Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

Chapter 5721 Frightened Into Retreating

In the blink of an eye, Long Zhantian had seized Zuo Yan’s sword and pressed it against his throat. Now, Zuo Yan didn’t even dare to breathe.

Long Zhantian’s blue robes fluttered in the wind. He exuded no Emperor fluctuations, no imposing aura—just an unshakable presence. The surrounding experts were stunned.

The attack had happened so quickly that no one had even seen it clearly before it was over.

Cold sweat dripped from Zuo Yan’s chin when he saw the sword trembling slightly. Though the sword in Long Zhantian’s grip didn’t emit any dangerous aura, Zuo Yan could feel the terrifying power concentrated at its tip—an energy potent enough to annihilate heaven and earth. If it detonated, he would die without a doubt. Thus, he dared not move a muscle.

Long Chen’s heart pounded. The execution of Long Zhantian’s move had been flawless. Just as Zuo Yan’s sword struck, Long Zhantian’s thumb pressed three inches from the tip.

A rainbow-colored divine light flashed as his four other fingers followed in succession. Then, Long Chen noticed Zuo Yan’s wrist tremble slightly.

Long Chen understood—Long Zhantian’s thumb had destabilized the sword’s balance, while his other fingers negated its power, causing a backlash that struck Zuo Yan’s wrist. This split-second disruption allowed Long Zhantian to seize the weapon.

Somehow, he had executed such complex movements in an instant. Such flawless control and judgment bordered on the divine.

What impressed Long Chen even more was that Long Zhantian had only unleashed his bloodline power for a fraction of a second before retracting it completely—not wasting any at all.

“Are you not convinced? Then let’s do it again,” said Long Zhantian.

Long Zhantian suddenly flipped the sword and handed the hilt back to Zuo Yan.

Zuo Yan hesitated before reaching for it, his disbelief evident. But the moment Long Zhantian released the weapon, his expression twisted viciously, and he suddenly lunged forward, attempting a sneak attack.

Yet, the sword stopped three inches from Long Zhantian—unable to progress another millimeter because he was gripping it between his two fingers.

Gasps of shock erupted again. Even Long Chen was taken aback.

Between Long Zhantian’s fingers, a seven-colored vortex had materialized, absorbing the force of the sword. No matter how much divine energy Zuo Yan poured into his attack, he couldn’t move the blade a fraction of an inch.

“Dad is a monster!” Mo Nian gaped in disbelief.

The first exchange had reached the realm of absolute perfection, yet even against Zuo Yan’s full-powered sneak attack, Long Zhantian still easily caught it.

And still, he hadn’t drawn upon Heavenly Dao energy or summoned an Emperor Crown. Even a fool could see the difference in power between the two Divine Emperors.

“The High Heaven lineage truly lives up to its name,” Long Zhantian remarked with a faint smile.

Then, with a slight flick of his fingers, he sent Zuo Yan stumbling back.

Each of his six retreating steps left a vortex in the void, warping space itself. The sight was staggering.

Zuo Yan’s face burned with humiliation, alternating between red and white. Long Zhantian’s remark was clearly an insult, mocking his underhanded sneak attack.

Long Zhantian had given Zuo Yan another chance, yet he still failed. This was the greatest humiliation he had ever faced.

Standing there, Zuo Yan felt the weight of the crowd’s disdain pressing down on him.

“Do you understand now?” asked Long Zhantian, looking at Long Chen.

“I understand.” Long Chen nodded.

“Die!”

Zuo Yan could endure no longer. Seeing Long Zhantian turn his back on him, he erupted like a madman. His violet Emperor Crown ignited, and his sword tore through space, unleashing a storm of a thousand sword-images toward Long Zhantian.

Long Zhantian calmly raised a single finger.

Seven-colored divine light gathered at his fingertip. With a simple swipe, the sky filled with metallic explosions as every sword-image shattered.

Zuo Yan vanished, along with the sword-images.

Before anyone could react, the space before Long Chen twisted, and a sharp sword emerged, hurtling straight for his throat.

The crowd cried out in shock. Zuo Yan, realizing he couldn’t defeat Long Zhantian, had chosen to attack Long Chen instead.

Just as the sword was about to strike, a violet rune-covered hand swung through the air.

Pa!

Zuo Yan’s head had barely emerged from the void before he was ruthlessly slapped. He shot through the sky like a meteor, leaving a long trailing light in the void before vanishing from sight.

“That wasn’t bad. You grasped the trick so quickly,” Long Zhantian praised, seeing Long Chen’s palm still flickering with violet runes.

Long Chen had secretly condensed dragon blood power into his hand, proving that he had comprehended what Long Zhantian had been trying to pass to him.

“Unfortunately, I’m still not an Emperor, or that slap would have killed him,” replied Long Chen.

“Don’t mind him. He’s nothing more than a second-rate minor character. There’s no need to feel any regret,” said Long Zhantian lightly.

He suddenly looked up and announced, “To those hiding in the void, have you seen enough? If you wish to attack, then do so. If not, kindly leave. I, Long Zhantian, do not appreciate being spied upon.”

Space rippled in several places—clear evidence that powerful figures had been lurking unseen. But with one warning from Long Zhantian, they immediately chose to retreat.

None of them had shown themselves from beginning to end, nor had they uttered a single word. However, it was obvious they were not allies. In any case, they had been thoroughly intimidated by Long Zhantian’s overwhelming power.

In truth, Long Zhantian had appeared to scare them off. If someone as strong as Zuo Yan couldn’t withstand even a single exchange, then others had to reconsider their odds before making a move.

Moreover, their attention had initially been on the Jewel Blood Devil. No one had expected Long Zhantian himself to be so terrifying.

Now that Long Zhantian had shown his power and the Jewel Blood Devil still hadn’t done anything, they were intimidated. Considering that it was being used as his mount, the Jewel Blood Devil’s power shouldn’t be lacking either.

Seeing this, the hidden experts wisely withdrew.

As for the remaining forces, though they hated Long Chen, they dared not act rashly.

They were a bit unwilling to leave things like this. After all, Long Chen had killed far too many experts in the Heaven Vein Mystic Realm. This enmity had been set in stone, but with Long Zhantian present, their vengeance would have to wait.

One by one, the various factions slowly dispersed.

Yet at this moment, the four divine clans stepped forward. Seeing the Long clan’s experts among them, Long Chen sneered.

“Let’s see what excuses you have now.”