"We've been tricked!" Tang San's heart instantly filled with dread as he watched Cheng Xiao's leg sweep towards him with lightning speed. If this kick landed, even if he survived, he'd surely be in for a world of pain!
Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!
Tang San's reaction was swift in the face of Cheng Xiao's attack. With a step, he employed the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, trying to quickly distance himself from Cheng Xiao.
However, how could Cheng Xiao possibly give Tang San the chance to escape? A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as an overwhelming killing intent erupted from him, enveloping Tang San. The Killing Intent skill activated, and Tang San's overall abilities were instantly reduced by fifty percent. Even the mysterious and elusive Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track would struggle without its advantage in speed.
As Tang San began to move, it was as though an invisible force dragged him down, making his movements sluggish and heavy. In his vision, the horrifying scene of corpses and blood reappeared. Before he could activate his Purple Demon Eyes, a powerful force exploded from Cheng Xiao's sweeping leg, unleashing an unstoppable momentum as it barreled towards Tang San.
BANG!
With a loud crash, Tang San's body was blasted backward as if struck by a cannonball, slamming heavily into the ground.
"Cough, cough, cough…" Tang San clutched his stomach, coughing violently, as waves of intense pain swept through his body. Cheng Xiao's strike had nearly incapacitated him.
"Heh, it seems that even with his secret weapons, Tang San is no match for Cheng Xiao. After taking that kick, he shouldn't have any strength left to continue fighting," Principal Ma Nuo remarked with a laugh as he watched Tang San lying helplessly on the ground.
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened as his gaze fell on Cheng Xiao. "What exactly is this kid's martial spirit? How can he make things so difficult for Tang San? He has invisibility, defense… Did he just randomly hunt for these spirit skills? If Tang San keeps getting suppressed like this, it's going to seriously hurt his confidence. Could it be… it's time for him to switch to cultivating the Clear Sky Hammer?"
"It's over, Tang San." Cheng Xiao's cold gaze bore down on Tang San as he stood over him.
"No… I haven't lost yet. I can't let my teacher down… I absolutely cannot… give up."
Tang San struggled to raise his hand as a faint blue light began to glow from his palm.
"Second spirit ability… Entanglement!"
Tang San, mustering the last of his strength, activated his second spirit ability. He refused to believe that at such close range, Cheng Xiao could still evade his Blue Silver Grass seeds. As long as the Entanglement skill took effect, he could turn the tide and win this fight!
"Enough, Tang San!" Yu Xiaogang couldn't stay silent any longer when he saw Tang San resisting in vain. He quickly rushed to Tang San's side, trying to help him up, but his outstretched arm was blocked by another.
"What are you doing? He's already lost. Are you really going to strike him again?" Yu Xiaogang glared angrily at Cheng Xiao, shouting in outrage.
"Lost? How would I know?" Cheng Xiao responded with an expressionless face. "Yu Xiaogang, unless Tang San admits defeat himself, this sparring session isn't over. You're just his teacher, not him."
"As long as Tang San doesn't personally say he's lost, this sparring match continues. After all… wasn't it you who once said that battles between spirit masters are unpredictable?"
"You—!" Yu Xiaogang was rendered speechless by Cheng Xiao's retort. Indeed, those were his own words. He hadn't expected Cheng Xiao to hear them from so far away. Now, it felt like he had dug his own grave.
"Alright, Cheng Xiao, the principal has made the call. You've won this match. Tang San is in no condition to keep fighting, so there's no need to continue," Principal Ma Nuo quickly intervened, sensing the tension between the two. Upon hearing this, Cheng Xiao said nothing. He simply lowered his head and stared coldly at the contorted expression on Tang San's face.
"Tang San, just admit defeat. I'll take you to get treated. Don't let your stubbornness delay your recovery." Yu Xiaogang was furious at Cheng Xiao's relentless attitude, but his priority was his student's well-being. Winning or losing didn't matter; what was important was the path of future cultivation.
Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Tang San finally muttered, "I admit defeat."
However, his eyes were ice-cold as he spoke. He couldn't understand it—despite his mastery of the Tang Sect's techniques, why was he unable to win even once against Cheng Xiao? Was he really this weak? No, it wasn't him that was weak—it was the Blue Silver Grass that was weak. If only he could cultivate the Clear Sky Hammer, would he have lost so miserably?
Ignoring Tang San's inner turmoil, Cheng Xiao nodded slightly towards Principal Ma Nuo after hearing Tang San's admission of defeat, then turned and strode away from the training ground.
Yu Xiaogang's expression remained grim as he watched Cheng Xiao leave. However, the most pressing issue was to get Tang San treated and have his body checked. Everything else could wait.
With a quick word to Principal Ma Nuo, Yu Xiaogang carried Tang San towards the medical room at Nuoding Academy, where a spirit master with healing abilities around rank 30 resided. With their help, Tang San should recover quickly.
...
After returning to his dormitory, Cheng Xiao first took a shower, then changed into loose clothing and lay down on his bed. With no one else in the dormitory as Xiao Wu and the others were still in class, the room was quiet.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Cheng Xiao extended his right hand, and with a thought, black mist surged from his palm.
"I didn't expect the power of shadows to be so useful. If I can condense it into a weapon, I won't need to carry these two daggers anymore."
His gaze shifted to the two metallic daggers lying on the table. Cheng Xiao muttered to himself.
Carrying two daggers all the time was indeed inconvenient. Originally, they were meant for hunting spirit beasts, but now, he didn't even need to hunt spirit beasts. Simply cultivating each day and raising his rank was enough.
Shaking his head slightly, Cheng Xiao closed his eyes and entered meditation. It seemed that due to the Shadow Monarch's influence, most of the spirit power in his body had been converted into shadow energy. Compared to ordinary spirit power, shadow energy was more domineering and versatile.
However, the conversion of his spirit power into shadow energy had also slowed down his cultivation speed. Cheng Xiao didn't mind, though. At this stage, his cultivation speed was still relatively normal. Otherwise, he should have been lagging far behind Tang San in terms of spirit power level by now.
After all, Tang San had the Mysterious Heaven Technique, a method that boosted his cultivation speed. Cheng Xiao, on the other hand, was only relying on standard meditation to increase his spirit power. That he hadn't fallen behind Tang San yet was proof of how easy it was to advance in the early stages of cultivation. But as his rank increased, the cultivation speed would naturally slow down, which was one of the challenges of cultivation.