Imagine that you have achieved the peak of power. What more could you possibly want? At the twilight of your glory, your closest friends and allies grieve your eventual departure. This won't last for long, for the moment your mortal coil expires, they start squabbling with one another over what you left behind. Is there all life and cultivation has to offer? A momentary flicker in the eternal flow of the River of Destiny? Not if you ask Su Xuanjun.

First Immortal of the Sword begins as the protagonist watches as his former, loyal disciples exploit his death right before his soul reincarnates to become Su Yi. However, his past life's memories remain dormant during his early years. When he finally awakens them, the weak demeanor of his current incarnation is no more, but the impression that others have of him remains.

With his esoteric understanding of the Dao fully restored, his first agenda is to shake off his lowly status as a live-in son-in-law of the Wen family, breaking his arranged marriage with his unwilling bride, Wen Lingzhao, and watch over his darling sister-in-law, Wen Lingxue as he makes his name across the world as the aloof, no-nonsense sword cultivator of the highest caliber.

Su Yi goes on to show those that look down on him what a true master is really like, even as he restarts his cultivation journey from the ground up. Read as he exploits his profound understanding of the various Daos to completely wipe the floor with foes far higher leveled than him, ranging from arrogant young masters, experienced sect elders and even demonic cultivators that were foolish or blind enough to cross his path!

If you like stories with elements of reincarnation, you will enjoy First Immortal of the Sword! Su Yi is the direct reincarnation of Su Xuanjun and possesses all his memories and cultivation knowledge, though he only awakened it after reaching young adulthood.

Su Yi also frequently goes up against enemies that are far stronger than him in terms of cultivation level. His foes are numerous and far away in high places, their aims often far beyond his grasp. There is also a shred of political intrigue that goes on between the scions from the imperial family. However, Su Yi, ever the aloof fallen immortal, won't let such mortal squabbles get in the way of achieving his true goals, choosing only to interfere when his own interests are threatened.

While both novels utilize the concept of reincarnation in some form, Su Yi reincarnates with the full memories of his previous life as Su Xuanjun intact, while An Jing's Spark only comes with really fragmented vignettes of his past life that he doesn't have the full context to understand.

An Jing's past life memories mostly play a role in his precocious nature and maturity as well as expert knowledge at handling tools or weapons that may be foreign to residents of his current world, but his motivations are entirely his own and derived from his current life. Su Yi, however, is basically identical with his previous incarnation, Su Xuanjun once his dormant memories awaken, carrying over all his motivations, memories and relationships from his past life to add to those formed in his current life. He acts differently the moment his memories awaken at the start of the story.

Additionally, there are different worlds in Destiny in Cinders that only An Jing is capable of traversing, and one of them is a cyberpunk dystopia where megacorporations monopolize cultivation resources and technology. In FIOTS, there's only one universe, but it's ancient, with a history spanning millions of years, and layered like an onion, with each layer bigger and more ancient than the one before. Far deeper than Su Yi's previous life as Su Xuanjun, in fact… There's lots of hidden mysteries waiting to be uncovered.

FIOTS is an addictive and easy read. The plot structure and character motivations are relatively simple and works in favor of the overarching story. It makes picking up the novel incredibly easy as there aren't that many elements of the plot to keep in mind. Things proceed in a fairly linear fashion. While the villain-of-the-week setup and payback can be somewhat repetitive and predictable, it is just as satisfying when the payoff finally arrives in the form of Su Yi absolutely dominating his enemies and blowing the minds of those in the peanut gallery.

FIOTS also has a smattering of romantic interactions in the early part of the story that hints at something more meaningful being developed in the later arcs. They're usually lighthearted and enjoyable and there's a lot to look forward to in the future on how the protagonist and his love interest(s) act around each other.

I do particularly enjoy Huang Qianjun's friendship with Su Yi. He used to be one of the arrogant silkpants that crossed Su Yi's path, but he was flexible and changed after being humbled, eventually becoming someone who genuinely wishes the best for Su Yi. It's a rather refreshing take on an arrogant young master and an example of a person who deserves a second chance.

If you like some quick and straightforward action with a dose of power fantasy on steroids, FIOTS is definitely a story you'll want to check out! There's loads of arrogant young masters and their fathers and sect elders lining up to be taught a harsh lesson by Su Yi even from the early parts of the story. If you also enjoy a soft cultivation system where things outside your expectations can happen before you can even imagine them, this will be quite the enjoyable read.