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Bokue's flying speed was even faster than teleportation magic. Within the blink of an eye, he had already dragged Riser far away from the Phenex family's territory.
After just a few breaths, the surrounding landscape had beco entirely unfamiliar, even to Riser—a noble born and raised in the Underworld.
Bokue gradually reduced his speed and descended, gently landing atop an unknown peak sowhere in the Underworld.
Calling it a mountain might have been overstating it, though. In truth, the two were perched on a towering natural stone pillar—sothing akin to the famous stone forests found on Earth.
Countless stone pillars, sculpted by centuries of weathering, filled the area. They stood atop one particularly tall and massive column.
Gazing upward from their vantage point, it felt as though one could touch the clouds. Looking downward, it seed as if so kind of mythical creature might climb up at any second.
"Well, this should do."
Bokue glanced around, satisfied that no better spot was around, and casually tossed Riser aside before sitting cross-legged on the stone surface. He gestured with his chin.
"Sit down. Let's talk."
"I… I have nothing to say to you!"
Riser stood barefoot on the rough stone floor, nervously glancing back and forth. Hugging himself as if he were cold, he appeared genuinely unsettled.
"Anyway, where the hell are we? I don't have ti to ss around here—I'm leaving!"
"Good question. How should I know?"
Bokue shrugged casually.
"I just picked a random direction and flew. Frankly, I don't care where we are. I'll always find a way back."
"Then you stay here yourself! I'm going ho!"
Riser grumbled irritably, approaching the edge of the towering stone column, peering cautiously downward.
As previously stated, the two stood on an extrely tall, vertical stone pillar. Thus, the landscape provided no midway points—only the dizzying heights above and the faraway ground below.
In short, if Riser wanted to descend, he had only two options: create wings of fla to glide downward, or simply jump and rely on his Phenex bloodline's regeneration.
Realistically, forming fire wings wasn't particularly difficult given his lineage.
But still… he hesitated.
"What's the matter? Is your heart so broken that you can't even muster your fire wings anymore?"
Watching Riser anxiously gauge the steep drop below, Bokue magically produced a bottle of sake from nowhere. He popped the cork, took a hearty swig, and mockingly raised the bottle towards Riser.
"You know, if I were you, I'd just jump off here directly."
"Are you insane?! This high up, you try jumping off first and show !"
Riser snapped defensively.
Bokue rolled his eyes in response.
"But that's exactly why you'd jump—only a height like this guarantees instant death. Imagine surviving because of your absurd regeneration—what a hassle, huh?"
"You… just what the hell are you trying to say?!"
Repeatedly mocked, Riser finally turned away from the cliff edge, glaring furiously back at the younger man lounging carelessly against a large ancient tree growing stubbornly from the rock.
Even the ekest man had his pride. Sure, Riser was beaten and depressed, but his temper hadn't completely disappeared.
But Bokue clearly had no intention of pampering him:
"Do I really have to spell it out for you? Weren't you always bragging about how much you loved your little sister? Yet look at yourself—you lose a single match and imdiately beco a pathetic wreck. Your sister is worried sick about you; she's tried every possible way to pull you out of this ss. And yet, after two whole months, you've barely changed. To the point that your own sister has to go to —soone who should technically be your rival—and beg desperately for help. Is this what you ant by 'loving your little sister'?"
"In the end, what's so terrible about losing once? If you're weak, you just train harder and try to win next ti."
"It's not that simple…"
Riser muttered sullenly, frowning.
The Phenex clan had never excelled at direct combat in the first place. Even possessing their incredibly powerful regenerative ability, the Phenex family only ranked around mid-level among the 72 Pillars—a clear testant to their inherent combat weaknesses.
"Bullshit!"
Bokue suddenly snapped.
Riser was taken aback, shocked by this sudden, crude rebuttal thrown his way.
Bokue rolled his eyes again, completely unimpressed.
"If even you don't believe you can do it, how could your powers ever respond?"
Riser remained silent.
Belief? Since when was it that easy? Was this so kind of cheesy motivational speech—'believe and you shall achieve'? What kind of nonsense was this guy spewing?
Seeing his silence, Bokue continued.
"Let share an interesting story…"
"Just like how you Devils have your Satans, we humans have a 'Hero Clan' as well. My mother is from a village full of heroes, while my father is from a branch family of the Keikain clan. Because of their marriage, there was once a joint program between the Hero Clan and the Onmyouji families when I was a kid—sothing like those 'Avengers Assemble' scenarios. A big alliance supposedly ant to overco differences, promote friendship among the younger generation, and all that crap."
"They even organized sothing similar to a joint training camp."
"But truthfully, it was just an excuse. Both sides were trying to sneakily learn the other's skills. Throughout the entire camp, heroes and Onmyouji never really mingled. Each side thought themselves superior and looked down on the other."
"The Onmyouji side saw the heroes as nothing but a bunch of muscle-brained apes, while the Hero Clan viewed the Onmyouji as frail little monkeys with weak bodies."
"Of course, I was different. I knew they were all equally trash. Among my peers, not one hero matched physically, and among all the Keikain clan's mbers, my spiritual power was unquestionably the greatest."
Riser inwardly scoffed.
Easy for this guy to say—this natural-born winner, who had crushed everyone from the start, now bragging about his successes in front of a complete loser like himself.
Bokue continued absentmindedly playing with his sake bottle.
"But because my na was Bokue Keikain, the Hero Clan soon panicked. They made up excuses, trying to convince the Keikain branch heads to team up and seal away. Claid my power was 'too dangerous,' and that I had to be controlled."
"Ridiculous."
Riser snorted involuntarily.
Seriously? Both sides had never gotten along, and now one side suddenly panicked and wanted their enemy to willingly seal away their Strongest combatant? How delusional did one have to be? That's like convincing soone else to scrap their own nuclear arsenal voluntarily.
"Yeah, I thought it was pretty hilarious too."
Bokue shrugged, faintly smiling.
"Aside from my father, the other Keikain branch heads imdiately agreed."
"…Huh?"
Riser froze, utterly stunned.
Had he heard that right? They actually agreed?!
"Well, I guess I sort of understand their thought process."
Bokue smirked lightly, eyes narrowing.
"After all, at the ti, I'd already been chosen as the future head of the Keikain Clan. Naturally, if I was removed, their precious sons might get a shot at the position."
"So…then what happened?"
Riser found himself blurting out, suddenly as captivated as an eager reader desperate for the next chapter.
"They made their move—so I made mine."
Bokue's voice grew colder, sharper.
"I stood right in front of them and punched an entire mountain apart, letting them know clearly that if they tried anything, I could easily kill every last one of them."
"They thought their words could break , that they'd make despair. But they forgot one thing—"
"—I decide who lives and who dies."
"In the end, as long as you're true to yourself, who cares what trash around you says? Let fools talk; their words an nothing."
Finishing his sake in one go, Bokue stood, setting aside the empty bottle.
"Since then, I've completely broken ties with the Hero Clan and left the Keikain household, heading westward. Before leaving, I made a vow—"
Standing boldly on the cliff edge, Bokue spread his arms wide, as though declaring to the entire world:
"Wherever Bokue Keikain stands—there stands the very pinnacle of strength!"
"From the very first mont I threw a punch, I knew it clearly: I, Bokue Keikain, was destined to be unrivaled—the Strongest Under Heaven!"
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