Chapter 127 — The Next Step

Chapter 127: Chapter 127 — The Next Step

Chapter 127 — The Next Step

Four days later Victor finally opened his eyes.

He stared at the Monkey Fist Stele in front of him.

For a moment, he didn’t move.

Something felt different.

Victor slowly pushed himself off the ground and stood.

His body was stiff from remaining in the same position for so long. He rolled his shoulders, stretched his arms, and cracked his neck.

Then he paused.

How long was I sitting here?

He had no idea.

To Victor, it felt like perhaps a day had passed.

He had completely lost track of time.

But the moment he focused on his body, he knew.

He had done it.

The barrier that had kept him trapped at the Beginner level of Monkey Fist had disappeared.

Victor’s eyes widened slightly.

Intermediate.

He had finally reached the Intermediate level.

After everything he had gone through.

After countless attempts.

After hours of watching Monkasa demonstrate the technique.

After sitting before the stele without knowing whether anything would happen.

He had finally broken through.

Victor slowly raised his hand.

"Let’s see."

He lowered himself slightly.

His feet positioned themselves naturally.

Then—

Step.

Step.

Step.

Victor felt the Spiritual Energy immediately.

It was different.

Completely different.

The moment his third step landed, energy surged through his legs.

It wasn’t simply moving through his meridians.

It felt as though the movement itself had awakened something.

The Spiritual Energy rushed upward with tremendous force, traveling from his legs through his waist and into his shoulder before pouring into his arm.

Victor’s eyes widened.

This has to be it.

The energy reached his fist.

Then—

BOOM!

A tornado of Spiritual Energy erupted around his arm.

Victor’s expression changed instantly.

The power nearly escaped his control.

The spiritual tornado spun violently around his forearm, twisting so quickly that the air itself seemed to distort.

Victor could feel the pressure against his skin.

The energy wasn’t simply circulating.

It was compressing.

The force was so much greater than anything he had produced before that Victor nearly released it instinctively.

His eyes widened.

Whoa.

He immediately forced himself to regain control.

He couldn’t release this here.

Dozens of Lava Rock Monkeys were scattered around the Monkey Fist Stele, many of them cultivating and attempting to comprehend the technique themselves.

If Victor accidentally unleashed this attack in the middle of them, he would probably have half the training ground challenging him afterward.

Victor gritted his teeth.

"Easy..."

He slowly controlled the energy.

The tornado tightened.

Instead of expanding outward, it began pulling inward.

The swirling Spiritual Energy compressed around his arm.

Round after round.

Layer after layer.

The tornado became smaller.

But somehow, the smaller it became, the more terrifying the pressure felt.

Victor could feel the Spiritual Energy becoming denser.

The air around his fist trembled.

His muscles tightened.

Then—

Crack.

A tiny spark appeared inside the tornado.

Victor’s eyes widened.

Another spark followed.

Then another.

Static electricity began dancing through the compressed Spiritual Energy.

Thin strands of lightning flashed between the swirling currents.

Victor stared at his fist in disbelief.

He had seen something similar when Monkasa used the Intermediate Monkey Fist.

But seeing it from the outside had been completely different.

Now Victor could feel it.

Every spark.

Every fluctuation.

Every layer of compressed energy.

The technique wasn’t merely stronger.

It was on another level entirely.

Victor’s breathing became heavier.

The energy continued building.

The spiritual tornado became increasingly violent while simultaneously becoming more compact.

The contradiction was almost impossible to describe.

It looked smaller.

But it felt infinitely more dangerous.

Victor couldn’t help but think about the Spider Mother.

If I had possessed this technique during that battle...

If I had been able to land this attack directly inside the Spider Mother’s eye...

Victor’s expression became slightly stunned.

Half her head would have been blown apart.

The thought sent a wave of excitement through him.

He had barely survived that battle.

He had nearly died.

And now, only days later, he had acquired a technique that might have completely changed the outcome.

Underneath Victor’s calm expression, he was practically screaming with excitement.

I finally did it!

He continued compressing the energy.

More Spiritual Energy poured into the tornado.

The lightning became more frequent.

The entire mass began humming.

Victor could feel the technique reaching its limit.

That’s enough.

He looked upward.

Victor raised his arm toward the ceiling.

Then he released it.

BOOOOOOM!

The compressed tornado exploded upward.

A massive column of Spiritual Energy shot into the cavern.

Electricity crackled throughout the attack as the tornado spiraled violently toward the ceiling.

At its center, a massive fist-shaped imprint appeared within the swirling energy.

The image lasted only for a moment.

Then the entire attack continued upward before dissipating against the cavern’s distant ceiling.

The surrounding air shook.

Victor’s robes fluttered violently from the released pressure.

For several seconds, static electricity continued dancing across his hand.

Tiny sparks jumped between his fingers.

Victor slowly lowered his arm.

He stared at the fading remnants of the attack.

A smile appeared on his face.

He had done it.

He hadn’t suddenly become powerful enough to challenge the entire world.

He still had a long way to go.

There were countless cultivators stronger than him.

But this was a step.

A real step.

Victor turned toward the Monkey Fist Stele.

He stared at it for a moment.

There was something strange about the ancient stone.

He couldn’t say that it was alive.

It wasn’t.

At least, not in any way Victor understood.

Yet there was a strange spiritual awareness surrounding it.

Almost as though the stele had recognized something inside him.

Victor didn’t know whether that was actually true.

But he wanted to show his respect regardless.

He turned completely toward the stele.

Then bowed.

Deeply.

"Thank you."

Victor remained there for another moment.

The Monkey Fist Stele had been his teacher.

It had forced him to look inward and discover why he needed strength.

And now he had taken another step forward.

Victor straightened.

He glanced down at himself.

Then sniffed.

His face immediately twisted.

"...I stink."

He had completely forgotten about basic hygiene.

Victor looked around.

How long was I sitting there?

Judging by the smell, probably far too long.

He needed water.

And food.

Immediately.

Victor began walking toward the wooden elevator.

As he walked, he couldn’t help but wonder where Monkasa was.

He hadn’t seen him in days.

He’s going to lose his mind when he finds out.

Victor smiled.

Monkasa had been the one who helped him understand the Monkey Fist in the first place.

He would probably be ecstatic.

Victor stepped onto the elevator.

As it began carrying him upward toward the treehouses, he leaned against the wooden railing.

For the first time in a while, Victor felt like he had truly taken control of his path.

He had Intermediate Flash Step.

Now he had Intermediate Monkey Fist.

And there were still countless mysteries waiting for him.

Victor’s eyes hardened.

And now...

He finally had a little more strength to go looking for them.

The elevator reached the upper level.

Victor stepped off.

He began walking toward his house with a triumphant stride.