"Mr. Lu, it's time for your medicinal bath."
Fusui Kure's gentle reminder caused Lu Li to set down the ancient manuscript on external body tempering he had been reading.
The medicinal bath was a highly exclusive perk personally arranged by Erioh Kure. It was effectively the Kure Clan's way of formally sponsoring him for his impending, inevitable deathmatch against Shen Wulong.
In order to safely utilize the devastating power of Removal, the Kure Clan didn't just rely on centuries of selective genetic breeding. They also heavily relied on post-natal physical conditioning. By soaking in a boiling concoction of highly classified, ancient herbal medicines, their clan members could artificially fortify their muscular and skeletal density, allowing them to withstand an even higher percentage of Removal output without their bodies imploding.
After the conclusion of the Kengan Annihilation Tournament, Lu Li's Main Mission had finally updated. The Terminus Space had dramatically cranked up the difficulty for its hardworking Pioneer. However, this was exactly the kind of challenge Lu Li had been actively hoping for.
[Main Mission - Final Phase: Child of the World]
Objective: Execute Shen Wulong, the physical manifestation of the world's will, within 10 natural days.
Mission Difficulty: Hard ~ Nightmare
Mission Reward: Return Qualification; Core of the World
Failure Penalty: All Attributes -2; Forced Return
Technically, it seemed he could choose to completely ignore this final phase. The penalty was just a forced extraction, meaning he would survive. However, an unconditional "-2 to All Attributes" penalty was agonizingly severe. Lu Li absolutely refused to accept a permanent stat drop. More importantly, his blood was practically boiling with the desire to cross fists with Shen Wulong.
He had checked the detailed description for the 'Core of the World' reward. According to the Terminus Space, acquiring the Core meant he had officially "conquered" this Mission World. The Terminus Space would fully assimilate the Kengan Ashura universe into its database.
Furthermore, as the Pioneer who secured the Core, Lu Li would be granted exclusive VIP privileges. In the future, he could spend Terminus Coins to freely return to this world whenever he wanted, utilizing it as a personal vacation spot or a hyper-realistic training ground.
Lu Li didn't particularly care about using the Kengan world as a vacation resort. He was simply curious: if he actually managed to conquer a famously unconquerable "nail house" world for the Terminus Space, just how massive would his final payout be?
Arriving at the secluded bathing chamber, Lu Li stripped off his clothes. He politely declined Fusui's offer to scrub his back and slowly submerged himself into the scalding wooden tub.
Despite knowing this was a premium treatment arranged by the Patriarch, Lu Li was genuinely shocked by how rapidly and effectively the medicinal bath was improving his physical constitution.
According to Kure Clan records, the medicinal bath was designed to be a long-term, cumulative conditioning method. Their clan members typically began soaking in it as toddlers, and it usually took several months—or even years—to produce a noticeable baseline increase. Furthermore, once a person's physical growth peaked, the bath's effectiveness dropped to practically zero. After all, the human body had absolute biological limits.
From Erioh's perspective, he genuinely didn't expect Lu Li's raw stats to increase from the bath. He merely hoped the ancient medicine would soothe Lu Li's internal fatigue and fully restore his vitality before the apocalyptic clash with Shen Wulong.
But the reality was entirely different. Not only was Lu Li actively absorbing the medicinal properties, but the resulting physical enhancements were shockingly rapid and undeniable.
Lu Li himself was surprised. He had only taken two baths since arriving at the Kure compound, yet his [Constitution] attribute had actually increased by a full point! The efficiency was staggering.
After some thought, he could only attribute this anomaly to his innate [Limiter Removal] Talent. It seemed his biology was fundamentally different from ordinary humans.
He had noticed this since childhood. Anyone who works out knows the phenomenon of "newbie gains"—the massive, rapid physical changes that occur when you first start training. But once a person reaches a certain plateau, adding even a fraction of an inch of muscle or a few pounds to a lift becomes an agonizingly slow, grueling process. That's because they've hit their genetic ceiling. The human body has an absolute limit.
There is an invisible biological "limiter" hardwired into humanity to restrict the absolute development of their potential.
But Lu Li was different. Under his master's brutal tutelage, his physical vessel had continuously grown stronger. Unlike other martial artists, his physical evolution simply never stopped.
By the time he was 18, he could effortlessly lift a one-ton boulder over his head. The only reason his raw physical strength hadn't reached even more absurd, logic-defying heights was that he had subsequently shifted his entire focus toward mastering lethal techniques and tracking down his master's killers, slightly neglecting his raw strength training.
In his original cyberpunk world, similar ancient medicinal baths might have existed, but the necessary herbs had likely gone extinct or were hoarded by mega-corporations, so his master had never been able to prepare one for him. Discovering that a simple bath in this Mission World could actively bypass his current stat plateau and directly increase his Constitution was a fantastic, unexpected windfall.
"Mr. Lu. You have a visitor."
Just as Lu Li finished absorbing the final traces of the medicinal bath, Fusui's voice echoed from outside the door.
"Who is it?" Lu Li asked, mildly curious.
"An old man calling himself Mukaku Gaoh."
Hearing that name, Lu Li paused halfway through pulling on his shirt. A wide smile spread across his face. The final piece of the puzzle in this world has finally delivered itself directly to my doorstep.
"The master of Tokita Niko. The absolute origin of the Niko Style. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
Inside the reception hall, Lu Li observed the heavily muscled centenarian, genuinely impressed by how exceptionally well the old man had maintained his physical vessel.
Mukaku Gaoh was the absolute last surviving member of the ancient Long (Dragon) Clan. In order to exact his bloody revenge against Shen Wulong—who had single-handedly exterminated his entire lineage—Mukaku had spent the last century resorting to every extreme method imaginable. Because the human body inevitably decays with age, he heavily abused classified steroids and experimental combat drugs to forcibly maintain his physical peak.
In the canon storyline, when he finally confronted Shen Wulong, Mukaku utilized every conceivable trap, dirty trick, and hidden weapon in his arsenal. Unfortunately, Shen Wulong's strength was simply too profoundly illogical, and Mukaku suffered a crushing, utterly humiliating defeat.
"Seeing you up close... you truly are the absolute strongest entity I have ever laid eyes upon," Mukaku Gaoh muttered, his ancient eyes carefully evaluating Lu Li. "I am here to help you assassinate Shen Wulong."
"I have absolutely zero interest in a coordinated ambush. I want a pure, one-on-one deathmatch," Lu Li stated flatly, instantly slamming the door on Mukaku's proposition. He knew exactly how this old bastard operated.
To Mukaku Gaoh, as long as Shen Wulong died, the method was entirely irrelevant. Poison, explosives, hostages—he would use them all. But Lu Li had zero intention of playing dirty. He wanted to honorably and decisively crush the absolute ceiling of this world with his own two hands.
"You fool! You have absolutely no concept of what Shen Wulong truly is!" Mukaku hissed, desperately trying to persuade him. "He is not a human being as you understand the concept..."
Lu Li raised a hand, cutting him off. "If you came here to pitch some elaborate, underhanded scheme to poison or trap Shen Wulong, you can save your breath and leave."
Mukaku's eyes burned with a mixture of incomprehension and fury. Do you not realize you have a massive target painted on your back?! He is going to slaughter you!
"However..." Lu Li continued smoothly, "killing Shen Wulong is my primary objective anyway. I will naturally fulfill your lifelong revenge. If you genuinely wish to contribute to his downfall... why don't you impart the entirety of the Niko Style to me?"
Mukaku Gaoh stared at him in sheer bewilderment. "The Niko Style? Why the hell would you want to learn that garbage?!"
Lu Li could instantly sense that Mukaku's words were entirely genuine. For a brief moment, he felt a profound sense of pity for all the 'Tokita Nikos' who had sacrificed everything in their desperate, lifelong pursuit to perfect the Niko Style. In the eyes of their own master, their life's work was completely worthless trash.
This old man named Mukaku Gaoh didn't possess a single shred of a true martial artist's heart. Even his so-called 'Gaoh Style' was just a rebranded, plagiarized amalgamation of ancient Sengoku-era assassination techniques. To Mukaku, martial arts were nothing more than disposable tools. If an assault rifle could kill Shen Wulong, he would gladly throw his martial arts in the trash.
Now that all the Tokita Nikos were dead, Mukaku clearly viewed Lu Li as the ultimate, rule-breaking anomaly. Why would an invincible monster like Lu Li ever need to learn a flawed, incomplete system like the Niko Style?
"I have a deep, abiding interest in absolutely all forms of martial arts. Furthermore, there is no such thing as 'garbage' martial arts in this world—only garbage practitioners," Lu Li stated calmly. "You simply need to teach me the fundamental theories and mechanics of the Niko Style. I will personally filter out what is useful."
Realizing he couldn't persuade Lu Li to use underhanded tactics, Mukaku reluctantly agreed to his demand. He secretly hoped that if Lu Li managed to integrate some Niko Style techniques into his already god-like arsenal, his chances of actually killing Shen Wulong might increase by a fraction of a percent.
As for whether Mukaku would still secretly try to spring a lethal trap while Lu Li and Shen Wulong were distracted fighting each other... that wasn't something Lu Li cared about. He had his own plans.
Half a day later. Inside the Kure Clan's private Dojo.
Mukaku Gaoh's eyes were practically bulging out of his skull as he stared at Lu Li. "You... you've already mastered it?!"
Lu Li waved his hand dismissively. "I've fully comprehended the core essence and kinetic flow of the Niko Style. You may leave now."
The path of martial arts was fundamentally interconnected. All paths eventually led to the same peak. Lu Li had already mastered countless techniques that operated on the exact same kinetic principles as the standard Niko Kata.
What he had truly been interested in were the extreme, biological-overclocking techniques: [Advance] (Possessing Spirit), [Fallen Demon], and the apocalyptic synthesis Fei Wangfang had displayed, [Divine Demon].
Since the Tokita Niko lineage had been completely wiped out, Lu Li had assumed he had permanently lost the opportunity to study these specific secret arts. He never expected the grand-patriarch of the style to literally deliver the instruction manuals to his doorstep.
However, Lu Li was slightly surprised to discover that Mukaku Gaoh himself didn't actually know how to use [Advance] or [Divine Demon]. He only possessed the fundamental theory for [Fallen Demon].
Techniques like [Advance] and [Divine Demon] were actually extreme, heavily modified derivations created by the later generations of Nikos. The founding father didn't actually know how to perform them.
But that was more than enough for Lu Li. All he needed was the foundational biological theory. Because he didn't want to blindly copy their techniques; he intended to forge something entirely new—something perfectly tailored to his own unique, anomalous biology.
Yes. He intended to completely dissect, synthesize, and unify the core principles of [Removal], [Advance], and [Fallen Demon] into a single, flawless, original secret art.
On the third day after Mukaku Gaoh's departure.
Inside the Dojo, Lu Li slowly exhaled a long, heavy breath, officially completing his martial stance. Sitting nearby, Erioh Kure stared at him with eyes that practically screamed he was looking at an impossible, logic-defying deity. Lu Li had just completed the final developmental stage of his brand-new, unified secret art.
"This is a truly unprecedented, revolutionary technique. Combined with your transcendent martial arts... I fear there is absolutely no one left in this world capable of even slowing you down. Even if you face Shen Wulong, you will undoubtedly emerge victorious," Erioh muttered, profound awe lacing his ancient voice.
Lu Li slowly opened his eyes, ready to reply.
Suddenly, Fusui violently slammed the Dojo doors open, sprinting inside with a look of absolute, suffocating terror on her face.
"Shen Wulong has breached the Kure Village!"
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