As the voice reverberated throughout the river, the passengers watched as—

A swift and extraordinary fire-plumed crane soared over the horizon. It was so quick, it looked like a streak of red lightning.

A man in dark robes sat on its back. He was middle-aged, and although he showed no sign of anger, he was imposing. He had a sheathed sword strapped to his back, and its tassels fluttered in the wind.

In the blink of an eye, the man and his crane reached them.

Even from a distance, he looked like an immortal. Numerous tower ship passengers’ eyes lit up.

“That’s Senior Shi Fengliu of the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect!” Wen Yuchong cried out in excitement, and his gaze heated up. He looked respectful, even reverent. 

Shi Fengliu!

Instantly, the young men and women present gasped, and all of them looked enlightened.

This was the vice leader of the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect! A long famous Earthly Immortal! Someone so mysterious and elusive, he was practically mythical!

“That’s Shi Fengliu?” Su Yi was surprised too. He recalled what Monk Hongji had told him just a few days ago.

Shi Fengliu was once an ordinary school teacher, but they suspected he’d been possessed while on Green Ivy Yao Mountain. He’d been cultivating ever since.

Furthermore, Lu Dongliu, Li Cang, and Liao Yunliu had proceeded to Treasure Temple Yao Mountain to kill him on Shi Fengliu’s orders.

Who would have thought that Shi Fengliu would appear here now?

Clang!

As soon as Shi Fengliu arrived, a spiritual blade shook itself free of the sheath on his back and shot forth, its edge glinting like snow as it slashed downward.

The blade hummed, and a thousand-foot streak of sword qi shone like frost.

Whoosh~!

The waters of the Qinglan River surged, and the massive softshell turtle shifted, then dodged, quick as lightning.

Boom!

The sword qi sliced into the river’s surface, opening a massive rift. The current split and scattered with a thunderous boom. 

The sound and force left the ship’s passengers utterly shaken.

When they next looked at Shi Fengliu, their gazes were full of deep respect.

The ordinary folk were so terrified that they knelt as if worshiping a god or immortal!

Shi Fengliu’s arrival saved Wei Xian. As he rejoiced, he kowtowed excitedly. “Many thanks for saving my life, Senior!”

Judging by the power of that slash, this suspected otherworlder likely gleaned enlightenment in an upper earth-grade, sword intent connected to the water element while still in the Grain Avoidance Stage. He’s slightly stronger than the Great Qin’s Li Changning, thought Su Yi. 

The sword intent of the Origin Dao was divided into three grades and nine classes.

Profound grade was the loftiest, followed by heaven grade and earth grade.

Upper earth-grade sword intent already represented a basic level of proficiency.

Conversely, Li Changning’s sword intent had yet to truly cross the threshold. It had yet to reach even the lowest rank.

Based on this, Shi Fengliu seemed a bit stronger.

“Fellow Daoist, you attacked without first pausing to find out what happened. Don’t you think that’s a bit overbearing?” The turtle’s enraged voice boomed like thunder from further down the river.

“You’re nothing but the dirty beast that lurks within the Qinglan River. Are you worthy of calling me your fellow Daoist?” Shi Fengliu sneered from atop his fire-plumed crane and said icily, “It cannot have been easy to reach your current cultivation, so I’ll give you just one chance. Quietly submit to captivity and guard the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect’s mountain gate to make amends for your crimes. Otherwise, I’ll kill you on the spot!”

His voice was grave yet indifferent, and the pride and contempt of a cultivator were on full display. Many of those on board the tower ship were impressed.

Wei Xian had only just retrieved his life from the brink of disaster when he seized the opportunity to yell, “Dirty beast! Senior Shi Fengliu was magnanimous enough to give you a chance to make up for your sins. I urge you to do as he says. Otherwise, the Qinglan River will become your burial ground!”

The crowd was stunned. This guy… really doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut…

“Hah? Is this how the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect conducts its affairs? Indeed, you’re intractable to reason!” roared the softshell turtle. “Go ahead and kill me; I won’t lower my head, and I certainly won’t regret what I did today!”

Shi Fengliu furrowed his brow. “What exactly happened just now?

Wen Yuchong saw his opportunity and said, “Senior, earlier, the turtle eavesdropped on our conversation, then lost its temper when Wei Xian spoke poorly of Su Yi. That’s why it tried to kill him.”

“Su Yi…” Shi Fengliu’s gaze was suddenly cold, and his eyes seemed to crackle with electricity as he stared at the distant softshell tortoise. “Just now, you were standing up in defense of Su Yi?”

The old softshell turtle wasn’t the least bit afraid. Its voice boomed like thunder. “How lofty is His Excellency Su Yi? How could a mere ignorant youth be allowed to slander and vilify him?”

Clang!

Shi Fengliu tapped the flat of his blade and said with cold cruelty, “Dirty beast that you are, I still planned to give you a chance to turn over a new leaf. Now, it seems that will no longer be necessary.”

His clothes fluttered around him, and an aura as sharp as the edge of his sword rose up around him, shooting into the clouds. Even the surrounding air wailed.

The spiritual sword in his hands hummed. Light circulated around it; he was obviously about to strike.

“Do you think I’m afraid of you?” The softshell turtle looked ready to fight with everything it had. It roared, and its yao qi surged and expanded around it. Massive as the river was, the outflow of energy churned the currents, sending waves into the air and producing one boom after another.

“Foolish!” Shi Fengliu laughed coldly and was just about to swing his sword.

But it was then that a calm voice rang out. “You’re the vice leader of the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect, but here you are, bullying a little turtle. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

Shi Fengliu whipped his head around and stared, his gaze as sharp as a sword. He instantly saw a blue-robed youth standing near the railing on the highest level of the tower ship.

“Young man, are you chastising me?” Every inch of him emanated a mighty, imposing aura.

Uproar immediately broke out around Su Yi. The other youths looked on in disbelief. Has this guy gone mad? How can he talk to His Excellency Shi Fengliu like that?

Some of them even went so far as to create distance between themselves and Su Yi for fear that Shi Fengliu would mistake them for his friends.

Fu Qingyuan and Gu Caining were so stunned, their scalps went numb. They would never have guessed that Su Yi would dare be so disrespectful to Shi Fengliu.

Gu Caining instantly rebuked him. “Young Lord, why are you acting so foolish again?”

She then turned and bowed apologetically to Shi Fengliu. “Senior, my friend…”

There was no doubt about it; the pretty young woman had good intentions. Any other time, Su Yi would have smiled and let this go. However, how could he pretend nothing was happening now?

Su Yi interrupted her, then said, “No need to explain anything to him. This is actually a good opportunity; I just so happen to have a score to settle with that man.”

“....” Gu Caining didn’t know what to say to that.

The crowd fell silent. “......”

He has a score to settle? With Shi Fengliu, an Earthly Immortal of the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect? This guy has definitely gone insane!

“You… You have a score to settle with me?” Shi Fengliu looked surprised too, as if he dared not believe his ears. 

Su Yi said flatly, “Weren’t you the one who sent Lu Dongliu and the others after me? Don’t tell me it was someone else?”

Shi Fengliu’s pupils instantly constricted, and his aura exploded around him. He said coldly, “Su Yi! So, it’s you!”

“What? You… You’re His Excellency Su Yi?” The old softshell turtle had long since been prepared to go all out, and it had no fear of death, but now, it too was stunned. It seemed to find this hard to believe.

Su Yi!

This name went off like a crack of thunder. The young men and women aboard the tower ship were dumbfounded. They felt as if they’d been struck by lightning. 

They’d only just finished discussing him and his various accomplishments, saying any old thing that came to mind.

Who would have thought that Su Yi, someone they saw as an inhabitant of another world, was right there beneath their noses?

Wen Yuchong felt a chill course down his spine, all the way to the tips of his hands and feet.

At the earlier banquet, his words weren't the least bit respectful toward Su Yi. He’d even announced that after arriving in the Jade Capital, Su Yi was sure to meet with fatal disaster.

“Dammit! Curse you, heavens! Are you trying to screw me over?” Wei Xian practically collapsed.

During the earlier banquet, he sneered at Su Yi and mocked his ignorance. He even slandered him and smeared his reputation without restraint.

As a result, he came dangerously close to getting devoured by that softshell turtle. He’d only just barely escaped. Who would have thought…

That Su Yi was here in the flesh, right in front of him!?

Wei Xian felt so stifled, he almost coughed up blood.

“You… You…” Gu Caining’s eyes widened, and she could barely speak.

She would never have guessed, not even if you hit her over the head, that the person she and her senior apprentice brother saved from a highwayman was such a terrifying existence!

No, wait!

They hadn’t saved him at all. They’d stepped in to help him, but as a result, the thief got away…

When she recalled how she and her senior apprentice brother had looked out for Su Yi over the course of her journey, she felt indescribably conflicted.

Fu Qingyuan felt much the same way; he had quite the look on his face.

Su Yi said softly, “Earlier, I didn’t tell you my name because I didn’t want you to get mixed up in my affairs. But now, it seems there’s no longer any need for secrecy.”

As he spoke, he stepped into the air, rising into the sky. His deep gaze turned toward the vice head of the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect, and he said calmly, “Shi Fengliu, dare you fight me atop the Qinglan River?”

His voice spread throughout heaven and earth.

That solitary, detached, and transcendent figure instantly drew everyone’s gazes. Without exception, every last onlooker was stunned. This Su Yi really is every bit as fearless as rumors say. He doesn’t even take Shi Fengliu seriously!

Far away, the turtle cried out in excitement. “So, it really is you! That’s wonderful! I can finally see you with my own eyes!”

This old softshell had lived for over three hundred years, but now, it was jumping up and down like a frenzied fanboy. You could describe it as “completely irrational.”

“Hmph!” Shi Fengliu snorted coldly. “You want to duel with me? Survive past the fourth, then talk. I, Shi Fengliu, am not stupid enough to snatch prey from right under Su Hongli’s nose!”

He might have sounded disdainful, but he was essentially refusing a duel with Su Yi.

“As for you, you dirty beast, I’ll come back for your life another day!” Shi Fengliu glanced at the softshell turtle, and, with one last threat, rode his fire-plumed crane away.

It was now obvious to everyone that the vice leader of the Hidden Dragon Sword Sect didn’t want to duel Su Yi here!

Furthermore, it even seemed he was worried Su Yi would stop him from leaving. As soon as he said his piece, he left, giving up on the idea of exterminating the softshell turtle first. 

There was no doubt about it: Su Yi was a dangerous foe, one he couldn’t afford to underestimate!

Otherwise, there was no way he would have just upped and left!

But how could Su Yi possibly let him leave so easily?

His sleeves billowed as he swung his hand like a sword and cut through the air.

Whoosh!

An ink-black streak of sword qi rose into the air, shooting toward the fire-plumed crane carrying Shi Fengliu into the distance.