Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

"Ptooey!"

The man took a step forward, then hawked a thick wad of phlegm. It shot out, flying straight for Wu Taichu’s face.

Wu Taichu was a Sect Leader, yet this man dared to spit on his face. It was the height of insolence, a clear sign he had absolutely no respect for the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

Wu Taichu tilted his head and dodged.

Then, staring at the Alchemy Master, killing intent flashed in Wu Taichu’s eyes.

However, Wu Taichu did not act.

In his peripheral vision, he saw Elder Shan emerge from Pill Cloud Hall.

Ultimately, this Alchemy Master was a man from the Danling Sect. With Elder Shan present, it was his responsibility to handle the matter.

For him to make a move would be improper.

Seeing no reaction from Wu Taichu, the Alchemy Master grew even more arrogant.

He then hawked another thick wad of phlegm. This time, his target was Lin Hao.

"You’re courting death!"

This time, Wu Taichu finally exploded with rage. His figure flashed.

"CRACK!"

The next moment, Wu Taichu twisted the Alchemy Master’s neck, breaking it instantly. The man died with his eyes wide open.

For Wu Taichu, a provocation against himself was something he could endure.

But if anyone dared to target Lin Hao, he couldn’t give a damn about what was proper. The sentence was death, no exceptions!

It all happened in a flash. The other Alchemy Masters only snapped back to reality when the corpse hit the floor.

They never imagined Wu Taichu would actually have the guts to make a move.

An Alchemy Master had been killed. The entire area fell deathly silent.

"Sect Leader Wu, what is the meaning of this?" Elder Shan was walking over and frowned slightly at the scene.

Although he had seen the Alchemy Master’s actions, the man was still from his sect. If anyone was to deal out punishment, it should have been him.

"He deserved to die," Lin Hao’s cool voice cut in before Wu Taichu could answer.

Elder Shan couldn’t see through Lin Hao, but he knew the young man wouldn’t speak without reason. He waited quietly for him to continue.

"I know you’ve all come a long way and worked hard, so I can tolerate certain things. But don’t go too far. You two," Lin Hao said, addressing two others in the crowd, "get lost before I change my mind!"

"Elder Shan, we came here with the best intentions to help them with alchemy, and this is how he treats us! You have to stand up for us," the two men Lin Hao had singled out said indignantly.

"I was going to let you save some face, but since you’re so shameless, then..." Before Lin Hao could finish, he vanished.

A second later, Lin Hao reappeared in the same spot, but now he held two cloth pouches.

He opened the pouches. Seeing the contents, Elder Shan’s face turned ashen with rage.

"You bastards! You’ve completely disgraced the sect!"

Then, with two sharp SLAPS, he struck the two Alchemy Masters so hard they saw stars.

Each pouch contained several stalks of Spirit Grass, and incredibly precious ones at that.

A single stalk would have been an immense treasure, yet these two had secretly taken several.

"If you had only taken one or two, I could have pretended not to know. But you were far too greedy. It’s barely been any time at all and you’re already this audacious. In a few more days, would you try to cart away the entire Pill Cloud Hall?"

"THUD!"

Caught red-handed with the goods, the two Alchemy Masters dropped to their knees.

Over a decade ago, Elder Shan’s own younger brother had taken just one stalk of this same type of Spirit Grass from the Danling Sect. In the end, his memories were extracted and he was cast out. Now, they had taken so much more. If they didn’t beg for mercy immediately, they feared their deaths would be gruesome.

Elder Shan’s face was expressionless. He gripped their heads and, with a sharp twist, broke their necks.

Two Alchemy Masters, dead.

"Sect Leader Wu, Shan Dan has failed in his duty to discipline his men. I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you." Afterward, Elder Shan bowed to Wu Taichu, his face full of apology.

Wu Taichu quickly returned the bow.

To be honest, even he hadn’t known the two were hiding those items on their person. He only understood the reason for it all after Lin Hao produced them.

’So many people, and from such a distance... for Grand Martial Uncle to know they were hiding Spirit Grass on them... his methods are simply inconceivable.’

Even though he had witnessed so many of Lin Hao’s miraculous abilities, Wu Taichu couldn’t help but be amazed.

Meanwhile, the once-haughty Alchemy Masters now felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles, terrified that Lin Hao would point to one of them next.

Before they knew it, the backs of all the Alchemy Masters were soaked with cold sweat.

’This young man is terrifying!’

"You’ve all worked hard," Lin Hao began, a wide smile on his face. "Rest assured, if you help my Heaven-Stepping Sect with alchemy, I certainly won’t treat you poorly."

"Ah, no trouble, no trouble at all."

"It’s our duty, our duty."

The crowd of Alchemy Masters nodded and bowed in response, all traces of their earlier arrogance gone.

"All of you, follow me inside," Lin Hao said, striding toward Pill Cloud Hall before turning back to the group of Alchemy Masters.

"Ah, no need, no need."

"I have other things to attend to."

Right now, all they wanted was to get out of this young man’s sight as quickly as possible. How could they dare to follow him inside?

"Fools! Hurry up and thank Young Master Lin!" Elder Shan, however, rebuked them, his eyes lighting up.

He had a premonition that a great opportunity had arrived for his sect’s Alchemy Masters.

Unfortunately, the terrified Alchemy Masters had been scared out of their wits by Lin Hao, and several had already fled.

"Keep running and I’ll kill you!" Seeing that the rest of the Alchemy Masters were about to scatter, Elder Shan grew anxious. His eyes turned red as he shouted the threat.

The words worked. The remaining few Alchemy Masters followed him into Pill Cloud Hall, trembling.

Inside Pill Cloud Hall, Lin Hao addressed the remaining Alchemy Masters. "Each of you, refine a furnace of pills you specialize in. Feel free to use the Spirit Grass here."

Having witnessed his methods, and with Elder Shan standing by, they had no choice but to comply. In fact, they put in extra effort.

Before long, several furnaces of pills were complete.

Lin Hao walked straight toward one of the Alchemy Masters.

"Not bad. Your hand seals for refining the Dao-Encompassing Pill are very practiced."

"You flatter me, Young Master Lin." The Alchemy Master looked terrified, unsure of what Lin Hao was planning.

He had also taken some Spirit Grass from Pill Cloud Hall. If Lin Hao exposed him, he’d be flayed alive, if not killed outright.

"You can refine the Dao-Encompassing Pill. What about the Harmonization Pill?" Lin Hao asked him.

As soon as he said this, every Alchemy Master’s gaze snapped to Lin Hao. Even Elder Shan was no exception.

The Harmonization Pill was an upgraded version of the Dao-Encompassing Pill, but its Alchemy Hand Seals had long been lost.

Was Lin Hao trying to make things difficult for him, or...

"Watch closely!" After saying these two words, Lin Hao’s hands began to form seals.

The eyes of the Alchemy Masters lit up. The one who had refined the Dao-Encompassing Pill didn’t even dare to blink.

An hour later, a furnace of pills was finished. With lightning-fast reflexes, Elder Shan snatched one into his hand.

After studying it for a long moment, he couldn’t see anything unusual.

The Danling Sect built its reputation on alchemy. Each Alchemy Master had a specialty, and aside from a few exceptions, each one only refined a single type of pill.

This practice offered the greatest protection for the sect’s interests.

Although Elder Shan could refine many types of pills, by a stroke of bad luck, he was unfamiliar with the pills that the Alchemy Masters present specialized in.

"The Harmonization Pill... This is a Harmonization Pill!"

The Alchemy Master who had just refined the Dao-Encompassing Pill stared with wide eyes, his voice trembling.

"What?! A Harmonization Pill!" Hearing this, the other Alchemy Masters swarmed forward like a hive of bees, pushing Lin Hao aside.

Lin Hao simply smiled and said nothing.

"It really is a Harmonization Pill! The fire-control hand seals for this pill have been lost for ages. All that’s left on the continent is its substitute, the Dao-Encompassing Pill. How is this possible?!" an Alchemy Master exclaimed.

"Did you get a clear look at the fire-control hand seals just now? I felt they were similar to the ones for the Dao-Encompassing Pill, just more complex."

The Alchemy Master who specialized in the Dao-Encompassing Pill closed his eyes in contemplation for a moment. Then they snapped open, his face alight with excitement. "I saw them clearly."

What did this mean? It meant that from now on, he could refine the Harmonization Pill, a pill of a higher grade than the Dao-Encompassing Pill!

The Harmonization Pill had been lost for ages! If the sect learned he could refine it, his status would skyrocket to an entirely new level!

And all of this had been given to him by the young man named Lin.

With a sudden realization, the Alchemy Master pushed through the crowd, walked up to Lin Hao, and performed a deep bow. His lips trembled, but he didn’t know what to say.

"It’s a small matter. I told you, if you help the Heaven-Stepping Sect with alchemy, I won’t treat you poorly," Lin Hao said, his tone as light as a passing cloud.

’He just revealed long-lost fire-control hand seals like it was nothing, and he calls it a small matter.’

’And... I was overcome with greed when I saw the Spirit Grass in Pill Cloud Hall. The young master clearly knew, yet he repaid my malice with virtue...’

In that moment, a torrent of emotions—regret, shame, gratitude—welled up within him.

"THUD!"

Finally, the Alchemy Master fell to his knees before Lin Hao and kowtowed three times with resounding thuds.

"Young Master Lin, from this day forward, if you have any command for me, I will walk through fire and water to obey!"

To be taught a lost fire-control hand seal was the greatest possible boon for an Alchemy Master. At this moment, when the other Alchemy Masters saw him kneeling, there was surprisingly no disdain in their eyes, only envy.

They all stared eagerly at Lin Hao, hoping he would teach them as well.

Although they knew it was somewhat unrealistic.

’Lin Hao is so young. How could he possibly know so many lost fire-control hand seals?’

But soon, they would learn that they were wrong—outrageously wrong.

「Three hours later...」

The Alchemy Masters who had followed him into Pill Cloud Hall now each held several pills they had only ever read about in ancient texts but had never seen before.

And they had refined these pills with their own hands.

For a moment, they felt as if they were in a dream.

After a long silence, the Alchemy Masters finally came to their senses. They hurriedly knelt, bowing to Lin Hao in unison.

The only reason they had succeeded in refining these pills was because of Lin Hao’s guidance.

"Young Master Lin, your grace is like a second life to us! Please accept our three bows."

The Alchemy Masters, their faces filled with excitement, performed the grand ritual of kowtowing to Lin Hao with exceptionally devout reverence.

If word of this scene were to get out, it would surely shock the world!

The high and mighty Alchemy Masters of the Danling Sect were actually performing a grand kowtow to a young man—an honor that not even the Sect Leader of the Danling Sect or the Monarch of the Cangnan Empire would receive!

"Everyone, this is what you have earned," Lin Hao said, still with that same light, unconcerned expression.

But then, his tone shifted. His entire presence changed, becoming as sharp and exposed as a newly drawn blade.