First Immortal of the Sword

Beneath dark clouds, at the center of the military drill ground.

A dense downpour of arrows enveloped Su Yi, their sharp tips cutting through the air. The sound was like a tidal wave, and it echoed throughout heaven and earth.

Countless onlookers’ expressions changed.

Never mind ordinary martial artists; even mighty Martial Dao Grandmasters were generally unwilling to go up against armed elite troops.

After all, the Four Realms of the Martial Dao were still within the bounds of mortality. Strong as Grandmasters were, they were still just flesh and blood.

But Su Yi didn’t so much as shift directions. He just proceeded directly toward the platform Qin Wenyuan sat upon.

As he strolled forward, his clothes rustled in the wind. Beneath the crowd’s disbelieving gazes, countless arrows slipped past him, all of them missing him by a hair. They didn’t so much as scratch him.

Then, he casually raised and swung Guiding Mysteries.

Clang clang clang!

A series of crisp, concentrated booms rang out. The arrows he couldn’t simply dodge split like paper mache before they even got close to him and fell to the ground in pieces.

When they saw this, the gathered higher-ups felt dazed and tongue-tied.

He’d just walked straight through a downpour of arrows without the slightest injury. Of course they were stunned!

When the soldiers saw that arrows alone couldn’t hurt Su Yi, an explosive shout echoed throughout the grounds.

“Charge—!”

A group of guards in heavy armor, each carrying a spear or halberd, surged toward Su Yi like a flood of iron.

There were hundreds if not thousands of them, all in strict formation, like a forest of spears!

These were the elite soldiers of the prefectural government. All were well-trained and accustomed to battle. Even a Martial Dao Grandmaster would suffer grave injuries if they surrounded him, and that’s assuming he even made it out alive.

They were one of Qin Wenyuan’s trump cards.

He was using the power of the military, the human wave tactic. Even if this failed to kill Su Yi, it ought to at least wear him down!

Su Yi stopped in his tracks and frowned. He wasn’t afraid, but he did find it rather irritating. This was perhaps how a tiger might feel if it saw a swarm of mice leaping towards it…

Clang!

Su Yi took a deep breath, and his true essence surged into Guiding Mysteries.

The humming of his sword resounded throughout the skies.

The blade glowed with faint blue luster. Spiritual light surged, forming a strange, distorted inscription reminiscent of a talisman: an Edict.

Profound Gathering.

Gathering heavenly mysteries and guiding their power!

Or in simple terms, he was seizing the tower of creation for his own use!

“Kill!” A roar shook the skies, and the heavily armored soldiers surrounded Su Yi on all sides.

Row after row of spears and halberds stabbed towards Su Yi.

When they saw this, many of the onlookers could barely breathe. Their hearts were on tenterhooks.

But it was then that Su Yi suddenly raised Guiding Mysteries and reached for the heavens. He tugged, then cut.

Boom!

An unbelievable scene unfolded. The dense clouds overhead burst, and countless raindrops fell to earth, as if galaxy itself was pouring down on them.

When they looked up, it was as if there were a hole in the very dome of heaven; it was like a miracle!

“This…” Everyone present was stunned. Even the Grandmasters were visibly startled. Cutting through the clouds with a sword? Is that even possible for a mortal?

The soldiers charging towards Su Yi were stunned too, and their momentum stagnated.

It was then that formless giant hands seemed to guide the rain. The water enveloped Su Yi’s sword, and when he swung his weapon, the rain swung with it.

I have a sword that pulls in galaxies, a sword that overturns mortal dust!

In that instant, it really did seem as if Su Yi were moving the galaxy itself. He had an imposing, divine majesty. It was like immortal magic, startling the heavens and shaking the earth.

Even his tall frame suddenly seemed illusory and ethereal.

Kaboom!

When his slash landed, it resembled divine punishment. It struck all the heavily-armored guards within a hundred feet, well over a hundred men in total, bursting through their armor as easily as if it were made of paper.

Even their bodies burst, blood and flesh flying through the air. Severed limbs intermingled with pools of blood, forming scattered heaps in the dirt.

Those guards further than a hundred feet away froze in terror. Their courage instantly gave way.

Those at the front of the pack, every soldier within a hundred feet of Su Yi, men who’d been alive just moments ago, were now just scattered corpses and rivers of blood!

This bloody scene shook them to the core. Even those watching from far away felt their scalps numb, and they cried out in terror.

“How terrifying!”

“Was that an immortal spell?”

“His sword cut through the clouds, and he controlled the power of rain to slay his foes. This isn’t a power a mortal ought to have!”

“Only legendary Earthly Immortals ought to possess such skills!”

…The entire venue was in uproar.

Zhang Zhiyan, Yuan Wutong and the others were stunned too. They’d once been fortunate enough to witness the bearing of an Earthly Immortal.

When they saw this, all of them immediately wondered the same thing: Don’t tell me this Su Yi is an Earthly Immortal hiding his cultivation?

Qin Wenyuan’s expression shifted dramatically. That possibility occurred to him too. His heart was instantly heavy as could be.

“Back down!” Su Yi shouted, cold as could be. He raised his sword, and his deep gaze swept across the area.

Whoosh!

The remaining well-trained, armored soldiers shook, then fled in terror, scattering like panicked animals.

A single swing of the sword slew over a hundred men. Who wouldn’t have been terrified?

In those soldiers’ eyes, Su Yi was like an immortal straight out of a legend. Mere mortals like them couldn’t blaspheme against him!

No one dared make fun of them. In their shoes, the onlookers would have been too panicked to resist too.

“If you have any other means at your disposal, go ahead and use them,” said Su Yi. He advanced, just as indifferent as before.

The clouds gathered in the skies. The rift he’d cut through them was nowhere to be seen.

But the might of that slash was still deeply imprinted in everyone’s hearts.

“If we lower our heads and submit, might you spare our lives?” said Qin Wenyuan, his voice hoarse.

In the face of Su Yi’s “divine splendor”; he finally realized just how laughable the “trump cards” he’d prepared were.

And Qin Feng was long since been so terrified that his soul had practically left his body. His thighs quivered, and he was already on the verge of collapse.

“What do you think?” Su Yi stepped forward and onto the platform. His tall, lean silhouette was detached and indifferent.

Clang!

Qin Wenyuan wasted no further words. He drew the saber at his waist. He was suddenly utterly calm and solemn; the majesty of a Grandmaster was on full display.

His aura changed; it was now chilling and valiant, as imposing as a mountain. Shockingly, he wasn’t the least bit inferior to Mu Cangtu!

“Then I can only try for mutual destruction!” With that, he swung his saber.

Clang!

Indomitable saber qi glinted like snow, flashing through the air as it hurtled toward Su Yi.

It was fierce as flame, peerless and despotic.

Many felt a sharp, stinging pain in their eyes.

Even Yuan Wutong and Zhang Zhiyan squinted. They realized that Qin Wenyuan had called upon all the power at his disposal. This was his ultimate technique, the “Swift Wind and Searing Flame Saber”!

It was an upper-level, heaven-grade martial art. When used, its saber force was swift as the wind, as fierce and imposing as searing flames. It was mighty and despotic.

But Su Yi merely shook his head and shifted his wrist. He stabbed in one simple gesture. His movements were natural, without any flourishes.

Clang!!!

He blocked Qin Wenyuan’s saber. It couldn’t advance even an inch further.

Sparks scattered on impact. Su Yi exerted strength through his fingers, and Guiding Mysteries burst with cold light. It blocked the saber and slipped past his foe’s defenses.

Wham!

The faintly glowing sword pierced Qin Wenyuan’s chest. He staggered, and the impact forced him back. He almost tumbled from the platform.

His clothes were torn open, revealing a heart-protecting mirror. The glass had caved in, and the sword left a deep cut in the mirror’s back.

It was clear that the heart-protecting mirror had saved Qin Wenyuan’s life!

But even so, many of the onlookers couldn’t help but gasp.

Su Yi’s fierce battle with Mu Cangtu led them to subconsciously assume that, although Su Yi might be able to kill Qin Wenyuan, it would take time. He couldn’t do it all at once.

Who’d have thought that, in just one attack, he’d come so close to taking Qin Wenyuan’s life?

“How is this possible?” It seemed Qin Wenyuan couldn’t take the shock. He shouted in rage and terror. He certainly didn’t think himself inferior to Mu Cangtu.

Su Yi seemed to see right through him. He jeered, “A mere Martial Dao Grandmaster, that’s all. Are you even worthy of opposing me?”

Before he even finished his sentence, he attacked once more.

Just like before, it was a simple swing, but Qin Wenyuan had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. He despaired; it was as if he were trapped in an inescapable net.

Qin Wenyuan roared and waved his saber. He was clearly intent on mutual destruction; even if he died, he wanted to take Su Yi down with him.

But a moment later, he felt a sharp pain in his wrist, and his saber flew from his hand.

Immediately afterward, the sharp tip of a sword pierced his throat, then came out the other end.

Splurt!

Blood gushed from the wound.

“My Senior Apprentice Brother will… will… avenge me!” Qin Wenyuan’s voice was frail and halting, and it weakened with each word. His features were racked with agony, bitterness, rage, and hatred.

Su Yi removed his sword and said flippantly, “Farewell.”

Thud!

Qin Wenyuan fell from the platform, his eyes still wide-open. He found no peace even in death.

The entire grounds were deathly silent.

Zhang Zhiyan was a Martial Dao Grandmaster, but even he felt his hair stand on end. A chill ran down his spine.

Qin Wenyuan, a towering authority figure of his generation, a Grandmaster whose influence extended throughout the nineteen cities of Cloudriver Prefecture, had died here, just like that!

Who wouldn’t have been surprised?

The other higher-ups in attendance were, without exception flustered, terrified, and unsure of what to do.

This was far, far more terrifying than Mu Cangtu’s defeat.

The younger generation disciples, meanwhile, were stunned out of their wits. Their minds were entirely blank.

What they’d witnessed here today was like a myth or legend. It was shocking and bloody beyond belief!

Even Huang Qianjun and Yuan Luoyu were silent. Their hearts filled with wordless shock.

“Hurry! Kill that fiend! Hurry up and kill him!” Suddenly, a terrified shriek rang out. Qin Feng scampered away. He looked bedraggled, panicked, and unkempt, as if he’d lost his mind.

Su Yi kicked, his toes scooping Qin Wenyuan’s saber into the air. He caught it, then immediately flung it.

Splurt!

Qin Feng was dozens of feet away when the saber ran him through. He crashed to the ground, dead.

From beginning to end, not one of the prefectural government’s higher-ups dared attempt to save the son of the governor.

When they saw this, many of those present felt their hearts quiver once more.

When Su Yi first said he planned to kill both Qin Wenyuan and his son, many of them didn’t take it seriously, nor did they believe he could actually do it.

Now, all of them were silent.

“Anyone else have a score to settle?” said Su Yi flatly from atop the platform. His cold gaze swept in a circle.

His words were soft and his tone light, but they echoed throughout the square for quite some time. None dared respond.

Su Yi had fought all on his own, yet he single-handedly defeated the sect master of Blueriver Sword Manor, charged into a formation of a thousand heavily-armed men, and killed both the prefectural governor and his son!

Who would through their life away by responding to his challenge?

Su Yi wasn’t at all surprised that no one responded.

He glanced up at the skies, sheathed his sword, and took out an oil-paper umbrella.

As soon as he opened it over his head….

The dense layers of cloud had been brewing up a downpour for quite some time. Rain fell in buckets.

Somehow, the massive downpour seemed like the perfect ending!