Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

Chapter 5179 He’s Not the Dean

“How can this be?! Am I dreaming?!” shouted one expert.

The onlookers were frozen in terror, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed. Ye Ziwen, the rank ten genius of the academy, was revered among tens of millions of disciples, but this mysterious black-robed young man had gravely injured him in one blow.

BOOM!

Ye Ziwen crashed into a wall, blood spurting from his mouth. His spear followed, embedding itself into the wall beside his cheek. In an instant, Ye Ziwen turned pale with fright.

Long Chen’s attack had been swift and merciless, leaving Ye Ziwen with no way to react. If Long Chen had aimed the spear at his head, Ye Ziwen would have been dead. The realization that his life and death were separated by this little distance sent sweat dripping down Ye Ziwen’s face.

“You wanted to kill me, so I could have killed you,” Long Chen said casually as he walked past. “But you held back to not injure the two beside me. That tiny bit of mercy saved your life. Otherwise, this world would no longer have someone called Ye Ziwen.”

Ye Ziwen was paralyzed with fear. He hadn’t imagined that his small act of mercy would be the thing dragging him back from the abyss of death.

“Who are you? Why are you targeting the academy’s disciples?” asked Ye Ziwen, his voice trembling.

“I’m not targeting them,” Long Chen replied calmly. “They simply deserve to die. I’m just carrying out my duty and authority.”

“Who are you?” asked Ye Ziwen once more.

“Who is the dean of this academy?” Long Chen asked, his voice calm yet commanding.

“Of course it’s dean Lu Chengkong,” replied Ye Ziwen without hesitation.

“Wrong. The dean of the first branch academy of the High Firmament Academy isn’t him!” Long Chen corrected before continuing on his way.

He quickly passed by them, leaving everyone in a state of bewilderment. The High Firmament Academy’s dean was Lu Chengkong—even children knew that. Why would Long Chen claim otherwise?

“Could it be?!” someone suddenly exclaimed, their voice filled with disbelief.

“He is Long Chen?”

Ye Ziwen’s jaw dropped, and his eyes almost popped out of his head. Long Chen was a name he had only heard of—a name often mentioned with a mix of reverence and disbelief.

When Long Chen had left back then, Bai Letian and the others had only managed to gain a foothold in the first academy. It was only when the palace master returned that they managed to reclaim the first branch academy in the most violent, bloody way. They slaughtered all the invaders who had taken their land, shocking everyone.

After reclaiming the first branch academy, Bai Letian activated the foundation stone, awakening the academy’s karmic luck. With this, the entire academy began to revive.

Recognizing that they couldn’t stop the resurgence, Pill Valley ceased the meaningless battles and withdrew. With no further interference from the outside world, Bai Letian activated the High Firmament Academy’s formations. Through these formations, they connected the academy to many minor worlds.

These minor worlds had been created before the first branch academy was overrun. Although many of them had been destroyed, some remained accessible. Within these minor worlds were the academy’s resources, ancient tomes, and other treasures that had been safeguarded. When Bai Letian opened one particular minor world, he discovered an unexpected surprise—people were living there.

During the attack that led to the downfall of the first branch academy, some individuals had hidden within these minor worlds. At the time, seven of these worlds contained people. Unfortunately, the devil creatures that took over the academy caused significant destruction, resulting in six of those minor worlds crumbling. The inhabitants of those worlds perished as a result.

Only the inhabitants of this one minor world had survived. Relying on the resources left behind by the academy, they had thrived within the minor world for generations. Since the first branch academy had been the wealthiest of all the branches, the resources were abundant enough to sustain them up to the present day. When the minor world was finally reopened, Bai Letian and the others were overjoyed to discover tens of millions of disciples and countless experts still alive and well.

These disciples were the descendants of the experts who had hidden within this minor world back then. As they had never seen the outside world before, their understanding of it was based entirely on stories and records. When they emerged, they were like birds freed from a cage, filled with excitement at the prospect of limitless cultivation opportunities in the wider world.

When Qin Feng first went looking for Long Chen in the Long clan, Bai Letian had not discovered this minor world, so Long Chen had no knowledge of these developments.

Unfortunately, Bai Letian’s joy was short-lived as he soon encountered a thorny problem: the minor world already had a dean, and he was an exceptionally powerful figure.

Strength alone wouldn’t have been an issue, but this dean, possibly due to being sealed away for so long, immediately acted as if he were a criminal recently released from prison. He quickly started behaving as though he were above everyone else, showing little respect for Bai Letian and the others.

The only person this dean feared was the palace master. However, the latter never bothered with politics, so after reclaiming the academy, he directly went into seclusion.

With no one to challenge him, this dean started to rebuild the High Firmament Academy according to his own wishes, treating Bai Letian and the others with veiled disdain. To him, they were merely “outsiders”.

This sense of superiority wasn’t limited to the dean alone. All those who had been freed from the minor world seemed to share the innate sense of entitlement, as if they were born to lead. Despite being rescued by Bai Letian and the others, they showed little gratitude.

The academy’s reconstruction proceeded entirely according to this dean’s will, with no consideration for Bai Letian’s opinion. Even more troubling, the new rules he implemented created a division between the academy’s native disciples and those considered “outsiders”.

Bai Letian was known for his good temper, but even he couldn’t tolerate this. One day, when all of the academy’s experts were gathered, Bai Letian decided to address the issue head-on. He reminded everyone that this was the High Firmament Academy’s first branch academy, overseen by the head sect. He emphasized that it was Long Chen who had led the charge in reclaiming the academy, breaking the deadlock and paving the way for their eventual freedom.

The head academy had officially declared Long Chen as the dean of the first branch academy. When the experts learned that Long Chen was merely a disciple at the time, they nearly died of laughter. To them, the idea was absurd.

Bai Letian, however, didn’t argue with them. After making his declaration, he returned to his residence and ceased all dealings with them. The Dragonblood Legion and the original disciples of the academy followed suit, distancing themselves from the others.

What was once considered a joke, with Long Chen as the punchline, no longer seemed funny. As they watched Long Chen's back, Ye Ziwen and the others felt an ominous sense of foreboding.

“Something big’s going to happen today,” Ye Ziwen muttered, exchanging worried glances with the others. Without hesitation, they quickly followed Long Chen, venturing deeper into the academy.