Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Chen Tianyu hadn’t held out much hope, so when Lin Hao suddenly spoke, he was overjoyed and immediately agreed.

It wasn’t uncommon for Martial Artists to join the army and undergo life-and-death trials to improve their cultivation.

Ninety-Five had been sent by the Wenren family to temper himself in the army, which was how he had forged his friendship with Chen Tianyu.

Although they were only there for training, Martial Artists wouldn’t stay in the army for long. But on a rapidly changing battlefield, a single Martial Artist could potentially turn the tide of a battle.

Having witnessed Lin Hao’s capabilities, Chen Tianyu naturally hoped that Lin Hao would come train in his army.

He might be a soldier, but he was by no means unintelligent. The moment he agreed, he thought it over and realized Lin Hao had just played him.

"You... you brat!" Chen Tianyu said with a wry smile.

A broad smile spread across Lin Hao’s young face, a complete contrast to his demeanor moments ago.

In truth, however, Lin Hao’s heart was pounding with anxiety.

’After all, this is my first time meeting Chen Tianyu. If this goes wrong, I could end up offending the entire Chen family.’

Lin Hao was borrowing their influence.

Behind Chen Tianyu stood the Chen family, one of the four great families of the Cangnan Empire.

The Chen family controlled nearly half of the Cangnan Empire’s military forces and was immensely powerful.

Once he established a connection with the Chen family, any other power would have to think twice before moving against the Lin family.

"Since you’ve called me Brother Chen, I’ll acknowledge you as my little brother! If anyone dares to touch the Lin family, I will personally lead my army to raze their homes to the ground!" Chen Tianyu declared from the martial arts stage, his killing intent flaring.

A murderous aura erupted from him, soaring into the sky.

He was actually going to protect the Lin family!

The onlookers were baffled at first, but then it dawned on them.

It was all because Lin Hao’s performance had been simply too astonishing.

To go from the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm to the Ninth Layer in a single month... this was a true martial arts prodigy.

Moreover, with his cultivation at the Ninth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, he had completely dominated the stage, almost single-handedly defeating powerful enemies and achieving a total victory.

A prodigy like him, given enough time, would surely reach the Spirit Transformation Realm, or perhaps an even higher level.

’Lin Hao is worth the investment!’

With Chen Tianyu vowing to protect the Lin family, the crisis facing the Lin family of War Dragon City was now resolved.

Lin Hao let out a sigh of relief and glanced back, giving Lin Tianxiao and the others a wink.

"Brother Chen," Lin Tianxiao chimed in at the perfect moment, lightening the mood with a single sentence. "Brother Ninety-Five and I are on brotherly terms, and you’re his brother. But now you’ve become brothers with Hao’er... this web of relationships has me completely confused."

"We’ll just stick to our own terms of address," Lin Hao said with a sly grin.

"Yes, yes, exactly. We’ll stick to our own terms," Chen Tianyu agreed, laughing heartily.

Below the stage, the thirty-six men who had come with Chen Tianyu exchanged glances. ’We never thought Captain Chen could smile.’

"Brother Chen, since you’re here recruiting soldiers, I can actually recommend someone," Lin Hao spoke up again.

"Oh?" Chen Tianyu responded, asking who it was.

Lin Hao’s gaze shifted to the crowd below the stage.

Chen Tianyu followed his gaze and saw Shenshan, who was being shielded by others in the crowd.

"Brother Lin! It’s me, Shenshan!"

Seeing Lin Hao look his way, Shenshan waved excitedly.

Chen Tianyu’s eyes narrowed. He stared at Lin Hao, a sense of shock rising within him.

’Just a moment ago, I was wondering what Lin Hao would have done if I’d gotten angry after realizing his scheme.’

’Now I know.’

’Lin Hao had a backup plan ready the entire time.’

He had just heard the stories, too. Shenshan was only able to stand on the stage today because Lin Hao had given him a Cultivation Technique and martial arts skills.

Having spent years in the army, Chen Tianyu had his own methods for judging character.

A person like Shenshan was simple-minded and clear-cut about his loyalties and grudges. He had received a great favor from Lin Hao and would remember it for the rest of his life.

With just one word from Lin Hao, Shenshan would likely do anything for him.

’And my own reaction just now undoubtedly showed Lin Hao how much I value someone like Shenshan.’

’If I had truly lost my temper, I probably wouldn’t have been able to recruit Shenshan at all.’

’Lin Hao’s intelligence is terrifying!’

"True monster!" Finally, looking at Lin Hao, Chen Tianyu uttered these two words.

Lin Hao nodded with feigned seriousness. "Brother Chen has a sharp eye. Once Shenshan joins the army, he’ll absolutely be a prodigy-level talent."

Faced with Lin Hao playing dumb, Chen Tianyu could do nothing but offer another wry smile.

With the feud between the Lin and Wu families on the stage concluded, Lin Tianxiao had many matters to attend to. He bid Chen Tianyu farewell, while Lin Hao remained behind to keep him company.

Lin Tian and Lin Yuan chose to stay as well.

Although Lin Hao was younger than them, he stood like a towering monument in their eyes.

Everything that had just transpired had shaken them to their core.

On the martial arts stage, Chen Tianyu announced the start of the selection process, adding, "Whoever joins the Crimson Flame Army, his family becomes my family. If anyone dares to harm my family, I will dig up their ancestral graves!"

BOOM!

The moment Chen Tianyu’s words fell, the atmosphere of the entire venue exploded with excitement.

Joining the Crimson Flame Army meant that even the family of an ordinary soldier would benefit and no longer be bullied.

The number of people signing up surged in an instant.

Lin Tian and Lin Yuan exchanged a look, then turned to Lin Hao for his approval. "Fifth Brother, we want to join the Crimson Flame Army, too."

Lin Hao was an absolute prodigy. Lin Tian and Lin Yuan, on the other hand, were only at the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm and possessed ordinary constitutions. They wanted to do something for the family, and joining the army seemed like their best option.

Lin Hao considered it for a moment before agreeing.

Lin Hao had originally made other arrangements for them, but now, it seemed that entering the army for a period of tempering was also an excellent choice.

Tempering their willpower would be of great benefit to their future cultivation, allowing them to achieve twice the results with half the effort.

Lin Tian and Lin Yuan went off to register, overjoyed. Meanwhile, Shenshan came up to the viewing stand, looking Lin Hao up and down.

"Brother Lin, you’re alive! This is great! I couldn’t find you before. I tried to get into the Lin family residence, but they wouldn’t let me in. So then I thought I’d go learn some skills. Once I was good enough, I’d be able to get into the Lin family to find you. I finally made it to that... what was it... Suo Demon Sect, and they told me I wasn’t suited for cultivation!"

Shenshan looked at Lin Hao, grinning without a care in the world.

His wish was simple: learn martial arts so he could find Lin Hao.

"Why were you so determined to find him?" Chen Tianyu asked from the side.

Shenshan scratched his head and answered with an honest laugh, "Brother Lin was good to me. He never looked down on me. He gave me my name and secretly taught me martial arts. Just now, if those guys hadn’t held me back, I definitely would’ve come up to help when they were bullying you. I’m sorry, Brother Lin."

"Good brother!" Lin Hao reached out to clap Shenshan’s shoulder but found the man was a full head taller than him. He ended up just thumping him on the chest instead.

Shenshan, true to his name, was indeed built like a small mountain.

"If you want to help him, then come with me." ’Shenshan has a pure and loyal heart. With the right training, he’s sure to become a formidable general.’

The more Chen Tianyu looked at him, the more he liked what he saw, so he made the offer.

But Shenshan shook his head so hard it was a blur. "No! I want to follow Brother Lin. If anyone dares bully him, I’ll beat them up!"

Chen Tianyu couldn’t help but smile, then turned to Lin Hao for help.

"This is Brother Chen. You can go with him," Lin Hao said. "His abilities are far greater than mine. I’ll come find you after some time has passed."

"Okay!" This time, Shenshan agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

"Then go and register," Lin Hao said.

But Chen Tianyu shook his head. "That’s not necessary. He can just stay by my side."

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

The recruitment process involved a series of tests, the first of which was mounted archery.

Shenshan had never even ridden a horse before. He would be eliminated in the first round.

"Brother Lin, why don’t you go up and give them a demonstration?" Chen Tianyu asked suddenly as the targets were being set up.

Even though Lin Hao wasn’t joining the army right now, Chen Tianyu couldn’t suppress his curiosity. He desperately wanted to see what Lin Hao was truly capable of.

"Well..." Lin Hao looked hesitant.

Just then, Lin Tian and Lin Yuan returned from signing up. Hearing Chen Tianyu’s suggestion, their faces lit up with excitement and anticipation. "Go on, Fifth Brother!"

In their minds, Lin Hao was omnipotent. A simple test of mounted archery would be no challenge for him.

"Brother Chen, it’s not that I don’t want to go, but those mounts are too precious." The mounts for the test were all prized Ferghana horses brought by Chen Tianyu.

When Lin Hao had returned from the Heaven-Stepping Sect, Wu Taichu had prepared a magnificent steed for him. But the moment Lin Hao mounted the horse, he crushed it to death with his weight.

Although he had just entered the Blood Coagulation Realm Tenth Layer, after achieving the state of Refining Essence into Hair, Lin Hao’s body had become as heavy as a mountain. An ordinary horse couldn’t possibly bear his weight.

These Ferghana horses were one in a million. If anything happened to one, Lin Hao would feel terrible.

However, Chen Tianyu completely misunderstood him. "They are precious, but you are more than worthy of riding one!"

"O-Okay, then." Rubbing his nose, Lin Hao finally relented.

’What other excuse could I possibly give?’

’I can’t just say my body is too heavy for them to carry, can I?’

’That would be way too arrogant!’

’I’ll just have to put in some effort and avoid letting my full weight touch its body.’ With his mind made up, Lin Hao relaxed.

The test of mounted archery involved drawing a bow while riding a galloping steed.

Seeing that Lin Hao was going to give it a try, a soldier brought him a warhorse and handed him a bow and arrows.

Lin Hao thanked the soldier and vaulted onto the horse.

The moment his legs crossed the saddle, the Ferghana horse’s knees buckled, and it nearly collapsed under the weight.

Lin Hao hastily lightened his body, squeezed the horse’s flanks with his legs, and simultaneously drew his bow, nocking an arrow.

SWOOSH!

Without even looking, he loosed the arrow. It tore through the air and struck the dead center of the target.

From the stage, Chen Tianyu shot to his feet, a look of utter shock on his face.

"Brother Tianyu, what’s wrong?" Ninety-Five asked from the side, confused.

He knew the capabilities of the soldiers from the Blood Camp. Lin Hao’s shot just now was merely up to standard; even an ordinary soldier from the Crimson Flame Army could do it.

He didn’t understand why Chen Tianyu was reacting this way.

Chen Tianyu spoke only eight words: "Body like a mountain, it crushed the warhorse!"

Ninety-Five shot to his feet as well.

Chen Tianyu continued, "The instant Brother Lin mounted the warhorse, its knees buckled. It obviously couldn’t bear his weight. Look—his body isn’t touching the saddle. He’s clearly controlling his own weight."

Now that he pointed it out, Ninety-Five saw it too and was utterly shocked.

When Lin Hao returned, the two men just stared at him in silence.

Then, they suddenly reached out. Flanking him on his left and right, they grabbed his arms and tried to lift him.

Lin Hao didn’t budge an inch.

They exchanged a look of pure horror.

Chen Tianyu, in particular, was stunned. As a scion of the Chen family, he had seen countless heroes and geniuses, including many who came to train in his army. But he had never met anyone as terrifying as Lin Hao.

Lin Hao could crush countless other geniuses with his physical strength alone. It was simply unheard of!