Chapter 267: The Letter
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 267: The Letter
“I can’t help but feel like you’re insinuating something again, Professor Mela.”
Faced with the Old Loli’s outrageous claims, Muen couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. However, he quickly found himself deep in thought, contemplating Professor Mela’s concept.
Constantly stacking power, then releasing it all in a single instant.
If ten times wasn't enough, then a hundred, or a thousand. Just by imagining it, Muen could sense the terrifying destructive force that would erupt once the power had been stacked enough times.
Moreover, if it was as Professor Mela said, this wasn't just a specific move, but a technique...
“Exactly. Since it’s a technique, it’s not limited to just your Thunder Roar.”
Seeing through Muen’s confusion, Professor Mela wagged a finger, her face wearing the smug expression of a triumphant loli.
“This is why I said it’s the most suitable path for you. Because it’s a technique, it can be applied to any of your existing moves. Whether it’s your footwork or your blade strikes—ten stacks, a hundred stacks, a thousand stacks—you can keep stacking indefinitely, as long as you’re capable of it.”
“Indefinite stacking...”
Muen’s breathing grew heavy. Even just hearing Professor Mela describe it, he knew how terrifying this kind of power could be.
But...
“Is this technique really something I can pull off right now?”
Muen threw a tentative punch.
The release of power was a fleeting, instantaneous process. To stack it within that split second and then release it all at once seemed utterly inconceivable to him.
“Wait... can this only be achieved by using the Eternal Clock’s time dilation? Hey, hold on...”
Muen’s eyes suddenly widened as he looked at Professor Mela.
“You were cheating just now, weren't you?!”
“Do you really think I need to use the Eternal Clock to deal with a little weakling like you?”
Professor Mela gave him a cute eye-roll.
“I did that just now using nothing but pure physical strength and technique.”
“Pure physical technique...”
“That’s right. This technique can be done without the help of the Eternal Clock.”
Professor Mela gave a light flick of her finger, and a series of continuous sonic booms rippled through the air.
“In fact, some rare martial techniques do utilize this principle. However, due to inherent limitations, the effort required is completely disproportionate to the reward. Most people naturally view it as a useless 'chicken rib' skill. But you are different. The existence of the Eternal Clock can take the results of this technique and amplify them exponentially. The key to this technique is being fast enough—and in a sense, the Eternal Clock allows you to be fast on top of fast!”
“Fast on top of fast...”
Muen swallowed hard.
His throat felt dry; his heart was racing.
Following Professor Mela’s explanation, he immediately understood just how terrifying this technique would become when bolstered by the Eternal Clock.
If, in his normal state, he could only achieve a basic double-stack...
With a ten-fold time dilation, that would be twenty stacks.
With his current limit of sixty-fold time dilation... that would be one hundred and twenty stacks.
A hundred and twenty times the power, stacked in an instant! Just how devastating would that be?
“So, do you want to learn?”
Professor Mela tilted her small head, asking with a beaming smile.
“I do!”
Muen clenched his fists and said solemnly, “Please, you must teach me, Professor Mela!”
“Hehe, well, since my only foolish disciple is begging me so earnestly, I suppose I have no choice. Can you stand up?”
“Of course!”
Muen flipped to his feet, gripping Elizabeth tightly.
Professor Mela was already standing quietly, once again holding that tiny toothpick between her fingers.
“Nothing speeds up progress like actual combat.”
Professor Mela smiled, making no effort to hide the vengeful mischief in her eyes. She beckoned him with a finger.
“I’m not the type to hold a grudge. This time, I’ll let you have the first move.”
“...”
Thinking back to the thrashing he’d just received, Muen winced. However, he quickly cleared his mind and focused his breathing.
In his vision, there was only Professor Mela... and the toothpick in her hand.
“Then... here I come!”
Muen took a deep breath. The power throughout his body surged like a tidal wave, held back by nothing.
He crouched low and then lunged at Professor Mela like a cannonball, turning into a blurred afterimage.
*
The hours that followed were, for Muen, nothing short of a descent into hell.
Though she called it a demonstration, Professor Mela showed absolutely no mercy. Every strike pushed Muen to his absolute limit; every time, Muen could hear the deepest parts of his body screaming in agony.
It felt as though if she added even a grain of rice’s worth of extra force, Muen would completely shatter.
Yet, she constantly teased that breaking point, pushing him right to the edge without ever crossing it, leaving Muen in a state of agonizing, transcendental exhaustion.
However, it must be said that this was where the benefit of having an elite teacher truly showed.
Despite the excruciating pain, Muen could feel himself improving at a lightning pace.
It was progress that far surpassed dozens of days spent immersed in the Black Book or experiencing hundreds of deaths.
Any incorrect movement, any flaw in his power delivery, or even the slightest deviation in his blade’s arc was sternly pointed out—and then hammered into his memory through physical pain.
In Professor Mela’s hands, he was like a piece of raw jade being meticulously carved into something priceless, destined to eventually radiate a brilliant light.
*
Several hours later, Muen was finally squeezed dry.
Once even the flames of the Withered King within him couldn't produce a spark of strength, he collapsed into a heap on the ground. Professor Mela then dragged him like a dead dog into the hot spring pool from earlier.
The water, which had already cooled, still shimmered with a faint golden hue. Muen’s body was like a starving beast, greedily and frantically devouring the potent medicinal properties in the water to replenish his internal void.
“How was it?”
By the poolside, Professor Mela—looking radiant after her successful revenge—asked, “Do you feel like you’ve evolved?”
“I don’t feel evolved; I feel like I’m about to melt.”
Muen leaned back in the pool, looking at his trembling hands with a bitter smile.
He finally understood why Professor Mela said this technique was a "chicken rib" for other martial artists. The sheer amount of effort and hardship required was immense, yet the results for a normal person would be mediocre. With that kind of time, one might as well just learn how to hit harder with brute force.
And...
“In the end, it all comes down to physical toughness, doesn't it?”
Stacking several times the power in an instant brought several times the instantaneous burden on the body.
Combined with the burden of time dilation itself, if one’s physical strength wasn't high enough, they would probably explode on the spot before their attack even landed on the enemy.
Therefore...
“It’s still not enough!”
Muen suddenly sat up, his voice booming. “Again! I want more, much more!”
“Give it a rest, kid.”
Professor Mela didn't move, merely rolling her eyes. “With your current puny physique, if we go again, you really won't be able to get out of bed for half a month.”
“Uh...”
Muen slumped back into the water. “Fine then...”
“However...”
Seeing Muen’s disappointed expression, Professor Mela suddenly flashed a brilliant smile.
“If you love being a masochist that much, I can certainly satisfy you.”
“Eh?”
Muen blinked, stunned.
Before he could react, he saw Professor Mela gleefully snap her fingers.
The scenery around Muen changed instantly.
He was in the air.
And beneath his backside... was the mirror-calm surface of the Mercury Well.
“Dammit!”
Muen looked up to the sky and let out a grief-stricken roar.
“You old loli, remember this! If I ever get the chance, I’ll—glub glub glub—”
The endless mercury churned, gradually submerging the middle finger he had thrust upward.
*
“My, I really am a wonderful teacher, satisfying my disciple’s wishes like that.”
Hearing the muffled roars from below, Professor Mela stood up and clapped her hands in satisfaction.
Then, her expression instantly turned solemn.
“Techniques and moves are minor issues. Given how that kid throws his life away, he’ll probably master them soon enough. The real problem is...”
Professor Mela paced back and forth through the flower sea with her hands behind her back, her brow furrowed as she muttered to herself.
“Transforming death into life... Is it really this difficult to achieve even a partial transformation?”
Suddenly, her brow twitched, and she looked to the side.
Space warped, and Professor Prang’s voice drifted out:
“Mentor Mela Domir, there is a letter for you.”
“A letter? From whom?”
“It is...”
Professor Prang paused. “From His Holiness the Pope of the Life Church.”