First Immortal of the Sword

Should they attack now and kill Su Yi?

Everyone reacted differently.

“We cannot!” someone directly rejected the idea. “Never mind how terrifying Su Yi’s combat strength is; the resulting disturbance would draw attention from every faction in Nine Tripod City. The consequences are too hard to predict.”

Many of them nodded.

The unparalleled duel atop Cloudcomb Lake had already caused an enormous disturbance.

They didn’t even need to think to know that the various major factions stationed throughout the city had already begun their response.

Someone said gravely, “But the boy’s only just overcome a grand battle, and his expenditures were surely enormous. Furthermore, he’s already revealed all his cards. If we want to kill him, this is the ideal opportunity. If we miss it… It’ll be hard to find a similar chance.”

When he said this, many of the others hesitated.

Even Huo Mingyuan felt intensely conflicted.

It was then that an aged voice rang out. “Tonight’s incident had best end here.”

A silhouette appeared in the distant skies to accompany the voice. It was an elderly man with a round black hat and a cane. Despite his age, he stood as straight as a pine tree.

When he saw who it was, Huo Mingyuan’s expression shifted dramatically. “Elder Shui, what are you doing here?”

The other Huo Family higher-ups all looked stunned. They naturally recognized the powerful, influential proprietor of Cloudmarsh Tower.

It was just that they didn’t understand why someone of his illustrious status would get involved, or why he’d come looking for them as soon as the curtains closed on Huo Tiandu and Su Yi’s duel.

Elder Shui!

Cloudsky Divine Palace’s Yu Fenghe and Nie Yinglin both looked solemn.

Although they weren’t residents of Nine Tripod City, how could they possibly have been ignorant of Elder Shui’s status? They knew how transcendently lofty he was!

Elder Shui said calmly, “This old man has already stated his intentions perfectly clearly. Family Head Huo, please let tonight’s incident end here.”

Huo Mingyuan’s brow knit together, and his expression was unsightly. “Elder Shui, my clan uncle died here tonight, yet now you’re telling us to just let it go. This… Don’t you think you’re being a bit unreasonable?”

The other Huo Family members were displeased too.

Yu Fenghe said, “Elder Shui, are you here to protect Su Yi?”

Elder Shui shook his head. “I’m simply acting on orders.”

This sentence made the group’s hearts shake.

Given Elder Shui’s lofty and transcendent position in Nine Tripod City, just what kind of person could order him around?

Huo Mingyuan took a deep breath. “Dare I ask whose orders you’re acting upon?”

“My orders came from the palace,” said Elder Shui calmly.

It was just a few light, air words, but they made Huo Mingyuan’s pupils constrict, and his entire body went rigid. The others were dumbstruck too, and their expressions filled with disbelief.

“That’s all I have to say. Think it over for yourselves. Farewell.” With that, Elder Shui turned and left.

“The palace? There are so many influential people in the palace. Do any of them have a grudge against the Huo Family?” someone wondered, his expression overcast.

As one of the Great Xia’s three great clans, the Huo Family’s accumulations were naturally extraordinary. They couldn’t have stood tall all this time overwise.

Even most ordinary members of the imperial family wouldn’t dare offend them lightly.

“Tell me, who in the palace can order someone like Elder Shui about? And who in the palace could disregard the Huo Family’s ire and send him to stop us?” Huo Mingyuan let out a long sigh. His rage had already given way to despondency and dejection.

The group gasped. They finally understood the crux of the matter, and their expressions shifted dramatically. 

“Let’s go back. Tonight’s matter ends here.” Huo Mingyuan turned and left, cutting a desolate figure.

Tonight, the Huo Family had fallen flat on its face!

“Senior Apprentice Brother, what should we do?” Nie Yingshan looked at Yu Fenghe.

“We’re returning to the sect,” said Yu Fenghe, his expression wooden. “Even the Great Xia’s imperial family got involved. It’s up to the sect leader to decide how to handle a matter of such importance.”

That very night, the two early-stage Spiritual Manifestation Realm experts began the journey back to Cloudsky Divine Palace.

….

That night, the shores of Cloudcomb Lake were extremely lively.

Cultivators from countless factions rushed over to try and get to the bottom of things. When they learned that Huo Tiandu had perished, all of them were too surprised to speak.

….

“A blue-robed young man killed Huo Tiandu?” Wen Xinzhao came too. She wore a simple, elegant dress, and she looked like an immortal from on high visiting the human world. Every inch of her exuded charm and grace.

When she learned that the one who killed Huo Tiandu was a young man in blue, Wen Xinzhao was dazed. Su Yi’s image rose unbidden to her sea of consciousness. 

Could it have been Brother Su? Wen Xinzhao’s heart shook. 

“The grand elder actually died…” Daoist Master Coldsmoke looked dazed.

Huo Tiandu was an inner sect grand elder of Cloudsky Divine Palace, someone in the mid-stage Spiritual Manifestation Realm. How terrifying of a cultivation did someone need to kill him?

“In the end, we… we arrived one step too late…” sighed Daoist Master Coldsmoke. 

She’d brought her apprentice to Nine Tripod City in part because she wanted to see Su Yi with her own two eyes and find out if he was really as impressive as Wen Xinzhao said. 

Her secondary goal was to intervene in the conflict between Su Yi and Huo Tiandu. She hoped to stop the battle before it occurred.

Who’d have thought that Huo Tiandu would die before she and Wen Xinzhao could do anything? 

“Master, I said it a long time ago—becoming Young Lord Su’s enemy comes at a price,” whispered Wen Xinzhao. She was shaken by Huo Tiandu’s death, but she wasn’t otherwise emotional about it.

“You suspect Su Yi killed the grand elder?” Daoist Master Coldsmoke’s beautiful eyes widened, and she shook her head. “That’s impossible. He’s a young Origin Palace cultivator. How could he possibly be a match for someone in the Spiritual Manifestation Realm?”

Wen Xinzhao couldn’t help but say, “But according to the witnesses, the one fighting the grand elder was indeed a young man in blue. That sounds just like Young Lord Su.”

Daoist Master Coldsmoke sighed. “Lass, don’t talk nonsense. I know you deeply admire Su Yi’s attainments in the Dao of the Sword, but a grand elder has fallen. This is no time for wishful thinking.”

She obviously didn’t believe it. 

Wen Xinzhao hesitated too.

If someone told her that Su Yi could kill an early-stage Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivator, she wouldn’t have doubted it.

But Huo Tiandu was different. He was a mid-stage Spiritual Manifestation Realm cultivator, and his foundations were firm and powerful. He far surpassed ordinary experts of the same level, and he had an enormous number of cards up his sleeves. 

Given the circumstances, even Wen Xinzhao dared not say for certain that Su Yi was a match for him.

Wen Xinzhao thought for a moment, then said seriously, “Master, perhaps when we find Su Yi, we’ll get some answers.”

Daoist Master Coldsmoke nodded. “Perhaps. Although this wasn’t Su Yi’s work, I’m afraid he was involved. After all, the grand elder came to Nine Tripod City for the express purpose of killing him.”

Wen Xinzhao couldn’t help but feel a trace of eagerness. When I see him again, I have to seize the opportunity to ask for further guidance regarding the Dao of the Sword!

……

Late at night.

The peak of the thirty-thousand-foot-tall Mount Heavenbristle.

A middle-aged man in simple cloth robes leaned against the railing of a jade tower built beside the sea of clouds, gazing into the distance.

Although it was the middle of the night, when he looked out from the tower, he saw the stars glittering in the dome of heaven. The clouds were bathed in starlight, and they flashed with bright, snowy flecks of silver. It was a magnificent sight.

This was one of the most famous sights in Nine Tripod City, the “Starlit Sea of Clouds.”

Throughout the Great Xia’s history, only a select few members of the imperial family ever had the opportunity to witness this glorious spectacle for themselves.

With his Origin Palace Realm cultivation, he relied on his own strength to defeat the mid-stage Spiritual Manifestation Realm Huo Tiandu in a direct confrontation. Even thirty thousand years ago, how many geniuses could compare to Su Yi?

At the very least, I’ve never heard of anyone like that.

A monster! He’s one of the greatest monsters in all of history!

The middle-aged man looked away and sighed.

Weng Jiu stood beside him and sighed too. “My lord, to tell you the truth, I saw Su Yi’s strength for myself, but I nonetheless almost dared not believe my eyes. How could such a heaven-defying genius exist in this world?”

The middle-aged man laughed, a strange light in his eyes. “The Azure Continent might not have anyone else like him, but his equals might well be found on other planes of existence. The path to the Grand Dao has always been full of all manner of unbelievable people and  circumstances, like Little Seven’s mother…”

The middle-aged man instantly fell silent, a barely perceptible hint of melancholy on his brow.

Sometime later, he took a deep breath and waved. “Never mind that.”

Weng Jiu was silent.

It was then that Cloudmarsh Tower’s Elder Shui arrived in a hurry.

“My lord, I already passed on your message. Huo Mingyuan has already led his people back to the Huo Family estate,” said Elder Shui respectfully.

The middle-aged man pondered out loud, “The tallest tree in the forest is the first to fall beneath the wind. Although Su Yi’s strength and the methods at his disposal were enough to slay Huo Tiandu, he’s ultimately a rootless rogue cultivator. If some blind old fogey targets him, he’ll ultimately be in for trouble.”

Weng Jiu responded immediately, “My lord, you’re absolutely right. On the surface, the Great Xia’s world of cultivation is tranquil, but beneath the surface, the ancient orthodoxies that survived the Prohibition of Ancient Darkness and factions of Possessed have long since been eager to make their move.

“Take the current Nine Tripod City. Countless impressive experts have gathered here on account of the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly. Given the circumstances, if Su Yi becomes the center of attention, it’ll surely bring him endless trouble.”

The middle-aged man nodded. “Ol’ Jiu, have your Darkspirit Guards take action. Seal up all information regarding Su Yi.”

He paused, then sighed. “Keep it under wraps as long as you can.”

He was well aware that if the strongest and most capable cultivators wanted to know the details of the battle at Cloudcomb Lake, there was no way to keep it a secret forever.

As for the Huo Family, the middle-aged man wasn’t worried. They were one of the nation’s three great clans. How could they be stupid enough to publicly air the details of something so shameful?

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Weng Jiu solemnly accepted his orders. “Yes, sir.”

Elder Shui had a strange look in his eyes. Suddenly, he said, “My lord, why do I get the feeling that we’re effectively wiping Su Yi’s butt for him?”

The middle-aged man froze, then burst into laughter. “We need his help, so we have to be polite! It doesn’t matter whether we like it or not; we have to endure!”

Weng Jiu couldn’t help but say, “My lord, I suspect Su Yi, that kid, won’t appreciate what we’re doing. He might even complain. After all, just yesterday, he told us not to get involved….”

The middle-aged man thought for a moment, then said, “We’re not stopping him from killing anyone! We’re just helping him handle the aftermath. How could that be the same thing?”

Although he said this, he laughed bitterly.

He was obviously trying to help, so why… Why did he feel so… lowly?

……

Azurecloud Court.

The skies were increasingly dark and heavy.

When Su Yi got back, he saw that Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing had been waiting for him the whole time. He told them to go rest.

Before she left, Bai Wenqing whispered that Yue Shichan had been waiting for him in his room for quite some time.

Su Yi couldn’t help but rub his forehead.

He’d only just gotten home following the grand battle on Cloudcomb Lake. Now, he had to further exhaust himself by treating the Shamanic Venom Devilworm in Yue Shichan’s body. 

He felt truly worn out….

However…

No matter how tired he was, he couldn’t let Yue Shichan stay up all night for nothing.

As he thought this, Su Yi made his way to his room.