After two rounds of fighting on the stage, an interesting pair came up. Apollo, who had been watching all this time, sat upright and stared at the two participants with anticipation in his eyes.
"Yohan and Michael. This round will end their rivalry," Apollo muttered. It was like he was watching two UFC fighters on stage finally settling their scores, but this was even more exciting.
The two had already fought in the first test, but because Apollo had only watched for a while, he didn't get to see much of their fight. Though he already had a good guess about their capabilities and was pretty confident that he could defeat them without breaking a sweat.
Nevertheless, rivals fighting against each other is still a pretty interesting thing, and it's quite hard to determine who will be the final winner, as the two have almost the same strength, even though one of them has a higher cultivation stage than the other.
After the two of them talked to each other, the referee raised his hand and began the fight.
With a strong banging sound, a translucent two-meter fist and a serpent collided with each other, causing great winds to erupt as the audience shouted in excitement.
Because the five stages had combined into one, the two football field-sized platform served as the participants' fighting area, providing them with more maneuverability. And, considered top students, they could cover the whole platform in just a few seconds.
On top of the stage, the moment their attacks landed, Yohan and Michael used their Movement Techniques, instantly passing through the dust cloud and meeting inside, with their fists colliding!
With a banging sound, the dust cloud was pushed away, and because Michael was physically weaker than his opponent, he had to take a couple of steps back in order to stabilize his body.
Taking this chance, Yohan sent another giant fist!
But expecting this, Michael conjured another serpent from the aura around him and made it act as a shield, protecting him from the fist that shattered along with his newly conjured serpent.
The Great Serpent Technique is a Battle Technique that allows its user to increase their strength and, along with it, summon the Great Serpent for both offense and defense. It was meant for Qi Condensation Cultivators and above, but because of Michael's talent and compatibility with the technique, he learned it even though his Cultivation was still at the 3rd-Step Foundation Building Stage.
"You really are giving it your best!" Michael shouted, his eyes staring at Yohan with seriousness.
"Ha, of course I will. If I don't, I will never be able to fight my true rival!" Yohan shouted back, both his hands covered by a light blue translucent fist.
Being a student from the Sword and Shield Martial School, his battle techniques were all very straightforward. The one he was using was a Technique that increased his attack and allowed him to also perform long-ranged attacks. He also had a defensive technique, though he preferred to only use it when necessary.
"True rival? Hahaha! Okay then! But only if you defeat me!" With that said, Michael's body, which was covered in a haze, became brighter, and two Great Serpents emerged, their mouths open as they sped towards the brute in the distance!
"You are not worthy of my time!" Yohan shouted, using his Movement Technique to try to cross the two serpents in front of him, but their bodies moved strangely and appeared in front of him, blocking his path and forcing him to fight them instead.
This time, Michael focused on keeping Yohan busy while he gathered the Qi in the surrounding area. The haze on one part of his body began moving strangely, a form threatening to emerge but failing within a second.
Expecting this, Michael continued to stall for time. It was very taxing on his energy, as he was attempting to create another projection of the Great Serpent.
Suddenly, an explosion sounded as one of his projections shattered. Seeing this, Michael hurriedly reconstructed the broken one, causing his attempt to create the third serpent to fail.
Yohan was moving around the stage while the Great Serpents followed him. The sight of a translucent fist striking the two snakes made the audience cheer in excitement, especially when the brute managed to shatter one of them. Although their speed was fast and not many people could see the details, this didn't stop them from shouting at the top of their lungs.
"I got it!" Michael muttered, a confident smile appearing on his face. With enough Qi to fuel his technique, he managed to create another projection of the Great Serpent from his body. "You're dead!"
The serpent roared as if it were truly alive. Michael gave the order, and the third serpent joined the chase.
Continuous banging echoed on the stage as the Great Serpents slammed against the floor or landed blows on the brute.
Slowly, Yohan began showing signs of an opening, and when one fully presented itself, Michael immediately took the chance. One of the serpents landed a hit, sending Yohan into the air. But it was not the end; the other serpent coiled around him, suspending him in mid-air. Then the third serpent came, moving faster than before, its head aimed to ram into Yohan!
The attack landed squarely, the force sending the brute rolling across the floor while the second serpent shattered from the impact!
Seeing this, Michael smiled in satisfaction. All it takes is one mistake to win a battle. This was the first time he had used this strategy, which is why he caught Yohan off guard.
"Hahaha! I guess you are the one who is not worth my time!" Michael smirked. Yohan's momentum didn't stop, and with a few more rolls, he would fall off the stage.
But as Michael was about to turn around to wave at his fans, he saw Yohan raising his hand, which was covered in a giant translucent fist! A strong banging sound reverberated as Yohan punched the stage, effectively stopping himself from falling off!
Silence lingered for a second before the audience erupted in cheers!
"You think I will be defeated so easily?" Yohan smirked, dust clouds forming around him. "We've fought so many times, and you should know that."