Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Lin Hao discovered that the crooked and messy-looking script seemed to contain some kind of pattern.

At first glance, the pattern seemed quite simple.

But strangely, what appeared to be a simple pattern ultimately became untraceable.

Lin Hao stood motionless before the poem, lost in deep contemplation for hours. He remained there until the sky began to lighten, yet he came up empty-handed.

The crimson sun began to rise, its light shining upon the land and bringing the small Woniushan into sharper focus before Lin Hao.

Lin Hao snapped out of his deep thoughts, only to feel his body had grown stiff.

Stretching his arms and legs, Lin Hao began to stroll around Woniushan.

Lin Hao wasn’t discouraged. In fact, he had a smile on his face.

’Old Daoist Ning searched for over a hundred years and found nothing. If I found it in a single night, this Secret Skill wouldn’t be worth much, would it?’

Lin Hao believed that he wasn’t the only one. Over the past century—no, perhaps for far longer than that—countless geniuses and prodigies had come to this place in search of the Cultivation Technique, the Secret Skill.

And the result was obvious.

’A Secret Skill is a secret for a reason. If it were easy to find, could it still be called a Secret Skill?’

Letting out a long breath, Lin Hao temporarily pushed the matter aside, clearing his mind and letting go of all desire.

Just like that, he took a lap around the small Woniushan. Lin Hao was just about to head to the Sanqing Sect to verify a certain suspicion of his when he saw a decrepit, hunched old man walking toward him.

The old man carried a food box in one hand and, surprisingly, a broom in the other.

Lin Hao paused for a moment, then went to greet him.

"Sir, let me help you."

Lin Hao reached out to support the old man, but the man simply handed him the food box.

"Young man, you must be hungry. This is for you."

Lin Hao was dumbfounded. ’I came to Woniushan to find a Secret Skill, and someone’s even bringing me food? This is some top-tier service.’

However, this only further confirmed a certain suspicion of his.

Without any hesitation, Lin Hao accepted it, said his thanks, and opened it to eat.

"So many people have come to Woniushan over the past few decades, but very few have eaten my food," the old man said cheerfully while Lin Hao ate, sitting to the side.

He smiled, revealing a mouth of broken and missing teeth.

"Grandpa, have many people come to Woniushan?" Lin Hao asked as he ate.

"Of course. A few just left yesterday or the day before. If you stay here a little longer, you might run into a few more. But be warned, the ones who come now are all incredibly arrogant. They’ll draw their swords at the slightest provocation. You’re all alone, so you must be careful."

Lin Hao nodded. That wasn’t hard to imagine.

’The "One Qi Into The Three Pristine Ones" must have drawn countless people to flock here. The various powers not far from the Sanqing Sect must have come long ago.’

’As for those farther away, I’m afraid only the major powers would know of such a secret.’

’If they were to run into each other, something like that happening would be perfectly normal.’

’Wait, that’s not right!’

’If a major power really knew about this Secret Skill and actually found it, I’m afraid Old Daoist Ning would regret it to his very core.’

Also, Lin Hao remembered that when he first entered the Divinity Realm and said he was from the Southern Border Prefecture, no one had even heard of it.

If major powers had truly come here or known about this Secret Skill, it would be impossible for them not to know about the Southern Border Prefecture.

’Could it be that Old Daoist Ning has some unknown resources at his disposal? Does he have a way to hide this from the major powers?’

The mere thought of this possibility sent a chill down Lin Hao’s spine.

Lin Hao wasn’t a fool. After Old Daoist Ning brought him here, he had already guessed at a certain possibility.

’After spending over a hundred years on this Secret Skill, if someone actually found it, Old Daoist Ning would never let them leave.’

’In the end, we are all just pawns for Old Daoist Ning to use in his search for the Secret Skill.’

’And this old man... he might have been sent to watch me.’

In short, Lin Hao was now on high alert when it came to Old Daoist Ning.

For a mere Elemental Realm Martial Artist to become the Sect Leader of the Sanqing Sect, hold the position for over a hundred years, and make all the Sect Disciples too scared to disobey him... his methods had to be absolutely heaven-defying.

Look at that father and son from the Chang family. Before they met Old Daoist Ning, they seemed to have some rebellious ideas, but the moment they saw him, they turned into meek kittens. And they were both Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artists.

The more he thought about it, the more terrifying Lin Hao found Old Daoist Ning to be.

"Alright, young man, take your time eating. I’m going to go sweep."

The old man’s words brought Lin Hao back to his senses.

Seeing the old man stand up, trembling slightly as he leaned on the broom, Lin Hao quickly stood up as well.

CRACK!

The old man put too much force into it, and the broom handle snapped in two. His whole body pitched forward.

Lin Hao quickly reached out and caught him.

Taking this opportunity, Lin Hao quickly probed his cultivation.

With this probe, Lin Hao discovered that the old man’s meridians were all severed. He had no cultivation whatsoever.

This completely confused Lin Hao. ’Why would Old Daoist Ning send someone like this?’

"Sigh, I’ve used this broom handle for decades, but it’s finally given out. You’re a good young man, quite sharp." The old man patted Lin Hao with a bony hand, then tilted his head up and squinted his murky old eyes, as if trying to get a clear look at Lin Hao’s face.

Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed. ’This old man’s words have a double meaning. He seems to be hinting at something.’

’Also, it seems he noticed me probing his cultivation.’

Lin Hao was certain the old man wasn’t hiding his true abilities; he had genuinely lost all his cultivation.

For someone who had lost all his cultivation to detect his probe... it was too strange.

’I have to be extremely careful!’

Lin Hao secretly warned himself.

"Grandpa, you should go back and rest. Tell me where you need to sweep, and I’ll do it for you." After learning the old man had no cultivation, Lin Hao’s attitude changed. He picked up the broken broom and said with a smile.

Even though it was highly likely this old man was sent by Old Daoist Ning, Lin Hao still felt bad letting a man of his age do the sweeping.

"How could I let you do that? You should go back to pondering that poem," the old man said, shaking his head.

’He’s all but spelling it out. The key really is the poem, and this old man was definitely sent by Old Daoist Ning.’

However, Lin Hao just kept smiling. "There’s no rush. You brought me food, so I’ll help you sweep. It’s a fair trade."

The old man didn’t speak. He tilted his head back again, then said, "Alright then. You help me sweep the fallen leaves on Woniushan, and I’ll cook for you."

Lin Hao didn’t ask why Woniushan needed sweeping. Instead, he just nodded with a smile, revealing a set of pearly white teeth.

"Oh, right. I live down there. Remember to bring the broom down when you’re finished sweeping," the old man said, pointing in a certain direction.

Only then did Lin Hao notice a small path on the side of Woniushan facing away from him.

Watching the old man leave, Lin Hao found some materials on the spot to fashion a new handle for the broom. He then shouldered it and walked toward Woniushan.

Woniushan was just a small hill. Of course there were no towering ancient trees on it, only a few short, small ones and some trampled weeds.

There wasn’t much to sweep, really, except for a tall phoenix tree next to Woniushan, whose falling leaves were scattering everywhere.

At that moment, the crimson sun shone on Woniushan, seeming to clothe the "lying ox" in golden battle armor.

Lin Hao swept while pondering the pattern in the script. His hands didn’t stop, and neither did his mind.

"Hey, are you deaf or mute?" Suddenly, Lin Hao heard a voice.

Looking up, Lin Hao saw that someone had appeared in front of him at some point.

It was a young man dressed in simple cloth robes, but he had an imposing aura.

Lin Hao could tell that this youth’s cultivation was no weaker than his own.

However, Lin Hao was not afraid. He asked calmly, "Can I help you?"

"This young master is here to comprehend the Secret Skill. Get lost!" the youth spoke, his tone haughty.

Lin Hao didn’t get angry.

Not only was he not angry, he even gave a slight smile and said kindly, "If you want to comprehend the Secret Skill, I suggest you go over there. There’s a poem. You might find something."

’The only suspicious thing on this whole mountain is that poem. If he can figure it out, he’ll be doing me a huge favor.’

The youth’s eyes lit up. He paid Lin Hao no further mind and hurried over. Then, just like Lin Hao before him, he stared at the poem and stood stock-still.

Lin Hao, meanwhile, continued sweeping Woniushan.

He swept for several hours.

And the youth, like a statue, didn’t move the entire time.

Just as Lin Hao had nearly finished sweeping Woniushan, he saw another youth approaching in the distance.

This youth was dressed in fine clothes and had a mischievous smile on his face. Upon seeing Lin Hao, he asked directly, "Hey, sweeper, this Snail Mountain’s Secret Skill..."

Lin Hao pointed toward the previous youth in cloth robes. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

At that moment, the youth had his back to them, so only his head was visible.

The finely-dressed youth’s figure flashed, and Lin Hao saw him appear right beside the cloth-robed youth.

Then, Lin Hao watched as the finely-dressed youth mercilessly slapped the cloth-robed youth, sending him flying.

It didn’t take a genius to know a big fight was inevitable.

Lin Hao couldn’t help but feel lucky that he’d found himself a sweeping job.

’While they fight over there, I can just sit back and reap the rewards without any of the risk.’

Tossing the broom aside, Lin Hao moved like a wisp of smoke and shot up into the tall phoenix tree.

Below, the two had indeed started fighting.

Lin Hao’s eyes shone brightly as he stared at them without blinking.

With his Emperor Art activated, none of the two’s martial techniques or moves could escape Lin Hao’s eyes.

By the time Lin Hao had learned about seventy or eighty percent of their martial arts, the two still hadn’t determined a winner.

Lin Hao was ecstatic. ’This feeling of reaping the rewards without risk is amazing!’

"Stop!" Just as Lin Hao was getting into it, he suddenly heard the finely-dressed young master below call for a halt.

But the cloth-robed youth had no intention of stopping.

"I’m Liu Feng of the Yujin Saint Institute. If I’m not mistaken, you’re from the Yujin Saint Institute as well, right?" the finely-dressed youth, Liu Feng, said while dodging.

The cloth-robed youth didn’t stop his attacks and replied coldly, "So what if I am?"

"We’re from the same Saint Institute, and we have the same goal. Let’s focus on comprehending the Secret Skill first," Liu Feng said.

Hearing this, the cloth-robed youth stopped attacking, clearly agreeing with Liu Feng.

He pointed to the lines of the poem and said, "Take a look at this poem first."

Liu Feng looked over, and his mind was similarly captivated.

An hour later, the cloth-robed youth roused him and asked, "Did you get anything?"

Liu Feng came to his senses and hesitated for a moment before saying, "I saw a fragmented diagram. It seemed to have the routes for circulating energy, but they didn’t connect."

"I saw a man demonstrating a martial art, but he just kept repeating the same move over and over," the cloth-robed youth said, not waiting for Liu Feng to ask.

Up in the phoenix tree, Lin Hao was greatly puzzled.

’How come what they saw is different from what I saw? Could it be that what each person sees and feels is completely different?’

’This is too bizarre.’