Edward stared at his severed arm in disbelief.
In that instant just now, he had clearly seen every one of Kurosaki Rei's movements. His own physical speed and strength were in no way inferior to Kurosaki Rei's.
Then why?
Why hadn't he been able to dodge that slash!?
It was strange—unfathomably strange.
The feeling was exactly the same as when he faced Shen Wulong. It wasn't that Kurosaki Rei had swung his blade at his arm—
It was as if his arm had offered itself up.
Why had he chosen that move at that moment? Why had he been unable to change it in time?
The result—his arm being severed—felt like an inevitable link in some larger chain of logic.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
As the reincarnated vessel of Wu Hei, the progenitor of the Wu Clan, Edward had lived for five thousand years. And now, for only the second time, he felt an emotion called fear.
Looking again at the man standing in the corridor was like staring into an abyss. This was not a target he could challenge alone.
No wonder White Tiger Niko's disciples had been helpless against Kurosaki Rei—this man was simply beyond all reasonable limits.
"Idiot, why haven't you turned off Removal yet?"
A voice came from the other end of the corridor. A white-haired middle-aged man approached from behind Kurosaki Rei, his expression grim as he looked at the one-armed Edward.
"Do you want to bleed to death?"
"How embarrassing, Edward."
At the same time, from Edward's direction, a handsome man with long golden hair walked forward. He looked at Kurosaki Rei with interest.
"So this is your peak state. No wonder those fighters were no match for you."
"Huh?"
Kurosaki Rei showed not the slightest awareness of being surrounded. He tilted his head and looked at Xia Yan, the leader of the Worm.
"You've seen my peak?"
"What a calm young man,"
White Tiger Niko sneered.
"Surrounded by the three of us, and you still feel like chatting?"
Unlike Edward Wu's arrogant stupidity, White Tiger Niko had come prepared. To kill, one used weapons.
Iron-stinger knuckle-dusters now covered his fists, steel arm-guards strapped to his forearms—equipment that maximized the killing power of the Niko Style, uniting offense and defense.
As he spoke, he launched a surprise attack from behind Kurosaki Rei, smashing a punch toward Kurosaki Rei's head, his eyes locked tightly on Kurosaki Rei's limbs, ready to respond to any sudden change.
Kurosaki Rei didn't even turn around.
He merely shifted one step to the side, his right arm swinging backward. The hilt of Qiu Mo slammed directly into White Tiger Niko's iron fist.
Using the recoil, Kurosaki Rei's arm spun, his waist twisting with it. His left leg whipped around in a spinning back kick that smashed into White Tiger Niko's waist.
The blow was devastating. Even with Indestructible active, White Tiger Niko slid more than ten meters across the floor before stopping, a deep red concave mark clearly visible on his side.
Kurosaki Rei straightened up, still facing Xia Yan and Edward.
Xia Yan was injecting a syringe into Edward Wu's severed arm. Edward's remaining hand had already picked up the broken blade Wu Hui-liang had dropped earlier.
Discarding the syringe, Xia Yan drew a butterfly knife in each hand, gazing at Kurosaki Rei with open admiration.
"So—is this still not your peak?"
Kurosaki Rei ignored the question entirely. He glanced around, then looked mildly disappointed.
"Shen Wulong didn't come."
"Oh, so you know him,"
Xia Yan replied calmly.
"What a pity. He's probably eating ramen right about now."
He assumed his stance.
"And you're still not qualified to meet him. I'll end you right—"
Before Xia Yan could finish, Edward Wu and White Tiger Niko both shifted into attack stances, forming a three-pronged encirclement meant to kill Kurosaki Rei instantly.
But Xia Yan's words cut off abruptly.
An invisible pressure spread outward from Kurosaki Rei like a tidal wave.
"Shatter the chains, Qiu Mo ."
With the man's low chant, the violet-black blade transformed. Chains extended like living vines, wrapping around Kurosaki Rei's right arm. Lightning-like purple patterns spread across his skin, and his presence surged upward without restraint.
Shikai and Removal—activated simultaneously.
Kurosaki Rei's overall attributes skyrocketed straight to 25 points!
"Attack together!"
Xia Yan shouted, cold sweat sliding down his forehead.
He hadn't expected Kurosaki Rei to have mastered Removal—nor could he understand what kind of weapon that blade truly was.
Under the influence of that demonic sword and Removal, Kurosaki Rei's body had reached an unprecedented level of power. And on top of that, he possessed the Ultimate Realm of Martial Arts.
The three did not hesitate. Almost simultaneously, they struck from three directions.
Edward's broken blade thrust toward Kurosaki Rei's chest.
Xia Yan's butterfly knives slashed at Kurosaki Rei's throat.
White Tiger Niko, activating Possessing Spirit, smashed an iron fist toward the back of Kurosaki Rei's head.
Three of the world's top-tier fighters joined forces. Other than Shen Wulong himself, they could have annihilated anyone.
Yet absurdly, Xia Yan felt no sense of victory.
Though they were clearly the attackers, the invisible pressure radiating from Kurosaki Rei made breathing difficult.
It was the same feeling he had experienced in his youth—when he first met Shen Wulong.
Could this man… actually rival Shen Wulong?
In a frozen sliver of time, Xia Yan saw the mad grin on Kurosaki Rei's face.
There was no tension there—only ecstatic joy.
The next instant, the violet-black blade turned pitch-black.
Kurosaki Rei's body dipped sharply. He avoided White Tiger Niko's punch as a blood-soaked arc swept outward.
Xia Yan had imagined countless ways Kurosaki Rei might respond—but never this.
It was an overwhelming slash, utterly straightforward, without the slightest trace of finesse.
Kurosaki Rei didn't even try to dodge Edward's strike.
The blade cut upward at an angle, cleaving flesh and bone, passing cleanly through Edward's waist—
cutting him in half.
The slash was too heavy, its momentum undiminished. The black blade immediately collided with Xia Yan's twin knives.
Extreme force combined with extreme sharpness.
Like a wave-breaking prow, the blade split Xia Yan's weapons apart.
It continued forward. The tip grazed Xia Yan's throat, drawing a few glistening drops of blood. Had he not instinctively leaned back, his throat would have been severed.
Xia Yan was terrified—yet also relieved.
Because he believed Kurosaki Rei had made a mistake.
Edward was dead—but Xia Yan thought his own attack had landed.
Edward's broken blade did not stop just because its owner had been bisected. His force had already been released.
The fragment stabbed toward Kurosaki Rei's chest—straight at the heart.
Clink—
Xia Yan's eyes widened.
Edward Wu's all-out strike in Removal… hadn't pierced through.
Beneath Kurosaki Rei's torn clothing, his chest gleamed with a black luster. His muscles were fully tensed, Indestructible layered atop his already monstrous physique.
The powerful rebound shattered the already short broken blade into fragments.
Kurosaki Rei's frenzied smile did not fade. His movements never stopped.
His left hand swept down, flicking several flying fragments like bullets toward White Tiger Niko's eyes. Niko, preparing to pursue with a follow-up attack, instinctively dodged.
That instinctive hesitation made Xia Yan scream inwardly in despair.
White Tiger Niko was in the most advantageous position to attack. If he had disregarded his own life and thrown another iron punch, Kurosaki Rei would have found it hard to evade in his current posture.
But Niko chose survival—submitting to instinct.
And in doing so, he lost his final chance.
Death arrived.
Kurosaki Rei launched a brutal Flash Step, shifting sideways, planting his foot against the wall and running along it in a single stride—the balance of offense and defense instantly reversed.
Qiu Mo descended in a diagonal slash.
Empowered by Armament, it became a ruthless blade of unyielding sharpness.
No matter how desperately White Tiger Niko pushed Indestructible, the blade cut him apart.
From shoulder blade to waist, his body was split cleanly in two.
When Kurosaki Rei landed, his feet slid under the momentum of his spin, smoothly transitioning from ferocity to stillness, his body turning to face Xia Yan once more.
Kurosaki Rei flicked the blood from his blade.
"Feeling a bit better now. Come on—attack. I'll give you a quick end."
Xia Yan's eyes were filled with disbelief.
The three of them—perhaps not definitively the strongest in the world after Shen Wulong, but close enough.
Yet the three together, against Kurosaki Rei—
In a single exchange: two dead, one wounded.
He touched his neck. The faint sting and lingering warmth of blood sent a chill through his body.
He couldn't win.
Aside from Shen Wulong, no one could defeat the man before him.
Kurosaki Rei had already reached the absolute summit of martial arts, and with his superhuman physique and Removal, he was invincible.
Yes—humans couldn't defeat Kurosaki Rei.
But "immortals" could.
With that thought, Xia Yan gripped the broken blades and assumed his stance again, a smile spreading across his face.
"Perhaps there's no need for a Tiger's Vessel after all. When he finds out… he'll be delighted."
He rushed toward Kurosaki Rei.
As they crossed paths, his head flew up toward the ceiling—still wearing a smile of anticipation.
Kurosaki Rei glanced at Xia Yan's head rolling across the floor.
"I'll wait for him."
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