The top twelve in the Ranking of Young Lords were all emperor realm geniuses. Zhuang Min was a feminine name, but the person was not the least bit feminine. He was a very meticulous and far-looking strategist. His wits were only complemented by his power, making him heads above his younger brother in strength. His younger brother viewed this battle as a chance for revenge, but Zhuang Min was able to keep his calm. He wasnât arrogant, nor did he think that heâd definitely win due to his emperor realm cultivation.
No. He was being extremely cautious instead. Heâd been paying close attention to the pill king ever since his brother had been eliminated. The closer he tried to look, the more mysterious the pill king became. He couldnât afford to underestimate the enemy even though he was already an emperor realm cultivator.
âNext match, Pill King Zhen versus Zhuang Min! Please take your places in the arena!â
Zhuang Min leaped from his seat and landed on the arena after the judgeâs announcement. Jiang Chen followed suit and climbed up the stairs to the arena. Jiang Chen already knew that Zhuang Min was Zhuang Jieâs elder brother, and that Zhuang Min was at the first level emperor realm.
It was common knowledge that a first level emperor was at least twice as strong as a half-step emperor. It wasnât difficult for a first level emperor to defeat two half-step emperors. In fact, three might not pose a problem either. However, one couldnât just rely on theory alone to measure oneâs winning chances in a martial dao exchange.
Jiang Chen felt a glare as soon as he stepped into the arena. The glare contained a strange intent within it. It was like a formless air current, making him feel as if he were walking inside of water. There was an invisible force hindering his movements. Hmm? Since Zhuang Jie had an innate water constitution, his older brother Zhuang Min must have the same bloodline as well. Can it be...
He instantly realized that his opponent was trying to put on airs. Thankfully, Jiang Chen was no longer a weakling that could be shoved around by others. He criculated his inner energy throughout his body. The speed of his footsteps increased instead of slowing down.
Zhuang Min remained calm when he noticed that Jiang Chen had broken through his Oscillating Ripple technique. Heâd only wanted to show his superiority through his technique, not take down his enemy. It was impossible that the opponent could eliminate his brother if he couldnât even handle such a basic ability. His blue eyes were like deep chasms. It made him seem extremely nefarious. He stared at Jiang Chen meaningfully and gave a half smile. âPill King Zhen, Iâm surprised that youâve made it this far. I believe you know who I am. Do you still think that you have a chance to win?â
Jiang Chen understood that his opponent was only attempting to attack his heart. He smiled back faintly without the slightest hint of fear. âI will only know that after a fight. If I can defeat your younger brother, Iâm sure I can do the same to you.â
âHahaha!â Zhuang Jie burst into raucous laughter. âI bet youâve yet to realize the disparity between a half-step emperor and a true emperor!â He nodded before continuing. âIf thatâs the case, then let me put an end to your consecutive victory streak! Iâll admit that youâre a dark horse in this tournament, but everyone knows that a dark horse never makes it to the end!â
Jiang Chenâs dao heart was already as solid as a boulder. A few jeering words from Zhuang Min would never work on him. He snorted with laughter. âZhuang Min! You might have a slightly higher cultivation than your brother, but you are truly no match for him in the art of ridicule!â
At their level, the confrontation between words was no longer mere childâs play. It was an intense conflict for superiority.
Zhuang Min wasnât depressed when he failed to gain the upper hand. All he did was smile noncommittally and applauded. âIâm impressed. What a sharp tongue.â A hint of arrogance appeared in his eyes. âSince youâve challenged me, Iâll let you make the first three moves.â
He was truly making full use of the situation. Heâd shown his magnanimity as an emperor realm genius by giving his opponent the first few moves. It was also a way for him to deride and trample on his opponent.
Jiang Chen grinned when he heard this and didnât back down. âOnly three moves? How miserly! How about this? Iâll give you the first ten moves!â
Zhuang Minâs face darkened and his brow arched. âHow delusional.â
Jiang Chen laughed. âNot true. My mind is clearer than ever before. Make your move! Ten moves was what I said, so ten moves is what Iâll give! However, thatâs under the assumption that you can make it past ten moves.â
âSuch arrogance!â A hint of rage had appeared in Zhuang Minâs eyes despite his calm demeanor.
The arena had fallen silent. The audience couldnât believe their ears.
âPill King Zhen is letting Zhuang Min make the first ten moves? Is he for real? It doesnât sound like a joke.â
âIt doesnât matter if heâs serious! It takes great courage to provoke an emperor realm genius!â
âAn eighth level sage realm cultivator is giving an emperor realm genius ten moves? Only the pill king is capable of saying such a thing.â
âThatâs true. No other sage realm genius in Veluriyam Capital is capable of this except for the pill king.â
âTsk tsk. I truly am impressed by his audacity.â The crowd was hot in discussion.
Zhuang Min was genuinely tempted. His instincts were telling him to make a move. However, logic stopped him dead in his tracks. If he won after accepting his opponentâs offer, people were going to say that heâd taken advantage of the situation. He wanted to win, but didnât want to have a flawed victory. A grave expression appeared. âPill King Zhen, Iâm worried that youâll no longer have a chance to make your own move after Iâve made mine.â
Jiang Chen smiled. âIs that so?
âWant to try?â Zhuang Min replied coldly.
âI donât see why not? Give me your best shot!â Jiang Chen retorted confidently.
Zhuang Jie nodded angrily. He lifted his hands and started flicking his fingers. Whoosh! The sound of rushing water appeared out of the thin air. Steam began to appear in between his fingers. It transformed into strange, transparent water droplets upon touching the air. The water droplets began to bounce around the air like tiny marbles. The transparent marbles flew rapidly through the air, sealing off the area.
Jiang Chen was slightly bewildered by the sight before his eyes. However, his instincts told him that these werenât ordinary water droplets. He brandished his sword and summoned multiple torrents of air currents to disrupt this motion. Sword light emerged wherever the sword traveled to and shot towards the water droplets.
These water droplets were incredibly strange. They deflected any light they came in contact with, deforming slightly and then bouncing away. They were like indestructible marbles that possessed very strange trajectories. The sword didnât seem to affect them in any way. A barrage of sword intent was able to knock them off their trajectory, but it wasnât able to thoroughly destroy them. Whenever Jiang Chen slightly slackened his sword intent, the water droplets deviated from their trajectory and shot straight towards him.
Zhuang Minâs fingers were moving nonstop while this was happening, creating even more tiny water droplets. The arena was soon filled with thousands of flying water droplets that were incredibly difficult to see with the naked eye.
There was no order or rhythm to their trajectory. Jiang Chen was in a difficult spot. All he could do was try to deflect the droplets with his sword aura. Their trajectories were simply too chaotic. His âReverse Heaven and Earthâ wasnât able to effectively disrupt their trajectory. It was like pushing water uphill with a rake. His feet suddenly sank into the ground. A fist-sized water drop had landed on his feet. It was so monstrously sticky that itâd stuck his feet to the ground. His heart sank. He tried moving a little, but even more water swarmed towards him and stuck to his right foot. Water drops continued to swarm towards his arm, shoulder, and didnât stop until his entire body was enveloped.
The water drops seemed inseparable. They continued to congregate until they became a veil of water. Jiang Chen had seen someone use a similar water cloak technique when he visited the wood spirit spring. Wei Wudao, an elder from the Walkabout Sect of Myriad Domain, had used a Skywater Talisman to form an aqueous prison. However, Wei Wudaoâs Skywater Talisman was much weaker than the one Jiang Chen was currently facing.
Back then, heâd used his Bewitching Lotus of Fire and Ice to tunnel into the ground and escaped from the imprisonment. Zhuang Minâs Waterveil Prison was incredibly formidable. Water continued flooding towards Jiang Chen. His entire body was soon enveloped by its mysterious power. Escaping by tunneling into the ground was out of the equation since there was no gap in the water.
The power of water origin operated on very mysterious laws. It was as though it could permeate into the body and form a mysterious power of enchainment. Jiang Chenâs body suddenly felt a thousand times heavier. He couldnât break free from the water imprisonment no matter how hard he tried to struggle.
Zhuang Min smiled with both his hands linked behind his back. It was as though heâd already won. He stared upon his creation with a big delightful smile on his face. Zhuang Jie was celebrating below the arena as well. He was obviously very liberated by the scene. So what if the pill king is a dark horse? So what if heâs ranked 17th? Heâs nothing but a bug when facing the domain of an emperor realm expert! The emperorâs domain rules over all! The audience had begun to lose hope. In the end, even the greatest genius was helpless when facing such a great discrepancy in cultivation.