First Immortal of the Sword

Zhou Huaiqiu was Liu Ying and the other invitees’ pillar.

Thus, when they realized they were in danger, they immediately hid behind him. They even went so far as to provoke Su Yi repeatedly; they hoped to borrow Elder Zhou’s hands to suppress him.

The Bluepeak Sword Elder was someone so mighty, they could only look up to him. Who’d’ve thought he couldn’t take even one of Su Yi’s attacks?

When they saw Su Yi’s sword send Zhou Huaiqiu flying, Liu Ying and the others were downright flabbergasted.

How is this possible? When did Su Yi become so terrifying?

Countless doubts filled their heads, like bolts of electricity. They shook from head to toe, their faces ashen.

Thud!

Liu Ying was the first to kneel, and her voice quivered with terror. “Junior Apprentice Brother Su, I was wrong. I should never have bullied Junior Apprentice Sister Xiaowen. I shouldn’t have driven her to suicide, and I most definitely shouldn’t have pushed the blame onto you. I….”

Before she could even finish, something pierced through her throat, and her head flew into the air. In the last moments before her death, her eyes widened with terror and unwillingness.

Her corpse fell limply to the floor, gushing blood.

“Junior Apprentice Sister Xiaowen was timid and kind by nature. She never offended you, but you were so jealous that her cultivation improved faster than yours that you thought of countless ways to bully and humiliate her. How vicious can you get….?” Su Yi muttered to himself, then picked up another glass of wine and drained it.

During his time at Blueriver Sword Manor, he was closest to Feng Xiaofeng and Tong Xiaowen.

After Tong Xiaowen committed suicide, Liu Ying spread rumors saying that Su Yi had used her, then cast her aside after stealing her chastity. She said he’d played with Tong Xiaowen’s heart, driving the timid young woman to despair and suicide.

The most ridiculous part was that a lot of people believed it!

“Attack! It’s do or die!” Yang Qi suddenly roared, then charged at Su Yi in a mad frenzy.

But before he made it even halfway, a sword pierced his throat. With a flick of its edge, his head flew from his shoulders with a waterfall of blood.

“Back then, I was in the Refining Muscle Stage of the Blood Circulation Realm. You hated me to the core simply because I bested you in a duel, so you instigated the sect’s servants, convincing them to put poison in my food. You tried to kill me. If that servant hadn’t inadvertently let something slip, you might very well have gotten away with it, too.”

Su Yi’s gaze was cold. His indifferent words echoed throughout the blood-soaked hall.

“Run!”

“Hurry up and flee!”

The only three who remained, Zhang Fengtu, Zheng Xiaolin, and Chu Lianheng, were frantic. All of them scurried toward the gates.

Without exception, they were too panicked to plan an escape route.

Su Yi naturally wouldn’t let them get away. He leaped forward, and Guiding Mysteries’ clear hum surged like the tide. He slashed three times. Each swing was faster than the one before.

One head after another flew through the air, while one figure after another staggered and fell to the floor, blood pouring onto the red carpet.

“The three of you are all worthy of my hatred. I feel no sorrow at your deaths.” Su Yi stood there, expression ice-cold.

Now, all seven of his former enemies had perished here. He’d removed their heads and left their corpses sprawled out on the ground!

Zhou Huaiqiu just sat where he landed earlier, his expression bleak.

Ni Hao and Nan Ying were too panicked to remain seated. They stood in place, unable to stop themselves from trembling. Their expressions filled with unconcealed terror.

Clang!

Su Yi sheathed his sword, then returned to his seat and drained four cups of wine in rapid succession.

With every cup he poured down his throat, he felt as if he’d cleared a knot in his heart. Each glass represented the end of a lasting grudge.

After draining every last cup, Su Yi’s entire body felt relaxed.

Sever a grudge, and take a drink.

That was how a man ought to be!

When she saw Su Yi raise the wine jar and pour yet another glass, Nan Ying was instantly scared out of her wits. She shook from head to toe, then stuttered, “Senior Apprentice Brother Su, we only participated in this banquet by coincidence. We have absolutely no intention of becoming your enemy.”

Ni Hao shook too, and he said in a panic, “Su Yi, what are you doing? Wasn’t killing so many people enough for you?”

Earlier, Su Yi poured and drank a cup of wine for each of the seven people he killed. They witnessed the whole thing.

It was only natural that they’d be terrified upon seeing Su Yi pour yet another cup of wine!

Even Zhou Huaiqiu was suddenly solemn. He struggled to his feet, a wooden expression on his face. “If he doesn’t silence us, word of this incident will spread. How could Blueriver Sword Manor possibly let him off? And how could the families of the seven disciples he just killed remain uninvolved?”

He looked at Su Yi, then said, “Might I ask you a few questions first? I’d at least like some answers before I die.”

Su Yi furrowed his brow. “Zhou Huaiqiu, do you really see me as the type to indiscriminately kill the innocent?”

When he heard that, Zhou Huaiqiu was stunned despite himself. “You mean you don’t plan to silence us?”

Su Yi drained his glass but offered no explanation.

Nan Ying and Ni Hao were instantly excited, and they sighed in relief.

“So it was a misunderstanding. I knew Senior Apprentice Brother Su could clearly differentiate between those who’ve wronged him and those who haven’t. How could he do something like that?” Nan Ying laughed in delight.

But Ni Hao’s expression was complex. “Su Yi, you really aren’t afraid of others coming back for revenge?”

Su Yi looked indifferent, and he didn’t explain. He just pointed at the door. “You can leave now.”

Su Yi was blatantly ignoring him, but Ni Hao dared not lose his temper over Su Yi’s attitude.

He could only grimace, shake his head, and leave in dejection. For the first time in his life, he was keenly aware of what the phrase “an insurmountable gap” meant.

He finally realized that in the current Su Yi’s eyes, he was nothing but an ant. Su Yi could easily afford to overlook him!

Nan Ying hurriedly rose and left too. She had absolutely no desire to linger here, and she never wanted to visit the ninth floor of the House of Prosperity ever again.

However, as she left, she couldn’t stop a wave of regret from coursing through her. Back then, I was far too short-sighted. How could I just kick Su Yi to the curb?

Zhou Huaiqiu wanted to say something, but in the end, he just let out a long sigh, turned, and left. Even his silhouette was bleak.

Everything that happened here today had dealt him an enormous blow.

There was far too much he didn’t understand, but he knew that he was in no way capable of getting answers from Su Yi.

After what happened tonight, any bond between him and Su Yi had been irrevocably severed.

Before long, only Su Yi and Huang Qianjun remained in the Mountain and River Palace.

“Brother Su, what are our next steps?” Huang Qianjun couldn’t help but ask.

He had a premonition that when word of tonight’s incident spread, it was sure to stir up towering waves.

“We await the coming storm.” Su Yi rose, put his hands behind his back, and walked out of the Mountain and River Palace. Huang Qianjun hurried after him.

When they left the House of Prosperity, the streets were thoroughly lit with lanterns and bustling with activity.

It seemed that what had just happened on the ninth floor of the House of Prosperity had yet to stir up any commotion at all.

But beneath this calm exterior, a dark current was growing!

Meanwhile, back in the Mountain and River Palace.

Madam Cuiyun covered her nose. The smell of blood was so intense that she dry-heaved several times.

Her mature, charming figure trembled slightly, frustration and helplessness written all over her beautiful face. She looked like she had a massive headache coming on.

“And here I thought that with Zhou Huaiqiu around, this might not happen after all. Who would have thought that star of calamity was this vicious...? Who will dare host a banquet in my Mountain and River Palace after this? Argh!” Madam Cuiyun turned and walked out of the room. A low sigh escaped her ruby-red lips.

She knew that even if she wanted to hide tonight’s incident, it was impossible!

A long time passed before Madam Cuiyun regained her calm and issued orders. “Someone, give the Mountain and River Palace a deep cleaning. Replace all the furniture and decorations.”

“I just don’t know how that jinx plans to face the inevitable storm…. Sigh, forget it. When gods and immortals fight, it’s the ordinary folk who suffer. I certainly don’t want to get mixed up in this. All I ask is that that star of calamity never ever comes back to the House of Prosperity…”

She then turned and walked away, brimming with resentment.

Meanwhile, in the private room on the first floor.

“Uncle Yong, go investigate what happened in the Mountain and River Palace. Second Brother and I will go home and await your news.” After seeing Su Yi and Huang Qianjun leave the restaurant, Yuan Luoxi couldn’t sit still any longer.

“Alright.” Cheng Wuyong nodded his agreement.

But in truth, when he saw only Zhou Huaiqiu, Ni Hao, and Nan Ying leave the House of Prosperity, Cheng Wuyong was already confident that all seven original invitees were already dead.

But then, there was no way Zhou Huaiqiu and the others would keep tonight’s massacre a secret. It was sure to stir up enormous waves.

Those seven youths’ families will be relatively easy to handle, but I’m afraid Blueriver Sword Manor won’t just let this go… Cheng Wuyong thought to himself. But then, since Master Su decided to do this anyway, it’s possible he’s long since ceased to consider Blueriver Sword Manor a threat.

He stopped to think for a while, then sprang into action.

….

Meanwhile, in the prefectural governor’s study.

Qin Wenyuan had one hand behind his back. The other held an ink-laden brush, and he was currently practicing calligraphy on a stretched-out piece of white paper.

His handwriting was heavy as iron and forceful as a mountain. One look was enough to put enormous pressure on a person’s heart.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the study door.

“Come in.” Qin Wenyuan didn’t look up. With one final flick of the brush, he finished the last of the characters he was writing.

The words “No divination can predict everything. Fear only the impermanence of the heavens” were now written on the paper.

Qin Wenyuan set aside his brush, then stared intently at the words he’d just written. He whispered, “You cannot be too extreme. It’s always best to leave a little room to maneuver. This is the only way to avoid defeat long-term.”

Then, he glanced up at the elderly servant who’d entered his study. “Do you have news?”

“Indeed.” The dark-robed servant nodded, his expression solemn. “Just now, our spies reported that on the ninth floor of the House of Prosperity, in the Mountain and River Palace, Su Yi killed Qian Yunjiu, Huo Long, and five other Blueriver Sword Manor disciples….”

Qin Wenyuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “The ninth floor?”

“That’s right,” said the servant hurriedly. “Our people are still trying to determine just how he managed to host a banquet on the ninth floor, but Madam Cuiyun’s lips are sealed tight.”

“Su Yi killed in the Mountain and River Palace. What was the House of Prosperity’s response?”

“They’ve chosen to remain uninvolved,” said the servant. “They simply allowed Su Yi and Huang Qianjun to leave.”

He continued in a low voice, “If you ask me, they know something we don’t!”

Qin Wenyuan’s eyes flashed. “That’s for certain. Madam Cuiyun is smooth, savvy, and well-connected. She has no great faction backing her, but her older brother is the fifth-ranked elder of Heaven’s Origin Academy. This is part of why the House of Prosperity has stood tall for so long without anyone daring to offend her….

“But someone like her let Su Yi kill people in the ninth-floor Mountain and River Palace, then simply walk away. This is unquestionably out of the ordinary!”

As Qin Wenyuan said this, his eyes glinted. “It seems I’ll have to find a chance to pay Madam Cuiyun a visit personally.”

This incident confirmed his earlier deduction. He realized that Su Yi’s methods and background really weren’t as simple as they looked on the surface.

“Your Excellency, you perhaps needn’t go to such trouble. Zhou Huaiqiu, Ni Hao, and Nan Ying were there at tonight’s banquet too. I’ve already sent our people to make contact with them and invite them here to recount their testimony in the name of the prefectural government,” said the servant gravely.

Qin Wenyuan was briefly stunned. “Well done.”

Immediately afterward, someone reported in from beyond the study door. “Reporting to His Excellency, Young Lord Ni Hao has come back with us.”

Seth's Thoughts

Is anyone wondering why they use "Elder Zhou" sometimes and "Martial Uncle Zhou" other times? That's a good question, but the text doesn't really explain. My educated best guess is that the disciples call him Martial Uncle due to their relative seniority within the sect/ sect etiquette. They aren't master and disciple, but since they're from different generations of the same sect, they're sort of adjacent to it.

Outsiders just call him elder because that's officially his title and because they don't have that same connection. Su Yi, as a former disciple, skirts the line between insider and outsider, which could explain why he uses both.

But again, that's just my best guess. You're welcome to suggest other reasons. It's also entirely possible that it's just an error or that it's an arbitrary choice. All I can say for sure is, yes, it's inconsistent. No, you're not imagining it.