"You..." Zong Shichang was just about to use Guiding Thunder to blast someone when, in an instant, he lost his target.
It was not that Zhao Xing had run too fast. Rather, many straw men suddenly rose from the ground around him.
The yellow straw men were nearly the same color as the earth. With Zhao Xing having covered them in some sand and soil, they were impossible to spot!
That bastard had actually buried straw men underground to lie in ambush!
"What use is weaving so many straw men? Hmph, the Straw Man Art is nothing but a petty trick!"
"I can destroy them easily!"
Zong Shichang attacked with Guiding Thunder.
"Boom-crack!"
A bolt of lightning descended from the clouds and struck a straw man with perfect accuracy.
Yet the result greatly shocked Zong Shichang!
He discovered that the golden straw man only had a scorched patch on its chest. It had not begun smoking or burning as he had imagined.
"What is this? Straw men can withstand heavenly lightning too?"
Zong Shichang found it rather absurd.
He was not skilled in the Straw Man Art and had always looked down on such spells. He found weaving techniques troublesome and complicated. Young Master Zong could not do such delicate work, like some woman.
Who would have thought that Zhao Xing's woven straw men would be completely different from any he had seen before!
"Boom-crack! Boom-crack!"
Several more bolts of lightning struck down. Zong Shichang had to exert considerable effort before finally dealing with one of them.
"How much heavenly lightning can you summon?" Under the cover of the straw men, Zhao Xing looked at Zong Shichang with a faint smile.
These were merely crude straw men he had placed at the edge of his territory as an early warning. They had not even reached First-Turn strength.
The twenty Vajra Puppets emerging from the bamboo grove were the true guards.
"Give Young Master Zong a taste of some real strength."
The twenty Vajra Puppets surged forward together.
"What? There are so many more?!"
Zong Shichang was immediately startled.
These twenty straw men that had appeared afterward were clearly nothing like the previous ones.
Every one of them gleamed gold rather than dull yellow, and their forms were sturdy, carrying an impressive air.
Zong Shichang watched as a Vajra Puppet leaped three or four meters in a single bound. Was that really mobility a fucking straw man should possess?!
"Wind, come!"
Zong Shichang could no longer spare any thought for attacking. He first had to stop these Vajra Puppets.
Although he was already at Gathering Yuan Fourth Level, with robust vitality and considerable strength, he still did not dare let these straw men surround him.
A Minister of Agriculture's close-combat ability was relatively weak. Besides, what spellcaster fought hand-to-hand like a martial artist?
"Whooo~"
A powerful west wind blew toward the Vajra Puppets.
Zong Shichang's wind control was fairly good. He swept up sand and stones from the ground without directing too much of the wind downward and wasting its force.
"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The sand and stones struck the straw men's bodies, yet produced the sound of metal colliding.
It did indeed hinder them somewhat, but the effect fell far short of Zong Shichang's expectations.
Instead, the dust cloud obscured his own vision, and he failed to notice two straw men quietly creeping up behind him.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle..."
Amid the sound of the wind came an unusual noise.
"What the hell is that?!" Zong Shichang turned his head and saw two vines slithering across the ground like spirit serpents!
Every Bush and Tree Seems Like an Enemy: Entangling Straw Puppet!
The Entangling Straw Puppets, made from Green Vine, could extend their vines and bind enemies.
"Smack!" A vine lashed Zong Shichang's right arm. Though he evaded it, a red mark appeared on his arm.
"What kind of straw men are these?!" Zong Shichang leaped away. Before he could think, a second and third vine whipped toward him.
He dodged once, then twice, but eventually failed to evade the increasing number of vines.
Zong Shichang's hands were bound and pulled taut in opposite directions.
Unable to cast spells, his wind died and his lightning scattered.
He tried to break free, only to find it utterly useless. The Green Vine vines possessed astonishing toughness, enhanced by Triple Resilience! Entangling Straw Puppets were difficult to shake off.
The next moment, his feet were bound as well and pulled apart to either side.
"Ah—ooh..."
Young Master Zong was forcibly split, suspended in midair in a full split before crashing heavily to the ground.
"Hiss~"
A man's pain—those who knew, knew. Zong Shichang hurt so badly that he could not even speak.
At that moment, the Vajra Puppets charged over.
Without a word, they gave Zong Shichang a punch.
"I con—"
Before he could say he conceded defeat, he was knocked flat.
"I concede!"
Zong Shichang hurriedly shouted at the top of his lungs, afraid Zhao Xing had not heard him. He knew that straw men carried out their caster's commands and would not stop until their objective was complete.
Fortunately, after he fell facedown, the Vajra Puppets stopped moving.
As the dust settled and the straw men parted, Zhao Xing's leisurely figure was revealed.
"Brother Zong, what do you think?"
"You have no martial morality. You actually ambushed me." Zong Shichang maintained a calm, indifferent expression. "I still have many secret arts I haven't used. I was merely careless and fell for your trick. Besides, what skill is there in using straw men? When Ministers of Agriculture fight, who engages in hand-to-hand combat?"
Even lying on the ground with his mouth still stubborn, sprawled there as if being torn apart by five horses, Zong Shichang was somehow still unconvinced. Zhao Xing immediately retorted, "You were the one who said there would be no restrictions. How can that be called an ambush? Besides, does the Straw Man Art not count as an Agrarian School spell?"
"I..." Zong Shichang was left speechless. No matter how much he looked down on the Straw Man Art, he could not deny it. That would be far too disgraceful.
Snap! Zhao Xing snapped his fingers, making the straw men release Zong Shichang. Then he turned and headed back toward his territory. "If Brother Zong has not had enough, we can fight again another day. I'll wait for you to break my Straw Man Art."
Seeing Zhao Xing turn away, Zong Shichang immediately lost his composed facade. Grimacing, he looked down at his crotch and reached in to feel around.
"Phew, luckily it's only a little scraped. It won't affect anything, it won't affect anything..."
The sparring match between Zong Shichang and Zhao Xing had come quickly and ended quickly.
Moreover, flying sand and rolling stones had filled the air during the fight, so only a handful of people saw it clearly.
"His straw men are that fierce?" Wen Nanxing watched from the well. "Zong Shichang did not even last two exchanges. He only used Guiding Thunder and strong wind before losing. It seems I need to reevaluate the Straw Man Art as well."
Wen Nanxing had likewise overlooked the Straw Man Art. Over the years, the straw man techniques passed down by the court had grown fewer and fewer. At first there had been dozens of straw man arts, but later only a scant few remained.
But after seeing Zhao Xing use straw men, Wen Nanxing's view of them changed greatly.
"Interesting. He is skilled at using straw men too." A trace of surprise flashed through Xiao Ze's eyes, and his curiosity toward Zhao Xing deepened. "Vajra Puppet... it was mentioned in the Willow Transmission Eighty-One Methods. I never expected him to know how to use it... Should I ask him for guidance?"
Xiao Ze's heart itched with impatience. He also liked using straw man spells, but his teacher only knew a few kinds. Xiao Ze had studied for a long time before mastering three. Now that he had seen this, he could not help wanting Zhao Xing to teach him.
"Forget it. I'll wait until the assessment is over." Xiao Ze restrained himself. Not everyone was as impulsive as Zong Shichang. The most important thing now was achieving a good ranking in the Start of Autumn assessment.
On the proctors' platform, Gao Linong looked at Zong Shichang limping along and felt terrible. A moment ago, he had been gloating over Zhao Xing stealing Wen Nanxing and Xiao Ze's Yuan energy. He had not expected his own disciple to be humiliated the next moment.
And it had happened in full view of everyone. His prized student could not even defeat a few straw men. How embarrassing! Those two old fossils, Tang Wanchun and Pang Yuan, were probably laughing themselves sick inside!
Gao Linong secretly glanced over and, sure enough, found that the corners of his two colleagues' mouths were harder to suppress than a waterwheel.
Before you continue