Chapter 2089: Track record

Rui struggled with all his might as he leveraged Hypertrophic Surge, Fire Breathing, and Outer Convergence to make the best of what he had. He fought, using Thunder Coil to cause a light paralysis effect on his opponent while using Breathing Crucifix to shackle his breathing.

Yet, with each passing moment, it was he who suffered damage as the extraordinary technique subjected him to tremendous amounts of pressure from the constructively interfering sound vibrations that blasted at him.

The only thing that stood between him and a shattered skeleton was Nemean Blossom and Flux Earther.

Yet, not even they could hold out forever.

CRACK!

He gritted his teeth as he felt a pair of ribs breaking, only growing more desperate as time passed. Yet, Master Vertol recognized the faint scent of victory as his eyes grew steely with determination.

If Rui managed to break out of the grappling battle, then his victory was secured.

The grappling trap that Master Vertol had perfected and refined for more than a century was one of the reasons that he had managed to earn a high-grade evaluation. Yet, in exchange for a highly effective grappling trap, the greatest flaw of the technique was that once his opponent knew about it, the probability of it succeeding was extremely low.

Against Rui, Master Vertol knew that he would never succeed with the trap ever again. Rui had already demonstrated that his strategic and tactical Adaptive Evolution was extremely high, enabling him to pick the most objectively superior strategy at hand.

That was why Master Vertol couldn't let go.

No matter what.

His expression crumpled with steely determination as he pushed himself to the absolute limit. He would die before he let Rui go.

Yet, he didn't need to.

Rui had yet to inflict a spec of damage on him.

"Arckgh...!" Rui coughed a spout of blood as he began hemorrhaging internally.

Once the wounds he suffered crossed a certain threshold, they only accelerated his collapse. His resistance grew weaker, while Master Vertol only heightened his efforts.

The end came sooner than one would expect.

STEP

The other five Masters arrived at their spot.

"Release him, Master Vertol, lest you kill him after you've won."

Master Vertol widened his eyes in alarm as he realized that Rui had already fallen unconscious, releasing him from his lock.

Rui had lost the first of six battles.

A few minutes later, he woke up, and a heavy sigh escaped him.

"I lost."

His eyes closed as he recalled the ending of the battle; he had felt dizzy as his vision had blurred.

"...Damn," Rui murmured. "It's been so long that I almost forgot what it feels like."

Defeat.

He couldn't even remember the last time that he had been defeated.

"Everyone experiences defeat, Your Highness," Master Vertol coaxed him with gentle respect. "It is truly astounding that you are able to overcome me at your age. I truly look forward to what you will accomplish in the future. Furthermore, this is merely your first battle out of six. You have plenty more to go."

Rui smiled wryly at the elderly Martial Artist's attempt to encourage him, as if he was afraid that Rui would be deeply discouraged.

Of course, Rui most certainly wasn't.

In fact, he would even go as far as to say that he was grateful for the loss.

It shed clear light on his now-glaring shortcomings.

His offense was even more lacking than he had realized.

The fact that he wasn't able to inflict any damage on his opponent was proof of just how much he was lacking. He needed a powerful offensive technique that was highly synergetic with his systems of thought.

This time, he wanted something that was even more synergetic with them than even the Phantom Step and Flux Earther.

He wanted to create an offense that was even more potent.

Thankfully, this battle had given him an exciting option.

However, this was not something to be explored at the moment. First, he needed to overcome his other opponents so that he could earn additional battle experience and gain a better understanding of where he stood.

PAT PAT Rui dusted out his Martial attire before consuming some potent healing potion to return him to his peak state. Ever since he had enhanced his Body and prolonged his life, he needed even greater potions to recuperate.

"I'm ready," Rui's tone was certain.

"...Then let us immediately proceed to the next battle."

The following battles ensued, one after another, as Rui was pushed far with each of them.

None of the Masters that he fought with were anything less than very strong.

Rui ended up undergoing a bit of a perspective shift, even.

His prized trump cards that, in the Senior Realm, used to be game-enders, did not allow him to dominate his battles against these opponents.

For one, their Martial Minds were truly remarkable.

Although his was definitely an order of magnitude stronger, they more than compensated with way more physical evolution, far greater Martial Art techniques, and additional synergy between said techniques and Martial Mind.

They were very well capable of handling everything that he threw at them.

They were high-grade Martial Masters for a reason. Each one of them was deeply unique in many ways. Their Martial Minds had so much individuality that it was difficult to even put them in the same category. It was like trying to put sumo wrestlers in the same category as boxers.

By the time the six battles were over, an entire day had passed.

Thanks to the boost to stamina, Rui's ability to rely on stamina as a winning strategy increased while he was forced to be impatient. These six battles allowed him to understand exactly how much stronger he had gotten as a result of the stamina potion while also giving him some experience with that strength.

He gained an intuitive understanding of how to best apply his increased stamina in combat.

By the time the rest of the battles ended, he had won three, lost two, and drew one.