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The Red Luan Bird smiled politely and turned to interview Hao Tian, "Great God Hao Tian, are you confident about this match?"
"Hurry up and fight." Hao Tian completely ignored him, his face seemingly saying, "I'm serious right now, please don't talk to me."
He was not a talkative person to begin with and never liked giving pre-battle interviews. He believed that using preparation time to adjust his state was a basic professional quality.
As for Starry Chess Piece, Hao Tian has nothing to say. Everyone in the professional circle knows that Starry Chess Piece retired because he had made enough money to go into business. After losing money, he came back, and the meaning is self-evident: he wants to rely on his past achievements and popularity to make another fortune.
People with different paths have different ideas; even half a sentence is too much.
The audience erupted in laughter. The fans knew Hao Tian's style well and loved seeing Hao Tian take action without saying a word.
Red Luan Bird's face stiffened slightly. As a veteran host of the professional league, she quickly suppressed her embarrassment, gracefully stepped back, and announced loudly, "Alright, it seems both sides are very confident. So, after the thirty-second countdown, the match will officially begin!"
A 30-second countdown appeared on the big screen, and the audience in the stands fell silent, holding their breath as tens of thousands of eyes focused on the two fighters in the ring.
A tense atmosphere quickly filled the air.
With the countdown underway, the judges began their pre-battle analysis.
"Yes, both are Pugilist Class, both at level 46, evenly matched. We'll be witnessing a high-level Pugilist Class battle. This is a sparring match between veteran and new masters, and I sense a sense of ceremony. Hao Tian goes without saying; countless battle records prove he's still at his peak. What I'm worried about is whether Starry Chess Piece, after retiring for five years, can regain his competitive form?"
Another commentator said, "There's no need to worry about that. Professional players know how to adjust their condition. Starry Chess Piece is a veteran, with more experience than Hao Tian. I have a feeling this will be a fierce battle!"
Han Xiao straightened his back slightly, staring intently at the arena where the tense atmosphere almost overflowed from the screen. He had been training Hao Tian for so long; it was time to put him to the test.
"Three... two... one!"
Bang!!!
At the very moment the countdown ended, Hao Tian pushed off the ground with his feet, striding forward with a raging aura, like a siege chariot, and crashed into the Starry Chess Piece!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The two Pugilist Class students exchanged blows, each landing with a dull thud. From the audience, they could see their health, strength, and stamina bars dropping.
Battles between experts are not like those of novice players who just rush in and start beating. Even in Pugilist Class, which has a lower skill requirement, there are considerations such as the timing of skill release, how to allocate energy, how to control energy value to maintain attribute bonuses, energy recovery time, dodging techniques, calculating damage and cooldowns, and positioning.
In a battle between masters, the details determine the outcome!
The two exchanged blows in a flash, with many subtle maneuvers revealing their skills. Some viewers could understand them, while others were not skilled enough. But regardless of whether they comprehended the subtle calculations and maneuvers, they could all sense a unique quality to the battles between professional players.
It boils down to one word: stability!
The two players' health and status decreased much more slowly than when ordinary players fought, indicating that they used many subtle movements to dodge or parry a large number of their opponents' skills and attacks. This is a significant difference in skill between professional and ordinary players.
The judges and commentators spoke at a rapid-fire pace, analyzing the situation in rapid succession. They were quite skilled as commentators, explaining even the smallest details with great clarity.
"... The situation on the field is currently very tense, with both sides still testing each other, using basic attacks mixed with some minor skills. We can see that the health bars are still above 80%. Now it's a matter of who can seize the opportunity to unleash a combo!"
Players have countless fighting styles, but combos are always one of the most popular skills that players pursue, especially those who Pugilist Class. If a skilled player can break through the opponent's defense and gain the upper hand, they can use combos to whittle down most of the opponent's health, or even finish them off in one go!
Just like in "Sky Island and the Maiden," once you get caught in an aerial combo, you'll lose at least half your health unless the enemy makes a mistake. Hao Tian and Starry Chess Piece are both professional players, having prepared over a dozen combos they've practiced day and night, so mistakes are practically impossible. Now it's just a matter of who creates the first opportunity to unleash a combo!
"Wait, Starry Chess Piece has made their move!"
The two exchanged a punch, Starry Chess Piece suddenly took a lunge stance, stomping his front hoof on the ground. An invisible ripple burst forth, and the entire arena shook violently!
Aerial attack, Concussive Stomp!
This move is a ranged attack that floats the target within a two-meter radius. It's a relatively rare skill. Hao Tian was caught off guard, and his feet left the ground, causing him to be thrown about thirty centimeters into the air!
"Damn, this seems to be a rare skill, it happened so suddenly, Hao Tian got hit, but the height is so low, there's almost no gap in the combo... The Starry Chess Piece moved, he connected!"
The less distance from the ground, the harder it is to execute combos. However, Starry Chess Piece successfully seized this opportunity, unleashing a series of fluid skills on Hao Tian. The chaotic arcs of light flashed wildly, resulting in a seven- or eight-hit combo in an instant, causing Hao Tian's health to plummet.
The judges shook their heads. "To be able to chain attacks through such a narrow gap, experience truly matters. Now let's see how Hao Tian handles it. As everyone knows, before the competition, Black Phantom sold advanced Pugilist Class Advanced Knowledge called [Energy Explosion]. Its effect is to consume a large amount of Qi to enter a Berserk state, which also knocks back enemies. This move can stop an enemy's combo, but it consumes a huge amount of Qi. With the players' current attributes, they can basically only use it once per match. They must have all learned this move. Let's see if Hao Tian will use it first!"
While suspended in mid-air, Hao Tian was bombarded with punches and kicks. He curled up into a ball to minimize the damage. The drop in health did not affect his mindset at all. He remained focused and waited silently.
Suddenly, he seized a fleeting opening in the combo, his body stretching out like a dough ball, one hand pressing down on Starry Chess Piece's fist, his body spinning a difficult rotation in mid-air, trying to land behind Starry Chess Piece.
"He used [Flying Cloud Reversal]! Oh dear, although this move is an aerial escape technique, its judgment is extremely strict. Your agility needs to be at least 10 points higher than your opponent's to have a chance of success, but their attributes are similar at the same level! If the judgment fails, you'll enter a period of stun, and if you get hit by another combo, you'll lose. Hao Tian is going to lose this time..."
The judge suddenly stopped talking. Just as he was speaking, Hao Tian successfully escaped the attack, landed gracefully behind Starry Chess Piece, and gave him a deep kiss on the back of the head with his elbow, knocking Starry Chess Piece into a brief daze.
Immediately afterwards, Hao Tian grabbed Starry Chess Piece by the shoulder, lifted it up with both hands, and then hooked it with his foot. Starry Chess Piece floated horizontally in the air, completely unprotected, with its opening wide open. Hao Tian then began a dazzling display of combo moves.
The situation reversed instantly, and the audience erupted in uproar.
"The judgment was successful!" Before the judges could even react in shock, their eyes widened suddenly. "Hao Tian has started his counterattack... How come the Starry Chess Piece ' health is dropping so fast?!"
Just now, Starry Chess Piece used half of a combo, and Hao Tian lost 25% of his health. However, Starry Chess Piece only took the first few hits, and his health dropped by 40%!
One reason is that the Starry Chess Piece cannot defend against it, but the main reason is that Hao Tian's damage is too high!
Starry Chess Piece's eyes widened in horror; the damage displayed on the panel was shocking.
"Hao Tian's strength and agility are about the same as mine, there's no reason why [Flying Cloud Reversal] should be judged as passing!"
The overflowing arrogance repeatedly illuminated Hao Tian's focused expression.
He was indeed at the same level as Starry Chess Piece, but his skill level far surpassed that of Starry Chess Piece and even all professional players. Hao Tian used all the generous experience points rewarded by Han Xiao to improve his skills, which is why [Flying Cloud Reversal] and skill combos have such high damage!