Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Lin Hao looked skittish, as if something had spooked him.

"Lin Hao, what are you doing? I just told you to observe the Platform of Divinity, but you weren’t paying attention!" Bai Ming asked, his voice laced with concern.

His performance in the first trial was simply too incredible. Bai Ming couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong with him now.

"Examiner, I was listening carefully to everything you said. It’s just that those three words possess a tremendous power that this humble one can’t withstand."

The sight of the three words "Platform of Divinity" had sent a profound shock through Lin Hao, and he was still shaken. He couldn’t let it affect his performance in the second trial.

"Hahahaha! Those three words have tremendous power? Lin Hao, I think you’re just so terrified by this cliff that your legs have turned to jelly. What a coward!" Before Bai Ming could even speak, Chu Sheng, who had overheard Lin Hao, burst out laughing.

Bai Ming’s brow furrowed in confusion. He had been in the Heaven-Stepping Sect for well over a decade, and he had never heard anyone claim those three words held any great power. Yet, Lin Hao’s reaction didn’t seem fake. It was truly baffling.

Recalling Lin Hao’s performance in the first trial, Bai Ming’s eyes lit up. ’Could it be? Will the Platform of Divinity show a miracle today?’

In that moment, Bai Ming’s heart swelled with anticipation.

He then began to hurry the other candidates toward the Platform of Divinity.

The Crystal Stone Gate was several hundred meters from the Platform of Divinity, with only nine iron chains connecting them. To take part in the second trial, the candidates had no choice but to cross these chains to reach the platform.

Below, clouds and mist coiled and swirled. The Platform of Divinity, wreathed in white vapor, flickered in and out of view, adding to its mystique.

Ferocious winds howled up from the abyss, whipping the iron chains back and forth with a loud CLATTER, greatly increasing the difficulty of the crossing.

In truth, while the second trial was ostensibly a test of comprehension, the journey from the Crystal Stone Gate to the Platform of Divinity was a trial in its own right. It tested the solidity of one’s foundations and, more importantly, one’s courage.

As Bai Ming finished speaking, Chu Sheng shot to the front and stepped onto one of the chains. Before setting off, he cast a provocative glance at Lin Hao and said, "You coward, if you’re afraid you’ll wet your pants, it’s not too late to quit now."

With that, he spun around elegantly, tapped his toes on the chain, circulated his True Qi, and dashed toward the Platform of Divinity.

Seeing someone take the lead, the other candidates also mounted the remaining eight chains.

"Brother Hao, I’m scared..." Yingxue clung to Lin Hao’s arm, her small face pale as she put on a pitiful and helpless expression.

Her expression reminded Lin Hao of when he had first met her, causing the corner of his mouth to twitch.

Although her fragile act was very effective at inspiring one’s protective instincts, Lin Hao still refused her.

’The Celestial Yang Continent is a treacherous place. A single disagreement can escalate into a life-or-death struggle. If she can’t protect herself, how will she ever survive on this continent?’

"This is a trial. If I help you, it’s cheating, and we’ll both be disqualified. Maybe you should just go back down the mountain," Lin Hao said, hardening his heart and keeping his expression blank.

Yingxue’s eyes immediately welled up with tears. In a heart-wrenching voice, she said, "I don’t know where I came from, and I don’t know where I’m going. Now you don’t want me either. I might as well just jump off this cliff."

With that, she took a few steps forward, making a show of preparing to leap from the cliff.

Lin Hao’s heart melted. He quickly pulled her into his arms, then with a light tap of his toes, he leaped onto an iron chain.

Still standing by the Crystal Stone Gate, Bai Ming was stunned to see the girl, Yingxue, making a mischievous face at him.

Her adorable antics made the corners of the usually stern Bai Ming’s mouth lift into a smile.

Carrying an extra person didn’t seem to affect Lin Hao’s speed at all. He executed the Ghostly Divine Step, moving with uncanny swiftness.

"Hmm?!"

Back at the Crystal Stone Gate, a flicker of doubt crossed Bai Ming’s eyes as he watched Lin Hao’s footwork. ’Why does that movement technique look faintly like one of the sect’s?’

Before he could ponder it further, Lin Hao had already reached the Platform of Divinity.

Bai Ming waited a moment until all the other candidates had made it across. Then, with a light tap of his toes, he flew over to the Platform of Divinity.

Despite being suspended in midair, the Platform of Divinity remained as steady as a boulder, utterly motionless even with over a hundred candidates standing upon it.

Once he landed, Lin Hao realized the Platform of Divinity was far larger than he had imagined. It could hold not just a hundred people, but tens of thousands without issue.

’To make something like this float in midair... the power of an Emperor Venerable is simply heaven-defying!’

Furthermore, on one edge of the platform was a raised dais. On it were pavilions, gazebos, and even a rock garden with a water feature. One of the pavilions held several chairs.

For now, however, the chairs were empty.

The next moment, however, Lin Hao sensed something and looked up toward Heaven-Stepping Peak.

Several black dots appeared in the distance, approaching at an astonishing speed. In a flash, they arrived.

A few figures then landed gracefully in the pavilion at the edge of the platform.

There were five of them in total: three elderly men, one middle-aged man, and one young man.

The elders and the middle-aged man took their seats, but the young man tapped his toes and leaped over, landing on the main platform. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Bai Ming bowed and clasped his fists toward the pavilion before giving a nod to the young man.

The young man, his face expressionless, walked directly to the center of the platform. A huge circle was marked there, dozens of meters in diameter by Lin Hao’s estimation.

"Attention, candidates!" Bai Ming announced. "The Heaven-Stepping Sect has tens of thousands of disciples, yet in the last fifty years, only one person has ever caused eight Divine Steles to emerge from this platform. He is the Sect Leader’s personal disciple, Ling Xiao! Today, he will demonstrate a martial technique for you. You have one hour to comprehend it. After that hour, the trial will begin!"

Ling Xiao, the number one Sect Disciple!

And now, he was about to demonstrate his martial technique.

Lin Hao knew the gravity of the situation. His gaze sharpened, and he fixed his eyes on Ling Xiao, not daring to blink.

Ling Xiao’s Spiritual Sense was terrifyingly sharp. The instant Lin Hao’s gaze fell upon him, he was detected. Ling Xiao’s eyes shifted, and he shot a cold glare at Lin Hao.

Even from a great distance, Lin Hao felt a palpable pressure from that single glance.

This shocked Lin Hao. ’This Ling Xiao’s cultivation is truly unfathomable.’

"You. Come here," Ling Xiao said apathetically, his gaze fixed on Lin Hao.

Lin Hao’s mouth fell slightly open. He pointed to himself, not understanding what Ling Xiao meant.

Bai Ming stepped forward to explain. "You all see the circle in the center? Anyone who enters it will have their realm suppressed. When Lin Hao enters, Ling Xiao’s realm will be suppressed to match his. Ling Xiao is doing this so you can all see his movements clearly. He will be demonstrating the technique at the level of a Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm cultivator."

’So that’s what this is about.’ Lin Hao was more than happy to oblige and immediately jogged over.

’Watching up close will make it much easier to observe Ling Xiao’s martial technique.’

How could Ling Xiao not know what Lin Hao was thinking? A faint, unreadable smile touched his lips.

He had performed this demonstration many times. Every Martial Artist he had called over had approached with excitement only to leave in disappointment. He was confident Lin Hao would be no different.

As Lin Hao stepped inside the circle, he keenly sensed subtle fluctuations rippling through the air. Before he had time to think about it, however, something else happened.

Ling Xiao had closed his eyes.

He was focusing his mind and gathering his energy—the prelude to the demonstration.

Just then, Bai Ming’s voice rang out again. "Before he begins the demonstration, I will teach you all a section of our Heaven-Stepping Sect’s most basic Cultivation Technique. Only by using this Cultivation Technique in conjunction with the martial art will the Divine Steles appear!"

After he finished speaking, Bai Ming paused briefly, then recited a Cultivation Technique Mantra of just over one hundred words.

He repeated it three full times before falling silent.

「A quarter of an hour later...」

Ling Xiao, who had been standing with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open. Facing Lin Hao from a distance, he threw a punch.

Just as Lin Hao prepared to defend, Ling Xiao moved again. He shifted his position and threw a second punch.

He then threw two more punches in the same manner.

And then, just as suddenly, he flew back and landed in the pavilion at the edge of the platform.

In the center of the platform, Lin Hao stood completely dumbfounded. ’No way, is that it? You call that a martial technique?’

’I didn’t feel anything except the whisper of wind from his fists.’

From a distance, Ling Xiao saw Lin Hao’s expression. The corners of his mouth turned up in a fleeting, derisive smirk.

The next moment, a strange phenomenon occurred in the center of the Platform of Divinity.

RUMBLE!

A tremendous, earth-shaking sound erupted.

Standing in the center, Lin Hao felt it most intensely. Waves of tremors pulsed through the ground. Then, the earth around the circle began to crack and split apart, as if some peerless, ferocious beast was about to claw its way out from below.

Of course, it wasn’t a beast. It was the Divine Steles!

One!

Two!

Five!

In the end, a total of eight steles erupted from the ground, standing tall around the circle.

Each stele was about thirty feet high, carved with incredibly lifelike images of exotic beasts.

Lin Hao’s eyes widened. He realized that the carvings on each of the eight steles were different. As he looked closer, his heart pounded in shock.

Heaven-Sundering Rhinoceros, Coral Unicorn, Crimsonflame Gold-Maned Beast, Eight-Clawed Fire Serpent, Blue-winged Sea Dragon Beast, Sea-Splitting Mystic Dragon Whale, Kui Ox, and Thunderbat Dragon!

Lin Hao had seen illustrations of these eight exotic beasts in ancient texts before. They were said to be ferocious beasts of antiquity, and now they were carved upon these steles!

An ancient, primordial aura washed over him!

’Truly worthy of the name Divine Steles.’

Lin Hao had no time to ponder the reasons; the most important thing right now was to comprehend the martial technique.

He was surrounded by eight steles, all equidistant from each other, but for one spot. Lin Hao looked and saw a clear gap where a stele was missing.

’The examiner said there were nine Divine Steles. Eight have appeared, so obviously one failed to emerge.’

Standing inside the circle, Lin Hao felt an extreme sense of oppression. He walked out of the circle through the gap where the ninth Divine Stele should have been, and only then did the feeling vanish.

To think that a seemingly random, traceless punch could cause eight Divine Steles to erupt from the ground... The technique was astounding. A chill ran down Lin Hao’s spine as he realized he had no idea where to even begin comprehending it.

He glanced around; all the other candidates looked equally lost. Lin Hao’s brow furrowed as he sank into deep thought.

While Lin Hao was lost in thought, Bai Ming had already returned to the pavilion at the edge of the platform.

"Bai Ming, who is the candidate you spoke of?" the middle-aged man asked. He was none other than the Sect Leader of the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

Bai Ming pointed at Lin Hao. "Sect Leader, that’s him. His name is Lin Hao, from War Dragon City."

Standing behind the Sect Leader, a strange light glinted in Ling Xiao’s eyes. He gave Lin Hao a curious glance before looking away and shaking his head.

The Sect Leader of the Heaven-Stepping Sect looked toward Lin Hao, his brow knitting slightly.

"Sect Leader, you mentioned a disciple who achieved an astounding result in the trial. Is that the young man, Lin Hao?"

The three elders sitting beside him had naturally heard Bai Ming’s report as well. They glanced at Lin Hao, then looked away, their eyes filled with confusion.

With their astonishing levels of cultivation, they could see through Lin Hao’s true state at a glance. He was just a Martial Artist who had yet to awaken his bloodline, with a cultivation level of only the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm.

In an instant, disappointment clouded all of their faces.

"Are you certain you’re not mistaken?" According to Bai Ming’s report, Lin Hao’s performance had been so astounding that the Sect Leader hadn’t even dared to relay the full, unbelievable details to the three elders. He had arrived harboring great expectations, but now that he saw Lin Hao for himself, his disappointment was particularly acute.