Chapter 186: Human Strength Has Limits—I

The ultimate manifestation of talent, also known as the peak of brilliance or Absolute Prediction, is one of the three great gates of the Selfless State.

By rapidly activating the mind’s processing, using existing data to simulate the match’s progression in an instant, analyzing the quickest point to score, and making an Absolute Prediction to forecast the exact number of shots needed in that round.

In reality, this manifests as enhanced mental capacity coupled with a near-advanced Kenbunshoku Haki-like foresight of the future.

At this moment, the mutated boar became a transparent model composed of countless lines in his eyes—muscle contraction patterns, skeletal support structures, blood flow trajectories, and even every single movement over the next dozen seconds—all visible as if projected in three dimensions.

“The left front tendon has a healing bite wound; there’s a fifteen-centimeter gap beneath the neck; it habitually veers right during a charge.”

“To kill you, I only need one slash.”

These details flooded his mind like a stream; Lin Xiu didn’t even need to think—his body already responded with perfect precision.

Just as the boar was about to collide, he sidestepped lightly, his Tang Heng Dao slicing a graceful arc through the air.

“Ssshh—”

Lin Xiu’s blade precisely entered the gap beneath the neck, gliding effortlessly along the muscle fibers, cleanly severing the head from the body.

The mutated boar’s massive body surged forward another dozen meters by inertia before crashing down, its head completely separated from its torso.

Lin Xiu shook the blood droplets from his blade, maintaining his honed state, his gaze cold as he stared at the agitated beast pack nearby.

The mutated creatures had noticed the commotion and the scent of the boar’s blood—they were edging closer, restless and hungry.

And that was exactly what he wanted.

When he sensed the anomaly in the spiritual energy fluctuations, he foresaw the arrival of the second Spiritual Tide; thus, he came proactively to this critical route leading to Yun Chuan City, aiming to intercept the beast surge before it reached the city.

Of course, training was also a factor.

Since obtaining the Tezuka Kunimitsu template, he had perfectly transformed all tennis techniques into swordplay; now, he was confident in his strength equaling that of a third-rank cultivator.

And under the Selfless State, he could unleash power surpassing ordinary third-rank cultivators.

Yaozhidao the tennis techniques from the Prince of Tennis world are powerful, but the characters’ physical attributes are still grounded in human limits—even if the anime exaggerates their feats, the core setting remains unchanged: they never transcend human boundaries.

But Lin Xiu’s body, refined by spiritual energy, had long surpassed human limits; this meant he could unleash every technique granted by the Tezuka template without hesitation, and never fear his body failing to endure them.

If “humans” could endure them, then this body of his—long since transcending “human” limits—what could it not endure?

It’s just that his current compatibility isn’t sufficient to activate those more extreme techniques, let alone the Asura Divine Path; otherwise, he’d definitely use this tennis version of “Susanoo” to show these mutated beasts what true terror means.

What? You say Tezuka Kunimitsu never activated the Asura Divine Path?

Tezuka Kunimitsu never activated the Asura Divine Path doesn’t mean he couldn’t activate it.

To awaken the Asura Divine Path, one must endure devastating defeat, infuse one’s resentment and obsession into the spirit of tennis, and through hellish training, embrace the resolve: “Even if I die, I must win.”

Tezuka Kunimitsu wouldn’t develop such an extreme mindset from personal failure—he calmly analyzes his weaknesses, corrects them, and grows stronger; but he is different. He hates failure, and cannot accept his own defeat.

Improving his weaknesses and pushing himself to become stronger—he will certainly do that; but if there’s even a chance to win, even if he dies, he will win!

He merely obtained Tezuka Kunimitsu’s template—he did not become Tezuka Kunimitsu.

As Lin Xiu pondered, the screams of mutated creatures exploded around him.

“Roar.”

His expression remained calm; under the Ultimate Talent Manifestation, the future’s scenes were already vividly etched in his mind.

His body instinctively moved through the beast horde, each sidestep perfectly avoiding claws and fangs; his Tang Heng Dao, glowing with lethal brilliance under his “Sharpness” ability, struck only the most vulnerable spots of the mutated beasts.

One slash, one life ended.

Blood sprayed through the air, gradually soaking his clothes.

Lin Xiu didn’t know how long he’d been fighting—he only knew the corpses of mutated creatures around him had piled into mountains; yet his stamina hadn’t diminished much.

Compared to other abilities, the Ultimate Talent Manifestation consumed little stamina.

Yet its enhancement to combat power was unimaginably immense.

Gradually, the mutated creatures that had been attacking began to hesitate, crouching low, their eyes filled with primal fear, throats rumbling with uneasy growls.

“Scared?”

Lin Xiu noticed this, a cold smirk curling his lips.

In an instant, a vortex of air began to spin around him.

The mutated creatures nearby panicked—they found their bodies helplessly sliding toward the man with the sword, clawing desperately at the asphalt, leaving deep gouges, yet unable to resist the invisible pull.

Blade flashed—more corpses fell.

“On a tennis court, this technique is called Tezuka’s Domain.”

“But in the real world—”

Lin Xiu shook the blood from his blade, his voice calm as he slowly raised his Tang Heng Dao; the surrounding air intensified violently.

“You can call it ‘Shōman Ten’in’.”

In a dormitory in the university district of Yun Chuan City.

Two young men sat around an induction cooker, steam rising from a bubbling hotpot; empty drink cans littered the table, the pot’s ingredients nearly gone.

“Ding—”

The phone rang suddenly.

“Hello, your takeout has arrived at the door. Please open up.”

“Okay, coming.”

One boy in a loose T-shirt got up to open the door, returning moments later with a plastic bag containing several boxes of fresh meat rolls and vegetables.

“We prepared too little—it wasn’t nearly enough.”

He muttered as he unpacked.

Outside the window, the evacuation alarm broadcast looped endlessly—but neither of them cared.

“Didn’t expect someone’s still delivering takeout at a time like this.”

The glasses-wearing boy dropped a plate of fatty beef into the pot, his tone ambiguous.

“Normal.”

The T-shirt boy shrugged.

“Fewer riders now, and not just us refuse to go to shelters—there are still people ordering; but after the platform learned the beast surge was coming, their first move was to hike delivery fees—really.”

The two exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.

Whether to discourage orders—or to let the riders still out there earn a bit more.

“In the end, it’s all about money.”

After laughing, the T-shirt boy sighed.

“Before graduation, I never thought earning money would be this hard.”

“Who says otherwise?”

“Every night I don’t want to sleep—wake up, go to work again, another day of my own time gone; but if I don’t sleep, I can’t make it through tomorrow.”

The glasses-wearing boy pushed up his frames, smiling bitterly.

“I say, better let the beast surge find us—then resurrect us in the future.”

“Back then, though there’ll be more people, resources will be abundant too; even beings who can reverse the river of time have appeared—how rich resources will be, I can’t even imagine.”

“And if we’re gone, our parents get the payout—at least they won’t have to worry about money.”

The T-shirt boy continued; the glasses-wearing boy nodded, offering no rebuttal.

“Li Mo, say—”

“If you obtained a Multiverse Artifact that grants immense power, but turns you into a vampire—craving blood, fearing sunlight—”

“Would you use it?”

After he finished, the glasses-wearing boy asked hesitantly.

Li Mo heard this and nodded without hesitation:

“Of course I’d use it.”

“Craving blood doesn’t mean I have to drink human blood.”

“Didn’t Zhou Ming, who obtained the Oni King Muzan’s constitution in Chaoyang City, say that spiritual energy—the energy that drives life evolution—is far more attractive to him than human blood?”

“And compared to the vast majority of still-human humans, the mutated creatures surviving nature’s survival-of-the-fittest contain far more spiritual energy in their blood.”

“Even if I crave blood, their blood is clearly far more appealing.”

The glasses-wearing boy nodded thoughtfully.

“But sunlight—”

“Sunlight? Pfft.”

“You don’t go out during the day—just come out at night.”

“And once your power grows, maybe you’ll even overcome sunlight.”

Li Mo sneered—if true power were within reach, what did such a flaw matter?

“But, Zhao Mingyang, why are you asking this?”

Li Mo looked at him, puzzled.

Zhao Mingyang fell silent for a moment, then put down his chopsticks and stared seriously at Li Mo:

“You’re right.”

“Compared to the power gained, this cost is negligible.”

Li Mo looked utterly confused.

“Human strength has its limits.”

“In my short life, I’ve always been anxious—focusing only on what I’ve lost, never considering what I’ve gained.”

“If I now refuse to use this Multiverse Artifact because of its flaw, what about the future? Will I ever find a better one?”

“No—obtaining even one Multiverse Artifact is already divine fortune; how dare I hope for a second?”

"Even if you obtain it, is it necessarily stronger than this one?"

Zhao Mingyang’s face broke into a relieved smile.

Li Mo was completely stunned.

"What do you mean? What are you saying?"

Zhao Mingyang slowly stood up, first turning on the ceiling light, then carefully drawing all the curtains to ensure not a single ray of sunlight could enter; after that, he walked to the desk and took from the bottom drawer an ancient stone mask and a sharp dagger.

The mask had an eerie shape, human-like, radiating profound ill omen.

"Li Mo, I’m done being human!"

After saying this to Li Mo, he slammed the mask onto his face, and in a flash of cold steel, slashed his palm and smeared the blood onto the mask.

"Hum"

The Stone Demon Mask suddenly emitted blinding light, and dozens of sharp bony spines burst violently from its edges, driving deep into Zhao Mingyang’s head and brain.

Blood flowed backward along the spines’ grooves into the mask, filling the entire room with its radiance.

(End of Chapter)