Long Chen woke suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
His gaze, deep as the stars, flickered with newfound power. His body, which had endured annihilation itself, no longer felt pain—instead, he felt something foreign yet powerful flowing within him.
"The Law of Annihilation," Long Chen whispered. "I've devoured it."
Within his Jiuli Divine Rune, a small but undeniable trace of the Heaven's Will of Annihilation resided. Though it was but a fraction of its original might, it was now his to wield.
As he sat up, he finally noticed the woman watching him intently. She had a look of surprise, awe, and something akin to wariness.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice carrying an ethereal grace.
Long Chen smiled. "My name is Long Chen. And you?"
"…Yue Xiaoqian."
At her name, Long Chen's smile widened. He muttered under his breath, "Finally, I've found you."
Yue Xiaoqian narrowed her eyes. "You…you're not one of the bad people, are you? My mother warned me about people from the outer world. She said they lie, deceive, and harm others especially men who look good and take benefits of a woman."
Long Chen chuckled, his mischievous side taking over. "Of course, I'm a bad person. And right now, I'm going to do something bad to you."
Hearing this, Yue Xiaoqian gasped, her face turning red with anger. She instinctively waved her hand, sending a powerful force towards Long Chen, launching him into the cave wall.
"Ahhh!" Long Chen groaned as he crashed.
Meanwhile, Yue Xiaoqian herself let out a surprised yelp, clutching her hand in pain. She had used too much force, not realizing Long Chen's physical body was absurdly strong.
"You—!" She stomped her foot, eyes glistening with misty tears. "Why did I even help you?! You wasted my Tier 7 Golden Pill! Do you know how precious that was?!"
Long Chen, rubbing his head, realized his joke had gone too far. He quickly raised his hands in surrender. "Wait, wait! I was kidding! I'm not actually a bad guy!"
"Hmph!" Yue Xiaoqian turned her head away.
Then, Long Chen's eyes gleamed with curiosity. He lowered his voice and asked, "You're from the Original Devil Race, aren't you?"
Hearing those words, Yue Xiaoqian's body tensed. Her aura instantly changed, her vigilance rising to the peak.
But before she could react, Long Chen continued, "You don't have to be so wary. I have no ill intentions. After all…I am a Nine Star Heir."
At those words, Long Chen circulated the Nine Star Will, and an overwhelming power surged from his body. The moment Yue Xiaoqian felt that energy, her reverence for him was instinctual—as if it had been carved into her very soul.
Her wary expression shifted to shock, then to uncertainty. "A Nine Star Heir…? You…you are the descendant of the Nine Star God -- a member of Nine Star Line?"
Long Chen nodded.
Yue Xiaoqian took a deep breath, then bowed slightly. "…Then, our fates are intertwined."
Without wasting time, the two of them set off toward the Abyss of Fiends, a land of deadly Devil Beasts. Yue Xiaoqian needed Devil Cores, and Long Chen agreed to help.
As they ventured deeper, she was left in absolute shock—Long Chen was hunting Peak Xuantian Realm Devil Beasts bare-handed. He crushed the skulls of the Two-Winged Devil Wraith Skeletons, absorbing their energy for Yue Xiaoqian to refine.
Soon, they discovered a peculiar skeleton, one far smaller than the others but radiating an ancient presence.
Long Chen approached, dripping a drop of blood onto it.
Boom!
The skeleton trembled and suddenly awakened.
Its hollow eyes burned with ancient power as it spoke. "Are you of the Barbarian Race?"
Long Chen replied, "No, but I just carry their bloodline in this bottle."
The skeleton's aura intensified. "Then how dare you wield the blood of the Barbarian Race?"
In response, Long Chen activated his Nine Star Human Body Art and unleashed the Nine Star Will. The skeleton immediately bowed in reverence.
"I beg forgiveness, Nine Star Heir. I did not know."
Long Chen nodded. "No need for formalities. But tell me, what is your name?"
The skeleton paused before answering, "In my past life, I was known as Zhu Yan, the War Saint of the War Sage Barbarian Race."
Long Chen then revealed something shocking. The Barbarian Race still existed, and one of their bloodline had existed.
Zhu Yan was silent for a long moment before finally whispering, "To think…our bloodline still survives…"
Then, Long Chen asked for help from Elder Zhu Yan who easily crushed Foundation Forging Realm Winged Devils leaving Devil Cores for Xiaoqian while revealing something even greater—he had discovered a Dragon Scale.
Upon seeing it, Yue Xiaoqian was stunned.
Long Chen smirked. "Not just that. This scale is the key to meeting my Fourth master."
"Fourth master?" Zhu Yan inquired.
Long Chen smiled and replied, "My first master was the Nine Star Master. My third master was Pill Emperor Ranked Alchemist Master Yun. And now, my fourth master is the Primal Chaos Dragon Sovereign."
Long Chen spoke four words:
"Primal Chaos Dragon Sovereign."
Yue Xiaoqian gasped. "You mean…the Ruler of all beast race's leader--Dragon Race's God!!?? That Dragon Sovereign?!"
Long Chen nodded stating, "Is there any else Dragon Sovereign??"
Their eyes widened in shock. The Green Dragon Reverse Scale... it was that of the almighty and revered Primal Chaos Dragon Sovereign and not to mention in a Mortal World like this... No... As a fragment of Mother Star it may contain some Ancient Legacies boh, Yue Xiaoqian and Zhu Yan nodded thoughtfully.
Silence filled the cavern before Zhu Yan finally spoke. "You… are truly a legend in the making."
Long Chen sat cross-legged as the Dragon Scale floating before him, trembling as it emanated Divine, Pure, Serene and Primal Energy. It was not just an ordinary artifact; it carried the lingering consciousness of a Primal Chaos Dragon Sovereign—
The moment Long Chen tried to refine it, a terrifying force erupted from within.
"Insolent being, you dare challenge me?"
A voice thundered through the void, carrying the weight of endless ages. Suddenly, the space around him cracked, and he found himself pulled into an unfamiliar realm—a domain shrouded in primal chaos energy.
A gigantic dragon's eye, vast enough to engulf entire continents, opened in the depths of the abyss. It was ancient, indifferent, and unfathomable. Compared to it, planets seemed like mere specks of dust.
"Hmm? A mere ant wishes to refine my will? Hah, foolishness!"
Long Chen smirked. He had encountered countless domineering spirits before, all of whom believed themselves to be invincible.
He cracked his knuckles, his voice laced with amusement. "Listen here, oversized lizard. You think just because you're old, you're powerful? Let me tell you something. I've fought demons, gods, and heaven itself. Compared to them, you're just a particularly stubborn rock."
The Dragon Scale's Will roared, releasing a wave of immense pressure. The space around Long Chen trembled, threatening to crush him. But instead of cowering, he yawned.
"Really? That's your big move? I expected something cooler—maybe a fiery explosion? Some dragon breath? Y'know, something dramatic?"
The ancient will, for the first time in untold millennia, paused.
Long Chen's shamelessness was an anomaly it had never encountered before. He was supposed to either submit or be crushed—not mock it like a street vendor haggling over fish prices.
But this was Long Chen.
The more he fought, the stronger he became. His Nine Star Hegemon Body Art erupted, sending through the abyss. The Dragonscale's will howled as his soul force clashed against it, shaking its very foundation.
It was a brutal contest of willpower—Long Chen's indomitable will against the ancient remnant of a long-dead Primordial Dragon. The scale struggled, resisting with all its might, but with every taunt, every unyielding surge of energy, Long Chen's presence grew stronger.
Finally, with a single punch, concentrating all of his prowess-- Long Chen shattered the resistance of the Dragon Scale's Manifestation. The Primal Chaos Dragon God's (God --> Sovereign) lingering Will's Conscient soul collapsed, its remnants fading into oblivion.
The battle was over. The scale now belonged to him.
But just as he was about to refine it away, a deep voice rumbled from the abyss, shaking the very fabric of space.
A vast shadow loomed over him.
And then, he saw it.
An entity so large that it defied logic.
Its eyes alone were larger than entire planetary continents, glowing with the wisdom of untold eons. Each gaze carried the very laws of the universe.
Long Chen had faced celestial will of heavens before but this... this was different.
This was the Primal Chaos Dragon Sovereign/God.
A being that had existed before the concept of time itself.
"You are an interesting one, human," the Sovereign's voice rumbled, each syllable causing the void to ripple. "To think you could defeat the will of my scale's Will and the Mqnifestation reinforced by Primal Chaos Essence (Highly Condensed Primal Chaos Energy). Tell me, do you know what you have just done?"
Long Chen stretched lazily, completely unbothered. "Yeah, yeah. Beat the crap out of some stubborn will. What of it?"
A moment of silence.
Then, the void itself seemed to shake with an unseen sigh.
"Arrogant."
Long Chen grinned. "I prefer 'confident.'"
The Dragon Sovereign narrowed his cosmic eyes. "If I wished, I could erase your entire existence with but a thought."
Long Chen shrugged. "Yeah, but you won't."
Another pause.
"And why is that?"
"Because," Long Chen smirked, "I'm too fun to kill."
For the first time in eternity, the Dragon Sovereign found himself... speechless.
In his entire existence, countless beings had trembled before him—prostrated themselves in worship, begged for mercy, or challenged him in foolish arrogance.
But this brat?
He was mocking him.
The Dragon Sovereign's colossal eyes stared at Long Chen, then... he simply closed them.
"This is a waste of time."
And just like that, the unimaginable entity faded back into the depths of the starry abyss, returning to his eternal slumber chained while Long Chen sighed with pity.
Long Chen snorted. "Typical. You lose an argument, so you just go to sleep."
To Be Continued...