Firmament Sword

Lu Ziyu took a deep breath, suddenly bent over, and spat out a mouthful of blood. He caught it in his hand, and the crimson liquid dripped from his palm to the ground.

Just as everyone thought Lu Ziyu was about to fight Luo Tian to the death, the young master of the Heritage Clan instead gave Luo Tian a deep look, said nothing, and turned to leave!

"Ziyu…" Huyan Qingshan cried out anxiously. 'What's going on? Even if you're no match for him, you can't just walk away like that, can you?'

Lu Ziyu heard Huyan Qingshan's voice and paused briefly. He then turned, looked at Huyan Qingshan, and said flatly, "Qingshan, from this day forward, we are no longer friends. You… are on your own."

With that, Lu Ziyu walked away without a second glance.

Huyan Qingshan called out a few more times, but Lu Ziyu only walked further away. Dejected, Huyan Qingshan turned back and said awkwardly, "Ziyu has always been proud and arrogant. He must be acting this way because he lost…"

At that moment, the other young masters from the Heritage Clans also glanced at Huyan Qingshan, then made their excuses and left.

Though they didn't say anything as heartless as Lu Ziyu had, every single one of them… left with a resolve that brooked no hesitation.

Only then did Huyan Qingshan suddenly realize that his best friends… now seemed to hate him.

"You guys… I… Let me explain!" Huyan Qingshan stomped his feet, shouting after them, but the group ignored him, their figures shrinking into the distance.

A moment later, several warships took off from the distance, flying toward the far horizon.

Huyan Qingshan turned back around, his eyes shooting venomous glares at Luo Tian. He gave a wretched smile. "Luo Tian… Are you satisfied now? You've made me lose all face and my friends. You must be feeling pretty pleased with yourself, right?"

Xu Luo sneered, "Are you sick in the head?"

"Luo Tian, I'll remember this!" Knowing he was no match for the other man, Huyan Qingshan spat out one last threat before scurrying away in disgrace.

"You injured my attendant and destroyed my residence. Your replica Vajra Gourd will serve as compensation," Xu Luo called out to Huyan Qingshan's retreating back, twisting the knife.

Huyan Qingshan's steps faltered. He gritted his teeth and said, "One day, I will take it back with my own hands!"

The whole affair was like a farce. A group of young masters from the Heritage Clans had arrived aggressively, as if they were going to tear down the entire Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden. Yet they left in utter disgrace, each of them wishing they had never shown up in the first place.

By now, these people didn't hate Xu Luo so much anymore. Although Xu Luo had killed one attendant and injured several others, he had at least shown mercy when fighting Lu Ziyu.

The young masters of the Heritage Clans might be arrogant or conceited, but they weren't idiots. They could all naturally tell that although Lu Ziyu had seemed grievously injured, his Inner Mansion had not actually been harmed.

Some of them had only vaguely heard of the Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden before today. They knew next to nothing about Luo Tian, let alone held any grudge against him.

As for envy or jealousy… they were the ones who were always envied and admired. Why would they have the time to be envious or jealous of others?

Therefore, the one these young masters from the Heritage Clans now hated the most was, in fact, Huyan Qingshan!

He had used lies to trick them into coming here, only to lead them into a huge pit that nearly dragged them all down with him!

Thus, although they didn't say anything to each other as they left, they had all mentally cast Huyan Qingshan out of their circle of friends.

'We're not friends anymore…'

Inside his warship, Huyan Qingshan gritted his teeth. 'A bunch of disloyal bastards! How many times have you all tricked me in the past? Did I ever expose you? When have I ever not done my utmost to help you?'

'Now that I'm in trouble, you all turned on me in a heartbeat! Every last one of you is a damn dog! A mad dog!'

'So what if we're not friends! It's no big deal! As if I give a damn about your friendship!'

'In terms of family background and strength… I'm superior to every one of you! You abandoned me today, but one day… you'll regret it!'

Inside his warship, Huyan Qingshan vented his feelings hysterically, cursing the heavens and the earth.

After they had all left, Xu Luo smiled and cupped his fist to Qi Yue, Zhu Gang, and the other Medicine Garden Disciples. "Thank you all for coming to help!"

"Senior Brother, you're being too polite. Those young masters from the Heritage Clans are completely arrogant. I've been wanting to teach them a lesson for a long time!" Zhu Gang said with a laugh.

Qi Yue gazed at Xu Luo with her beautiful eyes and said softly, "Senior Brother's business is our business. To say thank you makes us seem like strangers."

The other Medicine Garden Disciples also voiced their support for their Senior Brother. Unwittingly, Xu Luo had now firmly established his footing in the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden.

Afterward, Xu Luo saw everyone off and went to check on Han Shuang.

Han Shuang's injuries weren't particularly severe; he would recover after a period of rest. He smiled at Xu Luo, saying he was fine, that his body was sturdy and could take a beating.

But Xu Luo felt a little uneasy. Although he had crushed the wrist of the person who attacked, he hadn't seriously injured him. The main reason was that the Medicine Garden was still not powerful enough.

Killing one or two attendants of the Heritage Clans' young masters wouldn't cause too much of a stir. At most, people would just say he was too bloodthirsty. But if he were to kill a young master from a Heritage Clan, the consequences would be something the entire Medicine Garden… could not bear.

Unless, one day, the overall strength of the Medicine Garden grew powerful enough to make even the Heritage Clans wary. Only then… could such incidents be completely avoided.

'Don't worry,' Xu Luo vowed silently in his heart. 'One day, I'll make those people treat you all with respect when they see you.'

Although from Xu Luo's perspective, his people had been wronged, when news of the incident spread, almost everyone who heard it was shocked.

"The Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden, Luo Tian… actually made a young master from a Heritage Clan suffer a huge loss? Is that true?"

"No way… Who would dare provoke a Heritage Clan? Even Senior Brother Jin Ming… probably wouldn't dare to mess with that group!"

"I heard it was because the noble lady of a Heritage Clan, Xie Yurou, took a liking to the Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden, Luo Tian, and rejected the Heritage Clan's young master, Huyan Qingshan. That's what started the conflict…"

"I was there! I saw it with my own eyes! Luo Tian was incredibly aggressive. He smashed the Heritage Clan's young master, Huyan Qingshan, over the head with a brick until he was bleeding profusely!"

"I was there too. That scene… TSK TSK. It's a real shame you missed it!"

"This Senior Brother from the Medicine Garden is really fierce! He even dares to provoke a Heritage Clan. So domineering!"

All of Celestial Brilliance was abuzz with discussion about this incident. It was only then that many people suddenly realized that Luo Tian, who had only been in Celestial Brilliance for a year, had already caused so many sensations. Unconsciously, people had begun to see him as someone who could be compared to a peerless prodigy like Jin Ming.

In fact… in many people's minds, the name Luo Tian was even more influential than Jin Ming!

The subsequent developments of this matter also shocked countless people.

"Did you hear? The Heritage Clan's young master, Huyan Qingshan, has been exiled!"

"I think he was exiled to a remote Border City…"

"Does this mean the Heritage Clan is bowing its head to Luo Tian?"

"A great Heritage Clan, actually bowing to the Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden… It's unbelievable!"

"The Heritage Clan isn't necessarily afraid of Luo Tian. There must be an inside story!"

Jin Ming sat quietly in his room. On the desk before him lay an ancient tome, but his eyes weren't on it at all.

Jin Ming's gaze was unfocused; he was lost in thought. After a long while, he suddenly gritted his teeth and hissed to himself, 'Luo Tian… Luo Tian… When they talk about him, why do they have to bring me up? What's all this about me not daring to provoke the young masters of the Heritage Clans? Why wouldn't I dare? Have they ever seen me shy away from them?'

'Damn it, why does that name… irritate me so much whenever I hear it? I've never… hated someone this much before!'

'In this year's round of 125 advancing to 63, that bye slot… actually wasn't given to me. This is all because of you… Luo Tian! I hope you can make it to the end. In the final battle, I will make everyone see who… is the true number one… of the younger generation!'

…

…

Xie Yurou sat before Xu Luo, explaining some of the rules for the upcoming annual competition.

"In the upcoming knockout stages, during the round where 125 advance to 63, there will be one bye slot. In previous years, this bye has always been given to one of the recognized top geniuses."

"For the past few years, it's always been given to Senior Brother Jin Ming. But for some reason, this year it wasn't given to him, or to anyone in particular. Instead, it will be randomly assigned. Hehe, I wonder which lucky person will get that bye."

"There will also be a bye in the round of 63 advancing to 32. So, the person who gets this spot won't just make the list of 63, they'll advance directly into the top 32!"

"So, no matter who it is, as long as they get the bye, they will directly become one of this year's top 32!"

Xu Luo smiled and said, "If it goes to you, you'll become one of the top 32 right away!"

"I'm not that lucky, and I've never hoped for something like that. When I was very young, my grandfather told me that if you want something, you have to fight for it yourself. Don't beg for others' pity, and certainly don't expect pies to fall from the sky." As Xie Yurou spoke, she gazed at Xu Luo with her bright eyes and said, "About what happened… thank you!"

"We're friends, aren't we? Why be so formal?" Xu Luo said with a smile, avoiding Xie Yurou's gaze.

"To you… it might not have been a big deal, but for me, it concerned my entire life's happiness," Xie Yurou said softly. "Huyan Qingshan was exiled by the Huyan Family's Patriarch. That marriage arrangement… was naturally dropped. I don't know how many people in the family envy me right now."

As she spoke, she glanced up at Xu Luo and said shyly, "Everyone in the family… they all think we're a couple now…"

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