Rising from the Ashes (Andrew) novel Chapter 2444

Luna stood to the side, quietly watching. Gradually, her brow began to furrow.

Andrew was browsing through it way too fast.

Fang and Claw's Demise had a total of 18 unpredictable moves. Though it was only an Obscure-tier martial technique, mastering it was not something that could be done overnight. Even Luna herself had needed about two weeks, plus practical combat training, before she could fully integrate Fang and Claw's Demise.

Yet, looking at Andrew's pace, flipping page after page, he seemed completely relaxed. This was somewhat unreal.

Time passed, and soon half an hour had gone by.

Andrew closed the manual and handed it to Luna. "Done. You can put it back now."

Luna accepted it without thinking, then froze. "You already memorized all of it?"

Andrew smiled faintly without speaking. Instead, he began demonstrating on the spot.

The opening stance moved with the powerful, deliberate grace of a dragon and the agile certainty of a tiger. This was followed by an aura of overwhelming pressure, a palpable sense of their combined might.

Then, the technique exploded into a furious, chaotic clash, a true battle between the two legendary beasts. Finally, it culminated in a display of absolute mastery, the subduing of the dragon and the taming of the tiger.

There were 18 moves in total, and to his own astonishment, Andrew executed every single one in perfect unison with the manual.

Luna’s expression shifted from astonishment to disbelief, then from disbelief to heavy silence. Because not only did Andrew replicate every move precisely, but soon he began to evolve them, channeling his energy core’s true power.

The air around them trembled faintly with echoes of dragon roars and tiger growls.

"You've mastered it?" Luna's voice was hoarse with disbelief.

Luna instinctively pressed. "What kind of training opportunity? Is it too late for me now? Just tell me."

Andrew smiled. "Forget it. That kind of opportunity is better left alone because it requires sacrificing something more important than life itself. Things like despair, fear, and complete disillusionment. But the cruelest part is that your loved ones either die or go into exile. All the beauty from your past gets destroyed. Trust me, as a woman, you wouldn't want to face that."

Luna’s pride and stubbornness flared up at his words. "Impossible. I don’t think I’d ever break from something like that. I’m not just any woman, and any ordinary woman wouldn’t have made it this far."

Andrew met her eyes. "To me, you are a woman. A beautiful, strong, remarkable one, but still a woman. And in my book, any woman by my side doesn’t get to suffer. Not even a little."

Luna froze, mumbling, "Wait, what did you just say? Did you just say… I’m one of the women by your side?"

As she asked, her voice trembled, and so did her heart. It felt like a jolt of lightning had rushed through her, making her bones tingle. No man had ever spoken to her like that, with that mix of tenderness and quiet dominance.