Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

「The sixth day since the Starry Sky Ancient Road opened.」

That morning, Lin Hao and the three women left the place where they had been cultivating to set foot on the Ancient Road once more.

After the three women had awoken that day, Lin Hao selected several martial arts techniques for them. He had spent the past few days guiding their training.

Lin Hao had inherited Chu Tiandu’s memories, so his insights into the martial path were likely unmatched by all but a few on the entire Celestial Yang Continent.

Thanks to Lin Hao’s guidance, the three women completely mastered the techniques he taught them, and their strength advanced by leaps and bounds.

Meng Ru’s commentary, meanwhile, evolved from an initial, "You’re about as good as my master," to a final, "Even my master isn’t as good as you."

As for Meng Qing, she simply felt that anything Lin Hao accomplished was to be expected.

Lu Diewu, meanwhile, wore a proud expression. After all, Lin Hao was her brother-in-law.

Not long after the four of them had stepped back onto the Ancient Road, a strange phenomenon appeared in the sky above.

A line of massive characters appeared in the empty air without warning.

Before that line of text could disappear, another appeared.

The four of them were no longer surprised by this, as they had seen it happen several times over the past few days.

This time, however, Meng Ru let out a curious "Huh?" The names displayed in the text were connected to Lin Hao.

"Brother Hao, after I arrived at the Saint Institute, I heard people talking about them. Is that Yunxi really the princess of the Mo Yun Kingdom? Is she really your maidservant? And that Marquis Mo... I heard he’s the Crown Prince of the Mo Yun Kingdom. Did he really become some coward’s lackey?" Meng Ru stared at the two lines of text, her curiosity piqued as she questioned Lin Hao.

The text in the sky announced that Yunxi and Marquis Mo had obtained Top 100 Tokens.

The Starry Sky Ancient Road had only been open for six days, and in that time, text had appeared in the sky just over twenty times in total.

Obtaining a Top 100 Token at this stage meant their strength ranked in the top thirty!

This was no small feat. The Starry Sky Ancient Road attracted Martial Artists from six great empires, and even smaller kingdoms did everything in their power to send their own cultivators. To rank in the top thirty meant they were undoubtedly geniuses among geniuses.

Before Lin Hao could answer, Lu Diewu beside him said proudly, "What’s so great about being a princess? It’s her good fortune that she gets to be my brother-in-law’s maidservant."

At these words, even Meng Qing nodded in deep agreement.

In Meng Qing’s heart, she believed no one could possibly compare to Lin Hao.

Lin Hao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this scene.

Meng Ru pouted, looking a little unhappy, but her expression quickly brightened. "Brother Hao," she said to Lin Hao, "we’ve fallen too far behind. We need to get a move on!"

After saying this, she wore an expression of eager anticipation.

Her strength was now greater than ever, and she had learned several powerful martial arts techniques from Lin Hao. She couldn’t wait to test her skills on the Starry Sky Ancient Road.

Lu Diewu stared into the empty air, her lovely eyes also glinting with excitement. Then she said to Meng Ru, "Sister Meng Ru, I think we should go steal their Tokens."

Hearing herself called "Sister Meng Ru" made Meng Ru’s heart flutter with joy, and her eyes curved into crescents. "That’s right! They’re supposed to be so powerful, right? So if I steal their Tokens, doesn’t that prove I’m even more powerful than they are!"

Meng Ru’s eyes shone, and she punctuated her last words with a fierce little pump of her fist.

She was treated like a princess in the Misty Palace, and she was extremely eager for a fight.

The only reason the battle-hungry Meng Ru hadn’t fought when she first entered the Starry Sky Ancient Road was because she knew something was wrong with her body and didn’t know when it might flare up.

But now, she no longer had that worry.

"Xiaoru, don’t be reckless," Meng Qing said with a serious expression. "There are countless geniuses and heroes on the Starry Sky Ancient Road."

Meng Ru didn’t argue. Instead, she nodded solemnly. "I know, Sister. I was just talking."

These days, Meng Ru treated Meng Qing with the utmost respect.

Lin Hao walked ahead, a smirk playing on his lips, his own plans hidden from view.

"Let’s go. We’re picking up the pace," Lin Hao said, then suddenly accelerated.

The three women hurriedly kept up.

The group had been delayed by nearly six days, falling far behind the other Martial Artists. As a result, they encountered no danger whatsoever along the way.

They traveled nonstop for half a day.

During that time, text appeared in the sky three more times.

One could only imagine that on the various paths of the Starry Sky Ancient Road, the battles between Martial Artists had reached a fever pitch.

"How terrifying!"

The four of them stopped at one end of a bridge. Lu Diewu stared ahead, her eyes wide with shock.

The bridge was shrouded in mist, its far end invisible. Yet, at the very edge of their vision, the bridge was clearly broken.

One had to remember that all the main roads on the Starry Sky Ancient Road were paved with Celestial Meteorite.

This bridge was no exception.

But now, it was broken.

One could only imagine the scale of the battle that must have taken place there.

However, the Starry Sky Ancient Road was a magical place; even though the bridge was broken, the remaining sections were still perfectly stable.

The four stepped onto the bridge, and Lin Hao spoke. "The bloodstains here haven’t dried yet. We’re not far behind the other Martial Artists. Be careful."

The three women nodded, their vigilance heightened.

After they had walked for some time, Lin Hao’s eyes narrowed.

The bridge had been shrouded in mist, obscuring the path ahead, but now Lin Hao could see.

The gap from the broken edge of the bridge to the other side was at least a thousand meters wide.

Of course, such a distance was nothing to a Martial Artist of the Soul Gathering Realm, but Lin Hao’s sharp gaze detected something strange.

’Something’s off about this place.’

"Get back. Get off the bridge," Lin Hao said to the three women without turning around.

"Brother Hao, be careful."

"Brother-in-law, be careful."

"Young Master, please be careful."

The three women spoke up before retreating.

Though they didn’t know what was happening, they could tell from the gravity in Lin Hao’s voice that this was no ordinary situation.

Lin Hao nodded, took a deep breath, and shot toward the other side.

Suddenly, a shriek that could shatter stone echoed through the air.

Despite being nearly two thousand meters away, the sound alone caused Meng Qing, the weakest of the three, to tremble and cough up a mouthful of blood. But she ignored her injuries, craning her neck to look anxiously in the direction where Lin Hao had disappeared.

The mist there was too thick; it swirled around, obscuring everything from view.

Lu Diewu fared slightly better than Meng Qing, but her face was also pale.

Even Meng Ru was affected, a shadow falling over her pretty face.

She was at the Fifth Layer of Soul Gathering Realm, yet the shriek had affected her from such a great distance. One could only imagine the force of the impact on Lin Hao, who was much closer.

"Meng Ru, hurry, go see what’s happening!" Meng Qing’s voice trembled.

Meng Ru nodded and was about to move when the clouds ahead began to churn.

Even from so far away, she could feel a powerful shockwave.

The next moment, the mist ahead dissipated.

The three women could finally see the scene before them.

As they looked ahead, all three women shuddered, their faces turning deathly pale.