Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

With no time to marvel, Lin Hao quickly focused his mind and began to cultivate.

An opportunity like this was incredibly rare.

As the Ninth Layer of the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill began to circulate, a great roar erupted from amidst the swirling mist, accompanied by the endless sounds of roaring tigers and crying dragons.

The phenomena from Lin Hao’s cultivation technique were staggering.

Fortunately, this was the Saha World. Otherwise, if other Martial Artists were to perceive such a phenomenon, they would stop at nothing to eliminate Lin Hao.

Anyone who cultivated like this, once they matured, would surely become a peerless prodigy.

"This is still not enough! Let mountains weigh upon my body!" Lin Hao’s voice rang out from within the swirling mist.

He still vividly remembered the feeling of carrying a mountain on his back on Forbidden God Mountain, suppressed by the Great Dao. Only by cultivating under the most extreme pressure could one break through the Extreme Realm!

The moment he spoke, with a loud BOOM, Lin Hao’s body was crushed downwards.

There was clearly no mountain on his back, yet the sensation of being crushed by one felt terrifyingly real.

The scene from Forbidden God Mountain replayed itself in the Saha World.

The difference was that on Forbidden God Mountain, Lin Hao couldn’t circulate his cultivation technique to fight back, but here, he could.

Circulating his cultivation technique, his true self drove the Tai Chi Array Map to spin wildly. The swirling mist-like energy diffused from his Dantian, then flowed throughout his entire body.

Lin Hao’s bent spine straightened, inch by inch.

"Not enough! More!" he roared.

BOOM!

An even greater pressure crashed down on him.

Lin Hao’s body was crushed down once more, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The swirling energy enveloped his body as the cries of dragons and roars of tigers continued unabated.

This time, Lin Hao snorted coldly. He thrust his arms back, and it was as if he had thrown the mountain off his back. His body immediately sat upright.

"Again!"

Lin Hao’s expression turned ruthless as he called out again.

He was using this near self-destructive method to temper his physical body.

Eventually, his blood began to boil as he fought against the ever-increasing pressure.

The Tai Chi Array Map in his Dantian, his true self, and his blood all began to resonate in unison.

His muscles, bones, and skin pulsed in rhythm.

His hair whipped about wildly as his True Essence surged.

Every inch of his body, inside and out, was being tempered.

And amidst this tempering, every part of him was undergoing a metamorphosis.

Yang Peng had woken up long ago. He stood to the side, his eyes wide with utter astonishment.

It was the same for Xiaojiu. After waking up, its eyes held a humanlike expression of sheer shock.

Having obtained the Secret Skill of the Saint Ape Race, it too was cultivating its physical body.

The physical bodies of the Saint Ape Race were unparalleled, among the strongest in ancient times. As the inheritor of this race’s Secret Skill, Xiaojiu naturally knew how astonishing it was.

But compared to Lin Hao’s, it was far too inferior.

Even so, Lin Hao wasn’t satisfied, because his Blood Coagulation Realm Tenth Layer had not yet reached a state of perfection.

Lin Hao just wanted to quickly bring his Blood Coagulation Realm to the Tenth Layer of great consummation so he could advance to the Elemental Realm.

Only he knew that with each tempering session, the circulation speed of his Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill increased slightly.

When the Ninth Layer of the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill was cultivated to its peak, his Blood Coagulation Realm Tenth Layer would naturally reach perfection.

Space warped, and the two humans and one ape were teleported out of the Saha World.

Time spent cultivating always seemed to pass quickly.

"Young Master, I’m going out to train," Yang Peng said without another word before taking his leave.

He had grown accustomed to hunting Devil Beasts immediately after a cultivation session in the Saha World.

It was the only way for him to know if he had made any progress and what areas he needed to focus on.

As for Xiaojiu, its body suddenly went rigid before it scurried under a table.

Lin Hao paused, startled, then heard the sounds of Lord Lingdi and a "turtle egg" roughhousing as they zipped past his door.

’That ridiculous turtle...’

Lin Hao was speechless. At the same time, his curiosity about its origins grew.

It seemed even Lord Lingdi didn’t dare provoke it, and Xiaojiu was filled with an instinctive awe. ’Just what is its background?’

’Forget it. I’ll interrogate it properly when I have the time!’ Having made up his mind, Lin Hao headed for the Scripture Pavilion.

Countless Heaven-Stepping Sect disciples greeted Lin Hao along the way.

Whether it was because Wu Taichu had intentionally spread the news or not, almost every disciple in the Heaven-Stepping Sect now knew that the Alchemy Masters of Pill Cloud Hall were only staying with the sect as a favor to Lin Hao.

These Alchemy Masters hadn’t even returned to their own sects for the New Year, staying instead to refine pills for them. Naturally, the disciples’ gratitude toward Lin Hao grew.

At the same time, disciples who had returned to their families for the New Year heard of Lin Hao’s heroic deeds in War Dragon City. Upon returning to the sect, the story spread like wildfire. Now, Lin Hao’s prestige in the Heaven-Stepping Sect could be said to have reached its zenith.

Lin Hao responded with a smile, and some of the bolder disciples even approached him to ask for guidance on the martial path.

Chu Tiandu’s memories compensated for Lin Hao’s own shortcomings in the martial path.

One could say that Lin Hao’s current understanding of the martial path was unparalleled in the entire Heaven-Stepping Sect.

In just a few words, he could explain the core of any issue with perfect clarity.

As it happened, Wu Taichu had timed his visit perfectly and was also heading toward the Scripture Pavilion.

He was stunned when he overheard Lin Hao’s insights on the martial path.

For instance, just now, Lin Hao was explaining a Yellow Level Top Grade martial skill called the Wandering Dragon Palm to a disciple.

Wu Taichu had also practiced the Wandering Dragon Palm; in fact, he had cultivated it for a full ten years.

He had originally believed he’d cultivated this palm skill to the pinnacle of perfection, but after listening to Lin Hao’s explanation, he realized he was nothing but a frog in a well.

Lin Hao’s explanation was simple and easy to grasp. He deconstructed the entire Palm Skill in just a few sentences.

As he spoke, Lin Hao demonstrated the movements.

Although Lin Hao wasn’t channeling any cultivation technique, as the Sect Leader, Wu Taichu’s insight was far beyond that of an ordinary person. He could tell that if Lin Hao were to execute the palm skill with a cultivation technique, its power would be at least three times greater than his own!

The disciple asking for guidance was quite talented himself. After practicing the movements for a moment, he cried out in astonishment.

His reaction drew more and more disciples to gather around Lin Hao.

Seeing the situation was getting out of hand, Wu Taichu quickly spoke up.

It was only then that the disciples standing near Wu Taichu recognized him as the Sect Leader.

Lin Hao’s lecture had been so captivating that all their attention was focused on him; they hadn’t noticed anyone else.

Escorted by Wu Taichu, Lin Hao entered the Scripture Pavilion. But in a short time, the area outside the pavilion was mobbed by a massive crowd.

On the top floor of the Scripture Pavilion, Wu Taichu rubbed his hands together and bowed awkwardly.

Lin Hao just smiled, picked up a brush, and began writing down cultivation techniques and martial skills.

An hour later, one cultivation technique and one martial skill were complete.

And that was with Lin Hao intentionally slowing his pace.

A sect was different from a family.

Back in his family clan, Lin Hao could have written a dozen or more manuals in one go and just made up a casual excuse if asked.

But it was different in a sect. If Lin Hao produced a dozen cultivation techniques and martial skills at once, it would surely arouse Wu Taichu’s suspicions.

’After all, why would someone with such abilities need to join a declining sect?’

’He must have an ulterior motive.’

’Even if he didn’t say anything, Wu Taichu would surely harbor doubts.’

As for the cultivation technique and martial skill he had just written, Lin Hao already had an explanation prepared.

"Sect Leader, I spent ten days and ten nights crossing Forbidden God Mountain, and I nearly gave up halfway through. In a daze, I heard someone preaching the Dao. He told me many things about the Heaven-Stepping Sect, as well as many cultivation techniques and martial skills. For now, I can only recall these two, so I wrote them down."

Lin Hao said, handing the manuals over.

Wu Taichu took them and glanced through the pages, then shot to his feet.

"I’ve seen records of these in the sect’s secret archives... This... This is a long-lost cultivation technique and martial skill of our Heaven-Stepping Sect!"

His body trembled as he held the manuals.

"Martial Uncle Ancestor, you... you met a senior of our Heaven-Stepping Sect?!" Wu Taichu’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

Lin Hao nodded and described Emperor Hongtian’s appearance.

Wu Taichu’s eyes widened like saucers, his shock beyond words.

In the deepest sanctum of the Heaven-Stepping Sect, portraits of all the past sect ancestors were enshrined.

As the founder of the Heaven-Stepping Sect, Emperor Hongtian’s portrait was naturally among them, hanging in the most prominent position.

The moment Lin Hao gave the description, Wu Taichu knew who he was talking about.

He didn’t believe Lin Hao would lie to him, because in the entire Heaven-Stepping Sect, he was the only one allowed to enter the sanctum where the ancestors’ portraits were kept. Not even the three Grand Elders were permitted inside.

But Lin Hao was, in fact, deceiving him. Chu Tiandu’s memories surely contained an image of Emperor Hongtian. After all, he had once been the Sect Leader of the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

Originally, Lin Hao had planned to describe Chu Tiandu’s appearance, but Chu Tiandu was the very culprit who had caused the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s decline.

Using his image would have been unwise.

"The Great Emperor himself has appeared! The revival of our Heaven-Stepping Sect is at hand! Martial Uncle Ancestor, you are the one chosen by the Great Emperor! I, Wu Taichu, will do everything in my power to assist you!"

As he spoke, Wu Taichu fell to his knees and performed three heavy kowtows. THUD, THUD, THUD.

He performed the action in one fluid motion. By the time Lin Hao snapped out of his daze, he had already finished.

Lin Hao hadn’t expected that invoking Emperor Hongtian’s name would provoke such a strong reaction from Wu Taichu. He helped him up, and seeing the red mark on his forehead, Lin Hao wore an apologetic expression.

"I think I’m remembering something else... wait, let me write another manual," Lin Hao said, trying to find a way to compensate.

"Martial Uncle Ancestor, I benefited immensely from hearing your lecture on the Wandering Dragon Palm just now. I have a suggestion, if I may be so bold," Wu Taichu said, stopping him.

"What is it?" Lin Hao asked.

"I will gather the Sect Disciples and ask you to give a lecture on the martial path. What do you think?"

Even with an endless supply of cultivation techniques and martial skills, they would be useless without a great teacher to guide the way.

It’s said that a master can only open the door; the path must be walked by the student. But not everyone is a peerless talent, and a great teacher is incredibly important for martial cultivation.

A true martial arts master’s comprehension of the martial path is far beyond that of ordinary people. A single, seemingly simple sentence from them can allow countless disciples to achieve a sudden enlightenment, like clouds parting to reveal the moon.

In Wu Taichu’s eyes, Lin Hao was just such a master.

Before, Lin Hao wouldn’t have dared accept such a title, but with Chu Tiandu’s memories, he truly did possess a much deeper understanding of martial cultivation.

After a moment of thought, Lin Hao nodded in agreement.

Wu Taichu was ecstatic and hurried off to make the arrangements.

He was very efficient. Not long after, he returned to inform Lin Hao that the disciples were already gathering at the God-Proving Platform.

Then, Wu Taichu asked Lin Hao, "Martial Uncle Ancestor, is there anything you need us to prepare for you?"

"A copy of the ’Compendium of Martial Skills’ will suffice," Lin Hao said, his expression brimming with confidence.

Wu Taichu was taken aback, but ultimately said nothing...

Just as the two of them left the Scripture Pavilion and headed for the God-Proving Platform, a group of supreme martial experts was making its way toward the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

There were ten of them in total, and their aura was menacing.

All of them rode Devil Beasts as mounts, every single one a Tier Two Devil Beast. The mounts of the three in the lead were even at the Tier Two Late Stage.

The earth itself trembled!