Chapter 32: No Martial Ethics—Sneak Attack!

"You..." Zong Zong Shichang was about to summon lightning to strike, but in an instant lost his target.

It wasn't that Zhao Xing ran too fast, but rather that many straw figures suddenly rose up from the ground beside him.

The yellow straw figures were nearly the same color as the earth, and Zhao Xing had even covered them with some sand and dirt—fundamentally impossible to spot!

This bastard actually buried straw figures underground as prone lurkers!

"What's the use of weaving so many straw figures? Hmph, straw-figure techniques are nothing but petty tricks!"

"I can destroy them with ease!"

Zong Zong Shichang summoned lightning to attack.

"Boom-crack!"

A bolt of lightning descended from the clouds and struck the straw figure with pinpoint accuracy.

But the effect greatly shocked Zong Zong Shichang!

He discovered that this golden-yellow straw figure only had a patch of scorched black on its chest, and didn't show the smoking, burning scene he had imagined.

"What's going on? A straw figure can withstand heavenly lightning?"

Zong Zong Shichang felt it was somewhat absurd.

He wasn't skilled in straw-figure techniques, and had always looked down on this type of magic, finding weaving techniques troublesome and complicated—Young Master Zong couldn't handle such delicate work fit for women.

Who would have thought that the straw figures Zhao Xing wove were completely different from any he'd seen before!

"Boom-crack! Boom-crack!"

Several more bolts of lightning struck down, and Zong Zong Shichang expended great effort before finally destroying one of them.

"How much heavenly lightning can you summon?" Zhao Xing stayed under the straw figures' cover, watching Zong Zong Shichang with a half-smile.

These were merely straw figures he'd placed at the edge of his territory as an early warning—roughly made, not even reaching first-tier strength.

The twenty Great Strength Vajras that emerged from the bamboo forest were the real guards.

"Let's give Young Master Zong a taste of real intensity."

The twenty Great Strength Vajras swarmed forward.

"What? There are still this many?!"

Zong Zong Shichang was immediately startled.

These twenty straw figures that appeared later were clearly not the same caliber as the earlier ones.

Each one was gleaming gold, not withered yellow, and their build was robust and powerful, full of spirit.

Zong Zong Shichang watched as a Great Strength Vajra leaped three or four meters in a single bound—how could straw figures possibly have this kind of mobility?!

"Wind, come!"

Zong Zong Shichang could no longer bother with attacking; his first priority was to block these Great Strength Vajras.

Although he had already reached the fourth stage of Qi Gathering, with vigorous qi and blood and considerable strength, he still didn't dare let these straw figures surround him.

A Si Nong's close-combat ability was relatively weak; besides, who practicing magic would engage in brawling like a martial artist?

"Whoosh~"

A powerful west wind blew toward the Great Strength Vajras.

Zong Zong Shichang's wind-control technique was passable—it lifted the sand and stones from the ground without letting the wind angle downward excessively and waste its force.

"Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!"

The sand and stones struck the straw figures' bodies, yet produced the sound of metal clashing.

It did block them for a moment, but the effect fell far short of Zong Zong Shichang's expectations.

Instead, the dust blinded his own vision, and he failed to notice two straw figures quietly sneaking up behind him.

"Rustle-rustle-rustle-rustle..."

A different sound carried within the wind.

"What the hell?!" Zong Zong Shichang turned his head and saw two vines slithering on the ground like spirit snakes!

Grass-Tree-All-Soldiers—Binding Straw Figure!

The Binding Straw Figure, crafted from green vines, could extend its tendrils to trap enemies.

"Slap!" A vine lashed Zong Zong Shichang's right arm; although he dodged, a red welt appeared on his right hand.

"What kind of straw figure is this now?!" Zong Zong Shichang leaped away, but before he could think, a second, then a third vine whipped toward him.

He dodged once, twice, but ultimately couldn't evade the increasing number of vines.

Zong Zong Shichang's hands were bound, pulled taut to the left and right.

He couldn't cast spells, so the wind died and the lightning dispersed.

He tried to break free, but found it utterly useless—the green vines had astonishing toughness, reinforced with three layers of resilience! The Binding Straw Figure was very hard to shake off.

The next moment, his feet were also bound, pulled apart to the left and right.

"Ah-oh..."

Young Master Zong was forcibly split into a straddle, performing a mid-air split, then slammed heavily onto the ground.

"Hiss~"

A man's pain—those who know, know—Zong Zong Shichang was in so much agony he couldn't even speak.

At this moment, the Great Strength Vajras charged over.

Without a word, they punched Zong Zong Shichang.

"I surr—"

Before he could finish saying surrender, he was directly taken down.

"I surrender!"

Zong Zong Shichang hurriedly shouted at the top of his lungs, afraid Zhao Xing hadn't heard; he knew the straw figures executed the caster's commands and wouldn't stop until the objective was complete.

Fortunately, after he fell flat, the Great Strength Vajra stopped moving as well.

The dust scattered, the straw figure split apart, and Zhao Xing's leisurely figure was revealed.

"Brother Zong, how was that?"

"You have no martial virtue, ambushing me like that." Zong Shichang wore a composed, breezy expression. "I still have many secret techniques I haven't deployed—I just happened to fall for your trick. Besides, what's the skill in using a straw figure? When a Si Nong fights, is there any bare-handed brawling?"

Even lying on the ground in a five-horse-dismemberment posture, the man still had a hard mouth—Zong Shichang actually refused to concede. Zhao Xing immediately retorted, "You're the one who said no restrictions, so where does 'ambush' come from? Besides, doesn't the straw-figure method count as a Farmer's spell?"

"I…" Zong Shichang had no words to reply. No matter how much he looked down on the straw-figure method, he couldn't deny it—that would simply be too tasteless.

Snap! Zhao Xing flicked his fingers, ordering the straw figure to release Zong Shichang, then turned and walked toward his own territory. "If Brother Zong hasn't had enough, come fight me another day. I'll wait for you to break my straw-figure method."

Watching Zhao Xing turn away, Zong Shichang immediately lost his composure, that breezy, composed look vanishing. He grimaced as he glanced at his crotch, then reached down to feel around.

"Phew, good, only a little skin broken, no harm done, no harm done…"

The magical duel between Zong Shichang and Zhao Xing came quickly and ended quickly.

Add to that the flying sand and stones, the dust swirling up in all directions during the process, and only a handful of people actually saw it clearly.

"How can his straw figure be so fierce?" Wen Nanxing watched the fight from the sidelines. "Zong Shichang didn't last two rounds—only managed to deploy Thunder-Drawing and Strong Wind before losing. Looks like I need to reassess the straw-figure method too."

Wen Nanxing had likewise overlooked the straw-figure method. Over the years, the imperial court had transmitted fewer and fewer straw-figure techniques—at first there were several dozen kinds, later only a handful remained.

But watching Zhao Xing use the straw figure, Wen Nanxing's view of straw figures changed dramatically.

"Interesting, he's actually skilled with straw figures too." A glint of unusual interest flashed in Xiao Ze's eyes, and he grew a few degrees more curious about Zhao Xing. "The Great Strength Vajra is mentioned in Liu Chuan's Eighty-One Methods—I never expected he'd know how to use it… Should I ask him for guidance?"

Xiao Ze's heart itched with eagerness. He also liked using straw-figure spells, but his own teacher didn't know many either—just a few kinds. Xiao Ze had studied for a long time before learning three, and now seeing this, he couldn't resist wanting to ask Zhao Xing to teach him.

"Forget it, I'll wait until the assessment is over." Xiao Ze held himself back. Not everyone was as brash as Zong Shichang—right now the most important thing was still to get a good ranking in the Start of Autumn assessment.

On the proctor's platform, Gao Li Nong watched Zong Shichang hobbling along and felt terrible all over. Just a second ago he was gloating, thinking Wen Nanxing and Xiao Ze had been robbed of their vitality by Zhao Xing—never expecting that the very next second it would be his own disciple's turn to suffer a setback.

And it happened right in front of everyone—his prized student couldn't even beat a straw figure, truly shameful. Tang Wanchun and Pang Yuan, those two old coots, must be secretly overjoyed!

Gao Li Nong stole a glance, and sure enough, he found the corners of his two colleagues' mouths twitching harder than a waterwheel to suppress.