"Parasite!"
Tang San didn't hesitate. The Second Soul Ring flashed.
When he had pulled Zhu Zhuqing away moments earlier, several nearly invisible Blue Silver Grass seeds had already silently stuck to the gaps in Xiao Qing's Rock Armor and the hem of his clothes.
Now, stirred to life by Soul Power, the seeds erupted into growth. Fine, tough strands of Blue Silver Grass burst from every corner of Xiao Qing's body, quickly winding around his arms, waist, and legs.
No single strand was very strong, but they were sudden and numerous. For a moment, they even restricted Xiao Qing's movements, making his swinging arm falter.
Tang San felt a little more at ease. Fortunately, his First Soul Ring came from a Datura Snake, giving his Blue Silver Grass extraordinary toughness and poison.
The poison seemed to have little effect on someone with Xiao Qing's physique, but the grass was tough enough to hold him back for a short while.
His thoughts raced. Xiao Qing's defense and speed were both troublesome, and his strength was astonishing. A direct assault was unlikely to work.
If they could control Xiao Qing, they might have a sliver of a chance.
"Xiao Wu!" Tang San looked at her as she landed, speaking rapidly. "His defense is too strong, and he's powerful. We can't beat him head-on. Wait for an opening and use Charm! If you can control him for even an instant, Zhuqing can attack a weak spot in his defense, or I can try to restrain him with a stronger control Soul Skill. That's our only chance!"
Xiao Wu nodded. She understood what Tang San meant.
Their opponent's defense was like a tortoise shell. They had to break him from within, or make him expose a weakness.
"I'll create an opening. Watch for the right moment!"
Tang San shouted, Soul Power surging through him as he poured a large amount into the Blue Silver Grass in his hand. He pushed its toughness to the limit, binding Xiao Qing tightly.
More Blue Silver Grass kept sprouting from the ground and joining the tangle, temporarily confining Xiao Qing to a small area.
Zhu Zhuqing circled nearby, her cat claws gleaming coldly as she searched for an opening exposed by Xiao Qing's struggles.
Xiao Qing looked down at the Blue Silver Grass quickly covering his body, then raised his eyes to Tang San, sweating at a short distance away, and Zhu Zhuqing, watching him warily from the side.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Xiao Qing flexed his arm slightly, making it look as if he were trying to break free.
"Now!"
A glint flashed in Tang San's eyes. The instant he sensed that Xiao Qing's attention seemed to be on the vines wrapped around him, he controlled a strand of Blue Silver Grass and swung Xiao Wu straight toward Xiao Qing.
At the same time, he rushed forward several steps to close the distance, making it easier to control the Blue Silver Grass and increase the pressure, creating the perfect opportunity for Xiao Wu to strike.
Xiao Wu used the momentum to surge forward, her figure light and graceful as she reached Xiao Qing in an instant.
Her big eyes suddenly turned a brilliant pink. A soft radiance rippled outward as her gaze locked directly onto Xiao Qing's.
"Second Soul Skill, Charm!"
Pink light enveloped him, carrying an intense force of mental attraction and illusion.
Xiao Qing seemed to have no way to avoid it. His eyes met Xiao Wu's pink gaze.
In an instant, Xiao Qing's movements halted. His struggling arm dropped, and his eyes turned momentarily blank and vacant, as if Charm had truly seized him and drawn him into an illusion.
Did it work?!
Xiao Wu was delighted and was just about to speak when Zhu Zhuqing shot forward like a leopard, her cat claws aimed straight at the "dazed" Xiao Qing.
But just as Zhu Zhuqing's claws were about to touch Xiao Qing's skin, everything changed.
"Xiao Wu, watch out!"
Tang San's shout rang out. Through the Blue Silver Grass, he sensed the Soul Power within the tightly bound "Xiao Qing" suddenly drawing inward in a bizarre way, then bursting forth with a roar!
A violent force of wind-attribute energy exploded from inside "Xiao Qing"!
"Bang!!!"
The muffled blast wasn't earth-shattering, but it shocked everyone present.
Under the tearing force of the internal explosion, the Blue Silver Grass holding Xiao Qing snapped strand by strand.
It burst apart into a rain of deep-blue fragments that fluttered down.
But amid the falling grass, where was Xiao Qing?
The "Xiao Qing" who had been charmed and bound was nothing but a decoy!
Tang San's Purple Demon Eye reached its limit as his gaze swept rapidly across the field.
The next instant, every hair on his body stood on end. A chill shot up his spine, and he twisted around, looking behind and to the side of where he had been standing.
There stood Xiao Qing, utterly clean and untouched, his Rock Armor's glow already faded.
It was as if he had been standing there all along, unnoticed by everyone.
His eyes rested calmly on Tang San, who had turned at the shout and now had his back to him.
"Your tactics were good, but..."
Xiao Qing's voice sounded right behind Tang San's ear, so close.
Tang San didn't even have time to dodge or defend himself. He felt a powerful force strike his back.
Xiao Qing's right foot seemed to casually kick the side of Tang San's waist, but the force was controlled with pinpoint precision. It didn't injure bone or muscle, yet it was more than enough to throw him off balance.
Tang San flew like a kite with its string cut, kicked beyond the boundaries of the assessment field and landing in the mud more than ten meters away.
He looked battered, but he wasn't seriously hurt.
"The commander is out."
Xiao Qing withdrew his foot and calmly looked at the others.
"Third Brother!"
Xiao Wu cried out.
Zhu Zhuqing's attack had missed, but she quickly recovered. Seeing Tang San "cleared" out of the field, her heart sank.
Ning Rongrong's enhancement was still in effect, but Tang San, the heart of their strategy, was gone.
"Now it's your turn."
Xiao Qing turned toward Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing. His shoulders shifted, and he charged at them in an instant.
Without Tang San's direction and support from the Blue Silver Grass, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing could only rely on their speed and the enhancement from the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda. They managed to hold out for more than ten seconds, pulling off several clever coordinated attacks, but Xiao Qing seemed to anticipate their every move and soon found an opening in each of them.
Sometimes he took their attacks head-on with his Rock Armor, then closed in and used a simple, effective grab or palm strike to disrupt their balance and break their attack rhythm.
In just a few breaths, Xiao Qing struck Xiao Wu on the side of the neck with a knife-hand. Though he controlled his strength, half her body still went numb, and she stumbled to the ground.
Zhu Zhuqing was forced to dodge with all her might, but as soon as she landed, Xiao Qing closed in beside her.
He lightly tapped a point near her Jianjing acupoint, and her arm immediately went limp, leaving her unable to continue attacking.
In the blink of an eye, the only one left in the field was Ning Rongrong, standing at the very back with a pale face and both hands gripping the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda.
She tried to keep enhancing her companions, but now that no one was protecting her, she was defenseless before Xiao Qing.
Xiao Qing didn't attack Ning Rongrong. He simply looked up at the incense stick.
It had burned down only about halfway.
His gaze passed over Tang San, who had just gotten up outside the field, his face grim; then over Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, who had lost their ability to fight; and finally settled on Ning Rongrong.
"The assessment is over."
Xiao Qing's voice rang clearly across the field. Beside him, Xiao Feng also let his fierce aura fade and quietly sat back down.
"You lost."
The fight had been brisk and decisive. From beginning to end, it had lasted less than half an incense stick.
Xiao Qing had demonstrated not only a Soul Ring Configuration that defied common sense and three thousand-year Soul Beasts, but also absolute control over the battle's pace and a masterful command of his many abilities.
Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun had watched from the sidelines. Though they had known the outcome in advance, they were still full of amazement at how effortlessly Xiao Qing had ended the fight.
Zhao Wuji stood with his arms folded. His expression gave nothing away, but he nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied with Xiao Qing's performance.
Tang San got to his feet and brushed the dust from his clothes. As he watched Xiao Qing calmly recall Xiao Feng, his initial shock gave way to a deeply conflicted feeling.
There was the need to reflect on his own defeat, envy of Xiao Qing's strength, and anticipation for the days ahead at the academy.
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