Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

"My name is Hongtian. I have been waiting for you for a long time," the handsome, middle-aged man across from him said calmly.

The voice wasn’t loud, but to Lin Hao’s ears, it was like a clap of thunder.

Hongtian!

The founding patriarch of the Heaven-Stepping Sect, Emperor Hongtian!

Never in his wildest dreams would Lin Hao have imagined that the tenth person would be Emperor Hongtian.

This was a Great Emperor! Why would his spiritual imprint appear on the Starry Ancient Road?

A Great Emperor’s spiritual imprint... just the thought of it was enough to make one tremble.

Emperor Hongtian stood with his hands clasped behind his back, exuding a heroic pride that seemed to look down upon the world.

He was tall and handsome, with a smile on his face and a complete absence of killing intent.

But Lin Hao felt as if he were about to suffocate.

The spiritual imprint of a Great Emperor possessed an unfathomable divine might.

The intense feeling of suffocation was extremely oppressive. After taking a deep breath, Lin Hao’s expression became as calm as still water.

’So what if he’s a Great Emperor? This is just a wisp of his spiritual imprint. Today, I, Lin Hao, will defeat him!’

Lin Hao resolved in his heart. The next moment, his eyes grew incredibly determined.

His fighting spirit raged.

A fierce wind erupted between the two without warning.

The smile on Emperor Hongtian’s face widened.

Lin Hao simultaneously activated two great imperial arts. Chaos True Essence enveloped his body, and a violent rumbling echoed from within him.

’I’m facing the spiritual imprint of a Great Emperor. I have to give it my all!’

Lin Hao reminded himself.

At this moment, Lin Hao mobilized everything within him: the Tai Chi Array Map, his Lifebound True Blood, his Chaos True Essence, and even his Divine Soul.

Great Emperors were incredibly proud. Lin Hao knew his opponent wouldn’t strike first, so he fearlessly began to manifest his martial dao.

Across from him, Emperor Hongtian maintained his smile. Seeing Lin Hao’s movements, a hint of admiration appeared in his eyes.

"I didn’t expect you to have cultivated the Divine Illumination Scripture to this level. You are quite good," Emperor Hongtian said, making no effort to hide his admiration.

Lin Hao didn’t answer. Instead, he took a step forward.

With that single step, Lin Hao appeared before Emperor Hongtian.

Heaven-Stepping Step!

The Heaven-Stepping Step was Emperor Hongtian’s own Body Technique. For Lin Hao to use it in front of him was, by any measure, like showing off one’s axe skills before the master carpenter.

However, upon seeing Lin Hao’s footwork, another flicker of admiration appeared in Emperor Hongtian’s eyes.

And at that moment, Lin Hao struck.

It was not a fancy move—just a straight, direct punch.

But this punch was extraordinary. Before it even landed, sonic booms echoed through the air, and the very void began to twist.

Lin Hao’s punch was incredibly fast.

Across from him, Emperor Hongtian stood with his hands behind his back, still smiling.

’Faced with my punch, is Emperor Hongtian really not going to dodge, evade, or fight back?!’

The next moment, Lin Hao’s punch struck Emperor Hongtian’s body.

There was no sound. Lin Hao felt his punch had vanished, like a stone sinking into the ocean.

Emperor Hongtian’s body was clearly right in front of him, yet Lin Hao had the strange illusion that his fist had struck empty space.

Immediately after, Lin Hao’s pupils contracted sharply.

’Emperor Hongtian hadn’t remained still. His movements were simply so terrifyingly fast that I couldn’t even see them.’

Instead of being discouraged, Lin Hao’s expression grew even more excited.

With a low shout, Lin Hao attacked again.

With a slight shift of his feet, Lin Hao’s body pursued Emperor Hongtian.

At the same time, Lin Hao threw another punch.

As he threw this punch, a terrifying scene unfolded.

The void collapsed, and an enormous palace appeared behind Lin Hao. The sun and moon manifested together, bathing him in both sunlight and moonlight.

At this moment, Lin Hao looked like a celestial god descending to the mortal world.

Faced with this punch, a strange light appeared in Emperor Hongtian’s eyes.

The next moment, Emperor Hongtian made his move.

He also threw a punch, but his had no terrifying phenomena. It even looked weak and powerless.

But when this very punch collided with Lin Hao’s, Lin Hao was sent flying backward.

Lin Hao didn’t spit blood, but his body erupted with cracking sounds in mid-air.

However, Lin Hao was utterly shaken.

He discovered that Emperor Hongtian’s single punch had shattered every bone in his body.

As his body flew backward, Lin Hao activated the Godslaying Celestial Slash Skill, and the worldly energy between heaven and earth surged toward him.

A vortex of energy appeared in the void, enveloping Lin Hao’s body. Like a bottomless pit, he absorbed the violent worldly energy.

Across from him, Emperor Hongtian did not take advantage of the situation. He simply watched Lin Hao quietly until he had fully recovered.

"Again!" a recovered Lin Hao roared, attacking once more.

This time, he used both the External Avatar Secret Skill and his True Self Divine Soul.

Lin Hao and his Primordial Body launched a pincer attack on Emperor Hongtian, while the boundlessly terrifying True Self Divine Soul opened its mouth and spat out a crimson sun, intending to melt down the Great Emperor’s imprint.

Emperor Hongtian was immeasurably powerful. He completely ignored the attacks from Lin Hao and his Primordial Body, his gaze fixed solely on the crimson sun.

As his eyes moved, Emperor Hongtian’s gaze seemed to transform into a boundless firmament.

The crimson sun, hanging in the sky, was suddenly broken down into countless motes of light, which were all ultimately annihilated by this boundless firmament.

To resolve the True Self Divine Soul’s attack with a mere glance—for a Great Emperor, this was simply too easy.

However, the True Self Divine Soul’s skills were clearly not limited to this. The moment the crimson sun dissipated, it opened its mouth again. This time, yin and yang emerged together, forming a gigantic Tai Chi Array Map that descended to suppress Emperor Hongtian.

Emperor Hongtian’s eyes moved again, re-forming the boundless firmament. But this time, it failed; the Tai Chi Array Map was not annihilated.

Seeing this, the strange phenomenon in Emperor Hongtian’s eyes vanished, and a powerful aura erupted from his body.

Lin Hao’s Primordial Body was instantly annihilated, and even Lin Hao himself was forced into a hasty retreat.

Immediately, an astonishing phenomenon occurred in the world around them.

Above the firmament, stars blazed into view!

Keep in mind, it was still daytime. For stars to appear in daylight was as shocking as the sun and moon appearing in the sky at the same time.

To manifest stars in broad daylight... when used by Emperor Hongtian, the Divine Illumination Scripture was this terrifying!

Lin Hao was profoundly shaken as he watched this scene.

Compared to the version Emperor Hongtian was now manifesting, his own Divine Illumination Scripture was simply embarrassing.

Then, something even more shocking happened.

From high above, a star began to fall, crashing down toward the Tai Chi Array Map.

This wasn’t the power of the stars; this was an actual, tangible star falling from the sky.

Star Plucking!

Without any overt action, Emperor Hongtian possessed the ability to pluck stars from the sky!

The power of a Great Emperor was immeasurably vast!

The next moment, the falling star collided with the Tai Chi Array Map spat out by the True Self Divine Soul.

Lin Hao’s body shuddered as if he had been struck by lightning.

The Divine Soul was a part of him. Needless to say, the falling star had damaged it.

However, a flash of a smile appeared in Lin Hao’s eyes.

The Tai Chi Array Map had firmly caught the falling star, and it had not been destroyed by the attack.

The Tai Chi Array Map was spinning, attempting to begin Refining the star!

But after a moment of joy, Lin Hao felt that something was wrong.

’A Great Emperor plucking a star from the sky is a terrifyingly powerful move. No matter how strong the Tai Chi Array Map is, it shouldn’t be a match for that.’

’Could it be...’

Suddenly, Lin Hao thought of a possibility.

And at that moment, Emperor Hongtian spoke, confirming that very possibility.