Nine Star Hegemon Body Art

Tang Wan-er didn’t want to look at the faces of the higher-ups, so she handed the crystals to Xiao Yue, who was clenching her teeth and shooting a murderous gaze.

Fearing Xiao Yue might explode, another retainer took the crystals and handed them up instead. As each group submitted their collected crystals, the eight assistant pavilion masters started counting them in front of everyone.

As they counted, Long Chen asked Xiao Yue and the others to properly tend to the fallen, planning to give them a proper burial when the time was right.

As Xiao Yue carefully put away the bodies of her fallen sisters, she wept, “Big brother Long Chen, what did they do wrong? They were so kind, so innocent. Why won’t the heavens spare us?”

“It’s our fault. We shouldn’t have chosen to run from them. We should have met them head-on,” said another retainer, who had previously supported avoiding the other groups during the competition.

Guilt weighed heavily on her, and she felt responsible for their deaths.

Long Chen shook his head and said, “Whether you retreated or charged forward, only the process would have changed, not the outcome. Learn from this. Constantly retreating and conceding won’t bring peace—it only brings pain. And remember, the people around you may look human, but they’re fiends in human skin. They are crueler and more devious than devils. Your sisters didn’t fall to the blood devils; they died because of these fiends.”

Perhaps this was the harsh reality of cultivation. Wherever there were people, there was conflict. Where there was conflict, there was death. And if someone didn’t kill, their enemy would kill them. No one could survive on kindness alone.

As the Hidden Dragon Legion finished laying their sisters to rest, the counting of crystals was complete. To everyone’s shock, the Hidden Dragon Legion ranked seventh, which seemed unbelievable.

“Impossible! They definitely cheated! Someone must have given them some blood devil blue crystals to inflate their numbers!” shouted Qian Renxue, glaring at Feng Xinyue.

This bitch clearly suspected them of cheating, but Feng Xinyue didn’t even glance at her. Her focus was entirely on Tang Wan-er, and there was pain in her eyes. At this moment, no one else seemed to exist for her.

“Nonsense. These blood devil blue crystals are fresh, with bloodstains and lingering devil energy. They can’t be fake,” said one of the vice pavilion masters, unwilling to go along with such an absurd claim.

This was just common sense. So, Qian Renxue didn’t even have common sense but dared to accuse a Divine Wind Elder? She was clearly lacking brains.

Even though they supported Qian Renxue, no one could back such an obvious falsehood. It was simply ridiculous.

“But so many of their people died,” Bu Qingyan cut in righteously. “That’s still a failure. As a commander, leading her team into danger and letting them die shows poor judgment. For her people to die while she survives unscathed—clearly, she used them as shields. Such a person doesn’t deserve to rank among us. I propose we strip her of her divine daughter status.”

“You…!” Tang Wan-er looked up, fury in her eyes. Everyone from the Hidden Dragon Legion was equally enraged, their hands clenched on their swords, ready to turn the ugly fatso into mincemeat if Long Chen gave the order.

“I agree!” said Mad Lightning.

“I also agree.”

“Agreed!”

“I fully agree.”

One by one, the other divine sons and daughters followed Mad Lightning’s lead. All sixteen of them stepped forward in unison.

The Hidden Dragon warriors were nearly exploding with rage. The blatant disrespect and sanctimonious criticism pushed their fury to the brink.

Although the Hidden Dragon Legion didn’t know every detail, it was clear from Long Chen and Tang Wan-er’s conversations that this had been a trap from the start. Now these same people dared to criticize them, even as they mourned their fallen sisters? Thinking of this and seeing their contemptuous gaze, the Hidden Dragon warriors clenched their teeth so hard they almost shattered.

Tang Wan-er quivered with rage but stayed silent. She had sworn to listen to Long Chen. If he wanted her to endure, she would endure with all her strength.

At this point, one of the assistant pavilion masters stepped forward. “Quiet. The dead cannot be revived. I understand your emotions. However, Bu Qingyan is correct. This competition wasn’t just about gathering blood devil blue crystals. It was also about testing a group’s cohesion and the leadership of its commander—”

“Get to the point already,” Long Chen interrupted, his patience wearing thin.

If he let this bastard keep going on and on, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to wait until the real competition.

The assistant pavilion master glared at him, clearly annoyed, but swallowed his retort due to Long Chen’s status. He continued, “Although the Hidden Dragon Legion’s harvest was impressive, too many of their members died. Technically, they should be disqualified. However, because they’re still young, we’ll give them another chance. They’ll be allowed to participate in the next round.”

The hypocrisy was staggering. It should have been the last-place team that got eliminated, but now even they were being allowed to continue. Despite the Hidden Dragon Legion passing, this elder made it sound like they were being granted mercy.

“Unfair!”

“Unjust!”

“Why should they be allowed to participate? Anyone could gather more crystals if they were willing to sacrifice lives! I could’ve done that too!” the divine sons and daughters roared in outrage.

Long Chen’s fists creaked from how hard he clenched them. Looking at the Hidden Dragon warriors, he silently told them. “Remember their faces.”

Though unsure of Long Chen’s plan, they memorized those faces, searing them into their minds.

At this moment, the roulette spun again. The next round would take place on the Divine Stage Battlefield—a chaotic elimination-style battle arena inside the Wind God Sea Pavilion. The battlefield was protected by a formation that would teleport anyone in mortal danger to safety, meaning no one would truly die.

This was all overseen by the Wind Dominion Pearl, the Wind God Sea Pavilion’s most powerful divine item. It possessed incomparable power and could predict when a person was about to die.

In other words, anyone who “died” on this battlefield wouldn’t really die. Their deaths would be played out by the Wind Dominion Pearl.

Upon hearing this, the divine sons and daughters exchanged sinister smiles, glaring at the Hidden Dragon Legion. This chaotic battlefield was clearly chosen with them in mind.

The next moment, the Wind Dominion Pearl quivered, and Long Chen and the others appeared in the sky. Below them, an enormous martial stage materialized.

“Kill!” roared all the opposing groups in unison, charging at the Hidden Dragon Legion.

“Sisters, the time for vengeance has come. Your fallen sisters are watching you. Slaughter them all!” shouted Long Chen.

“KILL!”

The Hidden Dragon warriors’ long-brewing killing intent erupted as they charged forward, meeting their attackers head-on.

The sixteen divine sons and daughters stood by. It seemed that they wanted to enjoy the sight of the Hidden Dragon warriors being killed.

Just like that, blood sprayed through the air, heads flew, and limbs were severed. The brutal carnage elicited gasps of shock from both the battlefield and the spectators outside.

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