"We should have killed her outright!" Crassus grumbled.
Logo said nothing. He was also sick of that annoying fly Catherine, but she was his aunt by blood, after all. Without sufficient reason, he couldn't act against her.
The Gendaya People were not a barbaric race. They had a splendid culture and a social order of their own.
Order was both a shield and a shackle!
When they arrived at the castle's training room, an array of exercise equipment greeted them. There were primitive devices such as dumbbells and weighted armor, as well as sophisticated mechanical aids like gravity chambers, muscle stimulation pods, and healing pods.
"Come on, let's spar!" Logo walked to the center of the fighting arena and patted Crassus on the head, challenging him to a fight.
Crassus stretched and reluctantly jumped down, his body rapidly growing larger.
Logo took the opportunity to bring up Crassus's information panel.
[Crassus] Life: 100% Race: Cloud Thunder Tiger Bloodline: Mid-Rank Transcendent Rank: Tier 3 Class: None Physique: 29 Spirit: 13 Energy: 28 Mystery: 9 Charisma: 20 Luck: 4 Bloodline/talents: [Extreme Speed Gait: Flying Cloud] Active - core talent. Activates the cloud markings on the limbs, freeing the user from part of gravity's effects and increasing speed by 70%! [Extreme Speed Gait: Thunderclap] Active - core talent. Activates the lightning markings along the spine. Under electrical stimulation, the specially structured, flexible spine enters an overloaded state, greatly increasing neural response speed and dynamic visual acuity and causing speed to surge again. Arcs of electricity coil around the claws, greatly increasing their cutting power. [Size Multiplication] Active - freely enlarges or shrinks the body. Enlarging it greatly increases strength but reduces agility; shrinking it greatly increases agility but reduces strength. [Berserk] Active - greatly increases combat power, sacrifices some rationality, ignores 80% of pain, and grants immunity to some forms of mental control. [Keen Senses] Passive - greatly increases perception and grants extraordinary sensitivity to danger. The user can detect the faintest movements and sounds and distinguish good from evil to a certain extent. [Jungle Stealth] Passive - a special physical structure allows the user to move silently and blend perfectly into the surroundings. [Physical Enhancement] Passive - increases muscle, organ, and bone strength by 30%. [Tiger's Might] Passive - the Cloud Thunder Tiger's natural aura carries a powerful mental intimidation effect. Those with weak wills suffer a significant reduction in combat power when subjected to Tiger's Might, and may even give up resisting. Knowledge/skills: [Basic Language Mastery Lv9] - proficient in several common languages, including Astral Common and Ancient Magical Beast Language. [Combat Skills Lv11] - this Cloud Thunder Tiger is skilled at learning. Relying on his exceptional combat talent, he developed fighting techniques suited to himself through countless battles in the jungle. [Master Mouse Catcher] Passive - reduces the combat power of rodent monsters and increases damage dealt to them by 50%. Combat power level (unit: Dir): 216-258 Status: Good
Though Crassus was only at Tier 3, his panel was impressive, especially his two core talents. Once activated, they would even let him take on a Tier 4 life-form.
But what drew Logo's attention most was the last ability.
"Master Mouse Catcher?"
Logo fought back a smile. Crassus had caught so many mice that he'd gained experience from it, yet he still claimed he wasn't a cat?
"What's with that look?" Crassus eyed Logo suspiciously.
"Nothing. Come on!"
Logo suppressed his smile and assumed a standard fighting stance.
His legs bent slightly, his shoulders and elbows lowered, his center of gravity dropped, and his gaze burned.
"Here I come, then. Watch out!"
With that greeting, Crassus sprang at him.
Even suppressing the vast majority of his strength and using no transcendent abilities, relying on his body alone, his speed was still astonishing.
In the past, Logo would already have been flustered, but now...
Bang, bang, bang!!
His fists flew like the wind, so fast that only afterimages could be seen.
His legs were like the coiled roots of an ancient tree, shifting within a tiny space. Working in concert with his arms, they formed a flawless defense that steadily blocked Crassus's relentless attacks.
"Huh?"
Crassus was amazed. How long had it been since their last spar? Logo's fighting ability had already soared to this level?
He had expected another chance to beat up a weakling, just like before. He hadn't expected a surprise.
His pupils narrowed, and he focused, getting serious.
Whoosh!
A fierce gust swept past with an afterimage, stirring Logo's hair. At this point, he could no longer track Crassus's movements perfectly with his eyes alone.
Only by calling on all his senses—sight, touch, hearing, smell... combining them into a complete sensory system—could he deal with Crassus's fierce assault.
The battle was intense, and Crassus grew more excited as it went on. In the past, their sparring matches had always been one-sided. Crassus had merely been helping Logo train, gaining almost nothing himself.
But things were different now. It wasn't just Logo; he, too, could gain something from the fight and improve his combat skills.
Meanwhile, Logo was rapidly developing muscle memory. With every punch, an incredibly subtle force flowed into his muscles and bones, transforming his body.
Although he had inherited the combat skills and experience of his previous life, his body was still immature, like a piece of uncut jade that needed time to develop.
His epic combat technique was powerful, but it was still only a memory, and memories were intangible.
Until he fully turned that memory into reality and etched it into his bones and muscles, it was merely a set of data.
Once muscle memory formed, his body would be able to respond directly to an attack without involving his brain, giving his combat power a major leap.
Knowledge was power, but power took time to form. It was a process of turning the intangible into the tangible.
Of course, his experience from his previous life could shorten that process immensely, allowing Logo to grow powerful quickly!
Crassus felt it most keenly. At first, Logo's movements had been somewhat stiff, like a rusty machine.
But after the battle continued for over ten minutes, the rust gradually fell away from the machine. As though it had been treated with powerful lubricant, it began to show its full potential!
After the fight, Logo was drenched in sweat. The intense energy expenditure had left his stomach sunken.
He sent Lunbate to the kitchen for plenty of cooked meat, and he and Crassus began wolfing it down.
After eating his fill, Logo stood up and struck a strange pose under Crassus's puzzled gaze.
Immediately afterward, his muscles began to pulse, veins bulged, and wisps of white vapor rose from his pores, surrounding him.
[Star Swallowing Technique] Active - a secret technique created by imitating the digestive system of the Astral Behemoth known as the "Starry Sky Devourer." It greatly accelerates the body's absorption of nutrients. Legend has it that a god-level martial artist once used this secret technique to devour a star and replenish his expended energy!