Jiang Chen's Evil Golden Eye grew ever more potent as his own cultivation advanced. That single glance just now had nearly shaken loose Zhuang Min's composure.
Still, Jiang Chen never expected that single look to subdue his opponent outright. All he needed was a moment's hesitation.
And that single moment was exactly what he got. In the blink of an eye, his eight statue puppets sprang into the fray, surrounding Zhuang Min on all sides.
Eight Desolations Spirit-Capturing Formation — attack mode, activate!
The eight statue puppets charged with ferocious momentum, launching a frenzied barrage at Zhuang Min.
Fortunately, Zhuang Min's defense was solid indeed. He weathered the puppets' mad-dog assault without so much as flinching, showing no sign of strain whatsoever.
Zhuang Min spread all ten fingers and slapped four times with each hand. Four water droplets swelled into bubbles that fused together, cascading downward like a waterfall of molten glass — enveloping all eight statue puppets within its shimmering curtain.
Zhuang Min was attempting to use this Water Screen Prison to pin down all eight puppets at once.
Jiang Chen's lips curled into a smile at the sight.
As long as his opponent relied on water-attribute divine abilities, Jiang Chen could dismiss them without a second thought. The last time he had been trapped within a Water Screen Prison, it wasn't his own power that freed him — it was Long Xiaoxuan's secret intervention.
Now Long Xiaoxuan remained hidden in concealment, tucked away within Jiang Chen so seamlessly that even the Seven Great Emperors would fail to detect its presence.
Moreover, though they could faintly sense a wisp of dragon bloodline aura, they had always attributed it to Jiang Chen himself. After all, in previous battles he had already displayed numerous divine abilities of the True Dragon — the Dragon's Roar, Devouring…
The Dragon's Roar was genuinely a divine ability Jiang Chen had mastered. As for Devouring, he did not yet meet the cultivation requirements for it in any regard.
The eight veils of water were torn apart as if by invisible hands, vanishing without a trace.
This finally rattled Zhuang Min. His greatest expertise and deepest pride lay in water-attribute divine abilities. They left few openings, and while their destructive output wasn't overwhelmingly fierce, they made for an exceptionally sturdy defense that was extremely difficult for opponents to breach.
But today was anything but normal.
This Alchemist Zhen seemed to possess a natural counter to his water-attribute techniques. Even after infusing his domain power — the might of the Royal Realm — it had made no difference whatsoever.
"What manner of freak is this Alchemist Zhen? My domain power may not be the strongest, but merged into the Water Screen Prison it should multiply its effectiveness many times over. How is this kid tearing through my domain force as though it were nothing? Is my domain really that fragile? That easy to break apart?"
Zhuang Min grew anxious. In past encounters with other geniuses, this water-attribute domain power had proven remarkably effective. Even many geniuses ranked well above him had failed to penetrate his steady, four-cornered defense.
So why was it that Alchemist Zhen seemed to crush his water-attribute techniques with trivial ease?
This couldn't go on.
The reason Royal Realm experts were formidable — the reason they held an overwhelming advantage over Saint Realm cultivators — came down fundamentally to possessing Royal Realm domain power. If his domain was useless, then this fight was in serious jeopardy.
Zhuang Min refused to believe it. Though everything about this situation screamed something was off, he couldn't accept defeat so easily.
"This kid must have some heaven-defying treasure that naturally counters my water-attribute abilities. Otherwise, how could a mere Saint Realm genius possibly break through my Royal Realm domain?"
A first-level Royal Realm genius's domain might not be perfectly stable, but wielding domain power was still incomparably superior to fighting without it.
Zhuang Min unleashed wave after wave of Water Screen defenses, only to have each one shredded by that mysterious force time and again.
Before long, Zhuang Min was burning with frustration.
He still held one trump card in reserve. He had originally planned to save it for challenging those ranked higher. But at this point, if he didn't use it now, he might not even survive this round.
Zhuang Min's hesitation didn't last long, because the eight statue puppets' attacks grew ever more refined, and the might of the Eight Desolations Spirit-Capturing Formation continued to escalate.
Once his Water Screen defenses proved ineffective, Zhuang Min could only rely on his movement techniques to dodge. But trying to outmaneuver a formation with footwork alone was clearly a losing proposition.
After all, there were eight puppets and only one of him.
Three fists are no match for four hands — the most rudimentary truth of the martial world.
Zhuang Min was struck repeatedly by the puppets, though his physical cultivation far exceeded that of a half-step Royal Realm expert, so the blows he absorbed weren't lethal.
Still, he understood better than anyone that if he kept hesitating, he would eventually be ground down to nothing.
"Forget it — I'll just get through this round first."
Being backed into this corner was clearly beyond what Zhuang Min had anticipated. He had assumed his Royal Realm domain would let him crush his opponent with ease.
He never expected that in the end, he would be the one getting crushed.
Down below the stage, Zhuang Min's brother Zhuang Jie stared with his jaw hanging open, gaping at Grand Emperor Azure Sea. Unable to help himself, he asked, "Your Majesty, this Alchemist Zhen… does he… does he have some heaven-defying cheating artifact? My brother's domain power can't even hold him?"
Grand Emperor Azure Sea replied coldly, "In the martial world, geniuses always stumble upon all manner of fortuitous encounters. Whether or not he possesses some heaven-defying treasure, a trial on the stage is ultimately decided by the outcome."
The implication was clear — and not entirely pleased.