Completely My Own Power

"Evening training?"

Looking at the three pure black iron plates beneath Yun Chuan's feet, the heavy sound from before still faintly echoed in his ears.

Yahiko's face twitched as he looked at Yun Chuan, bare-chested, and raised a reasonable doubt about what the man called training: "You call this evening training?"

By the floor-to-ceiling window, Yun Chuan stood sideways to the two of them, barefoot on the mat, quietly facing the street outside.

In his hand, he held a black short blade, positioned before him in the starting stance of a slash.

Feet, legs, waist, spine, arms, hands...

A standard, stable open stance, core engaged with steady abdominal power, like a boulder standing there.

Even laymen like Yahiko and Konan could sense the strength in his posture.

"You think I got to where I am today how?" In response to Yahiko's question, Yun Chuan said calmly.

He stepped back half a pace, breaking the stillness, gripped the short blade tight, every muscle tensed, veins in his arms bulging slightly.

Woom!!

A chilling gust of wind accompanied a sharp, piercing shriek as the blade, clear as autumn water, swept out, carving several arcs of light through the air.

Flash Sheath: Eight Point Assault!

After the high-speed series of slashes, Yun Chuan didn't pause at all, smoothly retracting the short blade.

Then he immediately repeated the Eight Point Assault, going all out with full force and speed, with no intention of holding back.

"..."

In the few seconds Yahiko and Konan stood frozen, watching this scene, Yun Chuan had already completed over a dozen consecutive "Flash Sheath: Eight Point Assault" strikes.

It wasn't until he had swung nearly a hundred times that his movements gradually slowed.

Even so, Yun Chuan's form didn't waver in the slightest, like a merciless slashing machine, silently repeating this terrifying motion over and over.

Yahiko couldn't help but focus, staring intently at Yun Chuan's movements, observing and pondering the angle, force, and speed of his slashes...

"One hundred fifty-one, one hundred fifty-two, one hundred fifty-three..." Beside him, Konan began silently counting in her mind.

Both of their eyes shone as they watched Yun Chuan's relentless slashing, neither speaking, instinctively and tacitly choosing not to disturb him.

Perhaps they sensed the unusual heaviness and solemnity in Yun Chuan, so different from his usual gentleness, or perhaps they couldn't bear to interrupt such a display of speed and power in motion.

Drip... drip...

By the time he had slashed continuously to the one hundred seventy-first strike, both Yahiko and Konan could hear Yun Chuan's breathing grow deep and heavy; his body was clearly nearing its limit.

Sweat gradually seeped from his pores, sliding over his sharply defined form and falling to the floor, his muscles taking on a steely sheen, twisting like steel cables enduring the strain.

"Two hundred twenty-three, two hundred twenty-four..."

Konan, now murmuring aloud, tightened her cheeks slightly, but the two hundred twenty-fifth strike never came.

Yun Chuan's arm holding the blade trembled faintly, barely managing even to keep it raised.

Creak! Creak!

Yahiko ground his teeth in discomfort, as if he could hear the groaning of the arm muscles, thinking to himself: "This much is enough, right?"

Forcing his body bit by bit to its limit—what he called evening training was nothing but self-torture!

This kind of training method...

They stood frozen like that for several minutes, Yahiko silent, his mouth slightly open.

Just as he was about to speak up to stop Yun Chuan, he saw Yun Chuan slowly close his eyes.

"Hah..."

The sweat-soaked face grew calm, still as water, like the character for "stillness" in the painting behind him—serene as Zen.

Yahiko and Konan instinctively held their breath, the world itself seeming to fall silent in that moment.

No one knew how long passed.

When Yun Chuan opened those deep blue eyes again, they were even more profound than the stars and moon above the clouds.

At that moment, Yahiko and Konan felt a bone-chilling cold.

Woom!!

The moment they heard that terrifying, sharp wind, their minds went blank, and their bodies inexplicably took a sudden step back.

The movement was so fast it was instantaneous, so forceful that they stumbled and fell to the ground.

"...What was that?"

Yahiko sat on the floor, his left hand propping him up from behind, his right hand touching his neck.

All he felt was rough skin, no trace of the wetness he'd expected.

That feeling just now...

Like instinctively closing your eyes when a needle tip flies toward them—this movement was entirely automatic, a reflexive dodge triggered by a perceived threat.

What had he just done?

With this thought, Yahiko lifted his head in a daze and looked toward the distant figure.

From start to finish, he hadn't moved a single step, nor had he even faced them.

A faint mist of sweat shrouded his surroundings, and within the haze, only a dim blue hue was visible.

"Hah!"

Yun Chuan exhaled, a white serpent of breath curling from his lips.

The next moment, with a flicker of thought, a panel materialized in his mind.

code
[Villain Template System]

[Main Template]

[Name: Tsukimiri Yun Chuan [∞]]

[Level: Four]

[Four Attributes: Strength D→C, Speed C→B, Spirit B+, Energy F]

[Abilities: ① Five Senses - Jōgan [91%] ② Physique Control - Seven Nights Assassination Art [99%→100%]; Aura Concealment [99%→100%]; ③ Material Control - Lethal Projection [24%]]

[Sub-Templates (3/4): ① Nanaya Shiki [Murderer] ② Bullseye [Adamantium] ③ Tama [Stand Grass]]

[Level Up: Four→Five, requires 3000 points (increases available mission count, available template slots)]

[Available Missions: 0/2]

[Points Held: 2200]

Crack!!

Yun Chuan looked down at his hand and clenched it tightly, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "This feeling is truly intoxicating."

He could clearly sense his blood surging through his body, his weary cells as if infused with new vitality. The strength that had been nearly spent surged forth once more, an unparalleled power rising from every limb and bone.

If before, he had been a furnace that restrained its flames yet still shone brightly, now he was a dormant volcano churning with magma.

A terrifying, silent sharpness lay hidden within this body.

This was power fully mastered and truly his own.

The "templates" only granted him "abilities," not the "physique" of their characters; template quality merely represented "potential."

Even obtaining the highest-grade red template wouldn't make him invincible in the blink of an eye.

No matter how strong the assassination art, no matter how sharp the short-blade technique, no matter how powerful the character's ability...

All required Yun Chuan to possess a sufficiently robust physical foundation to unleash the true might of those abilities.

And that four-attribute data was a rough calculation of his physical condition.

From low to high, from F to S, his body was still developing; the road ahead was long.

Moreover, once an ability from a loaded character template reached 100% proficiency, it could be fully mastered.

It could even be used without occupying a template slot, and might even surpass the original owner's power.

"Seven Nights Assassination Art and Aura Concealment—finally fully mastered after all this time." Yun Chuan nodded slightly, lifting his eyes to look at the two small figures before him.

But before he could react, Yahiko scrambled to his feet and dashed over in a flash!

"Boss Yun Chuan!"

Yahiko's expression turned serious as he took a big step back, then suddenly bowed nearly 180 degrees.

The imposing momentum was like a heavy blade falling, even stirring a sharp gust of wind that lifted Yun Chuan's bangs.

"I'm sorry!" he shouted, bent over. "I was wrong before! My deepest apologies!"

Seeing Yahiko suddenly offer such a grand salute, Yun Chuan instinctively stepped back half a pace to avoid the wind kicked up by the bow.

"No, if it's just about that, there's no need for this..."

Yun Chuan's eye twitched, his expression rare in its speechlessness as he said bluntly, "If I'm walking my own path and every time a dog barks from the roadside I stop to throw a stone, I'll never reach my destination."

Those with shallow hearts often rage at curses and delight in praise, but Yun Chuan didn't care.

The higher one flies, the smaller they appear in the eyes of those who cannot fly.

But Yahiko's next reaction caught Yun Chuan off guard.

"No, please forgive my rudeness—this is the lifelong wish of me, Yahiko!"

In response to Yun Chuan's subtly sarcastic reply, the ever-emotional Yahiko didn't even lift his head. Keeping his bow, he extended a hand and said earnestly, "If possible, please teach me how to get stronger!"

Behind him, hearing these words, the silent Konan felt her heart skip a beat. She gently squeezed the paper flower hidden behind her hand, a surge of impulse rising within her.

Then, she silently stepped forward, raised both hands, and offered the blue paper flower.

"..."

Looking at the two, whose motives differed yet whose intent was the same, Yun Chuan narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

The entire room fell into a brief silence.

Until a bead of sweat dripped from Konan's temple, and she suddenly felt a hand take the paper flower.

She instinctively lifted her surprised face, only to see Yun Chuan pinching the flower and tucking it into her light blue-violet hair.

"Remember."

A smile spread across Yun Chuan's face, his tone laden with meaning. "This is your own choice. Show me your resolve."