Firmament Sword

Xu Luo sat on the stage, his gaze sweeping over the entire scene. He had long since noticed Chu Lin's venomous expression, but his heart was calm. From the very beginning, he had never considered Chu Lin his opponent.

'If you're smart, I'll give Elder Zou Yuan some face and won't stoop to your level. But if you dare to cause me trouble again, or think about killing me, then I naturally... wouldn't mind crippling you completely!'

I will not attack unless I am attacked.

This was the creed Xu Luo had always lived by. He didn't care what others thought of him.

'In this world, the ones I care about first are my family and friends, then the people I admire, and then those who are kind. As for everyone else... I'm not a savior. I can't be bothered with that many people!'

Xu Luo didn't spare Chu Lin another glance. He looked down at the group of impassioned youths below, a smile on his face. "Let us go and create a miracle that belongs to our Medicine Garden!"

Cheers shook the heavens, and applause thundered.

The eyes of all the Medicine Garden Disciples were filled with a light called "the future."

「The Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition had finally begun!」

As the Supreme Great Sect of Xi Hezhou, the Celestial Brilliance sect had countless disciples. Even just among the younger generation, there were at least several hundred thousand.

The annual competition was divided between the Outer Sect and the Inner Sect.

Direct Disciples were also counted among the Inner Sect Disciples. Everyone, without exception, had to start fighting from the very first match.

No one could have special privileges, not even Jin Ming, the Sect Leader's Direct Disciple!

Because the number of participants was so large, the method used for the annual competition was relatively simple.

Direct elimination!

A single battle decided victory or defeat!

Before a match, no one knew who their opponent would be. The arenas were random, and the opponents were random.

If you were lucky, you could fight your way through the ranks and perhaps achieve a decent final standing.

The Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition had always only ranked the top one thousand!

To be ranked in the top one thousand among several hundred thousand outstanding disciples was a matter of great pride.

There were also the unlucky ones. Some were strong enough to easily make the top thousand, but they ran into an even stronger opponent and were eliminated immediately.

There were many such unlucky souls every year. A lot of them... were even the Direct Disciples of Inner Sect Elders!

Fortunately, the competition was held annually. If you lost this year, you would have a chance to redeem yourself next year.

After entering the top one thousand, the single-elimination format continued. However, all participants who made it into the top thousand were granted one challenge opportunity!

Some people would save this opportunity for the very end.

For example, in the final stages, they might challenge someone weaker than themselves to advance further in the competition!

No one would call this tactic shameless, because this was a place where strength was paramount!

If you were weak... you had no right to blame fate or others. Complaining was useless. If you possessed great strength, then... you would fear no challenge!

Therefore, this seemingly unfair rule was accepted by all Heavenly Brilliance Disciples.

This year, like every year, all Heavenly Brilliance Disciples, regardless of which Elder they studied under, were all mixed up and assigned to various combat zones.

Xu Luo was assigned to the Seventh Combat Zone.

Xu Luo also saw a few of his fellow disciples from the Medicine Garden here. He was originally a little down about it, because if he encountered them during the competition, he naturally couldn't go easy on them, which meant their journey would end at his hands.

However, these Inner Sect disciples from the Medicine Garden were quite open-minded about it. In fact, they were happy to be in the same combat zone as their Senior Brother. Even if they met him, fought with all their might, and were eliminated, they would have no regrets.

"Senior Brother, you need to be careful of Chu Lin. He's definitely holding a grudge and wants to get revenge on you," an Inner Disciple of Heavenly Brilliance said softly as he approached Xu Luo's side.

"I know. Thank you for the warning," Xu Luo replied with a smile.

"As long as you can last a few rounds and get into the top thousand, you'll get a chance to challenge anyone you want. Since Chu Lin survived the ordeal in the Black Wind Cave, his strength must have improved greatly. Plus, the guy is extremely insidious."

"He's definitely learned the methods you taught our fellow disciples. When the time comes, he'll be sure to use those same techniques against you, Senior Brother."

Xu Luo nodded and thanked the Inner Sect Disciple again, who then left, satisfied.

A cold glint flashed through Xu Luo's eyes. 'Chu Lin,' he thought, 'if you're really going to do what that Junior Brother just said, then no one can save you!'

Then, the number plate in Xu Luo's hand began to glow.

A beam of light then shot out and struck Xu Luo. He immediately felt a distinct spatial power envelop him.

Xu Luo was calm. Someone had already explained the rules and the method of entering the battle arena to him beforehand.

Using powerful spatial energy to teleport contestants to different arenas—an extravagant feat unimaginable to ordinary people—was just a routine matter for Celestial Brilliance.

Xu Luo's vision blurred for a moment. When it cleared, he found himself standing on a large fighting arena.

The arena was massive and square, each side hundreds of feet long.

This arena, like all the mountains of Celestial Brilliance, was suspended in mid-air. It was surrounded by a ring of spectator stands, but at the moment, there were only a few people in them.

The method for watching the Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition was also quite impressive. Anyone could use their number plate to teleport directly to the stands of a specific numbered arena.

Not many people came to watch these preliminary rounds unless a particularly famous Heavenly Brilliance Disciple was fighting. Their matches could instantly draw a large crowd of spectators.

Xu Luo glanced at the surrounding stands. There were only a few dozen people.

A middle-aged man stood on the arena; he was the referee for this match.

The so-called referee wouldn't interfere much unless a contestant broke the rules. Only then would he intervene.

Standing opposite Xu Luo was a young man who looked to be twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a powerful, stocky build, and an extremely sturdy physique.

The young man cupped his fist at Xu Luo and said, "Inner Sect Disciple, Dingping Zong!"

Xu Luo smiled and returned the gesture. "Medicine Garden, Luo Tian."

"You're the Senior Brother from the Medicine Garden, Luo Tian?" Dingping Zong's thick eyebrows shot up as he stared at Xu Luo in surprise. Then, a hint of excitement appeared in his eyes, and he boomed, "Haha! I can't believe my luck is this good!"

"..." Xu Luo stared speechlessly at the young man. 'You really think you're lucky?' he thought.

Just then, Dingping Zong shouted loudly to the stands, "The Senior Brother from the Medicine Garden is right here! Anyone who wants to watch... better hurry up!"

The referee on the arena didn't stop Dingping Zong. This was a long-standing tradition in the Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition. Whenever a famous disciple was competing, even the referees would do the same.

Immediately after, beams of light flared up in the once-empty stands. In the blink of an eye, countless people appeared in the seats surrounding the arena.

The stands, which could hold several thousand people, were somehow... full in an instant!

Many more who got the news too late could only stare at their number plates, which now indicated the teleportation had failed. They felt like crying.

Once the stands were full, no one else could teleport in. This was just a preliminary-round arena, so the stands weren't built to be too large, usually having only a few thousand seats.

This had never happened before... a single first-round match drawing thousands of spectators and filling the stands completely.

If it weren't for the limited number of seats, it was certain that even more people would have poured in!

Not even the first match of someone like Jin Ming, the great Senior Brother Tianhuang, would have attracted so many people. Xu Luo's match had inadvertently broken one of Celestial Brilliance's records.

The once-quiet stands were now filled with a clamor. Many people's eyes gleamed with excitement as they watched the young man standing on the arena.

"So that's the Senior Brother from the Medicine Garden, Luo Tian? He's actually really handsome!" said a young, star-struck girl.

"What's the use of being handsome? He's about to get beaten to a pulp. That guy's luck is just too good, running into a pushover from the Medicine Garden in his very first match, and such a prominent one at that!"

"Who's that guy with the thick eyebrows? How did he get so lucky? To actually draw the legendary Senior Brother from the Medicine Garden... As long as he beats the Medicine Garden's Senior Brother, he'll be famous, even if he gets eliminated in the next round!"

"I recognize him! That's Inner Sect Disciple Dingping Zong. He's at the High Tier of the Saint Realm and is rumored to have a shot at becoming a Direct Disciple!"

"As long as he beats this pushover Senior Brother from the Medicine Garden, he'll definitely be accepted as a Direct Disciple!"

The people in the stands chattered amongst themselves, all of them envious of Xu Luo's opponent.

Dingping Zong was also beaming. He said to Xu Luo, "My apologies. Please forgive me for calling so many people to watch. I need to make a name for myself, too!"

"..." Xu Luo stared speechlessly at the excited young man and said with a sigh of resignation, "Alright, the stands are full now. You can make your move."

"Wait, just a moment!" Dingping Zong gave Xu Luo an apologetic smile, then turned to the stands and announced loudly, "I, Inner Sect Disciple Dingping Zong, am here today to spar with the Medicine Garden's Senior Brother, Luo Tian!"

A chorus of boos came from the stands.

"You lucky bastard, stop showing off!"

"We want to see a fight!"

"We want to see you crush the Medicine Garden's Senior Brother!"

"Stop rambling, we want to see the fight!"

"Does your master know you're this lucky?"

"Enough with the nonsense, just fight already!"

Only then did Dingping Zong turn back, satisfied. He made an inviting gesture toward Xu Luo. "Senior Brother Luo Tian, please!"

Xu Luo shook his head and couldn't help but sigh. He turned to the referee and asked, "As long as you fall off the arena, it's a loss, right?"

The referee's mouth twitched slightly. He nodded and said with some sympathy, "You should try to stay on the arena a little longer..."

Looking at the referee's pitying gaze, Xu Luo didn't get angry. He just found it amusing.

He turned to Dingping Zong and said, "Are you sure... you want me to go first?"

Dingping Zong nodded with a reserved expression and held out a hand. "Please!"

SWOOSH!

Xu Luo's figure suddenly vanished from his spot. The next moment, Dingping Zong's figure... also vanished from the arena.

Many people hadn't even mentally prepared themselves to watch the fight. They were all staring blankly, unsure of what had just happened.

When everyone finally got a clear look at the situation on the arena, their mouths hung open and their eyes widened, as if they were a crowd of statues.

They simply couldn't believe that what they were seeing was real.

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