Firmament Sword

”What’s going on?” Huangfu Chongzhi’s brows furrowed slightly. Though his face remained impassive, he was already deeply displeased.

Xu Luo, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. He often visited the Imperial Palace, so he could naturally tell from the beautiful young woman’s attire that she was a Palace Maid. And the young man sitting there, his expression cold and disdainful, was none other than the same youth who had provoked him earlier that day—the one riding the giant, scale-covered bird.

’Jiang Tianhai’s brother…’ Xu Luo thought, then turned his gaze to Shangguan Qing. He wanted to know if this was the young man’s own doing or if Shangguan Qing had ordered him to stir up trouble at the banquet.

Deep down, Xu Luo didn’t believe someone of Shangguan Qing’s stature would stoop to such low-level tactics. However, Shangguan Qing’s performance tonight had shown Xu Luo the casual disdain sect members held for the secular world.

’Perhaps in the eyes of sect members, respect… is something reserved for people of their own status. To them, secular people are like ants. Do ants deserve respect? Of course not, right?’

A hint of surprise also appeared on Shangguan Qing’s face. He asked in a deep voice, ”What’s going on?”

”Reporting to the Sect Leader, this wench was insolent and spoke rudely to my big brother. My brother had a bit too much to drink, and in his anger, he slapped her. A lowly servant who doesn’t know her place and has no manners. We were just teaching her a lesson on behalf of the Royal Family,” Jiang Tianhai, standing next to the young man, said with a smug grin, not seeming to care in the slightest.

Huangfu Chongzhi’s eyes narrowed slightly. He heard the hidden meaning in the other party’s words. The slap seemed to land on the Palace Maid’s face, but in reality, it was a slap to the face of the entire Royal Family—a direct and undisguised one at that!

’Every Palace Maid in the palace is one in a thousand, trained for years before being allowed to serve at an occasion like this. It’s absolutely impossible for one to commit any discourteous act. They wouldn’t show a hint of ridicule even to a beggar, let alone these honored guests from the sect!’

’This… this is really going too far!’

Even Xu Ji’s eyes burned with intense anger. His heart felt heavy with suppression. If not for the need to consider the bigger picture, he really wanted to fight these arrogant bastards.

Just then, a clear voice rang out. ”Jiang Tianhai, have you no shame? Do you dare tell the truth like a man? Jiang Hanhai stuck his filthy dog paws inside her clothes! She just blushed and tried to pull away, and then Jiang Hanhai hit her! Am I wrong?”

Huangfu Shishi, finally unable to suppress her inner rage, stood up and shouted her rebuke.

Ever since returning to the Imperial City today and having a good cry, Huangfu Shishi had become unusually silent. Her parents were dead, yet the sect she belonged to not only had no intention of helping her get revenge but was even plotting to seize her family’s assets... This was not only unbelievable to Huangfu Shishi but also completely unacceptable.

’How can this world be so cruel? Why are people’s hearts so cold?’ Huangfu Shishi asked herself. She couldn’t find an answer. In the end, she could only grieve alone. Fortunately, she still had her brother, and she had Xu Luo to rely on. As long as Xu Luo didn’t betray her, she could continue to be strong.

She hadn’t wanted to come to the banquet tonight, but as the link between the Royal Family and the Kaiyang Sect, she had no choice but to attend. After witnessing the ugly behavior of Jiang Tianhai’s brother, Jiang Hanhai—that so-called prodigy of the Kaiyang Sect—Huangfu Shishi had wanted to explode, but she had held it in. She never thought that her forbearance, and the Palace Maid’s forbearance, would be met with Jiang Hanhai’s unbridled arrogance and Jiang Tianhai’s shameless, silver-tongued lies!

”Junior Sister, what kind of talk is that? You may be a secular princess, but I’m still your fiancé! How can you speak about your future brother-in-law like that? Now hurry up and apologize!” Jiang Tianhai said with a sneer, then shot a provocative glance at Xu Luo.

”Shut up! When did I become your fiancée? You’re shameless!” Huangfu Shishi exploded with anger. At this moment, she finally understood. The Kaiyang Sect’s entry into the secular world this time was purely to seize the Huangfu Family’s imperial power. They no longer cared about people like them. As for the older generation of Huangfu Family members within the Kaiyang Sect... those people either didn’t involve themselves in worldly affairs or were already far removed from the secular Huangfu Family, their blood ties thin. Would they offend the Sect Leader for the sake of the Huangfu Family? The answer to that was obvious.

At that moment, Shangguan Qing frowned and chided, ”Alright, don’t go too far.”

It was a light, dismissive sentence. He didn’t spare another glance for the Palace Maid or Huangfu Shishi. Instead, he turned his gaze to Huangfu Chongzhi. ”Right, there’s one more thing I came to tell you. Although Huangfu Shishi is your Royal Princess, she is now a disciple of the Kaiyang Sect—my Direct Disciple. I intend to marry her to another one of my Direct Disciples, which would be a wonderful match. I’m just informing you. In the future, we’ll be one big family. We won’t hold today’s little misunderstanding against you. Let’s all continue drinking. Don’t let this spoil the mood.”

’A little misunderstanding... *You* won’t hold it against *us*... one big family?’ Huangfu Chongzhi’s mouth twitched violently as he stared at Shangguan Qing in disbelief. ’Could this man be any more shameless? We are clearly the wronged party, yet he says *they* won’t hold it against us... And did I agree to marry my sister to your disciple? You call this ’informing’ me? This is utter contempt!’

”Heh… heh heh.” Sitting there, Xu Luo suddenly couldn’t help but chuckle. Then, he burst into loud laughter, as if he’d gone completely mad.

At first, the group of Kaiyang Sect disciples all watched Xu Luo with sneers on their faces. It was a very satisfying experience, seeing someone driven mad by their overwhelming power. The best part? Even when driven mad, he wouldn’t dare to resist!

’What does it mean to be a superior? This is it!’

’What are the common masses? These secular people… they’re all just… a bunch of ants… and nothing more!’

But gradually, the expressions on the faces of these Kaiyang Sect disciples began to change. A few with shallower cultivation turned pale, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and collapsed limply to the ground.

Xu Luo was still laughing wildly. More and more Kaiyang Sect disciples turned pale. Jiang Hanhai, Jiang Tianhai, and some of the older members had already begun circulating their energy to resist, their expressions turning incredibly grim.

”SILENCE!” Shangguan Qing bellowed. His shout was like a sudden clap of thunder in the grand hall. The pressure on the pale-faced Kaiyang Sect disciples instantly vanished. They all let out long sighs of relief, their eyes filled with terror as they looked at Xu Luo.

”Xu Luo, what do you think you’re doing?” Shangguan Qing glared at Xu Luo and roared, the light in his eyes flickering. It was clear he was truly angered.

”Me? What am I doing? Heh.” A mocking smile appeared on Xu Luo’s face as he looked at Shangguan Qing. ”Sect Master Shangguan, what do you claim I’ve done? I was just laughing. I felt happy, I found it funny. Don’t I even have the right to laugh?”

”Xu Luo, stop playing dumb. Don’t think that just because I appreciate your talent, I won’t make a move on you,” Shangguan Qing said coldly. ”Status and position have never been reasons that stopped me from acting!”

”Oh? Is Sect Master Shangguan going to make a move on me?” Xu Luo asked, his face a mask of surprise and confusion. ”But why?”

”Xu Luo, my patience… has its limits.” Shangguan Qing glanced at Xu Luo, then said, ”Since this banquet has become so unpleasant, let’s just do away with it.” With that, he casually flicked his sleeve.

In an instant, the dozens of tables in the grand hall, along with all the tableware on them, vaporized and dissipated into the air, leaving not a single trace behind! It was as if they had never been there at all!

The people remained seated, with nothing but empty space before them. The sight was incredibly bizarre.

This move instantly shocked countless people into silence.

Even many of the Kaiyang Sect disciples were dumbfounded. Clearly, not even they, his own people, truly knew the extent of their Sect Leader’s power.

But now, smiles appeared on the faces of Jiang Hanhai and Jiang Tianhai. They looked arrogantly at Xu Luo and the others. Jiang Tianhai, in particular, stared at Xu Luo with undisguised killing intent.

Xu Luo’s recent display of power had truly shocked him. ’Even after six months of training, and with enough trump cards to not fear Xu Luo, I’m still stunned by his strength. If I could, I would much rather see the Sect Leader kill Xu Luo personally than face him in a real battle.’

The shadow of his previous defeat was not so easily dispelled.

”This banquet has indeed been unpleasant. Sect Master Shangguan is truly formidable, scaring a whole crowd of people into silence,” Xu Luo said, a faint smile suddenly appearing on his face.

For some reason, after seeing the smile on Xu Luo’s face, the crowd, which had been so tense they were afraid to breathe, suddenly seemed to find their backbone. They all breathed a sigh of relief, not even knowing why they had such confidence in him.

As he spoke, Xu Luo glanced at Huangfu Shishi and gave her a reassuring smile. Then he turned to Shangguan Qing and declared, ”Huangfu Shishi is my woman! No one gets to decide her fate! Sect Master Shangguan, even though you are her senior and her master… even you… cannot!”

Before Shangguan Qing could react, Xu Luo turned his head toward Jiang Tianhai, whose face had turned ugly, and sneered, ”As for you, you’re just a loser. Give up on that idea of yours!”

”How insolent!” Shangguan Qing roared, then slapped a palm out toward Xu Luo. ”Today, I’ll teach you a lesson, you arrogant brat!”

BUZZ!

A buzzing sound suddenly emanated from Xu Luo’s body. Immediately after, countless pink flower petals began to drift through the grand hall!

They seemed to appear out of thin air, scattering and falling like rain.

In any other setting, the sight of pink petals filling the sky and raining down would surely have drawn shrieks from all the women.

’So romantic!’

’So beautiful!’

’So beautiful it’s breathtaking!’

A sweet fragrance spread out, and everyone felt as if they were in a sea of flowers, so mesmerized that they almost forgot where they were!

Shangguan Qing’s expression changed. He instantly retracted his palm and let out a muffled grunt. A flash of disbelief flickered in his eyes, which then filled with killing intent. He hesitated for a moment before his expression returned to calm. He took a long, deep look at Xu Luo and said flatly, ”Good. Very good. The younger generation is truly to be feared!”

With that, he turned and left without the slightest hesitation!