"Mr. Rei, it's time for the medicinal bath."
Wu Fengshui's reminder reached Kurosaki Rei's ears, prompting him to put down the horizontal body-tempering manual in his hands.
The medicinal bath—this was a benefit Wu Hui-liang had arranged for him, and also a form of support in preparation for his coming battle with Shen Wulong.
For the Wu Clan to use Removal, aside from continually refining their bloodline through innate means, they also relied on postnatal auxiliary methods.
By using the clan's secret medicinal formulas for bathing, they could effectively enhance their physique, allowing the body to withstand greater power from Removal.
After the tournament ended, Kurosaki Rei's main quest had also updated. The Terminus Space was once again raising the difficulty for its hardworking "employee"—though it was a difficulty he welcomed.
[Main Quest · Final Ring: Child of the World]
Objective: Within 10 natural days, kill Shen Wulong, the representative of the world's will.
Difficulty: Hard ~ Nightmare
Rewards: Return qualification, World Core
Failure Penalty: All attributes −2, forced return
Technically, failing the quest wouldn't be catastrophic—he could still return—but the −2 penalty to all attributes was unacceptable to Kurosaki Rei. More importantly, he was eager to cross blades with Shen Wulong.
As for the World Core reward, he had checked the details. According to the Space, obtaining a World Core meant truly "piercing" the world. The Terminus Space would then be able to fully incorporate the Kengan Ashura world.
Since he would be the one who obtained the World Core, he would gain certain privileges: by spending Terminus Coins, he could return to this world again, flexibly using its time and environment.
Kurosaki Rei wasn't particularly interested in vacationing here. What he really wondered was—after helping the Space conquer a world no one had ever managed to crack, how much reward would he receive upon returning?
Arriving at the bathing chamber, Kurosaki Rei removed his clothes, declined Wu Fengshui's offer to attend him, and slowly immersed himself in the wooden tub.
Though the medicinal bath had been arranged by Hui-liang, the speed and effectiveness of the physical improvement it brought still shocked Kurosaki Rei.
According to the Wu Clan's experience, medicinal baths were a long-term method of gradually improving one's physique. Their clansmen usually started young, often seeing only minimal results after months or even years.
Once the body matured to a certain level, the baths would hardly have any effect at all—after all, humans had limits.
In Wu Hui-liang's view, Kurosaki Rei would most likely gain nothing from it. At best, it would help him nourish his vitality in preparation for a possible encounter with Shen Wulong.
Yet not only did Kurosaki Rei improve—
the change came fast, and it was unmistakable.
Kurosaki Rei himself was surprised. He had only undergone two medicinal baths since arriving at the Wu Clan, yet his Physique attribute had already increased by 1 point. The effect was astonishing.
After some thought, he could only attribute this phenomenon to his Limiter Release talent—he seemed fundamentally different from ordinary people.
Ever since childhood, it had been this way. Anyone who trained their body knew that improvements were most obvious at the beginning.
But once training reached a certain level, gaining muscle or strength became extremely difficult.
That was because they had reached their individual limit—or rather, humanity itself had limits.
Some kind of limiter restricted the development of human potential.
Kurosaki Rei was different.
From a young age, under his master's guidance, he trained relentlessly. As a child, he certainly didn't possess a monstrous physique—but as his training continued, his body grew stronger and stronger, never stagnating like others'.
By the time he was eighteen, he could already lift a one-ton boulder with ease. Later, focused on revenge, he had eased up somewhat on pure strength training.
In his original world, there might have been similar medicinal baths—but in that era, gathering the necessary ingredients was far too difficult, so his master had never let him try one.
Being able to enhance his physique through medicinal baths in the Kengan world was an unexpected bonus.
"Mr. Rei, you have a visitor."
Wu Fengshui's voice came from outside after Kurosaki Rei finished absorbing the effects of the bath.
"Who is it?"
Kurosaki Rei asked, curious.
"An old man who claims to be Wangwo Wujiao."
Wu Fengshui's words made Kurosaki Rei pause mid-dress. Then a smile spread across his face.
The final missing piece of the puzzle in this world had arrived.
...
"Tokita Niko's master, the originator of the Niko Style—what brings you to see me now?"
In the reception hall, Kurosaki Rei looked at the muscular centenarian before him, marveling at how well he had preserved himself.
Wangwo Wujiao, the last surviving member of the Dragon Clan. For a hundred years, he had tried every possible method to avenge his clan's annihilation at the hands of Shen Wulong. As age weakened his body, he relied on drugs to maintain his physical functions.
In the original story, his battle against Shen Wulong was the culmination of meticulous scheming—but Shen Wulong's power defied all reason, and Wangwo Wujiao was utterly defeated.
"Seeing you up close, you truly are the strongest person I've ever seen,"
Wangwo Wujiao said with emotion.
"I'm here to help you kill Shen Wulong."
"I have no intention of ganging up on Shen Wulong,"
Kurosaki Rei replied, cutting him off in a single sentence.
"What I want is a one-on-one fight to the death."
That alone sealed Wangwo Wujiao's mouth. Kurosaki Rei understood perfectly what the old man was thinking.
To Wangwo Wujiao, any method was acceptable as long as Shen Wulong died. But Kurosaki Rei had no interest in underhanded schemes—he wanted to defeat this world's martial apex fair and square.
"Foolish! You still don't understand what kind of existence Shen Wulong truly is!"
Wangwo Wujiao tried to persuade him.
"He is not human as you understand it—"
Kurosaki Rei raised a hand.
"If you're here to plot Shen Wulong's death with me, you can stop right there."
Confusion and anger filled Wangwo Wujiao's eyes. Don't you know Shen Wulong has already set his sights on you? You'll be killed!
"But—"
Kurosaki Rei continued,
"Killing Shen Wulong is something I intend to do anyway. I can fulfill your wish. If you really want to help, then teach me the Niko Style you know."
Wangwo Wujiao stared in astonishment.
"The Niko Style? Why learn something like that?"
Kurosaki Rei could sense that this question came from the old man's heart. For a moment, he felt a twinge of sorrow for the Tokita Nikos—those who had devoted their lives to perfecting the Niko Style, only for its founder to consider it worthless.
This old man, Wangwo Wujiao, had no martial heart at all. Even his so-called Wangwo Style was merely copied from a Warring States-era school and renamed. To him, martial arts were tools—whatever could kill Shen Wulong would do.
Now that all the Tokita Nikos were dead, Kurosaki Rei was the only "irregular" powerhouse left in his eyes. Why would such a person need to learn the Niko Style?
"I'm interested in all martial arts,"
Kurosaki Rei said.
"There are no trash martial arts—only trash practitioners. Just teach me the foundations of the Niko Style. I'll do the filtering myself."
Unable to persuade Kurosaki Rei otherwise, Wangwo Wujiao complied, hoping the Niko Style might give Kurosaki Rei a bit more refinement—and a bit more hope of defeating Shen Wulong.
As for whether he would still play dirty during Kurosaki Rei's duel with Shen Wulong—that was beyond Kurosaki Rei's control. The old man had his own plans.
Half a day later, in the training ground, Wangwo Wujiao stared wide-eyed at Kurosaki Rei.
"You… you've already learned it?"
Kurosaki Rei waved a hand.
"I've grasped the essence of the Niko Style. You can leave now."
The path of martial arts was interconnected. Many Niko Style techniques had counterparts Kurosaki Rei already knew. What truly interested him were Possessing Spirit, Demon's Descent, and the Divine-Demon Form used by Hiō Kagefusa.
All of the Tokita Nikos were dead—he had thought he would never have a chance to understand these secret techniques.
Yet the founding ancestor himself had come knocking.
What surprised Kurosaki Rei, however, was that Wangwo Wujiao himself could not use Possessing Spirit or the Divine-Demon Form. He only knew Demon's Descent.
Those other techniques were innovations of later generations—the founder himself didn't possess them.
Still, that was enough.
What Kurosaki Rei needed was the foundational theory.
Because he intended to create something of his own.
Yes—he planned to unify Removal, Possessing Spirit, and Demon's Descent, forging them into a single, exclusive secret technique tailored perfectly to himself.
On the third day after Wangwo Wujiao left, Kurosaki Rei finished his form in the dojo. Under Hui-liang's astonished, monster-like gaze, he completed the final step of developing his new secret art.
"This is truly a brand-new technique,"
Wu Hui-liang sighed.
"Combined with your martial path, Mr. Rei, I fear no one can stop you anymore. Even Shen Wulong—you should be able to defeat him."
Kurosaki Rei slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and was about to speak—
when Wu Fengshui burst in from outside, panic written all over his face.
"Shen Wulong has entered Wu Village!"
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