Chapter 65: Have You Seen Me at My Peak? (Third Update—Please Follow and Vote)
Edward stared at his severed arm in stunned disbelief. In that instant, he had seen every one of Luke’s movements clearly. His physical speed and strength were in no way inferior to Luke’s.
But why?
Why had he been unable to evade Luke’s slash!?
Something strange—immeasurably strange—surrounded him.
The feeling was exactly like when he faced Shen Wulong. Luke had not swung his blade at Edward’s arm. It was as if Edward’s arm had offered itself up to the blade!
Why had he chosen that move at that moment? And why had he been unable to change it in time?
The result of his arm being severed felt like a link in some inevitable chain of logic.
He trembled. His body would not stop shaking. As the Huisheng vessel of Wu Hei, this was only the second time in five thousand years that he had experienced an emotion called fear.
Looking at the man standing in the corridor now was like staring into an abyss. That was not an opponent one person could challenge alone.
No wonder Tiger Niko’s disciples had been unable to do anything to Luke. This man was absurdly, monstrously strong!
"Idiot! Turn off your Removal already! Do you want to bleed to death?"
A voice came from the other end of the corridor. A white-haired middle-aged man approached from behind Luke, his expression grave as he looked at the one-armed Edward.
"You look pathetic, Edward."
At the same time, a handsome man with long golden hair approached from Edward’s side. He looked at Luke.
"So this is your peak state. No wonder those Kengan fighters were no match for you."
"Huh?"
Luke showed no awareness whatsoever of being surrounded. Tilting his head, he looked at Xavier, the leader of the Worm.
"Have you seen me at my peak?"
"What a composed young man. Surrounded by the three of us, and you still feel like chatting?"
Tiger Niko sneered. He was not an arrogant idiot like Edward Wu. If he had come to kill someone, naturally he would use weapons.
He had already put on knuckle dusters fitted with iron stingers around their outer edges, along with steel forearm guards. They allowed him to bring out the Niko Style to its fullest, providing both offense and defense.
As he spoke, he ambushed Luke from behind, throwing a punch at Luke’s head while keeping his eyes locked on every movement of Luke’s limbs, ready for any sudden development.
But Luke did not even turn to look at him. He merely shifted half a step sideways and swung his right arm back. Prison Demon’s hilt slammed into Tiger Niko’s iron-clad fist.
The force of the impact sent Luke’s arm spinning back around, his waist twisting with it. His left leg followed in a spinning back kick that swept into Tiger Niko’s waist.
The kick was devastatingly heavy. Even with Indestructible activated, Tiger Niko skidded more than ten meters across the floor before stopping. A clearly sunken red mark had appeared on his waist.
Luke straightened, still facing Xavier and Edward. Xavier was injecting a syringe into Edward Wu’s severed arm, while Edward had picked up the broken blade Erioh had dropped earlier.
Xavier tossed aside the syringe and held a butterfly knife in each hand. He looked at Luke with open admiration.
"Is this still not your peak?"
But Luke answered with something else entirely. After glancing around, he looked somewhat disappointed.
"Shen Wulong isn’t here."
"So you know him. Unfortunately, he’s probably eating ramen right now."
Xavier took his stance. "And you still aren’t qualified to meet him. Here, I will—"
As Xavier spoke, Edward Wu and Tiger Niko both assumed attacking stances. The three men were about to kill Luke from three directions at once.
But before Xavier could finish, an invisible pressure spread outward from Luke like a surging tide.
"Shatter the chains, Prison Demon."
With the man’s low murmur, the purple-black blade changed. Chains extended like vines and coiled around his right arm, while purple lightning-like patterns spread across his skin. His aura climbed higher and higher.
Shikai and Removal activated at the same time, sending Luke’s overall attributes soaring straight to 25 points!
"Together!"
Xavier shouted. Cold sweat slid down his forehead. He had not expected Luke to have mastered Removal, nor could he understand what exactly was happening with the blade in Luke’s hand.
But under the effects of that demonic blade and Removal, Luke’s body had likely reached an unprecedented level of power. And he had attained the pinnacle of martial arts!
The three did not hesitate. They moved almost simultaneously, attacking Luke from three directions.
Edward thrust his broken blade at Luke’s chest. Xavier’s butterfly knives slashed for Luke’s throat. Tiger Niko, with [Possessing Spirit] activated, hurled an iron fist toward the back of Luke’s head.
Three of this world’s foremost masters had joined forces to kill one man. Other than Shen Wulong, they should have been capable of killing anyone.
Yet absurdly, Xavier did not have the feeling that they would win.
They were clearly the attackers, clearly the side with the advantage. Yet the invisible pressure radiating from that man made it difficult for Xavier even to breathe.
He had felt this only once before—when he had first encountered Shen Wulong in his youth.
Could the man before him actually stand shoulder to shoulder with Shen Wulong!?
Within that sliver of time, Xavier saw the crazed smile on Luke’s face. There was not the slightest tension at being surrounded and attacked. There was only wild ecstasy.
The next instant, the purple-black blade was stained pitch-black. Luke abruptly lowered his body, dodging Tiger Niko’s punch as a bloody arc swept out.
Xavier had imagined countless ways Luke might respond, but never this. It was an unmatched slash—without the slightest cleverness, without any tricks or detours.
Luke had no intention of evading Edward’s strike. His blade swept diagonally upward from below, cutting through flesh and bone, passing through Edward’s waist and bisecting him entirely!
The slash was too heavy. Its momentum did not diminish. The black blade immediately collided with Xavier’s twin butterfly knives. Extreme force traveled through its peerless edge, and the tough blade carved through its path like a wave breaker, severing Xavier’s weapons!
The slash continued onward. Its tip grazed Xavier’s throat, drawing several glistening drops of blood. If he had not instinctively leaned back to evade it, the blow would have cut through his windpipe!
Xavier was horrified, but he also felt a trace of relief. Luke had made the wrong judgment. Edward was dead, but Xavier’s attack would land!
The broken blade in Edward’s hand did not stop just because its owner had been bisected. Edward had already completed the motion. Carrying tremendous force, it stabbed toward Luke’s chest—toward his heart.
Clang—
In the next instant, Xavier’s eyes widened. Edward’s full-powered strike in Removal had failed to pierce through.
Beneath Luke’s clothes, his chest gleamed black. His muscles were taut, and he had also used the Niko Style’s Indestructible technique.
Under that immense opposing force, the already short broken blade shattered again, scattering into fragments.
The feverish grin had yet to leave Luke’s face, and his movements did not stop. His left hand swept down and flicked several scattered blade fragments out like bullets toward Tiger Niko’s eyes, making Tiger Niko—who had been preparing to change moves and pursue—instinctively dodge.
But seeing this, Xavier could only curse inwardly at his stupidity. Tiger Niko had been in the most advantageous possible attacking position. If he had disregarded his own life and thrown another iron-fisted strike, Luke would have had great difficulty dodging from that posture.
But Tiger Niko chose his own life first, yielding to the instinct to avoid danger.
And so, he lost his final opportunity and welcomed true death.
Luke unleashed a fierce Flash Step, shifting sideways onto the wall. He stepped across it horizontally, and in an instant, offense and defense had reversed.
Prison Demon slashed diagonally down from above. Reinforced by Armament Haki, it was a deadly blade of unyielding toughness and sharpness. No matter how Tiger Niko pushed Indestructible, the slash cut him apart.
The blade cleaved from Tiger Niko’s shoulder blade to his side, splitting him completely in two.
As Luke landed, his feet slid with the force of his rotation, completing a transition from overwhelming force to fluid grace. His body turned just enough to face Xavier once more.
Luke flicked the blood from his blade.
"That was a little refreshing. Come at me. I’ll give you a quick death."
Xavier’s eyes were filled with absurdity. The three of them might not have been the strongest three men in the world after Shen Wulong, but they had to be close, right?
Yet when all three had attacked Luke together, two were dead and one injured after a single exchange.
He touched his neck. The faint sting and the warmth of blood made his body go cold.
He could not win. Other than Shen Wulong, no one could defeat the man before him.
Luke had reached the absolute summit of martial skill. Combined with his superhuman physique and Removal, he was now unbeatable.
Yes, no human could defeat Luke.
But an immortal could.
With that thought, Xavier gripped his two broken blades and resumed his stance. A smile appeared on his face.
"Maybe there is no need for some Tiger’s Vessel after all. Once he learns about you, he’ll definitely be pleased."
With that, he charged Luke. As they passed each other, the head flying toward the ceiling still wore an expectant smile.
Luke glanced at Xavier’s head as it rolled across the floor.
"I’ll wait for him."
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