Chapter 128 — A New Face

Chapter 128: Chapter 128 — A New Face

Chapter 128 — A New Face

Victor was finally clean again.

After returning to his treehouse in the Lava Rock Monkey settlement, he had taken a long shower and washed away the grime that had accumulated.

He prepared some food from his storage ring.

He had made sure to keep a supply of meat this time.

There was no way he was going to spend his entire time eating like a vegetarian again.

As he finished another bite, Victor leaned back and began thinking about what he should do next.

A knock suddenly sounded at his door.

Victor looked up.

He got to his feet, walked over, and opened the door.

A familiar face greeted him.

Monkasa stood outside with his usual enormous, toothy grin.

"Victor!"

Victor smiled.

"Hey, Monkasa."

Monkasa glanced past him briefly before turning his attention back to Victor.

"I didn’t see you sitting in front of the Monkey Fist Stele anymore, so I figured you must have finally come back."

"Yeah." Victor stepped aside. "I woke up not too long ago."

Monkasa’s grin widened.

"So How does it feel?"

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"How does what feel?"

"Having figured out Intermediate Monkey Fist!"

Victor stared at him for a moment.

"How did you know?"

Monkasa laughed loudly.

"I never doubted you for a second!"

Victor blinked.

Monkasa slapped a hand against his chest.

"I knew you’d figure it out. If there was anybody I knew who could understand it, it would definitely be you."

Something warm stirred inside Victor’s chest.

For the past several days, he had questioned himself more than once.

He had wondered whether he was missing something.

Whether his conviction was strong enough.

Whether he was even worthy of understanding the technique.

Yet Monkasa had apparently never entertained those doubts.

He had simply believed Victor would succeed.

Victor smiled.

"Thanks."

Monkasa waved his hand dismissively.

"Enough of that serious stuff. How about a victory celebration?"

He pointed dramatically toward the village.

"Banana pudding. My treat."

Victor’s eyes brightened.

"That sounds nice."

"Then let’s go!"

Victor quickly put away his remaining food and followed Monkasa out of the treehouse.

The two made their way through the settlement toward one of the busiest restaurants in the Lava Rock Monkey territory.

The moment they entered, Victor was hit by the familiar chaos.

The restaurant was booming.

Monkeys shouted across tables. Others argued about who they were going to spar next. The sounds of forks and spoons clanging against wooden tables mixed with the constant movement of waiters rushing between the kitchen and dining area.

Victor and Monkasa found an empty table and sat down.

A waiter immediately approached.

"What would you like?"

Monkasa didn’t even hesitate.

"Two bowls of banana pudding, please."

Victor simply smiled and nodded.

"And that’ll be all?"

"Yep."

The waiter nodded and hurried away.

Monkasa leaned back.

"So?"

Victor looked at him.

"How does it feel?"

"Intermediate Monkey Fist?"

"Yeah."

Victor thought about it for a moment.

"Honestly... the power was intense. I wasn’t expecting it."

Monkasa immediately laughed.

"It happened to me too!"

Victor raised an eyebrow.

"I instantly stood up and tried the technique the moment I understood it."

Monkasa shook his head, laughing at the memory.

"I released a Monkey Fist straight into the crowd."

Victor’s eyes widened.

"You did what?"

"There were a lot of brothers who weren’t very happy with me."

Monkasa scratched the back of his head.

"I had about ten fights scheduled for the next day."

Victor burst out laughing.

The exact same thing had almost happened to him.

When he had tested his own technique after understanding it, he had nearly sent the attack into the surrounding monkeys.

But Victor decided to keep that part to himself.

Monkasa leaned forward.

"So?"

Victor’s smile remained.

"Yeah. The power is... almost intoxicating."

Monkasa nodded knowingly.

"Exactly."

The two exchanged a grin.

"How about we test it out after we eat?" Monkasa asked.

Victor immediately nodded.

"Sounds good."

Their banana pudding arrived a few minutes later.

Neither of them wasted much time.

Once the bowls were empty, the two rushed out of the restaurant and headed straight toward the elevator.

As they descended, Victor flexed his fingers several times.

His body was already beginning to anticipate the fight.

He wanted to see exactly how much stronger Intermediate Monkey Fist had made him.

Soon, the elevator reached the training grounds.

They stepped onto the dueling platform.

As always, the two stood across from one another and bowed.

Then—

They moved.

Victor shot forward.

Monkasa met him head-on.

A kick came toward Victor’s ribs.

He blocked.

Victor countered with a jab.

Monkasa tilted his head aside.

Victor stepped forward.

Monkasa sidestepped.

A fist swept past Victor’s face.

He ducked beneath it and drove his elbow forward.

Monkasa blocked.

The exchange continued.

For several moments, neither used a technique.

And Victor quickly discovered something.

When it came to pure martial arts without Spiritual Energy techniques, he was far behind Monkasa.

Monkasa’s movements were smoother. His reactions were faster. His footwork was more natural. Every movement flowed into the next without hesitation.

Victor blocked another strike and jumped backward.

Why am I so far behind him in normal martial arts?

He had spent plenty of time fighting.

Yet Monkasa was showing him something different.

Victor narrowed his eyes.

Then Monkasa smiled.

Victor smiled back.

They both understood.

It was time.

They separated.

For a brief moment, the platform became still.

Then both moved simultaneously.

"Step."

Victor’s foot slammed into the ground.

"Step."

Spiritual Energy surged through his legs.

"Step."

The energy traveled upward.

Then—

The Spiritual Energy exploded around his fist.

A tornado formed.

Victor’s eyes widened slightly.

Across from him, Monkasa’s own fist was already surrounded by a raging spiritual tornado.

His was a lot more aggressive.

And it made sense.

Monkasa had a lot more practice with the monkey fist.

Lightning-like sparks began snapping through both tornadoes.

The air trembled.

Victor lowered his stance.

Monkasa did the same.

They stared at each other.

Then—

They vanished.

BOOM!

Their fists collided in the center of the platform.

The resulting explosion sounded almost like a sonic boom.

A violent shockwave erupted outward.

Victor was thrown backward.

His feet left the ground.

He flew nearly twelve feet before crashing onto the platform and rolling across the stone.

Monkasa was thrown roughly ten feet in the opposite direction.

For several seconds, neither moved.

Then Victor lifted his head.

Monkasa did the same.

Their clothes were disheveled.

Dust covered their bodies.

Victor’s hair was sticking out in several directions.

Monkasa looked no better.

They stared at each other.

Then both burst into laughter.

It started as a chuckle.

Then became louder.

Within seconds, the two were practically howling.

Neither had expected the collision to send them flying like that.

"That—" Victor struggled to speak between laughs. "That was insane!"

Monkasa wiped his eyes.

"I know!"

Footsteps suddenly approached from the side.

The laughter gradually faded.

Victor turned his head.

An elderly Lava Rock Monkey was walking toward them.

He had short white hair and a clean-shaven face. His monkey ears stood prominently on either side of his head, and a long tail swayed slowly behind him.

But what immediately caught Victor’s attention were his eyes.

There was knowledge within them.

The kind of wisdom that came from watching decades of people fight.

The old monkey clapped his hands together.

"Monkasa. You’re doing well as always."

Monkasa immediately straightened.

Then bowed deeply.

"Teacher."