"Dad, you really overdone it this time." Yang Bin grumbled to himself.
While others had the entire hour to rest and recover, he only had 30 minutes, and that was after he exhausted himself. No matter how miraculous his meridians are, they weren't able to completely rejuvenate him in that short period of time. Muscles sore and qi a quarter depleted, Yang Bin had to fight Yang Tao without being in his best state.
He stepped up to his platform where his opponent greeted him with a warm and welcoming smile. Once again, Yang Tao wasn't wearing his wooden armor.
"Contestants, please introduce yourself."
Yang Tao bowed and introduced himself. "Hello. I am Yang Tao. Let us fight with respect and humility."
Yang Bin did as well. "Likewise. I am Yang Bin."
Studying him Yang Tao commented, "I wanted to have a fair fight, but you don't look like you are in your best condition. It would hurt my conscience to take advantage of you." He made an offer, "How about this, I'll let you have the first five hits on me. I won't fight back. If you are able to defeat me in those five moves, then so be it."
Yang Bin eyed him with suspicion. Of course, he'll let me have the first couple hits. Your technique relies on that. You can't do anything until then. And defeating you in five moves is simply impossible.
Contrary to Yang Tao's expectations, Yang Bin shook his head. "That doesn't sound like a good offer to me. From your previous matches, it looks like your technique only activates after a few hits. So this offer of yours changes nothing."
Despite being found out, Yang Tao continued to smile warmly. "What do you propose instead?"
"Neither of us will attack each other. Instead, we'll compete based on how long we can last under the judges' pressure. Do you dare?" Yang Bin challenged.
Blinking several times, Yang Tao then burst out into laughter, "Brother Yang Bin, your suggestion is even more one-sided than mine! You aren't in your best state and yet you still want to compete using this method?"
Yang Bin nodded seriously.
Noticing Yang Bin's determination, Yang Tao contemplated.He could tell with a glance that Yang Bin didn't cultivate his body like his previous opponent. No matter what tricks his opponent could have, it didn't matter, since he was in his peak condition and Yang Bin wasn't. This deal was too good to be true. It felt like he was walking into a trap.
Does he plan on attacking me while we suffer from the pressure? A notion rose in Yang Tao's mind. If he tries, I'm confident I'll be able to block it.
"Alright, I agree with your plan. Don't blame me for taking advantage of your weakness." Yang Tao replied.
Yang Bin dismissed it and looked to the judge, specifically Yang Yugang.
As if knowing their intention, Yang Yugang nodded. A second later, Yang Bin and Yang Tao felt like the air had become a lot denser.
"So this is what it's like." Yang Tao exclaimed. Despite never going through any pressure practice, he was unfazed and certain in his victory.
Yang Bin looked at himself as well. This amount of pressure was a lot less than he had imagined. He didn't need to utilize his qi to resist it. Perhaps he had to thank his father for that.
That pressure would be difficult for an ordinary first rank body tempering cultivator. Since they are perfectly fine, I should raise it up by two ranks. Yang Yugang thought, while he watched the two. His brows furrowed slightly, as he tried to adjust the pressure by a miniscule amount. He tapped his finger twice.
On the stage, Yang Bin and Yang Tao could immediately tell the difference. If the earlier pressure was similar to them being submerged underwater, this one was similar to them being covered in thick mud.
Yang Tao frowned slightly; the jump was slightly unexpected. He glanced at Yang Bin, who was completely unconcerned.
Yang Bin looked back at him. "What? Feeling tired already?"
Shaking his head, Yang Tao didn't respond.
Away from all the battles, Yang Yugang nodded to himself. Good, good. They still seem to be doing fine with this. Let me just raise it a little bit more. Once again, he tapped his finger twice. Now, this pressure was enough to immobilize the average fifth rank body tempering cultivator.
On the stage, Yang Tao wasn't prepared for another increase and stumbled. With some difficulties, he recovered and stood up straight again. His creased deeper and a solemn expression appeared on his face.
Evidently, Yang Tao was unsettled. The water became thick mud and then became heavy weights in quick succession. If it increased again, would the heavy weights become giant boulders? He braced himself.
Similarly, Yang Bin was also alarmed. Although this wasn't as strong the greatest pressure he felt from Yang Gang, the rapid increases in pressure felt a little too extreme. Just one more jump and it will be the strongest pressure he felt. He urged his meridian to work faster, devouring every bit of qi around him.
Fortunately for the two of them, Yang Yugang wasn't in a rush to increase the pressure. In a span of only five seconds, he had tapped his finger four times. Satisfied with their reactions, he decided to take it slow.
Yang Tao showed signs of struggling. Yang Yugang observed. His limit is probably only seventh rank pressure. As for Yang Bin… He closely studied Yang Bin and a trace of shock appeared in his eyes. He's not moving at all! This pressure seems to be nothing to him! What an excellent seedling!
The pressure continued for another minute. Tiny beads of sweat appeared on Yang Bin's and Yang Tao's foreheads. It was more noticeable on Yang Tao whose face was slowly becoming red.
By now, Yang Tao had become somewhat used to this pressure, and right when he became familiar with it, Yang Yugang raised it again.
Tap!
"Urg!" Yang Tao groaned. His knees bent, and his body hunched over. Trembling, he gave up on trying to straighten back up. Luckily, the jump wasn't as large as he had predicted, or else he would have been crushed in an instant. Even so, Yang Tao was not having an easy time. He was gradually reaching his limit. Alarmed, Yang Tao glanced at Yang Bin to hopefully find solace.
There was none.
Yang Bin was staring right back at Yang Tao. Despite suffering the same pressure, he was holding up a lot better than Yang Tao was. His body sank slightly, but that was it.
Underneath the strong facade though, Yang Bin was nervously gritting his teeth. His qi was being depleted at a frightening rate. No matter how hard his meridian worked, they couldn't keep up with the consumption. He was hoping that Yang Tao would give up first.
Yang Yugang looked on with calm eyes. He could clearly see that Yang Tao was nearing his limit, and Yang Bin's tall and upright posture had been cracked. This pressure was rather challenging for both of them. He waited for the first one to fall. After a minute, he realized neither of them were going down.
Impressive will power. With this thought in mind, Yang Yugang tapped his finger one final time. This pressure was enough to instantly bring seven rank body tempering cultivators to their knees.
"Ah!" Yang Tao started to fall. He was bent over like he was carrying a giant boulder on his back.
Oh the other side, Yang Bin wasn't faring any better. His knees bent further and further. Sweat rolled down his beet red face. His qi reserve should have been depleted by now, but somehow there was always a sliver left. His meridians were working furiously. Even the blocked fourth meridian seemed to be loosening.
Right as Yang Bin wasn't able to hold up any longer, he heard a crashing sound.
Bang!
Yang Tao had fallen first. His knee crashed onto the ground, signaling the end to the battle. The mountainous pressure was lifted off them.
Feeling this, an exhausted smile appeared on Yang Bin's face. He collapsed on the floor, panting.
"The victor is Yang Bin." Yang Yugang slowly declared.
Yang Bin wanted to cheer, but he was too tired. He continued laying on the ground with a tired yet wide grin on his face.
"Well done." Yang Tao complimented, taking a breath between every word. He too was on the ground, too exhausted to get up. "I have underestimated you. Your will power is a lot greater than mine."
"No, yours is greater than mine." Yang Bin responded, breathless as well. "Unlike you, I have a qi recovery technique, so I always had a bit of qi left. You had to hold on using only will power."
"A qi recovery technique? I never expected such a technique to exist. You have really opened my eyes today." Yang Tao was impressed.
Yang Bin didn't reply to that.
The two of them stayed on the floor until all the matches were over. The judges carried them out.