First Immortal of the Sword

The stench of blood permeated the grand hall. It was a scene of utter devastation.

But who would content themselves with sitting and waiting to die?

“Run!” Huan Tianhe and the others dared not linger. They immediately turned and fled. 

The Nine Tripod Suppression Barrier Formation couldn’t suppress Su Yi, and he was utterly fearless and unbridled.

It wasn’t simply that he didn’t take the emissaries of the ancient factions seriously. This was the imperial family’s territory, yet he’d begun a massacre!

Under the circumstances, how could the emissaries dare stick around?

“You were so fierce and overbearing when you got here, but now, you’re as panicked as whipped dogs. If I just let you leave, won’t it damage my credibility?” said a calm, even voice. Immediately afterward, the hum of a sword rang out.

It was like the booming of thunder, or a deity beating an ancient drum.

Beneath Xia Qingyuan’s astonished gaze, one streak of radiant clear sword qi after another swept through the air like dazzling divine arcs. Their searing sharpness stung the eyes. 

Every streak of sword qi emanated an oppressive, forceful air.

When he swung his weapon, he was like an immortal performing a sword dance, illuminating the human world!

The sight left Xia Qingyuan shaken and bewildered.

Crunch!

A transparent, glass-like, red furnace burst into pieces.

Its user, a woman in a blue feather coat, was enveloped in a boundless river of sword qi. In a single breath of time, it reduced her entire body to finely minced meat.

Bang!

A tall, stalwart middle-aged man was sent flying. The sabers he was defending himself with shattered, inch by inch.

“How could a Gathering Stars Realm cultivator be so powerful…” he muttered, blood pouring from the corners of his mouth. His eyes suddenly dimmed. Although he managed to block Su Yi’s attack, the impact destroyed his heart and shattered his soul. He died on the spot.

Meanwhile, as one slash after another descended, the emissaries of the ancient factions fell in rapid succession before they could even make it out of the grand hall.

Some fought back with all their might, but they were like mantises trying to block a chariot; the sword qi tore them apart, their bodies offering no more resistance than paper.

Some used their ultimate killer moves to fight for a chance at survival, but in the face of Su Yi’s overbearing sword qi, they couldn’t escape complete annihilation. 

Huan Tianhe’s death was the cruelest of all. Sword qi pierced his skull and descended through his body, skewering him like candied hawthorn and nailing him to the floor.

In his last moments, his eyes widened. This prominent member of the Huan Family looked utterly flabbergasted even in death.

All of this took some time to describe, but it happened simultaneously.

In the time it took Su Yi to snap his fingers, more than ten Spiritual Manifestation Realm emissaries of ancient factions perished where they stood!

This bloody spectacle left Xia Qingyuan dazed and rooted to the spot. Her heart and mind shook. Su Yi, you really are so strong that it’s downright unreasonable…!

“This…”

Further away, Xia Linyuan and the other prominent members of the imperial family present were terrified. Their faces were ashen.

In just one attack, he massacred an entire group of Spiritual Manifestation cultivators!?

How domineering was that? And how terrifying?

“Why aren’t you laughing now?” said Su Yi calmly. 

Xia Linyuan and the others’ complexions alternated between white and green.

“How about this? I’ll spare whoever manages to laugh,” Su Yi said casually.

“.....”

Who could miss that Su Yi was deliberately humiliating them?

Suddenly, the yellow-robed elder whose arm Su Yi severed earlier said in a quavering voice, “After all that commotion, why… Why hasn’t anyone come to our aid?”

This was the Solar King’s residence, and it was located on Mount Heavenbristle. 

After such an enormous disturbance, logically speaking, other prominent members of the imperial clan should have noticed and rushed immediately to their aid. 

Strangely, even now, not one person had arrived to reinforce them!

Xia Lianyun and the others’ hearts sank as they realized that something was amiss.

Xia Qingyuan suddenly interjected, “Third Elder, you cancerous tumors needn’t wait any longer. No one is coming to rescue you.”

The young woman’s gaze was cold, and she blatantly insulted them!

“Qingyuan, lass, what do you mean by that?” raged Xia Linyuan.

“Simply put, the imperial family of the Great Xia has no need for spineless cowards like you,” said Xia Qingyuan with unconcealed loathing.

“We chose to maintain our neutrality when it came to Su Yi, and we did so out of consideration for the imperial family’s well-being. What did we do wrong?” a silver-robed middle-aged man said furiously. “Besides, now that Su Yi’s killed Huan Tianhe and the others, how could the various ancient factions possibly let him off?”

Splurt!

Sword qi flashed through the air, killing the silver-robed middle-aged man where he stood.

Su Yi said calmly, “You imprisoned my companions. You call that ‘maintaining neutrality?’”

Witnessing this only increased Xia Linyuan and the others’ panic.

When no one came to their aid even after all this time, they felt an unprecedented sense of despair.

As prominent members of the imperial clan, the masses had always held them in awe. When had they ever suffered a setback like this?

“Su Yi, how about we end this here?” Xia Linyuan said gravely. “There’s absolutely no grudge between us. I detained Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing, but that was entirely due to external pressure; the ancient factions left me with no other choice. Anyone would have been helpless in my position.”

A hint of mockery tugged at Su Yi’s lips. “You were forced to detain my companions? Then what about when you tried to use the Nine Tripod Suppression Barrier Formation against me? How do you explain that?”

Xia Linyuan was instantly at a loss for words.

A black-robed elder said furiously, “How could we just stand back and watch as you commit murder in our territory?”

Splurt!

Before his words finished echoing throughout the hall, he was decapitated on the spot, and his head rolled across the floor.

Xia Linyuan and the others were now so panicked that they were on the verge of collapse.

Su Yi fixed his gaze on Xia Linyuan and said, “You’re disloyal, not stupid. Unless I mistake my guess, you received benefits from those ancient factions well before you chose to detain my companions!”

Xia Linyuan’s hair bristled with fury. “Don’t even think of slandering me!”

“Slander?” Su Yi laughed, then suddenly reached out and grabbed from afar.

Xia Linyuan went rigid; Su Yi had him by the throat, as if he were a chicken. He found himself pulled toward Su Yi, helpless to resist.

“Are you really going to just kill us all?” His eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

“Don’t panic. I’m going to extract your soul now,” Su Yi said casually. “Once I’ve used a secret method to search it, we’ll confirm whether or not I’m ‘slandering’ you.”

Xia Linyuan’s expression changed dramatically, and he struggled like mad. “You can kill a warrior, but you cannot humiliate him! Even if I die, I won’t tolerate such humiliation!”

His blood and qi surged throughout his body, and he emanated destructive energy fluctuations.

“If you want to kill yourself, you’ll need my approval first,” said Su Yi, his eyes full of disdain. He stretched out his finger and tapped Xia Linyuan on the forehead.

Thud!

Xia Linyuan instantly convulsed as if having a seizure, dispersing the destructive energy he’d accumulated.

“You…” Xia Linyuan visibly gave into despair.

It was then that a terrifying divine sense forced its way into his sea of consciousness. Everything went dark, and awareness left him.

Shortly afterward, Su Yi withdrew his divine sense and tossed the unconscious Xia Linyuan away.

“Brother Su, how’d it go?” Xia Qingyuan couldn’t help but ask.

“Just as I expected, the spineless old thing’s been living off the imperial family’s prestige, all the while secretly colluding with outsiders,” Su Yi said with a dry life.

He took out a jade slip, engraved it, and passed it to Xia Qingyuan. “Here are some memories and scenes I extracted from his soul. Take it.”

He then looked at Xia Linyuan and the two remaining members of the imperial family and whispered, “Everyone, this has gone on long enough. It’s time to be on your way.”

Before he’d even finished speaking, Su Yi attacked once more. 

……

Outside the Solar King’s estate.

Prominent members of the imperial family had gathered, and the atmosphere was heavy.

It was still dawn, and the pale white winter sunlight couldn’t disperse the sharp chill lingering in the air.

“It seems the curtains have already fallen on this massacre,” whispered Weng Jiu, a strange look in his eyes.

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“If Her Highness Qingyuan hadn’t informed me, I wouldn’t have realized that this was a trap His Majesty set all along,” Shui Tianqi said ruefully. 

Xia Changhong and the higher-ups he’d led here all had conflicted looks on their faces.

It was only last night that they learned the inside story from Xia Qingyuan.

Now, they inwardly rejoiced, but they simultaneously felt aggrieved.

It wasn’t sympathy for the fallen, but that they’d never imagined their fellow clansmen were so inept!

“Weng Jiu, how is it that Su Yi can control the Nine Tripod Suppression Barrier Formation?” Xia Changhong couldn’t help but ask.

Weng Jiu knew he couldn’t hide the truth any longer, so he said, “Because… it was Su Yi who gave us the method we used to repair the formation.”

The imperial family higher-ups were all stunned. This revelation shocked them to the core!

“No wonder His Majesty values Su Yi so much…” muttered Xia Changhong.

Now, they finally understood.

“He’s coming out!” Someone suddenly whispered.

Everyone instinctively looked into the distance.

There, by the gates of the Solar King’s residence, they saw a young man in blue, his hands behind his back. He sauntered out as if he were on a casual stroll.

Beneath the light of the sun, his tall, lean figure shone with a faint glow. He looked like a fallen immortal among men, transcendent and detached.

The fair Xia Qingyuan accompanied him in her green dress.

When the two emerged, the area fell deathly silent.

“Weng Jiu, where are Yuan Heng and Miss Bai?” asked Xia Qingyuan.

Weng Jiu said solemnly, “Your Highness, both of them are waiting at the foot of Mount Heavenbristle.”

When Su Yi saw this, he said, “Then I’ll be on my way.”

Then, he left directly, ignoring everyone else present completely.

“I’ll see Fellow Daoist Su off,” said Xia Qingyuan.

However, Weng Jiu stopped her. “Your Highness, allow this old servant to escort Su Yi. Please, stay here and tell the Grand Elder everything that happened.”

With that, Weng Jiu chased after Su Yi.

When Xia Qingyuan saw this, she could only give up.

Grand Elder Xia Changhong could no longer suppress his curiosity. “Come one, let’s go have a look around the Solar King’s estate. Qingyuan, come with us, then explain the situation.”

“Alright,” she said crisply.

The grand procession proceeded into the residence.

When they saw what lay within, the prominent members of the imperial family gasped. The carnage astonished them.

The second day of the eleventh lunar month. 

The day after the expedition to Sumeru Immortal Island ended.

Su Yi ventured onto Mount Heavenbristle alone, sword in hand, and slew the emissaries of thirteen ancient factions. While he was at it, he executed the Solar King, Xia Linyuan, and numerous other prominent experts of the Great Xia’s imperial family.

When it was over, he simply brushed off his clothes and left!

As soon as the news spread, it threw Nine Tripod City into uproar, then shook the entire nation!