Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Short Mule
Page (1/3)
Lin Hao stared intently. The white light had transformed into a wild donkey—no, a mule.
A dwarf mule! A dwarf mule covered from head to hoof in white fur!
“Heh heh…”
The dwarf mule looked at Lin Hao, baring his enormous mouth in an utterly sinister grin. His eyes gleamed with intelligence, cunning, and shamelessness.
He looked unbearably contemptible!
“Dwarf mule, give me back my origin stones.”
With a furious roar, Lin Hao snatched up the broken sword from the ground and strode toward him in a single bound.
“Damn you! What did you just call me?”
The mule’s expression changed at once. He was so enraged that white smoke poured from his nostrils.
“Mule. Dwarf mule. Aren’t you a mule?”
Lin Hao replied.
“Go to hell, you mule! Have you got dung in your eyes? I am the unrivaled Heaven-Devouring Divine Steed of the world! Can’t you see my majestic and heroic bearing?”
The mule flew into a rage, every strand of his white fur standing on end. He snarled at Lin Hao, “I am the Ninth-Generation Heaven-Devouring God. You should respectfully address me as Ninth Lord.”
“What kind of nonsense is this? Ninth generation, Heaven-Devouring God—ridiculous. You’re obviously nothing more than an ugly, short mule. Why are you putting on airs?”
Lin Hao grumbled inwardly, but he still forced a smile.
“Ninth Lord, please return my origin stones.”
“What origin stones?”
Lin Hao fell silent.
“My one million origin stones!”
Lin Hao shouted, “Spit them out, or I’ll smash your mule head to pieces!”
He raised the broken sword and brought it down toward Ninth Lord’s head.
Whoosh!
Ninth Lord was astonishingly fast. In the blink of an eye, he had retreated thirty feet, leaving behind a series of afterimages.
“Gah gah gah! Catch up with your Ninth Lord first, then we’ll talk.”
Ninth Lord stuck out his long tongue and shook his head at Lin Hao.
Lin Hao was so furious that his lungs nearly burst. He had never encountered such a shameless creature in his life. Immediately, he pushed the Shadow-Chasing Movement Art to its utmost limits, fully revealing the technique’s essence of following one’s target like a shadow, and gave chase.
Ninth Lord had been making faces at him and issuing blatant provocations, but the instant he saw Lin Hao’s movement technique, his expression changed dramatically. His mule eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
“The Nine Forbidden Arts… the Divine Movement Art!”
“Boy, who taught you that movement technique?”
Ninth Lord darted left and right through the mountains, charging ahead at full speed as he questioned Lin Hao.
“It’s been passed down through my family.”
Lin Hao answered, wielding the broken sword and hacking at Ninth Lord’s rear.
“Bullshit! That is one of the Nine Forbidden Arts created by the First Supreme. It was lost long ago.”
Page (1/3)
Page (2/3)
“What are the Nine Forbidden Arts?” Lin Hao asked. “And who is the First Supreme?”
He was filled with questions. In truth, he was delighted that Ninth Lord had awakened and emerged from the broken sword. Ninth Lord could answer all of his questions. But when he recalled the mule’s underhanded behavior, the resentment in Lin Hao’s heart still refused to fade.
He had yet to uncover the origins of the broken sword, nor did he know Ninth Lord’s true identity. Now there was also this mysterious First Supreme and the Nine Forbidden Arts.
Although Lin Hao had no idea what they were, they were surely connected to the Supreme Physique. They also sounded extraordinarily impressive.
“Your strength is too weak. You are not qualified to know about such things.”
Ninth Lord replied.
“Damn it, aren’t you only in the Sea of Qi Realm as well?”
Lin Hao continued swinging his sword. Though the dwarf mule was shrouded in mystery and had awakened from within the broken sword, the cultivation he displayed at present had clearly not reached the Origin Transformation Realm.
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Hao discovered another terrifying fact.
The speed of this dwarf mule…
It relied solely on the coordination of his physical body, yet he moved as swiftly as lightning. Even after pushing the Shadow-Chasing Movement Art to its limits, Lin Hao still could not catch him.
“This king slept for far too long. Now that I have just awakened, my cultivation will recover very quickly.”
Ninth Lord spoke while inwardly muttering, “The Divine Movement Art truly deserves to be called one of the Nine Forbidden Arts. This boy is only at the fourth level of the Sea of Qi Realm, yet by relying on a movement art that he has barely begun to master, he can actually match my innate divine ability in speed.”
Lin Hao gnashed his teeth. “He swallowed a million origin stones. Getting them back is probably impossible, but I still have to vent this anger.”
His feet moved at astonishing speed. At the same time, he thrust out one arm and gave a low shout.
“Hand of Heaven!”
Thunder boomed.
A gigantic crimson-gold hand, nearly ten feet across, condensed in an instant above Ninth Lord’s head. It was like a cage descending from the heavens, pressing down toward the mule’s skull.
At that moment, mysterious runes surfaced across Ninth Lord’s body. A beam of white light shot from the top of his head like a sword and collided with Lin Hao’s Hand of Heaven.
Thunder boomed once more.
The mountain range below was blasted open, leaving behind a deep crater. Ninth Lord was hurled thirty feet away by the force of the collision. He stared at Lin Hao in disbelief.
“As expected of the Supreme Physique. A cultivator at the fourth level of the Sea of Qi Realm can unleash such battle prowess—this is utterly defiant of heaven. No wonder this physique will incur Heaven’s jealousy in the later stages.”
On the other side, Lin Hao was equally shocked.
“With my current cultivation, even a demonic beast at the ninth level of the Sea of Qi Realm would be smashed into pulp by the Ling clan’s Hand of Heaven. Yet this mule not only escaped unscathed, he even shattered the Hand of Heaven with ease. He is certainly no ordinary physique.”
The disturbance caused by their battle was far too great. Several disciples training nearby were drawn to the scene. Seven or eight figures approached from different directions and arrived in the blink of an eye.
“It’s a dwarf mule. His cultivation isn’t low—he must be at the eighth level of the Sea of Qi Realm.”
“Younger Brother, your cultivation is too weak. You’re no match for this dwarf mule. Stand aside.”
“That mule has such shifty eyes. He’s obviously no good. Let’s join forces and kill him, then take his monster spirit.”
…
Several disciples of the Ling clan attacked together, charging toward Ninth Lord.
Lin Hao immediately grinned. He could already see white smoke beginning to pour from Ninth Lord’s nostrils. These Ling clan disciples had insulted him the instant they arrived. Given Ninth Lord’s temperament, they were as good as dead.
“A bunch of idiots with dog eyes! In your next lives, keep them open!”
Ninth Lord flew into a rage. With a furious roar, he leapt into the air and raised his gleaming golden hoof. In the blink of an eye, he was above one of the disciples.
Page (2/3)
Page (3/3)
Bang!
That kick descended with the force of thunder. The Ling clan disciple, who was at the eighth level of the Sea of Qi Realm, did not even have time to curse before his head burst apart.
“What?”
Someone cried out. He reacted first.
“This mule is invincible! Run!”
Smack!
The man had barely turned around when the broken sword came flying out of nowhere and smashed into his skull. He died on the spot.
The remaining disciples flew into a rage. They glared at Lin Hao.
“What are you doing?”
Lin Hao ignored them. With a wave of his hand, he sent a fire dragon surging forth. It transformed into a palm imprint and slammed into one of the disciples.
This was none other than the Ling clan’s Blazing Flame Palm.
The disciple let out a shrill scream as his body exploded on the spot.
“Ninth Lord, you’re too slow,” Lin Hao remarked.
“Heh heh…”
Ninth Lord let out a sinister laugh. His pair of golden hooves danced through the air with tremendous force.
Lin Hao and Ninth Lord joined forces. In the blink of an eye, the remaining Ling clan disciples were slaughtered to the last man. The two of them were more brutal than the other, leaving not even a single intact corpse behind.
Those Ling clan disciples died one more unjustly than the last, their eyes wide open in death. They had never dreamed that members of their own clan—fellow disciples and senior brothers—would join forces with a demonic beast inside the secret realm to slaughter them.
“Not bad. Decisive and ruthless.”
Ninth Lord rarely offered Lin Hao a word of praise.
“Our business isn’t over yet,” Lin Hao said through gritted teeth.
“It was only a few origin stones. To be honest, that paltry sum wasn’t enough to fill the gaps between my teeth. Compared with the energy in the Thunder Pool, it was practically nothing. Fortunately, this king has now fully awakened. Consider it repayment for the favor you did me. I can sense heavenly treasures within this secret realm. Follow me, and I’ll guarantee you a life of luxury.”
Ninth Lord declared.
“You can sense heavenly treasures?”
Lin Hao was skeptical.
“It’s my innate talent.”
Ninth Lord was utterly confident.
“I have questions for you,” Lin Hao said, unable to restrain his impatience. “What exactly is the origin of this broken sword? Why were you sleeping inside it? Are you the sword spirit? What are the Nine Forbidden Arts you mentioned? And who is the First Supreme?”
Lin Hao fired off question after question.
Page (3/3)