Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

A giant covered in crystals charged at them. It was the same lifeform that had earlier challenged Mu Qingyun, declaring himself of the rock devil race.

He stood ten meters tall, his entire body encased in crystalline armor that gleamed with divine light. 998 Sovereign flames blazed around him, and even before he arrived, his domain spread, locking down the battlefield.

In the past, Mu Qingyun would have felt overwhelmed under such pressure. But now, her heart was steady.

The sword in her hand gave her unshakable confidence. When the crystal giant approached, she calmly drew her blade once more.

“Do you think your Sword Qi can harm me?” the rock devil giant sneered, crossing his massive arms before him.

BOOM!

Her sword light struck like a tempest. The unstoppable Sword Qi forced the giant back several steps, and two deep gashes appeared on his crystalline forearms.

“What a terrifying defense!” Mu Qingyun’s heart shook.

This giant was stunned. The rock devil race prided themselves on unmatched power and defense. Their bodies were said to be tougher than some Divine Sovereign magical items, yet Mu Qingyun’s sword had carved a half-a-foot deep scar into his crystalline shell.

After all, the giant had once slain an enemy wielding a Divine Sovereign weapon, and even at full force, their strike hadn’t produced such destruction.

“Human fools, you dare challenge me?!” the rock devil giant roared, quelling his disbelief with rage as he charged over.

Despite having such a massive body, the rock devil giant was quite fast. His fist came crashing down, large enough to blot out the sky.

In front of such a titanic blow, Mu Qingyun’s figure seemed frail, as if a single breath from the giant could crush her.

“High Cloud Slash!”

Her sword danced through the air in a profound arc.

BOOM!

Her blade met his fist head-on. The result was explosive—his massive hand shattered into fragments, and the giant himself was hurled backward.

“Impossible! This is impossible!” the giant howled.

This injury incensed him even further. His Sovereign flames flared violently, and before their eyes, his shattered fist reformed.

This time, Mu Qingyun pressed the attack. Her left hand formed a sword seal while her right hand slashed.

“Flying Sword Art—Swift!”

One after another, flying swords shot out at the giant.

The rock devil giant was struck again and again. Each flying sword carried immense power, and the barrage was extremely concentrated. He could barely fend them off.

Even if he could block these swords, they would spin around and fly back at him.

Mu Qingyun’s face grew pale as her sword seals shifted without pause. The tempo of her attacks climbed higher and higher, and her flying swords became increasingly ferocious.

The giant staggered backward, unable to launch a counterattack. Meanwhile, Mu Qingyun’s complexion turned ashen. The previous exchange had injured her.

From the start, Long Chen just stood there, not saying a word.

Experience couldn’t be handed down—it had to be earned, one scar and mistake at a time. In the end, the best lessons were always the painful ones.

Still, Mu Qingyun had chosen wisely. Instead of stubbornly engaging head-on, she relied on her flying sword arts to force her opponent back.

Amongst sword cultivators, flying sword arts were considered advanced, but not supreme. With enough talent and experience, any sword cultivator could reach this stage. Yet, the variations of this technique were endless.

Mu Qingyun’s breakthrough came from her bond with her sword. The single word “Swift” that she had infused into her technique was her own creation, something she had only recently grasped.

At first, what she comprehended was only the barest edge of the true technique. Even so, the results had astonished her, and she immediately showed it to Long Chen.

After seeing it, Long Chen didn’t say anything. He neither praised nor denigrated it. That silence had unsettled Mu Qingyun more than any reprimand.

But under his later pointers, she honed her fundamentals—drawing and sheathing her sword—and from there, her Sword Dao grew clearer. As her Sword Dao advanced, her flying sword arts naturally transformed.

Originally, the “Swift” character allowed her to summon sixteen blades in the blink of an eye, a result that had thrilled her.

Now, over a hundred flying swords were slashing down on the rock devil giant with every breath. He was completely suppressed, unable to fight back.

“AHH!”

As the giant was repeatedly forced back, he roared. The void behind him exploded, and an enormous giant image filled the sky. He had been forced to the point of burning away his Sovereign flames and summoning his manifestation.

A black, bloodthirsty aura filled with decay radiated from this manifestation. That giant looked like a devil god from the primal chaos space.

BOOM!

The aura swept through the battlefield, scattering every flying sword.

“Human girl, die!” he bellowed, his voice shaking heaven and earth.

To think that someone so fragile-looking could press him this far was an insult he could not bear. Hence, he attacked with raging killing intent.

The giant in his manifestation mirrored his movements. As he spread his arms, it felt like the world would be crushed under a terrifying weight.

In response, Mu Qingyun calmly sheathed her sword. With one knee bent and her body tilted forward, she prepared to draw her sword. The scabbard quivered, as if the murderous intent of the world was being pulled into it.

The sword had yet to leave its scabbard, but already it radiated a will to break all shackles or perish trying.

BOOM!

Before either could unleash their ultimate strikes, the heavens themselves rumbled. A vast aura unfurled. The astral winds abruptly died, and the land quaked as though something ancient was about to break free.

At this moment, the rock devil giant’s expression twisted. He gritted his teeth and glared into the distance.

“Damn human, I’ll let you live a little while longer! In a bit, I will definitely crush you!”

After saying that, he rushed off.

“Follow!” Long Chen barked.

The giant sword beneath their feet carried the two of them in hot pursuit.