Tang San's New Move Appears, He Controls Himself First

"Then let's go to the training ground; stop just standing behind the tree and making empty threats."

Su Hang's voice drifted over from the courtyard entrance.

Tang San paused, his sleeves feeling much lighter; the mechanisms he had registered yesterday were gone, leaving only the demonstration pieces the academy allowed him to carry.

Yu Xiaogang stood with his hands behind his back, forcing himself to maintain the air of a mentor.

"Since you want to see, today I will let you clearly understand the true value of the Control-type path."

Xiao Wu poked her head out from behind Su Hang.

"Here we go again. He almost skewered a teacher yesterday, and he still dares to do a public demonstration today?"

Ning Rongrong shifted her small bag onto her shoulder and added, "I happen to want to see it too, so I know what the Seven Treasures needs to defend against in the future."

A circle of students quickly gathered around the training ground.

A wooden track was placed in the center of the field, and two lower-grade students pulled on ropes, allowing the wooden target to slide back and forth along the track.

Xiao Chenyu stood outside the wooden railing with his arms crossed.

"Wang Sheng, are you taking bets? I bet Tang San starts steady and then flips it."

Wang Sheng hugged his breakfast bag to his chest. "Don't go corrupting the atmosphere; I'm only here to watch the show."

Yu Xiaogang walked to the side of the wooden track and raised a hand to signal. "Today's demonstration is on the coordination between Control-type Spirit Skills and auxiliary tools."

Tang San stood at one end of the track and raised his right hand. A yellow spirit ring lit up, and Blue Silver Grass shot out along the ground, not rushing wildly but first wrapping around the base of the wooden target.

Yu Xiaogang continued, "Moving targets are harder than stationary posts. The value of a Control-type Spirit Master lies in prediction, restriction, and creating opportunities to land a hit."

Tang San shifted his feet slightly, aiming the mechanism in his sleeve at the center of the wooden target.

Whoosh.

A short arrow nailed the bullseye, and the wooden target was held fast by the Blue Silver Grass, never veering off the track.

Students on the sidelines began to whisper.

"His aim is true this time."

"Tang San must have practiced last night, right?"

"The Blue Silver Grass didn't look too obvious, either."

Yu Xiaogang finally regained a bit of his confidence. "Do you see? Every spirit skill has a breaking-in period. To dismiss an entire path based on a single mistake is shallow in itself."

Tang San retracted the short arrow, his tone steady. "The Control-type does not seek to decide the outcome in a single blow; its true value is holding the rhythm of the battlefield in one's own hands."

Xiao Wu felt a bit uncomfortable hearing this and turned to look at Su Hang. "Brother Su Hang, is he really steady this time?"

Su Hang did not rush to judge. "The wooden target won't run off course, nor will it fight back."

Ning Rongrong understood, her fingers tapping against the Seven Treasures Token. "You mean to say that if we swapped in a living person, we'd find out?"

Su Hang looked toward the outside of the wooden railing. "Xiao Chenyu."

Upon hearing his name, Xiao Chenyu took half a step back. "Boss Su, I'm here."

Su Hang pointed to the outer perimeter of the training ground. "Activate White Wolf, run a lap around the field, and don't stop."

Xiao Chenyu glanced at Tang San, then at Yu Xiaogang. "I'm only running, not getting skewered, right?"

Xiao Wu immediately chimed in, "If you run fast enough, he might not be able to hit you."

Ning Rongrong added a jab of her own, "Don't worry, if you get hit, I'll cover your medical expenses."

Xiao Chenyu's face fell.

"Seven Treasures Little Princess, this consolation is a bit costly for the people involved."

Wang Sheng gave him a shove.

"Go on, White Wolf, you speed-type tool."

Xiao Chenyu gritted his teeth and walked into the arena, letting out a low shout.

"Martial Soul, White Wolf, possess!"

After the White Wolf possession, he exerted force through his legs and ran along the outer circle of the training ground, his speed far surpassing that of the moving wooden targets.

Yu Xiaogang immediately looked at Tang San.

"Do not let your rhythm be disrupted. Expand the coverage of the Blue Silver Grass and seal off his path first."

Tang San nodded.

"Understood."

Blue Silver Grass erupted from the ground in patches, beginning to spread out in front of Xiao Chenyu.

At first, the blades of grass successfully blocked half the path.

Xiao Chenyu was forced to change direction; he veered off, his White Wolf claws stepping over the edge of the wooden railing as he circled back to the other side.

The students on the sidelines watched with growing excitement.

"He's actually got some skill."

"If he gets tangled up, Xiao Chenyu won't be able to run anymore."

Yu Xiaogang raised his voice.

"This is the suppression of speed-type Spirit Masters by the Control system. As long as the prediction is accurate, no matter how fast the speed is, it will be restricted."

Tang San channeled his spirit power, and the range of the Blue Silver Grass expanded by another circle.

However, the Dark Green Poisonous Veins on the grass blades suddenly became chaotic.

A section of the poisonous veins surged back toward the roots, and several strands of Blue Silver Grass stopped chasing Xiao Chenyu, instead curling up from around Tang San's feet.

Xiao Wu immediately slapped the edge of the table.

"Here it comes!"

Halfway through his run, Xiao Chenyu also saw those few strands of grass.

"Tang San, your grass is running in the wrong direction!"

Tang San's ankle was entangled by the Blue Silver Grass, and his body was pulled downward.

He immediately utilized Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, shifting his steps in an attempt to shake off the grass blades.

But the rhythm of both the Blue Silver Grass and the hidden mechanisms in his sleeves fell into disarray.

Clink, clink.

Several fine needles slid from his cuffs, rolling along the ground toward the students on the sidelines.

"Back away!"

Su Hang raised his hand and pressed down; Dark Purple Lightning swept across the ground, deflecting all the fine needles beneath the wooden stakes.

The students scrambled backward in a hurry.

"Again?"

"This time it almost poked us."

"The Control system controlling its own classmates? This training intensity is too high."

Xiao Chenyu had already run back to the wooden railing, not daring to even deactivate his White Wolf possession.

"Boss Su, I'm filing for a workplace injury."

Wang Sheng pulled him behind his back.

"You weren't poked, so consider yourself lucky for being fast."

Tang San tore the Blue Silver Grass off his ankle, his right hand still numb.

Yu Xiaogang immediately stepped forward.

"It was just a brief deviation caused by the poison force surging back due to expanding the range too hastily."

Ning Rongrong walked over to the wooden stakes and looked down at the fine needles.

"A brief deviation?"

She raised the Seven Treasures Token and tapped it lightly against her palm.

"If Su Hang hadn't intercepted just now, those students would have had to return to the dormitory with injuries."

Yu Xiaogang flicked his sleeve.

"If a deviation occurs during training, the teacher will be responsible for handling it."

Ning Rongrong stared at him.

"Are you responsible for handling this, or are you responsible for explaining it? You were nearly pricked yesterday, and a student was nearly pricked today. Is this what you call a controllable path?"

The students on the sidelines quieted down significantly.

Xiao Wu walked over to Su Hang, her words not softening in the slightest.

"Grandmaster, stop trying to make mistakes sound so pleasant. Vines wrapping around your own legs and needles landing at someone else's feet—is this what you call control?"

Xiao Chenyu raised his hand.

"I'll add one thing: he also scared my White Wolf."

Wang Sheng nodded.

"Even White Wolf thinks this routine is dangerous."

Yu Xiaogang was blocked into silence for a moment, but eventually spoke up.

"Tang San's Spirit Skill does indeed have short-term risks."

Tang San stood where he was, offering no rebuttal.

Yu Xiaogang quickly picked up his train of thought.

"But risks do not mean the path is wrong. Once the Poison Pattern stabilizes and the rhythm of the Hidden Weapons becomes more practiced, this combination still has a future."

Ning Rongrong tucked the Seven Treasures Token back into her waist.

"Then until it's stable, don't use others as targets."

Tang San looked up at Su Hang.

"Today was just a demonstration error. I will adjust it next time."

Su Hang walked over to the wooden stake, picked up a strand of Blue Silver Grass scorched black by the Poison Pattern, and tossed it back onto the ground.

"A Control-type spirit master who needs to control himself first—you're certainly ahead of the curve in this lesson."