Immortal Martial Emperor

DONG!

A melodious bell chimed, echoing throughout the Celestial Universe.

Vast and magnificent, solemn and elegant, it carried a melodious resonance that seemed to pierce the Cosmos and Primordial Chaos, condensing the essence of Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow.

The moment the chime appeared, it was like the descent of a powerful deity.

Under the vast, melodious chime,

the ghostly blue hand, summoned by Hai Cangtian with his Life Essence Blood in the name of the Emperor of the Ancient Sea Kingdom, shattered with a BOOM.

As the ghostly blue hand dissipated,

Hai Cangtian, having lost a mouthful of his Life Essence Blood, spat out a mouthful of his own blood in recoil. His face instantly turned deathly pale as he stared in horror toward Hong Yu.

Before Hong Yu, the void rippled like the surface of water.

A young man clad in golden armor slowly emerged.

His long black hair danced in the wind, and his golden armor reflected the brilliant sunlight. His resolute features were tinged with an air of power and determination.

His gaze was as brilliant as the bright moon, and as it swept over them, it seemed capable of seeing through a person’s heart.

"Xiahuang Shang?"

Hai Cangtian’s voice was hoarse as he spoke, enunciating each word.

Xiahuang Shang glanced at Hai Cangtian with cold eyes and said flatly, "Hai Cangtian, to think you’d dare to lay a vicious hand on a True Dragon Genius of my Ancient Kingdom, within the borders of the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom no less. You must hold my Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom in utter contempt, don’t you?"

Hai Cangtian snorted. "Such arrogance from the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom. You even dare to destroy the Hand Seal of my Imperial Father that I summoned. Are you trying to provoke a war between our two kingdoms?"

"Don’t try to scare me with that nonsense. Others may fear you, but I, Xiahuang Shang, do not."

With an angry laugh, Xiahuang Shang’s palm began to glow with golden light. A small golden bell hovered above it. He lifted his chin slightly, staring down at Hai Cangtian.

Even though Xiahuang Shang said nothing,

the mere appearance of this small golden bell caused Hai Cangtian’s expression to change drastically.

"The Xiahuang Bell?"

Hai Cangtian gasped.

Why were the Four Ancient Kingdoms able to divide and rule the Southern Border Profound Domain?

It was because each of the Four Ancient Kingdoms possessed a National Guardian Primordial Weapon!

And the Xiahuang Bell was precisely the National Guardian Primordial Weapon of the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom!

Although he, Hai Cangtian, was the Prince most favored by the Emperor of the Ancient Sea Kingdom, he had only been given a single Emperor’s Command Arrow, which sealed one of the Emperor’s Hand Seals within it.

At most, it meant he could use his Essence Blood to break the Seal and unleash a single attack from the Emperor of the Ancient Sea Kingdom.

It simply designated him as a Prince of relatively high status, nothing more!

But...

wielding the Xiahuang Bell was something else entirely!

It meant that, at this moment, Xiahuang Shang could represent the entire Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom. In other words, if Xiahuang Shang, holding the Xiahuang Bell, were to declare war on the Ancient Sea Kingdom, then unless the Emperor of the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom disagreed, the entire army and all the powerful experts of the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom would obey his command.

"I can’t believe the Xiahuang Emperor actually gave you the Xiahuang Bell..."

Hai Cangtian looked at Xiahuang Shang with a complex expression, a trace of jealousy and fear in his eyes.

Xiahuang Shang said flatly, "My Imperial Father was worried some people might be plotting something nefarious, so he had me bring the Xiahuang Bell. Hai Cangtian, the Ten Kingdoms Martial Competition is over. You’ve now been stripped of your position as Inspector. You can return to the Ancient Sea Kingdom."

"Return?"

Hai Cangtian frowned.

How could he be willing to return like this?

To seize the Treasure that Demon Owl claimed was hidden on Hong Yu, he had expended great effort and scheming, and had even been careless enough to get a sound beating from Hong Yu.

He had even used up the Protection Command Arrow his Imperial Father had bestowed upon him.

He had even consumed a mouthful of his Life Essence Blood.

After paying such a heavy price, if he returned without gaining a single thing, Hai Cangtian could imagine how the Eldest Prince and Second Prince would seize upon this failure to relentlessly attack him.

His eyes darted about as he said coldly, "I can return, but..."

He pointed at Hong Yu. "This Hong Yu has defied me time and again, which is an insult to the honor of the Ancient Sea Kingdom. I must take him back to be dealt with by my Imperial Father."

"An insult to its honor?"

Xiahuang Shang raised an eyebrow, a cold sneer playing on his lips. "Hai Cangtian, do you really think I’m unaware of what you’ve been up to?"

"What do you mean?"

Hai Cangtian frowned.

Xiahuang Shang said coldly, "From the very beginning of the martial competition, you’ve been targeting Hong Yu, whether intentionally or not. After the competition, you instigated those three wastes—Zhui Yang, Ziyan, and the Sun and Moon Old Demon—to ambush and kill Hong Yu. You even helped Wang Jiankun activate the Celestial Fire Spirit Burning Array, channeling Earth Fire to deal with him. You’ve been pulling the strings from start to finish, and now you have the gall to claim Hong Yu insulted the honor of your Ancient Sea Kingdom?"

After a pause, Xiahuang Shang continued, "Even if he did insult your Ancient Sea Kingdom, it was only because you, Hai Cangtian, stuck your own face out for him to slap."

"You..."

Hai Cangtian’s face flushed with fury.

He knew, of course, that he couldn’t hide his actions from the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom, but he had always assumed Xiahuang Shang would save him some face and not call him out on it publicly.

That way, Xiahuang Shang would surely have agreed to let him take Hong Yu.

And the matter would have been settled.

But he never imagined Xiahuang Shang would be so aggressive.

Xiahuang Shang waved his hand dismissively. "I’m giving you one last chance. Leave the Xiahuang Ancient Kingdom on your own. Or, I can bring out the Xiahuang Bell and *send* you on your way!"

"Xiahuang Shang, you dare?"

Hai Cangtian’s face alternated between ashen and pale.

But before he could finish, Xiahuang Shang had already begun to form a Seal Technique, and the Xiahuang Bell in his hand began to radiate a faint golden light.

Under this golden glow, Hai Cangtian immediately felt the aura of death wash over him, and even breathing became difficult.

He snorted coldly. "Fine, fine, fine. Xiahuang Shang, I’ll remember this."

With that, he prepared to leave.

But just then...

Hong Yu, who was tightly holding Beichen Tianshuang, suddenly looked up, his blood-red eyes fixed on Hai Cangtian. "Wait!"

"Hm?"

Hai Cangtian looked at Hong Yu in annoyance, his eyes flashing with a chilling light. "What? You piece of trash, do you think you can make me stay?"

Hong Yu slowly shook his head and took a deep breath. His calm words sent a shiver down the spine. "I can’t make you stay right now. In your eyes, I’m nothing but a feeble mayfly, an ant you can crush at will. That’s why you dared to act so unscrupulously against me today. But I don’t hate you, nor will I curse you! I just want to tell you..."

"Live well. Eat well, drink well. Cherish the little time you have left. Because..."

As Hong Yu spoke, he slowly lowered his head, gently stroking the pale face of the girl in his arms, the corners of his lips curling up slightly.

"The next time we meet, I will use these two hands to wring your head from your neck and offer it to Tianshuang!"

BOOM!

A jolt ran through Hai Cangtian, and his aura surged. He laughed in extreme anger. "What did you say? You’re going to wring my head from my neck? HAHAHA! Hong Yu, you truly don’t know your own limits! Do you have any idea how vast the gap between us is? Do you really think that just because Xiahuang Shang saved you once, you can provoke me without consequence?"

But Hong Yu didn’t even look up. He slowly shook his head. "The next time we meet, I won’t rely on anyone’s power."

After a pause...

Hong Yu raised his right hand, smeared it with the blood from the corner of his lips, and drew a strange Rune in the air.

The moment this Rune appeared, the expressions on both Hai Cangtian’s and Xiahuang Shang’s faces changed drastically.

Hong Yu suddenly opened his mouth, and with a "WAH," a spurt of Essence Blood shot out. It condensed in the void, imprinting itself onto the strange Rune and transforming into a bolt of crimson light.

Hong Yu spoke softly, "I, Hong Yu, swear by my True Spirit—in this life, I will kill Hai Cangtian with my own two hands. If I break this oath, may my True Spirit shatter, dissipate between the nine heavens and ten earths, and never know Reincarnation."

RUMBLE!

The bolt of crimson light before Hong Yu began to tremble violently.

One after another, blood-red characters materialized in the air above the bolt of light. A crimson glow shimmered over it, and within a dense, roiling cloud of blood, streaks of Thunder Power raged and surged.

A solemn yet sinister aura spread out.

The bolt of crimson light shot directly into Hong Yu’s body.

Meanwhile, the strange Rune, with a SWISH, shot toward Hai Cangtian and, faster than lightning, branded itself onto the center of his forehead.

Hong Yu slowly raised his head, a cruel glint in his eyes. "To the highest heavens and down to the lowest springs, Hai Cangtian, as long as I, Hong Yu, live, this True Spirit Blood Oath will follow you. Sooner or later, I will personally cut you down. Only your life can wash away the enmity of this day!"

"Madman! Madman! You’re a complete madman!"

Hai Cangtian roared in anger and terror.

He shook his head frantically, but the blood-red Rune was branded onto him like a maggot on a bone, impossible to shake off.

’A True Spirit Blood Oath!’

’This is the most vicious oath one can swear, made at the cost of having one’s True Spirit utterly annihilated!’

’Unless it’s a blood feud to the death, unless the avenger is a madman, no one would ever make such a terrifying oath!’

For the first time...

For the very first time, Hai Cangtian felt true fear from Hong Yu.

Tough guys fear the ruthless, the ruthless fear the insane, and the insane fear those with nothing to lose.

Hong Yu didn’t even care about his life...

No, he had given up even the chance of Reincarnation, all just to kill him.

’What kind of terrifying and insane tactic is this?’

’Damned thing, I absolutely cannot let this guy live...’ Hai Cangtian’s expression flickered uncertainly as he prepared to strike.

But one look at the menacing Xiahuang Shang forced him to suppress the killing intent in his heart.

Taking a deep breath, he fixed his cold, glaring eyes on Hong Yu and gritted out, word by word, "Fine, fine, fine! Hong Yu, I’ll be waiting to see just how you plan to take my head. Hmph! And let me warn you, this world is full of dangers. Xiahuang Shang can protect you for a time, but not for a lifetime."

Leaving behind this cryptic warning, Hai Cangtian transformed into a streak of blue light and soared away.

Gazing at Hai Cangtian’s departing figure,

Hong Yu’s eyes held a bone-chilling coldness.

He carefully lifted Beichen Tianshuang, slowly got to his feet, and a hint of tenderness returned to his eyes. "Tianshuang, I remember you once said you wanted to see what the Celestial Essence Secret Realm looked like. I’ll take you there now. From now on, we can see each other in the Celestial Essence Secret Realm all the time. I’ll always be with you..."

Taking a deep breath, Hong Yu was about to soar into the sky.

Just at that moment...

Xiahuang Shang, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke. "Hong Yu, wait! I have a way to save her!"