I stood unwavering as the wave of energy rushed toward me. Mr. Snyder''s face contorted in sadistic pleasure, clearly expecting to see me crushed beneath his attack. But I had changed—fundamentally and irrevocably—since ourst encounter.


    With perfect timing, I mmed my golden-wrapped fist directly into the center of his energy wave. The collision sent shockwaves rippling outward, cracking the ground beneath us. For a moment, our energies battled—his destructive force against my golden light.


    Then his attack shattered like ss.


    The look of shock on Mr. Snyder''s face was almost worth every moment of suffering I''d endured. His mouth hung open in disbelief as fragments of his spiritual energy dissipated into the air.


    "Impossible," he muttered, taking an instinctive step backward.


    Behind me, I heard Sofia''s gasp of amazement and Eamon''s whispered prayer of thanks. But I kept my focus locked on my opponents.


    "You should have stayed away," I said, my voice steady and calm. "Now you''ll understand the difference between us."


    Mr. Snyder''s face twisted in rage. "One lucky counter doesn''t mean anything! I''m still a Peak Grandmaster!"


    He lunged forward with renewed fury, his fist glowing with concentrated spiritual energy. I didn''t dodge. I simply met his attack head-on, catching his fist in my open palm. The impact created another shockwave, but I remained unmoved.


    "Is this all a Peak Grandmaster can offer?" I asked, tightening my grip on his fist.


    Mr. Snyder''s eyes widened in pain as I squeezed, forcing him to his knees. "How? You were nothing but a weakling!"


    "People change," I replied, before releasing him with a push that sent him tumbling backward several yards.


    The two other Grandmasters exchanged nervous nces. This wasn''t the easy kill they''d anticipated. The taller one moved first, circling to my left while the other went right—a basic nking maneuver.


    "Eamon, Sofia," I called without turning. "Stay back. This could get messy."


    Sofia''s voice was tense but determined. "We''ve got your back, Master Liam."


    The Grandmasters attacked simultaneously,ing at me from opposite sides. Their coordination was impressive—clearly, they''d fought together before. But their techniques were predictable to my newly enhanced senses.


    As they closed in, I activated the "Shrinking Ground Into An Inch" technique. To them, it would appear as if I''d simply vanished. In reality, I had moved with such speed that their eyes couldn''t track me.


    I reappeared behind Mr. Snyder, who was still struggling to his feet. "Looking for me?"


    He whirled around, fear evident in his eyes. "H-how did you—"


    My palm strike to his chest cut off his words. I held back significantly—I could have easily killed him—but the force was still enough to send him flying into a nearby wall, which crumbled on impact.


    The two Grandmasters regrouped quickly, their expressions now grave. They''d realized this wasn''t going to be the simple assassination they''d nned.


    "Who the hell is this guy?" the shorter one muttered.


    The taller one narrowed his eyes. "Doesn''t matter. We have orders."


    They changed tactics, moving in perfect sync as they unleashed abined attack—a spiraling vortex of energy that roared toward me like a tornado. I recognized it as the "Twin Dragon Spiral," a powerful technique that few could withstand.


    Instead of dodging, I stood my ground and activated "Heavy Falling Space"—one of the techniques I''d mastered during my breakthrough. The air around us instantly became thick and viscous, as if we were all suddenly submerged in honey.


    Their attack slowed dramatically, the once-fearsome vortex now crawling through the distorted space. The Grandmasters'' expressions shifted from confidence to confusion to fear as they felt their bodies growing unbearably heavy.


    "What... is... this?" the taller one gasped, struggling to remain upright as invisible weight pressed down on him.


    I walked forward casually, unaffected by my own technique. "You wanted to see what I''m capable of. I''m merely obliging."


    With two swift movements, I struck them both—precise hits to pressure points that would temporarily paralyze without causing permanent damage. They copsed to the ground, unable to move but fully conscious to experience their defeat.


    Mr. Snyder had extracted himself from the rubble, his face bloody and his eyes wild with a mixture of fear and desperation. He looked at his fallenrades, then back at me.


    "You''ve improved," he spat, blood trickling from his mouth. "But you''re still naive if you think you''ve won."


    He began forming hand seals, gathering what remained of his power. The two paralyzed Grandmasters on the ground somehow managed to contribute their energy as well, creating visible threads of power that flowed toward Mr. Snyder.


    "The Three Directions Divine Tower," he growled, his handspleting the final seal. "Even if we die, you''ll be trapped forever!" <cite ss="ref-17db15">This chapter was made possible by the *munity.</cite>


    A brilliant golden light erupted from the ground beneath my feet, expanding rapidly into translucent walls that surrounded me on all sides. Within seconds, I was encased in a towering golden prison that reached toward the sky.


    Sofia screamed my name from outside, her voice muffled by the thick energy walls.


    "It''s useless!" Mr. Snyderughed, though the effort clearly drained him. "The Three Directions Divine Tower is unbreakable from within. Your body will slowly dissipate into nothing while trapped inside!"


    I ced my palm against the golden wall. It was solid, humming with thebined power of three Peak Grandmasters. An impressive technique, certainly. In the past, it would have been my end.


    Mr. Snyder, believing he''d finally seeded, turned his attention to Sofia and Eamon. "Now for the trash that follows him."


    "No!" Eamon stepped in front of Sofia protectively, though fear was evident in his eyes.


    "Brave," Mr. Snyder sneered. "But futile. Kill them both," he ordered the taller Grandmaster, who had just regained enough movement to stand.


    Inside the golden tower, I felt the walls pulsing with energy, attempting to break down my body at the cellr level. I closed my eyes, focusing inward to the core of my being where the power of the Monastic Peak resided.


    Golden light began to emanate from my skin, growing brighter by the second. I heard Mr. Snyder''s muffled voice outside, gloating about his victory. I heard Sofia''s defiant shout as she drew her de, prepared to fight despite the hopeless odds.


    I thought of Isabelle, still captive and suffering. I thought of all the people counting on me. I thought of all the promises I had yet to fulfill.


    "No," I whispered. "Not here. Not now."


    I gathered my power into a concentrated point, then pushed outward with everything I had. The golden walls of the tower shuddered, then began to crack. Light spilled through the fissures, growing brighter as more cracks appeared.


    Outside, Mr. Snyder was mid-sentence when he noticed the fracturing prison. "What? That''s impossible!"


    With one final surge of power, I shattered the golden towerpletely. The explosion sent fragments of golden energy in all directions, forcing everyone to shield their eyes from the blinding light.


    When the dust settled, I stood in the center of a cratered circle,pletely unharmed. Golden light still danced across my skin like living mes before gradually fading away.


    I looked directly at Mr. Snyder, whose face had drained of all color. The taller Grandmaster had frozen mid-step, his attack on Eamon and Sofia forgotten as he stared at me in horror.


    "Your golden tower," I said calmly, brushing a speck of dust from my shoulder, "seems a bit fragile."