Steven wiped the blood from the corner of his lips before laughing.
"...Now this..."
"...is a fight."
His crimson flames surged once more.
The inferno spread in every direction, devouring the forest.
Ancient trees collapsed one after another.
The ground melted beneath the unbearable heat.
Steven raised his flaming spear.
"Let's see how long that crippled body of yours can hold!"
BOOOM!!
The spear shot forward like a blazing meteor.
Elias planted one foot firmly into the ground.
The earth beneath him exploded.
Instead of retreating...
He rushed straight toward the attack.
His fist collided with the spear.
BAAAAAANG!!
The impact birthed a violent shockwave.
The surrounding flames were blown away for hundreds of meters.
The clouds above trembled.
Steven's eyes narrowed.
"Still relying on brute strength?"
He twisted the spear.
Flames erupted along its shaft, coiling around Elias like serpents.
The fire scorched Elias' clothes.
His skin blackened.
Yet...
He never loosened his grip.
With a sudden pull...
Steven was dragged forward.
Elias stepped in.
His shoulder slammed into Steven's chest.
BOOM!
Steven's ribs groaned.
He slid backward, carving two trenches across the burning ground.
Before he could regain his footing...
Elias appeared again.
A right hook.
Steven barely leaned away.
The punch missed.
But the compressed air behind it didn't.
BOOOOOOM!!
Everything behind Steven vanished.
Dozens of towering trees exploded into countless splinters.
The mountain wall behind them was ripped open by an invisible force.
A flock of Rank Two Wind Hawks attempting to escape the battlefield flew straight into the shockwave.
They burst apart in midair.
Not a single feather remained.
Steven frowned.
"...You're even stronger physically than before."
Elias answered calmly.
"No."
"...You're just weaker than I remembered."
Steven's face darkened.
"You still know how to piss people off."
Mana exploded.
The crimson flames condensed around his body until they formed a suit of blazing armor.
His aura climbed once again.
The surrounding fire answered his call.
A sea of flames rushed toward Elias from every direction.
There was nowhere to dodge.
Elias inhaled slowly.
Then...
He stomped.
BOOOOM!!
The ground collapsed beneath him.
Cracks spread like spiderwebs for hundreds of meters.
Using the recoil alone, Elias launched himself through the sea of flames.
His body became a blur.
Steven thrust his spear.
Elias tilted his head.
The spear grazed his cheek, leaving behind a trail of blood.
Steven immediately swept the spear sideways.
Elias lowered his body.
The blazing blade skimmed over his hair.
His fist shot upward.
BANG!
It struck Steven beneath the chin.
Steven's body left the ground.
Elias didn't stop.
He grabbed Steven's ankle.
Spun.
Then hurled him.
Steven became a blazing comet.
He smashed through countless trees before crashing into a rocky cliff.
The entire cliff collapsed.
Dust covered the battlefield.
Silence.
Then...
BOOOOM!!
The mountain exploded.
Steven burst out from the rubble, his armor cracked, blood running down his forehead.
"You..."
"...haven't changed."
His voice carried genuine excitement now.
"This is the Elias I wanted."
He raised both hands.
The flames surrounding the battlefield gathered into one enormous sphere above his head.
The air screamed.
Even monsters hiding kilometers away fled in terror.
A Rank Three Ironhide Bear, too slow to escape, wandered into the edge of the battlefield.
The heat alone ignited its fur.
Within seconds...
The beast collapsed, burned alive without either man sparing it a glance.
Steven roared.
"DIE!"
The burning sphere descended.
Everything beneath it turned to molten earth.
Elias looked up.
His expression remained calm.
He didn't try to overpower it.
He waited.
Ten meters.
Five.
Three.
At the final instant...
He moved.
One step.
The flaming sphere crashed into the ground.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The explosion swallowed half the forest.
Trees, boulders, and beasts disappeared beneath the sea of fire.
Before Steven could celebrate...
A fist emerged from the smoke.
CRACK!
It struck his ribs.
Another.
His jaw.
Another.
His stomach.
Every blow was simple.
No techniques.
No mana.
Just absolute mastery over the human body.
Steven desperately raised his flaming spear to block.
Elias caught it with one hand.
His palm burned.
The flesh sizzled.
Ignoring the pain...
He twisted.
SNAP!
The spear flew from Steven's grasp.
Steven's pupils shrank.
An instant later...
Elias' fist slammed into his chest.
BAAAAAANG!!
Steven was launched like a cannonball.
His body skipped across the ground before smashing into another cliff.
The mountain shook violently.
For several seconds...
Nothing moved.
Finally...
Steven staggered to his feet.
One arm hung limply.
Blood poured from his mouth.
His breathing was ragged.
Elias wasn't much better.
His knuckles were split open.
Burns covered both arms.
Blood trickled down his cheek.
Slowly...
He walked toward Steven.
Steven tried to lift his spear.
His trembling arm refused to obey.
Elias stopped a few steps away.
His voice was calm.
"Tell those Shadow bastards..."
"...to stop looking into me."
"The mercy I showed you today..."
"...will not be shown to the next person."
Steven laughed bitterly.
"A cripple..."
"...still making demands."
"...You're still the same."
Elias said nothing.
Steven stared at him for several moments before turning away.
Without another word...
He disappeared into the burning forest.
The battlefield fell silent.
Elias remained standing where he was.
Blood dripped steadily from his fist.
The cut on his cheek slowly began closing.
He touched it lightly.
A faint smile appeared.
"So..."
"It seems my disciple inherited the same Body Trait as I."
His gaze drifted toward the distant Ash District.
Without another glance at the ruined battlefield...
He turned around.
“…Looks like I’ll have to buy those vegetables again.”
Elias glances at his scorched sleeve.
“And another robe.”
And with that...
The legendary cultivator quietly walked back toward the market, looking no different from an ordinary middle-aged man returning from a morning stroll.