First Immortal of the Sword

A fierce battle raged in the ritual grounds. This was a clash between supreme experts of the Dao of the Sword.

Su Yi fought three to one, drawing upon all of his strength. The battle was incomparably satisfying. It had been a long, long time since he’d felt this joyful.

He could unleash his powers of the Dao of the Sword without reservation and fight without holding back for one simple reason: his enemies could put up a fight!

Or so he thought. Within moments, Gu Zheng and the others couldn’t take it anymore. Even when they fought with all their might, Su Yi single-handedly suppressed them, and the pressure only got more intense with time.

By now, they couldn’t even fight back. All they could do was passively defend themselves. Even so, they wouldn’t last much longer.

The three of them were astonished. They now realized on a visceral level just how terrifying their founder’s reincarnation was.

A Silent Realm cultivator this powerful was unquestionably unprecedented. The genius in first place in Divine Reverence Pavilion’s Silent Ranking wasn’t even worthy of carrying their founder’s shoes!

Outside the ritual grounds, Lu Ye ordered two more Heavenly Monarchs to join the battle.

The battle was now five against one.

This ought to be enough... Lu Ye murmured to himself.

There was no getting around it; he was astonished, and he found it hard to stay calm.

He knew that when his master, Jiang Wuchen, was in the Silent Realm, he’d maintained his position as the greatest Silent Realm expert in the Eternal Heavens Domain for six thousand years straight. No one managed to take his spot until he vacated it by breaking through and entering the Immeasurable Realm.

But his Silent Realm master was obviously nowhere near as terrifying as the Silent Realm Su Yi!

Perhaps such foundations are only possible for one who controls reincarnation and the Epoch Spark, sighed Lu Ye.

But soon, his expression shifted once more, and he had no energy to spare on ruefulness.

Because Su Yi was single-handedly suppressing five Heavenly Monarchs at once!

Moreover, one of them was already so badly injured that he’d been forced out of the arena!!!

Startled cries arose on all sides.

Lu Ye gnashed his teeth, then said, “Anyone who still wants to fight should join the battle immediately!”

The remaining old monsters exchanged glances. Are we really supposed to gang up on our founder’s reincarnation?

“Why do you still have reservations? Go on and get to it!” urged Lu Ye.

He then led the way. He was the first of the remaining experts to join the battle.

When the other old monsters saw this, they cast all reservations to the wind and followed suit.

First ten, then twenty... In the end, a reticent handful aside, almost all of the sect’s roughly thirty Heavenly Monarchs joined the fray.

A chaotic grand battle unfolded atop the ritual grounds. Unstoppable sword qi flew through the air. Sword light flashed, and the humming of swords swept outward like the tides.

The sight left the remaining members of the Heart-Tempering Sword House dazed. All of them were rooted to the spot.

A single Silent Realm expert was fighting off a whole group of Heavenly Monarchs! No such thing had ever happened in the history of the Eternal Heavens Domain!

Even Yang Lingxiao, Wu Qing, Wen Feng, and Fei Qiu were flabbergasted. What kind of battle is this? Has any such clash of the Grand Dao ever happened before?

The most unreasonable part is that even though Su Yi is outnumbered and surrounded on all sides, he hasn’t yet been suppressed! He’s injured, yes, and surrounded, with peril on all sides, but if anything, he’s fighting with even greater valiance! His sword intent is only getting stronger and stronger!

The members of the Heart-Tempering Sword House would remember this battle for the rest of their lives, no matter who won.

Because this battle was more than just shocking. It overturned their very perception of reality. It was beyond imagination!

Silent Realm cultivators were a full two realms beneath Heavenly Monarchs, yet Su Yi was fighting a whole group of Heavenly Monarchs all by himself. How terrifying was that?

And how heaven-defying? And how unbelievable?

None of them had ever even heard of a Silent Realm cultivator so ridiculous, let alone seen one!

Before they could recover from their daze, the battle changed once more. Su Yi had been surrounded and suppressed thus far, but now, he’d launched his counterattack.

His sleeves billowed around him as he blocked two heavy blows head-on, then suppressed two opponents with unstoppable force, blasting them out of the arena.

Two old monsters fell in the dirt, faces covered with mud.

Su Yi had created an opening in his enemies’ encirclement, which he used to launch a domineering counter-offensive of his own. He attacked with no regard for his physical well-being, and soon, one old monster after another was flown out of the arena. All of them slammed into the ground like meteorites.

The onlookers’ minds went blank just watching it. By the time they realized what was happening, the remaining old monsters were bitterly holding on, while several others lay sprawled on the ground outside the arena. Every last one of them looked wretched.

But the few remaining combatants didn’t admit defeat. They still fought with all their might.

Unfortunately, they could no longer suppress the sharpness of Su Yi’s edge. Within moments, they too were defeated, one after another.

Su Yi was now the only one left standing. His blue robes were drenched with blood, and he was covered in wounds. Even his hair was smeared red. The wounds on his back and chest were so deep that even his bones were visible, yet he nonetheless stood upright, his whole body emanating a sharp, forceful, destructive aura.

A deathly silence descended over the area. No one spoke or made any noise. They just looked upon that solitary, upright figure like mortals gazing upon a deity.

Silent astonishment brewed in their hearts, churning and rising. They wouldn’t be able to suppress it much longer.

Almost thirty Heavenly Monarchs had joined the battle. Their strengths ranged from “Grasping the Profound” to “Piercing Illusions.”

But without exception, all of them had lost.

They feared that if word of this accomplishment reached the Eternal Heavens Domain, no one would believe it. They’d just dismiss it as an absurd rumor.

In truth, even those who’d seen it with their own eyes struggled to believe they weren’t dreaming.

The dust and smoke gradually dissipated, and sword qi faded into dormancy.

Su Yi took out a jug of wine, threw back his head, and drank with relish. Then, he let out a deep sigh.

This battle had been truly satisfying!

In the end, he’d been forced to use the secret power of the heart. Only then did he narrowly manage to turn things in his favor.

It was thus obvious how fierce and powerful the Sword Monarchs of the Heart-Tempering Sword House were.

Su Yi had paid no small price for his victory. His wounds were so severe that his body was on the verge of falling apart.

He’d won in the end, but only barely.

But Su Yi relished the thrill of the battle itself more than the victory.

It’s just a pity that the Heart-Tempering Sword House has so few Piercing Illusions Stage Heavenly Monarchs. There were only three of them! Were there more, I doubt I could have turned the tables today, thought Su Yi.

The three of them were the only ones who’d really put pressure on him.

Sect Leader Lu Ye was one of the three. The other two were high elders. Their names were Bai Wu and Zhong Ting.

However, Su Yi had learned from Wen Feng that several of the sect’s old-timers were deep in seclusion. None of them were here today.

Their ranks included a fourth Piercing Illusions Stage expert. His name was Shen Xing.

“Founder, you’ve convinced us!” an old monster said with admiration, breaking the deathly silence.

A cacophony of voices followed.

“Founder, you’re incredible!”

“What an accomplishment! You really are our founder’s reincarnation!”

“Who was it who only just insisted that our founder couldn’t cut it? Get on out here and apologize!”

Su Yi had won the acknowledgment and respect of everyone in the Heart-Tempering Sword House. There was no need for any prior discussion; many of them had already changed how they addressed him.

Even the old monsters no longer addressed him as “Fellow Daoist.” Instead, they respectfully called him their founder.

Su Yi noticed the change, and his heart filled with indescribable pride. Winning over a group of sword cultivators so proud that they’d rather die than submit was no easy feat.

Wu Qing wiped the cold sweat from his brow. Just now, he’d barely resisted the urge to join the fray. Fortunately, he’d held back; if he hadn’t, he’d have suffered a crushing defeat, too.

“Founder... Founder...” Yang Lingxiao couldn’t find the words to express how he felt.

In the past, due to Su Yi’s youth and cultivation base, he instinctively took Su Yi for a member of the same generation, albeit a heaven-defying one.

But things were completely different now. When he looked at Su Yi, he seemed somehow far away, as if Yang Lingxiao could only look up to him. This was the bearing of a true founder of his sect!

Furthermore, he didn’t object to this feeling in any way. On the contrary, he was proud. He took honor in their connection.

Wen Feng and Fei Qiu, meanwhile, both felt a bit guilty. All of those old-timers had just suffered a crushing defeat. When word of the battle in the ruins reached the rest of the sect, they were sure to take them to task!

But their guilt was nothing compared to sheer astonishment, delight, and excitement!

When Founder Jiang Wuchen died, the whole sect was filled with unease. They feared that without strong leadership, they’d descend into internal strife, or that the sect members would scatter like monkeys fleeing a fallen tree.

Fortunately, the Malevolent Sword Venerate stepped in to oversee things and quell both internal and external threats.

But the Malevolent Sword Venerate’s recent death, combined with the loss of their ancestral grounds, plunged them into the same, leaderless state they’d been in when Jiang Wuchen died. The survivors were in grave peril.

They’d taken refuge in the Great Aberrant Ruins. Now, the Aberrants had started causing trouble for them.

They were most worried about what happened next. Would the sect inevitably decline? Would its legacies be lost forever?

These problems were like a mental knot in the hearts of the sect’s old-timers.

Fortunately, Su Yi had come! He was the reincarnation of their founder, a world-famous sword cultivator. His cultivation might have seemed a bit low, but his combat prowess was utterly extraordinary. He was all but invincible!

He was already almost as impressive as their founder at his peak!

To the people of the Heart-Tempering Sword House, Su Yi’s return did more than just add another powerful sword cultivator to their ranks.

They’d found their pillar of support! Someone who could stop the heavens from falling!

That was the true significance of Su Yi’s return.

Wen Feng and Fei Qiu were certain that the other old monsters realized this, too.

Thus, even though Su Yi had technically only overcome the first trial, it no longer mattered whether he passed the second and third trials. Everyone in the Heart-Tempering Sword House had already been won over!

He was their founder, and his renown was well-deserved!

Sect Leader Lu Ye walked up to Su Yi, clasped his fist, and bowed low at the waist, his gaze full of heartfelt respect. He said solemnly, “Disciple Lu Ye greets you on behalf of everyone in the Heart Tempering Sword House! Welcome back, Master!”

His voice boomed like a gong, echoing far and wide.