Chapter 919: Down Nine Floors
Long Chapter
—-
Ethan’s eyes burned with excitement.
His strength had been increasing steadily for a long time now, but real opportunities to fight were rare. Most of the time, no one could push him hard enough to matter. Because of that, he had never truly understood where his limits lay. How much power could he actually unleash? How durable was his body really? Where was the ceiling of his combat ability?
The moment he clashed with Harrison, that crushing pressure hit him like a tidal wave.
And Ethan? He got completely pumped.
’Finally, someone worth fighting.’
"Old bastard! Come on, fight!"
Ethan howled like a madman, his voice echoing through the space.
Across from him, Harrison blinked in confusion.
’Is this kid having a seizure or something? Why is he so excited?’
"Boy, I’ve roamed this world for millennia," Harrison said coldly. "What is this supposed to mean? You actually think you can beat me?"
Then it hit him. Harrison’s expression darkened.
The look in Ethan’s eyes was unmistakable. It was the same gleam a hunter had when he spotted prey.
"I’ve been roaming... uh... a few years myself," Ethan said with a grin. "Don’t worry, old bastard. I promise I won’t kill you."
Even as he spoke, Ethan was already closing the distance.
It was an aggressive charge, but he stayed alert, watching Harrison’s every movement, waiting for the counterattack.
Then the old man moved.
Ethan had anticipated it, yet Harrison’s speed was still terrifying. One moment he was standing there, the next he was already in Ethan’s face before Ethan could even blink.
Their brief exchange earlier had already told Ethan everything he needed to know. This old bastard had chased Regis and the others halfway across the world. Someone like that was not a person you underestimated.
Harrison’s fingers shot forward like a blade, stabbing straight toward Ethan’s throat.
The excitement vanished from Ethan’s face. In its place appeared a strange calm.
It was a state he had never experienced before. His mind felt empty, steady, and perfectly focused. He did not understand what it was, but instinctively he accepted it.
He ignored Harrison’s strike completely.
Instead, Ethan’s hand flashed downward in a brutal chopping motion aimed at Harrison’s waist.
There was no finesse in the move, only raw power. Yet layered within that single motion was everything Ethan possessed: the force techniques of the White Qilin, the synchronization of energy through his body, and the absurd physical strength he had accumulated.
The chop could split steel. Wind howled around his palm as it cut through the air.
Ethan held nothing back. Every ounce of strength he had poured into that single swing, to the point that the surrounding air felt as if it might tear apart.
At that moment, the exchange came down to a single question.
Who would land first?
Harrison had not expected this. There was no block, no attempt to dodge, only pure offense, a move that looked like both sides were willing to die together.
That reckless approach instantly shattered his rhythm.
His own attack was nothing more than a finger wrapped in a thin inch of condensed energy.
Ethan’s palm, however, was wrapped in a roaring blade of power nearly three feet long.
If both of them committed fully, Harrison’s finger might pierce Ethan’s throat, but Ethan’s energy blade would carve straight through Harrison’s torso. In fact, Ethan might even land first.
Harrison’s gaze flicked toward that three-foot blade. Even with his monstrous physique, there was no way he could simply tank a hit like that.
He immediately aborted the attack.
His body pivoted in midair and drifted backward, barely avoiding Ethan’s chop by a hair’s breadth.
What looked like a suicidal move had actually been a carefully calculated gamble.
Ethan knew his weakness perfectly well. He lacked real combat experience. If he had tried to dodge Harrison’s first strike, the old monster would have pressed the advantage relentlessly. Under that kind of pressure, his inexperience might have killed him.
But Harrison had retreated.
Ethan roared like thunder exploding in the spring sky.
"Don’t run, old bastard!"
The sweeping chop that should have continued past its arc suddenly stopped halfway through. Ethan forcibly redirected the motion, turning the chop into a thrust aimed straight at Harrison’s chest.
Harrison’s eyes flickered.
He had already seen the raw destructive power behind those chops. There was no chance he would willingly trade blows with something like that.
But to pull back a full-force swing and redirect it in mid-motion required an almost obscene amount of strength.
"Heh. Cheap tricks," Harrison muttered.
He accelerated backward.
Moves like that always lost momentum when the direction changed in mid-flight.
And technically, he was right. But Ethan’s eyes gleamed.
"Yeah? Then... out."
A sharp whoosh cut through the air.
The energy blade that had been wrapped around Ethan’s palm suddenly detached and shot forward like a projectile.
"What?!"
Harrison’s eyes widened in shock. Energy projections could be launched like that?
Centuries of survival had honed his instincts to perfection. His finger-blade flared instantly.
TING.
A burst of sparks erupted as the two energies collided.
The blade Ethan had fired was pure condensed Energy, compressed to such density that it struck like solid steel.
Ethan’s eyes widened slightly as well. He had launched the attack at full speed, yet Harrison still managed to deflect it with a precise tap, knocking the blade off course so it sailed harmlessly past.
Worse still, Harrison used the deflection as a pivot point and rushed forward again.
A sharp slicing sound cut through the air.
Ethan’s heart sank.
Harrison’s finger-blade shot forward like a venomous viper, stabbing straight toward his heart.
Ethan twisted instinctively. The blade scraped across his chest.
A faint humming sound followed as a five-colored light flared briefly across his body, then vanished as if it had never existed.
The Prismatic Barrier, his usual lifesaving trump card, failed completely.
Fortunately, Ethan had managed to move his heart out of the way at the last moment.
Still, he froze for a split second.
"Old bastard, did you skip breakfast or something?"
A grin slowly spread across Ethan’s face. Before Harrison could react, Ethan grabbed his arm.
Harrison stared in disbelief. His strike had been delivered with full power, yet it had not even scratched the kid’s skin.
What in the world was this monster?
He immediately tried to yank his arm free and retreat.
Too late.
The two of them were already practically nose-to-nose. Ethan’s other hand shot forward and clamped onto Harrison’s shoulder.
"Running?" Ethan asked with a widening grin.
Harrison’s aura exploded outward as he attempted to blast Ethan away with sheer force.
Ethan’s grip did not budge.
It felt like iron.
Fingers, palms, fists, elbows, Harrison unleashed everything he had, striking Ethan’s torso over and over.
Ethan, however, simply locked both hands onto Harrison’s shoulders and left his chest completely open, absorbing every blow without retreating.
His smile only grew wider.
This hurts... but...
"Hahaha! Old bastard, you’re strong, I’ll give you that," Ethan laughed. "But guess what? My hide’s thicker."
Even Ethan had not expected his body to be this tough.
The bear form did increase his defense, sure, but this level of durability felt absurd even to him.
It had to be the upgrades he had gained in the Extreme South.
At this point, his raw physical defense had already surpassed the protection offered by the Prismatic Bone barrier.
The proof was right in front of him. Harrison had just shredded that barrier with ease, yet his physical strikes could not break Ethan’s skin.
That barrier had saved Ethan’s life more times than he could count.
But holding Harrison down was a completely different problem.
The old monster squirmed like a slippery eel, constantly twisting and attacking. Even his shoulders felt strangely slick, forcing Ethan to use every bit of strength just to maintain his grip.
’So this is the Apex State?’
Regis had once said that Harrison was only slightly stronger than him, and Regis himself had only recently stepped into the early Apex stage.
If Ethan did not possess his absurd defense and raw strength, he would have already been turned into paste.
Right now, the situation was ridiculous.
He was basically a street brawler who had grabbed someone in a clinch and refused to let go, tanking punches while hanging on for dear life.
He could not wound Harrison, and he could not pin him down permanently.
The moment he loosened his grip even slightly, the old bastard would break free. And getting hit still hurt.
"Kid... let go," Harrison finally growled.
He was at the end of his patience. Despite all his power, this brat had locked him down like a vise. Those fingers digging into his shoulders felt strong enough to crush bone.
It was fortunate that he was not human. The physique granted by the temple made his body far tougher than an ordinary person’s.
If he had been normal, he would probably already be dead.
Even so, he still could not break free.
"Old bastard, not a chance," Ethan replied cheerfully.
"You...!"
The two of them fell into a stalemate.
Ethan’s arms began to ache from the strain, while Harrison’s attacks gradually slowed.
Both of them waited. Who would run out of stamina first?
"Kid, let go," Harrison said after a moment. "We can talk."
"Talk to your ancestors," Ethan shot back. "Hit me."
Harrison stopped attacking.
"Let’s negotiate."
"Negotiate that," Ethan snorted. "You want to rest? Not happening."
He saw through the trick immediately.
Instead of loosening his grip, Ethan suddenly surged forward with all his weight, driving his body into Harrison.
Caught off balance, Harrison was tackled head-on.
Before he could recover, Ethan wrapped his arms around the old man’s waist and locked them tight.
"Ugh," Ethan muttered with visible disgust. "Hugging an old bastard like this makes me sick. If I don’t cripple you today, I’ll never wash myself of this shame."
Boom.
Ethan’s feet slammed into the ground. The Bubbling Spring acupoints in his legs flared open, forming a swirling vortex of energy.
’Primordial Forging Art, first tier.’
The strength in his legs multiplied instantly as he launched upward like a cannon.
Harrison’s mind went blank.
In thousands of years of existence, this was the first time a man had ever embraced him like this.
Then they were airborne.
"Are you insane?" Harrison shouted. "This place has anti-flight restrictions!"
His voice carried real panic now. He already knew what Ethan was planning.
"Heh. I know."
They rose higher and higher until they were nearly level with the first floor above.
Then their ascent slowed.
Ethan grinned.
"Let physics handle the rest."
Suddenly he shoved downward with both arms, pushing off Harrison’s body and gaining another half meter of height.
That tiny difference changed everything. The anti-flight pressure instantly slammed Harrison downward with irresistible force.
Ethan hovered just above him, smiling calmly.
"Go down."
Boom.
The Bubbling Spring vortex activated again as Ethan’s leg drove downward like a hammer.
His foot crashed straight into Harrison’s stomach.
"No—!"
Harrison’s eyes went hollow with despair. The temple had nine levels, each one nearly a thousand feet tall.
He would smash through every ceiling on the way down.
And at the bottom, on the ninth level, the Temple Master was currently resting and recovering. If Harrison’s failure disrupted that recovery...
Death might actually be the kinder outcome.
Harrison, a schemer who had survived for centuries, felt genuine despair for the first time in a long while.
He had been the first of his kind to leave the ocean.
Yes, he needed to rely on special drugs just to survive on land, but the rewards had been unimaginable. Wealth beyond measure, power, women, influence, everything he could want.
And now one reckless kid had ruined it all.
’Why did I provoke him?’
Meanwhile, Ethan was having the time of his life.
"Old bastard," he shouted cheerfully, "let’s add some speed."
He kicked again while hovering in the air. Harrison accelerated downward.
Ethan hesitated briefly as he fought against the anti-flight pressure, but the resistance only meant more force when he dropped.
He plunged down faster and caught up with Harrison again. Another kick landed in exactly the same spot.
Boom.
The shockwave cracked like thunder as Harrison broke the sound barrier.
Crash.
The ceiling of the second floor was obliterated.
Ethan froze for a moment. "Shit. Can’t catch him now."
That last kick had felt perfect. The Primordial Forging Art had flowed smoothly through his body, far stronger than the first strike.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Far below, the sound of repeated crashes echoed upward along with clouds of dust and debris.
Ethan began descending much more slowly.
’Damn. I promised that Serenity Hotel owner I’d bring this guy back alive. Hope the bastard survives... otherwise this is going to be awkward.’
Eight more crashes echoed upward before everything finally fell silent as debris rained down through the air.
’Wait... wasn’t it eight floors total?’
Then a furious roar exploded from the depths below.
"ARGHHHH! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!"
Savage energy surged upward like a storm.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
’Right. The Temple Master was down there.’
And that strange energy the Temple Master had gotten earlier, the thick mass of resentment and hatred was probably part of whatever he had been doing.
The violent aura now rolling upward was terrifying, soaked in rage and rancor. Apparently, someone was not very happy about Harrison crashing through the ceiling and interrupting his recovery.