An Upset: Shi Yong Lost!

Li Feng's defeat was so swift that it shocked everyone.

It's important to know that Li Feng isn't weak either; he ranked seventh in both the fourth and fifth rounds!

But now, why have they lost so quickly?

"In the Straw Man Art, the gap is getting wider and wider."

"Zhao Xing's Straw Man Art is probably in a class of its own, just like the Nine Sections Dojo, Shi Yong can beat people with a single move."

"Just how advanced was Zhao Xing's Straw Man Art?"

The spectators watched this scene and whispered among themselves.

Because Li Feng was defeated so quickly, he didn't even give others a chance to watch the battle.

Zhao Xing's Straw Man Art was combined with the "Invisibility Straw Man Art," and the straw dolls would automatically disperse after being used, leaving others completely baffled.

"In the second match, Cai Jin Fang Yi."

Liu Tianning quickly announced the second round.

Zhao Xing then withdrew from the square.

Now, in his intermediate-level Straw Man Art, he has achieved the Skyflight Heaven and the Sacrificial Explosion.

Nine Turns of Divine Valor, Nine Turns of Giant Shield, Nine Turns of Invisibility, Eighth-Turn of Illusory Form.

The lowest level is the Guardian Art Soul Seizure, which are only at the Third-Turn level.

After perfectly combining Skyflight and Sacrificial Explosion, Zhao Xing's ability to combine the other spells became even smoother.

With two spells already perfectly combined, experience will naturally follow when combining other spells.

Therefore, Zhao Xing can maintain a high level of skill when combining any two spells. For example, when combining Divine Valor and Invisibility, each spell can still maintain its Nine Turns characteristic.

The combination of the three methods, especially the third method, is all for the purpose of practical combat, and the resulting effect is naturally terrifying.

Even Liu Tianning concluded that Zhao Xing's talent in Straw Man Art was superior to everyone else's, so it was naturally easy for him to defeat Li Feng.

"If it were anyone else, Li Feng could have made it into the top ten, but he ran into Zhao Xing. It can only be said that he was unlucky." Lu Bang shook his head.

"There's no such thing as luck; I arranged it on purpose," Liu Tianning said calmly.

"What?" Lu Bang was taken aback.

"When this guy was training by the artificial hill, he kept talking about wanting to fight Zhao Xing," Liu Tianning said. "I was reading a book next to him, and he kept bothering me so much that I just gave in to his wish."

"..."

Lu Bang was speechless; Li Feng had clearly asked for a beating and gotten it.

In the second match, Cai Jin Fang Yi Cai Jin.

In the third match, Zhuang Ziqing defeated He Yuan.

In the fourth match, Feng Qi defeated Feng Qi Chao Yun.

In the first four matches, the gap between the two sides was quite large. Fang Yi was 20th in the previous round and barely made it through.

Cai Jin consistently ranked second, He Yuan ranked eighteenth.

The same principle applies to Feng Qi attacking Chao Yun.

The winners always win by having an absolute advantage.

But starting from the fifth match, the matchups were full of upsets!

In the fifth match, Guan Junyang defeated Qian Guang Qian Guang.

In the sixth match, Cao Shuang defeated Che Shihai, Che Shihai won.

In the seventh match, Jiang Tianming Wei Chen Wei Chen.

In the eighth match, Han Bing played against Wu Yue, Wu Yue.

The geniuses who were originally ranked in the top ten in the fifth round were defeated one after another by those with weaker rankings!

Even geniuses like Cao Shuang and Guan Junyang, who had already Fourth-Turn Grade A Knowing Realm, still lost!

A commotion erupted below the square as more and more people arrived at the third level to witness the duels.

Unexpectedly, so many of the highly regarded Grade A geniuses failed.

Some people who seemed to have a higher level of skill in Straw Man Art, and appeared to have an advantage, actually lost in actual combat.

"What's going on?" Lu Bang looked at the scene with surprise. He didn't know much about the Straw Man Art, so he found this scene quite strange.

"That's the difference between theory and practice," Liu Tianning said. "The Straw Man Art is different from other spells. It's an 'external avatar.' Although their Straw Man Art don't have the same strong controllability as the 'True Self Straw Puppet,' the controllability still exists."

"Command the straw doll, give it instructions. There is a connection between your mind and the straw doll. The stronger the straw doll, the stronger this connection becomes."

"If it is the True Self Straw Puppet, then the straw man is equivalent to another body! One head, but has to control multiple bodies, which is more difficult. Therefore, the True Self Straw Puppet that performs all laws is called the Ultimate Law of Straw Man Art."

"I also know a little about Straw Man Art, so why don't I have this feeling?" Lu Bang humbly asked for advice.

"You are at the Fifth Grade rank, and your mind is strong. These influences are nothing to you. Besides, you have only studied them superficially and have only grasped the basics."

Liu Tianning said that Lu Bang only had a superficial understanding, and Lu Bang didn't even try to refute it, because the man was indeed qualified to say that.

Liu Tianning explained, "The connection between the straw figure and the true self has an influence on the true self."

"Using the Straw Man Art in actual combat has a far greater impact than if a third hand or a third leg suddenly grew from your body."

"If it's just a simple command, like forward, backward, attack, or defense, that's fine."

"It's like you growing a third hand or a third leg, but you don't use it. Although it's a little uncomfortable, the impact isn't too severe."

"But once it goes into actual combat and requires precise control, the impact on these little guys becomes very obvious."

"That's why I said before that practical experience determines success or failure."

"The winners now are more adapted to this kind of 'avatar' magic."

"Just like some people have a stronger sense of spatial orientation and visual perception than others."

"In the Straw Man Art, the winner now has greater talent."

Off the field, Cao Shuang, Han Bing, Jiang Tianming, who stood next to Zhao Xing and Zhuang Ziqing, looked somewhat confused.

Even now, none of the three seem to believe they have lost.

"How could I lose?" Cao Shuang looked at his hands. "Che Shihai is clearly weaker than me. Putting aside his comprehension of the Straw Man Art —he used four Eighth-Turn Mystic Arms Straw Figure plus Holy Shield Straw Figure to defeat my six Nine Turns straw dolls?"

"Could it be due to the compatibility of the spells? Or perhaps it's an malfunction?" Jiang Tianming pondered, as he had encountered a similar situation.

"Impossible. In terms of spell compatibility, Brother Cao, Brother Jiang, and I are stronger than the other side. Although not by much, we are still stronger. It is absolutely impossible for us to be weaker in this aspect and lose." Han Bing rarely spoke for so long, and his usually expressionless face showed obvious confusion.

"So what exactly happened? Is it really because we're bad? We couldn't handle the pressure and underperformed?"

"Brother Zhao, can you figure out what's going on?" Cao Shuang looked at Zhao Xing, after all, Zhao Xing's Straw Man Art was the strongest in the previous level.

Zhao Xing pondered for a moment and said, "It's not that you all have poor mental fortitude, couldn't withstand the pressure and performed poorly, nor is it that your magic is weak."

"The problem is that you can draft drafters, but you don't know how to use them effectively."

"The Straw Man Art is different from other spells. Have you ever seen a martial artist practicing with a sword?"

"Being good at wielding a single sword doesn't mean you can be good at wielding two swords. A true swordsman is one who can carry multiple swords on his back at the same time, and who isn't just using them for show."

Zhao Xing spoke eloquently, "Sword cultivators are strong among martial artists, but why are there so few sword cultivators? It's simply because they can't do it. Controlling more swords increases the burden, and even the Straw Man Art has different levels of control."

"Many people can practice single-target straw doll training to the Nine Turns without any problem, but the more straw dolls there are in battle, the greater the burden on themselves."

"Some people are naturally better suited to this type of magic, while others are not."

"The emergence of the combination of spells was actually to solve this drawback. One straw doll can be used for multiple purposes, and the burden is reduced. However, the difficulty of combining multiple spells is no less than controlling multiple single-spell straw dolls at the same time."

Ultimately, it all comes down to talent.

Han Bing, Cao Shuang, and Jiang Tianming immediately realized that it would be difficult for them to Keep Moving the path of the Straw Man Art.

As for Zhao Xing? Judging from his appearance, he's probably a 'Straw Man Talent'.

During a casual chat, the ninth match between Yu Hao and Li Jian ended.

Yu Hao emerged victorious; Yu Hao was also among the top ten in the previous test.

In the tenth match, Shi Yong fought against Yin Yang.

Zhao Xing also watched Shi Yong's battle.

In the end, Shi Yong still won, and it was a quick victory.

"Both of his Straw Man Art have reached the Nine Turns. The combined techniques have resulted in Divine Valor Giant Shield Straw Figure whose individual effects are very close to the Nine Turns," Zhao Xing thought to himself. "I wonder if this is his full strength."

Shi Yong also walked down from the square. Throughout the battle, he had been frowning, seemingly lost in thought.

The first round ended quickly, and the ten losers received a reward of 5,000 points in the fifth tier.

Including the basic qualifying points, these ten people can get a total of more than 6,000 points, which is not a small amount.

The remaining ten players— Zhao Xing, Cai Jin, Zhuang Ziqing, Feng Qi, Wei Chen, Qian Guang, Wu Yue, Che Shihai Wu Yue, Yu Hao, and Shi Yong —will proceed to the second round of draws for their matches.

It's still a one-game-determined winner.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

The order slips flew out, and the other nine people quickly made their selections.

Zhao Xing, on the other hand, leisurely waited for the last token to fly into his hand.

"This kid," Lu Bang couldn't help but smile upon seeing this. "Everyone else is eager to know who their opponent is, but Zhao Xing is taking his time."

"He's confident enough, and he naturally exudes a relaxed aura. That's exactly the kind of state you need when facing an enemy." Liu Tianning's appreciation for Zhao Xing grew even stronger. "This young man is capable of being a commander-in-chief. No wonder Fang Wu made such a comment."

Zhao Xing still received the number one order.

When he received it, a young man with prominent cheekbones and very faint eyebrow lines standing next to the square couldn't help but sigh.

His name is Qian Guang, and he also got number one.

"It seems I can only get the points reward for ranking fifth to tenth."

Qian Guang defeated Guan Junyang in the last round, but in Qian Guang's opinion, Guan Junyang's Straw Man Art was not ridiculously strong.

Although Guan Junyang is powerful in the Nine Sections Dojo, and has even cultivated one of the Solar Terms Decree to the Fourth-Turn of the Knowing Realm, this competition is the Straw Man Art of the True Self Faction.

Qian Guang was quite talented in this area, and he was adept at controlling the six straw figures in actual combat. Therefore, in the actual battle against Guan Junyang, although the straw figures were slightly weaker, his straw figure control was stronger, and he ultimately won the match.

However, in this round against Zhao Xing, the confidence he had just built up began to waver again.

Let's see how Zhao Xing performs in the fourth and fifth levels.

In a contest of single-method straw dolls, eighteen straw dolls came in first place!

In a battle of multiple combined spells, the perfect double-spell straw doll takes first place!

Judging from how he beat Li Feng, this man must be a seasoned veteran who uses straw figures.

The practical application of control techniques will certainly not be weak.

"In any case, I've already got eight thousand points."

Forget about success or failure; treat it as practice.

Faced with the pressure of Zhao Xing's past record, Qian Guang closed his eyes and quickly regained his composure.

"Match 1, Zhao Xing vs. Qian Guang, begin!"

Buzz~

As the barrier rose, the two of them simultaneously pointed at the materials beside them and began casting a spell.

The materials are disappearing, but no straw man is appearing.

Clearly, both of them were using Invisibility Straw Figure a base to prepare Straw Puppet.

Qian Guang kept a close eye on Zhao Xing. He had to pay close attention to Zhao Xing's movements at all times to avoid being unaware that the enemy had sent out straw men.

With the first straw man completed, Qian Guang felt a little more confident, because it was an "Invisibility Giant Shield Straw Figure".

The Giant Shield Straw Figure's broad shape gave Qian Guang a sense of security.

But when Qian Guang looked at Zhao Xing a second time, his heart skipped a beat, because the materials next to Zhao Xing were disappearing too quickly.

The material disappears twice as fast as he does!

It's possible that the other party's drafter is faster; they might already have two straw figures completed!

"Invisibility Straw Figure, go!"

After creating the first straw doll, Qian Guang couldn't wait to create the second Invisibility Straw Figure with a single spell and ordered it to attack.

In actual combat, one doesn't necessarily have to win legally. He has a great talent for making Invisibility Straw Figure, and his method is the fastest.

He changed his previous strategy of focusing on quantity and started launching sneak attacks.

Because he knew that it would be difficult to beat Zhao Xing in terms of both quantity and quality.

Ten steps, twenty steps, thirty steps... the two were only a hundred steps apart.

The Invisibility Straw Figure crept stealthily toward Zhao Xing seemed oblivious, still staring at the materials in front of him.

"Is he just a pretty face?"

Qian Guang's heart pounded, because the Invisibility Straw Figure had appeared in front of Zhao Xing.

"Bang!"

A group of Invisibility Straw Figure blasted Zhao Xing away, sending him crashing outside the plaza.

"You won?!"

Qian Guang's face lit up with joy, but the next moment he realized something was wrong, because 'Zhao Xing' disintegrated after falling out of the square.

"Oh no, it's Illusionary Form Straw Puppet!"

"When did he start using the Illusionary Form Straw Puppet?!"

Qian Guang immediately sensed something was wrong and instinctively wanted to leave his original position.

Just then, a pair of hands wrapped around Qian Guang, holding him tightly, and began to burn.

"Damn it, I give up! I give up!"

Qian Guang immediately shouted.

No wonder Qian Guang panicked; this was a perfect-level Suicide Bombing Straw Figure. Anyone would be scared to be held by Suicide Bombing Straw Figure!

Given Agricultural Official's physique, if he were to be blown up, he would be instantly killed. Of course, Liu Tianning's dueling arena has a protective mechanism to prevent death, but why should he suffer that pain himself?

"Zhao Xing." Liu Tianning's voice rang out, and then the red light automatically dissipated and disintegrated into a pile of materials scattered next to Qian Guang.

"Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!" The Firecracker Bamboo material landed and crackled loudly. Qian Guang, still shaken, immediately jumped down from the square.

Qian Guang's comical escape immediately drew laughter, but the others who were competing couldn't laugh.

Qian Guang, who defeated Guan Junyang, was completely powerless against Zhao Xing and couldn't even last a single round. Who could stop him?

In the second match, Cai Jin faced Wu Yue, and Cai Jin won quickly.

In the third match, Zhuang Ziqing faced Che Shihai, and Zhuang Ziqing won quickly.

In the fourth match, Yu Hao defeated Wei Chen after a Yu Hao lasting 15 minutes.

Judging from the list of opponents, although it was said to be random, in reality, that Lord Liu still pulled some strings behind the scenes, preventing strong opponents from facing each other and instead ensuring that the strong were matched against the weak.

After all, this is about points rewards, and it would be unfair if a weaker player got a high score just because of luck.

Just as everyone was holding this thought, the fifth match between Shi Yong and Feng Qi greatly exceeded everyone's expectations.

In the Shi Yong and Feng Qi ultimately won!

It seems some expert guessed the ending; the readers are truly talented!

The plot will speed up from here on out; the next chapter will be set six months later.

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