Firmament Sword

Xu Luo stepped out of the room and took a deep breath of fresh air. Then he looked up, his gaze calm as he glanced at the insufferably arrogant Miaomiao squatting on the eaves.

Miaomiao was eyeing Xu Luo sideways, saying disdainfully, ”Xiaoluozi, come on! If you’ve got the guts, have a proper fight with Master Mao!”

”Alright.” Xu Luo was just half a step away from breaking through to the Eleventh Layer of the Divine Power Realm. He was looking for a worthy opponent to test his skills, and Miaomiao had just foolishly served himself up on a platter.

Even though Master Mao had already entered the Saint Realm and become a true Holy Beast, when it came to fighting him... Xu Luo felt absolutely no pressure.

”Let’s go! Outside the heavens!” Miaomiao transformed into a streak of yellow light and shot toward the outer heavens like a bolt of lightning, unable to wait.

Xu Luo smiled and nodded at the others who had come out to see what was happening. With a flash, his figure vanished into thin air.

The others, still unsure what was going on, asked Phoenix, Lianyi, and Qiqi.

Lianyi covered her mouth, stifling a giggle, while Huangfu Shishi was also beside herself with amusement. The two women could barely speak.

Phoenix was a little more composed. She said, laughing, ”It seems Miaomiao just broke through to the Saint Realm and became a true Holy Beast, so he’s come rushing back to get his revenge on Xu Luo.”

”Wow! The Saint Realm... A Holy Beast!”

Everyone was completely stunned. They had never imagined that an expert at the Saint Realm would appear among them so quickly.

Even if it was just a cat... it was still a Holy Beast!

”It’s probably related to those two things Xiaoluo gave him that day, right?” Xu Su asked.

”Hehe, you don’t need to be jealous of Miaomiao, big brother. If you knew what those two things Xu Luo gave him were, you definitely wouldn’t use them!” Phoenix said with a smile.

Xu Su was taken aback and asked, ”What were they?”

”Two experts from the Divine Domain were completely refined into two Essence Blood Pills...” Phoenix said with a laugh.

”Ugh... *Gag*!” Xu Su was a battle-hardened veteran who was used to life and death, but hearing this still made him feel intensely unwell.

’No wonder my little brother didn’t give them to anyone else and just tossed them to Miaomiao... Thank goodness I didn’t ask for them. That would have been a huge embarrassment!’

Guo Ying spoke up from the side, ”Since Miaomiao has advanced to a Holy Beast, then Uncle...” Guo Ying didn’t finish her sentence, but her eyes showed that she was wondering why the three women weren’t worried at all and instead looked like they were gloating.

”Although Xu Luo was injured before and unconscious for half a month, his strength has actually improved again,” Phoenix explained.

Lianyi added softly from the side, ”Miaomiao has never behaved himself since he started following Xu Luo. Every so often, he tries to challenge Xu Luo’s authority, but every single time... he gets beaten up horribly... He’s been quiet for a few years now. This time, it’ll probably be the same old story.”

Huangfu Shishi laughed. ”That’s right. Every time Miaomiao has a breakthrough and thinks he’s strong enough, he comes looking for trouble with Xu Luo. After getting thoroughly beaten, he’ll be well-behaved for a long time!”

Hearing this, everyone was speechless. They hadn’t expected the powerful Spirit Beast, who usually seemed so calm and low-key, to have such a side to him.

That’s right. In the eyes of most people in the Xu Mansion, Master Mao was a powerful yet low-key Spirit Beast.

...

”Xiaoluozi, hahaha, can you feel the powerful aura coming from Master Mao?”

”Nope. All I feel is your powerful arrogance.”

”Master Mao doesn’t believe it! You’re lying! Look... your face has changed! You’re clearly being suppressed by my aura, struggling to even breathe!”

”Just make your move. You won’t get a chance later.”

”Xiaoluozi... you really are stubborn to the bitter end. Today, Master Mao will show you what it means to be the one and only ruler of heaven and earth!”

BANG!

BANG! BANG!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

CLANG! CLANG! CRASH! BANG...

”Hey! No hitting the face!”

”Your face is covered in fur, what does it matter if I hit it? I’ve never heard of a cat needing to save face!”

”You’re insulting me!”

”Are you a person?”

”Damn it... The butt is off-limits too! You’re a hooligan! Aaaaaah!”

”You’re not a female cat...”

”Xiaoluozi, if you dare flatten my sharp claws, Master Mao will fight you to the death! Aaaaaah!”

”Aaaaaah... You messed up Master Mao’s fur!”

”*Sob*... Miaomiao was wrong, Master Luo... Miaomiao will give you a smile!”

”Master Luo, a great man like you shouldn’t concern yourself with a little cat’s mistakes. Just treat Miaomiao like a fart... and let me go...”

The above was the entire conversation between Master Mao, who had advanced to a Holy Beast and successfully entered the Saint Realm, and Xu Luo...

Of course, the process itself was quite spectacular. For example, Xu Luo grabbing Master Mao by the tail and kicking his butt, or punching Master Mao in the face, and also...

Many, many things. The entire process is too brutal to recount. In short... Master Mao was, once again, brutally beaten.

This finally made Master Mao understand a certain truth, a lesson learned through bitter experience: while he was growing stronger, others weren’t just sitting idle...

In the end, Xu Luo returned alone.

Little Fatty and the others, who had rushed over after hearing he had woken up, saw Xu Luo return by himself and asked about Master Mao’s whereabouts.

”He felt he needed some more training, so he left,” Xu Luo said with a smile.

But no one really believed him. They could sense he was hiding something behind that calm smile.

「At that moment...」

Deep in the mountains, hundreds of miles away.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

After a series of earth-shattering rumbles, a giant mushroom cloud rose into the air. A large mountain that had once stood there was now gone.

A massive, yellow beast that looked like a cat with horns on its head and its body covered in scales appeared extremely battered. Its face was black and blue, blood dripped from the corner of its mouth, and its butt was stamped with a footprint that was comically small on its enormous body. It walked with a limp.

But the power radiating from its body was terrifying. With a single swipe of its claw, it could shatter a mountain. Who would dare provoke such a powerful being?

”Aaaaaaaah! Xu Luo, you damned bastard! Why... Why is it that every time Master Mao gets stronger, you just so happen to get stronger too? Aaaaaah... Why!”

The roar echoed through the rolling mountains.

”Why... why... why...”

...

「Five years later, one morning.」

”Uncle Luo... Uncle Luo!”

A sturdy-looking boy of about eight or nine dashed into Xu Luo’s courtyard, shouting at the top of his lungs, ”An’Er has broken through to Tier Four Sword Venerable! An’Er broke through! Uncle Luo... Uncle Luo!”

”Uncle... Uncle!”

Then, a little girl’s voice came, growing closer.

”Yan’Er has already broken through to Tier Five Sword Venerable! Wahahaha! Yan’Er is even stronger than Xu An! Lalalala!”

The little girl’s voice was clear and melodious, like she was singing.

The sturdy boy’s face immediately fell. He said indignantly, ”Xu Yan’Er! Do you have to crush my spirit like this every single time to be happy?”

”Yup! Mom said it’s to motivate you to work harder!” The little girl was as pretty as a porcelain doll. She revealed two small canine teeth in a very cute smile.

”Hmph, you’re only a tiny bit stronger than me because your talent is a little better and Uncle Luo spoils you more!” The little boy held up his hand, gesturing to show just how tiny the difference was.

Just then, a gentle voice spoke up. ”An’Er, that’s not right. Your little sister is indeed much stronger than you. And it’s not because Uncle is biased and spoils her more. It’s because your sister works harder than you!”

The little girl, Xu Yan’Er, immediately looked smug, lifting her rosy little face to shoot a sidelong glance at her older brother.

The little boy, Xu An, looked crestfallen. ”Uncle, you’re picking on me again!”

”Not at all. You’re a boy. In the future, you’ll have to become the master of this family,” Xu Luo said with a smile, patting the now taller Xu An on the head. He then casually sat down on a bluestone slab by the door.

Lianyi then walked out of the room. Smiling at Xu An, she said gently, ”Don’t listen to your uncle trying to scare you. As long as you keep practicing step by step, you’ll eventually grow into a powerful expert of your generation!”

”Auntie is the best!” Xu An’s face lit up when he saw Lianyi. He grinned, showing a mouthful of small white teeth.

After showing off to their favorite uncle, the two little ones hopped and skipped away, probably to share the good news with their grandparents.

In the blink of an eye, five years had quietly passed.

The two toddlers from years ago had also grown up a lot.

Time had also been kind to Lianyi, leaving no trace on her face. Xu Luo looked much calmer than he had five years ago. His eyes were exceptionally pure—a sign of returning to a state of simplicity and nature.

Three years ago, Xu Luo’s strength had broken through to the Tenth Layer Peak of the Divine Power Realm. A year ago, he broke through a layer of his mental state, stepping into the Half-Saint Level.

Recently, he had been showing faint signs of attempting to break through to the Saint Realm.

However, he wasn’t overly anxious. Instead, he slowed down his cultivation and began spending a great deal of time raising his niece and nephew.

As for Xu Luo’s own children, perhaps because he, Phoenix, Lianyi, and Qiqi were all too powerful, having a child was no longer as easy as it once was.

Xu Luo wasn’t in a hurry. At their level of power, they possessed long lifespans. There was no need to be like mortals in the secular world when it came to procreation.

During those five years, Lin Luoxue had secretly come to the Imperial Capital to see Xu Luo twice, and Xu Qing had come once. Lianyi and the others turned a blind eye to these matters, pretending they hadn’t seen a thing.

For these five years, Xu Luo had barely stepped outside the borders of the Cangqiong Empire. Most of his time was spent at home with his family.

Three years ago, Sui Yan comprehended the supreme realm of Mechanical Skill and went into seclusion, where he remains to this day.

Two and a half years ago, Xu Jie comprehended the supreme realm of Casting Skill and began to frantically forge—and he was forging common, mortal iron!

In Xu Luo’s words, his second brother had also reached the state of returning to simplicity and nature.

A year ago, Huangfu Chongzhi completely mastered the Pill Scripture and stepped into the Half-Saint Realm in a single leap. Other than Xu Luo, he was the person whose cultivation had advanced the fastest.

Everyone understood why Huangfu Chongzhi was cultivating so quickly, and they all blessed him in their hearts.

In the past five years, the Divine Domain had sent experts to the Lower Realm twice more. The last time, Xu Luo didn’t even make a move, merely standing guard.

The ones who fought were Huangfu Chongzhi and Master Mao. They beat the two experts—whose strength had been suppressed to the Half-Saint level after descending to the Lower Realm—until their souls were scattered. Just as they tried to flee, Xu Luo summoned the Bronze Divine Hall to pin them down, and Huangfu Chongzhi killed them directly!

The once-benevolent Eldest Prince now killed for the sake of love.