First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1496 - Astonishment

Su Yi disdained to participate in such a duel. He had absolutely zero interest in sparring in an arena.

Still, while a bungling clown’s repeated provocations might not anger him, he couldn’t remain entirely unmoved.

A coward? The shame of the Eastern Profound Star Domain? The laughingstock of the First Battleground?

This was more than just troublemaking and provocation. This was blatant slander and humiliation! The two were completely different, and Su Yi didn’t mind fighting fire with fire to squash this fly’s bluster!

Thus, he sent the Qiongqi out on his behalf. It seemed the results were rather decent, too. At the very least, the Qiongqi’s ferocity had intimidated most of those present. Well, Lu Meng hadn’t just been intimidated. He’d been so terrified that he lost consciousness and pissed himself. He’d have a hard time holding his head up high going forward.

After all, he was a Cloud Soaring Transcendent, but he’d gone and pissed his pants with fright in public. This had already become a lifelong stain on his reputation!

When others brought him up, it would surely be to laugh at him.

Su Yi gave the matter no further thought. He stretched out his hand and beckoned.

Then, beneath the crowd’s flabbergasted gazes, the ferocious Qiongqi meekly left the arena, shrank back to the size of a kitten, and sat at Su Yi’s feet, meek and obedient as could be.

Su Yi turned to leave, and the Qiongqi stuck to him like glue.

But this time, no one dared provoke him, much less intercept him.

It was only after watching man and beast fade from view that the crowd came back to their senses, as if awakening from a dream.

“See that? It isn’t that His Excellency Su was too afraid to fight, but that you people can’t even defeat his pet. You aren’t even worthy of him taking action personally!”

The experts of the Easter Profound Star Domain were all excited. They felt incomparably satisfied and joyful.

“Does anyone dare say that he doesn’t live up to his reputation now? Never mind the rest. I’ll just ask you this: who among you could subdue a vicious beast like that Qiongqi?” someone asked heartily.

“Look at Lu Meng! He actually pissed himself with fright! Hahaha! Do you still remember how aggressively he provoked His Excellency Su earlier?” someone burst into laughter.

“Listen up! His Excellency Su refused to fight you not because he was afraid, but because he disdained fighting your ilk! Because you... aren’t worthy!” someone shouted.

Off in the distance, the experts of the other three camps were shifting and uncertain.

They couldn’t argue. Admittedly, Su Yi had never taken action personally. But that only made him seem all the more terrifying!

After all, that Qiongqi was so strong as to one-sidedly trounce Lu Meng, but in front of Su Yi, it was a thoroughly dominated spirit pet, as meek and mild as a kitten!

“Don’t get complacent. Here in the First Battleground, plenty of people could have subdued that Qiongqi. That Su Yi person isn’t necessarily invincible!” someone snorted coldly.

“You’re celebrating prematurely!”

“We’ll just have to wait and see.”

....The onlookers dispersed. One of them took the unconscious Lu Meng with them.

So, he’s the one who broke Senior Apprentice Brother’s Soul-Controlling Mirror! A green-robed elder watched from a remote corner, his expression dark.

This was none other than Elder Qian Xuefeng’s junior apprentice brother, a fellow member of the Divine Spirit Immortal Sect!

Earlier, in the Beast Blood Swamp, Qian Xuefeng had used the mirror to influence and control the Bloodwing Ghost Bird and Qiongqi, making them ambush Su Yi and his companions.

The old man in green knew all about it.

Now, when he saw that Su Yi had turned around and brought the Qiongqi under his own control, he finally understood just who had ruined Qian Xuefeng’s plans!

That guy actually showed up here in the Plains of Welcoming. It’s highly likely that something happened to Senior Apprentice Brother. I have to report back to the sect immediately!

The old man in green furrowed his brow, turned, and dashed off.

......

That very day, word that the legendary Su Yi of the Eastern Profound Star Domain had arrived spread throughout the various camps. Everyone was talking about him.

As for Lu Meng, the one the Qiongqi had scared unconscious? He was now a laughingstock.

“In just three short months, Su Yi made it from the Third Battleground all the way to the First. His strength really isn’t simple!”

“Fame doesn’t come out of nowhere. He’s a Nascent Divinity cultivator, yet those Eastern Profound Star Domain guys act like he’s some kind of deity. He naturally isn’t simple!”

“A Nascent Divinity cultivator? Maybe not. It’s entirely possible that he broke through on his way here.”

“Doesn’t this make things more interesting? The Eastern Profound Star Domain finally has someone capable of putting up a fight.”

“Heh, that depends on just how capable this Su Yi person really is!”

Similar discussions took place throughout the other three camps.

......

Southern Flame Peak.

A simple mountaintop palace.

“He subdued unrivaled vicious beasts like the Bloodwing Ghost Bird and Qiongqi in a single attack? That Su Yi... really is strong!” Ren Changqing’s eyes lit up.

He was tall, thin, and dressed in simple, unadorned white robes. He had the extraordinary bearing of a dragon or phoenix.

This was the leading expert of the Southern Flame Cloud Soaring Transcendents!

There were almost two hundred Southern Flame Star Domain Cloud Soaring Transcendents here in the First Battleground. They came from the star domain’s top factions.

But Ren Changqing was the uncontested strongest of the bunch. He was the greatest Cloud Soaring Realm saber cultivator of the Southern Flame Star Domain, and he’d never lost before!

After arriving in the First Battleground, he’d searched the other camps, but he only saw a tiny handful of top experts as his competition.

“Your Excellency, Qian Xuefeng of the Western Chill Star Domain tried to borrow those beasts’ power to eliminate us. Please, get justice for us!”

The middle-aged man in yellow and the others who’d accompanied Su Yi on their way back from the swamp now stood in a grand hall. They’d already explained everything that had happened in the Beast Blood Swamp.

Ren Changqing slowly nodded. “This attempt on your lives was indeed insidious to the extreme! But Su Yi was unduly reckless, too. He actually straight-up killed Qian Xuefeng...”

Here, Ren Changqing furrowed his brow. He knew that Qian Xuefeng’s death was likely to give the Western Chill Star Domain an excuse to get even with Su Yi!

“What do you plan to do?” asked Ren Changqing.

“Your Excellency, if the Western Chill Star Domain really tries to get even with Fellow Daoist Su, we’ll step forth and serve as his witnesses!” the middle-aged man in yellow said gravely.

Since returning from the swamp, he’d heard about Su Yi sending the Qiongqi against Lu Meng. He finally knew who Su Yi was.

Although the Southern Flame and Eastern Profound Star Domains were competitors, Su Yi had saved all of their lives. They naturally wouldn’t remain uninvolved.

“Men ought to take note of who treats them well and who treats them poorly.” Ren Changqing nodded. “I support your decision!”

The yellow-robed middle-aged man and the others’ spirits soared. A massive weight lifted from their shoulders.

Suddenly, Ren Changqing asked with great interest, “Ling Pu, what kind of person do you think Su Yi is?”

Ling Pu was the yellow-robed middle-aged man’s name.

Ling Pu thought for a moment, then said solemnly, “A man as unfathomable as an abyss.”

“That so...?” Ren Changqing’s eyes flashed. It was as if countless stars had arisen in the depths of his gaze. “Should the opportunity arise, I’d actually love to duel him!”

It was lonely at the top, but this feeling was reserved for those whose strength had reached the peak.

Now that he’d arrived in the First Battleground, much to Ren Changqing’s gratification, he’d finally found opponents worthy of his attention!

......

Western Chill Peak.

Halfway up the moment, the Cloud Soaring cultivators of the Divine Spirit Immortal Sect were clustered together.”

“We absolutely can’t just let this go!” Nie Yunwen said grimly.

He was the sect’s grand elder.

Even by the standards of the Western Chill Star Domain as a whole, their Divine Spirit Immortal Sect was a top orthodoxy. More than twenty of their Cloud Soaring experts had entered the First Battleground.

“Grand Elder, what should we do?” asked the old man in green.

Nie Yunwen didn’t even pause to think. “First, no matter what, we cannot admit anything Qian Xuefeng did. Second, by killing him without permission, Su Yi violated the rules. His crimes are unpardonable. When Qin Suxin comes back, we can visit her together and request her aid!”

The crowd’s eyes lit up.

Qin Suxin was the leading expert among the Western Chill Star Domain’s camp. If she came to their aid, they’d have no need to fear failing to avenge Qian Xuefeng!

“I just wonder when she’ll get back,” someone murmured.”

Half a month ago, Qin Suxin left camp to seek good fortune outside. She’d yet to return.

“Don’t panic,” said Nie Yunwen. “Let’s just wait patiently.”

The others nodded.

......

Northern Abyss Peak.

Inside a mountaintop pavilion.

“That Lu Meng really made a fool out of himself. I’ve never heard of a Cloud Soaring Transcendent losing control of his bladder before!” Wen Xiuzhu’s gaze was utterly contemptuous.

She was a slender, stand-out beauty in colorful clothes. Among the cultivators of the Northern Abyss Star Domain, her reputation was second only to her senior apprentice brother, Yu Chen.

Yu Chen was the true leading figure among Northern Abyss Cloud Soaring Transcendents!

“Tell him to leave. I have no desire to stick out my neck for someone like him,” ordered Wen Xiuzhu.

“Got it!” The old man dashed left to carry out her orders.

He lost so pathetically, but he really thinks Senior Apprentice Brother and I will step forth on his behalf. I most certainly can’t afford the blow to my reputation. Wen Xiuzhu subtly shook her head.

I wonder how much Cloud Soaring Divine Essence Senior Apprentice Brother has refined by now. Wen Xiuzhu glanced up at a nearby stone room. Its door was tightly shut. Yu Chen, the leading expert of the Northern Abyss Star Domain, was in seclusion inside. Two months had passed already.

When she thought of Yu Chen, she couldn’t help but recall what he’d said before they left. He wanted to find an immortal, knock him to the ground, and ask how the fist of a cultivator of the Human Realm tasted!

What’s really ridiculous is that the other camps think Qin Suxin and Ren Changqing are Senior Apprentice Brother Yu Chen’s competition. Who among them could possibly imagine that Senior Apprentice Brother has long since ceased to view other Transcendents as his competition?

Wen Xiuzhu couldn’t help but take pride in this. She was proud by association!

Meanwhile, atop Eastern Profound Peak.

“Greetings, Your Excellency Su!”

“Greetings, Your Excellency Su!”

When Su Yi arrived, the Cloud Soaring Transcendents of the Eastern Profound Star Domain each greeted him in turn, all of them beaming with delight.

Su Yi’s arrival really did make them feel as if they’d regained their pillar of support.

Of course, many of them looked ill at ease. After all, it hadn’t been long since their factions of origin opposed Su Yi, only to suffer a crushing defeat and massive casualties!

Sure, their factions had since submitted to him, but they still felt conflicted at the sight of him.

Naturally, Su Yi wasn’t concerned about any of this.

But soon, his brow furrowed.

He’d reached Eastern Profound Peak, but there was no trace of Sword Immortal Qingshi or the Universal Emptiness Sword Buddha.