Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

Long Chen had swept through the Heaven Rankings.

As a result, the nine star heirs from the nine heavens shouted in excitement. They felt as though Long Chen had become their backbone—something solid they could rely on. At last, they could stand upright.

While some people were celebrating, others were cursing.

Disciples of the Three Rankings stared blankly at their tablets. Their points, their years of hard work, were gone. Some of them nearly burst into tears.

“I didn’t even do anything, and disaster fell from the sky. What kind of karma is this? I was saving up to enter the Starry River to comprehend the Dao—and just as I was about to make it, everything vanished!”

“At least, I bought medicinal pills a few days ago. If I’d known, I would’ve spent everything!”

“It’s over... it’s really over... Damn it, damn it!”

One disciple wanted to curse, but didn’t dare direct it at Long Chen. In the end, he could only curse himself.

All the disciples on the Heaven, Earth, and Mortal Rankings lost everything. A calamity had descended, and they could only accept their bad luck.

Even though they hated Long Chen, they didn’t dare to express it. After all, he was someone who had swept through the Heaven Rankings. Cursing him was courting death.

Now, the Starry River Palace’s nine star heirs could no longer look down on the disciples from the nine heavens. They suddenly became very polite, startling the disciples from the nine heavens.

Xue Ying stood at the peak of the desolate mountain, smiling slightly as she watched the disciples cheering.

She was amazed. Long Chen’s thunderous actions and decisive character were truly inspirational.

Upon entering the Starry River Palace, he charged forward regardless of all the obstacles, using the simplest, most direct method to achieve his goal.

She looked at all the nine star heirs around her. She could feel their passion. She knew that if Long Chen ordered them to die, they would not hesitate. That zeal of theirs was indescribable.

Xue Ying could tell that Long Chen also cared about these new brothers and sisters. He was also willing to risk his life for them.

Xue Ying slowly raised her head, looking at the distant palaces and the starry river swirling around them. Her lips slowly curled into a beautiful smile.

...

As Xue Ying gazed at the grand palaces in the distance, Long Chen and Qu Liushang stood at the top of the largest, grandest palace. From here, it was possible to see the entire Starry River Palace.

Gazing at the grand constructions, Qu Liushang started speaking first. “The Starlight Heavenly Sovereign Li Yaochen personally supervised the construction of the Starry River Palace. Even with everyone working hard on it, it took eight thousand four hundred years to complete.

“Heavenly Sovereign Li Yaochen expended what little longevity he had to activate the grand formation. He drew in a projection of the starry river beyond the heavens and used it to protect the Starry River Palace, making it an unbreakable fortress.

“Even if a Heavenly Sovereign came, the grand formation can hold them back for enough time to dive into a spatial crack. Thus, despite encountering countless powerful foes throughout our history, the Starry River Palace has remained safe and sound. I’m rather ashamed to say that our peace was thanks solely to the Heavenly Sovereign’s preparations.

“Right now, we are on the twelfth floor of the Starry River Sacred Palace. The highest level is right above us. That is where our palace master—and my personal master—Li Canghao, resides. However, Master is still in seclusion. He is condensing his heaven-earth law manifestation for the third time. He should be about to come out.”

Shocked, Long Chen asked, “The third time?”

“That’s right,” Qu Liushang replied. “Master’s talent is extraordinary. He once condensed the form of the world after comprehending heaven and earth, yet still felt that his law manifestation was flawed. He destroyed and rebuilt it twice and was still dissatisfied with it, so he dismantled it a third time.

“I’m ashamed to say that even with my master’s guidance of creation through destruction, I barely pulled it off once.”

Only someone who had experienced it themselves knew just how dangerous their attempts were.

“Then the palace master is truly powerful!” Long Chen exclaimed, amazed.

Most ancient experts had long since lost their sharpness to the erosion of time. To repeatedly destroy and recreate a heaven-earth law manifestation was extremely dangerous. The chances of death were terrifyingly high. Even attempting it required immense courage.

Although Long Chen had done something similar to perfect his Eight Star Battle Armor, breaking it and recreating it three times, the danger and difficulty were on completely different levels.

For someone who was basically a living fossil, it was equivalent to destroying their old self. It was like killing their past. One misstep could cause a personality split or lead to demonic deviation. There were all kinds of dangers.

Thus, Long Chen couldn’t help but feel some admiration for this palace master.

“On this twelfth level, there are only two vice palace master halls. One is mine, while the other belongs to the other vice palace master, Li Zimo. However, Vice Palace Master Zimo constantly wages campaigns in the outside world, often for many years at a time. Thus, both these halls have been empty for a while. Young friend, you are the first guest on the twelfth floor in the last few millennia,” said Qu Liushang with a smile.

Long Chen smiled faintly in return.

There were two vice palace masters—one constantly fighting in the outside world and rarely returned, the other buried in deep seclusion. With neither of them overseeing things, the Starry River Palace had naturally drifted from its proper course.

Sometimes, a sect was just like a farm. The slightest negligence would cause weeds to suddenly take over.

The Starry River Palace was already full of weeds, and the crops couldn’t grow properly. Worse still, the farmer no longer knew which plants were crops and which were not.

Long Chen gazed into the distant scenery and suddenly sighed.

“This position isn’t very good. It’s too high up,”

Qu Liushang was baffled at first, but then nodded. “That’s true. From such a height, you can see far, but you may overlook what’s right in front of you. That’s the most dangerous thing.”

Qu Liushang instantly understood what Long Chen was saying.

Long Chen grinned.

Since Qu Liushang had come out of seclusion, the Starry River Palace would naturally start returning to the proper path. Even if those weeds weren’t plucked out, they would no longer restrict the growth of the disciples of the nine heavens.

By sweeping through the Heaven Rankings, Long Chen had achieved his goal. Now, his mind was finally at ease.

Seeing that Long Chen still looked pale, Qu Liushang chose not to rush him to obtain his reward.

“Long Chen, after that battle, you should rest. Once you’ve recovered, I will bring you to the Starry River Sovereign Palace,” he said.

Long Chen smiled. “Palace master, I’m actually not interested in—”

Just then, an icy voice filled with killing intent and disdain rang out.

“How can someone like him touch the Starry River Sovereign Palace?”

A woman appeared abruptly on the twelfth floor. A wave of terrifying Sovereign pressure crashed down toward Long Chen.