Immortal Martial Emperor

"What are you doing here?"

Hong Yu stared in astonishment at the person before him.

Before him was a man in a white robe. His pale blue hair draped down his back, and a calm expression graced his face as he sat down directly opposite Hong Yu.

He took the wine jug from Hong Yu’s hand and chugged several large gulps. The fiery liquor burned its way down his throat and through his gut.

He let out a sharp, ragged breath.

Gasping for air, the man set down the jug.

The two of them sat face to face, their eyes meeting.

This continued for a moment.

As he poured the man a drink, Hong Yu was the first to speak. "Brother Xin, how have you been this past year?"

The person who had suddenly appeared and sat before Hong Yu was none other than Feng Xue Xin.

His face was calm, but compared to the Feng Xue Xin from his memories, he seemed to have lost some of his carefree spirit and easy smile.

He drained the cup of wine before him.

Feng Xue Xin looked at Hong Yu and said calmly, "You’ve already been to the West Mountain Inn, haven’t you?"

"Hm?"

Hong Yu’s hand paused as he was pouring wine. He looked up at Feng Xue Xin and frowned. "How did you know?"

Feng Xue Xin drained his cup again. A trace of confusion and bitterness filled his eyes as he gazed at the crowds walking below the window. "Sometimes I really envy them," he said faintly. "They may not have immense power or be able to control the fates of others, but at least they can live the quiet lives they want to live!"

Hong Yu slowly set down the wine jug, watching Feng Xue Xin quietly as his brows gradually knitted together.

In his memory, Feng Xue Xin had always been carefree and untroubled, someone who did as he pleased.

He was the kind of person who seemed to want for nothing, as long as there was good food to eat.

But the Feng Xue Xin before him now gave off an air of someone who had weathered countless storms.

This feeling gave Hong Yu a very bad premonition.

Feng Xue Xin turned to look at Hong Yu, the corners of his lips twisting into a bitter curve. "I imagine you’ve guessed some of it already, right?"

Hong Yu nodded.

Feng Xue Xin continued, "I was the one who sent Hong Tianduan to the West Mountain Inn!"

"What?"

Hong Yu’s entire body trembled.

His brows furrowed even tighter, his gaze flickering with an unreadable light as he asked in a low voice, "Did Hong Renjie force you to do it?"

Feng Xue Xin sighed softly and nodded.

"Tie Shou found me a few days ago, and I’ve already made some arrangements. But with the martial tournament imminent, all the major powers are watching and wary of each other. The powerhouses from the Qin Kingdom are unwilling to stir up trouble at a time like this."

Hong Yu explained, "I thought Hong Renjie only wanted to control the Cyan Nether Sword Sect, but now it seems his ambitions are much greater?"

Feng Xue Xin nodded. "His ambitions indeed do not lie with the Cyan Nether Sword Sect. What he wants—" He pointed at Hong Yu. "—is you!"

"He wants to kill me for revenge?"

Hong Yu frowned.

The grudge between him and Hong Renjie was indeed irreconcilable. It wasn’t hard to understand why Hong Renjie would want to kill him for revenge.

But understanding was one thing; accepting it was another matter entirely.

For instance, Hong Renjie’s cruel treatment of his third grand-uncle was something Hong Yu could never tolerate!

The crippling of Tie Shou, Gao Zijie’s death, and Liu Liyun’s disappearance—these were also unforgivable!

’There’s a grudge between us, so why not come directly for me!’

’Why do you have to go after my friends and family?’

Feng Xue Xin seemed to see through Hong Yu’s thoughts and said with a bitter smile, "Hong Renjie wants to make you wish for death. He doesn’t just want to kill you to vent his anger; he wants to torture you. And everyone connected to you has become a pawn in his revenge, a target. Like Hong Tianduan, like your master, Elder Bai, and like..."

"Me!"

Feng Xue Xin pointed to himself.

Hong Yu was taken aback. "’My master and you? What happened to you two?’"

Feng Xue Xin shook his head with a pained smile. "I can’t say. As for Elder Bai, that’s the reason I came today."

Feng Xue Xin took a wooden box from his robes. When he opened it, a severed finger lay inside.

Hong Yu’s expression changed drastically.

Feng Xue Xin said, "This is Elder Bai’s finger. Hong Renjie told me to tell you that starting today, he will send one finger every day. When the fingers are gone, he’ll send the toes. After they’re all cut off, he will send you Elder Bai’s head..."

BOOM!

A towering wave of fury erupted from him.

A powerful momentum flooded the entire floor of the inn, completely destroying its expensive decor.

As dust filled the air, chilling words were squeezed from between his teeth, one by one: "Tell me, where is Hong Renjie? I’m going to kill him!"

Feng Xue Xin stood up, looking at Hong Yu with a bitter expression. "It’s useless. Even if you find him, you can’t do anything to him. The Hong Renjie of today is not the same person he once was. He is... a Demon now."

At the mention of Hong Renjie, Feng Xue Xin’s eyes filled with pain and resentment, but even more so with fear.

’It’s hard to imagine...’

’...that a simple foodie could turn into this.’

As his body trembled, a frigid killing intent and unshakeable resolve filled Hong Yu’s heart. ’Hong Renjie, if I don’t kill you, I swear I am not fit to be human.’

The shocks and upheavals today had come one after another.

Each one more intense than the last.

They battered Hong Yu, fueling his rage and solidifying his determination to kill Hong Renjie.

If Hong Renjie didn’t die, he and all his friends would live under a perpetual cloud of unease and threat.

Standing quietly, Feng Xue Xin suddenly clutched his head and let out a series of pained roars.

"Hong Renjie is summoning me back."

He gasped for breath. "Hong... Hong Yu, re-remember, if you run into Hong Renjie, you... you have to run away. The... the person he is now... is... not someone you can deal with..."

"AHH!"

Amidst a piercing scream, Feng Xue Xin’s body transformed into a streak of blue light. Treading upon the Seven-Star Profound Mysteries, he shot straight into the clouds and flew away.

A determined look flashed in Hong Yu’s eyes. ’I absolutely cannot let Hong Renjie harm my friends again.’

With this thought, Hong Yu executed Wind Rider from his Tyrant’s Walk.

His speed was immense as he leaped onto the rooftops.

In an instant, his vast Spiritual Power locked onto Feng Xue Xin, who was hundreds of meters away, and he gave chase.

Feng Xue Xin moved quickly, flying directly into a massive estate.

Hong Yu landed outside the estate and looked up at the three large words hanging on the tall gate frame: ’National Guest Garden’.

Hong Yu couldn’t help but frown. ’’National Guest Garden? This is the estate the Yaoyue Kingdom’s Royal Family uses to entertain state guests. Brother Xin went inside... could Hong Renjie be in there? For him to be able to stay in the National Guest Garden, what on earth happened to him?’’

After a moment of contemplation, Hong Yu resolutely walked toward the National Guest Garden. ’’How dare you harm my family and friends! Even if a mountain of blades and a sea of fire lie ahead, I will have no fear!’’

As he strode forward, the Thunder Step from his Tyrant’s Walk manifested beneath his feet. With the rumble of Thunder Sound, he advanced on the National Guest Garden.

The four powerhouses guarding the gate of the National Guest Garden were not from the Yaoyue Kingdom.

Judging by their attire, they weren’t even from the Southern Ten Nations. Arrogance was etched on their faces.

The moment they saw Hong Yu approach the National Guest Garden, their eyes turned cold and sharp. One barked, "Who goes there? This is the National Guest Garden! Take one more step and don’t blame us for being merciless!"

The weakest of these four men was at the Peak of the Celestial Soul Realm.

The leader, in particular, had cultivation that was faintly touching the threshold of the Primordial Core Realm; he was clearly a Half-step Primordial Pill Realm powerhouse.

A mighty Half-step Primordial Pill Realm powerhouse leading three Celestial Soul Peak Powerhouses were merely serving as gate guards?

The person living inside this National Guest Garden must be anything but simple!

However, the moment he thought that Hong Renjie might be inside, the trace of apprehension in Hong Yu’s eyes completely vanished. He said coldly, "I’m only looking for Hong Renjie. Don’t force me to hurt you!"

"Hurt us?"

The four men were stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Foolish brat, do you have any idea who we are? You dare talk about hurting us? Let’s not even mention a mere Peak Celestial Soul Realm cultivator like you; even a Primordial Core Realm powerhouse from a backwater place like your Southern Ten Nations couldn’t dream of getting past the four of us brothers."

"Step aside. I’m only looking for Hong Renjie!"

Hong Yu said icily.

"Bastard, you’re too arrogant."

"Brothers, let’s move! Teach this native from the backwoods of the Southern Ten Nations a lesson."

"My dear brothers, calm down. Let your little brother take care of him!"

The youngest of the guards sneered, stepped forward, and thrust a palm at Hong Yu.

The other three watched with nonchalant expressions. "Damn it, Little Fourth, you moved too fast! We finally get a toy to torture, and you snatched it!"

"Hahaha, just let Little Fourth teach him a lesson. In the Southern Ten Nations, aside from Yao Yueye, all the other so-called geniuses would be nothing but a pile of dog shit where we’re from!"

The men mocked him wantonly, certain of Hong Yu’s defeat.

Watching the guard attack, Hong Yu frowned. ’’What an exquisite Palm Technique. A guard at the Peak of the Celestial Soul Realm actually has such a formidable Palm Technique?’’

A sense of gravity grew in Hong Yu’s heart, and his confusion about the relationship between Hong Renjie and the powerhouse living in this National Guest Garden deepened.

One had to understand...

For a skill to be deemed ’exquisite’ by someone of Hong Yu’s perception, it had to be at least an Earth-Level Martial Skill.

In the Southern Ten Nations, even in a place like the Guiyuan Sect, only the most elite geniuses could cultivate an Earth-Level Martial Skill. Among the Guiyuan Sect’s disciples, for example, only Zheng Tian had cultivated an Earth-level Lower Grade Martial Skill.

But these four were mere gate guards, and all of them had cultivated Earth-Level Martial Skills?

"Hmph. No matter what background you have, you can’t stop me."

Hong Yu took a deep breath. "Since you won’t let me in, I’ll just have to fight my way in!"

"Get lost!"

A flash of icy blue light flared in Hong Yu’s Cyan Eyes, shooting into the guard’s gaze with a SWISH.

The Celestial Soul Peak guard, who had been arrogant and nonchalant, froze. A hint of confusion appeared in his eyes, and Hong Yu seized the opportunity to send him flying with a single punch.

"How is that possible?"

"Damn it! You dare injure Little Fourth? Brothers, get him! Kill him!"

The remaining three roared in unison and charged forward.

Hong Yu’s feet slid, and he simultaneously condensed illusory fists of flame, launching two punches at once, one left and one right.

A Left Hook and a right hook!

Under the impact of the Ice Divine Blade, the two Celestial Soul powerhouses were both momentarily dazed and sent flying by what seemed to be ordinary attacks.

As for the last remaining powerhouse, the one at the Half-step Primordial Pill Realm, Hong Yu surged forward. While the man was still dazed, Hong Yu gathered rolling Thunder Sound in his hands and slammed the Vibrating Rune Technique into his body.

BANG! BANG!

The man’s body trembled violently a few times, and he spat out a thick mouthful of blood.

He was brutally thrown back by Hong Yu, crashing heavily against the thick main gate and smashing it to pieces.

Just as Hong Yu was about to advance further, an indifferent voice drifted out from within the gate...

"So, you really did come looking for me."