First Immortal of the Sword

Mirror Lake got its name from its perpetually smooth, waveless surface.

The lake was as boundlessly vast as an ocean, and it was located on the border of the Dark and White Reed Provinces.

The shore of the Mirror Lake was a sea of people. Spectator stands had been placed along the shoreline, and they were full of prominent experts from all across the Immortal Realm.

The spectators included no small number of prominent Immortal Lords!

And out in the distance, over the Mirror Lake, there stood a ten-thousand-foot arena.

Night was fast approaching, and the light of dusk burned like fire. It cast its orange glow on the smooth surface of the Mirror Lake, making it glow like a surging flame.

With an Immortal Lord like Fu Yunzhong leading the way, Su Yi and Fang Han smoothly bypassed the various layers of security to arrive at the shoreline.

“It’s a pity, but we arrived late. The Mirror Lake Immortal Assembly is almost over,” said Fu Yunzhong. He indeed found this an awful shame.

A moment later, he laughed. “Fortunately, we aren’t too late. The next match is the finals! The fight everyone’s most looking forward to!

“The competitors are Tang Weihan and Meng Xinguan. They are, respectively, first and second place in the Universe Realm Immortal Rankings!”

Su Yi nodded, then casually took out his wicker chair and sat down.

Fu Yunzhong’s introduction turned out to be entirely unnecessary, as everyone in the surrounding area was talking about the battle to come.

Tang Weihan was from the ancient Tang Family, an incomparably ancient clan. Prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals, they were already a famous Immortal King faction.

There were even rumors that one of their ancestors had reached the legendary realm at the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao!

In the present day, the ancient Tang Family’s forces were comparable to top factions like the Church of the Pure One and Lotus Temple!

Tang Weihan was the most dazzling elite among the Tang Family’s Universe Realm Immortals, an unrivaled monster famous throughout the Immortal Realm!

He was progressing rapidly; he’d cultivated for less than a hundred years to date. His aptitude was so dazzling that he would have shone in any era!

Meng Xinguan was an unparalleled son of heaven too. He was from Blue Cliff Academy, one of the three top Confucian orthodoxies of the Immortal Realm. He was considered the greatest of the Eight Great Confucian Talents.

During this Mirror Lake Immortal Assembly, both Tang Weihan and Meng Xinguan had defeated everyone in their path, suppressing one powerful foe after another without a single defeat.

Now, these two unrivaled monsters were about to begin their final battle. It was only natural that everyone was paying attention.

Throughout the crowd, there was endless conversation. Everyone was sighing with admiration for these two monstrous geniuses!

An Immortal Lord even sighed, “Tang Weihan is talented enough to become an Immortal King!”

Others soon chimed in. Many old monsters were wistful.

“When we old-timers were in the Universe Realm, I’m afraid none of us were comparable to Tang Weihan and Meng Xinguan.”

“Every age gives rise to new talents, and each generation is stronger than the one before. The Immortal Realm is entering an unprecedented golden age. The days to come will surely belong to these chosen sons and daughters of heaven!”

Fang Han’s blood heated up just listening to it all, and his stubborn, proud gaze filled with longing. He whispered, “I wonder how magnificent they are, for everyone to hold them in such high regard.”

Fu Yunzhong was standing right beside him. He couldn’t help but laugh, “They are indeed first-rate, unrivaled geniuses of their generation, but…”

He snuck a glance at the reclining Su Yi, then said, “But there’s no need for such blind worship.”

Inwardly, he added, Kid, the guy seated beside you is the most unfathomable existence here. He killed Hua Xingchen and the others with ease. And his identity is far more mysterious than Tang Weihan and Meng Xinguan’s! At the very least, neither of them is yet qualified to sit with Immortal Lords as equals, let alone drink and make merry with them!

Even ignoring everything else, Su Yi has an Immortal Lord like me accompanying him. How could Tang Weihan and Meng Xinguan compare?

“The Universe Realm Immortal Rankings really can’t perfectly measure the strength of every Universe Realm Immortal in the Immortal Realm,” said Su Yi. “Still, those who managed to take first and second place are surely extraordinary.”

As they conversed, cheers suddenly erupted, shaking the heavens. The final battle everyone was waiting for was finally about to begin!

Two figures had already appeared in the arena at the center of the Mirror Lake.

One wore jade robes, and his long hair hung to his waist. His features were elegantly handsome, and he was strikingly majestic, with a powerful gait.

The other was an extraordinary, graceful-looking man in flowing Confucian robes. He carried a jade ruler on his back.

These were none other than Tang Weihan and Meng Xinguan!

As soon as they appeared, they became the center of attention.

“Those two are indeed extraordinary,” Su Yi said softly. “One cultivates the Tang Family’s Chaos Spirit Void Sutra, and he has a natural Five Aggregates Physique. His vital energy is extraordinarily dense, without the slightest flaw. I expect he’ll prove his Dao and break into the Void Realm shortly.

“The other cultivates one of the four classics of Blue Cliff Academy, the Classic of the Deep Blue Sea. His aura is as vast as an ocean, and he’s achieved the level of ‘greatness without form.’ He’s truly not bad.”

Su Yi was quite surprised. After seeing the combatants in the flesh, he realized that these two monstrous geniuses really did have shocking foundations. Unless something unexpected happened, these two had no need to fear failing to break into the Miracle Realm and becoming Immortal Kings. Their future accomplishments were inestimable!

It seems that after the long Age of Fallen Immortals and the onset of a new golden age, a new batch of geniuses blessed with great fortune has arisen, thought Su Yi.

Indeed, heroes were born in troubled times!

“You’ve got keen eyes, Fellow Daoist Su!” exclaimed Fu Yunzhong. He was an Immortal Lord, but not even he could have discerned Tang Weihan and Meng Xinguan’s cultivation techniques.

Yet now, Su Yi had casually grasped their cultivation techniques, as well as their auras and foundations!

Su Yi smiled but didn’t explain.

At the highest point of the spectator stands, a white-haired elder in gray rose and said with a smile, “You may begin, my young friends.”

His voice boomed throughout the entire area.

The old man in gray was an elder of the Divine Mysteries Pavilion. His name was Chu Baichan, and his strength was deep and unfathomable. He occupied a transcendent position.

As his voice rang out, the conversation died down. Everyone watched the arena with rapt attention.

When this battle ended, it would mean the end of this Mirror Lake Immortal Assembly.

Who would emerge victorious in the end?

Suddenly, a voice rang out.

“Wait a moment!”

A figure shot over and appeared over the Mirror Lake out of nowhere. He was a man in black robes. His hair was unruly, and his features were as cold and firm as if they’d been hewn out of rock. His entire body emanated an imposing, austere killing intent.

He seemed like an unrivaled, ferocious killer, someone who’d fought his way through a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!

He swept his gaze across the area and grinned. “How can you have an Immortal Lake Immortal Assembly without me, Li Fenghan?”

The crowd was instantly in uproar.

None of them knew where this Li Fenghan person had come from. They’d never even heard of him.

But Su Yi frowned slightly. He gazed intently at the black-robed Li Fenghan, his eyes shining with inscrutable light.

“Hurry up and get out of the way, Junior. Don’t break the rules, or we won’t let you off!” an Immortal Lord said gravely.

Li Fenghan crossed his arms and said flatly, “Mind your tongue, old-timer. According to the rules of the Mirror Lake Immortal Assembly, anyone beneath the Void Realm is qualified to issue a challenge. Isn’t that right?”

The crowd exchanged glances.

Elder Chu Baichan of the Divine Mysteries Pavilion said, “That rule indeed exists, but you’ve arrived late. The final duel is about to begin…”

But Li Fenghan domineeringly interrupted him. “The battle has yet to even start. I’m not late at all!”

He stood in the air, forceful and tyrannical. Even many of the Immortal Lords felt uncomfortable.

But his sheer fearlessness meant that no one dared underestimate him. Everyone was trying to figure out where this guy of unknown origins got the confidence to barge into the arena and issue a challenge now of all times.

He’d obviously come prepared. This wasn’t just grandstanding!

“Who would you like to challenge?” Tang Weihan suddenly asked. “Since you had the courage to issue a challenge, Meng Xinguan and I both agree to fight you.”

Meng Xinguan smiled faintly. “That’s right.”

Li Fenghan arrived at the arena, looked around, and grinned. He pointed at himself and said, “I want to fight ten of you at once!”

His voice boomed throughout heaven and earth.

The crowd fell silent, then exploded with a clamor of voices.

“This guy’s mad with arrogance!”

“Who the hell is he? Where does he get the confidence to say something like that?”

“Ten at once? He obviously doesn’t take Tang Weihan or Meng Xinguan at all seriously!”

…The crowd was obviously indignant. Li Fenghan’s arrogance was just too much.

Even the Immortal Lords were angered to the point of laughter.

“Didn’t you hear me? Then I’ll say it once more. I want to fight everyone in the top ten of the Universe Realm Immortal Rankings at once!” said Li Fenghan. “If I lose, I’ll kill myself on the spot!

“But if I win…” A smile spread across his face as he said slowly and clearly, “I won’t kill anyone, but I want everyone I defeated to call me ‘grandfather!’”

Boom!

Sometimes, a single stone could create a thousand ripples. His wanton arrogance caused an enormous commotion. The crowd almost dared not believe their ears.

As one of the hosts of this event, Chu Baichan’s expression darkened. No one would have guessed such an unexpected development would arise just before the finals began, much less that Li Fenghan would be this arrogant!

“Isn’t that guy’s arrogance wildly excessive…?” Fang Han’s eyes widened.

Su Yi’s gaze was inscrutable as he whispered, “Arrogant? No, he came here for the express purpose of causing trouble.”

Fu Yunzhong narrowed his eyes; it seemed he’d realized something. “Fellow Daoist Su, can you perhaps tell where that guy came from?”

Su Yi took out a jug of wine and had a sip. “You’ll know in a moment.”

“Sir, you’re blatantly disregarding Meng Xinguan and me!” Tang Weihan’s eyes glinted with cold light. He was obviously enraged.

Meng Xinguan’s expression darkened. He’d never seen anyone this wantonly arrogant before in his life.

But Li Fenghan just burst into uproarious laughter. “Yes, you’re absolutely right. I don’t take either of you seriously at all!”

Seth's Thoughts

"Greatness without form", the phrase Su Yi uses to describe Meng Xinguan, is a Dao De Jing reference. A bit strange for a Confucian cultivator, perhaps. ;)

From the linked source:

"...the great phenomenon manifested by Tao (大象) has no shape nor form (無形)..."

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