Published at 7th of July 2026 8:57 am

Chapter 874: Martial Masters

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Both Asher and Isaac appeared at a single point in space in a blinding burst, as though they had teleported directly into that exact moment. Their fists tore through both the air and the sound barrier alike as knuckle met knuckle. The air seemed to freeze for a moment, reality itself seeming to drag as though hesitating to unleash the devastating impact born from the collision of their two fists.

Then it came.

The air collapsed first, the wind followed, sound cracked and then shattered like glass as the atmosphere itself seemed to turn cold while a titanic shockwave erupted outward in compressed waves of wind, slamming into everything within the underground train station.

The ground beneath their feet cracked as spiderweb-like fractures spread outward, a small ravine tearing open beneath them, yet neither of them took a single step back. They simply stared into each other’s eyes, golden pupils meeting purple ones as they regarded one another as predators rather than prey.

And when two predators of different species met in a jungle, only one of them could make it out alive.

In a blur that seemed to tear through space itself, they vanished into streaks of pure motion. One became a blur of purple, the other a blur of gold.

Their bodies became phantoms as they moved, their speed increasing every two seconds as though they wanted to see who would reach the pinnacle first. The strength, force, and impact behind every attack increased at an alarming pace within the same timeframe, as though they wanted to see who would be the first to take a step back.

Strike met counterstrike, each impact a drumbeat of war reverberating through the air like the roar of an unchained beast. The entire underground train station shook as though it stood on the brink of collapse, yet it held firm, as though it were a cage that could contain these two only for the sake of the world.

At this moment, every part of their bodies became a weapon. Hands, knuckles, fingers, the sides of their palms, palms, toes, heels, elbows, knees, and foreheads. As long as it could inflict damage, it was turned into an instrument of attack with flawless efficiency.

They didn’t randomly attack any part of the body. No, their Martial Arts existed for one purpose, to kill, and nothing else. As such, vital organs were the only targets their attacks sought.

Brain, eyes, heart, lungs, ribs, knees, intestines, jaw, temples, groin.

It didn’t matter. As long as striking that body part could incapacitate the enemy to a certain extent or kill them outright, they made their move.

Fist met fist.

Fist met palm.

Strength met strength.

Speed met speed.

Kicks met kicks.

Attacks met deflections.

There was no Astra energy in use at the moment. They simply moved to test the extent of each other’s martial prowess.

In a blur, they both appeared atop the roof of a speeding train travelling at four hundred kilometres per hour, yet neither the raging wind nor the train’s momentum affected either of them. Instead, they seemed to move with a speed that far surpassed anything the train itself could achieve while remaining upon its roof.

Asher’s fist tore upward as he aimed for Isaac’s chin with explosive power. Isaac had already seen the attack coming. He merely tilted his head to the side with effortless precision before retaliating, his foot leaving the roof of the speeding train as his knee rocketed toward Asher’s ribs.

Asher’s purple eyes snapped toward the incoming strike. His hand shot forward as he caught Isaac’s knee by the popliteal region, locking his leg firmly in place. Without missing a beat, Asher spun on his feet and hurled Isaac away as though he were nothing more than a discarded pebble. Isaac didn’t panic. He simply twisted through the air, utterly indifferent to the force and wind resistance behind the throw, before landing gracefully on his feet with such elegance that it could make even the most agile feline jealous.

The moment his feet touched the speeding train’s roof once more, he shot forward again, accelerating toward Asher with astonishing speed. A high Brazilian kick boomed toward Asher’s head with vicious force. Asher didn’t dodge. He merely shifted his centre of gravity before raising his right leg to block the attack with effortless precision.

Another thunderous boom erupted as another shockwave exploded outward like a lightning storm capable of rupturing eardrums. With their legs locked against one another and suspended in mid-air, their legs blurred as they unleashed an endless flurry of attacks while balancing solely upon their remaining legs.

PAH! PAH! PAH! PAH! PAH! PAH! PAH!

Ten. Twenty. Fifty. A hundred. A hundred and fifty. The count continued to climb in real time as their legs became nothing more than pure afterimages until the reinforced roof of the train carriage beneath them finally gave way. The metal burst apart under the constant exchange, no longer capable of enduring the overwhelming force generated by their attacks.

The instant the roof gave way, gravity eagerly reached for both of them. Yet, just as they were about to plunge downward, they defied it like two stubborn children refusing to obey the laws of nature. Both of them blurred upward simultaneously. No, they didn’t fly. No, they didn’t use Astra energy. Stepping onto thin air and using it as a platform for a single leap was merely one of the most basic techniques mastered by true martial artists.

As they leapt upward, their heads tore through the stone ceiling above them before they stepped onto the floor above, still within the same underground station. The moment they emerged onto the new floor, they didn’t even wait to land before they tore into each other like mortal enemies incapable of coexisting.

Asher leapt into the air, his body parallel to the ground as both of his legs stomped outward, the soles of his feet booming toward Isaac’s chest. Isaac simply raised both of his forearms and tanked the attack with his bare body. A violent wind shockwave exploded outward behind him as everything in its path was blasted into debris and utter chaos.

Isaac’s hand moved instantly as he caught Asher by the ankle, spun, and hurled him forward like a baseball. As Asher streaked through the air, he simply twisted his body before landing upon the vertical surface of a massive support beam within the train station. The instant he landed, Isaac was already there. The two immediately resumed exchanging hand-to-hand attacks while standing upon the beam itself, both of them defying gravity without relying on Astra energy.

With a deafening boom, the beam shattered, metallic fragments and razor-sharp shrapnel bursting outward in every direction. Their feet kissed the earth, and the very instant they did, they launched into motion once again.

No hesitation. No pause. No reprieve.

The first to slow would bleed. The first to hesitate would become the lesser one. And with that, their speed continued to increase without end, their strength rising in perfect proportion alongside it.

The world could only watch as these two displayed what it truly meant to possess peak martial talent. They were monsters wearing human skin. Wolves in sheep’s clothing. They simply weren’t normal.

The smile on Isaac’s face refused to disappear as he absorbed every single strike Asher sent towards him. He dodged, he countered, he blocked, he sidestepped. He was a monster in every sense of the word, a genius surpassed only by the likes of Malrik, Asher, and Arianna. Truly, he was a son the Overlord could be proud of.

But alas, his opponent at that moment was the man known as Asher Wargrave, the man whom Crymora itself couldn’t hope to measure or fully comprehend.

Share