Immortal Martial Emperor

Hong Yu made no effort to suppress his speed along the way.

As he left the Outer City, he felt several auras following close behind him.

The fluctuations from these auras were all intense; they were all Primordial Embryo Realm Powerhouses.

’One, two, three...’

A peculiar expression appeared on Hong Yu’s face. ’Tsk tsk, eighteen Primordial Embryo Realm Powerhouses, and the strongest is even at the Late-stage Primordial Embryo Realm? They really hold me in high regard. I just wonder who sent them!’

As this thought crossed his mind, Hong Yu unconsciously quickened his pace.

「Roughly a dozen kilometers away from Hong Yu.」

Over a dozen powerhouses gathered together.

Every one of them wore black clothes, each with the insignia of a viper on their chest.

One of them was the very same middle-aged man who had been spying on Hong Yu in the Profound Cyan Pavilion.

The middle-aged man said, "Viper, this guy’s getting faster and faster. I’m afraid he’s already discovered us."

"Hmph, so what if he has? Our Earth Department once besieged and killed an Unparalleled True Dragon. This kid is merely in the Early-stage Primordial Embryo Realm. Even if he were an Unparalleled True Dragon, he couldn’t escape our grasp," the middle-aged man named Viper said nonchalantly, a ferocious look on his face.

Behind him, the group of Earth Department powerhouses all sneered, full of confidence and bloodthirsty madness.

Viper looked at the middle-aged man. "Right, you said before that the boy has many Treasures. Do you know roughly how much he’s worth? If it’s too little, I won’t let you off easy!"

The middle-aged man chuckled darkly. "I guarantee it. His wealth is definitely enough for us to live care-free for several years!"

"Oh? You’re that certain?"

Viper asked with great interest.

The middle-aged man smiled mysteriously, thinking to himself: ’He spent two Celestial Secret Manuals just within the first ten floors. How could he possibly be poor?’

"Dammit, he’s sped up again! After him!"

Viper’s expression suddenly changed, and he said in a low voice, "We can’t let him create too much distance. Once he’s out of the Outer City, he can escape anywhere, and it’ll be difficult for us to find him again!"

The Earth Department powerhouses followed close behind, increasing their speed.

「After about three hours of frantic pursuit.」

They had long since left the Outer City and were now hundreds of miles away.

The terrain here was a wide-open plain with a small river snaking through its center, encircling a lush forest.

Hong Yu was sitting cross-legged by the river, happily grilling and eating a small white fish.

After finishing the fish and tossing the bones aside, Hong Yu slowly stood up and looked toward the dense woods. "Since you’re all here, you might as well come out! Why bother hiding?"

"Hmph!"

A cold snort came from the jungle. "You knew we were here all along?"

"You’ve been following me ever since I left the Profound Cyan Pavilion. How could I not know?" Hong Yu said calmly.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

A dozen or so figures shot out from the thicket.

Every one of them was filled with Evil Qi, their faces ferocious and sinister.

It was clear they all had blood on their hands.

Viper stepped forward slowly, his eyes narrowed and glinting with a cold light. "I really don’t know if you’re confident enough to face our Earth Department or just blindly arrogant. You knew we were targeting you, yet you still dared to strut around, leave the Outer City, and come to this deserted wilderness!"

"Don’t you think the scenery here is nice?"

Hong Yu gestured to the surroundings.

A lush forest, a winding creek, a gentle breeze... it was indeed a scenic spot.

Viper didn’t understand. He frowned and asked, "What are you trying to say?"

Hong Yu said coolly, "Such an auspicious place... it wouldn’t be a bad spot to serve as your grave, would it?"

"What?"

Viper was stunned.

The expressions of the Earth Department powerhouses behind him all changed. They stared at Hong Yu with cold, venomous, and angry gazes, like a dozen vipers.

A series of bone-grinding sounds issued from Viper’s throat.

His cold gaze fixed on Hong Yu. "Good, kid. You dare speak to your Grandpa Viper like that? You’ve got some nerve!"

"He’s probably some nouveau riche outsider with a bit of money, but he doesn’t know anything about the powers in the Outer City. He has no idea how formidable our Earth Department is!"

"It doesn’t matter if he’s nouveau riche or not. Once we kill him, everything he has will be ours!"

"We can’t let this kid die so easily. We have to torture him properly, make him wish he were dead!"

"How dare he be so arrogant, claiming this will be our grave? This guy deserves to die!"

The Earth Department powerhouses all wore ferocious expressions, their blood-red eyes filled with a chilling killing intent.

Their Earth Department consisted of powerhouses from the ’Snake Alliance,’ a powerful organization active in the Outer City.

The Snake Alliance specialized in taking on assassination, robbery, and plunder missions.

At the same time...

They were also a gang of out-and-out desperados, a band of bloodthirsty bandits.

Such an existence should not have been tolerated by the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom, but no matter how brazen the Snake Alliance became, the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom never seemed to make a move.

Some even speculated that members of the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom’s Imperial Family were backing the Snake Alliance.

Therefore, the powerhouses of the Snake Alliance had always acted as they pleased.

Even some Unparalleled True Dragons were helpless against the Snake Alliance and could only hide in the Outer City, not daring to provoke them.

Otherwise, they would bring disaster upon themselves.

In all these years, no one had ever dared to say they would kill members of the Snake Alliance and bury them somewhere.

To do so would be to invite the retaliatory strike of the entire Snake Alliance.

More importantly, one might offend the Imperial Family powerhouses behind the Snake Alliance, and the loss would far outweigh the gain.

This had also made the Snake Alliance powerhouses incredibly arrogant.

They even dared to provoke and rob Unparalleled True Dragons.

Of course, if their target was an Unparalleled Genius, they wouldn’t dare to get any ideas.

Hong Yu said coolly, "Before you die, I have a question. If your answer satisfies me, I can let you die a quick death. Otherwise, I don’t mind slowly crushing you."

"Jie jie, what an arrogant fellow!"

Viper said coldly, "Seeing as you’re in such a hurry to die, I can answer one question for you. Ask away!"

Hong Yu grinned. "Who sent you?"

His tone was calm, but a cold glint flickered in his eyes.

Viper was taken aback.

Hong Yu’s calmness made him a little uneasy.

But then he thought about how his Snake Alliance had run rampant in the Imperial Capital for years, even killing an Unparalleled True Dragon. Why would he be afraid of this boy who was only at the Early-stage Primordial Embryo Realm?

He immediately said, "No one sent us. We just have our eyes on your Treasures!"

"Is that so!"

Hong Yu nodded, deliberately drawing out his words. "In that case," he said lightly, "there’s no use in keeping a bunch of bandits like you around."

"Hm?"

Viper was stunned.

The next moment, the pores all over his body suddenly stood on end.

Six feathered wings suddenly unfurled from Hong Yu’s back.

His gaze was like a blazing torch, burning with Divine Fire, and it radiated a blinding light that no one dared to look at directly.

Like one of the Deities descending, he swooped down.

His speed was dizzying.

Even Viper, at the Late-stage Primordial Embryo Realm, couldn’t clearly see Hong Yu’s flight path. Horrified, he rapidly retreated and roared, "Form the array!"

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The dozen or so powerhouses from the Earth Department of the Snake Alliance moved in an orderly fashion.

A powerful Array was formed.

The dozen or so powerhouses simultaneously released their Mystical Illusions. Each illusion was a phantom viper, which intertwined and condensed, converging into a hundred-meter-long black serpent illusion.

HISSSS!

The viper flicked its tongue and charged at Hong Yu.

"Seven Mysterious Heavenly Snake Array!"

This Array was incredibly profound, fusing the power of more than a dozen Primordial Embryo Realm Powerhouses. It was comparable to a powerhouse ranked in the top fifty among Unparalleled True Dragons.

"Brothers, kill this kid and plunder the Treasures on him!"

"Alright!"

"Kill!"

"Haha, tonight I’m going to the Fragrance Courtyard to order two courtesans!"

A cold, bloody light shone in the eyes of all the Earth Department powerhouses.

The massive viper illusion twisted its body, sweeping forward like a gigantic whip.

Its power was immense.

This single sweep was enough to level an ancient city.

Hong Yu’s eyes swept coldly. The Cyan Celestial Transformation Dragon Technique enveloped his arms, and his True Dragon Arms surged with a cyan light.

His arms underwent an Illusion Transformation into a cyan glow, condensing into what looked like two cyan dragons, which whistled through the air.

BOOM!

His hands firmly gripped the body of the massive viper as it swept toward him.

It was like a Cyan Dragon biting down on the viper.

ROAR!

The Earth Department powerhouses roared repeatedly. More than a dozen Primordial Embryo Realm Powerhouses exerted their strength at once, and the immense force that surged forward made Hong Yu’s arms go numb.

’Huh? This Array is quite profound. To think it can fuse the power of over a dozen people so subtly?’

Hong Yu exclaimed in surprise, but his fighting spirit only grew fiercer. ’However, no matter how powerful an Array is, it still has a weakness. To kill a snake, you strike it seven inches below the head. I’ll play along with you for a bit!’

With a beat of his Divine Demon Wings, Hong Yu abruptly pulled away.

The next moment...

His figure reappeared in the air above the viper illusion’s "seven-inch" point.

"Five Fingers Move Heaven and Earth!"

The Heaven and Earth Finger pierced through the void.

BOOM!

The finger struck the "seven-inch" point of the Array.

PUFF!

The Array was damaged. The faces of the powerhouses forming it paled, and several of them spat out blood, clearly having suffered a blow.

"Dammit, this guy is a tough nut to crack!" someone exclaimed in a low voice.

Viper roared, "Brothers, the men from the Celestial Slayer Division are on a mission, ambushing those powerhouses from the Southern Ten Nations Alliance, who come from some forgotten corner of the world. That’s another big score, and our Earth Department can’t lose to them! Kill this boy, and when we get back, we can compete with the Celestial Slayer Division for some of the credit!"

"Don’t worry, Boss. We were just careless a moment ago!"

"Jie jie, I heard those people from the Southern Ten Nations Alliance are all trash, yet the Celestial Slayer Division has to mobilize their entire force just to snatch the credit. Our Earth Department will definitely not lose to the Celestial Slayer Division!"

"That’s right! Once we kill this kid, we’ll have even more to brag about!"

As the group chattered back and forth, they failed to notice that the playful and casual expression on Hong Yu’s face had quietly vanished.

A buzzing sound filled his head. ’The Southern Ten Nations Alliance? The Snake Alliance’s Celestial Slayer Division is ambushing people from the Southern Ten Nations Alliance?’

Hong Yu’s face darkened, and he asked sharply, "Did you just say that people from the Snake Alliance are going to finish off the powerhouses from the Southern Ten Nations?"

"Heh heh, kid, you can’t even save yourself, and you have time to worry about others?"

"Those pathetic weaklings from that backwater Southern Ten Nations Alliance... Once our Celestial Slayer Division makes a move, they’re all dead for sure!"

"Kid, don’t tell me you know people from the Southern Ten Nations too? Jie jie, that’s perfect. You’ll have company on the Path to the Underworld!"

Receiving a definitive answer, Hong Yu’s expression grew even colder. He said angrily, "Tell me, where are the men from the Celestial Slayer Division?"

A glint appeared in Viper’s eyes. "You want to know? Jie jie, after you’re dead, you can go ask them yourself!"

Hong Yu took a deep breath, his tone becoming increasingly chilling. "Fine. It doesn’t matter if you don’t talk. I’ll just kill all of you. Then I’ll extract your souls and scorch them with the lashes of my Primordial Fire. I refuse to believe you won’t talk then!"

"Damn it, you’re still thinking about killing us at a time like this? You’re courting death!"

"Kill him!"

The massive viper illusion grew even more violent, attempting to slay Hong Yu.

Hong Yu stood suspended in the air, his Divine Demon Wings beating slowly.

From his hands, six paths of cold light shot out.

It was the Heaven-Ripping Divine Claw.

Hong Yu’s gaze was cold and bloodthirsty. His icy words, spoken one by one, were enough to make one’s blood run cold...

"Since you’re looking for death, I will begin the slaughter. I won’t leave a single one of you alive!"