Ocean Master
Chapter 357 - Finding Purpose, Emerging As A Dragon!

The first test of the Pugilist King Inheritance was as expected, a physical conditioning test where every competitor was faced with dangerous challenges which they had to overcome with their physical strength alone.

The inheritance ground did not give a damn if you were a rare space domain magician, in here, magic was banned and it was final.

Unless it was a Red tier predator who barged in which could easily lead to the inheritance ground self-destructing, none of the predators who entered had the power to bend the rules so they could only follow it.

This inheritance test setting's bias was obvious for all to see. It suppressed a lot of powerful predators, giving all the advantages to strength practitioners.

In this test, Strong found the right platform to bloom like a butterfly who finally got to break free from its cocoon and spread its wings.

He bulldozed through all the obstacles like a mystic swordsman cleaving through a battalion of mystic beasts with nothing but his pair of powerful fists.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Bite, ram into, bite, ram into, and bite again, this was all Strong did.

Faced with the obstacles that kept on appearing that forced him to his very limits, he found to his surprise that he kept on doing better, even exceeding his previous limits as he continued going for a long time that felt like years.

For a long time, Strong had always fought without a real reason. He fought because he needed to fight, he hunted because he needed it to survive, he never really had a bigger motive that he was fighting for.

Tungsten and Torpedum already took all the limelight, so what was there to fight for again? This was what he always thought, but he felt different now.

With all the powerful elders gone, including the almighty Old Mak, leaving only Tungsten and Queen Heareth, he discovered after a long time that his purpose in his life was probably more than just being in the background.

He discovered his purpose in life in the darkest days of his clan.

He discovered his purpose in protecting his surviving clan members. 

He discovered his purpose in protecting the Firelight Shark Clan.

"I finally understand".

"I live for a purpose, I live to protect those that I love, I live to protect my clan members, I live to protect everyone, I live to protect the clan".

"I am the sword of the Firelight Shark Clan!"

BOOM!

Once Strong discovered his purpose, he discovered that he could draw more power from it through a mysterious pattern that he did not understand.

Before when he fought without purpose, the stakes involved in losing were trivial. Even if he died, then, it didn't matter but to him, it mattered now.

If he died, if he couldn't exceed his limits, it would affect his surviving clan members negatively. For his clan members, he could not afford to die, this became the driving force that pushed him forward against all odds.

"I cannot fall now!"

Strong pushed himself so much in this test that he kept on breaking the new obstacles that formed so much till he lost perception of time.

He broke his limits so much that for a moment, he felt like he was invisible. This lasted until he finally met an obstacle that he could not destroy with impunity.

Strong finally couldn't break through this obstacle, but he did not feel depressed, he rather felt proud because he knew that he gave his absolute best, he gave more than a 150% just to keep his purpose alive.

Against all odds and the strong opposition that he had, including purple tier predators, Strong emerged as the one who lasted longest in the first test.

The 2nd test of the inheritance ground was a free for all endurance battle.

The Pugilist King predator who created the inheritance ground stuffed it full with A. I mechanical robot predators. In this 2nd test, all of them were released as they overwhelmed the competitors that qualified for this round.

Defend yourself, last as long as possible, or die!

Like before, magic was not allowed.

Once again, Strong outdid himself. With the weight of his purpose leaning on his back, he could not afford to stop, he could only move forward.

For the first time in his life, he really felt that taking the Pugilist route was the best decision of his life. 

He bulldozed through the test feeling excited and happy. At this moment, he felt that not even predators who wielded advanced pinnacle magic domains like Torpedum could compare to him. 

Once again, he emerged as the predator who lasted the longest. While the other predators who lasted long enough got the opportunity to scour through the treasures of the inheritance ground, only Strong got to take the last test.

Unlike what he expected, the last test of the inheritance ground did not require him to fight against one gym freak, the last test was a personality test.

In here, he got to speak with the spirit of the inheritance ground.

"I don't know your name, I never knew you before now, but your performance in the last 2 tests impressed me which is why I changed the rules and isolated you from the others".

"You have a lot of potential in the Pugilist evolution route, and I can see that you have discovered your purpose for fighting which is admirable".

"Through your performance and your reaction while doing it, I already confirmed a lot of things about your personality but the last test is to ascertain my deductions to confirm that I was not wrong".

"Those who take this evolution route are like sword practitioners".

"Sword practitioners dedicate their whole life to the sword, they live with the sword, and their personality is as straightforward as the sword".

"The same rule applies to every predator who becomes a Pugilist King".

"Your personality needs to be as straightforward as your goals, unflinching, direct, and most especially upright, which is what I want to confirm".

"Strong, open up your mind to me". 

Strong was not one to suspect. As the spirit left behind by the dead Pugilist King, it had a personality that resonated with Strong so he easily trusted it.

Once he opened up his mind, the spirit seemed to invade his consciousness.

Instantly, Strong's world became a world of black. He could see nothing else; everything was black like he was back in the age where chaos ruled the world, all he could see was a golden light in the distance, this seemed to be his personality.

Instinctively, he started seeking this golden light out.

Generations seemed to pass before Strong finally found his personality. Once he merged with it, a lot of mysterious changes went through his body.

He heard an ethereal voice which he recognized as the spirits.

"Strong, you are a good seed for a Pugilist King, you are qualified to receive the ultimate inheritance that I left behind".

"Receive my bestowment!"

A white glow enveloped the golden light, then the black disappeared.

Strong didn't open his eyes though, this was because his evolution just started. Everything that he needed to take note of was directly transmitted into his head by the spirit so he was like Usain Bolt taking a teenager's racing competition.

A week later, Strong emerged as a purple tier predator.

He emerged with a more tangible inheritance left by the dead Pugilist King, the Red tier predator's sole living weapon, the Berserk Armor!

In a pure red armor that symbolized power and might, a Strong that was more enormous than what he was a few minutes ago swam out of the cave.