First Immortal of the Sword

Chapter 1682 - Kicked Out

When they saw Tang Hanfeng lower his head and apologize, the other Immortal Lords did the same. All of them were terrified and ill at ease, and none of them dared to hesitate.

For some inexplicable reason, Tang Yuyan found this quite satisfying.

They’d been pestering her this entire time, and they’d tried to convince her to ditch Shen Mu many times over. It was frustrating, but she’d endured all this time.

Now, seeing them lower their heads for fear of Su Yi’s reprisal, Tang Yuyan couldn’t help but want to chime in, If we’d known earlier, how could any of this have happened?

Su Yi swept his gaze across the group and said, “No need for apologies. A trivial matter, that’s all. I never took it to heart.”

Tang Hanfeng and the others instantly sighed in relief.

But then, Su Yi said, “Still, you'd best leave the Divine Hunt Demon Mountains sooner rather than later.”

“???” Tang Hanfeng was flabbergasted. “Shen Mu, what... do you mean?”

Su Yi said flatly, “Twenty-ish days have passed since we entered these mountains. You’ve followed Tang Yuyan all this time, but you haven’t contributed much at all. Despite this, you’ve received no small number of trophies.”

Tang Hanfeng and the others’ expressions shifted. Is Shen Mu seriously calling us burdens? He of all people is accusing us of letting someone else do all the work?

Tang Yuyan was stunned too.

Su Yi continued, “Tang Yuyan has treated you extremely well. If you have a conscience, you’d best hurry up and leave. I’m sure you know better than anyone that without her, you’d have washed out a long time ago.”

Tang Hanfeng couldn’t help but say, “Shen Mu, we acknowledge your extraordinary background and strength, but on the way here, when did you lend a hand? You’re calling us burdens, but your performance was far worse than ours!”

The others chimed in their agreement.

Su Yi smiled. “I originally couldn’t be bothered to argue about this. I just want you to leave as soon as possible. But since you insist, very well. I’ll just have to be more convincing.”

Tang Hanfeng stiffened, then said in a quavering voice, “Don’t tell me you’re going to attack us? How is that any different from dismantling a bridge after you’ve crossed it?”

The others looked stricken too. Given Su Yi’s strength, it would be easy for him to hurt them.

Tang Yuyan had been silent all this time, but now, she couldn’t help but open her mouth to argue. However, before she could say anything, she froze.

Su Yi flipped his palm, and dozens of treasures of all types appeared: bloodstained feathers, enormous claws, and the severed heads of demonic beasts.

“Do you recognize these?” Su Yi asked calmly.

When Tang Yuyan saw these treasures, numerous scenes flooded into her mind.

Along the way, they’d encountered numerous almost life-threatening dangers, but every time, they overcame them by a hair.

For instance, a terrifyingly fierce, blood-red bird lurked around the Demonblood Lake. It controlled spatial Laws, letting it teleport. It could slay Immortal Lords with ease.

Even Tang Yuyan found it an incomparably difficult opponent, and she figured she’d have to pay a heavy price to defeat it.

Who’d have thought that the bird would jump in fright and flee at the sight of them? It was completely outside of Tang Yuyan’s expectations.

When she saw the blood-stained feathers in Su Yi’s hands, Tang Yuyan understood. He was the one who’d scared the bird off!

She recognized those massive claws, too. They’d belonged to the enormous demonic ape they’d encountered in the Black Smoke Forest.

And that still-bleeding head? It had belonged to the scorpion they’d encountered in the White Bone Wastes.

...There were over a dozen such treasures, and Tang Yuyan recognized them all. She was unwittingly stunned, and waves of emotion coursed through her. She suddenly realized that Su Yi had been quietly resolving the dangers they’d encountered along their journey this entire time, but none of them had noticed!

All this time, they’d been completely in the dark!

Tang Hanfeng and the others were dumbstruck. Of course they recognized these treasures’ origins! How could they not?

Naturally, they finally understood that although it had seemed as if Shen Mu was just sitting there reaping unearned benefits, he’d actually been helping them avoid disaster all this time!

How was he in any way a burden? He’d just been keeping his enormous merit to himself!

Tang Hanfeng and the others couldn’t help but be ashamed. They felt they had no face left.

Su Yi put away the treasures and said, “You can leave now.”

This time, no one dared to argue. All of them hung their heads, crushed their talismans, and left in disgrace.

Tang Yuyan didn’t stop them. She knew as well as Su Yi that bringing her allies any further would only drag them down.

Besides, she’d divided the spoils fairly this entire time. All of her allies had acquired numerous trophies. They were far better off than most of the Divine Hunt’s other participants.

It was a bit cruel to say it, but it was true. With their strength, disqualification was inevitable the moment they entered the heart of the Divine Hunt Demon Mountains!

“Come on, let’s get out of here first,” said Su Yi. He turned to leave.

In the past, Tang Yuyan would undoubtedly have objected to him ordering around. After all, she’d been her group’s pillar of support all this time, and everyone had to follow her orders.

But now...

Tang Yuyan didn’t question it. She followed Su Yi instinctively.

Before long, the two of them disappeared into the distance.

“I wouldn’t have guessed a deeply hidden expert like Shen Mu would appear in this Divine Hunt!”

A group suddenly emerged from the shadows. Their leader was a man in long red robes. His temples were flecked with white, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk’s.

Fei Zhen, the unrivaled Immortal Lord of the Church of Supreme Oneness!

“He’s just one person, yet he single-handedly suppressed six unrivaled Immortal Lords. Shen Mu’s power is far too terrifying!”

“Why didn’t I know that someone like him existed in the Immortal Realm?”

...As they discussed what had happened, everyone was confused.

“Quickly, let’s go reconvene with Senior Apprentice Brother Weng Changfeng. If it’s as I suspect, Shen Mu and Tang Yuyan are headed for that hidden realm from the Primeval Era too!” Fei Zhen immediately made a decision. “We’ve got to tell him everything that happened here today at Torn Space Mountain as soon as possible!”

The crowd was instantly solemn. All of them nodded their agreement.

Shen Mu was a nameless, deeply hidden expert, but now, he’d squished six Immortal Lords at once and acquired a suspected Great Realm treasure.

They really did have to inform their senior apprentice brother, Weng Changfeng, as soon as possible!

Throughout Torn Space Mountain, numerous other hidden figures shot off in different directions. There was no doubt about it. After witnessing this grand battle, none of them dared linger here any further.

......

Outside the Divine Hunt Demon Mountains.

Twenty-two days had passed since the start of the Divine Hunt.

Numerous washed-out Immortal Lords had already gathered on the giant ritual ground outside the mountains.

“Over a thousand Immortal Lords participated, and eight hundred and thirty have washed out already, with fifteen confirmed deaths. The competition is far more brutal than in past years,” whispered an Immortal King. “If it’s as I suspect, the greatest of the Immortal Lords have already reached the heart of the Divine Hunt Demon Mountains.

“The competition ahead will be the fiercest of all, but it’s still too soon to say who will take first place in the end.

“Seems to me that first place is sure to go to Gong Nanfeng. Five days ago, he already fought his way into the Divine Abomination Grounds, one of the most perilous forbidden zones at the heart of the Divine Hunt Demon Mountains,” another Immortal King said with confidence.

“Hah! Best not to make such proclamations until the last day of the hunt,” said another.

“That’s right. Weng Changfeng, Fei Zhen, Chu Batian, and several other unrivaled Immortal Lords are participating too. All of them display extraordinary talent far beyond the masses. Most of the Immortal Lords gathered here now were disqualified while competing with them for good fortune.”

The defeated Immortal Lords’ expressions darkened just listening to this conversation. They weren’t at all pleased, but there was no denying it. They really were a level below the unrivaled Immortal Lords.

“Is there word of Shen Mu?” one of the Immortal Kings asked suddenly.

Shortly after the Divine Hunt began, Shen Mu single-handedly disqualified no small number of impressive Immortal Lords. This feat left a deep impression on many of the prominent experts gathered here.

They’d seen him as a potential dark horse ever since!

Another Immortal King said with a strange look on his face, “Ever since Shen Mu joined up with Tang Yuyan, he’s disqualified a grand total of.... zero opponents.”

Many of the experts couldn’t help but find this shocking.

“Wasn’t Shen Mu quite something at first? He took out so many opponents at once! So why is his performance suddenly so mediocre?”

“And here I took him for a dark horse. Who’d have thought that in the end, he’d prove nothing special?”

“I’m sure it’s just that Tang Yuyan’s outshone him ever since he joined up with her. It seems that Shen Mu... is ultimately a bit weaker than the unrivaled Immortal Lords.”

After reaching this conclusion, they paid no further attention to Su Yi. After all, over the past few weeks, the unrivaled Immortal Lords shone far too brightly. Shen Mu’s brilliance paled by comparison, and he was no longer worthy of their attention.

Only Tang Lingqi’s expression looked strange. How could Tang Yuyan possibly obscure Su Yi’s brilliance?

Suddenly, space rippled, and a group of Immortal Lords fell onto the ritual grounds. Some of their bodies were on the verge of collapse, and some were battered and smeared with blood. Still others had no bodies left; all that remained were their souls.

All of them looked utterly wretched.

Uproar ensued. A clamor of voices arose on all sides.

What’s going on? Don’t tell me all of these Immortal Lords met with a terrifying catastrophe at once?

Before the crowd could react, space rippled violently, again and again as one battered Immortal Lord appeared after another. All of them were badly injured and gushing blood.

As soon as they exited the mountains, the disqualified Immortal Lords started shouting in grief, agony, bitterness, or agony...

Not even the Immortal Kings could stay calm when they saw this. Just what kind of terrifying catastrophe could have left so many Immortal Lords’ lives hanging in the balance? What could have forced them all to crush their life-saving talismans at once?

Before long, Hua Mingwu appeared. His hair was disheveled, and his flesh was in tatters.

Everyone present was instantly astonished. An unrivaled Immortal Lord was almost killed!?

But it wasn’t over yet. Li Xiao, Fu Yunzi, and Gu Dongliu appeared in the enormous ritual grounds shortly after. Each looked more wretched than the one before, and more badly wounded, too.

Even the Immortal Kings were overcome with astonishment and disbelief. What could possibly have forced so many unrivaled Immortal Lords to the brink of death in so little time!?