"Evening training?"
Looking at the three pitch-black metal plates beneath Yun Chuan's feet, the heavy sounds from earlier still seemed to echo in their ears.
Yahiko's face twitched as he looked at Yun Chuan, who was bare from the waist up, and reasonably questioned his so-called training. "You call this evening training?"
Before the floor-to-ceiling window, Yun Chuan stood sideways to the two of them, barefoot on the mat, quietly facing the street outside.
He still held a black short blade in his hand, raised before him in the starting stance for a slash.
Feet, legs, waist, spine, arms, hands...
A standard, stable open stance, power centered through his firm abdominal core—like an immovable boulder standing there.
Even outsiders like Yahiko and Konan could see the sheer force behind his movements.
"How do you think I got to where I am today?" Yun Chuan replied calmly to Yahiko's question.
He took half a step back, breaking his stationary stance. Gripping the short blade tightly, every muscle in his body tensed, and the veins in his arms bulged slightly.
Bzzzz!!
A chilling gale accompanied the sharp shriek as the short blade, its edge clear as autumn water, swung through the air and carved several arcs of light.
Flash Sheath: Eight Point Assault!
After several rapid consecutive slashes, Yun Chuan did not pause in the slightest and smoothly drew the short blade back.
Then came another Eight Point Assault. He unleashed it with full power and speed, with no intention of holding anything back.
"..."
In the few seconds Yahiko and Konan stood there staring blankly, Yun Chuan had already completed more than a dozen consecutive Flash Sheath: Eight Point Assaults.
Only after nearly a hundred consecutive slashes did his movements gradually begin to slow.
Even so, Yun Chuan's form did not falter in the slightest. He was like a merciless slashing machine, silently repeating those terrifying movements.
Yahiko could not help focusing intently, staring at Yun Chuan's movements as he observed and considered the angles, strength, and speed of his slashes...
"One hundred fifty-one, one hundred fifty-two, one hundred fifty-three..." Konan beside him subconsciously began counting in her heart.
The two watched Yun Chuan continue swinging his blade, their eyes shining. Without needing to discuss it, they tacitly refrained from disturbing him.
Perhaps they sensed the unusual heaviness and solemnity beneath Yun Chuan's usual gentleness, or perhaps they simply could not bear to interrupt movements so full of speed, power, and beauty.
Drip... drip...
As he continued slashing without interruption for the one hundred seventy-first time, Yahiko and Konan could both hear Yun Chuan's breathing deepen. His body had clearly reached the brink of its limits.
Sweat gradually seeped from his pores, sliding over his sharply defined body and dripping onto the floor. His muscles seemed to possess the luster of steel, tangled like iron bars as they endured the strain.
"Two hundred twenty-three, two hundred twenty-four..."
Konan had already begun murmuring aloud, her cheeks tensing slightly, but the two hundred twenty-fifth slash did not come for a long time.
The arm holding Yun Chuan's blade trembled slightly. Even maintaining the raised position seemed difficult.
Creak! Creak!
Yahiko ground his teeth until they ached, as if he could hear the muscles in Yun Chuan's arm groaning. At this point, isn't it enough?
Pushing his body to its limit bit by bit—his so-called evening training was simply self-torture!
This kind of training...
They remained deadlocked like that for several minutes. Yahiko, who had not spoken a word, slowly opened his mouth.
Just as he was about to urge Yun Chuan to stop, he saw him slowly close his eyes.
"Whew..."
The expression on his sweat-soaked face became as calm as still water, carrying the same Zen-like tranquility as the character for "stillness" in the painting behind him.
Yahiko and Konan instinctively held their breath. Even the world seemed to become quiet at that moment.
No one knew how long passed.
When Yun Chuan opened those deep blue eyes again, they were somehow even more profound than the stars and moon above the clouds.
At that moment, Yahiko and Konan felt a bone-piercing chill.
Bzzzz!!
When they heard that horrifyingly sharp howl of wind, their minds went blank, and their bodies abruptly recoiled a step for no reason.
Their reaction was nearly instantaneous, and the force of it even sent them tumbling onto the floor.
"...What was that?"
Yahiko sat on the floor, his left hand braced behind him as his right hand touched his neck.
All he felt was rough skin, with none of the wetness he had expected.
That feeling just now...
It was like automatically closing one's eyes when a needle flew toward them. His body had completed that movement on its own, instinctively avoiding a threat.
What had he just done?
Thinking of that, Yahiko blankly raised his head and looked toward the distant figure.
From beginning to end, Yun Chuan had not moved even half a step. He had not even turned to face them.
A faint mist of sweat enveloped his body, and within the haze, only a trace of deep blue could be seen.
"Whew!"
Yun Chuan exhaled, breathing out a white mist like a serpent.
The next moment, with a thought, the panel appeared in his mind.
Villain Template System Main Template Name: Tsukimiri Yun Chuan [∞] Level: Level 4 Four Attributes: Strength D→C, Speed C→B, Spirit B+, Energy F Abilities: ① Sensory Type—Jōgan [91%] ② Physique Control Type—Seven Nights Assassination Art [99%→100%]; Aura Concealment [99%→100%]; ③ Matter Control Type—Lethal Projection [24%] Sub-Templates (3/4): ① Nanaya Shiki [Killer] ② Bullseye Template [Adamantium] ③ Tama [Stand: Catnip] Level Advancement: Level 4→Level 5, requires 3000 points (increases the number of available missions and equipped templates) Available Missions: 0/2 Points Held: 2200
Crack!!
Yun Chuan lowered his head and looked at his hand, clenching it hard. The corners of his mouth rose into a smile. "This feeling is truly intoxicating."
He could clearly feel blood rushing through his body. His exhausted cells seemed infused with fresh vitality, and the strength he had completely depleted surged forth once more—unparalleled power rising from every limb and bone.
If his former self had been a furnace restraining flames yet still shining brightly, then his current self was an active volcano—seemingly dormant, yet churning with magma!
A terrifying, silent sharpness was hidden within this body.
This was the power he had completely mastered, power that truly belonged to him.
The "templates" only gave him "abilities"; they did not grant him the character's "physique." Template quality represented only "potential."
Even obtaining the highest-grade crimson template would not make someone invincible in the blink of an eye.
No matter how powerful the Assassination Art, how powerful the short-blade techniques, or how powerful the character abilities...
Yun Chuan still needed sufficiently strong physical qualities to bring out their true power.
Those four attribute values were a rough calculation of his physical condition.
From F to S, from low to high, his body had yet to fully mature. He still had a long road ahead.
Moreover, once an equipped character template's ability reached 100% proficiency, he could completely master it.
He could use it without occupying one of his template slots, and could even exert greater power than its original owner.
"After all this time, I've finally completely mastered Seven Nights Assassination Art and Aura Concealment." Yun Chuan nodded slightly, lifting his gaze toward the two little ones before him.
But before he could react—
Yahiko scrambled to his feet and dashed over with a whoosh!
"Boss Yun Chuan!"
Yahiko stepped back with a serious expression, then abruptly bent into an almost 180-degree bow.
The grand force of it was like a heavy blade falling, even kicking up a sharp howl of wind that lifted Yun Chuan's bangs.
"I'm sorry!" he shouted loudly with his body bent over. "I was wrong before! I sincerely apologize!"
Seeing Yahiko suddenly perform such a grand gesture toward him, Yun Chuan instinctively took half a step back to avoid the gust stirred up by his fierce bow.
"No, if it's only about something like that, there's no need to go this far..."
Yun Chuan's eye twitched, and his expression was unusually speechless as he said bluntly, "If I stopped to throw stones at every barking dog by the roadside while walking my own path, I would never reach my destination."
Small-minded people often grew angry at insults and delighted by praise, but Yun Chuan did not care.
The higher a person flew, the smaller they appeared in the eyes of those who could not fly.
However, Yahiko's next reaction caught Yun Chuan by surprise.
"No, please forgive my rudeness. This is Yahiko's lifelong wish!"
Yahiko, who had always been emotional, did not even raise his head at Yun Chuan's subtly mocking answer. Maintaining his bow, he extended a hand and said sincerely, "If possible, please teach me how to become stronger!"
Behind him, Konan was stunned when she heard Yahiko's words. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, and the hand hidden behind her back gently clenched the paper flower as an impulse rose within her as well.
Then, she silently stepped forward and held both hands out before her, offering the blue paper flower.
"..."
Looking at the two of them, whose motives differed but whose intentions were the same, Yun Chuan narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
The entire room fell into brief silence.
Only when a drop of sweat fell from Konan's temple did she suddenly feel a hand take the paper flower.
She instinctively raised her delighted face, only to see Yun Chuan pinch the paper flower and tuck it into her pale blue-violet hair.
"Remember this."
A smile appeared on Yun Chuan's face as he said meaningfully, "This is your own choice. Show me your resolve."
Before you continue