Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

"I’d stake my life on it. There is absolutely no mistake!" Bai Ming said with certainty.

I just infused my own vital energy to help Lin Hao achieve that twelve-zhang result. I still haven’t recovered. How could I be lying?

"Hey, that young lady... I call dibs on her!" an elder suddenly exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as he spotted Yingxue.

"I can’t even see through her... This is... a special physique! No! Entrusting her to you would be a complete waste of talent!" another elder jumped into the fray.

"Look at you two. One’s a slob, and the other looks like a demon. You’ll scare the poor girl. I think it would be far more suitable for her to study under me," a third, more presentable elder said with a smile.

The Sect Leader of the Heaven-Stepping Sect had noticed her as well. His hands, resting on the arms of his chair, tightened abruptly. "What was her result in the first stage of the assessment?" he asked Bai Ming.

To think that the revered leader of the entire sect would have an even more dramatic reaction to seeing Yingxue than the three elders.

In truth, there was a reason for this.

The three elders all possessed Spirit Bodies, so it was somewhat understandable that they couldn’t see through Yingxue. But his own physique surpassed that of a Spirit Body, and yet he couldn’t discern her true nature either.

This meant that Yingxue’s physique was even greater than his own!

How could he not be thrilled?

"Her name is Yingxue. In the first stage, she chose the Crystal Stone gate representing Heaven-Stepping Peak. Her result was three feet, nine inches!" Bai Ming replied.

The Sect Leader’s eyes brightened. "That’s the same result Xiao’Er had all those years ago."

"Sect Leader, you already have Ling Xiao. You can’t compete with us for this one. At worst, we’ll let you have that little fellow, Lin Hao," the three elders said, surprisingly united for once.

The Sect Leader’s reaction was a bit extreme, which told them that this young girl, Yingxue, was far more extraordinary than they had imagined.

In an instant, they were all vying for Yingxue, completely forgetting they had originally come for Lin Hao.

The corner of Bai Ming’s mouth twitched. ’Just you wait,’ he thought. ’It won’t be long before you all regret this decision.’

With that thought, he glanced over to where Lin Hao was standing...

Lin Hao, however, still had his brows knitted in a tight frown.

"RUMBLE!"

Just then, the eight Divine Steles began to move again, all of them retracting back into the ground.

A moment later, the Divine Steles had vanished. With nothing to block its path, a breeze began to blow.

As he looked out at the testing ground, understanding suddenly dawned on Lin Hao.

The wind!

His eyes lit up. Lin Hao immediately closed them, replaying Ling Xiao’s fist technique in his mind.

A fist that stirred the wind, which then deflected upon meeting an obstacle.

’That punch, which seemed to be aimed at me, wasn’t targeting me at all. The real target was the spot where the Divine Stele would emerge!’

Using softness to overcome hardness!

’His control over his power is incredibly profound!’

But even after figuring this out, Lin Hao frowned.

In his past battles, whether against Lin Cheng or the guards at the Lin family’s ancestral hall, he had always pushed his strength to its absolute limit, relying purely on overwhelming force. He couldn’t even manage to blend hard and soft techniques, let alone master using softness to overcome hardness!

With his eyes closed in thought, Lin Hao began to unconsciously throw punches at the empty air...

His movements went from fast to slow, then from slow to a varying tempo of fast and slow as Lin Hao carefully controlled his strength.

Gradually, Lin Hao felt as if he were standing in a boundless sea of bamboo. With each punch, a stalk of green bamboo would bend with the force of his fist before abruptly snapping back.

Lin Hao shook his head, his brow furrowed deeply. He stood motionless for a long time.

’Still not right.’

After another long period of contemplation, Lin Hao threw another punch.

This time, the first stalk of bamboo only swayed slightly, while the one beside it bent sharply before snapping back.

A smile touched Lin Hao’s lips as he punched again.

The punch stirred the wind, and the wind, upon meeting an obstacle, deflected...

This time, the bamboo in the direct path of his fist only swayed slightly, but the two stalks to its left and right bent simultaneously before snapping back, producing two crisp cracks at almost the same instant.

One punch, two impacts!

Having finally grasped the concept, Lin Hao began punching again and again...

Without realizing it, his control over his power was growing more and more adept.

"Time’s up! The second stage of the assessment will now begin!"

Bai Ming’s voice seemed to drift in from a great distance, pulling Lin Hao’s consciousness back to reality.

Opening his eyes, he saw that an examinee was already walking toward the center of the God-Proving Stage.

The examinee wore a confused expression as he stood in the center and threw a punch.

There was no reaction whatsoever.

Bai Ming shook his head. "Failed. Next!"

Before long, more than a dozen others had their turn. Without exception, all of them were eliminated. Not a single one managed to make even one Divine Stele emerge from the ground.

In the pavilion at the edge of the God-Proving Stage, the Sect Leader of the Heaven-Stepping Sect and the three elders all looked displeased.

"The comprehension of these examinees is just too dreadful! A moment ago, Ling Xiao went up to demonstrate his martial arts and called for a Martial Artist at the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm, stating it was to suppress his own realm. They actually believed that was the Martial Artist’s only purpose! You can’t carve rotten wood!" one of the elders said in exasperation.

The other two elders nodded in solemn agreement.

The Sect Leader of the Heaven-Stepping Sect also let out a sigh.

"Next!" Down on the testing ground, Bai Ming’s expression had also soured. ’The comprehension of these candidates is just terrible!’

This time, the Martial Artist who was called made a request. His cultivation was at the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer, and he needed another Martial Artist to accompany him.

Bai Ming barely glanced up before nodding his assent.

The two Martial Artists went up together. The one who had been called over stood in the same spot Lin Hao had occupied earlier. Then, the examinee centered himself for a few minutes before finally throwing a punch!

He threw one punch. Nothing happened.

He threw another punch, with the same result.

It wasn’t until his third punch that the earth rumbled and a single Divine Stele finally broke through the ground.

The examinee was ecstatic. He began punching rapidly, and in an instant, another three Divine Steles had emerged.

After that, no matter how hard he tried, no more Divine Steles would appear.

"Four Divine Steles. Pass!"

Bai Ming’s voice rang out. Finally, there was an examinee who had passed.

Back in the pavilion, the elder who had spoken first spoke again. "Finally, one who isn’t a complete moron."

Just then, Bai Ming called the next examinee.

"Next, Chu Sheng!"

Chu Sheng strode forward, head held high, his voice ringing out clearly. "Examiner, I request that Lin Hao accompany me."

His expression was so confident that it even caused the elders and the Sect Leader in the pavilion to sit up a little straighter.

Lin Hao didn’t even need to think to know what Chu Sheng was planning. He shook his head and walked out on his own, not even waiting for Bai Ming to give the order.

"Lin Hao, you’re about to find out just how vast the gap between us truly is," Chu Sheng said arrogantly as they walked shoulder-to-shoulder toward the center of the stage.

Lin Hao shrugged without a word, but he quickened his pace and reached the center first.

His actions were his answer to Chu Sheng: he didn’t want to be associated with him.

A vicious glint flashed in Chu Sheng’s eyes, but his expression quickly returned to normal.

Standing before Lin Hao, he closed his eyes to focus. Then, his eyes snapped open as he unleashed a punch!

Lin Hao’s eyebrows shot up, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

’He knew that Chu Sheng’s punch would definitely make a Divine Stele emerge.’

Sure enough, the earth began to rumble.

A triumphant look flashed across Chu Sheng’s face. Without pausing, he threw another punch.

Then he began a continuous barrage of punches, throwing seven in total.

The God-Proving Stage rumbled. With every punch Chu Sheng threw, another Divine Stele broke through the ground.

After the seventh punch, Chu Sheng stood still for a long moment before letting out a sigh.

To think that someone in this assessment had managed to summon seven Divine Steles! The crowd erupted into an uproar.

Summoning seven Divine Steles meant one had the potential to be taken as a personal disciple by an elder, or even the Sect Leader himself.

In that instant, Chu Sheng became the center of everyone’s attention.

A torrent of gazes—envious, jealous, and resentful—all converged upon him.

Bai Ming’s eyes also shone brightly. Though Chu Sheng was arrogant, he had to admit that the young man’s comprehension was indeed impressive.

In the pavilion, the three elders and the Sect Leader also looked pleased. Even though it had taken him seven punches to summon seven Divine Steles, his comprehension was still extraordinary.

Down on the stage, Chu Sheng scanned the crowd, his eyes filled with smug satisfaction.

Then, his gaze fell upon Lin Hao.

Seeing Lin Hao’s placid expression, he felt a flare of inexplicable rage.

Standing before the seven Divine Steles, Chu Sheng looked down on Lin Hao and sneered, "Lin Hao, you got by on dumb luck in the initial strength test, and you got lucky again when the Crystal Stone gate malfunctioned in the first stage. Let’s see how you’re going to get through this one!

"Now that I’ve summoned seven Divine Steles, I’m destined to be fought over by the elders. I might even be accepted as the Sect Leader’s disciple. Why don’t you just give up? Save yourself the humiliation. Call me ’Grandpa,’ and I’ll put in a good word for you with the Sect Leader. Maybe he’ll let you stay on to empty my chamber pots."

"Next, Yingxue!"

Before Lin Hao could reply, Bai Ming’s voice rang out, and Yingxue made her way to the stage.

"Brother Hao, I need your help too..." Yingxue said, tugging on Lin Hao’s arm. Her large, innocent eyes blinked, a sight that could melt a heart of steel.

Goosebumps broke out all over Lin Hao’s arms. He pulled his hand away and nodded repeatedly.

As for Chu Sheng, he had already slunk away the moment Yingxue appeared.

He might dare to act arrogantly in front of Lin Hao, but when faced with someone as dazzling as Yingxue, he could only beat a hasty retreat.

It was precisely because Yingxue’s brilliance overshadowed his own that he felt the need to repeatedly attack Lin Hao. Only by putting Lin Hao down could he regain some of his confidence.

On the stage, the same Yingxue who had just been acting cute in front of Lin Hao seemed to transform into a completely different person. She closed her eyes to focus, her pretty face etched with seriousness.

Seeing her take the stage, the Sect Leader and elders, who all had high hopes for her, sat bolt upright.

With a sharp cry, Yingxue’s small fist shot out.

"RUMBLE!"

The God-Proving Stage rumbled as two of the Divine Steles, which had just disappeared, broke through the ground at once.

Two steles with one punch!

In the pavilion, the Sect Leader and the three elders shot forward in their seats.

"Excellent! This girl’s comprehension is superb! She actually figured out how to summon two steles with a single punch!" one of the elders exclaimed, his eyes gleaming.

His words had barely faded when Yingxue threw another punch.

"RUMBLE!"

Another two Divine Steles appeared!

Without pausing, Yingxue threw yet another punch.

Unsurprisingly, two more Divine Steles appeared.

With just three punches, Yingxue had summoned a total of six Divine Steles.

"Incredible! Absolutely incredible! Do you think she can match Ling Xiao’s record?!" one of the elders asked, his gaze as hot as fire.

"She should have no problem!" another elder declared.

The remaining elder didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to Ling Xiao, who was standing nearby, and asked, "Ling Xiao, what do you think?"