Chapter 2087: Stamina Constraints

Rui smiled inwardly at Master Vertol's reaction. He sat down cross-legged, relaxing while simultaneously activating his stamina metabody, drastically lowering his energy consumption.

"You..." Master Vertol stared at him with pure bewilderment.

"That Yin-Yang technique of yours..." Rui smirked. "...Is it tiring to constantly maintain?"

The Martial Master froze as his eyes widened.

"I asked myself, 'Why does he constantly keep maintaining the Yin-Yang technique instead of only activating when an attack is incoming?'" Rui spoke out nonchalantly. "There are several possibilities, but..."

His gaze met Master Vertol's eyes.

"...the most likely one is that the technique cannot be activated rapidly."

Master Vertol did his best to suppress any reaction that he had, but unfortunately for him, Rui had already created a SOUL model on him.

A smile cracked at the edge of Rui's mouth as he confirmed the truth. "Since it cannot be attacked too quickly, it is far too risky to try and activate it reactively. Thus, it is left permanently active. But that consumes too much energy, so..."

He shrugged. "...I wonder which one of us will run out of energy first."

Master's Vertol's expression grew grave.

As absurd as Rui's strategy seemed, it actually was the worst thing that Master Vertol could deal with.

It was undoubtedly true that Rui's Martial Heart would last longer if the two of them just entered into a pure stamina contest at the moment. Master Vertol was especially certain he would lose this contest because he knew that Rui had consumed a stamina potion.

The only way that defeat wasn't inevitable was if he deactivated the Yin-Yang Shield technique.

Yet, he could not help but hesitate when he gazed into Rui's eyes.

They were the eyes of a predator.

A predator eyeing its prey.

The moment he turned the technique off, Rui would lunge at him like a viper.

The only option left was...

"Hah," he snorted with grudging respect. "Well played, Master Rui. They did not lie when they said that your capacity for Adaptive Evolution exceeds all of ours greatly."

Rui got up silently as he grew more guarded.

"But if you think sitting like a duck is all I can do, then I'm afraid you are sorely mistaken," he growled. Rui didn't bother responding.

That was because he could sense it.

The man's Martial Mind revving into action.

That was when Rui came to make a chilling realization.

'His Martial Mind doesn't empower his defense.' He narrowed his eyes. 'It empowers his offense...!'

There was no strict rule that required one's Martial Mind to be centered around one's field of specialty.

As much as hyperspecialists disdained working outside of their field, it was necessary if they did not want to be rendered obsolete.

Every defense specialist needed to develop a bit of offense or maneuvering, or else they could not win. The same could be said for specialists in other fields. Master Vertol clearly respected that.

Yet, he chose to keep his Body and Art hyper-specialized for defense while using his Martial Mind for the purpose of offense and maneuvering.

'Steps of Yin-Yang Disharmony.' Master activated his Martial Mind as he studied his opponent. 'Disharmonious pursuit.'

He took a step forward as he triggered the constructive interference of his own accord, using the force to propel him forward.

WHOOSH

Rui's eyes widened as he appeared before Rui in the briefest of moments, ready to charge into him.

WHOOSH

He crashed into an empty image of Rui as the latter applied Phantom Step to leap away, leaving a feinted image behind. Unfortunately, with the predictive and SOUL model active, Rui was almost impossible to catch. He was highly confident in his ability to maneuver evasively.

Yet, Master Vertol was hardly discouraged.

His eyes flared with determination and certainty, fixating on Rui.

They were waiting.

Waiting for the perfect moment.

Unfortunately for him, Rui didn't plan on making it easy for him.

"Breathing Crucifix." Rui applied a powerful hypnosis on him, shackling his breathing.

Master Vertol stiffened as he felt his breathing straining.

This, in turn, required more effort and energy to achieve the same output as before.

While Rui considered using the other techniques of the Metabody System and the Yggdrasil System, he ultimately decided that they were not optimal for adaptively evolving against his opponent.

The moment he used them, he would cede any stamina advantage he had over his opponent. At the moment, the stamina advantage was more precious than either system.

The battle continued as Master Vertol resolutely chased Rui down while Rui enjoyed the strategic benefits of being able to outlast his opponent.

With the combination of Hungry Pain, Final Breathing, and his innate boosted stamina, he strongly threatened to outlast Master Vertol and effortlessly overcome him when his Martial Heart was exhausted.

That was what spurred Master Vertol to pursue an aggressive approach when he was normally a defensive Martial Master.

Unfortunately for Rui, the elder Martial Master was not shaken by this dynamic.

This suggested that he was not entirely unaccustomed to dealing with lower stamina than his opponent.

STEP

He launched himself at remarkable speeds, considering his size, arriving before Rui in the blink of an eye. WHOOSH Rui evaded his charge, stepping away.

Unfortunately, Master Vertol foresaw that. In a swift maneuver, he drastically made a sharp cut, turning towards Rui while preserving as much momentum as possible. His eyes fixated on Rui as he surged forward, waiting for the perfect moment.

And then, it arrived.

STEP

Rui leaped away, facing Master Vertol.

For a moment, his feet didn't touch the ground.

That was the moment that Master Vertol had been waiting for.

CLAP

He swiftly brought his palms and arms together before rapidly opening them, activating a particular breathing technique.

WHOOSH!!!

Rui's eyes widened as an immensely powerful suction force instantly dragged him down the moment his feet left the ground. In an instant, he was dragged into the deadly charge of his opponent.

Yet, instead of a blow, he found himself a bear hug.

CLASP

"Rgh...!" Rui struggled as the powerful, beefy arms of his opponent refused to let him go as the two of them grappled.