Immortal Martial Emperor

"Young Master Hong, the Martial Arts Tea Party is about to begin. Please follow me inside!"

The young woman glanced helplessly at Tang Sheng, who was lying like a corpse in the distance, and spoke to Hong Yu with vexation.

From her resentful gaze, it was clear that Hong Yu’s merciless, near-crippling defeat of Tang Sheng had put her in a very awkward position.

Hong Yu awkwardly rubbed his nose. After a moment’s thought, he finally found an excuse: "He was asking for it!"

"..."

The young woman rolled her eyes.

Following her lead, Hong Yu entered the Void Spirit Pavilion and was shown to one of the private rooms.

The young woman smiled. "Young Master Hong, the Martial Arts Tea Party will officially begin in about ten minutes. Please rest here for a while!"

"Thank you."

Hong Yu cupped his hands at her.

He couldn’t help but feel a surge of anxiety. He was about to meet Zhu Ling’Er, which meant he would finally be able to find Little Chenxi.

How could he not be nervous?

The wait of over ten minutes felt agonizingly long. From his private room, Hong Yu had a clear view of the main hall. There weren’t too many people, only about five hundred or so.

Hong Yu could vaguely overhear some of their conversations.

The most talked-about person was the Evil Fire Phoenix, Zhu Ling’Er. Many people seemed to both respect and fear her, which made Hong Yu even more curious about what this Evil Fire Phoenix looked like.

’Does she have three heads and six arms or something?’

Besides her, the person most discussed was Hong Yu himself.

Especially after the few who had just seen him send Tang Sheng flying added their own embellishments, stories of his exploits were being dredged up and repeated all over again.

This left Hong Yu feeling rather exasperated.

He rubbed his nose and released his Spiritual Power to scan the surrounding private rooms, discovering there were twenty in total, each one housing a powerful expert.

All the experts in the private rooms were extremely powerful individuals.

A few of the auras were so potent that even Hong Yu felt a sense of apprehension.

Clearly, these were individuals on the level of an Unparalleled Genius.

"Of the Ten Great Unparalleled Prodigies, I’ve only ever met Venerable Xiahuang, Bai Luoxue, Xuantian Du, and Long Qingfeng. I haven’t met the other five. I wonder how many of these powerful auras belong to one of the Unparalleled Prodigies? And which ones might they be?" Hong Yu murmured to himself.

At that moment, a commotion erupted in the main hall.

"Look, it’s Jin Zhiyong and Jin Zhiqiang! Those brothers actually came too!"

"Heh, Jin Zhiyong is a genius Spiritual Craftsman, famous in the Imperial Capital for years. I hear he’s already a Fifth Grade Advanced Spirit Craft Master and is expected to reach the Sixth Grade within three years. Even the Imperial Family and the Spiritual Craftsman Association are vying to recruit him!"

"His older brother is a force to be reckoned with, too. He’s on par with Venerable Xiahuang, hailed as the number one Spirit Cultivator of the younger generation!"

Amidst the crowd’s murmuring, two young men with faces that were about seventy percent similar strode in, both carrying themselves with an air of extreme arrogance.

They arrogantly strode to the front row and took their seats.

Jin Zhiyong’s expression was sour. "Brother, isn’t this Evil Fire Phoenix getting a little too arrogant? She didn’t even arrange a private room for us?"

"Calm down. It’s just a room. There’s no need to dwell on it," Jin Zhiqiang said calmly, much more composed than his brother.

Jin Zhiyong’s face remained cold, still fuming with indignation. ’I’d love to see what kind of riffraff managed to get those private rooms,’ he thought angrily. ’Hmph. I believe there’s a challenge segment later. When it comes, I’ll be sure to put them in their place.’

A few more groups of people entered one after another, and then the main doors of the Void Spirit Pavilion were closed.

CLICK!

The entire hall suddenly darkened.

"What’s going on?"

"Are we having the Martial Arts Tea Party in the dark?"

Amidst the clamor, a cluster of blue light suddenly flared to life, setting off a chain reaction. The blue radiance grew more and more brilliant.

It only stopped once the entire hall was bathed in its blue luminescence.

"Thank you all for attending this Martial Arts Tea Party!"

An ethereal and crisp voice, like music from the heavens, echoed throughout the hall.

The crowd’s gazes all snapped toward the head seat.

At some unknown time, a gracefully poised young woman was already seated there.

Only the host of the Martial Arts Tea Party was qualified to sit in that position.

Thus, the person’s identity was self-evident. It was the princess of the Vermilion Bird Duchy, the Evil Fire Phoenix of the Ten Great Unparalleled Prodigies—Zhu Ling’Er!

Zhu Ling’Er wore a light, red gauze veil. Clad in fiery-red, form-fitting leather armor, she projected an aura that was both sultry and noble.

Her exquisite figure was perfectly curvaceous. Her twin peaks, while not massive, were certainly more than a handful—firm and full.

A cascade of silky hair flowed down her back.

It swayed gently in the faint breeze, ethereal and otherworldly, sparking the imagination.

Her every move, every frown and smile, even from behind the veil, was enough to make one’s mouth go dry with desire.

"What a peerless enchantress!"

Watching this bewitching young woman, who was like a fiery rose, Hong Yu couldn’t help but murmur in admiration.

’Among all the women I know, when it comes to raw charm, I’m afraid even Sister Qin falls a bit short compared to her!’

"Brother, so that’s the Evil Fire Phoenix, Zhu Ling’Er? What a perfect figure... I just wonder what her face looks like!" Jin Zhiyong practically drooled, a lustful fire burning in his gut.

Jin Zhiqiang glanced at his younger brother and said flatly, "Zhu Ling’Er’s beauty is unmatched; she’s widely acknowledged as a great beauty. Once, an Unparalleled Genius grew possessive and even tried to force himself on her. Luckily, her Evil Fire Phoenix intervened and saved her from that trouble. But ever since then, Zhu Ling’Er has worn a veil, hiding her face from view."

"Huh? An Unparalleled Genius was able to threaten her? Who was it?" Jin Zhiyong asked, puzzled.

Jin Zhiqiang took a deep breath, his eyes filled with fear and awe. "That person is none other than the current Eldest Prince, the number one Unparalleled Genius, Venerable Xiahuang!"

"It was him?"

Jin Zhiyong swallowed hard and muttered, "No wonder... For a beauty as stunning as Zhu Ling’Er, I’ve never heard of any man getting close to her."

"Of course. Any man who dares to get close to Zhu Ling’Er would absolutely incur the wrath of Venerable Xiahuang!" Jin Zhiqiang explained. "His Highness the Eldest Prince has even publicly declared that anyone who helps him win Zhu Ling’Er over will receive a generous reward!"

"Oh?"

Jin Zhiyong’s eyes lit up.

’Venerable Xiahuang is the dignified Eldest Prince, not to mention the number one Unparalleled Genius!’

’If I could get that reward, or even just his approval, my future would be limitless!’

With this in mind, Jin Zhiyong’s mind immediately started churning with possibilities.

Though a woman, Zhu Ling’Er had a refreshingly direct and forthright way of doing things.

She dispensed with what should have been a lengthy opening speech in just a few sentences. With a charming smile, she said, "This Martial Arts Tea Party will be just like those in the past, with three segments. The first, naturally, will be sparring and exchanges between all you talented individuals to learn from each other’s Martial Arts. For the second segment, I will pose a challenge to test you all. And as tradition dictates, whoever can solve my puzzle may ask me to grant one request!"

"As for the third segment, you may all bring up any problems you’ve encountered in the Martial Dao or other areas, and I, along with the masters in the private rooms, will answer them!"

Zhu Ling’Er glanced, seemingly intentionally yet unintentionally, at the private room where Hong Yu was, then said, "Now, let the first segment begin! You may all choose an opponent to spar with and challenge. In fact, if you’re confident enough, you can even challenge the experts in the private rooms!"

A playful smile touched the corners of Zhu Ling’Er’s lips as she said softly, "And just a little spoiler... inside private room number three is none other than the recently ascendant and incredibly popular genius, Hong Yu!"

"What? Hong Yu is in private room number three?"

"He’s a menace! Definitely not someone you want to mess with!"

"I’m actually a little tempted to try..." said one man, his eyes burning with eagerness. He seemed very confident in his abilities.

Immediately someone threw cold water on his enthusiasm. "Are you trying to get killed? He just sent Tang Sheng flying with a single palm strike and nearly crippled him!"

"Ah?"

That person immediately deflated.

’Tang Sheng’s reputation was nothing to scoff at, after all!’

In the private room, Hong Yu felt the gazes of many experts on him, and even felt probing energies coming from the other private rooms. This made Hong Yu feel quite helpless. He rubbed his nose and muttered, "Does this Zhu Ling’Er have a grudge against me or something?"

But fortunately, his recent string of spectacular victories had earned him a great deal of prestige.

So much so that even though some people were eager to make a move, no one dared to step out and challenge him.

’It’s true what they say,’ Hong Yu thought with a sigh. ’The bigger your fist, the fewer your troubles.’

However, this peace did not last long.

Soon, someone in the hall stood up to challenge another. Of course, his target was not one of the experts in the private rooms, but another expert with whom he seemed to have a grudge.

The two exchanged blows, their movements crisp and clean.

Their cultivation levels were comparable, both at the Primordial Embryo Realm Level.

Zhu Ling’Er activated the Void Spirit Pavilion’s Array, and the two immediately began to fight. Since it was a spar, they didn’t use their Primordial Gang or Mystical Illusions, instead engaging in a bare-fisted brawl.

It was a fierce and exhilarating fight that left both men with bloody noses and bruised faces.

They were competing on pure physical strength and the finesse of their techniques.

In the end, the challenger won.

After someone took the lead, the number and frequency of challenges increased significantly.

But none of this held any interest for Hong Yu. He was more concerned with Little Chenxi’s whereabouts.

Three hours later, the first segment of challenges and spars finally came to an end.

Zhu Ling’Er smiled. "For the second segment, I have a strange little item here. I’ve had many powerful experts try to study it, but none have managed to uncover its secrets. Today, I bring it before you all in the hope that someone can help me solve this puzzle. If you succeed, I will owe you a favor."

Her words immediately stirred up a clamor, with many eager to try.

Zhu Ling’Er waved her hand, and a red light carrying a black Magic Cube flew out, landing on a table in the center.

Zhu Ling’Er smiled and said, "A highly skilled Spiritual Craftsman once said that this is a Magic Cube from the Ancient Era, and it contains an inheritance. But it requires a special method to open. I wonder who can help me fulfill this wish?"

For a moment, the hall fell silent.

’A Magic Cube from the Ancient Era?’

Given Zhu Ling’Er’s status, if she couldn’t find someone to open it, the task was clearly far from simple.

Seeing that no one was stepping forward, Zhu Ling’Er couldn’t help but show a trace of disappointment. Just as she was about to put the Magic Cube away, someone stood up...

"Miss Ling’Er, I am willing to try. However, I have a condition of my own!"