Firmament Sword

Fan Feiyan had already reached the doorway when she felt an icy killing intent from behind. A shocked expression filled her face.

No one else in the room had expected the gray-robed Elder to actually attack Fan Feiyan. Many of their faces registered astonishment.

Fan Feilong’s expression was fraught with anxiety, while his eyes turned bone-chillingly cold.

’No matter what mistake Fan Feiyan has made, she’s my own sister, born of the same mother! How can I let someone else harm her? Besides, she hasn’t even done anything that wrong. If anyone’s at fault, it’s us. Our actions, if word got out, would be utterly despicable.’

The gray-robed Elder’s face was savage, killing intent glinting in his eyes. He held a deep-seated grudge against Fan Feiyan and had long wanted to kill her. Now that he finally had the chance, he would not let it slip by.

’Even if the Sect Leader holds me accountable later, I’m sure the others on the Elder Council will protect me. Sect Leader Fan Feilong won’t be able to do a thing to me. At the very least... he won’t kill me!’

Time seemed to freeze in that instant, the expressions on everyone’s faces frozen in place.

The door to the council hall silently dissolved. It wasn’t blasted open. Instead, like ice and snow under a scorching sun, it simply melted away... The sturdy gate vanished completely!

Sunlight streamed in from outside, and a figure emerged from the brilliant light.

He reached out, pulling Fan Feiyan behind him. Then, the figure raised a hand and met the gray-robed Elder’s palm with his own.

CRACK!

A sickening crunch of shattering bone echoed from the gray-robed Elder’s arm!

The man was sent flying backward. With a loud THUD, he slammed hard against the council hall wall, completely shattering the enshrined portrait of the Cyan Leaf Sect’s Ancestral Master!

Then, the gray-robed Elder’s limp body slid down the ruined wall. Every single bone in his body had been shattered!

The gray-robed Elder coughed up blood, clearly on the verge of death.

Only then did everyone seem to snap back to their senses, staring in utter horror at the figure who had just entered.

Fan Feiyan felt her heart pounding furiously, and a cold sweat broke out across her back.

Even though this man had saved her, she was still reeling from the shock.

The figure, bathed in sunlight, turned to reveal a young, handsome face. He gave her a small smile. ”You’re fine now. If you want to leave, then go. The Starlight Sect is safe, but... I do hope you’ll go check on them. Yang Qingchuan is injured.”

”What? He’s injured? How serious is it? Is his life in danger?” At the mention of that name, Fan Feiyan forgot everything else, her face twisted with anxiety.

Xu Luo smiled faintly. ’This elegant woman’s relationship with Yang Qingchuan really is something special,’ he thought. ’It wasn’t a waste to save her life!’

Xu Luo had been listening outside for some time, only making his move when Fan Feiyan’s life was in danger.

”His injuries are serious, but it’s a blessing in disguise. I expect he’ll be breaking through to the Divine Power Realm before long,” Xu Luo said with a faint smile. ”There’s definitely no danger to his life, because the Starlight Sect’s Ancestor has already broken through to the Divine Power Realm!”

”Ah! His injuries are serious? I... I’ll go right now!” Fan Feiyan had no heart to listen to the rest of what Xu Luo was saying. She gave him a quick nod, turned, and sped away.

The smile on Xu Luo’s face widened. ’I never thought I’d find someone like Fan Feiyan in the Cyan Leaf Sect.’

Then, Xu Luo’s smile vanished. He turned back and gazed coolly at the people in the room.

”Who are you? How dare you barge into our Cyan Leaf Sect and injure one of our Elders? What punishment do you deserve for this crime?”

”Young man, I don’t recognize you. Are you from the Starlight Sect? How can you be so disrespectful!”

”What’s there to talk about? Seize him!”

Several Cyan Leaf Sect Elders barked their accusations, but the Sect Leader, Fan Feilong, remained silent.

Although he was the Sect Leader, his control over the Cyan Leaf Sect had always been weak. The ones who truly wielded power were the members of the Elder Council.

In the eyes of many, he, the Sect Leader, was little more than a puppet.

Fan Feilong had always endured in silence. Even when Yang Qingchuan came to their gates seeking aid, he had said nothing, allowing the Elder Council to turn him away. He knew full well that even if he had spoken up... the Elder Council would have simply overruled him and likely made trouble for him later.

’The Elder Council’s power is just too great,’ Fan Feilong thought helplessly. ’There’s nothing I can do.’

But today, these people had been so audacious as to try and kill his own sister. This had crossed Fan Feilong’s line, and he could no longer tolerate it.

Therefore, even though this young man had clearly come looking for trouble, he had no intention of stopping him. ’It doesn’t matter if I say anything or not,’ he thought. ’The Elder Council will just ignore me anyway.’

”Originally... I just wanted to come see what kind of sect refuses to help those in peril. Heh, I didn’t expect to find something so interesting. It turns out you don’t just refuse to help... you even repay kindness with hatred!”

Xu Luo sneered, looking at the group in the room. ”I can’t believe scum like you actually exist in this world,” he said coolly.

”Get him! Take him down!” an Elder roared, shooting a cold glance at Fan Feilong, clearly wanting the Sect Leader to give the order.

But Fan Feilong remained motionless, his face an impassive mask. He sneered internally. ’You want me to be the scapegoat now? In your dreams!’

”All of you, attack! Kill him on the spot!” the lean Elder who had been sitting to Fan Feilong’s left stood up and commanded coldly.

WHOOSH! Five or six people rushed forward, surrounding Xu Luo. One of them attacked immediately, launching a killing blow aimed straight for Xu Luo’s vitals!

BAM!

With a dull thud, the Cyan Leaf Sect Elder attacking Xu Luo let out a bloodcurdling scream as he was sent flying backward, smashing through the wall and creating a massive hole before landing outside!

”Kill him!”

The other Cyan Leaf Sect Elders roared in fury and charged at Xu Luo.

Xu Luo executed the Shaking Light Step, his speed becoming unbelievably fast. In the blink of an eye, all five or six of his attackers were sent flying.

From start to finish, Xu Luo used only his fists and feet. He unleashed Breaking Army Seven Kills, felling the group of Cyan Leaf Sect Elders with the ease of snapping dry twigs.

Every person he struck down had their bones shattered and meridians destroyed. Even if they managed to survive, they would be nothing more than cripples for the rest of their lives.

The lean Elder lay on the ground, the intense pain causing him to faint and then jolt awake again. He stared at Xu Luo with pure venom in his eyes. ”Who are you? Are you some helper Fan Feilong hired?”

Having stood motionless the entire time, Fan Feilong couldn’t help but roll his eyes at this. Before Xu Luo could speak, he said coldly, ”Bullshit! If I had a backer this powerful, do you think I would have tolerated you scum for this long?”

Xu Luo gave a faint smile and looked at Fan Feilong. ”You may be a bit spineless, but at least you haven’t lost your conscience. Can you control this sect now?”

Fan Feilong was taken aback. He didn’t know Xu Luo at all, yet it seemed as if the man had come specifically to help him. He still nodded subconsciously. ”Now that you’ve crippled them all, if I still can’t take control of the sect, I might as well just go die.”

”Good. Don’t thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank the Starlight Sect. I owed them a debt and was just here to help out,” Xu Luo said, changing his story on the fly. He decided to do Yang Qingchuan a favor.

He could see that the two siblings, Fan Feilong and Fan Feiyan, were very different from the other members of the Cyan Leaf Sect. Fan Feiyan’s fierce temperament was obvious, and while Fan Feilong seemed spineless, he had actually just been biding his time.

Now that his chance had finally come, Xu Luo was sure the Sect Leader of the Cyan Leaf Sect wouldn’t let it go to waste.

With that thought, Xu Luo glanced at the few remaining Cyan Leaf Sect Elders who hadn’t moved.

Those Elders trembled, then immediately fell to their knees before Fan Feilong, crying out in unison, ”We pledge our loyalty to the Sect Leader, until death do us part!”

”I know full well what kind of people you all are. Enough said. From now on, let us work together to build the Cyan Leaf Sect into a true sect!” Fan Feilong declared in a heavy voice. ”The Cyan Leaf Sect will become a righteous sect, not one that repays kindness with hatred... and kicks a man when he’s down!”

”We are willing to follow the Sect Leader!” they all replied in unison.

Xu Luo smiled, then turned and left.

By the time they collected themselves, Xu Luo had already vanished into thin air.

”Heavens... that young man, was he from the Starlight Sect? With an expert like that... why would they ever fear the Blazing Fire Sect?”

”Maybe not. Didn’t he say he owed the Starlight Sect a debt?”

”In any case, with someone like that helping the Starlight Sect, we absolutely cannot afford to offend them again!”

”That’s right. We should mend our relationship with the Starlight Sect as soon as possible. Um... Elder Fan Feiyan has already gone over there, hasn’t she? Sect Leader, perhaps we should dispatch a letter...”

The group of Cyan Leaf Sect Elders continued their discussion. Meanwhile, the men Xu Luo had crippled still lay on the floor, groaning in agony, but no one spared them a second glance.

...

Over the next half a month, Xu Luo’s figure appeared at every sect within a radius of thousands of miles.

Xu Luo challenged every one of these sects, and in all his battles, not a single person was his match.

And upon his departure from each sect he challenged, Xu Luo would declare: ”The Starlight Sect has done me a great service. Today’s friendly martial exchange is one thing, but my second purpose is to give you a warning. Anyone who dares to bully the Starlight Sect becomes my enemy! If I learn of it, I will return to execute the perpetrators, even if I am a million miles away!”

Any who were unconvinced or resentful... Xu Luo beat them into submission. Those who relied on their own sect’s strength and looked down on the Starlight Sect were taught a harsh lesson.

His actions even reached a super-sect known as the Great Eagle Sect. After Xu Luo delivered his ultimatum and defeated a dozen of their top experts, he alerted their Ancestor—a true powerhouse at the Third Layer of the Divine Power Realm!

After a battle of five hundred rounds against Xu Luo high in the sky, the Great Eagle Sect’s Ancestor returned, wounded, and issued a decree.

”From this day forward, no disciple of the Great Eagle Sect shall cause trouble for the people of the Starlight Sect. Violators will be punished according to sect law!”

This decree from the Great Eagle Sect’s Ancestor quickly spread throughout the entire Southern Celestial Divine Continent. The Starlight Sect, once an obscure, mid-sized sect, was now utterly famous!

Its fame resounded throughout the Southern Celestial Divine Continent!