"Urgh!"
Jin Taiguang, who had just been blown up on the spot, even tilted his head back and spat out a mouthful of blood, clearly at his wit's end.
"I! I! I'll fight you to the death!"
With his emotions running extremely high, Jin Taiguang could no longer hold back. He pushed himself up with his hands, his eyes bloodshot and his desperation palpable.
As his unwilling roar echoed, a wave of extremely dense blood qi fluctuations emanated from his body.
"Blood Burst?!"
"It looks like this guy is truly pushed to the brink and is going to risk everything now..."
Dolu, the lethal golden boot from the Panama Federation, sighed.
People like them, from combat-oriented disciplines, naturally recognized the universal skill known as Blood Burst.
Blood Burst involved greatly stimulating one's qi and blood for a short period, causing the user's blood to boil intensely, granting a substantial boost to all attributes for approximately five minutes.
However, such a powerful skill naturally came with side effects.
The drawback of Blood Burst was that if the opponent could not be dealt with within the five-minute window, the user would immediately fall into an awkward state of qi and blood depletion due to the excessive outburst, leading to a significant decrease in all attributes.
At that point, they would be like fish on a chopping block, defenseless and at the mercy of their opponent.
"That's not very wise of him..."
"Although Blood Burst has a very obvious effect, and it's a good comeback skill when at a disadvantage..."
"This skill also has significant issues."
"What's happening now is a tournament match, not some life-or-death battle in a coliseum where you can't retreat..."
"If the opponent just circles around and wears down the Blood Burst duration, wouldn't he be left in the lurch?"
Anfia, the ancient roar from Bear Country, shook her head upon witnessing this, not optimistic about Jin Taiguang's choice.
Arthur beside her chuckled:
"That's true, but the scenario you described assumes Jin Taiguang has a choice."
"Right now, he's completely cornered, with no effective solution in sight..."
"For him, activating Blood Burst might be his only remaining option."
"And from what I know of Lin Ran, there's a high chance he won't even evade."
Anfia gasped in astonishment:
"What?! He won't evade at all? Impossible!?"
"Why?! That makes no sense!"
"Don't tell me he's planning to go head-to-head with Jin Taiguang in his Blood Burst state? That's too outrageous, there's no need for that!"
"As long as he survives the Blood Burst duration, victory is assured. There's no need to take such a risk..."
"If it's a sure win, why take unnecessary risks?"
Arthur smiled again:
"Having seen this much, haven't you realized it yet?"
"Lin Ran's tactical choices and variations are arguably the most diverse among all the contestants in this series."
"And his changes and transitions aren't random; they are all based on certain principles..."
"This principle refers to his particular liking for defeating opponents at their strongest point."
"Although I don't know where he learned this infuriatingly peculiar habit, it's clearly evident."
"In the last match against Turing, the necromancer who primarily relied on summons, he unleashed a large swarm of elemental spirits to fight back."
"When Turing sacrificed all his undead units for a grand summoning, Lin Ran also produced a similar fusion effect, conjuring a Chaos Spirit..."
"As for this match against the combat-focused Jin Taiguang, knowing that Jin Taiguang excels in hand-to-hand combat, he simply didn't even bring out his weapon..."
"He even engaged in a straight, no-evasion, head-on clash with him just now..."
"That's why I feel Lin Ran might not adopt a strategy of attrition even against Jin Taiguang in his Blood Burst state."
"What he desires is often to defeat the enemy by crushing them at their peak."
"Evading the fight would clearly contradict this philosophy."
After listening to Arthur's lengthy discourse, Anfia could only sigh and pat her thigh in realization:
"If you put it that way, it does seem to make some sense..."
"Lin Ran, this fellow, is indeed a wicked person... and he likes to play fancy tricks, it's unbelievable..."
"Killing the body and then crushing the spirit... that's what he's doing!"
Arthur burst into laughter:
"There's nothing to be done about it, he has the strength, after all!"
"Often, having strength allows one to do as they please!"
"..."
Inside the arena.
Upon sensing the change in the person beneath him, Lin Ran didn't pay it much mind, casually continuing to stomp down.
However, Jin Taiguang's speed and force this time were significantly more exaggerated.
He leaped up with lightning-like speed, his leg blocking Lin Ran's attack while his right fist shot out:
"Flash Star Shatter!"
Roaring, Jin Taiguang had clearly unleashed his full power. This punch was exceptionally ferocious.
He had assumed that with his blood qi boiling to its absolute limit, Lin Ran would surely not dare to confront him head-on.
Therefore, Jin Taiguang had already planned how he would pursue Lin Ran after he attempted to dodge.
Having activated Blood Burst, he had no turning back; he could only push forward relentlessly.
He could not afford to waste a single moment of the five-minute Blood Burst duration!
But what he never expected was that facing this powerful punch, Lin Ran, as if insane, also swung his fist and met it head-on, completely bare-handed.
Suicidal!
Once again shocked by Lin Ran's arrogance, Jin Taiguang's nose was almost bent with anger. He decisively poured all his strength into his right fist, wishing he could smash Lin Ran to death with a single blow.
But just as their fists were about to collide, Jin Taiguang suddenly noticed that Lin Ran's arm and fist were inexplicably wrapped in a thick layer of camouflage.
What was that?
The less than a second of thinking time clearly wasn't enough for him to comprehend it.
Thus, their fists met perfectly.
Boom!
The shockwave generated by this exchange of blows sent both of them flying backward, each retreating over twenty meters.
Struggling to regain his footing, Jin Taiguang couldn't believe his eyes.
What was going on?!
Not only did Lin Ran not evade against him in his Blood Burst state, but he had also charged forward to trade blows with him!
Of course, that wasn't the most important thing...
The most crucial point was that he could actually match him almost equally, a fifty-fifty split!?