Chapter 145: Straw Man Art Trial

Zhao Xing clicked in with a doubtful mind to check the course description, and then suddenly understood.

"Looks like the Straw Man Art has fallen so far that it's become a key support project of the imperial court."

The Straw Man Art is a technique of the Benwo Sect.

Everyone knows the current state of the Benwo Sect.

Within the Benwo Sect, the Straw Man Art is also a rather awkward existence.

Why? Because Xiubenwo Sect's Si Nong generally specialize in farming.

Cultivating crops with stronger reproductive ability, growing materials suited for the Craftsman Sect to forge equipment, researching the medicinal value of plants…

But very few Si Nong who specialize in the "Benwo Sect" actually fight.

In the past, there wasn't even a "Taicang Academy" option among the military Si Nong.

Because supply wasn't managed by military Si Nong; it was handled by Benwo Sect Si Nong in the rear.

It was only later, when the army's needs grew more diverse, that it was added in.

But there are hardly any Benwo Sect techniques meant for fighting.

If a Si Nong wants to learn offensive techniques, they generally go to the Celestial Timing Sect or the Dili Sect.

The Straw Man Art counts as one of them, but Benwo Sect Si Nong rarely waste energy learning it, because there's no need for it.

If you want to be a military Si Nong, you go to the Dili Sect or the Celestial Timing Sect.

So the Straw Man Art's status ends up looking rather awkward.

No one in the Benwo Sect studies it, and as for the other sects, if they want to learn the Straw Man Art, they have to research Benwo Sect techniques.

The Straw Man Art is also a rather delicate task; it takes a great deal of time before any results show, and it's hard to see any effect in the short term.

In the earliest days, the Straw Man Art within the Divine Temple's transmission of the Law was quite complete, but gradually only nine kinds remained.

Yet many prefectures and Dao Academies have a regulation: Si Nong officials who study the Straw Man Art may receive five taels of silver per month, increasing according to official rank and technique level.

So the imperial court still doesn't want this kind of technique to be lost.

"If the imperial court didn't spend resources to support it, no one would be willing to research the Straw Man Art."

"The points reward was deliberately raised to keep this kind of technique from dying out."

"In later generations, the Straw Man Art rose along with the Benwo Sect and showed its might; who would have thought that at this point in time, it would still need a policy just to be passed down." Zhao Xing was somewhat moved.

He looked carefully at this elective training course.

However, the points reward for this course also has a rule: for the Straw Man Art training course, all kinds of points can only be claimed once one's study of the art bears fruit. If the technique doesn't meet the standard, even ranking first won't earn the points reward.

This is to deter those who come just to freeload points.

Only those who truly put their heart into learning this art and achieve something will receive the points reward.

Otherwise, if the final fifty thousand points were given to first place, and the top ranker only knew one second-tier Straw Man Art, then this policy would be meaningless.

"The Straw Man Art is troublesome to learn and takes a long time; without points, probably no one would sign up, but now the numbers are huge." Zhao Xing looked and saw that the number of registrants had already exceeded five thousand.

With a generous reward, there will always be brave souls; incentive policies do work.

"First place: fifty thousand points."

"Second place: thirty thousand points."

"Third place: ten thousand points."

"Fourth to tenth place: eight thousand points."

"Eleventh to twentieth place: five thousand points."

"Twenty-first to fiftieth place: three thousand points."

"Fifty-first to one hundredth place: one thousand points."

"Beyond one hundredth place, as long as the basic standard is met during the learning process, even without making the top one hundred, one can receive a minimum of fifty points and a maximum of eight hundred points."

Zhao Xing looked at the Straw Man course points reward rules; because the rewards were generous, the number of registrants surged.

What had originally been an obscure elective training course instead became the top choice.

"The Si Nong hosting this training course is surnamed Liu—could he be from the Liu family of Taihe Commandery?"

The "Liu Chuan Compilation Method" that Xue Wenzhong passed to Zhao Xing was founded by Liu Zonghai of Taihe Commandery.

The Liu family of Taihe Commandery is a thousand-year-old clan; from the time of the Grand Ancestor to the present, there have always been people serving as high officials in the imperial court, and Liu Zonghai once reached the rank of a second-grade official.

"There's no other channel to earn points right now, so I must take the Straw Man training course." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

He looked at the other elective training courses again; the elective training courses that have appeared now all come with points rewards.

But few can rival the Straw Man training course in rewards, and most haven't even started yet.

"Sign up!"

Zhao Xing signed up at once.

The launch of the Straw Man course made many people start cramming at the last minute, flocking to Taicang Academy to study Benwo Sect techniques.

Lu Bang stood atop a tall tower, watching the crowded throng below, and could not help sighing, "All the hustle and bustle, all for profit."

"Many people rarely came to Taicang Academy to study before; from March to now, July, four months of training—this is now the liveliest Taicang Academy has ever been."

"With such generous rewards, even geniuses like Shi Yong, Zhuang Ziqing, and Zhao Xing have come to sign up."

"Brother Liu, you'll be plenty busy this time."

Liu Tianning stood beside Lu Bang. He looked no older than middle age, but was in fact already two hundred and eighty-two years old.

He was slightly plump, yet his fingers were very slender, fair as jade, and even his skin seemed as white as Bai Yu.

Hearing Lu Bang speak, Liu Tianning said: "Though there are many people, I wonder how many truly come to learn."

"As for being busy, that won't trouble me—have you forgotten what I teach?"

"The one speaking with you is not my true body."

Lu Bang turned his head in some astonishment: "Brother Liu, th-this isn't your true body? Amazing, I couldn't tell real from fake."

Liu Tianning smiled faintly.

"But you're not the real you, why drink my wine? Wasting it on a scarecrow." Lu Bang snatched the wine pot from his hand.

"How could I fool you, Lu Songting, without drinking? Your Fire Jade Wine contains dense Five Elements power, which greatly benefits my scarecrow. Don't be stingy, hand it over quickly."

When Zhao Xing signed up for the scarecrow training class, Tian Shan also learned of it at the first moment and contacted Zhao Xing through a Ground Mirror.

"Scarecrow Law is easy to learn but hard to master. First and second-tier scarecrows are easy to study, but third-tier scarecrow law is difficult."

"This method is time-consuming and labor-intensive. You signed up for this course, just get a passing score for the points. Don't waste too much energy on it."

Tian Shan said as much, which was enough to show the status of scarecrow law, but Zhao Xing had his own plans and would not follow Tian Shan's arrangements entirely.

Of course, he still had to play along verbally: "Teacher, rest assured, I have a sense of measure. If I learn nothing, I won't be obsessed with this path."

"Mm, it's good that you know what you're doing." Tian Shan nodded. After many days of being together, he could tell Zhao Xing was a person with strong opinions, always walking the right path, and didn't need Tian Shan to worry about him at all.

It was only now that the scarecrow class had launched, seeing Zhao Xing sign up, that he said an extra word.

Putting down the Ground Mirror, Zhao Xing stood before a certain closed gate in Taicang Court, looking around.

Several thousand people signed up—how would this course be taught, and how would the points be calculated?

Liu Tianning's approach was: teach while testing.

"Scarecrow Law Training Class, this is the first trial, and also the first lesson."

"To the south of the plaza is where materials are placed. First and second-tier materials are yours to choose."

"To the west of the plaza are the methods of scarecrow instruction, nine types promoted by the imperial court."

"To the east of the plaza are finished scarecrow demonstrations; you may observe them on your own."

"To the north of the plaza is the Trial Palace. Anyone who has learned scarecrow law may summon their scarecrow and enter it. If qualified, they may fly to the next location to receive the next stage of training. Each completed trial grants corresponding points for examination."

Liu Tianning's voice played on a loop through Echo Conches in all four directions of the plaza.

Zhao Xing glanced at the notice board and went straight to the south where materials were placed.

Various materials were laid on the ground or floated in the air.

Flowers, grass, trees, bamboo, vines—all kinds were available.

But all of them were first and second-tier materials.

"Whoosh~"

Zhao Xing deployed Gang Wind and casually swept up a pile of materials.

He looked them over, picked out a few types, and put the rest back.

"Every Blade of Grass a Soldier—rise!"

Zhao Xing pointed a beam of Jin Guang at a bundle of rolled grass and leaf strips before him.

Times were different now; he no longer needed to weave by hand at all.

A single thought was enough to cast the law.

"Sizzle sizzle~" "Fizz fizz~"

Vines, grass stalks, branches, and leaves seemed to come alive, shifting on the ground and intertwining. In an instant, the materials vanished, replaced by a grayish-black scarecrow standing in place.

A second-tier Swift-Step Scarecrow.

The people nearby were drawn by this scene and immediately looked over.

"How is it so fast? A law cast in one breath?"

"What powerful control—he barely wasted any materials."

"What kind of scarecrow is that? It's woven rather beautifully."

"Of course it's beautiful. The law conforms to the supreme principles of heaven and earth; weaving a scarecrow, its outer lines carry the mysteries of the Dao. You're not looking at a scarecrow—you're observing its Dao."

"I didn't expect Zhao Xing to have attainments in scarecrow law as well. Looking at his scarecrow, I can faintly sense a kind of spiritual charm, as if it's alive."

"No wonder—the few scarecrows next to me are hideously ugly, just like the caster."

"Brother, you can say my scarecrow law is weak, but calling me ugly is too much."

"……"

Zhao Xing rolled up the Swift-Step Scarecrow, ignored the surrounding gazes, and swiftly headed to the north of the plaza.

He then ordered the Swift-Step Scarecrow to walk into the palace interior.

"Hum~"

The moment it entered the palace, a beam of Jin Guang swept across the Swift-Step Scarecrow.

Then the ground beneath the scarecrow's feet began to rotate.

It was like an enormous treadmill; the Swift-Step Scarecrow had to run or be flung off.

"Hold out for a quarter-hour, or reach the opposite wall of the palace, and you pass."

"If it's a Strength Scarecrow, the test is pounding stakes—one punch must sink half a finger's depth into the wooden stake." Zhao Xing read the Trial Palace's rules.

Different types of scarecrows corresponded to different tests.

The first trial was, hard to say hard, hard to say easy.

If one hadn't learned scarecrow law before, learning it on the spot would take considerable time. Zhao Xing could see the scarecrows made by many beginners around him were all sorts of bizarre shapes.

Some lost arms and legs after a few steps, some had three heads and six arms, and some only had a shape at all—unable to move at all, the spell unable to circulate within the scarecrow's body.

Some were even stranger—triangular heads, arms attached at the neck, hanging down to the ground… they couldn't even be called "human" shape anymore.

"There's plenty to learn in the first lesson. Getting points won't be that easy."

The Swift-Step Scarecrow in the Trial Palace had to run extremely fast; if the scarecrow law didn't meet standard, one couldn't pass to the next trial.

Of course, if one could learn and pass the first trial, they could obtain 50 points.

No reason not to take them—hence why seven or eight thousand people were crammed into the first trial now.

"Shenwei Army Zhao Xing, your Swift-Step Scarecrow has passed. Please proceed to the next location."

A voice reached Zhao Xing's ears.

"Yes."

Zhao Xing did not recall the Swift-Foot grass figure, and flew straight to the next location.

The second trial had the same layout.

But there were far fewer people.

The class had only just opened today; many people were stuck studying at the first trial, and fewer than a thousand had reached the second.

"Over eight thousand Si Nong have signed up to participate, but fewer than a thousand can pass the first trial. It seems very few of you have studied grass-figure arts before."

"That means only one out of every seven or eight has actually gone and learned it."

If so few even bother to learn it, how many fewer still study it with real dedication.

Zhao Xing had passed the first trial and assessed its difficulty: any grass-figure art that reached the Fourth Rotation was enough to pass. Even so, plenty of people were still stuck.

"Reaching the second trial proves you have studied grass-figure arts before, and put some thought into them."

"The second trial is still one of the nine grass-figure arts promoted by the imperial court."

"Pass the test and you will receive four hundred points."

Liu Tianning's voice echoed in his ears.

The second trial was no different from the first: one place for materials, one place for demonstrations, one place for instruction.

Zhao Xing once again set up a Swift-Foot grass figure, then ordered it into the trial palace.

The Swift-Foot grass figure's test was the same as the first trial — the ground rotated — only the treadmill was faster.

Moreover, the ground became uneven; to keep up running speed while staying steady raised the difficulty by far more than a little.

Even a Fourth Rotation grass figure barely passed; a Fifth Rotation was needed for absolute certainty.

Zhao Xing's Swift-Foot grass figure passed the test quickly, as before.

"Shenwei Army's Zhao Xing, you have passed the second trial and received four hundred points. You need not study the second trial's content again. Please proceed to the next location."

Zhao Xing checked the Earth Mirror and, sure enough, four hundred more points had been added, sent by the Si Nong Bureau's 'Liu Tianning'. Added to the fifty points from the first trial, he had earned four hundred and fifty points in just this short while.

"Earning money while learning arts — that feels great."

Zhao Xing learned the location of the next stop and immediately stepped onto the clouds to take flight.

The third trial was in a different place — a manor nestled against mountains and water.

This was also where Liu Tianning lived.

"Whoosh~"

The clouds dispersed, and Zhao Xing landed outside the manor's main gate.

"Please come in."

The moment he landed, a figure appeared at the gate and extended an invitation to Zhao Xing.

"Thank you, teacher." Zhao Xing had assumed Liu Tianning had come out personally to greet him and was somewhat surprised. But looking closely, he realized this was not Liu Tianning himself at all — only a grass figure.

Yet this grass figure was far too lifelike: it had a nose and eyes, even wore clothes, and the exposed skin was flesh-colored. At first glance, Zhao Xing had mistaken it for a True Person; the uncanny feeling made him use the Five Elements Observation to spot the trick.

"Follow me." Liu Tianning's grass figure turned and leapt forward, quickly reaching the foot of the mountain. Watching it bound and weave up the mountain path with agile movements, Zhao Xing felt it was just like a martial artist executing a movement technique.

"Liu Tianning must be a master of grass-figure arts. He must have some unique secret skill, and I must learn it from him." Zhao Xing thought this to himself and couldn't help quickening his pace.