Chapter 212: The Creed of the Empty Hand
"…What?"
Hearing Retsu Kaioh's declaration, everyone in the courtyard froze.
Dorian... the dishonorable, trick-playing convict, was actually a Kenpo Master
who had earned the title of Kaioh?!
As people deeply entrenched in the world of underground martial arts, they all
understood the weight of that title. Kenpo was more than a style; it was a vast,
bottomless ocean of knowledge.
Among its many legends was a training method known as "Shattering the Boulder"
(Da-yan).
The practitioner would use their bare fists and feet to shave away the irregular
edges of a jagged rock. They would turn their entire body into a set of
tools—hammering, piercing, striking, and kicking. If their hands broke, it
meant their Kung Fu was insufficient; they had to overcome agony beyond words to
continue.
Eventually, the hardened stone would become like butter or soft fruit before the
practitioner's limbs, shattering upon contact. A master of this craft could take
a massive, raw boulder and hammer it into a perfectly smooth, rounded sphere.
"I've heard stories," Doppo Orochi murmured, looking at Dorian with a new light
in his lone eye. "They say the 'Shattered Boulder' of the 'Fist Master' Retsu
Kaioh is a massive piece of obsidian, polished so smooth it reflects the light
like a mirror. A feat achieved purely through the impact of flesh. I've always
wanted to see it."
Doppo's voice dropped an octave. "But I never imagined another 'Kenpo Master'
would have a 'Shattered Boulder' that took the form of a hundred-meter tunnel
carved through a mountain."
Dorian stood tall, his gaze heavy and solemn. "I broke the gates and left the
training grounds forty years ago. I had heard that a decade or so after my
departure, a once-in-a-century genius appeared at the temple."
"That prodigy became the third man to inherit the name of Kaioh after Liu Kaioh
and myself."
"—Retsu Kaioh."
Dorian's lips curled into a faint smile. "I only just realized who you were when
we met face-to-face. I didn't expect to find you here."
Dorian tilted his chin up, his aura shifting into something regal and ancient.
"So... do you wish to fight the original me? A duel between two Kaiohs?"
"..."
Retsu paused. "Even if you have committed unforgivable crimes... I cannot break
the code. We of the same lineage, the same 'family,' cannot turn our blades
against one another."
"...Hmph." Dorian let out a soft sigh, the regal aura vanishing as quickly as it
had appeared. He didn't press the issue.
Seeing the stalemate, Doppo cracked his neck. "Since Retsu-kun doesn't want to
play, I suppose I'll take the first—"
Before Doppo could finish his sentence, a blur of motion streaked past him.
While Retsu had been lost in thought, someone else had already acted.
Slap!
A hand landed firmly on Dorian's shoulder.
"—?!"
Dorian spun around, only to see the face of Katsumi Orochi.
"Hey, pal. What are you spaced out for?"
Zip!
Katsumi snapped a high-roundhouse kick, the ball of his foot slamming into
Dorian's face just as the giant turned.
BANG!
Blood sprayed from Dorian's nose. He was forced back several paces, reeling from
the impact. Before he could recover his balance, Katsumi dropped into a low
sweep, his shin hooking Dorian's leg and flipping the massive man onto his back.
THUD!
Dorian hit the pavement—right on the spot covered in the shattered glass from
earlier. Jagged shards sliced into his back, making him hiss in pain. As he
tried to scramble up, Katsumi tossed his half-full can of tea, hitting Dorian
square in the jaw. The sudden impact rattled Dorian's brain, leaving his defense
wide open.
Katsumi didn't hesitate. He leaped into the air, driving a vertical foot-blade
strike straight into Dorian's throat.
"HYAH—!"
POW!
Dorian's throat took the full force of the blow. He coughed up a spray of blood,
clutching his neck as he rolled across the ground in agony. The ruthless,
decisive combination was a masterclass in Karate's lethality—and it had utilized
the glass on the ground and a discarded tea can with zero hesitation.
"Pops. Was that okay?" Katsumi turned back to Doppo. "Throwing away honor and
grace to immediately execute a lethal line of thinking... that's the true style
of the Shinshinkai, isn't it?"
Doppo had walked out to the gate. He stood there, head bowed, radiating a
mysterious, dark amusement. "This is a good opportunity for you. And it's
exactly what I wanted to show Ren-kun while he's brooding. Pay attention, both
of you."
"—Behold the soul of the Shinshinkai!"
Whoosh!
Doppo placed both hands on the low courtyard wall. Like a gymnast on a vault, he
launched himself into the air. He performed a front-flip kick, his heel driving
downward with the weight of his entire body.
CRUNCH!
The heel slammed directly into Dorian's groin. The agony was so intense that
Dorian's body arched like a bow, his face contorting into a mask of pure
suffering.
"Gah—hk!" Dorian's limbs flailed as he clutched his crotch, spinning on the
ground like a dying top.
Ren Shiroki's eyes lit up. He wasn't looking at Dorian; he was captivated by
what Doppo was trying to demonstrate.
Katsumi, however, looked confused. Why would his father resort to such a "low"
blow when Dorian was already defeated?
Creeeeak—!
Suddenly, a sound like metal grinding against bone echoed through the night. It
was the sound of high-tension wire snapping taut.
Katsumi's arms and legs were suddenly jerked together. Deep, red welts appeared
on his skin, and a single, lethal loop of wire tightened around his throat.
It was Dorian's fiber wire!
Unbeknownst to everyone, Dorian had pulled his lighter and flicked the wire
outward while he was being "beaten," looping it several times around Katsumi.
The four-micrometer fiber was lighter than a spider's silk; Katsumi hadn't even
felt it. If Dorian pulled now, Katsumi would be dismantled into bloody pieces.
If Doppo hadn't delivered that groin kick to disrupt Dorian's focus, Katsumi
might already be dead.
Seeing his trap exposed, Dorian ignored the pain in his crotch. He gripped his
lighter and yanked back with everything he had.
Schwing!
The wire began to bite into Katsumi's skin, blood starting to well up from the
impending cuts.
Suddenly, Doppo's hand snapped down in a vertical hand-sword strike.
ZING—!
In a single motion, the three loops of fiber wire binding Katsumi were severed
simultaneously. They drifted to the ground like harmless thread.
The audience, including Dorian, stood paralyzed by the feat. Ren Shiroki
couldn't help but shout, "MAGNIFICENT!"
"Do you understand now?" Doppo looked down at Dorian. "As you can see... Karate
is the art of turning the hands and feet into weapons."
"Through a long, tedious process of day-in, day-out training, we turn the fist
into a blunt instrument and the hand-sword into a blade more resilient than
steel."
"At this level of refinement... a mere fiber that can only withstand two hundred
kilograms of tension is nothing but a boring toy."
"To hold nothing in one's hands—that is the Creed of Karate!"
Doppo turned his head toward Ren Shiroki, a wide, predatory grin on his face.
"Ren-kun. If you are still troubled by the 'Killing Intent' in your moves... if
you aren't sure how to face it... stop overthinking. Just think about what your
'Creed' is."
With that, Doppo signaled for Katsumi to return to the courtyard. He stepped
forward as the third duelist.
"Thank you for waiting, 'Master' Dorian. Let's trade blows."
He stripped off his shirt and waited for Dorian to stand. He even waited for the
giant to move his hands away from his groin and recover his breath. Only then
did he begin.
Stomp!
Doppo exploded forward. His Karate strikes rained down on Dorian with a speed
that defied the eye.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The fists and feet of the "Bushin" fell like a torrential downpour, suffocating
Dorian's defense. Even utilizing his Kenpo, Dorian couldn't keep up. Doppo found
a gap and drove a straight punch directly into Dorian's face, caving in his nose
and sending him staggering back, blood pouring from his face.
"Truly... worthy of the name Doppo Orochi..." Dorian wheezed. He didn't use the
blood in his palms for a sneak attack this time. He flicked it onto the ground,
appearing to have finally abandoned his tricks.
"If you intend to face me as a Karateka... then it is only right that I respond
as a Kenpo Master."
"—Come!" Dorian roared, dropping into a classic stance.
But to his absolute shock, Doppo merely arched an eyebrow and lowered his hands.
He let out a long, disappointed sigh. "Is that all? I was really looking forward
to a Kaioh-level Master of the Fist. What a waste of time..."
With those words, Doppo turned his back and began to walk away.
Dorian's face flushed with a psychotic rage. "Are you running?! FIGHT ME!!" He
lunged at Doppo's back.
"Fight you?"
Doppo spun around mid-stride. His hand was relaxed, his fist forming only at the
moment of impact. He delivered a brutal mid-section punch straight into Dorian's
solar plexus.
"I wouldn't believe a word out of your mouth!"
BOOM!
The strike was so deep that Dorian's eyes bugged out. His throat convulsed, and
he vomited a small glass bottle onto the pavement.
CRACK!
The bottle shattered, and thick white smoke hissed from the liquid. It was
high-concentration acid. Dorian had been hiding a corrosive chemical in his
esophagus, waiting for Doppo to get close for one last, lethal sneak attack.
"Hmph. I knew it. 'As a Kenpo Master,' my ass..."
Doppo didn't even look back at the retching Dorian. He continued his walk toward
the courtyard. "It was interesting for a second there... but now it's just
boring!"
As Doppo returned to the Hub, Gaolang stood up. He and Doppo traded a high-five
as they passed each other.
Slap!
By the time Dorian managed to clear his vision, a new man stood before
him—already settled into a Hitman Style boxing stance.
The "God of War," Gaolang Wongsawat, had entered the ring!!
(End of Chapter)
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