As soon as the incense smoke began to rise, Zhao Wuji's Soul Power came crashing down.
Ning Rongrong struck first. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda hovered over her palm as multicolored light fell upon Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing.
"Seven Treasures Are Renowned, first: Strength."
"Seven Treasures Are Renowned, second: Speed."
Tang San immediately felt his body grow much lighter, while his strength surged.
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.
"This support really isn't bad!"
Ning Rongrong lifted her chin.
"Of course."
Yet Ji Yuan intercepted a small portion of the amplifying energy at the edge of Tang San's meridians.
This energy neither healed directly nor attacked directly. Instead, it raised the target's existing strength.
Its governing principle was clear.
He could not consume too much.
If he took too much, Ning Rongrong would notice that the enhancement had weakened.
Ji Yuan only bit off a tiny corner of it, using it to memorize how it functioned.
Zhao Wuji stood still and crooked a finger at them.
"Come."
Zhu Zhuqing was the first to rush forward.
She was the fastest. Her figure circled behind Zhao Wuji's side, and Hell Stab aimed straight for his ribs.
Xiao Wu leaped from the front, her long leg sweeping toward Zhao Wuji's neck.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass shot out along the ground at the same time, winding toward Zhao Wuji's feet.
Their coordination was passable.
Zhao Wuji laughed loudly as his first Soul Ring lit up.
Immovable Bright King Body.
Zhu Zhuqing's claw strike landed on him, only to send a numbing shock through her arm.
Xiao Wu's leg had barely swept across his shoulder before she was thrown away.
Tang San's expression changed. The Blue Silver Grass immediately wrapped around Xiao Wu's waist and pulled her back toward him.
After landing, Xiao Wu clutched her leg.
"This guy's skin is way too thick!"
Zhao Wuji patted his shoulder.
"You call this thick? Little girl, you haven't seen the real thing yet."
Tang San said in a low voice, "Don't attack him head-on. Go for his joints, eyes, and throat."
Zhu Zhuqing did not reply. She had already shifted position again.
Ning Rongrong shouted from the rear, "My support won't last long! Hurry up!"
Dai Mubai stood nearby, his expression unpleasant.
He knew Zhao Wuji would not truly kill anyone, but this assessment was too brutal for new students.
Especially Tang San.
He had just fought Dai Mubai last night, and today he still had to withstand Zhao Wuji.
But he did not know that half of Tang San's current weakness came from the Demon 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 shockwaves were concentrated above the surface. Underground, there were gaps instead.
The poison spikes could not be too large.
If they were too large, a Soul Saint's vitality would shatter them.
Ji Yuan mixed Datura Snake venom, Iron Mother Rust Poison, and hallucinogenic poison together. Then he wrapped the outer layer in the supple aura from Xiao Wu's origin, ensuring the poison spikes gave off no Soul Power fluctuations as they traveled through the earth.
Tang San had no idea that poison spikes were splitting apart beneath his shoes.
He raised his hand and flung out Blue Silver Grass, trying to restrain Zhao Wuji from several directions.
Zhao Wuji casually tugged, snapping the Blue Silver Grass into several pieces.
"Control-type? Decent toughness, but your strength is far too lacking."
Tang San did not answer. 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 here and let you poke me."
Tang San's heart sank.
Teacher Zhao looked rough and bold, but his eyesight was sharp.
Xiao Wu gritted her teeth. "Tang San, I'll try again."
"No."
Tang San stopped her and said quietly, "You were injured by the recoil. You'll be at a disadvantage if you go again."
Xiao Wu glared at him.
"What about you? Your face is completely pale."
Tang San did not explain. He only looked toward Zhu Zhuqing.
"Can you force him to lift his foot?"
Zhu Zhuqing was adjusting her breathing. Hearing this, she glanced sideways at him.
"I can try."
Ning Rongrong frowned.
"What good is making him lift his foot?"
Tang San did not reveal what he was truly thinking.
He only needed Zhao Wuji to move.
But Ji Yuan understood.
As expected of Blood Bag Number One.
His judgment of the battle situation was somewhat useful.
Zhao Wuji stood too steadily. The flesh beneath his feet was fused closely with his Soul Power, making it difficult for poison spikes to enter.
As long as he lifted his foot and exerted force, openings would appear around his ankle and heel.
Zhu Zhuqing moved.
She no longer attacked Zhao Wuji's upper body. Instead, 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 charged in from the other side to coordinate with her.
Annoyed by the two of them, Zhao Wuji raised his foot and stomped the ground.
"All of you, get back!"
The ground shook, throwing both Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing away.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass extended from behind and caught them both.
During the opening when Zhao Wuji's stomping foot came down, Ji Yuan's poison spike drilled out of the soil and scraped past Zhao Wuji's heel.
It missed.
Zhao Wuji's heel skin was too thick. The outer layer of the poison spike shattered under the Soul Power shockwave, leaving only a tiny core spike to retreat into the dirt.
Ji Yuan did not grow impatient.
The first probe had already been enough.
Zhao Wuji lowered his head and glanced beside his foot.
"Hm?"
Tang San's heart skipped a beat.
"Teacher Zhao?"
Zhao Wuji bent down, picked up a severed piece of Blue Silver Grass, examined it, then tossed it away.
"Your grass has a strange smell too."
Tang San explained, "My first Soul Ring came from a Datura Snake, so it carries poison."
Zhao Wuji nodded.
"The poison is a little weak."
Ji Yuan let out a silent cold laugh beneath the 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. Tang San and the others all slowed 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 at him from the side, only to be knocked back by Zhao Wuji's backhand.
Xiao Wu tried to save Ning Rongrong, but the moment she stepped forward, the gravity weighed heavily on her feet.
Tang San gritted his teeth. Blue Silver Grass wound together into several walls, blocking Zhao Wuji from Ning Rongrong.
Zhao Wuji slapped out with his palm. The grass walls shattered, and the gust of force flung Tang San backward.
His back struck the ground, and blood surged into his throat.
Ji Yuan took the chance to draw away Tang San's scattered inner force, then transferred part of the shock force into the Demon Vine's hardened layer.
A Soul Saint-level recoil like this 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 even offered a word of praise.
"You can still get up? Not bad."
Tang San wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his fingers reaching for his belt.
He was preparing to use his real hidden weapons.
Ji Yuan did not stop him.
The more chaotic the hidden weapons became, the easier it would be for the poison spikes to enter.
At that moment, Zhao Wuji lifted his foot over the broken Blue Silver Grass, preparing to force Tang San down.
That foot left the ground, and the Soul Power layer along the outer side of his ankle briefly loosened.
Ji Yuan controlled the core spike and made it break through the soil again.
This time, instead of stabbing the heel, he drilled along the skin lines on the outside of Zhao Wuji's ankle. The poison entered through tiny pores.
Zhao Wuji was raising his hand when he suddenly frowned.
"What bug was that?"
He looked down at his ankle. There was only a tiny red mark, not even a drop of blood.
Dai Mubai asked from the side, "Teacher Zhao, what's wrong?"
Zhao Wuji waved a hand.
"Nothing. Just a mosquito bite."
But Tang San had already flung his hand.
The first wave of hidden weapons shot 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 wave of hidden weapons slid from his sleeves.
Xiao Wu seized the opportunity to leap forward. She wrapped around Zhao Wuji's arm and exerted force with Waist Bow, trying to pull 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 could not completely dispel the force.
Xiao Wu let out a muffled groan when she landed.
Tang San's breathing became unsteady.
Ning Rongrong called out anxiously, "The incense is almost halfway burned! Hold on!"
Zhu Zhuqing wiped the blood from her lips, still staring at 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 poison spikes Ji Yuan had hidden underground had already withered, but the toxins had entered Zhao Wuji's meridians through his ankle.
A Soul Saint's vitality was too powerful, so the poison spread slowly.
He had to make Zhao Wuji circulate his Soul Power faster.
Tang San helped him.
Tang San's hands moved repeatedly, each wave of hidden weapons denser than the last. Zhao Wuji stopped standing there to take the attacks, and his Soul Power circulated with increasing urgency.
Driven by Soul Power, the compound poison rushed into the nerves of his leg and spread toward his waist and abdomen.
Zhao Wuji frowned once more.
"Why are this kid's hidden weapons getting more and more troublesome?"
Dai Mubai stared at the field and said quietly, "Teacher Zhao seems to have slowed down."
Oscar had sidled over at some point, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth.
"Boss Dai, did Tang San beating you last night leave you traumatized? How has Teacher Zhao slowed down?"
Dai Mubai shot him a glare.
"Shut up."
In the field, 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 force of his palm brushed past Tang San's collar and missed.
Tang San seized the opportunity, using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to circle around to the side.
Ji Yuan silently tightened his roots inside the soles of the shoes.
The poison had begun to take effect.
Tang San flipped his wrist, the hidden weapon he had truly prepared 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 fly.
Ji Yuan's toxin had also reached the meridians around Zhao Wuji's eyes.
Before you continue