First Immortal of the Sword

Blue Cliff Academy.

As they made their way down the mountain path paved in blue stone, Meng Xinguan said apologetically, “Fellow Daoist Su, the academy’s higher-ups are busy welcoming our guests from Pine Hut College, so they cannot be here in person. I humbly request your understanding.

Su Yi subtly inclined his head. “I’m just here to take a trip through the Blue Cliff Twelve Towers. Let’s head directly there.”

Meng Xinguan was stunned. “It was a long journey to get here. Don’t you want to rest up first?”

Su Yi shook his head. “No need.”

Meng Xinguan mulled that over, then smiled. “Very well. I’ll accompany you there, Fellow Daoist.”

On the way, he explained the towers' rules to Su Yi.

“Simply put, the first three towers test your cultivation, fleshly body, and soul. Towers four to six test your ability to comprehend the Grand Dao, your attainments in the Dao, and your divination abilities. All are connected to your power of the Grand Dao.

“Towers nine to seven test your heart, will, and courage. Towers ten to twelve test your combat prowess! The last three trials are the most difficult of all. Throughout the Blue Cliff Twelve Towers' long history, only around sixty-three people have made it through all twelve trials.”

Here, Meng Xinguan let out a deep sigh. “Although I’m in second place on the Universe Realm Immortal Rankings, and despite repeatedly attempting the towers, my progress has always halted at the ninth tower.

“I heard that since the Age of Fallen Immortals reached its close, no one has made it through all twelve towers. Is that truly the case?” asked Su Yi.

Meng Xinguan nodded. “Yes. A few years ago, Tang Weihan, the first on the Universe Realm Immortal Ranking, made an attempt, but he only made it to the tenth tower.

Here, his heart stirred, and his face filled with eagerness. “But it seems to me that with your abilities, you have a real shot at making it through all twelve, Fellow Daoist Su!”

At the Mirror Lake Immortal Assembly, Meng Xinguan got to see Su Yi’s strength firsthand. “Heaven-defying” was insufficient to describe it! It left both him and Tang Weihan ashamed of their own inferiority.

Su Yi said softly, “I’m here to attempt the trials, but I’m not overly concerned about my results. I just promised someone I’d come here and make the attempt.”

Meng Xinguan was instantly curious. “You have no other goals for this trip? As I’m sure you know, according to Blue Cliff Academy’s rules, anyone who overcomes all twelve towers can make any request. So long as it’s within the academy’s power, we absolutely won’t refuse!

“Furthermore, they’ll be honored as our most distinguished guest and allowed to enter our libraries as they please. They’ll receive access to our entire collection of Daoist canons and Confucian classics. If they want, they can even stay here to continue their cultivation.”

Su Yi smiled and shook his head. “I’m not interested in all that.”

Meng Xinguan was briefly stunned, but then, he sighed. “I suppose that makes sense. We were severely impacted by the cataclysm of the Age of Fallen Immortals, and we declined a long time ago. We only just barely qualify as an Immortal King faction, but we haven’t been the greatest Confucian orthodoxy beneath the heavens for a long, long time.”

“You’ve misunderstood,” said Su Yi. “I don’t in any way mean to imply that I look down on Blue Cliff Academy. I’m just not interested.”

Meng Xinguan smiled but didn’t linger on the topic any further.

Suddenly, the sound of combat emanated from afar.

Off in the distance, between the mountains, a massive arena floated in midair. A duel between Immortal Lords was underway!

One of the combatants was an old man in navy blue Confucian robes. He had a willowy beard.

The other was a beautiful woman with a hibiscus crown, a jade hairpin, and shoes ornamented with pearls. This was none other than Nie Weirui of Pine Hut College!

“Those Pine Hut College people only just arrived, but they’ve already attacked?” Meng Xinguan’s expression darkened with obvious fury.

“On my way here, they said they’d come to take the Haoran Ruler. Is that true?” asked Su Yi.

Meng Xinguan’s expression shifted. “Since you already know, there’s no need for me to hide it. That’s right. Pine Hunt College has indeed come for the Haoran Ruler.”

The situation wasn’t at all complicated.

After the curtains fell on the Age of Fallen Immortals, Blue Cliff Academy’s prestige waned, and its power and influence plummeted.

In stark contrast, Pine Hut College grew stronger with each passing day, giving rise to a crop of dazzling top experts. They were now the strongest of the three top Confucian orthodoxies!

But becoming a leader among Confucianists required doing things properly. Only then could they be worthy of calling themselves the greatest Confucian orthodoxy beneath the heavens!

The key to earning the recognition of the world’s Confucian cultivators lay in two treasures: the Haoran Ruler and Just Heart Bell.

The seventh sovereign of the Central Immortal Court had given these treasures to Blue Cliff Academy a long time ago. This solidified their position as the “orthodox” school of Confucianism.

The Haoran Ruler and Just Heart Bell had represented this position; they were much like a mundane emperor’s imperial jade seal. In the eyes of the world’s Confucian cultivators, they were like divine artifacts.

Over the years, Pine Hut College had repeatedly tried to seize both treasures from Blue Cliff Academy, and they’d clashed over them more than once.

In the end, Immortal Kings of both factions stepped in to mediate. In the end, they decided that they’d spar and “debate the Dao” to determine the rightful owner of the Haoran Ruler and Just Heart Bell.

Nie Weirui and her companions had thus come to Blue Cliff Academy to take the Haoran Ruler!

Su Yi finally understood. “Blue Cliff Academy is at a huge disadvantage in this type of spar.”

Meng Xinguan grimaced. “There’s nothing for it. The situation has forced our hand. Pine Hut College is full of extraordinary talents. They’re at the peak of their influence, as radiant as the midday sun. If we want to avoid large-scale conflict, we have no choice but to resolve this dispute through competition.”

Here, he let out a deep sigh. “The fundamental issue is that Blue Cliff Academy has declined. All that being said, if Nie Weirui wants to seize the ruler, it won’t be easy. This discussion of the Dao is to be staged over two days, and she must defeat every Immortal Lord in Blue Cliff Academy. A single loss, and she’ll return empty-handed.”

He’d only just said this when the duel atop the floating arena reached its end.

Nie Weirui had earned an easy victory!

The sight made Meng Xinguan’s heart sink. He lost all interest in any further conversation, and he hurriedly led Su Yi away.

Su Yi had little interest in this battle, and he couldn’t be bothered to watch any more of it.

Before long, Meng Xinguan had led Su Yi to part of Maple Mountain. This precipitous slope was as smooth as a mirror, as if a giant axe had cleaved it flat.

This was the Blue Cliff!

Rumor had it that the founder of Blue Cliff Academy had gone into seclusion here for eight thousand years. His power of the Grand Dao nourished the peak year-round, slowly transforming it into an auspicious, blessed ground for cultivation.

Even now, the mountain was emblazoned with an ancient power of the Grand Dao supposedly left there by the founder of Blue Cliff Academy.

Twelve towers stood on the path to the peak.

Each hid enormous mysteries.

And the twelfth tower, the one at the very top of the mountain, was where the academy’s founder had once gone into seclusion.

“Please look over there, Fellow Daoist. That stele is inscribed with the names of every expert who overcame the trials of all twelve towers,” said Meng Xinguan, pointing to the stele at the foot of the mountain. “All of them were in the Universe Realm when they overcame the trials, but in the years that followed, all of them dazzled the Immortal Realm with their brilliance, becoming prominent experts. Most reached the Immortal King Realm, and three even reached the legendary Great Realm!”

He pointed out those three names.

“Qin Jian was a mighty expert who emerged from our very own Blue Cliff Academy. They called him the Cloudy Skies Immortal Sovereign, and he was once our dean. He also served the eighth Immortal Sovereign of the Central Immortal Court, but in the end, a group of Demon Sovereigns of the Beyond surrounded him outside the Ninth Gate of Heaven, leading to his death.”

It was obvious that Meng Xinguan took pride in Qin Jian’s accomplishments. His voice was tinged with reverence, but also grief and wistfulness.

“I know him,” said Su Yi. “But I would never have guessed he’d die outside the Ninth Gate of Heaven."

Prior to Wang Ye’s reincarnation, Qin Jian was one of the Four Great Immortal Kings serving the Central Immortal Court. His accomplishments were legendary, and his valiance shook heaven and earth.

Prior to leaving for the Ninth Gate of Heaven, Wang Ye invited Qin Jian for an audience. In it, Wang Ye shared his experiences and revelations regarding breaking into the Great Realm with him. Qin Jian was overcome with gratitude, and he swore that if he successfully broke into the Great Realm, he’d protect the Ninth Gate of Heaven for thirty thousand years to repay Wang Ye’s benevolence.

There was no doubt about it. Shortly after Wang Ye reincarnated, Qin Jian successfully broke into the Great Realm, and he kept his promise. He watched over the Ninth Gate of heaven until… his death!

Meng Xinguan didn’t notice the sorrow in Su Yi’s voice. He figured Su Yi had just heard of Qin Jian’s accomplishments.

Meng Xinguan went on to introduce the other two experts on the stele who’d reached the Great Realm, but neither name was familiar. Su Yi assumed that, just like Qin Jian, they’d reached the Great Realm after Wang Ye’s reincarnation.

Su Yi was just about to retract his gaze when he caught sight of a familiar name and froze.

Li Nandu!

The name tugged on Su Yi’s heartstrings, and memories of Wang Ye’s youth flooded into his mind.

Wang Ye’s background was full of tragedy and adversity.

His mother, Wang Xuansu, had been a general at the Sixth Gate of Heaven. Unfortunately, as she fought bathed in blood, she was captured and landed in the demons’ hands, and one of them violated her. This was how Wang Ye came to be.

Seven years of humiliation later, Wang Xuansu overcame great difficulty and spent the last of her strength to send her son back to the Sixth Gate of Heaven!

She passed shortly after.

But the people of the Sixth Gate of Heaven saw Wang Ye as a demon halfbreed. They locked him in a cage, where he faced endless humiliation, enmity, and curses. His life hung in the balance.

It was Garrison Master Li Nandu that gave Wang Ye a second chance at life!

Wang Ye took up residence in the Sixth Gate of Heaven, cultivating and fighting alongside Li Nandu. The two of them were like father and son.

It was no exaggeration to say that, for all of Wang Ye’s long years of life, it was Li Nandu who’d had the greatest impact on him!

Su Yi had come to Blue Cliff Academy to resolve one of the lingering regrets of Wang Ye’s life.

He was here to challenge the Blue Cliff Twelve Towers and fulfill the promise Wang Ye made to Li Nandu in his youth.