Published at 22nd of September 2026 7:21 am

Chapter 1132: Duller Than Usual

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It wasn’t that he looked down on Arianna, nor did she make any less improvement; it was simply that the Wargrave Family Training Facility tailored his training to his strength and force. He had pushed his body to the brink these past eight months in every possible way.

Yes, Arianna Haellight had made improvements, but the Absolute Physique wasn’t called Absolute for no reason.

There was a reason the Wargraves could fight above their sub-Life Rank by default. Their Physiques were simply that outrageous, and Asher’s was even more outrageous. Although he and Arianna might have been physically equal in the past, the Absolute Physique had increased that gap over time.

And with his current combat senses, instincts, and prowess added to it, Arianna was simply lagging behind at the moment. Unlike Asher, who could make outrageous progress even when locked away for eight months, the only way for Arianna to close this open gap at the moment was by joining the Velkarin Military Force as she had said earlier.

She was a woman born for the battlefield. She was born to rise and bathe in blood, and only the corpses of the dead could allow her to close that gap. Even her own innate ability was tailored to this.

Arianna settled back into her stance, her smile remaining as she said, "Don’t hold back against me. If you’ve gotten stronger yet again, show me the gap I have to close and the wall I have to climb over," her tone filled with battle intent.

Asher smiled as he replied, "Your wish is my command."

At those words, he brought his hands away from his chest as he placed one on his waist and one beside him. He stood in silence and waited for Arianna to close the distance as usual, but she didn’t. Seeing this, Asher took a step, then another, then another as he simply walked towards her slowly.

Arianna didn’t move for a moment; she remained in her spot. The moment Asher closed the distance, she pounced like an agile cat lying in wait, her leg shooting towards Asher’s head like a bullet from a gun.

The attack connected, but the moment it did, the Asher standing before her turned into an afterimage as his body smeared as though it had been an illusion.

"Your senses seem duller than usual, Arianna-chan." A voice came from behind her. It was Asher’s.

Arianna didn’t just turn; she turned with an attack. She spun around with an elbow attack to Asher’s temples, but as the attack connected, his body dissolved into a smear.

Arianna turned around to find Asher now standing in his original position as though he had never left, but he had. Arianna didn’t think it was an illusion or some combat technique, as they weren’t using any for this spar. She simply acknowledged that Asher had touched that level of speed.

Speed that needed elemental augmentation in the past to attain no longer needed an element; that was the level that Asher had climbed to. Arianna was getting close to that level; she was just a step below, but just that step was immense.

Asher raised a hand, his motion ever so slow as though time had been delayed. His hand moved sideways as he unleashed a side-palm chop attack. Arianna’s body reacted with everything it could muster, her muscles straining as though her body was gathering strength and power from other parts of her body in order to defend.

Although to him his own movement was slow, in Arianna’s perception, that attack was faster than anything Asher had unleashed during their spar.

With a ruinous impact, side palm met forearm. Arianna felt the force travel through her body, her entire arm snapping in half as bone broke and muscles tore. Her body shot sideways like a comet from outer space. Her body tore through pillar after pillar, sand dune after sand dune.

She tumbled against the ground, her back slamming against yet another jagged pillar as she ground to a halt. Her body bruised, her arm broken, her hair dirty, she spat out blood. Her amber-gold eyes rose as her attention turned towards the sound of approaching footsteps.

Step. Step. Step. Step. Step.

Asher’s footsteps seemed to echo despite him walking on sand. He came to a stop before Arianna as he stared down at her for a moment. He sighed, then squatted down to her level.

"Had enough?" He asked genuinely and in a caring tone.

Arianna gave a weak smile. She tried to rise to her feet, but she staggered as though her body didn’t possess enough strength. Asher stretched out a hand to help. She accepted the hand, then rose to her feet. The moment she rose, Astra Energy came alive as she instantly healed herself to her peak state.

She sighed, then stared at Asher for a moment as she wondered what kind of training this guy had done to even possess such strength. They both possessed the physical strength of a Dust Voidstar Life Rank, but could even a Voidstar Life Ranker be this helpless against a fellow Dust Voidstar Life Ranker?

’Maybe he now possesses strength to match a Spark Voidstar Life Ranker,’ she thought to herself with a sigh as she shook her head.

(Sub-Life Rank: Dust — Spark — Flare — Pulse — Radiant)

But although she thought that, she didn’t really think so, as she was sure that immense differences existed between people of the same sub-Life Rank. It could be that Asher could now maybe match those who possessed the true might of a Dust Voidstar Life Ranker.

"It seems I have more training to do," she stated with a small smile. It was her own way of acknowledging her loss, although she had already acknowledged it the moment she used Astra Energy.

Asher didn’t make any sarcastic or playful jokes this time. There was time for everything, and this moment was certainly not the time.

"No need to think too much about it," he stated as he let go of her hand since she was already up on her feet. "In my opinion, you are the type that grows more on a battlefield, and not really in closed-door training," he stated calmly. "But it’s just my thoughts and opinion, no need to take them seriously," he stated.

Arianna stayed silent for a moment. A couple of seconds ago, she had decided to delay her entry to the Military Force and train some more, but now, with Asher’s advice, she dropped that idea.

Of course, she wasn’t one to take random advice this fast, but if someone as smart and talented as Asher was advising it, then she was willing to implement it. Besides, she knew she always grew mid-battle; she just never thought about it in that direction.

"I will follow your advice then," she said as a small smile appeared on her lips, "and if I don’t improve, I will be demanding compensation," she joked lightly.

Asher smiled as he replied, "I will happily pay."

The both of them stayed silent for a moment before Arianna spoke, "Thank you for coming immediately despite your schedule," her thanks genuine.

Asher shook his head as he replied, "You don’t have to. I was free and had nothing doing either way."

Arianna nodded, then stated as she turned into the distance, "I guess we will be seeing each other again the next time we meet."

"I guess so," Asher stated as he stretched out a hand calmly.

Arianna took his hand with a calm expression. Asher lowered his body and kissed the back of her palm as he spoke.

"It was nice meeting you again, Arianna," he stated with the brightest smile he had displayed since his reincarnation.

Before Arianna could say anything, Asher vanished from his position.

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