First Immortal of the Sword

Divine Cloud Mountain, the home of the Xue Family, an Immortal Lord clan.

All manner of ancient buildings were decked out in colorful lanterns. It was an extraordinarily lively scene.

Today was the day of Family Head Xue Changtian’s birthday, and the clan was hosting a banquet to celebrate.

In truth, ordinary birthdays meant little to experts of the Immortal Dao. They typically only celebrated milestone birthdays, like their thousandth or ten thousandth year.

But this wasn’t just a milestone birthday for Xue Changtian. They were hosting this banquet primarily because he’d advanced to the late-stage Saint Realm!

His breakthrough just so happened to coincide with his birthday.

Thus, a month ago, the entire clan started preparing for the banquet and sending out invitations. They’d invited prominent experts from across the province to attend.

Now, this long-anticipated birthday banquet was about to begin!

……

The Xue Family higher-ups were gathered in the clan’s grand hall.

Family Head Xue Changtian was seated in the elevated, centermost seat. He was conversing with some of his prominent guests, and the sound of laughter rang out without end.

“Quite a lot has happened in the White Reed Province of late!”

“About a month ago, a mysterious young cultivator showed up at a wedding hosted by the Liang Family and went on a rampage! He sent heads rolling across the floor, and blood flowed like a river. Even their leader and grand elder died brutally!”

“That’s right! I heard about that too. Everyone was talking about it! But even now, no one seems to know just who that young cultivator was.”

“The Liang Family is one of the province’s Immortal Lord factions, but this was a massive blow to their vitality, and their reputation is in shambles.”

…The higher-ups discussed the massacre that had taken place at the Liang Family estate. All of their hearts quivered with fright.

Xue Hongfeng just sat there quietly. He felt rather strange. He naturally knew just who that “mysterious young cultivator” was!

I wonder whether Brother Su will show up or not… Xue Hongfeng muttered to himself.

When they parted ways, he rallied his courage to invite Su Yi. He hoped that Su Yi could make a personal appearance to back him up.

In the end, Su Yi said that if he couldn’t show up, he’d at least send a gift. Still, Xue Hongfeng was a bit nervous. He knew Su Yi had no interest in events like this. He didn’t really expect Su Yi to make an appearance, but he was worried that Su Yi had forgotten about it entirely…

Argh. Brother Su is like a divine dragon soaring through the nine heavens. How could he possibly care about the Xue Family’s birthday banquet? Even if he did just forget about my invitation, it would be… entirely understandable!

Xue Hongfeng sighed. He really did feel quite tangled up inside. He still hoped Su Yi would come, but his rationality told him it was extremely unlikely.

“Oh, by the way, did you hear about what happened in the ruins of the Academy of Eternal Night ten days ago?”

“I sure did! They say that the Church of Divine Flame was involved. This incident has shaken the entire province’s cultivation world, and word has even reached the other forty-eight provinces!”

“I wouldn’t have thought the Church of Divine Flame would be so despicable! They actually silently occupied the ruins of the Academy of Eternal Night a long time ago to lure in those in search of good fortune. They’re simply detestable!”

Suddenly, the higher-ups brought up the recent incident in the Luo River Forbidden Zone. Soon, the whole room was enthusiastically discussing the situation.

“But the Church of Divine Flame miscalculated! They fell flat on their face and lost several of their Immortal Lords!” someone said with sadistic glee. “Furthermore, word has spread that numerous other top factions are very displeased with them. For instance, the ancient Tang Family has already announced their intention of getting even with them!”

“They say that it was a mysterious young cultivator who killed the church’s Immortal Lords, too!”

“Do you think that mysterious cultivator and the one who killed those Liang Family experts are the same person?”

“Hard to say.”

…When Xue Hongfeng heard these discussions, he thought to himself, I’m afraid Brother Su really was involved!

Suddenly, a man in jade-colored robes approached and said with a laugh, “Fourth Brother, the banquet is about to begin. Can’t you tell me what kind of gift you’ve prepared for Father?”

Xue Hongfeng’s heart shook. He instantly cast aside his scattered thoughts and said, “Third Brother, you’ll naturally find out once the banquet has started.”

The jade-robed man frowned, then patted Xue Hongfeng on the shoulder and sighed. “As your older brother, let me warn you: don’t push it. Just do what you can, within the limits of your abilities. After all, all of us know what you’re capable of already.”

With that, he turned to leave.

Xue Hongfeng’s expression darkened. He clenched his fists, his heart full of stifled bitterness.

Do you really think I can’t even prepare a birthday gift for my father? Xue Hongfeng inwardly gnashed his teeth.

His father had five children. Xue Hongfeng was the forth. He had three older brothers and one younger sister.

However, unlike his siblings, he was the son of a concubine. Thus, his status was much lower.

As the son of a concubine, Xue Hongfeng had been given the cold shoulder from a young age, and he’d endured countless eyerolls.

Of course, he was still the son of the family head, so no one tormented or oppressed him. Still, his position was far from his older brothers; it was even inferior to his little sister’s.

Xue Hongfeng had been suppressing a bellyful of anger at his treatment all this time. He wanted to vent!

And he wanted to prove to his father that he wasn’t inferior to his siblings!

But the cruel reality was that all of his siblings were dragons and phoenixes among men. Each was stronger than the one before!

One was extraordinarily clever with dazzling aptitude. One was bright and with powerful connections. One was a shrewd strategist and valiant warrior.

Even his little sister was a rare good seedling for cultivation, the type that only appeared once in a thousand years. The elders thought highly of her and doted on her accordingly.

It was to the point that Xue Hongfeng sometimes couldn’t help but suspect that he was a waste. He’d even come close to simply giving up on himself! But perhaps because he’d suffered too many setbacks, Xue Hongfeng had cultivated a staunch, unyielding heart and extraordinary perception.

After meeting Su Yi, he quickly realized that this was someone who could change his fate! All he had to do was seize this opportunity!

Reality proved his judgment accurate. Compared to Su Yi, everyone in the Xue Family seemed inept, never mind his siblings!

Suddenly, an old man said with a laugh, “The birthday banquet is about to begin. What kind of gifts have you little fellows prepared for your father?”

This was their grand elder, Xue Changkun!

One sentence, and all eyes were on Xue Hongfeng and his siblings.

Xue Hongfeng instantly tensed. He dared not give in to idle thoughts any longer.

“Wenjue, let’s start with you,” Xue Changkun said with a laugh.

“Okay!” A tall, stalwart young man in purple rose.

Xue Wenjue was Xue Hongfeng’s oldest brother, and their father’s oldest legitimate heir. He had a lofty position, and many clansmen tacitly took him for their future leader.

“Grand Elder, this is the gift I’ve prepared for Father. Please, have a look!”

Xue Wenjue stepped forth and proffered a jade box.

When Xue Changkun opened it, he couldn’t help but gasp. “Isn’t this… a Saint Origin Spirit-Gathering Pill refined by the White Reed Province’s Precious Gem Pavilion?”

Uproar followed this question. Both the Xue Family higher-ups and the illustrious guests were unwittingly stunned.

A Saint Origin Spirit-Gathering Pill!

This was a rare commodity among Saint-level medicines, and even one such pill was worth cities. They were extraordinarily rare; Immortal Lords would scramble over them.

When Xue Wenjue took in the crowd’s astonished expressions, a smug grin tugged at his lips. “It is indeed, Grand Elder!”

“Wonderful! I can tell you put a lot of effort into this gift!” exclaimed Xue Changkun.

The other higher-ups nodded approvingly. Saint Origin Spirit-Gathering Pills were more than just expensive. It took effort and connections to even get an opportunity to purchase one.

It was quite impressive that Xue Wenjue had managed to get his hands on one.

“Well done, Wenjue.” Over in the centermost seat, Family head Xue Changtian smiled and nodded. “Quick, have a seat.”

“Yes, Father!” Xue Wenjue smiled and sat down.

“Grand Elder, this is the gift I’ve prepared.”

Xue Hongfeng’s second and third brothers, Xue Wenpu and Xue Wenshan, rose and presented their gifts in turn.

Xue Wenpu’s gift was a rare flame pith jade pendant. It was the work of a master, and although it wasn’t as valuable as the Saint Origin Spirit-Gathering Pill, it stood out due to its uniqueness.

Xue Wenshan offered a tiger-headed scepter, an ancient treasure that existed since the days prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals. It too was rare and precious.

Numerous guests exclaimed over these gifts. Their eyes went round, and Family Head Xue Changtian was smiling so broadly that the corners of his mouth seemed about to meet at the back of his head. He was deeply delighted.

“And what gift did you prepare, Hongfeng?”

All eyes quickly turned toward Xue Hongfeng.

He instantly tensed up, his heart frantic. Is Brother Su… really not coming?

Despite having long since prepared for this, he couldn’t help but feel a bit despondent.

His third brother, Xue Wenshan, laughed. “Haha, I asked Fourth Brother several times, but he refused to tell me anything. I’m just itching with curiosity and eager to know what kind of delightful surprise he’s prepared for our father.”

“Oh?” said Xue Changtian. He was clearly intrigued.

Xue Hongfeng rose, steeled himself, and said, “Father, I have indeed prepared a gift, but I’d like to give it to you later.”

The crowd was stunned, and the atmosphere grew stifled. The grand elder furrowed his brow. “The banquet is about to begin. Are you stalling for time? Don’t tell me… your gift is too shoddy to present?”

Many of the onlookers’ expressions grew strange and playful. All of them knew that Xue Hongfeng was the son of a concubine and the least impressive of the family head’s children. They had little hope of him having prepared anything exciting.

Seth's Thoughts

Not sure how obvious this to non-Chinese-speaking readers, so I'd like to point out that Xue Hongfeng's four half-siblings all have a shared generation name, Wen (文). I interpreted this as "Xue Hongfeng has been excluded from the literal moment of his birth."