Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

“How is that possible?!”

The Undying race’s experts couldn’t believe their own eyes.

This technique was one of the Undying race’s strongest abilities. Once trapped, unless the other side’s power was over ten times greater, it was essentially impossible to escape.

Long Chen was also a Heaven Saint. There was no way his power was ten times greater than Liu Rujiao’s. Yet, he had still shattered her divine technique.

Countless wooden fragments filled the air as Long Chen stood at the center of the chaos, still frozen in his snapping stance. Sun Flame and Moon Flame swirled across his wrist, their glow revealing vague outlines of the sun and moon rotating within them.

“Huo Linger, I’m seriously impressed,” Long Chen said, admiring the flames on his wrist.

Huo Linger’s growth was astonishing. While Long Chen had yet to fully grasp everything his father passed down, she had already gone further than him.

The Sun Flame and Moon Flame interlaced and alternated, forming manifestations of the sun and moon.

Even more shocking was how condensed the flames were. After annihilating the cocoon, they retracted instantly—wasting none of their power. Huo Linger’s level of control was simply unbelievable.

After all, Long Chen couldn’t replicate this level of mastery with his dragon blood energy, seven-color Supreme Blood, astral energy, or even his violet blood, which was the easiest to control. Hence, Huo Linger’s advancement was truly heaven-defying.

“Hehe, big brother Long Chen, you’re juggling all kinds of energies. But I only have to focus on flame energy. Plus, I am a flame spirit. So this kind of growth is only natural,” Huo Linger giggled, clearly delighted by his praise.

She had long wanted to surprise him, and seeing his satisfied reaction made it all worth it.

“T-this is impossible…” Liu Rujiao muttered, staring at the wooden fragments flying through the air in disbelief.

She could not accept that her strongest technique had been broken just like this.

Even against Liu Minghao, if she managed to trap him with that technique, he could only resist by slowly draining her energy using his core. He couldn’t break it.

And yet, Long Chen had shattered it with a single blow.

Seeing her unwilling expression, Long Chen said, “You’ve always treated the Human Emperor realm like a shackle. You look down on the human race’s attributes, even seeing the human form as humiliating. But your prejudice has cost you countless opportunities.

“The human race once stood at the peak of the ten thousand races. That wasn’t a coincidence. We may be flawed, but we also shine in ways others refuse to see. I don’t know why the Nine Star Master defied the heavens and rewrote the Dao. I don’t know why he forcibly created the Human Emperor realm. But I don’t believe he did it to shackle the other races. With his character, he would disdain doing such a thing.”

Liu Xihua’s pupils narrowed slightly—something seemed to dawn on her.

Long Chen continued, “The human race has many flaws. But there’s one thing we have that you don’t—open-mindedness. We’re constantly striving, constantly learning. We revere the strong, and we try to become stronger ourselves. Even if it’s our mortal enemy, we study their strengths and incorporate them.

“Weapons are neither good nor evil—it depends on who wields them. One person may use a sword to steal and plunder others, becoming a scourge on the land. Another could use it to slay demons and devils, bringing peace to the world. But the Undying race is too stubborn. You’ve sealed yourselves away, clinging to a false sense of superiority. If that continues, your former glory will remain just that—former.”

“Silence! You dare lecture us?! The Undying race isn’t something you can judge!” Liu Rujiao snapped, angered by Long Chen’s words.

As she slammed her hands together, an emerald leaf appeared on her forehead. Following that, a golden flame rose around her.

“Has she gone crazy?! Stop her!” Liu Minghao shouted in alarm.

Of all the Sovereign sprouts, only he and Liu Rujiao could use this technique. It was the Sovereign Flame Soul Summon.

By sacrificing their own life force and igniting the Sovereign flame, they could summon the soul of their ancestors to possess their body, unleashing unprecedented power.

Every expert of the Undying race carried their ancestors’ blessing in their blood, and it took the shape of ancient runes in their blood. In life-or-death moments, these runes could be triggered to save their life.

But the price of using this technique was massive. The summoned souls had no remaining will. Once called, they would fight until their enemy or the host was destroyed. It was a technique that almost guaranteed the user’s death.

“Elder Xihua!” Liu Minghao shouted, looking at Liu Xihua.

However, she didn’t respond and just watched.

The martial stage shuddered and then exploded. A wooden giant erupted from within.

Liu Rujiao sat on its forehead, like a humanoid gemstone embedded within it. The instant she appeared, the wooden giant seemed to awaken. A terrifying aura surged from its massive frame, making even other Sovereign sprouts feel like their bodies were about to rupture. The suffocating pressure made them tremble in fear.

The wooden giant raised its fist and attacked Long Chen. Its fist was bigger than a house and instantly froze the space around Long Chen.

“Divine Dragon Tail Pendulum!”

Long Chen kicked out. A massive dragon tail burst forth like a heavenly whip, crashing into the wooden giant’s fist. The dragon tail exploded on contact with the fist, but the wooden giant also staggered back.

“That’s only a threefold power boost? What’s the point?” Long Chen muttered, shaking his head in disappointment.

With a flicker, he vanished and reappeared in front of the giant’s head.

However, before he could do anything, the wooden giant’s mouth fell open, and wooden thorns shot out like swords.

The void was torn into a sieve, but Long Chen was unharmed. He had already dodged in advance, causing all these attacks to miss.

The wooden giant went berserk. Its fists pounded the air, unleashing millions of branches that tore the world apart. Heaven and earth twisted under the devastating power. The shockwaves alone made all the onlookers dizzy, and the rumbling sounded like needles stabbing into their skulls.

“This power…!”

Everyone was shocked by the power of this giant.

However, even more shocking was that… none of these terrifying attacks could reach Long Chen.

In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in front of Liu Rujiao, with his hand next to her forehead.

At that moment, every single face turned pale.