"Tsk," Michael stared at his rival with disdain. "It would have been better if you fell."
"That's impossible," Yohan shook his head, a smirk on his face as he walked toward his opponent.
"You know what's impossible? You defeating me!" Michael shouted, his body surrounded by a dark blue haze. Two Great Serpents emerged from it, attacking the brute!
Seeing this, Michael smiled. "The same trick? It won't work!"
With his two hands covered in a light blue projection, Yohan moved his body between the two serpents and grabbed their bodies with his projected hands just as they were about to attack!
"Argh," Yohan grunted in pain as the two heads bit into his shoulders, blood beginning to seep out. He gritted his teeth. "Take this!"
Before Michael could gather enough Qi to summon his third Great Serpent, his body was hurled into the air as the projections were connected to the haze surrounding him!
"Sh*t!" Michael hadn't expected Yohan to sacrifice being injured just to pull this off! "Ahhhhh!"
The audience cheered at the sight, some even laughed. A man holding the bodies of two serpents while being bitten by them, flinging his opponent around the stage, was a refreshing spectacle.
Apollo couldn't help but chuckle at the scene. "That's a smart move."
The brute clearly wanted to end the battle and settle their rivalry once and for all. In their previous fights, they probably didn't want to give it their all, leaving the outcomes as draws. But now, with the grand stage they're standing on and the audience, along with important people from the city and beyond, this is the perfect place to end it all.
Apollo had only known them briefly, but he was quite interested in their 'bromance.' Who would have thought that being a bystander, a spectator, would be so interesting and entertaining that the beggar didn't want their rivalry to end?
But alas, no matter how much Michael tried to gather the Qi, he couldn't focus as his body was being flung around the stage, hitting the ground from time to time. He couldn't create another Great Serpent projection to disrupt the brute's madness.
In the end, Yohan shouted and, using all his strength, slammed Michael into the ground!
A loud bang reverberated throughout the arena, silencing the audience.
Dark blue particles of light scattered across the platform while blood continued to drip to the ground. "Hehe, I won," Michael muttered. He took a deep breath and gathered the Qi from the surroundings to heal the wounds on his shoulders before he walked toward the crater in the distance where his opponent lay.
Looking at Michael's pretty face, now marred with bruises and blood, Yohan smirked. "I told you, I would win."
"Michael from the Sword and Shield Martial School wins!" the referee shouted, and the audience cheered.
Apollo, who had been sitting upright, leaned back in his chair comfortably. Fortunately, the chair was quite high, or else he wouldn't have been able to see the stage with the viewing deck railing in front of him.
He instinctively reached out to the table beside him, but feeling that there were no fruits left, he stood up and went inside. Someone had placed food on the table while he was busy watching the fight, and besides the fruits, dinner was served.
"This looks like a fish," Apollo muttered, staring at the fish on the plate. As usual, it was cooked simply, but the aroma coming from it smelled like it had been prepared using other ingredients, though, upon closer inspection, the beggar couldn't find any.
He took all of the food and went to the viewing deck to eat there instead. Apollo was the only one doing this; the other participants just watched from their decks while standing up. As he walked toward his chair, he could feel eyes on him. Apollo turned and saw Bel and Gail in the distance, staring at him.
Apollo raised the food high, and the two shook their heads. The other winners were also watching him, but he ignored them, sat comfortably in his chair, and started eating his meal.
The taste of the fish made him ignore the battle about to begin on the platform.
This fish could rank at the top, Apollo thought, his eyes widening as he took a bite. They didn't use any ingredients besides the fish, but it could already compare to a top restaurant delicacy from his previous life.
It was tender and juicy, without any fishy smell.
Suddenly, he noticed a yellow fruit, almost like a lemon from his previous life but resembling an apple. This fish would taste better if I squeeze this 'lemon' on it, he thought as he picked up the lemon-like fruit.
Apollo raised a finger and looked at it. "Will it work?" he wondered aloud, wanting to test his idea. He placed his finger horizontally beside the fruit and sliced it!
The round yellow fruit didn't change, but when he looked at his finger, he saw it was covered in juice. Apollo then parted the fruit with one hand, and the lemon-like fruit split in two.
"D*mn, this is great!" Apollo's eyes shone with excitement. At first, he only felt like he could use the Simple Sword Technique with his finger, and seeing that he could actually do it made him smile in satisfaction.
The Simple Sword Technique is passive when he uses objects shaped like a sword, but when he uses objects such as the tree branch inside his robe or part of his body, he has to use it actively, or he would have accidentally killed himself long ago.
With this confirmed, he squeezed the 'lemons' over the fish.
Apollo then tasted the food, hoping for a sour flavor, but to his disappointment, only the taste of the fish filled his mouth. Tilting his head, he tried squeezing the lemon-like fruit again, but there was no effect; the taste remained the same.
"What's wrong? Is the 'lemon' being overpowered?" Apollo muttered before shaking his head. At the same time, the fight on the platform was about to end. The two participants were people he didn't know, but they used a wooden sword and spear, which was a new sight to the beggar as he finished his food.