Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Commander Zhang was more than just a city commander; he had another identity.

Seeing Lin Hao swagger into the city, the people around all shook their heads.

"This is Red Beauty City. He’ll probably never walk out of here alive. You know, that Commander Zhang is the City Lord’s brother-in-law."

"The City Lord’s Mansion is full of extraordinary experts. For someone at the Blood Coagulation Realm, he’s just courting death. This isn’t War Dragon City."

Watching Lin Hao’s retreating back, some felt pity, while others reveled in his misfortune.

Lin Hao cultivated an Emperor Art, so his Sixth Sense was far beyond that of an ordinary person. He heard every single word they said.

He frowned slightly, then his brow smoothed out as he continued walking forward.

Before long, Lin Hao noticed the bustling street ahead had suddenly fallen silent, and pedestrians were scattering to the sides.

Then, he saw a large, menacing group of people heading his way.

He actually recognized the person in the lead.

Chu Sheng.

"Lin Hao, it really is you!" Upon seeing Lin Hao, hatred surged in Chu Sheng’s eyes.

It was because of Lin Hao that he had suffered endless humiliation at the Heaven-Stepping Sect before being kicked out.

Left with no choice, he had joined the Suo Demon Sect.

Fortunately, he had used his cunning to quickly establish himself in the Suo Demon Sect.

Now, seeing Lin Hao, new and old hatreds came rushing back to him all at once.

"You knew Red Beauty City was my territory, and you still dared to come! You’ve got guts!" Chu Sheng spat venomously.

Lin Hao smiled and slapped his forehead. "If I hadn’t seen you, I’d have completely forgotten a character like you even existed. Perfect timing. Since we’re old acquaintances, how about you spare a few jars of Laughing Red Dust?"

Lin Hao acted as if he were completely oblivious to Chu Sheng’s hostile intentions, trying to cozy up to him.

Chu Sheng’s mouth twitched, his expression turning vicious.

Lin Hao always managed to infuriate him with just a single, casual sentence.

"Ask for wine! Do you have any idea that the man you killed at the city gate was my uncle?! Today, I’m going to twist your head off and turn it into a wine cup!" Chu Sheng was on the verge of a hysterical rage.

"All of you, go! Whoever tortures this bastard the most viciously today gets all the Laughing Red Dust they can drink, and I’ll even throw in beautiful women to keep you company!"

The men behind Chu Sheng were all experts, and they shared one common trait: a love for good wine.

It was through Laughing Red Dust that the City Lord’s Mansion had recruited countless masters.

Although they were guest elders of the City Lord’s Mansion, they were only entitled to one jar of a supreme vintage like Laughing Red Dust per month.

Now, Chu Sheng was promising ten jars. It was an incredibly generous offer.

In an instant, everyone’s gaze fixed on Lin Hao, as if they could see fine wine and beautiful women beckoning to them.

Lin Hao was completely unafraid. He crooked his finger. "One on one, or all at once?"

There were about ten men behind Chu Sheng. Lin Hao’s Spiritual Sense detected no Soul Gathering Realm experts among them, so he was no longer afraid.

While Elemental Realm experts were still not someone he could contend with, he possessed the Ghostly Divine Step. Escaping wouldn’t be difficult.

Besides... Lin Hao shot a furtive glance at Chu Sheng, a smirk playing on his lips.

From a distance, the sound of sharp intakes of breath could be heard from the crowd of onlookers.

Lin Hao was just too damn arrogant.

To face ten Elemental Realm experts with only a Blood Coagulation Realm cultivation and still be able to jest so casually... that audacity alone was intimidating.

"Boy, don’t be so arrogant! I’ll deal with you!"

A short old man, instantly enraged, lunged straight for Lin Hao.

He was incredibly fast. With a single movement, he was right in front of Lin Hao, leaving an afterimage lingering behind him.

A claw-like hand shot toward Lin Hao’s right leg, and the very air seemed to freeze. The surrounding people shivered from the sudden chill.

He followed a path of chilling, sinister arts.

Lin Hao’s feet shifted, and his body shot backward in retreat.

He retreated quickly, but the edge of his clothes was still grazed by the old man’s claws.

The corner of his robes instantly froze solid, then shattered with a POP.

Seeing this, the old man let out a sinister cackle and moved again.

Lin Hao retreated again, but he seemed a step too slow.

The old man’s claw struck Lin Hao squarely on the thigh.

In an instant, Lin Hao’s body was frozen solid.

It happened incredibly fast.

The old man paused for a second, then his hands moved in a blur, striking upward toward Lin Hao’s head.

He had felt something strange the moment his claw connected with Lin Hao’s body. Only by twisting off Lin Hao’s head could he be at ease.

Lin Hao was like an ice sculpture, completely motionless.

Seeing this, the men with Chu Sheng were kicking themselves with regret.

’If we’d known Lin Hao was this easy to deal with, we should have been the first to strike. That was ten jars of Laughing Red Dust!’

However, a moment later, they were glad they hadn’t.

Just as the short old man’s hands were about to strike Lin Hao’s head, the frozen "ice sculpture" of Lin Hao suddenly moved.

Incredibly fast!

BOOM!

A fist slammed into the old man’s chest.

At such close range, the old man had no way to dodge.

POW!

Lin Hao’s fist carried the force of ten thousand catties. The old man’s body was nothing like Lin Hao’s. Under the force of this punch, his body exploded like a watermelon.

With a single blow, not even a complete corpse was left behind!

"So disappointing." Lin Hao shook his head nonchalantly, not bothering to hide his disappointment.

Chu Sheng and the nine men behind him all took a step back in unison.

They knew full well that although the old man was only at the first level of the Elemental Realm, his Cultivation Technique and martial arts were extremely bizarre. Once you were frozen by him, escape was impossible.

But Lin Hao had managed to turn the tables and obliterate him while frozen. It was too strange.

A smirk lifted the corner of Lin Hao’s mouth. This was exactly the effect he wanted: to intimidate his opponents.

In fact, he had intentionally let the old man succeed.

The old man’s arts may have been strange, but Lin Hao cultivated an Emperor Art, Refining his body with the light of the sun and the essence of the moon.

The old man’s Cultivation Technique was indeed chilling and sinister, but compared to the moon’s essence—the ultimate yin in the world—it was utterly insignificant.

Strike when they don’t expect it, attack when they’re unprepared.

Lin Hao had just demonstrated the essence of that principle perfectly.

"Who’s next?" Lin Hao asked, his tone light and breezy.

The nine men exchanged glances, but none of them dared to move.

Lin Hao was simply too bizarre. It was unwise to act rashly before they understood the truth of his abilities.

A mocking smile appeared on Lin Hao’s lips. "Why don’t you all come at me at once?"

Arrogant!

A Blood Coagulation Realm Martial Artist challenging nine Elemental Realm Martial Artists... How utterly arrogant!

"I’ll take you on!"

Just then, another Martial Artist stepped forward.

BOOM!

He didn’t opt for a close-range attack. He stopped a short distance from Lin Hao, and a massive hand made of True Essence materialized, grabbing for Lin Hao’s head.

This True Essence hand was blood-red and eerily strange.

Moreover, the moment the True Essence hand appeared, the people around felt the air become scorching hot.

Unlike the previous old man, this Martial Artist followed a path of fiery, masculine arts.

The True Essence hand was incredibly fast, reaching Lin Hao’s head in the blink of an eye.

With a quick shift of his feet, Lin Hao moved aside.

BOOM!

The hand slammed viciously into the spot where Lin Hao had just been standing, creating a massive crater.

Inside the crater, even the green flagstones had been scorched black.

His True Essence hand could actually burn stone.

Absolutely terrifying.

His first strike having missed, the Martial Artist moved the True Essence hand again.

This time, Lin Hao shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, rushing toward the Martial Artist and throwing a punch.

The Martial Artist sneered. ’Lin Hao is simply looking for death.’

Recalling the True Essence hand, the Martial Artist also threw a punch, aiming to collide with Lin Hao’s fist.

"Leave him alive!" Chu Sheng shouted from the side.

He was afraid Lin Hao would be killed in one hit. That would spoil the fun.

The Martial Artist raised an eyebrow as a scorching aura poured from his fist.

The heat, intense enough to burn flagstones, was more than enough to roast Lin Hao alive without killing him instantly.

As their fists met, the smile on the Martial Artist’s face froze.

An even more scorching aura erupted from Lin Hao’s fist, instantly devouring the heat from his own.

The next moment, he found his entire body paralyzed, and then his ability to think vanished.

Lin Hao was circulating the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill. The True Essence in his body, Refined from sunlight itself, poured out. How could a mere Elemental Realm Martial Artist withstand it?

Lin Hao smiled, pushing his fist forward.

The next instant, the Martial Artist before him turned to ash and vanished without a trace.

Another Elemental Realm Martial Artist, playing with fire and getting burned to death, leaving not even a corpse behind!

In the blink of an eye, two Elemental Realm Martial Artists had died at Lin Hao’s hands, causing the remaining eight to pale.

Lin Hao was too terrifying.

And yet, the heartless Lin Hao just grinned at them.

It sent a chill down their spines. To them, Lin Hao’s smile was unequivocally the smile of a demon.

"Damn it! Go! All of you, get him! Kill him!" Chu Sheng shouted in terror as he stumbled backward.

He couldn’t imagine how Lin Hao had become so terrifying in such a short time.

Hearing his command, the remaining eight men decisively attacked.

Eight massive True Essence hands blotted out the sky, cutting off Lin Hao’s escape routes as they descended to crush him together.

"He’s finished. Eight Elemental Realm Martial Artists attacking at once. Even if he has heaven-defying abilities, he can’t possibly survive."

Someone shook their head.

BOOM!

Under this overwhelming pressure, Lin Hao’s figure seemed unable to move and was instantly slammed into the ground by the eight True Essence hands.

The eight men smiled.

Even if Lin Hao had the power to shake heaven and earth, there was absolutely no way he could have survived that.

However, the next moment, they saw the crowd of onlookers all staring in one direction, their eyes wide as if they had seen a ghost.

"You’re too slow," a voice said at the same time.

Looking toward the source of the voice, they couldn’t believe their eyes.

Lin Hao was standing there perfectly fine, and Chu Sheng was now in his grasp.

"Just now, that was..."

"Lin Hao’s speed was too fast! What they just smashed was nothing but his afterimage!" someone explained.

Ten Elemental Realm Martial Artists had come to kill Lin Hao. After two died, the remaining eight attacked simultaneously, yet Lin Hao not only escaped but also captured Chu Sheng.

It completely overturned everyone’s understanding of the world.

People say that even a mighty dragon can’t suppress a local snake.

But Lin Hao, this ferocious dragon, feared nothing.

"Your head is quite nice. It would make a good wine cup." Lin Hao said with grave seriousness, staring at Chu Sheng’s head.

"L-Lin Hao, don’t do anything rash! I am the Young City Lord of Red Beauty City! My City Lord’s Mansion is filled with extraordinary experts! If you kill me, I guarantee you won’t leave Red Beauty City alive!" Chu Sheng’s voice trembled as he spoke.

"Is that so? Extraordinary experts? In my eyes, they’re just a bunch of useless freeloaders." Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed, his disdain unconcealed.

The eight men’s faces turned ashen, but they had nothing to say.

Lin Hao had captured Chu Sheng right under the noses of all eight of them. That was an undeniable fact.

Chu Sheng was trembling with fear, but he still remembered to threaten Lin Hao. "In the City Lord’s Mansion, there are beings many times more terrifying than them! You can’t escape!"

Lin Hao thought for a moment, then said something that made Chu Sheng want to cough up blood...