The devastating collision between my golden fists and Adrian''s ancestral guardian created a blinding explosion that flooded the room with light. For a moment, everything froze—Adrian''s confident smirk, the looming shadow figure above me, the crackling energy between us.


    Then reality fractured.


    The phantom ancestor shattered like ss, its dark essence dispersing into wisps of smoke that faded into nothingness. The shockwave knocked Adrian backward, his eyes wide with disbelief.


    "Impossible!" he gasped, stumbling to regain his footing. "No one has ever broken through the ancestral phantom technique!"


    I stood tall, golden light still emanating from my body. Each breath I took seemed to make the glow pulse brighter, casting harsh shadows across Adrian''s increasingly desperate face.


    "Your ancestor''s strength is impressive," I admitted, flexing my fingers. "But it''s not enough."


    From the doorway, Conrad watched with astonishment. "How is this happening?" he whispered. "Liam is only at the Sixth Layer Master realm. Adrian''s cultivation is far superior."


    Adrianposed himself, straightening his robes with a forced calmness. "An interesting trick, Knight. But breaking my technique once doesn''t mean victory."


    He spread his arms wide, dark energy swirling around him again. "I can regenerate endlessly in this chamber. Every wound heals. Every technique replenishes. You''ll exhaust yourself long before you defeat me."


    I studied him carefully, noting how the room had already repaired itself from our sh. His strategy was clear—wear me down until I could no longer fight.


    "Time is on my side," Adrian continued, conjuring another, smaller phantom behind him. "Let''s see how long your chaotic body can maintain that impressive output."


    He sent the phantom rushing toward me. I sidestepped easily, countering with a palm strike that dissolved it instantly.


    "Your problem isn''t time," I said, moving toward him with deliberate steps. "It''s understanding."


    Adrianunched a barrage of shadow spears that whistled through the air. I deflected each one, never breaking stride.


    "Understanding what?" he scoffed, backing away. "That you''ve stumbled into a trap you can''t escape?"


    I caught thest spear in mid-air, crushing it in my fist. "No. Understanding that immortality has its price."


    Fear flickered across his face for the first time. He quickened his attacks, summoning spectral chains that sought to bind my limbs. I shattered them with casual swipes of my hands, the golden light making short work of his dark constructs.


    "You speak nonsense!" Adrian snarled, hisposure slipping. "My body''s regeneration is wless. I cannot be killed here!"


    I was close enough now to see the sweat beading on his forehead. "Tell me, Adrian Bauer of the Earth Fiend Valley—do you fear pain?"


    The question caught him off guard. "What?"


    "Pain," I repeated softly. "You can heal from any wound, but does the pain diminish? Or do you feel every excruciating moment of it?"


    His eyes widened slightly—enough confirmation for me.


    "That''s what I thought," I said. <dfn ss="story-note-vis">This соpy wаs gеnеrаtеd frоm соntеnt аt МV|LЕМРYR.</dfn>


    Before he could respond, I moved with blinding speed, driving my fist straight through his chest. Blood sprayed from the wound, sttering against my face and clothes. Adrian gasped, his body jerking violently.


    I pulled my hand free, watching as the wound began to close almost immediately. Adrian panted, his face contorted in agony despite the healing.


    "You see," I continued conversationally, "immortality doesn''t mean invulnerability. You feel everything. And that''s your weakness."


    Adrian staggered backward, pressing a hand to his now-healed chest. "You—you can''t win. I''ll regenerate from anything you do."


    "I don''t need to win," I replied. "I just need to break your will."


    With that, I lunged forward again. This time, I grabbed his head between my hands and twisted sharply. The crack of his neck breaking echoed through the chamber. His body went limp, eyes rolling back.


    I let him drop to the floor, watching dispassionately as his body twitched and jerked, the bones realigning themselves, tissues knitting back together.


    When he gasped back to life, terror had reced arrogance in his eyes.


    "That''s one," I said quietly. "How many times do you think you can endure that before your mind shatters?"


    "You''re insane!" Adrian scrambled backward, his movements panicked. "This—this won''t work!"


    I followed unhurriedly. "Let''s find out."


    For the next several minutes, I methodically broke every finger on his hands, one by one, waiting for each to heal before moving to the next. Adrian''s screams bounced off the walls, his pleas growing increasingly desperate.


    "Stop! Please stop!" he begged after I''d reset and broken his neck for the fifth time.


    Conrad watched from the doorway, his face pale but resolute. I could see understanding in his eyes—this wasn''t cruelty for its own sake. This was the only way to defeat an opponent who couldn''t die.


    "Your regeneration is remarkable," I acknowledged, snapping Adrian''s wrist with clinical precision. "But your mind is still human. How much more can it take?"


    Tears streamed down Adrian''s face as his wrist repaired itself. "I—I surrender! Take whatever you want!"


    "What I want," I said, kneeling beside him, "is for you to understand something fundamental about power."


    I grabbed his throat, squeezing just enough to restrict his breathing without cutting it offpletely. "True strength isn''t about being unkible. It''s about having the resolve to endure what others cannot."


    Adrian''s eyes darted frantically around the room, seeking escape. Finding none, they returned to me, filled with dawning horror as he realized his predicament. His supposedly perfect trap had be his perfect prison.


    "Your body may be immortal here," I continued, "but your mind is breaking. How long before you go mad from the endless cycle of pain?"


    To demonstrate my point, I drove my fist into his sternum, feeling the bones crack under the impact. Adrian howled, his back arching off the floor.


    "Every time you heal," I exined as he gasped for breath, "the pain resets. Fresh. Intense. Undiminished."


    I stood, looking down at him with cold calction. "You trapped yourself in here with me, Adrian. Not the other way around."


    His face, once smugly confident, now reflected pure terror. I saw the moment his will began to crumble—his eyes lost focus, his breathing became erratic, his limbs trembled uncontrobly.


    "Please," he whispered, voice hoarse from screaming. "I''ll do anything."


    I crouched beside him again, my voice dropping to match his whisper. "It seems you''ve misunderstood the situation. I trapped you, not the other way around."