"Tang San, take this! First Soul Skill, Blue Silver Bind!"
Suddenly, thick Blue Silver Grass erupted from the ground, shooting towards Su Ming to entangle him.
"Shadowless Steps!"
Su Ming used the Shadowless Steps skill he had acquired a few days ago, effortlessly dodging the Blue Silver Grass's attack.
"What?!" Tang San was shocked to see Su Ming easily avoid his Blue Silver Bind. He was even more surprised by Su Ming's precise footwork! It seemed superior to his own Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!
Although Su Ming didn't move particularly fast, his steps left faint afterimages as he perfectly evaded the attack.
"Hehe, Tang San, this Blue Silver Bind of yours—I can do it too, though it's a little different in form. But in essence, it's the same! And I don't even need to use a soul skill to do it. Watch!"
Su Ming clasped his hands together. "Wood Release: Silent Binding Technique!"
Immediately, thick tree roots grew from Su Ming's right hand, surging towards Tang San, attempting to bind him.
Tang San was once again stunned. He noticed that Su Ming's first soul ring hadn't activated—meaning this wasn't even a soul skill. It was a self-created technique!
Still, despite his surprise, Tang San knew he could avoid it.
"Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!" Tang San used his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, slipping out of the way of Su Ming's attack.
The two exchanged blows, but the onlookers were left dumbfounded. They hadn't expected Su Ming to be so powerful, even pressuring Tang San in battle! After all, Tang San was two levels higher than Su Ming!
"Tang San, why not give up? You can't do anything to me," Su Ming said calmly.
Tang San shook his head. "Even though I can't defeat you, you also can't defeat me. If this drags on, you'll be the one who runs out of energy first. I'm two levels higher than you—my total soul power is greater!"
Su Ming grinned. "I'm different from you. Let's settle this with one move!"
Su Ming clasped his hands again and shouted, "Wood Release: Four Pillar Prison Technique!"
Suddenly, thick wooden pillars sprouted around Tang San, boxing him in like a prison. The technique resembled the Blue Silver Prison Tang San would later learn.
Tang San was caught off guard, shocked by Su Ming's move. He hadn't expected Su Ming to have another self-created soul skill!
The speed at which the technique formed was fast, and Tang San hadn't paid enough attention to avoid being trapped!
Su Ming smiled and asked, "What do you say? Do you surrender?"
As he spoke, Su Ming didn't stop. His right hand slowly clenched into a fist, and the space inside the wooden prison began to shrink. Soon, Tang San would be completely immobilized!
Su Ming was applying pressure. If Tang San didn't surrender, the wood would crush him to death!
Seeing the situation, Tang San sighed in defeat. He had no choice.
"I surrender. You win."
Tang San felt a sense of frustration. He couldn't believe that despite being two levels higher than Su Ming, he couldn't even force Su Ming to use his first soul skill!
Though he felt bitter, he had to admit that Su Ming was incredibly talented at creating his own soul skills. Su Ming's martial spirit had only recently awakened, yet he already had so many self-created techniques. It was truly frightening.
Su Ming, seeing Tang San concede, dispersed the Four Pillar Prison. He felt slightly disappointed—he had wanted Tang San to resist a little longer so he could experience being fully bound by the wood. What a shame!
Meanwhile, the onlookers were utterly stunned. Su Ming was indeed strong! His self-created control-type soul skill had completely dominated Tang San's Blue Silver Grass. They began to wonder if even Xiao Wu could defeat Su Ming.
Su Ming's control-type skills were too overwhelming. Xiao Wu might not even be able to get close to him before being restrained. And although Xiao Wu was fast and strong, they couldn't forget Su Ming's strange footwork that would prevent her from landing a hit easily.
In the "live stream," the female leads watching were also seeing Su Ming's Wood Release for the first time and were quite impressed. At this stage, Su Ming was clearly unrivaled among those of the same level. In fact, they thought Su Ming might be invincible below level 20. After all, as a control-type soul master, fighting against opponents of higher levels wouldn't be an issue for him!
They were now curious—was Su Ming's Wood Release really just a series of control-type soul skills? Were there no other kinds of techniques?
They couldn't believe Su Ming's Wood Release was so simple. They were eagerly waiting to see more powerful skills as Su Ming grew stronger!
Xiao Wu, seeing Su Ming's victory, happily ran over to give him a hug. Her face beamed as she exclaimed, "Brother, you were amazing! I knew you were much stronger than me!"
Su Ming laughed, "I need to be stronger to protect you, Xiao Wu!"
Xiao Wu blushed slightly and nodded in agreement.
As the two embraced, the live stream viewers felt a bit overwhelmed. Sure, you're adorable and all, but could you stop with the public displays of affection? At least turn off the live stream first! They didn't want to keep watching this "dog food."
Tang San, seeing Xiao Wu happily clinging to Su Ming and calling him brother, felt a pang of discomfort in his chest. He didn't know what this feeling was, but it made him feel uneasy.
Without saying a word, Tang San left quietly, determined to continue his studies with his teacher, Yu Xiaogang.
In his heart, he resolved to train even harder and see if he could develop his own self-created techniques as well.
When Tang San reached Yu Xiaogang's office, he told his teacher about the duel with Su Ming, particularly about Su Ming's self-created skills, seeking his advice.
After hearing Tang San's account, Yu Xiaogang thought for a moment before saying, "Xiao San, I won't deny that Su Ming is very talented at creating his own soul skills. However, I believe this is just temporary. He won't be able to create high-quality skills at every stage."
"Xiao San, you should remember: while creating your own soul skills is great, it's better to focus most of your energy on increasing your soul power level. Your cultivation speed is faster than Su Ming's, and as long as your level increases and you acquire more soul rings, Su Ming won't be able to match you."
"Don't think that having a few self-created skills is all that impressive. Many powerful soul masters have their own techniques, but they are often weaker than the skills granted by soul rings. That's why most soul masters focus on improving their cultivation. It's only when they reach the rank of Titled Douluo that they consider creating skills to enhance their power."
"So, your primary goal right now should be to increase your soul power and study soul master theory. Understood?"
Tang San nodded firmly. "Understood, teacher!"