On the roadside food street, Ling Mo narrowed his eyes at Kwon Tae-Joon, his gaze brimming with respect for a martial arts successor. Speaking in a steel-hard voice, he declared:
— "I'll fight you without using Sophion!"
Tae-Joon was slightly surprised, then broke into a hearty smile, clapping his hands together loudly:
— "Now that's spirit! But we should head somewhere deserted; fighting here would be no different than smashing my stall to pieces!"
Ling Mo nodded in agreement. Tae-Joon quickly pushed his tteokbokki food cart to the entrance of a nearby alley. The alley was spacious enough, with sturdy brick walls and no passersby—a perfect venue for a physical duel. He left the food cart right outside the alley entrance before stepping deeper inside.
Ling Mo rolled his shoulders, loosening his joints, his eyes shining brightly:
— "Did you know I'm a huge fan of your master? Getting to fight his disciple today... I don't even know how to describe this feeling... pure joy, perhaps?"
Tae-Joon assumed the signature Nak Muay stance: both hands raised high to guard his temples, his lead foot lightly tiptoed ready for a snap kick, with his center of gravity anchored firmly on his rear leg. He smiled and replied:
— "I'm glad you respect my master. He always taught me: the world out there is vast and endless; a frog can be king of a well, but once it steps outside, that frog is nothing!"
Tae-Joon's eyes blazed with courage:
— "So now, allow this frog to get a better taste of what defeat feels like!"
— "Gladly!" Before the words even settled, Ling Mo's body tore through the air, shooting forward.
SWOOSH!
Not a single particle of Sophion energy was released. This was a battle of pure physique, technique, speed, and raw physical strength!
Utilizing blistering movement speed, Ling Mo wove through blind spots. Closing in on Tae-Joon, he used Aikido techniques to deflect a straight punch, turning to grab Tae-Joon's wrist and leverage his center of gravity. But Tae-Joon was no easy mark. With a body forged through thousands of hours of herbal soaking and Muay Thai conditioning, his skin and bone structure were as tough as cold steel!
Tae-Joon immediately grounded his stance, unleashing a brutal Khao (knee strike) toward Ling Mo's ribs to break the lock. Forced to let go, Ling Mo pivoted inward to close the distance and executed a Judo throw: O-Goshi (Major Hip Throw).
THUD!
Tae-Joon was slammed hard onto the ground by Ling Mo, causing the paving stones beneath to crack wide open. However, right before his back fully hit the floor, Tae-Joon leveraged the rebound momentum, snapping up like a coil spring. Without a moment's hesitation, he pivoted and drove a lethal Sok Ti (downward elbow strike) ripping through the air, aimed directly at Ling Mo's temple and throat!
Ling Mo tilted his head to dodge by a hair's breadth, the wind friction scorching his cheek. Surprised, he gasped:
— "That's a lethal move!"
— "That's my fighting motto!" Tae-Joon replied nonchalantly, pressing forward with a rapid combination of punches and elbows.
— "Focus on the fight!" Lowering his center of gravity, Ling Mo slipped past a barrage of punches and unexpectedly wove beneath Tae-Joon's armpit, delivering a devastating ridge-hand backfist right into his opponent's ribs!
CRACK!
Driven by precise hip torque, the blow penetrated right through Tae-Joon's rock-hard abs, impacting his internal organs directly. Tae-Joon clicked his tongue, his face paling slightly from the sharp pain:
— "Cough... You hit just as hard as I do, don't you?"
Ling Mo drew himself upright, a smirk curling his lips:
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— "There's a difference... I'm more decisive!"
Tae-Joon rubbed his flank, breaking into a hearty laugh:
— "Hahaha! I like that line of yours!"
Right as the battle reached its fiercest climax, footfalls and lively chatter suddenly echoed from the mouth of the alley. A group of five or six college students had stopped in front of Tae-Joon's tteokbokki cart.
— "Oh, they sell tteokbokki here! But where's the owner?" a female student called out, looking around.
Ling Mo paused, glancing outside before turning to Tae-Joon:
— "Looks like you have customers. Need a hand?"
Tae-Joon waved his hand to wipe sweat from his forehead, chuckling:
— "Sure! Let's serve the customers first!"
And so, the two martial arts masters who were locked in a life-or-death brawl seconds ago instantly reined in their killer intent and happily walked out to the food cart. Tae-Joon quickly fired up the commercial gas stove, ladling deep-red, mouth-watering Gochujang chili sauce into a large pan, mixing it with broth simmered from bonito flakes. He tossed in chewy rice cakes, sliced Korean eomuk fish cakes, and boiled eggs, stirring continuously.
Within minutes, a rich, spicy, savory aroma drifted across the street. Beside him, Ling Mo worked briskly, placing rice cakes onto paper plates, topping them with shredded Mozzarella cheese, and using a blowtorch to melt the fragrant layer of cheese to perfection.
Tae-Joon warmly handed a steaming plate of tteokbokki to the students:
— "Delicious tteokbokki here! Thanks for supporting my stall!"
Ling Mo smiled as he handed over the next plate:
— "Be careful, eat too much and you'll forget your way home!"
Taking their first bites, the students gasped and raved about the taste. Remarkably, as if driven by a crowd effect, seeing the busy stall and smelling the mouth-watering scent, waves of customers queued up one after another! The two worked in a whirlwind among dishes, sauce pans, and cheese blowtorches. Their battle had to be put on hold for over an hour just to... sell street food snacks.
Hastily wiping down the counter, Ling Mo asked:
— "Do customers usually flood in like this every day?"
Tae-Joon scratched his head with a grin:
— "Not at all! It was dead quiet the last few days, but today it feels like the God of Wealth dropped by!"
After an hour of greeting dozens of smiling customers, the food cart was completely out of ingredients. Clearing away the mess, the two returned to the narrow alley to resume their unfinished duel.
Standing opposite Tae-Joon, Ling Mo's gaze sharpened:
— "Let's end this quickly!"
Ling Mo instantly amplified his movement speed to maximum. This time, abandoning standard footwork, Ling Mo executed continuous 90-degree angle pivots without shedding a fraction of kinetic energy. Tae-Joon pulled his arms up in defense, squinting to spot an opening for a counterattack. However, he was completely dazzled!
Ling Mo continuously closed the distance, executing parries and knife-hand strikes before abruptly shifting directions to appear right behind or to his opponent's flank. Tae-Joon was forced into a purely passive stance, completely unable to catch the rhythm.
Pushed to his absolute limit, Tae-Joon roared, throwing a straight right punch powered by every ounce of muscle in his body—a strike sacrificing all defense!
SWOOSH!
Ling Mo leaned aside, dodging the punch as it grazed past his ear. The instant Tae-Joon's arm reached full extension—leaving a fatal opening across his face—Ling Mo pivoted, transferring his core weight to deliver a laser-straight lead right dead center onto his opponent's chin!
BOOM!
The sheer force generated from Ling Mo's pure physical punch was so immense that it launched Tae-Joon's nearly 90kg frame backward into the air.
CRASH!
Tae-Joon smashed heavily into the brick wall behind him, creating a gaping hole as collapsing bricks buried his body.
Ling Mo pulled back his fist, exhaling a soft breath:
— "It's over! You fought well!"
Lying amid the rubble, Tae-Joon coughed violently a few times before breaking into a loud laugh:
— "Hahaha! Who would've thought... there really is always a higher mountain! If you're this strong in pure physical combat, I yield!"
Ling Mo stepped closer, rubbing his wrist:
— "Good thing we didn't use Sophion, or this entire street would be flattened."
Tae-Joon pushed himself up, dusting dirt off his clothes, his eyes filled with admiration:
— "You have my respect! Your technique is overwhelmingly superior. If I'm kept on the back foot like this, I could never win no matter how hard I tried... But hey, if we were in a fight using Sophion, I wouldn't lose so easily!"
Tae-Joon crossed his arms and spoke decisively:
— "A deal's a deal! I officially join your side! Thanks for helping me serve customers today!"
Ling Mo smiled, patting his shoulder:
— "Just helping out! Welcome to Zero Horizon. Let's clean up the stall and head back to base!"
Tae-Joon nodded cheerfully:
— "Alright! Help me clean up! The tteokbokki cart is closing early today... Looks like heavy rain is coming!"
While Ling Mo concluded his match through mutual martial understanding, in another corner of the city, the atmosphere bore the color of absolute destruction.
The luxurious bar had been reduced to a scene of ruined desolation. Shattered tables and chairs lay scattered; expensive alcohol spilled across the floor, mingling with pools of fresh blood. A gaping hole in the wall tore through the bar's interior space.
The bar owner cowered beneath the counter, arms wrapped tightly around his head, his face drained of all color as he whimpered in desperate prayer:
— "I... I just wanted to run a quiet business! Did you really have to demolish my bar like this?!"
Looking out at the surrounding carnage, his eyes rolled up in sheer terror:
— "That guy... what kind of monster is he?!"
In the middle of the blood-soaked floor, Mikami Ren—the arrogant elder brother—lay gasping for breath. His face was disfigured and caked in fresh blood, his breathing ragged and agonizing. Looking up with glazed eyes at the tall figure before him, he wheezed through blood-stained teeth:
— "Cough... cough... T...he W...hite D...emon... Cough!"
Meanwhile, the younger brother, Mikami Rei, was still struggling desperately against Kento. Heavily injured, Rei staggered, unable to maintain his center of gravity. Letting out a desperate roar, he tried to drive a straight punch into Kento's face with whatever strength he had left.
THUD!
Kento didn't even bother dodging. Raising his left hand, he casually swatted Rei's punch aside and delivered a crushing horizontal knee strike straight into his abdomen!
BAM!
Rei collapsed to his knees, coughing up a mouthful of blood as his body slumped onto the cold ground right at Kento's feet. His vision blurred, yet his fingers clung weakly to Kento's pant leg before his face slammed onto the floor, his broken body completely drained of strength:
— "くっ... ま...まだ... やれる..."
(Guh... I... I can... still fight...)
With his final breath, Rei passed out, completely incapacitated.
Kento stood quietly in the horrific scene. One hand remained casually shoved in his pants pocket, while the other held his burning cigarette, trailing thin wisps of gray smoke. His expensive shirt had been shredded open, exposing a muscular chest with a bloody diagonal slash.
Yet Kento completely ignored his wound. His hair was slightly disheveled from the clash. Sweeping his black hair back neatly with one hand, his icy eyes looked down at the two Mikami brothers lying motionlessly beneath his feet.
Around the bar, patrons who had fled when the battle erupted cowered against distant corner walls, trembling as they stared at Kento as if looking at a monster straight out of hell.
Exhaling a long plume of smoke, Kento smirked and muttered:
— "Time to head home!"
Bending down, Kento grabbed Rei by the hair with one hand, dragging him across the floor, while grabbing Ren by the collar with his other hand. He casually dragged the two newest members of Zero Horizon out of the ruined bar under the horrified stares of the crowd.
RUMBLE!
Just as Kento stepped onto the street, thunder rumbled across the night sky. The first heavy raindrops of a storm began pouring down upon the city.
END OF CHAPTER 39