Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

The walls of Beginning City receded, revealing a hazy landscape in the distance. Vaguely visible were towering mountains that pierced the clouds, and from them echoed the heart-pounding roars of beasts.

A brand new world appeared before the crowd.

Faced with this unknown world, some were excited, while others were terrified.

The moment they stepped inside, their lives would be changed forever.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared beyond the sunken city walls.

The figure was indistinct, its true features impossible to discern, but its actions left everyone aghast.

With a mere flick of his sleeve, the hazy world before them instantly came into focus.

But the world that came into view was even more bone-chilling.

Ahead was a great mountain, trisected by three wide paths. Gazing down each path, the crowd witnessed scenes of utter cruelty.

Devil Beasts ran rampant within, locked in endless slaughter.

In the distance, a massive bird, a hundred meters in length, soared past. It swooped down to prey on a giant serpent below, and the sheer force of its enormous wings actually sheared off a mountain peak!

Then, a White Ape leaped from a massive boulder, snatched the great bird’s talons, and ripped it in two. Blood splattered across the sky!

A hush fell over the crowd in Beginning City.

The world ahead was simply too bloody and cruel.

Just then, the figure spoke. "What you just saw was but a drop in the ocean. The Starry Sky Ancient Road represents death and destruction. You still have a chance to back out."

The figure’s voice was so cold it sent shivers down their spines.

"I’m not going!"

"Good heavens! If I enter the Starry Sky Ancient Road, it’ll be a one-way trip. I’d rather go back to being a young master."

"I have beautiful women waiting for me at home. It’s not worth throwing my life away on this Starry Sky Ancient Road."

"Cultivation is a personal journey. As long as I work hard, I can still achieve great things. There’s no need to enter the Starry Sky Ancient Road."

"..."

In an instant, an unknown number of people chose to give up.

It was already this dangerous at the very start; one could only imagine what lay ahead.

But at that very moment, a figure shot forward, streaking through the air. He passed straight through the body of the speaker without any resistance.

The speaker’s body was nothing more than an illusion.

Lin Hao saw it clearly. The one who had charged into the Starry Sky Ancient Road was one of the top-tier disciples he had noticed earlier.

The Ancient Road he chose was clearly the most perilous of the three.

His cultivation was beyond the Sixth Layer of the Soul Gathering Realm!

As that man charged into the Starry Sky Ancient Road, many others moved as well, each choosing their own path.

SPLAT!

Lin Hao saw someone die the moment they charged in, swatted into a mist of blood by a giant raptor.

The world inside was too cruel.

Behind him, some shrank back in fear, while others remained undaunted.

Lin Hao watched as one familiar face after another vanished into the Ancient Roads: Lin Tian, Lin Yuan, Shenshan, Yang Peng, and more.

The disciples of the Yujin Saint Institute also chose paths suited to them and entered. Before they left, many of them instinctively glanced toward Lin Hao.

But as the crowd surged into the Ancient Roads, Lin Hao saw several people walking toward him instead.

They were all women.

"Brother Hao, I’m going on ahead. Please take care of Diewu for me." Lu Dieyi’s expression grew complicated when she saw the other women. After entrusting Lu Diewu to Lin Hao, she didn’t wait for his answer. Her figure flashed, and she vanished into the most perilous Ancient Road.

"Sister!" Lu Diewu cried out in alarm.

Lu Dieyi had only just broken through to the Sixth Layer of the Soul Gathering Realm yesterday, and that was with the help of Lin Hao’s Divine Spring. It was far too dangerous for her to enter that Ancient Road.

Even Lin Hao was taken by surprise. By the time he could react, Lu Dieyi was long gone.

"My birthday is almost here again! Before Master left, he told you to take care of me." The speaker was Meng Ru.

She pouted, glancing with dissatisfaction at Lu Diewu, whose face was etched with worry.

Beside Meng Ru stood the still-veiled Meng Qing. She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Young Ma—"

However, Lin Hao cut her off domineeringly before she could finish. "You don’t have to say anything. Stick with me."

Although Meng Qing hadn’t finished, Lin Hao knew what she wanted to say.

Although Lin Hao had forged a new bloodline for Meng Qing and Su Molixi of the Misty Palace had given her full support, the time had simply been too short. She had not even reached the Soul Gathering Realm, her cultivation still only at the Seventh Layer of the Elemental Control Realm.

Going from the Third Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm to the Seventh Layer of the Elemental Control Realm in just a few months was a terrifying rate of progress by any standard.

It was for this very reason that the Yujin Saint Institute had made an exception and allowed her to become a disciple of its Upper House.

But whenever Meng Qing thought of Lin Hao, she felt inadequate.

She felt her cultivation was progressing too slowly.

Meng Qing had originally planned to give up on this opportunity, but hearing Lin Hao’s domineering words filled her with an inexplicable joy.

Lin Hao took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on the middle path.

If he were alone, he might have chosen the most dangerous path. But now, with such heavy responsibilities, he could only take the standard route.

Even so, the dangers Lin Hao would face were still considerable.

Because of the perils of the Ancient Roads, many Martial Artists at the Seventh Layer of the Soul Gathering Realm had also chosen the middle path.

Lin Hao’s group was far too conspicuous. Never mind that Lu Diewu, Meng Ru, and Meng Qing were all peerless beauties; the Tokens they carried were enough to attract a great deal of unwanted attention.

Meng Qing was only at the Seventh Layer of the Elemental Control Realm, and Lu Diewu was merely at the Soul Gathering Realm First Layer. Although Meng Ru was at the Fifth Layer of the Soul Gathering Realm, Lin Hao knew it wouldn’t be long before her body began to have problems.

All three of them were liabilities.

"Stay with me!" Lin Hao took a deep breath, grabbed Meng Qing with one hand and Lu Diewu with the other, and charged into the middle Ancient Road.

Behind them, Meng Ru stomped her foot, her lips pouting high. Still, she knew the danger and quickly followed.

Ahead, the moment Lin Hao entered the Ancient Road, he was attacked.

A giant claw descended from above, aiming for his skull.

Fierce winds howled, and the very air seemed to sizzle beneath the massive claw.

A huge shadow fell over them, cast by the claw’s owner as it blotted out the sky.

Lin Hao pushed the two women back, then struck like lightning. With a bizarre twist, one of his hands had already grabbed the limb above the claw.

Just then, a gale erupted. The claw’s owner beat its wings, shattering nearby boulders and kicking up a storm of sand and stones.

Its other claw lunged down at the same time.

Lin Hao repeated the move, striking out with his other hand.

The next moment, blood rained from the heavens!

In the distance, several onlookers were dumbfounded.

This Devil Beast was incredibly terrifying. It had previously torn several Martial Artists at the Fourth Layer of the Soul Gathering Realm to shreds with a single swipe of its claw. Even two Martial Artists at the Fifth Layer of the Soul Gathering Realm had been no match for it, forced into a pathetic retreat.

This young man who had just appeared was far too powerful—he had actually ripped the vicious beast apart with his bare hands!

"Who is he?" someone asked the person beside them.

No one had an answer.

Although Lin Hao was famous in the Cangnan Empire, on this Starry Sky Ancient Road, he was a complete unknown.

However, that was surely only temporary.