After doing the post match ritual with Yang Qiang, Yang Bin left the stage. He needed to rest and prepare for the next match with the knowledge he gained.
For starters, the wooden armor that the clan provided was a lot flimsier than Yang Bin had expected it to be. It broke the moment Yang Bin touched it with his Extreme Piercing Finger. This was mostly due to his growing mastery over the technique. At his current mastery, the qi produced by the technique was sharper and deadlier than most common swords and spears.
This issue, plus the concern Yang Bin had with the space available, made him realize his original plan wasn't perfect. Even though Phantom Tracks is a top tier movement technique, it is useless if there isn't space to move to. With such limited space, the chances of an error increase dramatically. His Phantom Tracks made him elusive but not completely untouchable. If the opponent was able to land a lucky shot on him, then he'll be out.
Yang Bin frowned, as he pondered upon this.
Sitting outside the stage, Yang Bin watched the next round of fights. Specifically, the battle that was taking place in platform A. The victor of that platform was going to be his next opponent.
On the platform, there was a boy and a girl.
The boy was short and skinny. He had a smile on his face, and his eyes were so thin that they appeared closed. He held a simple wooden dagger in both hands. This was Yang Lan, a seven rank body tempering cultivator.
On the other side stood a girl holding a bow. Strapped to the back of her armor was a quiver containing six arrows. She was Yang Chang, an eighth rank body tempering cultivator. Despite being a rank above Yang Lan, she looked at him warily.
Looking at these two, Yang Bin made his predictions. A bow versus a dagger. The results should be pretty clear. The only way Yang Lan could win is if Yang Chang misses all her shots or if he finds a way to close the gap. Both situations are unlikely.
"Match begins!"
Upon the shout, Yang Lan explosively dashed towards Yang Chang, but she was faster. Raising her bow, she nocked an arrow and shot at him.
Time seemed to slow down for Yang Lan, as he carefully scrutinized the arrow speeding towards him. After analyzing it, he made a decision that astonished everyone, he directly took on the arrow.
The impact made him lean back a bit, but didn't cause him to stop. As the arrow fell off, a mark was left on the armor. Although it was deep, it didn't completely pierce the armor, meaning Yang Lan wasn't disqualified.
Yang Chang's eyes widened. Fumbling with another arrow, she hurriedly back up and tried to aim at him, but he suddenly appeared in front of her. Panic stricken, she hastily let go of the arrow, causing it to fly towards his face.
Shocked, he turned his body, causing the arrow to lightly graze his face. Riled up he furiously slashed down both with both daggers.
In a panic, Yang Chang brought her bow up to block the attack.
Crack! Yang Chang's face paled. The bow she was holding broke into two.
Wooden splinters flew everywhere, causing Yang Lan to shield his face. After he had recovered, Yang Lan lunged forwards again, relentlessly assaulting. The two dagger in his hand became a whirlwind of blades.
Desperate to hold on, Yang Chang tried to fend him off with the remains of the bows, but with each strike from Yang Lan, her feet inches closer and closer to the edge.
Bang! With one final heavy blow, Yang Chang stumbled off the platform and fell.
"Battle is over. Victor is Yang Lan!"
Yang Lan extended his hand towards Yang Chang. "Thank you for letting me win." He said with the same smiling expression.
Stunned by the outcome, Yang Chang was momentarily frozen. Seeing Yang Lan extended hand, she became downcasted. "You fought well." She said with a forced smile, as she took his hand. Not wanting to stay any longer, she left the stage.
Away from the stage, Yang Bin couldn't help but applaud. It was truly eye-opening. The entire battle didn't take more than twenty seconds. The moment Yang Lan decided to tank the arrow instead of avoiding it, the victor was determined. He couldn't tell if Yang Lan was reckless and got lucky that his armor didn't break, or if he actually calculated the damage the arrow would do.
Reviewing the fight, Yang Bin collected the information about his upcoming opponent. Unlike his fighting style which was slow and passive, Yang Lan's was aggressive and swift.
However, Yang Bin didn't know how strong Yang Lan attacks were; he didn't get an opportunity to land a hit on Yang Chang's armor. Even though he did break Yang Chang's bow, the bows provided weren't very durable. Not to mention, bows aren't a device used for blocking. One could probably break that simply by smacking it on the floor.
With these thoughts in mind, Yang Bin meditated. For the remaining two fights, he didn't pay much attention. They were ordinary and mundane, as the stronger cultivators would simply use their superior cultivation base to dominate their opponent. By the end of the first stage, the 40 participants had been reduced to 20. And out of the 20 remaining, nine of them were eighth rank body tempering cultivators.
"That concludes the first stage of the battle." Yang Yugang said, after the last battle finished. "Now, I want to make a short announcement. I noticed that some battles are much longer than others."
Yang Bin felt like this announcement was targeting him.
"Since we don't want to take up too much time, I've set a new condition. After five minutes, if there are still battles going on, I'll use my qi to pressure the fighters. With each minute after that, the pressure will grow stronger. If one participant isn't able to fight due to the pressure, then it will count as a defeat."
Yang Bin frowned when he heard this. This new condition, which was set specifically for him, foiled his plans. He was good at avoiding pressure, not withstanding it.
"Everyone take a rest. The next stage of the exam will start in an hour."
Hearing that, the crowd dispersed.
Taking off his armor, Yang Bin went towards where his family was seated.
"Brother, good job!" Yang Mengyao cheerfully exclaimed.
"Have some water." Smiling, Li Jing handed him a water bottle.
Yang Bin graciously accepted the water. Everyone was elated that he had passed the first stage of the exam. Even Yang Gang had a small smile on his face.
"Congratulations." Yang Gang said. "Although it was a flawless victory, you took too long to finish the battle. Because of that, they set a new condition for you. You should feel honored."
Yang Bin scratched his head. "This honor is too much for me to handle. If I could, I would beg them to take it back."
"I doubt they will take it back." Yang Gang chuckled. "What is your plan now? Do you intend on competing in pressure resistance?"
Yang Bin pondered for a bit. "I'm not good at resisting pressure, but I think Yang Lan would be worse. Judging by his size, he doesn't seem to have a very strong physique, and with a rank lead, I should be able to beat him."
Yang Gang nodded in agreement. "Yang Lan is built like an assassin. His ability to resist pressure will be much worse than yours, but he knows this as well, and he certainly won't let the battle drag on for that long. He has a movement technique like you."
Yang Bin fell silent. Two daggers and a movement technique, Yang Lan was a deadly force.
"I recommend changing your tempo. The daggers aren't anywhere near as sharp as your Extreme Piercing Finger technique. You could take one or two blows from him, but even a graze from you would be dangerous to him." Yang Gang said. "Anyway, take a rest. You need to be in peak condition before the next fight."
Yang Bin slowly nodded as he took this into consideration.
"Son, I brought some fruits. Do you want me to peel them for you?" Li Jing offered, to which Yang Bin accepted.
While Li Jing was peeling the fruits, Yang Mengyao excitedly chatted with Yang Bin. "Brother, I picked up a new skill today!"
Yang Bin raised his eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Hehe. I won't tell you. You'll see it when it's my turn to fight." Yang Mengyao grinned at him, causing him to roll his eyes. "And guess what I found yesterday…"
The break lasted for an hour. After that, Yang Bin donned his armor again and gathered in front of the stage with the remaining participants.
"Good luck!" Yang Bin's family encouraged him. He smiled and waved at them.
"The break is over. The second stage of the exam will begin." Yang Yugang declared. "Yang Bin and Yang Lan, please come up to platform A…"