Firmament Sword

Huo Peng was finally starting to lose his composure. Even though they were in the family’s ancestral land, being publicly called an idiot was more than anyone could stomach.

The smile froze on his face, and a cold light flickered in his eyes.

Before Huo Peng could open his mouth, Xu Luo quickly continued, ”Let me ask you, what is a Guard’s job? Isn’t it to protect their master? When the master is in danger, isn’t the Guard supposed to step up? I can’t believe it, Huo Peng, oh Huo Peng... after all these years of training out in the world, you’d still ask such an idiotic question!”

”I really don’t understand what you’ve learned all these years. In your eyes, should it always be the Guard who escapes with their life while the master stays behind to cover the retreat and gets killed? Would that be reasonable? Bah!”

”Huo Peng... can you dare to say you haven’t lost any Guards by your side over the years? That you’ve never had a time where you abandoned them and ran?”

As Xu Luo spoke, his gaze shifted to the others, and he asked coldly, ”Or are you all saying you haven’t?”

His words left everyone speechless. Only then did Xu Luo say, ”So, was I wrong to call you an idiot?”

”I...” Huo Peng wasn’t familiar with Huo Feng. He had only heard some stories about him before. He never expected this Huo Feng to be so sharp-tongued, leaving him, a man who had trained outside for many years, almost defenseless.

”You what? I’m just explaining the simplest of principles to you! You understand the relationship between master and servant better than I do. Don’t tell me you don’t understand that a person of high status shouldn’t take unnecessary risks! How is it that this logic applies to you, but when it comes to me, the life of a follower is suddenly more important than mine, the master? What kind of sense does that make?”

Xu Luo sneered and then said lightly, ”Besides, there’s more to their deaths than meets the eye! Even if I dared to speak of it... you might not dare to listen! This is something I will only discuss face-to-face with the Patriarch and the Old Ancestor. I wouldn’t even tell my own father and mother, so what right do you have to ask? Knowing too much... aren’t you afraid of a quick death?”

Xu Luo’s tirade completely silenced everyone present. His final words, in particular, sounded so grim that they sparked immense curiosity in everyone’s hearts. They all wondered what those men had done to deserve such a judgment from Huo Feng.

But no one dared to ask. It felt like a cat was scratching at their insides, an unbearable itch of curiosity.

After speaking, Xu Luo couldn’t be bothered with them anymore.

’Itching to know? I hope you choke on your curiosity!’

He was in no mood to play games for the Patriarch’s seat with this bunch of vicious, two-faced schemers. He had returned for one reason: to see what the Huo Family’s Old Ancestor’s current attitude toward Beidou’s Eighth Star was!

The day Xu Luo approached the Huo Family, he had just transformed into Huo Feng. The moment he did, he immediately received a unique transmission from the Huo Family, one reserved for its important scions. It instructed him not to return to the family estate, but to report directly to the ancestral land!

The location of the Huo Family’s ancestral land was, of course, within Huo Feng’s memories. So Xu Luo rushed over, and the first thing he did upon arrival was to brazenly start a fight with this group of direct descendants!

His sheer confidence completely intimidated the group of direct-lineage members.

Because Huo Feng was deeply favored by the Old Ancestor, and with his mother, Bai Jie, fanning the flames behind the scenes, almost everyone in the Huo Family was now aware of Huo Feng’s status.

Therefore, despite some lingering doubts, after Huo Feng’s righteous tirade, these people couldn’t say anything more, no matter how much they disagreed in their hearts.

To say more wouldn’t just be targeting Huo Feng; it would be challenging the status of all direct descendants!

After all, there was still an insurmountable gap between the main branch and the side branches of the Huo Family.

They only wanted to undermine Huo Feng; they had no intention of seeking justice for the side branches. That would be even more ridiculous.

The farce quickly ended as the other descendants backed down. Xu Luo couldn’t be bothered to press his advantage. He was more interested in what had happened to require all the family’s important direct descendants to return to the ancestral land and await news.

It seemed even the Elders... didn’t know what was going on. Their faces were also filled with confusion.

”Feng’Er...” With a soft call, Huo Fengyan approached from the side, his gaze toward Xu Luo filled with a complex mix of emotions.

Perhaps he never imagined that the son he’d once seen as a disappointment would one day rise so suddenly, even defeating the previously popular contender, Huo Lin, to become a top candidate for the future Patriarch.

Xu Luo nodded at Huo Fengyan. He felt neither fondness nor malice toward this man.

Huo Fengyan was something of an anomaly in the Huo Family. He disliked cultivation and was obsessed with the arts. He had once been utterly disgusted with Huo Feng for practicing a demonic technique.

Therefore, even though Xu Luo hated the Huo Family to his core and wished he could destroy them with his own hands, he had never considered killing Huo Fengyan and Bai Jie.

Although Bai Jie was not a good person, she was a mother completely devoted to her son. For him, she would pay any price.

Xu Luo was unwilling to kill such a person.

”The Old Ancestor has gone to the Central Plains Star Continent! Before he left, he instructed the Patriarch to gather all the important scions of the family here in the ancestral land to wait for his return,” Huo Fengyan said to Xu Luo via voice transmission.

’What?’ Xu Luo was so shocked he almost blurted it out, but he managed to control himself. A storm raged in his heart. Xu Luo’s instinct told him that Huo Tongtian was coming for him!

’Could it be that after those people failed to conquer the Cangqiong Imperial Capital, Huo Tongtian, a top-tier Saint Realm expert, decided to shamelessly attack the city himself and use my family to threaten me?’

Xu Luo instinctively thought this because, in this world, the one who most wanted to capture him and had the power to do so... was definitely the Huo Family’s Old Ancestor, Huo Tongtian!

Huo Fengyan didn’t know why his son was so startled. He continued his transmission, ”The Old Ancestor said that the outcome of this trip is uncertain. Even his Inference Skill couldn’t deduce any information about the other Saint, so he must go in person. Before leaving, the Old Ancestor feared an accident, so he had all the family’s important direct descendants gather here.”

’So that’s how it is...’ Xu Luo let out a long sigh of relief, but he was still deeply puzzled. ’The Central Plains Star Continent... could there really be a Saint there?’

”Yes. The Old Ancestor said that if he doesn’t return within half a month, we are to immediately lock down the news and announce that he has entered seclusion to break through to a higher realm. A portion of the family must remain here in the ancestral land to ensure the Huo Family’s bloodline isn’t severed. If he returns successfully, he will also announce the information he has uncovered here!” Huo Fengyan looked at Xu Luo with a complicated expression and said, ”The reason I was qualified to be the second person to know this, besides the Patriarch, is because of you... The Old Ancestor... he thinks very highly of you!”

Xu Luo nodded, a hint of gratitude on his face, but his heart was a tangle of complex emotions. To others, this news was a secret. But to him, it was critically important!

’So, Huo Tongtian gathered the younger generation here to confront that Saint from the Central Plains Star Continent. He was afraid something might happen to him, leaving the family vulnerable to attack. That’s why he secretly gathered the family’s important direct descendants here, as a contingency plan!’

For Old Ancestor Huo Tongtian, the Central Plains Star Continent... was a trip he had to make!

If he didn’t personally meet this potential Saint, he would never be at ease.

Beidou’s Eighth Star was stirring up trouble on the Sect Continent, disrupting the secrets of heaven, and even moving the heavens and the earth! This caused all sorts of terrifying phenomena to appear between heaven and earth.

All of this made Huo Tongtian deeply worried. If Beidou’s Eighth Star truly had a powerful Saint acting as his Guardian, then the chances of him obtaining the Eighth Star would instantly become infinitesimally small!

In this world, no one could ignore the power and methods of a Saint, not even another Saint like Huo Tongtian!

’So that’s how it is... I just don’t know who this Saint is that Huo Tongtian went to find.’ Xu Luo couldn’t figure it out. At the same time, deep inside... a faint sense of unease was stirring, and he couldn’t explain why.

The direct descendants of the Huo Family returned from all over, gathering in the ancestral land. Ten days later, almost all of the family’s important scions had assembled. The perennially quiet ancestral land suddenly became bustling with activity.

Some people even set up a market, using this rare opportunity to trade for things they needed.

Xu Luo also visited the market, trading for several medicinal herbs recorded in the Pill Scripture and rare metals mentioned in both the Mechanical Skill and Casting Skill. These would serve as future gifts for his brothers.

On the afternoon of his eighth day in the ancestral land, the sky suddenly churned. From the distant horizon, a ray of golden light transformed into a rainbow bridge, streaking directly toward the Huo Family’s ancestral land!

It was like a bridge built in the sky, one end connected to the Huo Family’s ancestral land, the other... to the far edge of the heavens!

A figure stepped onto the golden rainbow bridge. Like a meteor, like a flash of lightning, he arrived above the Huo Family’s ancestral land in an instant.

All at once!

From the far end of the sky, an enormous hand suddenly appeared!

Like swatting a mosquito, it slapped down toward the figure!

Although the figure on the rainbow bridge appeared small and thin, it felt as though the very heavens and earth could barely contain his body, giving him a towering, indomitable presence!

BANG!

The palm struck the man’s back. While still in the sky, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, then swung his hand back, unleashing a ray of light that batted the giant hand away. He then descended from the sky, and all the phenomena vanished in an instant.

Huo Tongtian landed in the Huo Family’s ancestral land, his face as pale as golden paper, coughing up great mouthfuls of blood. The vital energy throughout his body had decayed to an extreme degree! A faint, gray aura of death enveloped him.

A dignified Saint... was actually giving off the impression that he was about to die!

”Old Ancestor!” the Huo Family Master cried out in grief and rushed forward.

The entire Huo Family ancestral land instantly descended into chaos!