619: The Indulgence of the Supreme Eye Demon and the Title of the Eye Demon Wizard!
A light burst erupted on the stage. The wizard serving as the referee snapped his fingers, and a Protection School spell enveloped the area, confining the full power of the light burst within the stage without diminishing it in the slightest.
Antoine and Locke charged out from the light burst, both quickly retreating to stand at opposite ends of the stage.
Antoine's outermost magic garment was now damaged, revealing an expensive inner layer woven from Titan Gold Silk. One could tell from the material that it was the work of a master—if not a Magic Weaver from Bonifacius University, then a masterpiece from one of the most prestigious workshops in the Three Ze Lands.
Thanks to this magic garment, Antoine remained unharmed in the previous light burst. However, his outermost magic garment, which served as his wizard robe, had suffered severe damage.
Although Antoine had been caught in attacks before—for instance, when facing Witch Preston, he had sustained some fatal blows—he had used Substitute Witch Porcelain to transfer the damage at the time. Since Substitute Witch Porcelain had a long creation cycle and was expensive, he hadn't had time to restock.
In that battle, he had also expended some of his trump cards.
And now, for the first time in the Spell Fighting Competition, Antoine appeared so ragged.
A hint of impatience flickered in Antoine's eyes.
At this moment, the Creation Chains around him were forced into manifestation because they were no longer obscured by Prophecy Magic.
Those chains loomed over the entire arena.
It was the presence of these chains that allowed him to maintain complete control over the field.
Antoine sneered, "Everything in this world should be mine, and all things exist around me. I am born holy, I am born great; the sun, moon, stars, and all things in heaven and earth revolve around me as their center."
"Locke, you spent so much effort just to damage one magic garment of mine. Laughable."
The next moment, Antoine manipulated six daggers, each shimmering with a different color of magic radiance, each powerful and potent.
One dagger after another, under the manipulation of the Creation Chains, flew toward Locke along complex trajectories.
But in the next instant, the magic eye on Locke's forehead spun rapidly. With the boost of Eye Demon power, the Three-Eyed Tiger-Eyed Cat's magic eye was enhanced to its maximum extent. Combined with the forced manifestation of the Creation Chains, Locke used his magic eye to directly observe all of his opponent's attack trajectories.
Locke summoned a stalk of Abyss Devourer Sea Gold Sand and used Golden Sand Torrent. Instantly, golden spore powder transformed into a sandstorm, clashing with the six daggers. Simultaneously, the golden spore powder rapidly coalesced, turning into six small golden sand coffins.
This was the Sand-Cast Holy Coffin.
Antoine was momentarily stunned. 'Even without the concealment of Prophecy Magic, my Creation Chains are so complex and their trajectories so varied that they should be much more formidable and unpredictable than those of an ordinary wizard using a Magic item, not simpler.'
'It's that magic eye. That magic eye predicted all of my attacks.'
'He didn't have such powerful insight before. Did he just obtain it recently?'
Under the control of the Creation Chains, two Wind and Thunder Dual Wheels suddenly emerged from behind Locke at an incredible angle, striking toward his back.
However, the magic eye on Locke's forehead glanced backward, and a Flowing Gold Great Hand instantly condensed behind him, grabbing the two Soul Magic Tools attacking from the rear.
Just as Locke intended to follow the same pattern to seal these two Magic items, Antoine used his Void Walk Necklace to teleport beside Locke, thrusting his Wizard Sword toward Locke's chest.
Furthermore, a wire as thin as a strand of hair brushed through the air, heading for Locke's neck.
Facing these attacks, Locke summoned a second stalk of Tyrant Devourer Sea Gold Sand and used the Flowing Gold Fern Spear to block the Wizard Sword in his opponent's hand.
At the same time, his magic eye blinked again, locking onto the thread-like Magic item in mid-air that was nearly invisible and possessed optical invisibility from the Enchantment School.
Locke leaned his entire body backward, narrowly avoiding that wire.
"You actually managed to dodge that. Not bad," Antoine frowned.
With a wave of his hand, he unleashed his ultimate move as an Object Controller.
Eighteen iron balls, shaped like peach pits, flew from his sleeves toward Locke's face.
This was a Magic item set specifically crafted for an Object Controller, which only unleashed its full power when used in combination. Each iron ball contained a portion of a magic array, and when used together, they could summon the power of the combined array.
However, if used separately, they were likely less effective than a single normal Magic item.
In other words, an ordinary wizard would find the effect of using such Magic items to be very poor.
They would feel it was inferior to a common Magic item.
The eighteen Magic items flew toward Locke's face at extremely close range. Locke instantly sensed the danger. The eighteen iron ball Magic items were arranged in three pairs, with each pair consisting of two groups of three.
They formed a special configuration of the numbers three and six.
Each iron ball Magic item possessed heavy power, utilizing Star Core Meteoric Iron discovered by Alchemists within planetary cores and enhanced in weight by Enchantment School spells. It could be said that a mere graze would cause injury, and any direct contact would mean death.
Under the combination, a special effect appeared, manifesting multiple phantoms like a massive storm enveloping Locke's head.
All the spore powder summoned by the Golden Sand Torrent was blown away in an instant.
Amidst this danger, Locke instead began to feel incredibly fortunate. His eyes turned into golden dragon pupils, a manic smile appeared on his face, and his extreme battle intent caused his bloodline to throb.
"Hahahaha..."
Antoine was stunned, momentarily unsure which of the two wizards was the more arrogant one.
It was his first time seeing a wizard even more crazed and domineering than himself.
Locke took out a bottle of potion from his astral ring—it was the Tyrants Eye Potion—and drank it directly.
Under the Abyss spirituality activated by the Tyrant's Eye.
The magic eye on Locke's forehead operated to its limit. Simultaneously, he layered Abyss Energy onto his magic pressure, slamming it hard against his Soul Barrier in an instant. His magic pressure did not rise but instead began to drain continuously.
However, the magic eye on Locke's forehead became even more powerful. Amidst the multiple phantoms, his magic eye seemed to see through all the illusions and the true trajectories of the eighteen iron ball Magic items.
At the same time, Locke quickly retreated and used the Plant Mimicry Technique to dodge the first round of attacks, flying high into the air to continuously evade all subsequent strikes.
Above the Wizard World, the massive Supreme Eye Demon floated in the sky. "Madman. If I were to intervene, I could repeat the old trick, and he would lose this match."
The Supreme Eye Demon said, "No. A Supreme Eye Demon cannot help another wizard achieve victory. The Abyss Demon Race can only kill wizards, not help them."
"He is certain of this, knowing I won't stop him. Fine then, just use the insight of our Eye Demon Clan to fight..."
"The power of our Abyss Demon Race is quite useful, isn't it? Hahahaha... Those who indulge in power will eventually belong to that power, hahaha..."
The figure of the Supreme Eye Demon began to move away from the Wizard World, no longer sensing the spirituality of Locke, who had consumed the Tyrants Eye Potion.
On Stage 1, the Innate Magic Eye on Locke's forehead, with its incredible insight, saw through all the phantoms of the iron ball Magic items, perceived all their trajectories, and dodged every single one.
Below, Antoine was exerting all his effort to manipulate the iron ball Magic items.
'This is impossible. Even a Second Ring Wizard could only rely on brute force to destroy my Iron Ball Killing Array. With eighteen iron balls and combined spells forming phantoms, there are over a hundred illusions. Combined with my manipulation, the variations are endless and the speed is incredible.'
'Isn't that guy... best at using sea gold sand?'
'How can he have such a powerful magic eye?'
'Did grandfather guess wrong? No, it's not grandfather's problem; it's that this wizard has improved too much during this competition.'
The audience around Stage 1 watched the match in astonishment.
The host wizard explained excitedly from the side, "The level of this match is fully on par with the First Ring Level Grand League of the Spell Fighting Competition. In fact, I thought I was watching the peak championship final of the Grand League!"
"Simply wonderful!"
"Antoine is actually an Object Controller, and he can manipulate eighteen iron balls simultaneously! Locke Augustine possesses an Innate Magic Eye, and his magic eye can completely discern all the trajectories of those eighteen iron balls!"
"The battle between these two reflects the high standards of our Golden Crown Mountain!"
Near Stage 1, many wizards were discussing the fight.
"Those eighteen iron balls are clearly the methods of an Object Controller. And they are the most authentic combined Magic items for an Object Controller. This is the first time Antoine has exposed himself as an Object Controller without concealment. His manipulation level of those Magic items is truly that of a genius..."
"His manipulation level is indeed that of a genius among geniuses; many Second Ring level Object Controllers only have this level of skill. He only lacks sufficient basic stats on his panel. But did you notice Locke's terrifying insight?"
"Yes, if it were me, I wouldn't be able to dodge those Magic items at all. Once hit, I'd be trapped in a state of continuous attacks and would lose the match immediately."
A wizard from the Southeast Corner Region whispered, "I think I might have heard of this wizard's reputation before. Back when I was a Wizard Mentor for a large wizard organization in the Southeast Corner Region, he was likely still an apprentice. But even then, he was already called the Eye Demon Wizard by the Black Wizards."
"I didn't expect to meet him again in the Cloud Marsh. He is already a researcher at the Hall of Advanced True Knowledge, while I am just a wizard from a small wizard organization."
"Today's battle has made me understand the true meaning of the title Eye Demon Wizard."
Many wizards felt the illusion that everything about them was being seen through when they looked at Locke's magic eye.
They shuddered at the thought.
The Second Ring Wizards from the Tower of Transmutation looked at Antoine and Locke, and the two Second Ring Wizards smiled at each other.
"Locke's insight is indeed impressive. However, it seems he is gradually learning how to use Ocular Techniques during the match."
"Eye Demon Wizard... that's not a bad nickname. To have such a nickname at the First Ring stage is truly impressive."
Another Second Ring Wizard remarked, "Such insight is indeed rare. It's the first time I've seen it in my life."
At this moment, on Arena 1, Antoine continuously manipulated his Magic items to launch a saturation-mode attack against Locke.
'Grandfather said that Locke's combat style is to observe first, then react, and finally find the opponent's weakness. He plays it steady and safe, so he's afraid of sudden attacks, like an assassin's style.'
'Grandfather wouldn't be wrong; he's a Third Ring Wizard. But the problem is, he couldn't have seen Locke's growth.'
'Locke has grown far too much during this battle.'
'With such powerful insight, it's already very difficult for an assassin-style approach to get close to him.'
Antoine's eyes shifted constantly; for the first time in his life, he felt such immense pressure.
Moreover, because it was the first time in his life he had exposed his true abilities in public, Antoine had a peculiar feeling—a feeling of competition.
A feeling of proving himself.
Wizard Fischer, a Third Ring Wizard and his elder, his voice echoed in Antoine's ears. 'People like us don't need the respect of others. Show your best side to yourself and your worst side to others. It can save us a lot of trouble.'
But at this moment, the tyranny in Antoine's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a sense of seriousness.
He had already sacrificed too much for the Senate.
Reputation, temperament—all just to coordinate with the Senate's sudden move today.
Was his entire life meant to serve that commercial street worth over a billion magic stones?
Was it?
Did he truly not need a rival, truly not need a reputation?
Antoine looked up at Locke, trying to find something in his opponent.
At the same time, his eyes constantly tracked Locke's figure.
Locke's movement speed was too fast; instead, it was his own eyes, as an Object Controller, that couldn't keep up.
Consequently, although he could manipulate the Iron Ball Killing Array to attack Locke with incredible speed and power, his insufficient visual tracking ability meant that this speed became redundant.
In the next moment, Locke's figure suddenly vanished from mid-air.
Locke appeared behind him. "I say, even if you used the Enchantment School's Eagle Eye spell on yourself, your eyes must be quite exhausted by now, having fought this long."
"Am I right?"
'How is this possible!' Antoine's pupils dilated as he instinctively turned around, thrusting his Wizard Sword toward Locke, only to find he had merely struck a phantom.
He flicked his fingers, sending a strand of magic tool thread toward the Locke in his peripheral vision, only to find that the thread still only sliced through a phantom.
In the next instant, Antoine discovered that eight afterimages of Locke had appeared around him.
The eight afterimages circled him; behind them, the Great Green Leaf Dragon Finch, as a top-tier flying magic plant of the First Ring, was playing a massive role.
But most importantly, it was that soul-stirring magic eye on Locke's forehead.
"Insight is the key," Locke's voice reached Antoine's ears. "My insight is superior to yours."
"Antoine, you can't distinguish between what's real and what's fake. Thus, even if you are an Object Controller, it's useless."
In the judges' seats, Wizard Fischer stood up abruptly. He hadn't expected that Locke would push his magic eye to such an extreme during the battle by consuming potions.
Throughout his journey, while increasing his mental power, Locke had always used abyss-type potions, especially after the previous Tyrant's Eye incident, when he had even directly devoured a Tyrant Beholder.
And all that power had now been transformed into his insight.
That insight was an Object Controller's most terrifying nightmare.
Wizard Fischer's expression was grim, though not because he was worried Antoine would lose.
He was simply concerned that Antoine would reveal too many of his trump cards in this competition. The real battle would be the Plane Conquest Competition, which represented the highest honor for the younger generation of the Yunze Wetland.
It was a battle against top-tier institutions.
Not a battle against geniuses from these third-rate small academies, or an internal civil war within Golden Crown Mountain.
Most importantly, Antoine had a special constitution; if this dragged on any longer, he didn't know what might happen.
On the judges' bench, several ordinary Third Ring Wizards from the Academic Committee who had come to watch were stunned for a moment, then surprise and joy appeared in their eyes.
They hadn't expected Locke to give them such a huge surprise.
They had originally thought of it as a last-ditch effort, but who knew that before even using the Sacred Dragon's inheritance, Locke would push the secret weapon forged by the Senate to such a state.
Although Antoine hadn't used the Senate's inheritance yet either.
A Third Ring Wizard from the Academic Committee whispered, "Perhaps Locke really does have a chance to win."
Another Sun Ring Wizard from the Academic Committee wore a puzzled expression. "If he wins, and we in the Academic Committee haven't really cultivated him yet, wouldn't that be a bit strange?"
At this time, a Third Ring Throne Wizard from the Senate, sitting on the judges' bench and watching the final results of the Spell Fighting Competition, glanced at him and whispered, "Wizard Augustine is indeed an excellent wizard. When the Plane Conquest Competition takes place, he can be Antoine's second-in-command, representing our Golden Crown Mountain together."
"He won't win."
Witch Catherine's gaze shifted to the true backer of the Fischer family, this Third Ring Throne Wizard, her eyes filled with contempt. "As for the second-in-command position, Antoine is much more suitable—given his personality."
The two were at loggerheads, their eyes flashing with anger.
On Arena 1, Locke summoned two Abyss Devourer Sea Gold Sands, used the Flowing Gold Fern Spears, and simultaneously used [Affinity Connection] to merge the two Flowing Gold Fern Spears together.
Then, he used a charge of Mist's Power stored in his Clover Ring to empower the fern spear.
Immediately after, this terrifying Tyrant Fern Spear (Abyss-enhanced version) struck Antoine's chest directly during Locke's high-speed movement.
In the next moment, the Titan Gold Silk Magic Robe on Antoine's body ground violently against the Tyrant Fern Spear.
Bursts of magical lightning erupted.
Subsequently, Antoine was sent flying backward, a hole pierced into his chest as a large amount of blood poured out.
Antoine collapsed onto the ground.
"You've really pissed me off, Locke."
"I've never suffered such a huge loss." Antoine scrambled up. Seeing Locke's Tyrant Fern Spear thrusting toward him, his pupils shrank, and he closed his eyes, entering the [No-Thought] state.
'Do not think. Keep the spirituality in a blank state, allowing my own spirituality to change along with the surrounding spiritual fluctuations. Then, by seeing the ripples within those changes, my palm will be able to destroy the world's most powerful forces.'
Then, he grasped the Tyrant Fern Spear with one hand.
To be precise, he didn't just catch Locke's Tyrant Fern Spear; at the moment his palm touched it, his own spiritual fluctuations suddenly synchronized with those of the Tyrant Fern Spear in a state that Locke could not comprehend.
Consequently, all the energy contained within the Tyrant Fern Spear remained dormant, held fast by a bare palm.
Antoine spat out a mouthful of blood. Clearly, using this special kinetic magic required him to bear significant magical risks, while his body also endured immense pressure.
As a result, while the Tyrant Fern Spear didn't harm him, he had paid a price for the spell itself.
Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Antoine opened his eyes and looked at Locke. "I just wanted to give it a try. I didn't expect that I would actually pull off the [Non-Thought Collapsing Fist]."
"Locke, you've forced me to reveal my true self in public for the first time. You've annoyed me. I truly believe that everything in this world should revolve around me, that I am the master of this world."
"Therefore..." Antoine looked seriously at Locke. "As the first opponent to put me under such pressure, to give me a sense of challenge and make me want to prove myself, I will defeat you. I will utterly deny your existence and confirm within my heart that my life can still follow the same rules as before."
Antoine took a stone out of his astral ring and kept it clutched in his hand.
At the same time, he kicked out at Locke—it was the kinetic magic [Hundred Rending Kicks]!
His l