First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 2941 - The Struggle for Heavenly Fate

The sea of clouds churned. Sword light glittered like stars.

The thin man with the red gourd approached as if out for a leisurely stroll. In the blink of an eye, he’d neared the little boat.

Yun Du!

Wen Feng and Fei Qiu recognized him at a glance. He was an elite figure among the world’s sword cultivators, a peak Sword Monarch.

He’d once gotten drunk and proclaimed that he’d one day surpass Jiang Wuchen, the founder of the Heart-Tempering Sword House, in his pursuit of the Grand Dao!

It was brazen boasting, but none could deny that Yun Du had reason to be confident!

Wen Feng promptly transmitted an introduction to Su Yi, telling him all about Yun Du.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not here to fight,” said Yun Du, palms out, looking languid and disinterested.

“Tell me what you’re here for, then,” Su Yi said flatly.

Earlier, in the Heart-Tempering Sword House, he sensed several powerful hidden presences. One of them belonged to Yun Du.

Thus, Su Yi wasn’t at all surprised to see him now.

“First, I wanted to see Jiang Wuchen’s reincarnation for myself. Second, I wanted to explain something.” Yun Du smiled, then rubbed his nose and said with exasperation, “I did say I would one day find an opportunity to suppress Jiang Wuchen, but that doesn’t mean I hate him. Obviously, the entire Heart-Tempering Sword House misunderstood. Even the Malevolent Sword Venerate himself said that if he saw me, he’d chop me to pieces.”

Su Yi was stunned. He hadn’t anticipated that Yun Du would come here just to say that.

Yun Du shrugged. “I’ve never been afraid of the Malevolent Sword Venerate, but I still don’t like being misunderstood, so I came here to explain the situation to you.”

Then, he laughed. “Of course, I really did say all that back then, and I naturally have to admit it. Jiang Wuchen has been gone for a long time, and now, the Malevolent Sword Venerate is gone, too, but it won’t be long before I prove that I wasn’t bluffing back then!”

Su Yi finally couldn’t hold back any longer. “Did you come here just to say all that?”

Yun Du said as if it were perfectly obvious, “Is there something wrong with that?”

Su Yi couldn’t help but find this surprising. He took another look at Yun Du.

Heavenly Monarchs were in the fifth realm of Eternity, the Heavenly Fate Realm. They were powerful experts second only to Heavenly Sovereigns.

Their strength was highly variable, but Yun Du was unquestionably a top expert among Heavenly Monarchs.

Who could have imagined that he’d come looking for Su Yi just to explain a misunderstanding?

“You say you want to prove that you’ll one day surpass Jiang Wuchen, so why not take this opportunity to duel me?” asked Su Yi.

Wen Feng and Fei Qiu’s hearts clenched. They hadn’t anticipated that Su Yi would request a duel with Yun Du out of nowhere.

They couldn’t help but sweat on Su Yi’s behalf.

Yun Du was a terrifying existence. In the Heart-Tempering Sword House, sword cultivators were as numerous as the clouds, but even there, only a handful were a match for Yun Du!

No matter how heaven-defying Su Yi was, he was ultimately only in the Silent Realm. Sure, he’d killed Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang, but Heavenly Monarch Lu Yang was nothing compared to Yun Du!

If Su Yi fought Yun Du, there was no telling who’d win. It would be terrible if something unexpected happened.

But then, Yun Du just laughed and shook his head. “It’s not that I look down on you, but that over the years, I’ve kept my sword sheathed to grow my sword intent. I’ve never once truly revealed my blade.”

He paused, then gazed intently at Su Yi. “If I use my accumulated sword intent to duel you, I’ll die of regret.”

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. “So you’re saying you don’t think I’m worthy of dueling you?”

Yun Du burst into laughter. “No, no, I wouldn’t say that!”

He flipped his palm, then tossed a jade slip to Su Yi. “If you really want to duel me, I suggest reading the information in there first. If you haven’t changed your mind by the time you’ve finished reading, let’s duke it out during the Struggle for Heavenly Fate.”

With that, he turned and strode off, his figure as thin and sharp as a sword. The sword light beneath his feet flickered like stars.

The boundless sea of clouds closed around him, and soon, he’d vanished into the distance.

Just like that, he’d left.

Wen Feng and Fei Qiu sighed in relief. This really was in line with how Yun Du did things. He came and went as he pleased.

Meanwhile, Su Yi began examining the jade slip. After a few moments, his eyebrows rose, his expression suddenly strange.

The slip contained information about the Struggle for Heavenly Fate, as well as about the long-broken Eternal Throne, “Yitian.”

According to the information in the jade slip, Heavenly Sovereign Wanmiao died during the End of the Devastation, and his Eternal Throne was shattered.

His Eternal Throne split into nine pieces. Other Heavenly Sovereigns seized six of them, while three were scattered across the Eternal Heavens Domain.

The other Heavenly Sovereigns had been searching for the remaining pieces ever since.

Not long ago, word spread that Heavenly Sovereign E and Heavenly Sovereign Yaoguang each found one of the pieces.

And the remaining piece had apparently been found by Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan of the Taiwu Sect!

Not long ago, Heavenly Sovereign E convened a secret meeting of Heavenly Sovereigns. In the end, they decided to pool their pieces to reforge the Yitian Eternal Throne!

So long as they succeeded, a tenth Eternal Throne would enter the world, and with it, a chance to become a new Heavenly Sovereign!

All of this had been conducted in secret. Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan was the only Heavenly Sovereign yet to agree.

According to the information in the jade slip, Heavenly Sovereign E would soon bring the other Heavenly Sovereigns to meet with him. Together, they’d do their best to persuade him to assist them in reconstructing the Yitian Eternal Throne.

After all, the Struggle for Heavenly Fate was contingent on successfully rebuilding the Yitian Eternal Throne.

Even if they succeeded, there’d only be one Eternal Throne. Deciding who should receive it would thus be difficult.

The Struggle for Heavenly Fate was the solution they’d agreed on. So long as they successfully rebuilt the Eternal Throne, they’d hold a competition to decide who received it!

When the time came, each Heavenly Sovereign would send a group of their most promising Heavenly Monarchs to compete. The outcome would determine who ultimately received the Yitian Eternal Throne.

Since the competition was contingent on the Yitian Eternal Throne’s reconstruction, there was no set start date yet.

Su Yi finally understood. Yun Du must have set his sights on that opportunity to become an Eternal Sovereign.

But Su Yi was certain that even if the other Heavenly Sovereigns went looking for Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan, there was no way they could rebuild the Yitian Eternal Throne.

This was for the simple reason that the slip said that Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan’s fragment was hidden in Great Sorrow!

This sword had belonged to a Heavenly Sovereign during the Devastation. Its owner had used it to destroy the Yitian Eternal Throne.

Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan hadn’t actually acquired it. It was currently on Su Yi’s person.

Moreover, his first incarnation’s heart devil had given it a new name: Peach Blossom!

But Su Yi hadn’t known that the sword contained a fragment of an Eternal Throne.

More than that, he hadn’t anticipated that even now, Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan had yet to reveal the truth of who’d acquired the sword formerly known as Great Sorrow.

Otherwise, the other Heavenly Sovereigns wouldn’t have wasted time looking for Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan. They’d have directly set their sights on Su Yi instead!

Su Yi couldn’t help but think of Lu Hongpao.

He’d acquired the Divine Hunt Edict and Great Sorrow in the Huaihuang Empire thanks to her guidance.

It was also Lu Hongpao who’d forced Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan to hide the fact that Su Yi was the one who’d really acquired the sword. Thus, even now, everyone thought that Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan had Great Sorrow.

Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan might be black-hearted and ruthless, but he’s actually quite trustworthy, thought Su Yi.

Meanwhile, in the Blackwater Celestial Capital’s Flowing Abundance Pavilion, Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan sat, running his hand through his beard, his brow racked with worry.

Should I sell that Su Yi kid out? Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan felt quite conflicted about it. Of late, he’d received messages from several other Heavenly Sovereigns. All of them wanted him to give up Great Sorrow and help them repair the Yitian Eternal Throne.

That was, naturally, a good thing. Or rather, it should have been.

But there was one real pain-in-the-ass problem standing in his way: he didn’t really have Great Sorrow!

But he couldn’t reveal the truth. After all, he’d promised that madwoman Lu Hongpao he wouldn’t.

Except that he was reaching the limit. He wouldn’t be able to keep things under wraps much longer.

As a Heavenly Sovereign, he wasn’t afraid of anything. Still, when multiple Heavenly Sovereigns joined forces to put pressure on him, he couldn’t disregard it. Even he felt the pressure.

“Have you thought it over, Daoist Brother?” A man in black and a tall hat sat not far away. This was none other than Heavenly Sovereign E!

Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan said expressionlessly, “I spent countless years acquiring Great Sorrow. It wasn’t easy bringing that treasure out of a mundane kingdom. How can I just give it up?”

Heavenly Sovereign E frowned. This was already his third visit, and every time, he’d come with ample “sincerity.” He would never have guessed that Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan would be so intractable!

But before Heavenly Sovereign E could say anything, Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan changed tack. “But I am quite interested in restoring the Yitian Eternal Throne. How about this? Agree to a certain condition, and I actually wouldn’t mind sharing Great Sorrow.”

Heavenly Sovereign E lit up with delight. “So long as it’s within my power to grant, everything is on the table!”

Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan said, “When we hold the Struggle for Heavenly Fate, there’s someone who must participate.”

“That’s simple. Never mind one person. It’d be fine even if you wanted several spots!” Heavenly Sovereign E said with a laugh.

But then he realized that something wasn’t quite right here. “Is there something strange about this person’s status?”

After all, if the person in question were an ordinary Heavenly Monarch, Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan would have no need to set such terms. If he took out Great Sorrow, he could negotiate for just about any number of participants in the Struggle for Heavenly Fate.

“That’s right,” said Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan. “For now, I cannot tell you who he is. I need to meet with him first. Only then can I finalize our arrangements.”

Heavenly Sovereign E couldn’t help but be surprised. Who in the Eternal Heavens Domain is worthy of Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan going to such lengths just to get him a spot in the competition? Much less Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan personally meeting with him to discuss the situation? It’s simply unbelievable!

“Agree, and guarantee that the Struggle for Heavenly Fate will be carried out in accordance with the rules, with no outside interference, and I naturally won’t mind offering you Great Sorrow,” said Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan.

Heavenly Sovereign E’s brow furrowed imperceptibly. He wasn’t certain who Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan was talking about, but he had a strong premonition that there was a problem with their identity.

Otherwise, there’s no way Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan would treat him with such caution.

For a moment, Heavenly Sovereign E couldn’t help but hesitate.