Immortal Martial Emperor

Faced with Xu Wudi’s terrifying "Hungry Tiger Pounce," Hong Yu rolled his eyes in frustration.

He didn’t dodge or evade, looking as if he’d accepted his fate. "Come on, then. Since you’ve decided to force yourself on me, I won’t resist. But please, be gentle!"

The moment he said this, the face of Xu Wudi, who had just been so fierce and menacing, darkened.

Three dark lines seemed to appear on her smooth forehead.

She dodged past Hong Yu in a flash, looking sullenly at his cunning expression. "You scoundrel."

Hong Yu laughed. "Me, a scoundrel? How could I ever compare to you? Locking me in a room and telling me that no one would save me even if I screamed myself hoarse?"

"You..."

Xu Wudi’s pretty face instantly flushed red.

This infamous she-tyrant, however, couldn’t escape the feelings of a young woman after all. Her earlier ferocity vanished as she sullenly walked over to a nearby table, sat down, and began pouring and downing cups of wine from a pot.

Hong Yu hesitated for a moment, then sat down, poured himself a cup, and drank. "Good wine," he commented. "What’s it called?"

Xu Wudi glanced at him. "Ice Heart Drunk!"

"Hm, tastes great!"

Hong Yu nodded, refilled his cup, and looked at Xu Wudi. "You didn’t really drag me here just to have your way with me, did you? I’ll have you know, I’m already in love with someone!"

"Get lost!"

Xu Wudi cursed sullenly, then said, "Actually, Father wanted me to ask you... how exactly did you wake my older sister?"

"Oh," Hong Yu said. "You remember that finger I touched to the spot between your sister’s eyebrows, right?"

"Hm? Was there something profound about that touch?"

"Come here!"

Hong Yu smiled and pointed a finger toward the spot between Xu Wudi’s eyebrows.

Xu Wudi instinctively tried to dodge, but was shocked to find that the space around her seemed to be suppressed by an invisible force, rendering her immobile for a moment.

She was horrified. ’Hong Yu has such an ability!’

The glowing blue fingertip was already touching her forehead. Xu Wudi felt her mind go blank with a BUZZ, and then the image of Xiahuang Shang appeared in her mind’s eye.

It was gone in a flash, and her senses returned.

Xu Wudi stared blankly at Hong Yu. "No wonder Older Sister woke up." She sighed softly and smiled bitterly. "Oh, Sister, Sister... that heartless man treated you so badly. Why are you still so hopelessly devoted to him?"

Hearing this, Hong Yu couldn’t help but be taken aback.

The image of Beichen Celestial Frost surfaced in his mind.

That silent, tranquil girl had never spoken sweet nothings to him, nor had they made any vows of eternal love. She just quietly stayed by his side.

When he cried, she was there to comfort him. When he laughed, her smile was even brighter...

When he faced death, she stepped forward to protect him without a second thought.

’Just how devoted is she?’

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Xu Wudi said, displeased.

Hong Yu snapped out of it and smiled. "Matters of the heart are hard to figure out. But since your sister is so insistent, the love between them must be worth her dedication."

"I suppose what you’re saying makes a bit of sense."

Xu Wudi nodded in agreement and asked, "You still haven’t told me, why did you come looking for my sister in the first place?"

Hong Yu then told Xu Wudi about his plan to go to the Profound Ice Secret Realm.

Xu Wudi hesitated for a moment. "The Profound Ice Secret Realm is jointly controlled by the Royal Family, the Blood Demon Palace, and the three great families: Xu, Tang, and Cheng. If you want to enter, you need the approval of all these powers. But you’ve offended the Blood Demon Palace, the Tang Family, and the Cheng Family. They will absolutely never let you in."

"Is there really no other way?" Hong Yu frowned.

"Well, it’s not that there are no other ways."

Xu Wudi hesitated, then said, "In a few days, it’ll be the annual Ice Sealing Festival. The Ice Tower will open then. If you can break into the top ten inside the Ice Tower, you’ll naturally get a spot to enter the Profound Ice Secret Realm. The only thing is... the Ice Tower is only open to experts from the Ice Kingdom."

The Ice Sealing Festival was the founding day of the Ice Kingdom.

It was an annual event, and exceptionally grand!

Hong Yu had heard of the Ice Tower before. That black Giant Ruler of Tang Rui’s was obtained from there. One could only imagine what other secrets the Ice Tower held.

It wasn’t hard to understand why the Ice Kingdom wouldn’t let outsiders get a piece of the pie and barred them from participating in the tower challenge.

"So there’s no other way?" Hong Yu frowned.

’I have to go to the Profound Ice Secret Realm.’

Beichen Celestial Frost’s body could only hold on for two more months at most. Any further delay would not be good for her.

Seeing the urgent look in Hong Yu’s eyes, Xu Wudi’s elegant eyebrows knitted slightly. "Well, there is one possibility..."

As Xu Wudi explained, Hong Yu gradually came to understand the power structure of the Ice Kingdom.

Strictly speaking, the Ice Kingdom’s power was layered, with the Royal Family at the top, followed by the Blood Demon Palace and the three great families.

The Blood Demon Palace and the three families had their own grudges, forming two separate factions. However, as the Xu Family had grown in power over the years, the other two families felt threatened and, with the tacit approval of the Royal Family, began to join forces to suppress the Xu Family.

The reason the Xu Family had been able to hold on was not only due to Xu Rongchang’s strength and iron-fisted methods, but also because Xu Wudi held the first True Dragon Position.

During this Ice Sealing Festival, all Eight Great True Dragons would participate. The Tang and Cheng Families were both putting all their effort into obtaining great opportunities within the Ice Tower.

As long as the True Dragons from the Tang and Cheng Families could obtain enough benefits to surpass Xu Wudi, that would be the moment for the two families to launch an all-out assault on the Xu Family.

But beyond the chaotic struggles between the family factions, there was an organization no weaker than the three great families and the Blood Demon Palace that had always remained neutral—the Spiritual Craftsman Guild.

Both the Xu Family and the other families had tried to form an alliance with the Spiritual Craftsman Guild.

However, the Spiritual Craftsmen were detached from worldly affairs and remained completely unmoved.

It was because of this neutrality that the major powers treated the Spiritual Craftsman Guild with extreme respect and deference.

Xu Wudi said, "If you can become an Elder of the Spiritual Craftsman Guild, and then have the Guild step forward to secure a spot for you, I believe that even though the other powers will be unhappy, they won’t be willing to offend the Spiritual Craftsman Guild over it!"

’Become an Elder of the Spiritual Craftsman Guild?’

Hong Yu rubbed his nose.

Xu Wudi continued, "Actually, since you’re capable of refining Fifth-Grade Spirit Pills, no one would dare object if you became the Chairman. It’s just that the current Chairman of the Spiritual Craftsman Guild is the Imperial Uncle of the Ice Kingdom’s King—a strange but very powerful old man. If you tried to replace him, you’d be offending the Royal Family as well. That’s why I suggested you aim for an Elder position!"

"I see. So how do I become an Elder?" Hong Yu asked with a frown.

Although he had dealt with the Spiritual Craftsman Guild before, he didn’t know much about the massive organization.

Xu Wudi said, "That’s simple. Master Hu is an Elder in the Spiritual Craftsman Guild, and he’s the top figure in alchemy, with great prestige in the Guild. You can just have him recommend you!"

"Alright, then I’ll shamelessly give it a try!"

A determined light flickered in Hong Yu’s eyes.

...

「Three days passed in a flash.」

During these three days, Hong Yu had refined the Nine-Transformation Body Moisturizing Powder on two separate occasions. This display of skill completely won over the still-skeptical members of the Xu Family, as well as Master Hu and his disciple, Hu Jun. This was especially true for the master and disciple.

Master Hu himself had been immersed in the Alchemy Dao for a hundred years, possessing a bone-deep passion and obsession for alchemy. Hu Jun, being young, full of vigor, and quite talented, was naturally a bit arrogant, which was understandable. However, after witnessing Hong Yu’s alchemy techniques, he too was completely in awe.

And so...

For the past three days, Hong Yu had acquired two little shadows who followed him everywhere.

Helpless, Hong Yu could only toss them a tiny sliver of the Divine Medicine Scripture. The master and disciple treated it like a supreme treasure, especially when they heard that Hong Yu wanted to join the Spiritual Craftsman Guild and become an Elder.

Master Hu thumped his chest and guaranteed he would take care of it.

Meanwhile, nourished by the Nine-Transformation Body Moisturizing Powder, Xu Wanrong—that is, Eldest Miss Xu—gradually recovered her health.

The kind lie that Hong Yu had told became Xu Wanrong’s motivation to live.

Her resolve grew firmer. She would live well and wait for the man she treasured in her heart to return and marry her.

This only strengthened Hong Yu’s resolve to have a serious talk with Xiahuang Shang when he saw him in the future.

「Noon.」

The blazing sun hung high in the sky, but the Frozen City was enveloped by the magical Ice Tower. Even as the sun radiated intense heat, the air within the city remained pleasantly cool and comfortable.

Hong Yu sat quietly cross-legged in the small courtyard.

Faint layers of light swirled around his body. Advancing his cultivation of the Primordial Gang Fighting Technique required devouring Elemental Ore. Fortunately, he had obtained quite a few Elemental Ores back in the Qin Kingdom.

He even had some Top-Grade Elemental Essence Ore!

The energy contained within them was immense. As Hong Yu continuously circulated the Primordial Gang Fighting Technique, his cultivation gradually rose.

His Late-stage Primordial Core Realm was completely stabilized, and he was now advancing toward the Peak of the Primordial Core Realm.

Unfortunately, there was a massive gulf between the Primordial Core Realm and the Primordial Embryo Realm.

One had to fully comprehend and integrate a True Martial Arts Intent, then take the Primordial Core within their Dantian, polish it through trials, and condense it into the shape of a Primordial Embryo.

Why did so many Primordial Core Realm experts get stuck at this stage, unable to break through?

It was because many experts didn’t dare to take the final step: shattering their Primordial Core to condense a Primordial Embryo.

There was an old saying: "Ten Cores for one Embryo."

This meant that out of ten Primordial Core Realm experts who shattered their Primordial Cores, typically only one would succeed in condensing a Primordial Embryo and advancing to the Primordial Embryo Realm.

Condensing a Primordial Embryo required the complete comprehension and integration of a True Martial Arts Intent. At the very moment the Primordial Core shattered, one had to use their comprehended True Martial Arts Intent as a framework to construct the embryo’s shape. For example, if one comprehended the True Sword Dao Intent, the embryo would likely take the shape of a sharp sword. If one comprehended a Beast Form True Intent, the embryo would likely be beast-shaped.

But there was one key point: the more True Martial Arts Intents one comprehended in the Primordial Core Realm, the stronger and more stable the resulting Primordial Embryo would be after advancing to the Primordial Embryo Realm.

Demon Fiends like Xiahuang Shang and Hai Cangtian, who were at the Fifth Heaven Realm, had all comprehended and integrated ten True Martial Arts Intents when they advanced to the Primordial Embryo Realm!

Ten was the absolute limit!

In tens of millions of years, not a single person had ever been able to break that number.

Hong Yu had currently mastered eight True Martial Arts Intents, though his comprehension of the Five Yin Demonic Intent was lacking. Besides, he wasn’t satisfied with just eight.

’If I can break the limit of ten intents, then once I break through to the Primordial Embryo Realm, my combat strength will be even more formidable.’

He slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Hong Yu looked at the Elemental Essence Ore in his hand, which had now turned into useless waste rock, and rubbed his nose in frustration. ’This Primordial Gang Fighting Technique is powerful, but it requires way too many Elemental Ores. It looks like from now on I’ll only be able to devour Elemental Essence Ores. This pace is going to bankrupt me...’

Just as he was feeling frustrated, Hong Yu suddenly saw Master Hu hurrying back, looking travel-worn.

After the two exchanged greetings, Master Hu got straight to the point and delivered two pieces of news.

One good, and one bad...