First Immortal of the Sword

Su Yi glanced at Feng Xiaofeng. “Junior Apprentice Brother Feng, do you have anything you want to say to Nian Yunqiao?”

“I…..” Feng Xiaofeng was inwardly excited, and his hands tightly gripped his wheelchair’s armrests.

He stared intently at Nian Yunqiao. His old enemy now knelt on the ground, face wracked with agony. The sight filled Feng Xiaofeng with an indescribable joy.

Both of Feng Xiaofeng’s legs were crippled. That was little different from crippling his cultivation. Feng Xiaofeng had lived in constant suffering ever since his injury, and his heart was in darkness.

It was so bad that, if not for the fact that he still had a little sister to take care of, he likely would have ended his life long ago.

But now, he saw his most hated enemy kneeling before him. How could he not be excited? How could he not feel joy?

But in the end—

He said bitterly, “Senior Apprentice Brother Su Yi, this is the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital. If you kill him, you’ll only bring enormous trouble upon yourself. I don’t want you to doom yourself on my account.”

His words moved Huang Qianjun, but Nian Yunqiao only laughed hysterically. “Haha, Feng Xiaofeng, you’re actually pretty clever, but there’s no way I’ll just let this go!”

He looked up, then glared hatefully at Su Yi. “If you’ve got the balls, just kill me, right here in the House of Prosperity! Go on! Do it! Do i—!”

This was blatant provocation. He was hatefully lashing out.

Splurt!

The sharp tip of a sword penetrated his throat, splattering blood against the snowy white walls. The bright red was stark and eye-catching.

Nian Yunqiao’s eyes were wide, as if he still didn’t quite believe that Su Yi would actually do it…

Then, his head lolled to the side, and his entire body crashed to the floor.

“You… you really dared kill him….” Chen Jinlong could barely even speak.

The others jumped in fright, and chills ran down their spines.

Nian Yunqiao was the son of the Nian Family's leader, yet he’d died, just like that?

Remember, this was the House of Prosperity! Yet Su Yi dared swing his sword around and kill people!

“You saw it too: he asked for death himself,” said Su Yi flatly.

“.....” The crowd was at a loss.

Feng Xiaofeng was both worried and moved. The rims of his eyes reddened; there was no way he’d miss that Su Yi was throwing all caution to the wind just to avenge him.

“Junior Apprentice Brother Feng, how do you plan to deal with her?” Su Yi glanced at Yu Qian.

When she sensed Su Yi’s gaze, Yu Qian reacted as if she’d been struck by lightning. The blood drained from her pretty face, and she thudded to the ground, her voice quavering with terror. “Senior Apprentice Brother Su Yi, I was forced into this! Nian Yunqiao said that if I didn’t submit, he’d kill me! I… I had no other choice!”

Su Yi’s gaze was calm and indifferent, without the slightest ripple of emotion.

How could he possibly remain ignorant to the fact that she’d betrayed Feng Xiaofeng without the slightest hesitation, all for the sake of clinging to Nian Yunqiao and boosting her own position?

But now, she made it sound like she’d been forced into it. What a joke!

But Feng Xiaofeng looked uncertain. Some time passed before he finally gnashed his teeth and said, “Senior Apprentice Brother Su Yi, she and I had no relationship to begin with, and I disdain pursuing this matter with an opportunistic bootlicker like her!"

“That’s right! That’s right! I’m just a debased bootlicker, so please, let me go!” Yu Qian sobbed as she begged for her life.

“Off to the side with you, then,” Su Yi raised his foot and kicked her.

Bam!

Yu Qian went flying through the air. It hurt so badly that she gasped, but her expression was celebratory. She knew she’d just barely escaped disaster.

When he sensed Su Yi’s gaze turn toward him, the kneeling Yan Chengrong went rigid. He then slapped himself repeatedly across the face, howling, “Senior Apprentice Brother Su, I was wrong! I was wrong!”

Nian Yunqiu’s status was a whole level loftier than his, yet Su Yi had killed him with a single flick of the sword. Of course Yan Chengrong was terrified! How could he not be?

“Do you know what I returned to the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital to do?” asked Su Yi.

Yan Chengrong shook his head in bewilderment.

Splurt!

With another flash of sword light, Yan Chengrong’s throat split open, and his body toppled to the floor.

Only afterward did Su Yi whisper, “I’m here for revenge.”

Chen Jinlong and the others instantly felt as if they’d been plunged into an icy abyss. Even their souls shook with terror.

I’m here for revenge!

It was just one sentence, just a few words, but it brought back memories of their time in Blueriver Sword Manor and all their past enmities with Su Yi.

“But…. But you and I have no grudge!” Chen Jinlong cried out with no regard for his dignity. All he wanted was to live on.

“That’s right, so you ought to be celebrating the fact that you’re just kneeling on the floor, and that you’re not just another corpse.” Su Yi glanced at him.

Chen Jinlong suddenly sensed that he’d make it out of this alive, and his entire body relaxed.

But shortly after, an indescribable sense of humiliation coursed through him. His sword had shattered, and he’d been forced to his knees. He couldn’t possibly just let this go!

“Junior Apprentice Brother Su, during our time together in the sect, I never bullied you!”

“That’s right! We might have looked down on you, but we never really hurt you!”

“Senior Apprentice Brother Su….” All of them begged for their lives in quavering voices, one after another.

No one wanted to die. Everyone was terrified that Su Yi’s rage would extend to them too.

Suddenly, Su Yi asked, seemingly out of nowhere, “Are you perhaps wondering why the House of Prosperity’s staff haven’t come for you yet?”

Chen Jinlong and his cronies’ expressions changed. None of them dared respond.

Su Yi sheathed his sword, returned to his seat, and leisurely poured himself a full glass of wine. “I’m curious too. Just how will the House of Prosperity respond to this? How about we wait and find out together?”

“This…” Everyone hesitated.

If possible, they’d much prefer to leave this blood-soaked ground as soon as possible.

Yet none of them dared do so.

“You were right just now, you know. We were once in the same sect, and today’s matter has little to do with you. But now, you’re already mixed up in this. If I don’t make you give up on getting even now, it’ll be hard to prevent you from self-defeating foolishness down the line.”

Su Yi leaned back his head and drained his glass, his tone casual. “I don’t fear your revenge, but I detest trouble. I might as well just seize this opportunity and make sure this all ends here.”

This floating world was complex and intertwined. Chains of hatred were hard to break.

If he wanted to wipe out all enmity with a single swing of his sword, he had to eliminate all potential dangers.

“You want to end this?” someone said in a shaking voice. “Su Yi, after what you’ve done today, never mind us; do you really think the Nian and Yan Families will let you go? Much less the House of Prosperity itself? There’s no way they’ll just sit back and watch.”

This wasn’t a threat. It seemed more like a warning.

Su Yi thought nothing of it. “Let’s wait and see.”

He poured himself yet another cup, looking calm and at ease, as if the blood-covered floors weren’t even there.

He wasn’t the least bit concerned about the House of Prosperity’s potential threat.

His demeanor filled Chen Jinlong and the others with an indescribable wave of emotion.

Dread? Rage? Enmity? Bewilderment? Confusion?

All of them seemed to apply.

……

The first floor of the House of Prosperity, in the hall reserved for the proprietor, Madam Cuiyun.

“The Purple Jade Token?” said a whiskered, distinguished-looking elderly gentleman in navy-blue robes. He furrowed his brow. “To the best of my knowledge, throughout the Lanling Xiao Family, only two types of people are qualified to carry such a precious token.

“The first are the core disciples of the main branch, but even they must first possess peerless talent and win the approval of at least half the family’s higher-ups. Only then can they earn the right to carry this token and enjoy the authority it entails.

“The second group qualified to bear such a token are Martial Dao Grandmasters!

“And throughout the Lanling Xiao Family, the direct line of descent only has two Martial Dao Grandmasters. One is the elderly Xiao Tianque. His cultivation is the highest; he’s in the third level of the Inner Furnace Realm. The other is the current head of the Xiao Family, Xiao Boyun.

“Each of the Xiao Family’s two branches have a Martial Dao Grandmaster to hold down the fort too, but in terms of cultivation, they’re both a level below Old Man Xiao.”

The long-robed elder’s gaze was suddenly serious. “From this, we can deduce that the youth in blue is most likely one of the most dazzling younger-generation talents of the Xiao Family’s main line of descent!”

“I suspected as much, which was why I dared not show the slightest negligence.” Madam Cuiyun currently draped her graceful, mature figure over a soft couch. The smoke of an incense burner billowed into the air.

Her beautiful eyes looked thoughtful. “But the part I can’t quite figure out is that the Lanling Xiao Family’s power is distributed throughout the White Province, the province nearest the Jade Capital. Why would one of their disciples appear here, thousands of miles away, in the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital?”

The long-robed elder smiled faintly, then said humbly, “Madam, if you wish to know, you can bring me to see him. I’ve met quite a few influential characters of the Xiao Family in recent years, and so long as we exchange a few words, I should be able to determine his background.”

But Madam Cuiyun shook his head. “No need. I only recognize command tokens, not their owners. It doesn’t matter who carries the Purple Jade Token. I’ll treat him as a distinguished guest regardless.”

The long-robed elder nodded. “That’s the most appropriate move you could make, as well as the smartest.”

A hint of a smile tugged at Madam Cuiyun’s lips. “Elder Li, you flatter me.”

It was then that they heard the sound of urgent knocking at the door. “Your Excellencies, something has happened in the Mountain and River Palace!”

Madam Cuiyun shot to her feet. “Come in. Let’s talk inside.”

An overweight, middle-aged man in brocade robes rushed in. He was none other than the manager she’d left outside the Mountain and River Palace’s door.

“Madam, just now…” The manager dared not delay. He spoke as fast as he could, recounting everything he’d heard of the disturbance in the private dining room from beginning to end.

“Murder?” Madam Cuiyun’s pupils constricted, her clear features suddenly sinister.

“He knows full well that this is the House of Prosperity, yet he dares engage in wanton violence? Even if the boy is a core disciple of the Xiao Family’s main line, how can he be so brazenly arrogant?” The elder’s expression darkened too.

“Even if he’s brazen and arrogant, what can we do about it?” Madam Cuiyun sighed. But then, her eyes shone with determination. “Let’s go and see what’s happening. We can decide what to do then.”

“That works too. I’d quite like to see this youth of dubious origins for myself.” The elder’s eyes glinted with cold light.

“Elder Li, promise me that you won’t act out of turn. If you do, don’t blame me for turning away and denying our relationship,” said Madam Cuiyun coldly.

When he heard her warning, Elder Li’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.

They left in a hurry, and before long, their group reached the ninth floor’s Mountain and River Palace.

Madam Cuiyun took a deep breath. As soon as she pushed open the door, the smell of blood assailed their nostrils.

A moment later, her eyelids twitched violently.

There were two corpses sprawled out on the floor. One belonged to Nian Yunqiao, the other to Yan Chengrong. Both had taken a sword right through the throat, and their blood had already cooled.

Someone knelt not far away. Shockingly, it was none other than Chen Jinlong, the son of the famed leader of the River Gang, Chen Dakong!

This scene alone was enough to make Madam Cuiyun’s heart sink.

But then, she had seen plenty of wind and waves in her day. Her expression barely wavered as she fixed her gaze on Su Yi at the head of the table.

The youth in blue seemed perfectly composed. He was drinking by himself, perfectly content, as if there were no one else here.

Madam Cuiyun interacted with prominent figures year-round, and she could tell at a glance that the youth’s unruffled calm wasn’t something just anyone could fake.

Was this really “brazen arrogance”?

No, this was obviously absolute confidence!

Seth's Thoughts

Three digits! Yay!

I think I’m finally getting into the swing of things, but it’s been quite the ride so far. Still, we’re only just getting started! Thanks to everyone who’s stuck with me and Su Yi thus far! Lots more to come!

___

On a slightly different note, the term “floating world” is now most commonly associated with Japanese (Specifically, “Ukiyo” art). But it was originally a Buddhist term that refers to the world we live in, and how fleeting and transient it all is. You could think of it as a synonym for the “mundane world” Su Yi brings up semi-regularly, just more Buddhist in tone.