[Name: Trista's Coin of Fate]
[Level: Tier 3 Perfect]
[Effect · Fate Wager: After use, a special wager can be initiated, with the soul as the stake. The winner takes all.]
[Evaluation: 'If you don't have the resolve to lose everything, you won't have the stake to enter this wager, because the price of fate... is far more expensive than you think.' — Tier Calamity Star Envoy · Trista]
Just as Tendo in the screen played with the 'Coin of Fate,' the anime screen briefly showed the effect of Tendo's 'Silver Coin.'
Upon seeing this coin, the dimension viewers, who had been somewhat confused by everything, suddenly understood.
"So the reason Boss Tendo kept playing with a silver coin in the movie wasn't because he knew he was a 'shady old dog', but because it's a Star Gear."
'A Fate Wager staked on the soul? It seems those Tower Guardians who were manipulated by Tendo lost their souls to Boss Tendo.'
'But can a simple Martial Arts Badge Challenge really make a Tower Guardian wager their soul? I feel like it shouldn't.'
'There must be other secrets hidden here. Otherwise, I don't believe no Tower Guardian would have discovered the secret of Boss Tendo's silver coin.'
In the hotel living room.
Tendo leaned on the sofa, calmly watching the rolling bullet comments on the dimension screen. A subtle, meaningful look flashed in his cyan-blue eyes beneath the mask.
Everything was exactly as the dimension viewers had said: his Coin of Fate was not as overbearing as outsiders imagined.
A simple challenge indeed could not compel a Tower Guardian to wager their soul.
Such a wager would be neither fair nor equal, making it impossible to establish.
The prerequisite for Tendo to activate the 'Fate Wager' was that both parties first needed to present equivalent stakes.
Or rather, stakes that both sides considered 'equivalent.'
Therefore, the key to the stakes placed in the Fate Wager was never about whether the stakes genuinely held sufficient value, but whether both parties in the game... acknowledged them.
Just as Tendo was thinking this, the anime's camera angle shifted.
It went back three months, to the first time Tendo conducted a Martial Arts Challenge.
His chosen opponent was none other than the Tower Guardian of the Shattered Rock Tower—Yan Lei.
[Three Months Ago, Shattered Rock Tower]
In the empty training arena, Yan Lei stood at the edge of the field, arms crossed. The cuffs of his dark gray martial arts uniform were frayed, a result of inadvertently rubbing them while constantly clenching his fists in practice.
On the thumb web of his right hand was a noticeable scar, accidentally left during his younger days while practicing 'Shattered Rock Style: Splitting Stone,' proof of his hard work.
Looking at Tendo, who wore a black eye patch and looked at most twenty years old, Yan Lei said with a strange expression, "So, young man, you mean you want to add an extra wager to the Martial Arts Badge Challenge?"
As he spoke, Yan Lei secretly glanced at Tendo's hands.
Tendo's hands were very clean, with no calluses.
Such hands clearly belonged only to 'young masters' who lived in luxury, and could never be found on a 'fist master' who diligently practiced boxing.
Yan Lei did not believe that such a young layman could offer a 'stake' that would warrant him opening an extra round.
After all, for him, the only thing he truly cared about was 'fist techniques.'
Despite his doubts, driven by curiosity, Yan Lei asked, "Tell me, what do you plan to wager, and what can you offer as a wager?
"You should know that if your stake doesn't satisfy me, I won't agree to your so-called wager.
"After all, there are all sorts of strange Star Sources in this world, and the effects of Star Gears are even more bizarre. I'm certain that the wager you speak of is definitely not as simple as the words suggest, but includes some special conditions."
Tendo was not surprised that Yan Lei could guess the existence of the 'Coin of Fate.'
Anyone who could cultivate to his level must have encountered many peculiar Star Sources or Star Gears.
Knowing the special nature of this wager was naturally to be expected.
However, the fact that Tendo dared to speak this way proved that he had the confidence to get Yan Lei to agree.
Under Yan Lei's curious gaze.
Tendo did not rush to answer. Instead, he walked to the center of the training arena, spread his feet apart, and took a perfect horse stance (Ma Bu).
The next second, faint gray starlight climbed from his ankles and continued up his shins, eventually spreading over Tendo's entire body.
A large number of special Star Track patterns, symbolizing the 'Shattered Rock Style,' condensed on his skin.
Th-this is?!
Looking at the characteristic 'Rock Markings' on Tendo's skin, Yan Lei's eyes lit up, and his arms, which were previously crossed, subconsciously dropped.
Because the 'Rock Markings' on Tendo's skin were not only standard, but the process of their condensation was quick and stable, looking like an old expert who had practiced the 'Shattered Rock Style' for many years, showing no sign of unfamiliarity.
At the same time, Yan Lei also noticed that Tendo's Shattered Rock Style seemed slightly different from his understanding of it.
Although he couldn't pinpoint the exact difference, his intuition told him that the 'Shattered Rock Style' Tendo was executing... was extraordinary.
Boom!
Just as Yan Lei was still engrossed in his thoughts, Tendo suddenly threw a punch.
In an instant, Yan Lei felt a dense gust of air blast him. The granite floor in the center of the arena cracked with a crunch.
The crack, starting from Tendo's body, eventually extended all the way to the wall at the edge of the arena before stopping, causing the entire training arena to visibly shake.
Concurrently, as Tendo threw the punch, the faint phantom of a 'mountain range' emerged behind him.
The mountain range was gray and misty, carrying a heavy, weighty force.
A similar phenomenon had occurred on Yan Lei himself.
But compared to his own fleeting 'mountain phantom,' Tendo's 'mountain phantom' was not only more substantial but also heavier.
Fist Intent, and the Fist Intent of the Shattered Rock Style!
In an instant, Yan Lei understood what Tendo had done.
He stared at Tendo in disbelief for a moment before saying in a hoarse voice, "What do you call that move?"
"Earth Split."
Tendo calmly withdrew his fist. The Star Track patterns on his body slowly faded as well, restoring him to the appearance of a young gentleman, completely different from a rough martial artist.
However, Yan Lei was no longer paying attention to these details.
He stared distractedly at the crack carved into the ground by Tendo's punch, quietly repeating the words 'Earth Split.'
As if those two words held an extraordinary meaning for him.
And this was indeed the case, for 'Earth Split' not only represented a single technique but was the ultimate profound meaning of their Shattered Rock Style.
Something that he, Yan Lei, had practiced bitterly for thirty years and still failed to achieve, was now demonstrated by this young man who looked to be in his early twenties.
With this thought, Yan Lei couldn't help but ask, "Did you learn the Shattered Rock Style before?"
Tendo shook his head: "No."
Upon hearing this answer, Yan Lei's expression immediately turned sour.
You haven't learned the Shattered Rock Style before, yet you can execute its ultimate profound meaning now.
Kid, are you taking me for a fool!
Thinking this, Yan Lei was about to erupt and make this arrogant and disrespectful fellow understand the price of mocking him.
But before he could act, Tendo placed his hand on his black eye patch and slowly... removed it.
The next second, a pair of deep, cyan-blue eyes, like the starry sky, appeared before Yan Lei.
Upon seeing these eyes, Yan Lei was thunderstruck, frozen in place.
Yes, if it was this pair of eyes, and the person who owned them, it truly was possible to learn the ultimate profound meaning of the 'Shattered Rock Style' now, despite never having learned it before.
Because this fellow didn't learn it in the past; he learned it through the 'future.'
With this realization, Yan Lei looked at Tendo with a complicated expression and slowly spoke.
"So, you are EmberTendo Simei?"
"You used those eyes... to see my future?"
"Mm."
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