Firmament Sword

In the brief moment his mind had wandered, he was killed by Bixi yet again.

This time, however, a flash of inspiration seemed to strike Xu Luo’s mind. Shaking Light’s words had given him a sense of sudden, brilliant clarity.

”Perfect Broken Tendons and Bones... Even if performed by someone completely powerless, it can unleash... earth-shattering might...” Xu Luo muttered to himself, then suddenly burst out laughing. ”I get it!”

As he spoke, he executed the nearly perfected Shaking Light Step. In an instant, he soared above Bixi’s massive, planet-sized shell. Then, Xu Luo opened his eyes, and the world... in that moment, froze!

Like an eagle diving for a rabbit, Xu Luo smashed his fist down on a single spot on the shell—the very point he had just identified as Bixi’s most vulnerable!

This point... was the single hardest spot on Bixi’s entire shell!

Anyone else would have been unable to find this point. They would never have imagined that the hardest part of Bixi was, in fact, its weakest!

The Bixi, so vast it seemed almost limitless, suddenly radiated an aura of immense tension, even despair. The feeling sent Xu Luo into a frenzied excitement. ”Hahaha, you’ve tortured me countless times! Now it’s finally my turn to torture you, isn’t it?”

BANG!

Breaking Army Seven Kills—Broken Tendons and Bones!

His fist smashed down hard on that single point. Although Xu Luo was so small he was less than a speck of dust, and despite his attack being too weak to even tickle Bixi, this one punch, against all odds, caused the frenzied beast to freeze solid the very instant it landed.

CRACK...

A crisp cracking sound suddenly echoed out.

A fine crack appeared, starting from the point Xu Luo had struck.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Then, like a river thawing in spring, the cracking sounds came one after another without pause.

Spiderwebbing out from the point of impact, the cracks spread rapidly in all directions...

He didn’t know how long had passed before he opened his eyes again. A look of ancient weariness flashed in their depths. Glancing at the hourglass, he saw that only a moment had gone by.

And yet, in that nameless starry sky, he felt as if he had already lived through countless cycles of reincarnation, dying more times than he could count.

He had finally cultivated the first of the Breaking Army Seven Kills, Broken Tendons and Bones, to the realm of perfection!

His state of mind was surprisingly calm. Now that he was back in reality, he felt none of the excitement he had previously imagined.

Anyone who had gone through the same ordeal would surely feel the same.

”Shaking Light, I want to continue,” Xu Luo said calmly, taking a deep breath.

”Very well.” As if expecting this request, a series of images immediately appeared in Xu Luo’s Sea of Spiritual Consciousness.

It was the same figure seen from behind, but the behemoths it faced were different. Each was an Ancient Divine Beast, and each time, Xu Luo, who could only use a single technique, would die tens of millions of times.

By the time Xu Luo was training the seventh of the Breaking Army Seven Kills—Vibrating Eight Desolates—his opponent was an ancient dragon!

Even though its power was but a billionth of a true dragon’s, Xu Luo suffered immensely. Within that Star Domain, it felt as if several thousand years had passed, and he had died innumerable times.

Through this process of life and death, Xu Luo improved tremendously. He finally cultivated the last move of the Breaking Army Seven Kills, Vibrating Eight Desolates, to the realm of perfection. Wielding the Seven Star Sword, he swept it forward in a single strike, and the entire Star Domain... along with the ancient dragon, was annihilated.

When he opened his eyes, emerging from his trance, he realized only three days had passed!

Xu Luo couldn’t help but marvel at Shaking Light’s power. It had allowed him to train for what felt like an eternity in that Star Domain, while only a few days had passed in the real world. Such an ability was simply heaven-defying; no one would believe him if he told them.

Of course, the torment Xu Luo had endured was also unimaginable. An ordinary person would have likely broken down long ago. The only reason he made it through was his incomparably powerful will.

The benefits were equally unimaginable. He no longer needed to spend time seeking enlightenment for techniques like the Shadow Shaking Heart Method, Shaking Light Burst, Jade Balance Demon Sound, and the Tyrant Technique. Though he hadn’t actively used them during those endless years of training, he had long since grasped the fundamental principles behind them.

His training in the Star Domain had given him a master key. From now on, no matter what Cultivation Technique he practiced, he could master it to a state of absolute perfection in an extremely short amount of time.

Finally, Xu Luo began to focus all his energy on breaking through to the Fifth Layer of the Transformation Realm. With his prior experiences, there was no bottleneck to speak of. The breakthrough happened as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

The shackles on his meridians shattered, and power coursed endlessly through his body. Xu Luo’s vitality surged to an unimaginable level, and his physical body became astonishingly resilient.

Now standing on the fifth step of the Transformation Realm, three great stars slowly rose behind Xu Luo. The star representing Jade Balance, however, appeared somewhat dim and lacked luster. But the other two stars radiated an endless might, their aura alone enough to sweep away any expert of the same rank.

’Jade Balance... I will find a way to awaken you!’ Xu Luo vowed internally. He then opened the door to the secret chamber and strode out.

The moment he emerged from his seclusion, Xu Luo unfurled his Divine Sense, spreading it out from his position to cover all directions. In an instant, the entire Cangqiong Imperial Capital was enveloped within it.

A massive flood of information instantly rushed into his Sea of Spiritual Consciousness. His incredibly potent Spiritual Power began methodically analyzing it all. At this moment, Xu Luo’s power was simply unbelievable.

While other experts of his rank could also extend their Divine Sense over a large area, for them to analyze everything within that range in a single instant, as Xu Luo had just done, was a near-impossibility.

’Hm? A lot of experts have come to the Imperial Capital...’ Xu Luo’s Divine Sense swept by so quickly that the other experts barely sensed a flicker, unable to lock onto its source. Without needing a second look, Xu Luo knew that a large number of powerful cultivators had gathered in the city.

A cold sneer touched Xu Luo’s lips. ’It seems the sects can’t hold back any longer. I’d guess all the sects that attended the assembly have already sent people into the mortal world.’

”Second Young Master, you’re finally out! Miss Phoenix and the members of her sect have been here for several days...” A trusted Xu Family guard’s face lit up with pleasant surprise when he saw Xu Luo emerge from the secret chamber.

This secret chamber wasn’t at the Xu Family estate but in an inconspicuous little courtyard within the Imperial Capital. The chamber itself was dozens of meters underground, a relic left by a Xu Family ancestor. The Xu Family estate was currently as bustling as a marketplace, making secluded cultivation nearly impossible, which was why Xu Luo had chosen this location.

The few guards he had brought with him were among the Xu Family’s most trusted retainers.

”Oh? Phoenix is here?” Xu Luo raised an eyebrow. ’I wonder if Phoenix knows about me and Qiqi, and how she’ll react,’ he thought.

A pang of guilt struck Xu Luo. He felt he had wronged Phoenix.

Though born into a great family, he wasn’t a typical profligate son. Unlike other young nobles, who were practically masters in the affairs between men and women and had lost their virginity by thirteen or fourteen, Xu Luo was different.

Xu Luo had only recently gone from a boy to a man. When it came to the Martial Dao, he could be called a genius. His intellect was also extremely high. But in matters of love, Xu Luo was far more obtuse. Compared to his martial talent, the difference was like night and day.

But no matter how obtuse he was, he couldn’t run from these feelings.

To be honest, in this world, it was nothing new for powerful men—whether in the mortal world or the Sect Realm—to have wives and concubines. The problem was... both Huangfu Shishi and Phoenix were true prodigies, the ”favored daughters of heaven,” with pride flowing in their very bones. All their gentleness and compromises in front of Xu Luo were born from affection.

But when faced with a true choice, what decision would proud women like them make...? Only heaven knew.

”But... no matter what, I won’t give up on you.” Thinking of Phoenix’s stubborn little face, Xu Luo’s heart softened, and he murmured the words aloud.

”Second Young Master, what did you say?” The guard asked instinctively, noticing that Xu Luo seemed distracted and was muttering something. These guards were true confidants of the Xu Family who had practically watched Xu Luo grow up. So, even though Xu Luo’s name was now known throughout the world, in their eyes, he was still the same kind Second Young Master from the past, not the powerhouse who could now rule the world.

”Oh, it’s nothing. Take me to see Phoenix,” Xu Luo said.

”Yes, sir!” the guard replied. ”We can just head back to the estate. The people from the Merak Sect are mostly staying at the Fengyue Building, but Miss Phoenix... she’s been staying at our estate the entire time.”

”What about Princess Shishi? Is she out of her seclusion?” Xu Luo asked.

”The Princess came out the day before yesterday. When she couldn’t find you at the estate, she dragged Miss Phoenix out shopping with her.” The guard looked at Xu Luo with a hint of admiration. ”Oh, right, they got into a fight on the street. I never would have guessed Miss Phoenix was so powerful now. She beat a few troublemakers so badly they didn’t know what hit them. I don’t think she was anywhere near this strong back when she was the owner of the Fengyue Building.”

’Of course she is,’ Xu Luo thought. ’How could the Phoenix from her Fengyue Building days possibly compare to the Phoenix of today?’

”That happened?” Xu Luo’s brow furrowed slightly. ”Who were they?”

’Under normal circumstances,’ he thought, ’even people from the sects wouldn’t dare to provoke the Xu Family, especially not now. After all, this is the mortal world, this is Xu Family territory! Not to mention my reputation has already spread throughout the Sect Realm. Who would be foolish enough to pick a fight with my family?’

”They seemed to be from a minor sect. After Miss Phoenix sent them running, they haven’t dared to show their faces again,” the guard said, his face filled with pride.

There was a time when mortals would speak the word ”sect” with automatic reverence. Upon meeting anyone from a sect, regardless of their age or the sect’s size, mortals would be unfailingly deferential...

They would never have dared to show the slightest hint of disdain.

But this... this was the newfound confidence of the Xu Family!

After all, they had already witnessed the power of a major sect, and even its Sect Leader couldn’t gain an advantage against their Second Young Master!

That alone was enough to make them proud!

”I see. Let’s head back,” Xu Luo said, giving the matter little further thought.