Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

"Since you’re looking for death, I’ll grant your wish!" the Vajra roared, his face contorted with rage.

He strode toward Lin Hao, his muscles rippling like a mountain of flesh.

He was towering, his muscles bursting with explosive power, giving off the impression that he could crush anything with his physical strength alone.

Without another word, the Vajra threw a punch at Lin Hao.

Simple and direct!

As he punched, his already thick arm swelled in an instant.

Bone Strengthening!

The Vajra sneered as his fist flew. This punch could shatter a boulder; he wanted to see how the scrawny Lin Hao could possibly block it!

However, faced with this punch, Lin Hao neither dodged nor retreated. He actually threw a punch of his own to meet it.

"He must have a death wish, daring to trade blows with a Vajra!" a nearby disciple snorted.

"He’s only just entered the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer and can’t even use Bone Strengthening. How can he be so arrogant!"

Another disciple jeered, "What do you guys think? Will our Senior Brother be crawling back this time?"

Just then, a fist the size of a human head collided with another fist merely a fifth of its size.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion echoed through the air, and the eyes of the watching crowd went wide.

The Vajra, who was built like a small mountain, was sent flying backward, while Lin Hao’s figure only swayed slightly!

The scene stunned everyone!

Amidst their shock, Lin Hao executed the Ghostly Divine Step, moving like a phantom toward the spot where the Vajra was about to land.

After entering the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer, Lin Hao’s speed had increased by an unknown degree. In a flash, he crossed several meters and threw another punch!

CRACK!

With a sharp snap, Lin Hao’s punch sent the Vajra’s arm spinning wildly before it tore clean off his body.

Blood sprayed everywhere!

After crippling one of the Vajra’s arms, Lin Hao didn’t stop. He lashed out with a kick.

CRACK!

The kick landed squarely on the Vajra’s knee. With another sharp snap, the Vajra’s body crashed to the ground. Needless to say, his leg was now useless!

It all happened in the blink of an eye. By the time the crowd came to their senses, they saw Lin Hao pinning the mountain-like Vajra under his foot!

On the God-Proving Platform, Lin Hao stood proud and tall, a pillar between heaven and earth, like a War God incarnate!

And the Vajra, pinned beneath Lin Hao’s foot, couldn’t move an inch—like a dead dog!

The God-Proving Platform fell silent.

It was Lin Hao who spoke first, breaking the silence.

Looking down at the Vajra, a cold smile touched Lin Hao’s lips. "I was originally going to take your life, but now, I’ve changed my mind!"

With that, Lin Hao lifted his foot and stomped down hard!

CRACK!

The Vajra’s other, uninjured leg was snapped by Lin Hao’s stomp.

Then, Lin Hao applied more force, and under the immense pressure, the broken leg was crushed into a meat paste.

Lin Hao’s expression didn’t change.

The surrounding disciples, however, all stared wide-eyed and took a step back.

At that moment, Lin Hao suddenly spun around and threw a punch.

Another Vajra had charged in, attempting a sneak attack.

Lin Hao met the attack hastily and took a step back, but the ambusher didn’t gain any advantage either, stumbling back several steps himself.

The Vajra’s face was a mask of horror.

Lin Hao’s expression turned frigid, and his figure vanished in an instant.

Ghostly Divine Step!

At the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer, True Qi transforms into True Essence. When fully activated, the speed of Lin Hao’s Ghostly Divine Step was who knows how many times faster than before. He was as elusive as a ghost!

The attacking Vajra hadn’t even regained his footing when a sharp pain shot through his body. He looked down, his eyes bulging.

An arm!

There was an arm sticking out of his abdomen!

The onlookers were even more horrified. They clearly saw Lin Hao’s arm piercing through the Vajra’s stomach.

’So fast!’

Lin Hao stepped back, yanking his arm out.

Blood gushed out, followed by a trail of entrails.

The Vajra’s eyes filled with terror. He tried to stuff his intestines back in, but he was already a spent force. The moment his hands cupped his stomach, he collapsed to the ground!

In a single move, a Vajra at the Fifth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm—dead!

Lin Hao’s expression was calm as he casually tore a strip of cloth from his own robe and nonchalantly wiped the blood from his arm.

His demeanor was as if he hadn’t just killed a man, but a dog.

Killing men like butchering dogs!

A chill rose from the depths of everyone’s hearts.

A Vajra at the Fifth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm couldn’t even last a single move against Lin Hao. This was utterly terrifying to them.

"You all, come at me together," Lin Hao said casually, looking at the remaining eight Vajras who were glancing at each other in dismay. He then lowered his head, focusing on wiping the blood from his arm.

Utterly condescending!

This was true, unadulterated contempt!

How long had it been? Of the Ten Great Vajras, one was crippled, and one was dead.

At this moment, no one dared to look down on Lin Hao any longer.

Some disciples who had been present that morning recalled the scene of Lin Hao challenging Qin Tianlong. An absurd thought rose in their minds: ’Even Qin Tianlong of Celestial Dui Peak would probably have to avoid a direct confrontation with Lin Hao!’

The faces of the remaining eight Vajras were as cold as ice. They were all at the Fifth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, yet they were being looked down upon by a Martial Artist at the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer. It was a grave insult!

But having witnessed Lin Hao’s methods, none of them dared to face him alone.

Lin Hao’s speed terrified them!

"Are you going to fight or not? If not, then scram and go back to being obedient dogs!" Seeing the eight of them hesitate, Lin Hao grew impatient.

"Don’t you be so insolent!" the eight roared in unison, surrounding Lin Hao.

Eight Martial Artists at the Fifth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm were about to attack simultaneously!

Lin Hao was only at the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer. Ordinarily, there would be no suspense, but after seeing him kill that Vajra, no one dared to say Lin Hao would surely lose.

Lin Hao stood firm, unafraid. His gaze narrowed, and the corner of his mouth curved up as he muttered, "Now this is a little more interesting. I can use you all to perfect my Body Technique!"

Although his Ghostly Divine Step was already incredibly fast in others’ eyes, Lin Hao knew that his current Body Technique was still a far cry from the true Ghostly Divine Step.

At the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm, the Body Technique he had developed could be seen through by Wu Zhen during their duel, leaving him feeling frustrated and powerless. His recent kill against the Vajra was merely a victory won through surprise.

What he wanted to do next was to move within an extremely small space without being detected by his opponents. In Lin Hao’s eyes, these eight Vajras were nothing more than tools for him to perfect his Body Technique.

If the eight Vajras knew what he was thinking, who knows if they would go mad with rage.

Although the eight Vajras didn’t know Lin Hao’s thoughts, the very fact that the eight of them had to attack a single Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer Martial Artist at the same time was already a disgrace. Without a word, all eight punched simultaneously.

The explosions sounded like thunder, and the force of their punches created a storm of wind like raging tidal waves!

Lin Hao was like a lone boat, in constant danger of being torn to pieces.

Lin Hao’s footing shifted, his body spinning like a corkscrew. A shimmering white light enveloped his entire body. Amidst the raging storm of fists, he seemed to be spinning randomly like a headless fly.

"He’s too arrogant. With all eight Vajras attacking at once, he’s bound to lose," a disciple shook his head upon seeing this.

But more disciples remained silent. They were beginning to realize that things might not be as they appeared on the surface.

Sure enough, Lin Hao’s rotation grew faster and faster, and the layer of white light became like a great cocoon, completely enveloping his figure.

PFFT!

Suddenly, one of the Vajras spat out a mouthful of blood.

Then a second, and a third...

Before long, all eight Vajras were simultaneously coughing up blood and retreating.

"What’s happening?" a disciple asked, confused.

A talented disciple saw through Lin Hao’s intent and exclaimed in shock, "He’s redirecting the Vajras’ attacks, using their own strength against them! The Vajras are hitting their own men!"

"What’s that white light?"

"That’s Protective Gang Qi! His physical body has reached a truly terrifying realm!"

"Bo... Body... of... Gang... Qi!" a disciple stammered out those four words.

BOOM!

Hearing this, all the disciples were profoundly shaken.

A Body of Gang Qi! That was the legendary limit of the physical body! Lin Hao was only at the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer, yet he had actually reached this legendary state. It was simply unheard of!

And just then, from within the white light, a faint shadow shot out like a stream of light, seeming to make time itself stand still as it delivered eight punches in a single second!

This shadow was, of course, Lin Hao.

Lin Hao struck just as the eight Vajras were retreating, their footing still unstable.

His timing was impeccable.

At such extreme speed, the eight had no way to dodge and were all hit.

At the Third Layer of Blood Coagulation Realm, Lin Hao’s punch could shatter a Crystal Stone pillar with over five thousand jin of force. Now that he had entered the Blood Coagulation Realm Fourth Layer, his strength had increased by thousands of jin. How could the eight Vajras possibly withstand such a heavy blow?

They were sent flying, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. Who knows how many of their bones were broken, but not a single one of them had any fight left.

The Ten Great Vajras, all of them crippled at Lin Hao’s hands!

"Celestial Dui Peak is truly a disappointment," Lin Hao shook his head and turned to leave.

"Sen... Senior Brother Lin Hao," a weak voice called out.

Lin Hao spun around, his gaze fixed on the source of the voice. "You want to fight me?"

The disciple recoiled in fear, shaking his head frantically. "No, no, no! Sen... Senior Brother, I just wanted to remind you. On Celestial Dui Peak, there’s Senior Brother Zhou Wu, who is ranked among the top ten Inner Sect Disciples, and even more so, there’s Senior Brother Qin, who holds a spot among the Core Disciples. You must be careful."

Before, no one had any faith in Lin Hao, but now, someone was taking a huge risk to warn him. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

In this world where martial prowess was revered, Lin Hao had earned the respect of his fellow disciples with his fists.

Hearing this, Lin Hao flashed a brilliant smile. "Thank you. I’ll be careful."

"If any of you are familiar with them, help me pass on a message: I, Lin Hao, will welcome their challenge at any time."

After saying his piece, Lin Hao left without a backward glance.

The crowd of disciples dispersed in twos and threes. Before long, only the Ten Great Vajras—one dead and nine crippled—remained on the God-Proving Platform.

Night fell quietly. When Lin Hao returned to his room on Heaven-Stepping Peak, he found two elders waiting for him.

As soon as they saw Lin Hao return, the two elders scrambled to plead with him. "Martial Uncle, you have to help us."

Being called "Martial Uncle" by two elders old enough to be his grandfather still felt a little strange to Lin Hao. However, seeing their expressions, he didn’t dwell on it and instead asked them what the matter was.

"Martial Uncle, you may not know this, but we and the Sect Leader had an agreement regarding the little girl, Yingxue. One of us three old fellows was supposed to take her as a disciple. But now... now she’s been snatched away by Lord Lingdi!"

The two elders stared at Lin Hao with pleading eyes, like two children who had been wronged outside and had come home to complain to an adult.