Firmament Sword

The moment Su Qingyi saw Xu Luo, a relieved smile touched his lips. With no time for explanations, he flicked the Storage Ring from his hand to Xu Luo and said, ”Qianqian is in a terrible state. It seems the Heart of the Fire Dragon is trying to possess her… Take her and go! You must save her. I’ll hold those people off!”

With that, he grinned at Xu Luo. ”Luo Tian, you’re really something else!”

Then, Su Qingyi charged back toward the group of pursuers without a shred of hesitation, sending a voice transmission to Xu Luo. ”Save her! Take care of her! Otherwise, I’ll haunt you even in death! Xu Luo!”

Xu Luo caught the ring and swept it with his Spiritual Power, immediately discovering the sealed Su Qianqian within.

But there was no time to dwell on it. Su Qingyi had already engaged the enemy, and he was fighting with a desperate, life-or-death ferocity.

Xu Luo detected a hidden meaning in Su Qingyi’s tone. With an internal sigh, he flew straight toward the battle.

”What are you doing over here?” Su Qingyi roared at Xu Luo. ”Get the hell away from here, now!”

The few Su Family Guards on the other side were startled when they saw Xu Luo, but then they recalled the name Su Qingyi had called out. It wasn’t Xu Luo, the name of Beidou’s Eighth Star, so they relaxed.

The elderly man in the lead shouted harshly, ”This has nothing to do with you! These are Su Family affairs, and you can’t afford to meddle. Now, scram!”

”This is an internal Su Family matter! Outsiders, stay back!”

”Get lost!”

The Su Family Guards were acting like madmen, screaming at Xu Luo to get lost.

They never expected to encounter Su Qingyi here in Huo Family territory; they had practically given up the chase. They’d figured that with the Patriarch’s own Close Guard taking action, there would be no issues.

But to their surprise, right in the heart of the Huo Family’s sphere of influence, Su Qingyi had been flying brazenly through the open sky, seemingly searching for something.

How could the Su Family Guards possibly let such an opportunity slip by?

To them, Su Qingyi was, at most, a Martial Artist at the Ninth Layer of the Divine Power Realm. He was powerful, yes, but they were no slouches either—especially the two elders, whose cultivation had already surpassed the Ninth Layer of the Divine Power Realm and reached the Half-Saint realm!

With so many of them, wouldn’t taking down a single Su Qingyi be child’s play?

They figured the site where they’d previously discovered signs of a battle probably had nothing to do with Su Qingyi after all.

After all, the Ancient Race Continent was in utter chaos these days. It was entirely possible some old master had simply emerged from seclusion.

Su Qingyi glared at Xu Luo. ”Luo Tian, we may be friends, but this is an internal matter of the Su Family! It has nothing to do with you! Leave, now!”

Xu Luo sighed softly. ”Are you trying to get yourself killed? There are two Half-Saints, three at the Peak of the Ninth Layer of the Divine Power Realm, and one at the mid-stage of the Ninth Layer of the Divine Power Realm. Do you really think you can escape from them with your life?”

”If I can’t, you think you can?” Su Qingyi was choked with anger. ’If I’d known this would happen, I never should have given him the ring,’ he thought. ’Now look at this mess…’

Xu Luo just smiled. ”Of course I can.”

”Brat, what right do you have to interfere in the affairs of my Su Family?” the leading elder asked, his gaze ice-cold as he stared at Xu Luo.

The other elder added coldly, ”This is a life-or-death battle, not a game. Kid, I suggest you leave now!”

”You little animal, are you still not gone?! I could kill you with a single glance!” one of the Su Family’s Peak Ninth Layer Divine Power Realm experts snarled. He had a short fuse and had already repeatedly cursed for Xu Luo to get lost.

”Kill me with a single glance?” Xu Luo repeated with a smirk. A light flashed in his eyes as he looked directly at the Peak Ninth Layer Divine Power Realm expert from the Su Family.

In an instant, Xu Luo’s eyes became impossibly deep, as if they held the Endless Cosmos itself, threatening to pull in anyone who dared to meet their gaze.

Two beams of light shot from Xu Luo’s eyes, striking the Su Family expert opposite him!

”Aaargh!”

The Su Family’s Peak Ninth Layer Divine Power Realm expert let out a bloodcurdling scream as the two beams of light from Xu Luo’s eyes brutally pierced and blinded him!

His scream was utterly horrifying.

Bai Zhiyuan and his men, who hadn’t gotten far and had stopped to watch the unfolding scene, couldn’t help but shudder when they heard that scream. A wave of relief washed over them. ’So he really was going easy on us earlier,’ they thought. ’Otherwise, not a single one of us would have left here alive!’

”How noisy,” Xu Luo snorted. In a flash, he appeared before the blinded Su Family expert and slapped him across the face with a crisp, sharp sound.

SMACK!

”That foul mouth of yours deserves a good slapping!”

SMACK!

Another slap sent the Peak Divine Power Realm expert from the Su Family flying through the air.

Then, Xu Luo’s gaze fell upon the other Su Family Guards. ”You should all leave. I don’t wish to make things difficult for you.”

”You… Just who are you?” The lead Su Family elder’s face finally lost its composure; he could no longer remain calm.

Su Qingyi was also stunned. Even though he had known five years ago that Xu Luo was powerful, he had always believed his strength relied more on the advantage of his Arrays. The recent incident with the Huo Family’s ten-thousand-strong army of experts, who had also been trapped and killed by an Array, only reinforced this belief.

Even five years ago, some of the surviving experts had sworn that the true culprit that had slaughtered everyone was the seven terrifying stars above the Endless Ocean. From start to finish, they had never even caught a glimpse of Xu Luo himself!

This led many, including Su Qingyi, to believe that Beidou’s Eighth Star was more of a master of Arrays than a powerhouse in his own right!

As a result, even to this day, many top-tier experts believed that as long as you didn’t give Xu Luo the chance to set up an Array, you could easily defeat him.

Su Qingyi suddenly felt that his understanding of Xu Luo had been far too one-sided. He also recalled the way Su Qianqian’s face would always fill with pride whenever she spoke of him.

’So that’s why… It wasn’t just because she was in love with him; it was because she knew his true capabilities!’

Su Qingyi finally let out a long sigh of relief. He suddenly realized how foolish he had been.

”Heh, I never expected… you’re actually this strong. Very well, I’ll leave the rest to you…” As he spoke, Su Qingyi’s mouth fell open, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

The injuries he had been suppressing with an Elixir finally flared up the moment his mind relaxed.

”Who am I? Heh, I’m Xu Luo,” he said, calmly looking at the group from the Su Family. ”Now that you know who I am, are you ready to leave?”

”You… You’re Beidou’s Eighth Star?” the lead Su Family elder stammered, his voice trembling and his eyes filled with terror.

A man’s reputation precedes him. No matter how many rumors claimed that Beidou’s Eighth Star had only killed countless experts by relying on Arrays, the fact remained that far too many people had died because of him.

Some people had even taken to secretly calling Xu Luo the Demon Saint!

Song Chengfeng was the Demon King, but even more terrifying than the Demon King was a Demon Saint!

”The… the Demon Saint!” a young Su Family Guard stammered, his body trembling.

”Demon Saint? What Demon Saint?” Xu Luo frowned, then looked at the remaining members of the Su Family. ”Are you still not leaving?”

”But… even if you are Beidou’s Eighth Star, we… we cannot leave,” the lead Su Family elder said with a pained expression. ”Su Qingyi is a traitor to our Su Family. We must capture him and take him back. The Su Family has no grudge against you, so I hope… you will not interfere in this matter. We have offended you, and we will formally apologize later… What do you say?”

Xu Luo smiled faintly. ”No.”

”Why not?” the lead Su Family elder asked, his face a mask of misery. ”One must be reasonable in life…”

”Qianqian is my friend. I will not stand by and watch her be dragged into the abyss. If you are willing to defect from the Su Family, I can guarantee your safety. But if you still intend to stop me, then I’m afraid that once I make my move, I will show no mercy.” Xu Luo looked at them calmly, laying his intentions bare.

”You… you know everything?” the lead Su Family elder asked in astonishment. He then glared furiously at Su Qingyi. ”You traitor!”

”It’s still better than being a group of pitiable pawns like you,” Su Qingyi retorted, a mocking sneer on his face. He didn’t even bother to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

”We all have families,” the lead Su Family elder said to those beside him. ”Who knows how many eyes are watching us from the shadows below. If we choose to surrender now, then… our families will surely be wiped out. But if we choose to fight to the death… we will likely all die here today, but our families back home will be proud of us. Most importantly, they will be well taken care of.”

The lead Su Family elder looked at the others. ”The choice is yours.”

”I choose… to withdraw,” one of the Peak Ninth Layer Divine Power Realm experts from the Su Family said immediately. He lowered his head slightly and whispered, ”I’m sorry… I don’t have much family in the Su clan. I… I don’t want to die!”

The sight of Xu Luo blinding another Peak Ninth Layer Divine Power Realm expert with a single glance had scared him witless, completely shattering his will to fight.

With that, the Peak Ninth Layer Divine Power Realm expert from the Su Family turned and flew away, tearing through the sky as he fled.

As expected, Xu Luo didn’t move to stop him. He held no deep-seated grudge against the Su Family; he just wanted to take Su Qianqian and leave.

”What about you?” the lead Half-Saint elder from the Su Family sighed, looking at the others.

The expert at the mid-stage of the Ninth Layer of the Divine Power Realm stammered, ”I… I also want to withdraw…”

”What? Su Liangyu… you’re withdrawing?” the lead Su Family Half-Saint stared at him in disbelief. ”Even though you’re from a branch family, you still have elders and children in the Su clan! Your own family branch is quite large. If you do this… aren’t you afraid of implicating them all?”

”On what grounds? Why should I be the one to throw my life away? Why should my family suffer because of me? The Su Family is cold and ruthless, and the Patriarch is selfish and cruel. Are we not even allowed to resist?” Su Liangyu grew more agitated as he spoke, his face flushing red as he shouted, ”If my family is harmed because of my actions, then that will only prove… that the Su Family is a clan devoid of all humanity!”

With that, Su Liangyu snorted, turned, and flew away.

In the blink of an eye, the original group of six had been reduced. Two had fled, and one was severely injured and out of the fight. All that remained were the two Half-Saint experts and a single expert at the Peak of the Ninth Layer of the Divine Power Realm.

The lead elder let out a bitter laugh. ”The two of you… you’re not going to choose to leave too, are you?”