Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

Chapter 6849 A Joke

Chi Yutong held Long Chen’s hand as they stepped down from the chariot. Spotting Zhang Gonggong, she abruptly let go and flushed with embarrassment.

That was partly an act and partly a natural reaction. After all, it was her first time holding hands with a man.

Long Chen couldn’t help but smile at her shy demeanor. Despite her intelligence, her acting skills were lacking. Zhang Gonggong had already announced his presence, so pretending not to notice him was clearly too fake.

Seeing her adorable, half-nervous and half-bashful expression made Long Chen’s heart race.

Long Chen knew he shouldn’t look at her that way, aware that this beautiful, smart lady was new to romance. Since Long Tianrui's passing, Long Chen had been especially cautious about romantic feelings because he genuinely feared them.

“Brat, you’re definitely dead!" Zhang Gonggong shouted, breaking the romantic mood.

With his face twitching violently, he rushed over.

In response, Long Chen slapped Zhang Gonggong across the face. From this close range, there was no way the latter could dodge, and he was sent flying.

However, since the slap was a reflex, it didn’t have much force behind it, leaving a clear handprint on Zhang Gonggong’s face but not much damage.

“I’ll kill you!” Zhang Gonggong shouted.

He raised his hand and summoned a bow. But then, a young man rushed over and grabbed Zhang Gonggong.

“Brother Zhang, this is the gathering of champions. Don’t break the rules!”

This person was a friend of Zhang Gonggong. He was speaking with someone else when he heard the commotion.

When he saw Zhang Gonggong draw his weapon, he rushed over to intervene.

After all, fighting was prohibited during this gathering. Anyone who dared to attack would provoke everyone present, and the consequences would be severe.

Zhang Gonggong was so enraged that his only desire was to kill Long Chen. He had entirely forgotten about this rule. He pointed at Long Chen and yelled, “Brat, if you have the courage, come with me, and we will fight to the death!”

Normally, Long Chen would have simply slapped this kind of idiot. However, he found this provocation so juvenile and amusing that he couldn’t even feel anger.

“It is forbidden to cause a ruckus here!”

At that moment, an elder with a cold expression appeared. When he saw Zhang Gonggong clutching his back and Long Chen nearby, his face darkened.

“Senior, we’re all friends! It’s just a joke. Just a joke!” said the man holding Zhang Gonggong.

He quickly forced a fake smile, signaling something to the elder.

The elder in charge was an acquired Divine Sovereign. If anyone broke the rules, he had the authority to expel them. As a result, even the heavenly geniuses of the current era dared not run rampant here. If they were expelled, according to the rules, their sect would be barred from attending for the next ten years. Not being allowed to attend was one thing, but the loss of face was even worse.

“If it was a joke, why does he have a handprint on his face?” the elder asked, clearly reluctant to give this man face.

Seeing Long Chen being questioned, Chi Yutong stepped forward to clarify. However, Long Chen interrupted, saying, “It was a misunderstanding. Brother Zhang bet me that his face was bigger than my hand. He refused to accept the truth and tried to smash his face into my hand, and the evidence shows I was correct. Everyone can see that my hand is indeed larger than his face.”

Chi Yutong nearly lost control and chuckled at how earnestly Long Chen spouted such nonsense. She quickly turned away.

The elder looked at Long Chen with confusion but understood that anyone attending this gathering was no ordinary figure. He didn’t want to offend them for nothing.

Still, if he didn’t warn them, they would not take the rules seriously. If more trouble happened later, he would be blamed.

The elder turned to Zhang Gonggong and asked, “You tell me, is this true?”

Zhang Gonggong looked like he had just swallowed a dead rat, but he gritted his teeth and nodded.

“Then why are you holding your bow?”

The elder clearly was not willing to let them off so easily.

“Uh... that...” Zhang Gonggong didn’t know what to say.

Long Chen quickly said, “His bow is inscribed with runes that can accurately measure lengths. He wanted to measure my hand and his face to see who was winning the bet.”

“Did I ask you?!” raged the elder.

Long Chen shrugged, as if implying he was only helping.

Chi Yutong’s shoulders trembled. She had not thought Long Chen had such a side.

“Is he saying the truth?!” demanded the elder.

Zhang Gonggong didn’t want to admit it, but he had no choice. He grimaced and spat out, “I suppose...”

“Is it true or not?! Answer me!” demanded the elder angrily.

“It’s true.”

To not be expelled, Zhang Gonggong could only swallow his curses and nod.

“Don’t repeat this nonsense!”

Seeing that he had managed to cow Zhang Gonggong, the elder ended the questioning.

Then, Chi Yutong put away her chariot and handed her invitation to the elder before entering with Long Chen.

Zhang Gonggong gloomily followed behind them, but he was stopped by the elder.

“What the fuck?! They can go in, but I can’t?!” Zhang Gonggong raged.

“Clean up your face first. Shout again, and I’ll expel you!” the elder shouted back.

If Zhang Gonggong were to go in like this, he would become a laughingstock. The elder kindly warned him of this, but this fellow actually dared to argue.

Only then did Zhang Gonggong realize that the handprint wasn’t gone. He quickly healed it. After that, he gritted his teeth and walked in.

Long Chen and Chi Yutong stepped through the spatial gate. The path suddenly widened, revealing three routes to different locations.

Chi Yutong led Long Chen along the left path. They quickly arrived at a large plaza, and Long Chen saw countless booths.

“This is a marketplace for rare treasures. Don’t underestimate it. Major factions come here to acquire treasures they can’t use themselves to obtain something they need,” said Chi Yutong.

This entire place looked more like a bazaar, so Chi Yutong helpfully clarified that these were not just ordinary items.

“Yutong...!”

Just then, a pleasantly surprised voice rang out.