First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1534 - Sky Tripod Immortal City

Chapter 1534 - Sky Tripod Immortal City

After their conversation that day, A’Ning didn’t come looking for Su Yi again.

Yu Qian and Chang Lexing, the other two Jade Firmament Immortal Sect core disciples, looked down on Su Yi right from the start. They couldn’t be bothered with him.

Only A’Li visited at dawn and dusk to hear Su Yi expound on the Dao, just as she always did.

Soon, the treasure ship had been flying for a week.

That night at dawn, Su Yi was just about to instruct A’Li when he noticed that she had a sullen air about her. She obviously had something on her mind.

“Let’s go outside and relax for a bit.” Su Yi rose, then walked onto the deck. A’Li followed.

The light of dusk burned like fire, and the winds howled. When they gazed over the deck, they saw the entire landscape beneath their feet.

Su Yi said nothing, but A’Li couldn’t hold back any longer. She took out her beast skin and charcoal and wrote, “Big Brother Su, Big Sister told me not to visit you anymore, but I refused.”

Su Yi rubbed his forehead. Just as I thought. A’Ning couldn’t persuade me, so she started on A’Li instead.

A’Li’s head drooped in dejection as she continued writing, “Big Brother Su, I don’t know why, but I feel reserved and tense whenever I’m around my big sister. I know she’s looking out for me, but... for some reason, I feel pressured. I don’t dare talk to her about my feelings.”

Su Yi’s eyes shone with pity. “You and your sister parted ways at a young age. It’s been ten years since you last saw each other. After seeing how much you suffered, she has a guilty conscience, and she wants to do all she can to make it up to you. She’s going to great lengths for you, but she’s using so much force that she’s ended up putting pressure on you. Sometimes, too much is as bad as too little.”

A’Li looked thoughtful. Her expression said, “So, that’s it.”

A moment later, she wrote, “Big Brother Su, my sister said my cultivation talent is really mediocre. Is that.... True?”

Su Yi nodded. “That’s indeed the case, but on the path of cultivation, talent and spirit roots are far from enough to determine one’s prospects.”

He paused, his eyes suddenly shining with contemptuous pride. “I dare say with certainty that you’ll one day rise into the nine heavens, compete with the most dazzling geniuses around, and write your own legend!”

A’Li’s phoenix eyes lit up, but a moment later, she lowered her head and wrote, “Big Brother Su, are you just trying to comfort me?”

Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “No, I’m simply stating facts. Most people are short-sighted. They have no idea that what really determines someone’s path isn’t their aptitude, but their will, their breadth of spirit, and their mentality!

“The heavens are vast. Talents are as common as carp in a river or stars in the sky; there’s no end to them. There’s no shortage of holy sons and chosen daughters blessed with good fortune, either. It’s always been those with strong will, breadth of spirit, and a staunch heart who ultimately reach the pinnacle of the Grand Dao!”

Su Yi’s gaze was deep and clear, and he spoke with assurance.

“Those with powerful wills can achieve great things over time. Given time, a drop of water can bore a hole through rock. With time and effort, even the humblest of cultivators can grow strong enough to cut down the stars overhead.

“Those with breadth of spirit aren’t concerned about a moment’s victory or defeat, nor do they care about transient glories or humiliations. That lets them forge ahead and face every obstacle in their path, even when the road is lined with thorns.

“If you have a strong heart, nothing in this world can trouble you. If you’re focused on the Dao, you’re sure to become powerful!”

Here, Su Yi looked at A’Li. “No matter how untalented they are, if someone has all three, they have a phoenix lying dormant in their heart, and they're sure to one day undergo rebirth bathed in nirvanic flame!”

A’Li was dumbstruck. Her clear phoenix eyes suddenly shone with extraordinary light.

Su Yi’s words were like a spark silently burying itself in the fields of her heart. One day, that spark would transform into a phoenix bathed in flame and set the dome of heaven ablaze!

A beautiful figure stood in another part of the ship. This was none other than A’Ning.

Mentality, breadth of spirit, and will... A phoenix nesting within the heart, just waiting to undergo rebirth...? A’Ning repeated inwardly. That guy’s origins are fishy, and he has duplicitous intentions, but that was very well said.

A moment later, she felt conflicted. She would never have guessed she’d inadvertently put so much pressure on her little sister, much less that an outsider like Su Yi would see right through her longing to make things up to A'Li...

It would be wonderful if that guy really didn’t have any other intentions... A’Ning sighed. She couldn’t help but be on guard against someone of such suspicious origins.

Before long, she turned to leave.

“Will? Spirit? Mentality? Hahaha! Without natural aptitude for cultivation, you’re doomed to stumble at every turn,” said Qian Yu. “You’ll never get anywhere without talent, so why speak of great accomplishments?”

Qian Yu and Chang Lexing were on board too, and they’d obviously heard everything Su Yi said, but their words dripped with disdain.

“How does all that talk help A’Li in any way? He’s just putting on airs to trick a child,” Chang Lexing snorted coldly.

The two of them left these words behind, then left in high spirits.

As if they couldn’t be bothered to say any more on the matter.

A’Li heard them, and she clenched her fists in fury.

Su Yi said softly, “Pay them no heed. They’re just frogs in a well; they know nothing of the vastness of the sky.”

He just cared about A’Li. People like Qian Yu and Chang Lexing were entirely unworthy of his attention; he naturally wouldn’t get angry over this.

We ought to reach Sky Tripod Immortal City tomorrow. I just hope I’ll be able to find the heavenly materials and earthly treasures I need... Su Yi thought to himself.

Unexpectedly, A’Ning visited him again that evening.

“I’ll use my connections in the sect to get you a spot in the Seven Stars Immortal Assembly, but whether you can earn immortal fortune or not is up to you.

“The Seven Stars Immortal Assembly is a gathering of the most prominent young elites of the Jing Province’s seven greatest sects. You’d best be careful. If you offend a prominent member of one of the seven sects, not even I can save you.”

With that, A’Ning turned and left.

Su Yi was stunned. Who said I wanted to participate in that so-called ‘Seven Stars Immortal Assembly?’

But after a moment’s thought, he realized what had happened. A’Li must have begged her big sister to get me into the assembly. After all, she said she wanted me to come along so I could vie for immortal fortune too.

But this time, Su Yi was wrong. A’Li had indeed begged her sister for this, but at the time, A’Ning refused. A’Ning’s attitude had changed because she’d overheard Su Yi’s conversation with A’Li on the deck....

Of course, even if Su Yi had known this, he would have laughed it off.

......

A day later, the group arrived in Sky Tripod Immortal City.

Sky Tripod Immortal City was one of the largest cities in the Jing Province, and the territory of one of its seven great immortal sects, the Northern Frost Sword Sect.

The Northern Frost Sword Sect was hosting this year’s Seven Stars Immortal Assembly.

Sky Tripod City was incomparably prosperous. It was comparable in scale to some of the small nations of the Human Realm!

When Su Yi and company arrived, it was already nightfall. The streets were packed with carts and pedestrians. The crowd was so dense that people bumped shoulders as they passed.

Everyone was discussing the upcoming Seven Stars Immortal Assembly. There were countless debates about who among the geniuses of the younger generation would enter the top ten.

Even though Su Yi didn’t care in the slightest, he passively learned a lot about the Seven Stars Immortal Assembly just being here. From this, it was obvious how much attention the event was drawing.

A’Li had grown up in the countryside. She’d never seen such a crowd before. Along the way, she seemed reserved, but also excited and curious.

Su Yi had Wang Ye’s memories and experiences. He was long accustomed to such things.

However, this was his first time in a top city since arriving in the Immortal Realm, and he was eager too. After all, a place like this would surely have the treasures he needed up for sale!

The Northern Frost Sword Sect was hosting this year’s event. They’d long since arranged temporary residences for the experts of the other participating factions.

Before long, A’Ning led the group to an old-fashioned residence. Several of the Jade Firmament Immortal Sect’s higher-ups were waiting for them. When Su Yi and company arrived, they arranged a banquet to welcome them from their long journey.

But they obviously took Su Yi for a hanger-on. They didn’t actively exclude him, but few paid attention to him.

Su Yi was naturally perfectly content with that.

During the banquet, Su Yi learned that A’Ning planned to take her sister to a ritual ground to undergo a preliminary selection tomorrow. If she passed, she could vie to be chosen as an “immortal seedling.”

The curtains would open on the actual Seven Stars Immortal Assembly in three days.

Su Yi wasn’t at all concerned about this. He had other plans for this trip to Sky Tripod Immortal City!

That night, when the banquet ended, attendants led Su Yi to the room they’d arranged for him.

After a brief rest, Su Yi set off.

“He left on his own?”

Shortly after, A’Ning learned of his departure. Her brow furrowed slightly. What’s that guy doing, leaving alone this late at night?

Is it just as I was worried about? Did he have other reasons for approaching A’Li?

As soon as this occurred to her, A’Ning made a decision. She ordered, “Junior Apprentice Brother Chang, keep an eye on him in secret. See where he goes and who he makes contact with.”

Chang Lexing nodded. “Senior Apprentice Sister, if I see him engaging in unseemly behavior, should I capture him? I don’t want someone harboring malintent mixed in with us.”

A’Ning fell briefly silent. “Just watch and see what he does. Whatever you do, don’t intervene.”

Chang Lexing nodded, then turned to leave.

I hope I really was just overthinking things... thought A’Ning.

Meanwhile——

The lamplit streets of Sky Tripod Immortal City bustled with dense human traffic.

Su Yi walked through the streets, hands behind his back. From time to time, he caught glimpses of immortals.

There was no getting around it; Sky Tripod Immortal City was indeed incomparably prosperous, with all sorts of fascinating scenes to draw someone in.

But Su Yi felt a headache coming on.

He’d just realized a big problem: if he wanted to buy heavenly materials and earthly treasures, he needed money. But his cultivation base had yet to recover; he had no way of accessing the treasures stored in his Nascent Divinity.

In short, he was effectively dead broke!