Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

A sword slashed through the air, and dazzling sword-light lit up the sky. In his fury, Jian Wuchen unleashed his sharpest attack right from the start.

Yue Zifeng's sword also came out of its sheath. There was no sword-light, but his sword was like a streak of lightning, so fast that it was inconceivable.

BOOM! The laws of the world shattered. Divine light exploded like a firework.

"Nothing more than a flashy technique. It has the form but lacks the soul of the sword. As expected, after leaving the Heavenly Sword Gate, you stopped being a true sword cultivator. Today, I'll have to kill you." Suddenly, Jian Wuchen's attack shattered, broken by Yue Zifeng's sword.

This seemingly ordinary swing of his sword with no manifestation backing it had broken Jian Wuchen's attack, shocking the experts present. Just where was his power coming from?

"It was just a probing blow. What are you so pleased about? How childish. Have a look at my self-created Thirteen Life Seizing Swords!"

Jian Wuchen's sword quivered and suddenly slashed down on Yue Zifeng. The second slash then swept out, and a third followed.

Yue Zifeng's left hand was in a sword seal as the sword in his right hand repeatedly slashed out. The two of their swords clashed repeatedly, each time causing violent rumbling.

After the twelfth slash, Jian Wuchen's sword moved with the sound of a wild storm. His power had risen with every slash.

When Jian Wuchen's thirteenth slash arrived, Yue Zifeng suddenly let out a cry. Waves of divine light appeared on his sword as he became one with his sword. His sword struck Jian Wuchen's.

Sword-light tore through the air. The two of them retreated at the same time.

"Heavens, Jian Wuchen is injured!"

Someone let out a startled cry. A ray of Sword Qi had pierced Jian Wuchen's shoulder, turning his white robes red.

"I already said, your techniques have form but lack soul. This was no different from your probing blow. You've already deviated from the Sword Dao. You place the emphasis on your spiritual yuan, your Heavenly Dao energy, but you've forgotten the foundation of a sword cultivator, the sword in your hand. You view your sword as nothing more than a weapon. You no longer even view it as a companion or an extension of your life. So, your techniques are like a fangless viper, a clawless tiger. Everything is empty. Did the seniors of the Heavenly Sword Gate not tell you that once you choose to be a sword cultivator, your sword is your life? If you had believed them, your sword would have blessed you with limitless power." Yue Zifeng's voice resounded through the air, every word entering deep into people's minds and hearts.

The sword users especially were moved. Yue Zifeng seemed to be expressing the core principles of the Heavenly Sword Gate. However, while it might sound easy, just how many people could really entrust their own life to their weapon? A weapon was used to be controlled, not the other way around.

"The Heavenly Sword Gate's teachings are all a con. The true secrets lie within the Sword God Dao Canon, but that is hidden in the hands of those undying fellows. They cultivate it themselves and refuse to teach it to others, conning people with some dogshit logic. I'll show you just how false their promises of using the sword to control the heart and become divine are. The sword exists to be controlled. The strongest thing is the person, not the sword. Using a supreme power to control the sword is the correct path, and I'll prove it right now by toppling all the powers you've ever seen. That sword in your hand won't be able to receive a single attack!"

The devil sword in Jian Wuchen's manifestation suddenly vanished. In that instant, the sword in his hand became black as ink, and a pair of black wings appeared on his back.

"Hahaha!" Jian Wuchen laughed wildly, his voice shaking people's ears like thunder.

Black devil qi covered his body. He now appeared to be a devil king. His icy voice rang out. "When I was forced out of the Heavenly Sword Gate, I swore to wash the Heavenly Sword Gate with blood and erase that fake sect from this world. Do you see? Even the heavens are helping me. Just as I was being hunted down by experts and in despair, I awakened a heavens' soul manifestation. Do you know what this means? It means that even the heavens support me, that the heavens believe that I am correct. Yue Zifeng, you are simply a tricked fool. What can you take out to fight me?"

Yue Zifeng shook his head. "So what if the heavens support you? In the Dragonblood Legion, every warrior dares to fight against the heavens. The heavens are beneath my boss. As for you, being a traitorous dog that obtained the recognition of the Heavenly Daos only proves that the heavens are blind."

These words were exceptionally shocking to the experts present. It was like Yue Zifeng was publicly challenging the Heavenly Daos. Was he not afraid of his next heavenly tribulation becoming heavenly punishment? The higher the cultivation base, the more a cultivator had to respect the Heavenly Daos. That was because the Heavenly Daos paid more attention to them, and if they did something wrong, it would come with consequences.

Long Chen smiled. It seemed that Yue Zifeng was truly angry. He never talked this much. He might have said more words here than all the words he had ever spoken since joining the Dragonblood Legion.

Nangong Zuiyue and Beitang Rushuang looked at Long Chen at the same time, sighing inside. As expected, the leader raised similar soldiers. With the boss being so unruly, the subordinates would also be unconstrained.

"We'll see how long you can act tough."

Jian Wuchen slowly raised his black sword. The black qi surrounding him exploded, burning like black flames. Once his wings moved, he sped up like a black streak of light, piercing through Yue Zifeng before anyone could react.

It all happened too quickly, too suddenly.

"It's a spatial distortion! The Jian Wuchen we saw wasn't the real Jian Wuchen!" exclaimed Nangong Zuiyue.

They just barely managed to see Jian Wuchen's figure suddenly return after shooting past Yue Zifeng and slash him from behind. Jian Wuchen didn't even look back as he swung his sword.

Even more incomprehensible was that Yue Zifeng also simply slashed his sword behind him without looking.

BOOM!

Huge ripples spread as Yue Zifeng's sword shattered the void. People saw a black sword and then Jian Wuchen's figure. But then Yue Zifeng suddenly swung his sword forward, just barely blocking Jian Wuchen's black sword again.

"What is going on?"

People were flabbergasted, completely unable to understand this battle they were witnessing. How was it that there were two Jian Wuchens, one in front of Yue Zifeng and one behind? It didn't look like an afterimage or a clone.

"This is the result of spatial displacement. Jian Wuchen's attack has caused spacetime to divide. The order of spacetime is disturbed by his sword-light. His first attack was too fast, and what we saw as his first attack was actually his second attack, while his second attack was his first," said one expert who also had a sword on his back.

Jian Wuchen and Yue Zifeng began a furious exchange with their swords. Scintillating sword-light shot out with such sharpness that the experts jumped back.

Even though the experts present were essentially all awakened Empyreans, they still felt like there was danger of being killed in one shot by this terrifying Sword Qi.

Yue Zifeng's expression was icy. His left hand continued to maintain his sword seal, while his right hand held his sword, repeatedly blocking. That seemingly ordinary sword of his seemed to be blessed with a strange power that allowed it to steadily block all of Jian Wuchen's berserk attacks.

"This Yue Zifeng is a monster. How is he so strong?" Even Mo Nian couldn't help being shocked.

Not only was Yue Zifeng a monster, but he was also so monstrous that others couldn't even tell what made him a monster. His techniques looked ordinary, the spatial fluctuations around him weren't large, and he had no manifestation around him. But he was able to block Jian Wuchen's attacks.

Even experts like Beitang Rushuang and Nangong Zuiyue were unable to understand this. They glanced at Long Chen, looking for an explanation.

Long Chen shook his head. "It's useless to look at me. Yue Zifeng is a strange existence even amongst the Dragonblood Legion. In the beginning, I was still able to understand him. But when sect leader Ling Yunzi erased his Heavenly Dao energy to turn him into an ordinary cultivator, I was no longer able to understand him. In a battle against the Corrupt path, he merged his soul into his sword to kill the Corrupt experts. When his soul returned to his body, his combat power soared crazily. Even I have to be afraid of him. Sword cultivators have always been the most frightening existences in this world with unrivaled offensive power. As for Yue Zifeng's path, it seems different from the past generations of sword cultivators. The power he controls seems to be related to gods yet also not. It's impossible to determine."

The terrifying power of sword cultivators had always been a mystery. Just what was the source of their power? No one knew.

"Quick, look!"

Mo Nian let out a startled cry. More Jian Wuchens were filling the sky. Spacetime had been thrown into chaos, as hundreds of Jian Wuchen's attacked Yue Zifeng at the same time.