First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2792 – A Flash of Bloody Light

Xue Sheng was dead.

No one had anticipated this.

“How dare he?” Wei Yun’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Xue Sheng was a legacy disciple of Sevendeaths Court, the monster in thirty-first place in the Unfettered Ranking. Even by the standards of the Five Great Continents, practically no one dared to provoke him.

Experts of other Heavenly Sovereign factions might have competed with him, but out of consideration for each other’s factions of origin, they wouldn’t strike to kill.

No one else would have dared to even fight him. That would be practically suicide!

Liu Tianchen gasped. He’d warned Li Muchen earlier, telling him Xue Sheng’s identity and background in detail. He’d urged him to endure, too.

Thus, the way he saw it, there was no way that Li Muchen had killed Xue Sheng out of ignorance!

But that was precisely what made it so surprising.

Mo Lanhe silently clenched his fists, his heart and body quivering. That was an unparalleled monster of a Heavenly Sovereign faction!! He’s practically gone and poked a hole through the heavens. Never mind the Literati Continent. Even in the Five Great Continents, who’d dare do such a thing?

But for some reason, when Mo Lanhe witnessed this bloody spectacle, an indescribable sense of excitement and satisfaction welled in his heart. It was like breaking a taboo or violating a long-standing rule. Mo Lanhe’s blood heated up. As if he’d returned to the fearless days of his youth!

Fu Lingyun’s thoughts were even simpler. Daoist Brother Li sure is tyrannical!

Only that and nothing more.

“How… How dare you kill one of our legacy disciples?” The gray-robed halberd wielder’s face was instantly hideously contorted and terrifying.

He was here as a Dao Protector, yet he’d just watched helplessly as his charge died. Even if he somehow made it back to the outside world alive, this failure would implicate his friends, family, and entire clan!

“Why shouldn’t I dare?” said Su Yi, wiping the dust off his hands. “Sevendeaths Court dared attempt to assassinate me, so why should I have held back?”

“You’re courting death!” the gray-robed man roared, eyes bloodshot, and swung his golden halberd.

Clang!!!

But before he got far, Mo Lanhe leaped to block his path. However, he was sent flying a moment later, coughing up blood. His wounds were now far heavier than before. Nonetheless, he gnashed his teeth and attacked again. He knew that he wouldn’t be leaving the Nine Luminaries Battlefield alive anyway, so he didn’t mind risking his life. He would do his utmost to give Li Muchen a chance at life!

He’d once looked down on the young man, but by now, Li Muchen had truly won him over.

He wasn’t willing to die simply because the founder had ordered him to. No, he was doing this of his own free will!

“Die!” Mo Lanhe roared, disregarding the backlash of the Laws of the Nine Luminaries Forbidden Zone and attacking without reservation.

His sword intent burned like fire!

But it was then that a streak of blood-red light streaked past.

A moment later, Mo Lanhe was astonished to see the man in gray clutching his throat, his whole body trembling uncontrollably. Astonishment and horror were written all over his face, as if he’d seen something utterly terrifying.

Before Mo Lanhe could wrap his head around it, the gray-robed man’s body crumbled into pieces. Bloody mist splattered the air.

Stranger, even his Eternal Source dissipated into motes of light and vanished, like snow melting into the water. It vanished into the desolate, barren landscape.

Everyone shuddered. What’s going on? How could a terrifyingly strong Heavenly Monarch just die like that? Why did even his Eternal Source disappear?

All eyes landed on the same person.

Li Muchen!

Su Yi shook his head, then denied it. “I didn’t do that.”

No one had any reason to doubt it. After all, no matter how heaven-defying an Unfettered Realm sword cultivator was, he couldn’t possibly kill a Heavenly Monarch.

However, Wei Yun, Liu Tianchen, and Mo Lanhe all knew with certainty that Su Yi was inextricably involved in the gray-robed man’s death!

Only Fu Lingyun seemed to relax. “Good riddance. If he’s dead, we can live.”

“Well said. That’s indeed the case,” Su Yi said approvingly.

Liu Tianchen stood in the distance, a conflicted look on his face. He seemed dazed.

A legacy disciple of Sevendeaths Court had died, just like that! And a Heavenly Monarch had died inexplicably!

All of this came as an enormous shock to Liu Tianchen.

Wei Yun, meanwhile, broke out in cold sweats. Inwardly, he celebrated. Earlier, he’d tried to persuade Liu Tianchen that there was no need for a fair duel. In his view, it was better just to seize Li Muchen’s good fortune. Looking back on it now, he realized that if they’d done that, he likely wouldn’t have fared any better than the man in gray!

“Do you still want to fight?” Su Yi looked at Liu Tianchen.

Liu Tianchen hurriedly shook his head and grimaced. “Don’t toy with me. Only now do I realize how blind I was; a divine mountain stood before me, but I failed to recognize it.”

He took out a bag of holding and tossed it to Su Yi. “This contains two Falling Star Stones. As promised, I’ll acquire the remaining six and give them to you after we leave the Nine Luminaries Battlefield.”

Earlier, they’d agreed to duel. The loser was to give the winner eight Falling Star Stones.

Now that Liu Tianchen had admitted defeat, he naturally had to keep up his end of the deal.

“Nah, hold onto them,” said Su Yi, stuffing the bag back into his hands.

Liu Tianchen was flabbergasted. “Why?”

“You refused to accept an unfair victory, and you’re forthright even in defeat,” said Su Yi. “A sword cultivator like that is worthy of my respect.”

Liu Tianchen had “defeated” him during the Nine Luminaries Dao Assembly, but he’d sensed that Li Muchen was holding back, and he’d been ill at ease ever since. That was why he’d suggested another duel.

Such strength of character was a rare and precious thing.

Su Yi said he was “forthright even in defeat” because he’d made no attempt to renege on their bet.

Liu Tianchen was a legacy disciple of the greatest sect in the Literati Continent, but his status and background paled in comparison to Xue Sheng’s.

However, in Su Yi’s eyes, Liu Tianchen’s character was far, far superior!

Most importantly, Liu Tianchen had stopped his Dao Protector, Wei Yun, from attacking earlier.

Liu Tianchen naturally understood what Li Muchen was getting at, and he felt uncharacteristically embarrassed. “You think too highly of me, Brother Li.”

Su Yi smiled. “It isn’t the heights of someone’s cultivation base that makes me respect them, nor is it the loftiness of their station. I’d think highly of someone like you even if they were an ordinary mortal.”

Liu Tianchen couldn’t help but feel moved. He clasped his fist. “Brother Li, your majesty is far beyond mine!”

Wei Yun had a complicated look on his face. He was a Heavenly Monarch who’d lived a long, long time. Seeing the way Li Muchen did things, he couldn’t help but feel ashamed of himself. He’s an Unfettered Realm sword cultivator, yet he’s so broad-minded and insightful. By comparison, my earlier behavior was far too unrefined.

“Elder Mo, take this stalk of recovery medicine and treat your wounds,” said Su Yi, tossing a rare medicine he’d acquired from a Falling Star Stone to Mo Lanhe. “Don’t refuse. I still need you as my Dao Protector on the road ahead.”

Mo Lanhe nodded, accepted the medicine, and sat down to meditate and treat his wounds at the base of a nearby Star Grave.

He knew that after this incident, Li Muchen had fully accepted him. He found this gratifying, and he took honor in it.

It was strange. Li Muchen was just an Unfettered Realm sword cultivator, yet Mo Lanhe respected him the way he might a senior.

Li Muchen’s recognition filled him with heartfelt delight, and their respective roles didn’t feel the least bit out of place!

Su Yi looked at Fu Lingyun, who was standing there like a scatterbrain, then decided to scour the battlefield for trophies himself.

“Brother Li, you… really aren’t worried that Sevendeaths Court will seek revenge?” asked Liu Tianchen. “Wei Yun and I won’t divulge what happened here, but given Sevendeaths Court’s capabilities, all they need to do is use some of their divine abilities, and they’ll be able to divine most of what happened here. When the time comes…”

“Will worrying do me any good?” asked Su Yi.

Liu Tianchen fell silent.

Wei Yun couldn’t help but say, “Aren’t you afraid we’ll leak what happened here?”

He found the situation far too strange. Had anyone else killed Xue Sheng, they’d have long since tried to silence the witnesses. Then, they’d have destroyed our corpses to hide all possible clues.

But look at Li Muchen! He’s acting like this has nothing to do with him. He’s even relaxed enough to scour the battlefield for trophies!

“Are you going to leak what happened here?” Su Yi asked casually.

“Of course not!” Wei Yun said without even pausing to think.

“Isn’t that good enough?” said Su Yi. He’d already finished gathering the spoils.

There was no denying it; Xue Sheng really was a legacy disciple of Sevendeaths Court. His treasures were worth a fortune.

Even disregarding the rest, he had over ten thousand pieces of Eternal Essence Gold.

That aside, there was an abundance of recovery medicine, cultivation resources, and secret treasures useful in a pinch.

In stark contrast, his Dao Protector, the Heavenly Monarch in gray, owned practically nothing save for his Heavenly Monarch-level golden halberd!

But then, it made sense when Su Yi thought about it. He’d come here as a Dao Protector, so he was naturally prepared never to return. Given the circumstances, it was only natural that he’d divide his wealth among his friends and family.

In the end, Su Yi waved his sleeve and put away the remaining eight unopened Falling Star Stones.

No one noticed, but he seized this opportunity to put away an unassuming, blood-stained fragment of a spear, too.

It was Miss Baa Baa Black Sheep who’d attacked earlier. She’d wrapped her divine sense around the spear fragment made of Star Transformation Iron, then used it to kill the gray-robed Heavenly Monarch in an instant!

But she’d hidden herself so thoroughly that not even Mo Lanhe and Wei Yun noticed her intervention.

Once he’d finished, Su Yi plopped down near Mo Lanhe, took out a jug of wine, and laughed. “You’re still here?”

Liu Tianchen laughed bitterly. “To tell the truth, as much as I admire your earlier conduct and spirit, I’m still beside myself with fear that I’ll be killed if I try to leave. After all, if Wei Yun and I are dead, it might well really be possible to keep the truth under wraps.”

Wei Yun was stunned. Young Master, aren’t you being a bit… too honest? How could you say something like that out loud?

But against his expectations, Su Yi laughed. “Everyone has their selfish notions and concerns. You have a Nine Luminaries Medallion, so there’s no need for you to worry about that. If you wanted to leave, you could. But you haven’t! That proves that you’re still concerned about your Dao Protector’s safety. Impressive!”

Wei Yun was briefly stunned. When he realized what Su Yi meant, waves of emotion coursed through his heart. He was touched.

He was a Dao Protector, so he’d come to the Nine Luminaries Forbidden Zone with no plan to ever return.

Who’d have thought that Liu Tianchen would still be so concerned for his safety?