Firmament Sword

”Ordinary people don’t know about this. I may be blind, but I’m still a member of the Ancient Race’s Cai Family. It’s not hard for me to get some intelligence,” Cai Pan said venomously. ”I hate the Su Celestial Maiden and Bai Zhihai, so I’m going to ruin her reputation! Let’s see how Bai Zhihai... can still marry her after news gets out that she’s your woman!”

”That’s the long and short of it,” Cai Pan said, turning his head toward Xu Luo. ”I’ve wronged you. At first, I was delusional, hoping to take part in capturing and refining you. Now, I’m secretly plotting against you. But between you and me, Master Xu... there’s no deep-seated hatred, and I’ve never truly harmed you. So, I’m begging you, let me go just this once! I... will remember Master Xu’s great kindness for the rest of my life!”

Xu Luo smiled. ”I never planned to kill you in the first place. You can leave on your own.”

With that, he released the seal on Cai Pan, then concealed his own aura, disappearing as if into thin air.

Cai Pan stood there and spread his Divine Sense. After a full half-hour, once he was certain Xu Luo was truly gone, he let out a savage laugh. ”Beidou’s Eighth Star? What a joke! In the end, wasn’t he still dancing in the palm of my hand?”

Xu Luo sighed from nearby. ”What a pitiful creature. Was it really necessary? I was actually going to let you go.”

”Ah... You—you didn’t leave... You actually didn’t leave? Good heavens... Half an hour! You waited for half an hour! How can you be so patient? You’re... you’re too despicable... too shameless!” Cai Pan couldn’t help but roar, spraying a mouthful of blood. He was that furious!

He thought he was the definition of shameless, that he had no lower limits, but he never imagined that the world-renowned Beidou’s Eighth Star could be so shameless himself—hiding nearby for half an hour just to see if he was telling the truth!

”If I had actually left, how would I have heard what you truly think?” Xu Luo sneered. ”I don’t enjoy being played for a fool!”

Cai Pan stood there with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and his eye sockets hollow. He was a miserable sight. His face was ashen, his expression contorted, as if he were waging a fierce internal battle.

Just as Xu Luo was about to swat him dead with a single slap, Cai Pan suddenly dropped to his knees with a THUD. ”Master Xu... Master Luo, I’m begging you... please spare me! Look... I’m already in this state. My life is ruined. Just... just treat me like a fart and let me go!”

Xu Luo’s mouth twitched violently. He stared at the former prodigy of the Ancient Race, unsure whether to laugh or cry. ’What kind of bizarre family,’ he thought, ’could produce such a character?’

’When he needed to be tough, he could transform into a paragon of virtue, his integrity moving those around him. When it was time to kneel and beg for mercy, he did it so naturally it was as if he were born a spineless coward...’

Xu Luo suddenly had a thought. This guy... was actually kind of endearing.

In truth, whether he killed Cai Pan or not wasn’t important. Xu Luo didn’t much care if the story was true or false, either.

If Su Qianqian were truly marrying Bai Zhihai, it would be a sensational political marriage. The news would undoubtedly spread across the entire Ancient Race Continent in no time.

After all, both the Bai Family and the Su Family were apex clans on this continent. Their every move attracted widespread attention.

That was why Xu Luo wasn’t particularly concerned about whether Cai Pan was lying.

”You want to live? Fine. Give me a reason not to kill you—one that will actually sway me. Otherwise, I see no need to leave a menace like you in this world,” Xu Luo said coolly, looking at Cai Pan. ”Failing to pull out the roots when you cut the weeds is a grave mistake. And don’t bother playing dumb with me. You come from a major clan and were hailed as a prodigy; you’re not so stupid that you don’t understand that.”

After hearing Xu Luo’s words, Cai Pan fell silent for a long moment. Then, his voice raspy, he said, ”Since you know the Su Celestial Maiden, I can tell you a secret. If, after you hear it, you still feel this information isn’t worth my life and want to kill me... then there’s nothing I can do. I truly have nothing else that could possibly sway you.”

Xu Luo shot Cai Pan a surprised glance. The fact that he hadn’t offered to become his slave or offered him a vast fortune was proof enough that this prodigy from a major clan wasn’t a complete idiot.

”Let’s hear it,” Xu Luo said noncommittally.

”Back when I was infatuated with the Su Celestial Maiden and wanted to pursue her, I secretly dug up a lot of information on her. I stumbled upon something shocking.”

A self-mocking smile touched Cai Pan’s lips.

”When I first saw the Su Celestial Maiden, I thought she was a goddess. I wondered how such a beautiful woman could possibly exist in this world.”

”Get to the point!” Xu Luo frowned. ’Do you think I need *you* to tell me Qianqian is beautiful?’

”The Su Celestial Maiden’s real name is Su Qianqian. She’s from the Central Plains Star Continent. Her family there was wiped out by people sent from the Ancient Race’s Su Family. I assume... you already know all this,” Cai Pan said in a grave voice. ”However, there’s something else you might not know. The reason the Ancient Race’s Su Family destroyed their branch on the Central Plains Star Continent was to obtain a piece of ancient jade. This jade is called the Heart of the Fire Dragon. If fused with a person’s blood, it can awaken the Su Family’s primordial ancestral bloodline.”

”The Su Family’s ancestral bloodline is incredibly powerful. It is said that anyone who awakens it can easily step into the Saint Realm.”

”In her quest for revenge, Su Qianqian somehow managed to fuse with the Heart of the Fire Dragon herself. She then came to the Ancient Race Continent, seeking vengeance against the Su Family.”

”But she was alone and outmatched. Eventually, the Su Family found her. When the Su Family Patriarch discovered she had fused with the Heart of the Fire Dragon, he was enraged and wanted to kill her on the spot. But even if he killed Su Qianqian, he couldn’t get the Heart of the Fire Dragon back. There was, however, another way to obtain it!”

”And that is to wait until Su Qianqian has completely fused with the Heart of the Fire Dragon, and then refine her entire body! Turn her into a great elixir. If one were to consume this elixir in its entirety, then... that person would also have a chance to awaken the Su Family’s ancestral bloodline!”

”Therefore, the Su Family Patriarch made a decision. He ordered the execution of everyone who had participated in the massacre of the Su Family’s branch on the Central Plains Star Continent. Then, he told Su Qianqian, ’I have taken your revenge for you. But from this day forward, you are my... medicinal ingredient!’”

BOOM!

Xu Luo slammed his fist into a nearby boulder, shattering it to dust. ”Is that true?” he bit out.

Only now did Xu Luo truly understand the price Su Qianqian had paid to become the Su Celestial Maiden. He couldn’t help but feel a surge of self-loathing. He had known there had to be more to the story, so why hadn’t he looked into it?

The memory of that bright-eyed, clever little girl from all those years ago made his heart ache.

’Qianqian... you’ve suffered so much! Don’t worry. On this matter... I’ll make sure you get justice!’ Xu Luo swore to himself.

Cai Pan trembled slightly. ”I paid a fortune to get this information from a source inside the Su Family. Even many of the Su Family’s upper echelons don’t know about it! It is the absolute truth!”

”Continue,” Xu Luo said grimly.

”The person Su Qianqian hates most is the Su Family Patriarch. The person she wants to kill most is the Su Family Patriarch. So she agreed to his terms. Of course, the Su Family Patriarch knows this, but he doesn’t care. To him, Su Qianqian is just a fish in a jar—her life and death are completely in his hands!”

”From then on, Su Qianqian became the Su Celestial Maiden, the favored daughter of the Su Family in the eyes of the world. But in reality, she was nothing more than the Su Family Patriarch’s Peerless Treasure Medicine... a mere medicinal ingredient to help him break through to the Saint Realm!”

”As for the marriage alliance between Su Qianqian and Bai Zhihai, I wasn’t lying. I told you because I was hoping you would go and stop it, creating a conflict with the Bai and Su Families. I admit it... I was trying to use you to get my revenge. I hate the Bai Family. I hate the Su Family...” said Cai Pan.

”If the Su Family Patriarch sees Su Qianqian as his personal elixir, why would he agree to let her marry someone else?” Xu Luo asked.

”From what I know, it’s just an engagement. The Heart of the Fire Dragon needs time to fully fuse—at least ten years. To secure Su Qianqian, Bai Zhihai begged his family’s ancestors to intervene. There... there were probably some stunning deals made, the kind the Su Family couldn’t possibly refuse. But that’s beyond my ability to know.”

Cai Pan said venomously, ”I’m in this state today all because of that treacherous bastard Bai Zhihai! Even though Su Qianqian was the one who came up with the idea, I hate Bai Zhihai the most! So, I don’t care what it takes! I would gladly die if it meant I could take him down with me!”

”You’ve ended up in this state largely because of your own actions! To put it bluntly, you brought this on yourself,” Xu Luo said coldly. ”It’s because you think far too highly of yourself. You have no idea... how vast the gap is between the person you think you are and the person others see.”

A bitter smile crossed Cai Pan’s face. ”My impression of you used to be that you were just a walking elixir from the Mortal World. Now I understand that you’re a living, breathing... person of flesh and blood. You’re right. I’m in this state today purely because of my own actions. I have no one else to blame.”

Xu Luo glanced at Cai Pan. ”This information is indeed enough to buy your life. I can spare you. But I hope you remember this: if you ever dare to bad-mouth me again, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth!”

Cai Pan shivered slightly and mumbled, ”After such a painful lesson... where would I find the nerve? But... but can I call you my boss?”

”My underling?” Xu Luo’s mouth twitched. The thought of Cai Pan’s utterly shameless behavior made him want to refuse outright.

”Beidou’s Eighth Star! A reincarnated star! With a boss that domineering, who would dare bully me in the future?” Cai Pan said, his face full of longing.

Xu Luo was exasperated. ”Aren’t you afraid the people who want to refine me will come after you for trouble? I have countless enemies right now!”

”I’m not afraid!” Cai Pan puffed out his chest, then added in a whisper, ”I’ll be very careful... I’ll keep it a secret until you’re standing at the absolute pinnacle of this continent... Heh heh.”

Lines of exasperation seemed to form on Xu Luo’s forehead. He shook his head, speechless. ”Suit yourself.”

With that, his figure flashed. He executed the Shaking Light Step and left the small mountain.