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The Celestial Xiezhi Sword hovered in the hair, humming non-stop, as if mocking the white-haired, golden-robed elder for overestimating himself.
The Cloudstone Venerate and Lan Suo were stunned.
Both were well aware that Sect Leader Qiu Tianchi had obtained the Celestial Xiezhi Sword from a ruin deep within the Sea of Chaotic Spirits. It was extremely spiritually active, and its power was immense and inscrutable.
Over the years, only Shang Luoyu had gained its recognition and become its master.
However, it was clear that Su Yi had already subdued the sword!
“Anyone else want to try?” Su Yi refilled his cup, took a drink, and asked casually.
Qiu Tianchi’s expression darkened, and he rose from his seat. “Fellow Daoist, even if you’ve convinced the sword, how is this any different from openly stealing our Donghua Sword Sect’s treasure?”
“You’re welcome to go right ahead and steal it back,” Su Yi said coolly.
Qiu Tianchi was so angry, his beard and mustache bristled. When he spoke, he paused for emphasis between each word. “Should I take that to mean you’re dead-set on opposing our Donghua Sword Sect?”
His tone was icy and filled with pent-up fury.
Learning that Su Yi was responsible for Shang Luoyu’s death filled Qiu Tianchi’s heart with extreme grief.
Now, Su Yi’s stubborn refusal to return the Celestial Xiezhi Sword left him utterly enraged!
This is bad! thought the Cloudstone Venerate. He immediately rose. “Tianchi, are you trying to destroy the Donghua Sword Sect’s thousand-year legacy overnight?”
Qiu Tianchi paused, stunned. “Martial Uncle, are you saying that a falling out with Su Yi will mean the end of the Donghua Sword Sect?”
His voice was full of disbelief.
“With Fellow Daoist Su’s abilities, never mind destroying our sect; sweeping through and destroying every cultivation faction in the Great Qin is well within the realm of possibility,” said the Cloudstone Venerate, his words stern and solemn. “There’s a lot you don’t know. Even if you don’t believe me now, you’d best cool your head and apologize properly to our Fellow Daoist.
“Don’t ever do anything so stupid ever again. If you do, don’t blame me for no longer recognizing you as my sect leader!”
Qiu Tianchi was so angry that he almost burst into laughter. His expression shifted erratically.
One look at his expression and the Cloudstone Venerate realized that Qiu Tianchi didn’t take his warning in at all. He couldn’t help but frown.
Suddenly, the sound of startled exclamations and uproar drifted in through the windows.
“There’s big news! Su Yi underwent a tribulation over the Sea of Chaotic Spirits and proved his Dao. After entering the Grain Avoidance Realm, he immediately went on to destroy the terrifying entities hiding within the Isle of No Return, the Mountain of Funerals, and White Bone Tower!”
“What? Are you for real?”
“I’m dead serious! Just now, numerous Earthly Immortals returned from the Sea of Chaotic Spirits. They brought this news back with them!”
“The Great Zhou’s Su Yi is actually that strong?”
“He’s not just strong; he’s simply heaven-defying. They say that the Isle of No Return, the Mountain of Funerals, and White Bone Mountain, three of the Sea of Chaotic Spirits’ Four Perils, fell beneath his blade. They’ve vanished from this world forever!”
“What about the Starlight Vessel?”
“They say that after it lowered its head and admitted defeat, Su Yi let it escape with its life.”
“My heavens! This is earth-shaking news!”

The commotion only grew over time. Soon, it spread to the guests dining throughout the Dongfu Restaurant. All of them were stunned, and they started investigating for further details.
Qiu Tianchi and the three Donghua Sword Sect elders were dumbstruck. They froze, rooted to the spot.
The distant conversation and uproar they’d only just heard lingered in their ears. All of their rage disappeared, replaced by a bone-chilling cold; they felt as if they’d been plunged into an icy abyss!
Only now did they realize that Su Yi hadn’t just slain Chu Xiu, Qin Dongxu, and those accompanying them. He’d also broken into the Grain Avoidance Realm and killed three utterly terrifying entities!
Such combat prowess was unquestionably terrifying. When they realized that they’d almost thrown aside all pretenses of cordiality with something so horrifyingly strong, their backs were instantly drenched in cold sweat.
The Cloudstone Venerate and Lan Suo glanced at each other. Not even they had anticipated that word of the battle atop the Sea of Chaotic Spirits would reach the Dongfu Prefectural Capital this quickly.
Su Yi lowered his glass, rose, and said to the Cloudstone Venerate and Lan Suo, “It’s getting late. I’d best be on my way.”
He then left without sparing Qiu Tianchi and the elders so much as another glance.
The Celestial Xiezhi Sword floated after him, as if it were sentient.
The Cloudstone Venerate and Lan Suo hurriedly rose to see him off.
When they saw that Su Yi was about to disappear through the private dining room’s doors, Qiu Tianchi suddenly called out, “Fellow Daoist Su, please, wait!”
The leader of the Donghua Sword Sect then bowed low at the waist, looking utterly ashamed. “We were foolish to have offended you. Please, forgive us!”
“This matter ends here,” said Su Yi, leaving without so much as turning to look at them.
Outside the restaurant.
Su Yi glanced at the Cloudstone Venerate and Lan Suo. “Let’s part ways here. If fate allows it, we’ll meet again.”
With that, he strolled into the sky and walked off.
The Celestial Xiezhi Sword clanged and shot through the air. Su Yi stood calmly on the wide flat of its blade as it carried him through the heavens.
A young man in blue, his hands behind his back as his sword carried him through the skies—he looked just like a celestial immortal! In just a few blinks of the eye, he’d already disappeared over the horizon.
This was the Grain Avoidance Realm. This was the power of a true cultivator. He could soar through the clouds on his own, or he could fly on his sword!
As he watched Su Yi disappear from view, the Cloudstone Venerate couldn’t help but sigh. “From this day forth, Young Lord Su’s name shall surely reverberate throughout the skies of the Great Wei, Great Qin, and Great Zhou!”
A hint of uncertainty flashed through Lan Suo’s gaze. “Master, why is it that I feel like Young Lord Su is only getting further and further away
?”
The Cloudstone Venerate fell briefly silent, then said, “Someone like him is destined to proceed toward ever greater heights of the Grand Dao. The likes of us cannot possibly reach him. The opportunity to get acquainted with him, even temporarily, is fortunate in its own right, is not?”
Lan Suo had nothing to say to that.



That day, word of what happened on the Sea of Chaotic Spirits spread throughout the Great Qin’s borders at shocking speeds, stirring up enormous waves.
Shanglin Temple.
The mournful ringing of a bell resounded throughout the sect. Everyone at all levels of seniority was stunned, and all of them sank into endless grief.
“Spread my orders: from this day forth, no one in the Shanglin Temple is to become enemies with the Great Zhou’s Su Yi. Anyone who disobeys shall be immediately cast out.” The abbot of Shanglin Temple, Purifying Decay, decreed.
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Factions of cultivators transcended the mundane world, but now, Su Yi’s power placed him above even them!
The cruel reality was this: opposing Su Yi any further was unquestionably no different from seeking out their own demise!
Now matter how great his grief and fury, as the abbot of Shanglin Temple, Purifying Decay had to face the reality of the situation head-on. He had no choice but to make this proclamation.
The Profound Moon Temple.
When word of High Elder Gu Qingdu’s death reached the sect, they, too, were shaken.
“Su Yi
 Su Yi
 Impressive!” Daoist Vastblue, the leader of the Profound Moon Temple, slammed his teacup against the floor, shattering it with a spray of liquid.
The great hall’s lamps illuminated his face with all of its rapidly changing expressions.
Soon, he slumped back into his seat, as if he’d lost his spirit.
He was well aware that his fury would do him no good.
Su Yi was now the top cultivator in the Great Zhou, Wei, and Qin combined. Here, his combat strength was unsurpassed. None could stand in his way!
Even the Profound Moon Temple was powerless to contend against someone so terrifyingly strong.
The Donghua Sword Sect.
As soon as Qiu Tianchi returned, he announced to the entire sect that from this day forth, anyone who became Su Yi’s enemy would be viewed as a traitor to the sect and punished accordingly!
That very day, word of the Great Qin’s three great cultivation factions lowering their heads to Su Yi spread like wildfire.
When the emperor of the Great Qin heard this, he couldn’t help but sigh. “He’s just one man, yet he’s strong enough to make entire nations of cultivators lower their heads. What did the Great Zhou do to deserve such fortune?”



The Great Wei, the Wheel of the Moon Sect.
When he learned what had happened in the Sea of Chaotic Spirits, the man honored as the greatest sword cultivator in the Great Wei, Qiu Hengkong, drank an entire jar of wine by himself.
A long time passed before he muttered, “It would have been stranger if Su Yi had lost
”
That very day, the Wheel of the Moon Sect learned that their grand high elder, Qiu Hengkong, had begun a journey to the Great Xia!



The Great Zhou, the imperial palace.
The prince regent and heir apparent, Zhou Zhili, had only just finished reading a secret intelligence report. He was so worked up that his hands and feet quivered, and he repeatedly paced up and down the grand hall.
A long time passed before he clapped his hands, threw back his head, and burst into uproarious laughter. An exultant smile spread across his face; he showed no sign of poise or elegance whatsoever.
“In this lifetime, my greatest accomplishment is my association with Imperial Preceptor Su, and nothing makes me prouder. Meeting him was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me!”
Zhou Zhili’s face filled with emotion. “Should Imperial Preceptor Su request it, I’d surely offer him the Great Zhou on the silver platter without so much as furrowing my brow!”
After that last declaration, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
Given Zhou Zhili’s understanding of Su Yi, he knew Su Yi wouldn’t have any interest in the Great Zhou’s territories.
This gave Zhou Zhili an enormous headache. Just what kind of congratulatory gift should I prepare to celebrate the imperial preceptor’s accomplishment?



On that day, the Great Qin, Great Zhou, and Great Wei descended into an enormous uproar as word of Su Yi’s glorious accomplishments on the Sea of Chaotic Spirits spread far and wide.
Su Yi’s prestige was like the noonday sun, illuminating the entire world!
“Thinking back, when His Excellency Su Yi was merely a Blood Circulation Realm cultivator, he seized first place in the Dragon’s Gate Competition on the second day of the second lunar month. It was then that I knew he was a dragon destined to soar to prominence!”
The Great Zhou, Cloudriver Prefecture’s Guangling City, Apricot Clinic.
The words flowed out of Steward Hu Quan in a non-stop stream. “Now, His Excellency Su Yi is already honored as the imperial preceptor of the Great Zhou. They say that even Earthly Immortals can only lower their heads and avert their gazes before him! This is a true heroic figure. Who in this world can compare to him?”
The physicians smiled as they listened.
In the yard behind the clinic, the branches of an old locust tree swayed, and its leaves rustled in the wind.
This humble courtyard was now honored as the former residence of the Great Zhou’s imperial preceptor, Su Yi, and the locust tree was there to bear witness to it all.
The Wen Family.
Family Head Wen Changjing sighed. “Dowager, tell me: if we’d treated Su Yi better back then, would our situation be completely different now?”
The dowager sank into a lengthy silence before saying, “You only see Su Yi’s current glory, but you’re overlooking the bloodshed, wind, and rain he overcame on his rise to prominence. Pick any of the obstacles on his path at random, and it would surely be enough to destroy our entire Wen Family.”
The Wen Family dowager sighed. “Peace and safety are blessings enough. We cannot demand anything else.”
Wen Changjing was silent.
The Wen Family had long since become the laughingstock of Guangling City. Countless people mocked them for their inability to recognize greatness.
Who was to blame for this?
This was what people meant when they said that worldly affairs were ever-changing and unpredictable.