"You..." Zong Shichang was about to summon thunder to strike, but in an instant, his target disappeared.
It wasn't because Zhao Xing ran too fast, but because suddenly, many grassmen stood up from the ground around him.
The yellow grassmen were almost the same color as the earth, and Zhao Xing had covered them with some sand and dirt, making them nearly impossible to detect!
This guy actually buried grassmen underground like Voldemort!
"What's the use of weaving so many grassmen? Hmph, Grassman Skill is just a petty trick!"
"I can easily destroy them!"
Zong Shichang summoned thunder to attack.
"Boom-crack!"
A bolt of lightning descended from the clouds, accurately striking the grassman.
But the result shocked Zong Shichang!
He found that this golden grassman only had a charred spot on its chest, without the expected smoke and flames.
"What's going on, a grassman can withstand Heavenly Thunder?"
Zong Shichang found it absurd.
He wasn't skilled in Grassman Skill and had always looked down on such spells, thinking the weaving was cumbersome and complex. Mr. Zong didn't have the patience for such meticulous work.
Who would have thought that the grassmen Zhao Xing weaved were completely different from what he had seen before!
"Boom-crack! Boom-crack!"
Several more bolts of lightning struck down. Zong Shichang spent great effort, only then eliminating one of them.
"How many Heavenly Thunders can you summon?" Zhao Xing, hiding under the grassman's cover, looked at Zong Shichang with a half-smile.
These were just the grassmen placed on the periphery of his territory as a warning, crudely made, not even reaching One Turn in strength.
The 20 Vigorous Vajra emerging from the bamboo forest were the real guards.
"Let's give Mr. Zong some real strength."
Twenty Vigorous Vajra charged forward.
"What? So many more?!"
Zong Shichang was immediately startled.
The 20 grassmen appeared clearly different from the previous ones.
They gleamed golden rather than yellowish, and their sturdy appearance had an awe-inspiring presence.
Zong Shichang observed, and saw the Vigorous Vajra leaping three to four meters in a single bound. Was this the kind of agility a grassman was supposed to have?!
"Wind, come!"
Zong Shichang had no time for offense; he had to stop these Vigorous Vajra first.
Although he had reached the Fourth Rank in Gathering Essence, with strong vitality and considerable strength, he didn't dare let these grassmen surround him.
The Minister of Agriculture's close combat skills were relatively weak, and who would fight in melee like a martial artist when using spells?
"Whoosh~"
A strong westerly wind blew towards the Vigorous Vajra.
Zong Shichang's wind control was quite good, lifting the sand and stones from the ground without wasting the wind's force by blowing too much downward.
"Clang clang clang clang clang!"
The sand and stones striking the grassmen's bodies produced sounds like clashing metal.
It did hinder them for a moment, but the effect was far below Zong Shichang's expectations.
Meanwhile, the dust obstructed his vision, and he didn't notice two grassmen sneaking up behind him.
"Rustle rustle rustle rustle..."
Amidst the wind, came a different sound.
"What the hell is this?!" Zong Shichang turned to look and found two vines writhing on the ground, like Spiritual Snakes!
Grass and Trees are Soldiers Skill, Entwining Grassman!
The entwining grassman, made of green vines, could extend its tendrils to trap enemies.
"Snap!" A tendril lashed at Zong Shichang's right arm. Although he dodged, a red mark appeared on his right hand.
"What kind of grassman is this?!" Zong Shichang jumped aside, not having enough time to think before the second, third tendril whipped towards him.
Dodging once or twice, he eventually couldn't evade more tendrils.
Zong Shichang's hands were bound. One left, one right, pulled taut.
Unable to cast spells, the wind ceased, and the thunder dispersed.
Trying to break free, he found it useless. The green vine tendrils had remarkable toughness, with three layers of reinforcement! The entwining grassman was hard to shake off.
In the next moment, his feet were also entwined, stretched in opposite directions.
"Ouch..."
Mr. Zong was forcibly made to do a splits, hanging in mid-air, then slammed heavily onto the ground.
"Hiss~"
Every man knows the pain. Zong Shichang was so hurt he couldn't speak.
The Vigorous Vajra rushed over at this moment.
Without another word, it punched Zong Shichang.
"I concede..."
He hadn't even finished saying "concede" before being knocked down.
"I surrender!"
Zong Shichang shouted, fearing Zhao Xing didn't hear it. He knew the grassmen obeyed the spellcaster's commands and wouldn't stop until they completed their target.
Fortunately, after he fell, the Vigorous Vajra stopped moving.
The dust cleared, and the grassmen parted, revealing Zhao Xing's leisurely figure.
"Mr. Zong, how was it?"
"You're dishonorable, you ambushed me." Zong Shichang displayed a serene demeanor: "I still have many secret techniques uncast. I slipped up by accident. Besides, using grassmen, what kind of skill is that? How can the Minister of Agriculture fight in melee?"
Lying on the ground in a five-horse corpses pose, Zong Shichang was still defiant. Zhao Xing immediately retorted: "You agreed to no restrictions, so how was it an ambush? And isn't Grassman Skill considered a Nong Family spell?"
"I..." Zong Shichang was speechless. No matter how much he despised Grassman Skill, he couldn't deny it, which would be disgraceful.
Snap! Zhao Xing snapped his fingers, letting the grassmen release Zong Shichang, then turned and walked back to his territory: "Mr. Zong, if you haven't had enough, we can fight another day. I'll be waiting for you to break my Grassman Skill."
Watching Zhao Xing turn away, Zong Shichang's composed act shattered. Grimacing, he looked down, and reached to check.
"Phew, just a little skin broken, won't affect...won't affect..."
.......
The duel between Zong Shichang and Zhao Xing began quickly and ended quickly.
With the sand and stones flying, dust swirling, only a few could see clearly.
"His grassmen are that strong?" Wen Nanxing watched from his well, "Zong Shichang didn't last two rounds, he only cast Thunder and Strong Wind before losing. Looks like I need to reassess Grassman Skill."
Wen Nanxing had also overlooked Grassman Skill. For many years, the court passed down fewer and fewer Grassman Techniques. Initially, there were dozens, now only a few remained.
But seeing Zhao Xing using grassmen, Wen Nanxing's view on grassmen changed greatly.
"Interesting, he also uses grassmen well." Xiao Ze's eyes flashed with curiosity towards Zhao Xing. "Vigorous Vajra, mentioned in Liu's Eighty-One Skills, didn't expect him to use it... Should I ask him for advice?"
Xiao Ze couldn't resist. He also liked using Grassman Spells, but his teacher knew only a few, just a handful. Xiao Ze had spent a long time learning three. Now seeing this, he couldn't help wanting Zhao Xing to teach him.
"Forget it, wait until the assessment is over." Xiao Ze restrained himself. Not everyone was as reckless as Zong Shichang. The priority now was to get a good rank in the Start of Autumn assessment.
On the proctor's stand, Gao Linong watched Zong Shichang limping away, feeling terrible. A moment ago, he was gloating, thinking Wen Nanxing and Xiao Ze were drained of their Primordial Energy by Zhao Xing. Unexpectedly, it was his disciple's turn to suffer next.
And it happened in front of everyone, his prized pupil couldn't even beat a grassman. It was truly embarrassing. Tang Wanchun and Pang Yuan must be gloating in their hearts!
Gao Linong sneaked a glance, and sure enough, he saw the corners of his two colleagues' mouths were harder to suppress than a waterwheel.