First Immortal of the Sword

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".

Jiang Li’s appearance and disposition were similarly extraordinary.

Even rarer, she had the noble air of one long accustomed to rank and power. Standing there beside Yue Shichan, she didn’t look at all inferior.

The two of them instantly attracted the gaze of just about everyone present.

Qiu Hengkong was following Jiang Li, and when he saw Su Yi, he couldn’t help but look delighted. He clasped his fist and inclined his head. “Fellow Daoist Su.”

Su Yi nodded back to him before looking thoughtfully at Jiang Li. “Is Treasure Trove Tower one of the businesses under the Jiang Family’s leadership?”

Jiang Li smiled faintly and nodded. “That’s right. Fellow Daoist Su, if you see anything that catches your fancy, just give them my name. We’ll surely give you a satisfactory price.”

Su Yi said, “Is there a place to refine weapons here?”

This question caught Jiang Li off guard. “Of course there is. Our workshop is one of the best in Nine Tripod City. Fellow Daoist, do you plan to ask a grandmaster artisan to refine something for you?”

She paused and furrowed her brow. “In that case, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. The Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly shall begin shortly, so all of our grandmaster artisans are busy. I’m afraid you have little hope of convincing them to forge you something now.”

Her phoenix eyes bore into Su Yi. “Of course, should you need it, I’m willing to make an appearance and see if I can help find someone willing to forge a weapon for you.”

Conflict had once occurred between them, and in the end, she chose to back down and apologize. She and Su Yi weren’t friends.  

When she saw Su Yi now, she graciously exchanged pleasantries, but she was just acting in her capacity as one of the tower’s owners; this was how she welcomed guests. She naturally didn’t really want to help Su Yi. 

How could Su Yi fail to realize that her warm welcome was, in fact, somewhat perfunctory?

However, this didn’t bother him. He said directly, “I don’t need a grandmaster weaponsmith; I just need a place to work. If Treasure Trove Tower can provide a workspace, that would naturally be ideal. If not, I’ll just go somewhere else.”

Jiang Li was a bit stunned. “We naturally have numerous workrooms, but Fellow Daoist Su… don’t tell me you’re also proficient at refining weapons?”

Su Yi said calmly, “I understand a little. I’ll naturally pay you a fair price.”

Jiang Li smiled. “How could I demand your money over such a trivial matter? I was just headed toward the workshop anyway. How about you come with me?”

With that, she led the way ahead. 

“Brother Su, you… you really want to forge a sword?” Yue Shichan couldn’t help but ask.

Su Yi said casually, “I looked around just now; none of the swords here are worthy of you. It’s best I forge your weapon myself.”

Jiang Li was walking up ahead, and when she heard this, her painted eyebrows shifted upward. She felt a bit uncomfortable. This guy… seriously disdains Treasure Trove Tower’s wares? Not even Spirit Dao cultivators would dare say something like that!

Tao Yunchi couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “Su Yi, don’t tell me you really think you can forge a sword better than anything for sale in Treasure Trove Tower?”

Su Yi said faintly, “Some spiritual swords are higher quality than others, but higher-ranked weapons aren’t necessarily best for every sword cultivator.”

He then looked at Tao Yunchi. “Don’t tell me the disciples of the Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect are ignorant of such a basic principle?”

Tao Yunchi’s heart clenched beneath the weight of Su Yi’s gaze. He most certainly hadn’t forgotten his miserable defeat at Su Yi’s hands.

However, this was Treasure Trove Tower, Jiang Li’s territory. Tao Yunchi wasn’t afraid that Su Yi would act up. Thus, he steeled himself and said, “But you still can’t insult Treasure Trove Tower’s spiritual swords!”

“I said none of them were worthy of her, and indeed, none of them are,” said Su Yi. “I’m simply speaking the truth.”

Tao Yunchi said coldly, “That so? Then we’re all truly eager to see just what kind of treasure sword you forge!”

This was someone Su Yi had already defeated; he couldn't be bothered to pay Tao Yunchi any further heed.

The sword he forged for Yue Shichan wasn’t for showing to other people.

Jiang Li heard every word of their conversation, and she felt rather displeased too. Su Yi is too arrogant. I’ve got to see just what kind of spiritual sword he makes!

The workshop was at the back of Treasure Trove Tower. It was a massive hall split into various workrooms. 

When Jiang Li and company first arrived, there was already a group waiting there.

The leader was a young man in undyed hemp clothing. He had a big, thick-boned frame, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He was tall and majestic-looking, and his thick black hair hung loose. He had thick eyebrows, and his features looked as if they’d been carved with a chisel.

When his eyes opened and closed, they glinted with radiance as white as snow and sharp as the edge of a sword; his gaze was forceful and imposing.

When an ordinary cultivator saw him, they felt as if they were looking at a divine sword polished to incomparable sharpness, and they felt a prickling pain and sense of oppression in their hearts. They dared not meet his gaze.

What sharp and austere sword intent! Yue Shichan’s starry eyes focused. As a sword cultivator herself, she could clearly sense the utterly terrifying sword intent emanating from this young man. It was a type of imposing aura one could only obtain by overcoming bloodshed and numerous life-and-death struggles. It was extremely concentrated and somber.

Su Yi took a second look at the young man in hemp clothes too. He was in the late-stage Gathering Stars Realm and shrouded in sword intent. His energy was clear and sharp, a sign that he’d tempered his sword intent to full mastery. 

A cultivator’s sword intent was connected to which Charms of the Dao they’d mastered.

The Dao Charm of the Origin Dao level was divided into four levels: basic understanding, understanding subtleties, major success, and perfection.

This young man in hemp clothes had tempered his sword intent to perfection. This really did make him a peak-level figure within the Origin Dao. 

Even in the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, he could have been a legacy disciple of an ancient orthodoxy. 

“I kept you waiting, Senior Apprentice Brother Yu,” Jiang Li said softly.

Tao Yunchi, Gu Tengying, and the other Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect inheritors each bowed in greeting, all of them with respectful expressions on their faces.

Yu Wenshu!

He was the sword chief of the Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect’s younger generation, and one of the Great Xia’s most dazzling young geniuses. He was comparable to Cloudsky Divine Palace’s Wen Xinzhao, the Qingyi Dao Sect’s Li Handeng, and Maha Temple’s Buddhist Son Chen Lu!

“I don’t mind waiting. So long as Grandmaster Yu can boost Floating Gold’s strength to a new level, I wouldn’t mind even if I had to wait until right before the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly began!”

When he saw Jiang Li, a faint smile appeared on Yu Wenshu’s chiseled face.

Jiang Li said softly, “Grandmaster Yu is one of the three best weapon refiners in Nine Tripod City, while you are a genius of the Dao of the Sword that he thinks extremely highly of. I trust that Grandmaster Yu won’t disappoint you.”

Yu Wenshu nodded, then glanced at Su Yi and Yue Shichan. “Who might these two be?”

He paid particular attention to Yue Shichan. Faint traces of the distinctive air of a sword cultivator lingered around her, and she was beautiful as a lady immortal. The sight of her took his breath away.

“This is Young Lord Su, Su Yi, and this is…” Jiang Li was just about to introduce Yue Shichan when she found herself at a loss for words; she didn’t know who Su Yi’s companion was.

“Yue Shichan,” said Yue Shichan in a voice as cold and clear as ice.

In front of outsiders, her disposition was ethereal, aloof, and distant, like an unapproachable ice queen.

Su Yi was in no mood to exchange pleasantries, so he said, “Miss Jiang, please arrange a workroom for me.”

“Alright.” Jiang Li then called over one of the workshop’s stewards. After receiving his orders, the steward led Su Yi and Yue Shichan deeper into the workshop.

“That Su guy thinks he’s better than everyone else just because he’s strong,” Tao Yunchi couldn’t help but complain. “He’s arrogant and domineering to the extreme. Senior Apprentice Sister Jiang, you shouldn’t help someone like that.”

The others chimed in, one after another. “That’s right! That Su guy once clashed with us, but you set aside your grudge and offered him your aid. It’s bad enough that he isn’t grateful, but he even slandered Treasure Trove Tower’s goods! He really thinks he can refine a superior blade? That’s utterly infuriating!”

Yu Wenshu frowned. “That guy once clashed with the Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect?”

Jiang Li glanced at Qiu Hengkong. “Now that you mention it, this incident is somewhat connected to Junior Apprentice Brother Qiu.”

She briefly and concisely explained what had happened at Locust Tree Kingdom, including the conflict between them. She told the story fairly and without bias or embellishment. 

Nonetheless, Tao Yunchi and Gu Tengying hung their heads in shame. To them, this was an enormous disgrace. Hearing it described was like having salt rubbed in their wounds.

Yu Wenshu glanced coldly at the pair of them. “While outside the sect, you insulted a sectmate in front of an outsider? How stupid can you be? You were weaker than him, so you ought to have learned from your humiliation and used it to better yourselves. Looking at you now, it seems you lack the necessary awareness. You’re truly disappointing!”

Both Tao Yunchi and Gu Tengying broke out in cold sweats. They fell as silent as cicadas in winter.

Yu Wenshu then looked at Jiang Li. “Junior Apprentice Sister Jiang, you chose to back down and apologize. Don’t tell me you didn’t think you could defeat Su Yi?”

Even in the face of his sharp gaze, Jiang Li’s expression didn’t so much as waver. She said calmly, “There’s no way to know without fighting him, but I have to say that he’s an extremely capable opponent. I chose to back down purely because there was no need to turn such a petty squabble into a larger incident.”

Yu Wenshu thought for a moment. “When Su Yi finishes forging a sword, I’ll challenge him.”

This declaration stunned the others present, and they found it hard to believe.

Tao Yunchi and Gu Tengying were still feeling ashamed after getting rebuked, but when they heard this, their eyes sparkled with excitement. 

If Senior Apprentice Brother Yu intervened, there was no way Su Yi could maintain his prestige!

Qiu Hengkong’s heart sank. As an outer sect disciple of the Fulcrum of Heaven Sword Sect, he knew just how terrifying the sword chief of the sect’s younger generation was. 

He was one of the greatest geniuses of the modern era!

“Senior Apprentice Brother Yu, the Orchid Terrace Dharma Assembly shall begin in just a few days. Challenging Su Yi to a battle now seems a bit… inappropriate?” muttered Jiang Li.

Yu Wenshu’s expression darkened. His gaze was sharp, and he said calmly, “Junior Apprentice Sister Jiang, rest assured. This is not an emotional decision, and I’m certainly not stepping in to help those two idiots vent their displeasure. As the sword chief of the sect’s younger generation, it’s only right that I defend its prestige. In simple terms, even if our disciples were mistaken, it’s not up to outsiders to discipline them!”

His words were like swords, and he spoke with force and conviction. 

Jiang Li fell silent, but in the end, she said nothing.

She might not approve of Yu Wenshu’s methods, but she was aware that this was just his personality; he was as sharp and resolute as his sword.

It was then that the middle-aged man in brocade robes standing behind Yu Wenshu smiled and said leisurely, “Martial Nephew Yu, when the time comes, I’ll personally lend a hand!”