Immortal Martial Emperor

Wang Ba was so furious he could have spat blood.

But he was helpless. Even Sect Leader Yuan Cang had shown up to help Hong Yu collect his debt, so what reason did Wang Ba have to refuse?

And so.

While Wang Ba glared as if he wanted to swallow him alive, Hong Yu cheerfully accepted treasures worth one hundred billion Gold Coins from his hands.

In addition to that, he also received half the ownership rights to the Tianmu Mountain Ore Vein, which the Guiyuan Sect controlled.

Of course, the condition of choosing three treasures from the Guiyuan Sect’s treasury was not fulfilled.

This wasn’t because Wang Ba disagreed, but because Yuan Cang had intervened.

The first two benefits were in Wang Ba’s hands, so Yuan Cang didn’t mind Hong Yu extorting a little more. However, the Guiyuan Sect’s treasury was firmly under Yuan Cang’s control, and that cunning man was no generous soul.

Hong Yu was actually happy to see this.

After all, he had only escaped this disaster by using the Guiyuan Order, which was equivalent to Yuan Cang saving his life.

’I should at least grant him this small favor!’

Shaking the Storage Ring in his hand, Hong Yu grinned and cupped his hands at Wang Ba. "Elder Wang, you are too generous. This junior is unworthy!"

Despite his words, he unceremoniously placed it into his Storage Ring.

Wang Ba’s eye twitched, a grim light flashing in the depths of his eyes. He looked at Hong Yu with a strange, humorless smile. "No need to feel unworthy. However, Hong Yu, there are some words this elder wishes to give you."

"Oh?"

Hong Yu looked at him, puzzled.

Wang Ba pondered for a moment before saying coolly, "There’s a saying: Don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you overestimate your own strength and eat too much, you might just choke to death!"

The meaning behind Wang Ba’s words was self-evident; he was threatening Hong Yu for being too greedy this time.

Hong Yu naturally understood his meaning.

However, he was the type who responded to kindness, not coercion. He twitched his nose and played dumb. "Well, thank you for your concern, Senior! But my only virtue since I was a child is having a great appetite—I can eat anything and everything with relish! You don’t need to worry about me. You should probably head to Heart Return Cliff for your confinement!"

"You..."

Wang Ba snorted coldly, his face dark as he left alone.

Yuan Cang looked at Hong Yu with a wry smile. "You rascal, must you be so merciless when you have the upper hand?"

Hong Yu rubbed his nose and smiled. "If people respect me by a foot, I respect them by ten! If someone insists on sticking their face out for me to slap, I certainly don’t mind giving it a good, hard smack!"

"You and your ways..."

Yuan Cang shook his head helplessly. He then said, "Hong Yu, for the next little while, you should try to stay within Qin Royal City."

Hong Yu paused, then seemed to realize something and nodded at Yuan Cang.

A short while later...

The many experts from Guiyuan Hall also arrived one after another.

After greeting and speaking with Yuan Cang, Old Sir Tie and Tie Tongtian came over to Hong Yu.

Tie Tongtian excitedly pulled Hong Yu into a bear hug. "You rascal! I thought I’d never see you again."

"Hehe, fortune favors the blessed!"

The two chatted for a bit, then Hong Yu looked at Old Sir Tie. "Master Tie, in a few days, please send someone to find me at the Beichen Family estate. I have some ideas I need to sort out, and then I’d like to have a proper talk with you."

"Alright. The most important thing for you is to go back and recuperate as soon as possible!"

Old Sir Tie’s gaze was as sharp as a torch. He could naturally see that Hong Yu was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, a spent arrow putting on a brave face. He immediately urged, "Little Yu, why don’t you come to my Iron Soldier Pavilion to recuperate for a while!"

Hong Yu paused, frowning slightly.

First, Yuan Cang had told him not to wander around.

Now, Old Sir Tie was directly inviting him to the Iron Soldier Pavilion?

’There must be a hidden reason for this.’

Seeing Hong Yu’s confused expression, Old Sir Tie gave a bitter smile. "Wang Ba may not care much for family ties, but he despises anyone who opposes him. This time, you killed his daughter and made him suffer such a huge loss, essentially slapping his face until it was swollen. He won’t let you off easily!"

Hong Yu paused, lost in thought.

With his current strength, he could fight on par with an expert at the Early-stage Primordial Core Realm like Xue De.

But if he wanted to kill such an expert, he had no other option besides relying on a decisive trump card like the Senluo Seal.

Yet even something as powerful as the Senluo Seal was not invincible.

The power of the Senluo Seal was fundamentally dependent on the strength of Hong Yu’s own cultivation.

If Wang Ba truly made a move against him, then even with the help of the Senluo Seal, he would be no match for Wang Ba.

Hong Yu felt the pressure on his shoulders growing heavier. He rubbed his nose and nodded solemnly at Old Sir Tie. "Thank you for your concern, Master Tie. However, I don’t think Wang Ba would dare to make a move openly in Qin Royal City. I’ll be staying with the Beichen Family for a while, so there shouldn’t be any problems."

"Since you’ve decided, then I won’t say any more!"

Old Sir Tie nodded and said, "By the way, there’s someone who wants to see you!"

Hong Yu was taken aback.

Old Sir Tie gave a mysterious smile and took a step aside, allowing a stately and dignified middle-aged man to walk over.

This man was none other than the King of the Qin Kingdom, Qin Feng!

"Hong Yu pays his respects to His Majesty the King!" Hong Yu said.

A faint smile touched Qin Feng’s lips. "Hong Yu, you’ve done very well."

"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty!"

Hong Yu smiled.

He noticed Qin Qin standing by Qin Feng’s side, looking at him with a complicated expression. Her gaze shifted to Beichen Celestial Frost, who was being supported by him and Little Feng, and it was impossible to know what she was thinking.

Hong Yu gave Sister Qin a slight nod but didn’t say anything.

Seemingly sensing this trace of coldness and distance, Sister Qin felt a wave of disappointment in her heart.

Hong Yu didn’t notice the subtle change in Sister Qin’s expression. He looked at Qin Feng. "May I ask why Your Majesty was looking for me?"

Qin Feng raised an eyebrow, a straightforward man speaking frankly. "This King sought you out to discuss the Southern Ten Nations Alliance’s martial competition, which will be held in the Yaoyue Kingdom soon! I believe Qin’Er has mentioned this to you before. This time, I am formally inviting you, in my capacity as the King of the Qin Kingdom, to become the leading figure for our kingdom in this competition!"

"The leading figure?"

Hong Yu was surprised.

Qin Feng said, "For every competition, the participating experts from each kingdom form a team, with the strongest among them acting as captain. If nothing had changed, the previous choice for captain was Zheng Tian. But now, we need you to take up the role!"

Hong Yu thought for a moment, then said, "Alright!"

After some pleasantries, Hong Yu learned that they would be heading to the Yaoyue Kingdom in half a month. He promptly bid farewell to everyone and left the Guiyuan Sect.

The Guiyuan Sect, which had been decorated with lanterns and brimming with festive cheer, had experienced a transformation from Heaven to Hell in the span of half a day.

A third of the entire three-thousand-meter Celestial Ladder had collapsed.

A massive chunk had been gouged out of Celestial Essence Peak, and countless sections of the Mountain Protection Array on the mountain had crumbled and disintegrated.

Yuan Cang was busy with the reconstruction of the Guiyuan Sect and naturally had no spare energy to entertain guests.

What’s more...

These guests had all been invited by Wang Ba; they had nothing to do with him.

As for the guests, they were a classic case of "the tea grows cold once the person leaves." Before long, the only people left on Celestial Essence Peak were Guiyuan Sect disciples cleaning up the battlefield ruins.

But the impact of this day’s events was only just beginning...

On the second day after his return, Hong Yu’s name once again became a household topic.

More and more legends about Hong Yu began to spread, many of them increasingly exaggerated.

Some said Hong Yu was a Celestial God descended to the mortal world!

Some said Hong Yu was the reincarnation of a War God!

And some even said that the one inhabiting Hong Yu’s body was actually the soul of a peerless expert...

In short, Hong Yu’s fame had reached its zenith.

From the elderly to three-year-old children, nearly everyone had heard his name and could even recount one or two of his deeds.

This "Hong Yu fever" lasted for a very, very long time.

Even long after, when Hong Yu left Qin Royal City, the "Hong Yu fever" continued to sweep through the entire city.

During these days, several major announcements were made, once again elevating Hong Yu’s reputation to an unprecedented height.

First, Hong Yu invested one hundred billion Gold Coins into the Beichen Commerce Association, becoming one of its owners.

Furthermore, under the joint promotion of the young Chairman Beichen Feng and Hong Yu, the Beichen Commerce Association and the Iron Soldier Pavilion formed a comprehensive alliance. As part of the deal, Hong Yu transferred the half-ownership of the Tianmu Mountain Ore Vein he controlled to be shared between the Iron Soldier Pavilion and the Beichen Commerce Association.

With this, Hong Yu became the youngest multi-billionaire in the Qin Kingdom, and even in the entire Southern Ten Nations Alliance.

The second piece of news: King Qin Feng personally visited the Beichen Family to read an imperial edict, promoting Hong Yu’s title to Prince Hong!

In the entire great Qin Kingdom, Hong Yu was the only one to hold the title of Prince!

It was no exaggeration to say that from now on, Hong Yu would be a formidable figure in the Qin Kingdom who could do as he pleased without anyone daring to provoke him.

As for the third piece of news, it also came from the Royal Family: the list of experts representing the Qin Kingdom in the upcoming Southern Ten Nations Alliance martial competition had been confirmed.

Hong Yu’s appointment as captain marked the first time in the Qin Kingdom’s last one hundred years that the position was held by an expert from the Royal Family!

This succession of three major announcements had propelled Hong Yu’s prestige in Qin Royal City to its absolute peak.

...

Compared to the praise and celebration of his fame in the outside world, Hong Yu himself appeared quite calm and composed.

Or perhaps...

His mind simply wasn’t focused on such things.

After returning from the battle at the Guiyuan Sect, Hong Yu had actually fallen into a deep sleep for three full days and nights before waking up.

Forcibly using the Senluo Seal this time had nearly exhausted all the Elemental Power in his body; even his Spiritual Power had been depleted to a mere tenth of its capacity.

If not for the residual Spiritual Power from his Star River Spirit Bone propping up his body, Hong Yu wouldn’t even have made it back from the Guiyuan Sect and would have likely collapsed on the way.

「On this day!」

Hong Yu sat quietly in meditation under a large tree. A gentle breeze rustled past, bringing a hint of coolness to the shade.

His long black hair swayed with the wind.

At a certain moment...

Hong Yu, whose eyes had been tightly shut, slowly opened them.

A faint blue light flashed in his eyes and was gone, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

With a gentle flip of his hand, a Five-Colored Mist Fruit appeared in his palm. After a moment’s hesitation, Hong Yu took a deep breath and placed it in his mouth.

The Five-Colored Mist Fruit melted the instant it entered his mouth, transforming into a clear stream that surged into his body, flowing through every part of him.

Hong Yu’s calm gaze suddenly flickered, and a very peculiar curve slowly crept onto his face.

"I can feel it... My second True Martial Arts Intent... it’s..."