Chapter 32: Suppression
Tang San's face paled slightly.
Sun Qi's mind was filled with the fear that his Blue Silver Grass Spirit would break easily, but Tang San knew how resilient his own Blue Silver Grass was.
Sun Qi had actually slashed it with a single blow.
While there must have been some special technique involved, it was also a testament to the strength of Sun Qi's staff skills.
"I hadn't expected his own exploration of the staff technique to actually yield some subtleties."
Despite this, Tang San didn't doubt his own Spirit.
There were too few Blue Silver Grass blades; just now, only five or six had simultaneously entwined, their strength was limited.
According to his discussions with Yu Xiaogang, they needed a parasitic Spirit skill for their second Spirit Ring. It required more than just parasitic power, but more importantly, a burst of growth, allowing him to instantly mobilize more Blue Silver Grass, rather than just controlling three or five vines at a distance.
Sun Qi took two or three steps forward, closing the distance between them and Tang San.
He held a wooden stick, the other end of which transformed into a sea of shadows, making it impossible to see clearly.
Elsewhere, the little Stone Monkey also swirled forward with his stick.
Man and monkey, their minds connected, their coordination seamless.
Tang San didn't panic at all. He raised his hand and fired a hidden arrow.
Sun Qi's body became ethereal, and he separated from this illusory dispersion, splitting in two.
The Phantom Clone, unarmed, stepped forward to engage Tang San.
"What!"
Yu Xiaogang, watching from the sidelines, was shocked.
This was a combat clone!
His eyes blazed red.
What kind of luck had Sun Qi had to possess such a remarkable Spirit skill? One that could save his life while also allowing him to fight in two.
Tang San hadn't anticipated this, and before he could summon another hidden weapon, he swept his right hand in front of him, causing Sun Qi's Phantom Clone to pause for a moment. With ghostly steps, he stepped forward, leaning hard against the Phantom Clone, sending it repelling.
With another ghostly gait, he advanced, closing in on Sun Qi's true form.
With a flick of his left hand, he pushed the wooden stick in Sun Qi's grasp, creating a wide opening in front of him. He stepped forward, ready to deliver another shoulder strike.
Seeing his continuous Iron Mountain Lean attack, Sun Qi immediately dropped his stick and stepped back, dodging Tang San's shoulder.
The Stone Monkey, on the other side, seized the opportunity and struck Tang San with his stick. The force was fierce and brutal, thrusting it straight at the back of Tang San's head.
Tang San's eyes darkened purple, and everything in his field of vision slowed to a crawl. With a sweep of his hands, an invisible force seemed to guide the Stone Monkey's stick to one side, while he dodged to the other side.
Sun Qi hooked his right foot, kicking up the discarded stick. He caught it firmly with both hands and thrust forward.
Beside him, Sun Qi's Phantom Clone also advanced, hugging Tang San, hindering his movements.
Stone Monkey also activated his Phantom Spirit, creating a Phantom Clone to also embrace Tang San.
Tang San's face changed slightly.
His first Spirit Ring flickered.
"First Spirit skill, Blue Silver Entanglement!"
Blue Silver Grass grew wildly around them, attempting to encircle Sun Qi, Stone Monkey, and their Phantom Clones simultaneously.
A wider range meant a wider opening.
Tang San's Blue Silver Entanglement simply couldn't fully cover such a large area.
Sun Qi and Stone Monkey's original form retreated, leaving behind a Phantom Clone to hold Tang San tightly.
The jade on Tang San's belt glowed, and a cold, gleaming dagger appeared in his hand, thrusting out fiercely.
However, the dagger pierced into the Phantom Clone, but could not cause any effective damage to it.
The clone was wounded, but it had no effect on Sun Qi and the Stone Monkey.
They only needed to continue to control the Phantom Clone.
Tang San's face changed slightly.
Yu Xiaogang, who was watching the battle, now had not only resentment towards Sun Qi, but also analyzed Sun Qi's abilities.
So far, he has figured out Sun Qi's first Soul skill, and is even analyzing the relationship between Sun Qi and the Stone Monkey.
"This Sun Qi, when he released that Phantom Clone, his Soul Ring didn't light up at all!"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes were deep.
He was best at copying answers, and over time, of course, he had the ability to quickly analyze answers.
Judging from Sun Qi's many performances, he had deduced the key to Sun Qi's practice.
"It's really that this kid accidentally found the key to practicing Out-of-Body Spirits. It turned out that the Soul Master imitated the Spirit."
It might seem like Sun Qi was practicing his cudgel technique and asking the Stone Monkey to learn from him, but in reality, it was the Stone Monkey who was practicing the cudgel technique, and Sun Qi, while following the Stone Monkey, was learning his own Spirit! Therefore, he was able to master the Stone Monkey's Spirit skills.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes flickered.
He considered the possibility of learning from Luo Sanpao.
Then, a wave of disgust washed over him.
Luo Sanpao was a pig now!
Was he, a master, supposed to learn from a pig?
Especially since Luo Sanpao's Spirit skill was farting.
Farting was simply too much to accept.
But if he didn't use farting, how could he replicate Luo Sanpao's two Spirit skills?
Could he do it from above?
Yu Xiaogang had encountered the greatest challenge of his entire cultivation history.
...
Two fists are no match for four hands.
Tang San was now facing eight hands with his two fists, a situation he couldn't contend with. Even if he forcibly broke free from the clutches of his two Phantom Clones, he couldn't escape the fray.
His footsteps never stopped, yet Sun Qi, the Stone Monkey, and his two Phantom Clones were in perfect sync, coordinating with each other.
Each of his phantom moves was incredibly fast, both in direction and speed, but always with distinct timings.
Sun Qi had a perfect strategy for countering them.
Either he would attack, forcing Tang San to make a move, and then the Stone Monkey would wait for him to land before attacking. Or, the Stone Monkey would force Tang San to make a move, and Sun Qi would seize the opportunity to catch him landing.
This was called a "grab and dodge."
No matter how bizarre or unpredictable the move, it was useless against the tacit cooperation of Sun Qi and the Stone Monkey.
Tang San was inconsolable.
He was stuck.
Two fists couldn't defeat four hands.
Crucially, he couldn't even use his most powerful hidden weapon.
He had to maintain distance to fully utilize his hidden weapon's advantages. Even in close combat, he was interrupted before he could even launch a hidden weapon.
Fighting like this was too painful.
Sun Qi didn't care.
That's how combat works: play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. Exploit your own strengths and suppress the enemy's, preventing them from using them.
Tang San was in excruciating pain. He repeatedly attempted Blue Silver Entanglement, once interrupting the coordination between Sun Qi and the Stone Monkey. However, the presence of the Phantom Clone filled the gap, leaving him stuck.
"Fuck!"
Tang San couldn't help but curse.
Yu Xiaogang, watching the battle, also frowned, looking at Tang San with concern.
He saw Tang San's current predicament: he was completely suppressed by Sun Qi, unable to use any hidden weapons at all.
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[end of the chapter]