MM - Chapter 249 - AN UNFETTERED MIND

Nero’s intent was crystal clear from the first punch; this was a test, nothing more. Raine met the chop aimed at his neck with a high, angled block. His skin and bones ached deliciously from the sliding impact that redirected a bulk of the force. His return intent was just as clear: bring it on. 

He stepped in close, leg slicing toward an exposed ankle. Nero easily evaded with a minimal lift of his leg. That was precisely the counter Raine had been aiming for. He bodily rushed the man to take advantage of his weakened stance, elbow leading the way.

Nero leaned back slightly, slapping the hard attack to the side, only for Raine’s momentum to bring his shoulder crashing into the peak master’s chest. Bloodlust flexed, expanding from his skin to cloud the room. His intent came from all directions, more an ocean of encroaching death than the multiple pinpoint threats that Jedidiah had favored. Thanks to the confusing signals and Raine’s body blocking Nero’s sight, the real attack—an underhanded gut punch—went unnoticed.

His fist buried into Nero’s stomach with a dull thud, internal force creating a blow that easily exceeded three thousand newtons. Except, Raine’s attack never found its mark. The peak master easily caught his fist just shy of its target. He grinned down at Raine, then promptly jerked an arm to the side, lifting him off his feet. Raine’s leg lashed out for the side of Nero’s head as he was tossed through the air.

Immaculate muscle control allowed the man to stretch his neck unnaturally low, easily evading. Nero flexed his murderous intent. Mental energy drenched the room, converging to slam into Raine while he was still unbalanced mid-air. It was a good move; waiting for the perfect chance to strike when his opponent was forced to dedicate his attention to landing. It was not nearly enough.

Raine batted aside the mental assault like crushing a fly. It wasn’t even as strong as a Noble, let alone the few Hierarchs he’d faced. A stretched-out leg let the toe of his shoe connect with the floor enough to start a spin that almost instantly grounded him. He dash-stepped, blurring back in for round two, a focused spear of killing intent leading the way.

Their fists moved so fast as to be invisible to the naked eye. Each second, a dozen blocks and counters filled the room with machine-gun fire, their bones harder than iron. Yet, Nero proved the more durable. Raine’s blood flowed as his less-tempered skin was bruised and torn. He couldn’t even begin to care about such superficial injuries. It felt like his heart was beating a thousand times per second, his senses completely alive as each failed strike brought agony and bliss.

Even at the tenth Ci-dan, Nero’s strength and speed were much higher than Raine’s, just as Jedidiah’s had been. He’d closed the gap by a few percent, but not nearly enough to call it an even fight. Unlike Jedidiah—more politician than peacekeeper—Nero’s martial techniques were polished and crisp, each packing the kind of power that would make a single mistake lethal.

This, of course, only stoked the raging fire to greater heights. Raine unleashed a barrage of kicks that had the man steadily retreating until he found an opening and returned the favor. Thankfully, Nero wasn’t pulling any underhanded tricks. He was being utterly faithful to Malakar's restrictions, even leaving openings in his defenses as befitting an 11th Ci-dan. However, some of the openings were traps, making the match truly challenging.

Raine’s depth of experience in challenging superior opponents shown through. He expertly evaded a punch that mysteriously turned into six by closing his eyes and falling into the intent behind the blows, which turned out to be only two. Turning sideways, he allowed them to slide by either side of his torso. The aggressive technique left the slightest vulnerability in Nero’s stance, and he retreated a step to recover.

Letting his jubilation show, Raine grinned like a maniac and stepped in, throwing out a wild punch packed with every ounce of internal force at his command. Nero easily turned his step back into two, allowing the swing to miss his nose by millimeters. His hair was blown back, light brown eyes wide, refusing to miss a single detail. His form suddenly shifted forward so fast he appeared before Raine as though he’d been there the whole time. The punch Nero unleashed clawed apart the air. A little faster, and it would have shattered the sound barrier entirely.

Despite the master’s speed and flawless technique, the twitching of his neck muscles, the alteration in angle of his shoulder, the shift of his hips, and a thousand other minute indicators practically screamed what was coming. Raine’s hand came up to intercept, except this blow was nothing like the probing attacks from before. It contained all of an 11th Ci-dan’s immense power. It would crush through whatever Raine tried with unstoppable force, bringing their spar to a tragic end.

That could not be allowed.

Further, Raine was still recovering from his wild haymaker, leaving him completely exposed. Just like Nero had done, his opposite palm snaked up from under his overextended arm to intercept the deadly punch. There was no chance to stop it, so he didn’t try. Raine’s feet left the floor, and the incredible force raced up his arm and through his momentarily limp body. He absorbed as much of the kinetic energy as possible with muscle control perfected over decades. Rolling into a ball, he converted it all into spin.

Now, it was Nero’s turn to be off balance. Instead of impacting his target, all the force from his punch had been stolen, leaving him stumbling forward a quarter-step. Meanwhile, Raine spun so quickly the world turned to streaks of darkness and all the blood in his body rushed to his extremities. The disorienting blur didn’t last long. He lashed out with his legs, both fueled by internal force. His heels exploded into the side of Nero’s face a fraction of a second before the man recovered.

The impact sent him flying across the room. He crashed through a pile of furniture before splashing up against the steelphene shutters protecting the windows. Raine was still spinning as he landed. The last of his wayward momentum was displaced with a flourish of his arms. One of which was now completely useless. Despite his best efforts, the punch he’d absorbed broke his wrist and dislocated his shoulder. He grabbed the useless limb and jerked it sharply, popping it back into place, then left it hanging limp.

Raine clicked his tongue while watching Nero stand and dust off his suit. The peak master’s cheek wasn’t so much as flushed from the dual kicks. Worse, Raine had clearly seen the man’s eyes looking right at him at the instant of impact, and clearly recalled the light smile playing across his lips.

He let me hit him.

A furious throb was repeatedly lancing its way up both Raine’s legs. He hadn’t held back at all, hitting Nero with everything he had and borrowing a significant amount of force from the man’s own attack. Yet, he ended up hurting himself far more than his opponent. If Nero’s durability was that high, then his real strength and speed had to be on par as well. Clearly, a peak master was no longer something that could be considered human.

Eager to continue, Raine lifted his only working fist as Nero approached. The man paused, brows rising in surprise. “You want to keep going? How are you even standing after that?”

“Because he’s no longer 1st Ci-dan.” Malakar supplied, nonchalantly running a hand down his beard.

Nero, Orenna, and Pryce didn’t take the statement nearly so casually. Each stared agape between the old man and Raine for a hard second before speaking at once.

“That’s impossible!”

“But it hasn’t been even two weeks since he dueled Master Jedidiah!”

“Grandmaster Malakar, what are you saying?”

The old man nodded sagely, continuing to stroke his beard. “I would like to know the answer to this mystery myself. Nero, continue at the 15th Ci-dan; internal force only.”

Without arguing, Nero bowed over a clasped fist. He approached Raine and stopped at five paces, eyes growing hard before an explosion of mental energy gushed forward in a tidal wave. It crashed atop Raine, demanding surrender. He brushed it aside, then pushed back with equal force of will.

Nero’s jaw hit the floor, his eyes bulging. Orenna gasped, hands rising to cover her mouth. Pryce choked on his saliva, coughing, yet unable to look away from the spectacle. Raine frowned, not understanding their reactions.

He’s at the level of a noble now. So, this is the mental strength of someone at the 15th Ci-dan—the precipice of peak master?

“How are you doing that?” Nero’s demand interrupted Raine’s train of thought, a finger raised to point accusingly.

“Doing what?” Raine shook his head, looking from face to face, trying to understand what they were all so worked up about. Compared to the Hierarchs he’d faced, this was still nothing. The pressure wasn’t even at the level of the Primal Realm's Patriarch.

Malakar huffed, swiping his hand and causing his beard to splay out to the side. “Well, if anything proves that he truly did not have a master, and learned all that he knows inside that… ZionLine, this is it.”

How did a little mental pressure make him stop calling it a game? What’s going on here?

“Allow me to allay your confusion,” Malakar continued. “The internal force you are currently displaying should not normally be possible at your stage of tempering. With each advancement in Ci-dan, the brain is further reinforced along with the rest of the body, allowing for more powerful mental emanations. The usual path of progression is in baby steps: temper, recover, cultivate internal force, temper, repeat. Put simply, your brain is exceeding the usual built-in limitations. While not unheard of, it is rare enough that these younglings have never experienced it. Tell me, child. Do you experience migraines when testing the envelope of your internal force?”

Raine’s thoughts whirled as he recalled the many times he’d faced splitting headaches while pushing bloodlust to its limits. “Yes, Grandmaster Malakar.”

“And when this occurs, after recovering, do you find the scope of your internal force has expanded?" The grandmaster leaned forward ever so slightly as he asked. The lack of enthusiasm in his tone was so pronounced as to practically be a screaming admission of guilt. Meanwhile, Nero looked at the ancient martial like he’d proclaimed that the moon was actually the sun.

Raine nodded slowly, eyes widening as he began to realize that his experience with mental abilities might not at all be the norm.

An excited gleam nestled into Malakar’s gaze. “Now, tell me, child. Has your bloodlust reached the end of its growth? Do the migraines persist with enough effort?”

Raine frowned, shaking his head as he thought aloud. “No and yes. I can’t push myself hard enough to trigger a headache, but when I fight someone stronger than me, it still happens.”

“Good. Good. Yes, very good.” Malakar drawled, licking his lips in the creepiest version of excitement Raine could remember seeing. “Nero!” The grandmaster snapped. “9th Ei-dan.”

Nero’s head twisted from gaping at Raine to gaping at Malakar. “You can’t be serious! Err, Grandmaster Malakar, you truly wish for me to go all out? On a 2nd Ci-dan?”

I know that 15th Ci-dan is considered the entrance to peak master, so the levels must start over. If Nero’s 9th Ei-dan, does that mean he’s been through twenty-four temperings?

Raine keenly recalled just how much stronger he’d become after the last tempering. It was hard to imagine how much more powerful he would be after doing that another twenty-two times.

Damn… No wonder I almost broke my legs kicking him.

Malakar huffed. “Obviously not, foolish disciple. Internal force only. Do not extend your domain. Even an unfettered mind cannot overcome the difference between realms.”

An unfettered mind?

Raine wasn’t alone in mouthing the unfamiliar moniker. The peak masters exchanged glances packed with meaning before Nero bowed again and turned back to his opponent.

Malakar wasn’t done with his stipulations. He pinned Raine with a glare that promised retribution. “Don’t bother holding back; I’ll know. While prudent to hide your capabilities, knowing when to cast caution aside is an equally valuable trait. Give Nero everything you’ve got. As for why you should do so, I felt your desire to use me for protection from the first moment you had the thought. You will have it, if… you prove that you are worthy.”

He read me like a book. Fine. Not like holding back will give me a chance to escape later if he decides to keep me as a pet. Wait… If they’re already surprised, does that mean making a pseudo-domain avatar at my level should have been impossible? The Phoenix experts saw everything, so that secret’s bound to get out eventually. Damn.

Raine took a deep breath, drawing on the lake of blood within his inner realm. He gathered the crimson liquids, prepared to release them at the boundary. Once his mental energy broke free and could affect reality, they would see most of what he was capable of. He wasn’t going to make another avatar and risk losing a considerable chunk of his inner force again. Mental strength alone would have to be good enough to convince Malakar.

Fully prepared, he nodded to Nero.

Let’s see how big a shock this unfettered mind can give.