Heero just looked ahead. His life had always followed this pattern. He pursued strength above all else. Once he overtook his target, he didn't look back. The opponent who once stood above him would fade from memory. After all, they would never meet again. Talent that exceeded genius and a rate of growth beyond the standards made it all possible.

Heero literally grew stronger at a monstrous speed. The path wasn't entirely smooth. Every challenge against a powerful foe carried the risk of death. He came close to dying quite a lot, though he never let it show.

It is an unavoidable risk, he thought.

After all, the fastest way to gain strength was to stake his life. Thus, this situation was something Heero had never experienced before. Someone he had left far behind, so far that he had never even noticed them, had overtaken him. It wasn't even someone he had ever paid attention to or marked as a target.

Luan Badniker. The name sounded unfamiliar even though they shared the same surname. His appearance felt just as foreign. Among all the siblings, Luan looked the most out of place, and the sense of unease lingered even as they were facing each other. Did the same blood truly course through their veins?

Ah, the eyes. In that regard, they did resemble each other.

Heero took one step forward.

As he had declared, Luan still didn't move. A bad feeling crept up on him. Heero couldn't find a single opening in Luan's strange battle stance. The Luan he was facing now exuded the aura of a seasoned veteran. Heero's instincts, honed through countless near-death battles, were telling him this.

Heero started to run through possible paths to victory. A melee battle would end an inevitable defeat. A struggle for strength would end in an inevitable defeat. A battle of wits would end in an inevitable defeat. Even a drawn-out battle would lead to the same result.

Nearly every scenario ended with him losing miserably, and he almost laughed. How could there be such a gap between him and someone five years younger? For the first time, he started to understand how all those strong opponents he had faced had felt.

"Fight as if prepared to die."

Heero had to admit it. He had doubted his father's advice until the moment he faced Luan. He hadn't considered Luan someone worth risking his life against. Luan was strong, but Heero had believed he could win easily as long as he fought seriously. Yet that belief was something he had to abandon completely.

Do you understand the meaning of giving up the first attack, Strong Sword Heero? Heero asked himself.

What did Strong Sword mean? To be strong, hard, and heavy. Because of that nature, initiating the first move was relatively difficult for him. In other words, if he were allowed to make the first move even once, he would already win half the battle.

Luan probably knows this. Heero believed Luan knew about it by now. The fact that Luan had conceded despite this knowledge meant he had faith in his strength.

Heero decided to accept that goodwill. The fight would be challenging and exhausting, but it wouldn't be as difficult as accepting the truth itself.

At that moment, the calculations in his mind reached a conclusion: a quick, decisive battle would give him a slim chance of victory.

Heero took another step and altered the flow of his thoughts, clearing out the clutter in his mind. He no longer regarded his opponent as a fool or an immature younger brother. Instead, he placed Luan among the many strong opponents he had narrowly defeated. Arrogance, carelessness, and conceit fell away, leaving only self-confidence.

In fact, this is the hardest part. Heero burst out laughing. Acknowledging Luan, someone he had never considered before, proved much more difficult than the battle that was about to erupt.

Therefore, Heero hadn't paid much attention to the earlier promotion matches. He had even ignored the battle of the future Archmage that had drawn everyone's focus. Instead, he had spent that time meditating and calming his mind and body. Fortunately, it had worked.

When Heero took his third step, Luan's expression changed. It was as if he had sensed the mana embedded within Heero's steps.

He noticed it faster than I expected. Heero was accumulating power with each step. He was using Supreme Seven Steps, a unique footwork technique wielded by a giant warrior. It wasn't designed to dodge attacks, confuse the opponent, or gain an advantageous position. Its sole purpose was to increase destructive force. Each step accumulated power within the body, exponentially increasing the next attack's destructive power.

Suddenly, the words of the giant who had taught him the technique resurfaced in his mind.

"You have a solid physique for a human. Nevertheless, your limits are clear. I will allow up to five steps. Don't be greedy for anything more. Even if you encounter a strong enemy and must risk your life, six steps is the limit. Don't even think about attempting more than that. Your limbs will be torn apart before you can use it properly."

Heero took the fourth step and activated his Strong Bones, Iron Heart, Storm, Endurance, and Protection Blessings without hesitation. The overlapping blessings eased the strain on his body while further enhancing the effect of Supreme Seven Steps.

The stage trembled as mana poured out like a haze, then coiled around his greatsword like vines. At that point, Heero assumed a stance.

"Going this far..." One of the heroes in the audience muttered the words, and they reached his ears with startling clarity.

Heero inwardly replied, I have to go this far against someone like him.

When did Luan become so strong? Or had he been hiding his power all along?

These trivial questions didn't matter now. Only one important thing mattered. To this day, Heero had never lost to a strong opponent. Today would be no different.

Finally, Heero took the fifth step, and a deep vibration reverberated throughout his entire body. Clear veins bulged on the hand gripping the sword. The core muscles supporting the weight in his forearms, shoulders, waist, and thighs all tensed under the strain. He looked as though he was lifting a weight of hundreds of kilograms, not a sword that weighed only a few at most. His eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth until his molars threatened to crack.

Heero asked himself, Is this enough?

With only these five steps, Heero had once split apart the head of the Steel Crocodile, which was called the Monster of the Swamp. That single feat had secured his promotion to A-class.

Then another question followed. Is Luan Badniker as strong as the Steel Crocodile? No. He's stronger.

Therefore, doing his best was still not enough.

"Don't just be prepared to kill. Fight as if you are prepared to die. Otherwise, you will be the one who dies."

That was his father's advice.

Heero took the forbidden sixth step. A metallic ringing filled his ears the moment his foot came down. His vision blurred, and he could taste blood in his mouth. His organs clenched, fresh blood surged up his throat, and even standing became a struggle.

In that condition, Heero asked again, "Will you take it head-on?"

Luan laughed in response. "Come, Brother Heero."

Heero laughed with him, and his greatsword finally dropped. As it fell, its momentum changed and accelerated, driven by the power accumulated through the steps.

The path of the sword could change as many as six times. For that reason, the seemingly slow blade was almost impossible to dodge once unleashed. Mana surged from the blade like lightning, paralyzing the opponent's body like an electric current or crushing it outright.

Therefore, those who faced the descending blade felt themselves stiffen. It was like forcibly triggering the human instinct to freeze at the sight of a carriage rushing toward them. Yet the Luan before him could shake off even that pressure.

Nevertheless, Luan chose to meet it head-on.

A long metallic clang rang out as the blade fell, packed with accumulated strength, and drove straight toward the crown of Luan's head.

Secret Technique, Falling Thunder Sword.

Thunder roared, and the stage flashed white.

Heero poured all his strength into a single swing. He had given everything he had. It was a desperate strike that he wielded with the determination to exhaust himself to the point of collapse. His consciousness blurred even before the Falling Thunder Sword could land.

This must be a technique as well, Luan thought as time dragged out.

How easy was it to pour all one's strength into a single strike?

He recognized the feeling at once. It came from experience, from a timeline that no longer existed, from the hundred days of training on Spirit Mountain. The slanted slope, the driving rain, the howling wind, and thunderbolts crashing all around him surged back with startling clarity. It mirrored the moment he had created his Thunder Stomp Footwork.

Inspiration struck without warning, and he formed a flame in his palm. The flame did not erupt or scatter. Instead, it rose and wrapped around his forehead with quiet precision.

In this state, Luan rotated his right hand. The motion flowed smoothly, as if he were tracing a Yin-Yang symbol. With that movement, the flame took shape in the air.

There are four types of flames I can normally use: the red, blue, purple, and black.

To hide its true nature, he had once believed he needed to hide the blue flame that contained Dark Qi, along with the purple flame derived from that. Now, he realized that wasn't really necessary.

As the saying went, to hide a tree, one should hide it in a forest.

The flame carried impure power, but it could be concealed within a flame with a stronger presence. First, he unleashed the red flame, layered the blue flame atop it, and covered it with the black flame.

Using different flames simultaneously wasn't suitable for defense. Due to their very natures, the flames would try to devour one another. Then what if he used that trait to his advantage?

A defensive technique.

Heero's powerful greatsword couldn't be blocked. When it struck head-on, it had the power to shatter even the Seven Sins Sword. With the blessings and those bizarre steps, Heero had raised its destructive power to the absolute limit. Even S-class heroes would likely fail to take it head-on.

That trait awakened Luan's rebellious spirit. He wanted to stop the unstoppable technique at any cost.

There is no point in trying to overpower it. The only way to stop it is to deflect it.

Therefore, he used the flames. In a form freer than water, fire couldn't be contained, not even by class. If a barrier formed from fire, then three flames that consumed one another would become the strongest shield, at least until the strongest flame was born.

The lightning-covered greatsword was swallowed by the flames.

This was the Extreme Yang Qi. Just as starlight couldn't shine when the sun stood clear in the sky, the relatively weak light was now ruthlessly devoured.

Heero's greatsword shattered into dust and scattered. That was the price of treating one sword strike that contained everything as if it were nothing more than a mere blade.

As the weapon was destroyed, Heero fell silent. Blood covered his face, but he didn't move to wipe it away as he asked, "What is this?"

Luan replied with a slightly awkward expression, "Let's see. What should I call it? The first technique of the second half of the White Sun Style... Setting Sun Barrier... Yes. I like that name."

"Don't tell me..."

"That's right. It is a technique I just created." Luan laughed. "Thank you. I gained a lot thanks to you."

Heero just laughed. The faces of every enemy he had fought flashed through his mind like waves, along with the words they had uttered.

"This monstrous?"

"Have you grown another level from this fight? The blood of the Iron-Blood... I am indeed afraid."

"It is no longer enough to call you a genius. Your talent defies comprehension. If you don't deviate from the righteous path, it will be a blessing to all people. If you stray, it will become a disaster for the empire."

That's right. Did the enemies who fought with me feel the same way?

Heero trembled and staggered. Before losing consciousness, he muttered one last time, "This is bullshit."

***

Heero Badniker collapsed.

Silence spread through the gymnasium. The atmosphere no longer resembled the tension at the start of the battle.

When Heero broke the unwritten rules of the promotion match and attacked first, the audience had erupted. Murmurs rippled through the stands, and some spectators even openly frowned.

Many knew the ugly side of the Badnikers. Blinded by keeping each other in check, Heero had tried to kill his own sibling and even broken the Hero Society's long-standing custom.

To some, it felt that he had polluted the promotion match with his own self-interest.

That judgment missed the truth. That was the best choice Heero could make. So even when Heero unleashed the Supreme Seven Steps, most eyes stayed fixed on Luan.

"The amount of mana, his concentration, and his stability don't make sense. This goes beyond the level of a hero disciple..." one senior hero murmured.

"His mana has moved past mere coloration and has developed a distinct attribute. His control is also perfect. He is a mature warrior."

"He reached the state of maturity with his bare body, without even using a weapon?" someone else whispered in disbelief. "At his age?"

"Who has trained him?" a third voice asked. "If he is a Badniker, it must be Carzakh. No, since he fights bare-handed, could it be Tanko?"

A hero scoffed softly. "What is there to be surprised about? There is precedent. The Iron-Blooded Lord's offspring resembles Iron-Blooded Lord... Well, just leave it at that."

"However, isn't Heero also a Badniker?" another person interjected.

"Either way, in this promotion match... it feels like the challenger and defender have switched roles," a final voice concluded.

That final remark struck at the heart of the matter. Heero was an A-class hero, yet he had not merely accepted a challenge. He fought with everything he had, and Luan completely withstood that attack.

As a result, the attacker lay defeated, and the defender remained standing. The outcome defied expectation, but its meaning was unmistakable.

There was a short moment of silence.

"Waaaaaaaah!"

Explosive cheers erupted everywhere. Those honored as heroes shouted or whistled with unrestrained excitement.

Luan was slightly stunned as the applause washed over him. Within the young man, a surprising change was taking place.

He had won many battles before. He had claimed many victories. He had beaten Hector and Barter, faced Priest Juan, and even dealt a blow to the demon king. However, today's victory felt completely different.

"Ah." Luan understood the difference. Everyone gathered here was powerful, figures who spanned the entire empire. They had faced the world in their own way and made remarkable achievements. Now, these heroes had watched this match, witnessed Luan's victory, and were cheering for him. The world had acknowledged him.

I see. After his regression, this was the moment when Luan Badniker truly made his debut in this world.