Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

“My condition is very simple. I’ll bring you into the core of the devil race, and you have to guard me for one incense stick’s time,” said Long Chen.

“Guard you? What do you plan to do?” asked someone, their guard instantly going up.

“They’ve set up an enormous formation to gather the natural energy of the world, and my goal is to absorb that energy,” replied Long Chen.

However, these people refused to believe it.

“You want to absorb it?”

“You’re crazy. The natural energy there has been branded with the devil race’s power. How can someone like you absorb it?”

“This is impossible. You definitely have ulterior motives. Tell us the truth!”

Their disbelief was understandable. After all, the devil race had crafted this grand formation to warp the laws of heaven and earth, corrupting the Heavenly Dao energy into something unusable by others. In fact, only the devil race’s supreme expert could absorb it. Expecting these experts to believe otherwise was like asking them to deny fundamental truths.

They just didn’t know about the existence of Long Chen’s astral vein. As long as he had enough energy, he could condense another. The devil race’s mark? It would be crushed and erased as soon as it entered his body.

“If you don’t believe me, that’s fine. Go ahead and keep charging on your own. I won’t disturb you,” said Long Chen, pretending to leave.

“Hold it!” Su Yu said, looking at Long Chen with a determined expression. “I believe you. But I can’t promise much.”

“Oh, why? It seems I’m only asking one thing of you,” remarked Long Chen.

Su Yu answered, “We’ll be throwing ourselves into the devil’s nest to prevent the advancement of a nine-vein Heaven Saint. This mission is likely a one-way trip, and we’ll go all out. However, defending you for an incense stick’s time might be beyond us. All I can promise is we’ll guard you to the best of our abilities.”

Long Chen was momentarily taken aback. Such courage and righteousness were very hard to find. He had seen countless people in his lifetime, but he didn’t think he had met a heroine like her before.

Most importantly, her gaze was clear and unwavering. She was clearly someone who wore her heart on her sleeve, as only someone with such sincerity could possess such a pure gaze. This courage was no facade; it was genuine.

“It seems I misjudged. I didn’t think the human race still had such great warriors,” Long Chen remarked, a hint of admiration in his voice.

Based on Su Yu’s calculations, there were likely multiple eight-vein Heaven Saints within the enemy ranks. Right now, their goal was to at least deal a heavy injury to the enemy’s top expert, interrupting their advancement, and buying more time for the human race.

“Alright, then it’s decided. Help me buy as much time as you can,” said Long Chen.

He genuinely liked these people and wanted to be friends with them. Yet, he also didn’t dare to. After all, his endless entanglement with world-shaking enemies made such relationships dangerous. To befriend them would be to paint a target on their backs.

Although Su Yu was a powerful eight-vein Heaven Saint, she was nowhere near capable of fending off Long Chen’s adversaries.

Just the likes of Li Changgeng and Fantian De were not existences Su Yu could compare to, let alone Netherdragon Tianfeng who had the Nether Emperor backing him.

When Long Chen agreed to the plan, Su Yu smiled and extended her hand, forming a fist.

Long Chen returned her smile and mimicked the gesture. Their fists met lightly, sealing the pact.

A verbal agreement might be trivial in the grand scheme of things, but for some people, it held enough weight to entrust their very lives to another.

“Move out!” Long Chen commanded.

With a wave of his hand, Long Chen took the lead.

The devil race’s army moved like a massive vortex, ever-shifting and dangerous. Seeing Long Chen and the others approach, they prepared for battle.

“We’re going in the wrong direction,” reminded someone as Long Chen led the way.

Long Chen simply ignored them. With a black spear in hand, he charged toward the devil race’s army diagonally.

“Ah!” Su Yu gasped, her eyes lighting up with understanding. “Kill!”

Eight heaven vein dragon qi erupted around her, obliterating the devil race’s experts in her path.

Su Yu was smart and instantly understood Long Chen’s strategy. However, she cursed himself for not realizing it sooner.

The devil race’s twister formation was designed to scatter their power, grinding them down as they pushed forward.

However, Long Chen took a different approach. Instead of charging directly, he angled their advance to follow the whirlpool’s spin. While the frontal impact was intense, the brunt of it was absorbed by the vanguard, leaving the center relatively unaffected. This tactic would preserve the group’s cohesion, preventing them from being scattered.

In the time it took for an incense stick to burn, their group had penetrated deeply into the devil race’s army. Although progress was slow, they were undoubtedly drawing closer to the core. This glimmer of hope reinvigorated everyone.

“Friend, I misjudged you earlier. If we survive this, we’ll welcome you into our Southern Alliance. From now on, you’re one of us!” declared a warrior who had previously voiced skepticism about Long Chen.

Their dislike of Long Chen mostly stemmed from his arrogant act. But when they saw how effortlessly he guided them through the devil race’s ranks, their opinions changed dramatically.

“The Southern Alliance?” Long Chen echoed, baffled.

The name sounded a bit familiar, though Long Chen dismissed it as another tribal coalition, akin to the Heaven Demon Alliance. Although this one consisted of humans, was it even an alliance?

Alliances were something Long Chen had low opinions of. Human hearts were notoriously fickle, and uniting them was an arduous task. Even within alliances, personal ambitions often led to infighting and discord. But as Long Chen observed the camaraderie of these Southern Alliance experts, he was reminded of the Martial Heaven Alliance, stirring a wave of nostalgia.

“Our Southern Alliance is one of the Four Cardinal Alliances,” Su Yu explained with pride. “We’re comprised of over three thousand factions. While we may not be the strongest among the major powers, we are the most unified. Even in the Heaven Essence World, not many dare to provoke us.”

Her tone softened as she added, “Ah, we were so focused on fighting the devil experts that we forgot proper introductions. I’m Su Yu. May I ask your name and where you are from?”

“I’m Long Chen,” he replied. After a brief hesitation, he added, “I’m from the High Firmament Academy.”

He had almost mentioned the Wind God Sea Pavilion but refrained from doing so. After all, he wasn’t truly one of its disciples. The High Firmament Academy felt like a more fitting answer.

“The High Firmament Academy?” Su Yu and her comrades exchanged confused looks. The name was unfamiliar, as it was a relic lost to the sands of time.

Before they could delve further, a warning cry interrupted.

“Careful! Experts incoming!”

Dozens of powerful devil auras surged toward them, cutting through the air like a storm.

“Humans, don’t even think about getting any further!”

A devil spear materialized from the void, its chilling tip aimed directly at Long Chen.