Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

The group followed the sound, and their faces filled with strange expressions.

They saw a massive turtle.

The turtle was sprawled out lazily, looking utterly listless. Who else could it be but Turtle Egg.

Upon seeing it, before Lin Hao could even speak, Duan Mushuang and Chen Xiao exclaimed in unison.

"It’s you!"

From their surprised tones, it was obvious they recognized Turtle Egg.

"It’s not me. You’ve got the wrong person—no, the wrong turtle." Seeing them, Turtle Egg retracted its head into its shell, flatly denying everything.

"You stole and ate many of the Saint Institute’s Spirit Medicines. The mark from my blade is still on you. How could I be mistaken?" Duan Mushuang said as her sword left its sheath with a SHING.

The turtle before them had snuck into the Saint Institute on more than one occasion, ruining countless Spirit Medicines. It was exceptionally wary, so for the first few incidents, Duan Mushuang hadn’t even realized a turtle was the culprit. It wasn’t until the last time, when the turtle got carried away in its joyous feast, that she finally discovered it.

Duan Mushuang had been furious and slashed out with her sword. But the turtle had taken the blow head-on and then escaped.

At the time, Duan Mushuang had been stunned. Her furious strike was powerful enough to slay even an expert at the Soul Gathering Realm Peak, yet it had only left a mark on the turtle.

Compared to Duan Mushuang, Chen Xiao was even more incensed.

He also recognized the turtle because of the mark on its shell.

The turtle had come to the Chen family to steal Spirit Medicine. When he discovered it, the infuriating creature had acted as if he didn’t even exist and simply swaggered away.

The second time was even more infuriating.

Even now, Chen Xiao remembered the second encounter vividly. The turtle had seen him in his wheelchair and taunted him, gloating, "If you’ve got what it takes, why don’t you get up and chase me?"

At that moment, Chen Xiao had been so frustrated he nearly coughed up blood.

"I’ve finally found you! Just you wait! One day, I’ll make you spit out every last Spirit Medicine you ate."

Chen Xiao wanted to strike, but he knew he couldn’t catch the turtle as he was now. Plus, he didn’t want to expose his secret. Still, he couldn’t just swallow his pent-up fury without saying something.

Chen Xiao had managed to remain perfectly calm even when facing Lin Hao—the one person who could heal his legs—yet now he was acting like this. It was easy to imagine just how infuriated Turtle Egg had made him.

"You have the nerve to bring up that paltry amount of Spirit Medicine? Of the four great families, your Chen family is the poorest. For this divine turtle to even grace you with my presence was giving the Chen family face!" Seeing that it couldn’t get out of it, Turtle Egg spoke to Chen Xiao with utter disdain.

"And you!" the turtle continued, turning to Duan Mushuang. "I just ate a few Spirit Medicines, it’s not like they were Saint Medicines. For a little missy like you to draw a sword on this divine turtle... careful, or you’ll never get married! But speaking of which, you call your place the Saint Institute, yet you don’t have a single stalk of Saint Medicine. This divine turtle is sorely disappointed!"

Duan Mushuang didn’t escape Turtle Egg’s jeers either.

Hearing this, everyone’s eyes went wide. ’This turtle is a real piece of work! From the sound of it, had it really paid a "visit" to all four great families?’

’And it actually called Master Duan a ’little missy’ and dared to mock her like that? This thing is the very definition of courting death.’

Still, a turtle that only ate Spirit Medicine and could also talk... maybe it really was a divine turtle.

For a moment, countless eyes were fixed on Turtle Egg, and some people looked like they were itching to make a move.

They were all hoping Duan Mushuang would give the order to capture it.

"Turtle Egg, get your butt over here!" Lin Hao snapped irritably.

Turtle Egg had been missing for a while, so Lin Hao knew it was up to no good. That it had been "visiting" the four great families was completely within his expectations.

But now, standing before two of its victims, the creature showed no restraint and was as arrogant as ever. As its master, Lin Hao could feel his own face flush with embarrassment.

If he didn’t shut it up quickly, who knew what would happen.

The disciples who had been itching to make a move immediately knew their chance was gone the moment they heard Lin Hao speak.

Anything related to Lin Hao was not something they could hope to lay a finger on.

Even Duan Mushuang shot Lin Hao a surprised glance.

’I’ve seen this turtle’s speed before,’ she thought. ’Could this possibly be his so-called mount?’

’But that name...’

A corner of Duan Mushuang’s mouth curled up, and she couldn’t help but break into a faint smile.

Turtle Egg had incredibly sharp eyes and immediately noticed her expression. It made him fly into a rage at Lin Hao. "You bastard! Can you stop calling me that stupid name!"

"Turtle Egg! Hahaha! What a perfect name!" Once Chen Xiao learned the turtle was Lin Hao’s mount, he knew his hopes for revenge were dashed. But the name... that gave him a way to get back at the creature.

Chen Xiao’s laughter drove Turtle Egg into a frenzy.

It let out a furious HOWL and charged at Lin Hao with unbelievable speed.

Even Duan Mushuang’s eyes widened, as she could only catch a glimpse of an afterimage.

However, despite Turtle Egg’s speed, it was still no match for Lin Hao.

In a flash, Lin Hao had already landed on Turtle Egg’s back.

"AHHH! How did you do that?! I eat Spirit Medicine every day, and you still managed to dodge me!" Turtle Egg was apoplectic.

When they first met, Lin Hao had been completely helpless against its speed. Now, it was immeasurably faster, yet it couldn’t even touch him. The realization drove Turtle Egg mad.

"Let’s move out. Target: Jumo City," Lin Hao commanded, slapping Turtle Egg’s back without another word.

SWOOSH!

Turtle Egg paused for a second, then shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, kicking up a fierce gust of wind.

"Let’s go!" Duan Mushuang snapped out of her daze and gave chase.

Then, everyone was on the move.

The large party surged toward the horizon.

They didn’t stop along the way, as Duan Mushuang found they were falling further and further behind Lin Hao. Their only option was to push their Cloud-Stepping Beasts to travel day and night without rest.

With Cloud-Stepping Beasts as their mounts and Duan Mushuang’s astonishingly high cultivation, everyone cleared a path for them wherever they went.

After chasing for two days and two nights, they finally caught up to Lin Hao in a remote little town.

But who would have known that before they could even dismount their Cloud-Stepping Beasts for a proper rest, the already-fatigued beasts suddenly went berserk and took off at a frantic pace.

Even the Dragon Horse that Chen Xiao rode, which had once belonged to Chen Yan, was no exception.

Behind them, Turtle Egg was snickering.

Needless to say, this was Turtle Egg’s doing.

Because of that one-of-a-kind Turtle Egg, the Cloud-Stepping Beasts ran as if their lives depended on it for the rest of the journey, with almost no time for rest.

As a result, a journey that should have taken ten days and ten nights was cut in half.

Five days and five nights later, Lin Hao’s party appeared before the walls of Jumo City.

Jumo City was a city of cliffs.

The walls of Jumo City were the natural mountain face itself, blending seamlessly with the surrounding peaks. It was a magnificent, imposing sight, suffused with an air of ancient desolation.

The thunderous charge of several hundred Cloud-Stepping Beasts sounded like a mighty army on the march, and it had long since alerted the garrison stationed within Jumo City.

The moment they arrived at the city walls, someone called out what sounded like a coded phrase.

Duan Mushuang immediately replied.

The two exchanged words for some time before the city gate finally opened.

With a rumbling of stone, a massive section of rock began to rise. Duan Mushuang rode in first.

Lin Hao followed close behind. The moment he entered Jumo City, the stench of blood assaulted him.