Chapter 132 — Fight Through It

Chapter 132: Chapter 132 — Fight Through It

Chapter 132 — Fight Through It

Victor could barely stand.

He remained in the center of the dueling arena, his body swaying from side to side as he struggled to keep himself upright. Every breath came harder than the last. His chest rose and fell heavily, and his legs trembled beneath him.

He wasn’t sure how much longer they would hold.

At this point, Victor wouldn’t have been surprised if his legs simply gave out.

And he could barely see.

One eye was completely swollen shut, while the other struggled to remain open. Blood and sweat covered his face, and purple bruises had formed across nearly every visible part of his body.

The last twenty-two fights had not been easy.

Not even remotely.

Of those twenty-two battles, Victor had won five.

He had lost the other seventeen.

He had been knocked unconscious more times than he could remember.

Every time it happened, however, Monkaster had been there.

Somehow, the old monkey possessed a strange ability to wake Victor after he lost consciousness. Sometimes Victor would wake to Monkaster standing over him. Other times, he would regain consciousness with the old monkey already explaining what he had done wrong.

Victor had begun to understand why Monkaster had looked so confident when he first assigned him these battles.

The old monkey knew exactly what he was doing.

Today had started at Rank 200.

Victor had fought his way through opponents ranked from 200 all the way down to 178.

And every single one had taught him something different.

Some fighters relied heavily on their footwork.

Others were aggressive.

Some specialized in defense.

Others attacked relentlessly.

There were fighters who favored kicks, fighters who preferred close-range strikes, and fighters who were exceptionally good at counterattacking.

Victor had even encountered opponents whose fighting styles completely disrupted the instincts he had relied upon for so long.

Every battle had forced him to adapt.

And every time Victor returned from the arena, Monkaster was waiting.

Then came the corrections.

Your left foot was too far forward.

You dropped your shoulder.

You relied on your instincts instead of reading his movement.

You could have countered there.

You left your stomach exposed.

Your defense improved, but your transition into offense is still too slow.

Over and over again.

It was exhausting.

It was working though.

His movements were different now.

He no longer wasted as much movement when defending himself.

He was beginning to understand how to shift his weight naturally.

His reactions were becoming more precise.

His instincts and martial arts were slowly beginning to overlap instead of fighting against each other.

For the first time, Victor could actually feel the foundation beneath his fighting becoming stronger.

That realization had kept him going through the previous twenty-two fights.

Now there was only one left.

His opponent stood several feet away.

Victor could barely make out his features through his swollen eye.

They had already been fighting for nearly eight minutes.

Victor wiped some blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

His opponent suddenly moved.

The Lava Rock Monkey shot forward.

Victor’s remaining eye widened.

Fast.

The monkey crossed the distance in an instant.

Victor shifted backward.

The monkey’s arms opened.

Victor immediately recognized the movement.

Grappling.

He hated grapplers.

This particular opponent had a completely different fighting style from most of the people Victor had faced that day.

The Lava Rock Monkeys didn’t all fight the same way.

Their fundamentals were similar, but their individual styles differed greatly.

The monkey lunged.

Victor twisted away.

An arm wrapped around his waist.

Victor immediately fought to break free.

This guy is relentless.

Victor’s breathing grew heavier.

His body was exhausted.

The monkey lunged again.

This time, Victor saw the opening.

The moment his opponent lowered his body to secure another grapple, Victor lifted his knee.

BAM!

His knee slammed directly into the monkey’s face.

The opponent’s body froze.

His eyes rolled backward.

Then he collapsed.

Victor stood there for a moment.

Silence.

Victor had won.

His sixth victory of the day.

Victor exhaled slowly.

He slowly walked off the platform.

Each step felt heavier than the last.

He made his way toward Monkaster.

The old monkey gave him a nod.

"You did good today."

Victor stopped in front of him.

Monkaster continued.

"That last fight definitely wasn’t easy for you."

Victor nodded weakly.

"I specifically picked that opponent because I knew you hadn’t fought someone with that style before."

Monkaster smiled.

"Your defense was much better. You were using your fundamentals to avoid being instantly overwhelmed."

Victor listened carefully.

"That’s exactly what I wanted to see."

Monkaster smiled.

"Good job, Victor."

Victor nodded.

"Yes, Teacher."

He tried to raise his hands into the respectful position he had become accustomed to using.

His arms barely moved.

His muscles were exhausted.

Victor forced himself to bow anyway.

But halfway through the motion, his legs buckled.

"Whoa."

Monkasa moved instantly.

He caught Victor before he could hit the ground.

Victor leaned heavily against the old monkey’s shoulder.

For a moment, he simply stood there.

Or rather, he was barely standing.

Monkasa adjusted his position so Victor could put more weight against him.

"Go ahead and rest for tonight."

Victor nodded weakly.

"The fights for today are over."

That was music to Victor’s ears.

"We’ll start again tomorrow morning."

Victor closed his eyes briefly.

Tomorrow.

He almost laughed.

Of course there was a tomorrow.

Monkaster continued.

"Make sure you cultivate for a long period tonight. Recover as much as you can. Your body needs time to heal those injuries."

Victor nodded.

"And go over your fights."

Victor opened his remaining eye.

Monkaster tapped his temple.

"Think through every fight you had today. Every mistake. Every successful movement. Every time you were caught off guard."

His expression became serious.

"It’s important that you do this after every fight."

Victor nodded slowly.

"Yes, Teacher."

He understood.

The fighting wasn’t the only training.

The reflection afterward was part of it too.

Every battle needed to become knowledge.

Victor took another step.

His leg nearly gave out again.

Monkasa steadied him.

The two slowly began making their way toward the elevator and the village above.

Victor limped heavily, leaning against his friend for support.

He was exhausted beyond anything he had experienced in a long time.

And yet, beneath all that pain, Victor felt something else.

Pride.