In a corner of the ruined temple, inside a dilapidated main hall.
A young monk and a tall, thin monk slowly approached the hall's entrance, braced as though facing a formidable enemy.
Pits of every size and scattered rubble covered the floor inside the hall, as though several fierce battles had taken place there.
Suddenly, a dark figure lunged through the entrance. Both monks shouted at once. One's skin turned pale gold, and phantom golden Sanskrit script appeared on his kasaya. The other grew over ten feet tall, silver patterns surfacing on his body and phantom silver lion heads appearing around his hands and feet. Both charged forward to meet it.
In the blink of an eye, the three figures were locked in combat.
All three clearly possessed tough hides, thick flesh, and boundless strength. Wherever their fists and feet swept past, gales surged and the air thundered. Even a layer of the hall's floor was forcibly scraped away.
Their collisions even produced piercing sounds like metal grinding against metal.
Boom!
Both monks were sent flying, while the dark figure swayed once before shooting back outside the hall like a meteor. In an instant, silence returned to the hall.
"What is that thing? Neither beast nor man. Why does it keep blocking the door and refusing to let us leave?" The young monk stumbled back two steps before steadying himself again, his face filled with fury.
"Whether that thing is human or beast, its body tempering is probably stronger than ours." The tall, thin monk beside him slowly raised an arm.
A deep, bloody groove had appeared on his wrist, which was covered in silver patterns. White bone was even faintly visible, yet not a drop of blood flowed out. The surrounding muscles contracted rapidly before their eyes, and within