BANG—!
Following a heavy, concussive sound, Agito Kanoh was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the dojo floor.
He executed a flawless breakfall, rapidly rolling backward and springing to his feet, immediately dropping back into his combat stance. However, the man standing opposite him didn't pursue the attack. Instead, Lu Li casually walked over to a bench, grabbed a bottle of water, and tossed it to him.
"Mr. Lu. In your professional opinion... what exactly am I lacking?"
Agito asked, his tone filled with genuine, burning curiosity. This was the absolute first time in his life he had encountered an entity like Lu Li. The very existence of this man had completely shattered his worldview.
Previously, Agito had firmly believed he was standing alone at the absolute pinnacle of the world. He felt exactly like a legendary mountaineer who had finally conquered K2, only to look around and find nothing but empty, freezing isolation. There were practically no fighters left capable of pushing him to his limits. Because of this profound loneliness at the top, his martial evolution had stagnated for a very long time.
But now, he had discovered that there was an even higher, infinitely more terrifying mountain looming directly in front of him—a peak vastly taller than anything he had ever scaled before. This realization had violently re-ignited his burning will to fight.
"What are you lacking?" Lu Li took a long swig of water and chuckled softly. "Everything."
He wasn't trying to deliberately crush Agito's pride. But honestly, since arriving in this world, Lu Li had felt a slight sense of disappointment.
The catastrophic mutation triggered by the Origin Seed either hadn't been severe enough yet, or simply hadn't had enough time to fully propagate. Currently, elite fighters like Agito Kanoh still generally fell within the absolute upper boundaries of the "human" category.
Therefore, Agito's raw numerical stats were significantly lower than Lu Li's. As for his technical proficiency... using the Terminus Space's proficiency scaling as a metric, Lu Li estimated Agito had likely just barely scraped the threshold of the [Master] tier in unarmed combat.
As for Raian... he was probably hovering around the absolute peak of the [Expert] tier.
Yes, Lu Li had discovered that the Terminus Space's proficiency rating system actually held an incredible amount of weight.
Purely based on the physical sensation of the spars, Lu Li honestly felt the combat inside the Shin'o Academy in the Bleach universe had been far more exhilarating. After all, he had sparred with individuals whose raw stats completely dwarfed his own, and who possessed literally hundreds of years of refined combat experience.
Having survived the brutal, hellish tempering of the Captain-Commander's training, and subsequently surviving the absolute deathmatch against Unohana, coupled with his intensive grinding in the Terminus Space's paid gravity rooms... Lu Li's combat proficiencies had skyrocketed exponentially.
Several of his core combat proficiencies had already broken past Level 25 within the [Master] tier. For comparison, Lu Li estimated Agito was likely hovering somewhere below Level 10 within the Master tier. Raian, after days of brutal "re-education," could probably just barely be considered a low-level Master.
Although the Terminus Space provided a numerical damage multiplier for higher proficiency levels, raw numbers alone could absolutely never accurately quantify a martial artist's true "Domain."
A fighter's ultimate strength was dictated by a complex synthesis of factors: their profound comprehension of martial arts, their split-second judgment in a deathmatch, their primal intuition, and their ability to perceive the exact kinetic flow of power.
It wasn't that Agito was weak, nor were his base stats astronomically lower than Lu Li's unbuffed state. So how was Lu Li able to effortlessly catch Agito's devastating, full-power punches?
The answer lay in their "Domain." Their fundamental comprehension of martial arts existed on entirely different dimensional planes.
In the exact microsecond Agito launched a strike, Lu Li's peerless intuition had already perfectly mapped the kinetic flow of power surging through Agito's musculature. He could vividly perceive the exact "Point" of maximum kinetic output.
His master had once told him: The ancient Grandmasters of our homeland possessed the ability to see through the core structure of matter and comprehend the absolute principles of kinetic flow. Upon reaching this Domain, even with a minute fraction of physical force, one could effortlessly shatter a massive boulder.
Conversely, if one attained this Domain, when facing an incoming strike carrying catastrophic kinetic force, they could instantly analyze and map the flow of that power. By precisely targeting the absolute "Point" of the strike's kinetic foundation, they could effortlessly suppress and neutralize the attack.
Therefore, when Lu Li caught Agito's devastating punch without taking a single step backward, it wasn't because his raw strength vastly eclipsed Agito's. It was because he had achieved absolute mastery of [Martial Arts].
He didn't suppress Agito with brute force; he neutralized the strike with transcendent technique.
To an ordinary person, this concept sounded impossibly profound, abstract, and entirely incomprehensible. But the terrifying reality was that Lu Li could actually execute it flawlessly.
And the cruelest truth of all was that this level of technique could not simply be taught. It didn't rely on mere combat experience or grueling physical conditioning. It required absolute, unparalleled innate talent.
Even if another Explorer miraculously ground their Unarmed Combat proficiency to Level 25 [Master] using the system's training rooms, they still wouldn't be able to replicate Lu Li's feats. They wouldn't possess the primal intuition or the visionary eye to perceive the kinetic "Points."
It was precisely this peerless combat intuition that had allowed Lu Li to accomplish the impossible in the Bleach universe. Captain Unohana was an absolute, unparalleled genius of Kendo with over a thousand years of continuous, blood-soaked experience. How could he have possibly surpassed her purely in "Technique"?
In terms of systemic proficiency levels, Unohana was undoubtedly leagues above him. Yet, he still secured the ultimate victory. He won purely because his innate combat intuition allowed him to grasp the absolute zenith of the strike.
"Everything...?" Agito repeated softly. "I never imagined the day would come when someone would say those words to me."
His tone wasn't discouraged. He was never a particularly talkative man, nor was he adept at expressing complex emotions. But after a full day of relentless sparring, he had viscerally experienced his own profound inadequacies.
He understood perfectly. The man standing before him possessed a superhuman constitution rivaling the "Wild Tiger," Takeshi Wakatsuki, yet he had never neglected the absolute refinement of his martial technique. This perfect synthesis had forged an impossibly powerful entity that stood alone at the absolute apex.
Agito knew he couldn't fundamentally alter his biological constitution overnight. But he firmly believed his technique could evolve further. Because right in front of him, a brand new, impossibly tall mountain had appeared.
"You two really are obsessed with fighting. You've been going at it since morning, haven't you?"
A pleasant, highly energetic female voice echoed from the entrance of the dojo. Lu Li and Agito turned to look. It was Metsudo Katahara's daughter, Sayaka Katahara.
"I apologize. I was the one aggressively seeking Mr. Lu's instruction," Agito quickly apologized, bowing respectfully. She was the daughter of his savior; he naturally treated her with absolute reverence.
Lu Li observed Sayaka Katahara. She appeared to be in her early twenties, possessing a tall, voluptuous figure, healthy tanned skin, and radiating an aura of boundless, infectious energy.
He remembered that she would serve as the primary announcer for the Kengan Annihilation Tournament. She was highly competent and possessed a terrifying talent for hyping up the crowd.
However, seeing her up close for the first time, Lu Li couldn't suppress his internal urge to mock the timeline. Old man Metsudo is genuinely a freak of nature... did he literally conceive this girl when he was in his seventies?!
"Lu, here is the dossier you requested," Sayaka said brightly, handing over a thick manila folder. Despite having only met twice, she already referred to him with casual familiarity. It didn't feel intrusive or offensive; it was simply a testament to her incredible social charisma.
"Thanks, Sis Sayaka," Lu Li smiled, accepting the folder.
After flipping through just a few pages, he immediately had a clear picture of the board.
This dossier was the compiled intelligence gathered by the combined, omnipotent networks of the Kure Clan and Metsudo Katahara. It was incredibly comprehensive and its reliability was practically absolute. The sheer efficiency of these two super-factions collaborating was terrifying.
It had been less than 24 hours since he had issued the request.
"There genuinely is a fighter within the Kengan Association whose recent performance metrics are highly anomalous. Why exactly are you looking for them, Mr. Lu?" Sayaka asked, her curiosity piqued.
Agito also turned his gaze toward Lu Li, equally intrigued by his new Master's true intentions.
"To eliminate the anomaly, of course," Lu Li replied smoothly, closing the folder.
He already knew exactly who his target was.
Although the baseline combat power of several Kengan fighters had seen minor, noticeable increases recently due to the world's ambient mutation, one individual's growth was absolutely, catastrophically abnormal.
The new affiliated fighter representing the Kouou Academy: Setsuna Kiryu.
Lu Li had a relatively deep impression of this character, not necessarily because of his canonical strength, but because of his sheer, unadulterated psychosis.
In the original manga, Setsuna was an ultra-violent, hyper-obsessive stalker deeply infatuated with the protagonist. He was terrifyingly strong, his emotions were completely warped, and he slaughtered people without a microsecond of hesitation. When Lu Li had first read the manga, he genuinely thought Setsuna was being built up as the ultimate destined rival who would fight Ohma in the grand finals.
Who could have predicted the author would completely subvert expectations? Just when Lu Li thought Kuroki Gensai—who looked like a random, scruffy hobo—was being set up as a sacrificial stepping stone to hype up Setsuna... the old Grandmaster had absolutely, mercilessly dismantled the psycho without breaking a sweat.
However, if Setsuna Kiryu had somehow managed to secure the Origin Seed... he would be exponentially more dangerous. His current combat power could absolutely not be judged based on the canon manga timeline.
Synthesizing this intel with the recent string of Explorer assassinations broadcasted in the Public Chat, everything suddenly clicked into place for Lu Li.
Initially, he had assumed the Violator was going on a targeted killing spree. But now, it was highly probable that Setsuna Kiryu was the one butchering the Explorers. After all, his "beloved" Ohma had just been murdered. The psycho was likely lashing out at everything in his path.
Lu Li didn't suffer from the arrogant delusion that all Tier 1 Explorers were weak fodder. If Setsuna had managed to consecutively hunt down and slaughter Explorers who possessed vastly superior baseline numerical stats, it proved he had already acquired a terrifying amount of anomalous power.
Fortunately, Lu Li had chosen to use his brain for this mission. By leveraging the supreme intelligence networks of the local factions, he had successfully locked onto his target in a mere six days.
The Kengan Annihilation Tournament hadn't even officially begun yet. Therefore, Setsuna couldn't have grown to a completely unmanageable, apocalyptic level just yet.
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