Immortal Martial Emperor

"N-No..."

Hearing Hong Yu’s words from behind, the vicious young master’s expression changed. A look of horror filled his eyes as he screamed in terror.

But Hong Yu gave him no such chance.

SWOOSH! His figure shot forward like a bolt of Thunder.

A golden flash of lightning coalesced in his palm, crackling with thunder, like the long-brewing wrath of a thunder god.

In an instant, Hong Yu caught up to the young master.

He slammed his palm mercilessly onto the man’s shoulder.

"BANG!"

A terrifying burst of energy exploded outward. The golden light was exceptionally brilliant and dazzling, as if a ball of Thunder had struck the ground and detonated.

"WAAH!"

The young master shrieked in pain.

The powerful shockwave sent his body flying. Half of his shoulder was a mangled, bloody mess, charred black, and the faint smell of cooked flesh wafted through the air.

Clutching his shoulder, he screamed incessantly while rolling on the ground.

The surrounding crowd gasped at the sight.

Hong Yu had struck so quickly that no one had time to react. They stared at Cheng Gong, whose lower body was almost completely paralyzed, and then at the other four miserable-looking young masters. An involuntary chill ran down everyone’s spines.

At the same time, a faint sense of excitement and exhilaration stirred within them.

’So satisfying!’

’Damn it, those five bastards dragged my sister away last year and threw her back a madwoman! I’ve wanted to kill them for so long! The heavens are finally watching!’

’Hahaha, this is what you call karmic retribution! What goes around, comes around! They’re getting what they deserve!’

"Young hero, you should leave, quickly! These five aren’t ordinary people. That Cheng Gong is a direct young master of the Cheng Family. Now that you’ve crippled him, the Cheng Family will never let you go!"

A kind-hearted person warned Hong Yu.

Hong Yu shot him a grateful glance before turning to gather the children. Just as he was about to speak, the clatter of armor echoed from within the city gates.

Each sound was crisp and sharp, brimming with killing intent. They were approaching with menacing speed.

Hong Yu glanced over and saw nearly a thousand soldiers of the City Guard Army rushing out from the city, their Cold Light Armor gleaming and their blades and spears looking sharp and deadly.

The man in the lead reeked of blood.

He looked like a General who had tread upon mountains of bones. His cold eyes swept over the five screaming young masters, pausing on Cheng Gong and the one Hong Yu had just injured. A hint of coldness flickered in his gaze.

When the wailing young master saw the Ice Armor General, it was as if he’d spotted his savior. He roared hysterically, "Uncle! Uncle! You have to avenge me! This bastard crippled Young Master Cheng Gong and did this to me! Uncle, you have to get revenge for me!"

His face was a mask of blood and venomous hatred as he shrieked.

The Ice Armor General waved a hand, ordering several of his subordinates to step forward and protect the five young masters. He fixed his cold gaze on Hong Yu. "Who are you? Why did you attack them without cause?"

"Without cause?"

Hong Yu laughed in fury.

He had already sensed this Ice Armor Powerhouse’s presence. The fluctuations of a Late-stage Primordial Core Realm cultivator were exceptionally strong, and he had been watching everything from the top of the city wall.

’With the hearing and sight of a Late-stage Primordial Core Realm Powerhouse, how could he not know what just happened?’

"Hahaha, how ridiculous... truly laughable..." Hong Yu said angrily.

The Ice Armor General frowned. "What are you laughing at?"

"I’m laughing at your self-deception. I’m laughing at your shamelessness. I’m laughing at you and this den of filth you collude with," Hong Yu said coldly.

"Insolent fool!"

The Ice Armor General roared in fury.

He commanded the hundred thousand-strong City Guard Army of the Frozen City, and his cultivation was at the Late-stage Primordial Core Realm. Even the Patriarchs of the major Top Level families would show him some respect. When had he ever been insulted like this?

"Men, seize this villain!"

The Ice Armor General snarled.

"First Battalion, with me!"

"Second Battalion, with me!"

Two captains, both at the Early-stage Primordial Core Realm of cultivation, each led five hundred men and charged at Hong Yu. The Ice Kingdom’s strength ranked in the middle among the hundred-plus alliances of the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom, a full tier above the Southern Ten Nations.

This thousand-man City Guard Legion was already comparable in strength to the five-thousand-strong Tiger and Wolf Corps of the Qin Kingdom!

The thousand-man army moved in perfect unison, their combined Momentum shaking the heavens, their Evil Qi billowing like a tidal wave.

Xiaohua and the thirty-odd other children turned pale, watching the thousand-plus soldiers in Cold Light Armor with inexplicable terror. Fear and worry filled their eyes. "Brother Hongyu, th-they..."

Hong Yu smiled faintly. "Don’t worry. This small fry can’t hurt your big brother! But you need to listen to me. Close your eyes right now!"

"Brother Hongyu, don’t worry about us! Just fly away and escape!"

Xiaohua said, biting her lip.

Hong Yu laughed heartily. A powerful, proud aura erupted from his body, making him seem like a Peak War General, an army of one!

One man holding a pass against ten thousand!

"Xiaohua, have the others close their eyes and hide behind me!" Hong Yu said.

"But..."

Xiaohua bit her lip stubbornly, but looking into Hong Yu’s clear, earnest eyes, she nodded. She pulled the other children down to the ground, and they huddled together in a ball.

Xiaohua whispered, "Everyone, let’s close our eyes and not distract Brother Hongyu!"

"Okay!"

"Go, Brother Hongyu!"

"Brother Hongyu will definitely beat these bad guys."

The little ones murmured to each other.

Hong Yu took a deep breath and stood to face the thousand soldiers of the City Guard Army. His gaze skipped over the army and landed on the Ice Armor General. "I didn’t want to cause trouble," he said lightly. "I just wanted to quietly return these children to their families. But since you insist on twisting black and white and ignoring right and wrong, then you can’t blame me for what happens today!"

"Arrogant brat."

The Ice Armor General sneered.

He could naturally sense that Hong Yu’s cultivation was also at the Late-stage Primordial Core Realm.

’But so what?’

’I am a General of the Ice Kingdom, a veteran of a hundred battles. I’ve even cut down a Peak of Primordial Core Realm Powerhouse before.’

’What’s a wet-behind-the-ears brat to me?’

"All City Guard Army, advance!"

The Ice Armor General waved his hand.

Instantly...

The remaining two thousand soldiers of the City Guard Army charged forward, not to be outdone.

One man against three thousand well-trained elite soldiers.

Yet Hong Yu’s expression remained unchanged.

’I won’t attack unless I am attacked!’

’But if anyone attacks me, I’ll annihilate their entire clan!’

This was Hong Yu’s code of conduct.

With a furious roar, he thrust his palms into the air. A Vast Palm Force leaped into the void, surging like a colliding mountain, or like a grasp from the Ancient Divine Deities themselves.

"First Battalion, Shield Array!"

The Primordial Core Realm expert leading the First Battalion shouted, unafraid.

They had extensive experience in besieging powerful experts.

The five hundred soldiers of the First Battalion raised their Giant Shields, which swirled with the multicolored glow of Elemental Power. The dazzling Xuanse light from their Tunneling Armor formed a powerful Shield Wall. Enveloped in a single, unified aura of light, it looked like a heavy mountain blocking the path.

A Shield Wall this sturdy would be difficult for even a Late-stage Primordial Core Realm expert to break through quickly.

At the same time...

The combat power and mobility of the Ice Kingdom’s City Guard Army erupted.

"Second and Third Battalions, icy assault, restrain the target!"

The captain of the Second Battalion led the charge, unleashing a blizzard that swept over the area. A storm of frost and snow instantly froze the ground into a sheet of glistening Ice Spirit.

"SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!"

The soldiers of the Second and Third Battalions launched their icy assault in unison.

The scene resembled a Frozen Heaven and Earth. A raging blizzard instantly enveloped Hong Yu, causing the surrounding air to seemingly solidify. The ground became incredibly slick; an ordinary expert would have slipped and fallen immediately.

Hong Yu snorted coldly. His feet were wreathed in dark lightning. Everywhere he stepped, the frozen ground cracked and shattered. He strode forward with a firm gait, completely unaffected by the ice.

"Hmm?"

The Ice Armor General frowned. He waved a hand and commanded, "Ice Spear Array, attack!"

"KILL! KILL! KILL!"

The remaining battalions simultaneously drew the chilling Ice Spears from their backs and hurled them forward. They blotted out the sun, like a torrential downpour of condensed Ice Spears.

Faced with such an attack, even an ordinary Peak of Primordial Core Realm Powerhouse would have to retreat.

However...

"Eight Desolates Dominating Body!"

A brilliant golden light erupted around him, like bolts of Thunder flowing and surging across the surface of his body. When the Ice Spears struck him, they exploded with a series of BOOMS, sending shards of ice flying everywhere. A terrifyingly cold qi filled the air, causing the temperature to drop sharply.

"How is that possible? Someone can resist the Ice Spear Array with their physical body?" The Ice Armor General’s expression changed for the first time.

He hadn’t taken Hong Yu seriously at all.

’But now, it seems I’ve misjudged him this time.’

’Even I would have to use a few of my trump cards to face an Ice Spear Array of this scale. Yet Hong Yu blocked it with nothing but his physical body?’

"Use the Ice Shields to block him!"

The Ice Armor General roared.

"ROAR!"

The five-hundred-man Ice Shield Array took a step forward, and the ground seemed to tremble and shake.

"Break for me!"

Hong Yu let out a low growl.

His finger shot forward, condensing into a gigantic, golden finger wreathed in dazzling fluctuations of light.

Three-Fingered Annihilation of Living Beings!

This Annihilation Finger was the strongest single-target attack in the Thunderfire Heaven-Breaking Finger technique. Against an Ice Shield Battle Array like this, the only way was to use a single point of attack to shatter the entire surface!

"CRACK! CRACKLE!"

Under the impact of the finger, which was suffused with black light...

Cracks spread across the giant Ice Shield before it exploded with a BOOM.

Hong Yu seized the opportunity and surged forward. He swung out with his Three Flames Palm, conjuring a sea of fire. HISS HISS! Steam filled the air. As the Fire Dragon rampaged, the soldiers of the City Guard Army were sent flying, their formation collapsing like a landslide.

"Spirit Storm!"

As Hong Yu charged, blue Spiritual Power swirled around his body.

The shattered fragments of the Ice Shields suddenly spun into the air. Under the barrage, the three-thousand-man City Guard Army couldn’t even withstand a single exchange...

"HISS!"

A series of sharp intakes of breath swept through the onlookers as they stared at the City Guard Army, who were scattered across the ground, either unconscious or wailing in agony.

The Ice Armor General’s face turned ashen. He never would have expected Hong Yu to be this ferocious.

"Now, it’s your turn!" Hong Yu declared, standing proudly as he looked at the Ice Armor General.

The Ice Armor General’s expression flickered between pale and livid.

Just as a confrontation between the two seemed imminent, a sinister voice came from behind Hong Yu. "Brat, if you move another inch, I’ll snap her neck!"

"Hmm?"

Hong Yu froze. He glanced to the side, and his expression changed drastically.

Somehow, Tang Sanpang had snuck behind him and was now gripping Xiaohua’s neck tightly. The poor little girl, afraid of distracting Hong Yu, hadn’t made a sound the entire time.

Looking at Tang Sanpang’s vicious expression, Hong Yu took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the torrent of rage boiling inside him...

"Let her go and cut off your own hands. Or, I’ll do it for you and take your head!"