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It didn’t take much time to occupy the secret space on the first floor that existed behind the wall.

From the very first glance, Sophia’s single move had already left them stunned. In the face of the group’s swift actions, there were no members on the first floor who could regain their composure and hold their ground.

As initially discussed, the group split into two teams immediately after securing the first floor. Maria and Conra headed toward the staircase connecting the first-floor secret space to the second-floor secret space.

Had the commotion from the first floor already reached them? The staircase leading to the second floor was blocked by a human wall of second-floor members descending from above. But if they couldn’t move forward just because it was blocked, they wouldn’t dare call themselves disciples of Nun Knight Sophia de Chazel.

“You’ll see, but for the first part, I won’t be able to help much since I’ll be focused on guarding you.”

“I didn’t expect anything from you, Master. Just watch. Your turn won’t come.”

Despite Conra’s cautious remark, Maria wasn’t the least bit intimidated. Instead, she stepped forward confidently and cracked her knuckles.

“What’s all this noise? Oh, it’s just kids. Hey, brats, didn’t anyone tell you not to wander into places like this?”

“Hmph, and you adults playing hideout here? How embarrassing.”

“What?”

The conversation ended there. The member, looking like he’d just been hit, tried to say something more, but Maria, clearly uninterested in further dialogue, struck first with impeccable timing.

“Don’t mess around, kid!”

While the member who had spoken earlier hesitated, it was his companions who reacted to Maria’s preemptive strike. Shamelessly, they didn’t hesitate to swing their weapons at Maria, who looked young and fragile.

And just as their weapons seemed about to strike the young, fragile girl…

Maria’s upper body moved with the elasticity of a reed. Perhaps because of that, the weapons swung by the members missed her form as if passing through a painting. In the next moment, Maria, moving like a cat, had already positioned herself behind one of the members, her arm coiling around his neck like a snake.

Simultaneously, Maria’s knee pressed against the back of his thigh, rendering him unable to resist and causing him to be thrown naturally as she directed. This trajectory also blocked the approach of other members. Seizing the opportunity, Maria’s form moved toward the next target along the shortest path.

“Huh, not bad.”

Conra, watching with half-nervous anticipation, couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration at Maria’s bold and precisely calculated movements. Knowing that Maria had been training under Sophia for less than a month, Conra was even more impressed.

“Could it be that my junior is a genius beyond me?”

Maria was performing so well that Conra seriously entertained such thoughts. She steadily subdued each attacker while ascending the staircase. The senses honed through Sphere Exercises naturally responded to the situation and positioning of the enemies at every moment.

Her movements targeted the enemy’s side diagonals. Her fluid limbs efficiently disrupted their vision and path, while her steps naturally positioned her at their side or rear. Her snake-like movements grasped their weaknesses, making her more than capable of subduing larger, stronger members.

Taking advantage of Maria’s unstoppable momentum, some members tried to attack Conra, who was casually watching from behind with his arms crossed. But what awaited them was a slightly older beast, combining the vigor of a warrior with the cunning of a hunter.

“This is why I have nothing to do.”

Conra, smashing the torsos of the attacking members into the wall to create avant-garde wall decorations, clicked his tongue in disappointment. Maria was performing so well that he felt there was little left for him to do. Her growth was nothing short of astonishing.

Maria’s extraordinary growth was a miracle born from the combination of Sphere Exercises’ uniqueness, Reverse Muscle Technique, Reverse Brain Method, and her innate genius.

Originally, Sphere Exercises focused on awakening the subtle movements of muscles and the mind, belonging to a highly sensory and conscious realm of training. Naturally, this intersected with Reverse Muscle Technique and Reverse Brain Method, enhancing the effects through breathing, energy manipulation, and meditation.

However, if the practitioner’s talent was average, Sphere Exercises would have remained just another ordinary training method. Even with its connections to Reverse Muscle Technique, Reverse Brain Method, and energy manipulation, its efficiency would have been mediocre at best.

In fact, considering that the ethereal muscles and brains generated by Sphere Exercises were highly specialized, their efficiency was rather low.

But Maria’s extraordinary talent in handling her body transformed Sphere Exercises into a factor that endlessly boosted her growth.

While training in Sphere Exercises, Maria had unknowingly internalized its essence in mind, energy, and body. As a result, in less than a month, she had successfully developed ethereal muscles and brains specialized for Sphere Exercises.

Considering that it typically takes at least three to six months for practitioners of Reverse Muscle Technique or Reverse Brain Method to develop ethereal muscles or brains, this was a remarkable achievement.

Although the quantity was much smaller compared to those who first succeeded in developing ethereal muscles and brains, the difference between having them and not having them was significant. Moreover, since Sphere Exercises inherently generated highly specialized ethereal muscles and brains in minimal quantities, their small size wasn’t an issue.

Rather, when this minimal condition met Maria’s genius, the chemical reaction escalated exponentially.

“Ahhh! This monster brat!”

“Die! Huh? Oh, don’t come closer!”

Even at this moment, Maria was growing stronger the more she fought. The senses honed through Sphere Exercises were actively applied in real combat, accelerating the growth of her ethereal brain and muscles.

Her movements, including footwork and hand techniques, became increasingly agile and precise, with fewer mistakes. Her posture, elastic like slime, grew as sturdy as reinforced concrete.

Initially large and dynamic movements became smaller and smoother, and her fighting style shifted from throwing and striking to twisting, bending, and dislocating joints.

“The monster brat’s movements are shrinking!”

“The brat’s tired! If we keep pushing, we can win!”

Some members, misunderstanding the principles of martial arts, mistook Maria’s changes for exhaustion and thought victory was within their grasp.

Of course, the result of such misunderstandings and misjudgments was a悲惨 end, with their limbs dislocated and sprawled on the ground. Maria’s delicate hands diligently increased the number of dislocation patients over time.

This growth and change also applied to her energy and lower dantian, stimulated through Sphere Exercises’ gymnastics, breathing, and meditation.

‘Something… I can feel it!’

While subduing enemies one by one, Maria began to sense a flow running through her meridians, a mix of sinking and rising consciousness. The energy within her body, previously too faint to sense, now swelled to the point of awakening her Qi Sense.

Even if the quantity of true energy was insufficient, its fierce movement was enough to be felt.

In a state of ecstatic trance, Maria unknowingly began to move with the flow of energy, guided by her newly awakened Qi Sense. Like a sailboat against the wind or a snake coiling around its prey, her movements were fluid and relentless.

The result was over a dozen resisting members lying on the ground, limbs flailing, groaning and wailing in an instant.

“Junior, you’re amazing! You’ve started to sense Qi!”

At that moment, when the members, shocked by Maria’s move, hesitated to advance, Conra exclaimed in admiration. The structure of ethereal muscles and brains optimized for specific movements, combined with her innate genius and awakened Qi Sense, created a performance even Conra couldn’t help but admire.

“Ah… what is this?”

“This is the scene you just created. How is it?”

When Maria, just out of her trance, finally realized the spectacle she had created, Conra spoke to her in an excited tone, as if it were his own achievement.

“I feel like I’ve sensed internal energy. It’s good to hold onto that sensation now. When you first start sensing Qi, it can come and go. How is it now?”

“Ah, is the flow of energy centered in my lower dantian and spreading to my limbs what internal energy is?”

“Yes. Master calls it ‘Qi’ or ‘Prana,’ the energy that settles within through training.”

As they discussed the energy Maria had sensed, the two gradually finished clearing the second floor and began to move toward the third. Conra, now convinced Maria no longer needed protection, stepped forward.

As they approached the staircase to the third floor, the members, crowded and facing the two young beasts, began to feel a dark, gloomy emotion.

Thus, it didn’t take long for the two to occupy the third-floor secret space. However, upon reaching the third floor, Sophia and Conra were disappointed to find nothing significant.

“There were a few mid-level managers, but they were just small fry. Interrogation revealed that some of the organization’s main forces had already fled outside.”

“We found some crime ledgers, but they’re just branches, not the main body.”

“So, either the real deal is underground, or there’s another hideout somewhere…?”

The two continued to search, hoping for something more, but nothing decisive emerged from the third floor.

“In that case, we can only hope Master finds something on her end.”

With this conclusion, their attention turned to Sophia, who had ventured into the underground.

“How do you think things are going down there?”

“Who knows? But with Master there, she’s probably already handled most of it.”

“True.”

Indeed, no enemies blocked their path to the underground. After all, Sophia was a transcendent powerhouse, unmatched even among the highest echelons of humanity. Expecting anyone from a mere criminal organization to stop her was unrealistic.

However, that didn’t mean there weren’t issues that could trouble Sophia.

At the very moment her two disciples were wondering about the underground situation, Sophia was grappling with a significant problem, searching for a solution.

 

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