For those of you who are jumping off your seats saying something like: "Golden Snake? Isn't that the old guy with Drake Lancelot a few chapters ago?!" Then you are absolutely correct!

Go give yourself a cookie.

For those who were paying attention: It is right for you to assume that this sleazy narrator of yours is messing with you. However, I deceive you not. The last thing I'd do to you readers is try to lie to you...!

How dare you readers look down on me! Do I sound like the type of shameless narrator that teases your kind for my enjoyment? If you really want me to mess with you, then try reading this:

{Once Alex Stuman and Golden Snake got onto the same rooftop, they talked to each other, had intense bout of dialogue, then our dearest protagonist went on to fighting his last epic battle before his death. Just like the Super Badass he is!

The magic-like techniques our benign old freak of a martial artist could conjure went 'pew pew pew' while Golden Snake's electrical techniques went 'zap zap zap'. Both old veterans used their fighting styles to forcefully try taking the upper hand.

Alex had his standard last-ditch power up to end the fight… before finally succumbing to his injuries and deciding to use the Mechanical Aeon Reincarnation Art to ascend to the 'Higher Realm'.}

I guess you could say I'm such an evil narrator for trivialising the battle which put many things in motion. However, writing about this battle so spectacularly without even mentioning stakes wouldn't be interesting… if you thought about it.

This isn't really a 'fight'…

Especially if you already knew of the outcome. The protagonist can't always be winning his battles.

Let's switch things up and first talk about something else: Time to get expositional~!

Don't worry though, I am a man of honour who will definitely come back to this and drop truckloads of exposition about the Power System of Earth, the place which has the most flexible way of 'Levelling Up' compared to the rigid Magic System of Gaia.

It'll really be a blast talking about the mechanics of 'Martial Arts' and 'Enhancements' once I've got you all cosy with reading this passage. Let yourself relax while drinking some tea while your at it.

For the meantime though, let's take our focus our attention away from how these old martial artists beat the life out of each other. Let's instead focus on the reason this battle occurred in the first place!

Why is it that such high profile martial artists suddenly felt like stealing Alex's techniques?

For what reason were the two fighting?

Well, the true reason Golden Snake let the four Elders he was in charge of go on to ambush him.

The Grandmaster was nicknamed the Ouroboros by those who truly understood how he'd 'evolved'.

He was former 'Black Dragon of the West' to the current generation's 'White Dragon of the West'.

But that wasn't all…

Golden Snake knew something else…

This seemingly benign old man was, surprisingly, the thief who stole his Clan's ancestral heirloom:

A vial of Golden Snake's blood!

Not the blood of the old monster who took on a similar title, but the actual 'Golden Snake' itself!

One that had rumoured to have descended from the world known to martial artists of Earth as the:

'Divine Realm'.

Two out of the forty four vials that were left had been stolen by 'Ouroboros'. This was an action that was enough for the Voltage Storm Snake Clan to want nothing more than to absolutely destroy him!

The thief must die!

What caused such a big reaction from them was survival instincts. Every branch of the Storm Snake Clan was strong only due to the precious blood of the 'Golden Snake' flowing through their veins.

Every vial of mythological 'Beast blood' was essential for the survival of the five clans, or else the power within their bloodline would dilute over time. One day leaving them completely powerless.

The issue was bad to the point that their families would no longer be 'Transcendent' without them.

That's how precious each vial was to them.

Golden Snake, the old monster, was well-aware that he'd no longer be able to retrieve the vials that were stolen. The man knew the Internal Qi seals placed on them had been broken a long time ago.

He didn't care why the enigmatic Head of the Dragon Family stole his clan's only lifeline to exist for many more generations. All he was focused on was crushing the criminal responsible for this...!

That said: For what reason did Alex offend such terrifying people to gain what was rumoured to be the Golden Snake's Blood Essence? That had to do with a familiar figure who had a different identity before he ascended to Gaia as a 'Demon Lord'.

That's right, his 'older brother', Alan Smith, was the one who started up the Radiant Sword Mirror Cult.

The man Alex fears…

A narcissistic scumbag who has always been the one the Silver Dragon wanted to surpass the most.

Calling their bond a 'rivalry' would be giving the little brother too much credit in this relationship, since he has always been a punching bag. There has never been one instance of him ever winning...!

It's a little pathetic to tell you readers the truth...

Despite being a benign old man who had literally better things to do (like now taking care of his grandson), he still decided to steal a family heirloom of a very traditional clan from the east.

This was despite knowing how much they valued the bloodline heritage. It was so much it lead to them taking vengeance in return.

Even as he was dying, the thing that made him want to use the Mechanical Aeon Reincarnation Art so badly was his desire for vengeance. The old freak wanted to one-up his brother by being the first to see the 'Divine Realm' known in myths...

Though to say the truth, Alex Stuman's desire couldn't exactly be considered childish when you consider how deep he and his brother's 'rivalry' became over the years. It was too deep…

The Silver Dragon even discovered his own special method of practicing martial arts. It was one that was uniquely different from the regular methods used by those of the Modern Era's generation.

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A method that would later be known as the horrifically difficult 'External Way' of martial arts.

Their fight was of legendary proportions...!

But first things first, let's bring up the rigid Magic System of Gaia for a second. You know the one!

Gaia was a place where the Magic System ihad always been naturally ingrained into the minds of all beings. This was without needing to be taught by another individual about the system's basics.

It's similar to how four-legged animals instinctually knew how to stand up proudly after their birth.

The path to success was already laid out for them upon being birthed on Gaia: A World with Will.

This gave them no particular reason to question what was the true purpose for their existence.

Even the other existential questions which popped into the minds of philosophers didn't bother them.

They were impervious to such existential thoughts.

A man born with a Warrior Class will naturally become a Warrior. They cultivate their skills.

A woman born of the Farmer Class will naturally become a Farmer. They'd cultivate the lands.

Although their was no Class that gave one the right to become a Noble or King, the existence of the Imperial Attribute which can control time itself made things even clearer. They knew who exactly had the potential to lead humanity to greatness.

You could even consider the Divine Realm its own form of 'heaven'. A place where things went right.

This was since there was no reason for people to go against what they were 'born to do' in life...

They were given a purpose without needing to ask.

This made it so Gaia Humans never had to conflict over getting a specific position in society.

Well, so long as they abided by the invisible 'rules' that the Will of Gaia set up for them using nature.

Their path simple lives were guaranteed to them...

The humanity that existed on Earth, however, weren't blessed with this kind of 'guidance'.

Once they came to existence, they would ignorantly believe in their youth that all men are created equal, unknowing to the fact that true 'talent' did indeed exist in their cruel world.

It's pitiful...

Let's say a musician obsessed with poetry tried to put all his effort into his craft for years on end.

Perhaps his efforts would be rewarded in the short run by luck. It might be due to the efforts of those who cared for him, but a talented newbie musician with a knack for poetry can one day surpass him.

It would make all his efforts seem meaningless.

Hard work was incomparable to talent...

To the point that the musician might realise that if he had put his effort in a field he was more talented at, he might've reached a far greater height then he did with poetry. This was true despair to some...

This kind of thought process once caused nightmares to the old freak, who despite having great talent, was unable to compare to his older brother's competence at all. He was an inhuman sibling Alex was deeply competitive towards.

Though the two held no blood relation due to Alex being adopted, that didn't stop Alan from being someone he admired greatly. It was this desire to become a greater fighter than his brother than caused him to create a new 'way' of martial arts.

The freak knew he wasn't as talented…

Not as much as his older brother, at least…

Alan Stuman was a 'Dragon' just like Rosetta. This was especially true in the way that he completely reformed the ancient style of the Black Dragon into his own unique and personal style of combat.

This created another branch of the art that could only be used by him. A 'Unique Style' of the Arts…

How could he keep up with such a prodigy?

He could've chosen to train in the same path as Golden Snake until he reached King Class, but by that time, this would've made him roughly even with Alan despite putting more efforts to train.

Reaching this 'Class' would in turn would have given him an endless supply of internal energy, a special ability related to his internal Attributes, and a spiritual weapon on choice known as a 'Avatar Wear' (An Earthling type of Spirit Essence).

However, there was no way he would've had the chance to execute the Mechanical Aeon Reincarnation Art if he had done so. After all, it wasn't a technique just anyone could utilise.

The way he acquired the required strength to fight Golden Snake off for so long was using diligence.

It was due to his expertise and devotion born through constant life and death battles.

Enough to gain insight into a level of martial arts never seen before. A 'Class' he earned..

…through diligently 'sharpening' his techniques!

Unlike the 'Tempering Path' of the Internal Way of martial arts, one that focused on mastering skills through long years of training in solitude and repetition, the 'Sharpening Path' instead focused on gaining practical experience through fights.

In ancient times, the Sharpening Path of the External Way was considered the most dangerous method of training martial arts. All thanks to it requiring martial artists to fight hundreds more life and death battles than those of the Internal Way.

The reason he was crazy enough to follow this path was because he could think of no other way to catch up with his brother. He knew he'd always fall behind if he silently followed the Internal Way…

His decision was to become a overwhelmingly strong powerhouse by 'Sharpening' himself.

This was the only option he had if he wanted to become stronger than Alan, his only stepbrother.

Time passed, and the 'basics' of his martial arts became so refined that exert strength far beyond the norm for his Rank as a genuine fighter. As a Master martial artist at the time, he was strong enough to take on several others on his own.

The Elders that had previously attacked him were never qualified opponents from the beginning.

As an External Grandmaster, the difference in his 'Path' allowed him to become worth looking up to.

When Golden Snake, someone who had secretly trained to become a King Class martial artist before fighting Alex in his weakened state, jumped onto the same rooftop as him, it was through the refined use of his Four Fundamental Internal Forces that Alex was able to survive despite having lost an arm only recently. He wasn't wasting any of his stamina.

The pressure that was exerted on him on 'that day' as a regular Master martial artist allowed the old freak to surpass his previous limits. He completely crossed over into a new 'Class' of his own.

One he personally created…

As an External Grandmaster, he didn't have an 'Avatar Arm', 'Magic Style', and 'Four Treasures forged using Higher Forces' like Internal Grandmaster martial artists...

The only things he had was the Internal Forces he'd cultivated and sharpened to their limits.

The Silver Dragon did it until they became inseparable from him. His Internal Forces had been 'refined' to the point his Qi Centre could control them… as if they were limbs he was born with.

If your wondering what all these new terms mean, I will explain all these details in a simple way.

A Qi Centre is the basis for internal martial arts of Earth and is normally only used to 'install' practical Internal Force that can be used in combat. This is also referred to as 'Lower Installation'!

These being:

1. Ki Meridians (which focuses on physical combat)

2. Psion Circuits (which focuses on mental power)

3. Aura Gate (which focuses on combat instincts)

4. Chakra Root (which focuses on magical combat)

Only External Grandmasters had no other choice but to master these four inner forces completely.

Internal Grandmasters on the other hand can focus on their Higher Forces (Spirit, Glyph, Power, and Cyber Force) to blend them together, but they could only TRULY be considered Grandmasters once they have formed their Avatar Arm (which was the equivalent to a Spirit Essence) and released their Higher Forces into 'Treasures'.

Once created, these Higher Forces that physically exist apart from the martial artist that made them.

Getting to the main point here: What I'm trying say is that External Grandmasters were better at fighting overall, but had a low chance of actually surviving the many life and death battles required to follow the Sharpening Path of the External Way.

And not just that, Alex had surpassed this Rank through learning how to fuse all his skills into one fighting style. He combined his four Higher Forces all into one 'Treasure' within his physical body.

In ancient times long forgotten by man, this Rank was once called the 'Saint Class', and was the mark of a martial artist gaining the ability to becoming almost invincible in close-combat.

The amount of power they could display had nothing to do with their injuries or bodily state…

They could use even a small bit of power, not worthy of being looked at, to overcome any odds.

Once the old freak had reached this Rank, Golden Snake had no choice but to take the unconscious Elders and leave. 'Internal Kings' were no match against the extremely rare 'External Saints'.

The 'Mechanical Aeon Reincarnation Art' the Silver Dragon used after the battle was upgraded…

It was boosted by his Saint Class strength and gave the Silver Dragon the ability to turn his body into a mechanical entity of internal energy. One that could break through the void using his power.

Normally, Master martial artists could only dream of going to the Divine Realm, but on the day he used that technique, everything changed. The laws of the world became disorderly thanks to him...

The world was no longer the same…

Even Rosetta quickly picked up her son before entering the 'spacial cracks' in the sky formed because of his terrifying technique. She followed since that seemed like the only way forward in life…

Those other old Masters and Grandmasters all over the world were ecstatic. This was the chance to go to 'Divine Realm'… A place the large majority had dreamed of going ever since they started training.

They though it to be the reward for all their efforts.

This was the beginning of all the disasters which would await Gaia, all because of a certain benign old man and his obsession towards becoming someone who could surpass his jerk of an older brother... Someone reaching the absolute peak!

But this isn't the end of my info dump. Let's zoom in to see what was happening in greater detail.

There was more nuance to deconstruct…