Damon's Ascension

His eyes shifted from enemy to enemy, assessing each one's rhythm. They moved with a practiced precision that belied their different forms.

The simian recovered first, its serrated swords whirling in a tight figure-eight pattern as it lunged for his chest.

Damon spun away, ducking under the blades and driving his foot into the creature's thigh. It grunted, the impact knocking it off balance and sending it tumbling away.

But the insectoid was already there, its acidic sprayer hissing as it fired a stream of corrosive liquid at Damon's side.

Damon dodged again, but some of the acid splashed across his armor, hissing and smoking. The young man frowned, but didn't slow.

His left hand flashed out in a quick circle, using Flowing Iron Curtain to redirect the acidic spray at the simian, who screeched as the liquid burned its fur.

The reptilian roared, its hammer raised high to pound Damon into a meatpaste.

Damon ducked and rolled forward, narrowly avoiding the crushing blow that shattered a tree behind him.

After that, he spun around with arms raised and sent a strike with Silent Wheel Palm into the reptilian's side, right in the ribs. The shock rippled through the enemy, but it grunted and pushed forward, showing its monstrous endurance on par with his.

The ethereal figure phased in and out of visibility, claws slashing at Damon from multiple angles.

Damon's eyes narrowed as he met each strike with a weaving pattern of Withering Thread Style, his fingers flicking like darts to disrupt the foe's movements. But the creature's form shifted with each strike, absorbing some of the force and reforming.

The floating sphere's glow intensified, and Damon felt the pressure in his mind building. He gritted his teeth and powered through it, but the strain showed in the sweat now rolling down his face.

Five enemies, each one dangerous alone, but their synergy made them lethal.

Damon exhaled, his chest rising and falling steadily.

He had drawn first blood on each of them, but none had fallen yet.

Each wound he inflicted was countered by their movements, by their support for one another.

His eyes glinted with determination and calmness because he hadn't even begun to fight in earnest.

These skills alone - raw, unaugmented - were enough to dance among them, but not enough to finish them.

Damon's slight smile emerged as he spoke in a low voice. "Well then… Let's try something new."

Damon's smile faded as he took a deep breath, the world slowing around him. He could feel the thrum of power just beneath his skin, the raw potential of Internal Force waiting to be unleashed.

He'd held it back so far, testing himself and his foes alike… but now it was time to see just how far he could push it!

He clenched his fist and summoned his Internal Force, letting it swirl around his body in its purest form. A faint glow surrounded him, his muscles tensing, eyes sharpening as every fiber of his being hummed with energy.

The insectoid lunged again, dagger raised for a lethal strike.

Damon didn't even bother with a external martial skill.

He simply shifted his weight and punched forward, his fist crackling with raw Internal Force as the air shimmered with the impact, and the insectoid was blown back like a ragdoll, crashing through two thick trees before hitting the ground hard.

It lay there stunned, its chitinous armor cracked and smoking.

The simian was next, its twin swords slashing in a tight arc toward Damon's chest.

Damon's palm shot out with no particular technique - just raw power - and the blow sent the creature skidding back ten meters, its weapons tumbling from its grip. It rolled over itself, dazed but not dead.

The reptilian roared in rage and swung its hammer overhead, the force of the blow splitting the ground as it fell. Damon sidestepped effortlessly, then twisted his body and unleashed a palm strike charged with Internal Force.

The impact cracked the reptilian's scales, its entire body shuddering under the force as the beast howled in pain, its eyes rolling in shock and disbelief.

The ethereal figure shimmered, its body half-invisible as it tried to slip behind Damon and strike but Damon spun with blinding speed, his hand catching the figure's wrist before it could land the blow.

Raw Internal Force surged through his palm, shocking the figure's semi-corporeal form. It convulsed, its shape flickering wildly, but it managed to wrench free and stumble back, its form dimming.

The floating sphere hovered higher, its surface writhing with energy as it prepared another psychic assault. Damon narrowed his eyes and thrust his hand forward, raw Internal Force lancing through the air like a spear.

The sphere shuddered violently, its surface fracturing like glass under the pressure, but it didn't shatter.

Damon exhaled, a faint smirk playing at the edge of his lips.

Every strike, every motion… his Internal Force alone had overwhelmed them all, forcing them into a desperate defense. He could feel the power within him burning, each pulse a reminder of the potency of his Martial God level Internal Force.

However, despite his overwhelming power, none of the enemies fell.

They coughed, staggered, and reeled, but each time he went in for the final blow, their synergy saved them.

The insectoid would dart forward with a shield to intercept his strike at the last second, the ethereal would slip away just as his palm connected, the sphere would blur and fracture but then reform.

These were experienced ancient warriors, masters of survival in a realm that devoured the weak.

Their teamwork was so precise that Damon couldn't find an opening to kill even one of them. Each time he tried to press the advantage, one of the others would distract him just enough for their ally to recover.

Damon paused, sweat running down his neck, his chest heaving slightly.

He'd beaten and battered them like he was their drunk father, yes, but they were still standing. His Internal Force, unleashed in its raw state, was devastating… but even that couldn't shatter the iron bond of their coordination.

A thin smile crept across his face. "Not bad."

"Now let's see how you handle me at full power." He stated, his eyes glinting with cold excitement.

Damon steadied himself.

The enemies had clearly survived his raw Internal Force onslaught and even though their battered forms glistened with sweat, blood, or ethereal residue, their determination was unbroken.

They still stood, weapons ready, eyes fixed on him with a predator's patience, knowing hat he couldn't keep this up forever.

When he became tired, hehe!

However, Damon was done holding back.

A deep breath filled his lungs and then his body relaxed as a smile appeared on his face, a peaceful smile full of kindness… then he moved.

He channeled his Internal Force from his Empty Soul Palm, its energy shimmering with a cold eerie glow as he swung his arm outward with fingers splayed, the force radiating like a phantom wind.

His hand passed through the air with a soft hiss, and the insectoid warrior dissolved into a fine red mist, the chitin and flesh shredded instantly.

He pivoted, his stance flowing like water, and launched a Silent Wheel Palm at the simian's chest. The rotation in his palm bloomed outward, twisting and fracturing the air itself.

The simian's eyes widened for a second as its torso exploded outward, bones and fur flying in a gruesome arc.

The reptilian roared in fearless defiance, its hammer rising for a last desperate swing as Damon swept his leg around, flowing into a Withering Thread Style.

His foot traced a single line through the air, yet the reptilian's head separated from its body with surgical precision, landing several feet away, eyes still wide with shock.

The ethereal figure shimmered and tried to phase through Damon's strike to reach him, but he shifted his body just slightly and struck with Flowing Iron Curtain.

His palm connected with the figure's midsection, energy flooding outward. The figure's form trembled, its ethereal nature collapsing into a tangled mess before bursting like a shattered window.

The sphere, already cracked from earlier, attempted to flee after seeing such brutal slaughter.

Damon's eyes glinted coldly as he thrust his Empty Soul Palm forward again, infused with Internal Force. The sphere shuddered, fractured, then exploded into fragments that rained down like broken glass.

Cold silence returned to the jungle.

Blood, ash-like susbtances, and fragments of strange flesh decorated the forest around him.

Damon exhaled, feeling the last threads of tension leave his muscles.

He stood still, his eyes half-lidded as he contemplated what he'd learned.

First, he noted that when Internal Force was infused into his martial arts - particularly the four he'd honed - it wasn't just a simple addition, it was an exponential boost.

A normal martial art plus a normal internal force would give a power boost of one plus one equals two according to the rules of the Hubei Instance.

Yet when his Empty Soul Palm combined with any of the four techniques from the Zen Sect, it was one plus one equals two, times ten!

That synergy made his strikes literally unstoppable.

Even if he summoned his own avatar right now - who had the same stats - if it only used martial arts alone or internal force alone like he did just before, it would be killed in a single hit if the current him combined the two.

That realization made his satisfaction deepen. This meant that the five martial skills - one internal and four external - were perfect for same-level killing, most effectively used on enemies with the same stats or slightly higher stats.

Second, Damon realized that using Internal Force with those four martial arts drastically reduced the energy cost.

It was as if the synergy between his unique technique and the martial arts caused the flow of power to become more efficient.

Sometimes, depending on how much force he used or the scale of his attack, he'd even get a small portion of his energy back, like a rebate effect.

That made him chuckle.

"They should give me a receipt for that." He commented jovially.

Third, as he had suspected, his Internal Force reserves had grown significantly after his last stat upgrade.

The raw power hadn't increased directly, but its purity and quantity had improved.

This reinforced his theory that Internal Force wasn't a static skill but one that indirectly grew alongside the user thanks to the Essence System. It was a technique that could remain useful even in the so-called "endgame" areas where reality itself bent to different rules.

Damon exhaled again, the echoes of battle fading as he took in the broken bodies - or what remained of them - at his feet.

He shook his head, smirking.

"Next."