The Martial God's Mystic Realm Opens

"You... you are not human..." Lin Wuwang collapsed in a pool of blood, his eyes filled with despair and fear. His protagonist halo, his ability to challenge those above his level—all of it was a massive joke in the face of Wang Hao's completely unreasonable cheat-like abilities!

"Satisfying! This is too f*cking satisfying!" Wang Hao was thoroughly thrilled. "A Child of Destiny, huh? Children of Destiny are exactly who I beat up! Take my eighth palm—Overturning the Cosmos!"

Wang Hao roared, mobilizing all the true qi in his body, and viciously slammed his palm down!

"Boom!"

The earth trembled violently, and a massive palm print tens of meters deep appeared on the ground. Lin Wuwang didn't even have time to scream before he was smashed directly into the dirt. Even the Blood Soul Bead was sent flying, and the eerie artifact, the Azure Cloud Sword, was snatched by Wang Hao.

However, the price of acting tough was painful.

As soon as the eighth palm was struck, Wang Hao felt his body instantly hollowed out. His vision went dark, his legs gave way, and he plopped down onto the ground, panting heavily.

"Holy crap... What the manual said about 'the maximum number of palms corresponds to the martial arts realm' is actually true..." Wang Hao was drenched in cold sweat, so exhausted that he couldn't even lift a finger. If not for his solid foundation, this eighth palm would have directly drained him into a mummy.

Above the canyon, there was a dead silence.

Xiao Chen looked at Wang Hao sitting in the pit below—weak, yet resembling a god of slaughter. His Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river... Do not bully the young and poor..." Xiao Chen silently recited his famous catchphrase in his heart. But after taking one look at the mosaic-like puddle of Lin Wuwang on the ground, he instantly made a decision that went against his ancestors.

"Thirty years is too short... I'd better endure for three hundred years. This tyrant cannot be provoked, absolutely cannot be provoked!"

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen immediately put on a flattering smile and rushed down at a speed even faster than Wei Zhongxian, shouting loudly, "Your Majesty's divine might is unparalleled! May you live for thousands of years! Unify the Great Wasteland! Your subordinate's admiration for Your Majesty is like an endless torrential river!"

Ye Guyun and Rong Xiaotian were not willing to be outdone. They jumped down one after another, kissing up madly.

Wei Zhongxian and Yu Huatian were dumbfounded: Where the hell did these little bastards come from, daring to steal the rice bowls of us Directors?!

High on the cliff, three peerlessly beautiful Holy Maidens looked down at the manipulative man surrounded by a bunch of bootlickers.

Although Shen Xue and Yun Meng were rolling their eyes, secretly cursing this shameless bastard for having no dignity, they didn't even realize that the corners of their eyes and brows faintly revealed a trace of something they themselves were unwilling to admit... awe and secret thrill.

As for Ren Mingyue, she tightly wrung the silk handkerchief in her hands. When her limpid, autumn-water eyes looked at Wang Hao, they were already sparkling, filled with a peculiar color.

This man, despite being manipulative, despicable, and unscrupulous... was truly so strong! Strong enough to make one uncontrollably want to submit!

Inside the Yan Mountain Canyon, the air seemed to be completely suppressed by the breathing of some ancient behemoth.

Lin Wuwang had his bones broken and fractured by Wang Hao's set of Heaven Imprisoning, Earth Overturning Palms. His entire body was embedded into the underground palm print, looking so miserable that even his own father might not recognize him. Just a moment ago, he had the aura of "Destiny lies with me, I am the protagonist," but now he had been beaten until only a single breath kept him alive, like a puddle of mud run over by carriage wheels eight hundred times.

Wang Hao sat on the ground, his chest heaving and his face slightly pale. On the surface, he still maintained a disdainful posture of "I am invincible in this world," but in reality, he was cursing the system manual to hell and back in his heart.

"Damn it, divine-tier martial arts are cool, cool as f*ck, but the problem is that unleashing eight palms in one breath almost sent me to the afterlife as well."

He panted heavily, sweeping his peripheral vision around the surroundings.

Wei Zhongxian, Yu Huatian, six royal ancestors, ten temporary worker Children of Destiny, three beauties, hundreds of thousands of imperial guards, the agents of the Eastern and Western Depots, hundreds of runic cannons... The lineup was still there, the prestige was still there, and his face was still saved.

Very good.

As long as others didn't know that he was currently so weak a gust of wind could blow him over, he would still remain that unfathomable, peerless monarch who could suppress a Skysoaring Realm Child of Destiny with a raise of his hand.

This was the cultivation of an emperor.

The first thing to do after a fight wasn't to heal injuries, but to maintain one's badass image.

However, right at this moment, an eerie blood-red light suddenly emanated from the underground palm print.

"Hmm?" Yu Huatian was the first to notice, his gaze turning cold. "Your Majesty, watch out!"

"Boom!"

The bottom of the palm print violently exploded, and a mass of light mist as viscous as blood suddenly surged. On the chest of Lin Wuwang, who originally only had half a life left, a thumb-sized blood-colored bone talisman unexpectedly appeared. The bone talisman squirmed madly like a living creature and instantly drilled into his heart.

The next moment, Lin Wuwang let out a miserable shriek so shrill it didn't sound human. His entire person seemed to be forcefully hoisted up by some evil entity. His flesh and blood twisted, his bones cracked loudly, and he forcefully transformed into a streak of blood-red light, escaping towards the depths of the distant mountain range!

"Wang Hao—!!!"

In midair, only Lin Wuwang's roar, mixed with venomous hatred, madness, and endless unwillingness, was left behind.

"If I don't die—you will definitely die—!!!"

The voice rolled, echoing through the valley.

Wei Zhongxian stomped his feet in anger. "Your Majesty! This old servant will go after him right now! This little beast's life is tougher than a cockroach; to think he actually still had a life-saving trump card!"

"No need."

Wang Hao raised his hand. His voice wasn't loud, but it made everyone who was preparing to pursue stop at the same time.

He slowly stood up from the edge of the pit, patted the dust off his dragon robe, and a faint sneer hooked the corners of his lips.

"Let him run."

"Leeks are not easy to grow. If you cut them to death with one swing of the sickle, you have to find new ones next time. Keeping him around so he can deliver a wave of resources and entertainment value to me every now and then, isn't that nice?"

Everyone: "..."

Xiao Chen and the other nine temporary workers looked at each other, their feelings exceptionally complicated.

They used to always feel that they possessed somewhat of a protagonist's destiny, at least holding onto the pride of "my fate is up to me, not the heavens." But looking at Wang Hao now, they suddenly felt a very absurd sensation—

This dog emperor was not suppressing the Children of Destiny at all.

He was farming them.

Raising the Children of Heaven's Mandate like livestock. Fatten them up, cut them once, if they don't die, keep raising them, and when they are raised well again, cut them again...

Thinking of this, a chill ran down Xiao Chen's spine, and he couldn't help but silently suppress that little bit of arrogance in his heart a few notches further.

Too dangerous.

This tyrant was more of a villain than the villains, more demonic than the demonic path, and the key point was that he f*cking stood on the side of the orthodox dynasty.

Whoever touches him dies.

But before the crowd could recover from the shock of Lin Wuwang's escape, another anomaly occurred!

That Blood Soul Bead, which had previously been smacked away by Wang Hao's palm, was now actually levitating, quietly suspended in midair. Countless blood-red patterns spread madly across the surface of the bead, like tiny blood snakes slithering about. At the same time, the faint, massive ancient bronze door in the deepest part of the canyon also seemed to be drawn by some force, beginning to emit a low, ancient rumble.

"Thump—"

"Thump—"

"Thump—"

Every rumble was like a war drum beating upon a person's very soul.

The imperial guards with weaker cultivation instantly turned pale, thin lines of blood seeping from their ears and noses. Even the patriarchs in the Void Flight realm frowned in unison, their internal true qi circulating involuntarily to resist the pressure.

Beside Wang Hao, Shen Xue's expression changed instantly. She knew more than the others.

Last night in the library pavilion, she had read the shocking secrets behind the Crimson Moon Demonic Cult and the Martial God's corpse from that ancient parchment. She was already sensitive to terms like Martial God, demon suppression, and ancient battlefield. Now, with the manifestation of the ancient bronze door, the resonance of the Blood Soul Bead, and the ancient battle intent and fragmented laws permeating from the crack in the door, she almost immediately thought of the worst possible scenario.

This place is not just a simple secret realm. She gently clenched her fingers until her knuckles turned white. The battle intent is mixed with extremely ancient laws of slaughter, along with something else, like the filth left behind after suppressing evil entities.

Yun Meng also put away her lazy and charming demeanor, her peach blossom eyes becoming uncharacteristically solemn. The illusion arts of my Illusory Sea Immortal Sect are the most sensitive to the divine soul. The things inside here are very dangerous. If ordinary people go in, they probably wouldn't even know how they died.

Ren Mingyue was much more direct, quietly stepping half a pace closer to Wang Hao.

She knew her cultivation was not top-tier, and her insight might not match that of the two holy maidens, but she was best at judging the situation. In this current scenario, sticking close to Wang Hao was absolutely the safest choice.

Although this man was ruthless, shameless, foul-mouthed, and lecherous, she had to admit that his life was truly tough and he had an endless array of tricks. He was the type who looked like he would die suddenly at any moment, but in reality, was the hardest to kill.

Crack, creak...

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the ancient bronze door finally slowly split open a crack.

In an instant, a desolate aura of a battlefield that seemed to span across eons rushed forth!

A blood-red setting sun, snapped banners, endless slaughter, armies clashing, gods and demons bleeding... Countless fragmented ancient scenes flashed before everyone's eyes. Those with weaker cultivation even clutched their heads and screamed on the spot, their divine souls feeling as if they were being pierced by ten thousand needles simultaneously.

Get back! Everyone get back!

Several royal patriarchs shouted sternly, simultaneously deploying their protective astral qi to shield the imperial guards as they retreated.

Wang Hao narrowed his eyes, looking at the crack in the door, but his heart did not hold the fanaticism and impatience that everyone expected.

On the contrary, he was rapidly calculating.

Secret realms were naturally good things.

A Martial God's secret realm was the best of the best.

But the problem was also very realistic.

The greater the fortuitous encounter, the greater the trap it usually entailed.

In a hellish place like this, involving ancient battlefields, fragmented laws, divine soul impacts, and ties to Martial Gods and demon suppression, whoever rushed in first would highly likely be the first to kick the bucket.

I am the Emperor, not a suicide squad captain.

Wang Hao snorted inwardly.

What I want is the inheritance, the treasures, the intelligence, and the safe returns after shifting the risks onto others. As for doing something as stupid as charging at the forefront, wouldn't it be better to let others show their loyalty?

The next second, he flicked his sleeves and turned to walk towards his imperial carriage.

Everyone present was stunned.

Especially Xiao Chen, Ye Guyun, Rong Xiaotian, and the others, whose eyes even showed a brief moment of bewilderment.

According to the normal plot, now that the secret realm had opened, shouldn't Wang Hao, who had the tyrant and protagonist templates fully stacked, just dominantly wave his hand and say Follow me inside, and then bulldoze through everything, punching fortuitous encounters and kicking heaven's chosen?

Why did this lord turn around and go sit in his imperial carriage?

They watched as Wang Hao slowly leaned back against the soft cushions of the imperial carriage, took the spirit fruits and iced drinks handed to him by the palace maids, comfortably crossed his legs, and then raised a hand to point at the crack in the bronze door, his tone as calm as if he were arranging a spring outing.

Men.

Begin the scientific exploration for me.

The air went quiet for three seconds.

A question mark popped up on everyone's foreheads simultaneously.

Scientific exploration?

What in the world was that?

Ignoring everyone's confusion, Wang Hao directly began issuing orders.

Group One, the ten temporary workers, take turns throwing pathfinding supplies inside.

Group Two, the imperial guard artillery battalion, calibrate your angles and bombard the entrance for three rounds first.

Group Three, the Western Depot will record, and the Eastern Depot will capture images. Whoever dares to slack off, whoever dares to secretly hoard, or whoever dares to pretend they didn't pick up anything, I will execute their nine generations.

As a series of orders crashed down, the entire crowd was dumbfounded.

Xiao Chen was completely stupefied. Your, Your Majesty, throw what?

Wang Hao looked at him with a gaze like he was looking at an illiterate who came out looking for a job before graduating.

Magical treasures, puppets, demonic beasts, death row inmates, stones, ropes, things that can fly, breathe, or explode. Throw whatever we have. First test for traps, then observe the reaction, and finally decide who goes in.

Do I still need to teach you this kind of thing?

You young talents, apart from shouting My fate is my own, not heaven's, can't you put something useful in your brains?

Xiao Chen's face turned alternately green and pale from the scolding, yet he didn't dare to retort a single word.

When he wandered the outside world in the past, although he had suffered losses, he was ultimately blessed with luck and was flattered wherever he went. Now that he had entered the Great Zhou's system, he finally profoundly understood the oppressive feeling of a corporate boss.

No, an imperial boss.

Ye Guyun frowned, his voice cold and hard. The fortuitous encounters in a secret realm are fleeting. If we are blindly cautious, I fear we will miss the best opportunity.

Wang Hao glanced at him and suddenly smiled.

You make a good point.

Ye Guyun froze for a moment, thinking that Wang Hao was finally listening to reason.

However, the very next sentence choked him so hard he almost suffocated on the spot.

So you go in first.

Since you are in such a hurry, I will yield this opportunity to win glory for the country to you. Rest assured, if you die, I will personally posthumously confer you a memorial tablet of Secret Realm Development Martyr, and I will even burn some paper money for you during festivals.

Ye Guyun was speechless.

Rong Xiaotian couldn't hold it back and burst out laughing.

After laughing, he realized his laughter was inappropriate, so he quickly kept a straight face and pretended nothing had happened.