Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)

The jade plate Long Chen was holding was a pressure testing tool that Zhu Yunwen had given him.

Zhu Yunwen had told him that this tool’s limit was three thousand dragon power, and Long Chen had been using it to get an accurate reading of the pressure as he scouted ahead in order to prevent any accidents.

Of everyone present, only Zhu Yunwen possessed such a tool. It was given to him by Yu Xiaoyun, and it was the only one that they had.

Now that it was destroyed, it meant that the pressure here had exceeded three thousand dragon power, causing Long Chen to be filled with shock.

“No wonder I almost broke my bones coming here.”

In that instant, Long Chen felt as though a mountain had come crashing down upon him, nearly causing him to cough up blood. Luckily, he had swiftly retreated to avoid any potential injuries.

“It seems that this part must be passed with everyone’s combined forces. We can only get through by sharing the pressure together. This trial squeezes out a person’s potential to the limit, while also testing their ability to work together.” After scouting this step, Long Chen understood the meaning of this trial.

With this terrifying pressure, no one would be able to pass through, and they had no choice but to work with others to resist this pressure. Furthermore, if their cooperation was flawed, quite a few people would be crushed to death.

“Hmph, I’m trying it! Golden Dragon Battle Armor!”

As golden dragon scales covered Long Chen’s body, a dragon cry rang out and he stepped forward.

BOOM!

The moment Long Chen's foot touched that step, an explosive sound reverberated and countless images of the Vermilion Bird materialized. These spectral images pressed down on Long Chen, surrounding him from all sides.

Long Chen's bones creaked and cracked under the immense pressure. It felt as if the weight of stars was crushing him. In less than half a breath's time, a bit of blood began to flow out of his nose, eyes, and ears.

Long Chen’s head became murky. However, just as he was about to pass out, he threw himself back.

Like a shooting star flying out of that step, he smashed into the ground, causing sparks to fly about as he bounced further back.

“What’s that sound?” Zhu Yifeng and the others were still cultivating at the first step when they felt the world shake. After that, they saw something flying toward them.

Just then, a golden thing flew over their heads like a whistling tempest.

BOOM!

Finally, they saw Long Chen’s feet slam down on the gate. It was the same gate that none of them could even shake with all their combined power, yet Long Chen managed to create a dent in it.

Following that, Long Chen slowly slid down like a pancake thrown against a wall. The descent was accompanied by a terrible, resonating sound echoing through the surroundings.

“Long Chen!”

Yu Qingxuan hastily ran over to him. Only then did the others react and surge forward.

When Long Chen peeled himself off of the gate, they were shocked to see that his golden scales were shattered, and he looked like he had been badly beaten. His appearance was horrifying.

“I… I’m fine.”

It took Long Chen a while before he managed to breathe normally. He then started healing. Fortunately, his physical body was very powerful and could easily heal this kind of injury.

With the Fusang Trees and Moon Trees in the primal chaos space, he had plenty of life energy to draw on, so he didn’t need to worry about these kinds of injuries.

Under everyone’s questioning, Long Chen explained the terrifying pressure of the tenth step. He also apologized to Zhu Yunwen as their sole testing plate had been ruined.

“Three thousand dragon power?!”

All of them were horrified, not daring to believe their ears.

“How can that be?! Throughout all of history, such a thing has never happened!”

“This pressure is also like a whirlpool, causing it to be difficult to block. If there is the slightest slip in our cooperation, we might be crushed,” said one woman, looking pale with fright.

Everyone sank into horrified silence. They knew that three thousand dragon power was not something that they could handle. Even if they joined forces, there would naturally be power disparities and weaknesses in their efforts to withstand it.

For example, if a person’s upper limit was one hundred pounds. Ten people working together wouldn’t be able to lift a thousand pounds. Even if they cooperated well, eight hundred pounds would be the upper limit.

A hundred people working together? Then their limit was closer to five thousand pounds. The more people, the more difficult it would be to work together, and the less efficient they were. Although more people meant more power, it was not as simple as a matter of addition.

The worst part was that the pressure here was not in a fixed direction but a constant vortex of chaos. With so many people, it was even harder to go against this pressure. Rather than saying it was like two people trying to lift a weight, it was more like two people trying to lift a frantically struggling beast. The difficulties were completely different.

Before entering the third gate, just enduring the impact of two hundred dragon power had already been incredibly taxing for them. They had failed twice before succeeding.

Although Zhu Yunwen and the others had managed to reach that level already, the twisting and turning pressure around them was tricky to handle. It was a feeling that made them almost spit out blood.

Just two hundred dragon power alone was already extremely difficult for them. Then three thousand dragon power was essentially impossible.

“Brother Long- eh? Where is brother Long?” Zhu Yunwen was just about to ask Long Chen about a plan when he found that Long Chen was already gone.

“Watch out! I’m coming back!”

Just then, they heard Long Chen’s voice far off ahead of them. Then a golden light smashed into the gate again, causing another dent to appear beside the first one.

Just as everyone was still lost in their shock, Long Chen had rushed ahead again.

“Brother Long, are you alright?!”

Zhu Yunwen and the others were stunned. Did Long Chen really intend on barging through on his own? It had to be known that this trial was clearly set up for them to enter together.

“It’s fine. I refuse to believe that I can’t get through.” Long Chen wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth and charged out once more.

Seeing Long Chen’s unstoppable figure, after a moment of stunned silence, Zhu Yunwen and the others’ unyielding wills were also provoked.

Just how much courage and willpower did Long Chen possess to keep attempting such an impossible feat? They, as princes and princesses of the Vermilion Bird Empire, were actually recoiling in the face of this difficulty. The stark contrast between them caused them to feel ashamed, so they all continued pushing themselves.

Long Chen was rushing off all alone, while they were planning on facing it together. If they still couldn’t manage to do it, how could they have any face left?

As a result, Long Chen was repeatedly sent smashing into the gate, which was now riddled with dents. However, Long Chen managed to gradually last longer on the tenth step each time.

The moment Long Chen managed to stand steadily on the tenth step, rumbling sounds burst out of his essence blood. The runes in his blood then condensed into tiny spheres.

“This is…?” Long Chen was startled, not knowing if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Excellent. Your dragon blood has produced cores. You have completed the first step of the Dragon Soul Body Forging Art!”

The dragon expert’s voice rang out, sounding gratified as well as excited.