Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

「Heaven-Stepping Sect, Council Hall.」

Wu Taichu respectfully ushered Lin Hao into the room.

He and the three elders exchanged a look and nodded in unison.

Wu Kui, face alight with excitement, recalled the look on Master Shan Dan’s face upon seeing the pill. He was just about to share the good news with Lin Hao...

But in the next moment, he was stunned.

He watched as his master and the three elders knelt in unison!

’What is going on?’

Wu Kui felt like his brain couldn’t keep up.

But he found out soon enough.

"This disciple greets the Martial Grand-uncle," Wu Taichu and the three elders said in unison, bowing respectfully to Lin Hao.

Huh?!

’M-Martial Grand-uncle!’

Wu Kui’s eyes widened as he stared at Lin Hao in disbelief.

’Have they gone mad with excitement, or am I so worked up that I’m hallucinating?’

Wu Kui pinched his own thigh hard. It hurt.

Then he saw Lin Hao, completely unfazed, say calmly, "All of you, get up. Don’t kneel to me again."

"Yes, Martial Grand-uncle," they replied in unison.

This time, Wu Kui heard it loud and clear.

THUD!

His face turned deathly pale, and Wu Kui fell to his knees.

’My master calls him Martial Grand-uncle, and the elders call him Martial Uncle... does that mean I have to call him Great-Martial Grand-uncle?!’

At last, Wu Kui understood why his master was so deferential to Lin Hao and how he’d become the chief disciple. Remembering how he’d opposed him at every turn, Wu Kui could have died from regret.

"Get up," Lin Hao said coolly, his gaze sweeping over Wu Kui. "I don’t want anyone outside this room to know my identity."

Wu Kui scrambled to his feet as if granted a pardon, overwhelmed with gratitude.

"Martial Grand-uncle, Master Shan Dan wants to cooperate with us," Wu Taichu said, cupping his fists and seeking Lin Hao’s instruction.

He now held absolute confidence in Lin Hao.

A smile played on Lin Hao’s lips. "It’s because of the Life Reviving Pill, right? Cooperation? Fine by me."

Hearing Lin Hao agree so readily, a flicker of worry passed through Wu Taichu’s eyes. He asked, "How will we cooperate?"

"Have the Danling Sect send a few Alchemy Masters to the Heaven-Stepping Sect. Aside from what the sect uses daily, the pills we refine will be sold by the Danling Sect. As for the profit distribution, let’s do a thirty-seventy split," Lin Hao said. It was clear he had already thought this through.

Wu Taichu and the three elders exchanged a glance, all nodding in agreement.

Just a moment ago, Wu Taichu had thought Lin Hao might be intimidated by a behemoth like the Danling Sect. Now it seemed his worry was completely unnecessary.

’Having the Danling Sect send their Alchemy Masters here is basically free labor, and Alchemy Masters are exactly what our sect lacks most right now.’

’There’s another benefit to this as well.’

’Even with their backers, if the Suo Demon Sect learns that the Danling Sect has dispatched Pill Masters to the Heaven-Stepping Sect, they’ll have to tread carefully. They’ll be forced to show some restraint.’

’Martial Grand-uncle played this move beautifully.’

’Plus, supplying our sect with the pills first will accelerate our development as much as possible. It’s a plan that kills several birds with one stone.’

"This kind of partnership is acceptable. We don’t just break even; we even get thirty percent of the profits." Ultimately, Wu Taichu and the three elders agreed to Lin Hao’s proposal.

Lin Hao gave them an odd look before speaking slowly, "You’re mistaken. We’re taking seventy percent of the profits."

"Oh, very good... What?!" Wu Taichu and the three elders’ eyes suddenly widened, unable to believe their ears.

’Before, we thought Lin Hao was naive and would get a raw deal. Now, it seems he’s a complete vampire!’

’Not only is he using the Danling Sect’s people, he wants seventy percent of the profits? That’s like snatching money from a tiger’s jaws!’

"Is it really that surprising?" Lin Hao asked with a glance, his composure unshaken.

"Martial Grand-uncle... surely that’s... that’s not feasible," Wu Taichu stammered.

’Only a fool would agree to such terms.’

’The Danling Sect is full of merchants; they never make a losing deal. With terms this outrageous, I’m afraid they won’t just refuse—they’ll become hostile.’

"They’ll agree," Lin Hao said without explanation. Then, turning to Wu Kui, he commanded, "Junior Brother Wu, you’ll be in charge of this matter."

’Back at the Treasure-Seeking Holy Hall, I got a fifty-percent stake for doing nothing. From my perspective, these terms are a complete gift to the Danling Sect.’

The reason Lin Hao was so confident the Danling Sect would agree was that he was certain Shan Dan would investigate him.

Unfortunately, Wu Taichu and the others didn’t know what Lin Hao had done in War Dragon City. If they had, they would be stunned by his methods.

First the great clans, then the sects; Lin Hao’s plan was proceeding methodically.

His next step: to seize control of the Cangnan Empire’s entire alchemy lifeline, all without anyone realizing it.

As for Wu Kui, full of the courage of the ignorant, he was thrilled to be personally chosen by Lin Hao and eagerly accepted.

’Now *that’s* what you call guts! That’s what you call being a badass!’

’This was it!’

Wu Kui was now incredibly grateful that he’d never had any real intention of harming Lin Hao. If he had, he wouldn’t even be alive right now, much less acting as Lin Hao’s public representative.

Seeing Lin Hao’s absolute confidence, Wu Taichu and the others had no more objections.

Wu Taichu found this Martial Grand-uncle’s methods increasingly inscrutable.

He was young, yet he acted with the experience of a veteran, always calm and composed, as if everything was perfectly under his control.

’Thank goodness.’ At this moment, Wu Taichu was truly grateful to Ancestor Cang Yan for sending such an enlightened leader to the sect.

"By the way, Elder Gu, tell me about the night you were attacked." Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed, a flash of killing intent within them.

Elder Gu had originally gone to seek a pill on his behalf but was attacked. Although the elder had returned to the sect shaken but unharmed, Lin Hao couldn’t let the matter slide.

"It was people from the Suo Demon Sect!" Speaking of that night, hatred flashed in Elder Gu’s eyes.

Wu Taichu nodded. "I guessed it was them. They’re getting more and more arrogant these days."

"Having obtained a secret realm, the Suo Demon Sect is developing too quickly now," another elder lamented.

The remaining elder spoke up. "If this cooperation with the Danling Sect succeeds, it could buy the sect some breathing room."

Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed, and he said nothing.

Realizing he was deep in thought, everyone fell silent.

"With Shan Dan, don’t be the one to bring up the partnership. If I’m not mistaken, he will come looking for you by the day after tomorrow at the latest. When he does, take a hard line. If they can’t meet my terms, tell them to get lost. If they agree, give them one day to have their Alchemy Masters in place."

This was Lin Hao’s final verdict.

His tone was so unyielding it left no room for doubt. If an outsider had heard him, they would have thought he was a madman.

The Heaven-Stepping Sect had already been reduced to a third-rate sect, while the Danling Sect was a genuine great sect, one of the premier powers in the Southern Border Prefecture. Yet Lin Hao had actually said to tell them to get lost if they couldn’t comply. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Arrogant!

The height of arrogance!

Perhaps his attitude was infectious, as Wu Taichu and the three elders nodded firmly.

Wu Kui, on the other hand, looked eager to get started, more excited than anyone.

He was crazy. And the people of the Heaven-Stepping Sect, following him, had gone crazy too.

"Sect Master, where is that withered secret realm? I’d like to go take a look."

’The cooperation with the Danling Sect can solve our short-term problems, but for the sect to become truly powerful, we’ll need far more abundant resources.’

’Those resources come from secret realms.’ Lin Hao decided he would go and take a look.

’Of course, Lin Hao wasn’t so arrogant as to think he could simply revive a secret realm that had been barren for twenty years.’

’However, he had the same thought as the others: since the Heaven-Stepping Sect was founded by an Emperor Venerable, its location must have been chosen with great care. It was highly likely that there were more than just two secret realms within its grounds.’

’He wanted to observe the withered secret realm to see if he could find any clues that might lead to discovering others.’

The Martial Grand-uncle wanted to visit the secret realm, so of course Wu Taichu couldn’t refuse. He quickly led Lin Hao out the door.

The two of them walked down from Heaven-Stepping Peak. About half an hour later, Wu Taichu brought Lin Hao to the edge of a cliff.

"This is the place. This was originally the sect’s largest secret realm, and it would open every year on the third day of the third month. When it opened, the cliff would become flat ground, the flat ground would turn into hills, and the gate to the secret realm would manifest among the hills. It was a magnificent sight."

A look of reminiscence appeared in Wu Taichu’s eyes.

"I heard from Junior Brother Wu that a strange phenomenon appears here now on the third day of the third month. Sect Master, could you describe it?"

Wu Taichu was taken aback for a moment, then gave a wry smile. "I don’t even know whether to call it a spectacular sight or a bad omen. Every year on the third day of the third month, brilliant rays of light shoot into the sky, and a nine-colored rainbow fills the horizon. But at the same time, a roar can be heard. When that roar sounds, all creation falls silent, and even the many Devil Beasts in the distant mountains tremble in fear."

"’Could it be that an ancient vicious beast is sealed down there? Has it been absorbing the secret realm’s essence, trying to break free?’" Lin Hao suddenly thought of the patterns on the ten Divine Steles.

That time he had made all ten steles appear, the pattern on the final Divine Stele was hazy, and he hadn’t seen it clearly.

A worried look flashed across Wu Taichu’s face.

Lin Hao stood at the edge of the cliff and looked down.

Swirling with clouds and mist, the cliff was immeasurably deep.

"You’ve never gone down to investigate?" Lin Hao asked.

Wu Taichu had a wry smile on his face. "That’s the strangest part. Anyone who tries to go down is repelled back up. It’s impossible to descend. But if it’s a rock, it passes through the barrier with ease."

"Is that so?" Lin Hao, curious, tossed a rock over the edge and heard nothing.

Then, he took a step toward the cliff’s edge, intending to try it himself.

"Martial Grand-uncle, you don’t need to try! I’ll show you." This terrified Wu Taichu, and he quickly grabbed Lin Hao.

Without waiting for Lin Hao’s reply, Wu Taichu leaped...

The next moment, he was flung back at an even faster speed, staggering back several large steps.

"Interesting!" Lin Hao said, and also leaped...

This time, he was so fast that Wu Taichu couldn’t grab him.

His heart tightened, and Wu Taichu was about to jump again. Thankfully, he saw Lin Hao being repelled back as well.

Just as he was about to go over, Wu Taichu suddenly stopped, because Lin Hao was standing with his eyes closed in deep thought.

’Could it be that Martial Grand-uncle has discovered something?’ Wu Taichu’s eyes lit up.

A strong sense of anticipation welled up in his heart, and Wu Taichu stared at Lin Hao with bated breath.

The next moment, he saw Lin Hao leap again...

This time, he waited for a long time, but Lin Hao did not reappear.

At this, Wu Taichu panicked.

"This is bad! Martial Grand-uncle jumped off the cliff!" Wu Taichu cried out, and leaped down after him...