Immortal Martial Emperor

「Three days passed in the blink of an eye.」

On this day, Hong Yu rose very early. He was already cultivating quietly in his small courtyard before the sun had even risen.

With every breath, as his chest rose and fell, a dense stream of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surged into his body.

The sheer volume of Spiritual Qi was immense, converging into powerful torrents that flowed like great dragons, majestically entering his body.

WHOOSH!

He exhaled a long breath.

It transformed into two long dragons of white vapor that circled once in the air before dissipating into the void.

Bathed in the auspicious purple light of dawn from the east, Hong Yu's body was enveloped in a faint, strange halo, making him look as conspicuous and divine as a Venerable Buddha.

"Hong Yu!"

A crisp voice called out from the doorway.

Hong Yu slowly opened his eyes to see Xu Wudi walking toward him, holding Little Chenxi.

Little Chenxi babbled excitedly, her hands reaching out eagerly for Hong Yu.

Whenever the little girl saw Hong Yu, she would instinctively try to leap into his arms, leaving Xu Wudi with a plaintive look on her face.

Hong Yu patted Little Chenxi's head and smiled. "Chenxi, did you eat well today?"

"Bababa!"

Little Chenxi wriggled a few times, as if to say that she had.

Hong Yu chuckled and looked at Xu Wudi. "So? Have the people from the Royal Family arrived?"

"Mhm."

Xu Wudi was still dressed in her red leather armor. Ever since the rumor about "Hong Yu flying into a towering rage for Wudi" began to circulate, she felt a strange mix of emotions whenever she saw him, to the point where she barely dared to meet his gaze.

Hong Yu, of course, was no blockhead.

How could he not understand the stirrings of a young woman's heart, or recognize Xu Wudi's feelings for him?

It was just that…

'My heart already belongs to someone else. How can I be fickle and play the field?'

'But I can't bring myself to reject her, lest I hurt her feelings.'

So, he decided to play dumb!

"Let's go then!"

Hong Yu said, playing with Little Chenxi as he headed for the courtyard gate.

Xu Wudi watched him, exasperated. She stomped her foot in frustration, cursing inwardly, 'That blockhead… an emotional idiot!'

Hong Yu kept his eyes fixed forward, pretending he hadn't noticed a thing.

'Best to just pretend I didn't hear anything!'

The honor guard sent by the Royal Family to receive Hong Yu was quite extravagant. Crown Prince Landy had even come in person. His expression was still arrogant, but it was much more composed than before.

With a complicated look at Hong Yu, who was holding Little Chenxi, Landy said respectfully, "Lord Hong Yu, please board the carriage."

"Alright."

The grand procession made its way toward the Royal Palace.

The entrance to the Profound Ice Secret Realm was located in the Ice Kingdom's Royal Palace. It was said that the kingdom had established its Royal Capital here precisely because of the Profound Ice Secret Realm's existence.

Today, the Royal Palace was as crowded as a marketplace and exceptionally lively.

Countless powerhouses had gathered here.

When Hong Yu and his party arrived, their presence was met with a wave of cheers and adoration. After all, his fame had reached its zenith in recent days, making him the man of the hour.

"Is that Hong Yu? He's so handsome! I want to have his babies!"

"Get lost! A great man like Hong Yu is a match only for me!" a troll of a woman declared confidently, jiggling a chest that was as large as her backside.

A few onlookers nearby glanced over, immediately bowed their heads, and began to retch.

In the crowd, Tang Zhan and Cheng Zhen naturally noticed Hong Yu's arrival as well.

Both men were clad in battle armor today, and a strange fluctuation emanated from their auras. They exchanged a look, a savage coldness in their eyes. "Let him be smug for a little while longer. Once we're in the Profound Ice Secret Realm, heh heh…"

"With *him* making a move, Hong Yu is as good as dead!"

The two conversed in low voices.

Their bloodthirsty gazes swept over Hong Yu from time to time.

Inside the carriage, Hong Yu subtly lifted his eyelids, his peripheral vision catching sight of the two. A flicker of doubt crossed his mind. 'Those two are dressed like that… could they also be planning to enter the Profound Ice Secret Realm? Heh, it doesn't matter. If they dare try anything funny, I wouldn't mind erasing them on the spot!'

As he was lost in thought, Landy's voice came from outside. "Lord Hong Yu, we have arrived!"

"Alright. Thank you."

Hong Yu stepped out of the carriage.

With Landy respectfully accompanying him, Hong Yu walked to the edge of an altar. He could faintly sense powerful spatial fluctuations emanating from it—this was clearly the Teleportation Array to the Profound Ice Secret Realm.

"Hong Yu, please wait here. The Profound Ice Secret Realm will open shortly," Landy said.

Hong Yu nodded.

He noticed that the area where he was standing was quite special.

Aside from him, only the Patriarchs of the great families and the powerhouses of the Royal Family were present.

As he waited, a cold, sinister voice suddenly spoke beside his ear, "So you're Hong Yu?"

Hong Yu paused and glanced to the side. He saw a burly, middle-aged man clad in silver armor.

The man had a stern face, and his gaze was filled with disdain. Puzzled, Hong Yu asked, "And you are? Do I know you?"

"Heh, heh heh…"

The man in silver armor gave a stiff, forced smile, and his voice was grating. "You don't know me, but I know you. The Crown Prince's three subordinates… I trained them all. Although the King forbids me from killing you for revenge, once we're inside the Profound Ice Secret Realm, there will be no one to stop me."

"Don't you want to know why I killed them?" Hong Yu asked, confused.

The burly man shook his head. "I don't want to know, nor do I need to. They may have been soldiers under my training, but I considered them brothers in life and death. You killed them, and I will kill you!"

With that, he turned and walked away.

While Hong Yu was still trying to make sense of that, Tang Zhan and Cheng Zhen appeared at his side.

Tang Zhan stared at Hong Yu with cold eyes and a sinister laugh. "Hong Yu, oh, Hong Yu. If I were you, I'd be hiding in the Spiritual Craftsman Guild. Do you actually have the guts to come to the Profound Ice Secret Realm?"

Cheng Zhen also sneered. "A newborn calf doesn't fear the tiger. You're courting death, so don't blame anyone but yourself when it finds you!"

Hong Yu shot the two of them an annoyed look, then turned and walked away without a word.

This blatant dismissal left Tang Zhan and Cheng Zhen staring at each other, their expressions turning ugly.

The two gritted their teeth. "That damn bastard. We'll make him wish he were dead."

"Don't worry. When *he* makes his move, forget Hong Yu—even Lantian Dou would be killed. Besides, his methods are far more ruthless than ours…"

"Hee hee hee…"

The two shared a sinister laugh.

Hong Yu's heart suddenly hammered in his chest. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the crowd.

His gaze suddenly locked onto a powerhouse completely enveloped in a black robe.

As if sensing Hong Yu's gaze, this powerhouse turned slightly. Beneath his hood, a pair of blood-red eyes shone with a crimson light.

That crimson gaze alone felt sharp enough to pierce one's very soul.

This person's power was on a completely different level from Liang Hunran's.

Even Hong Yu felt a sense of gravity. 'This person is incredibly strong.'

As if sensing the gravity of Hong Yu's thoughts, the Black-robed Powerhouse grinned, revealing a set of deathly-pale teeth.

He slowly mouthed a sentence, the words clear even from a distance: *Boy, I'm going to make your death utterly miserable.*

'Who is that guy?'

Hong Yu frowned, but the black-robed figure had already vanished.

Hong Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 'Goddammit, how do I manage to make so many enemies wherever I go?'

He did a quick mental tally and was startled by the result.

The Tang Family, the Cheng Family, the Blood Demon Palace, that silver-armored man from the Royal Family, and the mysterious black-robed figure from just now—they all wanted him dead.

He was truly surrounded by enemies, besieged on all sides!

"How frustrating. So damn frustrating!" Hong Yu muttered, rubbing his nose with a troubled expression.

Of course, it was only frustration.

His personal code was simple: he wouldn't attack unless provoked. But if anyone provoked him, he would annihilate their entire family.

It would be one thing if these people left him alone. But if they pushed things too far, there was only one solution: kill!

Just then…

Lantian Dou's voice boomed from the high platform. "Everyone, today is the day the Profound Ice Secret Realm opens! In a moment, all who wish to enter may use the Profound Ice Crystal Stone in your possession to activate the Array. I must emphasize one point: do not, under any circumstances, think you can slip through or force your way into the Array. Otherwise, you will have only yourselves to blame for the consequences!"

Lantian Dou was a man of few words, never one for rambling. "Teleportation Array—activate!"

VMMMM!

An ice-blue light surged from the altar.

Suddenly, nine ice-blue stone pillars spun as they rose from the altar, coming to a stop at its periphery. Nine bands of light then surged from the pillars toward the center.

Where they converged, they solidified into a Space Stone Gate.

"Go!"

Immediately, people began to rush forward.

Among the first group, one person without a Profound Ice Crystal Stone tried to slip through in the confusion.

But the moment he reached the Stone Gate, a wave of blue light pulsed outward.

"Ah? No—"

The blue light washed over him, and this powerful Primordial Core Realm expert was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture. It fell to the altar and shattered into countless pieces.

Watching this, Lantian Dou sneered. "I already warned you not to get any foolish ideas. He was courting death. Who can he blame but himself?"

Everyone gasped in shock.

Many other powerhouses who had been nursing similar ideas immediately abandoned them, not daring to test their fate.

After that, the process of entering the Profound Ice Secret Realm became much more orderly.

Just as Hong Yu was about to step forward, several figures moved to block his path.

Tang Zhan, Cheng Zhen, and Liang Hunran were all among them.

The three men glanced back at Hong Yu, a cold sneer on their faces. "Hong Yu, enjoy what's left of your life!"

Then, the three of them entered the Profound Ice Secret Realm.

Next was the middle-aged man in silver armor. He said nothing, but his sharp, cold gaze remained fixed on Hong Yu.

Last of all was the mysterious Black-robed Powerhouse. His blood-red eyes swept over Hong Yu, filled with a venomous chill that seemed to emanate from the Nine Netherworld itself. He raised a hand and slowly dragged a finger across his throat.

Watching these powerhouses enter the Profound Ice Secret Realm, Hong Yu's expression grew taut. Just as he was about to step forward, Lantian Dou's voice echoed in his mind. "Hong Yu, you must be careful on this journey. Especially that black-robed man. I don't know what Secret Technique he's using to block my Perception, so I can't identify him. But his aura is incredibly powerful. I'm afraid you are no match for him."

"If you truly encounter him, you must flee!"

Lantian Dou's tone was grave.

Hong Yu felt a chill in his heart. He nodded at Lantian Dou, took a deep breath, and stepped through the gate.

Even though he knew that mortal danger lurked everywhere within the Profound Ice Secret Realm.

But…

For the sake of obtaining the Ten Thousand Year Cold Marrow to craft an Ice Coffin and preserve Beichen Celestial Frost, he had to press forward, no matter the cost.

If someone truly wanted his life?

The corners of Hong Yu's mouth lifted into a cold, grim smile…

'Then I'll just kill them!'