Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

This was the ultimate evolution of the Dragon-Form Tyrant Emperor Fist. Qin Tianlong’s punch stunned the entire God-Conferral Stage.

The punch gave off the feeling of a flood dragon emerging from the sea, ready to furiously blast the world apart.

It was domineering to the point of being unrivaled.

Forget the technique itself; the sheer intent behind the fist already carried an air of invincibility.

"As expected of a Peak Master, his attack is extraordinary. I doubt Lin Hao can even take a single blow."

"No wonder Peak Master Qin kept avoiding Lin Hao’s provocations. It wasn’t that he feared Lin Hao; he just never even saw him as an equal."

"How can you even compare a Peak Master to a mere Blood Coagulation Realm Martial Artist?"

...

As soon as Qin Tianlong threw his punch, the commentary became completely one-sided. No one believed Lin Hao had the strength to fight him.

However, facing Qin Tianlong’s ferocious attack, Lin Hao’s gaze remained calm. After closing the Compendium of Martial Arts, he slowly threw a punch of his own.

"Lin Hao is so full of himself. He actually thinks he can counter Peak Master Qin with a punch like that?" one disciple said, shaking his head with a gloating expression.

They could already picture Lin Hao being sent flying by Qin Tianlong’s fist, blood gushing through the air.

When he saw Lin Hao’s punch, Qin Tianlong sneered. To think he would use a punch like that to fight him. The Lin family was truly courting death.

Everyone was nervously watching the fight in the center, completely failing to notice the odd look on Wu Taichu’s face as he watched Lin Hao.

As Lin Hao threw his punch, Wu Taichu’s eyes suddenly flew wide open.

That punch... it looked familiar.

At first glance, it looked just like the punch the founding ancestor had delivered from the void on the God-Conferral Stage the other day.

But a closer look revealed it wasn’t. It was more like the fist technique Lin Hao had used to strike the void.

And yet, on a third look, it seemed to be neither.

In the blink of an eye, it became just a plain, unremarkable punch.

"Die!"

In the center of the stage, Qin Tianlong roared, his face a mask of savagery.

This punch contained all of his rage and hatred. He would make Lin Hao pay for his debts in blood.

For a moment, the crowd seemed to hear the roar of a flood dragon, intent on devouring everything in its path.

Lin Hao was finished.

That was the thought on almost everyone’s mind.

Just then, Lin Hao’s fist collided with Qin Tianlong’s.

BOOM!

A massive collision erupted in the center of the God-Conferral Stage. The very air seemed to twist, their clash having actually triggered the laws of the Emperor Venerable that protected this space.

CRACK!

Following the massive impact, a cracking sound echoed. Qin Tianlong’s right arm hung limply at his side as he stumbled backward in panic.

In that same instant, a hand closed around Qin Tianlong’s neck like the grip of death itself.

With a surge of strength, the hand lifted Qin Tianlong’s entire body into the air.

The crowd stared, wide-eyed, completely unable to believe what they were seeing.

Qin Tianlong, a Peak Master, had been defeated!

And now, he was being held aloft in this humiliating fashion.

This was completely unexpected.

Anyone could see that Lin Hao’s punch had been as ordinary as they come, yet it had defeated Qin Tianlong in a single blow. It completely subverted their understanding of the world.

Held in the air by Lin Hao, Qin Tianlong couldn’t speak, but his face was a mask of desperation.

Lin Hao remained unmoved and tightened his grip.

With another "CRACK," Qin Tianlong, a Peak Master, was dead!

A Peak Master had died at Lin Hao’s hands just like that. The entire audience fell dead silent.

Lin Hao tossed Qin Tianlong’s body aside and calmly scanned the crowd as if nothing had happened.

No one dared to meet his gaze.

A chill ran down everyone’s spine.

At this moment, no one felt Lin Hao was unqualified anymore.

The Ten Vajras, Qin Huayang, and now even Qin Tianlong had all been defeated by his hand. The proof of Lin Hao’s strength was terrifying.

Unrivaled in his realm!

A disciple spoke four words.

Even with his cultivation suppressed, Qin Tianlong was no match for Lin Hao. Who could possibly contend with him at the same level?

"Senior Brother is mighty!" a disciple said softly, finally acknowledging Lin Hao’s status.

Then, the four words grew louder and louder.

More and more disciples joined in the chant.

Carried by a powerful wave of emotion, the four words eventually echoed throughout the entire Heaven-Stepping Sect.

For the first time, Lin Hao’s status was truly acknowledged.

No one paid any mind to Qin Tianlong’s corpse.

Such was the world where strength reigned supreme.

The strong were respected and admired by all.

The weak, on the other hand, were sometimes not even worthy of a contemptuous glance.

Wu Taichu and the three Grand Elders exchanged a look, their faces filled with relief.

「Just then.」

"Senior Brother! Senior Brother!" someone shouted from afar, making their way over from the iron chains of Heaven-Stepping Peak.

Lin Hao turned to see it was Wu Kui.

"Senior Brother, Master, Master Shan Dan requests your presence," Wu Kui said to Lin Hao and Wu Taichu as he stepped onto the God-Conferral Stage.

Earlier, when Yue Fanshan had appeared, Master Shan Dan had rushed to the scene, but the demonically corrupted Yue Fanshan had refused to stop.

Later, when ’Yingxue’ appeared, Master Shan Dan left as well.

Wu Taichu and Lin Hao guessed that Master Shan Dan would certainly use this incident to his advantage. Without another word, they headed straight for Pill Cloud Hall.

Before they even reached Pill Cloud Hall, they saw Master Shan Dan already waiting for them outside.

The moment he saw them, Master Shan Dan got straight to the point.

"The roars from the God-Conferral Stage just now were heaven-shaking. I presume the matter with Yue Fanshan has been resolved. What do you plan to do with him?"

Lin Hao replied nonchalantly, "He’s probably been buried by now."

"What?! You killed him!" Master Shan Dan exclaimed in shock.

He was an elder of the Zhengyang Sect!

The Zhengyang Sect was one of the five great sects of the Southern Border Prefecture. Even their own Danling Sect wouldn’t dare to murder one of its elders.

And yet this kid had gone and slaughtered him without a second thought, and was acting as if it were nothing.

Master Shan Dan took a step back, giving Lin Hao a very strange look.

"Don’t worry. It’s not like you provoked me," Lin Hao said with a faint smile.

The implication was clear: ’If you provoke me, I’ll kill you too.’

The corner of Master Shan Dan’s mouth twitched.

"Master Shan Dan, the Heaven-Stepping Sect has now offended the Zhengyang Sect. Are you going to take your people and leave, or are you going to stay?" Lin Hao asked, his tone making it clear he couldn’t care less about the Zhengyang Sect.

Lin Hao was forcing Master Shan Dan to make a choice.

Master Shan Dan was clearly aware of the stakes.

If he stayed, the Danling Sect would undoubtedly offend the Zhengyang Sect. But if he left, his relationship with the Heaven-Stepping Sect would be over.

Normally, the choice would have been easy. The Zhengyang Sect was a truly powerful sect, far beyond what the Heaven-Stepping Sect could compare to. But with an anomaly like Lin Hao in the picture, the decision became much more difficult.

Because Lin Hao was an enigma.

"Oh, dear, it seems a batch of pills is almost ready. I’d better go check on it." In the end, this was all Master Shan Dan said before turning and walking away.

Clearly, Master Shan Dan had made his choice.

To an outsider, his choice would have seemed insane.

Lin Hao’s voice followed him. "Master Shan Dan, you will not regret the choice you’ve made today."

Lin Hao’s voice was quiet, but filled with unshakable confidence.

Master Shan Dan’s steps faltered for a moment, but then he continued on his way.

Watching Master Shan Dan disappear, Wu Taichu let out a long sigh of relief.

With the Danling Sect on their side, even if the Zhengyang Sect found out what happened to Yue Fanshan, they would have to think twice before acting.

"Wu Kui, go tell Master Shan Dan to let the Alchemy Masters take a break," Lin Hao said.

"You got it!" Wu Kui chirped, then darted into Pill Cloud Hall.

If he wasn’t mistaken, Lin Hao was about to perform Alchemy.

How could Wu Kui not be excited?

A short while later, the doors to Pill Cloud Hall opened and a group of Alchemy Masters filed out. Lin Hao was surprised to see that the one accompanying them was the middle-aged man who had overseen the sect’s entrance examination.

"Sect Leader." Upon seeing Wu Taichu, Bai Ming quickly bowed, making sure to nod at Lin Hao as well.

Hearing Bai Ming’s words, the group of Alchemy Masters all turned to look at Wu Taichu.

However, not a single one spoke. Arrogance was etched on every one of their faces.

They were, after all, Alchemy Masters from the Danling Sect. The Heaven-Stepping Sect was in decline, and in their eyes, the Sect Leader of a place like this wasn’t even worth a fart.

If their Sect Elders hadn’t personally ordered them to come, they wouldn’t have set foot in the Heaven-Stepping Sect even if its leaders had begged them on their hands and knees.

Their Alchemy Mastery was considered top-tier not just in the Southern Border Prefecture, but even within the Danling Sect itself.

Many of them resented being sent to assist a third-rate sect like Heaven-Stepping.

In their hearts, many of them thought Master Shan Dan must have lost his mind.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Wu Taichu forced a smile and was about to cup his fist in greeting when he heard Lin Hao let out a cold snort beside him.

Startled, Wu Taichu quickly lowered his hands.

Seeing this, the Alchemy Masters looked on with disdain, but they couldn’t help sizing up Lin Hao, wondering who this upstart was.

But they never expected Lin Hao to turn his sights directly on them.

"You, you, and you. Get the hell out!" Lin Hao pointed to three of them in succession. His very first words were to order them out of the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

"Our presence in the Heaven-Stepping Sect is a gift, and you dare tell us to get lost? Have you got a death wish?!" The Alchemy Masters were already spoiling for a fight, and now some young punk was ordering them around. One of the men Lin Hao had pointed at spoke, his face dark.

He was an Alchemy Master! Forget a third-rate sect like Heaven-Stepping—even the Sect Leaders of the great sects in the Southern Border Prefecture wouldn’t dare speak to him that way.

He was backed by the Danling Sect. To offend him was to offend the entire Danling Sect.

"No wonder the Heaven-Stepping Sect is in decline. It’s fallen so low that a little brat is calling the shots now," another of the three men pointed out by Lin Hao stepped forward and said.

The last of the three was even more direct. He stepped forward and snapped at Lin Hao, "Just who the hell do you think you are?!"

SLAP!

The Alchemy Master had barely finished speaking when he was struck solidly across the face.

The one who had struck him was Wu Taichu.

To Wu Taichu, insulting his Martial Grand-Uncle was the same as insulting the sect itself.

As Sect Leader, it was his duty to defend the sect’s honor with his life.

"You—you dare to hit me?! How dare you!" the Alchemy Master stammered in disbelief.

He was a noble Alchemy Master, accustomed to constant praise. No one had ever dared to slap him, yet now, the leader of some minor sect had done just that.

The Alchemy Master trembled with fury.

"Speak another disrespectful word, and I won’t hesitate to kill you!" Wu Taichu made no attempt to conceal his killing intent.

The Alchemy Master was stunned.

’Has the Sect Leader of the Heaven-Stepping Sect gone mad? How dare he say something like that?’

"Good. Very good. I’d like to see if you really have the guts."

Enraged, the Alchemy Master then did something completely unexpected...