Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

"But I don’t want anyone besides us to know about what happened today. If word gets out, no matter who tries to protect you, I can slaughter your entire clan!"

Lin Hao’s cultivation was only at the Blood Coagulation Realm, so for him to say such a thing was utterly arrogant.

But after witnessing Lin Hao’s methods, the crowd of Alchemy Masters didn’t doubt the truth of his words in the slightest. This young man was far too mysterious; they couldn’t see through him.

Besides, long-lost pills had reappeared in the world. Even without Lin Hao’s warning, they understood the stakes.

At this moment, they felt nothing but reverence for Lin Hao. As long as they weren’t fools, none of them would do something as suicidal as digging their own graves.

"Young Master Lin, rest assured! We swear a blood oath that we will never expose your identity!" the crowd of Alchemy Masters said, their expressions solemn. They used their Lifebound True Blood to draw ancient runes, making the continent’s highest vow.

"You may all go back and rest," Lin Hao said with a nod.

The group of Alchemy Masters respectfully left behind the pills they had just refined. They bowed, took three steps back, and only then turned to leave.

Just as they reached the door, they heard the voice of the Sect Elder, Master Shan Dan, pleading with Lin Hao, "Teach me..."

The Alchemy Masters all stiffened before quickly departing.

They had to leave the elder some face, didn’t they?

Master Shan Dan had been holding back for far, far too long.

One by one, long-lost hand seals had appeared from Lin Hao’s hands, but Master Shan Dan could only watch helplessly. Seeing the others leave, each one having gained so much, felt like a hundred claws scratching at his heart.

"Uh, Master Shan Dan, what do you want me to teach you?" Lin Hao asked, stunned.

Master Shan Dan was on the verge of tears. "Anything you want. I’ll learn anything you teach me."

All the Alchemy Masters under him had benefited from Lin Hao, yet he’d gotten nothing. How could he possibly accept that?

Lin Hao didn’t answer, instead turning his gaze to Wu Kui, who was standing to the side.

Wu Kui had a dazed expression, his hands moving nonstop as he practiced the motions. Beads of sweat were actually rolling down his forehead.

Master Shan Dan followed his gaze and fell silent.

It was obvious now. When Lin Hao taught the Alchemy Masters the hand seals, it was a move that killed two birds with one stone. The other objective was to allow this kid, Wu Kui, to learn those hand seals.

For a moment, Master Shan Dan’s gaze toward Wu Kui was filled with envy.

A thought even rose in his heart: ’If only I had a senior brother like that.’

A grandmaster of the Alchemy Dao was actually envious of an unknown nobody. If anyone else knew, they would definitely think Master Shan Dan was just joking.

In truth, Master Shan Dan was genuinely envious.

At this very moment, he was even thinking that if Lin Hao would return with him to the Danling Sect, he would even dare to overthrow the Danling Sect’s current Sect Leader.

Unfortunately, he also knew that Lin Hao was destined to never belong to the Danling Sect. For now, the only thing to do was to build a good relationship with the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

He was now rejoicing that he had chosen the Heaven-Stepping Sect over the Zhengyang Sect earlier.

Inside Pill Cloud Hall, both Wu Taichu and Master Shan Dan held their breath, waiting for Wu Kui.

To be honest, Wu Taichu had been completely stunned earlier.

He knew Lin Hao could perform Alchemy, but he had no idea Lin Hao possessed such divinely unpredictable methods. In the blink of an eye, he had made the Alchemy Masters of the Danling Sect submit, their attitude toward him becoming utterly reverent.

Only after the crowd of Alchemy Masters left did Wu Taichu snap out of it, his excitement beyond measure.

’Grand-Uncle-Master is a true miracle worker! With him here, anything is possible!’

When Lin Hao’s gaze fell upon Wu Kui, Wu Taichu finally understood Lin Hao’s meticulous planning. As the Sect Leader, Wu Taichu was actually more excited than anyone, his fists clenched tight as he hoped Wu Kui could comprehend those hand seals.

They waited for over an hour.

"Phew..."

Finally, Wu Kui let out a breath, opened his eyes, and plopped down onto the floor.

His entire body was soaked with sweat, but his face was filled with excitement. It was clear his gains had been enormous.

"How did it go?" Wu Taichu asked with concern.

"I’ve got most of it. Thank you, Senior Brother," Wu Kui replied.

Lin Hao smiled too.

Then, he turned to Master Shan Dan and said, "What do you think of him?"

He was referring to Wu Kui.

"His comprehension is good. He has the makings of an Alchemy Master," Master Shan Dan replied.

This wasn’t just to flatter Lin Hao. To have grasped those hand seals so thoroughly in such a short time, Wu Kui truly had an affinity for Alchemy.

A corner of Lin Hao’s mouth lifted. "Then I’ll have to trouble Master Shan Dan to guide him for a while."

Master Shan Dan froze, and then the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

He had stayed behind to get more pill formulas and Alchemy Hand Seals from Lin Hao. But now Lin Hao was asking him to teach Wu Kui. Wasn’t this just using him as free labor?

"I’m very busy and don’t have time to manage these things. Once he has achieved something, I won’t treat you unfairly," Lin Hao finally said.

Gritting his teeth, Master Shan Dan nodded in agreement.

He had already seen what "not being treated unfairly" by Lin Hao meant. He believed that what Lin Hao would give him in the end would far exceed his own contribution.

"I agree. But you see, there are still quite a few Alchemy Masters... couldn’t you..." Master Shan Dan was still thinking about getting more benefits from Lin Hao.

He was even regretting it now. When those Alchemy Masters had fled, why hadn’t he been more assertive and dragged them back?

It was such a golden opportunity. Never mind the other Alchemy Masters; even Master Shan Dan was kicking himself over it.

"We’ll talk about it later," Lin Hao replied nonchalantly.

Bitterness filled Master Shan Dan’s heart.

Lin Hao, however, took the pills the Alchemy Masters had left and gave them to Wu Taichu. "Master, these few Harmonization Pills should help you and Elder Gu improve your cultivation. As for the rest, give these to the other two elders, and select some qualified disciples within the sect to consume the others."

Lin Hao distributed the pills the Alchemy Masters had just refined.

An elder from the Zhengyang Sect possessed a Soul Gathering Realm cultivation, while the cultivation of the people in the Heaven-Stepping Sect was far too low.

At the side, Master Shan Dan’s eyes suddenly widened.

He had thought Lin Hao taught the Alchemy Masters Alchemy to kill two birds with one stone, but now it seemed it was far more than that.

Lin Hao must have calculated it all in advance, knowing what kind of pills those Alchemy Masters would be refining.

And these pills were exactly what the Heaven-Stepping Sect needed right now.

The moment this thought occurred to him, Master Shan Dan broke out in a cold sweat. Lin Hao was simply too terrifying.

’It’s a good thing I didn’t choose to become his enemy, or I wouldn’t even know how I died.’

Sure enough, Lin Hao’s next words confirmed his suspicion.

"Master Shan Dan, I’ll have to trouble you. Starting tomorrow, have those Alchemy Masters focus on refining the pills I just taught them how to make."

At this, Wu Taichu also realized what was happening, his gaze toward Lin Hao filled with shock.

’Every one of Grand-Uncle-Master’s seemingly simple actions has a profound meaning. This is too terrifying!’

However, Wu Taichu’s heart was immediately filled with excitement.

’We may not have a secret realm, but with Grand-Uncle-Master here, the sect will welcome a new era of vigorous development!’

"Master, select a batch of disciples. You must ensure the pills can be put to their greatest use. After that, come find me at the Scripture Pavilion." Unconsciously, Lin Hao had already fallen into the role.

At this moment, he seemed to have become the true decision-maker of the Heaven-Stepping Sect, yet Wu Taichu, the actual Sect Leader, didn’t have the slightest complaint.

"Alright, I’ll go arrange it right away!" Wu Taichu agreed happily and turned to leave.

A dignified Sect Leader was being ordered around by Lin Hao, not only without complaint, but with great enthusiasm.

"Junior Brother Wu, study well with the Master. I probably won’t be coming here for a while," Lin Hao said finally to Wu Kui.

"Understood. Thank you, Senior Brother. Farewell," Wu Kui said, bowing respectfully as he watched Lin Hao depart.

After Lin Hao’s figure disappeared, Wu Kui turned to Master Shan Dan with a calm expression and said, "Master, let’s begin."

Wu Kui was now able to treat Master Shan Dan with a completely level head. And after experiencing so much, he also understood the unimaginable difficulties the sect was currently facing, and had matured.

A thought appeared in Master Shan Dan’s mind: ’With Lin Hao here, the Heaven-Stepping Sect is destined to rise. No one can stop its advance.’ He then nodded solemnly.

The Heaven-Stepping Sect was currently at a low point. What he needed to do was build a closer relationship with them at all costs, and Wu Kui was the perfect entry point.

In the Southern Border Prefecture, countless people would kowtow until their heads bled for a chance to study under Master Shan Dan. Yet now, Master Shan Dan was treating Wu Kui as an equal and prepared to teach him everything he knew.

All of this was because of one person.

Lin Hao.

At this time, Lin Hao was heading toward the Scripture Pavilion, covering several meters with every step.

Along the way, many disciples saw Lin Hao. Although they hesitated, they all respectfully called out, "Eldest Brother."

Lin Hao smiled and returned the greeting, not acting high and mighty or arrogant.

’Actually, him being the Eldest Brother isn’t so bad. At least he’s not a bully.’

As he walked, this thought flashed through the minds of many disciples.

Lin Hao eventually used the wooden token to enter the Scripture Pavilion again.

As soon as he entered, Lin Hao encountered an interesting scene. A large group of disciples had gathered on the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion, including quite a few who had awakened their bloodlines and reached the fifth or Sixth Layer of cultivation.

At first, Lin Hao didn’t know what they were trying to do.

But when he took out the "General Compendium of Martial Skills," he immediately understood.

"No snatching! I said, first come, first served! I’ve been waiting for five hours. I should be first!"

"Get lost! I’ve waited six hours, so it should be me!"

"I came here yesterday! It’s mine!"

"I put in a request to borrow it three days ago!"

The disciples’ claims grew more and more absurd as they scrambled to snatch the "General Compendium of Martial Skills," a book that normally no one would give a second glance.

Lin Hao had used it to defeat Qin Tianlong, something many disciples had witnessed with their own eyes. Now, in their hearts, the "General Compendium of Martial Skills" was more alluring than any Yellow-level Martial Skill.

Standing on the stairs, Lin Hao saw this scene and shook his head with a smile. To be honest, he hadn’t expected this outcome.

"I hope a single book doesn’t lead to a bloodbath," Lin Hao murmured. Just as he was about to head to the second floor, he caught sight of an outer sect disciple standing quietly to the side, reading a martial skill manual with intense focus.

Lin Hao recognized him.

This outer sect disciple was named Yang Peng. The other day, Lin Hao had even recommended a Body Technique martial skill to him called "Golden Roc Soaring."

Seeing the martial skill that Yang Peng had chosen now, Lin Hao couldn’t help but feel a flicker of interest in him.

Coming back down the stairs, Lin Hao stood behind him.