Huff, huff, huff.

After unleashing the Inferno Matchless Raging Wave Cannon, King stood panting heavily. The strain of his newly awakened sixth sense was immense, but his earth-communing ability rapidly restored his stamina.

"This ability suits him well," Kaiser mused, mentally calculating King's energy consumption and recovery rate. "Once he reaches the late stages of the sixth sense, he'll be able to use that move without cost, and its power will grow even greater."

The gap between the early and peak stages of the sixth sense was vast, akin to the difference between a Silver Saint and a Golden Saint. The sixth sense spanned from initial supersonic speeds to dozens, even hundreds, of times the speed of sound. At its peak, a Saint nearing the seventh sense could, without divine barriers in place, sink an entire continent with a single strike... an astonishing destructive force.

By this measure, if King reached the late sixth sense, he would truly earn the title of the strongest man on the surface.

In mere seconds, King's stamina had recovered significantly.

"Unbelievable," Dr. Genus muttered, eyeing King like a rare treasure. "Such energy output, such recovery speed." He was practically salivating. "King, is this a cultivation system you devised yourself? Truly worthy of the strongest man on the surface! Where is your limit?"

Dr. Genus signaled his clones to release Carnage Kabuto. With Beast King, the House of Evolution's second-strongest, dead, Armored Gorilla stood no chance against King. And there were still two unknowns... Kaiser and Saitama... standing by.

From Dr. Genus's perspective, neither Kaiser nor Saitama exuded a strong presence. But as a researcher, not a fighter, he noticed something extraordinary about their physical compositions. "These two might be even stronger than the current King," he thought.

A monstrous roar echoed through the House of Evolution as Carnage Kabuto charged toward the training arena, smashing through countless walls along the way.

"Oh, ho?" Carnage Kabuto sneered upon arrival. "These are the weaklings I need to deal with? Beast King's already dead? What a useless fool."

Spotting Kaiser, Saitama, King, and the defeated Genos, Carnage Kabuto's eyes gleamed with malice.

"Let me handle this!" Genos, eager to prove himself and buy King time to recover, rushed toward Carnage Kabuto. In his mind, King's massive energy output couldn't possibly recover quickly.

"Finally, a fight right off the bat!" Carnage Kabuto grinned, unfazed.

The two charged at each other, colliding in a flash.

"Machine Gun Fist!" Genos's mechanical parts whirred, his alloy fists swinging in a frenzy. The air crackled with explosive force as his punches filled the space.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two clashed fiercely, neither yielding an inch. But Genos was giving his all, while Carnage Kabuto was merely toying with him.

"That's it?" Carnage Kabuto's grin turned sinister.

Genos's systems blared warnings, but he had no time to react. A single punch from Carnage Kabuto slammed into his abdomen, folding his body in half.

Boom!

Genos crashed through another wall, embedding himself in the debris, clearly out of the fight.

"Too weak! Too weak!" Carnage Kabuto taunted. "Beast King wasn't taken out by this guy, was he?" He turned, glaring at Kaiser, Saitama, and King. "So, it's you three next."

Huff.

"Let's do this. I'm your opponent," King said, exhaling deeply. His depleted energy had fully returned.

The earth beneath King's feet pulsed with boundless energy, ready to fuel him at any moment.

Thump, thump.

Facing Carnage Kabuto, far stronger than Beast King, King didn't dare let his guard down. His heart pounded fiercely, the sound of the Emperor Engine reverberating through the room.

"Hah!" King took the first step, his body vanishing in a blur.

Carnage Kabuto let out a monstrous cry and disappeared as well. The two clashed in a fierce exchange, their fists and feet colliding with thunderous force, filling the battle chamber with relentless echoes.

"Not bad progress." Kaiser remarked, nodding with satisfaction at King's performance. "This trip to the House of Evolution has served its purpose."

In raw combat, King's current strength was no match for Carnage Kabuto. But in a battle of endurance, King was nearly guaranteed victory. His unique ability to commune with the earth was extraordinary. As long as his feet touched the ground, he drew endless power, restoring not just energy but also healing injuries. In essence, standing on the earth cloaked King in a powerful, continuous buff.

Carnage Kabuto ranked mid-tier among Dragon-level threats, far from the peak. King's world luck had been fully claimed by Kaiser, leaving his growth dependent on his own efforts. The gap in strength was too wide for King to win through attrition alone.

A single punch from Carnage Kabuto sent King flying, blood spraying from his mouth. Though not fatal, the blow left him badly injured. Yet King refused to give up. He began charging another Inferno Matchless Raging Wave Cannon.

"You managed to make me feel a sliver of threat." Carnage Kabuto sneered. "Consider it an honor!"

He unleashed his strongest form: Carnage Mode.

"Inferno Matchless Raging Wave Cannon!" King roared, releasing his charged technique.

Carnage Kabuto's eyes narrowed. In Carnage Mode, he swung a devastating punch, compressing the air into a barrier that shattered King's attack with brute force.

"Is this the end?" King collapsed, his mind flashing with those words.

He recalled Kaiser's words: the cosmo grows through battle. The fiercer the fight, the more it awakens.

"No, I can't give up." King muttered, sitting up with resolute eyes.

***

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