Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

A killing intent filled the air, and countless people couldn’t help but shudder.

The moment the words were spoken, a man took a single step and appeared in the pavilion.

He was the very man who had just delivered the message.

The man stood before Lin Hao, his eyes filled with nothing but disdain—thick, undisguised disdain.

"A pretty boy like you entering Jumo City would just be snatched up by some big shot in the Mo Yun Kingdom to be a male pet. If we relied on you to transport provisions, all our soldiers would die. For the sake of countless soldiers’ lives, I will send you to your death today!" the man sneered, his hostility palpable.

Had it only been the first part, Lin Hao wouldn’t have been angry. A soldier should have a soldier’s pride. But to immediately jump to taking a life while claiming the moral high ground made Lin Hao question the man’s motives.

This man was a soldier, true, but he was no ordinary soldier. Since he was delivering messages for Duan Xinyu, it was obvious whose man he was.

"So if I destroy you, I’ll be qualified?" Lin Hao asked, not a hint of anger in his calm voice, as if killing the man was a trivial matter.

"That’s right!" the man nodded, his eyes flashing with killing intent.

"You have some nerve! You’re only at the Eighth Layer of the Elemental Realm, yet you dare to challenge Brother Lin? Don’t you know he just hunted down more than ten people at your level? It was as easy as crushing ants," Chen Qian rebuked, completely ignoring the Eighth Prince’s darkening expression.

BOOM!

In response to Chen Qian’s accusation, the man simply glanced back at him. Chen Qian immediately felt a sharp pain in his chest and involuntarily took a step back.

Chen Qian’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the man.

Just as Lin Hao was about to agree, Wenren Yuxin’s urgent voice sounded in his ear. "Don’t agree! That man is a Sealer!"

At the word "Sealer," Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed slightly.

A so-called "Sealer" was a Martial Artist who suppressed their cultivation to a specific realm. A Martial Artist capable of sealing their own power had a true cultivation level of at least the Seventh Layer of the Soul Gathering Realm.

Unlike those who had their realms passively suppressed, Sealers possessed immense combat power.

The fact that a single, casual glance from the man had forced Chen Qian, a cultivator at the Peak of the Elemental Realm, to retreat was the best proof of this.

As strong as Lin Hao was, his chances of victory against a Sealer at the Eighth Layer of the Elemental Realm were practically nonexistent.

"I’ve killed countless people, but I’ve never killed a Sealer before," Lin Hao replied to Wenren Yuxin’s warning.

Before Wenren Yuxin could say another word, Lin Hao nodded in agreement.

A smile spread across the Sealer’s face, as it did on the faces of Duan Xinyu and Yue Zhongyin.

The next moment, the Sealer took a single stride and landed on the open ground in the middle of the man-made lake.

Smiling, Lin Hao slowly strolled toward him.

The Sealer was patient, still smiling as he waited for Lin Hao to reach the clearing.

"I don’t kill nobodies. State your name before you die," the Sealer said, his voice dripping with contempt for Lin Hao.

’This guy obviously came out here because he heard what Duan Mushuang said earlier. For him to claim he doesn’t know my name now... his hypocrisy is on par with Duan Xinyu’s.’

"Like master, like servant, I see. And unlike you, I never bother to ask for the names of the dying," Lin Hao retorted, not yielding an inch.

In the pavilion, Duan Xinyu’s expression was livid. Beneath the table, his hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white.

Lin Hao filled Duan Xinyu with the urge to tear him to shreds.

As if he possessed some Mind Reading Skill, the Sealer declared, "Today, I will tear you to pieces!"

The moment he finished speaking, the Sealer attacked.

In a single step, he was before Lin Hao, his speed unbelievable.

Simultaneously, he swiped a clawed hand at Lin Hao.

A hissing sound filled the air, as if his strike was tearing space itself apart.

Lin Hao, though startled, remained composed. He brought his five fingers together into a beak-like shape and struck at the incoming claw.

BOOM!

The two collided with immense force. The impact on the man-made lake was like two cannonballs striking the water, sending a massive wave over ten meters high into the air.

Fish leaped from the lake’s surface only to explode in mid-air, unable to return to the water.

The surrounding pavilions, however, were protected by a mysterious power and remained unscathed by the shockwave.

"Go!"

With that single shout, the ten-meter-high wave behind the Sealer instantly converged, transforming into a great dragon.

The great dragon grew larger and larger as the water in the man-made lake vanished at a visible rate.

Drawing Water, Forming a Dragon!

The great dragon stretched across the sky as wind and clouds churned. An oppressive might, capable of crushing all creation, began to form.

VMMMM!

A sound like a dragon’s roar echoed as the great dragon, carrying the might of the heavens, descended upon Lin Hao.

Its great, intangible maw completely enveloped the clearing. The Sealer himself had already taken to the air.

On his first night in the Imperial City, Lin Zhan had also used a technique to form a dragon from water, but his version was nowhere near as effortless and masterful as the Sealer’s.

’Besides,’ Lin Hao had a hunch, ’the dragon’s gaping mouth isn’t the real killing blow.’

Lin Hao’s body shot sideways.

The next instant, the clearing in the middle of the man-made lake was pulverized within the great dragon’s jaws!

BOOM!

The great dragon swung its tail, sweeping toward Lin Hao. He moved again, dodging the attack.

The tail smashed into the pavilion.

Even with the mysterious power protecting it, the pavilion still shook from the force of the blow.

"This pavilion is protected by a wisp of a powerful Martial Artist’s domain. It’s said to be able to defend against even the power of the Soul Gathering Realm. His strength is terrifying," Hu Rui exclaimed in awe.

"A pity he couldn’t even touch Brother Lin’s sleeve," Chen Qian added with a smile.

"Hmph! Lin Hao’s arrogance won’t last. The Sealer still has killing blows he hasn’t used!" Hu Rui snorted.

At that moment, Lin Hao attacked.

His body flickered as he shot toward the Sealer.

But this time, his incredible speed was ineffective.

The two swapped positions, and Lin Hao only managed to leave a scratch on the Sealer’s neck.

A vicious expression instantly appeared on the Sealer’s face. The next moment, after having absorbed all the water from the man-made lake, the great dragon began to draw up the mud from the lakebed.

In a flash, the great dragon in mid-air took on a solid, mud-colored form.

The mud dragon stretched for dozens of meters. It grew longer and longer as it compressed, its aura becoming monstrously terrifying.

Though the pavilion was protected by a mysterious power, the disciples within still felt an unparalleled and terrifying pressure.

It was a pressure so immense it could make one’s very soul tremble!

Countless people began to circulate their Cultivation Techniques, fighting against a pressure so great they felt they would cough up blood.

Above the man-made lake, Lin Hao hovered in mid-air, bearing the brunt of an even more terrifying pressure.

He wanted to evade, but the mud dragon hung in the air, its coiling body trapping him completely.

The mud dragon’s body formed a series of coils in the shape of an inverted cone. The opening at the top grew smaller and smaller, while in the very center, its head emerged, glaring down at him like a tiger stalking its prey.

"Haha! In any place with water, he’s practically invincible! And this is Zhenlong Lake, of all places! There’s no way Lin Hao survives this!" Hu Rui laughed aloud from the pavilion upon seeing this.

Lin Hao’s body was being forced downward.

The pressure from above was overwhelming.