First Immortal of the Sword

Su Yi quickly got answers to his questions.

The so-called Immortal-Demon Deathmatch was a competition between Demon Nobles of the beyond and the Immortal Lords of the Demon Realm.

It determined victory and defeat, as well as the lives and deaths of the participants!

In each such deathmatch, both parties would send eighteen Immortal Lords to participate in one-on-one duels.

The most brutal part was that in these deathmatches, there was no admitting defeat, and there was retreating. The deathmatch wasn’t over until one of the two sides lost all eighteen combatants!

This brutal competition style had first arisen three thousand years ago, and they’d already held eight of them!

They’d fought eight deathmatches, but the Immortal Realm had only won once. The other seven times, they suffered a crushing defeat. Seven defeats meant one hundred and twenty-six dead Immortal Lords!

Blue Cliff Academy had participated each and every time. They’d sent eight Immortal Lords, one per deathmatch, and only one was fortunate enough to make it back alive. It was obvious how devastating this loss was.

The dean of the academy, Pei Hongjing, had been protecting the Seventh Gate of Heaven for years. He’d recently sent word that in just three days, they’d be holding yet another Immortal-Demon Deathmatch!

After learning all this, Su Yi instantly understood why the experts of Blue Cliff Academy were in such low spirits.

This battle really was far too bloody and cruel.

But despite the circumstances, Blue Cliff Academy had no intention of backing down. Su Yi rather admired them for this.

“This Immortal-Demon Deathmatch will be different from the rest. They say the demons have sent a terrifying, unrivaled genius. They say he’s a peak expert of the nine great demon races,” Zhao Yunfeng said gravely. “The dean ordered us to send the strongest Immortal Lord in the academy to participate.”

His eyes flashed like lightning as he swept his gaze across the Immortal Lords. “I’ll just ask you this. Who among you is willing to go?”

His voice echoed throughout the hall. The atmosphere was stifled and tense.

Everyone knew that agreeing to such a duel meant they were extremely unlikely to return.

Nonetheless, none of them hesitated.

“I’m willing to go!”

“No, let me go. My cultivation is the highest of anyone currently in the academy!”

“No, you have to let me go! Five hundred years ago, my brother died in the Immortal-Demon Deathmatch. I must avenge this grudge!”

…The Immortal Lords were instantly arguing amongst themselves.

Zhao Yunfeng and the other old monsters had a brief discussion before deciding on a representative.

But before Zhao Yunfeng could announce their choice, a calm voice rang out. “How about you give that spot to me?”

The crowd was stunned. They instinctively looked at Su Yi.

“What, do you think I won’t cut it?” Su Yi laughed. “How about this? If any of you think you can defeat me, you’re welcome to step forward and try me. We can spar, and the winner gets to participate in the deathmatch.”

The crowd exchanged glances.

Nie Weirui defeated twenty-three Blue Cliff Academy Immortal Lords in a row, only for Su Yi to defeat her in just three punches. She was convinced of her defeat, too.

All of the Immortal Lords knew that fighting Su Yi was just asking for a pummeling.

Zhao Yunfeng couldn’t help but grimace. “Fellow Daoist, as you know, over the past three thousand years, the Immortal Realm has lost seven out of eight challenges, and this Immortal-Demon Deathmatch is different from the rest. The demons of the Beyond plan to send a…."

Before he could finish, Su Yi said, “It’s precisely because our side has lost so many times that I’ve decided to step in. With my help, victory is certain!"

The crowd’s hearts shook. Who could fail to realize that Su Yi had made up his mind?

When he saw that Zhao Yunfeng and the other old monsters still had more to say, Su Yi shook his head. “It’s settled.”

With that, he drained his cup.

Thinking back to the distant past, the White Reed Province was Wang Ye’s home turf. Wang Ye had protected the Seventh Gate of Heaven at the border of the province, killing demons of the Beyond until the ground ran red with their blood. He left countless corpses in his wake!

One of the Fang siblings’ ancestors, Fang Xiu, had fought outside the Seventh Gate of Heaven until he died of his injuries. Even his ashes had been scattered there!

Simply put, the Seventh Gate of Heaven was home to far too many of Wang Ye’s memories. He’d waged war there for years, killing numerous Demon Sovereigns of the Beyond, and he’d watched as many of his allies met their ends on the battlefield.

Su Yi already planned to visit the Seventh Gate of Heaven now that he’d returned to the White Reed Province.

Since he just so happened to be here three days before the next Immortal-Demon Deathmatch, there was no way Su Yi would miss it!

The hall fell silent. Waves of emotion coursed through the crowd’s hearts.

Su Yi’s actions had touched them. None of them would have guessed a Universe Realm Immortal like Su Yi would go to war on their behalf!

And when they considered Su Yi’s unbelievable, heaven-defying strength, their hearts filled with eagerness. If Fellow Daoist Su participates, the Immortal Realm might really have a chance of winning this Immortal-Demon Deathmatch!

Before long, Zhao Yunfeng raised his cup of wine and solemnly bowed to Su Yi. “Fellow Daoist Su, here’s to your righteous heart. Let me represent Blue Cliff Academy in offering you a toast!”

The crowd rose, and all of them raised their cups in Su Yi’s honor.

Su Yi rose, but said nothing. He simply raised his cup and drank with them.

Just like that, it was settled.

……

Su Yi set off the following morning.

Zhao Yunfeng and the other old monsters of Blue Cliff Academy saw him off.

It was only after they watched Su Yi fade from view that Zhao Yunfeng took out a jade slip and read through it.

Su Yi had given it to him immediately before his departure.

At last night’s banquet, Su Yi agreed to leave Blue Cliff Academy the Classic of Endless Stars so that they could continue passing it on to future generations.

But when Zhao Yunfeng saw the slip’s contents, he felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. He was frozen to the spot. His aged face shifted erratically, and he looked completely dazed.

This strange reaction drew the others’ attention.

“High Elder, don’t tell me there’s a problem with the jade slip Fellow Daoist Su left us?” Meng Xinguan couldn’t help but ask.

Zhao Yunfeng shook his head and let out a breath of turbid air. “I only wish we were plagued by such problems every day. This slip... is not just the Classic of Endless Stars. It contains over a hundred other lost legacies and cultivation techniques. All of them are classics Blue Cliff Academy lost during the Age of Fallen Immortals!”

The crowd was instantly overcome with astonishment.

“High Elder, is that true?’

“That’s simply unbelievable. How could Fellow Daoist Su have all of our lost legacies?”

“I realized a long time ago that Fellow Daoist Su’s origins were extraordinary, mysterious, and unfathomable. He’s in no way a simple Universe Realm Immortal!”

“It’s a pity that we didn’t ask Tang Lingqi about Fellow Daoist Su’s origins when we had the chance.”

“Now that we have all of our lost classics back, how could we possibly fail to rise to prominence once more?”

…A clamor of voices rose on all sides. Even the old monsters were too excited for words, completely beside themselves. Everyone else was visibly delighted too.

Zhao Yunfeng clenched his jade slip, then gazed in the direction Su Yi had left in. He murmured, “Fellow Daoist Su, Blue Cliff Academy owes you a favor as enormous as the heavens themselves!”

It was like a poem. “With a brush of his robes, he buried his accomplishments, leaving no name behind!”

……

A day later, on the way to the Seventh Gate of Heaven.

A talisman Su Yi had in the pocket suddenly let out a series of strange ripples. Su Yi promptly took it out and checked it.

A message had appeared in the talisman. It was from the manager of Blazing Firmament Immortal City’s branch of the House of Little Joys, Xie Hengqiu.

When Su Yi set off for the Luo River Forbidden Zone, he left Fang Yourong, Fang Han, and Liang Wenyi in the care of the House of Little Joys, but this was not about them.

Xie Hengqiu’s message was about Qing Wei!

It said that Qing Wei planned to visit Blazing Firmament Immortal City with her master, Immortal Queen Liu Yun, in the near future. He also said that he hoped Su Yi could find some spare time to visit them there too.

It seems nothing has happened to Immortal Queen Liu Yun, thought Su Yi.

Immortal Queen Liu Yun was the leader of the House of Little Joys. She’d once accompanied Yao Sovereign Xiao Ruyi in battle across the Immortal Realm.

Not long ago, Immortal Queen Liu Yun met with a strange divine tribulation, leaving her no choice but to go into seclusion.

In the Black Dragon Market, Libationer Yun Qiong of the Church of All Spirits used her plight to threaten Qing Wei.

For Qing Wei to bring her master to the White Reed Province naturally proved that Immortal Queen Liu Yun was alive and well.

When Su Yi left the Blazing Firmament Immortal City branch of the House of Little Joys, he told Xie Hengqiu that when Qing Wei came to the White Reed Province, she was to wait for him in Blazing Firmament Immortal City.

After a moment’s thought, Su Yi used his divine sense to carve a message in the talisman. “I’m about to arrive at the Seventh Gate of Heaven. I’ll be sure to drop by Blazing Firmament Immortal City on my way back.”

His fingertips pressed down on the talisman, activating it.

A strange energy fluctuation followed, and the message within the talisman transformed into rippling light and disappeared.

Su Yi put the talisman away, and without any further delays, he boarded the cloud ship and set off for the seventh gate of heaven.

It was late at night, and heaven and earth were shrouded in darkness.

The blood-red light of the setting sun illuminated the majestic, towering Seventh Gate of Heaven. It was like an austere, insurmountable barrier splitting heaven and earth, and it shone with orange light.

Of the Immortal Realm’s Nine Gates of Heaven, the seventh was the longest. Its walls stretched for thirty thousand miles.

Past the walls was an endless wasteland, the Bloodthirsty Plains!

The Bloodthirsty Plains were a buffer zone between the Immortal Realm and the Beyond. They stretched as far as the eye could see, and nothing grew there, not even an inch of grass.

Because the Seventh Gate of Heaven was the longest, when wars of immortals and demons broke out, the seventh was the most susceptible to the demonic hordes.

Thus, throughout the ages, the Seventh Gate of Heaven saw the most frequent conflict and bloodshed.

There were thirty-three massive cities built along the defensive line of the Seventh Gate of Heaven.

Of them, the City of Ten Thousand Stars was the greatest. It was built at the very forefront of the defensive line, and it was a core fortress.

When Su Yi saw the massive walls of the Seventh Gate of Heaven winding across the ground like a dragon, he couldn’t help but recall visions of past conflicts.

Seth's Thoughts

It was like a poem. “With a brush of his robes, he buried his accomplishments, leaving no name behind!”

This is from Li Bai's Ode to a Swordsman.