Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

In a corner of the storage spirit ring, the Demon Pill of the Celestial Demon Pig shimmered with an iridescent light.

Lin Hao’s eyes lit up as he remembered the withered secret realm.

He had explored that secret realm before. In the front section, a vast expanse of trees had withered, and the culprit was the Nine Dragon Flower.

From this, Lin Hao deduced that the place had originally been a field of medicinal herbs.

But the jungle behind it was lush and green, and he found himself unable to take even a single step into it.

One needed to be at the Ninth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm to enter.

And now, Lin Hao’s cultivation had reached the Ninth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm!

It was the perfect time to explore that secret realm.

The Flowing Light Divine Flame and the Flowing Light Divine Stone were heaven-defying treasures. Lin Hao had to get them!

Moreover, Lin Hao had a strange feeling that the secret realm held a great secret.

"You stay here and study this carefully. I have to leave for three to five days," Lin Hao finally said to Wu Kui, his face alight with excitement.

Wu Kui was startled and very nervous. "Senior Brother, where are you going?"

"Just somewhere within the sect. Don’t worry." As Lin Hao said this, he was already pushing the door open and walking out.

Wu Kui wanted to follow, but then he had a second thought. ’Even figures like Qin Tianlong and the Danling Sect elder fell at Lin Hao’s hands. There’s probably no one in the sect who would dare to touch him now.’

So, he calmed down and focused on recalling the steps for the Nine Dragon God Refining Pill.

As for Lin Hao, after leaving the Pill Cloud Hall, he didn’t head for the secret realm. Instead, he went to another place.

The Divine Weapon Hall!

During his last trip into the secret realm, the exceptionally tough hide of the Celestial Demon Pig had left a deep impression on him. This time, Lin Hao was determined to be fully prepared before taking action.

The Divine Weapon Hall was the place where the Heaven-Stepping Sect refined its weapons, but unfortunately, it had long since become a shadow of its former self.

Upon entering, Lin Hao casually browsed around.

Lin Hao’s status in the Heaven-Stepping Sect was now known to all, so the people in the Divine Weapon Hall naturally recognized him.

However, upon seeing Lin Hao, no one greeted him, except for one disciple with a face covered in soot who was vigorously working the bellows.

In order to restore the Divine Weapon Hall to its former glory, Wu Taichu had given them complete freedom, allowing them to focus solely on refining weapons and ignore everything else.

The consequence of this was that they failed to produce any Divine Soldiers, but they did succeed in refining their tempers, which grew ever larger.

"Even if you are the Chief Disciple, I’d advise you not to touch the things on the table." Someone in the Divine Weapon Hall was displeased upon seeing Lin Hao pick up and put down the weapons on the central table as if no one else was around, his brow furrowing ever more tightly.

Lin Hao looked up, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Do you know what the Divine Weapon Hall is? This is a place for refining weapons. We bear a great responsibility. If you’re here to seek attention, you’ve come to the wrong place," said the young man, his dead-fish eyes full of disdain.

Lin Hao had only come here to find a decent weapon or two, but in their eyes, he was just seeking attention. He couldn’t help but laugh, an exasperated smile on his face.

"You bear a great responsibility? Then tell me, what great responsibility is that?" Anger flared within Lin Hao.

He had discovered that all the weapons on the table had been worked on. He wouldn’t have minded if there were results to show for it, but the key issue was that these "refined" weapons were now worse than they were before.

After searching for so long, all he wanted was to find one or two weapons that hadn’t been touched, but he just couldn’t find a single one.

"The Suo Demon Sect is watching us like a tiger stalking its prey. The Sect Leader ordered us to refine weapons with all our might, naturally to defend against foreign enemies!" the man with the dead-fish eyes said proudly.

Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed. He picked up a large broadsword and said in a heavy voice, "And you plan to rely on these weapons?"

"Put it down! Put it down right now! That’s a semi-finished product we used countless materials to refine! What do you think you’re doing?" the man with the dead-fish eyes roared.

If he hadn’t said anything, it would have been fine. But his words only made Lin Hao even more furious.

’They used countless materials to create completely unusable weapons, and yet they’re so smug about it.’

"A semi-finished product? You mean this is a semi-finished Tier One Spiritual Artifact?" Lin Hao sneered.

The man with the dead-fish eyes grinned smugly. "Of course! This is our Manager’s masterpiece!"

As he spoke, he pointed to a portly, middle-aged man standing nearby.

Lin Hao looked at the middle-aged man, and his figure blurred.

A moment later, a short blade appeared in Lin Hao’s hand.

The middle-aged man was startled and instinctively reached for his waist.

The short blade in Lin Hao’s hand was clearly the one the man used daily to cut meat and peel fruit.

The position of Manager of the Divine Weapon Hall, like that of the Pill Cloud Hall, was a very lucrative one.

And previously, the Manager of the Pill Cloud Hall had been Wu Kui.

Unlike Wu Kui, as long as your "sincerity" was sufficient, the Manager of the Divine Weapon Hall would always produce the weapon you desired.

With so many opportunities for fine food and drink, it was only natural for this Manager to carry a small knife with him.

And this wasn’t a blade that could cut through iron like mud; it was just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill short blade.

But what happened next stunned everyone in the Divine Weapon Hall.

Lin Hao’s hand seemed to casually swipe across the short blade. A dazzling light flared from it for a moment before it returned to its simple, unadorned state.

Lin Hao looked around at the people in the Divine Weapon Hall.

After a brief moment of shock, their faces all showed disdain.

Only Blackhead, who had been diligently working the bellows, stared with wide, bright eyes.

"Hey, little one. Come here," Lin Hao beckoned.

As Lin Hao’s cultivation soared, his height had far surpassed that of his peers, making Blackhead seem quite petite in his eyes.

Hearing this form of address, Blackhead wrinkled their nose, clearly displeased.

Nevertheless, he did as he was told and walked over to Lin Hao.

"Use this blade to chop it."

Lin Hao handed over the short blade while holding out the broadsword that had been "refined" by the Divine Weapon Hall’s Manager.

The Manager of the Divine Weapon Hall hadn’t spoken a word. He remained silent now, the contempt in his eyes completely undisguised.

"Haha! You’re so naive. If that little knife can cut through this broadsword, I’ll rip my own head off and let you kick it like a—"

It was the man with the dead-fish eyes speaking again.

But before he could finish his sentence, there was a sharp TING! The "refined" broadsword snapped in two.

Everyone was utterly dumbfounded.

"Impossible! What kind of Demon Technique did you use?" the man with the dead-fish eyes exclaimed, snapping back to his senses with a look of disbelief.

"Your head isn’t even worthy of being kicked like a ball. When I return, if there isn’t a single decent weapon in this Divine Weapon Hall, you can all get the hell out!"

Without offering any explanation, Lin Hao took the short blade back from Blackhead, grabbed some scrap materials left over from their weapon refining, and left directly.

"Pah! He’s just the Chief Disciple. Does he think he runs the sect? Telling us to get out... what nerve!" Seeing Lin Hao leave, the man with the dead-fish eyes spat heavily on the ground.

"Shut up!"

The Manager of the Divine Weapon Hall, however, had a puzzled expression. After his roar, he fell into deep thought.

A short while later, he looked up, a flash of shock in his eyes that vanished as quickly as it appeared. He muttered to himself, ’That skill just now... why did it look so much like the "Spirit Transformation Hand" that girl mentioned? Little la... where did that little lass go?’

"Ah, she was just here. She must have seen that Lin Hao is the Chief Disciple and decided to latch onto someone powerful! That girl is getting more and more out of hand. When she gets back, I’ll punish her by making her work the bellows for three days and three nights!" the man with the dead-fish eyes said viciously.

"Hey, wait up!" Outside the Divine Weapon Hall, Lin Hao had already walked a good distance when a panting voice suddenly called out from behind him.

Turning around, Lin Hao saw Blackhead from the Divine Weapon Hall.

"Little one, were you looking for me?" Lin Hao turned and asked with a smile.

This little one was petite, and though their face was grimy, their eyes were lively and quite endearing.

Seeing them approach, Lin Hao reached out and ruffled their large felt hat.

It was then that Lin Hao noticed something interesting: Blackhead’s face was pitch-black with soot, but their large felt hat was perfectly clean.

"I want to be your apprentice," Blackhead said in a crisp, clear voice, taking a step back to get out from under Lin Hao’s hand.

Lin Hao froze, not just because of the words, but because the voice was clearly that of a woman.

By reflex, Lin Hao’s gaze drifted to her chest.

Looking closely, he saw a slight curve to her chest, and she had no Adam’s apple.

"You..."

"Pervert!" Blackhead hugged her arms to her chest and retreated several steps.

Lin Hao was mortified.

"Uh... I’m sorry." After apologizing, Lin Hao turned as if to flee.

"You know the ’Spirit Transformation Hand’. I want to be your apprentice," Blackhead’s words stopped Lin Hao in his tracks.

"You know of the ’Spirit Transformation Hand’?" Lin Hao was surprised.

The so-called Spirit Transformation Hand was a technique used by Artifact Refiners to briefly turn the mundane into the miraculous.

Lin Hao never would have imagined that a little girl would know about the Spirit Transformation Hand.

"I saw my grandfather use it before, but unfortunately, I never got to learn it." The little girl’s tone suddenly became somber.

Lin Hao was inwardly shocked. ’An Artifact Refiner who can use the Spirit Transformation Hand would have to be highly skilled.’

If he could take her under his wing, it would be a huge asset to the sect.

"Where is your grandfather?" Lin Hao asked.

"He... he’s dead. Master, please teach me the Artifact Refining Skill! I want to avenge my grandfather." The little girl suddenly dropped to her knees, her voice filled with sorrow. Hatred now swirled in her once-bright eyes.

Lin Hao quickly helped her up.

With her relative gone, the little girl was all alone and helpless. For some reason, Lin Hao was reminded of Yan’Er.

What he had seen in the Divine Weapon Hall had disappointed him, and he just so happened to have plans to train an Artifact Refiner. After a moment of thought, Lin Hao asked, "How much do you know about the Artifact Refining Skill?"

"I don’t know anything." It would have been better if Lin Hao hadn’t asked. The moment he did, tears began to stream down the girl’s face.

’This girl is probably about the same age as Yan’Er. Her grandfather was an Artifact Refiner, so she must have lived like a princess before. Back then, so carefree, why would she have ever thought to learn the Artifact Refining Skill?’

’By bringing it up, I’ve just made her feel worse.’

Realizing this, Lin Hao comforted her, "It’s alright. I can teach you."

"Really?" A glimmer of hope, as bright as the stars, instantly appeared in the little girl’s eyes.

"Mhm. I have a basic Artifact Refining Skill here. You can start by learning this." After speaking, Lin Hao recited the entire text of an Artifact Refining Skill.

After reciting it once, Lin Hao was about to start over for a second time when he heard the girl say in her crisp voice, "Master, I’ve memorized it."

Memorized after just one listen? Lin Hao was shocked, but his shock quickly turned to joy. He knew he had struck gold.

"Girl, what’s your name?"

The little girl replied, "Master, this disciple’s name is... Lian Lanxin."

Hearing this surname, Lin Hao was startled.