Eight punches, seventy-two echoes, shaking heaven and earth.
The violent drum sounds slammed into his body like a wave. Qin Hao's bones cracked and his blood seemed to be evaporated by the drum sounds.
Along with that, the Serene Water flowed through his body and a strong power nourished his body. Every time his bones cracked, they would reform. The cycle repeated, tempering his body.
Using the drum sounds to cleanse his body, Qin Hao wanted to break through to the first level of the Emperor Realm.
At that moment, the cultivators of Emperor Fallen Bay looked at the person beating the drums. He was like a reincarnated demon, unstoppable.
The seventy-two drum sounds reverberated. In the sky, thunderclouds rolled. The might of the Great Dao turned into lightning tribulation and struck down, spreading through the vast space.
The void turned into a sea of lightning. Bolts of lightning as thick as pythons fell, bombarding Qin Hao's body. They cleansed his body. Bathed in the lightning, he stood tall.
Then, a dragon soul avatar roared out, swimming in the lightning. Qin Hao gathered the second rule of the Martial Lord. Flames burned on his dragon fist. It was the power of burning.
Burning could burn the dragon soul, fire soul, and water soul, making the power of the three souls rise again. It made his fist even fiercer and his recovery even stronger.
"Bang …" Another punch blasted out. The ninth punch.
Nine drums sounded together, merging into seventy-two echoes, forming eighty-one drum sounds.
At that moment, the cultivators of Emperor Fallen Bay felt like their heads were about to explode. Their wills were about to be destroyed by the sound of the drums.
Those as strong as Ning Tianxing, Shou Wuque, Qingzhi Han, and even Xiao Han all had blood dripping from the corners of their mouths. They quickly sat down cross-legged and Origin Souls bloomed behind them. Soul power and Origin Qi interweaved, forming a strong Emperor Realm barrier, blocking the impact of the eighty-one drum sounds.
When that punch landed, Qin Hao's sleeve directly exploded. The place he stood collapsed half a meter deep. His stomach was in turmoil. The first drum in front of him fell back and exploded into pieces.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Continuous explosions rang out. Under everyone's shocked gazes, the nine dark green drum skins on the battle drum platform were penetrated by the fist light one after another. They kept falling backward. Every explosion was like an explosion in the warrior's heart until the nine battle drums were reduced to dust.
Crack, crack, crack … Lightning fell from the sky and flickered on the surface of Qin Hao's body. Amidst the lightning, Qin Hao's aura grew stronger and stronger. On the contrary, the lightning grew weaker and weaker, as if it was being absorbed into his body and refined. When the lightning dissipated, the dark clouds in the sky dispersed, and a powerful golden flame rose into the sky. The twelve streams of spiritual energy had completely merged with Qin Hao's Qi Sea.
He, on the other hand, had stepped into second level emperor realm.
The stage sank, the war drums were destroyed, and the eighty-one drumbeats gradually subsided.
But this shocking sound wave was forever imprinted in the minds of the martial artists of Emperor Fallen Bay.
At this moment, Qin Hao was destined to become immortal.
Countless gazes were fixed on him. They felt that the figure standing on the war drum platform was incomparably majestic.
"This monster."
Zhou Wudao wiped away the trace of blood at the corner of his lips and stood up from the ground. He shook his head and smiled wryly when he sensed Qin Hao's aura as he stepped into second level emperor realm. His words really did come true. If he were to fight Qin Hao again, he'd have to flee even if he didn't use the Sunset Arrow.
"He really is a monster."
Shou Wuque swallowed the blood in his mouth. He had to admit that he, who was born with the natural law of the sword, would have to flee if he fought with Qin Hao.
"Crown Prince Ning Wu, is this what you meant by borrowing external power?"
Zhou Wudao smiled at Ning Tianxing.
On the Emperor Road, everyone had been suppressed by the ten emperors' aura and suffered the calamity of the emperor realm.
At that time, only Qin Hao's cultivation had remained stagnant.
It wasn't just the Emperor Road. The emperor's path on the Emperor Road was the same.
Ning Tianxing had used this as an excuse to accuse Qin Hao of relying on external power instead of true ability.
Now, Qin Hao had broken through to the emperor realm with the help of the Emperor Mirror's formation. Then, he'd used the sound of the war drum to break through to second level emperor realm.
Borrowing external power?
His cultivation hadn't improved?
That was because he hadn't reached his limit.
Now that he'd reached his limit, Qin Hao had advanced from eighth level to second level emperor realm. Were they happy now?
Ning Tianxing didn't reply with a sullen expression. He knew when he'd stepped out of the ruins that Qin Hao hadn't relied on external power. Otherwise, the Martial Lord wouldn't have handed over the inheritance.
What else could he say now that Zhou Wudao was pointing at him and ridiculing him?
"Big brother, you're too cruel. You even broke the drum."
They were both second level emperor realm, but Tsiogua felt that the gap between them was so great.
"Idols are always meant to be worshipped."
Ye Shuihan replied.
The drum platform!
Qin Hao took two deep breaths and slowly walked over to Lei Jiao, who was lying on the ground. He extended a hand and smiled. "Brother Lei, are you satisfied with my performance?"
"You …" Lei Jiao snorted heavily, but didn't refuse. He grabbed Qin Hao's hand and stood up. "You win," he said with a sigh.
This sigh represented Lei Chuan's defeat. At the same time, he and Qin Hao had buried the hatchet and turned weapons of war into gifts of jade and silk.
Lei Jiao wasn't stupid. How could a terrifying opponent be more precious than a peerless friend?
Although he'd been tricked by Qin Hao on Cloudmist Mountain, they were the ones who'd made the first move.
Qin Hao was willing to let bygones be bygones and let bygones be bygones. He was more magnanimous than Lei Jiao.
"Congratulations, big brother."
"Boss, you're amazing."
"Brother Hao, it looks like I'll never be able to close the gap between us."
Everyone walked over, feeling extremely excited.
Qin Yun sighed. Once upon a time, his little brother, who could be intimidated by his Sacred Psyche Power, had unknowingly grown into an existence that he looked up to.
He remembered that at Broken Dragon Cliff, Qin Hao couldn't compete with the wasteland's three great families and relied on him alone.
But now, the three great families had been reduced to dust.
"Hmph."
Xiao Han glared at Qin Hao. His white clothes were torn and stained with blood. He didn't take his safety seriously.
"Didn't you ask me to beat the drum?
I still have to pluck a star. "
Qin Hao said.
"I even asked you to go to heaven. Why don't you go up and show me?"
Xiao Han stared at him. Talk back?
"I'll go to heaven sooner or later."
Qin Hao stopped Xiao Han with his arm and pulled her into his embrace. He kissed her on the cheek. "Can you agree now?"
"I …" Xiao Han was about to answer shyly.
Buzz!
Above the void, space fluctuated as a tall black-robed figure stepped out, looking down at the thousands of geniuses under his feet.
"Greetings, Senior Divine Palace."
When the black-robed Emperor Yuan appeared, all the geniuses bowed at the same time.
"The assessment is over. According to your results, those who pass stand on my right side, and those who don't, stand on my left side."
The black-robed Emperor Yuan issued a majestic order.
For a moment, all the geniuses looked at each other and spontaneously walked to the two sides.
Most of the martial artists' attitudes were very sincere, and they stood in line according to their results.
However, there were also some guys who wanted to make up the numbers with a fluke mentality. They obviously didn't meet the passing standards, but they also followed the team to stand on the right side of the black-robed Emperor Yuan. As a result, before they could reach the place, they were smashed into ashes by the black-robed Emperor Yuan.
After killing several people in a row, no one dared to stand in the same place.
As the person with the best results, Qin Hao naturally stood on the right side, and his position was the closest to the front. Even Xiao Han, Shou Wuque, Qingzhi Han, and the others all stood behind Qin Hao, making him particularly prominent. This was probably the status that was exchanged for strength.
In just a few breaths, the two teams were completely in line, and there was a clear distinction between them.
On the right side were those who passed the assessment, and they were about to become official disciples of the Divine Palace.
But on the right side, the number of people was quite miserable. Although the black-robed Emperor Yuan gave a minimum of 1,000 places three months ago, on the day of the assessment, there weren't even 800 people who passed the assessment. There were only about 750 to 760 people.
The team on the left side was much more vast, and the losers accounted for 90% of the total number.
Hundreds of thousands of geniuses from aristocratic families and imperial family members participated in the assessment. They crossed mountains and rivers to the inland sea, broke through the interception of the sea demons, and went through three months of hunger and tempering. In the end, only 6,000 people survived.
On the left side, there were more than 5,000 people. It could be seen how difficult it was to pass the assessment of the five arenas.
But the black-robed Emperor Yuan didn't care. He had his eyes on the best batch of seeds in the continent, and he also prioritized the right side. He nodded and said, "Very good, you are all talented and have obvious strengths. In the future, you will all be qualified to become a Great Emperor. From this moment on, you will become official members of the Divine Palace."
"Thank you, Senior."
Qin Hao led the 700 people and cupped their hands.
"As for the people on the left, how you came and how you left."
The black-robed Emperor Yuan said coldly.
"Yes."
An incomparably depressed voice came from the left side. Everyone lowered their heads, as if they were incomparably ashamed.
There was no pattern to the opening of the Divine Palace every time. They knew very well that they might not have a second chance to participate in the assessment in this life.
After all, on the surface, martial artists who were over 30 years old were not allowed to participate in the assessment of the Divine Palace.
The next time the Divine Palace opened would be at least a few hundred years later.
"Okay, next, I will teleport you into the Divine Palace first. After you arrive, someone will guide you to be under the name of the elders of each peak.
During this process, remember that no matter what happens, you must not panic. "
The black-robed Emperor Yuan looked at the crowd on the right, and then his gaze fell on Qin Hao. He continued, "You, step out."
The cold tone came, and everyone on the right was startled. Someone was going to step out?
Why?
The martial artists who didn't know the reason subconsciously raised their heads at the same time.
At this time, they saw the black-robed Emperor Yuan Qi's finger pointing down, just pointing at Qin Hao.
"Me?"
Qin Hao was surprised. "Senior, why do you want me to step out?"
Since the black-robed Emperor Yuan Qi wanted to send the disciples who passed the assessment back to the Divine Palace, Qin Hao, who had the best results, was singled out and excluded. What was the reason for this?
"You have the Great Emperor's providence and are destined to be an Emperor. Since you have such a great opportunity, why do you need to be trained by the Divine Palace? Step out, let's go."
The black-robed Emperor Yuan Qi said, his tone indisputable.
"Senior, this is unfair."
Shou Wuque took a step forward and looked at the sky. "Qin Hao's providence has yet to appear, and the Emperor Mirror has collapsed.
On the Divine Grass Platform, the grass transformed into a divine tree, towering into the clouds.
On the stone statue platform, he merged everything into one.
The golden bell soared into the sky, and the war drums sounded 81 times. We admit that we can't surpass any of them.
Since the Divine Palace even accepted us, why can't we tolerate Qin Hao when he is so talented? "
"Senior's orders, who are you to question?"
Changhe Lo couldn't help but be overjoyed, and he scolded Shou Wuque.
"It's not that we can't tolerate him, but even if he goes to the Divine Palace, no one can teach him.
In that case, why waste everyone's time?
He has the Great Emperor's providence and is destined to become an Emperor. The world is so big, where can't he cultivate?
The Divine Palace can do it, and so can the outside world. "
The black-robed Emperor Yuan Qi gave an explanation. Although there were some reasons, his tone revealed his determination.
Qin Hao was not allowed to enter the Divine Palace.