First Immortal of the Sword

Guilty as charged’ my ass! The Primordial Sword Devil barely resisted the urge to curse. You attacked without even stopping to greet me, and you even used the secret power of the heart to ambush me. You don’t care about martial virtues at all!

After a moment, he couldn’t help but say, “We already fought, didn’t we? Might you tell me where exactly you came from?”

He was just an imprint. Although he was intelligent, he lacked a complete heart and soul. That was what made him susceptible to ambush.

His true body would never have fallen beneath such an attack.

“You lost. Why should I tell you anything?” Su Yi shook his head. “Of course, if you tell me your origins in full detail, I might reconsider.”

Jiang Wuchen had clashed with the Primordial Sword Devil many times over the course of his life. He’d lost many times before eventually breaking through and growing strong enough to emerge victorious.

Only then did Jiang Wuchen become the Greatest of the Unthroned.

It was fair to say that the Primordial Sword Devil had played a crucial role in Jiang Wuchen’s rise to prominence. It was largely thanks to him that Jiang Wuchen could triumph over all others of the same level.

But the Primordial Sword Devil was tight-lipped. Even after fighting many times over, Jiang Wuchen had learned nothing of his origins. All he knew was that he was an extraordinarily heaven-defying figure of the Primordial Era who’d survived despite numerous Heavenly Sovereigns joining forces to hunt him down. He’d done it without help, too.

This was a shocking feat; no one in the present-day Eternal Heavens Domain had ever accomplished anything similar.

“Very well. I’m already dead, and all that remains of me is this wisp of my awareness. I naturally have no need to hide,” the Primordial Sword Devil said after a brief pause.

But then, Su Yi shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

The Primordial Sword Devil glared. “Are you screwing with me?”

“I just don’t want you to trick me,” Su Yi said calmly. “Jiang Wuchen fought you countless times over, and you refused to divulge so much as a word about your background, yet now, you agreed so easily. Who’d believe a thing you said?”

The Primordial Sword Devil blinked. “You’re overthinking this, little baby. You’re different from Jiang Wuchen!”

Su Yi laughed and pointed to himself. “Am I? Jiang Wuchen was my past life, you know.”

With that, he turned to leave. His real goal was to test himself on the thirteenth floor!

“Wait!” The Primordial Sword Devil cried out. “What did you just say? You’re... Jiang Wuchen’s reincarnation?”

Excitement was written all over his face. He stared intently at Su Yi, and he’d obviously lost his composure.

Su Yi ignored him. The path to the thirteenth floor had already opened in the skies above the Blood Lotus Hidden Realm.

But just as he was about to pass through the portal, the Primordial Sword Devil charged explosively toward him.

Su Yi whipped around, eyes flashing like cold lightning.

The Primordial Sword Devil came to an abrupt halt, smiled broadly, and waved. “Don’t misunderstand! I just want to chat. I promise I won’t lie to you. Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you!”

“Oh?” said Su Yi. “And how am I supposed to trust you?”

Jiang Wuchen had racked his brains trying to figure out the Primordial Sword Devil’s origins, but he’d never succeeded. The old-timer was just too tight-lipped and too hard to read. He’d attempted to fob Jiang Wuchen off with lies on numerous occasions.

As a result, Su Yi came here with no real expectation that he’d learn anything.

“Simple!” The Primordial Sword Devil said without missing a beat. “You say you’re Jiang Wuchen’s reincarnation, so you must have mastered the power of reincarnation. If I lie to you, you can just use the power of reincarnation to erase my awareness!”

Su Yi’s brow rose. He was a bit skeptical.

The Sword-Testing Tower was full of mysteries. Jiang Wuchen had spent a lifetime studying it. In the end, he concluded that there were only two ways to learn the tower’s true secrets in full.

The first was to defeat the imprint of a Heavenly Sovereign on the thirteenth floor, but of course, that wasn’t easy.

The second was to get information out of the Primordial Sword Devil. He was, after all, the only confirmed self-aware imprint in the tower, and his origins were highly mysterious.

But now, the Primordial Sword Devil’s offer only made Su Yi suspicious. Does he want me to use the power of reincarnation to erase his awareness?

In the end, Su Yi said, “You wouldn’t be this polite if you didn’t want something from me, so why not tell me directly what you’re after?”

He acted as if he wasn’t the least bit interested in the Primordial Sword Devil, and the Primordial Sword Devil clearly wasn’t sure how to respond. His expression shifted erratically, and in the end, he just sighed. “To tell the truth, I...”

But before he could finish, Su Yi waved for silence. “How about this? I’m in a rush to challenge the thirteenth floor. Take this time to think things over carefully. It won’t be too late to chat when I return.”

The Primordial Sword Devil was instantly frustrated. I already made up my mind to open up to you, but you clearly don’t appreciate it. I bet you’re doing this just to mess with me!

In the end, he had no choice but to hold his nose and endure. “I swear on my life and my Grand Dao that every word I say is true. If I break my promise...”

But then, Su Yi laughed and interrupted him again. “I’ve never trusted promises. By telling you to take your time and think things over, I’m effectively giving you an opportunity. If you’re willing to be honest with me, you needn’t fear me toying with you.

“But if I find out you lied to me, even if it’s just half a sentence, we’ll have nothing left to discuss. Simply put, what happens next depends on your behavior.”

With that, Su Yi entered the portal and vanished in a flash.

The Primordial Sword Devil stood there in a daze. After a while, he suddenly broke into curses.

“That little shithead! How dare he try to manipulate me like this! He’s simply sick of living!”

But once he’d finished cursing, a sense of helplessness washed over him. Jiang Wuchen was such a kind, righteous sword cultivator. He was open and forthright, a reserved, cultivated gentleman. How could his reincarnation be so crafty and despicable? He clearly realizes that I’m interested in his power of reincarnation, so why feign ignorance? Why screw with me like this? He’s terrible!

The Primordial Sword Devil felt stifled. He felt as if Su Yi were trying to urge a mule to behave itself by dangling a carrot in front of its face.

Reincarnation was the carrot, while he, of course, was the mule.

And Su Yi was the mean-spirited bastard urging the poor beast on!

All of this left the Primordial Sword Devil gnashing his teeth with fury. He was a mighty expert of the Primordial Era, someone who’d clashed with multiple Heavenly Sovereigns and lived to tell the tale, yet now, a mere junior was manipulating him. He couldn’t help but feel desolate.

It’s true; on an open plain, tigers are bullied by dogs.

After a while, he rubbed his cheeks, took a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down. That kid was Jiang Wuchen’s reincarnation. I’m sure he understands my personality. That’s why he’s using reincarnation as bait!

His goal is easy to guess. He wants to use me to learn the tower’s secrets. Unfortunately, even knowing exactly what he’s up to, I have no choice but to hold my nose and endure if I want to achieve my ends.

Fine. It’s time to take a gamble!

In the end, he reached a decision.

Jiang Wuchen hadn’t acquired the Sword-Testing Tower simply by luck. There was more to it than that.

The Primordial Sword Devil had no way of knowing whether Jiang Wuchen’s reincarnation would grant his desires after learning these secrets.

But all he could do now was risk it!

......

The thirteenth floor of the Sword-Testing Tower was empty and gray. There was no scenery of any kind. This hidden realm was so empty that it was as if time itself didn’t exist here.

Su Yi appeared out of nowhere.

Practically simultaneously, murky gray light interwove, condensing into a human figure, a man in a feather coat. He was thin, and he looked young, with an upright build and an extraordinary, ethereal air about him.

An illusory immortal crane appeared behind him, spreading its snow-white wings, throwing back its head, and pointing its beak into the void like a sword.

Within moments, the immortal crane transformed into a sword and landed in the man’s palm.

Su Yi’s body silently tensed.

The man in the feather coat was the imprint of a Heavenly Sovereign from the Primordial Era. He was terrifyingly strong, to the point that Su Yi couldn’t even measure his true power!

Jiang Wuchen’s memories of fighting him were all nightmares! Every time, he was suppressed in a single blow.

Every defeat left his heart and soul on the brink of shattering into countless pieces. The agony was overwhelming.

The effects were so severe that he always needed at least half a year to make a full recovery. Every time this happened, Jiang Wuchen was afflicted by agony and despair so intense that they were simply worse than death!

Su Yi had inherited Jiang Wuchen’s Dao Imprint, so he naturally had those memories, too. Thus, he didn’t hesitate in the slightest, instead attacking directly.

Boom!

His body was severely wounded, and his cultivation was all but depleted, but Su Yi drew on all the strength he had left without reservations.

His soul rumbled and boomed, and the soul avatar within his sea of consciousness burned.

Within the landscape of his heart, his Heart Soul rose, unleashing the secret power of the heart. He was close to igniting a Natal Heart Lamp, and even though he wasn’t quite there yet, his heart was still powerful indeed.

He was pouring everything he had into this one attack!

When this attack flew forth, the void-like hidden realm shook and swayed. Unstoppable sword intent flew toward the man in the feather coat, bringing with it endless radiance.

After unleashing this attack, Su Yi felt weak, practically hollowed out, and utterly frail.

But there was no denying that this was the strongest attack he’d unleashed over the course of this lifetime’s cultivation. He’d held nothing back. This was the culmination of all of his attainments in the Dao of the Sword and every power at his disposal.

More importantly, this was his first time unleashing the full extent of his secret power of the heart.

It seemed to Su Yi that even at his peak, Jiang Wuchen wouldn’t have been able to block an attack like this head-on!

But the man in the feather coat just took it in calmly and raised his right hand.

It happened in an instant.

The sonorous cry of a crane rang out, and Su Yi was sent flying backward. Heart-rending agony coursed through his entire body.

That still wasn’t enough? Su Yi was flabbergasted. He’s just the imprint of a Heavenly Sovereign. I really can’t shake him at all?

But then, everything went black, and Su Yi lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, the man in the feather coat looked down at his chest. There, he saw a deep gash; he’d come dangerously close to being disemboweled.

This was the power of Su Yi’s full-force attack!