Firmament Sword

Huo Wanchong and Huo Wanyu both died with grievances, their eyes wide open. Even in their lifeless gazes, a look of utter disbelief remained.

"You... you actually killed them?" Xu Luo was utterly shocked, staring at Huo Wanhua. "You're at the same cultivation level... How could you kill them so quickly?"

"Same level? Who told you we were at the same level? How stupid!" Huo Wanhua scoffed, a look of arrogance on his face. "Me, Huo Wanhua! I have been exceptionally talented since childhood, far surpassing my peers. But because of my status as a member of the Huo Family's side branch... Heh... this damn side branch! No matter how talented I was, I could never obtain the best resources."

"Not only that, those disciples from the main branch were jealous of my talent. They even used all sorts of tricks to suppress me... to keep my strength from surpassing theirs. Haha! But how could those idiots have ever imagined that I once had a heaven-sent opportunity! My strength long ago broke through to the Sixth Layer of the Divine Power Realm!"

"I used certain techniques to conceal my true strength; not even the Ancestor knew about it. If the Ancestor had been willing to perform a divination on me, then... he would have naturally found out. But what a pity... A person of the Ancestor's status only pays attention to you disciples from the main branch. Why would he waste his divinatory powers on me?"

Huo Wanhua grinned viciously at Xu Luo. "And thanks to you, I used the Ancestor's name, claiming it was to protect you, and even borrowed the Blood Dusk Blade from the treasury... HAHAHAHA! With the Blood Dusk Blade in my hand and my power at the Sixth Layer of the Divine Power Realm... so far beyond the strength of Huo Wanchong and Huo Wanyu... killing them was as easy as slaughtering chickens!"

"You're all from the side branch of the family. Why did you have to kill them?" Xu Luo sighed, looking at the two bodies on the ground, their eyes still open. He shook his head slightly. To be honest, he had never considered killing Huo Wanchong and Huo Wanyu himself.

Even though the two of them were loyal to Huo Feng, not him, Xu Luo wasn't made of stone. After spending so much time together, he found he couldn't have brought himself to kill them.

He hadn't expected Huo Wanhua... to solve the problem for him.

"Side branch? They were content to be dogs! To be your dog, Young Master Feng! But not me!" Huo Wanhua snarled. "I, Huo Wanhua, am this powerful! Why should I be anyone's lackey? Once I capture Beidou's Eighth Star, I'll refine it immediately, then find a place to go into seclusion. The day I break through to the Saint Realm... is the day the entire Huo Family will belong to me, Huo Wanhua!"

"Do you think... the Ancestor will let you get away with this?" Xu Luo asked, a flash of pity in his eyes as he looked at Huo Wanhua.

'This man is a ruthless opportunist!'

'When he lays low, he can bide his time indefinitely, but once he strikes, he's merciless.'

'If he hadn't run into me and had been allowed to develop freely, I'm sure he would have carved out a place for himself in the Huo Family one day.'

'Unfortunately for you... you ran into me!'

Xu Luo thought to himself as he watched Huo Wanhua impassively.

"So what if the Ancestor doesn't let me go? Do I have to return to the Huo Family? Is the Ancestor immortal? As long as I reach the Saint Realm, I'll definitely outlive him!" Huo Wanhua sneered. "Besides, the Ancestor would be overjoyed to have another Saint Realm expert in the family. Why would he blame me? Killing a couple of side-branch members is nothing!"

"And what about me? I'm from the main branch. The clan rules clearly state that, for any reason, a member of the side branch... has no right to kill a member of the main branch," Xu Luo said calmly.

"Hahaha, that's hilarious! At a time like this, you're still talking to me about clan rules?" Huo Wanhua gave Xu Luo a mocking look. "No matter how perfectly you behave in front of the Ancestor, deep down, you're still that same useless, spoiled brat. Do you really think... the Ancestor would kill me—a future Saint Realm expert—for a piece of trash from the main branch like you?"

"The Saint Realm... you can forget about it." Xu Luo sighed, then raised his head to look at Huo Wanhua and said earnestly, "I'm not surprised that you came looking for trouble with me. I can even understand your ambition. But you really shouldn't have killed those two. Truly."

"Cut the crap. Tell me the whereabouts of Beidou's Eighth Star right now. If you do, I'll be merciful and spare your life. I'll just cripple your cultivation and leave you on the Sect Continent as an ordinary person. Otherwise... I have a hundred ways to make you talk," Huo Wanhua said, his gaze turning sinister as he stared coldly at Xu Luo.

"You really want to know?" An enigmatic smile played on Xu Luo's lips as he looked at Huo Wanhua.

Huo Wanhua's heart skipped a beat. 'Don't tell me this kid has another ace up his sleeve?' he thought. 'His strength is worlds apart from mine. After I killed those two lackeys, Huo Wanchong and Huo Wanyu, he should have been heartbroken, terrified, and begging me for mercy. Why is he so calm? And why is he still wasting my time with all this useless talk?'

'Is he putting on an act... or is he genuinely confident?'

On second thought, Huo Wanhua decided Huo Feng had to be bluffing.

'Right now, unless the Ancestor himself showed up, who could possibly stop me? And the Ancestor... why would he ever come to a place like the Sect Continent?'

His confidence restored, Huo Wanhua said coldly, "No more nonsense. Talk, now! I don't have all day, and my patience is wearing thin!"

"Alas, since you're so desperate to know the whereabouts of Beidou's Eighth Star, I'll grant your wish." With a sigh, Xu Luo's body began to fade, growing more and more transparent.

"Trying to run?" Huo Wanhua sneered and thrust his palm forward.

The palm strike didn't look particularly magical, but in that instant, it felt as if all the air between heaven and earth had been sucked away.

An incredibly heavy pressure shot out from Huo Wanhua's palm, seeking to crush Xu Luo on the spot.

But then... an expression of disbelief appeared in Huo Wanhua's eyes. It was the same look he had seen in the eyes of Huo Wanchong and Huo Wanyu when they discovered his strength had reached the Sixth Layer of the Divine Power Realm right before he killed them.

It was a look of pure shock... of utter disbelief!

Huo Wanhua felt the same way now. He was completely stunned by the change before his very eyes. The person standing there had, in the blink of an eye, transformed from Huo Feng... into another handsome man.

A man who was a stranger... yet also seemed familiar.

"You... Who are you?" Huo Wanhua instinctively halted his attack, asking the question in a stupor. Then, as if a thought struck him, his face paled. He pointed a trembling finger at the man. "You're... Beidou's... Eighth Star!"

"Not completely stupid, I see," Xu Luo said with a smile. "Weren't you desperate to meet me? Weren't you eager to refine me, to absorb me into your body like a Spirit Stone? Well... here I am. I am Xu Luo."

"You... Y-you... How can you look exactly like Huo Feng, right down to the aura? Are you Huo Feng... or are you Beidou's Eighth Star... Xu Luo?" Huo Wanhua's voice was now stuttering.

The scene unfolding before him was too great a shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing was real.

In a way, Huo Wanchong and Huo Wanyu were the lucky ones. They died believing they had followed the right person. They thought that by following Young Master Feng, they would one day receive unimaginable rewards.

Huo Wanhua, however, was unfortunate. He knew he should be thrilled—the Beidou's Eighth Star, whom the entire world was searching for, was standing right in front of him.

And yet, for some reason, despite his strength having reached the Sixth Layer of the Divine Power Realm, Huo Wanhua felt not a single shred of confidence.

"Of course I'm Xu Luo," he said, beaming at Huo Wanhua. "After all this time in the Huo Family, I'm so grateful for your 'concern.' You even kept my name on your lips every day. Tell me... how should I thank you?"

"Aha!" Huo Wanhua suddenly burst out laughing, pointing a finger at Xu Luo. "So what if you're Beidou's Eighth Star? Your strength is nothing compared to mine! How surprising... that you'd have the guts to reveal your true self. I don't know where you get your confidence from! But this is even better. Since you've delivered yourself to my doorstep, it would be rude of me not to accept!"

As he spoke, a vast and majestic aura erupted from Huo Wanhua's body, soaring into the sky. The Blood Dusk Blade appeared in his hand, pointed at Xu Luo. An icy killing intent radiated from the blade, locking onto its target.

"The Blood Dusk Blade... Not bad. I think I'll keep it. It's just, with all of you dead, it'll be a little hard to explain when I get back." Xu Luo seemed completely unaffected by the aura blasting from Huo Wanhua. He sighed softly and muttered to himself, "But that's fine. It's dangerous out here, after all. Accidents happen."

A disdainful smile spread across Huo Wanhua's face. His opponent's strength was clearly inferior to his, yet he dared to boast. He watched Xu Luo with cold eyes, curious to see what other nonsense the young man would spout.

Suddenly, a heavy wave of drowsiness washed over him. He felt so exhausted he was certain that if he closed his eyes for even a second, he would instantly fall asleep.

'What's going on?' Huo Wanhua was horrified. He suddenly remembered what had happened when he crossed the great mountain between the Ancient Race Continent and the Sect Continent... and his face turned deathly pale.

Huo Wanhua also discovered he could no longer make a sound. His head felt heavier and heavier, his drowsiness overwhelming him until, completely beyond his control... his eyes closed.

'It's over!'

That was Huo Wanhua's final thought.

Before Xu Luo's eyes, Huo Wanhua drew the Blood Dusk Blade across his own throat and died.

Xu Luo shook his head slightly and sighed. "Was all that really necessary?"

Then, he thanked the Cyan Dragon. "Cyan Dragon, thank you!"

"Lord Star Monarch, you are too kind. This is all this little dragon can do. With my current power, I can manage this only three or five more times at most..." The Cyan Dragon's consciousness conveyed a sense of resignation.

In the era when the Four Great Divine Beasts reigned supreme, a nobody like Huo Wanhua was beneath notice. Even an expert on the level of the Huo Family's Ancestor would have been nothing to the Cyan Dragon.

It could have killed several of them with a single swipe of its claw.

But a hero doesn't dwell on past glories. The Cyan Dragon knew its era had long since passed.

Now, only this wisp of a soul remained, sustained by the hope that one day, it could personally ask the Kunpeng one question: "Why?"

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