In Jiang Chen's perception, the power of this Blue Silver Grass was indeed considerable. If it were any other spirit master of the same level as Tang San, they would likely find it very difficult to break free with raw strength alone.
The Blue Silver Grass was also covered in sharp thorns. If Jiang Chen remembered correctly, these thorns could pierce into the target's body and release the toxin inherent to the Blue Silver Grass.
The toxin from this first skill had a paralyzing effect.
Jiang Chen's clothes were instantly pierced through by these thorns, but his skin was extremely tough, rendering the thorns unable to do anything to him.
"Not bad, the power is decent, but it's still too weak for me." Jiang Chen grinned, and his entire body began to exert force.
At this moment, he had not yet used any soul skill, but under the amplification of his zombie body and martial soul, his strength was already terrifying.
The Blue Silver Grass was instantly stretched open, and countless cracks began to appear on the vines.
Tang San's expression changed. Previously, that boss Xiao from the formal class had used his soul skill, yet he had no resistance at all under his Blue Silver Grass.
But Jiang Chen, even now without using any soul skill, was already causing his Blue Silver Grass to nearly snap.
"It's got pretty good toughness." Jiang Chen praised, then increased his strength again.
"Bang!" The Blue Silver Grass wrapped around him immediately shattered into fragments that flew in all directions.
"You're still far from enough!" Jiang Chen stopped wasting words and charged toward Tang San with wild laughter.
Since he had already experienced the power of Tang San's soul skill, next up was simply beating Tang San up again.
Being able to suppress Tang San, the protagonist of the original story, was, in Jiang Chen's view, an extremely fulfilling thing.
In the past, he wouldn't even have dared to imagine it. Only after awakening his zombie martial soul and activating the system cheat did his confidence begin to swell bit by bit.
Tang San had a cheat; he had one too, and his was even more badass.
The original idea of following Tang San had also begun to shift. Perhaps making Tang San a little brother wouldn't be a bad choice either.
The Blue Silver Grass failing to bind Jiang Chen was something Tang San had anticipated, but he hadn't expected that even Jiang Chen's soul skill wouldn't be forced out.
"Could the gap between us really be this big?" He couldn't help but ask himself inwardly.
Although he felt some loss, his movements were not slow. Seeing Jiang Chen trying to close in, he attacked without hesitation.
For this duel, he had specially prepared over a thousand pebbles in his belt just for Jiang Chen.
Pebbles were also known as flying locust stones, a common hidden weapon among martial artists. When thrown, the stones resembled locusts flying through the air, hence the name flying locust stones.
As his palms flipped, one pebble after another shot toward Jiang Chen.
Although Jiang Chen's strength was far greater than his, Tang San's hidden weapons could unleash several times more power than his raw strength.
So Tang San believed he wouldn't lose to Jiang Chen so easily this time.
Seeing the dense barrage of stones flying toward him, Jiang Chen inwardly thought, "as expected."
He had already guessed that after the last lesson, Tang San definitely wouldn't let him get close so easily this time.
Tang San using stones as hidden weapons could be considered showing mercy.
Jiang Chen's fists moved rapidly, knocking down the stones one by one. However, two fists could not defeat four hands, let alone stones coming from all directions.
In just one exchange, he had already been hit seven or eight times.
If it were Tang San's fists, he wouldn't have minded at all; they couldn't cause him much pain. But these pebbles instantly made him suffer greatly.
It was like comparing fists to firearms; which one caused more damage was obvious.
Tang San's hidden weapons were as if they had given him a firearm, multiplying his attack power several times over.
Each hard pebble smashed into Jiang Chen's body, causing unbearable pain. Some pebbles even shattered directly upon impact with his body.
Jiang Chen couldn't help but be shocked inwardly at the power of Tang San's hidden weapons. The Tang Sect truly could not be underestimated.
What he didn't know was that Tang San was even more shocked than he was at this moment.
Tang San had already used his full strength, yet he had only caused Jiang Chen pain, nothing more, no real damage.
Jiang Chen roared furiously and tried to break through from the side, but Tang San's hidden weapons were too fast. Under the Purple Demon Eyes, Jiang Chen's speed no longer held any advantage.
With no other choice, Jiang Chen finally activated his first soul skill. The Zombie God Armor attached itself, increasing defense by 1.5 times, and boosting both strength and speed by one time.
Tang San only saw Jiang Chen's purple soul ring light up for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, Jiang Chen's appearance changed.
His entire body was covered in black armor. Except for his eyes and nose, every other part was completely sealed, impenetrable.
The ferocious appearance of the armor carried an extremely strong visual impact, shocking Tang San inwardly.
Jiang Chen stopped. The pain from the stones just now was suddenly reduced by more than half; now the stones only caused a slight numbness when they hit him.
Under his first soul skill, Tang San's stones could no longer harm him at all.
Jiang Chen burst into loud laughter, his figure shooting forward like an arrow. Ignoring the hidden weapons entirely, he rapidly closed in on Tang San.
Tang San's expression changed drastically. He shouted repeatedly, "Stop, stop, I surrender!"
The moment he finished shouting, Jiang Chen's fist had already stopped right in front of him, only a few centimeters from his face.
Tang San let out a breath of relief and immediately used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to retreat backward at full speed.
Jiang Chen was no longer afraid of his hidden weapons. If he didn't surrender now, he'd be an idiot. Did he really want to get beaten up again like last time and end up with a bruised and swollen face?
In fact, his belt space still held other hidden weapons, like bone-piercing nails, willow-leaf knives, coin darts, and so on. Their killing power was far greater than pebbles. Although he didn't know if they could injure Jiang Chen, this was just a simple spar; there was no need to be that ruthless.
After retreating, Tang San didn't linger. He unleashed his full speed and vanished toward the academy in a flash.
Jiang Chen was stunned for a moment by Tang San's sudden surrender. By the time he reacted, Tang San was already long gone.
"Damn it, what a loss." He dismissed the armor, his face full of depression.
Tang San had been the one to propose the spar, yet in the end, he was the one who surrendered and ran. What the hell was this?
Jiang Chen touched his face. There were several large bumps, and even both eye sockets had turned black. The pain made him suck in cold air repeatedly.
To get smashed like this for nothing, it was truly a huge loss.
He didn't know that his situation was actually already quite good. Tang San had gradually increased the power of the hidden weapons based on his reactions, and in the end had used his full strength. If it had been any other child, who knew how many bones would have already been broken?
At this moment, his whole body ached unbearably. Only after circulating his cultivation technique did the pain ease slightly.
He didn't dare return to the dormitory. Instead, he slipped into that small grove alone. Until the swelling went down, he had no face to show himself.
Who would have thought that in just a few days, Tang San would have already taken revenge for the beating on the mountaintop last time?
...
While Jiang Chen was nursing his wounds, another group of major figures arrived in Notting City, major figures capable of shaking this small city to its core three times over.
However, Jiang Chen remained unaware, immersed in his lonely recovery. The large bumps on his face probably wouldn't heal for several days.
The arrivals were none other than Bibi Dong, Hu Liena, and the others, accompanied by several Titled Douluo. They had not made a grand entrance, quietly arriving at the Spirit Hall in Notting City.