Immortal Martial Emperor

Hong Yu was stunned speechless.

In front of him, in an open space, Xingtian waved his hand. One by one, he laid out everything he had plundered over the past three days, not holding back a single item.

Hearing Hong Yu’s confused question, Xingtian gave a simple, honest laugh and scratched his head. "Some of it I found, but most of it I stole!"

"Stole? Damn, you’re something else!"

Hong Yu was dumbfounded.

He sighed in amazement, staring at the small mountain of Treasure before him.

There were about three thousand Profound Ice Crystal Stones, which served as entry passes to the Profound Ice Secret Realm. If sold outside, they would surely fetch a handsome price.

Besides those...

There were also many Heaven and Earth’s Treasures and Essences, and even some top-grade Artifact Refining Materials.

For example, there were Nine-leaf Snow Lotuses, Ice Soul Lingzhi, and Three-legged Snow Ginseng—all were precious medicinal herbs of the Fourth Grade or higher. There were even three Fifth-Grade herbs among them, which were incredibly rare treasures.

And then there was the fifty-meter-long piece of Transparent Refined Iron, which weighed thirty to fifty tons and turned out to be Ten Thousand Year Snow Iron Ore.

It was a genuine Fifth-Grade Artifact Refining Material!

Such a large, contiguous piece of Fifth-Grade Artifact Refining Material was comparable to some Sixth-Grade materials!

If its essence were refined, it might even be possible to forge a Sixth-Grade Primordial Weapon.

Whether it was Pills or Primordial Weapons, the leap from Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade was a massive hurdle. Crossing it meant a world of difference!

Xingtian explained, "A group from the Tang Family found this. They seemed to treasure it, so I took it!"

He was still just as simple and honest.

The pure, good-natured smile on his face was very endearing.

Hong Yu was a little speechless. He muttered, "You really are a badass! But you’ve given me an idea. Instead of painstakingly searching for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures myself, it’s faster to just rob people. It’s not like our relationships with the Tang Family, the Cheng Family, and the Blood Demon Palace are any good anyway!"

Xingtian was a bit confused but believed Hong Yu’s words without a doubt. He nodded. "Robbing. I can. Help you!"

Hong Yu laughed. "No need, I can handle it myself. You should take some of these things that are suitable for cultivating the Five Yin Demon Prison and improve your strength. Who knows, I might need your help when we get to the Ancient Ice Glacier!"

"Okay!"

Xingtian thought it over seriously and nodded.

Hong Yu brought him into the tower’s space, tossed him the materials suitable for cultivating the Five Yin Demon Prison, and once everything was settled, sprinted toward the entrance to the fourth layer.

He had already gained so much on the Third Layer. The Fourth Layer, the Fifth Layer, even the Sixth Layer...

Hong Yu gulped just thinking about the mountain of treasures he might find.

Huhu, who was clinging to his shoulder and refusing to get down, also had shining eyes. Although it was a bit dazed, it had a deep obsession with treasure, and drool was practically pouring from its mouth.

One man and one beast charged toward the Fourth Layer.

And so, the curtain rose on a great heist—an event that would become a nightmare for the Tang Family, the Cheng Family, and the Blood Demon Palace, a plundering unprecedented in the hundreds of years since the Ice Tower’s opening!

***

The world of the Fourth Layer was distinctly different from the first three.

From the Fourth Layer onward, cities began to appear. Although they were likely deserted, it was better than nothing.

The entire Fourth Layer contained four great cities, one in each of the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. They were named after the four great Divine Beasts: Cyan Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.

Cyan Dragon City was the territory occupied by the Tang Family’s experts.

Those who could reach the Fourth Layer were all elites of the Tang Family. Though there were only a few dozen of them, they were all absolute powerhouses. These few dozen people were comparable to a force of Tiger and Wolf Corps experts ten times their number.

「At this moment...」

The Tang Family elites in Cyan Dragon City were bustling about, organizing their gains from the past few days. There were countless Primordial Weapons, Pills, Heaven and Earth Spirit Essences, Artifact Refining Materials, and more.

The harvest of these few dozen people was greater than that of the many Tang Family members on the Third Layer.

"Hahaha, we’ve struck it rich! Once we bring these Treasures back, the Tang Family’s strength will double!"

"At that time, our Tang Family will definitely rise to a new level. It’s not impossible that we could even become an existence like the Blood Demon Palace!"

The Tang Family experts were thrilled.

This harvest was truly bountiful, far more than the combined hauls of the past several decades.

While luck was certainly a factor, it was mostly due to Tang Rui’s power, which allowed the Tang Family to seize Cyan Dragon City and naturally increase the speed at which they found Treasures.

"It’s a shame we only have Cyan Dragon City out of the four main cities. The Royal Family took Vermilion Bird City, the Cheng Family has Black Tortoise City, and White Tiger City fell into the hands of the Blood Demon Palace. I heard the resources around White Tiger City are comparable to Cyan Dragon City and Black Tortoise City combined!"

"Vermilion Bird City has just as much."

"Blood Cyan Robe is really something. He actually managed to injure Xu Wudi all by himself. I hear Xu Wudi is being hunted by Blood Cyan Robe right now!"

"Well, Blood Cyan Robe got lucky and found that Treasure. The title of number one True Dragon is definitely going to change hands in the future!"

The group of Tang Family experts chatted freely as they took their findings out of their Storage Rings to be inventoried and categorized.

Just then, as one of the Tang Family experts wiped sweat from his brow, he suddenly spotted a black dot in the sky.

He froze for a second, then focused his gaze. "It looks like someone is flying toward our Cyan Dragon City!"

"Oh? Doesn’t everyone know Cyan Dragon City is Tang Family territory? Is he coming here to die?"

"Activate the city’s Defensive Array!"

A Tang Family expert immediately gave the order, and a transparent Barrier appeared over Cyan Dragon City.

The group of Tang Family experts flew up to the city walls. By now, they could finally see the visitor’s face, and many of them recognized Hong Yu.

"Hong Yu? He dares to set foot in a world above the Third Layer?"

"How dare you, Hong Yu! Blood Cyan Robe forbade you from going past the Third Layer. You’re courting death!"

In response to the Tang Family’s threats, a cold smile curved Hong Yu’s lips. "Listen up, people of the Tang Family. Hand over all the Treasures you’ve collected these past few days, and I might show mercy and spare your lives. If you remain stubborn and insist on resisting to the end, then don’t blame me for being ruthless!"

"Bastard, who do you think you are?"

"We have the Cyan Dragon City Barrier. What can you do to us?"

The Tang Family experts were fearless and confident.

This Barrier was so strong that not even Blood Cyan Robe could easily break it.

Hong Yu snorted. "A Barrier? It’s nothing but a piece of paper. Watch me break it!"

With a low shout, Hong Yu focused his power and thrust a finger forward.

His fingertip touched the Barrier, but it was as if he’d hit an invisible obstacle. It didn’t budge.

"Hahaha, didn’t you just boast that this Barrier was like a piece of paper? Why can’t you break it now?"

"This is hilarious!"

The Tang Family members mocked him relentlessly, sneering.

But soon, they could no longer laugh...

"Break!"

Following that single word from Hong Yu, strange patterns flowed from his fingertip. It was a peculiar technique for breaking barriers from the ’Initial Understanding of the Dao of Artifacts’. Under the effect of these Runes, the Barrier truly was as fragile as paper, shattering with a BOOM.

"What? He... he actually broke the Barrier?"

"Damn it, fight him!"

"We can’t let him take the Treasure!"

The experts soared into the sky, charging toward Hong Yu.

However... when they reached the sky, they suddenly discovered that Hong Yu had vanished.

When they turned around, they saw that Hong Yu had somehow already entered Cyan Dragon City. With a wave of his hand, a Golden Light Spear Aura swept out and smashed the treasury to pieces.

Huhu leaped off his shoulder, its eyes glowing as it drooled excitedly. The three golden hairs on its head pulsed with a golden light, and with every shake, it took away a mountain of Treasure.

Hong Yu was no slouch either. The Profound Celestial Treasure Tower’s power to absorb objects was far greater than any Storage Ring’s.

The Treasures the Tang Family experts had painstakingly gathered for days fell into Hong Yu and Huhu’s hands in a matter of moments. Huhu let out an excited "WAA WAA!", grabbed a Fifth Grade Ginseng Fruit, took a bite, and squinted its eyes in delight.

The sight made the Tang Family experts’ eyes burn with fury. "He dares to steal our Treasure! Get him."

The dozens of experts charged with overwhelming momentum, but unfortunately, their opponent was Hong Yu—a Hong Yu who was no weaker than Xu Wudi.

The battle was a complete rout. A few minutes later, Cyan Dragon City was in ruins, and not a single Tang Family expert survived.

The treasury, of course, was picked clean.

Half a day later, the same scene played out in Black Tortoise City, which was controlled by the Cheng Family.

The only difference was that after Black Tortoise City was plundered, one person was left alive. It was a fat, large-eared Cheng Family expert with a fawning expression on his face. Standing amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood in front of the shattered treasury, he waved at Hong Yu. "Master Hong, take care. Whoops, careful of the wind! Come again next time!"

Witnessing Hong Yu’s merciless slaughter had shattered the man’s spirit. He had immediately dropped to his knees and begged for his life, acting like a complete sycophant.

Hong Yu couldn’t be bothered to kill him. It would only dirty his hands!

With both the Cheng and Tang families plundered, Hong Yu did not proceed to Vermilion Bird City, the Royal Family’s territory. After all, he would have to spend some more time in the Ice Kingdom, so it was best not to make an enemy of them.

His final target was, naturally, the Blood Demon Palace’s White Tiger City.

When Hong Yu arrived at White Tiger City, the Blood Demon Palace experts within were clearly prepared. They had raised a defensive barrier and were sharpening their blades, their killing intent soaring.

A Blood Demon Palace Elder, a dignified Early-stage Primordial Embryo Realm expert who had mastered four Mysteries of Martial Arts, stared at Hong Yu in the sky, his eyes flashing with cold light. "How dare you, Hong Yu! To defy Qingyi’s command and enter the space above the third layer, you are simply courting death."

"That line again? Don’t you think you sound ridiculous? If I were truly afraid of Blood Cyan Robe, why would I have come here?"

The Blood Demon Palace Elder roared, "Hong Yu, don’t be so arrogant! Our Blood Cyan Robe’s strength is unmatched; he is the true number one True Dragon. Once he finishes off Xu Wudi and frees up his hands, it will be your time to die!"

Hong Yu laughed coldly. "Old dog, don’t even talk about how Blood Cyan Robe isn’t here. Even if he were standing right in front of me, I’d still run him through with my spear. Stop trying to scare me with his name!"

"Damn you, Hong Yu! You’re too arrogant!"

The Blood Demon Palace Elder roared again and again. "All members of the Blood Demon Palace, hear my command! Kill Hong Yu!"

"ROAR!"

"KILL!"

A miserable slaughter ensued, dyeing a stretch of the city walls red with blood.

In the end...

The experts who hadn’t reached the Primordial Embryo Realm were like cabbages before Hong Yu, cut down with brutal efficiency. Only the Elder remained, and he was defeated after just a few exchanges.

Hong Yu swept his spear, pressing it against the Elder’s neck. Just as he was about to take his head, the Elder wailed and screamed out a crucial piece of information...

"Don’t kill me! I’ll tell you a massive secret!"