Nine Heavens Martial Emperor

Chapter 432: Chapter 428: The Rainbow-Piercing Spear

This ring of disciples numbered at least twenty. They chose not to engage in close combat, with most of them conjuring great hands of True Essence instead.

A few others held long sabers and sharp swords, unleashing a torrent of blade gleams and Sword Qi. They gave it their all, determined to annihilate Lin Hao!

In a courtyard dozens of meters away stood a large tree. Its leaves rustled down, only to explode in mid-air and turn to dust.

In the blink of an eye, not many leaves remained on the once-lush tree.

The sight of more than twenty people attacking at once, all of them Martial Artists at the First and Second Layers of the Soul Gathering Realm, was utterly astonishing. Though their target was Lin Hao, the resulting torrent of energy was not to be underestimated.

If the Saint Institute weren’t reinforced by the power of a martial domain, several of the surrounding courtyards would have already been destroyed.

Facing the onslaught of more than twenty people, Lin Hao finally moved.

However, he only lifted his hand.

With a grasping, pulling motion, Lin Hao commanded all the remaining leaves on the large tree to fly off and transform into sharp swords.

The next moment...

CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of weapons hitting the ground rang out.

The few long sabers and sharp swords clattered to the ground, their owners all clutching their right wrists with their left hands, faces contorted in pain.

It wasn’t just them; the others who had attacked were in the same state. The hands of True Essence they had conjured were long gone, and blood now seeped from their left hands, dripping to the ground.

HISS!

Gasps echoed through the air as those who hadn’t attacked retreated in unison.

Lin Hao was simply terrifying.

With a single lift of his hand, he had injured more than twenty Martial Artists, none of whom could dodge. This was a demonstration of True Essence wielded to its absolute pinnacle!

Worse still, they didn’t even know how Lin Hao had done it.

It wasn’t until they noticed a blood-stained leaf at the feet of each attacker that they had a sudden realization.

Once a cultivator reached the Soul Gathering Realm, the technique of injuring someone with a flung flower or a plucked leaf was thought to be impossible, even against an opponent two or three layers weaker.

This was because once a Martial Artist advanced to the Soul Gathering Realm, they would form a layer of Protective Gang Qi around their body. An expert two or even at the Third Layer Realm higher would find it impossible to break through this defense with something as flimsy as a flower or a leaf.

And yet, with a single grasping motion, Lin Hao had not only pierced the Protective Gang Qi of over twenty Martial Artists simultaneously, but had also injured every single one of them. His methods were astounding.

At that moment, someone suddenly recalled what Lin Hao had said earlier—that they were unworthy of stepping onto the Saint Institute’s battlefield.

Back then, they had all sneered, thinking Lin Hao was being arrogant. But now, it was clear he was merely stating a fact.

Many began to have second thoughts.

They had been stirred up to come here, believing there was something to be gained. Now, it seemed that staying would only lead to their own humiliation.

"Lin Hao, you’ve got guts," a disciple called out, clutching his wrist as he tried to rally the crowd. "But don’t forget, countless people in the entire Saint Institute want to leave their name on the Holy Stele. Right now, all those people are here. I refuse to believe you can really defy the heavens!"

As soon as he spoke, those who were about to leave paused.

According to the agreement, whoever finally managed to knock Lin Hao down, no matter who it was, would get to have their name on the Holy Stele for three days.

The upper-house disciples were scheduled to depart on the morning of the fourth day. In other words, if someone defeated Lin Hao, they could potentially attend the Six Institutes’ tournament as an expert recognized by the Holy Stele.

Such an honor was far too tempting.

"Brothers, charge! Take down Lin Hao!" someone in the crowd roared. A long spear then tore through the air, hurled toward Lin Hao.

Everyone’s eyes lit up with an idea. That’s right—they couldn’t fight him hand-to-hand, but they could throw their weapons!

With so many Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artists throwing their weapons at once, surely even someone as formidable as Lin Hao couldn’t possibly dodge them all!

The next moment, countless weapons streaked across the sky, all aimed at Lin Hao.

The sheer number of weapons blotted out the sun, a dense cloud obscuring the sky above him.

These were weapons thrown by Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artists; the resulting roar shook the very heavens.

"Holy shit, these guys are shameless!" On the path above, Wenren Feiming had already leaped to his feet, cursing loudly at the scene.

"An attack like this is useless against him." Wenren Yuxin shook her head, unconcerned.

But in the next instant, Wenren Yuxin’s gaze sharpened, and she suddenly looked up.

A long spear shot out from a dense thicket of trees on the far side, flying toward Lin Hao at an incredible speed.

That wasn’t what mattered most. What mattered was the pressure Wenren Yuxin felt from the spear. ’That’s definitely a Martial Artist at the Fifth Layer of Soul Gathering Realm attacking!’

Unfortunately, the attacker was perfectly hidden in her blind spot, so Wenren Yuxin couldn’t determine who it was.

The spear was astonishingly fast, aimed squarely at Lin Hao’s back. Wenren Yuxin was on the verge of crying out a warning.

Down below, countless weapons flew toward Lin Hao, but he didn’t so much as twitch.

However, at the exact moment they had released their weapons, a series of explosive cracks began to sound from Lin Hao’s body.

In just one or two seconds, his entire presence had transformed.

A terrifying, boundless aura erupted from him, as if a sovereign king had just awakened.

PFFT!

An unknown number of Martial Artists near Lin Hao spat up blood and were sent flying.

In truth, "near" was a relative term. The moment the weapons were thrown, all the disciples had started backing away. The ones closest to Lin Hao were still about ten meters away!

But even so, when that terrifying aura burst from Lin Hao, they were sent flying regardless.

They crashed into the crowd behind them, knocking down an untold number of people.

In an instant, no one was left standing within dozens of meters of Lin Hao.

Those still on their feet further back stared in horror, their eyes fixed on him.

BANG!

CLANG! CLANG!

As for the weapons aimed at Lin Hao, some exploded outright in mid-air. Most of them simply fell from the sky several meters before they could reach him. Very few even made it within a two-meter radius.

Seeing this, the attackers were overcome with a sense of utter powerlessness.

Many of them were Soul Gathering Realm Martial Artists; the power behind their full-strength throws was immense.

It was no exaggeration to say that any single one of those weapons could have shattered a massive boulder.

But now, with all their weapons combined, they couldn’t even get close to Lin Hao. It was simply shocking.

However, in the next moment, looks of delight appeared on many of their faces.

This was especially true for those standing opposite Lin Hao.

They had seen the long spear shooting straight for his back, its momentum like a rainbow piercing the sky.

Even from a great distance, some could already feel the spear’s terrifying power.

STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!

Some who had just struggled to their feet were sent stumbling backward once more.

They were being pushed back by the terrifying aura radiating from the spear.

It all happened in an instant. By the time the force of the spear’s approach had pushed people back, the weapon itself was less than two meters from Lin Hao, its momentum completely undiminished.

And now, Lin Hao finally moved.

He spun around and reached out to grab the long spear.

"Heh." A soft chuckle echoed from an unknown location.

It was clearly the person who had thrown the spear, mocking Lin Hao for overestimating his own strength.

The hidden assailant had witnessed Lin Hao’s capabilities, yet still made such a sound. There was no doubt—this person was definitely one of the experts from the Holy Stele!