Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Chu Sheng had been keeping an eye on Lin Hao. Seeing Lin Hao walk toward the Crystal Stone pillar, his eyes darted, and he smirked smugly. He strode forward and blocked Lin Hao’s path.

"Hey, you’re just a scrawny stick. Just give up. Don’t go and make a fool of yourself." Chu Sheng’s face was full of mockery; he clearly didn’t take Lin Hao seriously at all.

Lin Hao’s gaze was ice-cold. "Move," he said flatly.

This was the sect’s pre-assessment strength test, yet Chu Sheng dared to openly block Lin Hao’s way. His attitude was utterly arrogant.

"You two candidates, settle any personal grudges on your own time. Either take the test or get lost!" The middle-aged man in charge of the assessment had noticed the situation and snapped at them, his face displeased.

It was worth noting that Chu Sheng had achieved the highest score in the strength test so far, so the middle-aged man naturally recognized him.

But as for Lin Hao, his face was completely unfamiliar.

Taking one look at Lin Hao’s thin, frail-looking body, the middle-aged man had already written him off in his mind.

Although he was admittedly judging a book by its cover, based on all the previous strength tests, Lin Hao’s chances of passing were practically zero.

Plus, with the appearance of someone with a special constitution, the middle-aged man’s mind was already elsewhere.

Hearing the middle-aged man’s words, Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Seeing that Chu Sheng still had no intention of moving, a hostile aura suddenly erupted from Lin Hao.

He had just received news about Lin Wu and was already in a foul mood. Now, being looked down upon by the examiner and repeatedly provoked by this guy, Lin Hao was about to lose his temper.

Chu Sheng, standing opposite him, was startled. He suddenly realized that the Lin Hao before him seemed to have transformed in an instant. A potent, bloody aura surged from him. He no longer felt like a person, but rather like a ferocious beast, slumbering for millennia, that was about to awaken.

"Little servant, since you’re so eager for a beating, be my guest." Chu Sheng took a step back, a flicker of fear in his eyes. Despite his words, he stepped aside to clear a path.

And just like that, the terrifying aura around Lin Hao vanished.

Chu Sheng stared at Lin Hao’s back, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.

’What a strange feeling. Could that little servant... No, it must have been my imagination.’ With that thought, Chu Sheng calmed himself.

Meanwhile, Lin Hao walked to the Crystal Stone pillar, only to stand still with his eyes closed, not moving for a long time.

Chu Sheng’s gaze shifted, and he noticed the impatient look on the face of the middle-aged examiner.

"Hey! Are you going to hit it or not? If you don’t have the confidence, then get lost. There are plenty of people waiting behind you."

He was clever enough to guess what the examiner was thinking. Knowing it was inconvenient for the examiner to say it himself at this moment, he quickly voiced the man’s inner thoughts.

Sure enough, upon hearing Chu Sheng’s words, a slight smile appeared on the middle-aged man’s face, and he gave Chu Sheng an appreciative glance.

This made Chu Sheng ecstatic.

However, Lin Hao remained as still as a mountain, standing there like a wooden post.

Yingxue, however, had witnessed Lin Hao’s true capabilities. So when she heard Chu Sheng’s taunts, she simply watched with a faint, cold smile.

That Chu Sheng was so obnoxious. She was just waiting for Lin Hao to throw his punch so she could enjoy watching Chu Sheng be humiliated.

But when Lin Hao closed his eyes, Yingxue’s expression suddenly changed.

Her small, delicate nose wrinkled ever so slightly. Her once clear, bright eyes grew increasingly vacant as she muttered, "This aura is so familiar... where have I encountered it before? I... Who am I?"

Yingxue’s dazed state was immediately noticed by the examiner, who had been watching her. Seeing her stare at Lin Hao for a moment and then start acting strangely, the middle-aged man grew anxious. He took a step forward, intending to throw Lin Hao out.

Between someone with a special constitution and someone who took forever just to prepare for a strength test, the choice was all too easy.

However, just as the middle-aged man’s hand was about to grab Lin Hao, Lin Hao’s eyes snapped open, and he moved.

If he hadn’t heard the news about Lin Wu, this assessment would have just been another test for Lin Hao.

But after Chu Sheng revealed Lin Wu’s strength test result, Lin Hao began to see this assessment as a contest—a remote confrontation between himself and Lin Wu.

He had to see just how big the gap was between him and Lin Wu, both at the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm.

Lin Hao didn’t think he could beat Lin Wu. After all, Lin Wu’s current bloodline had been taken from his own body, and no one knew better than him just how powerful that was.

At this moment, all Lin Hao could rely on was the mysterious True Qi generated from cultivating the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill. And with only one chance, he had to be in his absolute best state.

The moment he closed his eyes, he had instantly entered a transcendent state, free of thought and distraction. He channeled the mysterious True Qi produced by the Tai Chi Array Map in his Dantian toward his right arm.

Lin Hao had decided to compete with the Third-Layer Blood Coagulation Realm Lin Wu in this strength test, so he channeled every last bit of his mysterious True Qi into his right arm, not wasting even a shred.

The moment the examiner’s hand was about to grab him was precisely when Lin Hao reached his peak state.

The examiner’s long middle finger had barely touched Lin Hao’s arm when Lin Hao’s figure blurred into motion.

Stride!

Sink his stance!

Punch!

Lin Hao threw a punch!

Chu Sheng watched coldly, a sneer on his face. ’Quite the impressive display, but is it any use?’

But a look of shock flashed through the middle-aged man’s eyes. The moment his middle finger touched Lin Hao’s arm, a repulsive force had actually emanated from the skin. His mind went blank, unable to process it.

BOOM!

Under the watchful eyes of those paying attention, Lin Hao’s fist struck the Crystal Stone pillar.

Then, the red powder inside the Crystal Stone pillar shot upward like a geyser!

One foot!

Two feet!

Three feet, three inches!

The speed was extreme.

Four feet!

Five feet!

Its speed didn’t decrease in the slightest!

BANG!

The red powder shot straight to the top, reached its peak, and then the Crystal Stone pillar suddenly exploded.

The Crystal Stone pillar... shattered! 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The explosive sound drew everyone’s attention.

Looking at Lin Hao, they felt as if they were seeing a god or a demon.

This frail-looking candidate had actually shattered the Crystal Stone pillar. This was simply heaven-defying!

"He’s not at the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm?" After a long moment, someone finally reacted and voiced their doubt.

Just as Chu Sheng had said, for someone at the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm, after reaching a force of 3,300 jin, every additional hundred jin of strength was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

For a Martial Artist at the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm to shatter a five-foot, five-inch Crystal Stone pillar was simply inconceivable.

This must be another powerful Martial Artist who came to the strength test just to show off!

"He... He really is only at the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm!" The examiner grabbed Lin Hao’s arm, checked again and again, and finally announced the shocking truth.

BOOM!

At these words, all the candidates were shocked beyond belief.

Shattering the Crystal Stone pillar at the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm—this was an unprecedented miracle! Such a person was bound to be a world-shaking prodigy!

Amid everyone’s stunned gazes, Chu Sheng’s face flushed red, then went pale. Compared to Lin Hao’s result, his score of three feet, eight inches was a complete joke! Utterly pathetic!

The shattered Crystal Stone pillar seemed to be mocking him mercilessly. Lin Hao’s metaphorical slap in the face was so resounding that Chu Sheng wished the ground would swallow him whole.

"Innate Divine Strength! He must have Innate Divine Strength! Otherwise, there’s no way someone at the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm could get this result!" But Chu Sheng had always been proud and arrogant; how could he possibly accept such a blow? Besides, he simply didn’t believe it was real. His eyes lit up as he thought of a reason.

"Legend has it there was an ancient race on the continent whose members possessed Innate Divine Strength. Even without cultivating, an adult male could strike with the force of two to three thousand jin," someone recalled an old continental legend.

"You’re talking about the Barbaric War Body! According to the legends, they sustained themselves on yellow earth year-round. Their strength and defense were unparalleled, and even their blood was yellow. That’s a legendary constitution..."

As they spoke, their eyes widened as they stared at Lin Hao, as if they wanted to draw his blood to see for themselves.

The situation had developed beyond the examiner’s control. Only he knew that Lin Hao was definitely not of the Barbaric War Body.

The repulsive force he’d felt from his middle finger told him that this youth’s physical body had been tempered through cultivation, and to an extremely terrifying degree.

Today, not only had someone with a special constitution appeared, but also a youth whose physical body was so strong it was heaven-defying. The middle-aged man snapped out of his shock and began to consider his next move.

"Everyone, the Barbaric War Body hasn’t been seen in a thousand years. He is not part of some Barbaric War Body. I just checked, and three of the Crystal Stone pillars here were already damaged. As it happens, he just struck one of them."

The middle-aged man had decided to conceal Lin Hao’s result.

Everyone knew that the young lady’s result just now was achieved with power surpassing the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm, but besides him, no one here knew about her special constitution.

And with a physical body as formidable as Lin Hao’s, if he could awaken his bloodline, he was destined to become a pillar of the sect. The examiner couldn’t risk word getting out and attracting the greedy eyes of other sects.

The middle-aged man knew no one would believe his words, so as soon as he finished speaking, he pointed to another candidate and one of the other Crystal Stone pillars. "You, go try that one."

The chosen candidate walked over excitedly, threw a punch, and the Crystal Stone pillar indeed shattered.

"Alright, you pass. There’s one more damaged Crystal Stone pillar. If any of you are lucky enough to pick it, you’ll pass too," the middle-aged man said with a smile.

The candidate who’d been chosen couldn’t believe it was real. He had already failed the assessment twice and was about to turn sixteen. He thought all hope was lost, but who knew he would strike such incredible luck.

"Thank you, thank you," he said repeatedly, his voice choking up by the end.

Seeing that such a good opportunity existed, the other candidates all became eager to try their luck.

Seeing this, the corner of Lin Hao’s mouth twitched.

He had seen it clearly just now. When the middle-aged man had pointed, a surge of True Essence had clearly shot out from his finger.

Instead of being angry that his result was being concealed, Lin Hao felt a sense of relief.

To be honest, he hadn’t even expected to be able to shatter the Crystal Stone pillar himself. He understood the principle that the tree that stands out in the forest will be the first to be buffeted by the wind. He was more than happy to have his achievement hidden.

Lin Hao’s extremely subtle expression was caught by the middle-aged man, who quickly shot him an apologetic glance.

Lin Hao smiled back at him, unconcerned.

’This is just how the world is. Strength determines everything. Without strength, you’ll be looked down upon no matter where you go. I won’t blame fate or others; I’ll just prove myself with my actions.’

"Haha, I told you so! With a physique like yours, how could you possibly shatter the Crystal Stone pillar? Kid, you should really be grateful for your luck today."

Hearing the middle-aged man’s explanation, Chu Sheng became arrogant again, looking down on Lin Hao from his high horse.

Lin Hao glanced at him, then turned his gaze to Yingxue. He couldn’t be bothered to stoop to this person’s level.

However, someone else was more than happy to.