Black Phoenix Heir

The next several days passed in a blur.

Day after day, Monkaster’s brutal training regimen continued to push him toward his limits. But something had changed.

Victor was no longer simply surviving his fights.

He was beginning to understand them.

His fundamentals had become deeply ingrained in his movements. The basic footwork Monkaster had forced him to practice until it became almost second nature now blended naturally with his techniques.

And because of that, Victor hadn’t lost a single fight over the past several days.

Some of the battles had been incredibly difficult. Several opponents had pushed him to the brink, forcing him to adapt repeatedly throughout the fight.

But his Intermediate Flash Step and Intermediate Monkey Fist had given him an enormous advantage.

Today was the ninth day.

Victor was beginning the morning by facing Rank 24.

Only a few days remained in Monkaster’s training regimen.

If everything continued according to plan, Victor would eventually reach the very top of the ranking and begin challenging the Prime Ape himself.

Victor wasn’t entirely certain he could defeat the Prime Ape.

He wasn’t even sure how large the gap between them truly was.

But he was confident about something.

He didn’t believe he’d have too much trouble reaching the top ten.

The real difficulty would begin with the top ten.

Most of those fighters had either mastered Advanced Monkey Fist or were extremely close to doing so.

For now, however, he had another opponent to worry about.

Victor walked toward the dueling platform with complete confidence.

Over the past several days, Monkaster had been increasingly supportive of his winning streak.

But the old monkey refused to let Victor get carried away.

Every now and then, whenever Victor became a little too confident after a victory, Monkaster would dump a pan of cold water over his head.

His reasoning was simple.

Overconfidence was dangerous.

As he approached the dueling platform, he saw his opponent already waiting.

Victor stopped.

His eyes widened slightly.

He recognized him immediately.

Monkbala.

The same Lava Rock Monkey who had beaten him nearly to death when Victor had accidentally seen his sister’s uncovered ears.

Monkbala looked at him.

A familiar, devious grin spread across his face.

It was obvious he was enjoying this.

Apparently, he had been waiting for another chance.

Victor stepped onto the platform.

The two approached each other.

They shook hands.

Monkbala squeezed Victor’s hand harder than necessary, his expression practically screaming that he wanted to establish some sort of dominance.

Victor didn’t react.

He simply smiled internally at the display of bravado.

When they separated, Victor turned and bowed respectfully.

Monk Bala barely moved.

He gave a tiny, almost mocking bow.

It was just enough to technically count.

Victor almost laughed.

The Lava Rock Monkeys were generally respectful. They loved fighting, but they respected the dueling platform even more. There were rules surrounding the arena, and showing respect to one’s opponent was one of the most important.

Monkbala apparently had decided those rules didn’t apply to him today.

Victor raised his head.

Monkbala’s eyes narrowed.

Then the fight began.

Victor disappeared.

Flash Step.

He reappeared directly in front of Monkbala.

For the briefest moment, genuine shock crossed his face.

The Victor he remembered had been easy to overpower.

That Victor had barely been able to survive against him.

But the person standing in front of him now was completely different.

Victor spun.

His elbow shot toward Monkbala’s face.

Monkbala reacted quickly.

He raised both arms and blocked the strike.

Bang!

Before Victor could follow up, Monkbala fired a jab toward his stomach.

Victor sidestepped.

His leg swept underneath Monkbala’s feet.

Monkbala immediately jumped.

His tail whipped forward, attempting to wrap around Victor.

Victor reacted instinctively.

His hand moved.

Smack!

He brought the edge of his palm down against Monkbala’s tail.

The impact knocked it violently off course.

A small bump immediately appeared where Victor’s strike had landed.

Monk Bala’s face twisted.

For a moment, it looked as though he wanted to cry.

But he swallowed the pain.

Slowly, he looked at his tail.

Then he looked back at Victor.

The fire in his eyes had changed.

His pride had been wounded.

For a Lava Rock Monkey, damaging his tail wasn’t merely painful.

It was humiliating.

Monkbala’s expression darkened.

He immediately began circulating Spiritual Energy.

Monkey Fist.

Victor had expected it.

The instant he struck Monk Bala’s tail, he knew anger would follow.

And anger was predictable.

Victor disappeared.

Flash Step.

He appeared behind Monk Bala and drove the sole of his foot into his back.

Bang!

Monk Bala stumbled forward.

His concentration broke.

The Spiritual Energy gathering around his arm immediately dispersed.

Victor didn’t waste the opening.

He began preparing Monkey Fist.

His opponent regained his footing and spun around.

His eyes immediately locked onto Victor.

The technique was already forming.

Monkbala’s expression became serious.

He knew he had only a few seconds.

Victor would come at him soon.

He needed to be prepared.

Anything was better than taking the technique directly.

Victor stepped forward.

Then he disappeared.

Flash Step.

Monkbala immediately prepared himself.

Victor reappeared directly in front of him.

But he didn’t attack with Monkey Fist.

Instead, Victor’s opposite hand shot forward.

A punch.

Monkbala reacted.

He committed completely to the block.

And that was exactly what Victor wanted.

The punch was a feint.

Monkbala realized it a fraction too late.

His eyes shifted.

The other fist was already coming toward him.

The one surrounded by the spiraling force of Monkey Fist.

For one brief moment, Monkbala knew exactly what was about to happen.

I’m screwed.

Victor’s fist connected with the side of his face.

BOOM!

A violent spiral of energy erupted from the impact.

A tornado-like force twisted around Victor’s arm, striking Monkbala’s face from multiple directions at once.

For an instant, the imprint of a fist appeared against his cheek.

Then his entire body was launched backward.

Monkbala flipped through the air several times before crashing into the ground beyond the platform.

Completely unconscious.

Silence settled over the arena.

Victor stood still.

He looked at Monk Bala lying in the distance.

There was pride in Victor’s eyes.

Not because he had hurt him.

But because he had finally returned the favor.

The last time these two had fought, Monkbala had completely overwhelmed him.

Now Victor had defeated him in a matter of moments.

Victor didn’t feel the need to humiliate him.

The fight was over.

Victor turned toward the edge of the platform.

Monkasa was standing nearby.

He immediately raised both hands.

Two thumbs up.

Victor couldn’t help but laugh.

He stepped down from the platform.

He still had around ten more fights today.

And every opponent from here on would be stronger than the last.

But Victor wasn’t worried.

He was ready.

As he approached Monkaster, the old monkey placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a firm pat.

”Good.”

Monkaster smiled.

”You did very well, Victor.”

Victor nodded.

”Thank you, Teacher.”

”That feint was especially good.”

Monkaster’s expression became slightly more serious.

”Even I was confused for a moment when you threw it.”

Victor smiled.

Monkaster continued.

”You’re finally starting to bring everything together. Your techniques, your fundamentals, your instincts, your movement.”

He tapped Victor lightly on the chest.

”They’re no longer separate skills.”

Victor listened carefully.

”You’re turning them into one complete motion.”

Victor nodded.

”Yes, Teacher.”

Monkaster smiled.

”I’m proud of you.”

Victor bowed his head slightly.

”Thank you.”

He then walked to the side of the arena and sat down cross-legged.

This had become part of his routine.

After every fight, he replayed the battle in his mind.

After several minutes, he began circulating his Spiritual Energy through his body, recovering what little he could before the next battle.

Monkaster watched him for a moment.

Then he nodded.

”That’s right.”

He turned toward the arena.

”Rest quickly, Victor.”

His voice carried a hint of amusement.

”Your next fight won’t wait for you.”

Victor opened his eyes.

He smiled faintly.

”Yes, Teacher.”

Then he closed his eyes again and continued cultivating.

There were still ten battles waiting for him.

And the higher he climbed…

The stronger they would become.