First Immortal of the Sword

Seven days later, in front of the Sword-Testing Tower, Su Yi awakened from his coma and opened his eyes.

“Master, you’re awake!” Sect Leader Lu Ye’s concerned face entered Su Yi’s line of sight.

The other old monsters gathered around Su Yi. All of them felt a massive weight lift from their shoulders.

Seven days prior, they’d watched with their own eyes as Su Yi made it all the way to the thirteenth floor of the Sword-Testing Tower!

All of them were overcome with astonishment, too surprised for words. Their founder had returned through the cycle of reincarnation, but he was still only in the Silent Realm. They would never have guessed that he’d make it to the thirteenth floor on his first attempt.

This was an unquestionably unprecedented miracle!

But before they could celebrate, they saw him tumble out of the tower, severely injured and covered in blood. His vitality was weak, and he’d fallen unconscious.

All of them jumped in fright at the sight of him. Their hearts clenched.

Fortunately, some of his life force remained.

The old-timers initially planned to carry him away and tend to his wounds, but the sect leader staunchly told them not to. He insisted that no one was to touch their founder.

Lu Ye said that in the founder’s condition, they couldn’t risk disturbing him. If they did, they might well do more harm than good!

Thus, he and the other old-timers simply stood guard around Su Yi, all the while paying attention to every change in his condition.

Now, they’d finally waited long enough for him to reopen his eyes. He was awake!

Even though his vital energy was still as weak as could be, he’d awakened from his coma.

“How long was I out?” asked Su Yi.

“A week.”

“A week?” Su Yi sat upright with great difficulty, then calmed his heart and sensed his condition.

He then sighed in relief. His wounds were severe, startling to the heart and eyes, but his vital source was intact. To him, that was enough.

“Thank you for watching over me for the past few days,” said Su Yi. “If possible, I’d like to take some time to cultivate quietly here.”

The group nodded repeatedly.

“Founder, this is one of our best recovery medicines,” said Sect Leader Lu Ye. He took out a bottle of pills, then set it down beside Su Yi and led the rest of the higher-ups away.

Soon, Su Yi was the only one left in the area.

He let out a deep breath of turbid air, then mentally replayed the brief battle with the imprint of a Heavenly Sovereign on the tower’s thirteenth floor. Despite himself, he couldn’t help but look exasperated.

Given his current cultivation base, he couldn’t shake even the imprint of a Heavenly Sovereign. What would happen if he ran into the real deal?

He wouldn’t have any hope of victory whatsoever!

The Primordial Sword Devil actually survived multiple Heavenly Sovereigns joining forces to hunt him down. That’s truly impressive, Su Yi thought with a sigh.

But he didn’t lose heart. After all, he was still only in the Silent Realm. There were still two major realms and an Eternal Throne separating him from Heavenly Sovereigns.

He’d have plenty of opportunities to try shaking true Heavenly Sovereigns in the future!

Before long, he set his scattered thoughts aside and focused on his cultivation.

......

Atop Candlelight Peak, inside a grand hall.

Not long after Sect Leader Lu Ye and the higher-ups returned, an old man in black scurried in to deliver a report. “Sect leader, three days ago, the Aberrants sent an emissary. They want you to visit and apologize to them personally!”

Lu Ye was stunned. He furrowed his brow. “What’s going on?”

The black-robed old man laughed bitterly, then explained. “The day the founder returned, there was a clash of the Grand Dao in front of Candlelight Peak. The combatants were the third son of one of the Aberrants’ grand elders, Wei Hu, and one of our disciples, Luo Yu.

“Luo Yu injured Wei Hu, but the Aberrants refused to admit defeat. Instead, they tried to demand compensation...” The old man in black explained the situation.

Mountain Lord Gu Zheng of Moonpluck Mountain nodded. “I was there, and I personally intervened and sent all of the Aberrants packing.”

His brow furrowed. “But that was a trivial matter. I’m shocked that the Aberrants would be so arrogant as to demand that our leader go to apologize in person. They think too little of the Heart-Tempering Sword House!”

An overcast look came over Lu Ye’s face as he understood the situation.

Their founder’s heart devil had arranged for them to seek refuge in the Great Aberrant Ruins. Apparently, he and the chief of the Aberrants were close. Moreover, he figured that if they sought refuge with the Aberrants, it would be all but impossible for anyone to locate the survivors of the Heart-Tempering Sword House.

But the reality was a bit different.

At first, the Aberrants had indeed taken excellent care of their guests.

However, following the battle in the Literati Continent and the destruction of the Heart-Tempering Sword House’s ancestral grounds, word spread of the Malevolent Sword Venerate’s demise, and the Aberrants’ attitude shifted slightly.

Friction started growing between the Aberrants and the disciples of the Heart-Tempering Sword House. It was all just minor squabbles, and Sect Leader Lu Ye ordered his followers to endure.

After all, when you lived under another’s roof, you had to follow their rules.

But against all expectations, their patience didn’t win them any kindness. On the contrary, the Aberrants took an inch and demanded a mile!

Of late, they’d repeatedly provoked the cultivators of the Heart-Tempering Sword House, probing their limits and causing trouble for no reason. They seized any opportunity to extort their guests.

By now, everyone in the sect was suppressing a bellyful of fire.

Historically, everyone knew that the cultivators of the Heart-Tempering Sword House weren’t afraid of trouble. They weren’t afraid to die, either.

Yet now, their hosts were repeatedly targeting and provoking them. Who wouldn’t have been angry?

But out of consideration for the big picture, Lu Ye decided to endure.

He had two reasons. First, their ancestral grounds had been destroyed, and their enemies were far too strong. They had no choice but to lie low and hide.

Second, Limitless Palace had published a list of their higher-ups’ names and declared them all wanted.

If word of their hiding place leaked, the consequences would be dire. That was why Lu Ye chose to endure.

If not for the need to protect the legacy of the Heart-Tempering Sword House, he’d have long since given in to the impulse to attack the Aberrants.

After all, who did they think they were? Did they think that they could treat the sword cultivators of the Heart-Tempering Sword House like fatty sheep just because they’d lost their ancestral grounds and founder?

But this latest insult was the most outrageous of all. They’d actually demanded that their founder visit them to apologize in person. This went beyond mere provocation; it was a blatant attempt to humiliate the entire sect!

“I said it, didn’t I? Enduring will only encourage them to walk all over us!” said one of the sect’s old monsters, seething with murderous intent. “We can’t let things go on like this!”

Someone else frowned. “But if we have a falling out with the Aberrants, they won’t even need to attack directly. All they’ll need to do is reveal our hiding place, and a catastrophe will befall the entire sect!”

Someone else said, “I know that no one here is a coward, but we have to consider our disciples’ lives and the continuation of our legacy. Who... could bear the weight of letting everything end here?”

“Surely you don’t plan to send the sect leader to apologize?” someone else sputtered. “If things go on like this, those barbarians will start pissing and shitting on our heads!”

Someone else glowered. “I can say with certainty that the Aberrants take us for fatty sheep in a pen. They plan to take everything we have—our legacies, our disciples, and our treasures—one bite at a time!”

All of the old monsters had something to say. Some were worried, while others were simply furious. All of them were frustrated.

But then, Mountain Lord Wen Feng of Expanding Heavens Peak asked, “Everyone, our founder has returned. Why not ask him what he thinks?”

The crowd’s hearts shook, and their expressions shifted. He’s right! We almost forgot. Our founder has returned! We’re no longer ‘dragons without a leader!’

Sect Leader Lu Ye pondered briefly, then made a decision. “Let’s stall for time first, then discuss the matter with Master when he’s fully recovered.”

He scanned the crowd, then said, “Until then, we’ll just have to endure a while longer. Keep the disciples in check and avoid contact with the Aberrants as much as possible. Even if conflict breaks out, suppress it. Don’t let it get any worse.”

The crowd nodded.

......

Heavenly Aberrant Mountain, the ancestral grounds of the Aberrant Race.

The buildings here retained the coarse look and style of the Primordial Era.

One of these buildings was a hall constructed entirely out of black stone. The ground was covered in a tanned hide, and skull lamps hung from the walls, illuminating the hall’s interior.

“The Heart-Tempering Sword House really doesn’t know how to behave. You’d think that after being provoked like that, they’d realize they ought to apologize, and throw in a little ‘sincerity,’ too,” a bony old man in beast skin robes said hoarsely. “Those sword cultivators sure are a pack of blockheads! They have no sense at all. Do they still think they’re the greatest Heavenly Monarch faction beneath the heavens?”

A mountainously tall middle-aged man mumbled, “If they have no sense, we just have to go knock some sense into them!”

Others chimed in with their agreement. “Those sword cultivators really don’t understand how the world works! They’re like dogs without a master, but they still don’t understand that they ought to make protecting them worth our while. What a pack of fools!”

“Protecting them puts the entire Aberrant Race at risk. Don’t they understand that they ought to repay our kindness?”

“Seems to me that we ought to invade, claim their resources, and force them to submit or die!”

All of the prominent Aberrant experts gathered in the hall were talking at once.

Meanwhile, their leader, Chief Meng Che, sat in the center of the room in silence.

He was tall and big-boned with a prominent mustache and coppery skin emblazoned with countless strange and mysterious Aberrant totems.

Even just seated there, he was as grand as a mountain, and he put enormous pressure on everyone else in the room.

“How do you see this matter, Chief?” someone couldn’t help but ask.

All eyes were instantly on Chief Meng Che.

Meng Che’s gaze was cold and indifferent. “All of you are right. The Heart-Tempering Sword House’s ancestral grounds have been destroyed, and the Malevolent Sword Venerate is dead. Moreover, Limitless Palace has declared all of the survivors wanted.

“Given the circumstances, it would unquestionably be far too risky to continue offering them our protection. If word gets out, we’ll inevitably be implicated, too!”

Meng Che’s eyes glinted with ruthless light. “They want to claim all the benefits while we share in the danger. How could such a good deal possibly exist in this world?”

He scanned the crowd, then said slowly and clearly, “I sent an emissary to invite their sect leader to a meeting to discuss this matter. He didn’t come, so he cannot blame me for turning my back on him!”

His imposing voice echoed throughout the hall. The room filled with cold murderous intent.