Firmament Sword

”Senior Brother, what do you think?” a slightly plump, fair-skinned young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six asked. A sleazy smile touched his lips as he looked at another handsome young man, not yet thirty. ”Those two girls are quite the lookers, aren’t they?”

”Have you looked into their backgrounds?” the handsome youth asked coolly. There was a hint of a sinister air about him.

”When your junior brother’s on the case, is there anything I can’t find out?” The plump youth grinned. ”The tall one with the incredibly noble air—and those long, straight legs—is a princess of the Cangqiong Royal Family. Her sect is the Kaiyang Sect. The other one, the devastatingly beautiful girl who’s both pure and alluring, is from a small sect called Merak.”

”The Royal Family... Merak?” The handsome youth chuckled. ”Hardly worth a second thought. The Kaiyang Sect... now that’s a bit of a nuisance. But... it’s no big deal.” He flashed a sinister smile. ”You didn’t take that beating for nothing. I’ll remember this. When we get back, I’ll reward you handsomely!”

An excited look immediately spread across the plump youth’s face. ”Thank you, Senior Brother!”

”That Merak disciple is quite skilled. I wonder about the Royal Princess from the Kaiyang Sect. She’d better... not disappoint me either,” the handsome youth said.

”From what I’ve managed to gather, that Royal Princess seems to be on the outs with the Kaiyang Sect,” the plump youth said.

”Oh? What sort of trouble?” The handsome youth’s eyes lit up. As bold as he was, confronting the Kaiyang Sect head-on would still take some nerve.

”The Kaiyang Sect was originally the backer of the Cangqiong Royal Family. But during the recent upheaval, the Royal Family was nearly wiped out by people from Dubhe. When the Kaiyang Sect arrived, they did nothing, which made the Royal Family furious. This Royal Princess, Huangfu Shishi, may be a disciple of the Kaiyang Sect, but she’s a direct-line royal. Naturally, she’s furious about her sect’s cold-blooded indifference,” the plump youth explained.

”Childish! So naive! When have sects ever cared about the secular world?” The handsome youth sneered. ”But... I like it a lot!”

”Oh, right. Senior Brother, there’s one more thing I have to tell you,” the plump youth said, his tone turning serious. ”Those two women are closely connected to that secular young master who’s been making a name for himself, Xu Luo. Huangfu Shishi is supposedly his childhood sweetheart, and that beauty from Merak named Phoenix moved right into the Xu Mansion as soon as she got here!”

”Xu Luo? You mean the one who caused such a stir and attracted all that attention at the Sect Assembly?” The handsome youth’s sharp brows twitched slightly. ”He’s just some secular kid,” he said dismissively. ”Hardly a threat.”

”I heard that many of the so-called geniuses from the major sects are no match for him,” the plump youth said cautiously.

”Geniuses?” The handsome youth laughed. ”Haha, Junior Brother, are you kidding me? Those idiots... have the nerve to call themselves geniuses? Heh... Their ’genius’ title must not be worth much, huh?” he said with a mocking sneer. ”Could you take on two of those ’geniuses’ by yourself?”

The plump youth thought for a moment, then said, ”Killing one would be no problem. Two... might be a bit of a challenge.”

”Hahahaha! So that settles it, doesn’t it?” the handsome youth sneered. ”Those sects haven’t been tempered by war for far too long. They’ve lost much of their heritage and are on the verge of having no worthy successors. Any two-bit nobody... dares to call themselves a genius. It’s so ridiculous I could die laughing.”

”Compared to you, Senior Brother, they’re nothing more than stray kittens,” the plump youth said with a fawning smile.

”I’m at a critical juncture in my Profound Skill cultivation and don’t want to reveal myself too soon. Otherwise, I’d love to challenge every single one of these so-called major sects and humiliate them so badly they’d never dare show their faces in public again!” The handsome youth’s face was a mask of cold pride, his expression one of supreme arrogance.

Had any outsider heard this, they would have thought the handsome, sinister-looking youth was insane to make such an outrageous boast.

But the plump youth beside him nodded in fervent agreement. ”The day you perfect your divine skill, Senior Brother, will be the day these sects fall!”

The handsome youth’s mood lifted, and he laughed. ”When that day comes, all of those sects will be yours to command!”

...

”Phoenix, about Xu Luo and I...” Huangfu Shishi looked at Phoenix, hesitating. She had been wanting to clear the air with Phoenix for days, but each time she tried, Phoenix would gently deflect the conversation. Phoenix’s decision to move directly into the Xu Mansion was a particularly strong statement, and it left Huangfu Shishi feeling a little unsettled.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of losing to Phoenix in a fight for him. In fact, she didn’t want to fight at all. She was confident that Xu Luo would never leave her.

But she was afraid Phoenix might do something drastic that would embarrass everyone.

Others might not know Phoenix well, but Huangfu Shishi knew better. The young woman who had run the Fengyue Building for so many years might look innocent, but she possessed methods that most people could hardly imagine.

Huangfu Shishi felt that if she tried to play mind games with Phoenix, she would be completely outmatched.

That being the case, it was better to just have an open and honest conversation.

”Qiqi... I’m a little older than you. Is it alright if I call you that?” Phoenix suddenly broke into a smile as she looked at Huangfu Shishi.

”Of course. The people I’m close with call me that,” Huangfu Shishi nodded, watching Phoenix and wondering what she was getting at.

”The truth is, we both like Xu Luo, don’t we?” Phoenix’s beautiful eyes, which seemed capable of seeing right into a person’s heart, were fixed on Huangfu Shishi. ”I’ve known for a long time that you and he are childhood sweethearts. If anyone should be feeling anxious and insecure, it should be me.”

”I... I’m not anxious or insecure. I was just...”

”You were just afraid I’d cause trouble, right?” Phoenix chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. ”It seems the things I did during my years in the secular world gave you a rather skewed impression of me.”

”...” Huangfu Shishi looked at Phoenix, a little bewildered. ”A skewed impression?”

”Yes. A lot of people think I’m a woman with the face of an angel but the heart of a viper. And it’s true that my methods were a bit... severe... back when I was at the Fengyue Building.” Phoenix sighed softly. ”But you must understand. I was just a young girl in charge of that whole massive enterprise. If I hadn’t been ruthless, wouldn’t I have been eaten alive, with not even my bones left to spare?”

Phoenix glanced at Huangfu Shishi. ”You were born into nobility. Even though you had that hidden ailment when you were young, no one would have dared to try anything funny with you. It was different for me. A place like the Fengyue Building attracts all sorts.”

”I’m sorry...” Huangfu Shishi looked at Phoenix, seeing a glimpse of the hardships she had endured in her eyes.

”You’re being sincere with me, so I won’t be disingenuous with you. We’re going to be around each other for a long time, so there’s no need for apologies.” Phoenix smiled gently. ”I’m not asking for much. As long as he doesn’t reject me, that’s enough for me.”

”You don’t mind?” A glint flashed in Huangfu Shishi’s eyes as she voiced her doubt.

In truth, if not for Xu Luo, why would Huangfu Shishi have ever humbled herself like this? Her status as a Royal Princess alone—not to mention her position as a disciple of the Kaiyang Sect—was enough to let her hold her head high with pride.

Only Xu Luo was her Achilles’ heel. Anything related to him made her tread with the utmost caution, because she never wanted to become one of *those* women—the kind who are disliked and resented.

”If you can accept it... why should I object?” Phoenix smiled. ”You, Sister Lianyi, and I—the three of us should band together. Our job should be to keep other women away from Xu Luo!”

”Ah...” The corner of Huangfu Shishi’s mouth twitched. ”Are there other women?” she asked softly.

”Of course there are! Xu Qing from the Jade Balance Sect, Lin Luoxue from Dubhe, and that junior sister of Lianyi’s, Ji Bingyu... They’re all possibilities!” Phoenix said huffily. ”Xu Luo is perfect in every way, except he’s too soft-hearted! He doesn’t know how to turn anyone down!”

’If he weren’t so soft-hearted, you probably wouldn’t be by his side either, would you?’ Huangfu Shishi thought to herself.

Despite her thoughts, Huangfu Shishi asked, ”About Lin Luoxue from Dubhe... I did ask him about her. He said that while our relationship with Dubhe isn’t openly hostile yet, it’s close. The next time we meet, we might be enemies.”

Phoenix sighed softly. ”I don’t want too many women around Xu Luo, but at the same time, I don’t want to see people who could have been lovers—or at least friends—end up as enemies.”

”I don’t want that either, but many things are out of our control,” Huangfu Shishi said wistfully.

”I don’t want Xu Luo to know about our talk today,” Phoenix said, looking up at Huangfu Shishi. ”Let’s just get along in private and not cause any trouble for him.”

”You’re afraid he’ll...” Huangfu Shishi looked at Phoenix.

”That’s right. I don’t want to be too indulgent with him...” Phoenix lowered her head, a little shyly. ”I’m not as magnanimous as you are,” she said softly. ”I don’t want him attracting too many other girls.”

Huangfu Shishi rolled her eyes. ’I’m not nearly as magnanimous as you think,’ she thought. ’I’m only like this because I love him and I have no other choice! Otherwise, I’d push away even you!’

Although both had their own private thoughts, friendships between women can form quickly. When Xu Luo returned to the Xu Mansion, he was astonished to find the two of them looking as close as blood sisters, which came as a huge surprise to him, as he had been feeling quite apprehensive.

”Xu Luo, your power... you’ve grown stronger again?” Phoenix, who had already reached the Fifth Layer of the Transformation Realm, stared at Xu Luo in astonishment. She hadn’t expected him to advance so quickly. What shocked her even more was that while they were supposedly Martial Artists of the same realm now, she felt like she couldn’t see through him at all.

More importantly, a single thought kept surfacing in her mind: ’I’m no match for him at all!’