was a colossal secret. No one had ever imagined that Huangfu Haoyue was a disciple of Dubhe, and no one would ever have connected this palace coup in Cangqiong to Dubhe, the largest sect in the entire Central Plains Star Continent!

The flicker of astonishment in Xu Ji’s eyes went unnoticed. After crushing the Long Sword, the Transformation Realm Powerhouse stated coolly, ”That’s one move.”

...

Deep in the night, the entire Imperial City was engulfed in the sounds of battle.

All the shops were closed, even those on Cyan Dragon Avenue that usually stayed open until dawn had shuttered their doors early.

No one dared to venture onto the streets. Nearly everyone cowered in their homes, terrified, with no idea what was happening.

’Everything was fine... how could the situation have changed so drastically overnight?’

Luo Xinlan and her group led a large contingent of people, charging straight for the East Gate of the Imperial Capital.

Along the way, they were ambushed, just as they had expected. No one knew where these soldiers had come from, but one thing was certain: they were not troops from the Imperial Capital!

The more worldly-wise among them could tell from the soldiers’ accents that they were from Ying City.

Huangfu Haoyue must have been laying his plans for a long time. It was laughable, really. The Sixth Prince, clever his entire life, had suffered a catastrophic fall at Huangfu Haoyue’s hands and paid for it with his life.

The slaughter began without any surprises. Almost everyone, whether by choice or by force, was dragged into the fray.

The private armies of the various families clashed with the elites from Ying City. Even Liu Ruyu, who was normally reluctant to kill, was forced to strike lethally, cutting down the enemies that swarmed her one after another.

Because if you didn’t kill, you would be killed.

”Luo Xinlan, you shameless wench! So you are here! You’re the one who doomed my poor nephew!”

A shrill cry suddenly echoed as Huitong charged out from the side, leading a large group of people.

Luo Xinlan’s heart sank. ’The people from Luoshui Nunnery... they finally found us.’ It also looked as if they had been colluding with Huangfu Haoyue’s faction for some time.

”Martial Aunt Huitong,” Luo Xinlan said, stopping in her tracks and fixing Huitong with an icy stare. ”I’ll call you that one last time. Are you really going to stand in my way?”