Chapter 135: Is This Really Called a Simple Domain?

Compared to humans, cursed spirits naturally possessed stronger physiques, so Hanami, who regarded Shengzai as a swordmaster, felt absolutely no fear as he swung his fist toward him.

Not only did he feel no fear—Hanami’s arm, as he punched, now sprouted countless fleshy buds resembling veins.

These bud-like growths, just like the seedlings, possessed the ability to devour cursed energy and flesh; Hanami had already decided: Shengzai’s strength was no weaker than Tōdō Aoi’s, and though he didn’t know who the man was, to secure the situation, he must neutralize him first.

“BOOM——————!”

The instant the two fists collided in midair, a powerful shockwave erupted outward, and the ground beneath Hanami’s feet cracked over a vast area in an instant.

Only at the moment his fist met Shengzai’s did Hanami finally realize how utterly absurd his earlier assumptions had been.

At the instant of collision, spiderweb cracks spread outward across the ground within dozens of meters around them, and countless shards of stone were violently ejected upward by the force.

Hanami’s fist, which had appeared significantly larger than Shengzai’s, gained no advantage in the clash—not even a stalemate.

Before the astonished eyes of everyone present, including Hanami himself, his visibly thicker arm began to twist at a visibly rapid pace.

Feeling the terrifying power surging through his arm and watching his limb contort into unnatural angles, Hanami stared in disbelief at Shengzai and exclaimed: “Why does a mere human swordsman have such monstrous physical strength?!”

Seeing his arm being forced downward by Shengzai’s fist and realizing he was losing the strength contest, Hanami immediately activated the fleshy buds on his arm, attempting to pierce Shengzai’s skin and drain his blood and cursed energy.

Yet the moment Hanami’s plant-like buds extended toward Shengzai, he suddenly felt the surrounding temperature begin to rise rapidly.

“BOOM——————!”

Orange-red flames erupted without warning from Shengzai’s arm; the absolute heat instantly incinerated all of Hanami’s plant buds and spread like wildfire across his entire arm.

As everyone knows, trees fear fire, and Hanami, a Special Grade cursed spirit born from humanity’s dread of forests, was inherently vulnerable to flames.

As for how Shengzai acquired this flame technique—it came naturally from the Super Flame of “Dinovar.”

“Wenren Combat Style—Blazing Inferno!”

Hanami, already at a disadvantage in strength, now faced his elemental weakness, leaving him utterly powerless to resist.

As the furious flames exploded before Shengzai like a crimson lotus, Hanami’s massive form was blasted backward hundreds of meters, carried by flying embers.

As Hanami crashed to the ground, his body gouged a deep trench; his arm, twisted into grotesque angles, was now completely charred, and the very ground where he had stood had turned to ash from the extreme heat.

“Spirit Summoning—Wei Huo Hu! Yi Huo She! Zui Huo Hou! Shi Huo Zhu!”

“Simple Domain—Four Flame Sacred Realm!”

After delivering a single punch that sent Hanami flying a hundred meters, Shengzai seized the moment while the cursed spirit was still dazed and immediately summoned four fire-element spirits, activating his Simple Domain.

To counter a domain, one must use a domain of one’s own.

Special Grade cursed spirits and Special Grade sorcerers are powerful precisely because they are invincible within their own domains.

Those who master Domain Expansion hold an overwhelming advantage over those without one—once their domain is unleashed, victory is nearly assured.

Though his flame-imbued punch seemed to severely wound Hanami, in truth, such damage meant nothing to him.

As previously noted, Hanami is akin to the living embodiment of this planet’s forests; while plants fear fire, they also possess extraordinary resilience.

Moreover, this was within his domain—thinking such minor damage could kill him was pure fantasy.

If both combatants wielded domains, the battle would come down to the strength of their domains and their cursed energy.

Hanami was a top-tier Special Grade cursed spirit; for Shengzai to defeat him using his immature Simple Domain was impossible.

Yet having mastered the Simple Domain, though he could not defeat Hanami, he was no longer helpless like ordinary sorcerers who, once trapped in an enemy’s domain, could only await death.

The four star-spirit entities, positioned according to the Four Symbols, expanded their domain; as the surrounding temperature rose, flames suddenly erupted from the ground beneath everyone’s feet.

The massive tree roots and crimson cursed seeds that had entwined the students from both schools were now reduced to ash, vanishing entirely into the air.

Watching the four fire-spirits—Wei Huo Hu, Yi Huo She, Zui Huo Hou, Shi Huo Zhu—roaring in their Four Symbols positions, Fuhiko and the others stared in astonishment at the flames beneath their feet: “Is this Shengzai’s domain ability?”

Fuhiko and Dingqi had already known Shengzai possessed a Simple Domain from their previous encounter during his battle with Two-Headed Nega.

But back then, they had been kept outside his domain; now, they were inside it—and for the first time, they witnessed his domain’s true nature.

“Such a vast area, and such a complete technique—you call this a Simple Domain?”

If this is a Simple Domain, then how vast and powerful would his true Domain Expansion be?!”

Hearing Fuhiko and the others call this Shengzai’s Simple Domain, Sanlun Xia froze—she too could use a Simple Domain, but hers extended at most one meter in diameter, barely enough for her to swing her blade.

Yet Shengzai’s “Simple Domain” spanned nearly a hundred meters in diameter—this was called a Simple Domain?!

“If you’ve got time to stand there talking nonsense, you’d better get into my domain right now.”

His domain is far stronger than mine; with my current Simple Domain, I can only forcibly tear open a passage—there’s no way I can directly oppose him.”

“If we stay inside his domain, we have zero chance of winning.”

Hearing Shengzai’s warning, the students from the Tokyo and Kyoto branches no longer hesitated—they leapt through the passage Shengzai had torn open with his Simple Domain.

As Shengzai said, outside his domain, they might still have a chance to win despite being outnumbered—but if they remained trapped inside, they would surely die.

(End of Chapter)