Secret Chamber (5)

At these words, Wang Rong's whole body stiffened abruptly. A complex look flashed through his eyes—regret, resentment, and a trace of unspeakable embarrassment. The helplessness of having his weakness seen through surged into his heart, followed by boundless grievance and fury.

He gritted his teeth and turned his head away, unwilling to meet Tan Yin's gaze. "What's it to you?" he muttered irritably.

Yet now, firmly restrained by Tan Yin, he had lost his former arrogance, and his words unconsciously carried a touch of bluffing bravado.

Wang Rong was truly stifled. The moment he had entered the secret realm, he had discovered that not only were his talisman stones utterly useless, even all his magical artifacts had failed. He had encountered people from other sects and learned that for them, only some artifacts might malfunction; crucial artifacts such as bonded weapons could still be used.

He had also guessed that Azure Rock Sect's unique runes conflicted with this secret realm, which was why the talisman stones could not be used. The artifacts wielded by Azure Rock Sect disciples were likewise forged with the aid of those unique runes, so without exception, they had completely failed.

Azure Rock Sect disciples had always relied chiefly on magical artifacts and talisman stones. With such restrictions upon them now, it was like an eagle with broken wings—outwardly strong but inwardly weak in an instant.

That was precisely why he had been trapped in that strange forest, unable to find a way out for so long, and had now fallen deep into this secret chamber, his situation growing ever more difficult.

Wang Rong was both ashamed and angry. He had never wanted to show weakness before Tan Yin, yet now he had been restrained like this, like a soft persimmon anyone could squeeze. How could