This was Hao Qi's current actual state: his Inner Force was constantly recovering, and while his injuries were severe, they were still under control. His physical stamina had been heavily depleted, but it was continuously recovering as well. Compared to him, Puzhi was in a much better shape, still retaining plenty of Inner Qi with almost no injuries. Though Puzhi's stamina consumption was large, it wasn't overly critical. Yet, this was already enough because, in Hao Qi's calculation, from this moment on, he was no longer in the most perilous predicament—that is, the stage where an enemy stronger than him was still at the peak of their power and could slaughter or cripple him at any moment.
In Hao Qi's consumption strategy, the most dangerous time was right at the beginning. Once that initial phase was passed and Hao Qi entered his current state, he had gradually begun dragging the opponent's overwhelming advantage down into his own territory of stamina attrition. Once things reached this level, the rest would be his game...
Only, it was thoroughly frustrating! Compared to a tactic where he had to take beatings first—relying on the premise that "if you can't kill me, you die"—he was much more interested in a style that allowed him to shatter his opponents head-on. Moreover, this kind of attrition warfare was essentially a gamble: betting that someone stronger than himself lacked recovery methods, or betting that the opponent's explosive power wasn't strong enough to wipe him…
Chapter 98