Firmament Sword

”Get out! All of you, get the hell out!”

”Dammit, what are you looking at? You got a problem? Careful, or I’ll slap you to death!”

”Scram, all of you! Or you’ll get crushed when this building collapses!”

”Don’t blame me for not warning you!”

Amidst a storm of curses, a ruckus erupted downstairs. All the restaurant’s patrons scrambled to get outside.

A few screams of pain were mixed in. It seemed some who had shown their displeasure were beaten and injured by the newcomers.

Immediately after, the group stormed upstairs.

The restaurant’s attendant beat them to it, rushing into Xu Luo’s private room. He panted, ”Young masters... hurry, jump out the window and run! They brought a lot of people...”

As he spoke, someone kicked him hard in the rear from behind, sending him stumbling into the room and sprawling on the floor.

Then, the same bearded ruffian from before walked in, followed by a large group.

The moment he entered, he looked at Tang Xiao with a sneer and said to the men beside him, ”That’s the pretty boy from before. Dammit, he’s so good-looking, just like a Rabbit Lord. We’ll have to have some fun with him later!”

”Who are you talking about?” Tang Xiao shot to his feet. He was indeed quite handsome, but back at Celestial Brilliance, who would dare speak to him like that?

”Ooh, the Rabbit Lord is angry! Look at him, a murderous look on that pretty face. Tsk tsk... He must be a wild ride!” The bearded ruffian roared with laughter, completely dismissing Tang Xiao.

”You’re courting death!” Tang Xiao’s handsome face instantly filled with killing intent. A tyrannical aura erupted from him in an instant.

The men beside the bearded ruffian were momentarily stunned. Then, they narrowed their eyes, coldly sizing up everyone in the room.

One of them also unleashed an equally powerful aura and said coolly, ”Which sect are you disciples from? There might be... a misunderstanding here. However... my man was bullied by you. As his master, I have to demand an explanation.”

”An explanation, my ass!” Tang Xiao was furious. He charged forward, swinging a slap at the bearded ruffian. In his heart, he already despised this foul-mouthed bastard.

”You really want to fight?” The one who had just spoken, a man in his thirties with a masculine air, raised an eyebrow. He stepped in front of the bearded ruffian and faced Tang Xiao. ”Friend, aren’t you going a little too far?”

Tang Xiao didn’t pull back his hand at all, striking directly at the man in his thirties.

The man snorted coldly and raised his own hand to block.

SLAP!

With a crisp crack, the man was forced back several steps, his expression changing drastically.

His gaze on Tang Xiao became uncertain. He asked in a low voice, ”Who exactly are you?”

Tang Xiao ignored the man and charged straight for the bearded ruffian. He had never been insulted like this in his entire life. If he let this man go today, he would never forgive himself!

At that moment, the two elders beside the thirty-something man moved to intercept Tang Xiao, one from the front and one from behind. Their eyes held a trace of disdain.

”Junior, such a temper is not good!”

BOOM!

The two elders instantly erupted with the aura of a Supreme!

Tang Xiao’s movements immediately froze.

’By now, you’d have to be an idiot not to realize they were deliberately targeting us.’

Yu Tianying stood up and charged one of the elders.

Yu Tianjie also rose to face the other elder.

BANG! BANG!

Two explosive sounds echoed in the air as both sides exchanged a blow.

Everyone deliberately controlled their power, not letting any of it leak out. Otherwise, the restaurant really would have collapsed.

The Yu brothers each took a step back, and the two elders on the other side also took a step back.

Both sides were surprised.

The two elders narrowed their eyes, studying the shockingly young group. One of them slowly spoke, his voice heavy, ”Who... who exactly are you people?”

”Who we are is none of your business,” Yu Tianying said coldly. ”We were eating here, and we have no quarrel with you. It was your vile servant who tried to steal our private room. We taught him a small lesson, and he ran back to fetch you as backup.”

”Why waste so many words on them? This is ridiculous!” Yu Tianjie was fuming. The dishes that had just been served were making his mouth water, but before he could even start eating, this happened. He was in a terrible mood.

Tang Xiao also stopped and glanced back at Xu Luo, who had been silent the whole time.

Only then did Xu Luo speak, his tone light. ”Go on, tell me. How much did Jin Ming pay you to come cause trouble for us? Did he not tell you we’re from Celestial Brilliance? Or... does he have a grudge against you and wants to see you all dead?”

”Wh-what? You’re from Celestial Brilliance?” This time, the two previously composed elders were completely stunned.

Even the masculine-looking man in his thirties over there wore a look of astonishment and muttered, ”You’re from Celestial Brilliance? How is that possible?”

As for the bearded ruffian, his legs went weak, and he slumped to the floor. Utterly devastated, he said, ”My god... I... what did I just say? I called a Heavenly Brilliance Disciple... a Rabbit Lord. I... how could I be such a fucking idiot?”

Just then, the elder who had spoken earlier bowed respectfully to Xu Luo. He could already tell that the young man sitting there was the group’s leader.

The elder said in a low voice, ”My apologies, young master. This was our mistake. We were incited by someone to cause trouble for you, but I swear, I truly had no idea... that you gentlemen were from Celestial Brilliance. If I had known, I wouldn’t have dared to come here and cause trouble, not even if you gave me ten thousand guts!”

The masculine-looking man also walked over, bowed to Xu Luo, and said, ”We were set up, but this matter... is our fault! We are willing to make amends and apologize!”

Tang Xiao sneered from the side. ”Your man called me a Rabbit Lord!”

The masculine-looking man turned back and said flatly to the bearded ruffian, ”Your wife and children... I will take care of them!”

The bearded ruffian froze, then said with a look of shock, ”Master... I... I’ve been your servant since I was a child! Are you going to kill me?”

The masculine-looking man roared, ”Are you a fucking idiot? Is it me who wants to kill you? You’re the one who ran your mouth and offended the masters from Celestial Brilliance! You have to die!”

The bearded ruffian swallowed hard, his mouth twitching. ”I was wrong... but... but it’s not a crime punishable by death!”

Sitting beside Xu Luo, Ming Youyue seemed unable to bear it. Just as she was about to speak, Xu Luo shook his head slightly at her and sent a telepathic message, ”Don’t say anything. Just watch.”

Although Ming Youyue was a little displeased, she didn’t argue. However, in her heart, her opinion of Xu Luo and Tang Xiao began to change.

’Although that bearded man was in the wrong,’ she thought, ’just like he said, his mistake doesn’t deserve death. How can you all just stand by and force him to die?’

The thought churned in Ming Youyue’s mind, making her extremely uncomfortable.

Tang Xiao just sneered, watching in silence.

Xu Luo sat there, calm and unperturbed, without saying a word.

The brothers Yu Tianying and Yu Tianjie stood with their arms crossed, staring up at the ceiling as if the Supreme Ancient Scripture were carved into it.

Lv Di was silent. Zhong Jiuyan lowered his head, fiddling with a small golden ball in his hand, though no one knew what it was.

Wang Tong watched with a grin, his expression like he was watching a farce.

The youngest, Shao Zheng, looked on with curiosity, glancing from one person to another. This whole scene had clearly confused him, and he didn’t know what was going on.

The masculine-looking man waited for a long time but didn’t get a single word from Xu Luo’s group. He grew awkward. This act... seemed hard to continue.

After all, he couldn’t actually kill his own subordinate.

The bearded ruffian, meanwhile, stared pleadingly at his master, unsure of what he should say.

”Well? Keep acting! Why’d you stop? I was just starting to enjoy the show! Why did it stop?” Tang Xiao taunted, raising an eyebrow at the bearded ruffian and his master, the masculine-looking man.

”Weren’t you putting on a great performance just now? Heh, Heavenly Brilliance Disciples forcing a disciple from a minor clan to kill his own trusted subordinate. What a magnificent scene! I’m waiting! Go on, kill him! Or kill yourself! Make a move!” Tang Xiao looked at the bearded ruffian and sneered. ”I’ll tell you the truth. No matter who it was, no matter what they promised you or how sweet their words were, today... you will die. No question.”

Hearing this, the faces of both the bearded ruffian and his master, the masculine-looking man, changed.

”I have never been so humiliated in my entire life! No one has ever dared to insult me like this!”

”Did you think you could use a grand accusation to pressure us Heavenly Brilliance Disciples into backing down?”

”Did you think that to protect the reputation of Celestial Brilliance, we would just let this matter slide and avoid the stigma of forcing someone to their death?”

”Did you think that with someone backing you up, you could insult us as you please? And then afterwards, you could go and tell everyone... that Heavenly Brilliance Disciples are nothing special, that I could call one a Rabbit Lord to his face and he wouldn’t even dare to respond?”

Tang Xiao spoke line by line, a faint smile on his face. But beneath that smile was an icy chill.

The dignity of a Heavenly Brilliance Disciple could not be violated!

And that dignity was built upon... incomparably immense power!

So-called mercy, generosity, and tolerance... Heavenly Brilliance Disciples possessed all these qualities, but it depended on who they were dealing with!

If the other party had offended them unintentionally, no matter how nasty the insults, Tang Xiao wouldn’t have been this furious. But this was clearly a deliberate provocation. If he were to back down now, that would be a true stain on the image of Celestial Brilliance!

A dignified Direct Disciple of Celestial Brilliance, a top-tier expert of the younger generation, being insulted by a mere servant like this—if he didn’t react, he feared Elder Jiang would slap him across the face and call him a good-for-nothing when he got back!