Chapter 96: Chapter 95.
"Begin." the master commanded, his voice resolute.
In the next moment, the two combatants clashed and Wang Feng observed the battle closely. It played out much as he had anticipated.
Dai Mubai had the upper hand in terms of soul power and raw stregth but Tang San, a control-type soul master, had a natural advantage against stregth-focused soul masters like him. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, enhanced by the Human-Faced Demon Spider's soul ring, not only had increased toughness but also carried the spider's venom. His control abilities, especially his third soul skill involving a spider web, were formidable.
The clash continued and not too long after, Tang San's smaller yet tougher Blue Silver Grass managed to ensnare Dai Mubai's from all sides, creating a web-like entrapment. The toxic spikes on the Blue Silver Grass also quickly affected Dai Mubai, causing a significant drop in his strength and paralyzing his entire body numb.
Wang Feng shook his head, recognizing the outcome.
"Well done." the master declared, ending the match.
Tang San swiftly retracted the spider web and used his martial soul to purge the toxin from Dai Mubai's body quickly.
"As an attack-type soul master, your greatest adversary are the control system soul masters," the master remarked, walking over to Dai Mubai.
"Below level sixty, control-type soul masters excel at anyone strength focused. You believed that your greater soul power would allow you to break through Tang San's Blue Silver Grass easily. While it was a sound idea, you underestimated his capabilities. The most correct approach would have been to avoid a head-on confrontation and deny Tang San the opportunity to display his soul skills. This, however, goes against your nature as an attack type strength focused soul master. That's why you rely on the cooperation of your comrades."
"When your strength isn't sufficient to overpower your opponent, don't force the issue, try to avoid it and make it a battle of attrition." the master emphasized.
"Next, Tang San, you'll face off against Zhu Zhuqing. Mubai, you'll later take on the combination of Ma Hongjun and Oscar."
Dai Mubai nodded and stepped aside. Zhu Zhuqing hesitated briefly, lightly touched her waist and then proceeded to the center.
"Tang San, no use of your third soul ability this time." the master instructed.
Tang San agreed, but at that moment, Zhu Zhuqing spoke up.
"Master, you mentioned there's no such thing as a fair fight in this world. Let Tang San use his third soul ability against me."
The master hesitated, frowned but finally nodded in agreement.
Tang San was also surprised. Zhu Zhuqing was not like Dai Mubai, she held advantage over him as an agility attack system soul master but the gap in their soul power levels was quite significant. Even without using his third soul ability, Tang San has confidence of defeating her without any trouble.
Ning Rongrong inquired, "What's going on with Zhuqing? She seems very confident."
Xiao Wu shrugged. The others were equally perplexed and Wang Feng, who had been watching Zhu Zhuqing, couldn't help but murmur, "Is she not aware? But with Tang San at level thirty-one and with his third soul ability, I'm not sure..."
Wang Feng didn't delve further into his thoughts.
Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing faced off in the square.
"Blue Silver Grass! Bind!" Tang San wasted no time and unleashed his attack. Countless vines shot up from the ground, aiming for Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing, being an agile and nimble attacker, quickly evaded the blue silver grass easily. The square's open terrain suited her just fine, almost as much as the Great Soul Arena.
As Tang San relentlessly extended his Blue Silver Grass, Zhu Zhuqing found herself dancing through the square, performing intricate dodges. But Tang San's high soul power meant that the Blue Silver Grass grew in abundance, constricting the space more and more with each passing moment.
Her room to maneuver dwindled rapidly until, in no time, the entire square was almost covered in the vines created by the Blue Silver Grass. Zhu Zhuqing had little space left for evasion.
The master discreetly shook his head, recognizing that Zhu Zhuqing had done her best to evade Tang San's attacks as much as possible, a wiser approach compared to Dai Mubai's head on attack strategy. However, her efforts were proving futile against a control-type soul master like Tang San.
Dodging alone couldn't fully help her escape his grasp unless she could instantly teleport to him and break free, which seems impossible for now.
Yet, intriguingly, Zhu Zhuqing hadn't launched a counterattack against Tang San. This puzzled the master. Even though she had been evading the entire time, when Tang San displayed a few openings, she hadn't seized the opportunity. Most would have taken advantage of those moments, although they might have been traps intentionally left by Tang San.
Amidst the group, perhaps only Wang Feng had a clue about what Zhu Zhuqing was up to.
In her final corner, facing the sea of blue silver grass with no room left to dodge, Tang San made his move once again. "Bind!"
But in that instant, Zhu Zhuqing's cold countenance transformed into an uncharacteristic smile, it was the first time her fellow students had witnessed her smile since joining the academy. It was a beautiful and heartfelt expression.
The next moment!
Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing's sharp claws flashed a few times as sparks emerged, and something shot out towards the Blue Silver Grass that blanketed the square.
"Hmm... is that..?" The master's eyes widened slightly.
A flicker of fiery light slowly ignited within the sea of Blue Silver Grass, resembling a spark igniting a prairie fire. Despite the vast number of Blue Silver Grass vines in the square, for some inexplicable reason, they easily succumbed to the combustion.
Instantly, at a visible speed, the fire swept through, leaving the onlookers stunned. Even Tang San was caught off guard.
Zhu Zhuqing gracefully leaped, traversing the burning vines with ease and speed. The creeping plants were incinerated as soon as they touched her.
But at that moment, Zhu Zhuqing soared high into the air, her agile footsteps landing on the charred and melting blue silver grass. She moved so swiftly that she seemed to dance through the flames atop the remnants of Blue Silver Grass in the square, closing in on Tang San swiftly.
"Hell Rush Stab!" Zhu Zhuqing cried out as her speed instantly doubled.
Tang San immediately realized, "This isn't good!"
Once Zhu Zhuqing closed in with her agility attack style, it became challenging for Tang San to evade her without resorting to hidden weapons. However, he couldn't use those weapons in this spar as discussed beforehand.
"Of course! I should have used the 'Cobweb Binding' from the beginning not just the 'Bind'! She deliberately refrained from attacking me, luring me into using 'Bind' to create this massive fire in the end. Now I can't employ the Blue Silver Grass!" Tang San realized with a soft sigh.
He had faced Zhu Zhuqing a few times before and hadn't intended to use the 'Cobweb' but opted for the 'Bind' soul skill. Now, he regretted not using the 'Cobweb' soul skill. But it was too late and he couldn't use it now. He hadn't anticipated being bested by Zhu Zhuqing in their encounter.
The square was set ablaze, rendering the Cobweb's range advantage useless. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass had no opportunity to shine. Even if he attempted to use the Cobweb forcibly, it wouldn't hold up against Zhu Zhuqing's close-quarters combat ability and would likely result in a mutual defeat.
As a Soul Elder, losing to a twenty-seventh-level Soul Grandmaster was a humbling experience for him and that too just because of carelessness.
Zhu Zhuqing sighed, her black silhouette darting forward. Her sharp fingertips came to rest at Tang San's neck.
The audience was in utter silence, witnessing this extraordinary outcome. Except for Wang Feng, everyone was befuddled, filled with curiosity about how Zhu Zhuqing had achieved this feat.
It took a while for them to snap out of their daze and all eyes were fixed on Zhu Zhuqing. Even Flenders and Zhao Wuji in the distance were surprised by this outcome.
At that moment, the master walked onto the square, as if he were searching for something or picking up on something in the air. After a moment, he approached Zhu Zhuqing, examining her with a serious gaze, as his eyes were filled with admiration.
"Good, good, very good!" he exclaimed in succession. Three "goods" spoke volumes about the Grandmaster's astonishment and the admiration he held for Zhu Zhuqing methods.
"Grandmaster, how did Zhu Zhuqing pull that off?" Oscar and the others approached, their jaws dropping in amazement. Even Tang San regarded Zhu Zhuqing with a questioning and admiring look.
"Could she have used that some soul item?" Oscar wondered aloud, speculating as a food-type soul master, he could make some educated guesses.
Zhu Zhuqing remained silent, while the master closed his eyes as if recollecting.
"This battle was marvelous! It's textbook-worthy." the Grandmaster began.
"In simple terms, Zhu Zhuqing exploited Tang San's momentary lapse to blanket the entire square with Blue Silver Grass and then ignited it using her soul ability. Tang San's sturdy Blue Silver Grass couldn't withstand the flames and posed no threat to Zhu Zhuqing after that."
"Zhu Zhuqing's shoes and pants must have been specially designed for fire resistance. She traversed the burning blue silver grass at remarkable speed, catching Tang San off guard and delivering a fatal blow, ending the match."
The master's gaze shifted to Zhu Zhuqing, filled with profound admiration. "The key to this might be your biggest puzzle... Zhu Zhuqing, how did you create the fire? Even I didn't anticipate it until I was in the square, observing closely. To my amazement, it was produced using just two ordinary, everyday items."
This revelation piqued everyone's curiosity. Tang San, seemingly having figured something out, gazed at Zhu Zhuqing with admiration evident in his eyes.
Zhu Zhuqing remained silent.
"Master, tell us!" Xiao Wu urged.
The master looked at Zhu Zhuqing, a contented smile in his eyes.
"It's flint and grease. Flint is a common tool for starting fires, capable of producing sparks with a simple strike. Grease is typically used for cooking but ignites when exposed to fire. When Zhu Zhuqing was dodging without a trace, the grease she carried was sprinkled onto the Blue Silver Grass all over the area, that's what caused the fire to spread so quickly."
"Towards the end, after activating her martial soul, she struck the flints with her claws which I believe were as strong as fine iron, sending sparks into the Blue Silver Grass. With the help of the grease, she rapidly ignited the Blue Silver Grass, causing the fire to spread throughout the entire square!"
"Seems like you've thoroughly simulated this battle in your mind for quite some time, haven't you? Were you well-prepared?" The Grandmaster inquired, his admiration evident. He hadn't expected to witness such an extraordinary battle.
Zhu Zhuqing remained silent for a moment before nodding slightly.
After hearing the explanation, the onlookers fell into contemplative silence. Even Wang Feng, who had advised Zhu Zhuqing the previous night, was also surprised by her meticulousness. A girl who had received guidance from him had not only absorbed the advice but also applied it with remarkable success.
"Zhu Zhuqing's approach to combat is very unconventional but was very effective." the Grandmaster continued. "Control-type soul masters are generally vulnerable to agile attack-system opponents and most control systems involve plant-based abilities. However, she not only thought of using flint and grease but also leveraged the traits of her agile attack style, effectively countering the control-type soul master's limitations. It's quite remarkable."
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