Incense Stick Test, Poison Vine Stealth

As soon as the incense smoke began to rise, Zhao Wuji's Soul Power pressed down.

Ning Rongrong made the first move. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda floated above her palm, its colored light falling upon Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing.

"Seven Treasures have a name: first, Strength."

"Seven Treasures have a name: second, Speed."

Tang San immediately felt his body grow much lighter, while his strength was also boosted.

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.

"This support is pretty good!"

Ning Rongrong lifted her chin.

"Of course it is."

Yet Ji Yuan intercepted a small amount of the enhancement energy at the edge of Tang San's meridians.

This energy neither healed directly nor attacked directly. Instead, it raised the target's original strength.

Its sense of rules was clear.

He could not devour too much.

If he took too much, Ning Rongrong would notice the reduced enhancement.

Ji Yuan only took a tiny bit from the edge, using it to memorize how it worked.

Zhao Wuji stood still and crooked a finger at them.

"Come."

Zhu Zhuqing was the first to charge out.

She was the fastest. Circling around to Zhao Wuji's side and rear, she launched Hell Stab straight at his ribs.

Xiao Wu leaped up from the front, her long leg sweeping toward Zhao Wuji's neck.

At the same time, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass shot across the ground, wrapping toward Zhao Wuji's feet.

Their coordination was decent enough.

Zhao Wuji burst into laughter as his first soul ring lit up.

Immovable Bright King Body.

Zhu Zhuqing's claw strike landed on him, only for the recoil to numb her arm.

Xiao Wu's leg had barely struck his shoulder before she was blasted away.

Tang San's expression changed. His Blue Silver Grass immediately coiled around Xiao Wu's waist and pulled her back to his side.

After landing, Xiao Wu clutched her leg.

"This guy's skin is way too tough!"

Zhao Wuji patted his shoulder.

"And you call this tough? Little girl, you haven't seen the real thing yet."

Tang San said in a low voice, "Don't attack head-on. Go for the joints, eyes, and throat."

Zhu Zhuqing did not answer. She had already shifted positions again.

Ning Rongrong called from behind them, "My support time is limited! Hurry up!"

Dai Mubai stood to one side, his expression unpleasant.

He knew Zhao Wuji would not truly kill them, but this trial was far too harsh for new students.

Especially Tang San.

He had fought Dai Mubai just last night, and today he still had to endure Zhao Wuji head-on.

But he did not know that half of Tang San's current weakness came from the demonic vine beneath his shoe.

Taking advantage of the moment when the Blue Silver Grass broke apart, Ji Yuan sent fine roots underground.

Zhao Wuji's gravity and Soul Power shocks were concentrated above the ground. Underground, there were gaps instead.

The poison spikes could not be too large.

If they were too large, a Soul Sage's vigorous blood and energy would crush them.

Ji Yuan mixed Datura Snake venom, Iron Mother Rust Poison, and hallucinogenic poison together. He then wrapped the outer layer in the supple aura from Xiao Wu's origin, allowing the poison spikes to travel through the soil without any Soul Power fluctuations.

Tang San had no idea that poison spikes were splitting apart beneath his shoe.

He raised his hand and flung out Blue Silver Grass, attempting to restrict Zhao Wuji from several directions.

Zhao Wuji casually tore at it, snapping the Blue Silver Grass into several pieces.

"Control-type? Not bad resilience, but your strength is far too lacking."

Tang San did not reply. With a flick of his wrist, several hidden weapons slipped between his fingers.

Zhao Wuji saw them and grinned even wider.

"Kid, you can use hidden weapons, but don't expect me to stand still and let you prick me."

Tang San's heart sank.

This Teacher Zhao looked rough and boorish, but his eyes were sharp.

Xiao Wu gritted her teeth. "Tang San, let me try again."

"No."

Tang San stopped her and said quietly, "You were injured by the recoil. If you go again, you'll be at a disadvantage."

Xiao Wu glared at him.

"What about you? Your face has gone pale."

Tang San offered no explanation, only looking toward Zhu Zhuqing.

"Can you force him to lift his foot?"

Zhu Zhuqing was adjusting her breathing. Hearing that, she glanced sideways at him.

"I can try."

Ning Rongrong frowned.

"What's the point of making him lift his foot?"

Tang San did not reveal what he was really thinking.

He only needed Zhao Wuji to move.

But Ji Yuan understood.

As expected of the number one blood bag.

He was at least somewhat useful at judging the battle.

Zhao Wuji stood too firmly. The flesh on the soles of his feet was tightly reinforced by Soul Power, making it difficult for poison needles to penetrate.

As long as he lifted his foot to exert force, gaps would appear around his ankle and heel.

Zhu Zhuqing moved.

Rather than attacking Zhao Wuji's upper body again, she circled to the side, claw shadows striking repeatedly at the backs of his knees.

Xiao Wu also endured the pain in her leg and rushed in from the other side to cooperate.

Annoyed by the two of them pestering him, Zhao Wuji raised his foot and stomped down.

"Back off, all of you!"

The ground shook, sending both Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing flying away.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass extended from behind, catching them both.

In the instant Zhao Wuji's stomp landed, Ji Yuan's poison needle drilled out of the soil and grazed past Zhao Wuji's heel.

It missed.

The skin on Zhao Wuji's heel was too thick. The outer layer of the poison needle was shattered by Soul Power, leaving only its tiny core to retreat back into the dirt.

Ji Yuan did not grow impatient.

The first probe had already been enough.

Zhao Wuji lowered his head and glanced at the ground by his feet.

"Hm?"

Tang San's heart skipped a beat.

"Teacher Zhao?"

Zhao Wuji bent down and picked up a broken piece of Blue Silver Grass. He examined it, then tossed it aside.

"Your grass has a strange smell to it."

Tang San explained, "My first soul ring came from a Datura Snake. It carries poison."

Zhao Wuji nodded.

"The poison is a little weak."

Ji Yuan gave a silent, cold laugh from beneath the sole of his shoe.

Weak?

You'll find out soon enough.

Zhao Wuji clearly did not want to drag this out any longer.

His second soul ring lit up, and gravity control descended, slowing Tang San and the others at once.

Ning Rongrong's face turned pale.

"I can't move!"

Zhao Wuji walked toward her step by step.

"Taking out the support-type first is common sense."

Tang San's expression changed.

"Zhu Zhuqing, stop him!"

Zhu Zhuqing lunged in from the side, only to be blasted back by Zhao Wuji's backhand.

Xiao Wu wanted to save Ning Rongrong, but the moment she stepped forward, gravity weighed heavily on her feet.

Tang San gritted his teeth. Blue Silver Grass twisted into several walls, blocking Zhao Wuji from Ning Rongrong.

Zhao Wuji struck out with his palm. The grass walls shattered, and the forceful wind sent Tang San flying back.

His back slammed into the ground, and blood rose in his throat.

Ji Yuan took the opportunity to draw away Tang San's scattered internal energy, then redirected part of the shockwave into the hardened layer of the demonic vine.

This level of rebound force from a Soul Sage was perfect for tempering White Tiger keratin.

Tang San braced himself against the ground and tried to rise.

Xiao Wu panicked.

"Tang San!"

Zhao Wuji looked at him and actually offered a word of praise.

"You can still get up? Not bad."

Tang San wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and reached for his belt.

He was preparing to use his true hidden weapons.

Ji Yuan did not stop him.

The more chaotic the hidden weapons became, the easier it would be for the poisoned spines to get in.

Just then, Zhao Wuji lifted his foot over the broken Blue Silver Grass, preparing to pin Tang San down.

As that foot left the ground, the layer of Soul Power around the outside of his ankle briefly loosened.

Ji Yuan controlled the core spine to break through the soil again.

This time, he did not stab the heel. Instead, it burrowed in along the skin texture on the outside of Zhao Wuji's ankle, sending poison through the tiny pores.

Zhao Wuji was raising his hand when he suddenly frowned.

"What bug was that?"

He lowered his head and glanced at his ankle. There was only a tiny red mark there, not even any blood.

Dai Mubai asked from the side, "Teacher Zhao, what's wrong?"

Zhao Wuji waved his hand.

"It's nothing. Just a mosquito bite."

But Tang San had already flicked his hand.

The first batch of hidden weapons flew out, sealing off Zhao Wuji's face, shoulders, and neck.

Zhao Wuji snorted coldly and released his Soul Power, knocking most of the hidden weapons off course.

"That's it?"

Tang San did not stop.

A second batch of hidden weapons slid from his sleeves.

Xiao Wu seized the chance to pounce, wrapping around Zhao Wuji's arm and exerting force with Waist Bow in an attempt to throw him off balance.

Zhao Wuji shook his arm, flinging Xiao Wu away.

Tang San's gaze darkened. Blue Silver Grass wrapped around her, but it failed to fully disperse the force.

Xiao Wu let out a muffled groan when she hit the ground.

Tang San's breathing grew ragged.

Ning Rongrong cried anxiously, "The incense has already burned past halfway! Hold on!"

Zhu Zhuqing wiped the blood from her lips, her eyes still fixed on Zhao Wuji's legs.

She did not know what Tang San was waiting for, but she could tell that he had not given up.

The poisoned spines Ji Yuan had hidden underground had already withered, but the poison had entered Zhao Wuji's meridians through his ankle.

A Soul Sage's vitality was too robust, and the poison spread slowly.

He had to make Zhao Wuji circulate his Soul Power faster.

Tang San helped him.

Tang San's hands moved rapidly, the hidden weapons growing denser with each wave. Zhao Wuji no longer stood there and took the attacks; he circulated his Soul Power with increasing urgency.

Carried along by the Soul Power, the compound poison rushed into the nerves in his legs, then spread toward his waist and abdomen.

Zhao Wuji frowned once more.

"Why were this kid's hidden weapons getting more and more annoying?"

Dai Mubai stared at the arena and said in a low voice, "Teacher Zhao seemed to have slowed down."

Oscar had sidled over at some point, a grass root dangling from his mouth.

"Boss Dai, did Tang San give you psychological trauma last night? How was Teacher Zhao slow?"

Dai Mubai shot him a glare.

"Shut up."

In the arena, Zhao Wuji raised a hand and grabbed at Tang San.

Just as he was about to seize Tang San's shoulder, his arm suddenly failed to follow through. The wind from his palm brushed past Tang San's collar and missed.

Tang San seized the opportunity, stepping with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to circle around to the side.

Inside the soles of his shoes, Ji Yuan coldly tightened his roots.

The poison had begun to take effect.

Tang San flipped his wrist. The hidden weapon he had truly prepared was already clasped in his palm.

The numbness inside Zhao Wuji's body was also creeping up along his spine.

The incense was still burning.

Tang San's hidden weapon was about to be unleashed.

Ji Yuan's poison had also reached the meridians around Zhao Wuji's eyes.