Fist and Tempest

The fist grazed past my ear.

A ringing echoed in my ears, and my vision spun wildly. Even a mere graze carried enough force to disrupt the body. This was Fist Gang—a stage beyond simply materializing qi.

“Thanks to you, Junior, I finally reached this enlightenment.”

“I’m so moved I could cry.”

In the brief instant my eyelids fluttered, I circulated the Asura Demon Spirit Heart Method at full speed and restored my balance, shaken by the aftershock of the fist energy. The recoil from condensing his qi made Shin Junseok’s torso tremble ever so slightly. To an ordinary person, the movement would have been invisible. To my eyes, it looked like a once-in-a-lifetime opening.

I pivoted on my right foot, preparing to unleash Black Tortoise Boulder Strike, when a single thread of wind slipped beneath me and shattered my stance.

Wind shackles wove between my legs and locked them in place. Dark blades erupted from the ground and sliced through the tangled wind. For a single moment, an opening appeared. Shin Junseok used that instant to stabilize his posture and unleash Explosive Tiger Divine Fist once more.

A tiger’s roar burst from his fist. The energy wrapped around the back of his hand was faint—visible to the naked eye, but still only fist qi, not yet Fist Gang. Though Shin Junseok had reached the stage where he could manifest Fist Gang, it required time to draw it out. In the midst of exchanging blows, it was difficult to bring forth.

Right after deflecting Explosive Tiger Divine Fist with Paired Wing Roc Flight, I thrust my empty left hand forward.

Transmitting internal energy was too slow to chain martial arts together. That was why I chose Super Strength—the strongest among the first twelve forms of Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts when it came to raw attack power. Its might rivaled a near five-star technique, and I layered it with the sharpness needed to pierce Dark Fighting Spirit.

It was a strike capable of ending Shin Junseok in one blow.

Just as my left hand was about to crash into his chest, a violent wind spun into existence. To most, it would have been an instant. To Shin Junseok, a master of martial arts, it was enough time to regain his footing. My Super Strength, its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠momentum broken by the wind barrier, met his Explosive Tiger Divine Fist head-on.

BOOM!

With a thunderous crash, his body was hurled dozens of meters backward.

“Not easy, is it?”

I shook out my left hand. A small scrape had appeared on the back of it. The real issue was that Shin Junseok’s qi had pierced through my Dark Fighting Spirit. Dark Fighting Spirit was one step below fist qi. Even though I had poured far more power into the clash, part of it had been broken through. A true Fist Gang would be even worse.

“Kugh… I almost died from one hit.”

Shin Junseok rose from the crater and sneezed loudly. His right arm hung limply at his side—he had dislocated it while blocking Super Strength.

“Can you still fight?”

“Even if you’re a bit stronger than I expected, Junior, I can still hold you down.”

“Then let’s stick with Plan A.”

Wait. They had actually prepared plans to deal with me?

No wonder their coordination was so seamless. It wasn’t coincidence.

“Seniors, I get not wanting to lose to your junior, but this is a bit much…”

“You’re not the only one with pride. Can’t you see my arm’s out of commission?”

“I hope you won’t take it personally. Compared to when the Guildmaster sparred with Ellen, this is still lacking.”

Neither ranker showed the slightest embarrassment in their voices.

* * *

Hong Yunsu’s epithet was Lord of the Tempest. His class, Wind Walker, specialized in wind. It was closer to spirit arts than conventional magic. Instead of rearranging mana, he controlled wind through sheer will. A versatile position capable of covering close, mid, and long range. On the surface, it might seem ambiguous, but Hong Yunsu wielded the power of wind better than anyone.

Even so—

It feels like I’m standing before a wall.

Facing Jinho, who also occupied an all-rounder position, Hong Yunsu felt the gap was insurmountable.

“Kuhak!”

Shin Junseok, Korea’s ranker and one of the world’s top martial artists, coughed up blood. Even players from other dimensions had been wary of Fist Gang. Jinho hadn’t clashed with it head-on. Instead, he had weakened it as much as possible and let it flow past. To manifest Fist Gang with Explosive Tiger Divine Fist, Shin Junseok needed to concentrate his internal energy. There was a preparatory motion, and time required for deployment. Jinho never missed that opening and created gaps in Shin Junseok’s offense.

“Can you still hold out?”

“…Honestly, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠difficult.”

“Plan B.”

Shin Junseok silently retreated. Hong Yunsu, who had until now focused on support rather than directly targeting Jinho from outside the battlefield, stepped forward.

“I won’t lose in speed.”

Some of the wind wrapped around his legs discharged through the soles of his feet. He charged straight at Jinho, who had just finished attacking Shin Junseok. Dark blades erupted from the ground.

I already know.

Hong Yunsu had studied Jinho’s combat style while watching him pressure Shin Junseok. His attacks were even more precise and powerful than during his spar with Ellen Taylor. Even so, now that he had seen it, he had countermeasures.

He gathered air beneath his feet and released it all at once, abruptly changing his trajectory while swinging his left leg in a wide arc.

The wind coiled around his leg was released all at once. Hundreds, thousands of wind blades multiplied in size. In less than a second, Hong Yunsu’s storm had grown into a whirlwind dozens of meters across. The tempest contained enough power to reshape the terrain.

Jinho stepped backward. As time passed, the whirlwind’s momentum only grew, yet he did not counterattack.

Even in this situation, he’s still watching our positioning.

Hong Yunsu smiled faintly. A chill ran down his spine. Typhoon’s Rage was among the strongest techniques he could use. While keeping Jinho in check from the rear, he had steadily accumulated wind and unleashed it right beside him. That was why the technique carried such power despite having almost no preparatory motion.

As Hong Yunsu charged, Shin Junseok also moved using his movement technique. His plan was to exploit any opening while Jinho dealt with Typhoon’s Rage, but it had been read perfectly.

Well, just because you know about it doesn’t mean you can stop it.

Hong Yunsu’s eyes tracked Jinho’s movements. Typhoon’s Rage grew stronger the longer it remained active after release. No matter how exceptional Jinho’s abilities were, taking it head-on would eventually become dangerous. Since the technique had already been unleashed, time was on Hong Yunsu’s side.

“You’re being too harsh on a junior so far beneath you.”

Jinho’s feet left multiple afterimages as he moved with dazzling speed. It seemed he was trying not to give Shin Junseok an opening while remaining wary of the pursuing Typhoon’s Rage.

At that moment, Shin Junseok’s path overlapped with Typhoon’s Rage.

“I’ve been waiting for this.”

Jinho’s body turned pitch black.

Two hundred points of Polar Night. Blades erupted from the darkness spread wide like a wave. Polar Night coiled around Typhoon’s Rage. The internal energy infused in the blades tore through the wind. Even without direct contact, the sensation was chilling.

Hong Yunsu controlled the wind while swinging his right leg in a wide arc.

Wind compressed beyond its limits fired like a bullet at supersonic speed. An attack so fast most players wouldn’t even perceive it. Jinho didn’t even look as he deployed Polar Night and sliced the Wind Bullet apart. Thanks to the sixth sense he had obtained from monsters beyond human limits—Ultrasound and Detection—he could sense it. Hong Yunsu had already known this. He hadn’t heard it directly, but from everything he had seen of Jinho’s fighting style, the man didn’t rely solely on his eyes for information.

That was why—

“I was able to prepare this attack.”

Hong Yunsu released control of Typhoon’s Rage.

BOOOOOOM—!

Wind scattered in every direction. Countless blades carved through Polar Night. If Jinho deactivated Body of Darkness, the output would become unmanageable. Since Typhoon’s Rage had split the wind into thousands of blades, there was a clear limit to how many he could cut with a sword.

“Junior, when you’re assimilated with darkness, you can only use a limited number of techniques, right?”

While Typhoon’s Rage restricted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jinho’s movements, Shin Junseok—his internal injuries stabilized—circled around the whirlwind and aimed for his flank.

Shin Junseok’s fist glowed gold. It carried the greatest power among all the forms he could use.

“This time, you can’t dodge!”

Anything beyond fist qi could crush even intangible energy. That was why martial artists who had reached a certain level were not inferior to mages. Taking a Fist Gang that fully embodied the enlightenment of the Flowing Realm would be fatal, even if Jinho was synchronized with Polar Night.

“I didn’t expect you to analyze me this thoroughly.”

A smile played across Jinho’s lips. The Polar Night wavered. The moment he deactivated Body of Darkness, its output dropped to one-fifth. Thousands of wind blades surged from the front while a golden Fist Gang pierced from the side. A desperate situation.

We won!

We won!

Just as both rankers were certain of victory, a brilliant light engulfed Jinho’s entire body.

And the world flipped upside down.

* * *

My sharpened senses made the coordinated assault from Shin Junseok and Hong Yunsu feel like a long-forgotten tension. Both rankers were beneath me in combat ability. Even before I set foot in the realm of completion with the Rainbow Flashing Stone, I had been evenly matched with Ellen. These two, a step below Ellen Taylor, were no different. I had deactivated all my unused essences and reinforced my skills and physical abilities, so I never thought I would lose.

Yet—

“You actually drew out my full power.”

A husky voice pressed down on the ground. The essences of Tyrannosaurus and Orc. My physical abilities had multiplied several times over, and though slightly inconvenient, I now had arms to wield martial arts with. In that moment of absolute crisis, I had reflected both essences through Void Mirror and charged into the fully unleashed storm. The central axis maintaining the whirlwind had vanished. Wind blades carved into my body, but I protected myself with Metal Reflective Armor and Dark Fighting Spirit.

And then—

Entering the former location of the rotation axis, I unleashed Black Tortoise Sovereign Step, and the thousands of wind blades disappeared as well. Shin Junseok arrived a step late. His golden Fist Gang shone threateningly, but I ignored it. The difference in power was overwhelming. Manifesting qi was one stage below Fist Gang, but with this level of stat disparity, it didn’t matter. When our fists met, Shin Junseok’s body was sent flying backward, covered in blood.

ZZZZZZT!

The barrier shook violently. The previous attack had been powerful enough to instantly kill Shin Junseok.

“Seniors, shall we continue?”

“Kuh… At least we succeeded in drawing out the Guildmaster’s full power.”

Hong Yunsu raised both arms with a satisfied smile.