Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)

It was a middle-aged man in gray clothes. His facial features were delicate, with a beard and mustache, and he looked to be around forty.

Also, his clothes were shabby and definitely weren’t high quality. Yet, he gave off a feeling of being washed and clean. Although he was no longer young, he simply gave off the aura of a mature man.

However, his gaze was rather apathetic, and it seemed that nothing could draw his attention. He gave off a feeling of being so lofty that he wasn’t easy to get along with.

The most shocking thing about him though was his concealed aura. Even those two fourth Heavenstage World Kings felt their hearts shaking, enduring immense pressure. Both of them then got closer to Yu Qingxuan, afraid of something happening to her.

That person’s gaze swept across everyone and somehow settled on Long Chen. After that, unexpectedly, he bowed slightly toward Long Chen.

“I am Xu Zhuzi. May I ask for sir’s great name?”

Everyone was shocked. This expert from the Wine God Palace was actually so courteous to a little Divine Lord.

“Senior is too courteous. This junior is Long Chen. Greetings, senior.” Long Chen returned his bow with a smile. Excellent. There was no need for him to go looking. Feng Xiang had helped him.

“Then I won’t stand on courtesy. Someone sent a photographic jade, saying that someone was judging my Pear Flower Wine. I didn’t dare to tarry and immediately came to hear your pointers. Mister Long Chen said that using rootless water in my wine was a mistake, and I should use morning dew. But I do not understand. Morning dew contains the qi of vegetation and wood. Using it to make the Pear Flower Wine will definitely affect its richness and mellowness. I tried it many times, but no matter how careful I was, it would still affect the taste. Does mister have any guidance for me?” asked Xu Zhuzi.

“Senior’s name is good, and it’s not just for show. You really do have a spacious, accepting heart, willing to ask and learn from others.^[1] It’s admirable. In truth, the majority of morning dew contains the qi of vegetation and wood. This taste is sweet, light, and contains a bit of bitterness. In my opinion, it is this trace of bitterness that can give your wine greater flavor. This is based on the principle of perfection appears flawed. Senior’s Pear Flower Wine seeks to be excessively perfect, resulting in it instead being coarse. The five colors blind the eyes, the five tones deafen the ears, the five flavors fill the mouth with delight. Other than the five colors, the five tones, and the five flavors, there must be other colors, other tones, and other flavors. Otherwise, heaven and earth would not be complete, and there would be nothing to use as a mirror.

“It is when the Heavenly Daos are complete that there is a clash of positive and negative, tall and short, big and small, Yin and Yang. Senior’s Pear Flower Wine is almost perfect but is lacking a slight bitterness. Without bitterness, there can be no sweetness. Without experiencing something easy, you don’t know what difficult is. Without the tiny streams, there would be no mighty rivers. Without the earth, how could you look up at the heavens? These are just my random thoughts, and if you feel like I have misspoken, please forgive this junior.” Long Chen bowed slightly.

The current him didn’t seem to possess the slightest air of youth. Instead, he seemed like a wise and erudite master as he spoke frankly and with assurance, his words overflowing with the profundities of the heavens. Everyone was startled.

Yu Qingxuan had a strange light in her beautiful eyes. With time, she felt that Long Chen was very mysterious. Just what was in his head? How did he know so much?

Let alone her, even the two World Kings felt like their mental realms had instantly grown clearer after hearing him say this. Some questions that they had never managed to answer now seemed to become clear.

Previously, Long Chen had mentioned that he was a Heaven Master. Back then, Yu Qingxuan half-believed him, thinking that he might just be joking with her. But now, she found that he really might be a Heaven Master.

It had to be known that amongst the major sects and powers, Heaven Masters were people of great prestige and wisdom. They were seniors who had spent their entire lives studying and learning.

When people thought of Heaven Masters, they would think of those old, white-haired fellows. Thus, everyone had treated Long Chen’s previous words as a joke. But now, the principles that he spoke took their breaths away.

Xu Zhuzi nodded after hearing this. “Mister Long Chen is too right. Back in the day, I brought my Pear Flower Wine as an offering to a senior to judge. That senior merely gave me four words: warm start, cold end. At that time, I thought that he was praising me, saying that I had controlled the heat perfectly, that I had used its cold and cool qi just right. Thinking back, I really was foolish.”

“Warm start, cold end? Bitter finish, sweet beginning?” Yu Qingxuan suddenly couldn’t help blurting out such a thing.

Xu Zhuzi turned to Yu Qingxuan. “Young beautiful miss, you truly are wise. You instantly understood the deeper meaning behind these words. I myself didn’t understand at all. It is only thanks to mister Long Chen’s pointers today that I thought of that senior’s evaluation. I truly am ashamed. That senior meant the same thing as mister Long Chen, that this Pear Flower Wine was lacking a trace of bitterness, resulting in it being flowery but lacking any fruitiness. It is not the true Dao. To think that I actually gave this wine away to others. I’m truly ashamed.”

Xu Zhuzi’s praise delighted Yu Qingxuan. It had to be known that all the Wine God Palace’s people had odd characters. To obtain the approval of such a figure was something worthy of being proud of.

“Senior is too humble. This Pear Flower Wine can already be counted as top grade amongst wines. I was so bold as to give some criticism because I wanted to draw you over. To tell you the truth, this junior was friends with the Wine God Palace back in the mortal world. I received the Wine God Palace’s aid several times, which is the only reason I survived. Junior has always had gratitude for the Wine God Palace. Other than that, truthfully, ever since I ascended, I haven’t had any good wine to drink, because… Hehe, you understand,” laughed Long Chen.

“Hahaha!” Xu Zhuzhi laughed. “Treasured blades go to heroes, pretty makeup goes to beauties, and fine wine naturally can only go to those who understand wine. Brother Long Chen, why don’t you take a trip with me to the Wine God Palace? As long as you are willing to judge the wines and pick out their flaws, my Wine God Palace will have an endless supply of fine wine for you to take.”

Hearing that Long Chen was closely connected to the Wine God Palace in the lower world, Xu Zhuzi instantly seemed to become a different person. He was no longer so aloof and actually switched to calling Long Chen brother.

As a master of the Wine Dao, his mental realm was definitely frighteningly high. No one could lie or pretend to be an expert in front of him.

The Wine God Palace’s experts all disliked those hypocritical people who would lie to them. Thus, rarely anyone could get in contact with them.

However, once they did recognize someone, they would view that person as being on their side. This was something that Long Chen had long since experienced on the Martial Heaven Continent. Thus, when he saw someone from the Wine God Palace, he naturally felt close to him.

Seeing all this, Feng Xiang and the others were enraged. They had stealthily sent word to the Wine God Palace to make them cause trouble for Long Chen.

However, they hadn’t expected these two to instantly become friends as soon as they met. He even invited Long Chen to be a guest of the Wine God Palace. Where was the justice in that? Every time they fought with Long Chen, they ended up losing. Now, it was a complete loss.

Before this, they could mock Long Chen’s origins. But now, the Wine God Palace actually invited him to taste their fine wines. Just that alone was something that countless people would dream of but would never be able to touch.

“To go to the Wine God Palace to taste their fine wines is something that I would love. However, I want to bring a friend as well. Is that alright?”

Long Chen looked at Yu Qingxuan, causing her to instantly smile widely, while the others’ expressions sank.

^[1] There is an expression close to his name referring to a spacious, accepting heart.