Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Outside the mountain gate of the Saint Institute, the crowd of candidates stood stunned.

A moment ago, an utterly terrifying aura seemed to have emerged from the Trial Forest in the fourth area.

"Did you sense that?" one candidate asked the person beside him.

The person nodded, swallowing hard. "It vanished in a flash, but it was absolutely terrifying."

"What happened in there?!" More people began to discuss it in hushed tones, whispering among themselves.

"Elder, time is up. The passage can be closed now." Just then, a young man staring at the fourth area spoke with a cold voice.

He was one of the five people who had come out with Wenren Yuxin at the very beginning.

This young man was Hu Rui, a young master of the Hu family, one of the Four Great Families.

Hu Rui’s cultivation was at the Peak of the Elemental Realm, and he was immensely powerful.

He too had sensed the terrifying fluctuation from just a moment ago.

Moreover, many of the candidates emerging from the fourth area were whispering amongst themselves, discussing Lin Hao’s might.

Among them, some spoke of the deaths of the Hu family’s disciples.

Lin Hao was not dead; he had even killed disciples of the Hu family. No matter the final outcome, nothing could compensate for the Hu family’s losses.

He did not want to see Lin Hao emerge alive. Thus, as the allotted time was about to run out, Hu Rui couldn’t resist speaking up.

The gates to the four areas of the Saint Institute’s Trial Forest could only be opened and closed by an elder of the Saint Institute. Otherwise, he would have taken matters into his own hands long ago.

"Hu Rui, Yuxin is still inside! Why are you in such a rush? What are you trying to pull!" Beside Hu Rui, a young man spun around to glare at him, his eyes as sharp as swords.

"Chen Qian, and you call yourself a disciple of the Four Great Families. Don’t you know the rules of the Saint Institute?! When the time is up, the Trial Forest closes. There are no exceptions!"

Hu Rui snorted coldly, meeting Chen Qian’s glare.

"Of course I know the rules, but the time clearly isn’t up yet."

"Enough. I’ll go get Yuxin. If she gets locked inside, the Prince will go mad." Lin Xinran spoke up, moving with light, graceful steps toward the entrance of the fourth area.

Lin Xinran’s steps were light and quick, and she seemed quite cheerful.

Chen Qian shot her a glance, his expression souring.

Chen Qian was from the Chen family. He originally had no connection to Lin Hao and had no desire to get involved in the feud between Lin Hao and the other two great families, but he did not wish for Lin Hao to perish.

The reason was simple. A few months ago, Wenren Yuxin had contacted the Chen family and gifted a large batch of Spirit Pills to their soldiers, free of charge. Those were Healing Holy Medicines, the formula for which had long been thought lost!

Later, through investigation—or perhaps, based on information Wenren Yuxin had intentionally revealed—it became clear that these Saint Medicines were connected to a young man from the Lin family of War Dragon City.

Now, Chen Qian naturally knew this young man was Lin Hao.

As a descendant of generals, Chen Qian was a man who clearly distinguished between gratitude and grudges. Lin Hao had done the Chen family a great favor, so Chen Qian naturally felt well-disposed toward him.

At that moment, Lin Xinran’s steps were light and quick, perhaps because she believed Lin Hao had perished in the Trial Forest.

In fact, Lin Xinran was thinking exactly what Chen Qian suspected.

As Lin Wu’s fiancée, her status in the Lin family was very high. Thus, she was aware that Lin Jue had led people into the Trial Forest, and she even knew of Chi Feng’s existence.

Chi Feng’s constitution was only that of an Element Body, but he cultivated a Half-Saint Level Skill and had mastered the Mountain-moving Seal. He was exceptionally strong. With him, plus Lin Jue and the others, there was absolutely no way Lin Hao could have survived.

Ever since learning that Lin Hao hadn’t died, Lin Wu had considered him a major threat. ’Now that Lin Hao has perished, I’m happy just imagining Lin Wu’s reaction.’

’Oh, and then there’s Wenren Yuxin. Her cultivation is stronger than mine, her looks are better than mine... In the past, I never knew what her weakness was.’

’Now, I’ve finally found it.’

’Heh heh, the boy she had her eyes on is now a corpse. The look on her face right now must be priceless.’

With these thoughts, a smile bloomed on Lin Xinran’s face, and her steps grew even lighter.

Just then, she paused. Two candidates were emerging from the entrance to the fourth area.

"Congratula... you two." The smile on Lin Xinran’s face broadened, but halfway through her sentence, her voice trailed off and the smile on her face abruptly vanished.

Since they were emerging at the last moment, Lin Xinran had assumed they were Lin Jue and Chi Feng, which was why she had started to congratulate them. However, when she got a clear look at their faces, she realized they were strangers.

This left her both embarrassed and annoyed.

To make matters worse, these last two candidates heard her words, and their faces lit up with excitement. They cupped their fists and said, "Many thanks, Senior Sister."

They didn’t recognize Lin Xinran, but they knew she was a senior sister from the Saint Institute. Having just made it out, how could they not be delighted to be congratulated by a senior sister?

Lin Xinran wanted nothing more than to kill them both with a single slap, but she couldn’t. A forced smile appeared on her face as she nodded and quickly brushed past them.

"That Senior Sister has such a noble air about her. You can tell she’s from a great family at a glance. But she doesn’t have the typical arrogance of a noble—that’s so rare." one of the two who had just emerged whispered as he watched Lin Xinran walk toward the fourth area.

Lin Xinran’s Spiritual Sense was astounding, so she naturally overheard them.

Everyone likes to be praised, and Lin Xinran was no exception. A smile returned to her face upon hearing his words.

But her smile quickly vanished.

"You can say that again," the other said. "Compared to those bastards from the Lin family and the Hu family, that Senior Sister is a saint. We brothers have been really lucky, constantly running into helpful people."

They kept their voices very low, and since they were still far from the main crowd, they weren’t afraid of being overheard.

When Lin Xinran heard this, her face turned ashen with rage.

But her expression quickly changed again when she saw Wenren Yuxin.

Seeing Wenren Yuxin emerge alone, her face dark and cloudy, a great weight lifted from Lin Xinran’s heart, and she hurried forward to greet her.

"Sister Yuxin, you must be exhausted. To think you’d take the lead even in something like this. It seems I’ll have to learn more from you in the future." Lin Xinran was all smiles, her beautiful eyes curving into crescents.

Yuxin was already in a very bad mood.

The terrifying fluctuation inside the Trial Forest had made her heart leap into her throat. And then, Lin Hao’s first words to her had been about drawing a line between them.

’Saying he couldn’t implicate me, that we couldn’t be seen together, or it would drag me down with him.’

’That damn bastard. A few months ago, his words caused the Wenren family to break ties with the Lin family. I was dragged into this mess from that moment on, and now he’s telling me this?’

Wenren Yuxin, already in a foul mood, naturally wasn’t wearing a pleasant expression. But after hearing Lin Xinran’s words, she froze for a second, and then, for some reason, her mood inexplicably brightened.

Because Lin Xinran spoke again. "Oh, by the way, Sister Yuxin. You must have sensed that final, terrifying fluctuation after you went inside. If the Fiery Fire Demon Monarch comes knocking, you must tell the truth. Otherwise, the entire Saint Institute will be in danger."

Hearing Lin Xinran’s words, how could Wenren Yuxin not understand that she believed Lin Hao had perished?

’Is she trying to provoke me?’

A smile flickered across Wenren Yuxin’s face as she glanced back toward the gate, a hint of anticipation in her beautiful eyes.

"Elder, close the gate!" Hu Rui strode forward, calling out into the air.

An elder materialized, landing just outside the gate to the fourth area.

As an elder of the Saint Institute, it was his duty to open and close the Trial Forest. The designated time was almost up; he would have appeared even if Hu Rui hadn’t said a word.

"Wait, there should still be people inside," Wenren Yuxin was about to say, but Lin Xinran spoke first.

Wenren Yuxin’s beautiful eyes filled with amusement.

"There are still about ten breaths of time left. I hope they can hurry and get out." Lin Xinran glanced at the incense burner used for timing, her expression tense as she stared at the gate.

’The Lin family has suffered greatly in this endeavor. If we lose Lin Jue and Chi Feng as well, it will be a true disaster.’

Wenren Yuxin lowered her head, fighting to suppress her laughter.

The other candidates also stared unblinkingly at the gate, eager to see who would emerge at the very end.

Watching the incense in the burner about to be completely consumed, many people began to count down in their heads. ’Five, four, three, two...’

"...one!" Just as they silently mouthed the final number, a figure burst out of the portal, gasping, "Phew, just in time..."

At the sight of this person, Hu Rui’s eyes narrowed, while Lin Xinran’s eyes shot wide open.

The one who emerged was Lin Hao!

"You... How could it be you!" Seeing Lin Hao, Lin Xinran was driven nearly mad with anger.

’To think I was arguing with Hu Rui, insisting they wait until the very last second, all for the sake of my Lin family members... and in the end, I was just holding the door open for Lin Wu’s mortal enemy!’

"Hahaha! Brother Lin, hello! My name is Chen Qian." Chen Qian roared with laughter upon seeing Lin Hao. "You really ought to thank Lin Xinran! If she hadn’t argued on your behalf, the elder would have locked you inside the Trial Forest!"

This wasn’t him intentionally rubbing salt in the wound; it was just his straightforward personality showing, a genuine outpouring of emotion at seeing Lin Hao alive.

"Your looks are just so-so. I was ready to give up on you," Lin Hao began, looking at Lin Xinran and speaking words that made her want to cough up blood. "But seeing as you’re so loyal, I’ll reluctantly reconsider. Now, what to have you do? Hmm... I know! I’m still in need of someone to empty my chamber pots."

Many of the candidates had already learned of Lin Xinran’s identity. Now, Lin Hao’s words made their eyes go wide. They looked from side to side, thinking they must have misheard.

But seeing the same exaggerated expression on face after face, the crowd realized the problem wasn’t with their ears—it was that Lin Hao was simply too outrageous.

Who was Lin Xinran? She was the young lady of the Lin family, one of the Four Great Families, and known as one of the empire’s Four Great Beauties.

Most importantly, she was Lin Wu’s fiancée.

Yet Lin Hao had called her looks "so-so" and told her to empty chamber pots. This was a slap in the face—a blatant, public humiliation.

If news of this spread, not only would the Lin family be enraged, but Lin Wu himself would probably be driven mad with fury.

Er... COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!

Meanwhile, Wenren Yuxin, who had been preparing to enjoy Lin Xinran’s humiliation, almost burst out laughing. She quickly clapped a hand over her mouth but ended up choking back a cough.

’That guy is infuriating enough to kill someone, and he wouldn’t even have to pay for it.’

Chen Qian, however, was not as reserved as Wenren Yuxin. He roared with laughter.

Nearby, the corner of Hu Rui’s mouth twitched, then twisted into a gloating smirk.

As for Lin Xinran, she was so enraged by Lin Hao’s words that her delicate frame trembled, and she clenched her jaw so hard she nearly cracked a tooth.

Staring at Lin Hao with pure hatred, her face contorted and her eyes spitting fire, Lin Xinran wished for nothing more than to tear him limb from limb.