Martial Defiance of the Nine Heavens

Martial Defiance of the Nine Heavens is an otherworld fantasy web novel by Jianghu Zaijian (originally titled Tai Wu). It launched on Chuangshi Chinese Network on August 21, 2013, was signed for serialization with VIP updates, and concluded on January 31, 2015, totaling 1,395 chapters and about 3.48 million characters, with no print edition. The story is set on the Martial Continent, where martial ranks are divided into nine levels—Entry, Martial Apprentice, Martial Warrior, Martial Master, Martial King, Martial Emperor, Martial Sage, and Martial God—and strength commands respect. The protagonist, Gu Mu, is a direct-line descendant of the Gu family who, born with all twelve meridians blocked, is regarded as a good-for-nothing unfit for martial arts; he is bullied by his peers and punished by the second elder, who finds an excuse to make him stand in the scorching sun outside the gate. Just as he is on the verge of death, the soul of an internal-energy master from Earth takes over his body and merges with Gu Mu's original memories. The new Gu Mu also possesses a "family-heirloom" massage technique and a mysterious manual, the Five Elements True Essence Art, with which he regulates his meridians, breaks through his physical limits, and rises step by step from having no rank to Martial Apprentice, Martial Master, and onward toward Martial King, Martial Emperor, and even Martial God. The main plot unfolds through family intrigue, trials in Panshi City, the Guiyuan Sword Sect examination, making a name in Dingzhou, the Eastern Continent expedition, the Demon Realm campaign, and the final chapter in the Divine Realm, interwoven with friendship, duty, righteousness, and romance, and concludes with the protagonist rising against adversity, battling the masses, and slaying gods in wrath. It is a typical long Eastern fantasy of the waste-to-strong, level-up-and-fight format, fast-paced and dense with satisfying moments, suited to web-fiction readers seeking entertainment.