After Alex was finally starting to regain a silver of his consciousness, his hand moved towards his pocket at an extreme speed. This was in order to press a button on a alarm-type gadget he had.

However, his movements were predicted beforehand and dealt with. Azure Dragon encased his entire body in a layer of ice. A spiritual glow surrounded his body, as well as a deep coldness.

The freezing cold temperatures splashing about may not have injured the old veteran much.

This was mostly since he was able to quickly brake free from the frosty encasement instantly. The bad thing was anything on him that could be used to call for reinforcements had already shattered...

Vermillion Bird and Black Turtle followed up his attack. They combined their skills to throw molten lava created from the concrete of the rooftop onto the Silver Dragon before he could recover.

White Tiger and Azure Dragon stayed well back in order to block his escape routes or interfere with his actions whenever he adapted. Their stunning coordination was beyond anything he'd ever seen!

The old man was thrown off Death Eater's arm with a heavy bang upon being hit by the magma.

Their target was savagely thrown back onto the ground. Although the freak was able to barely resist the Colourless Miasma's impact on his thoughts, he still wasn't able to move properly.

Alex's body was burnt under the intense heat.

Even his 'Healing Factor' wasn't keeping up...

Any kind of lava was a lot hotter than a regular spiritual fireball alone. That's just how it worked.

Therefore, it was only natural he'd lose out in battle despite having the most supreme of physiques.

A human body would still unable to handle the molten concrete stickily covering their arm...

The old man's bones crackled, his muscles burnt and his tendons were seared off by the unnaturally high heat formed through Vermillion Bird's extremely hot Combat Gift... called 'Vermillion Fire'.

Death Eater, whose arm was both iced and burnt a little by the string of ruthless attacks, didn't bother about his 'minor injuries'. Since they weren't allies anyway, he'd expected they'd pull a stunt like this.

He silently complained in his heart, not noticing a shadow that was moving swiftly towards him!

Alex's figure lunged through the air silently...

"Wait! The deal will be off if you don't leave some of his flesh for me to-" But just as Death Eater was halfway through his rant, his lungs suddenly contracted as he gasped for air.

A look of disbelief coloured the cannibal's ugly face. His eyes shifted down to the figure of the charred old geezer who'd silently punched his chest... His spine bent inwards as he exhaled...

"H-how...?" Was the first word Death Eater barely said after inhaling and trying to catch his distorted breath, before realising that their target was still under the affects of the Colourless Miasma.

The dilated, empty eyes and blank expression on the Silver Dragon's face were evidence to this fact.

The old man unconsciously moved his body...

The freak of nature retracted his hand. He almost seemed to be wholly relying on his body memory...

I believe this was called 'Spinal Reflex'. It was when your body does an action that bypasses the brain...

An example when you pull your hand back after touching something hot, or when you salivate around salty food. In order to quickly respond to external threats, the body moved on its own accord sometimes... but was it possible to be at this level?

Azure Dragon was sure after his analysis that even the 'Grand Elder' wouldn't be able to understand what was happening. There was no way that normal neurotransmitters could make a body do these complex actions... like it was a second brain.

Getting back to reality though:

That one punch the heavily injured old veteran threw had caught Death Eater off guard, but after seeing his target's face and body, a hunger started to rise from his stomach. It made him drool!

Almost like seeing a roasted chicken...

Alex's body had been gruesomely burnt on one side and frozen on the other, and after smelling the ashes that arose from the left arm that punched him, Death Eater regained some confidence in their chances. Victory for their group was still in sight!

It was only after silently taking a few steps back from their target's still-as-a-corpse figure, did he look confusedly at the ground not far from him. It was where the magma Black Turtle and Vermillion Bird had conjured up landed just moments ago.

The two Elders made eye-contact with each other in confusion as well. They didn't really understand how their target's figure had suddenly disappeared and reappeared in front the cannibal abomination.

Did he use a Step Method by reflex...?

"Don't stop...! He is now severely injured and shouldn't be able to display his full strength anymore. Attack!" Azure Dragon roared. A rope made of blue water materialised out of nowhere.

The water then froze in midair into tendrils of ice that tangled around his target's body. He was hellbent on restricting the legendary Silver Dragon's bodily movements. This Elder was more like a magic user than a martial artist right now...

This time, Alex's body didn't react.

The injuries he sustained weren't healing well.

Vermillion Bird seemed to have injected her special 'Vermillion Flames' into his serious wounds.

They were healing a snail's pace...

Perhaps the only way he'd be able to find a way to recover from his grave injuries... would be by completely breaking free from the Colourless Miasma's mental restraints. That's the only way-

No...

That was his only option!

The other Elders didn't waste time as well.

They prepared to attack the Silver Dragon with full force, but before they could conjure more elements to restrain or finish him off, Death Eater jumped forward with his massive mouth wide-open.

A demonic expression appeared on the cannibal's face. He drooled in an animalistic way mid-lunge.

'Damn...!' The four Elders had their thoughts synchronised at this particular moment while witnessing Death Eater's bold actions. None of them wanted this abomination to get stronger...!

Azure Dragon felt a little annoyed. He found that the cannibalistic scum he disdained previously had actually planned wait for him to finish retraining Alex before attacking. He felt like he had been manipulated by this creep and exploded in anger.

He and the other Elders with him didn't really have the intention of allowing Death Eater to strengthen himself. It was obvious how the abomination's Divine Physique and techniques would improve by devouring the flesh of the 'Western Dragon'.

They didn't even want to think about what would happen if he succeeded. They couldn't allow one of their archenemies to be granted the power of their target's unfathomable physical strength!

The other three Elders could only hastily conjure projectiles so they could interrupt Death Eater before he ate too much of their target's flesh and bones... only for to notice something was off midway through their lunge at this old freak.

[Cyber Force- Reflex Programming!]

"Defence Mode... activated..." Three soft words suddenly left Alex's lips. It was as if his entire body suddenly moved away from the closest attacker nearest to him. His empty eyes gave them dread...!

Death Eater's sharp, fang-like jaw could only clamp on air. He realised his target shifted to the side.

The abomination grinned after seeing how his 'fresh meat' could only use all his strength to desperately struggle in vain. The ice tendrils restraining him from dodging him completely.

There was a disgusting smile on the man's face.

He enjoyed playing with prey that couldn't resist.

Death Eater reached his large mutant of an arm forward, intending to hold the famed 'Dragon' before him in place so he could devour his flesh. It was then that a change occurred within the old freak's eyes after sensing his killing intent.

Though he was still unconscious...

[Threats located... Activation of the Host's specialised Reflex Programme, 'Sleep Mode', has been confirmed...] The deep glow in his empty eyes changed into intricate glowing patterns

A surreal reflection of Death Eater appeared within both of Alex's iris'. Almost like he was awake...

If one focused the entirety their visual perception into his unfocused eyes, they would also find many tiny letters engraved into his pupils. He looked like an unstoppable fighting machine even when unconscious. His martial arts were complete...

What a Super Badass this guy was!

(•_•)

( •_•)>⌐■-■

(⌐■_■)

The sentences in his lightless eyes disappeared.

Alex moved to deflect the incoming projectiles behind him. Those that were about to hit him.

The strange lights in his eyes finally disappeared the moment those cold tendrils of ice around him both shattered. They instantly broke into pieces that scattered across the windy rooftop.

It was then they realised that they screwed up...!

Alex didn't seem to notice the scattered ice and acted promptly to defend himself from their assault. His body was acting way more technically experienced for someone who was unconscious!

"What the-" Death Eater tried to retreat as soon as he detected his prey's clear change in attitude.

However, he was too late. A steel-like hand clamped onto his wrist and threw his body into the oncoming elemental projectiles. The elements had blended together into a maelstrom of attacks!

[White Art- Dragon Controller!]

A high-pitched scream with almost feminine qualities could be heard atop of the skyscraper.

Death Eater was unwillingly used as a human shield to protect the unconscious old freak from injuries.

He felt like crying...!

Death Eater face was like this: (〒▽〒)

He didn't even have the time to open his tear ducts genuinely, and was flung around as if he was a bat.

What appeared out of the dust formed from the four Elders attacks was Alex's uninjured figure.

He was expertly 'wielding' Death Eater like a human-shaped weapon. Their eyes almost fell out of their sockets. They watched how their target proceeded swing the cannibal around like a club!

"What on Earth is happening? How is he still fighting?!" Azure Dragon's hair stood in fright!

He watched his target fling Death Eater about like a rag-doll. Though he didn't feel pity for the creep...

"He activated a Higher Force...

The rumours of the Dragon Family's current Head following the 'External Way' was true...

There's no other answer after seeing this kind of abnormal Higher Force..." Black Turtle, who rarely spoke or interjected, answered to his comrade, who was panicking in confusion. His analytic words having an impact on their whole team of Elders.

There were four 'Higher Forces': Cyber Force, Glyph Force, Spirit Force and Power Force...

These four 'internal forces' were necessary to become Master martial artists, but they too were also what a genuine fighter absolutely needed. It was to refine them all to become a Grandmaster martial artist of the 'external way' of martial arts.

To put things simply:

The Gaia equivalent these unnatural Higher Forces would be 'Spell Slots and/or Magic Traits'.

Each one only counted as a quarter of a whole...

This wasn't the fault of Earthlings.

Mortals like them didn't even have the strength to imitate Gaia Human with their meagre Internal Qi.

Therefore, those of Earth would always try to bring the best out of the finite power they cultivated.

By sharpening what one already has, they were able to bring out supernatural powers from within...

One might wonder why the naming of each Higher Force was so diverse in meaning. However, it must be understood that the 'Modern' martial arts of today were an amalgamation of four distinct paths that had been refined into a perfect blend.

The path of Warlocks.

The path of Mutants.

The path of Cyborgs.

The path of Psychics.

As such, it was understandable to wonder what was the difference between those who were practitioners on the Internal Way like the Elders fighting their ambush target... and those of the External Way like the old veteran Silver Dragon.

It was the difference in the extent one would go when searching for power... That kind of willpower and willingness to risk dying immediately from one wrong move was rare even in ancient times.

Why is it an External Grandmaster was more feared than four wholly uninjured Internal Grandmasters?

The answer to this question is undoubtedly the difficulty for one to survive this path of training.

It was because the way External Grandmaster martial artists would 'sharpen' themselves over time through actual combat. They would fight and alter their moves over time through experience.

It was is a lot more terrifying than how a regular Internal Grandmaster martial artists would temper their internal energy. Especially those who lived in a safe environment to form weapons fit for combat.

It is only fair to say that those who would survive the External Way of martial arts were no doubt stronger than their Internal Way counterparts. The four Elders couldn't match Alex's 'badass' halo!

Get wrecked~!

"There's no time to think about anything else. Let's get into our strongest formation!" Azure Dragon roared.

Deep scales started to grow on from his arms to his fingers to form some violently scaled claws.

His Arctic Azure Water Dragon style martial arts were displayed fully. It was based off King Fu.

He got into his most familiar stance along with the others. Each one representing their 'symbols'.

Azure Dragon: [Cyber Force- Scaled Claws]

Black Turtle: [Cyber Force- Shell Armour]

White Dragon: [Cyber Force- Third Eye]

Vermilion Bird: [Cyber Force- Rebirthing Flames]

A mass of energy from their Qi Centres materialised to form different phenomenons.

Vermilion Bird had her blood red spiritual flames covering her entire body like a coat of inferno.

She got into a stance similar to Left Flamingo in Tae Kwon Do, which also mimicked the Crane Style.

Black Turtle covered himself in a shell-like armour shaped like muscles. It covered from head-to-toe'

He got himself into an advanced version Karate stance, and last but not least:

White Tiger extended her fingers into claws, then a green third eye of myths opened on her forehead!

All them looked intimidating...!

All four of them got into position as they attacked all at once. The dream team stood together!

"Threat neutralised... Initiating the activation of 'Assault Mode'..." In response to their threatening actions that were attempting to take his life, Alex's muscles flexed simultaneously. It caused a BOOM!

The air was pushed away by the squirming muscles all over his body. They refitted into the right state.

The Silver Dragon was ready for combat!

An immeasurable vitality expelled the flames that had entered his bloodstream from Vermillion Bird's previous attack. They even started to diligently heal the injuries sustained all over his body.

His 'Blood Bone' Divine Physique worked at the highest rate it had ever done in his entire life.

[Power Force- Body Conditioning!]

Alex didn't back away. The old freak met the battle formation of the Elders approaching him head on!

He flung Death Eater, who wasn't able to pull himself out of his inescapable grasp, like a ball at Vermilion Bird. The unconscious Silver Dragon's goal was to break the synergy of the team...!

Then headed towards the slowest member of their team without any delay. A dangerous look appeared in his eyes. Now he looked incredibly violent compared to the 'emptiness' of before.

Like a body of water transforming into flames...

Like the ignition of gasoline!

Black Turtle was startled. His buff figure quickly reacted and met the man with a powerful high kick.

Normally, he'd be able to hold off his opponent long enough for the other three to back him up...

However, he was shocked to find that his defensive techniques, the ones that were famed across the Eastern Hegemony as the most airtight skills ever to be created, were meaningless against his current opponent. Everything was for naught!

In just one movement, the unconscious old man slid through his defensive form, and in that very same moment, he stopped Black Turtle's leg before he could complete his signature kick.

It was then he ruthlessly elbowed the brown clothed man's neck! A sight that hurt the eyes...

Seriously, Alex wasn't giving any mercy today...

Black Turtle was left breathless for a moment upon impact. He could feel the air around him distorting.

It was only after he caught his breath that he realised that his defences were of no use...!

The burnt and fleshy-looking arm used to strike him crackled, but so too did his 'outer shell'.

[Black Art- Dragon Impact!]

The others fought valiantly to defend him and keep their synergy stable. An azure claw cut at him, an emerald flash struck his leg, and a ruby cannon-like kick smashed into his stomach.

They expected him to respond, yet found the Silver Dragon still didn't wake up despite his injuries...

He seemed immune to pain and injuries.

Even dauntlessly grabbing the impregnable Black Turtle in a fashion from what they saw earlier.

It was a very familiar technique used...

The man was turned into a another human weapon!

The brown clothed man's face twisted in anger. It was no wonder. He couldn't escape Alex's grasp.

The man tried to struggle, but found that he was no different from Death Eater after being grasped by those hands. His whole body was thrown into the air... He too was thrown around like a rag-doll!

"Watch out!" White Tiger shouted towards Azure Dragon, who had tried to sneak attack through their target's blindspot, but found himself being literally 'slammed away' by their comrade instead.

The brown-clothed man was now in exactly the same position Death Eater was previously...!

Vermilion Bird tried to help after throwing aside any thoughts of secretly killing off the cannibal abomination (Death Eater). However, she found out much later that she was already too late.

Her kicks were useless against this 'berserker'...

The old freak who felt no pain or injuries...

Both Azure Dragon and Black Turtle had been knocked unconscious by one punch each without being able to make much of a resistance. Their fight was so anticlimactic that it hurt her pride...

How could they lose so easily?

Weren't they supposed to be Masters?!

Alex's shadowy figure didn't stop there. He then shot towards Vermilion Bird and Death Eater before they could respond. The old freak didn't even give them time to digest the sudden fall of two Masters.

Things didn't play out as they expected, however, as White Tiger somehow used her Third Eye to predict his agile movements, then responded appropriately before it was too late to take action.

She showed why Masters couldn't be discarded!

Even if she wasn't as strong as their target, she had useful techniques meant for perfect synergy.

Appearing on his left were two claw-like hands that dug deep into his flesh, Vermilion Bird didn't even have to think twice. She'd worked with White Tiger for so long that their cooperation was in-sync.

She followed up with synergy to kick the Silver Dragon's shoulder. Even holding nothing back...!

Going beyond what her body could handle!!!

With the power of Rebirthing Flame in effect, she broke through regular human limits and kicked with enough force to break her own leg in the process of attacking him. Not that she minded considering her 'flames' would heal her injuries anyway.

A crackling noise could be heard along with the sound of their target's arm being severed off by Vermilion Bird's and White Tiger's combined efforts. He might not have felt pain, but he was still a human being that could be defeated by them.

They could definitely win this!

The two female Masters rejoiced. They were finally able to give this External Grandmaster an injury!

One that severed his arm at that...

It was unfortunate that their accomplishment filled with pride were cut short by what they heard next.

Their faces visibly paled as white as a ghost's...

Death Eater let out feminine scream again...

Alex's shadow swept past the three still left awake after Azure Dragon and Black Turtle had fallen...

In the next few moments, the three Master martial artists before him were laying motionless on the ground after he gave them a good beating. None of them could understand how they were beaten so easily even though their target lost his own arm.

A figure stood silently around the feeble losers.

The excessive bleeding on his arm was stopped by Vermilion Bird's flames completely by accident.

The dismemberment was completely clean...

It was then that Alex's eyes regained focus and the effects of the Colourless Miasma that poisoned him finally wore off. The pain signals his nerves were sending him made him grunt, but he didn't fall to his knees, deciding to handle such pain within.

He stopped the bleeding of his armless shoulder as well as his other injuries and looked around himself to figure out what was going on. It was only after figuring it all out... did he let out a hearty laugh!

"You guys still lost despite me being asleep? Don't you feel ashamed?" He laughed at these 'Masters'.

These words would have undoubtedly made each and every one of them spit out a mouthful of blood should they have still been conscious. Though he knew the danger hadn't gone past him just yet.

He heard someone landing on the building he was on. Threads of lightning covered the old geezer's body who adorned the robe of the 'Golden Snake' appeared. A familiar goatee, but a younger face.

This was the man who stood above the four Transcendent Clans. Alex's archnemesis...

Golden lightning erupted from his eyes...