Immortal Martial Emperor

In the days that followed, the experts of the Qin Kingdom all noticed that Hong Yu had become somewhat different.

It wasn’t a change in his disposition or appearance, but rather in the feeling he gave off—a change in his mindset.

And this was indeed the case...

If Hong Renjie’s many vicious schemes had filled Hong Yu with hatred and fury, then what truly catalyzed his transformation was the appearance of that youth. The young man who rode the Golden Flame Lion Emperor had made him feel an unstoppable pressure with a single glance, and the experience caused Hong Yu’s spirit to evolve once more.

In other words, this experience had, in its own way, tempered Hong Yu’s Martial Arts Heart.

It made his Martial Arts Heart more resolute, more pure.

If in the past Hong Yu had been somewhat passive about his training, cultivating out of a sense of obligation to find his parents and sister...

...then now, Hong Yu’s Martial Arts Heart had transformed into the heart of a true expert.

A heart that pushed relentlessly forward in pursuit of power. This made his dedication to the Martial Dao proactive, no longer a passive response influenced by external factors.

’I will no longer be looked down upon!’

’I will no longer let my family and friends fall into danger while I’m powerless to save them!’

This was Hong Yu’s purest thought at this moment.

Because of this, Hong Yu immersed himself in cultivation upon his return. Beichen Tianshuang silently took care of his three daily meals.

In just five short days, his cultivation didn’t advance much, but his application of the Flying Thunder Divine Skill and his exploration of the Ice Divine Blade had both progressed significantly.

For instance, his Flying Thunder Divine Skill was previously only at the Second Layer, allowing him to control nine Flying Sabers at once.

Now, although he still only controlled nine Flying Sabers, the power each one could unleash had increased fivefold.

This was the result of his intensive study, deductions using Shadow Martial, and the integration of the True Martial Arts Intent of the Wind Vortex!

With Hong Yu’s current mastery of the Flying Thunder Divine Skill, if all nine Nine Feather Flying Knives were to strike a target simultaneously, the impact would be equivalent to several million jin of force.

One must understand that an ordinary expert at the Peak of the Celestial Soul Realm could only exert about a million jin of force.

An expert at the Early-stage Primordial Core Realm could generate about five million jin. With consecutive strikes, his Nine Feather Flying Knives already possessed a might no weaker than the full-power attack of a Primordial Core Realm expert.

Now, Hong Yu, relying solely on his Spiritual Power to control the Nine Feather Flying Knives, was no weaker than an ordinary Primordial Core Realm expert.

As for the use of his Cyan Eyes, aside from the Ice Divine Blade, Hong Yu was gradually developing other ideas.

For example, using Spiritual Power as a catalyst to create an Illusion Realm to confuse an opponent’s Heart Spirit.

’Every living person has some flaws in their psyche.’

’If I could use Spiritual Power to trigger those inner flaws and magnify them infinitely... For example, if someone is afraid of rats, I could create an illusion that makes them feel like tens of thousands of rats are crawling all over them.’

’The mental impact from that would be far more effective and devastating than just a brute-force assault with Spiritual Power!’

However...

Creating such an Illusion Technique was incredibly difficult. Hong Yu pondered it for a long time but couldn’t figure out the method.

As time went on, the official start of the Ten Kingdoms Martial Competition drew closer. Today was the last free day.

At noon tomorrow, the Ten Kingdoms Martial Competition would officially begin.

When night fell, all the experts began to rest, preparing to be in their best condition for the competition tomorrow.

Meanwhile, within the Royal Palace of the Yaoyue Kingdom, a momentous gathering was quietly taking place.

Inside a stately palace hall sat a total of twelve magnificent chairs made of redwood.

Redwood is extremely precious. If these twelve chairs were to be auctioned, each one would fetch a price in the hundreds of millions.

One could only imagine the revered status of the experts sitting in them.

"Yuan Cang, I heard a little brat destroyed your Guiyuan Sect’s Mountain Gate?" a bald old man said with a beaming smile.

The man wore a long cyan robe, a gloating expression on his face.

He blinked, staring at Yuan Cang, the Sect Leader of the Guiyuan Sect, who was seated in the place of honor on the right. His words immediately drew the attention of the other experts, who all looked at Yuan Cang with amusement.

The Southern Ten Nations were united against outsiders, but internally, they were locked in constant strife.

Where there was strife, there was enmity.

As a result, there were always rifts and conflicts between the various Kingdoms and sects.

Take the Zhui Yang Old Monster, the Sect Leader of the Wind Chasing Sect who had just spoken. His Wind Chasing Kingdom had always been at odds with the Qin Kingdom, and consequently, his relationship with Yuan Cang was also confrontational.

Almost every time they met, the Zhui Yang Old Monster would taunt him with biting sarcasm.

Yuan Cang shot the Zhui Yang Old Monster a cold glance and said flatly, "It was just a Mountain Gate. It was old and in disrepair, so it was the perfect time to tear it down and build a new one. If you hadn’t reminded me, Zhui Yang, I would have almost forgotten about such a trivial matter. I’m so grateful for your concern!"

"PFFT!"

Laughter erupted in the hall. "Hahaha, Yuan Cang’s tongue is as sharp and vicious as ever!"

The Zhui Yang Old Monster’s face instantly turned red.

Knowing Yuan Cang as he did, how could he not understand the hidden meaning in his words?

’He’s mocking me for being a busybody!’ After mulling it over, he understood that Yuan Cang was mocking him for meddling in others’ affairs.

’Can’t you see we don’t even care about it ourselves? Why are you, the eunuch, more anxious than the emperor?’

The Zhui Yang Old Monster’s eye twitched, and he was about to make a move when Yao Chuheng, the Supreme Emperor of the Yaoyue Kingdom and the host of this Ten Kingdoms Martial Competition, who had been sitting calmly in the seat of honor on the left, gave a wry smile. "You two have been fighting for so many years. Aren’t you tired of trading barbs and insults every time you meet?"

"Brother Yao, you’re mistaken!"

the Zhui Yang Old Monster quickly replied.

This Yao Chuheng was much older than him and had been at the Peak of the Primordial Core Realm for nearly a hundred years. He rarely acted, but his status in the Southern Ten Nations was absolutely first-class.

There were even rumors that Yao Chuheng’s true strength had already reached the Half-Step Primordial Embryo realm, or perhaps even higher.

Of course, no one had yet been able to verify if these rumors were true.

Yuan Cang also glanced at Yao Chuheng. "Senior Yao, I wonder who the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom has sent as their Inspector this time?"

Hearing Yuan Cang’s question, everyone paused and craned their necks.

Even the Zhui Yang Old Monster, who was always at odds with Yuan Cang, blinked and pricked up his ears.

Yao Chuheng’s calm gaze swept over everyone in the room as he said faintly, "This time, the Inspector is a Prince from the Ancient Kingdom!"

"HISS!"

Everyone gasped.

For every martial competition between the alliance, the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom would send an Inspector to oversee it and maintain fairness and justice.

But in the past, the ones who came were, at most, some Military Generals or Civil Servants.

But this time, it was a Prince?

Something like this hadn’t happened in hundreds of years!

Yuan Cang frowned. "Why would an esteemed Prince of an Ancient Kingdom come all the way to our Southern Ten Nations Alliance?"

"I hate to admit it, but within the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom’s territory, our Southern Ten Nations can only be considered a remote backwater. Why would they send a Prince here?"

"Could it be some disgraced, out-of-favor Prince?"

Several of the leaders whispered among themselves.

Yao Chuheng shook his head. "Not at all. The one coming is not a disgraced Prince. On the contrary, he is one of the most favored sons of His Majesty the Emperor of the Ancient Kingdom. He is the most talented individual in the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom today, a Fifth-Transformation Heavenly True Dragon Demon Fiend—Xiahuang Shang!"

"A Fifth-Transformation Heavenly True Dragon Demon Fiend? How is that possible?"

"A Fifth-Transformation Heavenly True Dragon Demon Fiend hasn’t appeared in the vast Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom for hundreds of years!"

"Could it be that something momentous is about to happen in our Southern Ten Nations?"

The faces of these powerful leaders, who were used to weathering all kinds of storms, changed drastically.

Just as Martial Artists have different ranks, geniuses naturally have clear distinctions as well.

Among the experts of the Five Domains, geniuses are meticulously classified into seven tiers, from weakest to strongest: First Transformation Heavenly True Dragon, Second Transformation Heavenly True Dragon, and so on, all the way up to Seven-Transformation Heavenly True Dragon.

For example, experts like the current Hong Yu and Prince Zhui Ri were already considered top-tier geniuses in the Southern Ten Nations.

But if they were to leave the Southern Ten Nations, they wouldn’t even qualify as First-Transformation Heavenly True Dragon Demon Fiends.

In the entire Southern Ten Nations Alliance, perhaps only Yao Yueye had reached the ranks of a Tier Genius!

But even as powerful as Yao Yueye was, he was only a First Transformation Heavenly True Dragon, approaching the level of a Second Transformation Heavenly True Dragon.

A single First-Transformation Heavenly True Dragon Demon Fiend could already sweep through all the geniuses of the Southern Ten Nations, let alone the fact that Xiahuang Shang was a Fifth Transformation Heavenly True Dragon Demon Fiend!

No wonder everyone was so shocked!

Yao Chuheng’s gaze was as calm as an ancient well, without a single ripple. "The reason Prince Xiahuang Shang is serving as the Ancient Kingdom’s Inspector is that this year’s martial competition will have two Inspectors. The other is a Prince from the Ancient Sea Kingdom—Hai Cangtian!"

"I know of Hai Cangtian! He’s the leading figure of his generation in the Ancient Sea Kingdom, and he’s also a Fifth Transformation Heavenly True Dragon Demon Fiend!"

"Two Fifth Transformation Heavenly True Dragon Demon Fiends gathering in the Yaoyue Kingdom? Why does this feel like a dream?"

"Everyone, quiet down..."

Yao Chuheng continued, "His Highness the Prince has asked this old one to relay a few matters to you all!"

"First, this Southern Ten Nations Martial Competition concerns the prestige of the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom. All forms of private infighting between the kingdoms and sects are strictly forbidden."

"Second, Prince Hai Cangtian of the Ancient Sea Kingdom will also serve as an Inspector. If he makes any requests, we must obey and not defy him!"

"Third, the Southern Ten Nations Alliance Martial Competition will begin promptly at noon tomorrow. Our Ten Kingdoms and Ten Sects must prepare enough Elemental Essence Ore before dawn tomorrow to open the Land of Trial at noon!"

"Does anyone have any objections?"

Yao Chuheng’s placid gaze swept across the crowd.

Though his gaze was calm, it gave one the feeling of a profound wisdom that could see through a person’s heart.

Everyone present nodded and agreed in unison.

Only then did Yao Chuheng nod in satisfaction. "In that case, you may all return and make your preparations," he said faintly.

"The Ten Kingdoms Martial Competition is starting again. Tsk tsk, I wonder how many geniuses will emerge this time!"

"I heard that quite a few outstanding geniuses have appeared this year. I’m especially curious about a certain expert in the Yaoyue Kingdom who calls himself Meng Tian. His strength is supposedly quite formidable!"

"Hasn’t that Hong Yu from the Qin Kingdom also been making a lot of noise recently?"

"I’m really looking forward to it. Who will achieve the final victory in this competition?"

"Will Yao Yueye continue to dominate? Or will some dark horse genius emerge out of nowhere?"

Nothing had happened yet, which meant anything was possible.

But regardless,

the highly anticipated Ten Kingdoms Martial Competition was finally about to begin!

[I have to prepare for a work-related exam these few days, which will affect my future position and prospects. Updates are a bit slow, my apologies!!]