Chapter 502: Section 289: Battle Review (Part 2)
“In the world of martial arts, speed is unbreakable. This philosophy of the Eastern Empire makes a lot of sense.”
The Dragon-man youth now realized that the reason for his qualitative transformation wasn’t solely due to absorbing the experience of the Spring Boxer, which allowed him to achieve a massive enhancement in his Combat Skill overnight.
Another main reason was the Big Arena Badge.
“This badge is really suited for battle scenes such as dueling fields. The more people who watch me, the longer they watch, the more significant and obvious the amplification the badge provides.”
“What’s even more wonderful is that the amplification covers all aspects and doesn’t let me become unbalanced due to one aspect being overly prominent.”
The Dragon-man youth subconsciously clenched his Dragon Claw.
His flesh and muscles now felt sore and soft.
Due to the extensive energy expended during the day’s battles, even after resting, he found himself in a state of weakness and debilitation.
This had never happened before.
Even the grand melee at Twin Eyes Island hadn’t left him so exhausted.
The constant fatigue transmitted from his body contrasted sharply with the exhilarating battles he saw in the Magic Image.
Feelings of loss and longing inevitably arose in the heart of the Dragon-man youth.
“The combat state in the Magic Image isn’t truly my own strength.”
“Such a feeling of fighting is really exhilarating.”
“I must continually become stronger, until one day, I can reach this level on my own.”
“Constantly becoming stronger is the path of righteousness!”
The battle in the Magic Image entered its final phase.
The Evil Eye was activated on Xiong Ju.
The greyish-white Spiritual Beam was incredibly fast, almost instantly hitting the Dragon-man youth.
The Dragon-man youth pondered, “This eyeball is very strange, the Spiritual Beam it emitted didn’t give me any chance to dodge.”
Then, Xiong Ju voluntarily pulled the Evil Eye out from his body and crushed it in one hand.
Xiong Ju looked very angry.
Seeing this scene again, the Dragon-man youth was even more certain of his initial guess.
“This might not have been Xiong Ju willingly using this item; it’s very likely that an outsider intervened.”
“That’s why Xiong Ju was so angry and took such an action.”
“According to the information, the Evil Eye emits an aura of the Abyss, presumably from a Demon half-blood belonging to one of the six leaders of the Saber Gang.”
“He has made his move in the shadows.”
“But a brave duel, for the vast majority of people in the Kingdom of Snow Sculptures, is indeed sanctified and inviolable. The same is true for Silver Level powerhouses like Xiong Ju.”
“That’s what led to this outcome.”
Through this incident, the Dragon-man youth gained a deeper understanding of the customs of the Kingdom of Snow Sculptures.
“If Menshi and Chi Lai had really intervened in this brave duel at that time, our fate would have probably been very bad.”
The Dragon-man youth furrowed his brow and began to ponder.
Since the Saber Gang intervened secretly in this brave duel, might this loophole be exploitable?
After pondering for a moment, the Dragon-man youth ruefully shook his head.
He had no evidence.
It was hard for him to prove that a Demon half-blood leader of the Saber Gang had secretly meddled in the brave duel.
Everything was just his speculation.
Especially since Xiong Ju had directly crushed the Evil Eye, destroying the biggest piece of evidence.
As for the Snowbird Duel Arena, they hadn’t noticed anything amiss either.
“It seems that whether it’s the work of a Demon leader or not, the fact that the opponent could take such bold actions proves they are very confident in their ability to hide themselves.”
“Even if I investigate now, I’m afraid the opponent has erased all clues.”
Survivors also lacked people skilled in investigation.
Moreover, the Dragon-man youth had also considered the position of the people of Snowbird Port.
Would the general public be willing to believe in an outsider like him?
The Magic Image had played up to the final stage of the duel.
A brief ceasefire ensued, and the scene of desperately consuming potions reappeared.
The Dragon-man youth gave a bitter smile.
“Actually, consuming potions like this isn’t the most effective use of them. Potions need time to be absorbed after being consumed. It’s best to space them out. Rushing to swallow them, the effects can cancel each other out. Sometimes, different potions can even react violently with each other and produce deadly toxins, harming the body.”
“This also exposed another of my weaknesses, which is the storage of Fighting energy.”
“Normally, it’s manageable. But in the strongest form, whether it’s the violent Combat Skills or ‘Blast Fist’, ‘Machine Gun Bullet Fist’, all of them consume a lot of Fighting energy. Even the recovery power of the ‘King of Flame Dragon’ bloodline can’t keep up with this rate of consumption.”
The Dragon-man youth had never imagined that one day he would face a shortage of Fighting energy.
The final scene of the battle caught the Dragon-man youth’s eye.
He and Xiong Ju roared at each other, both wounded.
But he recovered first and knocked Xiong Ju to the ground with a punch.
The Dragon-man youth exhaled a breath of stale air and silently summarized, “This was a tough victory. Xiong Ju is the strongest Silver Level I have encountered since leaving the island. His strength is solid, and he is equipped with many elite gears, incredibly difficult to deal with. Fighting him was especially exhausting.”
“The main reason for the victory in this heroic duel was that I emerged victorious in the intense attrition.”
“Including earlier when I was hit by the ‘Evil Eye’ attack, I was utterly powerless to fight back, in extremely bad condition. But by that time, Xiong Ju had been so weakened by me that he could only squat and catch his breath, unable to exploit the opportunity for a decisive victory.”
The Dragon-man youth, not satisfied after re-watching, watched it again.
He gained a lot by observing from another angle.
With each viewing, he would recall his feelings and thoughts at the time.
Why did he adopt that tactical strategy?
Why did he attack or defend in that particular manner? What were the results?
Could there have been a better choice?
The Dragon-man youth was very good at reflecting.
Each reflection brought him fresh ideas.
By comparing his previous and current thoughts, the Dragon-man youth found many deficiencies that could definitely be improved upon.
As for how exactly to improve, the Dragon-man youth also had quite specific practical plans.
He was quickly improving.
This growth wasn’t superficial.
It wasn’t like how the Big Arena Badge brought him, enhancing his attack, defense, and moving speed significantly.
This progress was subtle, a progress of thought.
He was constantly consolidating his foundation. Every little flaw and imperfection fixed, made his rapidly increasing strength less unfounded.
The battle with Xiong Ju was a very good learning opportunity.
The Dragon-man youth firmly seized this opportunity, using every bit of intellect to extract nutrients to nurture his growth.
“The enemies I had encountered before weren’t generally as formidable as Xiong Ju.”
“Although I have also fought against Golden Level enemies, it was only briefly and did not continue.”
“Facing such heavyweight opponents exposes the deficiencies I have.”