Chapter 151

Top ten to top five, the last match.

Tiger Flood Army's Shi Yong versus Blazing Sun Army's Feng Qi.

Shi Yong is a Grade A+ genius of the Heavenly Time Academy, while Feng Qi is only a Grade A- genius of the Great Granary Academy.

Based on Shi Yong's impression of being invincible, everyone thought that in this match, Feng Qi would lose to Shi Yong.

After all, in the last test, Feng Qi's third place was also squeezed out by Shi Yong.

But as soon as the battle started, it was completely different from what everyone imagined!

Shi Yong was completely suppressed from the beginning!

Both raised straw men; Shi Yong raised two types of Nine-Turn straw men! One was a Profound Soldier, the second was a Giant Shield.

But Feng Qi actually raised two types of Nine-Turn straw men, one was Divine Brave, the second was Flying Sky!

The difference in speed between the two raising straw men was very small, with Shi Yong being slightly faster.

However... Feng Qi started attacking as soon as he raised the first one!

Shi Yong also sent out straw men to attack.

The first two straw men fought, Divine Brave and Flying Sky straw men against Profound Soldier and Giant Shield straw men.

Because the Profound Soldier straw man lacked weapons and belonged to a high-controllability Straw Man Art, it was slightly at a disadvantage when facing the Divine Brave's close-quarters combat.

As for the Giant Shield straw man, facing the speed of the Flying Sky straw man, it could only be passively beaten.

However, overall, it was still evenly matched, as the difference in single spells wasn't very large.

Feng Qi gained a slight advantage and continued to raise single-spell straw men to attack.

His speed was three breaths slower than Shi Yong's, but he was stronger than Shi Yong in spell control, and coupled with the innate advantage of the straw men, this spell-casting speed advantage was wiped out.

Attacking fiercely one by one, Shi Yong could only passively defend.

And his spell-casting speed didn't exceed Feng Qi's by much, so he couldn't perform dual-spell integration at all.

Both sides just competed with single-spell straw men like this.

By the fifth straw man, Shi Yong's spell-casting speed slowed down and was caught up by Feng Qi.

When raising the seventh straw man, Shi Yong was instead overtaken by Feng Qi; his seventh straw man appeared five breaths slower than Feng Qi's.

By the tenth straw man, all of Shi Yong's straw men suddenly experienced a decline in combat power.

This was because the number of straw men controlled simultaneously was too large, and each straw man was Nine-Turn, which was a great burden on the mind.

Feng Qi received less influence and maintained his advantage in spell control.

He expanded this advantage to the twelfth one.

Shi Yong lost.

"Tenth match, Feng Qi, wins!"

Liu Tianning's voice came, and there was a commotion on the square.

"Shi Yong lost!"

"Both of his straw men were Nine-Turn, and he had dual-spell integration, yet he actually lost to Feng Qi?!"

"Feng Qi is actually also dual Nine-Turn straw men! Did he hide his strength in the last round, or did he have a breakthrough in these few days?!"

"Feng Qi's straw men, I feel his are even more flexible! Shi Yong's didn't show form at the beginning, and the more he fought, the clumsier he appeared."

"The battle was too intense; Shi Yong had no chance for dual-spell integration. With such a fierce attack style, Feng Qi has more of an advantage."

"In terms of spell level, the difference between the two isn't large, but there is a gap in straw man control!"

"Didn't expect Shi Yong wouldn't even make it into the top five."

"Feng Qi, didn't expect a dark horse to emerge."

"Looking at his straw man control, I'm afraid there will be variables in this ranking."

Inside the main hall of the Myriad Laws Palace.

"Feng Qi, I didn't discover he had such talent," Lu Bang was a bit surprised.

"Indeed, it's a bit unexpected," Liu Tianning nodded. "In terms of spell compatibility, his realm is a bit lower than Shi Yong's. When his two Nine-Turn straw men are combined, the individual power can only exert an Eight-Turn level, but Shi Yong's is incomparably close to Nine-Turn."

"However, in the micro-control of the straw men, he is more flexible than Shi Yong, and the number of straw men he can bear is also greater."

"Feng Qi controls nine straw men simultaneously, and his combat power only drops by 10%, but when Shi Yong controls nine straw men, his combat power drops by 20%."

"At the magnitude of the tenth one, Feng Qi's straw man combat power drops by 20%, and Shi Yong's drops by 40%."

Lu Bang nodded: "Shi Yong himself is very powerful when casting spells, but for Straw Man Art, he cannot get used to the casting of this spell."

"Yes, I heard you mention the performance of [Inability to Train]. Since Shi Yong is first, but the leader is Zhao Xing, I knew he wasn't suitable for studying Straw Man Art."

"Judging people by this method, Shi Yong is an excellent general, but not a commander," Liu Tianning commented. "If he commands troops, unless he has other opportunities and undergoes a transformation, ten thousand is the limit."

Shi Yong left directly after losing, but the others didn't leave. With a dark horse like Feng Qi appearing, they all wanted to see who the final winner would be.

"Old Zhuang, Old Cai, you two didn't hide your strength, did you?" Cao Shuang asked. "Damn, why do I feel Zhao Xing's first place isn't stable?"

"Guess," Zhuang Ziqing smiled.

"Cai Jin, is this Feng Qi's full strength?" Han Bing asked.

"Feng Qi is relatively low-key. Although he has the same teacher as me at the Great Granary Academy, I haven't interacted with him much," Cai Jin shook his head.

"Can't blame people for being low-key; you're like this, where would you have time to interact," Han Bing pointed to the jade pendant around Cai Jin's neck.

"..."

After Shi Yong lost, the sixth to tenth places were determined.

This bracket can get 8,000 points.

Still need to determine fourth and fifth place.

Also 8,000 points.

Only five people remained in the competition: Zhao Xing, Zhuang Ziqing, Cai Jin, Feng Qi, and Yu Hao.

Based on Zhao Xing's previous performance, Liu Tianning directly gave him a bye. That is to say, Zhao Xing is guaranteed a top-three point reward.

No one had any objections to this arrangement; after all, Zhao Xing's previous performance was worthy of this bye.

The other four, instead, breathed a sigh of relief, at least not having to worry about meeting Zhao Xing in the first round and ending up fourth.

The other four.

Zhuang Ziqing versus Yu Hao, Cai Jin versus Feng Qi.

The losers don't need to fight again; fourth and fifth place are also the same bracket of point rewards.

First match, Cai Jin versus Feng Qi.

This match was relatively long; Cai Jin and Feng Qi fought until the fifteenth straw man appeared without a winner.

Finally, these two fellow apprentices chose to combine straw men together.

In the end, Cai Jin lost to Feng Qi by a slight disadvantage.

He synthesized a Giant Shield Martyrdom Explosion straw man, while Feng Qi synthesized a Flying Sky Divine Brave straw man.

The Giant Shield Martyrdom Explosion didn't have time to blow Feng Qi away before the Flying Sky Divine Brave straw man kicked Cai Jin away.

Second match, Zhuang Ziqing versus Yu Hao.

Zhuang Ziqing, lost!

His situation was similar to Shi Yong's.

Both failed to beat Yu Hao of the Great Granary Academy in terms of extreme burden.

Although Zhuang Ziqing's performance was very strong when studying single straw man spells and even dual-spell integration.

But in actual combat, because both single and dual spells were only slightly stronger than Yu Hao's and failed to form an advantage, his defect of being unable to control multiple straw men would be infinitely magnified.

The higher the level of combat, the more the particularity of Straw Man Art is reflected.

This also made those watching on the square realize: being strong in other aspects doesn't mean being strong in Straw Man Art.

Talents as strong as Shi Yong and Zhuang Ziqing couldn't do it; Straw Man Art seems to calculate talent separately.

If you want to choose to go deep down this path, you still have to be cautious.

So, can Zhao Xing deal with these two geniuses from the Great Granary Academy?

The remaining three: Zhao Xing, Feng Qi, and Yu Hao.

There was no drawing lots; everyone needed to fight the other person once.

First was Zhao Xing versus Yu Hao.

Yu Hao and Feng Qi's methods of eliminating Zhuang Ziqing and Shi Yong were very similar.

Both adopted a fierce attack method, leaving those with high Dao comprehension no time for multi-spell integration.

But Yu Hao clearly found the wrong opponent this time.

He practiced practical control hard, but Zhao Xing's main direction starting from the fourth round was also aimed at practical control.

As for combat experience? The opponents Zhao Xing had seen had a much higher ceiling than Yu Hao and the others. Starting from the fourth round, Zhao Xing's experience from his previous life gradually merged with this life.

As for the limit of mental burden, Zhao Xing cultivated the Great Dream Spring and Autumn and was personally praised by Liu Tianning, who even said that Zhao Xing should go to him if he had anything. This all indicates that Zhao Xing's talent in Straw Man Art is in a league of its own.

So as soon as the battle started, Yu Hao was at a disadvantage.

And he was being suppressed by Zhao Xing using the method he was good at!

"Tenth one!"

Yu Hao gritted his teeth and raised the tenth straw man, but felt incomparable fatigue; his straw man combat power dropped significantly.

Up to now, Yu Hao still couldn't manage to give precise orders to control the straw men.

After all, the speed of the straw men was 30% to 40% of the speed of sound!

Reaching this level, every combat action had to be a second-level reaction!

One or two straw men are fine, but a dozen, all needing to be operated in milliseconds? Too difficult!

"In terms of straw man types, I have no advantage. What I know, he knows, and he is stronger. Flying Sky is perfect, Martyrdom Explosion is also perfect, Divine Brave is Nine-Turn, Holy Shield and Phantom are also Nine-Turn."

"In terms of quantity... does he have no limit?"

Yu Hao actually already knew he was going to lose, because his previous nine straw men had all suffered varying degrees of damage, while the opponent, except for losing one Martyrdom Explosion straw man, had almost no damage to the others.

But Yu Hao didn't allow himself to surrender. He would rather be blasted out than shout surrender. Not surrendering is a soldier's most basic belief!

"Martyrdom Explosion straw man, charge for me!"

Yu Hao gritted his teeth and raised the Martyrdom Explosion straw man, but the Martyrdom Explosion straw man raised was only Sixth-Turn.

No way, unlike the battle with Zhuang Ziqing, Zhao Xing put too much pressure on him. By the tenth one, he could only raise straw men below Seventh-Turn!

"Go!"

Zhao Xing pointed, directly ordering the Giant Shield straw man to actively embrace the opponent's straw man.

He now had fourteen straw men on the field, occupying a complete advantage, but Yu Hao kept not surrendering, barely supporting.

"Boom!" Before the Martyrdom Explosion straw man could rush over, Yu Hao was blasted out of the field, and the Martyrdom Explosion straw man rushed into nothingness and exploded in mid-air.

"Zhao Xing, wins!"

Yu Hao was carried down for treatment and rest.

Feng Qi felt his heart go cold when he saw this.

Zhao Xing's spells and techniques were both extraordinarily strong.

Feng Qi knew that in this course, he could only fight for second place.

Because he wasn't much stronger than Yu Hao, and his victory over Cai Jin was also a narrow one.

Zhao Xing fighting Yu Hao was so understated.

He could also perform perfect dual-spell integration. Not summoning the perfectly integrated straw man to solve Yu Hao immediately was giving face, not wanting to let people lose too ugly.

"Thought that beating Shi Yong would finally allow me to fight for first place, didn't expect that after crossing one mountain, there is another mountain."

Feng Qi took a deep breath and jumped onto the square.

Two quarters of an hour later, Feng Qi was blasted under the square.

Thus, Zhao Xing won both matches, locked in first place, and received 50,000 points.

Feng Qi and Yu Hao fought another match after recovering; Feng Qi won, ranking second, and received 30,000 points.

Yu Hao received 10,000 points.

A very ordinary selection training course, but it caused quite a sensation.

Because Zhao Xing's dominance in Straw Man Art actually exceeded the geniuses of the Great Granary Academy.

Even Shi Yong and Zhuang Ziqing couldn't break into the top three, but Zhao Xing looked down on the heroes and took the 50,000 points for first place alone.

For a time, the Straw Man Art training course became the focus of heated discussion in the Si Nong Office, and many people came to the Myriad Laws Palace to learn.

Zhao Xing, the main character, quietly returned to his Huailiu Courtyard.

"Da da da~"

The familiar sound of the bamboo horse sounded and stopped at the Huailiu Courtyard.

"Ah!"

"Da da da~" Then the bamboo horse went away again.

Swish~

Zhao Xing appeared at the courtyard gate and took the box into the cultivation room.

"The first-level secret technique of the Drip Water Domain."

Zhao Xing opened the box; inside was a Fifth-Rank preaching painting.

Purchasing points required 50,000, but he could get a 30% discount, only costing 35,000 points.

"Improving the Drip Rain Art can help me better comprehend the 'Solar Term Token'."

Taking the painting out and putting it aside, there were two other scrolls in the box.

"Preaching paintings of Godly Walking Earth Palace and Profound Earth Protection, worth 20,000 points."

Zhao Xing originally had 10,000 points. After obtaining the selection training course points, he bought the [Drip Rain Domain], as well as the [Godly Walking Earth Palace] and [Profound Earth Protection] preaching paintings in one go.

"Godly Walking Protection is also a high-level spell. Cultivating to the Tenth-Turn helps me comprehend the Post-Earth Returning Origin Secret Canon. Learning this spell can point out the Dao of Earth Veins from point to surface."

The most important thing in the Earth Advantage School's secret canon is the Post-Earth Returning Origin. The grain of sand in the dantian will continue to grow with the comprehension of Dao, eventually forming 'Pure Origin Soil.'

As for the Self-School spells? Zhao Xing could put at most 20% of his energy into this, and there was no need to buy extra treasures. He could go to the Great Granary Academy to comprehend the [Original Dao Field] to improve the 'Four Self-Arts,' or go to the Myriad Laws Palace to find Liu Tianning and use Straw Man Art to comprehend the Self-School's 'Yin Yang Self-Classic.'

"Now it is mid-August, the training volume of the Military Si Nong is getting larger and larger. In the last half year, it will be real combat," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

In the last half year, they wouldn't train in the Ten Suns Cave Heaven, but would go out for real combat, because Datong Prefecture is the border.

According to convention, it must be real combat practice!

"This last half year of the Military Si Nong is equivalent to an internship. Whether you can directly become a Seventh-Rank official after training depends on this last half year."

Zhao Xing closed the door and, according to the information given by Marquis Tian, Old Chen, and others, as well as the various selection and mandatory training course arrangements of the Si Nong Office, began to plan and adjust himself.

"The three major secret canons are still the main study, including various theoretical books, which must be read. This is the Dao."

"Drip Rain Art, Godly Walking Protection, two high-level spells, and the three schools of spells, still focus on Heavenly Time and Earth Advantage, with Self-School as auxiliary. The breadth of spells doesn't need to be expanded anymore, but rather start to study intensively."

"Technique, this is the skill and experience of casting spells. The experience of the previous life has an increasing influence as I implement the spells, but I also need to constantly experience the differences and integrate them."

Li Feng's mouth twitched: "Can you stop mentioning the promotion battle? Is that what I'm talking to you about?"

"Cannot waste this opportunity of the Great Barbarian Pacification War during the Jing Emperor period," Zhao Xing thought to himself. The large-scale war during the Jing Emperor period happened during the Jingxin calendar years.

After that, there weren't many military merits to be gained. Just look at the later reign titles, 'Great Governance' and 'Eternal Governance.' Since it's Great Governance and Eternal Governance, it's obvious there are no wars to fight.

"Start cultivating!"

Time passed, days and months flew by. Inside the Ten Suns Cave Heaven, the training of the Military Si Nong was in full swing. Zhao Xing was like a small blade of grass, taking root in the Ten Suns Cave Heaven, absorbing every bit of resources and nutrients with all his might.

In the blink of an eye, it was half a year later.

There is more! Also, a group has been built, the group number is in the introduction.

Brothers interested in urging updates and supervision can join the group.