Clang!

Su Yi lowered his sword, put his hands behind his back, and gazed down at Li Changning’s corpse. He sighed, “They say that when your situation is advantageous, it seems as though heaven and earth themselves are on your side, but when fortune departs, even a hero struggles to retain their freedom. However, how many in this world truly understand what that means?”

For cultivators, there was no way to avoid borrowing external power. 

Borrowing the power of heaven and earth with the body of a human cultivator and leveraging natural origin energy could make you temporarily stronger, but when the time came, your borrowed power would cast you aside or turn on you. In the end, it would only hurt you.

Su Yi wasn’t averse to borrowing power, but he was averse to relying on external power every time one reached a critical juncture. 

This was a great taboo in cultivation, as it would influence one’s Dao Heart and restrict one’s future accomplishments.

“Martial Uncle—!”

Heaven and earth were deathly silent until You Xinglin’s disbelieving shout filled the air.

Li Changning was a lofty and esteemed cultivator of the Great Qin’s Profound Moon Temple and a famous Earthly Immortal. How could a young Grandmaster possibly kill him?

You Xinglin slumped in dejection as the cruel reality hit him.

Earlier, he’d been calm, smiling, and composed, his heart brimming with confidence. He came here thinking that if he went all out, he could take Su Yi down. Who’d have guessed that after a brief clash, he only barely escaped death beneath Su Yi’s sword?

At first, he saw this as a humiliation, and he hoped to borrow his martial uncle’s power to take Su Yi down instead. He wanted to use the man who’d humiliated him as a whetstone to help him grow stronger.

Who’d have thought that in the end, Li Changning would die!?

How could You Xinglin possibly accept this?

Meanwhile, the Cloud-Scraping King, Shi Lanshan, felt a chill in his extremities. It spread through his body, piercing all the way into his bones, and goosebumps rose uncontrollably on his skin.

Just a few days ago, he’d been smugly eager for Su Yi to show up. Even after he heard the Ten Directions Pavilion’s reports, he wasn’t the least bit afraid.

This was because he thought that, so long as Li Changning and You Xinglin were here, they had this in the bag. Killing Su Yi ought to be as easy as turning over their hand. 

When Su Yi showed up today, he was beside himself with excitement, and he personally went out to welcome him. He’d even already planned how he’d report to the Jade Capital’s Su Family once Su Yi was dead.

He’d never even imagined…

The mighty Li Changning, an Earthly Immortal, had actually died!

The tens of thousands of soldiers stationed here were each rooted to the spot. Waves coursed through their hearts, and they were too stunned for words.

In their eyes, Earthly Immortals were undefeatable legends, figures they could only gaze upon from afar.

But today, as of this moment, one such transcendent existence had fallen in battle!

And his opponent was a mere seventeen-year-old Grandmaster…

It was just too shocking!

When word spread, it would inevitably shake the entire nation, as well as every martial artist in it!

“You’re surnamed You. Are you related to You Qingzhi?” Su Yi’s gaze suddenly landed on You Xinglin.

“I….” When he sensed Su Yi’s gaze, You Xinglin shuddered. He realized that he was in trouble; just now, he’d been so dazed and shaken that he actually forgot to flee while he had the chance!

He took a deep breath, then said, “You Qingzhi is my aunt, while I am a direct-line descendant of the Great Qin’s number-one clan, the You Family. My father, You Yuandu, is our current family head, while my master is Daoist Vastblue of the Profound Moon Temple’s inner sect. My mother is a member of the Great Qin’s imperial….”

When he saw that You Xinglin planned to continue, as if he were rattling off his shopping list, Su Yi interrupted him. “So, you’re saying you and Li Changning came here at You Qingzhi’s behest?”

You Xinglin laughed coldly. “Why ask that? I’m not afraid to tell you that if you kill me, not even the emperor of the Great Zhou will be able to save you!”

It was then that Shi Lanshan finally reacted. He said sharply, “Third Young Master, Young Lord You’s status is extremely special. If you kill him, you’re highly likely to provoke the entire Great Qin’s enmity.”

“That so?” He then watched as Su Yi stretched out and flicked his finger.

Bang!

A wisp of sword qi flew toward You Xinglin.

However, against all expectations, something burst, and an obscure light barrier enveloped You Xinglin, who promptly disappeared into thin air.

“An invisibility origin talisman?” Su Yi’s eyebrows rose, and he suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed.

Boom!

Origin power surged on all sides as Su Yi seized the force of the surrounding area. Formless ripples spread throughout the sky, extending in all directions at shocking speeds.

Bam!

Several thousand feet away, near the entrance to the military encampment, the air burst apart like a soap bubble, and a figure staggered and fell. This was none other than You Xinglin!

“This is the right time to borrow the power of heaven and earth. Alas, Li Changning is already dead. Were he here to see this attack’s beauty, he’d immediately understood: were we to compete in terms of borrowed power, I could still kill him as easily as if he were a chicken.” Su Yi sighed as if it were an awful pity.

You Xinglin was too stunned to even think straight. He shouted, “Su Yi, I admit defeat. So long as you spare me, I promise…”

Whoosh!

Before he could even finish, a streak of sword qi descended from the heavens, piercing You Xinglin’s cranium and running him through. In an instant, both his body and soul split in two.

The sharp tip of the sword left a hole in the ground below him. It was so deep that you couldn’t see the bottom. 

“You…” Upon witnessing this bloody scene, Shi Lanshan couldn’t help but feel shaken. Shock and rage overlapped within him.

“What about me?” Su Yi glanced at him, perfectly at ease.

There were over ten thousand seasoned warriors stationed here, all of them as fierce as tigers. Even so, beneath Su Yi’s gaze, Shi Lanshan, a non-Zhou king of the Great Zhou, felt an unprecedented sense of helplessness and despair; he could barely even breathe.

Not even Earthly Immortals were a match for Su Yi, let alone him!

“Third Young Master, even if I was in the wrong, I was acting on orders. If you’ll grant me your forgiveness, I’m willing to turn over a new leaf, repent for my past misdeeds, and work like a horse or ox on your behalf. No matter what you ask of me, I won’t refuse!”

Shi Lanshan’s knees thudded to the crowd, and he kowtowed.

The entire camp fell silent.

Every last soldier, from the privates to the generals, was stunned.

In the Cloud-Scraping Army, Shi Lanshan was like a pillar, yet now, their “pillar” had kowtowed before another…

“You want to act as my horse or my ox? You’re dreaming,” said Su Yi disdainfully. “I already said I’m here for one reason, and one reason only: I came to take your head to intimidate those like you. I naturally won’t go back on my word.”

Shi Lanshan shot to his feet, his face ashen and unsightly. “Third Young Master, are you dead set on forcing me down the path of no return?”

Su Yi wasted no time talking to him. He pressed his fingers into a sword and slashed from a distance.

Whoosh!

Radiant sword qi shot forth, like a fleeting shadow.

Shi Lanshan raised his hand and crushed a jade talisman. Blood-colored light streaked out of it, condensing into a shield in front of him.

Bang!

As the sword qi cracked the shield into pieces, Shi Lanshan seized the opportunity to avoid this otherwise fatal attack.

“Hurry! All of you, attack! Kill that bastard Su Yi—!” Shi Lanshan roared into the heavens, his beard and mustache bristling with fury.

However, when they heard this, the nearby warriors subconsciously retreated several steps back. They looked at each other, their expressions hesitant.

Su Yi could kill even an Earthly Immortal. Were they to fight, wouldn’t mortal martial artists like them be nothing but moths throwing themselves into the fire?

Besides, this wasn’t some border skirmish, and their foe wasn’t an enemy of the Great Zhou. Who wanted to get mixed up in Shi Lanshan’s personal grudges?

Yes, they were part of his Cloud-Scraping Army, and yes, they followed his orders, but the one they’d truly pledged their allegiance to was the Great Zhou!

As a result, when Shi Lanshan gave his orders, an incomparably awkward scene unfolded. He was surrounded by his soldiers, yet not one of them heeded his command. 

“All of you…” Shi Lanshan almost dared not believe his eyes.

“In this mundane word, nothing is hollower than authority. What do you have to rely on?” As his calm voice rang out, Su Yi struck once more.

Splurt!

This time, Shi Lanshan had no talismans to defend himself with. With his cultivation, how could he block Su Yi’s lethal attack?

His head instantly flew from his shoulders. Blood sprayed into the air.

Su Yi then turned and left camp.

He was a young man in blue, tall and lean, with an aloof, detached air. Wherever he passed, the soldiers of the Cloud-Scraping Army cleared a path. Not one dared stand in his way.

One man walked, parting an army ten thousand strong!

It was only after Su Yi disappeared from view that the soldiers felt a massive weight lift from their shoulders. They let out long breaths of turbid air and realized that their clothes were already drenched with cold sweat.

“Master Su, you’re finally back!” When he saw Su Yi’s upright, solitary figure in the distance, Xiao Tianque instantly lit up; he’d been worried sick this whole time, but now, he finally relaxed and rushed up to greet Su Yi. 

“Everything has been settled. Let’s go back,” said Su Yi with a calm, understated smile, as if venturing into the Cloud-Scraping Army’s camp to take its leader’s head was no different from completing an ordinary errand.

“Alright!” Xiao Tianque straightforwardly agreed, but he didn’t ask any questions.

Although he didn’t see everything that happened earlier, he was certain that Su Yi had just been through an extraordinary battle. How else could he explain all those shocking heavenly and earthly phenomena? 

When he saw Su Yi emerge unscathed, Xiao Tianque instantly understood: this time, even if his foes had been stronger, they couldn’t have touched Su Yi!

That was enough.

“Master Su, when we get back, how about I treat you to a drink?”

“That’s just what I wanted to hear.”

“Hahaha! This old man has saved up quite a few quality brews over the years. I’ll use this opportunity to have you drink to your heart’s content!”

…As the two of them gradually faded into the distance, the faint, nigh-indiscernible sound of other voices drifted from afar.

Today was the tenth day of the fourth month. It was on this day that Su Yi entered the Cloud-Scraping Army’s encampment, slew an Earthly Immortal of the Great Qin, killed the heir of the head of the Great Qin’s number-one clan, and took the Cloud-Scraping King’s head.

He entered a camp of tens of thousands of men, but it was as if they weren’t even there!

News of this incident began spreading that very day, dispersing at shocking speeds. It sent a massive wave of commotion throughout the White Prefectural Capital.

“Su Yi is strong enough to kill even Earthly Immortals now!?” Many people were shaken. Their eyes widened, and they almost dared not believe their ears.

“This can’t possibly be fake. If just one person were saying it, we could call them a liar and dismiss it, but this information is coming from the tens of thousands of soldiers of the Cloud-Scraping Army! How could they dare lie about such a thing? If they did, and if they got caught, it’d cost them their heads,” said some with complete confidence. 

“My heavens! A seventeen-year-old Grandmaster cut down an Earthly Immortal? I’ve never even heard of such a thing! It’s unprecedented!”

“Li Changning, an Earthly Immortal of the Great Qin’s Profound Moon Sect, You Xinglin, a main-line descendent of the Great Qin’s You Family, and the Cloud-Scraping King, Shi Lanshan, were all killed? Su Yi is going to tear a hole through the heavens at this rate!”

Some members of the older generation were so stunned that their hearts quivered in their chests, and they couldn’t calm down.

The White Province was adjacent to the heart of the Great Zhou, and it protected the Jade Capital.

Many factions subordinate to the Su Family were spread throughout the province. When they heard the news, they were frantic, and they immediately sent the news to the Jade Capital at the highest possible speeds.

News spread continuously. Everyone knew that, as time passed, this bloody incident would shake the entire Great Zhou, stirring up vast, unpredictable waves!

Su Yi's first line in this chapter was quoted back in Chapter 19 too, although that was external power as in “other people” not external power as in “the forces of nature.”