Chapter 144: Invisibility, Soul-Binding, Martyrdom Explosion, Guardian — the four new straw man techniques

"The straw man technique is truly exquisite; I never imagined it could reach such a level... Why did my belt fall off?" Cao Shuang was contemplating a gray straw man before him when he suddenly discovered his belt had come undone.

"Who, who the hell is casting spells?!"

People around them covered their mouths and laughed. Zhao Xing walked over with a grin and snapped his fingers, making the invisible straw man appear.

"Brother Cao, we're all men here. Are you still afraid of being seen?"

"It's you?" Seeing it was Zhao Xing, Cao Shuang wasn't angry; he chuckled and tightened his belt. "Brother, I'm not a woman. Why are you undoing my belt? I don't have any 'Long Yang' tendencies, you know."

Zhao Xing laughed: "Your vigilance is too poor. If the invisible straw man had been holding a pair of scissors, your manhood would be gone. You'd have no name left, only your surname."

Cao Shuang patted his crotch and gave a heroic laugh: "Ha, brother, I'm not just well-endowed and skilled; I'm also extremely sturdy. You'd need at least a fifth-tier pair of scissors for that."

Zhao Xing grinned: "Then your wife is going to suffer, haha."

"Hahaha."

The two chatted and laughed as they walked to the side.

There are only two ways for men to build friendship quickly: fighting side-by-side, or going somewhere else to fight side-by-side.

Ever since the [Impossible Training], Zhao Xing had ignited the fighting spirit of the agricultural officials. During that month, Zhao Xing had integrated himself well.

He had good relationships with Cao Shuang, Jiang Tianming, Zhuang Ziqing, and others.

"Brother, I didn't expect you to have such talent for straw men too."

Cao Shuang had a lecherous look on his face, making it hard not to misinterpret his words.

"Can you stop looking so dissolute when you say that? Whenever you talk about straw man spells, I get a weird feeling," Zhao Xing laughed. "The army is tough; don't go using straw man spells for anything strange. It's indecent."

"With my physique and looks, do I need to use such methods?" Cao Shuang patted his chest. "If I stand at the entrance of the Yangcheng Weaving Office, plenty of weaving girls would throw their handkerchiefs at me."

Zhao Xing gave a thumbs up. He didn't know about Cao Shuang's other skills, but his confidence was certainly unrivaled.

"Alright, enough small talk. How much have you comprehended?" Cao Shuang asked.

"I've comprehended one technique, the invisible straw man. When I saw you, I came over to say hello," Zhao Xing said. "What about you? How many have you learned?"

"The plaza is full of intermediate straw men; how many could I possibly comprehend?" Cao Shuang said. "I've been here for half a day and only comprehended one: the Martyrdom Explosion straw man."

"Oh?" Zhao Xing raised an eyebrow. "Where is it? Let me see."

"Right over there," Cao Shuang said. "Come, I'll take you to see it."

Cao Shuang led Zhao Xing to the south side of the plaza, where there was a bamboo forest with green leaves but dark red stalks.

Nearby, there were also many split dark red bamboo strips.

"Explosive bamboo forest? And they're all third or fourth tier," Zhao Xing was slightly surprised.

"Yeah, I was startled when I first arrived. With such a large forest of explosive bamboo and so much stacked nearby, I was afraid of being blown away," Cao Shuang said. "I've been crouching here contemplating, trembling with fear."

"Brother, you can rest easy," Zhao Xing pointed to some uniquely shaped stone piers and exotic beast statues next to the bamboo forest. "That's the Profound Turtle Origin-Locking Array. It's stacked four layers deep; even if you blew up this forest, it wouldn't explode outward."

"Oh? I couldn't tell you had research into arrays."

Zhao Xing said: "Brother Cao, I'm quite greedy for this straw man technique as well. I'll contemplate here. Shall we do it together?"

Cao Shuang waved his hand: "I won't stay here. I'm going to practice the Martyrdom Explosion straw man. Go a thousand meters south, then turn left to find a courtyard. There are straw men constantly self-destructing inside. I'll be practicing while watching there. You can come find me once you've learned it."

"Alright," Zhao Xing nodded.

He watched Cao Shuang leave, then began to contemplate the process of the Martyrdom Explosion straw man.

The Martyrdom Explosion straw man is a restricted spell.

Among intermediate spells, it is quite material-intensive.

It usually uses explosive bamboo as material.

Certain plants with explosive attributes can also be used as raw materials.

If these materials aren't used, the power is greatly reduced.

"The Martyrdom Explosion straw man locks the power of the five elements inside, usually dominated by fire and thunder."

"Materials like explosive bamboo provide a large amount of fire-element power, and its internal circulation constantly compresses air."

"When the hard bamboo joints burst, tens of thousands of fragments scatter, capable of turning a person into a sieve."

Zhao Xing had a deep memory of explosive bamboo, as it had played a major role in killing Wu Mei of the Profound Heaven Sect.

The Martyrdom Explosion straw man is more practical than simple explosive bamboo, which needs to be buried to have a set effect, and throwing it is ineffective.

Because it's easy to dodge and easy to hurt oneself.

Utilizing the mobility of the Martyrdom Explosion straw man perfectly unleashes the effect of the explosive bamboo.

Of course, it's not just explosive bamboo; many other plants can be used. Zhao Xing is no longer in Gucheng; he can access many magical plants.

In his past life, the Martyrdom Explosion straw man was developed into many uses by agricultural official players.

For example, the Poison Explosion straw man is a variant of the Martyrdom Explosion straw man.

There are also wild operations like adding feces and urine into the Martyrdom Explosion straw man.

"A straw man dipped in feces—whoever touches it dies; if they don't die, they'll be disgusted to death." Zhao Xing's mouth curled up as he thought of the many application scenarios for this spell.

[You observed the straw man's spell-casting process and comprehended the intermediate spell 'Martyrdom Explosion straw man'.]

[Martyrdom Explosion straw man: 1/9999]

[Effect: Utilize plant characteristics to trigger an explosion of five-element power.]

"Zhao Xing, go practice the Martyrdom Explosion straw man elsewhere."

Just as Zhao Xing wanted to try it out, a 'Liu' character straw man next to the bamboo forest suddenly spoke.

"Yes." Zhao Xing cupped his hands, took the Martyrdom Explosion straw man, and left to find Cao Shuang.

Just at this moment.

Several people flew into the palace plaza.

One of them was very familiar.

"Li Feng?"

"This kid really likes playing the summoning style. In the straw man training class, he's already reached the third level so quickly."

Zhao Xing took a glance and left the plaza.

After Li Feng landed, he happened to see Zhao Xing's back.

Why did he recognize him from just a back view? Because he hated him.

Damn it, he couldn't beat him in a fight and had been tricked by this guy several times.

Tricked once during reporting, tricked once during branch assignment, and his promotion battle was also ruined by Zhao Xing.

Let alone a back view, Li Feng would recognize him even if he were turned into ashes!

"Good, good, good. You've actually given me a chance so quickly." Seeing Zhao Xing, Li Feng couldn't help but be overjoyed. "I can't beat you in other spells, but I'm most proficient in straw man spells!"

"Even the commander said I have talent for straw man spells."

Li Feng revealed a smile.

Because he liked straw man spells, many of his spells unconsciously leaned towards the summoning style.

"Learn the spells first, then in the ranking competition, there will definitely be a chance to fight him."

Li Feng quickly went to the plaza to find a suitable straw man spell to contemplate.

A thousand meters south of the courtyard, there were many courtyards sealed by arrays. Turning left at the thousand-meter mark, Zhao Xing saw Cao Shuang practicing the Martyrdom Explosion straw man inside.

Faint explosions could be heard, but every time an explosion occurred, everything in the courtyard was wrapped by the array, unable to harm a single blade of grass or tree.

Cao Shuang stood within a circle, in the range of the explosion, and was unharmed.

Instead, he was able to watch the movement of the explosion at close range.

"Zhao Xing, why are you here? Did you not learn it? I'll teach you... Hmm? You've already learned it?" Cao Shuang thought Zhao Xing had come to ask for advice, not expecting him to be here to practice.

But they had only parted less than two quarters of an hour ago, and Zhao Xing had already mastered the Martyrdom Explosion straw man? What the hell!

"Luck, luck," Zhao Xing said. "I happened to have seen the Martyrdom Explosion straw man before and have been in contact with explosive bamboo. Brother Cao, have you already entered the door?"

Entering the door means the spell's practice progress has reached the first turn.

Zhao Xing looked at the power of Cao Shuang's Martyrdom Explosion straw man; it should have reached the first turn.

It was fast, after all, they had arrived on the morning of the 23rd, at most three hours ago.

"Just entered the door. The Martyrdom Explosion straw man technique is quite difficult to practice. The five-element circulation inside is a matter of a hair's breadth leading to a thousand miles of error. The weaving method is also very important; if you can't lock it or lock it too tightly, it will lead to all sorts of problems."

"Take your time. Anyway, there's still plenty of time, and the people behind haven't reached the third level so quickly. Brother Cao, you're already a step ahead. With your talent, you'll definitely be fast step by step. A mere straw man technique is nothing you can't handle, right?"

"Haha, Zhao Xing, if you used that mouth of yours to coax young girls, I'm afraid you'd hit the mark every time." Cao Shuang's originally gloomy mood improved. A friend like Zhao Xing always provided emotional value.

"I'll be practicing in the courtyard next door. Brother Cao, feel free to give me some pointers when you have time."

"Easy."

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang!"

Entering the courtyard next door, Zhao Xing also began the practice process of boom, boom, boom.

His progress improved rapidly.

Because there was a panel record, during the practice process, if the progress given was high, it proved the practice direction was correct.

If the progress was particularly low or non-existent, it proved the direction was wrong and needed correction.

There are thousands of wrong directions, but Zhao Xing could always find the right path quickly because he had the Great Expansion Luck.

Even if he chose with his eyes closed, he wouldn't stray too far.

That's why Zhao Xing learned everything fast—it wasn't all talent and comprehension; he had a cheat, after all.

"Third turn."

Zhao Xing glanced at the panel.

In one hour, the Martyrdom Explosion straw man had already reached the third-turn level.

"If a ninth-turn Martyrdom Explosion straw man hugs someone and then explodes, among eighth-rankers, probably only those genius martial artists from the Profound Turtle Office could withstand it."

Among martial artists, the geniuses of the Profound Turtle Office are best at defense.

Among eighth-rankers, there are many geniuses who practice the Profound Turtle Shield externally and the Gluttonous Food Technique internally, with great success in copper skin and iron bones, blood like mercury, and nascent silver marrow, making them quite resistant.

"However, if you apply a layer of toxin to the Martyrdom Explosion straw man, the effect is different."

"Thunder Duke Vine crushed into juice, Yellow Spring flower powder, Monkshood—all can be made into deadly poisons. Apply them to the straw man's body, explode it into the body, and even a sixth-rank military physician couldn't save them, unless they knew the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles, which could prolong life for twelve hours."

Standing within the array circle, the explosion impact couldn't reach him. Zhao Xing slowly honed the progress of the Martyrdom Explosion straw man.

Another two quarters of an hour passed, and the Martyrdom Explosion straw man spell reached the fourth turn.

Zhao Xing stopped practicing. Firstly, it was difficult to break through in a short time, and the lack of progress didn't mean he was wrong, but that the accumulation wasn't enough.

To improve, the method was simple: watch more straw man techniques and draw inferences from them.

The Ten Thousand Laws Palace didn't have much else, but it had the most straw men.

Zhao Xing left the courtyard and saw Cao Shuang still practicing diligently, so he wandered around the Ten Thousand Laws Palace himself.

Before long, he stopped at the side of the drill ground.

"Xiu xiu xiu~"

A dark golden straw man curled its fingers into a sword, and sword Qi burst from its fingertips.

It headed towards the head of the earth-gray straw man opposite.

Just as it was about to arrive, it was blocked by a turtle shell.

Martial arts secret technique, Profound Turtle Shield.

"Guardian straw man."

Zhao Xing saw another familiar straw man technique.

Back in Gucheng, Chen Shijie had once arranged a guardian straw man for him to defend himself.

Guardian straw man: Can contain one spell or martial skill inside.

A ninth-turn guardian straw man can contain nine different secret techniques, but not movement techniques, unless it's a Godly Movement Guardian straw man that combines two spells; otherwise, there's no basis for casting.

It can also contain the same secret technique, but the power won't stack. The power limit of the guardian straw man doesn't depend on the caster, but on the person being imprinted.

For example, if Zhao Xing asks Xia Jing for a strand of sword Qi, the power of this guardian straw man depends on how strong Xia Jing's sword path is.

Of course, the stronger the straw man, the higher the capacity limit.

Guardian straw men can contain high-level spells, but the materials are relatively expensive, and they must be able to lock them without leaking; otherwise, the cost-effectiveness isn't high.

Guardian straw men are usually used to contain martial skills, specifically defensive martial skills, because agricultural officials can cast spells themselves.

Learning the guardian straw man is mainly to make up for the weakness in close combat.

At critical moments, the guardian straw man can save lives.

This must be learned.

Zhao Xing observed and learned on the drill ground for two quarters of an hour. The guardian straw man is easy to learn but hard to master. Zhao Xing quickly grasped it, but wanting to enter the door was more difficult than other straw men.

Because the practice of the guardian straw man improves during the process of storing and casting spells.

Storing one's own spells doesn't improve it much.

One is inevitably very familiar with the spells one knows, which will affect this contemplation process.

It's like setting a question for oneself; the training effect is very small. To improve, one mainly needs to store others' spells, and it's best if they are martial skills.

Seeing that the spell was already in hand, he led a guardian straw man away and continued to wander around the Ten Thousand Laws Palace.

Wandering aimlessly for a while, he suddenly arrived in front of a large hall. The architecture inside was solemn and respectful, with an overall black and white tone.

Zhao Xing saw two straw man guards at the door and intended to leave, but just as he lifted his foot, he stopped.

"Hmm?"

He turned back and looked carefully at the two straw man guards at the door. After staring for a while, a look of surprise flashed in Zhao Xing's eyes.

"I misjudged. These are actually two Soul-Binding straw men?"

The Soul-Binding straw man is specifically aimed at evil spirits.

The Great Zhou's expansion outward faces main enemies like the Barbarians and outer sects. Among them, outer sects are good at using evil spirit spells, such as the Soul-Respecting Banner.

A powerhouse like the Blood Spirit Venerable, whose true self should be in the third-rank Primordial Soul Realm, is good at evil spirit spells. His split soul body can be re-condensed as long as there are enough believers and blood food, which can be said to be endless, and the means are strange and hidden.

If it were outside the territory, without the protection of the Great Zhou's Yin Gods, it would be very difficult to deal with.

The Soul-Binding straw man can make effective responses to such spells.

But this is somewhat taboo.

Among the eighty-one techniques, the Soul-Binding straw man is considered an evil technique and has always been criticized. The imperial court deleted this technique very early on and did not pass it on.

"Lord Liu." Zhao Xing found a straw man with the character 'Liu' printed on its clothes.

The straw man paused for a second before speaking: "What is it?"

"Can I learn the Soul-Binding straw man?"

The straw man still paused for a second, as if there were a delay: "You can, but you must remember three rules."

"May I ask Lord Liu, what are the three rules?" Zhao Xing asked.

I haven't written it yet. Alliance Leader Du Yun guessed the Martyrdom Explosion straw man. Readers, you are truly magical. Everyone is welcome to provide inspiration in the book review section.

Spells, side characters, anything is fine.

PS: This is yesterday's second update. There's a third update to be added during the day.