Chapter Fifty-Five: A Land Far from Purity

"Do you have any strength left?"

"Regrettably, none at all."

Gongsun Ce collapsed onto the ground. Qin Qianbai, pulled back by telekinesis, also sat weakly at his side.

They were utterly exhausted.

There was simply not a shred of strength left for battle. Whether it was physical stamina or mental energy, everything had been drained dry in that brief yet perilous struggle. At this moment, let alone facing the Ming Ke again, even a mediocre esper could have finished them both off with ease.

Even breathing had become a strenuous chore; their fatigue had truly reached such depths.

With their final reserves of strength, they looked toward the end of the spiral trajectory.

What the two espers saw was—

"—Wonderful."

The Ming Ke, his clothes half-shredded, stood completely unscathed.

A faint glimmer shone before his chest. That light had blocked the tip of the projectile spear, preventing the spiral—which had been a mere hair's breadth away from shattering him—from advancing even an inch.

"The fusion of Dragon-kind power and the Impermanence Art, the coordination of martial arts and tactics, and the trust between the two of you...!"

The spinning spear was halted by that single point of light.

At this moment, Gongsun Ce's spiral ceased its rotation.

Rather than frustration, anger, or hysteria, their primary reaction was a sense of helpless absurdity. They couldn't even summon the energy to be angry; they didn't know what to say.

This had to be a joke.

Even the bosses in monster movies would feel inferior to him. Not even in tokusatsu dramas was there a guy as over-the-top as this.

To exhaust every last card in your hand after such a bitter struggle, only to find the opponent completely unfazed and preparing to enter a third phase—what kind of garbage anime was this? Enough was enough.

"Wonderful, simply wonderful! It has been a long time since anyone was able to defeat my manifestations!"

"For such powerful opponents as you, I shall offer my full strength!"

Their brains stubbornly resisted thinking. They didn't want to dwell on the man's words.

If the Ming Blade, capable of severing all things, was merely his manifestation, then what was the true nature of the Impermanence Art of this man, the Practitioner known as the Ming Ke?

"Combat soldiers turn to demons, witnessing all conditioned phenomena; refining intent to attain spirit, observing the true nature of non-action; all Dharmas are complete, exploring the endless and infinite!"

After the fierce battle, the sky had turned to dusk. The lingering light after sunset was dreamlike, intoxicating.

"Dragon-slaying technique, Impermanence Art."

The glimmer before the Ming Ke expanded, veiling the sky and covering the earth, drawing everything into the light, leaving only an inescapable, dim yellow glow.

One of the strongest in this world. The man who stood side-by-side with the Heavenly Pole unfolded the world within his heart.

"Strange Phase: World-Creation, Asura Pure Land."

***

Afterward.

The esper, Gongsun Ce (19), said this to a friend:

"You ask me what it felt like to fight a World-Creation practitioner?"

"Well... that's actually quite hard to describe."

"No, no, it's not a matter of vocabulary. While I, Mr. Gongsun, am no liberal arts student, I'm not so lacking in words that I can't speak."

"It's more like... the premise of your question is wrong."

The grey-haired young man looked up at the ceiling.

"That cannot be called a battle."

"Humans can wrestle with beasts and fight monsters. But... can humans fight a mountain? Can they fight the ocean? To take it a step further, can an incredibly powerful person fight the Earth?"

"It's impossible. You can't imagine such a scene. Just as you can't imagine how a person with bare hands could fight a giant dragon."

"The metaphor I just used isn't an exaggeration at all. I have seen a top-tier Dragon Calamity with my own eyes..."

The grey-haired young man traced a large circle with his hand.

"The reality-warping destruction caused by the Giant Dragon phenomenon can turn an entire city into an alien world."

"The World-Creation practitioner can do such things as well."

"The Impermanence Art is a dragon-slaying technique. Why is it called that? When you see a World-Creation practitioner truly fighting, you will understand."

The grey-haired young man crossed his arms and shook his head.

"The struggle between an Impermanence practitioner and a Dragon phenomenon is, in essence, a clash of like against like."

"The so-called World-Creation practitioner is a giant dragon in a human body."

The grey-haired young man pushed up his glasses.

"...You ask me what I experienced?"

"Hmm..."

He lowered his head in frustration, pondering for a long time, before saying:

"This... is even harder to describe."

"After all, even now, I haven't fully understood what this so-called Asura Pure Land really is."

***

The sun fell from the horizon, but the stars and night did not rise. What veiled the sky and earth was the dim light of the demon-summoning hour.

Fleeting like a bubble, a dreamlike moment became eternal in the man's heart.

They were placed in a non-existent world.

Ink-transformed birds flew through the air, their brushstrokes resembling the works of a certain painter; in a great river of molten iron, old-fashioned steam trains roared; on distant mountain peaks, there was a forest of swords reflecting cold light; further away were ancient castles, abysses, oceans... endless scenery, ever-changing, chaotic, and colorful. If one were to call it a painting, the theme was indecipherable; if one were to call it reality, no trace of logic could be found.

The two of them stood on a quiet plain within this chaotic world. The endless wilderness was filled with illusory afterimages: they were the phantoms of countless humans, some wielding weapons, some using spells, fighting infinitely within the world. There were the clumsy ones, the mediocre ones, and the masterful ones—the master of the world accepted them all, making no distinction.

"—"

Gongsun Ce saw his own techniques among them.

The figure closest to them threw the spiral spear—it was the exact attack the Ming Ke had just received.

And further away from that shadow, there were many more identical phantoms. Undoubtedly, that was Qin Qianbai, who had fought the Ming Ke.

"This is everything you have learned."

"And what you are about to see is a further developed skill."

The man in the green robe stood alone among the shadows, gazing at the two who were too weak to fight.

"Show me everything you can learn—let me turn those possibilities into true reality!"

They gritted their teeth and forced themselves to stand.

Before the attack was truly launched, they witnessed an inconceivable sight.

—They saw countless versions of themselves.

"This is?!"

Phantoms emerged from their bodies, one after another, turning into "realities" with substance.

Every entity-bearing shadow used techniques they had no inkling of.

Gongsun Ce with a black sword. Gongsun Ce summoning a giant human shape. Gongsun Ce creating a bizarre vortex. Gongsun Ce fully mastering pure white matter. Gongsun Ce distorting the world with invisible force. Gongsun Ce releasing grey power... and many more, even more! Countless versions of himself unleashed countless attacks, some derived from his own power, while more shadows used abilities he had never imagined and could not comprehend!

Similarly, countless real phantoms emerged before Qin Qianbai. With every entity that appeared, the Ming Ke's aura rose a notch. The combined combat power of both sides climbed at an equal rate; when all entities were manifested, the presence of the Ming Ke himself made him think of the Glass Dragon in its prime!

Gongsun Ce's association was no exaggeration. Only in this world, only in his own Pure Land, did the Ming Ke possess the deterrent power of a dragon monarch, the destructive power of a heartless natural disaster... he possessed the power to trample everything in the mortal world underfoot—the absolute, overwhelming power of this world!

And as the opponents of this absolute master were "themselves," even stronger than they currently were.

A vast sea of enemies surged toward the lone swordsman; infinite techniques met the strongest individual. Despite being a battle between enemies and "themselves," it raged on under a will irrelevant to the participants. The attacks of both sides, the exchanges—everything surpassed the esper's understanding. He could only watch as those Gongsun Ces, stronger than himself, withered one after another under the Ming Blade, which was countless times stronger than it had been in the past.

He could not comprehend the abilities used by the "Gongsun Ces," yet those techniques and means felt incredibly familiar. Marks were semi-forcibly engraved in his brain, as if someone had stuffed a massive amount of knowledge into his mind. No, rather than knowledge, it felt more like memory—memories that were his, yet had never been acquired...

"Is it me...?"

When more than half of the "selves" had been slain, the esper finally realized the truth.

Possibilities existing in the future, turned into a reality of the future.

In other words, what the Ming Ke had summoned, and what the Ming Ke had defeated, were...

The techniques they would only "possibly" use many years from now, when they were countless times stronger than they were now!

The conjecture left him speechless.

Just how far did this man intend to go?

He was no longer satisfied by his current opponents; he wouldn't even wait for weak enemies to grow. He wanted to crush the strongest enemies right now, to witness everything he wanted to see right now!

The purpose of creating the world was so that the Ming Ke himself could see more, defeat more, push all possibilities of his opponents to the limit, and then defeat them one by one with the twin blades in his hands. To enjoy an endless battle until all possibilities were shattered, absorbed, and turned into power to make himself stronger.

By the time he reached this thought, the infinite possibilities had almost all been cut down by the Ming Ke. Only one phantom remained on the plain. The last Gongsun Ce formed seals with both hands, causing black and red cracks to appear in the fantastic world.

"Silence Phase: World-Breaker—"

What that Gongsun Ce had said, he could no longer hear, nor did he have the strength to understand.

He only saw the Ming Blade touch the grey mark, and thus, the final version of himself shattered.

The two had no possibility of winning.

Was it the spirit of youth, or the refusal to admit defeat common to all?

The two, devoid of further energy, forced themselves to stand and attempted to launch an attack at the twin-blade wielder.

The result needed no explanation.

Bloodlight soared into the sky.

"Defeat is the driving force of growth."

"Frustration is the cornerstone of strength."

The man smiled and swung his blade.

"Be frustrated, be angry, be pained, be resentful. Turn these emotions, these experiences, into the power in your hands."

"Become stronger, become stronger than you are now. Transcend the known limits and seek the true infinity that I cannot simulate!"

"And then again, and again, and again—"

In his words, there was no kindness, no malice, no killing intent, no hostility.

Only the anticipation of a martial artist.

"Challenge me again!"

***

The two fell to the ground, and the Ming Ke sheathed his blades.

The Asura Pure Land returned to the Ming Ke's heart.

With this, the dust settled.

***

Qin Qianbai lay on the white plane, staring silently at the sky.

"—"

They had lost after all.

Willpower could create miracles, and strategy could help ordinary people defeat the strong.

But when the gap reached such a point, no small tricks, schemes, or perseverance were of any use.

The martial arts realm was at the peak of this world. The Impermanence Art had likewise reached World-Creation.

Even if only one had not reached the ultimate realm, counting the un-drawn black sword, the two might have had a chance to win.

But before the flawless Ming Ke, their power was just that fragile, just that helpless.

"A-Ce..."

The white matter platform crumbled bit by bit. Qin Qianbai silently hugged the grey-haired young man.

Gongsun Ce was pressing down on her.

There was no other intention; this was a promise the young man had made. He would not let her get hurt here—therefore, at the last moment, Gongsun Ce had turned to stand in front, taking more damage in her stead.

A sticky, slick sensation came from his body. Warm life was slipping away from their wounds.

She saw the Ming Ke walk over step by step and take out that black portable cassette player.

How to broadcast the sound inside to the whole city... As a Strange Phase practitioner good at manipulating the environment, he had countless ways to do it. He didn't even need to use "Arts"; he only needed to expand his world to control everything within that range.

She still hadn't managed to do anything before this man.

She closed her eyes in frustration, desperately suppressing the urge to weep. Her long-unchanging face was about to reveal a sad expression.

An unprecedented sense of defeat, a sadness stronger than she had felt in childhood—everything turned into the girl's frustrated whisper.

"I'm sorry, A-Ce. In the end, we still lost..."

The Ming Ke pressed the play button on the cassette player.

The white platform shattered.

She and he fell downward together; in the whistling wind, the young man's faint voice could be heard.

"...Hehe."

A cheap, sleazy laugh. Like the relaxed laugh he made when teasing people, like when he told boring jokes.

"Why are you crying, Miss? We won."

Before a sense of bewilderment could emerge, the first thing to arrive was the sensation of being caught.

A platform constructed of solidified air caught them both. Appearing in her field of vision was the Ming Ke's incredibly confused expression.

He pressed the cassette player over and over, asking in bewilderment: "How could... there be no sound?"

"...Hehehe!"

Surprise and bewilderment overcame fatigue, causing Qin Qianbai to push the young man lying on her to the side. The bespectacled esper clutched his forehead with hands covered in his own blood, laughing miserably yet uncontrollably.

"Hahahaha! You scared me, you really scared me!"

He lay beside the girl, spraying blood while laughing, looking both tragic and absurd.

"I heard you were a World-Creation practitioner of the same level as that guy Yan Qi, so I thought you were so powerful you could conjure a song out of thin air that didn't even exist! I couldn't beat you if I didn't go all the way, so I fought you to the end... Turns out, even a World-Creation practitioner can't bring back what's lost! Hahahaha, pfft-cough, clever little tricks are still a bit useful, huh!"

The Ming Ke looked completely unable to understand the situation.

"What...? I checked..."

Never mind the Ming Ke; even Qin Qianbai, who had received a hint, couldn't fully comprehend the young man's plan.

Gongsun Ce shivered for a long time, then created a white cassette player in his hand.

"The weight and shape are exactly the same, aren't they, Mr. Ming Ke?"

The man in green looked at the object in his hand.

The appearance of the thing was exactly the same as before. Only, the color had become the same pure white as Gongsun Ce's creation!

"When?"

The esper weakly mimicked someone's tone.

"Hey, Mr. Ming Ke."

"When I first arrived, how many people were actually capable of moving on that train?"

He opened his palm. A cute little cat hairclip lay in the young man's hand.

Of course, there were four.

Because when he rushed to the airborne train, he was flying with someone else.