Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)
chapter-3997

After Long Chen summoned his Yuan Spirit, the power of his blood, bones, and qi flowed into it, causing gold spots to appear on his Yuan Spirit. Those golden spots then gradually formed into primitive runes.

However, an incense stick’s worth of time later, Long Chen was no longer able to endure. Just as he had predicted, the pain of refining the spirit could not be compared to refining the body. There was a qualitative difference between them.

Long Chen's ability to endure bone forging in one go should not be mistaken as an indication that he could undergo full spirit forging in a similar manner. If he attempted it, regardless of its feasibility, the excruciating pain would undoubtedly shatter Long Chen's mind, driving him to the brink of madness.

As expected, after an incense stick’s worth of time, his forehead was already covered in sweat, and he felt weak and empty. Seeing this, Yu Qingxuan thought that Long Chen couldn’t endure any longer, so she joined forces with the others to take his place.

Although they didn’t have his immense power, with dozens of them joining forces at once, they could still summon a decent space over a hundred meters wide. Also, with everyone getting acclimated to the pressure, this space was enough to give them buffer room.

Long Chen didn’t explain. Seeing that everyone was getting used to the pressure here, he took a break to recover. He then consumed a medicinal pill and continued the spirit forging process.

Long Chen repeated this process over and over again, spirit forging and then resting. After a while, he was very surprised to see just how rapidly the imperial disciples grew. Their physical bodies strengthened so rapidly that they were fully accustomed to the pressure in just one day’s time.

In other words, every single person here had at least one dragon power’s worth of strength, and they could already be considered a powerful expert.

Furthermore, all these imperial disciples possessed powerful bloodlines and magical arts. If they were to leave the trial by fire, they would completely transform and possess shocking power. The imperial family had truly hidden their power deeply.

“Yifeng, how long are we going to stay here?” asked Long Chen after undergoing another session of spirit forging.

“It’s entirely up to us. If we can pass through the entire thing, we can leave. However, we are still on the first step of the first level. It’s the easiest, simplest part. But you also saw just how difficult it was for us. Our trial by fire will probably not be any inferior to my imperial father’s trial, and there will probably also be ten levels. Back then, my imperial father and his batch of experts spent a full three months going from the first gate to the tenth gate. We’ll probably need even longer,” said Zhu Yifeng.

“Three months? Isn’t that too long? There will probably be major changes in the outside world during this time.” Long Chen couldn’t help being surprised.

He could essentially guess what the imperial family’s plot was. They hadn’t opened this trial earlier, most likely to show the outside world the ‘true power’ of their princes and princesses. As they had seen it, Long Chen estimated that it wouldn't be long before their armies came upon the border.

Three months’ time? That was too long. By the time they came out, it would be too late.

“Three months would be the fastest time. Other than my imperial father, Empress Jiang, and Empress Xu, there were many other powerful experts there. Just the Double Supremes alone numbered over five hundred. On the other hand, we only have fifty-six Double Supremes, a tenth of that generation. Based on that calculation…” Yu Qianxue walked over at this time, also dripping with sweat and her face a bit pale. Just now, she had followed Long Chen’s example and cultivated through resisting the pressure.

“Are you saying that we’ll need thirty months to pass?” exclaimed Long Chen.

Yu Qianxue wiped the sweat off of her face with a handkerchief and then shook her head. “It’s not calculated like that. If we are not strong enough, we will simply die here and never come out.”

“What? Isn’t this a trial by fire?” asked Long Chen.

“The Vermilion Bird’s trial by fire is just this cruel. If we cannot escape ourselves, there is no way to open the gate from the other side. Moreover, as long as someone remains inside, the trial cannot be opened to new people, so the people inside are like prisoners. But this space also has its own laws. After a hundred years, it will automatically refresh itself. At that time, all life inside will be completely crushed,” said Yu Qianxue.

“Damn, that really is vicious,” sighed Long Chen.

However, thinking about it, it made sense. If the people inside were unable to pass, leaving new people unable to enter forever, this place would essentially be garbage. Even so, this rule was truly bloody. It seemed that once you came to this place, there was no longer any chance of retreat.

“Big brother, I want to become an expert. Can you help me?” asked Zhu Yifeng suddenly.

Hearing this, Yu Qianxue and Long Chen were both startled. After his last defeat, Zhu Yifeng had become unusually silent; no one knew what he was thinking.

However, seeing him clenching his teeth, Long Chen knew that he had made his decision. His gaze was bright.

Long Chen then looked at his gaze and smiled. “No problem. I will help you. But you’ll need to work like your life is on the line, because it is.”

“Big brother, don’t worry. I will no longer let myself waste away. I will become an expert.” Zhu Yifeng rose and walked somewhere with even greater pressure.

This space was a pathway that stretched far into the distance, but the twisted space here made it so that they couldn’t see that far. They were unable to see what the end of the path would look like.

However, the further they went on this path, the greater the pressure grew. As a result, the ordinary disciples were still in the original location, while the more powerful ones were going deeper.

“Will he be alright?” asked Yu Qianxue worriedly.

“He will be fine. But you might not be,” said Long Chen.

“Why not?” asked Yu Qianxue in confusion.

“Because he will quickly surpass you.” Long Chen smiled.

“I don’t believe you.”

Long Chen said, “He has found his determination to get stronger. But as for you?”

“I have always worked hard to get stronger.”

“Alright. Up to you. You can just pretend that I didn’t say anything. Just wait and see!”

Long Chen rose and also went deeper.

Three thousand meters ahead was a step. When Long Chen took that step, the pressure instantly grew. Based on his senses, the pressure here was equivalent to ten dragon power.

Continuing onward, he saw Yu Qingxuan and the other princes and princesses, as well as the more powerful imperial disciples, working hard on getting used to the pressure here.

Long Chen didn’t disturb their cultivation. After another three thousand meters, he saw the next step, and his foot stepped onto it.