Immortal Martial Emperor

Just as this deep and ancient voice rang out,

a powerhouse clad in black armor suddenly materialized within the Space Gate up ahead.

This powerhouse’s suit of Black Armor exuded a murderous aura, and his resolute face wore a look of cold arrogance.

His eyes were like those of a cold Death God. A single glance seemed to reveal thousands of skeletons within their depths; he was undoubtedly a Peak Powerhouse who had stood upon a mountain of a million bones.

The middle-aged man in Black Armor slowly retracted his gaze.

It seemed that neither Yao Yueye nor anyone else present was capable of piquing his interest.

A cold voice emerged from the Black Armor powerhouse’s lips. "The trial ground for this joint martial tournament is Land of Trial Number Thirty-Seven, and it has a total of four stages! The first stage is the Path of Heart Refinement. As for what the subsequent stages are, you will only know once you have reached them."

"The weak have no right to know anything!"

The Black Armor powerhouse’s calm voice was as sharp as a blade.

"Hahaha, Old Hei, don’t scare these little ones!"

As the cheerful laughter arrived, a middle-aged woman clad in white armor walked out.

Her smiling eyes felt like a gentle spring breeze, and her soft voice put one’s body and mind at ease. "Don’t you worry, little ones. Among the many Lands of Trial, Number Thirty-Seven is about average. While there is some danger, the mortality rate isn’t very high, so don’t be too concerned!"

"Alright, hurry up and go inside!"

The woman in white armor said with a beaming smile.

There’s a saying that a captivating smile can launch a thousand ships. This white-armored woman certainly had that kind of capital.

Under her dazzling smile, many people felt as if their legs were rooted to the spot, unable to move.

Of course, there were also many powerhouses who were completely unfazed.

For example, Yao Yueye, Prince Zhui Ri, Ling Bingxin, Ziyan Wuhen, Zheng Tian, and of course, Hong Yu!

Which of these true geniuses, who stood at the Peak of the Southern Ten Nations, hadn’t teetered on the brink of life and death countless times?

Their Martial Arts Hearts were already unshakably firm!

Yao Yueye took the lead, stepping into the Space Gate.

He was followed by Prince Zhui Ri, who flew on a metal disk controlled by his Spiritual Power. His speed was truly formidable, only half a beat slower than Yao Yueye.

"Heh heh, Hong Yu, don’t you die too early!"

As they passed each other, Hong Renjie shot Hong Yu a look, a ghastly chill flickering in his eyes.

Feng Xue Xin’s eyes flickered as they followed Hong Renjie into the Space Gate. Just as they disappeared, a faint white light shot into Hong Yu’s hand.

Hong Yu frowned slightly, caught it, and entered the Space Gate.

After a flash of white light, the scenery before him changed dramatically.

It was no longer the Yaoyue Kingdom, but a long, narrow passageway with no end in sight.

The powerhouses from the various kingdoms and sects participating in the tournament were all gathered in this passageway.

Hong Yu blended into the crowd, discreetly unfolding the slip of paper in his hand. He was slightly taken aback; it was clearly Feng Xue Xin’s handwriting.

Written on it were four simple words: Hong dies, curse ends!

’Hmm?’

Hong Yu’s heart suddenly skipped a few beats.

These few words seemed simple, and the amount of information they hid didn’t appear to be very large.

But they completely resolved the doubts in Hong Yu’s mind.

The reason Feng Xue Xin had fallen into such a state must be due to some kind of Curse Seal placed by Hong Renjie.

Hong Yu was no stranger to the way of Curse Seals.

Curses, talismans, Blood Curses, and the like all belonged to the path of Curse Seals.

Generally, to control a living being, one would surely use the most insidious Blood Curse. That must be how he was controlling Feng Xue Xin and the others.

For someone afflicted with a Blood Curse, the only way to remove it is if the caster voluntarily undoes the Seal.

Otherwise, the only way to break the Blood Curse is to kill the caster.

Hong Yu had previously allied with Beichen Ba, Old Sir Tie, and the ten thousand-strong Tiger and Wolf Corps from the Qin Kingdom, amassing an extremely powerful force.

The reason he hadn’t made a move yet was because he had learned that Feng Xue Xin was being controlled by Hong Renjie and was hesitant, biding his time because he didn’t know how to rescue them.

But now...

A scorching flame flared in Hong Yu’s palm, incinerating the note. A ghastly chill flickered in his eyes. ’When this tournament ends, that will be the day you, Hong Renjie, die!’

"The rules for the Path of Heart Refinement are as follows: Everyone must follow the first stage’s Gatekeeper. The requirement is that you cannot overtake the Gatekeeper. Those who complete the Path of Heart Refinement within the specified time will be judged to have successfully passed the stage!"

The deep voice belonged to the middle-aged man in Black Armor. "The Southern Ten Nations Martial Tournament, first stage, Path of Heart Refinement, officially begins!"

BOOM!

A ten-meter-tall puppet descended at the front of the Path of Heart Refinement.

The puppet slowly moved its legs. Its speed wasn’t fast, roughly the pace of an ordinary person taking a stroll.

Many participants immediately showed expressions of contempt and disdain. "This speed is ridiculously slow!"

"At this speed, I could pass with my eyes closed!"

"Heh heh, if we can’t overtake the Gatekeeper Puppet, doesn’t that mean Yao Yueye and the other Four Great True Dragon Powerhouses can’t be faster than us? Haha, we’re going to be keeping pace with them!"

However, the attitude of the true geniuses who stood at the Peak was completely different from these participants.

Yao Yueye, carrying a longsword on his back, was as indifferent as ever.

It was as if nothing that happened before his eyes could cause any fluctuation in his emotions.

Prince Zhui Ri, however, kept his eyes fixed on Yao Yueye, his gaze filled with fiery battle intent.

Hong Yu remained in the middle of the procession.

A contemplative look flickered in his eyes as he thought to himself, ’This is truly strange. A trial like the Southern Ten Nations Martial Tournament shouldn’t be this simple. It’s best to play it safe and observe the situation for now!’

With this thought, Hong Yu allocated a portion of his Spiritual Power to operate Shadow Martial and deduce the Flying Thunder Divine Skill, hoping to break through to the Third Stage.

He had already completely stabilized the Second Stage!

If he could reach the Third Stage, he would be able to simultaneously control eighteen Flying Sabers to attack. At that point, he could even slay an Early-stage Primordial Core Realm powerhouse with the Flying Thunder Divine Skill!

The puppet’s speed remained very, very slow.

One hour...

Two hours...

Three hours...

Gradually, some people began to lose track of how much time had passed.

Although they could always see a speck of light up ahead that looked like an exit, seemingly within arm’s reach, it felt as though they were just treading in place no matter how hard they tried.

Gradually, people started to complain.

"Damn it, why can’t this Gatekeeper Puppet go any faster?"

"It’s too slow! At this rate, when will this boring stage ever end?"

"I can’t take it anymore! This Gatekeeper Puppet is too sluggish. I’m just going to pass it and clear the stage as fast as possible!"

Since someone was egging others on, there was naturally a fool who would stick his neck out and charge forward.

This person was at the Late-stage Celestial Soul Realm, considered a fairly strong genius.

However...

The very moment he overtook the Gatekeeper Puppet,

the Gatekeeper Puppet, which had seemed mindless and only capable of walking forward slowly, suddenly swung its arm.

WHAP!

The Gatekeeper Puppet’s arm swung very slowly.

Extremely slowly!

To the naked eye, it looked like a snail peeking its head out of its shell.

Faced with such an attack, forget a mighty Late-stage Celestial Soul Realm powerhouse—even a three-year-old child could roll out of the way.

Even the Late-stage Celestial Soul Realm participant himself thought the same.

A contemptuous sneer appeared on his face as he tried to speed up and dodge.

However...

He soon discovered he was wrong!

And terribly wrong!

Facing the Gatekeeper Puppet’s seemingly simple, even feeble attack, this Late-stage Celestial Soul Realm powerhouse discovered in despair that his body wouldn’t obey his commands. No matter how he urged his Body Technique to dodge, he seemed to remain rooted to the spot, unmoving.

SPLAT!

With a crisp sound, the Late-stage Celestial Soul Realm powerhouse was sent flying by the slap, crashing into the black rock wall beside them.

Blood and gore splattered everywhere. Not even bones remained!

The powerhouse was instantly reduced to a pile of pulp!

HISS!

This horrifying scene caused a collective sharp intake of breath.

An ordinary-looking slap actually possessed such terrifying power?

Even a Late-stage Celestial Soul Realm powerhouse couldn’t evade its attack?

Faced with this utterly bizarre scene, the vast majority of powerhouses were immersed in shock, their hearts trembling as they didn’t dare to take a single step out of line!

Only a very small number of geniuses gained some insight from it.

Yao Yueye frowned slightly, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

Prince Zhui Ri, Ling Bingxin, Ziyan Wuhen, and the other geniuses all had similar reactions!

In the crowd...

Hong Yu’s expression shifted several times. He frowned slightly, his mind replaying the scene he had just witnessed over and over.

The move the Gatekeeper Puppet had just used gave him a sense of déjà vu.

It was like a flash of inspiration in his mind.

It felt like he could grasp it if he just reached out, but the inspiration vanished in an instant, leaving him with an elusive and extremely frustrating feeling.

’What is it? The puppet’s attack speed was clearly not fast, so why was it able to restrain the movements of a Celestial Soul Realm powerhouse? Wait...’

A bright gleam flashed in Hong Yu’s eyes. ’Restraint? Restraint! That’s right, it was restraint!’

’The Gatekeeper Puppet’s attack just now wasn’t slow, but extremely fast!’

’All things have a cause and an effect, a positive and negative side. For example, the extreme of Darkness is light, and the extreme of light is Darkness; the extreme of life is death, and the extreme of death is life...’

’The Gatekeeper Puppet’s attack was fast, so fast that it could cause a spatial resonance, affecting the trajectory of the Celestial Soul Realm powerhouse’s movements. That’s why the strike looked slow, but was actually so fast that it was impossible to evade!’

Hong Yu took a deep breath, his eyes clearing. ’So this is the true meaning of the Path of Heart Refinement!’

’Hahaha, the heavens are truly helping me!’

Hong Yu felt his blood boil, surging with waves of excitement and battle intent...

’Comprehension. As long as I can fully comprehend this point, I am completely confident I can pass the Path of Heart Refinement!’

[One more Chapter coming later. The updates have been slow these past two days, but I’ll release at least eight Chapters tomorrow!]