Kei was still consumed by his altruistic thoughts, believing that everything he did would serve a purpose when he took Miu as his wife. The memory of the girl's warm lips still lingered in his mouth; it was the way he observed the passage of time, and he couldn't help but sigh deeply. Lu Tian showed no mercy, teaching him thousands of ways to dismantle his techniques, employing tactics that encompassed strength, agility, deception, and forms of attack. Lu Tian was simply superior in all his skills; he would be considered a high-level expert.
They continued using elimination during their training hours. It had already been two weeks without seeing Miu, and that worried him; she was his ray of light and hope. The method they found to manipulate elimination involved using a drug that enhanced the body's healing process with stem cells that supported multiplication, but this only worked when someone practiced elimination without rest… for two simple reasons: cancer and systemic diseases.
It was brutal training because it resulted in an overwhelming sense of pain, dragging him down to the lowest depths of burning agony and contempt.
—Get up, boy; we have another visit to the battle pit. This time, you'll use those springs of yours along with what we call the sleep poison —Lu Tian commented, administering a constant dose of tranquilizers that induced a state of drowsiness but prevented the subject from falling asleep, typically used by doctors for suspicious patients.
This was the second time he fought in this state and the first time he had been completely overwhelmed, and abused by all the fighters seeking revenge for the previous rounds. Fortunately, the injuries were not severe.
Trying to meditate and thus bring his beast to the surface, he understood that only his instincts could take him further in the fight. He released his chains; Kei's vicious aura was filled with dark thoughts and a painful burden of punishment. The image of the blonde girl began to distort, and he saw himself.
—Let's unite.
He awakened to the sound of the bell, deep and resonant, a form of redemption, awakening his beast. They began to fight again and again. This time, his movements were formless and strange; in seconds, they were erratic. The punches came and went, and he used the water kata with the fluidity he had developed in the last few days; that was the only thing he had learned: the water kata, without stepping back.
His opponent whispered some words, but he didn't hear them. Like drops of rain, he executed the Pisces bind. An arm lock typical of the Niko style, combined with the principles of the water kata, succeeded in putting his opponent to sleep. All sorts of grips and feints were more characteristic of the later style, which is a blend of grip techniques and Chinese techniques. Kei was perfecting consciousness in unconsciousness, but the heaviness induced by Kei was different; something was beginning to manifest, his mastery over Dou. Boxing traveled with thousands of stronger forces; under this manifestation, he won the first 17 fights. This time, he faced opponents with more skills and experience.
Lu Tian observed everything with a sense of joy, watching the boy in a completely disowned state, one that drove him to act like a madman. He flailed his arms and kept attacking. His muscles were tense from the pressure of the springs; the Newtonian force was enough to support 100 kilos, and each movement ignited Kei's muscles, but the fight intensified. Each blow was more devastating than the last; Kei felt a surge as the effects of the drug began to wear off, his body covered in wounds and bruises.
—We're moving on to fight 36, a record! There has only been one young person under 20 who has fought more than 36 matches; will he become the legend of the pit? —the commentator said with joy. The torches illuminated a slender man with crystalline eyes, a young man in a black suit wearing a sadistic smile, likely a hired killer, unaware that he was facing a worm.
He had a style Kei recognized, the Laido style; his hands were like whips or blades, mixed with the tearing kill technique, and he was fearsome. The first strike he launched was a blur; he lowered his stance and threw a blade towards Kei's jugular. But Kei reacted and dodged the blow with a slight crouch, a lateral step, and unleashed a flurry of punches that fell like a rain of meteors, using all his speed, hindered by the springs.
The opponent dodged everything with a sidestep and a slight tilt of his head; one punch barely grazed his hair.
—You're a demon, just as Lu Tian said —the man remarked, F32, a member of Worn, a soldier of reach. He was too weak at 15 years old to be part of the Gu ritual, so he remained on the sidelines as a reserve member. He wasn't 20; he was 34, but his appearance was that of a teenager.
Kei wasn't usually talkative during his fights unless he had strong reasons to be. Analyzing his opponent, he deduced that the man was bloodthirsty; the first attack was meant to kill. It was painful to realize he was facing a true murderer in such a deplorable state.
He took a deep breath and used the elimination technique. Given his injuries, it was difficult to coordinate with the possession. He took a quick step and unleashed thousands of punches, this time at a speed that was hard to follow. The one who tried to block his blows could barely keep up until a strike connected solidly with his forehead, echoing like a loud gong.
However, the man was tougher than he appeared and responded with a leap and another blow. Kei managed to dodge the incoming strike at the last moment, but the attacks came in relentless waves like a rainstorm.
The man stepped in and stomped on his foot, limiting his mobility. He moved in close as if preparing for a tackle and dug his fingers into Kei. Kei executed the adamantine kata to absorb the impact, but the force was enough to leave marks on a couple of his fingers. Kei countered with a guillotine elbow strike to the nape of his opponent's neck, which he avoided by lifting his head but was met with a headbutt to the nose that felt like hitting a steel wall. Without missing a beat, the weight of the elimination technique bore heavily on Kei's body. He delivered a heavy blow to the liver, followed by another to the chin, along with two low kicks to the knees. He employed a kao long, grabbing the nape and delivering a knee strike, followed by a jiu-jitsu grip to throw his opponent over his head. With a twist, the opponent fell backward, about to hit the ground hard with a stomp.
But his opponent evaded the strike with a roll on the ground and a backward jump, propelling himself back to his feet. The exchange was brief, yet both fighters were gasping for air—Kei from exhaustion and F32 from the beating. Their mental states were deteriorating due to the numerous blows as they continued fighting one-on-one.
The blades ceased to matter at the moment Kei executed the blinking technique, undoubtedly catching F32 off guard. The rival aimed for his blind spot, clearly familiar with the technique, but Kei capitalized on this advantage by crouching down with his legs extended, almost in a split, twisting his body and launching a boxing punch from that awkward position—landing a straight shot to the opponent's elbow.
Targeting the joints, he followed up with a lock, spun his body, and tripped the man. He then performed a basic hold, forcefully wrapping his arm around the neck while using his other hand to tighten the grip, applying the adamantine kata. His muscles, now pumping like an iron press, instilled panic in F32, whose wide-open eyes didn't expect such a decisive end. In seven seconds, he ceased moving, exhausted from Kei's hold.
Upon withdrawing his elimination, Kei fell into a deep sea of darkness. His body had reached its limit for the ninth time in just a few days with Lu Tian, from basic training to advanced movement and combat, everything had been pushed to the extreme.
…
—What do you think? —Lu Tian asked.
—He's very good; he has a natural talent for fighting. It seems you have a hidden gem —Eutaro Gonodore remarked, a large man with the physique of an American football player who practiced underground wrestling, a type of dirty wrestling designed to learn all kinds of traps and dirty holds. Lu Tian, proud of his style, believed it was the best but had no doubts about Eutaro Gonodore's abilities. Although he was not a member of Worn, he trained anyone, especially Worn members, to avoid conflicts. This wrestling was a blend of wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, rooted in sambo, along with a personal invention called underground wrestling.
—Why are they so interested in Kei? —Lu Tian wondered.
The reason was clear: they saw in Kei a vessel of the tiger.