Immortal Martial Emperor

Breaking Army Spear, Three Flames Palm, Destruction, the Nine Refinements of the Primordial Spirit, and Xingtian...

These were Hong Yu’s five strongest trump cards at the moment.

But in the current situation, the first four trump cards were rendered useless against Hong Renjie’s immense power, having lost their intended effect. As for the last one, Xingtian, the situation was so urgent that there was simply no time to summon him from the Profound Celestial Tower.

Hong Renjie’s power was simply too overwhelming!

It had reached the point where even after Hong Yu had played all his cards, he was still no match for him.

This overwhelming power even made Hong Yu feel despair.

The gap was just too wide!

"Die, Hong Yu!"

A savage sneer appeared on Hong Renjie’s face. The knee rocketing toward Hong Yu’s head carried the despairing sound of tearing wind, making one’s scalp tingle—it was like the soul-reaping Demonic Sound of the Death God.

Hong Yu’s mind buzzed, going completely blank.

Into this mental void, scene after scene of past memories suddenly surged forth like a spring.

It was a deep, dark well, shielded from the sun. The well water was cold and damp, constantly sloshing and splashing.

At the bottom of the well, a frail young girl gripped a rope hanging down, desperately supporting a young boy on her small shoulders.

The boy was him, and the girl was Yun Mengyao.

He vaguely remembered that for an entire freezing night, Yun Mengyao had held on just like that, supporting him after he’d slipped and fallen into the well, not letting a single drop of icy water touch his body. It wasn’t until the next day that someone finally discovered them and rescued them from the deep well.

That time, Yun Mengyao had been sick for a full half-month.

He suddenly recalled...

...how Yun Mengyao, wanting to buy him some meat to help him recover, had secretly taken the money meant for her own medicine to buy a piece of Ginseng, only to discover it was a fake.

The little girl had blamed herself and cried the entire night!

Her voice echoed in his mind. Yun Mengyao’s clear, innocent eyes were wide with anticipation as she looked at him, her voice a mix of unease and hope. "Brother, can my illness really be cured? After it’s cured, you’ll take me to find Father and Mother, right?"

Scene after scene, it all felt like it had happened only yesterday.

So clear, so profound...

VMM!

A refreshing stream suddenly flowed from his Star River Spirit Bone, clearing Hong Yu’s dazed mind and restoring his calm.

The vacant look on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by his usual composure. ’I can’t give up. I can’t die yet. I still have to help Yaoyao get better, I still have to take her to find Father and Mother... No, I won’t let this happen. No one can take my life!’

At this moment... something inside Hong Yu’s body seemed to undergo a transformation.

His left eye, still bloodied, remained shut, but his right eye had already regained its calm and sharpness.

All these thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant!

He watched as Hong Renjie’s attack closed in, now only a hand’s breadth from the tip of his nose. The immense force of the wind was already crushing the bridge of his nose, which made a crisp CRACK CRACK sound, threatening to shatter at any moment.

But just at this critical, hair’s-breadth moment, Hong Yu made an unexpected move.

He used the momentum of the powerful gust of wind to lean back, increasing the distance from the incoming knee, but it wasn’t enough to dodge Hong Renjie’s fatal blow.

After a brief moment of surprise, Hong Renjie sneered mockingly, "A foolish choice!"

Hong Renjie twisted his body in mid-air, changing his knee strike into a horizontal sweep.

Its power didn’t diminish; it grew!

If this attack landed, Hong Yu would most likely be decapitated.

But, as it happened, this was the very moment Hong Yu had been waiting for.

The powerful WHOOSH of the wind tearing through the air filled his ears. Hong Yu’s expression was terrifyingly calm, the corners of his mouth curling upward into a confident arc.

In the brief moment of time he had bought, a Spiritual Energy Ball of a moderate size had already formed in his palm. The energy ball was about the size of a fist. Its power wasn’t overwhelming, but if it exploded, it could unleash five to six thousand jin of force.

Hong Yu suddenly glanced sideways at Hong Renjie and softly spoke two words: "Bye Bye!"

"Hm?"

Hong Renjie didn’t react in time.

Hong Yu had already slammed the Energy Ball against his own body.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion thundered out.

A powerful storm of energy swept outward. The immense shockwave actually repelled Hong Renjie’s fatal blow, forcing his body to a halt and causing his hand, which was gripping the Breaking Army Spear to restrain Hong Yu, to loosen its grasp subconsciously.

He then saw Hong Yu’s body fly backward like a kite with a broken string, flung by the intense blast.

He flew a full sixteen or seventeen meters before finally coming to a stop.

THUD! THUD!

Hong Yu’s body slammed against the ground several times.

PTAH!

He struggled to his feet, but a sharp pain shot through his chest, and he couldn’t help but spit out a pool of dark blood.

"Heheh... hehehehe... hehehehehe..."

Hong Yu propped himself up with both hands, his shoulders trembling as he let out bursts of wild, uninhibited laughter. He sounded utterly insane!

He staggered to his feet, using the Breaking Army Spear to keep his balance. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, streamed down his chin, and stained his snow-white tunic red.

The fabric over his chest was completely obliterated, revealing a stretch of strong muscle. However, this muscle was now covered in wounds from the energy blast, looking like blood-soaked centipedes crawling across his skin—so gruesome and terrifying that one couldn’t bear to look directly at it.

But Hong Yu seemed completely unaware of it. His right eye shone with a gaze as sharp as a blade’s edge or a Sword Aura, fixed tightly on Hong Renjie. "Sorry, you still couldn’t kill me. I’ve disappointed you again!"

Hong Renjie stood silently, his expression shifting and dark.

Hong Yu’s last move hadn’t caused him much harm; it had merely destroyed a section of his pant leg. What was truly unacceptable to him was that his sure-kill strike had failed. For someone like Hong Renjie, who always pursued perfection, this was unbearable.

Looking back on his twenty-some years of life, he could be described as invincible.

Whether in the Hong Family of Shishui City or within the Cyan Nether Sword Sect, Hong Renjie had never faced any setbacks, enjoying a meteoric rise!

But...

Ever since arriving at the Eight Desolates Mansion and encountering Hong Yu, he had suffered one setback after another.

First, his attempt to stop Hong Yu from entering the Eight Desolates Mansion failed. Then, his venomous scheme to trap Hong Yu in the perils of the Sea of Blood not only fell apart, allowing Hong Yu to obtain the Treasure from the first trial, but more importantly, the Treasure Chest he had risked his life to snatch from Ding Yuanshan turned out to be filled with shit.

These things alone were enough to drive Hong Renjie mad.

What’s more, his sure-kill move had just ended in failure yet again.

This undoubtedly provoked Hong Renjie once more.

The fury in his eyes flickered like Thunder. The Momentum emanating from his body grew more and more savage and violent, coalescing into a roaring, bellowing Heaven-Slaying Sword that sought to cut Hong Yu down.

Just then, a BOOM! A wave of energy so powerful it was heart-stopping erupted from the side. The terrifying force of this power violently disrupted the Momentum Hong Renjie had been building for so long. His expression heavy, he turned his head.

At first glance, even someone as powerful as Hong Renjie couldn’t help his expression changing slightly as he blurted out, "The Sect Leader’s Sword Order? How is that possible..."

Not far ahead... Ling Tian was holding a purple-gold, sword-shaped Token. The Sword Order emanated waves of inexplicably terrifying energy. The powerful energy shockwave instantly killed a Sword Sect disciple and two experts from the Thief Gang who were closest to him.

Everyone stared at the Purple Gold Sword Order in utter shock.

The energy fluctuations radiating from it extinguished any thought of resistance in everyone present.

Even Ding Yuanshan’s blood roiled from the impact of this aura, and a pensive look crossed his face. ’This Ling Tian actually managed to obtain the Cyan Nether Sword Sect Leader’s Sword Order. Damn it, I miscalculated this time.’

The Cyan Nether Sword Sect Master was a genuine Primordial Core Realm expert.

The Sect Leader’s Sword Order represented him and the authority of the entire Cyan Nether Sword Sect. It was naturally an exceptionally rare and precious Primordial Weapon.

Besides granting the authority to command all Sword Sect disciples below the rank of Elder, the Sect Leader’s Sword Order’s most important function was protection. It was powerful enough to shield its wielder from attacks by anyone below the Primordial Core Realm. The immense aura it contained could even instantly kill an Earth Soul Realm expert.

Holding the Sect Leader’s Sword Order, Ling Tian moved toward Hong Yu with Tie Shou and the others. His cold gaze swept over the crowd before locking onto Hong Renjie. "How audacious, Hong Renjie! The Sect Leader’s Sword Order is here, and you still haven’t kneeled?"

"You..."

Hong Renjie’s expression changed drastically.

But as he resisted, the pressure from the Sect Leader’s Sword Order grew heavier and heavier, forcing Hong Renjie to grit his teeth and fall to his knees. "Disciple Hong Renjie respectfully greets the Sect Leader’s Sword Order!"

"Hong Renjie, you dare to collude with outsiders to harm a fellow sect member. Do you know your crime?" Ling Tian demanded furiously.

Hong Renjie kept his head bowed, his eyes flickering with uncertainty as if he were hesitating.

Ding Yuanshan, watching coldly from the side, said in a low voice, "Brother Hong, so what if it’s the Sect Leader’s Sword Order? As long as you and I join forces to kill Ling Tian, the Sword Order will naturally lose its suppressive power. It could even become a Supreme Treasure in your hands. Why not do it?"

"Get lost!"

Hong Renjie shot him a fierce glare.

Ding Yuanshan pursed his lips. "Don’t forget, the situation between you is already kill-or-be-killed. Don’t tell me you think that if you let them go today, they won’t seek revenge once you’re back in the Sword Sect?"

Hong Renjie’s expression faltered, and the killing intent in his eyes grew more solid.

Seeing this, Ling Tian’s brows arched coldly. He berated, "So, Hong Renjie, your treacherous heart truly hasn’t changed..." As he spoke, Ling Tian prepared to activate the Sect Leader’s Sword Order with his full power.

"Wait a moment!"

Just as tensions between the two sides reached a breaking point, a weak voice came from Hong Yu.

Everyone turned to look at him in confusion.

Hong Yu dragged his weak body to Ling Tian’s side, his indifferent gaze sweeping over the crowd. "It’s not just our Sword Sect disciples here today; there are also some outsiders present..." He left his sentence hanging, then looked at Hong Renjie. "I can guarantee that I will not report today’s events to the Sect."

"Hm?"

Hong Renjie froze, frowning. "What kind of trick are you trying to pull now?"

Hong Yu gave a faint, genuine smile. His voice was resonant and powerful, and one could feel a magnanimous and unshakeable resolve in his words.

"I, Hong Yu, am someone who holds a grudge. I prefer to take revenge with my own two hands, not by relying on external forces. Therefore..."

Hong Yu’s cold gaze sharpened as he stared directly at Hong Renjie and said calmly, "This time, I will not use the Sect Leader’s Sword Order to suppress you, nor will I use the Sect’s rules to retaliate for what happened today. Because the debt between us... I will repay it to you a hundredfold in the near future!"

Today’s debt will be repaid a hundredfold!

This single sentence made the very air on the fourth floor seem to freeze.