Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

"Hey, silly girl, what are you doing here?" Lin Hao asked, a bit confused, only now remembering Yingxue’s cultivation level.

As if offended by the nickname, Yingxue’s delicate nose twitched, and she pouted, "None of your business! Don’t call me silly girl!"

But she quickly jutted her chin out and added, "Those guys’ noses are so high in the air, I’m not going over there."

Lin Hao looked over, and sure enough, she was right.

The group in front of the hall to the right, all of whom were above the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, were looking over with gloating expressions, as if watching a bunch of clowns.

Lin Hao smiled faintly and looked away, only to inadvertently spot Chu Sheng also standing among the crowd at the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm.

Lin Hao wasn’t the least bit surprised. Indulgence in wine, women, wealth, and anger had always been the greatest enemies of Martial Dao Cultivation.

"For this assessment, those ranked fourth through tenth will each receive ten Regeneration Pills." In front of the hall, the middle-aged man finally revealed the rewards.

A Regeneration Pill, when consumed by a Martial Artist upon entering the sect’s Regeneration Pool, could greatly increase the success rate of awakening their bloodline. It was priceless.

Ten Regeneration Pills were worth a fortune. While the candidates marveled, they couldn’t help but grow even more excited for the rewards for the top three.

Fortunately, the middle-aged man didn’t keep the crowd waiting and continued, "Second and third place will each be rewarded with one Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Pill."

The announcement sent the entire crowd into an uproar. Even the eyes of the candidates who had surpassed the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm lit up.

After new disciples entered a sect, the major sects would usually arrange a trial for them to hunt Devil Beasts.

The trials were dangerous, but the rewards were rich.

If one encountered a powerful Devil Beast during the trial, a Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Pill could not only save their life but could even help them perform a miracle.

Moreover, in a sect’s various grand competitions, a single Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Pill could often be the trump card that turned the tide of battle.

Therefore, Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Pills were extremely precious.

On the Celestial Yang Continent, one had to be at least an Earth-rank Pill Master to successfully refine such a pill.

After the initial excitement, some people calmed down, their expressions turning somber. As tempting as the reward was, it would ultimately never be theirs.

In contrast, the dozen or so people from the right side of the hall were all rubbing their hands together, their gazes fixed on the middle-aged man, burning with fervor. They were waiting for him to announce the reward for first place.

The rewards for second and third place were already so generous. The reward for first place, then... Their hearts began to pound wildly.

The entire area fell deathly silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Amidst the crowd’s fervent anticipation, the middle-aged man slowly spoke, "The reward for first place in this assessment is a mutated Demon Pill."

"Uh..." Everyone was stunned, thinking they must have misheard. As they understood it, a Demon Pill could only be put to its full use in the hands of an Alchemy Master. For them, it was useless for anything other than being exchanged for a large sum of money.

However, Lin Hao’s heart skipped a beat.

’To be honest, as an Alchemy Master, I had no interest in any of those previous rewards. But this first-place prize... this is interesting. The word ’mutated’ implies something truly out of the ordinary.’

The middle-aged man didn’t elaborate on the Demon Pill. He turned, entered the great hall, and the pre-assessment strength test began.

"Two chi, seven cun. Failed. Next!"

"Two chi, nine cun. Failed. Next!"

"Three chi, one cun. Failed. Next!"

The assessment had just begun, but many candidates were already eliminated. Although they were at the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, some had relied on pills, while others had only just broken through and had unstable foundations. Their failure was inevitable.

Without another word, they retreated, dejected.

"Three chi, three cun. Passed!" Someone in Lin Hao’s group had passed the test.

The candidate clenched his fist and let out a triumphant roar.

Lin Hao smiled, genuinely happy for him.

"Heh." At that moment, a scornful laugh came from the adjacent group.

Lin Hao looked over, momentarily stunned. The one who had laughed was none other than Chu Sheng.

Just as Lin Hao’s focus returned, he saw Chu Sheng turn and cup his fists to the crowd before turning back to center himself. A moment later, Lin Hao could feel the air begin to swirl around him.

Lin Hao’s heart jumped. ’That’s the sign of the peak of the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm. I didn’t think this guy would be half-decent.’

BOOM! A loud bang pulled Lin Hao from his thoughts. He looked up to see the crystal pillar glowing with a red light, which finally settled at a height of three chi, eight cun.

"Thirty-eight hundred pounds!"

This was the highest score so far, leaving the crowd gasping in amazement.

"To hit three chi, eight cun at the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm... I’m afraid no one will be able to surpass that score!"

"If I told you that two years ago, four Soul Gathering Realm experts personally traveled to War Dragon City just to escort Lin Wu to the capital, or that three years ago, the genius Lin Hao reached the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm at the age of twelve, you’d know that this result is nothing special."

People were whispering nearby. The one who spoke must have been from War Dragon City.

"Heh heh, ’nothing special,’ you say? Young Master Wu of the Imperial City’s Lin family is a peerless genius, I have nothing to argue there. But the Lin family of War Dragon City is about to be erased from existence. And that Lin Hao you mentioned? He’s nothing but a foolish piece of trash! How dare you compare me to a fool? You’re insulting me!"

As it happened, the arrogant Chu Sheng overheard this. His expression immediately turned cold, and a vicious glint appeared in his eyes.

"I was just spouting nonsense, just spouting nonsense..." The gossiper was so scared he nearly wet himself. He didn’t even bother with the assessment and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Lin Hao heard every single word. On the surface, he was still smiling, but his smile had turned cold.

’Chu Sheng is from Red Beauty City, but he knows a lot about my Lin family in War Dragon City. He even said the family is about to be wiped out. Could it be that the City Lord’s Mansion of Red Beauty City is also scheming against the Lin family?’

Lin Hao didn’t know that Chu Sheng had visited the Tao Pavilion in War Dragon City; otherwise, he would have certainly made the connection to Shi Bai.

In fact, the City Lord’s Mansion of Red Beauty City had already received news of Shi Bai’s death. When the time came to attack the Lin family, they would surely play their part.

As Lin Hao was lost in thought, something unexpected occurred during the strength test.

When it was Yingxue’s turn, she was eager to give it a try, but the middle-aged examiner stopped her.

The middle-aged man’s eyes lit up when he saw Yingxue. He then stammered, "You don’t need to test. We’ll count you as passed."

’I can’t see through this young girl’s abilities at all!’

’And I’m a powerhouse who has reached the Elemental Realm!’

This didn’t mean Yingxue’s cultivation surpassed the Elemental Realm. It was her constitution!

On the Celestial Yang Continent, special constitutions were mysterious and difficult to fathom. Unless one’s Martial Dao Cultivation was a full major realm higher, it was impossible for someone with a lower-grade constitution to see through a higher-grade one.

This was the main reason why Lin Zheng from War Dragon City was able to conceal his cultivation level.

This middle-aged man possessed a Spirit Body. His inability to see through Yingxue could only mean one thing: her constitution was far superior to a Spirit Body!

He could hardly contain his excitement. To think that someone with a constitution superior to a Spirit Body would appear at a simple pre-assessment strength test!

In Yingxue’s eyes, striking the crystal pillar looked like a lot of fun. So, when the middle-aged man said she didn’t have to, she was displeased.

"Everyone else gets to hit it, so why can’t I?" Yingxue demanded, putting her hands on her hips and puffing out her cheeks in a pout.

The middle-aged man wiped the cold sweat from his brow and quickly said, "You can, you can! Hit it however you like."

A special constitution was one in ten thousand. Now that one had finally appeared, he couldn’t risk the sect losing such a talent because of his own carelessness.

"Hmph, that’s more like it!" Yingxue huffed, stepping in front of the crystal pillar. As she threw a punch, her small fist instantly swelled to a larger size.

The middle-aged man’s eyelids twitched. ’Oh no,’ he thought.

’He could see it clearly; the girl was using True Essence!’

’Only Martial Artists who have awakened their bloodlines can transform True Qi into True Essence. This attack of hers is definitely not at the level of the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm.’

’How could the crystal pillar possibly withstand a blow where she isn’t suppressing her realm?’

Sure enough, when Yingxue’s fist struck the crystal pillar, the red powder inside shot instantly to the very top. Then, with a BANG, the pillar exploded.

"Yay!"

Yingxue jumped for joy.

The other candidates were all completely petrified.

"The crystal pillar shattered! What incredible power!" Once they recovered from their shock, the crowd murmured in awe.

Compared to her result, the previous score of three chi, eight cun was complete garbage!

"Hmph! What’s so great about that? Her fist swelled up just now; she’s clearly reached the Bone Strengthening realm. She’s surpassed the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, so it’s no wonder she got a result like this!" Even though he was interested in Yingxue, hearing others praise her still irritated Chu Sheng.

Many of the other candidates agreed with him. Quite a few had sharp enough eyes to see that Yingxue had indeed used power far beyond the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm.

Her cultivation was clearly beyond the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, so why was she here taking the test? Was she just trying to show off?!

The gazes of many candidates, once fervent, now turned icy as they looked at Yingxue.

Chu Sheng was overjoyed, but he didn’t forget to defend his own standing.

"At the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, every single inch past three chi and three cun is exponentially more difficult—it’s harder than climbing to the heavens! Nowadays, almost every sect has a pre-assessment strength test, and every crystal pillar is only five chi and five cun tall. That’s because no one at the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm should be able to shatter it!

Someone just mentioned Young Master Lin Wu from Imperial City, and I happen to have heard a few things. Rumor has it he has a constitution of unparalleled rarity. Though he has now surpassed the Blood Coagulation Realm and reached the Elemental Realm, back when he was at the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, his result on the crystal pillar was only..."

He stopped there, deliberately leaving the crowd hanging.

"What was his score?"

Someone in the crowd couldn’t resist asking.

Seeing everyone staring at him with expectant eyes, Chu Sheng grew even more excited. He loved being the center of attention.

His gaze shifted and landed on Lin Hao, whose face had turned grim as if shocked by the news. Seeing this, Chu Sheng became even more thrilled.

"Five chi, three cun!" Chu Sheng announced smugly, as if he were the one who had achieved that score.

Lin Hao’s gaze sharpened, and he clenched his fists.

This was the first piece of news he had heard about Lin Wu.

’Lin Wu’s cultivation has actually surpassed the Blood Coagulation Realm and reached the Elemental Realm!’

Though he had been mentally prepared for it, Lin Hao was still deeply shocked.

Now, upon hearing the score from his strike, Lin Hao stared at the shattered remains of the crystal pillar, a raging battle intent flaring in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Chu Sheng was still rambling on, "Even he couldn’t do it with his heaven-defying constitution. We are merely mortals, so we should just focus our efforts on making it past three chi and three cun."

The implication was clear: no one present could possibly surpass his own score of three chi and eight cun.

And at that very moment, it was Lin Hao’s turn.