Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

"A mere thirty-eight inches. Martial Artists like you are a dime a dozen in the sect. If you keep making a racket, you can get the hell down the mountain!" The examiner’s voice was cold, his expression hostile as he stared at Chu Sheng.

It was because of this guy that he’d nearly cost the sect a rare talent.

The young man had been patient, refusing to stoop to his level, yet this guy was still shamelessly hounding him. The examiner desperately wanted to slap him and reveal Lin Hao’s true score.

Chu Sheng was dumbfounded. ’It’s only been a moment. How could this examiner change his tune so fast? Just now, wasn’t he agreeing with me and speaking harshly to Lin Hao?’

’What’s going on?’

He had no idea that the middle-aged examiner was, at that very moment, filled with regret over his recent behavior.

He was about to ask again when the examiner’s voice, even colder than before, cut him off. "Get lost. Don’t make a fool of yourself here!"

These were the exact words Chu Sheng had just said to Lin Hao, now thrown back at him by the examiner.

Chu Sheng’s expression instantly turned foul.

In Red Beauty City, he was the high and mighty Young City Lord. He was always the one scolding others; never before had he been on the receiving end.

But this was the sect. Forget him; even his father would have to kowtow here.

’Damn you... you just wait. As long as I pass the assessment and get into the sect, I’ll use my connections to make you regret this. And that brat... for daring to offend me, I’ll make him suffer a fate worse than death!’

Burying his hatred deep in his heart, Chu Sheng shamefully slipped back into the crowd...

The pre-exam strength test took all morning, and in the end, only a mere five hundred people passed.

Several thousand people took the strength test, and less than one-eighth passed.

This just went to show how prestigious it was to be a Sect Disciple.

After the eliminated candidates left, the huge plaza seemed much more spacious. The examiner announced that the candidates should rest where they were, and that the real entrance assessment would begin soon.

The Martial Artists who passed sat together in small groups, with the area around Chu Sheng being particularly lively.

Yingxue was stunningly beautiful, and a few people had tried to strike up a conversation. But she wasn’t acting normally, so in the end, no one else wanted to risk getting shot down. They settled for gazing at her from afar.

As for Lin Hao, the Martial Artist who had seemingly gotten lucky and slipped through by a fluke, he was completely ignored.

No one bothering him was exactly what Lin Hao wanted.

Seeing Yingxue suddenly become so dazed and out of sorts, Lin Hao couldn’t think of a good way to help. Besides, time was short, so he sat down cross-legged on the spot and began to meditate, practicing his cultivation technique.

Not long after Lin Hao closed his eyes, Yingxue’s eyes suddenly lit up. She stared at Lin Hao and murmured, "Where have I seen you before?"

After that, clarity gradually returned to her eyes.

She glanced around, a lost look on her face, as if she had no memory of her previous actions.

She rested her chin on her hand and stared at Lin Hao out of boredom for a long time, until half an hour later, when the middle-aged man reappeared in the plaza.

At that exact moment, Lin Hao opened his eyes.

"Most of you came here because you had no hope of awakening your bloodlines back in your families, hoping to find your destiny within the sect. I can tell you with certainty that if you pass the assessment, the sect’s Regeneration Pool will give you a thirty percent chance of awakening your bloodline!"

Awakening a bloodline meant one could become an unrivaled powerhouse. The middle-aged man’s words instantly ignited the fighting spirit of the examinees.

"What comes next is the first stage of the entrance assessment, called the Trial of the Sealed Gate! This stage tests aptitude and has nothing to do with your Martial Dao Cultivation. It is absolutely fair, even for Martial Artists at the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm."

The middle-aged man’s words put the five hundred Martial Artists at the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm at ease.

"Everyone, please follow me." As the middle-aged man spoke, the doors to the great hall on the right side of the plaza suddenly opened. He led the way inside.

Lin Hao followed the other examinees into the great hall and was rendered speechless by the sight before him.

The hall was vast, and on the far side stood eight massive gates forged from Crystal Stone. Each gate was about one hundred inches high and thirty inches wide.

The Crystal Stone gates were crystalline and translucent, allowing one to see what lay beyond.

Through the eight Crystal Stone gates, one could faintly see swirling clouds and mist, with a tall mountain peak looming in the distance behind each one.

And between several of the peaks, a huge, cone-shaped mountain was actually suspended in mid-air without any support! Its surface was perfectly smooth, like a giant martial arts arena.

’The work of gods!’

While Lin Hao was marveling at the sight, the middle-aged man began to speak. "My Heaven-Stepping Sect has nine magnificent peaks, and here there are nine Crystal Stone gates, each corresponding to one of those peaks. However, my Heaven-Stepping Sect only has eight Peak Masters. In a moment, you will choose a peak. As long as you can open the corresponding gate, you will have passed the first stage! After you pass the second stage of the assessment, you will have the chance to become a disciple of a Peak Master."

"In the Heaven-Stepping Sect, the Peak Masters of the eight peaks manage their own affairs and can cultivate their own power, but they are still under the sect’s control. If, one day, you believe you are strong enough, you can apply to the sect to challenge a Peak Master. The victor will become the new Peak Master!"

"How a Peak Master manages their own power is not the sect’s concern. As long as they don’t go against the sect’s will or betray the sect, they can do as they please on their own peak."

As he said this, a strange glint appeared in the middle-aged man’s eyes.

When the middle-aged man said this, many of the examinees’ eyes lit up. To become a Peak Master and do as they please—such a temptation was impossible to resist!

But Lin Hao was thinking about something else.

Lin Hao looked around. He only saw eight gates. ’Where is the ninth?’

Just as he was wondering, the middle-aged man reached out and pressed a spot on the wall directly between the eight gates. The smooth stone slid apart, revealing a massive Crystal Stone gate standing about fifteen feet deep inside the opening.

The height and width of this Crystal Stone gate were double that of the other eight!

"This ninth Crystal Stone gate corresponds to the main peak of our Heaven-Stepping Sect. That is where the Sect Leader and the elders reside. If any of you can open this gate, you will have the chance to study under an elder, and you might even become a personal disciple of the Sect Leader."

More temptation!

The middle-aged man was making them a grand promise.

"Alright, that’s enough about the benefits. Next, I’ll explain the rules. These Crystal Stone gates are infused with the world’s primordial qi. You must use your cultivation technique to absorb this qi. You have ten minutes. If you can absorb ten inches of qi, the Crystal Stone gate will open, and you will pass.

You can choose to stop there and prepare for the second stage of the assessment, or you can continue to absorb the qi, because the total amount you absorb will be recorded and added to your final score."

After speaking, the middle-aged man stepped to the side, indicating that the assessment could begin.

The examinees each chose a Crystal Stone gate and formed lines. Beside each gate stood a Heaven-Stepping Sect disciple ready to record the results.

It was worth noting that of the dozen or so Martial Artists who had awakened their bloodlines, most chose one of the eight gates. Only two chose the central gate that led to the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s main peak.

"Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix." Comparatively, they would rather go to one of the eight peaks for a chance to become a Peak Master.

The assessment began. Eight people started at once, placing their hands on the Crystal Stone gates. One of the Martial Artists who had awakened his bloodline also entered the central passage to take his shot at the main peak.

Ten minutes later, the eight Crystal Stone gates hadn’t budged.

Lin Hao saw that the one closest to success among them had only absorbed eight inches of qi.

At the same time, he also noticed a surprising phenomenon: after the qi in a Crystal Stone gate was absorbed by one candidate, it would automatically replenish itself before the next candidate stepped up.

Before he had time to ponder the reason, the central wall opened, and the Martial Artist who had awakened his bloodline walked out with a dejected expression.

In the instant the wall closed, Lin Hao saw his score: nine inches!

Lin Hao’s heart skipped a beat. ’What a pity,’ he thought. The central Crystal Stone gate was twice as large as the others. If that man had chosen one of the other eight, his score would have been eighteen inches!

"Li Yuan, you have failed your challenge of the main peak’s gate. You have one more chance to choose one of the eight Crystal Stone gates," the middle-aged man announced from the side.

To be able to absorb nine inches of qi from the main peak’s gate was already a decent score among this group of examinees.

Hearing the middle-aged man’s words, many of the examinees’ eyes lit up, and they all surged toward the main peak’s gate.

After all, if you tried this one and failed, you still got another chance. What was there to lose?

However, an hour later, everyone had been defeated by the main peak’s gate. None of them could even beat Li Yuan’s previous score, let alone open the Crystal Stone gate.

Furthermore, the attempt on the main peak’s gate seemed to have exhausted them. Some examinees who might have otherwise been able to open one of the eight smaller gates now found themselves eliminated. For a while, no one else dared to approach the central gate.

"Wang Lu, eleven inches, pass. Aptitude: low-grade."

"Han Ping, nine inches, fail!"

"Yang Xiu, eighteen inches, pass. Aptitude: mid-grade!"

...

The assessment proceeded in an orderly fashion. Three hours later, over three hundred people had been eliminated, with very few having passed.

And among those who passed, not a single one had high-grade aptitude.

The middle-aged man standing to the side frowned, his expression turning sour.

His gaze swept through the crowd and found Yingxue and Lin Hao, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes...

"I suppose the two of you know your limits, giving up early since you can’t pass in ten minutes anyway. You’ve saved me a lot of time." It was finally Chu Sheng’s turn. He walked straight toward the gate to the main peak, his mockery completely undisguised.

The main peak’s gate had defeated even a Martial Artist with an awakened bloodline; it had been a long time since anyone had dared to challenge it. As soon as Chu Sheng entered the central passage and the wall closed behind him, many people stared intently at the spot.

Ten minutes later, the central wall remained motionless, but a voice came from within.

"Time’s up! Chu Sheng, fourteen inches! Pass! Aptitude: high-grade!"

A look of surprise flashed in the eyes of the previously expressionless middle-aged man, and a smile touched his lips.

"Fourteen inches... so strong!"

"Exactly! Don’t forget, the main peak’s gate is twice the size of the others. Absorbing fourteen inches of qi from it means he could absorb at least twenty-eight inches from one of the other gates!"

"High-grade aptitude... I’m afraid Chu Sheng has taken first place in this first stage of the assessment."

The Martial Artists who hadn’t passed didn’t leave right away. Hearing this result, they began to whisper among themselves, their eyes filled with envy and shock...