This pressure was especially intense—Evan Chu felt as if he genuinely couldn't move at all. He’d experienced similar phenomena before, but compared to this, those times weren’t even worth mentioning.
“Evan, the Venerable Martial Realm’s domain is incredibly powerful. With your current Saint Martial Realm cultivation, you can’t grasp the ability to borrow heaven and earth’s power. He can suppress your body and attack you at will. But the domain can’t last too long—be careful.” Luna’s voice sounded at that moment.
“Is there any way to break it? This domain is pretty insane—making it so you can’t even move. What, am I supposed to just stand here and let him chop me down?” Evan grumbled, frustrated.
Even with the Seventh Layer of the Starforge Body’s defense now, he still couldn’t be sure he could withstand a full-force strike from a Venerable Martial Realm expert. The opponent was only First-Layer Venerable, but that was more than enough—after all, Evan had never truly witnessed how devastating a First-Layer Venerable’s attack could be.
“Breaking it is actually pretty simple. When the opponent attacks you, your body will be able to move—but only at the moment his strike actually hits you. With your speed, you might be able to dodge. And with your defense, you shouldn’t be in too much danger. As long as you evade his attack, you’ll have a chance to counter.” Luna explained.
“Perfect. As soon as I get my chance, I’ll make this guy eat his words and see how strong I really am. I just don’t know how many times I can use Star-Cleave with my current Chaos Dragon Force. Honestly, I’d rather just slice this guy apart—he’s way too annoying.” Evan said.
“With your current Chaos Dragon Force, you should be able to unleash Star-Cleave twice. But I advise you not to use it—if you do, you’ll attract even more top Ghost Clan experts, and then you’ll really be in trouble.
The Netherworld isn’t like the Azure Tide Ruins—many clans have their own top experts stationed here, and they almost never show themselves unless something major happens. If you use Star-Cleave, you’ll destroy at least half of Grimchart City, and all the heavy-hitters in the city will come out. I think you know what would happen then—no need for me to spell it out!” Luna said.
“There’s actually a catch like this? Having a super attack but not being allowed to use it, and having to fight with weaker moves instead—this is just asking for trouble.” Evan grumbled, even more annoyed.
“Don’t worry—this guy won’t go all-out either, because he doesn’t want to wreck the city. In the Netherworld, there’s actually a place similar to the Divine Battlefield, specifically for high-level fights with no restrictions. But here, that’s not allowed.” Luna said.
“Like I care whether he can or can’t! If he pisses me off, I’ll just wipe Grimchart City off the map. I’m covered in ghost-qi now—who’s going to know my real identity? Worrying about this and that isn’t my style. Luna, just watch how I take this guy down!” Evan declared.
Luna didn’t reply, but inside she felt uneasy. “Evan, Evan… there’s a Second-Layer Venerable in this city. With your current strength, if you go up against a Second-Layer Venerable, you’ll be outmatched. Whatever, we’ll see when the time comes. Worst case, I’ll use an immortal-grade art once—just hope no one from the Imperial Palace notices.”
The Ghost commander, seeing Evan immobilized, burst out laughing. “Kid, weren’t you pretty arrogant just now? Now you know what a real gap in power looks like. Saint Martial Realm ants will never be able to challenge Venerable Martial experts—because you don’t even understand what a domain is.”
“Save the crap, old man! You think your lousy domain can trap me? I’m just not bothering to move—if I go all out, you won’t even keep your life. Just look at yourself, a total lapdog for the City Lord’s Mansion, and you think you’re qualified to lecture me? You really don’t know your place.” Evan shot back, completely unimpressed.
That really pissed the commander off. He raised his longsword and said to Evan, “Let’s see if your mouth is tougher than your bones!”
The commander’s sword instantly swept out in a graceful arc—a three-meter-long blade of sword-qi shot toward Evan at high speed. Just seeing the sword-qi, you could tell how terrifying the power of this strike was. But Evan didn’t sense even a hint of spatial shock.
He realized it was definitely because of the domain, and he finally understood why Luna said the domain would vanish as soon as the opponent attacked—because he couldn’t perfectly multitask, controlling the domain and attacking at the same time.
If it were him, he could easily manage both at once—but when it came to domains, which borrowed heaven and earth’s power, Evan was still just a beginner and nowhere near that level yet.
The sword-qi quickly reached Evan, its massive force radiating a bone-deep chill. Evan knew this seemingly casual strike was actually extremely dangerous—just like his own plain-looking attacks, all the power concentrated at a single point. If it hit, the consequences would be dire.
But just as the sword-qi was half a meter from his body, Evan moved—instantly unleashing his teleportation art. His whole body left an afterimage as he dodged the strike, though plenty of sword-qi still hit him, leaving a burning pain.
“That attack really was something else. He focused all his power on a single point, so the people below and the city wouldn’t be harmed. This guy’s control over force is even better than mine—old ginger really is spicier.” Evan muttered to himself.
The commander hadn’t expected Evan to dodge his sword so easily. Even though that wasn’t his strongest technique, it was still one of his best—and more than enough to slaughter a Ninth-Layer Saint Martial expert. But Evan was standing there, completely unharmed. It was hard to believe.
If this kid was really Venerable Martial Realm, his domain wouldn’t be able to restrain him. But the aura from his body proved he was just Saint Martial Realm—yet his speed was terrifying.
“Now it’s your turn to taste my attack!” Evan called out. But he didn’t use Star-Cleave—he’d only cast it once before, and wasn’t skilled at fusing the five elements and lightning yet. Heaven-Cleave was much more reliable.
Right now, Heaven-Cleave was every bit as powerful as the Star-Cleave he’d unleashed in the spatial black hole against the Mad Butcher. A massive blade of sword-qi erupted instantly, hurtling toward the commander at top speed. The commander, distracted by Evan’s sudden dodge, could only scramble to block with his own sword.
At that moment, Grimchart City’s lord saw Evan unleash his sword and his face changed dramatically. “Kid, you dare use a destructive martial technique in my city? I won’t let you off!” he roared, flying up in an instant and slashing a black longsword at Evan.
Suddenly, Evan found himself under attack from both sides. How would he get out of this one? That’s a story for tomorrow!