Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

In Lin Hao’s eyes, the Martial Artist before him was nothing more than a clown.

Lin Hao had always ignored people like this.

"You are the young master, and I am the handmaiden. How could I possibly control your actions? If you won’t go, there’s nothing I can do. However, my master should be a peerless prodigy. In the future, he must become the ruler of this continent. The mere descendant of an ancient fiendish beast cannot stand in his way."

A unique glint appeared in Yunxi’s beautiful eyes.

"Sis, is she lovesick? I don’t think she’s looking for a master, I think she’s looking for a husband," Meng Ru said, turning to Meng Qing with an expression of pure curiosity.

Pfft!

Meng Qing burst out laughing.

"How shameless!" Lu Diewu shook her head, looking at Yunxi as if to say, ’You’re a disgrace to all women.’

Anger flashed in Yunxi’s beautiful eyes before vanishing.

She chose not to argue with the three women, instead staring silently at Lin Hao.

Lin Hao shook his head and sighed. "Your standards are too low. I was originally thinking of promoting you to a high-ranking handmaiden. Now, it seems that with aspirations like yours, I’ll have to reluctantly make do and keep you as a low-ranking one."

When he finished, he stared at Yunxi with a look of disappointment.

Yunxi’s eyes went wide.

"Way to go, brother-in-law!" Lu Diewu cheered from the side, clapping her hands.

"Hmph! Lin Hao, you’d better watch what you say. Many Martial Artists can’t even cross the hurdle of the Soul Gathering Realm in their entire lives, and Spirit Transformation Realm Martial Artists can try for hundreds or even thousands of years without making an inch of progress. You want to transcend this world? Dream on."

"Exactly! Who do you think you are? Even the Ten Great Young Masters wouldn’t dare say something like that!"

"The way I see it, in the entire Celestial Yang Continent, only Lin Wu, who entered the Heaven-Breaking Pavilion early, is qualified to say such a thing. Even Yang Qingtian wouldn’t dare to be so arrogant!"

"Oh, future king of the Sealed Martial Realm, may I ask how many Tokens you’ve obtained?" someone asked sarcastically.

At this, many people erupted in laughter.

This guy’s name wasn’t even on the ranking. He couldn’t even make the top one hundred, yet he dared to talk so big. He was making a complete fool of himself.

Lin Hao wasn’t annoyed. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly as he stared into the void, a raging battle intent burning in his eyes.

’Who said having Tokens makes you strong?’

Lin Hao was certain there were other experts on the Ancient Road who hadn’t yet appeared on the ranking.

Yunxi, who was closest to Lin Hao, immediately sensed the change in him. At this moment, Lin Hao was like a dormant dragon, exuding an aura that could crush all creation.

Yunxi’s expression was complicated, and she seemed lost in thought.

Meanwhile, just because Lin Hao didn’t say anything himself didn’t mean the three women would allow others to speak ill of him.

"Why did you all enter this Ancient Road? Wasn’t it to enter the Heaven-Breaking Pavilion? And the Heaven-Breaking Pavilion represents the chance to transcend the Celestial Yang Continent. You lot don’t even dare to dream of it, which means you’re fated to be nothing but stepping stones for our master!" Meng Qing’s vermilion lips parted. Her expression was sacred, and an inscrutable light flashed in her beautiful eyes.

Her words stunned not only the other Martial Artists, but even Lin Hao himself.

’Honestly, if I hadn’t heard it with my own ears, I’d never have imagined Meng Qing could say something like that.’

Meng Ru also stared at her sister in astonishment.

Yunxi looked up, an incredibly fervent light shining in her eyes. She then cupped her fist to Meng Qing and said, "I have been enlightened."

’This Yunxi’s insight is truly something else,’ Lin Hao thought, shocked. ’To have a breakthrough just from one sentence.’

However, Lin Hao didn’t let it show. Instead, he said with a stern face, "If you’re going to be a handmaiden, you need to act like one. That’s my sister, Meng Qing. She’s your master, too. You aren’t showing enough respect."

Yunxi’s breath hitched, and she was so angry her True Essence nearly reversed its flow.

"That’s right, that’s right! We’re all your masters," chirped Meng Ru, the Little Witch, gleefully rubbing salt in the wound. "You’d better be an obedient little handmaiden, or else we’ll have to punish you!"

Yunxi ground her teeth in frustration, but since Lin Hao hadn’t agreed yet, she suppressed her anger and asked him again, "So, does this mean you agree to deal with that beast’s descendant?"

Lin Hao’s expression was serious. He stared at Yunxi for several long seconds, then suddenly broke into a smile. "Actually, even if you hadn’t said anything, I would have dealt with it. Little handmaiden, are you a mind reader? How did you know what your master was thinking?"

Yunxi was left speechless with anger.

Lin Hao let out a booming laugh and strode forward.

He now possessed a heroic, cloud-piercing aura, and everyone instinctively parted to let him pass.

Though his pace seemed slow, he vanished from sight in just a few steps.

The other Martial Artists, after a moment of shock, quickly followed. They wanted to see how many moves Lin Hao could last against the Eight-Clawed Fire Serpent.

Meng Qing and the other two women naturally followed. They were faster than anyone else, taking the lead alongside Yunxi and Marquis Mo.

"Little handmaiden, tell us about that beast," Meng Ru called out, asking Yunxi.

With an expressionless face, Yunxi merely gave a cold snort and didn’t reply.

From the side, Marquis Mo began to gloat. "There’s nothing to say. Lin Hao’s a dead man. I’d advise you all to start preparing his cenotaph."

The three women ignored him.

Marquis Mo wasn’t offended, just grinning foolishly. "Do you know why a cenotaph? Because there won’t be a body left! You don’t know, do you? That Eight-Clawed Fire Serpent loves to eat people. Several Martial Artists at the Sixth Layer of Soul Gathering Realm have ended up as its lunch. CRUNCH, CRUNCH... the sound is enough to make your skin crawl just thinking about it."

"Idiot!"

"Fool!"

Those two words were the only reply Marquis Mo received.

Marquis Mo froze, furious enough to kill.

But he didn’t dare. Lin Hao had reappeared up ahead. Marquis Mo realized that the moment his killing intent had flared, Lin Hao seemed to have glanced back at him. In that instant, Marquis Mo felt his own presence locked down, and a strange, helpless feeling washed over him—as if he couldn’t possibly fight back.

Lin Hao’s figure vanished again. Marquis Mo shook his head. ’Was I just imagining that?’

’I’m at the Sixth Layer of the Soul Gathering Realm. How could Lin Hao possibly make me feel that way?’

Shaking off the feeling, Marquis Mo looked to where Lin Hao had vanished and grinned.

The Eight-Clawed Fire Serpent was just a short distance ahead.

Sure enough, the next moment Marquis Mo heard a colossal BOOM, and the very space around them began to tremble.

Beside him, Meng Qing and the other two women shot forward.

The rest of the crowd also quickened their pace.

They were afraid the battle would end too quickly and they would miss the best part.

But when the crowd finally came to a stop, every single person’s face turned pale.

Before them was a massive crater, hundreds of meters across. And in the center of the crater, an enormous fiendish beast was relentlessly digging at the ground with its giant claws.

"My heavens! I remember this was solid ground just a little while ago. How long has it been? It’s already dug such a massive crater!" a Martial Artist exclaimed.

"The Celestial Meteorite ground is like tofu under its claws! It’s terrifying!"

Someone else pointed down and roared with laughter. "Hahaha, this is hilarious! It’s so focused on digging, it hasn’t even noticed Lin Hao."

Everyone looked, and it was true. The fiendish beast was swinging its claws nonstop, completely ignoring Lin Hao, who was standing right behind it.