Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

Long Chen and the others sat on a flying boat, and they spent four full hours flying before a bright sun-like ball of light appeared in front of him.

"Brother San, the inner academy is up ahead!"

The Unfettered Alliance's disciples all grew emotional. That was their life's dream.

When Long Chen saw that ball of light, he knew that it was a grand formation. From the books he read, he learned that the inner academy was the core of the High Firmament Academy.

Its area was almost four times that of the Martial Heaven Continent, and the grand spirit gathering formation made the density of spiritual qi here almost ten times greater than in the outside world.

Furthermore, inner academy elite disciples had many special privileges, with benefits that were thousands of times greater than outer academy disciples. This was also why Mu Qingyun would put everything on the line just to enter the inner academy and become an elite disciple.

Only by becoming an elite disciple would the academy be willing to spend many times the resources to raise you. After becoming an inner academy disciple, the academy's resources would pour toward them.

It could be said that within the academy, the monthly benefits given to the disciples were only the bare minimum. If they wanted to cultivate faster, then it was far from enough.

Whether it was Mu Qingyun, Luo Bing, or Luo Ning, their families would send them a large number of immortal crystals every year as supplies, or just the monthly benefits would cause them to be quickly left behind by others.

However, upon becoming inner academy disciples, the academy would give them so many resources, which practically couldn't be bought with money. This was also why they wished to enter the inner academy so badly.

At this moment, the flying boat slowly passed through the light, and the runes on the boat lit up. If it weren't for those runes, this flying boat would not be able to enter this region.

Because Long Chen and the others had yet to enter the Divine Flame realm, they couldn't use the transportation formations. Hence, they could only use the flying boat.

The scene before them instantly changed. They flew above an ancient forest whose crowns lay among the clouds. Within the clouds, it was like a natural painting.

"How pretty. It's practically a wonderland," sighed Zhong Ling.

A wonderland? A slight smile appeared on his face. In the lower world, they had viewed the immortal world as a wonderland. They thought that inhabitants were all gods and immortals, living worry-free lives, living forever, never aging.

However, after ascending, he found that this place was even crueler than the mortal world. Where was the so-called wonderland?

Suddenly, a group of cranes flew out of the clouds, forming a rainbow behind them.

"It's the academy's rainbow cranes! We're actually witnessing auspicious animals! Does that mean we're about to be blessed by good luck?" Zhong Ling cried out excitedly.

The rainbow crane was an auspicious animal, and it was different from other cranes. It was noble and sacred, it didn't consume other creatures, and it never killed. Its sustenance was the spiritual qi of the air.

Legend was that the rainbow crane enjoyed freedom, and it didn't necessarily stay in the same place. Legend was that wherever it went, that place was an auspicious land.

The rainbow cranes didn't like to live in human abodes. It was said that the bloody and brutal side of humans drove them away. If someone chose to live nearby, they would rather leave.

It was also said that as soon as the rainbow crane was driven away, the auspicious land would be turned into an inauspicious land. It was unknown if that was true or not, but many people believed in it.

Apparently, only after the High Firmament Academy was built did the rainbow cranes come here. After that, the High Firmament Academy sternly forbade anyone from disturbing the rainbow cranes. If anyone did, they would be instantly expelled, no matter how great their background.

There was a story about the daughter of an institute head who had chased after a rainbow crane due to curiosity. She was then directly expelled and forbidden from ever taking half a step into the academy again.

After that, people grew more curious about the rainbow cranes, but they could only watch from a distance.

People rarely got a chance to see the rainbow cranes because sometimes they would only appear once every few years or even decades. Hence, those who encountered them were all those with immense luck.

Upon spotting the rainbow cranes, Mu Qingyun hastily stopped the flying boat. This was one of the rules of the academy. They couldn't disturb the rainbow cranes.

The rainbow cranes were mostly white, but the top of their wings and their tails had some black feathers. And for some reason, when they flapped their wings, they left rainbow tracks in the air. It was an unknown mystery.

The rainbow cranes flew by their flying boat. Seeing this, Mu Qingyun and the others were enchanted. These were beautiful lifeforms, so beautiful that it was suffocating.

Just as Mu Qinguyn was waiting until the rainbow cranes passed before continuing onward, they suddenly turned back and flew toward the flying boat once more.

"Heavens, they're coming back! We can actually see the rainbow cranes at such a close distance!" exclaimed Li Cai and the others.

Normally, the rainbow cranes didn't like people's auras, so they would hide far away as soon as they sensed people. Hence, they almost didn't dare to believe that the rainbow cranes were coming so close.

The rainbow cranes were exceptionally beautiful. If they flew around a woman dancing, it would be the very embodiment of a Raiment of Rainbows and Feathers. It was a beauty that could make a person forget all their vexations.

Long Chen quietly watched those beautiful figures and slowly smiled. These were the most beautiful lifeforms that he had ever seen.

There were seventy to eighty of them. They weren't that large, about the same height as a human, and they also didn't have any powerful auras. Also, they didn't have any natural predators. It was said that even beasts would rather starve to death than hunt them.

The rainbow cranes began to fly around the flying boat, stunning Mu Qingyun and the others. What was going on?

"No one mess around. Don't harm the rainbow cranes!" A voice suddenly rang out from outside the flying boat.

There were people shouting at them from the sky. Clearly, everything here was being monitored. Perhaps they weren't monitoring them, but they were protecting the rainbow cranes.

The rainbow cranes continued to circle around the flying boat, shocking even the supervisors. They didn't know what was going on.

If the rainbow cranes were injured and fled, then whether it was Long Chen or them, they would be doomed.

However, those rainbow cranes simply continued to circle the flying boat, refusing to leave.

"Open the door," said Long Chen.

"Boss San!" exclaimed Li Cai.

"Bastard, did you not hear?! Don't open the door, or…" The previous voice rang out angrily.

However, Long Chen didn't listen. He directly opened the door with his hand and walked out.

"You're courting death!"

The voice was enraged, seemingly to the point of wanting to kill Long Chen. But Long Chen still ignored him. Long Chen walked to the top of the flying boat, and those rainbow cranes immediately began to circle him. One of them then landed in front of him.

Suddenly, rainbow light covered that crane, and it transformed into an immaculate girl appearing between seven and eight years old.

"Big brother, you're a good person. Can you bring me out to play?" The girl spoke, her black and white eyes so clear that they were like bottomless wells without any impurity.