Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

The moment Yingxue gripped the Demon Saber, she convulsed as if struck by lightning and collapsed.

A red light flashed. The Annihilation Demon Saber fell, effortlessly plunging into the plaza until only the hilt remained visible.

Lin Hao reacted instantly, catching Yingxue.

The very moment he caught her, Yingxue’s eyes fluttered open, a look of confusion on her face.

"Brother Hao..." It was unmistakably Yingxue’s voice.

"Oh no, Aunt Ling is hurt." Before Lin Hao could speak, a flicker of panic crossed Yingxue’s face, and she rushed off.

Lin Hao was taken aback for a moment, but then he understood.

Staring at the Annihilation Demon Saber buried in the plaza, Lin Hao didn’t hesitate. He reached out to pull it free.

"Mast—" Wu Taichu cried out, trying to stop him.

Wu Taichu had heard of the Annihilation Demon Saber’s terrible reputation. It was a blade of evil, owned by a Great Demon hundreds of years ago.

In the Great Demon’s hands, the saber had drunk the blood of countless victims. Only after the sacrifice of tens of thousands of experts was the Great Demon finally slain.

And from then on, the Annihilation Demon Saber’s whereabouts were unknown.

He never expected it to reappear today in the hands of Yue Fanshan.

Even Lord Lingdi had been injured. The power of the Annihilation Demon Saber was easy to imagine, and he was terrified that Lin Hao would be controlled by it.

But it was too late. Lin Hao’s hand was already on the hilt.

In that instant, Lin Hao’s expression changed drastically.

From within the Demon Saber, a sinister, terrifying aura surged forth like a tidal wave.

This aura was exceptionally strange, as if it could sway one’s very soul.

Lin Hao snorted coldly. The Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill activated, and the sinister aura retreated as swiftly as a mouse that had seen a cat.

A Tier Four Spiritual Artifact possesses a spirit. Knowing it had met its bane, it chose to retreat.

The Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill absorbed sunlight for its own use. It was the bane of all evil forces.

Lin Hao pressed his advantage. A wave of righteous energy traveled from the hilt into the Annihilation Demon Saber and began to suppress the evil aura.

Before long, sweat was already beading on Lin Hao’s face.

A Tier Four Spiritual Artifact requires at least several hundred years of nurturing. In other words, this Demon Saber had been drinking blood for at least that long.

Although Lin Hao possessed an Emperor-level skill, his cultivation was only at the Seventh Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm. His cultivation was still insufficient to truly suppress it.

However, it was equally impossible for the Demon Saber to stir up any trouble in his hands.

The end result was a stalemate; neither Lin Hao nor the Demon Saber could overcome the other.

Nevertheless, inch by inch, Lin Hao finally pulled the Demon Saber out from the plaza and held it in his hand.

Yue Fanshan lay on the ground, completely paralyzed. Only his eyes could still move. He stared as Lin Hao held the Demon Saber, his own eyes clear and lucid, and his gaze filled with utter shock.

Even with his Soul Gathering Realm cultivation, he had been instantly controlled by the Demon Saber the moment he held it. Yet Lin Hao, a mere Blood Coagulation Realm cultivator, could command it. This completely shattered his understanding of the world.

Wu Taichu and the three Grand Elders exchanged a look, and they all saw the shock in each other’s eyes.

’Is there anything he can’t do?’ they all wondered.

"Lin Hao, how should we deal with him?" Wu Taichu asked, looking at Yue Fanshan on the ground.

The matter with Gu Qingyang and his son was one thing. Stealing sect secrets was an act scorned by the world. If the Zhengyang Sect wanted to use that as a pretext to attack, they would have to think twice.

But Yue Fanshan’s background was too significant. If this wasn’t handled properly, the Zhengyang Sect would absolutely come knocking on their door.

A single elder possessed Soul Gathering Realm cultivation. The might of the Zhengyang Sect was easy to imagine. When the time came, even with Lord Lingdi present, there would still be only one outcome.

"Just kill him," Lin Hao said, his tone still casual, as if Yue Fanshan wasn’t an elder of the Zhengyang Sect, but just some random nobody.

Hearing this, Qin Tianlong, who was kneeling to the side, felt his eyes twitch. He couldn’t help but admire his own foresight.

’This guy is completely lawless, daring to even kill a Zhengyang Sect elder. If I hadn’t proposed a duel, I’d be a corpse right now.’

"This..." But when Wu Taichu and the three Grand Elders heard this, apprehension flickered in their eyes.

They feared the Zhengyang Sect.

"If I’m not mistaken, when this old fellow came from the Zhengyang Sect, he made sure nobody knew," Lin Hao said, a wise light glinting in his eyes.

Wu Taichu’s eyes lit up as well.

What was the Heaven-Stepping Step?

It was an Emperor-level skill!

The words "Emperor-level skill" held an endless allure. Yue Fanshan was only an elder of the Zhengyang Sect, not someone who truly called the shots. If his superiors found out he had obtained such a skill, he definitely wouldn’t be able to keep it.

Therefore, to monopolize the Emperor-level skill for himself, he must have acted alone.

"Perhaps he even snuck this Annihilation Demon Saber out with him," Lin Hao added, a wicked smile playing on his lips.

Yue Fanshan’s expression suddenly became exceptionally ugly.

"So, we can kill him without any repercussions. And when the Zhengyang Sect can’t find him, they’ll just assume that Yue Fanshan stole the Annihilation Demon Saber and defected from the sect."

The eyes of Wu Taichu and the three Grand Elders lit up in unison.

Yue Fanshan’s face, however, turned ashen.

’This boy before me is too terrifying.’

"Don’t kill me! I’ll follow your every command from now on." In the face of death, no one is fearless, and even a Soul Gathering Realm expert was no exception.

Lin Hao shook his head.

’A Soul Gathering Realm expert is simply not someone I can control. Keeping him alive would only bring disaster.’

"I’ll trade cultivation techniques and martial arts for my life," Yue Fanshan continued to bargain.

Cultivation techniques and martial arts could be considered a Martial Artist’s most valuable treasures. Yue Fanshan didn’t believe Lin Hao wouldn’t be tempted.

However, Lin Hao still shook his head.

’In my mind, I have countless cultivation techniques and martial arts. To be honest, I really look down on anything a Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artist could offer.’

The hand rose, the saber fell.

A head rolled far into the distance.

The Soul Gathering Realm expert, Yue Fanshan, was finished by Lin Hao with a single slash.

The Annihilation Demon Saber suddenly flared with brilliant light. The blood within Yue Fanshan’s body, as if being pulled by some force, was completely absorbed by the saber.

Deprived of his blood, Yue Fanshan’s body turned into a desiccated corpse in the blink of an eye.

The Annihilation Demon Saber, living up to its name, was just that terrifying.

Having absorbed the blood, the Demon Saber throbbed restlessly in Lin Hao’s hand, seemingly unwilling to be controlled by him.

Lin Hao snorted coldly and forcefully activated his cultivation technique. Before long, the saber settled down.

"This saber..." Wu Taichu began, his voice full of worry. The blade was too bizarre; one misstep and it could cause Lin Hao to fall into the Demon Dao.

But Lin Hao wasn’t worried in the slightest. "It’s fine," he said.

’He had his own plans for this saber.’

DING, DING, DING!

Lin Hao repeatedly flicked his fingers against the Demon Saber, causing it to ring.

Wu Taichu and the others all looked on in confusion, not understanding his actions.

However, if an Artifact Refining Master were present, they would surely be shocked by Lin Hao’s methods.

Because these seemingly simple flicks were, in fact, a profound sealing technique.

Having inherited the memories of the Carefree Divine Monarch, Lin Hao’s attainments in Artifact Refining were equally profound. The moment he took the Annihilation Demon Saber in hand, he knew that it had been sealed before.

And he also knew that its seal had been broken using an exceptionally cruel method.

To break the seal, Yue Fanshan had slaughtered an unknown number of innocent Martial Artists.

For this reason alone, Yue Fanshan deserved to die.

Right now, Lin Hao’s actions were simply to seal the Demon Saber once again.

After continuing to flick the blade for a full half-hour, Lin Hao bit his middle finger and let a drop of blood fall.

Then, Wu Taichu and the others clearly saw that the moment the drop of blood landed, the Demon Saber’s color slowly faded until it became a simple, unadorned white.

Lin Hao gave it a casual toss, throwing the Demon Saber into his storage spirit ring.

"Now, it’s your turn." Dusting off his hands, Lin Hao looked at Qin Tianlong.

A jolt went through Qin Tianlong’s heart.

"Master, please take him to the Divinity Proving Stage." Lin Hao turned and said to Wu Taichu.

Wu Taichu nodded, grabbed Qin Tianlong, and flew toward the Divinity Proving Stage.

Meanwhile, Lin Hao, accompanied by the three Grand Elders, walked slowly toward the Divinity Proving Stage.

By the time Lin Hao arrived, the Divinity Proving Stage was already packed with a sea of people.

Qin Tianlong’s earlier heaven-shaking roar had already alarmed countless Sect Disciples.

A duel between a Blood Coagulation Realm Martial Artist and an Elemental Realm Martial Artist was an absolutely unprecedented event in the Heaven-Stepping Sect, even if the latter’s realm was suppressed.

After Lin Hao stepped into the center of the Divinity Proving Stage, Wu Taichu and the three Grand Elders each guarded a side to prevent Qin Tianlong from escaping.

The methods of a Great Emperor were divinely powerful and unpredictable. The moment Lin Hao entered, the void trembled slightly, and Qin Tianlong found that his cultivation had been suppressed to the Peak of the Seventh Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm.

This meant that Lin Hao’s cultivation was also at the Peak of the Seventh Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm.

After quickly adapting, Qin Tianlong seemed to have regained the magnificent aura and imposing manner of a Peak Master.

"Today, I will offer your life to mourn Yang’Er!" Qin Tianlong said hatefully.

Then, Qin Tianlong threw a punch.

Although he only had the cultivation of the Seventh Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm at this moment, as he threw this punch, the bones and tendons throughout Qin Tianlong’s body chimed in unison, giving off an air of looking down on all under heaven.

A Yellow Level Top Grade martial art, the Dragon-Form Tyrant Emperor Fist.

"As expected of a Peak Master. With one move of the Dragon-Form Tyrant Emperor Fist, he has expressed the ultimate profundity of fist techniques."

A Core Disciple who also cultivated this fist technique had a look of utter shock on his face when he saw the punch.

Even Wu Taichu’s eyes flashed with a hint of shock.

His insight was naturally on a different level from others; he could clearly see that Qin Tianlong’s punch had grasped the very essence of the fist technique.

At this, Wu Taichu couldn’t help but start to worry about Lin Hao.

Looking at Lin Hao, Wu Taichu was stunned.

He saw that Lin Hao had, at some unknown point, taken out a thick martial arts book and was standing there, flipping through it.

Not only he, but likely even the Outer Sect Disciples would be familiar with that martial arts book. It was the *General Compendium of Martial Arts*, the most basic of basics.

Sect Disciples usually used it to pick out martial arts suitable for themselves.

"Holy crap! I went to the Scripture Pavilion to pick a martial art and couldn’t find the *General Compendium of Martial Arts* after searching for half a day. So it was with him!" a disciple said with a resentful look.

Another disciple was flabbergasted. "Are you kidding me? He doesn’t actually expect to beat Peak Master Qin with that, does he?!"

The *General Compendium of Martial Arts* and the Dragon-Form Tyrant Emperor Fist were completely incomparable.

The latter was known as the crown jewel of Yellow Level Top Grade fist techniques in the Heaven-Stepping Sect, while the former couldn’t even be considered a Yellow Level Low Grade martial art.

In their eyes, being able to defeat the Dragon-Form Tyrant Emperor Fist with the *General Compendium of Martial Arts* was only possible if the sun were to rise in the west.

Seeing this, Qin Tianlong was driven into a frenzy of rage. Lin Hao’s actions clearly showed that he wasn’t taking him seriously at all.

Never mind Lin Hao—Qin Tianlong believed that not even Wu Taichu would dare to show him such contempt.

Qin Tianlong suddenly roared, his arm twisting and bending in an unbelievable way, coiling like a long dragon as it shot toward Lin Hao like a bolt of lightning.

The air filled with afterimages.

The ultimate secret of the Dragon-Form Tyrant Emperor Fist: tendons and bones evolving into the shape of a dragon, a dragon form to dominate the world!