First Immortal of the Sword

Outside Apricot Clinic.

When he saw Su Yi, Ge Qian couldn’t help but say, “Your Excellency, earlier, it seems there was some strange spiritual fluctuation in there?”  

Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing looked over too. They’d all sensed the change inside Apricot Cottage.

“I helped an old locust tree achieve spirituality, resolving a karmic tie,” Su Yi said casually. He glanced in the direction of Guangling City’s western gate.

In the west, the blasting of war horns filled the sky, mixed with the sounds of combat and the roaring of beasts.

“Come on, let’s go have a look.” Su Yi started walking toward the noise.

Along the way, the streets were deserted. They saw almost no other pedestrians.

When they neared the city’s western gate, they saw numerous martial artists stationed atop the city walls.

The city gates were open, and they could clearly see a team of armored martial artists locked in bitter combat with a group of spirit beasts.

The battle was intense, but small scale. There were at most a hundred of the beasts, and they weren’t particularly strong.

They were nothing compared to the beast wave that attacked the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital.

Furthermore, the martial artists were obviously well-trained, and they worked well together. As they killed their way through the beasts, they suffered the occasional injury, but they weren’t in much danger.

Their leader, a young swordsman, was particularly exceptional, and he demonstrated superb skill.

“Li Moyun…” It was only after a stunned pause that Su Yi remembered who this youth was.

Of Guangling City’s three great clans, the Li Family was ranked first.

A long time ago, Li Moyun was the top figure of Guangling City’s younger generation.

However, he was deeply infatuated with Wen Lingzhao, and he saw her “worthless” husband as an eyesore. He’d even attempted to have Su Yi eliminated.

It was only when they met again in the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital that Li Moyun witnessed Su Yi’s strength and gave up on opposing him.

Su Yi, meanwhile, had never concerned himself with a petty figure like Li Moyun.

If not for his excellent memory and that they were meeting here of all places, he might never have spared Li Moyun a second thought.

Su Yi then gazed up at the wall, where he saw numerous familiar figures.

There was City Lord Fu Shan, the commander of the guards, Nie Beihu, and family heads Li Tianhan, Huang Yunchong, and Wen Changjing, as well as other Guangling City higher-ups.

Nie Teng, Wen Jueyuan, Wen Shaobei, and several other younger-generation martial artists were there too.

Nie Teng in particular had obviously grown much stronger. He was already in the Grandmaster Realm!

His aura is steady, and his foundations are solid. Not bad. Not bad at all, thought Su Yi.

Back when he lived in Guangling City, Nie Beihu tried his best to arrange for Nie Teng to serve at Su Yi’s side. However, Nie Teng’s strong self-esteem meant he was unwilling to accept these arrangements.

This only made Su Yi admire the steady young man even more, so he taught him a cultivation technique.

There was no doubt that Nie Teng had reached the Grandmaster Realm after just eight short months in part due to the cultivation technique Su Yi had given him.

Of course, it was also partially because of Nie Teng’s own competitive spirit.

 have Nie Teng work alongside Su Yi

Another group of martial artists was patrolling, and when they saw Su Yi’s group, the leader, a stalwart middle-aged man shouted, “What do you think this is? You’re seriously here to watch the excitement now of all times? Hurry up and leave! A beast tide is coming soon. Even with Grandmaster Nie around, if the beasts make it into the city, you won’t be alive to watch the show anymore now will you?”

Su Yi was stunned, while Yuan Heng laughed. “Grandmaster Nie? You mean that young man atop the city walls?”

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

The middle-aged man’s face filled with respect. “That’s right. Grandmaster Nie isn’t simple in the least. He’s the first member of Guangling City’s younger generation to become a Grandmaster, and over the past month, it’s only because he was here to defend us that we stopped the beasts’ repeated attacks!

Yuan Heng was stunned. “Is that so? But I seem to recall that the first person in Guangling City’s younger generation to step into the Grandmaster Realm was… someone else?”

The middle-aged man furrowed his brow in thought, then said as if enlightened, “Are you referring to the Great Zhou’s imperial preceptor, Su Yi? It’s true that he was once the Wen Family’s son-in-law, but if you really get down to it, he isn’t from Guangling City.”

The soldier paused here and sighed. “Now that you mention it, it’s been a long time since we’ve received word about Imperial Preceptor Su. Rumor has it that he’s gone to the Great Xia to continue his cultivation and that he’ll never return.”

Another martial artist couldn’t help but add, “If he were here, how could he let the Great Zhou sink into such violence and upheaval?”

The other martial artists were wistful too.

Yuan Heng’s expression turned a bit strange, and he couldn’t help but glance at Su Yi. This was his first time learning that Su Yi had long since received the title “imperial preceptor” in the Great Zhou!

Su Yi didn’t care in the least. He listened, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

“Even if Imperial Preceptor Su were here, how could he possibly stop the otherworld experts of the Celestial Prison Demon Court? I heard that recently, even the imperial family and the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect surrendered to them!” sighed another guard.

“In short, the world is in turmoil. Never mind Imperial Preceptor Su; even if he were here, he alone wouldn’t be enough to turn the Great Zhou’s situation around.”

This declaration made Yuan Heng furrow his brow.

But it was then that a bestial roar echoed from beyond the gates, shaking the heavens.

Immediately afterward, the earth shook, the ground rumbling like thunder, as if an army of tens of thousands were headed right toward them.

The stalwart middle-aged man’s expression shifted, and he urged, “The second wave of the beast tide has arrived! Brothers, come with me to defend the city. And you! Don’t just stand there. Hurry up and leave!”

With that, he and his squad charged through the city gates at top speed.

“Is someone from the Celestial Prison Demon Court behind this beast tide too?” Su Yi furrowed his brow and walked over. His companions followed shortly after.

Meanwhile, outside the city.

Thousands of beasts swept toward the city from afar, their howls shaking the skies.

When they saw this, the group watching from atop the city walls gasped, and their expressions changed dramatically. 

The beast tide’s sheer enormousness far surpassed their imaginations!

“What do we do?” Family Head Wen Changjing paled, and his knees quivered.

Fu Shan, Li Tianhan, Huang Yunchong, and the others looked deeply worried too.

Guangling City was just one small city within the Cloudriver Prefecture. Even if they added up every martial artist in the city, there were only about a thousand of them, and most were in the first and lowest of the Four Realms of the Martial Dao, the Blood Circulation Realm.

Their strongest expert was a Grandmaster, but they only had one: Nie Teng.

Given the circumstances, when the distant beasts charged, it would be all but impossible to defend their gates

When their defensive line broke, the swarming spirit beasts would bathe Guangling City in blood! The city would surely fall!

“What else can we do? Our sects, friends, and relatives are all inside the city. If we retreat, they’re doomed,” said Nie Teng gravely. “Therefore, we cannot retreat no matter what!”

He spoke forcefully and with complete conviction.

“That’s right. I agree with Nie Teng!” Li Moyun had come too. He’d only just overcome a brutal battle, and he was covered in blood. His aura was cold and imposing.

“Alright. It’s settled!” Nie Beihu nodded his assent.

The other higher-ups were a bit hesitant, but when they saw this, they could only gnash their teeth and agree.

The crux of the matter was that their estimates were inaccurate. They had never even considered the possibility that the beast wave would be this terrifying. Had they known, they might well have had a chance to evacuate the city’s inhabitants.

However, it was already obviously too late for that.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The bestial army drew closer and closer. Ferocious, churning yao qi filled the air, blotting out the sun. The earth quivered beneath their feet, like the low rumbling of thunder.

The beasts’ ranks extended as far as the eye could see. Their momentum alone left the martial artists stationed here quivering in terror, and they visibly gave in to despair.

How… How are we supposed to fight that?

The sight was an enormous blow to their morale. This was true even for Nie Teng, Li Moyun, and the others determined to fight to the bitter end. Their expressions were graver than ever before.

It was then that the glorious and esteemed head of the Wen Family, Wen Changjing, staggered and almost fell. Shockingly, his legs had turned to jelly!

However, no one made fun of him. The atmosphere atop the city walls was so stifling and full of despair that they felt suffocated.

Nie Teng pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and hefted his spear. His expression turned calm and determined.

Li Moyun stood beside him. He brushed the dust off his clothing and silently clenched his sword, his eyes shining with determination. 

It was then that someone yellowed, “What are you people doing here? Are you insane?”

The stalwart man who’d encountered Su Yi near the gates was visibly infuriated. As he watched the group draw near, he gnashed his teeth.

He’d seen recklessness, but he’d never seen anyone this determined to throw their lives away!

Nie Teng and the others instinctively looked over, and when they saw the calm, transcendent young man in blue, their eyes widened in disbelief. 

“Master Su?” City Lord Fu Shan couldn’t help but cry out.

“Su… Master Su, is that really you?” Nie Beihu asked in a quavering voice, his face full of excitement.

“Hahaha! Master Su is back! We’re saved!” Huang Yunchong burst into mad laughter.

Li Tianhan, Wen Changjing, and the other Guangling City higher-ups’ eyes widened. Their expressions filled with uncertainty.

They… naturally recognized Su Yi too!

But due to various grudges of days gone by, when they saw Su Yi, they felt more awe and fear than delight!

“Master Su…” Nie Teng said in a daze, his expression bewildered. He had a steady disposition, so this was a rare loss of composure.

When Li Moyun saw Su Yi, he was stunned too. Then, his expression grew conflicted, and he lowered his head in silence.

Master Su? The stalwart middle-aged man and the soldiers accompanying him were flabbergasted. Who is Master Su? Why did he make such prominent experts lose their composure?

Su Yi paid none of this any heed. He just arrived atop the city walls without a care. He scanned the familiar faces, then gazed at Nie Teng. “You’ve actually got some potential.”

Nie Teng was a Grandmaster, and he’d always tried to act tough, but when he heard this, the rims of his eyes inexplicably reddened.

His heart shook, and he clasped his fist. “Master Su, I’ll never forget what you’ve taught me.”

“And here I recall you saying you saw me as a member of the same generation and that you’d never lower your head before me. You’re a Grandmaster now, so why have you become so polite?” Su Yi couldn’t help but tease him. 

When he thought back to those days, Nie Teng instantly felt a bit awkward. He said sheepishly, “At the time, I was young and frivolous. I didn’t know the height of the heavens or the depths of the earth. Now that I’m a Grandmaster, I finally understand the gap between us; it’s as great as the rift between heaven and earth. How could I possibly treat you with disrespect?”

“Enough already.” Su Yi waved this away, then glanced at the encroaching spirit beast army. “Yuan Heng, I’ll leave them up to you.”

“Yes, sir.” Yuan Heng solemnly nodded.