Wu Tianhao raised the still bleeding, severed head into the air. “Please, distinguished sirs and madams, take a look. This head belongs to Lu Quan!

Feng Xiaoran was stunned. She never would have guessed that the moment she said her enemy was the Black Tiger Gang, the gang leader’s severed head would appear before her.

When he saw her reaction, Wu Tianhao hurriedly seized this chance to explain himself. “I won’t hide it from you: Lu Quan, that scoundrel, has hurt me too. I granted him my folding fan, but my intentions were to smooth this over, not to get mixed up in this. I arrogantly thought this humble old man’s face was enough to smooth this over without further incident.

“I never would have guessed he and the Black Tiger Gang would use me as a pretense to offend you. He was simply frenzied and depraved!”

By the end of this sentence, he was gnashing his teeth, and he felt the urge to smash Lu Quan’s severed head to pieces.

His hatred really reached his bones.

“Ridiculous. If you weren’t long accustomed to riding roughshod over other people, how could this have happened?” snorted Yuan Luoyu coldly.

“Second Brother, quick, make him disappear. Let’s not disturb Master Su’s tranquility any further.” Yuan Luoxi was running out of patience, especially when she saw Lu Quan’s bloodied head. The sight disgusted her.

Yuan Luoyu glanced at Su Yi, and when he saw that he had no objections, he waved. “Didn’t you hear her? Hurry up and scram!”

“Thank you, distinguished sirs and madams, for your mercy. I’ll leave right this instant….” Wu Tianhao felt as if an enormous burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He scampered off, taking his subordinates with him.

Soon, only the bronze box remained in the courtyard.

Huang Qianjun walked up to it, and looked inside, and exclaimed, “The old man really held nothing back! Look at all that good stuff!”

Inside the box were three stalks of tier-three spiritual medicine, nine stalks of tier-two medicine, and over ten different types of precious spiritual materials!

“If he’d been stingy, it wouldn’t have just been the end of him; his entire organization would have faced disaster too,” said Yuan Luoyu tyrannically. 

“Master Su, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be on our way,” said Yuan Luoxi chipperly. She could tell that Su Yi’s thoughts were elsewhere; it seemed he didn’t wish to chat any longer.

“Wait a moment.” Su Yi suddenly recalled something. “There’s something I’d like to ask for your assistance with.”

Yuan Luoxi was initially stunned. Then, her heart burst with delight. Master Su wants our help? This is undoubtedly a good sign!

“Master Su, please enlighten us.” Cheng Wuyong was a bit surprised, but he was excited, too. If they could help, it meant they’d already tightened their bond enormously!

“Just a moment.” Su Yi returned to his room, took out a pen and ink, then wrote seven names on a sheet of white paper.

“Please investigate their locations, and if you can find them, please let them know that they’re invited to a banquet at the House of Prosperity two nights from now.” Su Yi passed the paper to Yuan Luoxi.

Yuan Luoxi agreed without even looking. “Please rest assured. I’ll be sure to do as you request.”

Su Yi thought, then added, “This matter has no connection to your Yuan Family. All you need to do is pass on the message.”

“Alright!” said Yuan Luoxi in her crisp, clear voice.

Yuan Luoyu watched all this play out. He couldn’t help but ask, “Young Lord Su, do you need us to book a room for two nights from now at the House of Prosperity?”

Su Yi shook his head. “No need to trouble yourself.”

Before long, Yuan Luoxi and company bade their farewells.

Huang Qianjun, meanwhile, nimbly carried the bronze box inside, then, like a minister presenting offerings to the emperor, said, “Brother Su, look at this treasure!”

Su Yi was at a loss for words. Look at yourself, kid! You’ve got no prospects!

But when he saw the spiritual medicines and materials clearly, even Su Yi couldn’t help but arch his brow. A mere underworld boss of the prefectural capital had such ample wealth at his disposal?

I can use the herbs in my cultivation, and the spiritual materials, combined with the five kilos of Bluescale Cold Iron, will be enough to forge a proper spiritual sword…., thought Su Yi

“Second Bro, whatever you do, don’t tell Father what happened tonight,” ordered Yuan Luoxi on their way back.

Why not?” Yuan Luoyu was stunned.

“Master Su might look calm and indifferent, but in reality, he’s extremely proud, and he has numerous hidden secrets about him. If the family head finds out, I’m afraid it’ll lead to doubt and suspicion. He’s likely to investigate in secret, and doing something like that is highly likely to provoke Master Su’s displeasure,” explained Cheng Wuyong.

Yuan Luoyu recalled how he’d embarrassed himself earlier, and he couldn’t help but feel sheepish. If even I reacted like that, how would a lofty authority figure like Father react?

“Alright, I guarantee that my lips are sealed, but given Father’s intelligence and keen eyes, I’m afraid we won’t be able to keep this under wraps for long,” said Yuan Luoyu.

Yuan Luoxi didn’t care in the least. “Let’s just keep it on the down low for as long as we can. Even if father finds out, with both of us around, there’s no way there’ll be any more misunderstandings.”

Yuan Luoyu sighed. “And here I thought that the true peerless geniuses of the younger generation all gathered in the Jade Capital, a land of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Who’d have thought someone like Master Su would emerge from our Cloudriver Prefecture’s Guangling City of all places?”

Tonight’s loss was an enormous blow, but he felt much clearer-headed now.

“Second Young Master, Master Su is like a fallen immortal. In this world, people like him are few and far behind; it would be no exaggeration to say that they’re rarer than qilin horns and phoenix feathers. You needn’t get discouraged.” Cheng Wuyong smiled and tried to encourage him.

“This actually reminds me of Eldest Bro. His talent was once the best in the Yuan Family. They called him a miraculous genius of the Martial Dao too. But two years ago, he left the Yuan Family estate to seek adventure in the Jade Capital. I wonder what he’s doing now….”

Yuan Luoyu furrowed his brow. “I heard Mother say that in the past, he’d send a letter back every month or so, but now, it’s been three months since the last letter….”

The current head of the Yuan Family, Yuan Wutong, had three children—two sons and a daughter.

The eldest was called Yuan Luotian. He wasn’t particularly well known within the prefectural capital, but in reality, he was a top-notch genius too, and he’d displayed shocking talent for martial arts from a young age. 

At nine years old, he was sent to Heaven’s Origin Academy to continue his cultivation, and at just fourteen, he stepped into the Qi Accumulation Realm. He was like a little monster!

Then, at seventeen, he left the Imperatorial Province and proceeded to Yujing, the Jade Capital, for further adventures. Two years had passed since then.

“With Eldest Bro's peerless talent, nothing will go wrong! Don’t worry yourself for nothing,” giggled Yuan Luoxi. She then took out the piece of paper Su Yi gave them and passed it to Cheng Wuyong. “Uncle Yong, do you recognize these seven names?”

“Some of them, but not all,” said Cheng Wuyong after a quick look. “I’ll lead the investigation personally when we get home.”

“Uncle Yong, we have to handle this properly,” said Yuan Luoxi. “I have a certain premonition that Su Yi is already willing to tighten our bond. To the Yuan Family, this is an enormous stroke of good fortune!”

Young or not, a man like a fallen immortal, someone who could kill a Grandmaster in a single attack and slay even a Six-Severings Yin Corpse, was worth sparing no effort to get close to.

Even the sixth imperial prince seemed to value him highly!

“Rest assured, miss,” said Cheng Wuyong.

When he saw this, Yuan Luoyu couldn’t help but feel bewildered. Finally, he sighed with emotion, “Little Xi, you’ve finally grown up.”

His words came straight from the heart. This little sister of his had been spoiled from a young age, and she was unreasonable as could be, like a child without scruples or a filter.

Yet now, it seemed this unreasonable little girl had grown up overnight. She was finally starting to understand the big picture, and she was even starting to work responsibly.

“Second Bro, no matter how much I mature, I’ll always be your little sister,” said Yuan Luoxi with a big grin.

Yuan Luoyu laughed too……

Late that very night.

Cheng Wuyong had already uncovered the origins of the seven names written on that piece of paper.

Qian Yunjiu, a Blueriver Sword Manor inner sect disciple, the son and heir of the current head of the Qian Family, the strongest faction in Blue Parasol Tree City

Huo Long, a Blueriver Sword Manor inner sect disciple, the son of the head of the Huo Family, a second-tier faction within the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital.

Zheng Xiaolin, the current outer sect Sword Chief, the son of the Whiteshore City Lord, Zheng Yuanba.

Zhang Fengtu, an outer sect disciple of Blueriver Sword Manor…

Liu Ying, an outer sect disciple of Blueriver Sword Manor…..

Not one wasn’t a Blueriver Sword Manor disciple!

Furthermore, Cheng Wuyong called upon a portion of the Yuan Family’s power to quickly uncover some incidents in their past.

All of them were related to Su Yi.

In other words, during his time cultivating in Blueriver Sword Manor, he’d been at odds with all seven of these people!

“Is Master Su planning to get revenge….?” When he deduced this, Cheng Wuyong couldn’t help but jump.

He was rather confused, too. During his time cultivating in Blueriver Sword Manor, it didn’t seem like there was anything special about Su Yi.

On the contrary, because of his solitary nature, he was frequently bullied, rejected, and attacked by his sectmates.

Yet the current Master Su could slay a Grandmaster with a single swing of his sword. He was like a completely different person from the former Blueriver Sword Manor outer sect sword chief!

Our intelligence states that upon becoming the outer sect sword chief, he gained sufficient qualifications to continue his cultivation in the inner sect, yet he stubbornly insisted on delaying a year. Just before he finally accepted his promotion, he lost his entire cultivation….

Then, he married into the Wen Family as the cast-off disciple of Blueriver Sword Manor and became a live-in son-in-law. It’s only been a little over a year since then….

Which is to say that it’s highly likely that Master Su’s changes happened within that year?

But how could a youth who’d lost his entire cultivation obtain such unbelievable power in just a year?

The more he thought about it, the more confused Cheng Wuyong felt.

After a while, he shook his head. Who doesn't have a secret or two?

Whatever Master Su’s secrets are, they’re sure to be huge!

Before long, he made up his mind, found a reliable subordinate, and gave his commands. “Pass on my orders. Send someone to deliver a message to these seven people. Tell them that tomorrow night, there is to be a banquet at the House of Prosperity and that they are invited to attend.”

Afterward, he rose. He’d decided to tell everything he’d uncovered to Yuan Luoxi. There was nothing for it; she was the apple of the family head’s eye, and she’d been wondering about this ever since they first got the paper.

Even Second Young Master Yuan Luoyu was curious about what Su Yi was up to.

That very night.

Under Huang Qianjun’s leadership, Su Yi arrived at a weapons workshop famous throughout the prefectural capital. 

He’d decided to forge himself a sword, a spiritual weapon with which he could finally unleash his full power!

We have a glossary now! Link on the "about" page, but you can also just use this: https://www.wuxiaworld.com/page/first-immortal-of-the-sword/glossary

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When I read this, I was like, "Wait, this Yuan Luotian guy sounds tough, but wasn't Yuan Luoyu supposed to be the strongest of the Yuan Family's younger generation? The big brother sounds tougher than Yuan Luoyu! What gives?" 

I don't have a clear answer for you. As a fellow reader, I'd guess that Yuan Luotian is no longer in the running since he's no longer physically present. Yuan Luoyu went off to join the military, but he at least still visits. It's also possible that Yuan Luoyu just /seems/ like the superior talent because he's better-known, while Yuan Luotian is unknown to the populace at large.

Or it could be something else entirely. 

Anyway, all that's just my best guess, so take it with a grain of salt. If you have other interpretations, please share them in the comments!