Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

BOOM!

Before Qin Tianlong could understand what was happening, the hand he was reaching for Lin Hao felt like it had been struck by lightning. An incredibly ferocious force slammed into him.

PUH!

Qin Tianlong stumbled back in alarm, unable to suppress a mouthful of blood that sprayed violently from his lips.

Lin Hao watched him, a sly grin on his face, and added insult to injury, "It seems even the Scripture Pavilion can’t stand you acting so wild in here."

Qin Tianlong was driven mad with anger, yet he was also inexplicably horrified.

Now that he had a moment to process, he realized with a shock that there seemed to be an invisible energy shield in the empty space between the third and fourth floors of the Scripture Pavilion.

Judging by Lin Hao’s fearless demeanor just now, he had clearly already discovered this secret.

He had no idea. How did Lin Hao know?

’Wu Taichu. It has to be Wu Taichu!’

’The Heaven-Stepping Sect has many great, unknown secrets, and he told every single one of them to that little brat Lin Hao!’

’It seems he’s dead set on making Lin Hao the head disciple, and then the next Sect Leader!’

Believing he had figured out the crux of the matter, Qin Tianlong seethed with hatred.

"You little brat, I’ll let you be arrogant for a few more days. In three days, Fei’Er will definitely take your dog’s life!" Qin Tianlong snarled.

Qin Tianlong had absolute confidence in his son.

"If you’re this pathetic, your son can’t be much better," Lin Hao shrugged and started walking toward the fourth floor. His words made Qin Tianlong tremble with rage.

He desperately wanted to smash Lin Hao into a meat paste with a single palm strike.

They were only a few meters apart, but for Qin Tianlong, there was an insurmountable barrier between them.

He was mad with hatred yet utterly powerless, able only to watch as Lin Hao disappeared at the top of the stairs.

Grinding his teeth so hard they creaked, Qin Tianlong’s face twisted into an inhuman expression.

Lin Hao had toyed with him time and time again. Yet, not only was he still alive and well, he seemed to be thriving more and more.

Qin Tianlong recalled the scene where Master Shan Dan had stood up for Lin Hao.

’As long as Lin Hao is alive, he has Master Shan Dan now. In the future, who’s to say there won’t be a Master Shuangshuang, or a Master Shuangdan, or whatever.’

"Lin Hao, you must die!" In the end, Qin Tianlong stared up at the fourth floor, his eyes filled with a cold gleam, his killing intent laid bare.

Meanwhile, Lin Hao was leisurely browsing through various Cultivation Techniques and martial skills on the fourth floor.

There were far fewer books on the fourth floor than on the three floors below, but their quality was undoubtedly much higher.

After casually flipping through a few books, Lin Hao lost interest and headed up the stairs to the top floor.

On the third floor, Qin Tianlong’s eyes narrowed.

’Lin Hao! He’s actually strolling brazenly up to the top floor—a place only successive Sect Leaders are allowed to go!’

’Even his son hadn’t received such treatment when he had only grasped the rudiments of the Heaven-Stepping Step.’

’Lin Hao! What right does he have? What has he done to deserve this?!’

"Sixth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm... Three days! No matter what monstrous abilities you have, you will die at Fei’Er’s hands!"

In the end, Qin Tianlong could only console himself with the duel three days from now.

Watching Lin Hao’s figure disappear, Qin Tianlong didn’t leave. Instead, he sat down right there on the third floor.

He wanted to see what kind of trouble Lin Hao could possibly stir up right under his nose.

The top floor of the Scripture Pavilion had clearly not been visited for a long time. Cobwebs and dust were everywhere.

Only the table closest to Lin Hao was relatively clean, with a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone laid out upon it.

At this moment, a few books were also on the table.

Lin Hao walked over, and the first book he saw was the "Heaven-Stepping Step."

The book was very thin, its pages already yellowed with age.

Lin Hao carefully opened it and was stunned.

There were no words inside, only a single illustration.

The illustration depicted a rising red sun and a setting full moon. A figure stood proudly in the void, its back to the viewer, taking a casual step that seemed to span the distance between the sun and moon!

This single step could cross time! It could warp space!

"Crossing time, reversing yin and yang... the Heaven-Stepping Step is actually this terrifying!" Lin Hao was utterly shocked.

Suddenly, the complete "Ghostly Divine Step" surfaced in his mind. Lin Hao paused for a moment, then picked up the brush.

With just a few strokes, the silhouette of a figure took shape on the paper.

The figure’s step was poised, as if about to land but not yet, like a ghost.

Ghostly!

Then, without pausing, Lin Hao continued to draw.

Another silhouette immediately took form on the paper.

This figure took a single step, ascending to the heavens as if a god was setting out on a journey.

Divine!

Lin Hao placed the two drawings side by side, his eyes shining brightly.

’Ghostly... Divine... Heaven-Stepping!’

’So the complete Ghostly Divine Step is the missing part of the Heaven-Stepping Step!’

This discovery made Lin Hao ecstatic.

But then, he shook his head.

What he had drawn merely captured the form, without a shred of the true essence.

Setting aside the "Heaven-Stepping Step," even the complete "Ghostly Divine Step" was something Lin Hao could not fully utilize with his current cultivation level.

However, even though he couldn’t practice it, obtaining the complete Body Technique meant Lin Hao could deduce and perfect the Body Technique he was currently using.

Lin Hao closed his eyes and raised the brush.

But for a long time, he did not put brush to paper.

For a long while after, Lin Hao remained in this position.

During this time, someone came up to the top floor of the Scripture Pavilion: Wu Taichu.

It turned out that as soon as he heard news of Qin Tianlong arriving at the Scripture Pavilion, he had rushed over at once.

However, when he reached the top floor, what he saw was a Lin Hao who seemed to be frozen in place.

And then, Wu Taichu’s eyes widened abruptly, his entire being overcome with a shock so profound it was impossible to describe.

He saw what Lin Hao had drawn.

Although there were only two drawings, and although they only captured the form, Wu Taichu could still see the clues within!

These two drawings fit perfectly with the Heaven-Stepping Step. They were clearly the first half of the technique, which had been lost for thousands of years!

This... Wu Taichu trembled all over, then his knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.

Facing the motionless Lin Hao, Wu Taichu kowtowed nine times, and the way he looked at him afterward was as if he were on a pilgrimage, gazing at a sacred icon.

The significance of these two drawings was simply too immense.

When combined with the drawing from the Heaven-Stepping Step, it represented perfection!

The complete Heaven-Stepping Step... that was an Emperor’s Secret Skill!

An Emperor’s Secret Skill! A Secret Skill of an Emperor Venerable, an existence that surpasses the Celestial Tier!

Lin Hao had actually managed to complete the Emperor’s Secret Skill the sect had lost for thousands of years. If word of this got out, the entire continent would be shaken!

’To possess an Emperor’s Secret Skill is to be unstoppable!’

Although Lin Hao had already done many things to shock Wu Taichu, his excitement at this moment was still unprecedented.

But, seeing Lin Hao’s current state, Wu Taichu didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly, deeply afraid of disturbing him.

Wu Taichu stood respectfully by Lin Hao’s side, not at all like the leader of a sect, but more like a devout servant.

He waited for Lin Hao to awaken.

And so he waited, for two days and two nights.

「On the morning of the third day.」

As the red sun began to rise, a ray of bright light shone in through the window.

The motionless Lin Hao’s eyes suddenly snapped open.

Wu Taichu noticed it immediately and was then struck with inexplicable horror.

Because he saw that the light in Lin Hao’s eyes was even brighter than the rising sun, shining with immeasurable radiance.

Then, Lin Hao’s brush moved like lightning.

After a moment, a blurry black shadow appeared on the snow-white paper.

Finally, the black shadow took shape, and it was also a silhouette seen from behind.

Standing behind Lin Hao, Wu Taichu looked closely and saw that the silhouette was clearly Lin Hao himself.

Wu Taichu’s eyes grew wider and wider, as if he had just encountered a god or a demon.

Because he discovered that after looking at Lin Hao’s drawing, when he looked back at the "Heaven-Stepping Step," its silhouette also seemed to have become Lin Hao.

Although it was just a simple silhouette, it contained essence, energy, and spirit, and was actually able to influence a person’s thoughts!

One must remember that Lin Hao was only at the Sixth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, while Wu Taichu was already at the Peak of the Elemental Realm. For the latter to be influenced was simply too terrifying.

When the final stroke was complete, Lin Hao gasped for breath.

Only then did Wu Taichu realize that steam was rising from Lin Hao’s entire body, and even his clothes were completely soaked through.

"Hahaha, I did it!" Although he didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger, Lin Hao was overjoyed to see his masterpiece.

After observing the Heaven-Stepping Step and combining it with the Ghostly Divine Step, he had finally deduced a step that was even more exquisite than before.

"Martial Great-uncle is a true genius! This step has reached a profound level of mastery. As long as a Profound Level Body Technique doesn’t appear, who could possibly contend with it!" In the end, this was Wu Taichu’s assessment.

Only then did Lin Hao notice Wu Taichu’s presence. He had been so focused before, his essence, energy, and spirit all united as one.

"I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you, Master. I have a peerless Body Technique but lack the cultivation to practice it, so I could only settle for the next best thing and derive a simpler Body Technique from it." Lin Hao was not complacent.

’Why did the first half of the "Heaven-Stepping Step" appear in the Divine Demon Destruction Domain?’

The question flashed through his mind, and then Lin Hao heard Wu Taichu speak.

"Martial Great-uncle, do... do you know the missing part of the ’Heaven-Stepping Step’?" Wu Taichu asked, his voice trembling.

The "Ghostly Divine Step" came from the memories of the Carefree Divine Monarch and was never complete to begin with. After seeing the "Heaven-Stepping Step," Lin Hao knew that it did indeed belong to the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

In response, Lin Hao nodded generously in admission, then began to pick up his brush.

Lin Hao didn’t hold back, writing down the complete Mantra for the "Ghostly Divine Step."

Looking at the Mantra, Wu Taichu’s eyes filled with hot tears.

At that moment, a shout came from below.

"Lin Hao, are you going to be a coward hiding in your shell?"

It was Qin Tianlong’s voice.

Lin Hao had stayed upstairs for three days, and Qin Tianlong had also stood guard in the Scripture Pavilion for three days.

He had waited with great difficulty for the appointed time, but Lin Hao still hadn’t appeared. Now, Qin Tianlong couldn’t sit still any longer.

"This Qin Tianlong is getting more and more audacious!" Upstairs, Wu Taichu’s expression turned cold when he heard Qin Tianlong’s voice.

Qin Tianlong’s opposition to his Martial Great-uncle gave Wu Taichu the urge to swat him dead.

"He worries too much to be a real threat. Master, how many days have I been up here?" Lin Hao paid Qin Tianlong no mind.

In fact, the day they had met was the perfect opportunity to kill him, but Qin Tianlong had held back, afraid of collateral damage.

From that moment on, Lin Hao had been utterly disappointed in him.

If Qin Tianlong could hear what Lin Hao was saying, who knows if he would just drop dead from rage.

"Today is the third day. Martial Great-uncle, are you really going to accept Qin Huayang’s challenge?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Qin Huayang was too dazzling a figure in the Heaven-Stepping Sect. The news of his challenge to Lin Hao had spread like wildfire through the sect; everyone knew about it.

Lin Hao was at the Sixth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, while Qin Huayang was at the Seventh Layer. To be honest, even Wu Taichu was very worried about Lin Hao.

Considering Wu Taichu had already witnessed so many miracles from Lin Hao and still couldn’t feel at ease, one could only imagine how terrifying Qin Huayang must be.

"They say he’s invincible among those at the same level. If I don’t go and meet him for myself, I’ll regret it." A corner of Lin Hao’s mouth lifted, his expression full of spirited confidence.