Su Ming needed to clear up any misunderstandings; otherwise, if Huo Wu mistook his wood dragon's absorption ability for something similar to Tang San's, that would be troublesome. As he approached, Su Ming noticed a small wet spot under Feng Xiaotian. It seemed the poor guy had been scared to the point of wetting himself!
"Eww…" Huo Wu, having noticed this as well, took a few steps back in disgust. "Well, with Feng Xiaotian in this state, how is he supposed to get back?"
Su Ming shrugged, pointing in one direction. "Not our problem. The power of our abilities here should've drawn his teammates' attention. They'll probably come for him soon. Let's just get out of here."
After they left, Huo Wu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Su Ming, how about you have a match with me too?"
Surprised, Su Ming asked, "Right now?"
Huo Wu nodded. "After watching your fight with Feng Xiaotian, I don't want to wait until the finals. We might not even end up facing each other then. I want to see what you're really made of, one-on-one."
Seeing her eagerness, Su Ming relented, "Alright then, come with me."
He led her to an empty training arena. "Huo Wu, I don't mind fighting, but remember, we leave for Spirit City tomorrow. Don't overdo it," he advised.
Huo Wu brushed off his concerns. She didn't care about such things right now. All she wanted was to give it her all and see if she could defeat Su Ming. As for getting hurt? She hadn't even considered it. If it happened, she figured it would be her own fault.
"Let's start!" Su Ming said simply.
Without further ado, he launched his attack, deciding this was the perfect opportunity to impress the fiery beauty. It was also a chance to try out some other wood techniques.
"Piercing Root Technique!"
Instantly, countless wooden spikes appeared in front of Su Ming, rushing toward Huo Wu.
"Third spirit skill, Repelling Fire Ring!"
As expected, the spikes shattered instantly. Su Ming couldn't help but admire her technique—very effective indeed. But that was merely a probing attack on his part. In his view, this move, while powerful, had its limits; a sufficiently strong attack would surely break through it. A third spirit skill from a Spirit Elder couldn't possibly block the full force of a Spirit Emperor or Spirit Sage.
Seeing that she'd deflected his attack, Huo Wu confidently taunted, "See, Su Ming? Your attacks can't touch me."
Su Ming shook his head. That was far from the truth. His initial move had only been a warm-up, without any power augmentation. He hadn't expected it to succeed.
Alright, he thought, to make an impression, I'll go with a big one.
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
With a loud rumble, an enormous wooden humanoid figure rose in the center of the arena, nearly taking up half the battlefield. Coiled around the wood figure's torso was a wood dragon, adding to the imposing sight. Huo Wu gaped in shock; the wood figure had to be at least ten meters tall—far taller than she'd expected!
What she didn't know was that this was a scaled-down version. Typically, a Wood Human was around fifty meters tall, but there was no way this room could accommodate such a giant without bursting open.
Even so, the towering wood human was an intimidating sight, and she couldn't help but compare. Her Blazing Dance of the Sun in her fusion mode might not even be as large as one of this figure's hands.
"Su Ming, what…what is this move?" Huo Wu asked in awe, realizing the gap between them might be larger than she'd thought.
Su Ming replied nonchalantly, "This skill has a simple name—Wood Human."
Huo Wu was dumbstruck. How could such a formidable skill have such an ordinary name?
Unwilling to admit defeat, Huo Wu immediately used her Repelling Fire Ring again. However, this time the wood figure stood perfectly still. The wood human and dragon just stared at her, as if to say, "Is that all you've got?"
Huo Wu couldn't believe it. Given her strength, she should have been able to repel any ability from a Spirit Emperor, even partially deflecting those from a Spirit Sage. But against this wooden colossus, her skill had zero effect. Su Ming was only a Spirit King—did this wood human possess the strength of a Spirit Sage or even a Spirit Douluo?
Seeing her reaction, Su Ming knew his plan was working; he wanted her to experience a bit of existential crisis, to truly feel the power gap. That was the best way to command her respect.
"It's getting late, Huo Wu," Su Ming said. "If you have any tricks left, bring them out now. If you can take down this wood human, I'll concede defeat."
Biting her lip in frustration, Huo Wu didn't want to win under these circumstances. Her competitive spirit ignited as her remaining four spirit rings flared up, fusing to create her Blazing Dance of the Sun.
A massive, blazing fireball with a diameter of around five meters appeared before her. She couldn't help but compare, and she was relieved to see that, at least in terms of size, her fireball was larger than Su Ming's wood human's hands.
"Alright, let's see how you handle this!" she cried, sending the fiery sphere hurtling toward the wood human. Yet, just as she released it, the wood human's hand expanded, effortlessly catching her Blazing Dance of the Sun.
The wood figure's eyes seemed to examine the fireball curiously, as if it were nothing more than an intriguing object in its grasp.
Notes-Read advanced chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X, i have finished uploading the whole series in patreon, thanks for supporting me and special thanks to all the patrons for joining