Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

The sky was dim, yet several carriages lingered outside the gate of the Imperial City Saint Institute.

They were called carriages, but the creatures pulling them were all exotic beasts—each one towering and majestic, its coat flawlessly pure.

And aside from one carriage that was pitch-black, the bodies of the others were crafted from various types of jade, embodying the utmost extravagance.

These were the vehicles of the four great families, symbols of their status and prestige.

The gates of the Imperial City Saint Institute opened silently, and several people emerged from within.

Among them were Lin Hao, Wenren Yuxin, and Chen Qian.

Without a word, a few of them boarded their respective carriages and promptly drove away.

Lin Hao watched the carriages depart, his eyes narrowing slightly.

There were familiar faces among them: Hu Rui and Lin Xinran.

He had anticipated this, so it came as no surprise. What did surprise him was that every one of the drivers had shot him a glance.

From just a single glance, Lin Hao felt an immense pressure, so great that his Emperor Art nearly activated on its own.

For even the drivers to possess such power... The resources and hidden strengths of the four great families were terrifyingly profound.

However, Lin Hao soon relaxed.

Then, Lin Hao began to examine the carriage beside him.

"What, you look down on it? I could call back one of the others to give you a ride." This pitch-black, unassuming carriage was Wenren Yuxin’s.

Seeing Lin Hao staring at it, Wenren Yuxin said, puffing her cheeks in a pout.

"Those other carriages may look extravagant, but all of them combined aren’t worth as much as this one of yours. Even that one over there can’t compare. If I had to pick a carriage to ride in, I’d definitely choose yours," Lin Hao said, pointing to the only other carriage that hadn’t left.

The eyes of the driver standing beside Wenren Yuxin’s carriage flashed with a strange light.

The carriage next to them wasn’t much prettier than Wenren Yuxin’s. Aside from the exotic beast pulling it, it looked quite plain.

What’s more, there was no driver standing beside it.

"Huh? Mu Shuang is going too?" Upon seeing the carriage, Wenren Yuxin was first startled, then she whipped her head around to stare at Lin Hao, her lovely eyes wide.

"What did you just say?!"

Lin Hao cleared his throat and fell silent.

He couldn’t help but comment after recognizing the astonishing material of Wenren Yuxin’s carriage, but it seemed he had just stirred a hornet’s nest.

’She’s disguised it so well, she obviously doesn’t want anyone to recognize it.’

Wenren Yuxin glared fiercely at Lin Hao, clearly not intending to let him off the hook until he explained.

"To build a carriage out of Jade Emperor Crystal... Your Wenren family is truly extravagant," Lin Hao said with a shrug, revealing the carriage’s material.

The finest Jade Emperor Crystal is a solid golden-yellow. Not only is it exceedingly rare, but its golden hue is forbidden to all but the royal family.

This carriage had been treated with a special Refining process so no one could recognize it. It was unthinkable that Lin Hao had seen through its material with a single glance.

If the material of this carriage were to be exposed, it would cause a great deal of trouble.

A murderous glint flashed in the driver’s eyes.

Wenren Yuxin waved her hand, dismissing the thought. She was sure Lin Hao wouldn’t betray her secret.

Then, staring at Lin Hao, Wenren Yuxin’s eyes flickered with complex emotions. She found him more and more unfathomable.

"Brother Lin, I’ve brought a fine horse for you." The voice belonged to Chen Qian. Behind him followed an exceptionally majestic horse. It had no hair, only shimmering silver Scale Armor. There were no reins, yet it followed Chen Qian closely.

A Dragon Horse!

It was a Dragon Horse!

Upon seeing the steed, both Wenren Yuxin and her driver’s eyes widened in shock.

"Is that the old General’s mount?" Wenren Yuxin’s voice trembled slightly.

Chen Yan had dominated the battlefields, and his mount was famous throughout Cangnan—a Dragon Horse, nearly identical to this one.

"It is. As you know, ever since Brother Lin provided that Saint Medicine for the frontline Warriors, my grandfather has been looking for an opportunity to repay him." Chen Qian’s gaze toward Lin Hao was filled with admiration, respect, and a trace of jealousy.

This Dragon Horse had followed his grandfather, Chen Yan, its entire life and had long become sentient. After the old General retired, countless people had asked for the horse, but he refused them all. Yet today, when Chen Qian returned home, the old General, who hadn’t made an appearance in ages, actually entrusted the horse to him to be given to Lin Hao.

"Brother Lin, my grandfather says he has no other way to repay your kindness, so he wishes to gift this horse to you," Chen Qian explained.

At Chen Qian’s words, Wenren Yuxin was filled with a sense of solemn respect.

She knew what this Dragon Horse meant to the old General. To think he would part with the mount he treasured as much as his own life, all because of the medicine Lin Hao had provided.

Lin Hao could tell the Dragon Horse’s significance from their expressions. He shook his head. "Please thank the old General for me, but I cannot accept such a precious gift. It should remain with a true General."

As he spoke, the Dragon Horse let out a long neigh, as if in response.

"But..." Chen Qian became anxious. This was a direct order from his grandfather. If Lin Hao refused, how could he possibly explain it when he returned?

"Grandfather said that if you refuse, he will give the horse to my ninth brother. Although my ninth brother was once the most qualified to ride this Dragon Horse, giving it to him now would be a waste. This has nothing to do with jealousy!" Chen Qian’s face turned beet red.

Lin Hao was intrigued. "Your ninth brother is a wastrel?" he asked.

"No, my ninth brother is brilliant. It’s just..." Chen Qian trailed off.

"That young man is a genius," Wenren Yuxin interjected, "but he was born unable to awaken his bloodline. He insisted on going to the battlefield, and the old General couldn’t stop him. Under his strategic command, our side won several major victories. But then the enemy learned of him and sent their masters. Now, the young man can barely move. The old General blames himself and spends his days caring for him at the Chen family estate."

Lin Hao paused, then let out a seemingly unrelated sigh. "The old are always the most cunning, aren’t they?"

Then, Lin Hao turned to Chen Qian. "Go tell your grandfather to give the horse to your ninth brother."

"But..."

"Just go already! He has a way to save your ninth brother," Wenren Yuxin chided, having understood Lin Hao’s hidden meaning.

"Ah! So that’s what Grandfather meant." Chen Qian finally understood.

"You can go back now," Chen Qian said to the Dragon Horse.

The Dragon Horse let out a long neigh, then vanished in a gust of wind, disappearing in an instant.

"That’s the mount of a War God. If you rode it tonight, no one would dare touch you. And you just gave it up like that. No regrets?" Wenren Yuxin teased once the Dragon Horse was gone.

Lin Hao chuckled. "If no one makes a move on me, where’s the fun in that?"

"Is that so? Then I truly look forward to you wreaking havoc tonight." Wenren Yuxin shot Lin Hao a look, then slipped into the carriage.

Without waiting for an invitation, Lin Hao naturally followed her inside.

Behind them, Chen Qian chuckled and followed after the carriage.

Not long after they departed, a stunningly beautiful woman emerged from the Saint Institute and boarded the one remaining carriage.

With no one to drive it, the carriage charged ahead on its own and quickly vanished...

As a Prince, Duan Xinyu owned a mansion in the easternmost part of Imperial City. While not as sprawling as the estates of the four great families, it was still grand and imposing.

In front of the mansion stood four qilin statues, each carved with lifelike detail and standing over ten meters tall!

Night had just begun to fall when a carriage and a fine horse appeared outside the mansion.

It was, of course, Lin Hao and his companions.

The other carriages were parked nearby. Their drivers, who had been resting with their eyes closed, glanced over as the group arrived, then closed their eyes again in disinterest.

As the three of them approached, one of the four guards standing at the entrance spoke, his face devoid of expression. "Please present your invitation."

Wenren Yuxin paused, a flicker of worry in her eyes.

With her perception, she could instantly gauge the four guards’ cultivation levels.

None of the four was weak. All were at the Peak of the Seventh Layer of the Elemental Realm, and what’s more, they were all Element Bodies!

Furthermore, Wenren Yuxin could sense several other Martial Artists lying in wait.

This was clearly a power play intended to intimidate Lin Hao.

Wenren Yuxin suddenly looped her arm through Lin Hao’s and presented her own invitation.

One of the guards took it, glanced at it, and then respectfully invited her inside.

"I apologize, Miss Wenren. You may enter, but he cannot," one of them said, his gaze fixed on Lin Hao.

"He is an honored guest, invited personally by your Prince!" Wenren Yuxin’s voice turned glacial, and a murderous aura began to emanate from her.

The four guards took a step back in unison.

They were no match for Wenren Yuxin’s level of power.

"If he is indeed an honored guest of His Highness, then we must trouble him to present his invitation." The four guards took a deep breath and regained their positions.

Lin Hao smiled and patted Wenren Yuxin’s arm reassuringly.

Wenren Yuxin could already feel the killing intent radiating from Lin Hao. With an internal sigh, she released his arm.

Lin Hao said nothing, simply shrugging off his outer coat and handing it to Wenren Yuxin.

"Wenren, let’s head inside. We wouldn’t want to get splattered with blood." Chen Qian presented his own invitation and gestured for Wenren Yuxin to enter, acting as if he didn’t even know Lin Hao.

This was just as his grandfather had instructed him before he left. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Wenren Yuxin’s eyes flickered, but she said no more and walked away.

CRACK!

The pair hadn’t gone far before they heard three sharp cracks.

They turned back to a sight of utter shock.

Three of the four guards lay on the ground. The last one was still alive, but his neck was caught in Lin Hao’s grip, feet dangling and kicking frantically.

Four Element Bodies, all at the Peak of the Seventh Layer of the Elemental Realm, were like ants before Lin Hao. He had effortlessly crushed three of them to death.

Chen Qian was a War Body at the Peak of the Elemental Realm, and he knew he couldn’t have done the same.

Wenren Yuxin, one of the Twenty-Four King Bodies whose cultivation had long surpassed the Elemental Realm, knew she couldn’t have done it either.

Yet Lin Hao, a mere Spirit Body at the Seventh Layer of the Elemental Realm, had.

Wenren Yuxin and Chen Qian exchanged a glance, each seeing the profound shock mirrored in the other’s eyes.

Lin Hao was simply terrifying.

Just then, a dozen more men appeared.

They were clad in armor, clearly the Guards of the Prince’s mansion.

These were no ordinary Guards, however. In an extravagant display of power, every single one of them was at the Eighth Layer of the Elemental Realm!

The man at their head was even at the Peak of the Eighth Layer of the Elemental Realm!

The leader fixed his eyes on Lin Hao and bellowed, "Audacious fiend! How dare you commit murder before the Prince’s Mansion!"

His roar was like thunder, echoing far into the distance.

"Me? Commit murder? I am an honored guest, personally invited by your Prince." Lin Hao smiled. "But these servants were blind. Keeping them around would be a waste of the Prince’s food, so I simply helped him dispose of them." He then applied a bit of pressure with his hand.

With a sharp snap, the last guard’s neck was also crushed by Lin Hao.