I stood unwavering as the wave of energy rushed toward . Mr. Snyder's face contorted in sadistic pleasure, clearly expecting to see crushed beneath his attack. But I had changed—fundantally and irrevocably—since our last encounter.
With perfect timing, I slamd my golden-wrapped fist directly into the center of his energy wave. The collision sent shockwaves rippling outward, cracking the ground beneath us. For a mont, our energies battled—his destructive force against my golden light.
Then his attack shattered like glass.
The look of shock on Mr. Snyder's face was almost worth every mont of suffering I'd endured. His mouth hung open in disbelief as fragnts of his spiritual energy dissipated into the air.
"Impossible," he muttered, taking an instinctive step backward.
Behind , I heard Sofia's gasp of amazent and Eamon's whispered prayer of thanks. But I kept my focus locked on my opponents.
"You should have stayed away," I said, my voice steady and calm. "Now you'll understand the difference between us."
Mr. Snyder's face twisted in rage. "One lucky counter doesn't an anything! I'm still a Peak Grandmaster!"
He lunged forward with renewed fury, his fist glowing with concentrated spiritual energy. I didn't dodge. I simply t his attack head-on, catching his fist in my open palm. The impact created another shockwave, but I remained unmoved.
"Is this all a Peak Grandmaster can offer?" I asked, tightening my grip on his fist.
Mr. Snyder's eyes widened in pain as I squeezed, forcing him to his knees. "How? You were nothing but a weakling!"
"People change," I replied, before releasing him with a push that sent him tumbling backward several yards.
The two other Grandmasters exchanged nervous glances. This wasn't the easy kill they'd anticipated. The taller one moved first, circling to my left while the other went right—a basic flanking maneuver.
"Eamon, Sofia," I called without turning. "Stay back. This could get ssy."
Sofia's voice was tense but determined. "We've got your back, Master Liam."
The Grandmasters attacked simultaneously, coming at from opposite sides. Their coordination was impressive—clearly, they'd fought together before. But their techniques were predictable to my newly enhanced senses.
As they closed in, I activated the "Shrinking Ground Into An Inch" technique. To them, it would appear as if I'd simply vanished. In reality, I had moved with such speed that their eyes couldn't track .
I reappeared behind Mr. Snyder, who was still struggling to his feet. "Looking for ?"
He whirled around, fear evident in his eyes. "H-how did you—"
My palm strike to his chest cut off his words. I held back significantly—I could have easily killed him—but the force was still enough to send him flying into a nearby wall, which crumbled on impact.
The two Grandmasters regrouped quickly, their expressions now grave. They'd realized this wasn't going to be the simple assassination they'd planned.
"Who the hell is this guy?" the shorter one muttered.
The taller one narrowed his eyes. "Doesn't matter. We have orders."
They changed tactics, moving in perfect sync as they unleashed a combined attack—a spiraling vortex of energy that roared toward like a tornado. I recognized it as the "Twin Dragon Spiral," a powerful technique that few could withstand.
Instead of dodging, I stood my ground and activated "Heavy Falling Space"—one of the techniques I'd mastered during my breakthrough. The air around us instantly beca thick and viscous, as if we were all suddenly subrged in honey.
Their attack slowed dramatically, the once-fearso vortex now crawling through the distorted space. The Grandmasters' expressions shifted from confidence to confusion to fear as they felt their bodies growing unbearably heavy.
"What... is... this?" the taller one gasped, struggling to remain upright as invisible weight pressed down on him.
I walked forward casually, unaffected by my own technique. "You wanted to see what I'm capable of. I'm rely obliging."
With two swift movents, I struck them both—precise hits to pressure points that would temporarily paralyze without causing permanent damage. They collapsed to the ground, unable to move but fully conscious to experience their defeat.
Mr. Snyder had extracted himself from the rubble, his face bloody and his eyes wild with a mixture of fear and desperation. He looked at his fallen comrades, then back at .
"You've improved," he spat, blood trickling from his mouth. "But you're still naive if you think you've won."
He began forming hand seals, gathering what remained of his power. The two paralyzed Grandmasters on the ground sohow managed to contribute their energy as well, creating visible threads of power that flowed toward Mr. Snyder.
"The Three Directions Divine Tower," he growled, his hands completing the final seal. "Even if we die, you'll be trapped forever!" This chapter was made possible by the * community.
A brilliant golden light erupted from the ground beneath my feet, expanding rapidly into translucent walls that surrounded on all sides. Within seconds, I was encased in a towering golden prison that reached toward the sky.
Sofia scread my na from outside, her voice muffled by the thick energy walls.
"It's useless!" Mr. Snyder laughed, though the effort clearly drained him. "The Three Directions Divine Tower is unbreakable from within. Your body will slowly dissipate into nothing while trapped inside!"
I placed my palm against the golden wall. It was solid, humming with the combined power of three Peak Grandmasters. An impressive technique, certainly. In the past, it would have been my end.
Mr. Snyder, believing he'd finally succeeded, turned his attention to Sofia and Eamon. "Now for the trash that follows him."
"No!" Eamon stepped in front of Sofia protectively, though fear was evident in his eyes.
"Brave," Mr. Snyder sneered. "But futile. Kill them both," he ordered the taller Grandmaster, who had just regained enough movent to stand.
Inside the golden tower, I felt the walls pulsing with energy, attempting to break down my body at the cellular level. I closed my eyes, focusing inward to the core of my being where the power of the Monastic Peak resided.
Golden light began to emanate from my skin, growing brighter by the second. I heard Mr. Snyder's muffled voice outside, gloating about his victory. I heard Sofia's defiant shout as she drew her blade, prepared to fight despite the hopeless odds.
I thought of Isabelle, still captive and suffering. I thought of all the people counting on . I thought of all the promises I had yet to fulfill.
"No," I whispered. "Not here. Not now."
I gathered my power into a concentrated point, then pushed outward with everything I had. The golden walls of the tower shuddered, then began to crack. Light spilled through the fissures, growing brighter as more cracks appeared.
Outside, Mr. Snyder was mid-sentence when he noticed the fracturing prison. "What? That's impossible!"
With one final surge of power, I shattered the golden tower completely. The explosion sent fragnts of golden energy in all directions, forcing everyone to shield their eyes from the blinding light.
When the dust settled, I stood in the center of a cratered circle, completely unhard. Golden light still danced across my skin like living flas before gradually fading away.
I looked directly at Mr. Snyder, whose face had drained of all color. The taller Grandmaster had frozen mid-step, his attack on Eamon and Sofia forgotten as he stared at in horror.
"Your golden tower," I said calmly, brushing a speck of dust from my shoulder, "seems a bit fragile."
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