Chapter 139 — The Prime Ape

Victor dashed forward.

His feet struck the stone platform as he closed the distance between himself and Monkaster, his body low and his movements controlled. When he reached striking range, Victor threw a simple jab toward Monkaster's chest.

It was a test.

He wanted to see how Monkaster would react to a basic attack.

Monkaster smirked.

His hand moved.

He caught Victor's fist.

There was no struggle.

Monkaster simply redirected Victor's arm to the side before stepping forward and driving his palm into Victor's chest.

Bang!

Victor's feet left the ground for an instant.

He landed several feet away and slid roughly three feet across the stone before regaining his balance.

He barely had time to raise his head.

Monkaster was already coming.

The old monkey dashed forward and unleashed a barrage of punches.

The attacks came toward Victor's face in rapid succession.

Victor sidestepped to avoid the flurry of punches.

One of the punches grazed his cheek.

Victor's eyes narrowed.

Fast.

But speed wasn't the most frightening part.

It was the pressure.

Every punch carried enough force that Victor knew a single mistake could end the fight almost immediately.

Monkaster wasn't giving him room to breathe.

A punch flew toward his jaw.

He slipped underneath it.

And a kick immediately followed.

Victor jumped backward.

Monkaster's movements flowed together with almost unnatural smoothness.

Victor continued retreating.

He tried to find an opening.

There wasn't one.

Every time he thought he saw a gap, Monkaster closed it before Victor could exploit it.

Another punch came.

Victor twisted away.

Victor's expression became serious.

What the hell…

Monkaster's punches were incredibly sharp.

Every strike felt like a blade.

And there was no wasted movement.

Every attack seemed designed to lead naturally into the next.

Victor had fought the top ten.

He had fought fighters whose fundamentals were so polished that they seemed almost impossible to exploit.

But none of them had put this much pressure on him.

For the first time, Victor truly understood why the monkey standing in front of him was the Prime Ape.

He was at the absolute peak of the Tempered Beast Realm.

His fundamentals were nearly perfect.

His instincts had been sharpened through countless battles.

And his understanding of Monkey Fist had been refined to an absurd degree.

So this is the Prime Ape.

Monkaster suddenly shifted his stance.

Victor didn't notice the movement.

His attention was focused entirely on the punches coming toward him.

Then something wrapped around his leg.

Victor's eyes widened.

His balance disappeared.

Monkaster's tail had grabbed his ankle.

Victor stumbled forward.

His tail?!

He hadn't expected that.

That tiny moment of surprise was enough.

Victor's body pitched forward.

And Monkaster's fist was waiting for him.

BOOM!

The punch connected directly with Victor's cheek.

His head snapped backward.

Before he could recover, another fist struck him.

Monkaster unleashed a barrage.

Victor couldn't defend.

His body staggered beneath the attacks until one final strike sent him crashing down onto one knee.

Blood dripped from his mouth.

His vision blurred.

For a moment, the entire arena seemed to spin.

Monkaster stood several feet in front of him.

He simply looked at his student.

"Victor."

Victor lifted his head.

"You're going to have to do a lot better than that if you have any hope of defeating me."

Victor's breathing was heavy.

His cheek throbbed.

His entire body felt like it had been struck by a hammer.

But then something changed.

A fire appeared in his eyes.

Victor planted his foot against the ground.

He pushed himself upward.

His body shook slightly.

Then he raised his fists.

Monkaster smiled.

Victor charged.

This time, he wasn't going to let Monkaster dictate the pace.

His fists flew forward.

Victor attacked relentlessly.

Monkaster was already waiting for it,

Blocking each attack effortlessly.

How?

Victor changed his angle.

And he threw a kick.

Monkaster caught it.

Victor twisted his body and attempted to strike with his elbow.

Monkaster moved his head barely an inch.

The elbow passed harmlessly by.

Victor's eyes widened.

It felt like Monkaster could see his attacks before he made them.

Like he had some kind of future sight.

No matter what Victor tried, Monkaster seemed prepared.

Block.

Dodge.

Counter.

Every movement was precise.

Every response was perfectly timed.

Victor gritted his teeth.

It's like I'm following a script.

No matter how much he tried to change the flow of the battle, Monkaster was always one step ahead.

It was almost as if Victor wasn't making his own decisions anymore.

He was simply playing out a sequence that Monkaster had already written.

Victor finally backed away.

His current approach wasn't working.

His fundamentals had improved tremendously.

His instincts had sharpened.

But against Monkaster's perfect fundamentals, they weren't enough.

Victor took a breath.

His Spiritual Energy began circulating.

Techniques.

He had been trying to fight Monkaster almost entirely through martial arts.

That wasn't going to work.

Victor activated Flash Step.

His body vanished.

Monkaster turned.

Victor appeared at his side.

Flash Step.

Again.

Victor disappeared and reappeared from another angle.

Then again.

His movements became faster.

More frequent.

He wasn't simply using Flash Step to move from point A to point B anymore.

He was beginning to chain the movements together.

A primitive form of rapid Flash Step.

But he was getting closer.

Each Flash Step became part of his martial arts.

He kept changing his position.

Monkaster continued defending.

But Victor could feel it.

He was getting closer.

He had a plan.

Victor Flash Stepped behind Monkaster.

Victor disappeared again.

He appeared on the opposite side.

Monkaster began turning again.

Victor's eyes sharpened.

Now.

The Flash Steps hadn't just been for movement.

Victor had been using every transition to build Monkey Fist.

The Spiritual Energy he had been gathering was already beginning to spiral around his arm.

Monkaster turned.

Victor disappeared.

Another Flash Step.

Then Victor appeared directly in front of him.

Monkey Fist was ready.

Victor's fist pulled backward.

The technique erupted.

Spiritual Energy spiraled around his arm like a miniature tornado.

Static electricity crackled through the swirling force.

Victor's eyes burned with determination.

He threw the punch.

But Monkaster was ready.

The old monkey's arm moved.

Victor's eyes widened.

Already?!

Monkey Fist had appeared around Monkaster's fist.

It was almost instantaneous.

There was no long preparation.

Monkaster had simply decided to use it.

Victor's fist collided with Monkaster's.

BOOOOOOM!

The explosion of Spiritual Energy shook the entire dueling platform.

The swirling forces collided.

Static electricity exploded outward.

For a brief moment, Victor felt as though his entire arm had been swallowed by an overwhelming force.

He couldn't understand it.

Monkaster hadn't even seemed to use his full strength.

Victor could feel that.

He knew it.

The Prime Ape had held back.

Yet even the portion of power Monkaster had used was enough.

Victor's Monkey Fist was completely overwhelmed.

His body was launched backward.

Fifteen feet.

He crashed onto the ground and rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.

His clothes were disheveled.

Blood ran down his face.

His breathing was ragged.

Victor slowly pushed himself onto his elbows.

He looked up.

Monkaster was still standing in pristine condition.

Victor stared at him.

For the first time since he had begun the fight, Victor had absolutely no idea what to do.

He had combined everything he knew.

And it hadn't even been close.

Victor's eyes remained fixed on his teacher.

His mind raced.

How am I supposed to beat him?