After that girl Bai Yan jumped off the stage with joy, the next competition began to be exciting. Later, Qian Chao and the other five people discovered that among the people who competed on the stage on the third day, those children from aristocratic families were particularly eye-catching. Although they may not necessarily be able to defeat their opponents on stage, the methods they display on stage are refreshing.
Among them, the one who most attracted Qian Chao's attention was a descendant of an aristocratic family named Situ Xiong.
Just when Situ Xiong came on stage, Tang Ping asked Qian Chao about Situ Xiong when she was placing bets. She heard that the Situ family he came from was a family with the art of talismans as its main inheritance. This As soon as the words came out, he immediately attracted Qian Chao's attention.
Situ Xiong is only slightly shorter than Li Jian, and he looks thinner and frailer. His expression is a bit reserved and his body is a bit thin. At first glance, he looks like a white-faced scholar, while his opponent is a man who looks experienced in fighting. A rich and very calm Jiuxuan disciple named Shi Yisheng.
After the competition started, the Jiuxuan disciple named Shi Yisheng unceremoniously took the opportunity and used all his methods. It can be seen that this person's method is also the most ordinary one, with a flash of cold light. He asked for directions with his spiritual sword, and then with his hands changing his hand movements, fireballs, wind blades and other spells were frequently directed at Situ Xiong. However, the more common the way, the more effective the way, and this way Shi Yisheng mastered these methods with incomparable precision, and after taking action, it was continuous and did not give Situ Xiong any chance to breathe.
As for Situ Xiong's method, people couldn't understand it from the beginning of the competition, because under the intensive attack of his opponent, Situ Xiong did not fight back at all, but first quickly arranged a layer of blue light around his body. The body-protecting aura, that layer of faint blue light curtain had just covered his whole body, when Shi Yisheng's method came in front of him. As we all know, the body-protecting aura consumes the user's own aura, and for monks Yan was unwilling to open it unless necessary. He saw Shi Yisheng's spirit sword thrust forward first, but was blocked by the layer of blue light. The tip of the sword was swaying, only one foot away from Situ Xiong inside, and could no longer move forward at all. , and then the fireballs hit one after another and exploded with a "boom" sound. The dazzling firelight once covered Situ Xiong's entire body, followed immediately by groups of wind blades following behind, whizzing and slashing at Situ Xiong was above the body-protecting spiritual light that was constantly twisting and deforming.
After this situation lasted for a while, the many Five Spirit disciples watching in the audience became strange. The competition began. This disciple of the aristocratic family neither attacked nor evaded the opponent's attacks, but only hid in the protective spiritual light and was beaten. We can't last long like this, so this kind of response makes many people very puzzled.
Qian Chao was sitting in front, so he could see more clearly. In the flashing firelight, he saw Situ Xiong's hands constantly changing his tactics. This was... to use some extremely powerful means to defeat the opponent in one fell swoop. ?
Or maybe when he uses his own methods, it will be when he loses?
It's possible.
Shi Yisheng understood that intensive attacks on the opponent's body-protecting aura would cause the opponent's aura to quickly lose. He didn't know what the opponent was doing hiding inside, but he wanted to seize this opportunity to weaken the opponent, so the spells became more and more powerful. become more frequent.
The explosion sound of "Boom Boom" was almost loud, and the rising fire even made the Tianshui Lake not far away red. Suddenly, the explosion stopped, and many fireballs flew past the remaining flames. The fire flew past, and Situ Xiong's figure had already flown high above the blazing flames.
In Shi Yisheng's opinion, perhaps the children of this aristocratic family could not bear such a loss of spiritual energy and had to change their strategies.
But that was not the case in Qian Chao's eyes. He could see that Situ Xiong seemed to be ready to fight back against Shi Yisheng. Qian Chao was curious about what methods Situ Xiong would use next.
Shi Yisheng reacted very quickly. His spiritual sword almost followed the opponent's figure and immediately chased him. A cold light came slanting upward!
At this time, Situ Xiong released the hand gesture formed by his hands together, and a sharp golden light shot out from in front of him, facing the sword that Shi Yisheng was flying toward!
Almost instantly, the golden light and the cold light collided together, making a sharp "ding" sound, and then Shi Yisheng's spirit sword was flipped over and hit the ring, but the golden light of Daorui was like Without any hindrance at all, he continued to shoot towards Shi Yisheng who was standing on the ring!
What kind of spiritual weapon is that? It’s so powerful!
At this moment, almost everyone in the audience was thinking this.
Only Qian Chao's pupils shrank.
There was another "ding", and the sharp golden light hit the ring. Natural Master Yisheng had already avoided it with his body skills, but at the same time as the "ding" sounded... Qian Chao did not look at the ring. He did not look at the teachers and students but stared closely at Situ Xiong in the air... and saw another change in the techniques on Situ Xiong's hands...
Shi Yisheng, who had dodged the blow, wanted to see what it was that he had been forced to dodge before he was about to fight back. The hand skills on his hand were still moving, and he turned his head to look at the place where the sound had just been made on the ground. When he turned his head in the past, his face turned pale in an instant!
Well, it wasn't because he was frightened by something that he turned pale, but because he was illuminated by the cold white light that shone there.
The thing that hit the floor of the arena just now flew up again, and also changed. The original sharp gold color turned into a dazzling cold white color, and it also exuded an extremely cold aura. The extremely fast speed hit Shi Yisheng who was almost within reach!
"Ah!" Shi Yisheng was frightened and yelled. Fortunately, he had rich experience in fighting and quick reactions. His whole body suddenly slid against the ring and flew out several feet away. Only then did he narrowly escape this time. When something passed by him, he felt a very strong icy aura pass by his side in a very menacing way, and he couldn't help but feel stunned!
The people in the audience were also stunned. It seemed that the situation had suddenly changed. The boy from the aristocratic family had been suppressed and beaten from the beginning, but now he almost succeeded in counterattacking.
Although Tang Ping had inquired about Situ Xiong, she couldn't understand Situ Xiong's methods. Not only did she not understand, but the other three people didn't understand either. Of course, it was about Situ Xiong's spiritual weapon that could change colors. Xiang Qian Chao, seeing Qian Chao staring at the stage intently, asked:
"Boy Qian, what kind of spiritual weapon does Situ Xiong use?"
"talisman."
"What?" Tang Ping was obviously surprised.
Situ Xiong's attack missed again. He was still not in a hurry, and the technique in his hand immediately changed again.
In the eyes of everyone in the audience, the cold white light that chased Shi Yisheng and was narrowly dodged by Shi Yisheng suddenly stopped and turned in the air. At the same time, the cold white light also disappeared in this very short time. It actually turned into a streak of oily green, and then flew past Shi Yisheng's body like a green line again.
This time, Shi Yisheng's dodge was a little slower. Perhaps it was because the shock caused by the previous experience had not subsided. He flew to dodge again a little slower, and the green light in everyone's eyes was slightly slower. With one turn, he shot directly onto his ankle...
"ah!"
Shi Yisheng let out a loud shout!
Many of the disciples watching the battle were dumbfounded. They saw green light shining above the arena. A large group of twisted thorns and vines instantly appeared in the green light. The vines and thorns stood up and shook and stretched. , just like a large group of green snakes that had just been dumped on the ring from a huge basket, they were twisting and stretching with their heads raised, and there were several winding vines above the thorns, tightly guarding Shi Yisheng. Ankles wrapped around.
In desperation, Shi Yisheng tried his best to move his body upwards and pulled the vines almost straight. However, the vines seemed to be very tough. No matter how hard he moved, he could not get rid of them, and he would never dare to turn around. He used his hands to tear off those vines because he was worried that if his arms would get entangled again, then the battle would be lost.
Just as everyone held their breath and stared with wide eyes, there was a roar from the ring, and a cold light flashed across the ring. It was the spirit sword that Shi Yisheng had shot down on the ring before, turning the blade and slashing at him. , under the edge of the sword, the vines were finally cut off together, and Shi Yisheng's body broke free in an instant.
But it's still not over.
Situ Xiong still didn't seem to care about Shi Yisheng's escape, and his tactics changed again.
What we are talking about is slower than Situ Xiong's method. Well, that is, at the same time that the vines were just cut off by the spiritual sword, the large pile of vines and thorns that were entangled like countless green snakes suddenly "boomed" and burned. A raging fire broke out, and a big fireball hit the back of Shi Yisheng, who had just gotten rid of his restraints and was flying forward!
The rolling heat wave hit behind him at an extremely fast speed. Shi Yisheng didn't even dare to look back at this moment. In order to avoid the flames that had reached his back, he had no choice but to drop sharply...
Situ Xiong seemed to be changing his moves for the last time, and then he actually put his hands behind his back in the air!
There was a loud "boom", and countless flames exploded less than two feet above the ground. The flames fell like rain, and then changed again when they landed on the ring.
The flames fell on the ring and disappeared, but the surface paved with jade and bluestone below completely turned into a land of soft yellow sand. As soon as Shi Yisheng stood firm on the ring, he suddenly felt that there was no strength under his feet. At this point, the soles of his shoes gave way and his two calves had already sunk in. Shocked, he immediately moved his body to prepare to escape again, but this time, as soon as his body was activated, his downward momentum could no longer be stopped. , and all of a sudden the soft yellow sand covered his waist, and was about to reach his chest. Only then did he become truly frightened, knowing that if he continued to struggle, he would sink completely under the yellow sand. .
At this time, everyone watching the battle understood that the outcome was decided!
"Stop...I'm...I'm defeated!" In desperation, Shi Yisheng, who couldn't escape, could only admit defeat.
…
"Is that a talisman?" Seeing this, Tang Ping remembered what Qian Chao said just now.
"Yes," Qian Chao breathed a sigh of relief and opened his eyes. Today was also the first time he saw this kind of talisman. He had only heard of it before. "It is a talisman, but this kind of talisman is not written with cinnabar on the talisman paper." That kind of talisman can only be used once. The talisman used by Situ Xiong should be made from the leather of some kind of monster beast through some special tanning methods, and then cinnabar... or the blood of the monster beast Print the runes on it, so that the talismans obtained will not be worn out as long as they are used like my talismans, but can be used repeatedly, look..."
Qian Chao said and motioned to several companions in the stands. Sure enough, after Situ Xiong released Shi Yisheng, something flew up from the ground and entered his hand after a few movements. It was exactly the kind of talisman Qian Chao mentioned. .
"Oh, that's a talisman made of leather. Hey, brother Qian, this method seems good. Do you know how to do it?" Lu Pingchuan, one of the five, is good at tanning various leathers, so he asked.
Qian Chao shook his head and said:
"His talisman must have been passed down from his family, and others will definitely not. However, compared with my talisman, the two talisman methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of my talismans is that they are large in number and there are many types of talismans. There is one Having the talisman with me is equivalent to having one more means for me; as for Situ Xiong's talisman, I saw it just now. A talisman can transform the five elements. It is very powerful. It is gold at the beginning, and it is like a sword and the spiritual sword of Shi Yi. The collision was followed by water, which was extremely cold. We all could feel it in the audience. Then came wood. The entanglement of wood and vines almost trapped Shi Yisheng to death. Then came fire. Shi Yisheng did not dare to resist the big fireball. , and finally earth, which finally trapped Shi Yisheng and had to admit defeat. This talisman is transformed according to the order of the five elements, which is very strange..."
The four companions all nodded to Shi Yisheng as all the different methods he used came from one talisman.
"I don't know if Situ Xiong has any other means, but from what I saw on the ring, he was concentrating on using this talisman and not daring to be distracted. It seems that even if he has other means, at least for now It is also difficult for him to use it to deal with Shi Yisheng at the same time. In other words, the talisman in his hand actually functions as a high-level spiritual weapon. Although this method is novel, in my opinion, it is still undesirable or... There is room for improvement, haha, just talking, he must keep this method secret."
One more thing to say here is that Situ Xiong's methods are indeed good, and this kind of talisman is refreshing. Qian Chao has been working hard on the art of talismans. He is now studying under Mr. Zhuang in Ruixuan Town. Mr. Zhuang must be aware of this method due to his knowledge, but when Mr. Zhuang teaches Qian Chao, he mostly uses talismans. As a scholar, he rarely taught Qian Chao any specific methods. There are two reasons why Mr. Zhuang did this. One is that Mr. Zhuang is actually a man whose days are numbered. Qian Chao has noticed this. If the skills, together with the science of runes, and countless methods are all taught to Qian Chao, the time left for him will no longer be enough. This is one of the reasons: the other is that Mr. Zhuang regards Qian Chao as the same kind as himself. To teach such a person, teaching him "skills" is far less important than teaching him "Tao". In Mr. Zhuang's view, the "Tao" of his lineage is the study of runes, and "skills" are just that. More than that, various means of defending and repelling enemies are within the category of "shu", but "shu" is dependent on "Tao". Without "Tao", it is impossible to have profound "shu", so they Only when he taught Qian Chao did he teach him more about runes. If Qian Chao mastered the "Tao", then the "skill" would be a matter of course.
Another perhaps inappropriate analogy can be used here. It is like several people traveling together to compete to see who can reach the destination first. Some of them are riding horses, some are driving, and some are walking. This naturally seems a bit unfair. The only thing is that It's fair to say that the starting point and the end point are the same for everyone. In this competition, "Tao" is the road that can lead from the starting point to the end safely, and "Skill" is the different walking methods of everyone. Those who ride horses are naturally the fastest, and those who drive are naturally the most comfortable. As for walking, it is probably the most tiring. If the distance between the starting point and the end point is short, then the horse rider and the driver will naturally reach the end point first. But if the journey is long, and the road is full of mud, deep pools, rapids, and thorns that are extremely difficult to walk on, it is a bumpy road. If these people don’t know where the “Tao” is, then these people will probably die trapped there. On the way, whether he was riding a horse or driving a car. But if the person on foot knows where the "road" is and then follows it all the way, even if he cannot match the speed of the person on horseback in a short time, and it is much harder than the person driving in the long term, he can eventually reach the goal. The destination must be this person walking.
Cultivation is an extremely long road for all monks, full of difficulties and obstacles. Therefore, from the above example, "Tao" is much more important to monks than "Skill".
Mr. Zhuang once said to Qian Chao that "skills" are equivalent to branches and leaves, while "Tao" is the foundation, so one cannot put the cart before the horse.
He also said to Qian Chao that "Tao" is the skin and "skill" is the hair. If the skin is not preserved, how will the hair be attached?
Among Qian Chao's many methods, almost only one "Incarnation Talisman" was taught to him by Mr. Zhuang, and this method also helped Qian Chao a lot, but Mr. Zhuang almost kept silent about the other methods. He would rather let Qian Chao In the process of gradually mastering the so-called "Tao" of rune science, he gradually understands and develops his fantastic ideas. What he gets in this way is Qian Chao's own "skill", and it can reach the point of endless emergence. . People often say, "Teaching people how to fish is worse than teaching them how to fish." However, in Mr. Zhuang's view, instead of teaching others how to hook bait or use rope to build a strong net, it is better to learn about the eating habits and feeding habits of various fish in the water. Tell others the depth of the water, including the direction and speed of the water flow, etc. With these, let alone a net, you can catch a big fish even with a sharpened wooden branch!
Therefore, after seeing Situ Xiong's method, many people were shocked, many were envious, but in Qian Chao's eyes, it was just a novel "skill" that he had seen for the first time, and it was worthy of his careful consideration in the future. .
Of course, there are people who have different views from Qian Chao, and that is an elder on Chengguan Tower, who is Wenyuan's great-uncle, Senior Wen Mianwen, the Master of Jiuxuan Fulu.
Well, Senior Wen saw all Situ Xiong's methods in his eyes. First of all, based on Wen Mian's knowledge, he naturally knew this method, and he saw that Situ Xiong was skillful in controlling the talisman. , couldn't help but secretly remember this child of aristocratic family while admiring him, and naturally he cherished his talent in his heart. Although he was a child of an aristocratic family, if he was accepted under his sect, he would definitely achieve something in the future.
"This time, Situ Xiong wins."
