Immortal Martial Emperor Chapter 80 - 76: Taking the Lead

This old steed was a warhorse that had survived many battles and was now on the verge of retirent.

As the saying goes, an old horse knows the way!

This old horse had long since developed a spirit of its own. It mourned its lost youth and reminisced about its past valor as it galloped across battlefields. But ti waits for no one. It was old now, so old it could barely move its legs, able only to watch helplessly as one warhorse after another overtook it, leaving it far behind.

If not for its distinguished service in battle, this old horse would have long ago ended up as a feast on soone's dinner table.

But now...

The old horse discovered it was experiencing a second spring!

The young man on its back was actually using precious Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to nourish its body and strengthen its Life Force. The old horse knew it could finally gallop in the wind again, that it could finally revel in its speed just like in its youth!

"NEIGH!"

The old horse whinnied in excitent, its large, cloudy eyes glistening with tears.

It finally started moving its four hooves!

Faster and faster, and faster still...

"CLIP-CLOP, CLIP-CLOP!"

A cloud of dust kicked up high behind it as its speed soared to its forr Peak!

And it was still accelerating wildly!

It knew this might be the last ti in its life it could ever pour out its passion and speed so freely. It was seizing this final mont of glory, even if the result was death by exhaustion. Just as the battlefield is always the best final resting place for a soldier, dying while galloping was the old horse's lifelong wish.

It finally caught up to the group ahead.

"NEIGH!"

The old horse whinnied with excitent.

The last few dozen people of the fourth troop were all startled and turned to look, their expressions instantly freezing.

"Is... is that Hong Yu and that old horse?"

"Good heavens, I must be seeing things. Wasn't that old horse unable to run anymore? Wh-what is this speed?"

"A Demon Fiend! Hong Yu is a Demon Fiend himself, and even his horse is a Demon Fiend... "

Amidst cries of astonishnt, the old horse finally caught up.

"NEIGH!"

The old horse roared with excitent, overtaking the stallion at the very back.

Its speed was still increasing.

One horse...

Two horses...

Three horses...

...

In the blink of an eye, the old horse had surpassed more than half of the fourth troop's warhorses, placing it in the second pack.

Among the crowd of tall, powerful steeds, the stick-thin old horse was exceptionally conspicuous.

The new disciples all around frantically whipped their mounts, trying to increase their speed to shake off the old horse and Hong Yu. But they discovered with dismay that no matter how hard they tried, their own warhorses were fated to be overtaken. One by one, they could only watch helplessly as Hong Yu and the old horse left them in the dust.

They were left dumbfounded, eating the dust kicked up by the old horse's hooves.

Before they knew it, the old horse had reached the lead pack.

The lead pack was led by Shi Tao.

His mount was a prized steed once ridden by a General, incredibly fast and of a rare breed.

"Hahaha, Chen Xing kept saying how amazing Hong Yu is, but I see he's nothing special. Look, I threw him a half-dead old horse, and did he even dare to complain?" Shi Tao laughed heartily, chatting unabashedly with a few of his followers, his tone dripping with smug satisfaction.

"Senior Brother Shi is wise and powerful!"

"Hehe, at the speed of that old nag, we'll probably be done with the mission by the ti he reaches Liger Ravine!"

The few new disciples following Shi Tao were all fawning over him, laying the flattery on thick.

Shi Tao roared with laughter, growing even more conceited.

"Hmm?"

Shi Tao raised his eyebrows and looked back in confusion at a cloud of billowing dust. "That's fast. Is soone chasing us?" he wondered.

Soon, the cloud of dust drew near.

From within the dust, a stick-thin old horse galloped out, a smiling young man seated upon its back.

"What? It's Hong Yu?"

Shi Tao's expression changed, and he cried out in disbelief.

"What the hell, is that the sa old horse that could barely even walk?"

"Unbelievable, truly unbelievable!"

The few people around Shi Tao were also staring in utter disbelief.

Shi Tao's face darkened. "Speed up," he ordered coldly. "We absolutely cannot let him catch up."

"Giddy-up! Giddy-up!"

Everyone in the lead pack accelerated frantically.

However...

They realized helplessly that the old horse behind them was still gradually closing the distance.

Twenty ters...

Fifteen ters...

Ten ters...

"NEIGH!"

The old horse let out an excited roar. Its body moving like a gust of wind and a crash of Thunder, it forcefully squeezed its way into the lead pack. Galloping wildly, it surpassed most of the warhorses in the lead group and pulled up directly beside Shi Tao, running neck and neck with him!

One a tall, fine steed; the other, skinny as a rail!

The two horses were a stark contrast, yet their speeds were equally astonishing.

Shi Tao glanced sideways at Hong Yu, his face so dark it looked like it could drip water. "What kind of crooked trick did you use to make this useless nag run so fast?"

Hong Yu glanced at him, chuckled, and nonchalantly offered a single word: "Guess!"

"..."

Shi Tao's face alternated between pale and ashen, his rage reaching its peak. 'This bastard, he dares to brush off like that? Bastard! If I don't destroy you, then my na isn't Shi Tao!'

With a cold glint in his eye, he flicked his hand, and a faint silver light shot out.

Hong Yu's eyes narrowed. He saw that the silver light was a silver needle, shimring with a poisonous gleam!

Of course, Shi Tao wasn't foolish enough to think a single Poison Needle could harm Hong Yu. His target was the old horse beneath him. As long as he killed the horse, Hong Yu would, at best, be sent tumbling. At worst, he could be seriously injured from the fall. But no matter what, Hong Yu would be utterly and completely humiliated.

Afterward, he could even claim that Hong Yu, in his desperation to catch up, had resorted to vile and wicked thods to burn the old horse's remaining Life Force for a burst of speed.

If that happened, Hong Yu's reputation would be ruined!

The whole plan was perfectly connected, both sinister and ticulous.

Unfortunately for him, he had miscalculated one thing...

Although the silver needle was stealthy and hard to spot, Hong Yu possessed an extraordinary Perception. He had caught a trace of the needle the very mont Shi Tao made his move.

"Senior Brother Shi, look up!"

Hong Yu said with a sly grin.

"Huh?"

Shi Tao instinctively looked up, but by the ti he realized sothing was wrong, it was too late.

With a soft "THWIP," he felt the warhorse beneath him shudder violently.

'Not good...'

Shi Tao's face drained of color.

He was about to leap off his mount, but the warhorse was galloping at full speed. As it was instantly killed by the poison, it stumbled and collapsed, giving Shi Tao no ti to dodge. With a "CRASH," both man and horse hit the ground. His head made intimate contact with the earth, smashing a pit into the dirt with a loud "THUD."

"..."

The rest of the lead pack, arriving monts later, hastily reined in their horses. They stared speechlessly at the sight of Shi Tao and his horse in a heap on the ground.

"Wh-what just happened?"

"It looks like Senior Brother Shi's prized steed couldn't keep up with Hong Yu's old horse and lost its footing."

"Damn, that old horse is really vigorous for its age!"

"I finally understand what 'you can't judge a horse by its cover' ans!"

"You idiot, the saying is 'you can't judge a *man* by his cover'..."

As the new disciples caught up one after another, they whispered among themselves. When they looked again at the stick-thin old horse beneath Hong Yu, their expressions were no longer filled with disdain and ridicule, but with a hint of envy. 'Look how low-key that horse is! It looks so gnarled and ugly, but its speed and stamina are even more formidable than Shi Tao's prized steed!'

How could they have guessed this was because Hong Yu was constantly using the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from his Dantian to nourish and enhance the old horse's vital energy and Life Force?

After all, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was difficult to absorb. Even an expert at the Earth Soul Realm wouldn't be willing to squander it so extravagantly. Only soone like Hong Yu, with his Nine Refinents of the Primordial Spirit, had the stamina for it!

"Senior Brother Shi, are you hurt?"

Hong Yu rode the old horse back, looking at the wretched-looking Shi Tao with a worried expression.

Shi Tao was disheveled and covered in dirt. He had even lost two teeth, and air whistled through the gap when he spoke. "I-I'm fine."

"Good, as long as you're not hurt."

Hong Yu nodded, then sighed dramatically. "Alas, why didn't that horse know to slow down? If it didn't have the ability to run that fast, it shouldn't have tried to show off! Look what's happened now. It even got Senior Brother Shi thrown. What a disaster!"

The corner of Shi Tao's mouth twitched. "..."

'Is he indirectly calling an overconfident idiot?'

But he was in no position to argue.

He had carefully selected this fine, prized steed for himself, and he had deliberately prepared the stick-thin one for Hong Yu.

He had originally intended to use this to teach Hong Yu a small lesson and get his plan to suppress and target him off to a good start. But things had backfired. He, who should have been leading the pack, was instead forced by Hong Yu to resort to dirty tricks.

And it would have been one thing if the dirty trick had succeeded!

But who could have predicted that Hong Yu would not only discover the stealthy Poison Needle he had fired but also use it to make his own horse trip, sending him falling flat on his face?

Hong Yu glanced at the frustrated Shi Tao and grinned. "Senior Brother Shi, if your injuries aren't serious, we should probably get a move on!"

Shi Tao was even more speechless. 'You bastard! Not only did I fall this hard, but my horse is dead! What am I supposed to use to travel?'

'But Hong Yu is right, we can't delay for too long!'

He gritted his teeth, summoned a new Outer Disciple, and ordered him to give up his warhorse. "Find soone to ride with!" he said with a cold expression.

"Yes!"

The new disciple cursed Shi Tao's eighteen generations of ancestors in his heart, but with a miserable look on his face, he found an acquaintance to share a horse with.

The group continued to race toward Liger Ravine.

This ti, however, no one dared to compete for the lead with the stick-thin old horse under Hong Yu.

The old horse carried Hong Yu at a leisurely pace, taking the lead as they headed for Liger Ravine.

The remaining several hundred people could only grit their teeth and eat dust behind them.

Shi Tao was so angry he was grinding his teeth. Staring at the lone rider far ahead, a sinister light flickered in his eyes. 'Senior Brother Hong Long told that it doesn't matter how I tornt or make things difficult for this bastard; he'll have my back if anything happens. Heh heh heh... Hong Yu, oh, Hong Yu, I was only going to teach you a simple lesson, but since you're courting death yourself, you can't bla for what happens next!'

A vicious plot began to brew and swirl in his mind, refusing to be dismissed.

Even at their speed, the journey of over a thousand kiloters took them two full days to near its end.

Throughout the journey, Hong Yu maintained a steady speed, continuously infusing the old horse with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to sustain its Life Force. As a result, even though the old horse had been galloping at full speed the entire ti, its fundantal Life Force wasn't depleted. In fact, it had even been slightly enhanced. Even without Hong Yu's support, it would no longer be much weaker than an ordinary horse.

「The next evening, as the moon rose above the treetops.」

The bright, hazy moonlight spilled down upon a gloomy forest. The dense, dark woods looked like a ferocious demon-ghost crouching in the night.

An eerie silence lingered in Hong Yu's mind like a demonic curse, and he couldn't help but slow down to wait for the main group to gather.

The group advanced slowly.

Hong Yu frowned, the unease in his heart growing stronger. He found Liu Liyun in the crowd and warned him in a low voice, "I have a bad feeling about this area. Be careful!"

"Right!"

Liu Liyun nodded emphatically.

He now believed Hong Yu's words without a shadow of a doubt!

Under the cover of night, the several hundred mbers of the fourth troop advanced, not particularly fast, but they gradually moved deeper into the dense, gloomy forest.

Shi Tao glanced at the sky and said in a heavy voice, "Everyone dismount and rest. We'll continue deeper tomorrow!"

"Senior Brother Shi, the terrain here is perfect for an ambush. We should keep moving!" Hong Yu reminded him with a frown.

"Hmph!"

Shi Tao snorted coldly. "If you want to go, go by yourself."

As he spoke, Shi Tao was the first to dismount, preparing to lead the others in setting up camp right there.

However...

At the exact mont they dismounted, the sound of sharp Arrows slicing through the air suddenly erupted from the dense thickets—SWISH, SWISH, SWISH! A dense rain of Arrows, like a black cloud blotting out the sky, descended upon them. Staring at the thousands upon thousands of incoming Arrows, the faces of the several hundred new disciples changed dramatically, their scalps tingling with terror...