Firmament Sword

”Fine... Very good... Excellent!” Wang Xu laughed in extreme anger, his eyes turning ice-cold as he stared at Xu Luo. ”I’ve seen plenty of self-righteous people, but you... you’re a first! You just had to push your luck, didn’t you? Remember what you said today. You’d better not regret it!”

Lianyi’s face had become an icy mask, her dissatisfaction with Wang Xu reaching a breaking point. It was true that within the entire Celestial Cauldron Sect, Wang Xu’s status was extremely high. Even many of the high-ranking Elders, and some from the senior generation, had to treat this young man with deference.

The reason was simple: Wang Xu was a peerless genius of the Celestial Cauldron Sect, with a limitless future ahead of him.

’But so what? How is my Xu Luo any worse than you? Secular world and sect world are two different things? You can be as arrogant as you want, but you have no right to look down on others like this!’

To Lianyi, if it weren’t for the Xu Family, she would have long since died. Xu Luo was the most important person to her in this world! On this point, not even her own mother, Ling Fengwu, could compare!

Before she could speak, Xu Luo smiled and nodded. ”Don’t worry, I won’t regret it. You... can go ahead.”

”Kid, aren’t you being a little too arrogant?” one of the young men beside Wang Xu spoke up, his tone icy and his eyes flashing with anger.

”Enough. There’s no need to waste words on a dead man walking. The Dubhe Sect won’t let him off,” Wang Xu said, then looked up at Lianyi and Ji Bingyu. ”Are you two really going in?”

”This is my home,” Lianyi said, forcefully suppressing the anger in her heart.

”Senior Brother, so what if Xu Luo has a conflict with the Dubhe Sect? What’s wrong with us being guests here? Is the Dubhe Sect really that tyrannical? Are they going to kill anyone and everyone associated with the Xu Family?” Ji Bingyu said, her face tight with displeasure.

”We’re leaving.” Wang Xu shot Xu Luo a cold glance, the look one might give a dead man, then turned and walked away.

The remaining disciples from the Celestial Cauldron Sect stood there, at a loss. They had all agreed to be guests at the Xu Family’s home but never expected something like this to happen.

”What, are you all still planning to be guests here?” Wang Xu stopped in his tracks and asked coolly.

Lianyi sighed softly and said, ”You should all return to the inn for now. Those who wish to stay, may stay.”

Following this, over a dozen people followed behind Wang Xu, while six or seven others hesitated for a moment before moving to stand with Lianyi and Ji Bingyu.

”Very well. Remember this: if your actions cause any conflict between our sect and Dubhe, it’s your own problem!” Wang Xu was extremely displeased with those who stayed behind and said coldly.

With that, Wang Xu stormed off.

”Xu Luo, don’t stoop to his level. Wang Xu is the most outstanding disciple of the younger generation in the Celestial Cauldron Sect. His cultivation has already reached the Eighth Layer of the Transformation Realm...” Lianyi whispered softly beside Xu Luo.

Ji Bingyu also walked over and said with a smile, ”That’s just how he is—self-righteous. It’s best to just ignore him!”

Xu Luo laughed. ”Don’t worry, I won’t take it to heart.”

At that moment, Wang Xu, who was already quite a distance away, suddenly spun around. He thrust out his palm, and a fierce gust of palm wind shot toward Xu Luo!

”Let me teach you a lesson! Learn your place!”

”You’ve gone too far!” Lianyi finally erupted in anger, shouting for him to stop.

Ji Bingyu hadn’t expected Wang Xu to actually attack, and her exquisitely beautiful face was filled with fury.

Xu Luo simply raised a fist. A powerful force surged out and collided with the palm wind. A loud BANG echoed in mid-air, but Xu Luo’s figure remained completely still.

A strange glint flashed in Wang Xu’s eyes. His feet suddenly moved, and his body transformed into a streak of lightning, rushing toward Xu Luo.

”Is there no end to this?”

Xu Luo was also getting angry. He couldn’t believe his opponent was so reckless as to attack him directly.

Wang Xu remained silent, his movements incredibly fast. He unleashed a set of palm techniques, one strike after another, each one heavy with power and viciously aimed at Xu Luo’s vital points.

In close combat, who had Xu Luo ever feared?

His body, continuously strengthened by the Kaiyang Star, had reached a terrifying level. He had also cultivated techniques like Breaking Army Seven Kills and the Tyrant Technique to an extremely high realm.

The figures of the two men were like lightning, so fast it was dizzying, making it impossible to see their forms clearly.

A moment later, a muffled grunt was heard. Wang Xu stumbled back more than a dozen steps, his face pale and his aura in disarray. His eyes were filled with resentment, as if he had gotten the worst of the exchange.

Xu Luo, on the other hand, stood there calmly, his expression unchanged. He looked at Wang Xu and said coolly, ”Is that all you’ve got?”

”You... I’ll kill you!” Wang Xu roared like an enraged lion and charged at Xu Luo once more.

But this time, a mass of ethereal blue flames suddenly rose behind Wang Xu, soaring dozens of meters high!

Dharma Heaven and Earth!

And what’s more, it was an extremely rare Elemental Dharma Aspect!

”Elemental Fire! His Dharma Aspect is actually Elemental Fire!” someone in the distance exclaimed in a low voice.

News of what was happening here spread quickly, and people had already started gathering to watch.

”How can there be such a Dharma Aspect?” someone asked, confused.

The person who had previously shouted ”Elemental Fire” replied with an envious look, ”Within Dharma Heaven and Earth, there are some special Dharma Aspects. They require not only a corresponding Cultivation Technique but also the aid of certain treasures. Elemental Fire... is one of them!”

”Elemental Fire is a unique flame born from the heavens and earth. It possesses a kind of spiritual intelligence and is incredibly powerful. To subdue this kind of fire, one must not only have immense strength but also a constitution with an extremely high affinity for the fire element.”

”Besides Elemental Fire, there are also Elemental Gold, Elemental Wood, Elemental Water, and Elemental Earth. However, even if most people manage to subdue these Five Elements of the world, they usually just integrate them into their techniques to increase their power.”

”To directly cultivate Elemental Fire into a Dharma Aspect like this is exceedingly rare. In all of history, every person who managed to cultivate a worldly element into a Dharma Aspect eventually became a renowned and formidable expert—truly incredible!”

After hearing the explanation, all the onlookers gasped in amazement, sighing that the Celestial Cauldron Sect truly lived up to its reputation as a super-sect to have such a talented disciple among its ranks.

That person added, ”Even for the Celestial Cauldron Sect, a disciple like this probably only appears once every few hundred or even a thousand years. I just don’t know how he ended up in a conflict with Xu Luo. I heard the daughter of the Celestial Cauldron Sect Leader grew up in the Xu Family. Logically... their relationship should be very close.”

This person indeed knew a lot, but he never would have guessed that the conflict was caused simply because the ”genius expert” he was just praising had taken a dislike to Xu Luo.

”Wang Xu, stop this foolishness!” Lianyi was completely furious. She couldn’t believe that this genius senior brother from her sect could be so narrow-minded.

WHOOSH!

The Elemental Fire behind Wang Xu, burning with ethereal blue flames, released a bizarrely cold aura as it swept directly toward Xu Luo.

”Xu Luo, be careful! That’s the Ice Flame from within the Elemental Fire! You can’t feel its heat, but it can easily incinerate steel!” Ji Bingyu shouted a warning, then turned to Wang Xu. ”Senior Brother, you’ve gone too far! Stop this at once!”

Wang Xu’s face was cold and he said nothing. Not only did he not stop his attack, but he desperately pushed his Elemental Fire’s Ice Flame, intending to obliterate Xu Luo!

This was no longer a small conflict; this was a clear attempt to murder him.

Xu Luo was enraged now, too. He didn’t know this Wang Xu at all, let alone have any grudge against him. The man couldn’t beat him in close combat, so he resorted to such a powerful technique to try and kill him outright... If he could still tolerate this, he wouldn’t be Xu Luo.

The Three-Star Dharma Aspect suddenly rose. Three great stars, exuding an ancient aura, appeared. The Kaiyang Star in the center pressed directly toward the Ice Flame in the sky!

The ethereal blue flame instantly enveloped the great star. The scene was magnificent, as if a planet burning with blue fire had appeared in the sky.

”Break for me!” Wang Xu roared, and the blue flames covering the great star flared even more intensely!

”Absorb!” Xu Luo said a single word coolly. Then, an astonishing scene unfolded!

The blue flames burning fiercely on the Kaiyang Star Dharma Aspect were suddenly torn away, as if being pulled into the Kaiyang Star itself. In just an instant, all the blue flames vanished completely!

They had all been sucked into the Kaiyang Star Dharma Aspect!

Xu Luo could clearly feel the light of the Kaiyang Star Soul in his Dantian grow several shades brighter!

It would have been a different story with any other Dharma Aspect, but Wang Xu’s misfortune was that his Dharma Heaven and Earth was one of the Five Elements.

And as vessels for all elements, any one of the stars in the Three-Star Dharma Aspect could easily break and absorb the Five Elements!

”AHH!” Wang Xu let out a furious roar. The Elemental Fire Dharma Aspect behind him flared up once again. Refusing to believe what he was seeing, he sent it burning toward Xu Luo’s Three-Star Dharma Aspect.

”Heh heh.” A pleasant chuckle escaped Xu Luo’s lips. He was suddenly starting to like this kind of opponent. ’So generous!’

As expected, the Elemental Fire’s Ice Flame was once again absorbed by the Kaiyang Star Dharma Aspect.

At this point, a tiny but distinct cluster of blue flame had actually appeared on the Kaiyang Star Soul within Xu Luo’s Dantian!

’I never thought the Kaiyang Star Soul could actually replicate the Elemental Fire after absorbing it.’ Xu Luo couldn’t help but feel a little surprised.

The Kaiyang Star Soul now possessed an additional flame—the Ice Flame of the fire element, one of the Five Elements!

’Does this mean... that if I encounter other Five Elements in the future, I can absorb them all and make them my own?’ Xu Luo was startled by his own thought.

’Seriously, what other Cultivation Technique in the world could be this miraculous?’

’Isn’t this... a bit like bullying?’ Looking at Wang Xu, who had blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and whose eyes were a mixture of shock and rage, Xu Luo grumbled to himself. ’He worked so hard to get this, and it all ended up benefiting me. That doesn’t seem very nice, does it? But... this feeling is pretty damn great!’

”You... What kind of Cultivation Technique is this? My Ice Flame... You’ve stolen half of it!” Wang Xu was truly stunned. He couldn’t believe any of this was real.

Xu Luo grinned, baring his teeth. ”Why don’t you just give me the other half, too? It’s not like it’s any use in your hands anymore.”