Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

This Lord Lingdi had a mysterious background. It had suddenly appeared in the Heaven-Stepping Sect a year ago.

Among its other talents, it possessed a miraculous ability to see through a Martial Artist’s bloodline and physique with a single glance.

Moreover, this ability was unaffected by one’s cultivation level.

In other words, even for a Martial Artist who had not yet awakened their bloodline, it could identify their bloodline and physique with just one look!

Because of it, last year’s sect assessment, which was originally scheduled to take a full day, was completed in just one hour.

It had merely given the several thousand candidates a cursory glance, yet it already knew everything. It then took the sect an hour to confirm its findings, and there wasn’t a single mistake.

Such a method was simply heaven-defying!

Not only that, but every single person it chose to keep ended up awakening their bloodline!

Normally, any Martial Artist who passed the sect assessment but hadn’t awakened their bloodline would be assigned to the Outer Sect. They would be given resources as outer disciples to cultivate until they awakened their bloodline, at which point they could enter the Inner Sect.

But ever since Lord Lingdi’s arrival, it could actually predict this in advance!

This ability not only separated the wheat from the chaff, keeping only those with true potential, but it also saved the sect a vast amount of resources. It was incredible.

Although the Heaven-Stepping Sect was said to have ten thousand members, the Outer Sect alone accounted for the vast majority, and most of them were just wasting the sect’s resources.

The Heaven-Stepping Sect immediately treated it as an honored guest, hoping it would help sort out the Outer Sect.

But this Lord Lingdi was a slacker. After a few token appearances at the beginning, its visits went from once a month to once every three months, and then from every three months to every six.

And now, it had flat-out said not to bother it unless there was a special physique involved.

This left the upper echelons of the Heaven-Stepping Sect feeling both furious and helpless.

This time, it was one thing for it to remain silent, but it also wanted to keep Yingxue and was now in a conflict with Lin Hao. For a moment, they were in a difficult position.

However, seeing the look on Lin Hao’s face, they decided to stand on his side after all.

The vain cat, still unaware of their thoughts, heard Lin Hao’s words. It shot him a sideways glance and said disdainfully, "A mere mortal body, and you dare to be so arrogant!"

The expressions of the four from the Heaven-Stepping Sect stiffened.

While they were filled with disappointment, someone else was overjoyed.

When Wu Kui heard Lord Lingdi say that Yingxue should stay, he was already thrilled. ’The pavilion closest to the water gets the moonlight first.’ Now, hearing that Lin Hao was just a mere mortal body, his sense of superiority instantly skyrocketed.

A mortal body was synonymous with weakness. Yingxue had said her future husband must be a peerless hero, so Lin Hao was clearly out of the running. How could he not be happy?

If the occasion weren’t so inappropriate, he would have burst out laughing.

In front of Lin Hao, the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s Sect Leader was utterly disappointed. ’Lord Lingdi actually said Lin Hao has a mortal body. Doesn’t that mean...’

But when he recalled Lin Hao’s performance during the assessment, a flicker of hope rose in his eyes. He spoke up, "Lord Lingdi, could I trouble you to take another look? His future physique shouldn’t be a mortal body."

"Hmph! You dare question this emperor! In all the heavens and earth, there is no physique this emperor cannot recognize! And this emperor has never been wrong!" its voice was outrageously arrogant.

Not only that, but upon hearing the Sect Leader’s words, the vain cat flew into a rage, and a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from its body.

Lin Hao was horrified.

The vain cat emanated a terrifying aura that seemed capable of crushing the heavens, as if a long-dormant primordial beast was awakening.

Even though several top experts stood before him, Lin Hao still felt as if his body was about to crack apart!

The pressure was immense, but Lin Hao had never been one to admit defeat. Instead of retreating, he pushed forward, channeling the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill at full power to resist the supreme pressure.

The Tai Chi Array Map in his Dantian appeared and began to spin frantically, and the pressure on Lin Hao instantly lessened.

Across from him, the impossibly arrogant vain cat stared at Lin Hao. Its eyes suddenly went wide as saucers, then filled with terror. All the fur on its body stood on end, as if facing a mortal enemy.

"Spirit Body, Origin Body, War Body, King Body, Emperor Body, Divine Body, Overlord Body..." The vain cat rattled off several types of physiques in one breath. With each one it named, the fear in its eyes deepened. By the time it got to Overlord Body, its entire body began to tremble.

"PTUI!"

Then, it violently spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and fell over, stiff as a board.

This sudden turn of events left everyone present stunned. Lin Hao, however, recovered quickly after a brief moment of shock.

"Uh... it’s just being overly dramatic. This has nothing to do with me. I’ll be taking my leave." Lin Hao spread his hands innocently, pulled Yingxue up, and turned to leave.

’The Heaven-Stepping Sect had prepared a private courtyard just for it, and these people were all so respectful in its presence. Even an idiot would know this thing is special, not to mention someone as brilliant as me,’ Lin Hao thought.

’Now it’s on the ground, coughing up blood. Who knows if it’s dead? If I don’t use this chance to bolt, they’ll probably fly into a rage out of shame. Not only will I fail to join the sect, but I’ll also end up a prisoner.’

"Insolent Lin Hao! Stop right there! You’ve killed Lord Lingdi, and you dare to run!" Just as he turned, an angry voice rang out in front of him.

Looking up, he saw Wu Kui standing before him, his face splattered with blood and contorted with rage.

When the cat had sprayed blood, Wu Kui, being the closest, had gotten the worst of it.

At this moment, the blood-soaked Wu Kui, looking neither human nor ghost, clearly had a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes.

"You should change your name, Wu Kui. ’Shameless’ suits you better. With several masters right here, I didn’t even dare to move. If I really had the ability to kill it, I would’ve started with you." Lin Hao rolled his eyes.

Wu Kui was momentarily speechless, then retorted, "If it wasn’t you, why would Lord Lingdi have coughed up blood!"

"That’s enough! It’s merely unconscious. Go and attend to it at once," the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s Sect Leader said after checking the creature. He let out a sigh of relief, his tone filled with unquestionable authority.

"Yes, Master." Wu Kui shot Lin Hao a resentful glare before respectfully complying.

The moment he heard the word "Master," Lin Hao’s eyelid twitched. His guess had been right; this middle-aged man was indeed the Sect Leader of the Heaven-Stepping Sect.

The Sect Leader walked straight up to Lin Hao, but then he suddenly tapped a finger on Yingxue.

Yingxue immediately went limp in Lin Hao’s arms.

"She’s had a fright and needs to rest properly." After speaking, the Sect Leader clapped his hands, and a female disciple immediately appeared to take Yingxue from Lin Hao’s arms.

This was the Heaven-Stepping Sect’s territory; Lin Hao was powerless to resist. Besides, he didn’t believe the Sect Leader meant to harm Yingxue, so he let it happen.

Once Yingxue was gone, the three elders also closed in. Like the Sect Leader, they all stared intently at Lin Hao, their eyes blazing with a fervent fire, as if they wanted to devour him whole...

「In another room within the Heaven-Stepping Sect」

Lin Hao sat curled up lazily in a chair, his legs tucked beneath him.

After the group had brought him to this room, they had gathered together, paying him no further mind.

Watching the four of them sitting around a table in the distance, glancing at him from time to time, Lin Hao rolled his eyes.

He reached out to grab something from the side, but the plate was empty. Lin Hao cleared his throat and bellowed, "Out of pastries!"

Before long, a Heaven-Stepping Sect disciple pushed the door open and brought in another plate of pastries.

When the disciple saw Lin Hao’s posture and then glanced at the Sect Leader and elders gathered nearby, his eyes filled with admiration for Lin Hao.

In the entire Heaven-Stepping Sect, probably no one else dared to slouch so disrespectfully in front of the Sect Leader and elders.

’This guy’s audacity knows no bounds,’ the disciple thought.

"Thanks, senior brother," Lin Hao said with a chuckle, completely calm and composed.

The disciple didn’t reply. A look of terror crossed his face as he glanced at the Sect Leader and elders, then hastily retreated as if terrified of being associated with Lin Hao.

In reality, the disciple was just scaring himself.

The Sect Leader and the elders were currently communicating via divine sense; they had no time to spare for him.

’Sect Leader, he probably doesn’t have any special physique. He even made Lord Lingdi cough up blood and pass out. How should we punish him? Otherwise, we’ll have a hard time explaining this when Lord Lingdi wakes up.’

’Explain what! I think you’re getting senile. The fact that even Lord Lingdi couldn’t identify his physique proves it’s terrifyingly powerful! Didn’t you hear the physiques it listed? It means that little guy Lin Hao doesn’t belong to any of those categories! That’s simply horrifying!’

’Lord Lingdi’s origins are mysterious, but after just one look at Lin Hao, it coughed up blood and fainted. Did you notice the look in its eyes? It was pure terror, as if Lin Hao’s physique is something that shouldn’t exist in this world, or perhaps shouldn’t exist at all.’

The group debated for a long time but came to no conclusion, each of them frowning deeply.

In contrast, Lin Hao was on the side, leisurely munching on pastries, looking as content as could be.

’Third Elder, you’re the most familiar with the sect’s records. Think carefully, are there any accounts of special physiques like this in our archives?’ the Sect Leader asked one of the elders.

The elder who was asked shook his head.

’Sigh, why make it so complicated? Once he awakens his bloodline, won’t everything become clear?’ another elder said nonchalantly.

The Sect Leader frowned, but then a look of excitement appeared on his face. Lord Lingdi, who could identify thousands of people with a glance, had not only failed to discern Lin Hao’s physique but had even coughed up blood and fainted. Such a physique was destined to be extraordinary. ’Why am I even agonizing over this?’

Just as the elder had said, once he awakened his bloodline, everything would become clear.

At this thought, the Sect Leader abruptly looked up. With a WHOOSH, he was standing in front of Lin Hao.

Lin Hao was blissfully enjoying his snacks when the Sect Leader’s sudden appearance made him jump.

"Ahem. You’re Lin Hao, correct? Do you have any idea what a disaster you’ve caused!" the Sect Leader said, staring at Lin Hao with a look of heartache and regret.

"Huh?" Lin Hao was confused. ’I didn’t do anything. Where is this coming from?’

Then, he heard the Sect Leader say, "Lord Lingdi is the hope of our sect, but now you’ve left it grievously injured and on the verge of death! Just now, the elders all proposed that I should execute you! To give Lord Lingdi a proper accounting."

The three elders, who were just walking over, all stumbled when they heard this. ’Damn it, when did we ever say that?’

The three elders’ mouths twitched, their facial muscles spasming. How could they not understand their Sect Leader’s intentions? He just wanted them to play the bad guys, to first intimidate the kid, and then he would step in righteously, making the boy eternally grateful so he could easily take him as a disciple.

Not only were the three of them missing out on such a great potential disciple, but they were also being turned into villains for no reason. It was truly frustrating.

They really wanted to ask their Sect Leader: ’Have you no shame?’