Firmament Sword

BUZZ!

The crowd behind Jin Ming instantly erupted in an uproar, their faces contorted with fury.

”How arrogant!”

”This is outrageous! I’ve never seen such a brazen disciple!”

”Celestial Brilliance Disciples have always been humble and courteous. Someone like him should be expelled from Celestial Brilliance!”

”He’s completely disdainful... utterly contemptuous of everyone. It’s too much! Far too much!”

”He’s clearly using this arrogance to hide his guilty conscience!”

Xiahou Kaiyuan shot Xu Luo a glare, then turned to Jin Ming, who was still kneeling, and said, ”I believe Luo Tian did not do this. His body... just as he said, is extremely weak. That cannot be faked.”

”I am also deeply saddened by your younger brother’s death. Celestial Brilliance has lost an exceptional talent. But this matter has nothing to do with Luo Tian.”

”Finally, there is one more thing I must say...”

A cold light glinted in Xiahou Kaiyuan’s eyes. He spoke coolly, ”Celestial Brilliance has been plagued by a series of incidents recently. First, an assassin colluded with someone from our sect, producing a precise map that led straight to their target during the attempt on Luo Tian’s life. Now, Jin Xian has been secretly murdered in his own residence. I believe... it is time to clean house within Celestial Brilliance!”

”Otherwise... outsiders will think Celestial Brilliance has grown weak and can be bullied at will!”

As he spoke, Xiahou Kaiyuan glanced at the group behind Jin Ming and said flatly, ”Some people believe their actions are secretive enough, that their status is high enough. I hope these people will exercise some restraint. Otherwise, no matter how senior you are... once you are found to have done something detrimental to Celestial Brilliance, I will show no mercy!”

As Xiahou Kaiyuan’s eyes opened and closed, a divine light flashed within them, cold and distant.

With that, he rose, boarded the enormous warship, and departed without another word.

Jin Ming’s eyes were filled with disappointment. He never expected this would be the outcome—all suspicion on Luo Tian had been dismissed so casually.

There wasn’t even a token punishment for both sides. It just... fizzled out into nothing.

Yuwen Ji and the others, however, were pleasantly surprised, finding it hard to believe the matter had concluded so simply.

Zuo Mingyu gave Xu Luo a thoughtful look, then cupped his fist in salute to Yuwen Ji’s group and drifted away.

The young masters from the Heritage Clans who had been lingering now all came forward with wide smiles to congratulate Xu Luo. Each wore a grin, completely ignoring Jin Ming’s ashen face, though it was unclear what exactly they were congratulating him for.

Jin Ming stood there, dejected. After a long moment, he heaved a sigh, looked at Xu Luo, and said slowly, ”This matter... is far from over. Sooner or later, I will tear the one who murdered my brother limb from limb!”

Xu Luo, however, didn’t even spare Jin Ming a glance. He was completely focused on chatting with Su Qianqian, who stood beside him with a radiant smile, looking incredibly happy.

Jin Ming gritted his teeth as he watched this scene, his heart completely consumed by hatred. His gaze toward Xu Luo was like looking at a dead man. Without another word, he turned and left.

Even though the Sect Leader had personally confirmed that this matter had nothing to do with Xu Luo, Jin Ming still refused to believe it!

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his master’s words, but Jin Ming’s intuition told him that this... had to be related to Xu Luo!

’This is the intuition of an expert!’

’Xu Luo’s state of extreme weakness couldn’t have looked more real, but where are we?’

’This is the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden!’

’With those old coots in the Medicine Garden, creating a few elixirs to feign weakness... would be child’s play!’

’To say they couldn’t refine them wouldn’t be an insult to their intelligence, but an insult to my own!’

Therefore, Jin Ming simply didn’t believe in Xu Luo’s weakness. He even felt that Xu Luo’s behavior today was a blatant message: ’I did it! What can you do about it?’

”This is a counterattack... a swift and direct one!” Aboard the warship, Xiahou Kaiyuan sat in his chair, a playful, half-smiling expression on his face. ”On the surface, he seems gentle and calm, but to the bone, he’s a decisive and ruthless man. Interesting!”

Jiang Botao commented from the side, ”Senior Brother, do you really think so highly of him? Even if he has the Medicine King Ring’s acknowledgment, even if he has comprehended the Soul Scripture, even if... he has outstanding talent and immense combat strength, my impression is that he’s an undisciplined fellow who disregards rules and regulations.”

Jiang Botao sighed and continued, ”He’s also someone who is fated to be uncontrollable! And his methods are truly vicious. He was just gravely wounded in an assassination attempt, yet he immediately turned around and retaliated in kind...”

”Actually, you’re misjudging him a little. Unrestrained... that part is true. Before this kid joined Celestial Brilliance, his strength had already reached the Saint Realm. He’s certainly no stranger to trials and tribulations.”

”Moreover, for him to reach such a realm at his age without the support of vast resources is clearly something no ordinary person could achieve. Geniuses... are expected to be a little wild and untamable. It’s understandable.”

Xiahou Kaiyuan then glanced at Jiang Botao. ”As for whether he can be controlled, there’s no need to worry too much about that. Back in our day, which one of us... was someone who could be easily controlled?”

”That’s true... No truly capable person is willing to be controlled.” Jiang Botao looked at Xiahou Kaiyuan again and said, ”Was he really the one who killed Jin Xian? To be honest... I couldn’t tell, but my intuition says it must be him.”

Xiahou Kaiyuan smiled. ”That kid is very cunning. It was definitely him, no doubt about it. But it’s also true that there’s no evidence against him!”

”In that case, Jin Ming’s actions... weren’t really that excessive, were they?” Jiang Botao said.

”Brainless!” Xiahou Kaiyuan said coldly. ”To come storming over without a shred of evidence and cause such a huge commotion... If I hadn’t come today, the situation... would likely have spiraled out of control!”

Jiang Botao didn’t argue. Instead, he nodded and said, ”If things continue to develop like this, Jin Ming will fall to Luo Tian sooner or later. Perhaps... not too much later. I’d wager that in the annual competition... Xu Luo will defeat Jin Ming!”

”You think so highly of him now too?” Xiahou Kaiyuan laughed.

”That kid made me lose so miserably, of course I think highly of him. However... I always feel he’s hiding too many secrets. If it weren’t for Yuwen Ji’s Heart Inference Skill...”

Jiang Botao shook his head and sighed. ”He’s the one who might save Celestial Brilliance in the future... How could I not think highly of him?”

Xiahou Kaiyuan nodded silently and said no more.

After Su Qianqian and the several beauties from the Scripture Pavilion bid Xu Luo farewell and left with Zuo Mingyu, Xie Yurou also departed with the Xie Family. As for the young masters from the Heritage Clans, after the Sect Leader had gone, they came over to chat cordially with Xu Luo.

None of these individuals were simple. Between the lines of their conversation, they all but confirmed their belief that Xu Luo had killed Jin Xian, though no one said it outright.

A few young masters from the Heritage Clans who’d had a minor conflict with Xu Luo last time also shamelessly came over, showing him a great deal of goodwill.

”Last time we were here, all that unpleasantness with Senior Brother Luo was because we were deceived by that fellow Huyan Qingshan. We’re all willing to resolve this misunderstanding with Senior Brother Luo and become friends!”

Faced with such goodwill, Xu Luo naturally accepted with a smile, because he could see that almost none of these people from the Heritage Clans wanted to see Jin Ming rise to power.

Although no one said it directly, their tone and expression whenever Jin Ming was mentioned conveyed their disdain for him.

Finally, when Xu Luo began to show signs of fatigue, everyone tactfully took their leave.

Only Xu Luo and Yuwen Ji remained in the room. Looking at Xu Luo lying on the bed, Yuwen Ji couldn’t help but curse with a laugh, ”Everyone’s gone. Are you still putting on an act?”

Xu Luo gave a bitter smile. ”Teacher, I’m not acting. I really am this weak right now...”

”What?” Yuwen Ji frowned slightly. He reached out and placed his hand on Xu Luo’s wrist. A moment later, a look of astonishment crossed his face. ”How can this be? Didn’t you use an elixir to suppress your Dantian and create the illusion of weakness?”

”If I had, do you think the Sect Leader wouldn’t have been able to tell?” Xu Luo said.

”You think just because of this... the Sect Leader doesn’t know it was you?” Yuwen Ji shot Xu Luo an exasperated look. ”Many things don’t rely on evidence! Besides you... who else could have done it?”

”The way you say it... it’s as if ’murderer’ is carved on my face,” Xu Luo said with a wry smile.

”How exactly did you do it?” Yuwen Ji couldn’t be bothered to beat around the bush with Xu Luo any longer. He knew that for this kind of thing, even if everyone was tacitly aware, no one would ever admit it.

”I absorbed a massive amount of energy in the shortest time possible, and then expended it all during the fight...” Xu Luo said flatly. ”My original injuries hadn’t healed yet, so when I got back, I ended up like this. It just looks like my injuries have gotten a bit worse.”

”Just for a few... sigh. Then again, if it were me, I would have made the same choice.” Yuwen Ji sighed, then looked at Xu Luo. ”So, what are your plans for the upcoming annual competition?”

”I remember my match was postponed, right? To when?” Xu Luo asked Yuwen Ji.

”It can be postponed for three more days at most. After three days, you either fight or forfeit.” Yuwen Ji looked at Xu Luo. ”What happened today will definitely spread. If you actually get on stage for the annual competition in three days, then... a flood of accusations will come crashing down on you. At that point... you’ll be condemned by everyone!”

Yuwen Ji’s expression was grim as he looked at Xu Luo. ”This is different from when you were assassinated, because the one who tried to kill you was an assassin.”

Yuwen Ji stood up and patted Xu Luo’s shoulder. ”This farce will probably fizzle out just like this, but you must be wary of Jin Ming. The Jin Family’s influence... is immense throughout all of Xi Hezhou. The moment you step outside of Celestial Brilliance, you will lose a powerful layer of protection. At that time, the Jin Family will definitely make a move against you!”

Xu Luo nodded. ”I understand. Don’t worry, Teacher. I can handle it!”

”But you can rest assured as well. As long as you are in Celestial Brilliance, as long as I’m here, no one can touch you. Even the Sect Leader will protect you!” With that, Yuwen Ji stood and left.

Xu Luo was left alone, leaning against the bed, to quietly ponder.