Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

“Me? What do you mean, what am I up to?! I just think you’re too arrogant!” this elder snapped, his face dark with anger.

Although he reacted quickly, the flicker of panic in his eyes didn’t escape Long Chen’s notice.

“If you dislike me so much,” Long Chen said, pointing outside the city, “you’re welcome to leave.”

“And why should I?!”

“If you don’t, then why should I?” retorted Long Chen.

“Because this is a city defended by the Four Cardinal Alliance!” barked the elder.

“Xu Danian, shut your mouth!” the city lord finally cut in, his voice booming with authority. “This city is indeed under the protection of the Four Cardinal Alliance, but it belongs to all humans. As long as they follow the rules, no human shall be cast out.”

Hearing that, this elder snorted and finally shut his mouth.

The middle-aged city lord then approached Long Chen with a calm expression.

He said, “I am the city lord, Li Dongcheng. Young friend, I am impressed by your power. The city is in crisis, and now is the time for unity. Should we require your assistance, I hope we can count on you.”

Li Dongcheng looked young, but his aura was dense and stable. Despite that, he couldn’t see through Long Chen’s cultivation, which made him cautious.

“Well said! You’re exactly right. If you need my help, just say the word,” promised Long Chen, patting his chest.

Li Dongcheng was no fool. He didn’t ask about Long Chen’s background or cultivation. Now wasn’t the time to make things awkward.

“Good. The grand formation is active, so we’re safe for now. Su Yu, why don’t you show our guest around the city?” said Li Dongcheng, glancing at her meaningfully.

Su Yu instantly understood. Li Dongcheng was asking her to find out more about Long Chen. Was he a friend or foe? If he were an enemy, then he had to be eliminated as soon as possible.

“Brother Mo, please come with me,” Su Yu said, gesturing for Long Chen to follow her.

Long Chen smiled and followed Su Yu’s lead into the city.

Once they were gone, Elder Xu growled, “City Lord, that person is dangerous! We should use the grand formation to kill him now!”

Li Dongcheng remained silent, watching Long Chen’s fading silhouette. After a long pause, he sent a voice transmission to his aide.

“Search our records immediately. Find out everything you can about someone named Mo Nian.”

“Yes.”

The aide immediately vanished.

…

“Brother Mo…” Su Yu started once they were in the city.

“Can we find somewhere more private to talk?” Long Chen asked with a smile.

“You…!” Su Yu was shocked.

Just now, Long Chen had used his real voice, and Su Yu instantly recognized it.

After suppressing her shock, Su Yu shooed off the people accompanying them and led Long Chen to an empty teahouse. Like most of the city, it had been vacated, its occupants hiding in shelters underground.

They sat near the window, where they could see the entire city at a glance, along with the devil creatures pounding against the barrier in the distance.

“Brother Long, is it really you?” asked Su Yu excitedly.

Long Chen took out a formation disc to lock down the surrounding space completely. Only then did he take off his disguise.

“Since our time in the Heaven Essence World, you’ve grown much stronger, Lady Su Yu. Congratulations.”

“Senior Long Chen…”

Su Yu stared at Long Chen, sensing his aura. Her eyes reddened. Suddenly, she dropped to her knees and kowtowed.

“Hey, hey, what are you doing!?”

Long Chen jumped up and hurriedly pulled her back to her feet.

“Long Chen… thank you for saving us back then. My Su family survived thanks to you. If you hadn’t slaughtered the invaders, our city would have been annihilated…”

Su Yu explained with emotion. Her family had been trapped in a minor city when the other races attacked. They were on the brink of annihilation, and she had been powerless to save them. Just as hope was lost, the enemy forces suddenly retreated. Only later did she learn it was due to Long Chen’s rampage.

Long Chen had essentially saved her family, so naturally she had to kowtow to show her thanks.

After she finished, Long Chen gave a few modest replies before getting to the point.

“This devil creature tide is strange. Because of my… fame, I didn’t want to be recognized, so I disguised myself as my friend. I’m here to find out what’s really going on.”

Nodding, Su Yu said, “The devil creature tide is indeed a bit odd. The signs started several days ago.”

“What signs?” asked Long Chen.

“Several days ago, a strange sound echoed through the skies above our city—like the hoot of an owl, but eerie and unnatural,” Su Yu explained. “That very day, we were attacked by devil creatures. Thankfully, it was only a small wave that we quickly exterminated. But then the hoot returned… and so did the devil creatures.”

With a darkening expression, Su Yu continued, “Only this time, they were different. They were wild, frenzied—utterly bloodthirsty. We suffered real casualties. That’s when the city lord ordered the city into a full combat state. The commoners from surrounding cities were evacuated. While doing so, we discovered a massive army of devil creatures converging from one direction.

“Once we realized that, we scrambled to reinforce our defenses. But the tide that came… it was far greater than anything we could’ve imagined. Had we known, we wouldn’t have wasted time on evacuations—we would’ve focused entirely on defending the city.”

Long Chen frowned. “Wait… while scouting, you never managed to get an accurate read on their numbers? How were you supposed to prepare properly?”

Su Yu sighed. “At the time, our scouts did report estimates. But when the tide finally erupted, those numbers were completely wrong. It wasn’t even close.”

“What?” Long Chen’s expression turned grim. “Who was in charge of this?”

“It… it was Elder Xu…”

Su Yu stared at Long Chen, her expression slowly changing. “Could it be…”

She suddenly recalled Elder Xu’s recent behavior. He had always been obnoxious, but these past few days, something was especially off. He was even more erratic than usual.

Long Chen nodded slowly. “Now that you mention it, when I slapped him earlier, I sensed something strange. His spiritual fluctuations were off. At first, I thought he was just an idiot, but now… it feels like something deeper is going on.”

“Does this mean… Elder Xu is a spy?! But then…” Su Yu asked, staring at Long Chen in disbelief.

“It’s a possibility. But we can’t say for certain just yet.” Long Chen narrowed his eyes. “If he’s a fox in disguise, it’s only a matter of time before he shows his tail.”

“Shouldn’t we tell the city lord?”

“No. If we scare the fox too early, it will go into hiding. I want to see what he has up his sleeves,” Long Chen said, gazing into the distance with a smile. “Moreover, I want to know who has such amazing abilities to control devil creatures. That’s no easy feat.”