Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

"Sect... Sect Leader! A... a monster! A monster has shown up at the sect assessment! His constitution is the kind you see once in ten thousand... no, a hundred thousand years!"

Bai Ming sat on the floor, completely undignified, gasping for breath. The mere thought of the speed at which Lin Hao absorbed origin energy made him so agitated he could barely speak, his words trembling.

Bai Ming tried to control his emotions, but whenever the scene he had just witnessed replayed in his mind, his heart pounded uncontrollably.

To be able to madly absorb the world’s origin energy like a bottomless pit without an awakened bloodline... he had never even heard of such a constitution, let alone seen one.

The Heaven-Stepping Sect’s Sect Leader knew Bai Ming’s character very well; he was not one to exaggerate. Hearing his words, the Sect Leader couldn’t help but feel his own heart race.

"Quickly, tell me everything in detail." The Sect Leader’s eyes burned with fervent anticipation.

In front of Lin Hao, Bai Ming had to maintain his composure. But now, before the Sect Leader, he simply couldn’t hold it back. As he recalled the scene, he recounted the events, trembling the entire time.

"What?! A Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm cultivator absorbed twelve zhang of origin energy in just over ten minutes?! And he only ’felt a little something’?!" As Bai Ming finished his account, the Sect Leader wore the same look of utter shock. It was like something out of a myth.

"A monster, a freak! A monster among monsters, a freak among freaks!"

The Sect Leader couldn’t remain calm at all. Such a performance was unprecedented, even across the entire continent, yet it had just happened in his very own sect.

"Bai Ming, does a third person know about this?" After the initial ecstasy, the Sect Leader thought of the consequences, calmed himself, and asked quickly.

Bai Ming shook his head. He naturally understood the gravity of the situation.

A constitution like this was absolutely heaven-defying. With so many disciples participating in the assessment, not even a whisper of this could get out.

"Good. Conceal his results and hurry back to preside over the assessment," the Sect Leader instructed.

Having recovered a fair bit of his strength, Bai Ming scrambled to his feet. He had to rush back. If anything happened to that little guy, it would be a responsibility he couldn’t bear.

’Looks like I should go see this year’s sect assessment for myself,’ the Sect Leader murmured to himself as he watched Bai Ming leave.

Lin Hao couldn’t understand why the middle-aged man had suddenly left. He wanted to go out, but he found he couldn’t open the door in the central wall.

Just as he was growing bored, he saw a black speck rapidly flying down from Heaven-Stepping Peak.

Before long, the middle-aged man in charge of the assessment appeared in his line of sight.

"You’re Lin Hao, correct? I just consulted with the Sect Leader. This Crystal Stone door is quite time-consuming to repair, so we’ll count this round as a pass for you," Bai Ming said with a stiff, expressionless face.

Lin Hao didn’t suspect a thing and simply nodded.

After ushering Lin Hao out of the room, Bai Ming followed close behind. Standing before the wall, he announced Lin Hao’s results in a flat tone, "Lin Hao, pass. Aptitude... average."

As the words left his mouth, Bai Ming had the urge to slap himself hard across the face.

He hadn’t awakened a bloodline, yet his aptitude was even more terrifying than that of Yingxue, who had awakened a bloodline and possessed a constitution surpassing a Spirit Body.

Absorbing twelve zhang of origin energy in just over ten minutes... if that was "average" aptitude, then Chu Sheng, who absorbed one chi and four cun for a rating of "superior," could only be described by a pun on his name: an absolute animal!

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he heard that very animal asking Lin Hao, "Well now, aren’t you lucky. Average aptitude. How much origin energy did you absorb? One chi?"

Bai Ming’s mouth twitched violently.

’Looking at Chu Sheng’s punchable face, I really want to just walk up and beat him into a *real* animal. Then I’d tell him Lin Hao’s true results. The look on his face would surely be priceless.’

Suppressing the impulse with great effort, Bai Ming announced flatly, "The assessment will continue. The central Crystal Stone door is now closed to further examinees."

After speaking, Bai Ming started walking toward the main hall. Before leaving, he shot Chu Sheng a vicious glare.

Chu Sheng happened to notice Bai Ming’s glance, but in his smug self-satisfaction, he completely misinterpreted its meaning.

He then turned to the silent Lin Hao and said, gloating,

"See that? The examiner was looking at me. I heard from a senior brother who just came out of the central Crystal Stone door that Heaven-Stepping Peak only recruits two disciples each year. Now that the central door is closed to others, I’m pretty sure one of those spots is mine."

Lin Hao continued to ignore him. In his eyes, Chu Sheng was just a clown, a mad dog.

No matter how bored Lin Hao was, he had no interest in arguing with a mad dog.

He could tolerate it, but someone else could not.

Hearing this, Bai Ming finally reached his limit.

He had seen plenty of arrogant people, but he had rarely encountered one as conceited as this animal.

He stopped in his tracks, spun around, and roared, "Chu Sheng, shut your mouth! One more boastful word out of you, and you can get the hell out!"

’Even if his aptitude is superior, he’s nothing compared to Lin Hao,’ Bai Ming thought, feeling the urge to strike him dead on the spot.

After saying this, Bai Ming turned to Lin Hao with a pleasant smile and said gently, "Lin Hao, don’t lower yourself to his level. Prepare yourself for the next round of the assessment."

Chu Sheng was dumbfounded. ’Is this examiner sick in the head? He’s not trying to curry favor with a promising prospect of superior aptitude like me, but instead, he’s bowing and scraping to some average-aptitude trash.’

’No wonder he’s just an examiner.’

Scornfully despising Bai Ming in his heart, Chu Sheng shot him a disdainful look and walked away...

Offending an examiner during the assessment was a huge taboo, yet Chu Sheng remained oblivious. It was a good thing Bai Ming was only thinking of the sect’s best interests; otherwise, Chu Sheng wouldn’t even know how he died.

Another hour passed before the first round of the assessment finally ended.

By then, only a little over a hundred of the more than five hundred examinees remained.

It was getting late, and there were still two rounds of assessment to go. After a short break, the second round began.

Before long, Bai Ming appeared.

At the same time, the nine Crystal Stone doors in the main hall that had just been used for the assessment were opened by disciples of the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

The Martial Artists who had just passed through their respective doors now walked through them again, standing on the other side.

On the other side of each Crystal Stone door, a platform about three meters long jutted out over a bottomless cliff shrouded in mist and clouds.

All the Martial Artists who had passed gathered on their respective platforms, their eyes fixed on a conical mountain peak floating in the distance.

Behind the central Crystal Stone door, which corresponded to the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s main peak, Heaven-Stepping Peak, stood four people: Bai Ming, Lin Hao, Yingxue, and Chu Sheng.

"All of you, look! Look at the three large words written there!" Bai Ming pointed to the floating mountain peak, his expression filled with admiration.

In that moment, he was full of vigor and pride.

"Do you see? That is our Heaven-Stepping Sect’s Divine Ascension Stage! It was carved out by our founding ancestor through his supreme martial path and fortified with powerful Array Runes!" As he spoke, Bai Ming’s expression grew fervent, as if he could see the magnificent image of the founding ancestor himself.

"The Divine Ascension Stage is incomparably profound. If two people were to fight on it, their realms would automatically be suppressed to be equal. Many of the sect’s grand competitions are held there. Today, the second round of the assessment will also take place on the Divine Ascension Stage.

"Hidden around the Divine Ascension Stage are nine Divine Steles. The second round of the sect assessment is called ’Divine Steles Illuminate the World,’ and it tests one’s comprehension."

On the path of martial arts, aptitude alone is far from enough.

If one’s comprehension is poor, their achievements will be limited. Take Lin Tianhao for example. Despite having a Spirit Body, he has been stuck at the Ninth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm for ten years, unable to advance an inch. His martial comprehension is extremely limited.

But if one’s comprehension is exceptional, it can make up for a lack of aptitude.

Cang Yan, whom Lin Hao met at the Heaven-Rending Mountains, also has a Spirit Body, but he is already an expert at the Spirit Transformation Realm. One can only imagine how terrifyingly high his comprehension must be.

Of course, some might believe that diligence can make up for a lack of talent, but a sect that wants to grow will not waste time and resources on you because of that belief.

The Heaven-Stepping Sect is no different. If an entry-level disciple undergoes the baptism of the Regeneration Pool and still fails to awaken their bloodline before the age of sixteen, they will be expelled from the sect.

Within the sect, a bloodline is merely the most basic requirement. Aptitude is the icing on the cake, but comprehension is the key to becoming a peerless expert.

Poor comprehension means you cannot open the door to the peak of the martial path and are destined for elimination. This second round of the assessment is more important than the first, and also more difficult to pass.

After giving the examinees some time to process the information, Bai Ming continued to explain the rules for the second round.

"In a moment, someone will demonstrate a martial technique for you. You must use this technique to unearth the Divine Steles. Making four Divine Steles appear is a pass! If you can unearth six, you will have the chance to become a personal disciple of one of the Peak Masters, a position of infinite glory."

When Bai Ming finished, all the examinees looked thrilled, and many were eager to give it a try.

"And what if someone can unearth seven Divine Steles?" Chu Sheng asked, his eyes shining as he stared at the Divine Ascension Stage.

A flicker of disgust crossed Bai Ming’s eyes when he saw him, but he answered nonetheless, "Unearthing seven Divine Steles will earn you the attention of a Heaven-Stepping Peak elder, or even the Sect Leader himself."

At this point, Bai Ming glanced at Lin Hao and Yingxue before continuing, "If you can unearth eight Divine Steles, not only will you become a disciple of the Sect Leader, but you will also be placed on the list of candidates for the next Sect Leader. In the future, you may have the opportunity to preside over Heaven-Stepping Peak and become the Sect Leader of the Heaven-Stepping Sect!"

As soon as these words were spoken, many eyes burned with fervor.

Bai Ming saw their reactions and sighed softly. Making eight Divine Steles appear at once was easier said than done. Even he couldn’t do it now, and only one person had managed it in the last decade or so.

"Uncle, what if someone can make all nine steles appear?" Yingxue suddenly asked, her large eyes blinking.

A look of yearning appeared in Bai Ming’s eyes. After a long moment, he replied, "All nine steles appearing at once... looking back several thousand years, only one person has ever achieved that."

"Wow, that’s amazing! Who was it?" Yingxue exclaimed in awe.

"He was the Sect Leader from two generations ago, the current Sect Leader’s grandmaster." Speaking of him, Bai Ming’s eyes filled with reverence.

The crowd looked at each other, all of them utterly shocked.

Then, Bai Ming noticed Chu Sheng rubbing his hands together in eager anticipation.

His mouth twitched slightly.

In contrast, Yingxue, whom he held in higher regard, just looked like a curious child, her mouth hanging open, still lost in astonishment.

As for Lin Hao, the one on whom he had placed the highest hopes, his current performance was somewhat unsightly.