Nine Martial Gods

Office.

Qin Heng felt uneasy.

Yang Huai'an walked in, shut the door one-handed, and drew the curtains, first cutting the office off from the outside world.

Then he pulled Qin Heng over to sit on the sofa, saying happily, "Kid, you've really given me one hell of a surprise!"

"Coach, nothing will go wrong because of my test results, right?" Qin Heng asked.

"Go wrong? What could go wrong?" Yang Huai'an asked in return.

Qin Heng said, "I mean... could it cause trouble?"

"Ha ha ha."

Coach Yang laughed heartily. "There'll definitely be trouble, but it won't be bad trouble. Anyone whose Fist Strength Growth Over 100 kg after their first cultivation is a top-tier genius. The major Martial Halls will fight to recruit them, and they might even have a chance to enter the Martial God Reserve Class for special training."

"What about my 240 kilograms?" Qin Heng asked curiously.

Coach Yang said, "I don't know about that either. I'm only an Intermediate Martial Warrior, not qualified to deal with matters at that level. But I can guarantee that once your information is submitted, the Four Great Martial Halls will do everything they can to win you over and fight over you!"

"What should I do, then?" Qin Heng knew nothing about such matters and could only ask his coach for help.

Coach Yang said, "That depends on you. When the time comes, they'll offer you terms: high salaries, luxurious villas, powerful masters, divine weapons, even Peerless Divine Medicine. All of those are possible. Just choose according to what you need."

Qin Heng was a little dazed.

How high was a high salary?

What kind of villa would it be?

How strong would a powerful master be?

He did not understand any of it.

He only knew that he seemed to have encountered a turning point in his fate. From now on, he would no longer be an ordinary child from the Slum District.

Coach Yang blew out a ring of smoke and looked at him with a smile. "I never imagined that a genius like you would appear under my guidance. Later, I'll call the Martial Hall Alliance and recommend you. As long as you pass tomorrow's assessment, not only will you and your family soar to great heights, but I, the coach who recommended you, will also receive a bonus of no less than one hundred thousand."

A bonus of one hundred thousand!

That was an enormous sum that ordinary slum residents could never earn in a lifetime!

Coach Yang would receive such a massive reward merely for making a recommendation!

Qin Heng was somewhat shaken.

Coach Yang said, "Think that sounds exaggerated?"

"A little," Qin Heng nodded.

Coach Yang patted him on the shoulder. "One hundred thousand is nothing at all. Back when I went hunting in the Wilderness Area with my comrades, we earned at least five figures almost every time. Although I lost an arm because of it and spent over a million on treatment, still... Martial Warriors make money at a speed far beyond anything you can imagine."

Qin Heng understood a little more.

The poor and Martial Warriors belonged to two different worlds.

The poor ate coarse rice, old rice, and cheap vegetables that cost only a few cents per pound, while Martial Warriors ate polished rice, fresh rice, expensive vegetables, fruit, and meat—at entirely different prices.

Perhaps... they did not eat rice or vegetables at all, but even more precious foods!

He had once heard on the news that a powerful Martial Warrior had killed a terrifying Monster, and the government had directly awarded a hundred million as a bonus.

At the time, Qin Heng had not understood what that number meant. Now, he finally realized that for truly top-tier Martial Warriors, that amount... might not be much at all.

"Qin Heng, you have great talent. I don't know what kind of existence you'll become in the future. But remember why you began practicing martial arts. Don't lose yourself," Yang Huai'an said.

Qin Heng nodded. "I will. Thank you for your guidance."

Then he asked, "By the way, Coach, I still don't know exactly how Martial Warrior ranks are divided."

"I knew you'd ask that."

Coach Yang smiled, took out a booklet from beneath his desk, and handed it to him.

Qin Heng opened it and found several pages explaining Martial Warrior ranks.

Opening that page was like pushing open a great door, revealing a brand-new world before his eyes.

Martial cultivation had countless realms.

The lowest was Quasi-Martial Warrior.

The highest was surpassing Martial Gods, crossing the Martial Dao Heavenly Bridge, and traveling to the far side of the deep cosmos!

"Martial Dao Heavenly Bridge..."

Qin Heng unconsciously raised his head.

A glowing object resembling a bridge could often be seen in the night sky, close to the moon.

When he was young, he had heard people say that it was the "Heavenly Road," leading to the far shore of happiness.

Later, he heard that it was the "Martial Dao Heavenly Bridge," which only Martial Gods could ascend, and that it concealed the deepest mysteries of life.

Now, on these pages, Qin Heng once again saw an introduction to it.

The Martial Dao Heavenly Bridge had descended into the starry sky near Earth sixty years ago, bringing mysterious energy and opening the path of cultivation for humanity and all manner of creatures in nature.

From then on, people could cultivate, and from that moment, the world descended into chaos.

War, disaster, famine, plague...

Countless forms of turmoil played out again and again during the first ten years.

During those ten years, many genius cultivators rose to prominence. They competed and cooperated with one another, their relationships tangled and complex.

But one day in the eleventh year of the new era, an invincible being appeared.

Her name was Jie, and she was Earth's first Martial God!

A Martial God could split mountains with bare hands and destroy an entire city with a full-power strike, possessing strength beyond imagination.

Jie was an extremely mysterious woman. No one knew where she came from. They only knew that her strength was extraordinarily great and her nature exceptionally cold.

Under her forceful suppression, humanity began rebuilding order under her guidance. Martial Warriors also stopped being arrogant and obediently cooperated with regional governments, helping ordinary people establish new homes.

One Base City after another rose from the ground, and the chaotic era came to an end.

But...

After prolonged warfare, the global population had plummeted from eight billion to less than five hundred million. Countless cities had been destroyed, leaving only ten newly built Base Cities.

The place where Qin Heng lived was called Nansha Base City, home to 140 million people... that was after fifty years of growth and reproduction. Even now, the global population was still under two billion, nowhere near what it had once been.

The Slum District was the most barren area around the outskirts of a Base City.

Moreover, there was more than one Slum District. They were scattered around the entire Base City, guarding the New City District and Rich Area. There were twenty-eight in total, distinguished by numbers one through twenty-eight.

The area beneath his feet was District 7 Slums.

The booklet Coach Yang had given him did not introduce this history. Qin Heng had heard all of it when he was young.

What was written on the pages were the ranks of Martial Warriors.

Strictly speaking, Quasi-Martial Warriors could not be considered Martial Warriors. They were merely reserves who could receive many preferential benefits, but they could not yet enjoy a Martial Warrior's privileges.

Only those whose fist strength reached 1,000 kilograms, whose physical condition met the standard, and who passed the Slaughter Assessment could be considered Elementary Martial Warriors.

Elementary Martial Warrior, Intermediate Martial Warrior, and Advanced Martial Warrior were three different stages. Their basic fist strength requirements were 1,000 kilograms, 3,000 kilograms, and 10,000 kilograms respectively, with enormous gaps between them.

And beyond Advanced Martial Warriors, there were still quite a few stronger ranks.

Martial Master, Great Martial Master, Grandmaster, and Great Grandmaster—each more formidable than the last.

Beyond Great Grandmasters were Martial Gods!

There were now several hundred Grandmasters on Earth.

But there were only seven Martial Gods!

There had originally been nine.

It was only because the strongest Goddess of War, Jie, and the Second Martial God, Xu Tianlin, had long since left, crossing the Martial Dao Heavenly Bridge and heading into the depths of the cosmos, that two were gone.

Beyond humanity, among the Monsters, there were also Beast Gods capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with Martial God-level powerhouses.

They possessed great intelligence, no less than humans, and knew how to command other Monsters.

Furthermore, there were more Beast Gods than Martial Gods!

According to statistics, the Wilderness Area currently held eighteen Beast Gods, as well as seven Demon Gods born from plants whose strength did not fall below that of Beast Gods.

They commanded countless monsters and plants, occupying the Wilderness Area and oceans hundreds of times larger than the Base Cities. They were enemies of humanity, irreconcilable as fire and water for sixty years, with no sign of peace.

The mission of Martial Warriors was to stand against Monsters and protect their homeland!