Chapter 2130: Named Technique

Rui had accurately surmised that Master Vertol had developed a strategy and system of thought against precisely the battle dynamic that their battle had taken.

Master Vertol had long asked himself how he was to overcome a foe that could not only overcome his Yin-Yang Shield but was fast enough to evade all his attempts to return the favor.

After all, he was, well, fat as a matter of design. His bulky body allowed him to absorb damage extremely well. However, it restricted his speed and mobility. He had thought long and hard about the solution to this dilemma. And he had found it.

BOOOOOM!!!

A powerful blow crashed into his bare belly, digging deep. Yet before the core of the damage could be inflicted, Rui's eye widened as he suddenly canceled his attack and leaped back.

No one who witnessed that would understand why he did something so illogical.

Yet, Rui knew.

"You..." He narrowed his eyes. A grin appeared on Master Vertol's bloodied face as he protruded and sucked in his gut, demonstrating extreme abdominal control. "To think that you saw through that. Your Martial Mind is truly insightful."

Rui stared at him cautiously.

Had he not pulled his attack back at the last moment, he would have lost the fight then and there.

It was subtle.

His strategy was simple.

Most people would have missed it. Not Rui.

"You're prolonging the impact," he accused.

"Right on target, Void Prince." Master Vertol took his stance once more. "Come. It won't go as smoothly as before."

Rui stared at him knowingly. He manipulated his muscles and gut to expand to meet incoming attacks before contracting them to increase the distance over which an impact had to stretch over to actually inflict damage.

The greater the distance of an impact, the more time it took to inflict damage.

And the more time it took to inflict damage...

'...the more time he has to get a hold of me.' Rui narrowed his eyes.

That was his true aim. Had Rui gone through with his attack, Master Vertol would have prolonged the impact by sucking his gut deeply along with the attack and used the opportunity to ensnare Rui into a grappling match.

He would have undoubtedly won the fight had Rui allowed him to get away with that. Although Rui had indeed grown much stronger in the past three years, he had not gained any additional proficiency in grappling.

Thus, it was highly likely that any grappling match would have ended up in Rui's loss for a second time.

He immediately put grappling on his long to-do list. He had undoubtedly neglected it without even realizing so for quite some time now. Alas, there was no point in mourning his regrets in the battle. There was only victory or defeat.

"I should apologize, I treated this more as a spar rather than a proper battle."

Master Vertol frowned. "Hm?"

WHOOSH

His eyes widened as Rui appeared before him in an instant, his fist surging at his gut.

Master Vertol's eyes sharpened as he sucked his gut in. His arms flew forward, determined to get a hold of Rui.

WHOOSH

His hands clasped an empty image.

A feint.

It was well within Rui's prediction.

BOOOM!!

A powerful kick empowered with his new technique and Outer Convergence blasted the back of Master Vertol's head, delivering a tremendous impact to his skull.

The sheer amount of power imparted in the impact instantly inflicted immense blunt force trauma, exceeding a critical threshold.

THUD Master Vertol collapsed, unconscious.

Rui gazed at him silently as he deactivated his techniques and his Realms of power, heaving a sigh.

The only reason that their previous fight had gone the way it had gone was that Rui had no way to inflict any meaningful damage on the man.

That was no longer true the moment he mastered his new technique.

Of course, Master Vertol had proven to be not just extremely resilient, but capable of solidly withstanding the onslaught that Rui had unleashed with Hypertrophic Surge, Outer Convergence, and his new technique. On top of that, he had come close to reaching victory for a moment there.

It was a simple yet effective strategy that would have allowed him to turn the tables around completely.

Unfortunately for him, his opponent was Rui.

He had not only managed to avoid the trap but bypass it to finish the fight on the spot with his new technique.

"Also, it's about damn time that I name it," Rui muttered, glancing at his hands.

For a moment, he was silent, undecided.

Eventually, he decided on a simple name.

"Yin-Yang Spear."

After the technique very much functioned like a spear version of the Yin-Yang Shield, both in principle and function. Rui couldn't be bothered to muster up the creativity to come up with a more flamboyant or ostentatious name.

With that, the technique project finally felt like it had truly come to an end. It had taken him more time than any other technique, yet, its results followed suit, leaving him satisfied with the end outcome that he had received upon investment of all that time and effort.

Because each year that passed was that of his youth, where he retained an extreme capacity for growth and learning, he was extremely sensitive about how he spent his time. "Now then..." He heaved a sigh. "What to do?"

He did indeed plan to use the manifold to its fullest. However, he also had other things that he needed to do.

"I ought to spend some time in the orphanage before I set out on my next endeavor."

He had not forgotten the regret he had felt for not having spent more time in the orphanage when his mother had died. He did not wish to experience that ever again.

"Ah, I ought to check up with Kane, too; he's probably been training this entire time."

And while he was at it, it might be worth it to take some time to meet his other friends and acquaintances.