FIRST IMMORTAL OF THE SWORD

Chapter 989 - Master!

As they watched Su Yi grab Gu ZIming and disappear over the distant horizon, the others felt lost and despondent.

The curtains fell on their earlier confrontation in the blink of an eye, but the power Su Yi had displayed was so terrifying that even these Emperors from the Wilds felt terror and despair.

Now that he’d gone, all of them felt dazed, as if they’d narrowly escaped disaster.

“Just who is that Su guy? He’s far too terrifying…” Shangguan Jie’s face was deathly pale.

He was one of Pi Mo’s disciples, and an Emperor in his own right. In the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, he was quite famous.

Yet now, all he felt was terror too great to put into words.

“Earlier, he asked us if we knew who he was. Don’t tell me… there’s more to his identity than meets the eye?” murmured Ni Shuang.

“Wait, I just realized something!” Cheng Tiankun suddenly cried out. “You know that strange, enormous tribulation we just saw? If I’m not mistaken, it was that Su guy who invited it! Otherwise, how could he possibly have Imperial Realm cultivation?”

The crowd gasped, and all of them were completely stunned.

When that strange, enormous tribulation broke out, all of them tried to guess what was going on. This tribulation was simply too taboo. It was unprecedented! Its aura of calamity alone filled with a sense of frantic helplessness.

Thus, they couldn’t help but suspect that this was a rare and unusually powerful Tribulation of Profound Serenity, or perhaps even some old monster’s tribulation of Profound Unity!

None of them could ever have guessed that such a strange, taboo tribulation was someone taking their first steps into the Imperial Realm!

“No wonder his combat prowess is so heaven-defying. If he survived a bizarre tribulation like that, he’s simply inhuman!” someone muttered in a daze.

……

The Divine Cave of the Six Paths.

When he saw four Profound Serenity experts appear at once, Ye Luo’s brow furrowed.

He said grimly, “Do you plan to get mixed up in the Grotto of Abstruse Force’s affairs too?”

“Fellow Daoist, all of us are simply carrying out our orders. Please, don’t make this difficult,” said the leader, the old man in dark robes.

Huo Yao said coldly, “Junior Apprentice Brother, as you can see, a fight will only hurt you. And it’s just as I said earlier: when we get back to the Wilds, Eldest Apprentice Brother will tell you everything you want to know. Why must you insist on opposing me?”

Clang!

A dense sword hum rang out.

A dark, entirely unreflective wooden sword silently floated before Ye Luo.

His expression was calm and indifferent as he gripped the wooden sword with his right hand. His aura instantly transformed, becoming austere and forceful, and a terrifying majesty spread outward.

His eyes flashed like lightning as he swept his gaze across Huo Yao and his allies. “If you want to escape here today, you’ll have to climb over my dead body first!”

“You pigheaded idiot!” Huo Yao shouted. “Do you know why I told you to stay in the City of Eternal Night? It’s because you’re too damned stubborn!”

Ye Luo’s gaze was increasingly cool and indifferent as he said softly, “I just don’t want to disappoint Master again.”

His voice was low but full of determination.

Huo Yao’s eyes flashed with murderous light. “But you’re sure disappointing me!!”

Before his infuriated voice finished echoing through the air, Huo Yao attacked with all his might.

Boom!

His clothing fluttered around him. The Laws of Flame filled the air as a violent, tyrannical sword intent shot toward Ye Luo.

The four Profound Serenity experts looked at each other, then attacked in unison.

The old man in dark robes activated the snow-white fly whisk, stirring up a swath of dazzling starlight.

The colorfully dressed woman gripped a radiant golden whip, which she waved, filling the air with golden ripples. One crack of her whip and the sky shattered.

The brawny man with the halberd-shaped facial hair struck with steady, forceful momentum wrapped in dazzling black lightning. One attack, and lightning fell like a waterfall.

And the young man with snow-white hair gripped a heavy, snow-white saber, leaped into the fray, and slashed with all his might.

Boom!

Misty light surged explosively throughout the enormous cavern, and murderous intent ran rampant.

In the face of this encirclement, Ye Luo couldn’t help but look solemn. He swung his wooden sword without hesitation and clashed with them head-on.

A grand battle broke out.

Ye Luo was strong! His sword intent was forceful yet ethereal, like a beam of flowing light, as quick as lightning. Every streak of sword qi was emblazoned with Laws as radiant as the blazing sun.

When he went all-out, his attainments in the Dao of the Sword far surpassed other Profound Serenity cultivators.

Indeed, in the Nine Provinces of the Wilds, Ye Luo had already established himself as one of the greatest Profound Serenity sword Emperors. Even old-timers who’d long since lost track of their ages couldn’t help but feel ashamed over their own inferiority.

An old-timer of the Touch of Gold Pavilion once claimed that Ye Luo’s Dao of the Sword contained a trace of his master’s magnificent bearing!

This was high praise.

After all, everyone in the Wilds knew how terrifying the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force’s attainments in the Dao of the Sword were. Having even a portion of his magnificence meant that Ye Luo’s attainments would have been enough to dazzle any era he’d appeared in!

In this battle, four Profound Serenity experts fought all out, but even so, they felt an unprecedented degree of pressure, and their expressions were utterly solemn.

They were incomparably certain that if not for Huo Yao restricting Ye Luo, Ye Luo would have cut the four of them down already!

“Quick! We have to end this as soon as possible! We can’t waste time!” Huo Yao bellowed, his eyes blazing with viciousness.

He fought with everything he had, holding nothing back.

This put enormous pressure on Ye Luo.

He naturally understood his Third Apprentice Brother Huo Yao’s abilities.

It was true that Huo Yao had only become an Emperor five hundred years ago, but he already had incomparably mighty accumulations in the Profound Serenity Realm.

This was the result of his sixty thousand years of suppressing his cultivation base. When he became an Emperor, everything he’d accumulated and all his latent potential was unleashed. It was easy to imagine how terrifying that was.

More importantly, it just wasn’t the case that those who’d cultivated within a given realm longer were always stronger.

One’s willpower, spirit, accumulations, understanding of the Laws, and ability to apply them mattered more.

And in all of these regards, Huo Yao was unquestionably a peak talent!

Even Ye Luo had no choice but to admit that if their master hadn’t restricted Huo Yao, Huo Yao might still not be as mighty as Pi Mo and Qing Tang, but he definitely wouldn’t be far off.

Of course, Ye Luo also understood that if his master hadn’t suppressed Huo Yao, Huo Yao’s innate viciousness would have made it difficult for him to even become an Emperor!

Simply put, Huo Yao’s foundations were perhaps a bit inferior, but his combat strength wasn’t inferior to Ye Luo’s, and hadn’t been for a long time.

And now, Huo Yao was fighting alongside four Profound Serenity experts, and they were going all-out. This let them smoothly suppress Ye Luo’s momentum.

Even if they couldn’t suppress him completely, Ye Luo’s predicament was slowly getting worse.

“Junior Apprentice Brother, if things go on like this, you’ll lose beyond a shadow of a doubt. Why insist on being stubborn?” shouted Huo Yao.

He was inwardly a bit frantic. He was naturally well aware of how difficult an opponent Ye Luo was.

“I said it already: you can forget about fleeing unless you kill me first!” Ye Luo’s eyes shone with forceful determination.

Huo Yao’s face was ashen with anger, and his heart surged with murderous intent. “If Master hadn’t stolen all my Xiantian treasures, I’d have long since knocked you to the ground, you brat!”

It would have been better not to bring it up. When Ye Lu heard that, he instantly looked furious, and he shouted, “What do you mean, ‘your’ treasures? They belonged to Master to begin with!

“Also, in all our years working together, you never once mentioned that you’d acquired any of Master’s belongings!” Ye Luo’s gaze was full of hatred.

He’d known about Huo Yao’s Scarlet Dome of Heaven and Controlling Currents Shuttle, but he’d always been under the misconception that his other treasures—like the Lamp of the Nine Dragon Gods and the Silverflame Fighting the Heavens Armor—had been monopolized by their Little Apprentice Sister Qing Tang after she took over the Grotto of Abstruse Force.

He’d only just learned that Huo Yao had so many of their master’s treasures in his possession!

There was no doubt about it. They’d been deceiving him all this time!

How could Ye Luo not hate them?

He even wondered how many of Master’s treasures Eldest Apprentice Brother Pi Mo had secretly pilfered over the years!

“Nonsense! Eldest Apprentice Brother and I reclaimed those treasures from Qing Tang!” bellowed Huo Yao.

As he spoke, he and his four allies sped up their attacks. Ye Luo was thoroughly suppressed.

But it was then that a calm voice rang out. “Is that truly the case?”

It was just one light, airy sentence, but it went off like a sudden clap of thunder. Huo Yao’s expression changed completely.

Practically simultaneously——

Boom!

A streak of matchless sword qi shot through the air, radiant and glittering, obscuring the skies and blotting out the sun.

One slash, and he forcefully disrupted the raging battle of Emperors!

Huo Yao and his allies all sensed the danger, and they immediately moved further away.

But Ye Luo didn’t retreat. He could tell that slash wasn’t aimed at him.

All eyes gazed into the distance.

They weren’t sure when he’d gotten there, but they now saw a tall, upright figure in blue robes. He looked calm and detached.

This was none other than Su Yi.

And he was carrying the terrified, uneasy Gu Ziming.

“Master!” Huo Yao’s heart sank, and his expression turned unsightly.

“Master!” In stark contrast, Ye Luo was visibly delighted.

And the four Profound Serenity experts looked as if they’d been struck by lightning. Their expressions were shifting and uncertain.

The reincarnation of the Swordmaster of Abstruse Force!

When Huo Yao returned covered in wounds, they finally confirmed Su Yi’s identity.

It was just that none of them had anticipated that when they met again, Su Yi would already be an Emperor!

His earlier attack contained enough power that even Profound Serenity old-timers like them sensed an enormous threat!

“Step back and watch from the side.” Su Yi glanced at Ye Luo.

Ye Luo nodded and did as he was told.

He could tell that his master was now an Emperor!

The grand, taboo tribulation he’d witnessed earlier hadn’t been enough to take his master down. This thought left Ye Luo incomparably astonished, and incomparably excited, too.

Of course, he was also well aware that it was precisely because Huo Yao had sensed how strange that tribulation was that he’d made up his mind to flee. That in turn resulted in him attacking Ye Luo with everything he had.

Fortunately, his master had made it back in time!

Off in the distance, Huo Yao took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. “Master, you only just proved your Dao and became an Emperor. Do you really think your power is enough to fight me?”

Su Yi flung Gu Ziming into the air, then looked at Huo Yao. “There’s no need to probe. I no longer need to rely on any external treasures to defeat you, you wicked creature.”

His tone was casual and understated, but his contemptuous pride was on full display!

For a moment, Ye Luo felt dazed, as if he’d returned to the past. He felt as if he’d seen the master he was so familiar with, the man he respected above all others.

A man with the bearing of an immortal and the magnificence of a god!