Chapter 31: Zong Eighteen

【You have crafted a straw puppet (Strength)】

【Grass-Tree Soldiers proficiency 15】

【Straw Puppet (Strength) proficiency 60】

【You have crafted a straw puppet (Strength)】

【Grass-Tree Soldiers proficiency 20】

【Straw Puppet (Strength) proficiency 80】

The materials were of superior quality, and the insights they brought were different as well. Compared with Yuan Dao withered grass, the power feedback contained within Vajra Bamboo was far clearer, allowing Zhao Xing to grasp the finer subtleties of the Strength Straw Art at a deeper level.

Building on this foundation, the spell proficiency of the Strength Straw Art shot up rapidly.

Half a day passed, and Zhao Xing had already practiced it to the Second-Turn level.

【Straw Puppet (Strength)】

【Proficiency: 2750/9999】

【Effect: Impregnable, Boundless Strength.】

"Hit me, thirty percent strength." Zhao Xing crossed his arms in front of his chest, then gave the order to the Second-Turn Strength Vajra.

"Boom!" The golden Strength Vajra threw a punch. Zhao Xing felt as if he'd been struck by a giant pendulum hammer, and his whole body flew backward.

The Strength Vajra flashed forward, immediately going in for a follow-up strike.

"Stop! That's enough, it's already plenty monstrous!"

Zhao Xing called a halt, wincing.

The Strength Vajra immediately froze in place.

This time Zhao Xing wasn't tired anymore, only sore all over.

How does one build resistance? This is exactly how it's trained!

It's just that he's still too weak right now, not able to take much of a beating. Otherwise, Zhao Xing would have sparred with the Strength Vajra for sure.

"With just one punch like that, the body of a Si Nong professional would find it very hard to withstand. Even a martial artist with thick skin and tough flesh, going all out, would probably need to have entered the ranked realm to take it."

You get what you pay for. Using Yuan Dao as the base to cast the Straw Art could at most scare off some birds.

The Strength Vajra, on the other hand, could fully serve as a bodyguard.

However, the Strength Vajra had no technique to speak of—it only knew simple punching and kicking. Against a martial artist who had entered the ranked realm, it could easily be led around by the nose, but against these minor Si Nong clerks, it should be more than sufficient.

"The numbers are about right too. Let me see which fool dares to come provoke me."

Zhao Xing walked out of the bamboo grove, came to a patch of land nearby, and plucked a few green vine fruits from the vines to eat.

The second-grade lower-quality green vines had ripened, covered in thumb-sized golden fruits.

The taste was nothing special, but at least it filled the belly.

Zhao Xing wasn't picky about taste either—practicality was always his top priority.

"Now only the aquatic variety 'Fragrant Floating Lotus' is left, and more than half of it is still unripe." Zhao Xing looked into the muddy pit.

Because the vital energy was primarily supplied to the Vajra Bamboo, only two Fragrant Floating Lotuses had matured; the remaining eighteen were still growing.

"I wonder how the others' planting is going. My Earth Vein Convergence only covers this eastern half of the planting area; the western half isn't getting any attention at all."

If Huang Tao were to hear this, he'd probably spit blood. Is that even what you'd call 'attention,' sir?

"The top-grade slots are limited. If I can suppress Wen Nanxing, Xiao Ze, and the others into only getting top-grade, then as one side falls and the other rises, my chances of being appointed to office will be even greater."

"Wait until the third night, sneak over and kill off some of their plants—that should be about enough. As for the people on the west side, forget it."

Having made up his mind, Zhao Xing planned to rest a while and wait until nightfall to begin his operation.

But unexpectedly, an uninvited guest arrived.

"You few, go over to Brother Chengfeng's side and swap plots with me." Zong Zong Shichang came from the west and stopped near the western edge of Zhao Xing's cloud layer.

"Brother Zong, we've already been planting here, and the crops are about to ripen. It wouldn't be appropriate now." Someone was unwilling to switch spots.

"I won't let you swap for nothing. Come to the residence afterward to collect the money." Zong Zong Shichang said flatly.

"I'll switch." The first person immediately beamed with joy, and without a second word, uprooted his plants and left.

"What about you? Switching or not?"

Seeing them still hesitating, Zong Zong Shichang said impatiently, "If you dig them up yourselves, it may not hurt the roots. But if I help you dig, then all your previous efforts will be wasted."

"We'll switch." Under a combination of threats and inducements, Zong Zong Shichang quickly completed the swap.

Such a commotion naturally drew Zhao Xing's attention.

"Zong Zong Shichang? What does he want coming over to this side? Is he after me?" Zhao Xing watched this scene.

Unlike Li Chengfeng, who bore the reputation of a gentleman, Zong Zong Shichang gave people the impression of being overbearing.

Put nicely, this man acted on his own whims. Put harshly, he was domineering and inconsiderate of others' feelings.

But he didn't act purely out of caprice, and he was willing to spend money.

Usually he opened with money first, and only when that didn't work did he resort to force.

"His father, Zong Heng, is one of the vice-presidents of the Nanyang Merchant Guild. He doesn't take ordinary people seriously at all." Zhao Xing recalled some rumors about Zong Zong Shichang.

The most famous incident was when Zong Zong Shichang had a grass-fighting contest (a folk entertainment game) with someone in Nanyang Commandery.

As it turned out, this young Master Zong lost his temper and punched the man right in the face.

By sheer coincidence, an official constable passed by and immediately moved to arrest Zong Zong Shichang.

But Zong Zong Shichang offered the beaten man a price of thirty taels per punch. The beaten man immediately jumped up from the ground and chased the constable away.

In the end, Zong Zong Shichang punched the man eighteen times to vent his anger, and thus earned himself the nickname 'Zong Eighteen'.

"Brother Zhao! May I have a word?"

Sure enough, as soon as Zong Zong Shichang had settled in, he immediately walked over toward Zhao Xing.

Seeing him standing at the edge of the cloud's shadow and speaking politely enough, Zhao Xing walked over.

"So it's Brother Zong. What can I teach you?"

The moment Zhao Xing finished speaking, he noticed Zong Shichang glance behind him, and then inexplicably... get excited?

"So Brother Zhao was thinking the same thing? I did indeed want to spar with you!" Zong Shichang said crisply.

Hey, hey, is that what I meant by 'teach me'? Your train of thought is way too strange.

But Zhao Xing couldn't be bothered to explain — explaining at this point would look like he was chickening out, wouldn't it?

So he got straight to the point: "Lay out the rules. How do you want to play?"

"Straightforward!" Zong Shichang found Zhao Xing much more pleasing to the eye. "You and I compete, no restrictions, any spells may be used. Are you willing?"

"If I injure you, you may pick any spiritual pills and medicines below third-grade, and I'll have someone deliver them to your residence afterward."

Are you out here looking for a sparring partner? Zhao Xing raised an eyebrow. Zong Shichang's reputation for being brashly generous really wasn't just talk. Others fought for the sake of the assessment, but he purely wanted to find someone to spar with.

"Not acceptable."

"Not acceptable?" Zong Shichang's face chilled, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"If I win, you have to pay up too."

Zong Shichang was first stunned, then laughed: "Beat me? Hahaha, then it's settled! Take this!"

He pointed upward with one hand, and the drifting clouds above his head instantly turned pitch-black, while lightning flickered within the cloud layer.

He swiftly completed the steps of gathering clouds and summoning thunder.

Watching the opening stance of his spell, Zhao Xing knew his third step would be 【Lightning Summon】.

Lightning Summon was an intermediate-grade spell — Zong Shichang's love for fierce competition wasn't without substance; he did have some real skill.

Zhao Xing frowned and retreated behind the straw dummy.

"Take him down. That's right, all twenty of you at once."