Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

BOOM!

Within the Seven Treasure Space, Long Chen’s claw flashed like lightning. It tore through space and crushed a figure in an instant.

All the Undying race’s heavenly geniuses were dazed. Liu Qingyu in particular looked so gobsmacked that his jaw might fall off entirely. Even having personally witnessed it, he still couldn’t believe it.

“T-t-three moves? It only took him three moves?” Liu Qingyu muttered, his voice shuddering.

He had never been convinced by Long Chen. He always believed Long Chen was deliberately making things difficult for them to make himself seem strong. But watching Long Chen kill that terrifying figure in only three moves shattered his worldview. It felt like all the strength in his body vanished. He collapsed, sitting on the ground in defeat.

“Three moves? That’s terrifying…”

Liu Ruyan had once said that Long Chen only had a fifty percent chance of defeating the Nether Emperor. Many chose to believe her, but even then, no one imagined he could kill it in three moves.

In truth, Long Chen was sweating beneath the surface. When facing the Nether Emperor, he had to end the battle quickly. If he couldn’t kill him in three moves, his chances of victory would plummet.

If the fight extended beyond ten exchanges, Long Chen would essentially be doomed. As the Nether Emperor activated more of his power, he would absorb energy from this space, continuously growing stronger.

On the other hand, Liu Qingyu and the others had vainly tried to wear down the Nether Emperor. As a result, after several hundred moves, he became a true overlord of the seventh level—an unbeatable existence.

Long Chen normally used the Nether Emperor as a sparring partner. But even then, he could only endure a thousand exchanges before being exhausted and effortlessly killed.

The Seven Treasure Space had copied the Nether Emperor during their brief encounter, along with the limited techniques he had displayed at that time.

Yet, even those few techniques contained endless variations and unfathomable profundities. Without a doubt, the Nether Emperor was the most terrifying opponent Long Chen had ever faced.

Hence, Long Chen never dared to challenge him lightly. After all, every defeat was a major blow to his soul and will.

To preserve his undefeated Dao-heart, Long Chen couldn’t afford reckless losses. A single misstep could prove fatal to his cultivation path. Thus, he would only challenge the Nether Emperor once or twice a month. Even then, he would retreat before being completely exhausted to avoid dying.

Today, however, he had killed the Nether Emperor in three moves. That gave him great satisfaction.

My speed and power have increased. Even my senses are sharper, and my dragon blood is circulating twice as fast. Did my comprehension of the Cloud Dragon Eight Forms really elevate my power this much?

Those three attacks were Long Chen’s strongest killing moves in the Violet Dragon Battle Armor state. He hadn’t even used the Cloud Dragon Eight Forms because he wasn’t familiar enough with them. If he had used them incorrectly and got one-shotted by the Nether Emperor, it would’ve been more than just embarrassing—it would’ve been a soul-crushing blow that would take a long time to recover from.

“Incredible. You’re too strong. I admit defeat,” Liu Qingyu said, looking dejected.

Finally, he understood just how much of an ant he was in front of Long Chen. His past provocations and big words sounded completely laughable now.

Logically, Long Chen should say something to comfort Liu Qingyu. But he didn’t. This fellow simply had such a character; it couldn’t be changed. Although Long Chen didn’t particularly like Liu Qingyu, he understood that Liu Qingyu’s stubborn, pigheaded nature was also why he could overcome tall obstacles. The Undying race needed someone like him.

“I didn’t defeat him to show off,” said Long Chen calmly. “I did it to prove that no matter how powerful your opponent is, they have weaknesses. You simply couldn’t beat him because you failed to find those weaknesses. Now you know that courage is not the only thing you need in battle—you need to use your brain as well.”

Long Chen had risked challenging the Nether Emperor today because everyone else had lost miserably, their confidence crushed. For some, the Nether Emperor had already become their heart-devils.

By defeating him, Long Chen shattered the illusion of his invincibility, lifting the mental burden from the others. As shock turned into awe, everyone suddenly felt as if a great weight had been lifted from their chests. Their confidence surged back.

Now, without exception, everyone looked at Long Chen with reverence.

Seeing them like that, Long Chen said, “I could beat him so easily because I’m familiar with his techniques. Now, you all have grown into top-tier experts—among the best across the nine heavens and ten lands. You can do it as well.”

Receiving this evaluation from Long Chen excited them. Not long ago, they had felt dejected. If the outside world was filled with monsters like Long Chen, how could the Undying race ever rise again?

Long Chen continued, “This time, when we head to the Devil Eye Water Lily race’s ancestral land, we’re not just taking back the Undying Eye that belongs to us—we’re also reclaiming the dignity they trampled on! Since the Sovereign Lord left this mission to me, we’ll be doing things my way.”

“Senior Long Chen, what is your style?” asked one of the female disciples excitedly.

“What other style could I have? When Boss San arrives, the earth roars and the heavens howl. When Boss San leaves, ghosts sob and gods weep. Last time, the Devil Eye Water Lily race dared to act big in front of us. So, this time, we’ll teach them what it means to be domineering!” Long Chen snorted wickedly.

Hearing that, everyone felt their blood heating up. Now, they knew what kind of ruthless character Long Chen was. His connection with Liu Ruyan had already thrown the Undying race into chaos. Now, if he led them into the Devil Eye Water Lily territory…

Just thinking about it thrilled them.

“Before we go,” said Long Chen, “I have something to give each of you.”

“What is it?” they asked eagerly.

“It is something that Liu Rujiao has.”

“What?!”

Everyone’s eyes widened, and they couldn’t believe their ears. Liu Rujiao possessed the Moon Flame. With it, she had defeated Liu Qingyu in a single, overwhelming blow.

Until now, she had kept this secret since Long Chen hadn’t given her permission to share it. She had never used the Moon Flame again, not even against the Nether Emperor.

Hearing that Long Chen was going to give such a treasure to everyone, they were overjoyed.

“I never taught you this move not because I was being selfish, but because the Sovereign Lord might be unhappy about it. After all, he’s a very stubborn conservative man. He won’t change his ways lightly. However, by saying that I am in charge of this mission, he has tacitly accepted me and my ways,” said Long Chen.

Liu Changtian had always been extremely conservative, focused on preserving the Undying race’s pure bloodline and inherited divine abilities. Because of that, he had long turned a blind eye to the ever-changing world beyond their borders.

To him, allowing the Undying race’s disciples to cultivate foreign divine abilities was the same as blasphemy—a betrayal of their ancestors’ legacy.

However, after a conversation between Long Chen and Liu Xihua, that rigid mindset started to shift.

“The earth gave birth to the ten thousand spirits,” Long Chen had said. “So the world belongs to all of them. Everything that exists is a blessing, so why not use it? Clinging stubbornly to the old ways only wastes the opportunities of the present.”

Whether it was Liu Xihua’s firm stance or a rare moment of enlightenment, Liu Changtian actually relented. He agreed to let Long Chen lead the Undying race on this mission—a clear signal of acceptance toward a new path.

When each disciple was handed a snow-white, flame-wreathed Jade Rabbit, they were so overwhelmed with excitement they could hardly speak. They could sense the power within the rabbits.

The Jade Rabbits instinctively felt close to them, nestling into their palms as their gentle moon flames slowly merged into their bodies.

“The willow is a Yin tree, while the Jade Rabbits possess the Moon Flame. They complement each other,” Long Chen said. “Your wood energy can nourish their spirits, and when your wood is dry, they can ignite you to new heights. This simple principle isn’t something I need to overly explain, right?”

The Moon Tree might be the best ground for Moon Flames to be born, but not necessarily for their growth—because the Moon Trees still lacked spirits of their own.

The Moon Trees were still in their growth period, and their energy consumption was rather terrifying. Even after all this time, Long Chen hadn’t seen any significant transformation in them.

The Jade Rabbits were not like the Golden Crows, who originated from the slain disciples of the Golden Crow race.

After extracting their flame essences, Long Chen told Huo Linger to refine them in the primal chaos space and condense Golden Crows. After that, they were constantly getting stronger, but their numbers stayed the same.

In contrast, the Jade Rabbits rooted themselves in the Moon Trees. After maturing, they started multiplying on their own.

Their numbers inside the primal chaos space had already surpassed the billions—and they were still multiplying rapidly.

Though each Jade Rabbit wasn’t that strong, their overwhelming numbers allowed Huo Linger to condense their collective strength and balance the power between the Sun and Moon Flames.

But their exponential reproduction soon posed a new problem… Huo Linger warned that their sheer numbers could become a massive burden on the Moon Trees.

Moreover, she discovered a peculiar trait: a Jade Rabbit would only grow stronger after giving birth to a certain number of offspring. In other words, if Long Chen wanted them to evolve, he couldn’t limit their reproduction.

Long Chen was in the midst of pondering a solution when his chance came.

Liu Rujiao had been given a newborn Jade Rabbit—one that had yet to form its own consciousness. That was the easiest existence to refine into a core flame. It was safe, quick, and painless.

With that, Long Chen had an idea: he would start handing out the excess Jade Rabbits. If he didn’t start giving them away, he didn’t even know how he would deal with them. Kill them? He couldn’t bear to do so. Release them? Then they might be captured by bad people.

Thankfully, the Undying Willow race could refine them. With them having countless experts, Long Chen didn’t need to worry about the excess Jade Rabbits.

This would solve his problem while simultaneously boosting the Undying race’s strength and forming a closer bond with him. It was definitely hitting two birds with one stone.

Everyone spent the first day refining their Jade Rabbits, the second day cultivating the flame-based divine abilities Long Chen taught them, and the third consolidating their progress.

Finally, after three days, they opened their eyes. Flame runes flickered deep within their pupils before fading away. Each one of them stood at peak condition, ready for war.

“Move out!”