Chapter 31: Zong Shiba

You created a Mighty Straw Puppet.Proficiency in "Every Blade of Grass a Soldier" +15.Mighty Straw Puppet proficiency +60....You created a Mighty Straw Puppet.Proficiency in "Every Blade of Grass a Soldier" +20.Mighty Straw Puppet proficiency +80....

Using superior materials brought different insights. Compared to the withered elemental rice grass, the Vajra Bamboo offered a clearer feedback of power, allowing Zhao Xing to experience the subtleties of the Mighty Straw Puppet technique on a deeper level. Building on this, the spell proficiency for the Mighty Straw Puppet technique rapidly increased.

Half a day later, Zhao Xing had already trained it to the Tier 2 level.

Mighty Straw PuppetProficiency: 2750/9999Effect: Indestructible, Immeasurably Strong.

"Hit me with thirty percent force," Zhao Xing commanded the Tier 2 Mighty Vajra, crossing his arms to block his chest.

"Boom!" The gleaming golden Mighty Vajra delivered a punch, and Zhao Xing felt as if he had been struck by a wrecking ball, sending him flying backward. The Mighty Vajra flashed forward, ready to follow up with another attack.

"Stop! That's enough, it's already insane!" Zhao Xing grimaced and called for a halt.

The Mighty Vajra immediately stood still. Now Zhao Xing was no longer tired, just pleasantly sore all over. How does one build resilience? It's trained this way! It's just that he's still weak and can't take many hits yet. Otherwise, Zhao Xing would have definitely sparred with the Mighty Vajra.

"Just one punch like that would be difficult for someone with the physique of a Farmer. If it were a full-force blow, even a tough, well-built martial artist would probably need to reach a certain rank to withstand it."

You get what you pay for. Using elemental rice as a base for the straw puppet technique could at best only scare away birds. The Mighty Vajra, however, could entirely serve as a bodyguard. The Mighty Vajra possessed no discernible skill, only simple punches and kicks. Against a ranked martial artist, it could easily be outmaneuvered, but for these low-ranking agricultural officials, it was likely more than enough.

"The number is sufficient now. Let's see who dares to provoke me."

Zhao Xing stepped out of the bamboo grove and walked to a nearby plot of land, plucking a few Verdant Vine Fruits from the vines to consume. The Tier 2 low-grade verdant vines had matured, covered in glistening, thumb-sized yellow fruits. The taste was mediocre, but their filling quality was their main advantage. Zhao Xing wasn't picky about taste; practicality was always his primary consideration.

"Now only the aquatic 'Fragrant Lotuses' remain, and more than half of them aren't mature yet," Zhao Xing observed, looking into the muddy pit. As the elemental energy primarily supplied the Vajra Bamboo, only two Fragrant Lotuses had matured, with the remaining eighteen still growing.

"I wonder how others' cultivation is progressing. My integrated leyline energy only covered the eastern half of this planting area; the western side received no attention at all." If Huang Tao were to hear this, he'd probably vomit blood. "Is that what you call 'care'?" he'd likely think sarcastically.

"The 'Top-Tier A' spots are limited. If I can suppress Wen Nanxing, Xiao Ze, and others to only achieve 'A' rank, it's a zero-sum game, and my chances of becoming an official will be greater."

"I'll wait until the third night, then discreetly destroy some of their plants. That should be enough. As for the people on the western side, I'll leave them be."

With his mind made up, Zhao Xing decided to rest and would begin his actions in the evening. However, an uninvited guest arrived unexpectedly.

"You few, go over to Brother Chenfeng's side and swap plots with me." Zong Shichang approached from the west, stopping near the western edge of Zhao Xing's cloud cover.

"Brother Zong, we've already planted here, and it's about to mature. Changing now would be inappropriate," one person replied, unwilling to move.

"It won't be a free swap. You can come to my residence for payment afterward," Zong Shichang said indifferently.

"I'll switch," the first person immediately said, beaming, and without another word, pulled up his plants and left.

"What about you? Will you switch?" Seeing their hesitation, Zong Shichang impatiently said, "If you dig them up yourselves, you might not cause much damage, but if I help you dig, all your efforts will be for naught."

"We'll switch," they conceded. Under his combination of threats and inducements, Zong Shichang quickly completed the swap.

Such commotion naturally caught Zhao Xing's attention. "Zong Shichang? What's he doing moving over here? Is he coming for me?" Zhao Xing watched the scene unfold. Unlike Li Chenfeng, who had a reputation as a gentleman, Zong Shichang left an impression of being domineering. To put it nicely, he acted freely. To put it bluntly, he was tyrannical and disregarded others' feelings. However, he wasn't purely reckless; he was also willing to spend money. He usually tried to pave the way with money first, and only resorted to force if that didn't work.

"His father, Zong Heng, is one of the vice-presidents of the Nanyang Merchant Guild. He doesn't even bother to look at ordinary people," Zhao Xing recalled some rumors about Zong Shichang. The most famous story was when Zong Shichang participated in a grass-fighting game (a folk entertainment) in Nanyang Commandery. The young master Zong, losing badly, became furious and directly punched someone in the face. Coincidentally, some constables were passing by and immediately moved to arrest Zong Shichang. However, Zong Shichang offered the assaulted person a price of thirty taels per punch. The person immediately jumped up from the ground and sent the constables away. In the end, Zong Shichang punched the person eighteen times to vent his anger, earning him the nickname 'Zong Eighteen'.

"Brother Zhao! Can we chat for a moment?" As expected, once Zong Shichang settled in, he immediately walked towards Zhao Xing. Seeing him standing at the edge of the cloud's shadow and speaking rather politely, Zhao Xing walked over.

"Oh, it's Brother Zong. How can I help you?" After Zhao Xing spoke, he noticed Zong Shichang glanced behind him, then inexplicably became... excited?

"So Brother Zhao also had this in mind? I genuinely want to spar with you!" Zong Shichang said straightforwardly.

"Hold on, was that what I meant by 'help'? Your thought process is really strange." But Zhao Xing didn't bother explaining. Explaining now would just make him look cowardly. So he directly said, "Name your terms. How do you want to play?"

"Straightforward!" Zong Shichang found Zhao Xing much more agreeable. "Let's have a competition between us, with no restrictions. Any spell can be used. Are you willing?"

"If I injure you, you can choose any spiritual elixir or wondrous medicine below Tier 3, and I'll send someone to deliver it to your residence afterward."

"Are you looking for a sparring partner?" Zhao Xing raised an eyebrow. Zong Shichang's domineering reputation was indeed not exaggerated. Others competed for the assessment, but he purely wanted to find someone to spar with.

"No."

"No?" Zong Shichang's expression turned cold, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"If I win, you have to pay up just the same."

Zong Shichang was first taken aback, then he laughed: "Win against me? Hahaha, then it's settled! Take this!" He pointed a finger, and the moving clouds above his head instantly turned pitch black, while lightning flashed within them. He swiftly completed the steps of manipulating clouds and generating thunder. From his spell's opening move, Zhao Xing knew his third step would be to summon lightning. Summoning lightning was a mid-tier spell. Zong Shichang, despite his aggressive nature, certainly had some skills.

Zhao Xing frowned and retreated behind the straw puppets. "Knock him down. Yes, all twenty of you, go at him."