"Gusion, my young friend, we really owe you this time."
Erioh's injuries had stabilized. Upon seeing Gusion, he thanked him directly.
The Worm's attack had indeed sent a formidable lineup, with the three top cadres—a force not to be underestimated.
But after Gusion killed those three and The Other Niko's disciples, the remaining Worm were of little concern. He swept through the building, clearing them out, and the Mazuko gained more experience.
A few Worm still escaped, even with a submarine.
Gusion didn't care. All the big threats were dead; the small fry didn't matter. Letting some escape to report back was fine.
He appreciated Xia Yan and the Connector's friendship, but not the global terrorist Worm. Killing them was no issue; he wanted to face the peak of this world anyway.
"Erioh, you should focus on recovering. If you want to thank me, why not teach me more of your clan's secret techniques?"
Gusion smiled. He was interested in more Kure clan martial arts, though he'd been hesitant to ask before.
"That's no problem. I trust you won't leak them."
Erioh agreed easily. He'd already taught Gusion their core Removal technique; the rest wasn't so important.
"Thank you in advance. I'll also discuss martial arts with Raian."
Gusion said politely.
"Let's not talk about this now."
Erioh grew more fond of Gusion, but also worried. "You killed the Worm leader. There may be trouble."
"Shen Wulong?"
Gusion asked, feigning innocence.
Erioh nodded solemnly. "You might not know, but Wu clan was once united—until thirteen hundred years ago, when an immortal named Shen Wulong shattered us."
"Do you really think he's an immortal?"
Gusion asked curiously.
Erioh frowned. "I don't want to believe immortals exist, but according to clan records, Shen Wulong has existed for at least five thousand years."
He explained patiently, wanting Gusion to understand the seriousness. "Five thousand years ago, our ancestor Wu Hei founded the clan. He used a secret technique called 'Huisheng,' always reincarnating among us. The Edward Wu you killed today was one of Wu Hei's rebirths."
"Sounds amazing. I've heard of such techniques from the main Wu family."
Gusion nodded. Huisheng was more like memory/personality transfer than true reincarnation—just training a successor for years. In Gusion's view, it was a bit low-grade.
Besides, with several rebirths each generation, it's hard to say they are still Wu Hei—just knock-offs with some of his memories.
"Since you know about Huisheng, I won't explain more. The key is: Huisheng wasn't invented by our ancestor, but taught by Shen Wulong. That means Shen Wulong has existed for at least five thousand years, maybe since humans began."
Erioh analyzed. Five thousand years ago, Wu Hei existed, and Huisheng was taught by Shen Wulong—so he was already unfathomable then.
And since he's always been this strong, he must have an even more advanced technique, perhaps true reincarnation—otherwise, how is he so perfect, even stronger over time?
"He doesn't fit this world's style. While everyone else practices martial arts, he's cultivating immortality?"
Gusion joked. That was his feeling when reading the manga.
Frankly, he felt the world's top fighters posed little threat. Even Kuroki—he admired his skill, but not as a life-or-death threat.
In a real fight, he was on another level. Even if everyone on the island attacked, he believed he'd be the last standing.
But Shen Wulong was different—truly immortal, breaking the logic of the Kengan world.
Inside the End Space, Gusion hadn't seen the manga's ending—maybe what he saw was the end, since no one could beat Shen Wulong; continuing the manga would be pointless.
But since he'd been thrown into this world, maybe a true ending could appear.
"Cultivating immortality?"
Erioh gave him a strange look. "That's not a bad way to put it. I once discussed this with the Wu clan head. We think Shen Wulong may be the embodiment of Earth's will—a child of the planet, hence so broken."
"Earth's will is ridiculous."
Gusion disagreed. "To me, he's still human, just like me—and I am, of course, human."
"Not necessarily."
Just then, another voice sounded.
Gusion turned—it was Yamashita Kazuo. Amidst the chaos, he had stuck close to Raian for a sense of safety.
He'd overheard the conversation and blurted out his thoughts.
"What do you mean?"
Gusion asked, annoyed.
"Ah, no, I didn't mean—Mr. Gusion isn't human—wait, that's not right. I mean, you're so strong, you don't seem human—ah, that's not right either…"
Seeing his fluster, Gusion gloomily checked his own Charm stat. He thought he was above average looking—so why did he not seem human?
"Karura, do I look strange?"
Gusion turned to Karura.
Karura shook his head vigorously. "I find you very handsome!"
Gusion felt reassured—he was indeed a normal human. Back to the point: "I don't know how he lived so long, but as long as his body is still human, I have no reason I can't kill him."
"Confidence is good. Maybe you really can break Shen Wulong's myth."
Erioh said, "After the tournament, come train at our clan grounds. Some things might help you."