The ground trembled beneath my feet as Conrad Thornton approached. Sand and dust swirled around us, kicked up by the sheer pressure of his Grandmaster aura. The crowd stepped back instinctively, faces turned away from the miniature sandstorm his presence had created. I held my ground, refusing to show any hint of intimidation despite the suffocating weight of power bearing down on .
Conrad stood before , his eyes burning with undisguised hatred. He was taller than I'd expected, broad-shouldered and imposing in his midnight-blue robes that rippled despite the lack of wind. The lines on his face deepened as he stared at .
"Liam Knight," he spat, his voice carrying across the cetery. "You dare cripple my brother and humiliate my son? The Thornton family has stood strong for five generations. We've crushed n far greater than you under our heels."
I t his gaze unflinchingly. "Is that what they tell themselves? n who prey on those weaker than themselves usually need such comforting lies."
The crowd gasped at my audacity. Conrad's face darkened with rage.
"Your arrogance exceeds your station," he snarled. "I'll make an example of you that will be rembered for decades."
I smiled thinly. "By all ans, try."
Conrad didn't waste another second on words. He struck with blinding speed, his palm strike creating a visible distortion in the air as it shot toward . I barely registered the movent before the impact sent flying backward, crashing into a mountain stone marking an ancient grave.
The stone cracked, then crumbled around as I slumped to the ground. Pain exploded across my back and chest. I tasted blood.
"Is that all, Liam Knight?" Conrad called out mockingly. "Your reputation seems greatly exaggerated."
I staggered to my feet, spitting blood onto the cetery ground. "I'm just getting ward up," I managed to say, though my ribs scread in protest.
Conrad's eyes narrowed when he saw standing relatively unhard. He moved again, appearing in front of so quickly it seed like teleportation. His fist connected with my stomach, driving all air from my lungs before a follow-up strike to my jaw sent spinning through the air. Note from the editor: Always check * for corrections.
I crashed into another grave marker, this one shattering completely under the impact. The world spun around as I tried to regain my bearings.
"You destroyed my brother's cultivation with a single strike," Conrad said, walking slowly toward . "Yet you can't even defend yourself properly. What trickery did you use, boy?"
I pushed myself up again, wiping blood from my mouth. "No tricks. Just knowledge your family lacks."
His face contorted with rage. He launched another assault, his movents a blur as he unleashed a barrage of strikes. Each hit felt like being struck by lightning. My body absorbed punishnt that would have killed an ordinary man several tis over.
The final blow sent crashing into the ground, creating a deep pit in the cetery earth. Dirt and stones rained down on as I lay at the bottom of the crater Conrad's attack had created.
The crowd had gone completely silent. I could hear whispers rippling through the onlookers.
"Is he dead?"
"No one could survive that."
"Conrad didn't even use his full strength."
I coughed, pushing aside the debris covering . Every movent sent fresh waves of pain through my battered body. Still, I forced myself to stand, climbing slowly out of the pit.
Conrad's eyes widened slightly when he saw erge. "Impossible," he muttered.
I straightened my torn and bloodied clothes, a faint dark golden glow now visible on my skin. "My Saintly Body Skill," I explained, eting his gaze. "Impressive, isn't it? Most n would be nothing but broken bones and pulped flesh after those attacks."
"A defensive technique," Conrad acknowledged, his expression calculating. "But it won't save you. I've only been using fifty percent of my power."
Before I could respond, he attacked again, moving even faster than before. This ti, I managed to raise my arms in defense, channeling my energy to et his assault. For twelve consecutive strikes, I held my ground, even landing a counter-blow that made Conrad step back montarily.
The crowd gasped at this unexpected display of resistance. I saw uncertainty flicker across so faces in Conrad's entourage.
But the mont was brief. Conrad's expression hardened, and the air around him began to distort as he finally unleashed his full power.
"Enough gas," he growled. "Let show you the difference between a Grandmaster and whatever you are."
He struck again, and this ti I couldn't even track his movent. Pain exploded across my chest as his palm connected, sending hurtling across the cetery. I crashed through three grave markers before coming to a stop, my body broken and bleeding.
I tried to stand but found I couldn't move my right arm. Looking down, I saw white bone protruding through torn flesh. Blood pooled beneath , soaking into the cetery ground.
Conrad appeared above , hovering in mid-air, his robes billowing around him. "Look at you now, Liam Knight," he said coldly. "Broken and defeated, as all who challenge the Thornton family must be."
I spat blood, refusing to lower my gaze. "Is that... what you told Killian Moreau... when your cowards ambushed him?"
Conrad's face twisted with fresh anger. "Your defiance ends now," he declared, raising his palm above his head. Energy began to coalesce, forming a sphere of devastating power. "This strike will erase you completely. Not even your precious Saintly Body Skill can save you now."
The crowd retreated further as the pressure from Conrad's attack made the air itself tremble. I lay there, blood pooling around , bone and shredded flesh exposed to the morning air. My vision darkened at the edges as Conrad gathered more power for his final strike.
From sowhere in the crowd, I heard Caspian Kane speak quietly to Miguel Pratt. "Wait. Just wait."
"For what?" Miguel hissed back. "The boy is finished."
"I'm not so sure," Caspian replied, his voice calm. "There's sothing about him..."
Above , Conrad's palm glowed with blinding energy, ready to end my life. I stared up at it, my body broken but my spirit unbroken. Blood trickled from my mouth as I forced my lips into a defiant smile.
The massive palm strike began its descent toward , carrying enough power to obliterate my body completely. The crowd held their collective breath, anticipating my inevitable end at the hands of the Thornton Grandmaster.
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