First Immortal of the Sword

Yue Shichan fell silent for a while, then said, “Brother Su, can I… become your attendant?”

She’d wracked her brains for ways to repay Su Yi’s benevolence, but aside from working on his behalf, she couldn’t figure out anything sufficient to convey her sincerity. 

Mere verbal expressions of gratitude were the weakest of all.

As for external items…

It was fair to say that she didn’t have a penny to her name. She couldn’t possibly offer a treasure grand enough to express her gratitude to him for saving her life.

In the mundane world, they spoke of women with “nothing to offer but their bodies”, but Yue Shichan detested and disdained that approach more than anything. That would cheapen her, and it would be disrespectful to Su Yi too.

Thus, Yue Shichan ultimately came up with this method of repayment. By working for Su Yi, she could repay his gift of a new life.

When Su Yi heard this, he sighed. “I said I didn’t save you to make you repay me. Besides, do you think I need an attendant like you?”

Yue Shichan was instantly despondent, and her eyes dimmed. This was already the only method she could think of.

But it seemed… Su Yi wasn’t willing to accept it.

Su Yi smiled faintly, then gazed seriously at Yue Shichan’s beautiful, melon-seed-shaped face. “My former offer still stands. So long as you’re willing, I can be your guide to the Dao of the Sword. From this day forth, you’re welcome to cultivate by my side, but you’ll always be free to leave whenever you please.”

Yue Shichan’s heart shook, and her bright eyes widened. She looked at Su Yi in disbelief, her graceful, extraordinary figure quivering slightly.

Anyone could tell how excited she was!

Su Yi smiled. “Of course, just as I said before, I’m not taking you on as my apprentice, so don’t get too excited too soon. Take your time and think it over carefully.”

With that, he rose and walked over to the distant lotus pond. 

Yue Shichan’s voice sounded from behind him, like the music of the heavens. “Brother Su, I’m beside myself with joy; there’s no way I’d refuse like I did last time!”

Su Yi turned to look and saw the young woman in white standing beneath the light of the morning sun, pretty as a painting, with a radiant smile on her face.

All Su Yi could think was that her beauty made even heaven and earth seem dim by comparison.

Su Yi smiled, seemingly gratified, and said, “I’m eager for the day when your attainments in the Dao of the Sword shake the Azure Continent.”

She was a natural talent for the Dao of the Sword. He deeply looked forward to the day that, with his guidance, her brilliance dazzled the world!

Shake the Azure Continent… Brother Su sure set his sights high… But from this, I can see how much he values me…

Her starry eyes gradually brightened. They were staunch and resolute, and they glinted like the edge of a sword and shone with extraordinary radiance.

She gazed at Su Yi’s distant silhouette and said to herself, One day, I shall surely meet your expectations. I absolutely won’t let you down.

Meanwhile, by the lotus pond. Su Yi had already cast aside all distracting thoughts and begun his daily drills. 

When it came to his cultivation, he never slacked off. The path of cultivation was one of daily accumulations; it was a matter of persistent effort!

His blue robes swayed beneath the morning sun. His movements were slow and natural, each gesture perfectly harmonious, as if he were embracing heaven and earth. Each breath and exhalation drew upon the divine rhythm of his surroundings.

The force of his fist was neither Buddhist nor demonic, neither Confucian nor Daoist. It used the void as a guide and origin power as its root. In his past life, Su Yi’s good friend, the Peerless Martial Emperor, saw the technique he now practiced as the greatest foundational technique of the Origin Dao in the Wilds!

The Great Emptiness Origin-Calming Sutra!

As he practiced, the fist force repeatedly tempered and nourished Su Yi’s essence, qi, and spirit.

He had ample cultivation resources and the greatest Origin Dao cultivation technique throughout the ages. He’d been cultivating assiduously lately too.

He was already nearing the mid-stage Origin Palace Realm!

“Miss Shichan, please, have some tea.” Bai Wenqing offered her a cup of spirit tea.

Yue Shichan thanked her, then said, “Big Sister Bai, you can just call me ‘Shichan.’”

Bai Wenqing smiled and agreed. 

When she first met Wen Xinzhao, she felt startled, as if she’d encountered some sort of divine building. She wondered if it were even possible to find a celestial beauty on par with the Little Sword Demon in this world.

After meeting Yue Shichan, Bai Wenqing realized she was mistaken.

From her appearance and natural charms to her disposition, Yue Shichan wasn’t the least bit inferior to Wen Xinzhao. Furthermore, she had her own unique smile; she was icy and aloof, transcendent and ethereal.

Wen Xinzhao was a city-toppling, nation-toppling stunner.

Each was a first-class, absolute beauty of their generation. 

To an ordinary person, encountering either one of them was eight lifetimes’ worth of accumulated fortune.

Yet now, both beautiful young women had formed positive karmic ties with Su Yi. Bai Wenqing couldn’t help but sigh. Should I say that Senior Su is lucky? Or that the two of them are lucky?

“Big Sister Bai, might you tell me about Brother Su?” Yue Shichan asked softly. 

Bai Wenqing hesitated, then whispered back, “I met him not long ago, so I understand very little. You’d be better off asking Yuan Heng.”

Yue Shichan nodded. Before long, Yuan Heng showed up, and upon request, he told them about everything that had occurred since he and Su Yi left the Great Zhou together. His tone was awed and reverent.

Of course, there were some things he knew he shouldn’t say. Those, he left out.

Even so, Yue Shichan was utterly absorbed.

At Floating Immortal Ridge, he destroyed a ghost cultivator like the Firewood Daoist with a snap of his fingers.

On Billowing Sky River, he cut down a group of the Great Chu’s cultivators.

In Cold Emerald Valley, he slew a group of cultivators from the Southern Skies Province as easily as if they were chickens or monkeys.

At the Spiritbend Assembly, he single-handedly slew the Nirvanic Winds Holy Son and turned the tide.

….

Just hearing about this series of grand battles made Yue Shichan’s heart swell, and her bright eyes sparkled.

Su Yi had, without the slightest politeness, cut down even the mighty disciples of Cloudsky Divine Palace. Even the most distinguished member of the Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect’s younger generation, Jiang Li, conceded and apologized to him. Even the Spiritual Manifestation black flood dragon of Broken Dragon Cliff treated Su Yi as if he were a deity, referring to him as “Master Su.”

When she learned this, Yue Shichan was dazed.

She was naturally well aware of how powerful peak-level orthodoxies like Cloudsky Divine Palace and the Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect were. She knew how terrifying a Spiritual Manifestation Realm flood dragon was.

But this knowledge only further offset just how transcendently mighty Su Yi was!

She thought back to when they parted ways in the Great Zhou. At the time, Su Yi had yet to step into the Origin Dao.

Only a few months had passed since then, but the imperial preceptor who’d once shaken the Great Zhou was already starting to display unsurpassed sharpness here in the Great Xia!

“He… Just what kind of person is he…?” Yue Shichan looked dazed, and her heart filled with indescribable curiosity.

She felt as if Su Yi were shrouded in riddles. The closer she got, the more inscrutable and unfathomable he seemed.

When she recalled that, from now on, she could cultivate alongside him, she couldn’t help but feel eager.

A little before noon.

Su Yi reclined in his wicker chair beside the lotus pond. Just as he was about to take out moon clams to feed the fish, a guest arrived.

The elegant, amiable middle-aged man in simple cloth robes and the gray-robed Weng Jiu had come knocking at his door. 

“We meet again, Fellow Daoist,” said the middle-aged man in simple cloth robes.

Su Yi remained unmoving and seated in his wicker chair. “No need for pleasantries. Let’s talk business.”

Weng Jiu already knew that Su Yi was proud to his very bones, but he was nonetheless speechless. Master is paying you a visit in person. That really isn’t worth getting up to welcome him for, you little punk?

If that were all it was, it’d be one thing. He said he wanted to talk business, so shouldn’t he at least arrange for a place to sit and have someone make them tea?

The middle-aged man, however, thought nothing of it. He casually sat on a boulder by the side of the lotus pond, then said seriously, “Fellow Daoist, you’re straightforward and to the point, so I’ll be direct with you too. I’m here to see you today because I hope to receive your guidance as to how to repair the Nine Tripods Suppression Barrier surrounding the city.”

Su Yi nodded. “I expected it was something like that. However, repairing the formation will be extremely difficult. Are you that confident I can accomplish it?”

The middle-aged man said, “You could discern the barrier’s situation at a glance; I trust that you have ways to resolve its problems. Even if there’s only a thread of hope, I’m willing to try.”

Su Yi said thoughtfully, “Is it urgent?”

The middle-aged man sighed. “Before long, the world shall undergo a dramatic change. I must finish my preparations before the Radiant Epoch is upon us. If I wait until those ancient orthodoxies re-emerge and otherworld cultivators invade en masse, it’ll be too late….”

A hint of worry appeared on his brow.

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Su Yi nodded. “That’s true. When the Radiant Epoch begins, the entire Azure Continent will descend into lasting, unprecedented upheaval. The pre-existing order is doomed to fall apart. Unless the imperial family makes ample preparations, I’m afraid… they won’t be able to maintain their control over the world.”

Weng Jiu’s eyelids twitched. “Young Lord Su, don't you think your words are a bit improper?”

Su Yi said, “Improper? In that case, why come here to ask for my help?”

Weng Jiu was at a loss for words. He felt so stifled that it was hard to bear. The way this kid talks is simply too detestable!

The middle-aged man sighed lightly. “Fellow Daoist, you’re describing the very situation I’m most worried about. According to the intelligence I’ve received, both ancient orthodoxies and otherworld cultivators have yet to display the full extent of their abilities. They’re both waiting for the descent of the Radiant Epoch! If the Great Xia’s world of cultivation hopes to contend with them, it will have to pay a heavy price.”

Su Yi shook his head. “You’re wrong. The way I see it, the vast majority of the Great Xia’s factions aren’t even qualified to strive for supremacy in the Radiant Epoch. If they want to survive, their only choice is to submit. Either they submit to otherworlders, or they submit to an ancient orthodoxy.”

The middle-aged man’s pupils constricted. A while later, he nodded. “Fellow Daoist, you’re right. Thus, I must prepare while I still can. Only then will I have the capital needed to vie for supremacy in the days to come!”

As he said this, the depths of his gaze flashed with divine radiance.

“Heaven and earth shall undergo a stark transformation, and the world’s spiritual energy shall recover. Countless opportunities and strokes of good fortune shall arise, inevitably leading to factions and experts strong enough to rule. When the time comes, I’m afraid a single formation won’t be enough to look down upon everything beneath the heavens,” said Su Yi languidly. “However, making such preparations isn’t a bad thing. After all, opportunities are reserved for those prepared to seize them.”

The middle-aged man looked at Su Yi and said solemnly, “Then… Fellow Daoist, are you willing to lend me a hand?”