Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

"You’re Lin Hao?" the woman asked, her voice quite cold.

Lin Hao nodded.

Although the woman was cold, Lin Hao couldn’t see any condescension in her beautiful eyes, only placidity.

That was why Lin Hao was being so agreeable.

"I heard you had a conflict with other examinees in the Trial Forest and were mobbed by several of them?"

Lin Hao didn’t know what she was getting at, but he nodded anyway. He didn’t mind that his deliberate kills were being described as a mere "conflict."

"The Devil Beasts in the Trial Forest are prepared specifically for the assessment. It would be difficult for even someone with a normal War Body to acquire forty Tokens within the allotted time. Yet you did it in even less time. This means you are quite extraordinary."

Lin Hao subconsciously started to nod, but he suddenly realized something seemed wrong.

Just as he thought. The woman’s next words confirmed Lin Hao’s suspicions.

"In that case, I believe defeating a single disciple from the Holy Stele would be too simple for you. To enter the Upper Academy, you will need to defeat three disciples from the Holy Stele."

The moment she said this, Chen Qian was dumbfounded.

He had been hoping Master Duan would help uphold justice, but this was clearly backing Lin Hao into a corner with no way out!

Hu Rui, on the other hand, was overjoyed.

Just as Chen Qian had said, in the endless years since the Saint Institute’s founding, only three people had ever defied the heavens and defeated disciples whose names were carved upon the Holy Stele.

Now, Master Duan was telling Lin Hao to defeat three of them. There was no way Lin Hao could do it!

The spots for the Heaven-Breaking Pavilion would definitely be chosen only from among the Upper Academy disciples. If he couldn’t get into the Upper Academy, Lin Hao wouldn’t even have a chance.

If the Upper Academy’s Saint Master wasn’t present, Hu Rui would have burst out laughing.

’This is perfect!’

Hu Rui looked at Lin Hao, hoping to see him looking devastated. That would have made him even happier.

However, Hu Rui was disappointed.

Lin Hao’s expression was unreadable.

’He must be scared stiff!’

Hu Rui felt a wave of satisfaction.

Seeing Lin Hao’s expression, even the woman thought he was scared stiff and explained further:

"Of course, the Saint Institute has a long history. If the names were allowed to accumulate indefinitely, you would never even have the chance to meet them. The Holy Stele is updated every fifty years to record only the combat strength of the current generation. As such, several of the ten people currently on the stele are still at the Saint Institute."

Hearing this, Lin Hao smiled, his spirits soaring.

A moment ago, anger had been simmering in his heart, as he thought this woman was also deliberately targeting him. But after her explanation, Lin Hao felt no fear at all.

Hu Rui, who had been watching him closely, suddenly felt a pang of displeasure seeing Lin Hao’s reaction. ’Even this doesn’t scare him?!’

"Alright, you will enter the Middle Academy to cultivate. In light of you obtaining forty-one Tokens, you are permitted to borrow any book from the Upper Academy Library. What do the rest of you Saint Masters think?"

’You’ve already arranged everything. Besides, your status and cultivation are the highest among all the Saint Masters. How could we dare to have an opinion?’ the other Saint Masters grumbled internally.

On the surface, however, they all replied with friendly faces that they had no objections.

That Master Wang, in particular, was effusive with his praise.

"Master Duan is wise. This will not only silence the gossips but also motivate him to strive harder. Lin Hao, thank her for her grace at once!"

As he finished, Master Wang shot Lin Hao an arrogant, scolding look.

Lin Hao sneered. ’I was already planning to settle the score with this guy for what happened earlier, and now he dares to provoke me again.’

"Thank you, Master Duan," Lin Hao said sincerely to the woman. Then he suddenly turned to the man and asked, "Master Wang, may I ask what kind of physique you have?"

"My physique is a War Body!" The man might not feel superior when facing others, but before Lin Hao, a mere Spirit Body, his sense of superiority was immense.

"Wow, that’s so amazing! That’s a whole two tiers higher than a Spirit Body!" Lin Hao said with a look of shock.

The man puffed out his chest, about to speak, but after glancing at the woman beside him, he cleared his throat twice and said vaguely, "It’s just average."

Despite his words, Lin Hao could see the undisguised pride in his eyes. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"And what about your cultivation level?" Lin Hao asked again.

"I am untalented. At thirty-three years of age, I have only just managed to reach the Ninth Layer of the Soul Gathering Realm."

This level of cultivation was already terrifying.

One had to know, back in War Dragon City, even the two elders of the Lin family were over a hundred years old and still hadn’t stepped into the Soul Gathering Realm.

Moreover, Lin Hao believed that even in Imperial City, someone reaching this cultivation level at his age was exceedingly rare. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have become a Saint Master of the Saint Institute’s Upper Academy.

This was definitely a genius-level figure.

Unfortunately for him, he had managed to piss Lin Hao off.

And naturally, Lin Hao wasn’t about to let him feel good about himself.

"Master Wang is truly impressive," Lin Hao praised.

The man’s eyes were full of smug satisfaction.

However, at that very moment, Lin Hao’s tone shifted. "But... I’m from the Heaven-Stepping Sect."

The smile on the man’s face instantly froze.

Lin Hao paid him no mind and continued, "I recall that old fellow Cang Yan had already advanced to the Spirit Transformation Realm by the time he was your age."

The man’s body trembled, his fists clenched so tightly the veins on them bulged.

’A slap to the face. This was a goddamn blatant, in-your-face humiliation.’

Everyone in the empire knew that Cang Yan only had a Spirit Body. Lin Hao’s words were clearly implying: ’So what if you have a War Body? You’re still not as good as someone with a Spirit Body.’

"You..." Master Wang finally couldn’t take it anymore. A terrifying aura was about to erupt from him.

"That’s enough. We should be heading back. The Heaven-Breaking Pavilion will open in a year at most, perhaps as little as six months. We should make more preparations." Master Duan suddenly spoke. Her voice was soft, yet it held an undeniable authority.

Master Wang instantly deflated like a punctured ball, his imposing aura vanishing without a trace.

"Take care, Master Duan. I believe it won’t be long before I enter the Upper Academy," Lin Hao called out after them.

Master Duan’s last sentence was clearly a reminder that he was running out of time. How could Lin Hao not understand?

Hu Rui was walking at the very back. Before leaving, he shot Lin Hao a vicious glare.

Although he had succeeded in keeping Lin Hao out of the Upper Academy, he didn’t feel any satisfaction.

But then he thought about how Lin Hao had offended a Saint Master the moment he entered the Saint Institute, and he cheered up again.

"Brother Lin, I’m truly impressed!" Once they were a good distance away, Chen Qian gave Lin Hao a thumbs-up.

Lin Hao dared to mercilessly strike back at even a Saint Master of the Saint Institute and come out completely on top. Chen Qian felt humbled in comparison.

"Don’t be too impressed. I’m just the type who repays every grudge. If someone respects me by a foot, I’ll return the favor by a yard," Lin Hao said with a shake of his head and a smile.

Chen Qian said, "Repaying kindness and enmity as you see fit—that’s how a true man should be."

After saying that, he sighed softly, a dazed look on his face.

Lin Hao paused, then understood.

Born into one of the four great families, some things were simply out of one’s control. A straightforward person like Chen Qian wasn’t suited for the scheming and backstabbing in a place teeming with both saints and scoundrels. Someone like him belonged on a battlefield.

Thinking of the battlefield, Lin Hao’s thoughts suddenly turned to his third and fourth brothers, and also to Shenshan.

He wondered how they were doing.

He had the urge to ask Chen Qian about them, but on second thought, he decided against it. Even if he got news of them, it wouldn’t do any good.

His thoughts shifted, and he remembered two other people. He then asked, "By the way, Brother Chen, how are the disciples who entered the Saint Institute using the Tokens it issued arranged?"

Lin Hao was thinking of Ling Xiao and Yang Peng.

Ling Xiao’s physique was a Yuan Body, while Yang Peng’s was only a Spirit Body after Lin Hao had tempered his bloodline. Although they had Tokens, they definitely wouldn’t be able to enter the Upper Academy.

It would be a huge loss if they could only enter the Lower Academy.

Hearing Lin Hao’s question, Chen Qian came back to his senses and answered, "If their physique is a War Body or higher, they directly enter the Upper Academy. If not, they enter the Middle Academy. Of course, what I just told you applies to them as well. If a Middle Academy disciple can defeat a Holy Stele disciple, they can also enter the Upper Academy."

Lin Hao nodded, then asked, "Could you please tell me about these Holy Stele disciples?"

This was related to entering the Upper Academy, so Lin Hao had to pay close attention.

Hearing Lin Hao ask this, Chen Qian’s expression instantly turned serious.

"The Holy Stele is a record tablet that lists only the disciples with the greatest combat strength in the Saint Institute. There are two conditions to challenge the Holy Stele. First, you must be under twenty years of age. Second, your cultivation must be at the Soul Gathering Realm or higher."

Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed.

This meant that even the lowest-ranked person on the Holy Stele had a cultivation at the Soul Gathering Realm, and they were all so young.

"The top nine are one thing, but the name in the last spot changes frequently. It’s not strange for it to change a hundred times in a single day."

Lin Hao understood after a moment’s thought. The last place was the weakest. The moment someone successfully challenged for it, they would immediately receive challenges from others. The pressure they had to endure was unimaginable.

No wonder only three people had ever succeeded in the Saint Institute’s history. It was just too difficult.

"Brother Lin, I’m not trying to pour cold water on you. You might succeed in challenging one person, but three... there’s no hope," Chen Qian said.

Lin Hao smiled, replying easily, "Where there’s a will, there’s a way."

"Brother Lin, I’ve heard about many of your deeds. Any one of those accomplishments is something that not even the top ten masters on the Holy Stele could necessarily achieve. So, you might really be able to set an unprecedented example," Chen Qian said suddenly, staring at Lin Hao with blazing eyes.

Lin Hao rubbed his chin and smiled faintly.

Suddenly, a terrifying fluctuation of power rippled through the air.

"Look! Someone is challenging one of the top ten masters of the Holy Stele on the Saint Institute’s battlefield!" Chen Qian pointed.

Lin Hao looked up and witnessed a truly shocking scene.

Before their eyes, a huge plot of land from the square in front of the Upper Academy lifted into the air, rising high into the sky.

Immediately after, another plot of land from not far away also rose into the air.

The two plots of land eventually merged, hanging suspended in mid-air.

Lin Hao didn’t look at the sky, but instead stared at the spot where the land from the Upper Academy had lifted off.

His eyes shone brightly as he saw countless Array Runes dissipating.

’No, those aren’t Array Runes.’

’That is the power of a Martial Domain!’

This was a technique only an expert at the Sealed Martial Realm could possess.

Sealed Martial Realm experts could touch the power of a Martial Domain. Their physical bodies could tear through the void, and they could immobilize other Martial Artists with a wave of their hand. They were incomparably powerful.

Below the Sealed Martial Realm, even those at the Spirit Transformation Realm were nothing but ants!

That plot of land had been infused with the power of a Martial Domain by a supreme expert of the Sealed Martial Realm. After being activated through some method, it had soared into the sky.

Lin Hao looked around again, his gaze sharp, and understood a great deal more.

The entire Saint Institute had been reinforced by Sealed Martial Realm experts, just like the Heaven-Stepping Sect, and was protected by some kind of rule.

But it was obvious that the Saint Institute couldn’t compare to the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

After the Spirit Transformation Realm, one comprehended the power of a Martial Domain to enter the Sealed Martial Realm. The Heaven-Breaking Realm that came after the Sealed Martial Realm was the ultimate expression of a Martial Domain.

And after domains came Martial Laws!

The Heaven-Stepping Sect was far, far larger than the Saint Institute. And when the Emperor Venerable made a move, it involved the power of laws at the very least.

"Brother Lin, let’s go! We can go to the Saint Institute’s battlefield and watch the experts’ duel." Chen Qian’s words pulled Lin Hao’s thoughts back to reality.