Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

For a Martial Artist in the Blood Coagulation Realm to withstand a crushing force of fifty thousand jin without using a martial technique—this was a miracle!

"This... this can’t be real!" Pang Hu muttered, his eyes wide as saucers.

He simply couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

The most heaven-defying Martial Artist at the Peak of the Ninth Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm could only muster a little over nine thousand jin of strength. And yet, Lin Hao had just withstood his attack—fifty thousand jin of crushing force delivered with fifty percent of his power!

Even Bamboo Pole, who had been smiling as he watched Pang Hu send his opponent flying, found his smile freezing on his face before he was left completely dumbfounded.

Even the turtle egg in Bamboo Pole’s hand was shocked. It whispered in a low voice, ’Extreme Realm! This kid is stepping into the Extreme Realm of Blood Coagulation!’

Unfortunately, its voice was too soft. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Lin Hao, and no one heard what it said.

The young master, still seated atop the exotic beast, also realized something was wrong. His narrow eyes narrowed further as he commanded coldly, "Kill him for me!"

Pang Hu snapped back to his senses, a ferocious light filling his eyes. His body shot forward, his arm swelling as the yellow sand behind him swirled into a Mad Dragon.

Even before he struck, the display of power was astonishing.

He was about to use his full strength.

Lin Hao still didn’t dodge or evade. He fully circulated the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill, and his body began to glow amidst the resounding roars of dragons and tigers.

Just moments ago, he had taken more than ten steps to dissipate the fifty thousand jin of crushing force, and he could feel his vital energy and blood churning. This was almost the absolute limit of what his physical body could currently endure.

But now, Lin Hao also chose to throw a punch.

Yellow Level Top Grade martial technique—Dragon-Form Tyrant King Fist!

By activating his Cultivation Technique and executing the martial technique, Lin Hao was confident he could withstand Pang Hu’s next attack as well.

After all, in his previous clash with Pang Hu, he hadn’t used any martial techniques, relying purely on his physical strength.

BOOM!

The two fists collided with a deafening roar that made the very ground tremble.

The yellow sand billowed like a Yellow Dragon, and with a howling sound, swathes of grass on either side of the main road were ripped from the ground and pulverized into dust.

Amidst the yellow sand, Pang Hu was forced back, while Lin Hao’s body was sent flying.

"A full-powered strike, one hundred thousand jin of force! If you’re still not dead after that, I’ll fucking eat this entire road!" Pang Hu came to a stop, staring into the swirling yellow sand with a look of pure arrogance.

The destruction from this single blow was so immense that the cloud of yellow sand showed no signs of settling for a long while.

"Dying like that is letting him off too easy. Pang Hu, you and Bamboo Pole share a mount. We’re heading back to the city." The young master atop the exotic beast came to his senses and ordered them to leave.

Pang Hu nodded and was about to turn back when a voice suddenly rang out, "This road... think you can stomach it?"

Pang Hu’s body stiffened, and he whirled around.

From within the swirling sand, a figure slowly strolled out.

His eyes widened as if he had just seen a god or a demon.

"What?! That’s impossible!" Even Bamboo Pole, standing nearby, cried out in shock.

A Martial Artist in the Blood Coagulation Realm had actually withstood the full-powered strike of a First Layer Elemental Realm Martial Artist. This was a legend among legends, a miracle among miracles!

"You... Just who are you?" Pang Hu asked, his voice trembling.

Although Lin Hao’s clothes were now in tatters, his face was pale, and blood was trickling from the corners of his mouth and nose, Pang Hu didn’t dare to underestimate him in the slightest.

’A person like this is definitely not some nobody. I dare say that no one like this can be found in the entire Southern Border Prefecture. Could he be from the empire, or even somewhere farther away?’

Lin Hao grinned, his smile radiant.

But it only sent a chill down Pang Hu’s spine.

"Idiot, kill him! Use your martial techniques, use them now!" the young master on the beast suddenly shrieked.

The young master had clearly realized he’d picked a fight with someone he couldn’t handle. If Lin Hao didn’t die, he would be in deep trouble.

Pang Hu snapped out of his daze and his figure blurred into motion.

When an Elemental Realm Martial Artist used a martial technique, their power became even more terrifying. He refused to believe this man could survive again.

He was fast, but someone else was faster.

The moment he moved, he felt a tightness in his throat, followed by the sound of a SNAP!

It was the last sound he ever heard.

Lin Hao had finally used a Body Technique.

Pang Hu, the Elemental Realm Martial Artist, was dead!

"Quick, stop him!" The young master’s face paled. He yelled at Bamboo Pole before turning tail to run.

However, Lin Hao’s Body Technique was far too terrifying.

The words had barely left his mouth when Lin Hao was already on the back of the exotic beast.

BOOM!

Lin Hao’s physical body was incredibly heavy at this moment. Even though the young master was riding an exotic beast, it still couldn’t bear Lin Hao’s weight.

The beast’s four legs buckled, and it collapsed to its knees, throwing the young master off its back.

Scared out of his wits, the young master scrambled away in a panic, practically soiling himself.

Bamboo Pole covered their retreat, darting toward the city.

Lin Hao was about to give chase, but his clothes were pulled back.

He turned to see that the one holding him was the very old man who had been dragged along.

His skeletal hand was clamped onto Lin Hao’s clothes, tight, so very tight, as if grasping his last and only hope.

"Young... sir..." the man managed to choke out, his voice extremely faint.

If Lin Hao’s Sixth Sense hadn’t been far superior to an ordinary person’s, he wouldn’t have been able to hear him at all.

Lin Hao was about to help him up when his eyes suddenly narrowed.

He saw that the man’s chest was a bloody mess, completely worn away from being dragged across the ground. He should have been dead long ago, but he was somehow still breathing.

Lin Hao’s heart tightened. He quickly infused his True Essence into the man, trying to keep his True Soul from dissipating.

"Old sir, if you have something to say, please tell me. If it’s within my power, I will do it," Lin Hao said.

"Young... sir... save Meng Qing... save Meng Qing..."

A glimmer of light suddenly appeared in the old man’s dim eyes, and his voice became much louder.

"Who is Meng Qing? Where is she?" Lin Hao asked.

The old man suddenly raised his head, looked into the distance, and his lips moved a few times, but he ultimately made no sound.

Closing the man’s wide-open eyes, Lin Hao carefully turned his body over and buried him on a small hill not far from the main road.

"Old sir, I don’t know your name, but after I rescue Meng Qing, I will bring her to see you."

Lin Hao guessed that Meng Qing must be the old man’s closest relative. And he could surely find out her whereabouts by finding the young master who had just escaped.

Such profound familial love made Lin Hao stand motionless before the old man’s grave for a long time.

He thought of his own grandfather, and his parents.

The bonds of blood are the hardest to sever, and Lin Hao would certainly never forget that.

Whether it was before joining the Heaven-Stepping Sect or after returning from it, he had asked his Third Uncle and the two elders more than once: where had his father gone back then to search for Spirit Medicine? Where was his mother? And where had his grandfather gone before he disappeared?

But they always dodged the question. Finally, when Lin Hao pressed them relentlessly, they only told him that his cultivation was not high enough. He would need to reach the Soul Gathering Realm at the very least.

"Grandfather, Father, Mother, I will find you!" Lin Hao murmured. Then he spun around and strode away.

Lin Hao sped along the main road, like a wisp of smoke.

Before long, a city came into view in the distance.

He slowed his pace and proceeded at a normal speed.

Soon, he was standing before a massive city.

The city walls were a full forty or fifty feet high, imposing and magnificent.

And above the city gate were three large characters—Celestial Jade City.

Ancient and grand!

This was the capital of the Southern Border Prefecture.

People were constantly coming and going through the city gate in a ceaseless stream.

Among them were many powerful Martial Artists, some riding extraordinary-looking exotic beasts.

Compared to this place, War Dragon City was like a small town next to a metropolis.

Lin Hao took a deep breath and stepped forward.

However, Lin Hao didn’t enter the gate, instead walking toward a guard standing beside it.

"Excuse..."

He only managed to get one word out before he was ruthlessly interrupted.

"Go, go, go! I don’t have any money for you! Go beg somewhere else!" The guard didn’t wait for Lin Hao to speak, waving him away like a fly.

Lin Hao was taken aback, but then he looked down at his own clothes and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

During his battle with Pang Hu on the road, although he hadn’t been injured, the powerful shockwaves had left his clothes in tatters. It was no wonder people were mistaking him for a beggar.

Lin Hao took out a coin purse from his storage spirit ring and offered a silver ingot.

He was on his way to the Danling Sect to ask Master Shan Dan to help him acquire some Refining Materials.

According to his agreement with Master Shan Dan, if the pills auctioned by the Danling Sect this time were supplied by the Heaven-Stepping Sect, he would receive seventy percent of the profits.

But with his Martial Grand-Uncle going on a trip, it was impossible for Wu Taichu to not prepare anything. He had given Lin Hao a hundred thousand taels in silver banknotes.

Lin Hao had tried to refuse, but in the end, Wu Taichu had no choice but to give him twenty thousand taels and a bag of loose silver.

Now, as Lin Hao took out a silver ingot from his coin purse and handed it over, the guard snatched it from him.

Not only that, but his eyes lit up as he stared at Lin Hao’s coin purse.

’This is a fat sheep!’

"Men, seize him!" Before Lin Hao could say a word, the guard who had taken his silver was already ordering his subordinates.

Before Lin Hao could react, his arm was twisted behind his back.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Lin Hao frowned.

The guard declared with an air of righteousness, "I’ve seen plenty of thieves, but I’ve never seen one as brazen as you! Stealing a coin purse and then daring to bribe a guard in public!"

Lin Hao laughed.

’So, he saw my coin purse and got greedy. Now he’s twisting the facts, trying to claim it for himself.’

"You must do this sort of thing often, don’t you?" Lin Hao asked with a smile, his eyes narrowing.

"Insolence!" the guard shouted angrily, reaching for the coin purse in Lin Hao’s hand.

A glint flashed in Lin Hao’s eyes. Instead of retreating, he advanced, stepping forward and ramming his shoulder into the guard.

THUD!

The guard never expected Lin Hao to make such a move. He was sent flying by the impact, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The other guard who had been holding Lin Hao’s arm was dragged down by the motion and fell to the ground.

This sudden turn of events spurred all the city gate guards into action.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Hao was surrounded.

"He dared to attack the capital guards! Kill him for me!" The guard who had been knocked away scrambled to his feet, enraged and humiliated.

Seeing Lin Hao dressed like a beggar, the guards acted without any hesitation.

At the command, they all moved as one, thrusting their long spears toward Lin Hao.

Lin Hao shook his head. He ignored the spears as if they were nothing and strode toward the man who had given the order.

As the capital of the Southern Border Prefecture, Celestial Jade City was bustling with activity.

The incident here had already drawn a large crowd of onlookers.

Seeing Lin Hao’s actions, many in the crowd also shook their heads. ’This beggar is done for.’

But a few high-level Martial Artists narrowed their eyes, as if they had realized something.

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, more than a dozen long spears were now only a foot away from Lin Hao’s body.