Chapter 187: Absolute Playfulness and Total Crushing
To avoid accidentally killing Atomic Samurai with a stray wave of his hand, King crooked his finger, signaling for the swordsman to make the first move.
"Come. Strike me with your strongest attack. Let me experience your path of the sword."
In reality, King's primary goal was to gauge the actual output of Atomic Samurai's techniques to calibrate exactly where he stood in the current power hierarchy.
Hearing this, Atomic Samurai's first instinct was a sting of professional insult. I am a Great Swordsmaster, a recognized Sword Saint, and I'm being told to take the initiative?!
But then he remembered he was facing King. The sense of humiliation evaporated instantly.
Fair enough... since I am the weaker one here... it is only right that I strike first...
"Very well." Atomic Samurai slowly drew the long blade from his waist. As the steel left the scabbard, a brilliant, sharp cold light pierced the air.
"Then, King, please witness this! My ultimate technique: ATOMIC SLASH!!"
Atomic Samurai took a violent step forward. The katana in his hand transformed into a blur of silver afterimages dancing in the void. In a single heartbeat, he unleashed over ten thousand slashes, leaving a dense web of sword-trails covering King's entire body.
Seeing that King made no attempt to defend—simply tanking the entire Atomic Slash with his bare body—Atomic Samurai's eyes widened in shock. The toothpick between his teeth snapped in two.
Are you kidding me?!
Because his opponent was the Strongest Man on Earth, Atomic Samurai had prepared himself for any countermeasure.
He had imagined King might use a supreme understanding of martial arts to parry every strike. He had imagined King might use raw, explosive power to interrupt the technique before it even fully formed.
But he had never imagined that King would simply stand there, doing absolutely nothing, and take the full brunt of his strongest move without a flinch.
King looked down at his torso. Seeing that not even a thread of his clothes had been frayed, he spoke up, sounding genuinely confused:
"Haven't you started yet?"
Atomic Samurai froze. He realized that not a single scratch had appeared on King's body.
His spirit wilted instantly. Even his high ponytail seemed to droop.
"It's... already over..."
Hah?
This time, it was King who lost his composure.
Bro, you actually attacked me?
In King's perception, he hadn't even felt an attack land. It felt as if a few wisps of a light breeze had brushed against his chest.
The "Atomic Slash" that the swordsman had poured his soul into couldn't even break King's clothes—it hadn't even left a microscopic scuff mark.
Currently, King no longer wore ordinary fabrics. His "clothes" were manifested from his own solidified Aura. They never needed washing and possessed a structural integrity millions of times greater than any silk or cotton.
After all, he didn't want to end up a naked man after every minor skirmish. Human clothing was just too fragile for his current level.
King fell silent.
He knew Atomic Samurai would be outclassed, but he didn't expect the gap to be this comical.
"Uh... do you want to try that again?"
Hearing the hesitant, almost "pitying" tone in King's voice, Atomic Samurai felt a surge of heat rush from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. His grip on his sword hilt tightened until his knuckles turned white.
Am I truly this weak...? Is there really no hope of even shaking this man...?
NO!
I refuse to believe it!
I simply haven't found my own true Blade! If I can find my Path, I will have the power to stand before him!
Atomic Samurai's resolve hardened. A powerhouse must possess an invincible heart; no matter who they face, they must believe they are the strongest.
To carve out a unique Path of the Sword, one needs the courage to press forward regardless of the odds. He couldn't let a single setback make him retreat!
With that thought, Atomic Samurai raised his blade high once more. He spoke one word at a time, his gaze as sharp as the sword-qi radiating from his body:
"Then, King... PLEASE ENLIGHTEN ME!"
ATOMIC SLASH!
Tens of thousands of slashes erupted again. A chaotic storm of cold light whistled through the void, blanketing King in a localized hurricane of steel.
This time, King didn't choose to tank it with his body.
To a normal person, Atomic Samurai's blade was moving too fast to leave even an afterimage—tens of thousands of swings in the blink of an eye was a feat of ultimate velocity.
But in King's eyes, every single movement of the sword was like watching a film in slow motion. He could see the direction of every muscle fiber's tension, the exact focus of the swordsman's gaze—it was all laid bare in excruciating detail.
This was an absolute stomp in both reaction time and raw stats.
King extended a single finger. Every time the edge of Atomic Samurai's blade neared his body, he used that finger to lightly flick the flat of the blade aside.
After the Atomic Slash concluded, Atomic Samurai stood frozen, his expression completely paralyzed.
A light breeze blew across the wasteland, kicking up the yellow sand. The sound of the wind was the only thing filling the silence.
Atomic Samurai's ronin robes fluttered in the air.
In the next second, the katana in his hand let out a shrill, metallic cry of protest. Then, the blade shattered into a thousand jagged fragments.
Amidst the falling shards of metal, the corner of Atomic Samurai's mouth curled into a bitter, helpless smile.
Defeat again...
He turned his head to look at the bewildered King and bowed his head deeply, his spine curving in a gesture of total submission.
"Truly worthy of the legendary Strongest Man on Earth. To dismantle my Atomic Slash in such a manner... I, Atomic Samurai, admit absolute defeat."
This time, Atomic Samurai was truly humbled.
Through his own perspective, he had seen it clearly: every single one of his ten thousand strikes had been parried by a single finger.
This could only mean one thing.
King had never viewed him as an enemy or even a rival. From start to finish, this was nothing more than a teacher playing with a toddler.
It was a realization as tragic as it was ridiculous for a Great Swordsmaster.