Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

The attack engulfed the entire martial stage. There was nowhere to dodge unless Long Chen chose to leave the arena.

Although the stage had already crumbled, the rules stayed the same… leaving the designated area would count as a loss.

At this moment, the tension in the crowd spiked.

“To use the same technique against me twice, just who gave you the courage?!” Long Chen shouted.

All of a sudden, two heaven-raising dragon pillars appeared in the center of the martial stage. Violet Blood Qi surged between them, weaving into crisscrossing dragon tendons. Then, these tendons formed a giant net that glowed with blazing runes.

The flaming black lily slammed into the net, pushing the structure back toward Long Chen. However, the net didn’t snap. Its elasticity absorbed the momentum, slowing the lily’s advance.

As the net blazed with greater light, with a sudden rebound, it launched the lily back at Yuanshan.

“What?!” Yuanshan was aghast as his own cursed attack rebounded toward him, even faster and more oppressive than before.

“Dodge!” Lian Sanqiang’s voice roared from behind.

Yuanshan threw himself to the ground. His claws gouged at the floor for grip, but the reinforced bricks only let him dig in three inches.

The black lily screamed past overhead, its winds nearly sending him flying. His claws left deep trails in the ground as he fought to stay down. Just barely, he managed to stay on the martial stage.

The lily ended up smashing towards the Devil Eye Water Lily race’s side, prompting cries of terror as their experts scattered.

After all, this cursed lily contained the terrifying might of the devil lily heaven veins, and it was strong enough to obliterate even Divine Emperors.

Just before it could reach them, Lian Sanqiang raised a hand. The void warped and collapsed into a swirling vortex. The lily vanished into it without a trace.

“That’s true spatial power…” muttered Long Chen.

Even knowing Lian Sanqiang would step in, Long Chen was still shocked. No hand seals, no Blood Qi fluctuations, no summoning of heaven and earth’s power—just a single motion and that terrifying attack was gone. This old monster was indeed formidable.

As the audience processed what had just happened, Yuanshan shakily climbed to his feet, drenched in cold sweat.

Yuanshan had hesitated just now because he knew just how terrifying this attack was. If it exploded amongst his people, the Devil Eye Water Lily race would be doomed. While he might’ve been able to block it, the resulting injuries would have left him helpless against Long Chen.

If not for Lian Sanqiang’s prompt, Yuanshan might’ve instinctively blocked it and sealed his own fate.

This attack made one thing painfully clear: Long Chen outclassed Yuanshan in combat experience and tactics. From the very beginning, he had been dancing in Long Chen’s palm.

What infuriated Yuanshan the most was that Long Chen clearly held overwhelming power, yet refused to clash head-on. Being toyed with like this nearly drove him mad.

“I admit you’re very strong. I can’t match your experience or combat skill…” Yuanshan growled coldly. “But your arrogance and foolishness will be your death!”

“Oh? Is that so?” asked Long Chen curiously.

“You’re using this battle to show the Undying race’s disciples just how strong you are,” Yuanshan continued darkly. “You had several chances to kill me, but you didn’t.”

Hearing that, Liu Rujiao and the others were startled. Was that true? Had Long Chen really held back? It was difficult to believe.

“It’s fine. There will be more chances later,” said Long Chen indifferently.

“You—!” Yuanshan nearly exploded again but managed to suppress his fury. “Both the Undying race and the Devil Eye Water Lily race share a fatal flaw—it takes too long for us to accumulate energy. But after I awakened the devil lily heaven veins and cultivated the Devil Blood Heaven Devouring Technique, even the most gifted of my race could only match one percent of my power.

“To enter my ultimate form, I must pass through the first and second transformations. You missed your best chance to kill me. Now, you’ll regret—”

“You talk too much. Stop wasting time. Show me this so-called ultimate form. I’m dying to see how long you can last at my full firepower,” interjected Long Chen flatly.

“As you wish.”

Yuanshan’s face twisted again. The lilies above his head started to explode one by one. With each blast, countless runes rained down, which Yuanshan absorbed greedily.

With every lily absorbed, his aura surged like an erupting volcano.

After he had absorbed the sixth lily, two sharp horns pierced through his skull. Fangs jutted from his mouth, and a sword-like bone spur grew out of his spine.

By the time all thirteen lilies had been consumed, he transformed into a horned monstrosity with a long tail and covered in scales.

“This aura… it belongs to the foreign devils from beyond the heavens!” exclaimed Liu Xihua.

Liu Xihua’s expression shifted drastically. That presence reminded her of the ancient war… the war against the foreign devils that nearly consumed their world.