First Immortal of the Sword

A stifled, heavy atmosphere spread throughout the military drill ground.

They’d only exchanged two attacks, but it was enough to give everyone a firsthand view of just how strong Su Yi was.

Qin Wenyuan was a Martial Dao Grandmaster, but even his brow was tightly furrowed.

Su Yi defeating Zhou Huaiqiu in a single blow the night before had stunned him, but he wasn’t overly concerned about it.

He was a Martial Dao Grandmaster. In his eyes, those beneath the Grandmaster level were unworthy of his concern!

But when he saw Mu Cangtu attack and fail to take Su Yi down immediately, Qin Wenyuan felt a chill course through his heart.

So this is the reason the boy dared oppose the prefectural governor’s estate? Qin Wenyuan’s expression changed erratically.

The other onlookers were endlessly bewildered too, and their hearts were in turmoil.

Who would have thought that a mere seventeen-year-old could be strong enough to cross blades with the sect master of Blueriver Sword Manor?

Within the military drill ground, Mu Cangtu was silent for a moment. When he spoke, his words were as stagnant as an ancient well, without any ripples of emotion. “You’re worthy of me drawing my sword.”

He suddenly looked up.

Crack!

Two streaks of lightning seemed to flash overhead. Mu Cangtu’s features were ordinary, and he was a bit short, but his eyes were as sharp as divine swords.

His sharp gaze sliced open the very air itself with an audible hiss.

This was a phenomenon produced when one’s will and soul reached a certain level of strength. It was an external release of the power of his Dao of the Sword.

“In this life, I’ve grown accustomed to mighty winds and rain. I’ve experienced great joys and sorrows, and I’ve encountered countless prominent figures. The only thing I haven’t seen before is a miraculous genius such as yourself. To cross swords with someone of your level before renouncing my position as sect leader is a stroke of good fortune.”

The sword light in Mu Cangtu’s eyes intensified, and his imposing aura spread out around him, increasing to unimaginable heights as it blanketed heaven and earth.

Everyone could tell he was short, yet he now seemed to tower like a mountain, stretching all the way into the heavens!

Throughout the Qingding Military Drill Ground, even the air seemed to condense.

Even Qin Wenyuan and the other few Grandmasters looked solemn. What powerful momentum!

“His mind, spirit, and qi are condensed into one, and all have been infused into his Sword Dao. His body is now like a furnace; he can now swallow metal and digest stone! I never would have guessed that Sect Leader Mu had taken this step….”

Yuan Wutong was visibly stunned.

What did it mean to swallow metal and digest stone?

When your innards were as powerful as furnaces, you could break down and refine even metal and stone!

Zhang Zhiyan smiled, and when he next looked at Su Yi, his gaze was pitying. He could tell that Mu Cangtu no longer held anything back.

Were he the one fighting now, he wouldn’t necessarily be a match for Mu Cangtu!

The atmosphere was stifled. Everyone present was stunned by Mu Cangtu’s imposing might, and the members of the younger generation were visibly awed, as if they were looking at a god!

Against all expectations, even now, Su Yi looked as calm as ever. He showed no signs of panic or surprise.

Clang!

Mu Cangtu’s hand shot towards his back, and he drew the sword strapped to his back in a pine sheath. The blade was long and black, and it emanated a low, solemn hum.

“This sword is called ‘Thousand Blades.’ It’s fought alongside me for thirty years now, and it’s slain one hundred and sixty-three enemies. It’s never once left me down.”

With his sword in hand, Mu Cangtu’s expression grew calmer, as tranquil as the waters of an ancient well. However, his gaze sharpened to the point that few dared look him in the eye.

Su Yi nodded. “A thousand blades, a vast precipice. A grand cliff stands tall because it has no earthly desires. It’s a good name, and the sword is decent too. If you can force me to draw my sword, I’ll show you a real Sword Dao and broaden your horizons.”

Everyone was at a loss.

Even Qin Wenyuan and Zhang Zhiyan almost burst into laughter. What a mouth on that boy! Just how arrogant is he?

Mu Cangtu wasted no more words. He just swung his sword and advanced.

Whoosh!

Throughout the military drill ground, the already condensed, frozen air now seemed to burst, as if it couldn’t bear the impact of Mu Cangtu’s power.

Some of the younger generation disciples looked horrified. In their eyes, Mu Cangtu was like a mountain in motion, repressing the entire world with its momentum. Even from a distance, the pressure was suffocating.

The higher-ups in attendance gasped as well.

The skies seemed to boil as air currents surged outward. Mu Cangtu was like a god descending to earth as his sharp sword suddenly sliced forth.

Whoosh!

His sword was nimble as a dragon as it cut through the air. Even before the sword qi arrived, heaven and earth transformed into a stretch of bone-piercing, razor-sharp sword intent.

Every other Grandmaster present was stunned.

With this attack alone, Mu Cangtu had firmly established himself as the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital’s top expert of the Dao of the Sword. Although the other Grandmasters were of comparable cultivations, none of them dared say they could take this attack head-on.

But Su Yi didn’t shrink back, and he made no attempt to dodge.

He stood there and placed one hand behind his back. The other, he lifted into the air. His fingers burst with radiant light as he circulated his entire cultivation. His turbulent energy coursed through him, then condensed in his fist.

When the attack arrived, he swung his right fist as if beating a heavenly drum, slamming it directly into the peerlessly sharp, murderous wave of incoming sword qi.

Dong!

A sound like the ringing of a massive bell rang out, echoing throughout the military drill ground. His vast inner power swept across the area and burst, splitting into smaller, scattered energy currents.

What happened next left everyone in attendance shocked. Mu Cangtu’s sword qi burst upon impact with Su Yi’s fist!

It went off like a series of firecrackers. In the end, the black Thousand Blades could no longer take it. The sword shook and hummed as if crying out.

Surprise flitted across Mu Cangtu’s face, but he wasn’t the least bit panicked.

His hands tugged within his sleeves.

Thousand Blades formed a perfect arc in the air, then suddenly shot out, shattering the last remaining power of Su Yi’s fist into pieces.

“Praiseworthy, albeit just barely,” said Su Yi with a sudden laugh. He stood up straight, and this time, he initiated an attack instead.

His momentum changed, as if he were a peerless sword slicing through the sky, filled with unblockable might and unrestrained charm.

Mu Cangtu couldn’t possibly remain detached now!

He swung his sword nine times, each swing faster and more powerful than the one before, like layer after layer of surging currents. His sword carried the strength of heavenly winds and ocean rains as his attacks bore down on Su Yi.

Su Yi waved his fist, quick as lightning, and punched nine times in rapid succession, each punch heavier than the one before. His movements were simple and clean, without the slightest flourish.

Yet they were incomparably firm, with unblockable conviction!

Booms rang out, like the low rumble of thunder, spreading outward starting from the two of them.

The most terrifying part was, each of Mu Cangtu’s nine surging and torrential sword attacks crumbled. The Thousand Blades Sword shook; it almost seemed as if it couldn’t hold out much longer!

Mu Cangtu took a deep breath, and his posture changed. “Flying Goose Stance!”

Clang!

Thousand Blades transformed into a single lengthy streak of black sword light. Although its momentum was nowhere near as imposing as before, it was concentrated to the extreme, making it even more dangerous.

Then, Mu Cangtu swung.

It was like an ink-dark line slicing a hole through the skies, quick as wind and lightning, miraculous as if formed of nature itself.

When the other Grandmasters saw this, they felt a chill in their hearts.

This strike was Mu Cangtu’s true ultimate attack!

“A bit interesting,” laughed Su Yi.

Facing this slash that seemed capable of cutting through anything and everything, he pressed his hands together and, leaving zero room for error, caught Thousand Blades between his palms.

Everyone was stunned. Not one of them wasn’t shaken to the core.

“Activate!” bellowed Mu Cangtu.

Black light burst forth as Thousand Blades exploded with a terrifying current of power. Its sword hum shocked the heavens, resonant and without end as it struggled to break free.

It was as if a volcano were erupting between Su Yi’s palms. He felt sharp pain, like his skin were splitting open. His blood and qi showed signs of condensing; the sword was fighting back.

But he merely laughed and shouted, “Suppress!”

A shocking scene unfolded before the stunned onlookers. Within Su Yi’s fair, tender hands, the viciously writhing black blade weakened. He was repressing it, step by step!

In the end, it no longer struggled!

“Ah!” The countless onlookers all gasped.

Using only hands of flesh and blood, Su Yi actually managed to block and suppress Mu Cangtu’s sword!

Blocking a weapon with your bare hands wasn’t much; the martial artists of the world could all do so, albeit to varying degrees. Yet who among them dared use their flesh and blood bodies to block a Grandmaster’s spiritual sword?

Especially since, by now, all of them could tell that Su Yi was merely in the early stages of Qi Accumulation. Despite this, he casually did something even Grandmasters dared not attempt lightly. He was simply overturning their imaginations!

“He’s too strong! Don’t tell me this kid is some fallen god or immortal? If not, how could he block such a sword with his bare hands?” one of the higher-ups couldn’t help but exclaim.

Qin Wenyuan, Zhang Zhiyan, and the others looked solemn as could be. They finally realized that they’d been underestimating Su Yi all this time!

A youth like this was simply too rare!

Yuan Wutong’s heart surged with emotion. What did it mean to be a fallen immortal?

It meant you were beyond the comprehension of ordinary men!

“Do you have any power left?” Su Yi asked. It seemed he’d yet to get his fill; since his reincarnation, he’d yet to encounter a foe worthy of his notice.

Mu Cangtu counted as the first, albeit just barely. He provoked a thread of Su Yi’s competitive spirit.

“I do!” Mu Cangtu took a deep breath, and throughout his body, his blood and qi surged.

Boom!

Within a several-dozen-foot radius, the air currents collapsed and exploded beneath his pressure.

Clang!

In an instant, he successfully pulled Thousand Blades from Su Yi’s grasp. He suddenly stabbed forward. Circles of illusory blades emanated outward with him at the center, like rippling water.

They were like formless waves, glistening and beautiful. All of them flowed toward Su Yi.

Even Mu Cangtu’s momentum turned soft and gentle, like slanted winds and light rains, soft but lingering. When they saw this, the other grandmasters’ hearts shook with terror.

Finger-Entwining Ripples!

This was Mu Cangtu’s true trump card. Rumor had it that, after years of dull meditation beside the Sword-Cleansing Spring, he watched the clouds condense and disperse and the springwaters ripple, then experienced sudden enlightenment. He comprehended “the subtleties of the firm and soft” and “the power of unity and separation.” It was from this enlightenment that he created the “Finger-Entwining Ripples”!

“Confine!” Mu Cangtu bellowed.

Then, everyone watched as one ripple-like illusory sword after another interlocked, like link after link in a fine, crystalline chain. All of them were formed entirely of sword qi, and all of them contained terrifying, limitless power.

The rippling illusory swords were like a chain cage, trapping Su Yi completely within. For a moment, he couldn’t break free.

“Is he going to win?” Those with relatively shallow cultivations couldn’t fully comprehend the subtleties of this duel, but seeing Su Yi in captivity instantly excited them.

But in the blink of an eye, despite his captivity, Su Yi laughed from within the layered, ripple-like cage of illusory swords. “Not bad. You’re worth drawing my sword for.”

Clang!

Amidst a tide of clear hums, a sword appeared in Su Yi’s hands, seemingly out of nowhere.

Then, he effortlessly stabbed forward.

It was as if heaven and earth were made of canvas; the sword split them right down the middle.

I have a sword to separate purity and filth. Life and death, disillusionment, all are in the past!

This was the Rejoicing Sword Sutra’s “Demarcating Purity”!

In an instant, the countless illusory swords burst like bubbles and disappeared. The terrifying remnants of sword qi spread outward, surging like mad in all directions.

Just like that, Mu Cangtu’s ultimate attack, the last card he had up his sleeve, disappeared in a puff of smoke! Su Yi had cut right through it!

Mu Cangtu shook from head to toe, and he couldn’t help but retreat several steps back.

Su Yi stood not far away, holding his blade aloft. “That was my Dao of the Sword,” he said flatly. “What do you think of it?”

Everyone both within and around the Qingding Military Drill Ground was shaken to the core. All of them were visibly stunned!

Seth's Thoughts

Demarcating Purity was described as part of the Rejoicing Sword Sutra in earlier chapters, but in the raws, this chapter clearly calls the sword sutra “The Great Whirlwind Sword Sutra.” I’m going to assume it’s an error unless I see the name come up again. If so, I’ll edit it back in.

___

The name of the sword and the idiom Su Yi references have an obvious connection in Chinese, but it’s less obvious in English. I subtly adjusted the text to make it seem less jarringly random, but my guess is it still doesn’t quite make sense.

The idiom he used is “A grand cliff stands tall because it has no earthly desires.” It’s probably Buddhist? I don’t know. Anyway.

千刃=Thousand blades/thousand edges

千仞=One thousand of ren, an antiquated unit of measurement. But it’s usually used less literally to mean “great heights” or “vast precipice.”

So “thousand blades” and “a grand cliff” sound the same, and are written with almost the same character. It’s just two brush strokes of difference.