First Immortal of the Sword

Ren Changqing stood there in a daze for quite some time.

It seemed he was gradually coming back to his senses. He let out a long breath and gazed up at the mountaintop, the place where Su Yi had taken up residence. Then, beneath countless astonished gazes, he bowed deeply before turning to leave.

The crowd was initially stunned, then moved! There was no doubt about it. That strike had been enough to convince Ren Changqing, the leading expert of the Southern Flame Star Domain, of Su Yi’s strength!

After Ren Changqing disappeared from Eastern Profound Peak, someone finally couldn’t help but ask. “Was His Excellency Su’s slash really that terrifying?”

“Not even we could pick up any clues, but doesn’t that make it all the more obvious how terrifying that slash was?” someone murmured.

The crowd looked at each other, their hearts swelling with emotion. They’d already grasped the situation.

It was simple. Even at their level, their perception was far inferior. They couldn’t discern the mysteries present within that slash!!

……

That very day, word that Ren Changqing couldn’t withstand even a single slash from Su Yi spread throughout the Plains of Welcoming, causing a massive uproar.

Especially after learning the details of their battle. Countless people were shaken, and their hearts quivered with fright.

“Ren Changqing couldn’t even fight back? All he could do was passively wait to die?”

“Just how terrifying was that strike?”

“Did you hear that Su Yi said he’d never once taken Ren Changqing or anyone else here as his opponent?”

…Discussions broke out in all four camps.

Western Chill Peak.

Qin Suxin gently pushed open her window and stared at the distant Eastern Profound Peak in a daze. Su Yi is actually that strong?

Qin Suxin’s heart was as calm as an icy pool, yet now, it rippled.

She was keenly aware of how heaven-defying Ren Changqing’s strength was. Throughout their months here, she saw only a tiny handful of the others as her competition.

That number included Ren Changqing.

Qin Suxin would never have guessed Ren Changqing would lose so badly!

Even though it was hard to accept, and even though she couldn’t figure out the details of their battle, or understand how Ren Changqing must have felt upon his defeat, Qin Suxin knew what this meant.

Were she to fight Su Yi, she’d have little hope of victory!

The Eastern Profound Star Domain actually gave rise to such a terrifying figure. Just… Just how did he cultivate to reach such heights?

Qin Suxin’s thoughts raced. It was only after she’d finally calmed back down that she reached a conclusion—

The pressure was now on Yu Chen!

Actually, it was just as Qin Suxin thought. Throughout the four camps, everyone was starting to sweat on behalf of the man who’d challenged Su Yi to a duel!

“Ren Changqing was the leading figure of his camp, but he couldn’t withstand even a single blow. When Yu Chen emerges from seclusion, he’s sure to be under far greater pressure than before!”

“This really is a tight spot. If Yu Chen flees from battle, he’ll leave his reputation in tatters. But if he fights, even if he blocks one of Su Yi’s attacks, it’ll be very difficult to emerge victorious!”

“Who’d have thought that Su person would be so terrifying?”

…Such talk soon reached Wen Xiuzhu’s ears. She was unwittingly stunned, her beautiful face shifting and uncertain.

When Su Yi first forced her back with a single punch, she wasn’t at all convinced of his superior strength. Even after her senior apprentice brother Yu Chen told her she was no match for him, she still wasn’t convinced.

But after Ren Changqing’s defeat, she finally realized just how lucky she was to have escaped her confrontation with Su Yi alive!

I wonder whether this news will influence Senior Apprentice Brother’s mentality… Concern appeared upon Wen Xiuzhu’s face.

She was keenly aware of just how powerful her senior apprentice brother was. He’d long since disregarded other Cloud Soaring cultivators. All he wanted was an opportunity to fight and suppress an immortal.

But Wen Xiuzhu was also keenly aware that Su Yi wasn’t like other people. This was a terrifying expert not even people like Ren Changqing and Qin Suxin, top experts of their respective star domains, could hope to contend with!

“Argh. All I can do is wait until Senior Apprentice Brother emerges from seclusion,” sighed Wen Xiuzhu.

Now that Su Yi had shown up, the balance of power in the First Battleground had undergone a complete and utter shift.

No one dared underestimate the experts of the Eastern Profound Star Domain now, and they certainly dared not provoke them lightly.

Ren Changqing’s defeat had boosted Su Yi’s prestige to astonishing heights. People paled at the mere mention of his name!

Wen Xiuzhu found all of this extremely unpleasant, but she had no choice but to accept it!

……

“Hold onto this Cloud Soaring Divine Essence.” Upon his return to Eastern Profound Peak, Su Yi gave a storage treasure to Sword Immortal Qingshi. “When Universal Emptiness’s soul recovers, share some with him too.”

Sword Immortal Qingshi didn’t refuse. He knew Su Yi, and he knew that refusing would only displease him.

“About half a year remains until the Road of Welcoming appears. I plan to spend that time in seclusion. Unless something life or death happens, don’t let anyone disturb me,” ordered Su Yi.

He’d just finished exploring many of the First Battleground’s danger zones, and he’d gathered an enormous amount of Cloud Soaring Divine Essence, enough to fuel his cultivation for a while.

But he was going into seclusion, not to break through but to steady his foundations and comb through his cultivation base.

He also planned to take this time to contemplate the Grand Dao and temper the Sword of the Human Realm.

“Got it!” Sword Immortal Qingshi solemnly agreed.

But a moment later, he recalled something. “It won’t be long until the leading expert of the Northern Abyss Star Domain, Yu Chen, leaves seclusion. He…”

Su Yi interrupted him, not at all concerned. “Pay him no heed. If he insists on a duel, fine. He can wait.”

Sword Immortal Qingshi nodded.

That very day, Su Yi went into seclusion.

……

Ten days later.

An arc of golden light shot from the highest point of Northern Abyss Peak and rose into the firmament.

Heaven and earth shook, and the sound of the Dao, like the music of the heavens, reverberated through the sky.

Bundles of auspicious light scattered into resplendent rain and poured from the heavens, flowing into a little stone room.

This shocking strange phenomenon of heaven and earth instantly drew attention from all four camps.

“What a shocking phenomenon! Don’t tell me that Yu Chen has broken through?”

“Impossible! He reached the peak of the Cloud Soaring Realm a long time ago, and the Road of Welcoming hasn’t appeared yet. He couldn’t possibly have broken into the Immortal Dao!”

“Then where did that strange phenomenon come from?”

“Did he absorb enough Cloud Soaring Divine Essence to fully transform his cultivation base into Immortal Spirit Qi?”

Qin Suxin, the leading expert of her camp, watched from Western Chill Peak. Despite herself, a complicated look appeared on her face.

Rumor had it that refining enough Cloud Soaring Divine Essence had a chance of cleansing a cultivator’s pores and marrow, letting them undergo a transformation akin to rebirth.

The most obvious effect of this transformation was that the cultivation base was refined into Immortal Spirit Qi!

That in turn meant that as soon as the moment was right, you’d be able to break smoothly into the Immortal Dao!

Of late, Qin Suxin had been refining Cloud Soaring Divine Essence too, but she’d yet to realize this step.

“This only makes me all the more eager,” murmured Ren Changqing.

His defeat at Su Yi’s hands had sunk him into a temporary depression. His will to fight waned, and he’d yet to overcome the lingering shadow of that strike even now.

But when he saw this strange phenomenon, he finally saw clearly. He was now completely convinced of what Su Yi had told him.

He was certain that the moment he overcame the shadow that strike had left on his heart, his cultivation would indeed rise to new heights!

It was for this reason that he wasn’t at all resentful over his defeat. On the contrary, he admired Su Yi deeply.

When he saw Yu Chen trigger this strange phenomenon of heaven and earth, Ren Changqing realized that they were in for a show!

Prior to this, Ren Changqing didn’t think Yu Chen would be any match for Su Yi, but seeing this strange phenomenon changed his mind.

Yu Chen, the leading expert of the Northern Abyss Star Domain, wasn’t one to provoke lightly either!

Meanwhile, atop Northern Abyss Peak.

Wen Xiuzhu gazed up at the strange phenomenon with delight and murmured, “Wonderful! Senior Apprentice Brother is surely undergoing a shocking transformation. Otherwise, he could never have triggered such a phenomenon!”

Of late, she’d been worried about what would happen after Yu Chen left seclusion, and how he’d handle his impending duel with Su Yi.

But now, she was full of confidence!

The door of the stone chamber opened with a creak, and a tall, thin figure emerged. He was dressed in Daoist robes, and his gaze was perfectly clear. His entire body emanated an air of peace and simplicity.

This was Yu Chen!

As soon as he emerged from his stone chamber, the strange phenomenon filling the skies disappeared.

“Senior Apprentice Brother.” Wen Xiuzhu rushed up to greet him. “You broke through?”

Yu Chen shook his head. “No. I just established the most perfect of foundations within the Cloud Soaring Realm. When the time is right, I’ll be able to step into the Immortal Dao without fear of tribulation.”

Wen Xiuzhu said with delight, “Then you’ve got to be even stronger than before, right?”

“Mm,” said Yu Chen. He seemed as pure and radiant as the moon, neither arrogant nor impetuous, neither slow nor hasty.

Wen Xiuzhu couldn’t help but say, “Senior Apprentice Brother, not long ago, Ren Changqing lost to Su Yi…”

Before she could finish, Yu Chen said, “I know. When they fought atop Eastern Profound Peak, Ren Changqing’s aura soared into the firmament; it would have been difficult not to notice.”

He paused, and his eyes shone with a contemplative light. “However, in contrast, Fellow Daoist Su is far more inscrutable. It was just one strike, but it was as if he’d achieved a return to simplicity. He caused no disturbance at all, yet he struck with force that would leave even gods and ghosts scampering away in fright. It was as if he turned trash into treasure, seizing fortune from the heavens!”

Here, he couldn’t help but sigh. “If I can fight someone like him, I’ll be satisfied even if I lose.”

Wen Xiuzhu pressed her lips into a grin. “I most certainly don’t think you’ll lose!”

She could tell that there was a new quality about Yu Chen, something that hadn’t been there before. It was fleeting and ethereal.

If it were as she expected, that was the charm of Immortal Spirit Qi!

Yu Chen smiled, then turned and headed down the mountain. As he walked, he said, “In the Northern Abyss Star Domain, I was undefeated for far, far too long. Now, all I seek… is defeat.”

‘All I seek is defeat!?’ Wen Xiuzhu chewed on that for a bit, and her eyes lit up. Senior Apprentice Brother’s mentality has changed too!

Before, he sought invincibility.

Now, he sought an opponent who could defeat him!

It didn’t matter whether that opponent was an immortal from on high or a cultivator of the Human Realm. Either would do!

“Come on, let’s go visit Fellow Daoist Su on Eastern Profound Peak,” Yu Chan said softly.

From beginning to end, his aura was as smooth as jade, and he was as tranquil as a cloud.

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