Martial artists can never be ultimately insulted.

"Long..."

A low growl rolled from deep within Sagat's throat.

It's not anger.

It is something deeper, more profound, and more intense than anger.

He felt the pain in the scar on his chest—the pain of humiliation, the obsession, the nightmare that had haunted him every midnight in the past.

And that nightmare seemed to be standing right in front of him, looking at him with the exact same eyes.

"You dare to... look at me like that?!"

Sagat's voice exploded, which even puzzled Wu Fengshui, who was standing to the side—why did this tall guy seem to be the one who had broken through the defenses when he was clearly in an absolute advantage?

While Wu Fengshui was still wondering, Sagat had already bared his claws like an enraged tiger.

His blood and qi surged, and faint traces of blood-red flames even appeared. His bronze muscles appeared unusually hard under the cover of the flames, veins bulged on his forehead, and a terrifying ferocious light burst forth from his single remaining eye.

Sensing Sagat's unusual state, Chun-Li's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Yuan Chen! Retreat immediately!!"

As she spoke, Chun-Li disregarded all rules and shot towards Sagat like an arrow.

With her right leg imbued with all her fighting spirit, she swept a kick toward Sagat's knee. She knew she couldn't defeat him, but by distracting him, Yuan Chen could gain even less than a second of breathing room.

Sagat merely glanced at Chun-Li behind him, then swung his left arm backward like a twisting iron pillar, accompanied by a deafening roar.

His blood and energy surged, and his forearms were so thick that it was hard to tell whether they were hands or legs. Beneath his bronze skin, layers of muscles bulged, and he rushed toward Chun-Li with a fierce gust of wind.

Sensing Sagat's attack, Chun-Li did not dodge. Perhaps her ankle had already swelled from the previous clashes, making it difficult to generate power smoothly. Chun-Li chose to put all her strength into a heavy blow as she rushed towards Sagat.

Faced with the oncoming gust of wind, Chun-Li simply crossed her arms to protect her face.

"boom!!"

A dull thud exploded outwards.

Chunli opened her eyes, but she did not experience the expected shock.

Rushing forward at an astonishing speed, Yuan Chen raised his leg, his hard knee colliding with Sagat's arm. The enormous impact knocked Sagat's arm back, and Yuan Chen was also pushed back half a meter by the recoil.

It's gotten faster?! With his attack intercepted, Sagat's eyes also revealed a hint of disbelief.

He could clearly feel that although Yuan Chen had suffered more serious injuries in the previous confrontation, his speed, strength, and even angle had improved.

Yuan Chen, however, was oblivious to all of this. His eyes were fixed intently on Sagat, feeling his own potential surging forth. Yuan Chen gritted his teeth and growled:

"Sister Chun-Li! Hit her!"

Before he could finish speaking, Yuan Chen's figure shot out like a cannonball.

He stomped his right foot on the ground, sending shards of stone flying, and his entire body transformed into a blur as he rushed straight towards Sagat's inner perimeter.

At the same moment, Chunli moved without hesitation, without even having time to think about how Yuan Chen had crossed several meters in an instant to block her way.

Or perhaps Chunli doesn't care now; she's just instinctively following Yuan Chen's figure.

Unable to push off the ground due to the pain in her right leg, she used her left leg to exert force, cutting into Sagat's blind spot from the side like a short knife thrusting out of the darkness. Her arms circulated with energy, completely disregarding the backlash from the Qi Gong Fist, and together with Yuan Chen's movements, she launched a fierce attack on Sagat's lower back.

As Sagat felt the two attacking from both sides, a hint of ferocity flashed in his single eye.

Without hesitation, he slammed his right arm forward at Yuan Chen and rammed his left elbow backward at Chun Li's hand.

He attacks with offense, and violence with violence. He doesn't need to defend. His reach, his strength, and his bone density, combined with the striking-specific Muay Thai limbs, give him enough confidence to knock them back simultaneously before their attacks touch him!

But his right arm missed its mark.

Just as Yuan Chen had envisioned, having lost an eye, Sagat is clearly not yet familiar with the limited field of vision he has while only having one eye.

With astonishing speed, he veered to one side, and combined with the centrifugal force from the rotation of his waist, most of Yuan Chen's back muscles tensed up, his fist clenched tightly and placed on one side of his jaw, the clenched fist seemingly gathering all the weight of his body.

Before he even swung his fist, his muscles began to tremble uncontrollably, like a shot putter ready to throw. The moment Sagat's attack missed, he suddenly burst forth, unleashing a punch with a whooshing sound that struck Sagat's cheek, sending ripples of shock through the air.

Along with the pain, Sagat's vestibular system was impacted, his soft brain was constantly colliding within his cranial cavity, his remaining eyes became glazed, and even his thoughts briefly ceased.

Immediately following, the surge of energy emanating from Chun-Li's arms, a true energy impact that resembled scorching flames yet was even more intense than fire, once again jolted Sagat awake.

A strange sense of unease lingered in Sagat's mind—it was Yuan Chen's state.

Amidst the clash of flesh and blood, Sagat could clearly feel that the stagnant blood in the young man's body was being devoured by the activated tissues, and the torn muscle fibers were being rewoven. With each breath and each heartbeat, the young man's body was becoming stronger, more flexible, and more powerful.

It was as if his attack had not truly depleted him, but rather was tempering and forging him, forcing the young man to adapt and purify more quickly.

Yet another one...yet another person like this!!

"You...you're all the same!!"

As he spoke, Sagat's eyes flashed with a chilling killing intent. He spread his arms to the sides, easily shattering Chun-Li's gathered energy. But Sagat paid no attention to Chun-Li. He simply mixed his scarlet killing intent with his energy, turning it into flames that erupted around his body. Then, it continuously condensed, compressed, and condensed on his fist, wrapping his already hammer-like fist into a ball of burning blood.

Just watching, Chun-Li's pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints.

Then, Sagat unleashed all his power into Yuan Chen's body at near-zero distance—

"die!!!"

Volume 1: Chapter 15 - Dead or Alive

As Sagat's aura surged and transformed into a condensed, persistent black-red blood aura, Yuan frowned in the distance, preparing to make a move. However, he seemed to notice something and paused slightly, a look of undisguised astonishment appearing in his eyes.

Wu Fengshui, who was standing on the street, lost his voice almost as soon as the black and red blood aura rose around Sagat.

As a clan of assassins, they are no strangers to this power that exists only in legends—the fluctuation of killing intent.

Its manifestation is Qi, which is essentially a forbidden spiritual energy formed by the condensation of extreme bloodlust, obsession with victory, and negative emotions. It is also one of the 'ultimate goals' pursued by every assassin.

Although everyone theoretically possesses potential, throughout history, very few have been able to awaken it. Only those who value "winning" more than life and humanity have the potential to touch this forbidden energy deep within their souls.

As the price for obtaining this power, most of the awakened ones throughout history have gradually been consumed by murderous intent, turning into Asuras who only know how to kill, losing their emotions, morality, and compassion.

Ultimately, they either perish in the endless battle or are utterly destroyed by the very wave itself.

And now...

With the sudden surge of killing intent, Sagat paid no attention, and was not even aware that he had unconsciously awakened.

Its remaining single eye stared intently at Yuan Chen, letting out a low growl.

Those fists, enveloped in a blood-red aura, were like a cannon fired from its barrel. They accelerated to their limit in a very short distance, tearing through the air with a sharp sonic boom, mercilessly blasting all their power and killing intent into Yuan Chen's chest.

Almost instantly upon contact, a series of cracking sounds came from Yuan Chen's chest.

It wasn't a subtle click, but a series of rapid, sharp sounds, like ice shattering.

It was as if he had been pierced by an iron hammer. First, his flesh was crushed and torn, then his sternum shattered, and finally, the solidified golden energy surged into his chest cavity like a flood, impacting his heart, lungs, and all his soft internal organs.

Yuan Chen's heart stopped beating at that moment.

This is not a metaphor, but rather a description of how this surging force directly impacts the heart, causing it to contract abruptly under the sudden pressure and then stop beating.

Blood stopped flowing, oxygen stopped being delivered, and consciousness went blank for a moment.

With a loud bang, Yuan Chen's tall and strong body became as light as a withered leaf under Sagat's fist.

With both feet off the ground, his body traced a straight trajectory through the air, smashing through the already dilapidated door of the martial arts school, smashing the screen behind the door, smashing the weapon rack placed against the wall, and finally crashing heavily into the wall at the deepest part of the martial arts school.

Miscellaneous items were shaken off and hit Yuan Chen, leaving the scene in a mess.

"Ah Chen!!"

Chun-Li's eyes narrowed, her voice ripped through the night sky, and despite the excruciating pain in her ankle, she instinctively rushed toward the smashed door of the martial arts school.

Standing still, Sagat fell into a long silence.

There was no excitement that should accompany a victory. His face was downcast, shadows fell, and with his constantly trembling pupils and heaving chest, Sagat could feel that his body and mind no longer belonged to him.

He turned around slowly, like a rusty heavy machine struggling to operate.

"It's over already..." Wu Fengshui muttered softly, "They really are professionals... Let's go, Garuda, staying any longer will definitely cause trouble."

Wu Fengshui subconsciously reached out to pull Wu Jialouluo away, but as soon as he reached out, he found that he couldn't pull him at all.

Looking up, Wu Fengshui saw Wu Jialouluo staring intently at the figure buried in clutter in the martial arts hall.

"Garuda?" Wu Fengshui subconsciously reminded him.

“It’s not over yet.” Wu Jialouluo shook his head and said blankly, “Something… is awakening.”

"...?" Wu Fengshui looked puzzled.

Chun-Li was completely unaware of what was happening outside; she simply rushed into the martial arts gym on instinct and then witnessed a scene that left her breathless.

Yuan Chen fell backward between the shattered weapon rack and the plaque.

His chest—Chun-Li almost dared not look at his chest.

The fist imprint was deeply embedded in the flesh, and the surrounding skin was charred black by the surging energy. The sternum showed an unnatural indentation, and broken bone fragments pierced out from under the skin, white and stained with dark red blood.

With his arms outstretched to his sides, a layer of skin was scraped away by the force, revealing broken muscles and shattered bones.

His eyes were half-open, but they were no longer as fiery as before. They were dim and lifeless, with unfocused eyes and dilated pupils. He stared motionlessly at the teetering light bulb on the ceiling.

"Ah... Ah Chen?"

Chunli's voice trembled, and she instinctively reached out her hand, but only felt a chill.

His heart stopped beating. I pressed my fingertip on Yuan Chen's carotid artery and waited for a long time, but there was still no pulse.

As Chun-Li watched the gradually cooling, lifeless corpse, she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

All physiological responses of a living person, such as pulse, breathing, and heartbeat, have now disappeared from Yuan Chen's body.

As a suffocating sense of despair washed over her, Chun-Li suddenly sensed something.

That's the sound of a heart starting to beat.

At first, the sound was so faint that even Chunli, who was holding Yuan Chen, couldn't really feel it.

But soon, the heartbeat grew louder and louder, and it was no longer just Chun-Li who could hear it; even Wu Feng-shui, who was standing nearby, and Sagat, who was about to leave, could hear it clearly.

Along with her heartbeat, Chunli could clearly feel an invisible energy flowing at an astonishing speed through her spine towards Yuan Chen's limbs and bones, accompanied by the pumping of her heart.

Along the meridians, along the bones, along every muscle fiber and fascia. Then, accompanied by the frantically writhing flesh, dark red blood energy burst forth from Yuan Chen's body.

"A surge of killing intent?!"

If Sagat and Chun-Li still couldn't understand what this dark red aura of blood was, then both Wu Fengshui and Wu Garuda, who came from families of assassins, were stunned in that instant.

According to family records, the fluctuations of murderous intent do indeed possess the ability to communicate telepathically, sense malice, erode the mind, and even induce the underlying murderous intent within others.

Even so, isn't it a bit too fast for such a rapid awakening of killing intent?

Or, if the power of killing intent were so easy to awaken, it would be commonplace by now!

Standing on high ground, looking at Yuan Chen's condition, Yuan Yi frowned, his withered fingers unconsciously rubbing his beard, but after sensing for a moment, a look of astonishment appeared in his eyes.

The reason is simple: the murderous intent... is being devoured.

Soon, not only Yuan, but also Wu Fengshui and Wu Jialouluo quickly realized that something was wrong.

As Yuan Chen stood up from Chun Li's embrace, his body, which was originally surrounded by dark red blood energy, was suddenly accompanied by a surge of inexplicable energy.

In everyone's perception, the blood energy was constantly evaporated and burned amidst Yuan Chen's thunderous heartbeat, just like coal being swallowed up by that astonishing body temperature.

Looking at Yuan Chen, Chunli was slightly taken aback, then said incredulously, "Ah...Ah Chen?"

"……what."

Yuan Chen nodded, but then strode towards the door, his burning eyes fixed on Sagat, filled with a morbid excitement.

"Hey! Long time no see!"

Volume 1: 16. Driven by Life Energy

Staring at Yuan Chen, who was emanating an unusual aura, Sagat was taken aback for a moment, and then, after a brief silence, said:

"Is it real... a resurrection?"

"Ah, yes, full of energy!"

Yuan Chen nodded, his eyes filled with madness as he stared at Sagat. Then, he stretched out his palm, displaying the constantly healing scars and skin like a child who had received a brand new toy, and said:

"Although I had already sensed it, I still needed to die to truly feel this power."