Firmament Sword

Xiahou Kaiyuan regarded Yuwen Ji with a wry smile. Yuwen Ji flushed and grumbled, "Alright, alright, I'm doing it for the honor of the Medicine Garden. Happy now?"

Xiahou Kaiyuan looked at Xu Luo seriously and said, "The Medicine Garden has been weak for far too long. It's time for a change. So... don't slack off. Do your best to win the championship—not just for yourself, but for the Medicine Garden as well."

Xu Luo couldn't help but give a wry smile. It wasn't that he didn't want the championship, but that he wanted to join the search for the second half of the Soul Scripture as soon as possible!

'Three years... it's not exactly a short time, but it's definitely not long either!'

'How many years had it been since Monkey's uncle was lured away? There had been no news since. If the second half of the Soul Scripture were that easy to find, Monkey's uncle would have been freed long ago!'

But faced with Yuwen Ji, to whom he owed an immense debt of gratitude, Xu Luo found it impossible to refuse.

He could only nod, promise to do his best, and then take his leave.

In the secret chamber, only Yuwen Ji and Xiahou Kaiyuan remained.

The two men, despite the considerable gap in their statuses, shared a long, wordless silence.

Finally, Xiahou Kaiyuan spoke up. "That matter... how much time is left?"

Yuwen Ji sighed softly. "If my calculations are correct, that matter... is in about six years..."

"Six years..." Xiahou Kaiyuan sighed, murmuring, "Every ten thousand years, a great calamity befalls Jiuzhou. I always thought... such things were still distant... that it would never befall us in our lifetime. But to think... we'd be the ones to face it."

"Indeed. Even if we relocated the entire sect... I'm afraid it would be too late," Yuwen Ji lamented.

"And even if there were time, where could we possibly go? Are you saying... our great sect, which has existed for a million years, should just disband?" Xiahou Kaiyuan asked with a wry smile.

"It's not entirely hopeless. At the very least... in my vision with the Heart Inference Skill, I saw that our salvation lies with Luo Tian." Yuwen Ji looked at Xiahou Kaiyuan. "Sect Leader, you should know the power of the Heart Inference Skill better than I. From ancient times to the present, this heaven-defying Divination Skill has never once been wrong."

Xiahou Kaiyuan nodded and said with a smile, "If that weren't the case, why would I indulge the boy at every turn? He's quietly... done so many outrageous things, hasn't he?"

Yuwen Ji chuckled. "Don't be so dramatic. He's very low-key and hasn't done anything truly bad..."

"Bah!" Xiahou Kaiyuan rolled his eyes and sneered. "You and Zuo Mingyu and your little scheme... Plotting to take the Soul Scripture wasn't outrageous? That is a million-year-old Holy Scripture of Celestial Brilliance! If I didn't see that the boy is the one prophesied to face the calamity, and if he hadn't fully comprehended the Soul Scripture, fulfilling the ancestors' decree, do you really think I would have let him off the hook?"

"The Soul Scripture! That ancient stone tablet it was carved on was an undeniable holy relic, and now it's actually become that boy's personal artifact..." Xiahou Kaiyuan practically stamped his feet, his face contorted as if in physical pain.

"It was just gathering rust and dust in the Scripture Pavilion. It's better to let someone who can actually use it take it away. Besides, no matter what, he's still a disciple of Celestial Brilliance." Yuwen Ji said with a carefree look at Xiahou Kaiyuan. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"He's your disciple, so of course you don't mind."

"He's also a Celestial Brilliance Disciple, and you're the Sect Leader. You're supposed to be magnanimous."

In private, Xiahou Kaiyuan wasn't so serious. It was just as Xu Luo had thought: no matter how great a figure, they were still human.

No matter how glorious and solemn they appeared in public, in private, they still needed friends to confide in.

Xiahou Kaiyuan, Yuwen Ji, Zuo Mingyu, Jiang Botao, and many other high-ranking members of Celestial Brilliance had all grown up together. Their private friendships ran deep, so they spoke very casually with one another.

"Alright. Let's hope this little fellow can bring us that chance!" Xiahou Kaiyuan sighed and murmured, "The ten-thousand-year calamity... They say that throughout Jiuzhou... no great sect has ever been spared. I hope we can be the exception!"

"In my Heart Inference Skill vision... there were mountains of corpses and seas of blood. It will be hard to be an exception. But that single sliver of life rests with Luo Tian. So... let's hope!" Yuwen Ji shook his head and sighed. Clearly, it was just a hope and nothing more.

...

...

Xu Luo sat in the stands, watching the fight in the arena. It was Xie Yurou's match. Her opponent, a Medicine Garden Disciple, was unleashing an endless barrage of offensive Elixirs. However, after so many rounds, everyone had grown familiar with the Medicine Garden Disciples' attack Elixirs and naturally came prepared.

As the Celestial Splendor Noble Lady, Xie Yurou was certainly not lacking in defensive gear. Faced with the Medicine Garden Disciple's Elixir attacks, she remained calm and composed.

Xu Luo's mind, however, was preoccupied with the news he had just received from the Sect Leader.

'The Peak of Jiuzhou... It's probably the grandest event for the entire Human Race in the Divine Domain. Just the thought of it is exciting.' Xu Luo sat quietly in the stands, mulling over the road ahead. 'Maybe at the Peak of Jiuzhou, I'll have a chance to get news of my brothers.'

'It's been so long since I've seen them... I wonder how they're doing.'

Xu Luo sighed softly and turned his attention back to the arena, where the match had just concluded.

A serious Xie Yurou was not to be underestimated. With her top-tier equipment, she weathered the Medicine Garden Disciple's frenzied assault before launching a counterattack. She quickly gained the upper hand and defeated her opponent.

Elated by her victory, Xie Yurou waved repeatedly to the surrounding stands. Her gestures were elegant and graceful, a far cry from the Little Witch persona she usually adopted in front of Xu Luo.

A slight smile touched Xu Luo's lips. He then got up, left the stands, and waited for Xie Yurou outside.

A short while later, Xie Yurou arrived, her face still flushed with excitement. The moment she saw Xu Luo, she couldn't help but show off, "So? Pretty amazing, right?"

Xu Luo nodded. "Definitely amazing."

"Hee hee, I beat one of your fellow disciples. Aren't you mad?" Xie Yurou asked, grinning at Xu Luo.

Xu Luo gave a wry smile. "If I had asked you to forfeit, would you have agreed?"

"Of course not!" Xie Yurou rolled her pretty eyes, then walked over and grabbed Xu Luo's arm. "Come on, I'll take you somewhere fun!"

"What kind of fun place?" Xu Luo wasn't used to being so close to Xie Yurou, and his movements were a little stiff.

"Aiya... I'm not scared, so what's a big man like you getting shy for?" Xie Yurou shot Xu Luo a look. "Did you know that besides cultivation, there are also places in Celestial Brilliance to drink tea and relax?"

Xu Luo scratched his head. "I actually didn't know that."

"You dummy. Think about it—Celestial Brilliance is huge, with millions of people here alone. If there wasn't even a place to drink tea and relax, wouldn't everyone die of boredom?"

Xie Yurou said as she dragged Xu Luo along, "Everyone's talking about you right now. Let's find a place where we can listen to what other people think you're like!"

Xu Luo followed Xie Yurou and boarded an exquisite warship.

Seeing the smile on Xu Luo's face, Xie Yurou said with a hint of annoyance, "No laughing! I'm a girl, so can't I like the color pink?"

"You can!" Xu Luo replied with a definite smile.

Xie Yurou's warship had a lot of character. From the outside, it was ink-black and looked no different from any other warship, but once aboard, you'd discover a whole new world inside.

Almost all the furnishings were pink. Upon stepping inside, Xu Luo felt as if he had entered a world of pink, and it took him a moment to adjust.

"You silly guy, you're the first man to ever board this ship!" Xie Yurou shot Xu Luo a look, then suddenly pleaded, "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Better not..." Xu Luo scanned the cabin's decor, noticing that many Arrays were hidden beneath the romantic facade. He couldn't tell how strong they were, but judging from their fluctuations, they couldn't be too weak.

'She really is the Celestial Splendor Noble Lady,' Xu Luo thought. 'The family behind her must be incredibly wealthy. Not just anyone could afford a warship like this.'

"Don't be so stingy!" Xie Yurou pouted, glaring at Xu Luo with puffed cheeks. "I even let you into my most private space, and I'm just asking for one little favor!"

"Pretty please!" As she spoke, Xie Yurou came over and started shaking Xu Luo's arm, looking just like a little girl begging for candy.

"Tell me what it is first. I can't promise I can do it." The corner of Xu Luo's mouth twitched. He subtly pulled his arm free and took two steps back.

"I'm sure you can do it. I just wanted to ask you... if you could find... that friend of yours who gave you the spot to enter Celestial Brilliance." As Xie Yurou spoke, her pretty face flushed slightly. She fidgeted with the hem of her clothes, looking at Xu Luo shyly. "I want to meet him."

"Why?" Xu Luo looked at Xie Yurou, puzzled. "That guy is always sneaking around. You've never even seen what he looks like, have you?"

"None of your business!" Xie Yurou snapped, then, as if remembering something, her tone softened into a plea. "I just want to meet him, that's all. I won't hurt him, really! I can swear on it!"

"That's going to be difficult... because that guy just owed me a favor. We aren't friends, so I have no way of contacting him," Xu Luo said to Xie Yurou.

"Ah... You're not lying to me, are you?" Xie Yurou's face fell with disappointment. "So you're saying... I'll really never get to see him again?" she asked dejectedly.

"Probably. The guy came into a huge fortune and ran off to live a carefree life somewhere," Xu Luo said nonchalantly.

"Alright... let's not talk about him anymore!" A radiant smile suddenly bloomed on Xie Yurou's disappointed face. She looked at Xu Luo and said softly, "Senior Brother Luo Tian, come have a drink with me!"

Xu Luo was taken aback. Before he could even process Xie Yurou's sudden change in mood, he saw her chanting an incantation, her fair hands forming seals in the empty air...

And then...

WHOOSH!

The warship shot forward as if it had gone mad, its speed increasing by more than a hundredfold in an instant!

Looking at Xie Yurou's serious expression, Xu Luo suddenly had a feeling... that he had said something wrong.

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