Firmament Sword

”You little bastard… Get back here!”

Huo Wanzhang was stunned. He’d launched a blast of Sword Qi, yet his target had emerged completely unscathed. The kid had even come bounding out, full of life, and was now trying to escape… But what shocked Huo Wanzhang most of all was how young he was!

He had assumed that anyone who could evade his Divine Sense for so long must be an expert of the same realm. That was the only reason he had called out ”friend.” Otherwise, with his status, how many people in the entire Central Plains Star Continent were worthy of being his friend?

The memory of having addressed the boy as ”friend” made Huo Wanzhang’s face burn. His eyelids twitched. He was absolutely furious.

Nearby, Huo Danqiong, Huo Wei, and the other two—the stout old man Huo Jinwen and the gaunt old man Huo Jinwu—were also momentarily stunned when Xu Luo appeared. They, too, hadn’t expected to find someone so young hidden in the mine tunnels. What’s more, he was completely unscathed after taking a blast of Sword Qi from Huo Wanzhang!

”How did this little guy… evade our Divine Sense?” Huo Danqiong couldn’t help but mutter.

Seeing Xu Luo actually run for it, Huo Wanzhang’s anger flared. With a flick of his finger, he shot another blast of Sword Qi at Xu Luo’s back.

SWOOSH!

The invisible Sword Qi, like a sharp arrow… instantly pierced through the void!

Only after the Sword Qi was unleashed did a sharp, ear-splitting shriek fill the air, making the onlookers involuntarily cover their ears.

Xu Luo activated the Shaking Light Step, his entire body transforming into a streak of light, his speed was incredible!

Huo Wanzhang’s Sword Qi missed its mark once again!

Xu Luo could clearly feel a cold, murderous intent closing in from behind, and his heart clenched. ’I know for a fact,’ he thought, ’that once these old men discover I possess Star Power, they will never let me go easily.’

If he wanted to escape, he had to take this chance, while they were still reeling, and get as far away as possible!

This was the first time in his life Xu Luo had ever committed so completely to running away.

He’d thought it would be a while longer before people from the Ancient Race Continent arrived. He never imagined they would show up right after he did.

’If they’d arrived at the same time as me…’ Xu Luo thought, a cold sweat breaking out on his back. He inwardly sighed in relief. ’At least I managed to drain all the energy from the Spirit Stone Vein before they got here. I even have a chance to advance to the Sword Saint realm now!’

’It seems… these men must be the family Elders that Huo Feng mentioned…’ Xu Luo wished he could take on Huo Feng’s appearance just to learn more about these old men.

Xu Luo fled so fast he gave no one even a sliver of a chance to react.

Huo Wanzhang, for his part, was dumbfounded that his second Sword Qi had also missed. In the moment it took for him to process this, the kid had already vanished without a trace.

Suddenly, he roared, ”Damn it! After him!”

Without even taking the time to explain, Huo Wanzhang’s body instantly transformed into a streak of light, furiously pursuing in the direction Xu Luo had fled.

Huo Danqiong, Huo Wei, Huo Jinwen, and Huo Jinwu stood there, stunned. They couldn’t understand why Uncle Wanzhang was losing his composure over a young punk… even if the kid’s escape speed was admittedly impressive.

Wait…

In that instant, it was as if all four of them realized something at once. Their expressions changed dramatically. They activated their body techniques and, transforming into streaks of light, vanished from the spot, heading in the direction Xu Luo had disappeared.

The high-ranking members of the Sect Realm who were left behind could only look at each other in bewilderment. They were completely in the dark. To this moment, they still hadn’t figured out what on earth had just happened.

Where did the Spirit Stones go? Why were those old men really here? And how did Xu Luo end up in the tunnels of the Spirit Stone Vein? What had he been doing in there?

These questions swirled in everyone’s mind, a puzzle they couldn’t possibly solve.

But they were all certain of one thing: everything that happened… seemed to be connected to that young disciple from the secular world!

…

Xu Luo hadn’t even had time to explore the changes brought by the awakening of his Tianquan and Phecda Star Souls before he felt someone descend upon the area. A powerful Divine Sense began relentlessly sweeping through the very vein in which he was hiding.

At first, Xu Luo was able to use his Shaking Light Star Soul to conceal himself from their Divine Sense. But his opponent was simply too powerful. After a single, momentary lapse in his concentration, he was immediately detected, and they attacked with extreme decisiveness.

This wasn’t a matter of Xu Luo lacking strength, nor was it related to combat prowess; this was a colossal difference in realms!

The Transformation Realm and the Divine Power Realm… They were two completely different levels. The myriad wonders of the Divine Power Realm were almost incomprehensible to a Transformation Realm Martial Artist!

The so-called Divine Power Realm… to put it bluntly, is the realm of Divinity Transformation!

No matter the Cultivation Technique, when executed by a mighty expert of the Divine Power Realm, it would be transformed into something entirely different!

Otherwise, Huo Wanzhang’s two blasts of Sword Qi couldn’t possibly have possessed such immense power.

It was what had forced Xu Luo to turn tail and run.

Xu Luo was now channeling all his power into the Shaking Light Step. In terms of speed, the Shaking Light Step was second to none. There was a saying: fast as a shooting star! It was the perfect way to describe speed.

When he used the Shaking Light Step, he was just like a shooting star!

Initially, Huo Wanzhang had been brimming with confidence. As a Third Layer Sword Saint, how could tracking down a young punk be anything but child’s play?

But to his utter disbelief, the figure ahead—a streak of light in the morning dawn—was actually getting farther and farther away!

”Impossible!” Huo Wanzhang’s two long, white eyebrows practically stood on end. He couldn’t believe such astonishing speed existed in this world.

’It seems that great fortune… it might just be with this young man. This time… I absolutely cannot let him escape, no matter what!’ A fiery passion ignited in Huo Wanzhang’s heart at the thought.

Originally, he hadn’t held out much hope for this trip to the Central Plains Star Continent, thinking he would just be trying his luck. He never expected that upon arriving in Cangqiong, he would discover that the Supreme Elder’s painstaking divination had been so incredibly precise!

A few years ago, the secular Cangqiong Empire on the Central Plains Star Continent had conducted a massive Star Festival, and that Star Festival… had ended in failure.

The seven stars fell!

An inauspicious celestial sign!

However, a young man from the secular world had risen with the falling of the seven stars. He first made a great name for himself in the secular world, then became a dark horse in the Central Plains Star Continent’s Sect Realm, his progress exceeding everyone’s wildest expectations…

These events weren’t any secret here; anyone with a mind to could easily find out about them.

Huo Wanzhang had originally intended to find the juniors of his own clan first. Among them was one named Huo Feng, a direct-line descendant of the Ancient Race’s Huo Family!

Although he was a profligate scion, his status was anything but ordinary. Strictly speaking, it was even nobler than Huo Wanzhang’s own!

Therefore, although Huo Wanzhang didn’t believe anyone on the Central Plains Star Continent could harm Huo Feng, he was still worried. Anyone else could meet with a mishap, but not Huo Feng.

It was just that when he arrived at the Cangqiong Imperial Capital, he discovered that Huo Feng and his group seemed to have headed for the Spirit Stone Vein. Meanwhile, the legendary youth from the secular world who had risen in the wake of the failed Star Festival had also left his home.

That was why Huo Wanzhang had brought his men and given chase. Although he hadn’t seen Huo Feng, he had unexpectedly discovered Xu Luo’s trail.

No matter what, he had to capture this boy. Even if the great fortune wasn’t on him, the Body Technique he possessed was, at the very least, one of the best in this world. Even on the Ancient Race Continent, a Body Technique like that would be considered among the absolute best!

At the very least, Huo Wanzhang had never seen a Body Technique faster than this boy’s.

Huo Wanzhang was in hot pursuit, and a short distance behind him, Huo Danqiong and the other three followed closely.

Xu Luo felt a growing sense of anxiety. His pursuers were simply too powerful!

If it were just a Junior Sword Saint, he would have the confidence to fight. But his opponent’s strength was clearly beyond that of a Junior Sword Saint, to say nothing of the fact that there were five of them, while on his side… there was only him!

So, no matter what, he couldn’t confront them head-on right now.

’Thankfully, their Body Technique isn’t as good as mine. At least for a short while, they won’t be able to catch up to me!’ The unparalleled speed of the Shaking Light Step offered Xu Luo some measure of comfort.

An hour passed. Although the distance between them had grown to dozens of miles, for mighty experts, such a distance was nothing. Xu Luo was not safe yet.

Using the Shaking Light Step at full tilt consumed a tremendous amount of stamina. While Xu Luo wasn’t particularly exhausted, he could clearly feel his energy draining.

’This old bastard… how is he so damn persistent? I didn’t kill your father, so why are you chasing me to the ends of the earth?’ Xu Luo grumbled inwardly, though his speed didn’t falter in the slightest. He was still as fast as lightning.

Little did he know that Huo Wanzhang, chasing behind him, was also cursing up a storm in his head.

’You little bastard! You’re clearly only at the Transformation Realm, so how can you run for so long? It’s been ages, and even I’m getting a little tired… Aren’t you exhausted yet?’

SCREECH!

Just then, a shrill bird cry suddenly echoed. Huo Wanzhang slapped his forehead, cursing himself for being a fool. He clearly had a ride, so why was he chasing so desperately on his own?

It turned out the giant bird, having seen its masters vanish in the blink of an eye, had come chasing after them.

Huo Wanzhang was overjoyed. ’You little bastard,’ he thought. ’With the Lightning Sculpture here, let’s see how you run now!’

A thread of Huo Wanzhang’s aura had been locked onto Xu Luo the entire time, so he wasn’t afraid of the boy increasing the distance between them.

He stopped in his tracks, waiting for the Lightning Sculpture to fly over from afar.

The other four had the Lightning Sculpture descend to mid-air, allowing Huo Wanzhang to board. Huo Danqiong immediately asked, ”Uncle Wanzhang… that boy?”

Huo Wanzhang nodded slightly. ”Our target this time… is very likely this little thing!”

”Really? That’s wonderful! I never thought… it would come this easily!” Huo Wei said, his face filled with pleasant surprise.

The gaunt old man, Huo Jinwu, said from the side, ”But how is that little thing so fast? He managed to leave us this far behind in such a short time?”

”If it weren’t for the Lightning Sculpture, I’m afraid it would be very difficult for us to catch him!” said the stout old man, Huo Jinwen.

”Hm? That thread of aura disappeared… Could the boy already be more than a hundred li away?” A flash of surprise flickered in Huo Wanzhang’s eyes, followed by a cold sneer. ”That’s fine. Let him think he’s shaken us. Then, when we appear before him by surprise, we’ll see what he has to say!”

”This kid… He’s not going to keep running like this forever, is he?” Huo Wei said with a hint of worry.

”Do you think he’s a god? No one can endure running forever!” Huo Danqiong retorted.

”With us here, he can’t escape,” Huo Wanzhang said flatly, his face a mask of arrogance.