# Chapter 1754: Space Crystal Orbs
The power of the Flame God Fist Gloves erupted completely.
Fist Dao rules, like spider silk, interwove within the flames. It was clearly just a single fist, yet it produced a flame cloud larger than a palace.
The sky in that area crackled and exploded with loud sounds.
In close-quarters combat, Gongzi Yan's reaction speed was clearly far inferior to Zhang Ruochen's. Even with his Seven-Step Saint King cultivation, he could not evade.
However, when the fist force reached three zhang from Gongzi Yan, its impact speed slowed, buying him time to deploy defensive measures.
Gongzi Yan raised a circular shield, meeting Zhang Ruochen's incoming fist.
"Boom."
The explosive fist force shook Gongzi Yan's entire body, sending him flying backward for over ten miles before crashing to the ground, creating a massive crater.
The shield in his hand was a Great Saint ancient artifact with formidable defensive power, capable of both rebounding force and redirecting it sideways.
Even so, Gongzi Yan's palms ached as if they would split.
A crack opened at his tiger's mouth, spilling bright red Sacred Blood.
"A mere Four-Step Saint King—how can his power be so great?" Gongzi Yan gnashed his teeth in hatred, convinced that Zhang Ruochen must have concealed his true cultivation and had been playing the pig to eat the tiger all along.
He did not know that Zhang Ruochen had spent a tremendous amount of time cultivating his Fist Dao and physical body.
Gongzi Yan only surpassed Zhang Ruochen in cultivation realm; in terms of physical body and martial arts, he was far inferior by countless times.
A hint of disappointment appeared in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. He thought to himself: "What a pity. Gongzi Yan is wearing a Time-Space Agate. Within three zhang of the Time-Space Agate, time flow slows by half, and it creates a small chaotic space."
If not for the power of the Time-Space Agate, Zhang Ruochen's previous strike might have severely wounded Gongzi Yan.
Gongzi Yan took out eight Space Crystal Orbs and launched them, suspending them in eight directions. They rotated slowly, turning the surrounding dozens of zhang of space into a vortex, becoming chaotic and turbulent.
Any cultivator who stepped into the vortex formed by the eight Space Crystal Orbs would be suppressed by spatial force.
Having used this trump card, Gongzi Yan felt greatly reassured. He raised his voice: "Zhang Ruochen, what level has your cultivation actually reached?"
"You are not worthy of knowing."
Zhang Ruochen executed Great Space Teleportation, appearing opposite Gongzi Yan. He raised the Eight Dragon Umbrella and sent out eight golden dragons to attack him.
"Roar!"
The golden dragons emitted a thick Sacred force, possessing the might to overturn mountains and seas.
But upon entering the spatial vortex, the eight golden dragons began to revolve around the vortex instead of attacking Gongzi Yan.
Gongzi Yan laughed: "With the empowerment of the eight Space Crystal Orbs, any power you send against me will be dissolved into nothingness. In truth, I only use the Space Crystal Orbs when facing Nine-Step Saint Kings. Using them against you—you should feel proud!"
Suddenly, Gongzi Yan manipulated the massive spatial vortex, lifting it off the ground and charging toward Zhang Ruochen.
The earth and stones on the ground were also swept up, spinning and flying rapidly, producing piercing whistling sounds.
That area of the sky became dim and dark.
The eight Space Crystal Orbs were extraordinary space treasures. Zhang Ruochen felt immense pressure. If he were drawn into the spatial vortex, even as a Space Controller, he would likely be quite passive.
The phantom images of a luan bird and a phoenix appeared on Zhang Ruochen's legs as he rapidly retreated backward.
"Still trying to flee? I'll return this to you."
Gongzi Yan manipulated the spatial force, and the eight golden dragons in the vortex flew out, counterattacking Zhang Ruochen.
"Boom."
"Boom."
...
Eight forces struck the ground, creating one bottomless pit after another, shattering the earth into fragments.
To outsiders, Gongzi Yan held absolute superiority, forcing Zhang Ruochen into perilous situations, seemingly on the verge of being suppressed.
Thus, the Saint Kings of Paradise Realm all went to besiege the cultivators of Kunlun Realm, not bothering to assist Gongzi Yan.
Even Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden felt that Zhang Ruochen's situation was extremely dangerous.
Withdrawing her silver kitchen knife, she rushed toward the battlefield where Zhang Ruochen and Gongzi Yan were. She struck out with her palm, sending forth a cloud of Purifying Divine Flame.
She had obtained the Purifying Divine Flame when she inherited the Ice Fire Phoenix's legacy. As she continuously absorbed the power of the inheritance, the Purifying Divine Flame within Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden had become quite close to Chen Yan's.
"Overestimating yourself."
Gongzi Yan's finger guided one Space Crystal Orb to fly out. Like piercing through a layer of paper, it shattered the flame cloud with a bang.
At the same time, a spatial shockwave burst forth from the Space Crystal Orb, striking Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden.
Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden brought out the Second Confucian Ancestor's Sacred Book. Countless characters flew out from the book, clashing with the spatial shockwave.
"You actually blocked it?" Gongzi Yan was surprised.
Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden retreated dozens of zhang before stabilizing herself, using the power of the Second Confucian Ancestor's Sacred Book to dissolve the spatial shockwave.
But then, two more Space Crystal Orbs flew out.
Three Space Crystal Orbs spun rapidly, colliding with the Second Confucian Ancestor's Sacred Book. The force they unleashed was like three stars crashing down.
"Ah!"
Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden spat out a mouthful of blood, flying backward like a kite with a broken string. Her internal organs and meridians suffered extremely severe injuries.
Landing on the ground, she knelt on one knee, blood continuously dripping from her mouth. "Too powerful! Gongzi Yan, controlling the Space Crystal Orbs, has combat strength not inferior to a Nine-Step Saint King. Even if Zhang Ruochen and I join forces, I'm afraid we are far from his match."
Gongzi Yan's main target was Zhang Ruochen, so after repelling Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden, he attacked him again: "Zhang Ruochen, don't you have a space treasure? Why not use it? Oh, right, that space treasure of yours is still suppressing the Divine Temple. Heh heh."
Zhang Ruochen rapidly retreated backward, using his ultimate movement technique to evade Gongzi Yan's spatial attacks.
"Aren't you the Heir of Time and Space? Why don't you use spatial power to fight me? What's the point of always retreating?" Gongzi Yan, having completely suppressed Zhang Ruochen, laughed loudly.
Zhang Ruochen stopped in his tracks and took out a purple divine stone, holding it in his palm: "Dealing with you doesn't require me to use spatial power at all."
"What did you say?"
Gongzi Yan's gaze condensed.
Zhang Ruochen said: "I said, you are not qualified enough to make me use spatial power."
"Whoosh—"
Suddenly, the purple divine stone burst forth with ten thousand rays of light, transforming into a towering and majestic divine mountain. It was crystal clear, as if forged from Heaven and Earth divine crystals.
With the divine mountain as the center, the space of this entire area was locked down.
Immediately, the eight Space Crystal Orbs suspended around Gongzi Yan fell to the ground.
That massive spatial vortex also dissipated.
"This..."
Gongzi Yan was stunned, staring blankly at Zhang Ruochen.
How could he have imagined that a Space Controller would lock down space himself? Wasn't that self-defeating?
Gongzi Yan was about to retrieve the Space Crystal Orbs from the ground, but above the divine mountain, Zhang Ruochen drove a golden dragon chariot, charging down with fierce momentum, and slashed at him with his sword.
Gongzi Yan had no choice but to abandon the Space Crystal Orbs, retreating to the right while striking out with both palms simultaneously.
"Rip."
The Abyssal Ancient Sword, carrying Sword Dao profound energy, was truly indestructible. It cut through Gongzi Yan's palm force, leaving a long bloody mark on his chest, stretching from his chest down to his abdomen.
Gongzi Yan looked at the Sacred Blood seeping from his skin, his eyes blazing with raging fire.
"What's wrong? Can't use spatial power? As a Seven-Step Saint King, is this all you've got?" Zhang Ruochen drove the Golden Step Dragon Chariot back, holding the Abyssal Ancient Sword, speaking coldly.
"Don't be so smug. A Seven-Step Saint King is still a Seven-Step Saint King. In terms of realm, I can crush you."
From that sword strike, Gongzi Yan could see that Zhang Ruochen had not concealed his cultivation; he was indeed at the Four-Step Saint King realm. Otherwise, Zhang Ruochen would have already killed him with one sword strike, rather than just inflicting some superficial wounds.
"Shaking Cloud Sea-Splitting Palm."
Gongzi Yan's body surged with thick Sacred Qi, and over ten thousand Palm Dao rules surged from each of his arms. The surging palm force stirred the wind and clouds of heaven and earth.
Mobilizing over twenty thousand Palm Dao rules at once—only a Seven-Step Saint King could do this.
As for Zhang Ruochen, the Palm Dao rules he had cultivated so far were less than two thousand. If he truly competed with Gongzi Yan in palm techniques, Zhang Ruochen would surely lose. This was a vast gap in realm.
"This is somewhat beyond my expectations. You've actually cultivated a Sacred Art-level palm technique," Zhang Ruochen said.
Gongzi Yan smiled confidently: "With this technique, suppressing you shouldn't be difficult, should it?"
Zhang Ruochen did not answer, his gaze calm.
Just as Gongzi Yan's Sacred Qi was circulating to its peak, suddenly, an intense sense of weakness spread through his body. Like a deflated ball, his imposing aura grew weaker and weaker.
"How can this be?"
Gongzi Yan's face turned pale, his legs trembling, unable to stand steadily.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword in Zhang Ruochen's hand was inscribed with a Time Imprint. The sword strike he had just delivered, though it only caused some superficial wounds to Gongzi Yan, had struck a Time Imprint onto his body, cutting away a hundred years of his lifespan.
"Pfft."
Zhang Ruochen swung his sword, cutting off Gongzi Yan's right hand.
Immediately, Gongzi Yan let out a low roar. Blood gushed from his wrist like a spring.
"Pfft."
With a second swing, Gongzi Yan's other hand was also severed.
Gongzi Yan fled toward the direction away from the divine mountain, shouting loudly: "Zhang Ruochen, what have you done to me?"
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was icy cold. He said nothing, but the killing aura surging from his body, along with the Golden Step Dragon Chariot, chased behind Gongzi Yan, getting closer and closer. This terrified Gongzi Yan, making him struggle desperately at the edge of death.
The Saint Kings of Paradise Realm were all greatly startled. How could they have expected the situation to reverse so quickly?
Gongzi Yan, who had held absolute superiority moments ago, was now fleeing with both hands severed by Zhang Ruochen, like a stray dog.
Zhang Ruochen was clearly in no hurry to kill him, instead chasing behind him.
One could imagine that Gongzi Yan's inner heart must be quite broken.
Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden was also stunned, feeling as if she were seeing an illusion. "Zhang Ruochen is only at the Four-Step Saint King realm. How can he make a Seven-Step Saint King realm Space Controller flee in panic? Could it be that even Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden combined is no match for him?"