The power of the Fire God Gauntlet erupted fully.
Fist path rules wove through the flames like spider silk, though it was just one fist, it unleashed a fiery cloud larger than a palace.
The sky crackled and roared.
In close combat, Gongzi Yan’s reaction speed clearly lagged far behind Zhang Ruochen’s, despite his Seven-Step Saint King realm, he couldn’t dodge.
However, the fist’s force slowed three zhang from Gongzi Yan, giving him time to deploy a defence.
He raised a circular shield, clashing with Zhang Ruochen’s punch.
“Rumble.”
The explosive fist force jolted Gongzi Yan, sending him flying back dozens of li, crashing into the ground and leaving a massive crater.
His shield, a Great Saint ancient artifact, boasted formidable defence, capable of rebounding or redirecting force.
Even so, Gongzi Yan’s palms throbbed with pain.
A gash split his tiger’s mouth, crimson saint blood trickling out.
“Just a Four-Step Saint King, how can his strength be this immense?” Gongzi Yan gritted his teeth, convinced Zhang Ruochen had hidden his true cultivation, playing the pig to eat the tiger.
Unbeknownst to him, Zhang Ruochen had spent vast time honing his fist techniques and physical body.
Gongzi Yan might outrank him in cultivation, but in physical prowess and martial arts, he was leagues behind.
Disappointment flickered in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, he thought, “Pity, Gongzi Yan wears Time-Space Agate, within three zhang, time slows twofold, and a small chaotic space forms.”
Without the agate’s effect, that punch might’ve crippled Gongzi Yan.
Gongzi Yan unleashed eight Space Exquisite Spheres, they floated in eight directions, spinning slowly, turning a dozens-of-zhang radius into a vortex of chaotic, turbulent space.
Any cultivator entering this vortex would face spatial suppression.
With this trump card, Gongzi Yan’s confidence surged, he called out, “Zhang Ruochen, what realm has your cultivation reached?”
“You’re not worthy to know.”
Zhang Ruochen used a Great Spatial Shift, appearing opposite Gongzi Yan, he unfurled the Eight Dragon Umbrella, sending eight golden dragons charging at him.
“Roar!”
The dragons radiated thick saintly force, their might like mountains toppling seas.
But entering the spatial vortex, the eight dragons spiralled around it, failing to strike Gongzi Yan.
He laughed, “With the eight Space Exquisite Spheres, any attack you send dissolves into nothing, I only use them against Nine-Step Saint Kings, you should feel proud I’m using them on you!”
Suddenly, Gongzi Yan drove the massive vortex off the ground, rushing at Zhang Ruochen.
Soil and stones whipped up, spinning wildly, emitting shrill whistles.
The area darkened, shrouded in gloom.
The eight Space Exquisite Spheres were no trifling spatial treasures, Zhang Ruochen felt immense pressure, if sucked into the vortex, even as a spatial controller, he’d be at a severe disadvantage.
Phantom images of a luan and phoenix emerged beneath his feet, he retreated swiftly.
“Still trying to run? Take them back.”
Gongzi Yan wielded spatial power, sending the eight golden dragons from the vortex hurtling back at Zhang Ruochen.
“Rumble.”
“Rumble.”
…
Eight blasts struck the ground, carving bottomless pits, shattering the earth.
To onlookers, Gongzi Yan held the upper hand, forcing Zhang Ruochen into peril, seemingly moments from crushing him.
Thus, the Paradise Realm Saint Kings focused on besieging the Kunlun Realm cultivators, none aiding Gongzi Yan.
Even the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady deemed Zhang Ruochen’s situation dire.
Retrieving her silver cleaver, she rushed to their battlefield, striking with a palm that unleashed a cloud of Pure Extinction Divine Fire.
Inherited from the Ice-Fire Phoenix, her Pure Extinction Divine Fire, bolstered by absorbed legacy power, neared the potency of Ministerial Flame.
“Overreaching.”
Gongzi Yan flicked a finger, a Space Exquisite Sphere shot out, piercing the fire cloud like paper with a “bang.”
A spatial shockwave burst from the sphere, striking the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady.
She summoned the Confucian Ancestor Saint Book, its pages releasing a sky of text that clashed with the shockwave.
“She blocked it!” Gongzi Yan muttered, surprised.
Retreating dozens of zhang, she steadied herself, using the book’s power to dispel the shockwave.
But then, two more Space Exquisite Spheres flew out.
Three spheres spun rapidly, colliding with the book, their force like three stars crashing down.
“Spurt!”
She coughed blood, flung back like a broken kite, her organs and meridians gravely injured.
Half-kneeling on the ground, blood dripped from her mouth, “Too strong! With the Space Exquisite Spheres, Gongzi Yan’s combat power rivals a Nine-Step Saint King, even together, Zhang Ruochen and I are no match.”
Gongzi Yan’s primary target was Zhang Ruochen, after repelling her, he resumed his assault, “Zhang Ruochen, don’t you have a spatial treasure? Why not use it? Oh right, it’s still suppressing the temple, useless now, heh heh.”
Zhang Ruochen retreated swiftly, dodging Gongzi Yan’s spatial attacks with supreme agility.
“Aren’t you the Heir of Time and Space? Why not fight me with spatial power, what’s the point of just running?” Fully dominating, Gongzi Yan laughed aloud.
Zhang Ruochen halted, drawing a purple divine stone, holding it in his palm, “Against you, I don’t need spatial power.”
“What did you say?”
Gongzi Yan’s gaze narrowed.
Zhang Ruochen replied, “I said, you’re not worthy of making me use spatial power.”
“Swish.”
The purple divine stone blazed with radiant light, transforming into a towering, majestic divine mountain, crystalline and translucent, as if forged from heavenly divine crystal.
Centred on the mountain, the space in this area locked.
The eight Space Exquisite Spheres around Gongzi Yan crashed to the ground.
The massive spatial vortex dissipated.
“This…”
Gongzi Yan stared at Zhang Ruochen, stunned.
How could he fathom a spatial controller locking space himself, wasn’t that self-sabotage?
As he reached for the fallen spheres, Zhang Ruochen descended fiercely from atop the mountain in a golden dragon chariot, slashing down with a sword.
Gongzi Yan abandoned the spheres, dodging right, striking with both palms.
“Rip.”
The Chenyuan Ancient Sword, infused with sword path qi, was unstoppable, slicing through his palm force, leaving a long gash from chest to abdomen.
Gongzi Yan glared at the saint blood oozing from his skin, fury blazing in his eyes.
“What’s wrong? Without spatial power, as a Seven-Step Saint King, is this all you’ve got?” Zhang Ruochen drove the chariot back, holding the Chenyuan coldly.
“Don’t get cocky, a Seven-Step Saint King is still a Seven-Step Saint King, I’ll crush you with realm alone.”
From that slash, Gongzi Yan deduced Zhang Ruochen hadn’t hidden his cultivation, he was indeed Four-Step Saint King, otherwise, he’d be dead, not just scratched.
“Cloud-Shaking Sea-Splitting Palm.”
Thick saint qi surged from Gongzi Yan, over ten thousand palm path rules flowed from each arm, the torrential palm force stirring the winds and clouds.
Unleashing over twenty thousand palm path rules at once was a feat only a Seven-Step Saint King could achieve.
Zhang Ruochen’s palm path rules numbered under two thousand, in a palm duel, he’d lose, the realm gap was vast.
“Surprising, you’ve actually mastered a saint-technique-level palm art,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Gongzi Yan smirked confidently, “With this palm technique, suppressing you shouldn’t be hard, right?”
Zhang Ruochen didn’t reply, his gaze calm.
As Gongzi Yan’s saint qi peaked, a sudden wave of weakness hit, like a deflating balloon, his aura fading.
“How can this be?”
His face paled, legs trembled, he struggled to stand.
The Chenyuan Ancient Sword bore time marks, that earlier slash, though only grazing Gongzi Yan, had imprinted time, slashing a century from his lifespan.
“Spurt.”
Zhang Ruochen swung, severing Gongzi Yan’s right hand.
He let out a low growl, blood gushing from his wrist like a spring.
“Spurt.”
A second swing took his other hand.
Fleeing from the mountain, Gongzi Yan roared, “Zhang Ruochen, what did you do to me?”
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze was icy, silent, but his killing intent surged with the chariot, closing in, terrifying Gongzi Yan as he teetered on death’s edge.
The Paradise Realm Saint Kings flinched, stunned by the swift reversal.
Moments ago, Gongzi Yan dominated, now he fled like a beaten dog, hands severed.
Zhang Ruochen wasn’t rushing to kill, merely chasing.
Gongzi Yan’s psyche must’ve been crumbling.
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady froze, doubting her eyes, “Zhang Ruochen’s just Four-Step Saint King, how can he make a Seven-Step Saint King spatial controller flee? Are all nine of us together less than him?”
