Chapter 71
“Sure.”
Chun Ma stood up and immediately went to an empty ground in the place. The people around him looked with heated breath when they saw this.
Chu Dae raised his brows:
“Quite excited, aren’t you?”
“Of course, I am excited,” Chun Ma replied in an icy tone. “I want to test the feeling of fighting a Third-stage Martial Artist again.”
He released his Will again to spread outward, but now this Will seemed to be a little stronger than his previous self.
A sword appeared behind the back of Chu Dae.
Even without them actually facing off, the pressure already caused the surroundings to feel heavy.
Chun Ma could feel it. Initially, his Will might have been weaker, but it was growing stronger bit by bit again!
‘Only a second-stage Martial Artist could enhance his Will actively by pouring the demonic Qi, but now I could do it so easily.’
The next step after forming the Demonic Will was to let it be nourished by the Demonic Qi, but Chun Ma was already strengthening his Will before he could even reach that state.
The two were in a moment of stare-off, when Chu Dae noticed the strangeness immediately; the more the two’s Will collided, the more Chun Ma seemed to be growing stronger.
“Enough.”
So he promptly took out the golden sword and pointed its tip at him while holding it in his two hands.
Chun Ma just stood there, tall and proud, without a hint of emotion.
The people around them gathered in a circle, giving the two enough space to fight:
“Who do you think will win?”
“Of course, it’s the instructor. Chun Ma shouldn’t have grown that much, he was barely able to compete with that white-masked devil instructor before. So this match… it’s hard to say.”
“But how many exchanges will he last?”
“I bet five hundred.”
“I bet a thousand.”
Chun Ma’s ears twitched ever so slightly as he overheard the murmurs around him.
The bearded instructor stepped between them, wearing a helpless expression: “Ready?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Start!” he roared.
They clashed in an instant, Chun Ma opened with a straight hook punch.
Chu Dae countered with a swift arc of his golden sword.
Their attacks collided, matching each other in strength as they pushed against one another.
Chu Dae poured a burst of power into his swing, forcing Chun Ma back slightly before slashing toward his heart.
Chun Ma struck again with a punch, this time the sword’s tip grazed his skin, enough to draw a thin line of crimson that dripped to the ground.
“Hupp!” Chun Ma drew a sharp breath, raising his left fist to strike again.
Chu Dae ducked, narrowly avoiding the incoming fist.
Chun Ma pressed the attack, driving his knee toward Chu Dae’s face.
He twisted his neck just in time, avoiding the strike by a hair’s breadth, only for another blow to follow, aiming straight for the center of his head.
He raised his sword just in time to block the incoming fist, but his face tensed as he felt the immense pressure behind the blow.
As he poured all his strength into defending against the punch…
… the pressure suddenly vanished.
His eyes widened as a massive fist, glittering with strange starlight, came crashing toward his face.
A chill ran down Chu Dae’s spine. That fist was fast and utterly life-shattering.
So he rolled away without a moment’s hesitation, but the fist still grazed his chin, bending his chin in an unnatural way before he could gain enough distance.
Chu Dae caught his breath, eyes wide with terror as he looked at Chun Ma.
Behind him, a faint golden sword shimmered into view once more.
“Let’s take this battle more seriously,” he roared.
Chun Ma said nothing. He stared straight ahead, a towering giant’s image beginning to take shape behind him, its outline glowing faintly.
He lunged forward and threw a punch, perfectly mirroring the motion of the giant.
Chu Dae responded in kind. Their clash echoed like thunder, shaking the earth and reducing everything around them to rubble.
The two clashed without pause, exchanging slashes and punches with no sign of retreat, each strike aimed at vital points, as if locked in a fight to the death.
The shockwaves from their battle rattled the entire arena. Chunks of debris fell from the ceiling, plunging the surroundings into chaos.
The bearded instructor and the bald man shielded the spectators from the falling rubble, though their eyes remained fixed on the fight, wide with disbelief and horror.
‘Am I seeing this right?’ the instructor thought. ‘At first, Chun Ma was clearly losing momentum after Chu Dae unleashed his Will… but now, it’s the complete opposite. Chun Ma is growing stronger, gradually overpowering him. How can a Martial Artist grow this fast?’
The bearded instructor opened his parched lips but couldn’t muster any words for what he was witnessing.
Gwak Hyun remained silent, stunned into speechlessness.
‘I knew it. This wasn’t my imagination.’
Meanwhile, the fight raged on. The two exchanged blow after blow ferociously, neither taking a step back.
Despite the ferocity, it still took more than half an hour before Chu Dae was completely exhausted. His steps grew shaky; he struggled just to stay standing.
The Will behind him fared no better, shredded by the giant as if it were a paper against a blade.
Chu Dae collapsed to his knees, his body trembling. With a shaking finger, he pointed at Chun Ma and uttered with horror:
‘Just… what are you?’
Then Chu Dae collapsed to the ground and fainted on the spot.
Chun Ma stood over the fallen body, his face unreadable. He turned to the bearded instructor.
“Yes, yes, you won,” the instructor muttered.
Chun Ma bowed and brought his fists together.
“I want to fight more.”
The bearded instructor stared at him, speechless: “Who are you going to fight with now?”
Chun Ma turned his gaze toward Gwak Hyun.
‘I’ve finally found it, a way to grow stronger. The more I fight, the stronger I become. If I keep progressing… I might even earn a title eventually.’
Seeing the cold glint in Chun Ma’s eyes, even Gwak Hyun felt a chill, but mustering his courage, he still stood tall and determined:
“Alright, let’s fight.”
Soon after, he lost, and Chun Ma exchanged bouts with even the bearded instructor, and he lost too.
The people around were all looking at the dazzling, cold Chun Ma with utter stuntedness.
When Chun Ma returned to his dwelling, he found that his progress had grown significantly. The thing that would take months now felt like it could be done in a week.
This was because of his Will tempering, which made him focus more, and the time to create Atherion was decreased significantly as well.
Time passed, and three days quickly went by. At this moment, he sat cross-legged on the ground, chanting the mantra:
“My will is infernal, my heart unbound.
I see Death, I embrace it.
From thought, I awakened. Through fire, I ascend.”
The Demonic Qi and the mana merged, creating strands of Atherion which swirled around the core of his body.
Chun Ma’s inner core was finally established!
The faint image of the Demonic Lotus and, at the same time, his Will, the giant him, also appeared, much clearer in outline.
Both the images were turning into dust, gradually merging into one!