Chapter 32: No Martial Morality, Sneak Attack

"You..." Zong Shichang was about to summon lightning to strike his opponent when, in an instant, he lost sight of his target.

It wasn't that Zhao Xing was too fast; rather, many straw figures suddenly emerged from the ground around him.

The yellow straw figures blended in with the earth's color, and Zhao Xing had even covered them with some sand and soil, making them virtually impossible to spot!

This fellow actually buried straw figures underground to act as hidden ambushers!

"What's the point of weaving so many straw figures? Hmph, the art of straw figures is nothing more than a trivial trick!"

"I can easily destroy them!"

Zong Shichang summoned lightning to attack.

"Boom!"

A bolt of lightning descended from the clouds, striking a straw figure with pinpoint accuracy.

However, the result greatly astonished Zong Shichang!

He found that the golden straw figure only had a scorched mark on its chest; it didn't smoke or burn as he had expected.

"What's going on? Can straw figures withstand heavenly lightning?"

Zong Shichang felt it was somewhat absurd.

He wasn't skilled in the art of straw figures and had always looked down upon such spells, finding the weaving process troublesome and complex. Young Master Zong couldn't be bothered with such delicate work.

Who would have thought that the straw figures crafted by Zhao Xing were completely different from any he had seen before!

"Boom! Boom!"

Several more lightning bolts struck, and Zong Shichang struggled considerably before finally destroying one of them.

"How many heavenly lightning bolts can you summon?" Zhao Xing asked, watching Zong Shichang with a faint smile from under the cover of the straw figures.

These were merely crude, mass-produced straw figures he had placed at the edge of his territory for early warning, not even reaching first-tier strength.

The twenty powerful 'Vajra Warriors' emerging from the bamboo forest were the true guardians.

"Let's show Young Master Zong some real power."

The twenty Vajra Warriors swarmed forward.

"What? There are so many more?!"

Zong Shichang was instantly startled.

These twenty newly appeared straw figures were clearly not of the same caliber as the previous ones.

Each one was gleaming golden, not withered and yellow, and they were robust in appearance, possessing a certain spiritual quality.

Zong Shichang observed that the Vajra Warriors could leap three or four meters in a single bound. Was this the kind of mobility a straw figure should have?!

"Wind, come!"

Zong Shichang no longer cared about attacking; his priority was to block these Vajra Warriors.

Although he was a fourth-stage Gatherer of Essence with strong vitality and considerable power, he dared not allow these straw figures to surround him.

A farmer's close-combat ability was relatively weak, and besides, who practicing magic would engage in hand-to-hand combat like a martial artist?

"Whoosh~"

A strong west wind blew towards the Vajra Warriors.

Zong Shichang's wind control skills were decent; he raised sand and stones from the ground without letting the wind force go excessively downward, which would have been wasteful.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!"

The sand and stones striking the straw figures' bodies actually produced sounds like clashing metal.

It did impede them for a moment, but the effect was far from what Zong Shichang had anticipated.

Instead, the dust obscured his vision, preventing him from noticing two straw figures stealthily approaching from behind him.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle..."

A distinct sound emerged from the wind.

"What in the world?!" Zong Shichang turned his head and saw two vines slithering on the ground, like spiritual snakes!

Every plant a soldier, the Entangling Straw Figures!

The Entangling Straw Figures, made from green vines, could extend their tendrils to trap enemies.

"Snap!" A vine whipped Zong Shichang's right arm; although he dodged it, a red mark appeared on his right hand.

"What kind of straw figure is this now?!" Zong Shichang jumped away, and before he could even think, a second and third vine whipped towards him.

He dodged once, then twice, but ultimately couldn't avoid the numerous other vines.

Zong Shichang's hands were bound, pulled taut left and right.

Unable to cast spells, his wind dissipated and lightning scattered.

He tried to break free but found it futile; the green vines were incredibly resilient, fortified by triple toughness! The Entangling Straw Figures were very difficult to shake off.

The next moment, his feet were also ensnared, pulled apart left and right.

"Aargh..."

Young Master Zong was instantly forced into a split, performing an aerial straddle, then heavily landed on the ground.

"Hiss~"

It was a pain men understood all too well; Zong Shichang was in too much agony to speak.

At that moment, the Vajra Warriors charged forward.

Without a word, one delivered a punch to Zong Shichang.

"I give..."

Before he could even utter "I give up," he was immediately knocked down.

"I surrender!"

Zong Shichang quickly yelled loudly, fearing Zhao Xing hadn't heard him. He knew straw figures executed their caster's commands and wouldn't stop until their objective was met.

Fortunately, once he was on the ground, the Vajra Warriors ceased their movements.

As the dust settled, the straw figures parted, revealing Zhao Xing's leisurely figure.

"Brother Zong, how was that?"

"You're dishonorable; you actually ambushed me," Zong Shichang said with a feigned air of nonchalance. "I still have many secret techniques I haven't used. I just accidentally fell into your trap. Besides, what kind of skill is it to use straw figures? How can a farmer fight in close combat?"

Even while lying sprawled on the ground as if pulled apart by five horses, Zong Shichang remained defiant. Zhao Xing immediately retorted, "You said there would be no restrictions, so how is this an ambush? Furthermore, isn't the art of straw figures a farmer's spell?"

"I..." Zong Shichang was speechless. No matter how much he despised the art of straw figures, he couldn't deny it; that would be truly uncouth.

Snap! Zhao Xing snapped his fingers, signaling the straw figures to release Zong Shichang, then turned and walked towards his territory. "If you haven't had enough, Brother Zong, we can fight another day. I await you to break my art of straw figures."

Watching Zhao Xing turn away, Zong Shichang's calm demeanor instantly shattered. He grimaced, looked down at his crotch, and then reached a hand to check.

"Phew, thankfully it's just a little abrasion. No harm, no harm..."

The magical duel between Zong Shichang and Zhao Xing began and ended quickly.

Furthermore, with sand and stones flying and dust rising throughout the exchange, only a handful of people could clearly see what happened.

"His straw figures are that formidable?" Wen Nanxing watched from his seat. "Zong Shichang didn't even last two rounds, losing after only using lightning summoning and strong winds. It seems I also need to re-evaluate the art of straw figures."

Wen Nanxing had similarly overlooked the art of straw figures. Over the years, fewer and fewer straw figure techniques were passed down by the imperial court; initially, there were dozens, but later only a handful remained.

However, seeing Zhao Xing use them, Wen Nanxing's perception of straw figures greatly changed.

"Interesting, he's surprisingly adept at using straw figures," a peculiar glint appeared in Xiao Ze's eyes, and his curiosity about Zhao Xing grew. "The Vajra Warriors were mentioned in the Eighty-One Techniques of Liu Chuan. I didn't expect him to know how to use them... Should I ask him for guidance?"

Xiao Ze's heart itched with eagerness. He also enjoyed using straw figure spells, but his teacher didn't know many, only a few. Xiao Ze had studied for a long time to learn just three, and now, seeing this, he couldn't help but want Zhao Xing to teach him.

"Never mind, I'll wait until after the assessment," Xiao Ze held back. Not everyone was as impetuous as Zong Shichang. For now, the most important thing was to achieve a good ranking in the Beginning of Autumn assessment.

On the examination platform, Gao Linong felt utterly dismayed watching Zong Shichang limp away. A moment before, he had been gloating, thinking Wen Nanxing and Xiao Ze had been drained of their energy by Zhao Xing. He never expected his own disciple to suffer a setback the very next moment.

And to make matters worse, it happened in front of everyone: his proud student couldn't even defeat a straw figure. It was truly humiliating! Tang Wanchun and Pang Yuan, those old rascals, were probably twitching with suppressed amusement!

Gao Linong secretly glanced over and, sure enough, found that the corners of his two colleagues' mouths were harder to suppress than a waterwheel.