"Beat her down with your fists!"
"Kick her ass!"
The cybernetic bikers of the Ghostfire Syndicate waved flags emblazoned with slogans such as "Global Domination" and "Strongest Man," roaring encouragement for their president.
The Taixu Gang refused to be outdone. They raised Azure Empyrea figurines and all kinds of merchandise, displaying clothes printed with Azure Empyrea's image as they cheered for the immortal.
"Azure Empyrea, I'm your fan!"
"I'll protect my beloved Lady Azure Empyrea!"
"Ah, Azure Empyrea's proud and elegant figure! This is the charm of a super idol!"
For a time, it was impossible to tell which side was louder.
Before the two had even begun fighting, experienced observers were already analyzing the likely outcome.
"President Tenmon fought his way out of the refugee district with nothing but his fists. No one has ever defeated him. His title as the Strongest Man is fully deserved. The Special Assault Squads are composed entirely of cybernetically modified fighters and awakened ability users. President Tenmon alone is neither a cyborg nor an awakened ability user, yet through the killing intent he honed by slaughtering his enemies, he subdued every last cybernetic biker."
"He is truly a model for us all!"
"Azure Empyrea is Dusk City's rising gangland yangko star. She brought a golden wind of change to this decaying city. She consecutively slew two of our Special Assault Squad captains and built a major gang in only a month, so her influence cannot be underestimated. But compared with President Tenmon, she still lacks the tempering of time and experience. Dying at President Tenmon's hands will be her honor."
The Ghostfire Syndicate's cybernetic bikers worshiped strength and followed the law of the strong devouring the weak. They had always despised losers, so the veteran biker's evaluation of Azure Empyrea was already extremely high.
Beside him, his underling asked respectfully, "Then how many moves do you think this Azure Empyrea can withstand from the president?"
The veteran biker fell into deep thought. After carefully observing Azure Empyrea, he took out a data card and declared solemnly,
"I'm betting everything on Azure Empyrea!"
Cluck, cluck, cluck!
Zeo held a betting-odds sheet and an electronic coin bank in its wings, moving back and forth between the two groups with the help of its thrusters.
It had opened a betting pool on the outcome of the fight between Azure Empyrea and Tenmon Soji.
Zeo would never miss any opportunity to earn extra money.
The moment it heard that business had arrived, Zeo used its tiny wing to accept the veteran biker's credit card, then swiped it across a sign printed with Azure Empyrea's image.
With a long beep, the prize pool displayed on the electronic coin bank increased by fifty thousand.
Fifty thousand credits received.
The underling beside him looked astonished. "Huh? Didn't you say President Tenmon was stronger?"
The veteran biker roared angrily, "Analysis is rational, but betting is emotional! I'm betting according to my damn preferences. Is that a problem?!"
As he spoke, he accepted the exquisitely printed betting receipt bearing Azure Empyrea's image from Zeo and carefully tucked it into his clothes.
"By the way, is nobody going to ask what the hell this chicken is?"
...
To someone ignorant of martial arts, there was no way to see how terrifying Asura Demon Dragon truly was.
Even the Ghostfire Syndicate bikers who had always followed Tenmon Soji only knew that their leader had become invincible through the killing intent he had cultivated in battle.
Killing intent? Everyone had at least a little of it. Was it not perfectly normal that someone who trained it to the extreme could use killing intent against enemies?
Among everyone present, only Hua, who was carrying Su on her back, knew that the truth was nothing like that.
How could those bikers, who spent years behaving like thugs and had never studied proper martial arts, possibly understand the martial path?
As the saying went, amateurs watched the spectacle while experts watched the technique.
Could killing truly refine baleful aura until it became tangible?
Could killing truly sharpen a warrior's heart and martial will?
What a joke.
If baleful aura could be produced so easily, the governments of every nation would have already trained entire groups of martial artists who slaughtered without mercy.
If baleful aura could be produced so easily, Shenzhou's martial traditions would never have declined.
Shenzhou possessed a long and ancient history, so naturally there had once been martial artists who cultivated baleful aura.
Baleful aura could only be considered an unorthodox offshoot of Shenzhou martial arts. Some people had no idea how to continue their training, happened to experience baleful aura on the battlefield, and incorporated it into their martial disciplines.
While tempering their baleful aura, they also had to cultivate techniques for calming the heart and mind. This expanded the amount of baleful aura they could contain and maintained balance between body and mind. Otherwise, they risked suffering cultivation deviation.
Yet an unorthodox path remained an unorthodox path. Baleful aura was nothing more than an extremely narrow trail.
After tempering both body and mind, practitioners would discover that their baleful aura increased more slowly than an ox could walk.
Cultivating baleful aura was less effective than simply building muscle.
That narrow trail was also a dead end.
Sensing that enormous quantity of baleful aura once again, Hua could not help worrying for Vill-V.
This was not something a human being could possibly possess.
Furthermore, Asura Demon Dragon had not cultivated even the slightest technique for calming his mind.
That was completely impossible.
Baleful aura originated from the "heart." To bear baleful aura, one needed a warrior's heart capable of containing it.
When a vessel was not large enough, no amount of effort could force more water into it. That was an absolute requirement.
And yet Asura Demon Dragon's baleful aura had completely surpassed Hua's imagination.
Its quality and quantity seemed to be the result of several thousand years of accumulation.
Could anyone truly reach such a level?
Furthermore, why would someone who had accomplished such an unprecedented legend and nearly stood shoulder to shoulder with immortals willingly conceal his identity in this small city and become a gang leader?
And why did none of his actions display the dignity of a martial grandmaster? Why did he seem more like a nouveau riche who had suddenly come into a fortune?
Hua could not understand it.
"Ugh..."
Su was jolted awake by Hua's broad, firm, and powerful back.
His cheek twitched, and veins bulged at his temples.
The aftereffects that the strange mirror had inflicted upon his mind clearly remained, leaving his consciousness hazy.
"This is... How long was I unconscious? Where is Miss Vill-V?"
"Vill-V is still fighting the leader of the Ghostfire Syndicate."
"Mm... Put me down. I can walk by myself."
"No. Vill-V told me to take you to the psychiatric CT room. There is medical equipment there for examining the mind."
"I'm... fine."
"People with mental illnesses always say that."
Su fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
"...All right. There is something I need to tell you. While I was unconscious just now, I obtained some information."
"Is it about how to deal with that strange mirror?"
"It's about... the nature of human existence itself."
"..."
"A Nobel Prize winner once proposed that after a person's life ends, their consciousness continues to exist in a bosonic state, which is to say, in quantum form. However, because the hypothesis was far too radical at the time and had no evidence supporting it, it was always treated as mere speculation. It was even questioned and criticized by many scientists."
"..."
"And just now, I experienced the sensation of being superposed between life and death..."
"Su, I don't understand any of that..."
"...I'm sorry, Hua."
"I'm the one who should apologize. My knowledge isn't broad enough."
"No. I failed to consider your circumstances. After all, that incident happened just after you graduated from middle school."
"It's all right. I didn't learn much at school anyway. My horizons only began to broaden after I met you and Vill-V."