Immortal Martial Emperor

’So it boosts its power by stacking attacks.’

Hong Yu narrowed his eyes, a deep and unsettling cyan light flickering within his left eye.

His body trembled as the Eight Desolates Saint Slaying Technique suddenly activated. The resplendent and noble Golden Flowing Light Armor materialized, covering his entire body.

Hong Yu’s entire body began to radiate a golden light, making him look like a Golden Armored War God!

Watching the Sword Aura—a fusion of forty-nine powerful attacks—crush down on him, he showed not a shred of fear. He fiercely drove his Breaking Army Spear into the ground beside him. The spear’s shaft plunged deep into the earth, its tail still trembling violently from the force of the impact. Then, gathering a scorching light in his hands, Hong Yu met the unstoppable Sword Aura and grabbed it.

BANG!

The moment his hands closed around the Sword Aura, Hong Yu’s first sensations were immense weight and cutting sharpness.

Even the Sword Qi radiating from it was enough to injure an ordinary cultivator at the Early-stage Earth Soul Realm.

Fortunately, Hong Yu possessed a body as tough as a Mortal-level High-Grade Primordial Weapon, allowing him to block the terrifying Sword Aura head-on.

Of course, the attack wouldn’t end that easily.

Hong Yu’s block only managed to stall the Sword Aura for a moment. It then erupted with even more ferocious power and sharper Sword Qi, slamming into him with a jolt that sent his internal qi and blood churning like a violent tide.

A terrifying and esoteric energy surged from the Sword Aura, its surface shimmering with light.

The attack was as heavy as a mountain.

Hong Yu gripped the massive Sword Aura with all his might, preventing it from striking down. However, the terrifying force it contained still drove him backward relentlessly.

"Hmph!"

A cold snort escaped Hong Yu’s lips.

He stomped his feet, digging them deep into the ground to bolster his defense.

Unfortunately, this attack was simply too terrifying.

An incomparably immense power continued to push him back.

Two deep gouges were carved into the earth as he was dragged back.

His back repeatedly slammed into the crumbling city walls and stone cliffs. The constant BAM! BAM! was accompanied by flying rubble and clouds of dust in his wake.

He was like a bulldozer, flattening everything in his path.

’If this keeps up, I’m going to get hit for sure.’

Hong Yu gritted his teeth, his expression grim.

’This attack is far more powerful than I expected. If that Sword Aura actually hits me, I’ll be injured, even with my incredible defense.’

Inside his Lower Dantian, his Lifebound Primordial Spirit began to spin rapidly.

A torrent of the Power of Primordial Spirit, like a rushing river, surged into Hong Yu’s hands.

His body trembled and his knees bent slightly. Then, with a thunderous roar, he abruptly straightened up.

Hong Yu’s arms swelled. His muscles contracted to their absolute limit before explosively releasing. Like a spring compressed to its breaking point, the resulting force was several times greater than before. The Power of Primordial Spirit condensed in his hands, his veins bulging and pulsing like dragons coiled just beneath his skin.

A surging, tempestuous power erupted completely.

"Get off me!"

With a powerful shove, he sent the Sword Aura flying.

The deflected Sword Aura transformed into a streak of light and shot thousands of meters into the distance...

BOOM!

A mushroom cloud over fifty meters tall erupted from the ground.

The entire ruined city trembled as if struck by an earthquake.

"Hmm?"

Hong Gang’s expression shifted slightly. He froze, his Broken Light Longsword hovering just before its Sword Scabbard. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, which now resembled two grim stars twinkling with an icy light.

’He blocked my Sky-breaking Slash with his bare hands? And he withstood Shattering Void Star Mark without a scratch? Hong Yu’s physical defense is unbelievably tough. If I could get my hands on a Body Refining Technique like that, I could cultivate the Immortal Sword Body. It might even be possible to become an unparalleled Sword Cultivator!’

The Eight Desolates Saint Slaying Technique was so astonishing it was mind-boggling. Even Hong Gang, a man devoted solely to the sword, felt a burning desire flare up within him.

He smirked, his scarlet tongue darting out to lick his lips. Greed burned on his face. "Hong Yu, I’ll give you a chance to live. Just teach me that Body Refining Technique of yours, and I’ll convince Brother Jie to leave you alone. I can even let you join the Heaven and Earth Alliance. We’re both from the Hong Family, after all. If you join, you’ll be treated no less than a Vice Alliance Leader!"

Hong Gang prattled on.

But Hong Yu’s expression remained impassive. He sneered, "Members of the Hong Family? Hahaha, don’t you find that ridiculous?"

’When my sister and I were struggling to survive, when she was gravely ill and on the brink of death, did anyone then consider us part of the Hong Family?’

’When Hong Lin brought men to storm my home, smashing everything, while the so-called just and impartial Law Enforcement Team cooled off outside and watched the show, did anyone then think of me as one of the Hongs?’

’When Hong Tiande schemed to have Hong Hu and Hong Qi team up to kill me, did anyone then think of me as a member of the Hong Family?’

’From the moment I stepped into the Cyan Nether Sword Sect, the harassment and assassination attempts against me have been relentless and unending. The mastermind behind it all is the Heaven and Earth Alliance, controlled by the Hong Family’s Four Kings. Did they ever think of me as one of the Hongs then?’

’No, none of them ever treated me as one of their own.’

’In the eyes of those high and mighty young masters and ladies, a side branch member like me was worse than a dog.’

’Take this situation right now. If Hong Gang didn’t covet my Body Refining Divine Techniques, would he be speaking to me so calmly?’

"To hell with your ’family’! Hong Gang, die!"

Hong Yu roared.

Using the Wandering Dragon Body Technique, he flickered across the ground, his speed too fast for the eye to follow.

SWISH!

Hong Yu appeared thirty meters away...

WHOOSH!

He closed the distance to ten meters...

Just then, Hong Yu struck. "Void Fire Dragon!"

His palms danced like shimmering starlight, and from them shot streaks of fiery meteors. The meteors converged in front of him, forming one ferocious Flaming Long Dragon after another.

One, two, three, four, five...

A total of nine Fire Dragons took form. With low roars, they surged toward Hong Gang, bringing with them a roiling heatwave.

"Hmph, petty tricks!"

Hong Gang’s eyes flared. A vast and sharp Sword Qi, as keen as a Divine Sword, erupted from him. The Sword Qi formed the shape of a lotus flower, rising from his feet to slowly envelop his body.

Hong Gang stood like a bud within the flower, the sharp Sword Qi forming the Lotus Leaves that encased him. "This is my Lotus Sword Skill, a Defensive Martial Skill said to be unbreakable by anyone beneath the Celestial Soul Realm. Since I perfected it, only Feng Xue Xin and Brother Jie have ever managed to break through its defense. Hong Yu, do you really think you stand a chance?"

"Bah! What kind of man practices a ’Lotus’ skill? Watch me roast you like a pig in that flower!"

Hong Yu spat.

In his Lower Dantian, the Lifebound Primordial Spirit burned slowly like a ball of Star Fire. Surging waves of Elemental Power rushed out, pouring into the nine ferocious Fire Dragons. The Fire Dragons’ bodies suddenly swelled, expanding from their original half-meter diameter to a staggering two meters.

The nine dragons shot toward Hong Gang.

The dragons’ heads tried to tear Hong Gang apart, but the Sword Qi radiating from his Lotus Sword Skill was terrifyingly powerful.

Amidst a series of bangs, it completely blocked the nine Fire Dragons’ assault.

Hong Yu’s eyes narrowed. "Vast Sea of Fire!"

He raised his hands high above his head, a crimson energy pulling at the nine Fire Dragons.

Following a strange and profound trajectory, the nine Fire Dragons shot into the sky before plunging back down. As they fell, they began to intertwine and merge: nine became six, six became three, and three became one. By the time they were just six or seven meters from Hong Gang, the nine dragons had completely fused into a single, furious Fire Dragon over five meters in diameter and twenty meters long.

ROAR!

The Fire Dragon opened its cavernous mouth and, from head to toe, swallowed Hong Gang in a single gulp.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A series of terrifying energy collisions echoed from within the Fire Dragon.

With each collision and explosion, the Fire Dragon’s glow dimmed noticeably. Fine, web-like cracks even began to appear on the flames covering its body.

One could only imagine the fierce battle raging within the dragon’s scorching hot interior.

"Flowing Cloud Swordsmanship—Celestial Star Technique!"

A sky-piercing Sword Qi suddenly erupted from within the Fire Dragon.

With a massive BOOM, a beam of Sword Aura sliced the Fire Dragon in two and shot toward the heavens, its light dancing with a starlike brilliance. A figure shot out from within the bisected dragon. Hong Gang was a sorry sight. His body was scorched black, and small flames still flickered on his tattered robes.

Most of his long black hair had been burned away, giving off a putrid, scorched smell. His handsome face was now covered in a layer of soot and ash.

His dark, piercing eyes locked onto Hong Yu. "Hong Yu, you’re finished! No one can save you now! I’m going to kill you...!" The moment the words left his mouth, the Broken Light Longsword in his hand unleashed a fan-shaped wave of Sword Qi. Hong Gang launched himself into the air, landing on the wave of Sword Qi and riding it toward Hong Yu.

Borne by the Sword Qi, he looked as if he were soaring through the air. His hands danced, unleashing a barrage of menacing sword beams that shot forth like the Celestial Net of Heaven and Earth.

"Star-dotted Array!"

This time, a full eighty-one beams of light filled the air, shooting forward as if to blot out the sky.

The Flowing Cloud Swordsmanship was a Mortal Level Middle Grade Sword Skill. It had three techniques, each more powerful than the last.

The Star-dotted Array was the third and final technique, formed from eighty-one distinct streams of razor-sharp Sword Qi. It could be used for both offense and defense. Even an ordinary expert at the Half-step Heavenly Soul Realm would have to use every trick they had to counter it.

Hong Yu’s expression darkened; he could feel the immense threat from the incoming Sword Qi. He narrowed his eyes, a glint of resolve flashing in his constricting cyan pupils. ’Hong Gang, third on the Celestial List... we’ll see who has the last laugh!’

BOOM!

Hong Yu’s limbs suddenly snapped straight. Every muscle and nerve in his body tensed in an instant as a powerful Qi Vortex rose from within him.

Flames began to coil up from his legs, transforming into a blazing ribbon that wrapped around his body, making him resemble a god of fire.

He snapped his head up. The cyan light in his left eye shone with the brilliance and depth of the Cosmic Starry Sky. The ribbon of fire around him suddenly expanded, spreading out in all directions like a vast sea of flames. It only stopped when it covered an area of over a hundred square meters.

Hong Yu tilted his head back slightly, staring directly at the approaching Hong Gang, and roared, "Furious Flame Burning Heaven!"

BOOM!

The calm sea of fire suddenly erupted into a violent frenzy, as if roused by the wrath of the Flame Emperor himself. One after another, Fire Dragons rose from its depths, soaring into the sky to assault Hong Gang relentlessly.

RUMBLE!

The entire hundred-square-meter sea of fire erupted in fury.

A powerful energy storm materialized. The clash between fire and sword raged on, locked in a stalemate that lasted for a full ten breaths.

BOOM!

Amidst an earth-shattering roar, a mushroom cloud sixty to seventy meters tall, composed of fire and Thunder, erupted from the ground and shot toward the heavens.

A wretched figure cried out in pain and was sent flying backward out of the mushroom cloud...