Firmament Sword

"However... I wasn't completely lying. At least, I told the truth about the Elixir!"

Shao Zheng said as he scratched his head in frustration, "To be honest, I really wanted to keep winning all the way to the finals to face you, Senior Brother. I just didn't expect to be this unlucky and run into you in the round of sixty-three. I don't want to just throw the match... so I came to sound you out."

"You little rascal, get out of here. I don't need you to throw the match for me!" Xu Luo chided with a laugh.

"You're the one who said it, Senior Brother! If you lose, don't you go blaming me for it later!" Shao Zheng said with a happy expression before running off.

Xu Luo was left shaking his head with a wry smile, at a loss for words.

'I've been fooled by this kid's shy exterior. He's not so innocent after all. He actually came to sound me out, his own Senior Brother, right before our match.'

The Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition had now reached its true climax, and nearly everyone had started paying close attention to every single match.

As for Xu Luo, his every match drew immense attention. Many people wished they could get into the arena stands a day early, terrified they wouldn't find a spot if they were late!

The fact that stands capable of holding millions could become so packed showed just how popular Xu Luo had become within Celestial Brilliance.

No wonder Senior Brother Tianhuang, Jin Ming, was so resentful of Xu Luo. Before Xu Luo had joined Celestial Brilliance, all this attention and glory... was supposed to be his!

"Haha, this time... Luo Tian has finally run into his own junior brother, the young genius from the same Medicine Garden, Shao Zheng. Let's see what he does now!"

"Senior Brother Medicine Garden Finally Meets His Match—A Challenge from a Fellow Genius Pharmacist!"

"Shao Zheng has shone brilliantly in this year's Annual Competition, only to be overshadowed by his Senior Brother's radiance. Now is his time to prove himself!"

"Fellow disciples pitted against each other. Will this match have a pre-arranged outcome?"

"Will the young genius Pharmacist sacrifice his personal achievements for the overall glory of the Medicine Garden?"

Before the fight even began, all of Celestial Brilliance was in an uproar. Conspiracy theories were flying, suggesting the Medicine Garden would stage a fixed match where the young genius Pharmacist, Shao Zheng, would throw the fight for his Senior Brother.

However, this view was refuted by numerous Medicine Garden Disciples.

"That's absolute nonsense! When has our Medicine Garden ever needed to win a match like that? Even back when we were at the bottom every year, we never thought of advancing this way. Now that we've risen, every one of our battles... has been fought openly and honorably!"

"Shao Zheng may be a genius Pharmacist, but our Senior Brother's strength is a cut above. Not to mention, our Senior Brother is magnanimous. How could he possibly do something like that?"

"Don't project your own twisted thinking onto our Medicine Garden. You'll see the outcome of this fight for yourselves!"

"Medicine Garden Disciples have never feared slander. But you people... why do you immediately jump to such dark conclusions? We never even considered it!"

Wars of words were a staple of every Annual Competition. This year was just special, as nearly all of them involved the Medicine Garden. It perfectly proved the old saying: fame breeds controversy.

Amidst the clamor of opinions, the battles for the top thirty-two of the Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition officially began!

The first match, once again, featured Senior Brother Tianhuang, Jin Ming.

In this match, Jin Ming's opponent was the scion of a Heritage Clan. This scion had studied under a Celestial Brilliance Elder since he was a child, and though he was from a Heritage Clan, he was representing that Elder.

There was little suspense in the fight. Jin Ming won the match with ease.

After the match, the Heritage Clan scion said something intriguing: "I don't know if Senior Brother Medicine Garden will fix his match with his junior brother, but before my fight, several people approached me and told me not to use some of my top-tier Magical Artifacts... But even if no one had come to me, I wouldn't have used them, because I know full well that Senior Brother Jin has Magical Artifacts far more powerful than mine!"

"Senior Brother Jin... needs someone to go easy on him? That guy must be crazy for attention!"

"Yeah, right. 'People told you not to use top-tier Magical Artifacts.' What a load of slander. So what if you did use them?"

"This guy must be jealous of Senior Brother Jin Ming and wants to smear his name!"

Some of Jin Ming's supporters, after hearing what the Heritage Clan scion said, spoke out one after another to refute him.

In the end, the Heritage Clan scion had no choice but to step forward and clarify his position once more: "I had no intention of slandering Senior Brother Jin Ming. I was telling the truth. I believe Senior Brother Jin was unaware of these things. However, for the trouble this has caused Senior Brother Jin, I apologize!"

A scion of a Heritage Clan being forced to come out and apologize to Senior Brother Tianhuang… although this matter quickly died down, it caused dissatisfaction among many Heritage Clans.

'Luo Tian is rumored to be domineering and arrogant, and he even clashed with Huyan Cyan Mountain of the Huyan Family, but I still prefer him! Overt strength is always better than insidious plotting in the shadows.'

'Exactly. This incident seems to have nothing to do with Jin Ming, but by not speaking up or taking a side... he's already made his stance clear. Forcing an innocent Heritage Clan scion to apologize must feel pretty satisfying, huh?'

'I don't know if he's satisfied, but I'm definitely not!'

When Xu Luo heard about this, he just smiled slightly and didn't pay it too much mind, because he had never intended to compete or vie with Jin Ming for anything.

'He's the Senior Brother of Celestial Brilliance, and I'm the Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden. There's a big difference in our status, so we were destined not to cross paths much. Besides, I've never had any ambition to become the successor to the Sect Leader.'

But often in life, just because you don't want something, it doesn't mean others feel the same. If that were the case... where would all the conflict and war in this world come from?

Xie Yurou's run ended just before the round of thirty-two. She ran into an opponent she couldn't defeat, another top-tier genius of the younger generation—Miao Jianfei!

"His strength is too great, and I could clearly feel... he wasn't using his full power. I pushed my potential to its absolute limit, but it still wasn't enough..."

Xie Yurou pouted, sitting unhappily in front of Xu Luo.

"Getting this far already proves you're formidable. Don't worry too much about the result. Just focus on your cultivation, and you can fight again in next year's Annual Competition!" Xu Luo comforted her.

"Easy for you to say. This year was the best chance I had!" Xie Yurou pursed her lips, then looked at Xu Luo and said, "Hey, you're not going to end up like me and get stopped before the top thirty-two, are you?"

"You want me to keep you company?" Xu Luo looked at her with a grin.

"Of course not... I'm hoping you'll become the champion!" Xie Yurou looked at Xu Luo, a little sheepishly. "The rumors outside are all saying that you and your junior brother are going to fix the match…"

"Why listen to that?" Xu Luo waved his hand dismissively. "I don't need to do that!"

"That's right, you don't need to!" Xie Yurou's face suddenly lit up, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled. Then she looked at Xu Luo and said abruptly, "Your Junior Sister Qi Yue is so lucky. She drew a bye, so she gets to be one of the top thirty-two without even fighting!"

"Luck... is sometimes a form of strength in itself," Xu Luo said.

"Geez, I didn't say anything bad. Look at you, jumping to her defense already!" Xie Yurou rolled her eyes at Xu Luo. "After the Annual Competition, I want to go visit my sister. Do you want to come with me?"

"To Baihua City?" Xu Luo looked at Xie Yurou. "I might not have the time."

"I'm sure my sister would love to meet you!" Xie Yurou said suddenly.

"I don't even know her. Why would she want to meet me?" Xu Luo said with a calm and indifferent expression.

'Pretend... Just keep on pretending!' Xie Yurou fumed inwardly, grinding her teeth. 'This damned guy is just too cunning. No matter how I probe him, he refuses to admit a thing.'

'Just you wait. I'll expose you sooner or later!' Xie Yurou thought, then took her leave.

Only Xu Luo remained in the room. He wondered in confusion, 'Where did I slip up? Otherwise, why is Xie Yurou so convinced that I'm that mysterious person?'

'Fortunately, Xie Yurou doesn't have any ill will toward me. If word of this got out, it would be quite the hassle.'

What Xu Luo didn't expect was that the real trouble... hadn't even begun!

That evening, just as Xu Luo was cultivating with the Shadow Shaking Heart Method and attempting to break through to the Great Saint Realm, his powerful Spiritual Sense suddenly detected a strange anomaly in the air.

The place he lived also had an Array, but it usually wasn't activated. After all, running an Array required energy, and the consumption was not small.

It wasn't active today, either. 'But for someone to sneak all the way here this silently... they're clearly no simple character!'

'Is he here for me... or is he just lost?'

Xu Luo pondered this, feeling that the latter possibility was unlikely.

As Senior Brother Medicine Garden, Xu Luo's residence was in a very secluded location. Without guidance from someone on the inside, it would be very difficult for an outsider to find this place.

Then, Xu Luo began to ready himself, because he could already feel the danger drawing closer and closer!

And yet, Xu Luo couldn't pinpoint the person's true location at all!

A chill rose in Xu Luo's heart. 'This person's realm... is higher than mine!'

'Not only that, but they're also an expert in stealth... and assassination!'

'An assassin?' The thought flashed through Xu Luo's mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

'It's impossible!'

'What kind of place is Celestial Brilliance?'

'Celestial Brilliance itself... is like a massive Grand Array. It's impossible for an outsider to get in!'

'Unless they were brought in by an insider... but who would do something like that?'

'Risk discovery and bring an assassin in, just to kill me?'

'Is our enmity really that deep?'

'That's just absurd.'

So, this thought only flickered in Xu Luo's mind, and he didn't dwell on it.

Suddenly, a ghostly light flared to life right in front of Xu Luo!

An overwhelming burst of Sword Qi shot directly toward the spot between Xu Luo's eyebrows!

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