Lin Mo walked slowly over the ruins, the gravel under his feet making no sound.
The drum-like "Emperor Engine" sound had long since subsided, replaced by a deathly silence.
He stopped in front of Gouket.
The former Martial Arts King, now a Dragon-Level Monster, was sprawled on the ground in a sorry state.
His massive body was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, revealing the dark purple muscle tissue beneath.
Lin Mo stood there, his figure not particularly robust; in contrast to Gouket's enormous body, he even appeared somewhat slender.
However, the aura emanating from him made him seem no less impressive than Gouket.
He looked down at Gouket, his eyes devoid of joy, pity, or the slightest hint of mockery.
"Why... why... can humans possess this kind of power?"
Gouket's hoarse question was filled with confusion and unwillingness.
"This... this shouldn't be a realm humans can reach! This is impossible!"
Lin Mo shook his head, his eyes still fixed on Gouket.
"A realm? You set your own limits," his voice clearly reached Gouket's ears.
Lin Mo recalled the scene when he acquired [Martial Arts · Pinnacle]; his consciousness had truly experienced the lives of various martial arts grandmasters.
There was pain, unwillingness, confusion, but more than that, there was an unyielding heart and a will to break through all limits.
"Your so-called limit is merely your limit. Because you couldn't break it, you assumed no one could. Because you chose a shortcut, you assumed everyone needed to take a shortcut."
Lin Mo let out a soft sigh, the sound remarkably clear in the dead silence of the ruins.
He continued, "Now, do you understand, Gouket?"
"The true limit lies not in your race, but in your heart. Your heart stopped progressing the moment you chose to evade."
These words, like a clap of thunder, shattered Gouket's muddled thoughts.
Evade? My heart... In his single eye, the ominous red glow gradually faded, replaced by a flicker of clarity.
Fragments of memory surged like a tide, pulling him back to that moment of despair and fear that changed his life... Back then, he wasn't a Monster.
He was human, a man named Gouket.
He was the undisputed champion of the first Super Martial Arts Tournament, a legendary figure revered as the "Martial Arts King."
His name, in itself, was a monument in the martial arts world.
Countless martial artists regarded him as the goal of their lifelong pursuit, considering it the highest honor to exchange a single move with him.
He stood at the pinnacle of human martial arts, looking out, finding no worthy opponents.
But it was lonely at the top.
He felt an emptiness, an emptiness of not finding a higher peak to climb.
Until that day, he heard a rumor from a Monster he had easily defeated.
As the Monster lay dying, it used its last breath, with a mocking tone, to tell him a secret—
Deep underground, beyond human reach, in a kingdom teeming with countless Monsters, there existed a true "King," a Monster King named Orochi.
This rumor reignited his long-dormant passion.
Monster King!
He would challenge him!
He would use this human body, his meticulously honed martial arts, to challenge that legendary, non-human pinnacle.
He would prove that the path of "Martial Arts" he adhered to had no end!
The potential of humanity was limitless!
He cast aside all honor and status, venturing alone and resolutely into the Monster Association's lair, deep beneath the uninhabited zone of Z-City.
The air there was cold and damp, filled with the stench of decay.
Then, countless grotesque Monsters surged towards him like a tide.
But in front of human Gouket, they were all like chickens and dogs, easily defeated.
His fist wind could tear through the air, his palm techniques could shatter rocks.
His movements were as fluid as flowing water, weaving freely through the siege of hundreds of Monsters.
His martial arts were the most deadly art of killing, the sharpest sword, omnipotent and unrivaled.
As a human, Gouket advanced with unstoppable momentum, his path strewn with the corpses of Monsters.
His conviction grew stronger with each kill, and he felt increasingly like the embodiment of martial arts.
Finally, he reached the deepest part, a vast underground space resembling a giant beehive.
And then, he saw Monster King Orochi.
With just one glance, he was gripped by an uncontrollable awe and terror.
It was not a being that could be described as a "creature."
It was an aggregate formed by countless roaring dragon-like Monsters intertwined, and merely standing there, it exuded an astonishing sense of oppression.
Just meeting its gaze made Gouket's soul tremble uncontrollably.
But he did not retreat. He would never allow himself to retreat.
He was Gouket!
He was the Martial Arts King of humanity! He represented the pinnacle of human martial arts!
"Hoooooah!"
He forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart, letting out a roar, condensing his essence, spirit, and mind to an unprecedented degree, elevating them to the peak of his life!
He poured his lifelong cultivation, all his understanding of martial arts, into this single punch he was about to unleash.
"Mountain-Shattering Earth-Splitting Fist!"
That punch gathered all his pride and conviction, the ultimate he could achieve as a human martial artist.
Before the punch landed, its wind already howled through the entire underground space.
This was enough to instantly level a real mountain!
However, facing this earth-shattering blow, Orochi's reaction was disappointingly calm.
It merely extended an arm casually, easily blocking the attack.
Gouket's full-power strike didn't even make that arm tremble in the slightest.
"Martial arts..."
Orochi spoke with disdain, full of superior mockery, "In the face of absolute power, it is nothing but the weak's juggling act."
What followed was Monster King Orochi's one-sided torment.
Everything Gouket prided himself on—his techniques, his experience, his martial arts—became meaningless in the face of absolute power.
He was beaten until his bones were shattered, his internal organs ruptured, lying before Orochi like a dead dog, unable to even move a finger.
His body was broken.
But more importantly, his conviction, the martial arts he had adhered to his entire life, was utterly shattered.
So... the limits of humanity truly existed.
So... the martial arts he was so proud of truly were a joke.
Orochi didn't kill him, but instead tossed a still-pulsating monster cell in front of him.
"Your strength is not bad," Orochi's voice was full of temptation.
"Abandon your frail body, accept my gift, and you will gain power beyond your wildest dreams; you will... surpass your limits."
At that moment, Gouket looked at the hideous cell, then at his own broken body.
His martial arts heart died completely at that moment.
He had lost, lost utterly.
Since his own path was wrong, a dead end, then why not choose the correct path, the path to power?
Limits... surpassing limits... He reached out with difficulty, and put the monster cell into his mouth...