A Desperate Breakthrough That Shattered the Battlefield
For the first time in his entire life...
The legendary Martial Art King of the Farlands...
Felt true despair.
His chest rose and fell violently as blood trickled from the corners of his mouth. Every muscle in his battered body screamed in protest, yet none of the pain compared to the crushing realization settling into his heart.
He knew exactly what Julian D’Aurelius was capable of.
The moment Julian entered the battle...
Everything would be over.
Four Gold Realm experts had already forced him to his limits. If Julian joined them, there would be no miracle left to save him.
Death seemed to be closing in from every direction.
Yet just as that suffocating pressure threatened to crush his spirit...
Something changed.
A strange warmth suddenly ignited deep within his dantian.
His internal energy, which had nearly been exhausted, began surging wildly like a river bursting through a broken dam.
"Hm?"
Steffan’s eyes widened.
He hurriedly examined the changes within his body while still defending against the incoming attacks.
Then...
Disbelief turned into overwhelming joy.
"My bottleneck..."
"It broke?"
A roar echoed from deep inside his body as countless streams of spiritual energy rushed through his nervous system with unprecedented speed.
The invisible barrier that had trapped him for nearly a year shattered completely.
Boom!
A powerful aura erupted around him.
Dust spiraled upward.
Broken furniture trembled.
Even the cracked marble beneath his feet splintered further.
He had broken through.
From the middle stage of the Gold Realm...
Straight into the peak Gold Realm.
For almost an entire year, he had searched desperately for this opportunity.
He had challenged powerful enemies.
Meditated countless nights.
Risked his life on dangerous missions.
Yet none of those experiences had allowed him to advance.
Ironically...
The breakthrough arrived only when he stood on the edge of death.
The despair that had filled his heart moments ago vanished instantly.
Instead...
A loud, triumphant laugh echoed throughout the mansion.
"Hahahaha!"
"So this is it!"
"So this was my opportunity!"
"I’ve finally broken through!"
His eyes blazed with renewed confidence.
"This heaven..."
"Still favors me after all!"
The nearest Ashbourne enforcer frowned.
"Don’t let him stabilize his aura!"
"Attack!"
The four moved simultaneously.
But it was already too late.
Steffan’s aura had completely transformed.
He suddenly stepped forward.
Without any fancy technique...
Without any elaborate movement...
He simply threw an ordinary punch.
The Ashbourne enforcer refused to retreat.
"Come!"
"I’ll meet it head-on!"
He clenched his fist and answered with one of his own.
Boom!!
The collision shook the entire corridor.
For one brief second...
Everything became silent.
Then—
Crack!
The enforcer’s expression twisted in agony.
His entire arm split open from wrist to shoulder as blood sprayed into the air.
The terrifying force ripped through flesh and muscle alike.
His arm hung limply beside his body.
Before he could even scream—
He was launched backward like a cannonball.
Bang!
His body smashed through a decorative stone pillar before crashing heavily onto the floor.
The power contained within a single punch was horrifying.
The second Ashbourne enforcer froze.
His eyes filled with disbelief.
"How..."
"How did his strength increase this much?"
Steffan gave him no chance to recover.
He vanished.
Appearing directly before him.
The second enforcer instinctively raised both arms to defend.
Too late.
Boom!
Another devastating punch landed squarely in his chest.
Several ribs shattered instantly.
The terrifying force lifted him completely off the ground.
His body flew through the air like a kite with its strings cut.
Bang!
He slammed violently into the far wall.
The impact left a spiderweb of cracks spreading across the stone.
His head tilted to one side.
No further movement came.
The hall fell deathly silent.
One punch...
One kill.
Liza Voss immediately retreated several steps.
Her beautiful face became unusually serious.
"He broke through..."
Lina Ashford also widened the distance between them, gripping her weapons more tightly.
"I didn’t expect it..."
"He actually advanced at the brink of death."
The sudden reversal caught everyone completely off guard.
Meanwhile...
Julian D’Aurelius had nearly reached the bottom of the staircase.
Only moments earlier, he had worn the relaxed smile of someone watching victory unfold exactly as planned.
Now...
That smile stiffened ever so slightly.
"...Seriously?"
He looked at Steffan.
Then looked toward the two fallen enforcers.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Inside his mind, he couldn’t help complaining.
[You’ve got to be kidding me.]
[This ridiculously lucky protagonist...]
[This ridiculously lucky story...]
[Is the so-called Protagonist’s Law really this shameless?]
He sighed inwardly.
[I spent all this effort setting the stage.]
[I thought today would finally be the day Steffan died.]
[Who would’ve guessed he’d break through right here?]
[Forget some legendary ultimate move.]
[The guy simply levels up in the middle of the fight.]
Julian suddenly felt the universe itself was playing tricks on him.
A mid-stage Gold Realm opponent...
He could still find ways to handle.
But...
A peak Gold Realm expert?
That was an entirely different monster.
Steffan slowly lifted his head.
His aura surged like crashing waves.
His earlier injuries no longer seemed important.
His eyes locked onto Julian with burning satisfaction.
He burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Julian D’Aurelius!"
"You schemed."
"You plotted."
"You gathered allies."
"You cornered me from every direction."
He raised a finger toward Julian.
"And yet..."
"In the end—"
Before he could finish speaking—
Julian calmly interrupted him.
"Shoot him."
His voice remained perfectly composed.
No hesitation.
No unnecessary words.
The surrounding bodyguards blinked for a split second.
Then realization struck.
The two Ashbourne enforcers were gone.
Liza and Lina had already withdrawn.
Steffan now stood alone.
There was no longer any risk of friendly fire.
"Fire!"
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The hall instantly exploded with deafening gunfire.
Muzzle flashes illuminated the corridor one after another as countless bullets streaked toward Steffan.
Unfortunately...
The breakthrough had elevated Steffan’s speed to an entirely different level.
His figure blurred across the battlefield.
One after another...
The bullets narrowly missed him.
Some struck walls.
Others shattered windows.
Many embedded themselves into marble pillars.
Not a single shot landed.
"So slow."
Steffan sneered.
He rushed directly into the formation of bodyguards.
Chaos erupted.
His fists became deadly hammers.
Every strike crushed another opponent.
One man flew through a table.
Another crashed against a wall.
Several were knocked unconscious before they even realized what had happened.
Within moments...
The armed bodyguards had all fallen.
Silence gradually returned.
Broken weapons littered the floor.
Groans echoed throughout the ruined hall.
Steffan slowly turned around.
His gaze settled upon Julian.
Hatred nearly overflowed from his eyes.
His voice became low and cold.
"Julian..."
"You’re next."
The last time they fought...
Julian had completely suppressed him.
But things were different now.
He had reached the peak Gold Realm.
This time...
He intended to erase that humiliation with Julian’s blood.
Julian looked at him for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
He forced a helpless smile.
"So..."
"Aren’t we supposed to settle this after reaching the Platinum Realm?"
Steffan’s face darkened.
His veins bulged.
"To hell with your Platinum Realm!"
His furious roar shook the entire mansion.
He exploded forward with terrifying speed.
He couldn’t wait another second.
How many carefully laid plans had Julian ruined?
How many opportunities had Julian stolen from him?
Every setback...
Every humiliation...
Every failure...
Seemed connected to that infuriating man standing before him.
If he didn’t kill Julian today...
Steffan felt as though even his pride, his future, and everything he had fought for would eventually be destroyed.