Immortal Martial Emperor

"Shit, am I really this unlucky?"

Sensing a crisis from behind, Hong Yu instantly dodged out of the way.

BOOM!

A wave of scorching heat landed right where he had been standing.

Before he could even catch his breath, an icy aura rushed at him from behind, forcing Hong Yu to scramble away once more.

After dodging twice in a row, Hong Yu was finally able to catch his breath.

He then looked over at the spots where he had just stood.

In the two places where Hong Yu had just been standing, to his left and right, there was now a clump of fiery-red molten lava and a small ice sphere about half a meter tall.

One cold, one hot.

The scorching lava was hot enough to melt Profound Steel, terrifyingly so. The frigid ice sphere emanated a dreadful chill, causing the very air around it to crystallize into falling frost.

"What’s going on?" Hong Yu’s eyes widened in bewilderment.

’I just got here and haven’t even done anything. Why am I getting ambushed like this?’

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The sound of something tearing through the air came again.

Hong Yu’s ears twitched. Pinpointing the direction of the sudden noise, he instantly clenched his fists and threw two punches.

SWISH! SWISH!

Two streams of cyan Fist Gang shot out.

Their light was dim, but it couldn’t conceal the extreme power contained within.

Each punch was powerful enough to kill a Primordial Embryo Realm Powerhouse.

BANG! BANG!

The Fist Gangs accurately struck the incoming attacks.

The left Fist Gang shattered a glob of lava weighing roughly three hundred pounds, scattering it into scorching sparks. The right Fist Gang collided with an ice sphere, and on impact, even the sharp Fist Gang was instantly frozen, encased in a layer of crystalline, ice-blue frost.

Fortunately, Hong Yu’s punch was immensely powerful. With a BOOM, the Fist Gang exploded,

shattering the ice sphere along with it and sending frost flying everywhere.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Just as Hong Yu was sighing in relief after dealing with the two attacks, a series of whooshes suddenly came from behind him.

He whipped his head around, his expression changing drastically. "Holy hell, are they trying to kill me?"

From the dim void to his left and right, two curtains of light were rushing toward him.

The light on the left was completely fiery red. A closer look revealed it was composed of hundreds, even thousands, of blazing lava balls.

On the other side was a mass of blue light, like a shower of blue comets hurtling down. But instead of the heat of friction, they brought a heart-stopping, extreme cold.

This blue curtain of light was also composed of hundreds, even thousands, of ice spheres.

Ice and Fire!

It was a literal hell of Ice and Fire!

’I have to get out of this damn place!’

The Divine Demon Wings on his back suddenly flared, tearing through the air. With a SWISH, he flapped his wings and fled, finally putting some distance between himself and the Ice and Fire Heaven Curtain.

"Hm?"

As soon as he landed, Hong Yu stared ahead in surprise.

The clear path before him was gone. In its place was a narrow wooden bridge, barely wide enough for a single person to walk across.

The bridge spanned a canyon that was roughly a kilometer long and wide.

From within the canyon, terrifying sounds echoed faintly. Hong Yu calmed himself to listen and realized they were the sounds of Desolate Beasts breathing.

"What’s down there?" Hong Yu wondered.

He planned to use his Divine Demon Wings to fly high over the canyon.

However, just as he took flight, his Divine Demon Wings trembled, and two angry roars, "AWOOOO," erupted from the canyon below.

They were followed by a pillar of frigid ice and a Flaming Long Dragon.

The two powerful streams of energy blotted out the sky, making it impossible for Hong Yu to pass. He had no choice but to return to the cliff’s edge, muttering, "It seems the only way across is over this wooden bridge."

Just as he was about to try, he heard the sound of someone rushing through the air behind him.

Startled, Hong Yu turned to see a disheveled young man, covered in soot, sprinting toward him.

Most of the young man’s clothes were burnt, yet his hair was soaking wet. He had clearly just suffered through the onslaught of Ice and Fire as well.

The young man seemed startled to see Hong Yu. An imperceptible, strange glint flashed in his eyes before he quickly concealed it. Panting, he said, "I... I am Lin Xinfeng. And you are...?"

After a moment’s thought, Hong Yu smiled. "My name is Hong Yu."

"Hong Yu? You’re *the* Hong Yu? The one who defeated Zhao Wushuang and supposedly forced Bai Luoxue to flee in disgrace?"

Lin Xinfeng stared at Hong Yu in awe, his expression wildly exaggerated.

This made Hong Yu a little uncomfortable and sparked a hint of suspicion and wariness in his heart. ’This Lin Xinfeng’s expression is way too fake.’

But Lin Xinfeng had no idea what Hong Yu was thinking.

If he had, he wouldn’t have put on such an exaggerated performance.

After a moment of silence, Lin Xinfeng said, "You can’t fly across this Ice and Fire Divine Bridge. The moment you take to the air, you’ll alert the Profound Ice Beast and Bright Fire Beast in the canyon below. The Profound Ice Beast and Bright Fire Beast are incredible. One breathes fire, the other spits ice, and they insist on always staying together. The combined power of their Ice and Fire is formidable!"

"I once heard from my clan’s elders that if you encounter the Ice and Fire Divine Bridge, the only way to cross is over this wooden bridge."

Lin Xinfeng glanced at Hong Yu with feigned hesitation, as if struggling with a difficult decision. After a moment, he gritted his teeth. "Brother Hong, even though we’ve only just met, I’ve heard a lot about you. I feel like we’re old friends already. I trust you completely. I’ll take the lead; you can follow behind me!"

Lin Xinfeng’s words were rather touching.

If Hong Yu hadn’t already been suspicious, he might have been swayed.

’Hmph. I’ll see what kind of trick you’re trying to pull,’ Hong Yu thought.

And so, he gave a light cough and said, "How about this? I’ll lead the way."

The corners of Lin Xinfeng’s mouth curved up slightly. His goal was achieved. He immediately dropped the false pleasantries and nodded. "That works too. You go ahead, Brother Hong, and I’ll watch your back!"

"Alright!"

Hong Yu gave him a meaningful smile.

Hong Yu walked in front, with Lin Xinfeng following behind him.

As long as they were walking on the Ice and Fire Divine Bridge, they truly didn’t seem to disturb the two Ancient Beasts in the canyon below. Because Lin Xinfeng had repeatedly stressed the point, Hong Yu did not rush, instead proceeding at a slow and steady pace.

Besides, he wanted to wait and see what scheme Lin Xinfeng was hatching.

"Hong Yu, do you know why walking on this wooden bridge doesn’t alert the Ice and Fire Beasts at the bottom of the canyon?" Lin Xinfeng suddenly asked.

Without turning his head, Hong Yu replied, "It must be because of the special material used to build it."

"Exactly!"

Lin Xinfeng replied with a smile, "This bridge is called the Ice and Fire Divine Bridge entirely because of the Ice and Fire Beasts in the canyon below. They both have extremely powerful abilities. The Fire Beast is connected to a subterranean river of lava, and the Ice Beast is connected to a vast and extremely yin Cold Pool. This connection grants them immense power, but it also robs them of their freedom."

"Because of that, the two beasts despise any creature that has freedom. Therefore, anything that appears in their line of sight, whether in the air or on the ground, will be attacked."

Lin Xinfeng glanced at the wooden bridge beneath his feet. It wasn’t wide—just enough for one person to walk across. The slightest misstep would mean falling off.

He unhurriedly closed the distance between himself and Hong Yu, continuing his explanation. "But this particular bridge is made of Yin Soul Wood. As long as we’re walking on it, the two beasts can’t sense our life force. In other words, we’re completely safe on the Yin Soul Wooden Bridge... unless..."

His voice trailed off.

Hong Yu asked, "Unless what?"

"Heh heh!"

Lin Xinfeng was now very close to Hong Yu, only half a meter between them.

But he still didn’t make a move.

His eyes darted around as he said with a faint smile, "Unless you miss your step and fall off the Yin Soul Wooden Bridge. Otherwise, it’s impossible to be attacked by the two beasts. And right now, we’re in the middle of the bridge. If someone were to fall from here, they wouldn’t even have time to fly away and escape!"

"I see."

Hong Yu nodded.

He kept his head down and continued walking, seemingly with no guard up against Lin Xinfeng behind him. He spoke nonchalantly, "But as long as we’re careful, we shouldn’t fall off."

"Of course. If you walk slowly, you won’t fall. However..."

Lin Xinfeng closed the distance with Hong Yu again.

He was now only a single step away.

A cunning, triumphant smirk slowly spread across his lips as he thought, ’His Highness ordered us to kill Hong Yu by any means necessary the moment we saw him. Haha, my luck is incredible! If I kill him today, His Highness will reward me handsomely!’

At this thought, Lin Xinfeng suddenly roared, "But if *I* make a move, you won’t survive! Hong Yu, die!"

With that, Lin Xinfeng lunged forward with an Arrow Step, his palm brimming with immense power.

The Palm Light rumbled like Thunder as he viciously struck at Hong Yu’s back.

If this palm strike landed, Hong Yu would undoubtedly be knocked off the Ice and Fire Divine Bridge, even if he wasn’t injured.

"Hahaha! Hong Yu, oh Hong Yu! So what if you’re strong? In the end, you’ll still die a miserable death at the hands of a nobody like me!" Lin Xinfeng laughed maniacally, his face contorted in a savage grin.

However, when his palm strike passed straight through Hong Yu’s body as if hitting empty air, and the scene he’d imagined—Hong Yu being sent flying off the Yin Soul Wooden Bridge—failed to materialize, the triumphant smile on Lin Xinfeng’s face instantly froze.

"Wh-what’s happening? Where is he?"

He was completely bewildered.

’But the Palm Light clearly hit him, didn’t it?’

"Heh. I knew you were up to no good," a faint, mocking laugh suddenly echoed from behind him like a phantom.

"What?"

Lin Xinfeng’s face went pale with fright, and he tried to dodge.

But how could he possibly be faster than Hong Yu?

SWOOSH!

Hong Yu snatched Lin Xinfeng by the neck and lifted him into the air.

"L-let me go, Hong Yu! That was a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding..." Lin Xinfeng pleaded.

Hong Yu’s tone was playful. "A misunderstanding? Oh, I have a little quirk. When I run into a ’misunderstanding,’ I like to see it through to the end. Now, I’m going to count to three. If you can’t give me a good enough reason by then, I’m going to throw you off. We’ll just have to see if the Ice and Fire Divine Bridge is as amazing as you described."

"What? No, please don’t...!"

Lin Xinfeng was so scared he was on the verge of tears.

’I’m so afraid of dying! How can I die here?’

But Hong Yu was completely unmoved by his pitiful begging. This man had genuinely tried to kill him just seconds ago. ’Mercy to an enemy is cruelty to oneself.’ "Two seconds left," Hong Yu said coldly. "If you don’t start talking, off you go!"

"I’ll-I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"

Terrified, Lin Xinfeng wet his pants. He didn’t want to die here. He held nothing back, revealing an earth-shattering piece of news to Hong Yu...