Immortal Martial Emperor

"Dragon Sealing Platform, activate!"

The calm voice seemed to carry not a single shred of emotion.

Its arrival was like the vicissitudes and heartlessness of ancient times, echoing in everyone’s ears.

As the quiet voice reverberated, the four Divine Beast statues had already completely merged, converging to form a massive hall.

The hall stood suspended in mid-air, silently brewing with wisps of a surging, ancient aura.

On its surface, the four great Divine Beasts were depicted as if soaring and dancing, their cries seeming to ring in unison.

A thousand streams of auspicious light, ten thousand rays of rosy luminescence!

"SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!"

In the center of the great hall, a radiant gate slowly materialized.

This was a Space Teleportation Gate, solemn and classical. The middle-aged man in black armor and the woman in white armor, who were hosting this Southern Ten Nations martial arts competition, were the first to walk out of the Teleportation Gate.

The two of them stood on the left and right before the gate.

Immediately following them were the strongest representatives of the Southern Ten Nations and Ten Sects. The host, Yao Chuheng, was in the lead, followed by Yuan Cang, the Zhui Yang Old Monster, and the others.

The ten or so people split into two lines.

A look of surprise and admiration appeared on Yuan Cang’s face, and he gave Hong Yu a slight nod.

The powerful figures behind Zhui Yang Ancestor, Ziyan Wuhen, and Ling Bingxin all stared at Hong Yu with cold, venomous glares, looking as if they wanted to devour him whole.

Fortunately, this was the Dragon Sealing Platform; even they didn’t dare to act rashly.

Under their gazes, two figures walked out from the gate, shoulder to shoulder.

These two were the Martial Arts Inspectors for this competition...

The Prince of the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom, a Fifth-Transformation Heavenly True Dragon Demon Fiend, Xiahuang Shang!

And the Prince of the Ancient Sea Kingdom, also a Fifth-Transformation Heavenly True Dragon Demon Fiend, Hai Cangtian!

The moment the two appeared, they were shrouded in the golden light of providence, like golden dragons coiling around their bodies, giving off an unparalleled sense of grandeur and dominance.

Xiahuang Shang’s calm gaze swept over the crowd as he said flatly, "The Dragon Sealing Platform has descended. All you young geniuses, ascend the platform at once!"

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

Amidst the shaking earth and trembling mountains, from between the peaks, within the canyons, and out of the forests, figure after figure of the experts who had passed through the Fallen Tower emerged.

Everyone soared into the sky and flew onto the Dragon Sealing Platform.

One thousand people!

After round after round of eliminations and selections, of the tens of thousands of participants, only a thousand remained.

Each of these thousand people carried themselves with pride.

Even when facing the long-famous Yao Yueye or the immensely powerful Hong Yu, they showed little fear. A burning fighting spirit still blazed in their eyes.

Having come this far, standing on the sacred Dragon Sealing Platform, who would be willing to give up now?

Who wouldn’t fight to the death for a shot at a True Dragon Position?

Xiahuang Shang’s calm gaze swept over the crowd, lingering for a long moment on Hong Yu and Yao Yueye.

After a short while, Xiahuang Shang smiled faintly. "First, congratulations on successfully passing through every trial to finally reach this stage and step onto the Dragon Sealing Platform. You are all the pride of the Southern Ten Nations, and the pillars of my Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom!"

It had to be said, Xiahuang Shang had a rather charming smile.

He waved his hand gently. His body exuded the natural air of a superior, and his words took on a serious tone. "Second, I must warn you all that while the Dragon Sealing Platform represents glory, it also represents slaughter and madness. For thousands of years, countless experts have died on this platform."

"The path of the strong is destined to be a lonely one, a bloody one. It is a path where a single general’s success is built upon the bones of ten thousand."

Xiahuang Shang took a deep breath and said quietly, "I wish you all the best in achieving your desired results."

He glanced at Hai Cangtian.

Hai Cangtian’s expression was unreadable, but his orchid-blue eyes were fixed on Hong Yu, flickering with displeasure and a cold light.

He was extremely pissed off right now!

’I was so sure Hong Yu couldn’t possibly pass the trial against the Early-stage Primordial Embryo Realm expert in the Fallen Tower.’ So, Hai Cangtian had gone to the Space Teleportation Gate early to wait for Hong Yu’s corpse to be sent back, planning to rob the body for its Treasures.

But what happened instead...?

He waited for half the day, standing in the cold northwest wind for half an hour, only to finally get the news that Hong Yu had passed without a hitch!

This made Hai Cangtian furious!

Beyond furious!

’That was an Early-stage Primordial Embryo Realm expert! And not just any expert, but the renowned Thunder Fire True Monarch, famous throughout the entire Southern Border Profound Domain among those in the Primordial Embryo Realm!’

’Hong Yu actually managed to pass even *his* trial?’

’Even though it was just a projected avatar with only one-tenth of the Thunder Fire True Monarch’s true strength, it was still stronger than an ordinary expert with Early-Stage Primordial Embryo Realm Cultivation.’

According to Hai Cangtian’s predictions, only Yao Yueye should have been capable of passing. As for Hong Yu, while his talent was no weaker than Yao Yueye’s, his cultivation started from far too low a level.

Therefore, Hai Cangtian had been certain that Hong Yu was doomed to fail!

But the result?

Hong Yu had still somehow won?

In Hai Cangtian’s eyes, this was a blatant insult and a provocation to his intelligence. How could he not be enraged?

His eyes darted around, and a sly smile appeared on his face. "I am Hai Cangtian, from the Ancient Sea Kingdom. It is a pleasure to see all of you young, vibrant geniuses. Your performances have been excellent. Of course, no matter how well you did, you still weren’t as outstanding as Hong Yu!"

"Tsk tsk, you must be Hong Yu, right?"

Hai Cangtian walked up to Hong Yu and clapped him on the shoulder with a laugh. "Not bad, not bad at all! For a genius like you to appear in the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom is truly unprecedented. All the other geniuses here are nothing but trash compared to you..."

"Hm?"

Hong Yu raised an eyebrow slightly.

He instinctively felt there was a hidden meaning in Hai Cangtian’s words, and then it hit him...

He noticed that after Hai Cangtian had spoken, quite a few geniuses from the Southern Ten Nations were looking at him with hostility. Hong Yu was instantly on alert. ’What is this Hai Cangtian up to? By saying such things so openly, isn’t he just trying to make powerful enemies for me?’

While he was puzzling over it, Hai Cangtian leaned in, putting his ear close while saying, "What was that you said?"

Hong Yu frowned but said nothing.

But Hai Cangtian just kept nodding, occasionally responding with "Oh," "Mhm," and "So that’s how it is."

After a moment, Hai Cangtian slowly pulled away from Hong Yu. He shook his head and said with a bitter smile, "Hong Yu, I have to admit your talent and performance are both outstanding. However, for an expert to be truly powerful, besides their cultivation, it’s more important to have the heart of a true expert. But you... sigh... to think you’d say that among everyone here, besides Yao Yueye, no one else is even qualified to polish your shoes..."

"You’re too arrogant. That’s not a good thing!"

Hai Cangtian lamented while shaking his head, a mocking, cold light flickering in his eyes from time to time.

"You..."

Hong Yu’s expression turned extremely ugly.

Hai Cangtian quickly put on a look of regret. "Oh, my apologies, my deepest apologies. You just told me not to say anything, but I accidentally let it slip..."

Hong Yu instantly gritted his teeth, wishing he could rush over and beat him up.

But Feng Xue Xin secretly tugged on Hong Yu’s sleeve and sent him a voice transmission: "Don’t be rash. Don’t fall for his trap."

Hong Yu took a deep breath and nodded.

Hai Cangtian’s method of framing him wasn’t particularly clever; it was just a whim, a way to vent his anger.

A discerning person could naturally see through the ploy.

But there were still plenty of people blinded by jealousy whose gazes toward Hong Yu grew increasingly hostile.

Hong Yu sighed inwardly. ’A bunch of idiots. Can’t they see through such a simple setup?’

Seeing Hong Yu’s frustrated expression, Hai Cangtian felt a wave of satisfaction. He sneered and turned to leave.

He wasn’t in a hurry to deal with Hong Yu directly.

First, the occasion wasn’t right. If he made a move rashly now, he might arouse Xiahuang Shang’s suspicion and expose the existence of the Treasure that Lord Owl said Hong Yu was carrying.

Second...

...Hai Cangtian already had other, more entertaining methods to deal with Hong Yu.

The thought of the schemes he had set in motion made Hai Cangtian feel as if the sky had cleared, without a cloud in sight!

「 」

After being framed by Hai Cangtian, Hong Yu was in a foul mood.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the Battle for the Dragon Positions began!

"The Battle for the Dragon Positions! One thousand people will be divided into ten groups for a cross-elimination tournament. The first-place winner from each group will advance to the final battle for the True Dragon Positions!" Xiahuang Shang announced in a booming voice.

Immediately, the middle-aged man in black armor and the woman in white armor began assigning the groups.

Hong Yu, Yao Yueye, Feng Xue Xin, Jian Chen, and Shui Rou’er were all placed in separate groups. The other experts were also seeded according to their previous results.

Hong Yu was in Group Nine, and Yao Yueye was in Group Ten.

The two of them were scheduled for the last two group elimination rounds. Before them, the first to compete was Jian Chen.

Hong Yu’s expression tensed slightly. He had never seen this person fight, but from the aura and fluctuations coming from him, he could tell this man would not be an easy opponent.

"Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect!"

The moment Jian Chen stepped onto the stage, he unleashed a massive area-of-effect ultimate move.

Each group stage was a hundred-person free-for-all. With that one move, he instantly defeated forty to fifty people, eliminating half of his opponents.

Following that, he used a series of sharp techniques to eliminate more experts, ultimately sweeping through the first group with overwhelming power and successfully advancing.

Next up was Shui Rou’Er.

When this gentle, seemingly delicate girl attacked, graceful streams of water filled the sky, making her look as lithe and enchanting as a Divine Palace Fairy.

But wherever the graceful streams passed, huge waves crashed down, sweeping away one expert after another.

Though she was a woman, she fought with a valor that no man could look down upon!

After another clean sweep, Shui Rou’Er successfully advanced.

Next to take the stage was the big glutton, Feng Xue Xin. He was still holding a fragrant chicken leg that seemed to have come from nowhere.

Yet despite his carefree and nonchalant appearance, he possessed incredibly powerful techniques.

He used the orthodox Seven-Star footwork, moving as mysteriously and elusively as a phantom. Every step was profound and part of a pre-planned sequence of attacks.

He weaved through the crowd for a full circle, as if parading through a marketplace.

A clean sweep!

Another clean sweep!

When Zheng Tian took the stage after him, he didn’t manage a clean sweep. His victory was somewhat difficult.

He spat on the ground in frustration...

Because of his reputation from previous years, he had been ganged up on by many experts the moment he entered the stage, leaving him in a rather sorry state.

He gave Hong Yu a bitter smile. "Be careful!"

Hong Yu nodded.

He glanced at the ninety-nine other experts in Group Nine on the stage. Every single one of them was staring at him with the eyes of a wolf or a tiger, and he felt a headache coming on.

’If it weren’t for Hai Cangtian’s instigation and framing, why would these people be so hostile toward me?’

Frustrated, he rubbed his nose, braced himself, and walked onto the stage. He gestured to the crowd...

"Come at me all at once!"