Chapter Reveal

Sam activated complete metal elemental fusion as he lunged forward.

    Muscle also lunged forward and it became a slugfest.

    Both of them threw punches at an incredible pace. They didn"t care about defense anymore and started hitting each other recklessly. It looked like two street thugs fighting with no regard.

    But if one observed closely, they could see that there is a certain finesse to their techniques. 

    Muscle"s every punch is being targeted only at specific spots on Sam"s body. He is targeting the shoulders, the ribs, and the liver most of the time and if it is not possible to go for them, he is going for the chest, specifically near the heart.

    His punches never missed those specific parts. Of course, Sam managed to see through that, and his metal elemental fusion body is trying its best to guard himself against the situation. But still, Muscle continued on like that.

    Meanwhile, Sam is using a completely different approach. He is currently using ripple style to make the energy control of Muscle go astray.

    Muscle is precise, strong, and fast. Sam wanted to disrupt his precision first. The strong momentum he is building up will be messed up and leave a lot of openings to Sam as long as he is not precise and his flow of actions were disrupted.

    He is taking advantage of these openings and started using metal spikes that are extending from his arms to attack his opponent.

    Along with that, what Muscle noticed is that every time Sam punched him, there is a weird sensation in his body.

    The ripple style is actually distributing his metal elemental energy along with disrupting the energy flow of Muscle.

    Muscle doesn"t know what exactly is happening with the metal energy, but he could sense that it wouldn"t be any good.

    The only reason, he didn"t stop and deal with it instantly is because Sam is letting his. .h.i.ts connect most of the time and this made him believe that he will be able to defeat Sam before anything serious happens.

    But after two minutes, he realized something is wrong. As he was about to punch Sam in the shoulder, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his own shoulder.

    He stopped moving his arm. This pain is much more than Sam"s punches or kicks. It was internal. He quickly let his spiritual sense go wild to take a peek at his own shoulder. Meanwhile,  he tried to hold Sam off a bit with his other arm.

    But Sam didn"t even bother to attack him directly. Instead, he slightly extended his hand and pulled in thin air.

    Muscle felt some piercing pain in various parts of his body. He couldn"t make sense of it. The pain is too immense for him to focus on the spiritual energy to understand what is happening.

    But after much effort, he looked through it and was surprised to see what was in there. He had a dozen small metal pieces that seemed to be in the shape of a rhombohedron and each edge and point of that piece is extremely sharp.

    They are currently spinning rapidly while moving around within the body. They are destroying the muscle fibers slowly. But that is not what scared him. As they are spinning a weird attractive force came from the pieces and the blood is being attracted to them.

    In a way, Sam is currently changing the flow of his blood within his body while simultaneously trying to destroy the muscle and bone.

    Muscle was terrified by this. He couldn"t think of a possible technique that could do this. Having metal pieces that could kill him but are being controlled by someone else while they are still in his body. This is scenario is not pleasant for anyone.

    Muscle tried to charge his energy and expel these things but Sam just smiled and controlled the metal pieces. They sent out small ripples of energy from their location and they disrupted the charging energy coming at them.

    Muscle was shocked. He looked at Sam in amazement and horror at the same time. He tried a couple more times before he couldn"t take it. All of a sudden energy surged through his body. His cultivation limit was broken. Sam lost control over the metal pieces completely. 

    He was pushed back by the force of energy. The trio got worried. They wanted to move towards Sam so that they could all escape together. But Sam waved his hand and stopped them.

    He knew that situation might turn dangerous. But that is the case if it is anyone else they are facing. But the person in front of them is muscle. So, he is confident that he can handle this situation.

    Muscle stomped his feet hard and the dust-covered up everything. When it was cleared, he is standing there panting as he looked at his body.

    He looked at Sam coldly. But within just a few moments, that cold look turned to a smile. 

    "You are good. You are the second person who defeated me this fast at the same level."

    "Yeah, I know. I heard that Gail was the first."

    "Oh? You know Gail?"

    "We are pretty close actually. I am mostly friends with his daughter and nephew though."

    "You are friends with Giyon?" A woman spoke up. She is the same person who wanted to recruit Watt. She walked towards Sam and asked coldly.

    "You are friends with Giyon?"

    "Yeah. I am. Is that a problem for you?"

    Before she could speak, Muscle raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to get back.

    He looked at Sam and said.

    "So, you won. Now is it okay for you to tell me what you need the protection from?"

    "Of course. Actually, I will tell you a lot more than that."

    "Let"s start with who I am."

    Sam then removed his mask and spoke.

    "I don"t know if you have heard of me. But my name is Sam and these three are my friends. Watt, Jack, and Philip."

    Muscle shook Sam"s hand with a smile. But one of the subordinates lost of their smile as he ran towards Muscle and whispered something into his ears.

    Muscle"s body froze a bit and he looked at Sam.

    "You are…"

    "Glad that at least you know of it. The protection I need from is the rest of the Divine formation Mountain. And my enemies are the three disciples of the Mountain master. I hope you do remember your promise."

    As soon as Sam said those words, the whole room turned silent. The trio looked at each other with wry smiles. This is actually part of their pre-discussed plan. But they are still a bit taken aback. After all, who will reveal their own ident.i.ty right in the middle of their enemy"s core circle?

    That is literal suicide. But Sam figured this is the best path.

    After the initial shock was worn out, all the other subordinates in the room got ready to make a move. But Sam whipped out his copy of the contract and said.

    "The oath you have sworn. Don"t tell me, you are going to relinquish it now?"

    As soon as those words came out, everyone halted in their tracks.

    Muscle was stunned and didn"t know what to say. He took a deep breath and said.

    "I don"t know what your enmity with the three young masters is. Can you tell me?"

    "Of course. They interfere in my battle with someone else and took that enemy away. I need to find that enemy and kill him."

    "So, there is no other clash?"

    "No."

    "Your enmity only extends until young masters. Not the mountain master?"

    "I have never come in contact with mountain master and I don"t believe that I have done anything that could upset him."

    "Then, fine. As long as you stay in my place, you are my guest and as per the discussed duration you shall be under my protection."

    "Thank you. Anyway, I have something else to say to you."

    "What is it?"

    "Your two colleagues. Saint and Smith are currently suffering from something critical. It must have festered quite a bit by now, so they are in their weakest states without many of their abilities. And I caused it."

    "What? Saint and Smith are injured?"

    "I won"t say they are injured. But something similar. They think they are recovering, but the thing is, it is impossible unless I save them myself."

    "Saint is a great healer. I am sure he can figure that out himself."

    "Well, it is true in a general case. But this time, Saint wouldn"t think that there is a problem with his body. At least he wouldn"t be able to look for the problem in the right place and cannot take the right approach. 

    He will suffer from not thinking straight. And Smith wouldn"t even recognize that he had a problem until it is too late. Which is right about now as we speak.

    So, your colleagues are in a pickle and they are desperate to find a cure."

    "Why are you telling me all of this?"

    "One of the reasons is that your boss, the Mountain master doesn"t know of it yet."