Nine Star Hegemon Body Art

Long Chen roared. As his dragon blood power erupted, a blood-colored ripple spread out of him, compressing the surrounding space. The eight whirlpools in front of him shattered, revealing eight elders of the Lifehunter race.

In his fury, Long Chen detonated his dragon blood, forcing these eight figures out into the open. But when he realized that they were nine-vein Heaven Saints, he instantly had a bad feeling. With his power, it was absurd for his enemies to send nine-vein Heaven Saints to confront him; it simply didn’t make sense.

Although these eight elders belonged to the Lifehunter race, which was known for their terrifying killing power, they were no match for Long Chen. They were purely courting death. Once they were exposed, Long Chen immediately stamped on the air, leaving behind countless afterimages as he charged toward Yu Qingxuan.

Yu Qingxuan was focused on the barrier, her hands pressed against it and her body connected to its energy. She was at a critical juncture, and if she dodged the incoming attack, all her previous efforts would be wasted. The barrier’s energy might even spiral into chaos, causing it to shatter and potentially kill countless people inside. Clearly, their enemies had planned this attack meticulously, leaving no time for anyone to react.

Even Long Chen’s sharp senses had failed him. At this moment, Long Chen realized that the Lifehunter race had used a transportation technique for this sneak attack. In other words, the one who had planned this attack was capable of precise spatial transportation techniques. That was the only way to trick Long Chen’s sharp senses.

When Long Chen saw Yu Qingxuan in danger, his head buzzed with fury, his killing intent blazing. Everything was within their enemies’ calculations. At this moment, Long Chen couldn’t even unleash his power effectively. The attackers had appeared on either side of Yu Qingxuan, forming a line from Long Chen’s perspective. If he tried to kill them both, Yu Qingxuan would be caught in the crossfire and crushed.

Their enemies had calculated every step flawlessly, leaving no opening. The battle was playing out exactly as they had intended.

“Golden Lotus Protection!”

Just then, Bai Shishi’s voice rang out from the outer edge of the barrier. Countless golden runes climbed onto Yu Qingxuan, transforming into petals that enveloped her.

The two swords struck the golden lotus, causing it to explode into golden powder. But within that powder, Yu Qingxuan remained unharmed.

These two attackers were half-step Human Emperors. Seeing their attack fail, their expressions changed. They hadn’t expected the golden lotus to withstand their combined assault.

“Kill her!” they shouted in desperation as Long Chen closed in on them. Their killing intent surged, causing the ten thousand Daos to wail as they prepared another strike aimed at Yu Qingxuan.

Yu Qingxuan looked down at the countless terrified pairs of eyes below the barrier. She sensed that the barrier was on the verge of healing, but if she stopped now, it might shatter. She saw Long Chen rushing over, but he was still too far away.

In the end, her hands remained on the barrier. Even knowing that she would die, she chose to save those inside. As long as the barrier held, their lives would be spared.

“I’m sorry…” Yu Qingxuan whispered, tears blurring her vision. She wanted to live but had no other choice. She couldn’t watch so many people die.

Just then, a ray of sword-light pierced through the world, killing one of the elders. Seeing what was happening, Yue Zifeng launched a long-distance attack without regard for his safety. He was then struck by a devil expert’s blood blade and spat out blood, but he managed to use his scabbard to stab through the devil’s head.

Yue Zifeng managed to kill one of the half-step Human Emperors of the Lifehunter race, but the other’s sword was still descending toward Yu Qingxuan’s head.

Blood splashed through the air, but it wasn’t Yu Qingxuan’s. It was Bai Shishi’s.

At this critical juncture, the golden powder from the lotus suddenly congealed into a strange rune. With a flash, Bai Shishi vanished from the front lines of the battlefield and appeared in front of Yu Qingxuan, taking the blow in her place.

“Shishi!” Yu Qingxuan let out a heart-rending cry. Bai Shishi had spread her arms, the sword piercing through her back and out her chest. Her blood dripped from the tip of the sword onto Yu Qingxuan’s clothes.

“DIE!” Long Chen’s roar echoed like thunder as he reached the elder and obliterated him with a single strike.

Although Long Chen’s attack had locked onto the elder beforehand, that elder hadn’t cared about his life. He was determined to drag down Yu Qingxuan with him.

Even in his fury, Long Chen controlled his strength carefully. Since the elder’s sword was lodged into Bai Shishi’s chest, if he were to use too much force, she would suffer as well. Long Chen grabbed the elder’s headless corpse and slowly pulled him away, carefully extracting the sword. He held Bai Shishi carefully, her blood staining his robes.

Bai Shishi was seriously wounded. Bai Xiaole, Bai Shishi’s mother, Bai Zhantang, Bai Letian, and the others were fraught with worry. The suicidal attack of a half-step Human Emperor left them uncertain if Bai Shishi would survive.

Bai Shishi’s mother was pale with fear, but she couldn’t do anything. After all, the battle was too chaotic, and too many enemies were slipping through the Dragonblood Legion’s blockade.

The academy’s higher-ups were working together with the Dragonblood Legion to stop the enemies, and this distraction almost caused Bai Shishi’s mother to be struck by a flying spear. If Bai Xiaole’s mother had not used a pupil art to move her, she would have been severely wounded, if not killed.

“Shishi…” Long Chen’s voice trembled as he held Bai Shishi. He was terrified, reminded of Ye Zhiqiu’s death. He didn’t want to go through that painful experience a second time.

Bai Shishi’s eyes focused on Long Chen. Although pale like a ghost, she squeezed out a smile and reached out to touch Long Chen’s cheek. “So you care this much about me… I’m happy…”

Long Chen could feel Bai Shishi’s metal energy rapidly draining, so he quickly fed her several top-grade metal attribute pills. Once her energy stabilized, he relaxed slightly.

At this moment, the barrier quivered and was fully stabilized. Yu Qingxuan then rushed over and looked at Bai Shishi, tears streaming down her face.

“Big sister, don’t cry. I’m fine,” Bai Shishi whispered, comforting Yu Qingxuan. She didn’t want Yu Qingxuan to feel guilty. She had chosen to risk her life to save her, just as Yu Qingxuan was willing to sacrifice herself to save everyone inside the barrier. It was their choice.

“Xia Chen!”

After handing Bai Shishi to Yu Qingxuan, Long Chen let out a furious roar, his killing intent shaking the very world.

“Place a marker on everyone on the battlefield! Not one of them will leave alive!”