"Thank you." I straightened my posture. "You made me realize a mistake… so I will repay it by taking this fight more seriously."

His composed smile cracked into a sinister grin. No wonder they called him the Smiling Buddha.

"I like that expression more," I added. "It's less pretentious."

SWOOOSH!

He did not even say anything and just appeared in front of me.

His speed was way faster than before, revealing he had been holding back too all along.

"Death River Mirage!"

I saw him swing vertically, but instinct screamed that the real attack was aimed at my stomach.

Using both tips of my spear, I managed to block multiple strikes at once.

clang!

His blows hit twice as hard too. If he unleashed this from the start, I wouldn't have lasted a minute.

We exchanged blow after blow, but I stayed entirely on the defensive, blocking, parrying, and retreating whenever he pressed forward.

I waited, watching, until a single gap opened.

"Moon Cycle," I whispered the words on the tip of my tongue, and my vision blurred as I accelerated like a speeding bullet.

Tae Yul didn't move an inch. Instead, he angled his sword to redirect my thrust toward the ground—but I had already anticipated this.

"Moon Cycle Rising Strike!" I countered, aiming for his chin.

He tilted his head to dodge, but the tip of the spear still nicked his jaw.

"Moon Cycle Downward Strike!" Before my spear reached its peak, I forcibly halted it to save travel time, then slashed it down, loosening my grip to increase range.

Tae Yul sidestepped just in time and kicked the base of my spear, trying to lodge it while swinging his sword toward my neck.

"Moon Cycle Sweeping Strike!" I twisted the spear, dodging his foot and striking at his legs, forcing him to leap backward.

"Moon Cycle Thrusting Strike!"

My spear lunged forward, but he was smart enough to keep a safe distance—or so he thought.

"Moon Cycle Extending Strike!"

Out of nowhere, I launched the spear through the air like a javelin.

He blocked just in time, but the force still sent him flying

"Moon Cycle Infinite Strike!" I grabbed the red cloth, yanking the spear back, then hurled it again.

He raised his sword to defend, only for it to break under the momentum.

He was in total shock from my consecutive attack. If he was a river, mine was molten lava, raging from an erupting volcano.

It was too late for regret. The Moon Cycle struck as a complete combo, ignoring defense entirely and pouring every ounce of force into relentless offense.

"Moon Cycle Burrowing Strike!" I shouted, driving the spear low and fast, aiming to pierce through his guard.

BOOM!

The spinning momentum of my spear tore through his flesh, punching a gaping hole in his stomach.

Thud!

He hit the ground hard, chest heaving in shallow breaths. Even with a fatal wound, he was still alive—a testament to the vitality of a peak martial artist.

"Ha… ha… ha…" He coughed violently, blood foaming at the corners of his mouth, but the grin never faltered.

"You're really crazy. How can you still smile when you're this close to dying?" I sighed. Defeating an enemy like him didn't even feel satisfying.

"G… General Sun Wang… are you… happy with your life?" he gasped, each word showed his dwindling life.

"I… I don't really know how to answer that."

Another chuckle slipped from his lips, mingled with blood. "Well… I'm very happy right now because I got to fight you until the end."

"Why this obsession with me?" I asked, my instincts telling me his reasons ran deeper than just being the strongest.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "Ever since I was young, I've always heard your name."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "Didn't know I was famous in your country."

"You're not—" He shook his head lightly. "Sadly… my mother can't stop talking about you—"

His words cut off as life left him.

The final expression on his face was one of eerie satisfaction, as if he had found what he was searching for.

But what I felt was the exact opposite.

My heart slammed against my chest, each beat a painful drum, threatening to tear me apart.

These weren't my emotions, they were the feelings of the real Sun Wang, surging through me.

Looking at his corpse, I noticed a birthmark on his torn upper torso.

My fingers trembled as I traced my own chest—and there it was, the same mark.

I tried to speak, but my mouth refused to move. I was utterly speechless.

Could it really be…?

[DING!]

[Congratulations, Host, for completing the first stage of General Sun Wang's Card — Asura Level.]

[Shutting down simulation in...]

[3][2][1]

My vision went black, and the next thing I knew, I was lying on the sofa, breathing heavily. I hurried to my feet and checked the time. Only a minute passed—but what I experienced was far longer.

I clenched my chest. My heart was still racing, but it was no longer from pain.

Although that final revelation had struck me like lightning inside the simulation, its weight felt dulled now that I was back in reality.

Still, that guy—Sun Wang—was truly a different breed of degenerate. Just because he was powerful and talented didn't mean every woman he met would want to be injected with his seed.

What was his plan? To usher in an era of powerful martial artists? Ironically… if Tae Yul really was his son, then that might not be such a far-fetched idea.

[ALERT: Host, please locate a safe area to begin transformation.]

"Transformation?" I muttered. This was the first time I'd ever heard about that.

[Host, the Asura Card contains immense power. A full-body reconstruction is required to transfer the skills. Without it, your current body cannot sustain the skill and may result in death.]

The words "body reconstruction" sounded terrifying.

But after what I experienced in that prison, my pain tolerance should have improved a lot.

[Host, you have 5:00 remaining.]

The clock started ticking so I hurriedly went down the basement and searched for a place, until I found the private theater room .

It was perfect because it even has it's own sound proofing and enough space for me to move around.

I sat on the floor and waited for the timer to hit zero.

[Body Reconstruction starts]

Blood shot up toward my throat, and excruciating pain tore through me. My nose, my ears, my eyes start bleeding next—and I felt my flesh being torn apart.

'FUCK!!!'

I wanted to scream, but the agony stole even my voice. From the sensation coursing through me, I guessed the system was remaking my muscles fibers to mimic Sun Wang's spring like flesh.

That alone was already a reward worth enduring. Explosive power like that wasn't something anyone could earn, even with decades of training.

'No pain, no gain,' I kept repeating quietly to myself, focusing on controlling my breathing.

Seconds bled into minutes, and somewhere along the way, I gave up counting. I lay there in a pool of my own blood, eyes fixed on the ceiling, too exhausted to care.

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