Firmament Sword

Many people were itching to teach Xu Luo a lesson at the annual competition, but little did they know, Xu Luo was waiting for that very thing!

Every year, unless there were extremely special circumstances, all the peerless prodigies of Celestial Brilliance would participate in the annual competition.

The scene could only be described as a true gathering of elites!

Every single Heavenly Brilliance Disciple wanted to prove themselves at the annual competition, and Xu Luo was no exception.

Therefore, Xu Luo was quite looking forward to the Celestial Brilliance Sect's annual competition.

But right now, he had another important matter to attend to: the *Soul Scripture*!

This was the most fundamental reason Xu Luo had come to Celestial Brilliance!

Xu Luo ran to see Yuwen Ji, wanting to ask for his master's opinion.

"I'll take you!" Yuwen Ji agreed immediately, without any hesitation.

At the Celestial Brilliance Sect's Scripture Pavilion, Yuwen Ji and Xu Luo were, as expected, stopped.

"The Scripture Pavilion is a restricted area. No one is permitted to enter without a token." The one who stopped them was a middle-aged man in his forties. Judging by his expression and reaction, it was as if he had no idea who Yuwen Ji was. As for Xu Luo, he didn't even bother to spare him a glance.

Yuwen Ji said nothing, simply taking out a waist token and handing it to the man.

After a glance, the middle-aged man's eyelid twitched. He took the token and examined it over and over for a long while before finally looking up at the two of them. With a smile that didn't reach his eyes, he said, "So it's the Chief Grand Elder of the Medicine Garden. Forgive my lack of respect..."

Yuwen Ji said coldly, "Cut the nonsense. Do I need your respect? You've verified my identity, so hurry up and let us pass!"

Don't be fooled by Yuwen Ji's usual good-natured image in the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden. He was, after all, a man of high standing. When he got serious, his aura alone was enough to make many people feel suffocated.

As Yuwen Ji's power flared, the middle-aged man flinched, his expression stiffening slightly.

Returning the waist token to Yuwen Ji, he maintained his firm attitude. "Elder Yuwen is certainly impressive; a humble man like me could never compare. Unfortunately... the Scripture Pavilion is currently undergoing renovations. Elder Yuwen's timing is... rather inconvenient."

"You..." Yuwen Ji was speechless with rage. The entire Scripture Pavilion was dead silent, without a single sound. It was constructed from divine materials that wouldn't decay for a million years. What nonsense was this about renovations?

Xu Luo, watching from the side, saw things clearly. The moment this man had seen them, he seemed to have activated a Sound Transmission Stone. His current actions were clearly meant to provoke Yuwen Ji, and at the same time, he was waiting for something.

With this in mind, Xu Luo took a step forward. Without a word, he held out a token.

The middle-aged man hadn't paid Xu Luo any mind earlier. Although the reputation of the new Medicine King had spread far and wide, very few people had actually seen him in person.

Coupled with Xu Luo's deliberate low profile, almost no one outside the Medicine Garden knew what the new Medicine King looked like.

Now, seeing this young man impassively hand him a jade token while Yuwen Ji stood by without stopping him, the middle-aged man was briefly stunned. Then, without even looking at the token, he sneered, "Young man, has no one ever told you what kind of place the Scripture Pavilion is? Well then, I'll do you the favor of educating you today!"

As he spoke, a disdainful smile crept onto his lips. "The Scripture Pavilion is not the Scripture Repository. Don't let the similar names fool you. The Scripture Pavilion... is not a place just anyone is qualified to enter! I don't know who you are, and I don't care to know. If you're smart, you'll leave now, and I can pretend I never saw you. Otherwise... for trespassing in the Scripture Pavilion, I have the right to execute you on the spot!"

Of course, Xu Luo knew the difference between the Scripture Pavilion and the Scripture Repository. The Scripture Repository... was a place all Heavenly Brilliance Disciples could go, and it contained countless Cultivation Techniques and all sorts of scriptures.

The Scripture Repository was divided into the Miscellaneous Area, the Outer Disciple Area, and the Inner Sect Disciple Area. Only the Direct Disciples of the various Elders were qualified to enter the highest level.

Aside from a few special scriptures and high-level Cultivation Techniques that required contribution points to read, most of the books were open to all.

The Scripture Pavilion, on the other hand... was where the true core collection of the Celestial Brilliance Sect was stored.

Disciples of ordinary status had no qualifications whatsoever to browse these collections. Even a Direct Disciple of the Sect Leader would need the Sect Leader's special permission to enter the Scripture Pavilion!

Besides them, only Elders of Yuwen Ji's status could enter.

But the *Soul Scripture*... as the Holy Scripture of the Celestial Brilliance Sect, was something that not even an Elder of Yuwen Ji's status was qualified to consult!

Therefore, for this middle-aged man to ignore the token Xu Luo offered and mock him directly, while excessive, was not technically a violation of the rules.

At this, Xu Luo smiled faintly and said, "I'd advise you to take a clear look at the words on this token before you speak again. Otherwise, if you really say the wrong thing, I might not hold it against you, but as for others... I can't say."

"Oh? You dare speak to me like that? Who the hell do you think you are?" The middle-aged man was instantly enraged. He looked at Xu Luo with a provocative expression that practically screamed, 'Go on, hit me'.

Just then, Yuwen Ji barked from the side, "You bastard! Are you blind? That's the Sect Leader's waist token! Or has this Scripture Pavilion... become your private domain? Is even the Sect Leader not qualified to enter?"

HISS!

The middle-aged man sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, truly frightened.

In fact, the moment Xu Luo had stepped forward, he had already confirmed the young man's identity. The reason he didn't look at the token was that he wanted to feign ignorance!

'What I don't know can't be held against me!'

But he had never imagined that the token this young man handed over would actually be the Sect Leader's waist token!

He couldn't help but subconsciously glance at the waist token. Upon it were four ancient characters: Xiahou Kaiyuan!

He trembled all over. That name... was precisely the name of the current Heavenly Brilliance Sect Master!

In the entire Celestial Brilliance Sect... who didn't know that name?

The middle-aged man's mouth twitched violently. He didn't dare to take the waist token, as if it weren't a token but the Heavenly Brilliance Sect Master himself standing before him!

At the same time, he was crying bitterly in his heart. 'Didn't they say the Sect Leader only bestowed some rare treasures on the new Medicine King? Why did he even give him his personal waist token, a symbol of his status? This is bad... Before, the Grand Elder had only instructed: 'Anyone from the Medicine Garden... no matter who it is, block them.''

'But this person... I can't block him!'

"Is that enough now?" Yuwen Ji, watching the man's expression shift from pale to livid, naturally understood his dilemma and asked coldly.

"This... this..." The middle-aged man gritted his teeth, steeled his resolve, and decided to be stubborn to the end. He said coldly, "Who knows how you came by this waist token? I've never received any notice that someone would come to the Scripture Pavilion with the Sect Leader's token! For all I know... this token of yours could be a fake!"

Yuwen Ji was so angry he nearly fainted. 'I knew the people at the Scripture Pavilion were absolute bastards,' he thought, 'but I never expected their arrogance would reach such a level that they'd even dare to question the Sect Leader's token.'

Xu Luo glanced at the old man beside him, who looked ready to explode with anger. He quickly stepped forward, speaking before Yuwen Ji could. "Then how do you propose to prove it?"

The middle-aged man looked at Xu Luo and said, "I'll have to report this matter to my superiors and verify its authenticity first!"

"Fine, be my guest." Xu Luo looked at the man. "I won't see you out!"

The middle-aged man gave some instructions to the men behind him, then turned and left. The few men left guarding the entrance to the Scripture Pavilion stared at the pair like hawks, their expressions like they were guarding against thieves.

Yuwen Ji frowned. "This is obviously a stalling tactic. He leaves now... and he definitely won't be coming back."

"I know," Xu Luo said with a smile.

"You know? Then why did you let him go?" Yuwen Ji glared at Xu Luo.

"Master, if we didn't let him go, would we have been able to get in? Were you planning to force your way through?" Xu Luo said with a wry smile.

Yuwen Ji was momentarily speechless, then cursed in anger, "Vile little men are the worst to deal with!"

Xu Luo smiled and glanced at the guards standing at the Scripture Pavilion entrance not far away. "Master, let's head back for now, too."

"Head back? I'm going to wait right here! I'd like to see just how much nerve a petty Steward has!" Yuwen Ji was truly enraged. If the one who had given them trouble just now had been the Grand Elder of the Scripture Pavilion, he might have felt a bit better about it.

But his opponent was just a petty Steward. Although guarding a vital place like the Scripture Pavilion meant his status was a notch higher than other Stewards, compared to Yuwen Ji, he was still utterly insignificant.

The Celestial Brilliance Sect had tens of millions of disciples. Including all their related families, there were hundreds of millions of people. Among them, how many held the title of Steward? At least a million?

But in the entire Celestial Brilliance Sect, there were no more than a hundred Elders with the status of Yuwen Ji!

For him, the dignified Chief Grand Elder of the Medicine Garden, to be obstructed by a mere Steward was a great insult. It would have been perfectly normal for him to teach the man a lesson on the spot.

"Master, please don't worry. I already have a solution." As Xu Luo spoke, he brandished the Sound Transmission Stone in his hand. Making no effort to hide it from the hawkeyed Scripture Pavilion guards, he said calmly, "A Steward of the Scripture Pavilion disrespected the Sect Leader, obstructed the Medicine Garden Grand Elder, spouted lies, and acted with arrogant insolence. This matter... will have to be answered for. I believe someone will be willing to grant us justice."

Yuwen Ji was stunned for a moment, then a look of delight spread across his face. He laughed, "You kid... you really are clever! Hahaha, I like it! You're right, we don't need to stoop to the level of such a vile person. It's beneath our station. There will be people to see justice done for us! Let's go... Master will take you to the Precepts Hall right now!"

The corner of Xu Luo's mouth twitched. 'This old man seems so kind and friendly, but he's actually deceptively ruthless!' he thought. 'So vicious! His first move... is the Precepts Hall. That's basically a death sentence.'

In reality, his plan was to make a few hundred copies of this Sound Transmission Stone recording and spread them throughout the entire Celestial Brilliance Sect. No matter how many people disliked the current Medicine Garden, when it came to a matter of status and hierarchy like this, no one could blatantly side with the Scripture Pavilion!

Because if they sided with the Scripture Pavilion, it would be tantamount to openly challenging the Celestial Brilliance Sect's hierarchical system! It would be the same as joining the Scripture Pavilion in... showing blatant disrespect to the Sect Leader!

Who would dare?

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