Tang Jie had been letting Shi Meng and Wei Tianchong fight while he watched from the side. Now, he had finally come to block the attack for Shi Meng, chortling in disdain at the flying sword. Without using any sort of spell, he simply reached out and grabbed the sword. The sharp blade frantically struggled in his hand, but it failed to even cut through the skin, leaving Mo Xiang dumbfounded.
Was this the strength of a second-year student?
Tang Jie casually said, "While this Mo Xiang is a fourth-year student, her strength is very limited. Young Master, you and Shi Meng should be enough to deal with her. You were just caught off guard by the flying sword. When dealing with this kind of attack, it's best if you call your puppet to block it, Young Master. Shi Meng, you shouldn't be using Concealment, but the simpler Windcall. While it's not powerful, it can disrupt spiritual energy. Given what this girl is capable of, Windcall should be enough to disrupt her control over the sword, and then Young Master can attack with Ghost Axe and break her offensive!"
He waved his hand, tossing the sword back to Mo Xiang, and coolly said, "Let's try that again."
Everyone shared looks of surprise.
Mo Xiang was so angry that she clenched her teeth. This scoundrel was actually treating this place as a training ground for his young master?
But in Tang Jie's eyes, this truly was the best time to train Wei Tianchong's and Shi Meng's ability to adapt to the situation.
Real combat had always provided the best progress.
In the future, Wei Tianchong might face even tougher enemies. If he didn't start from this girl who was essentially a foot soldier, where would he start?
It was two second-years versus a fourth-year, but they were unafraid, a sense of heroism rising up within them.
This was all because of the confidence Tang Jie had given them.
As the flying sword came back into her hand, Mo Xiang once more began to battle with Wei Tianchong and Shi Meng. The servants wanted to help, but Tang Jie was still standing there, his hands held behind his back. He had just revealed the ability to grab a flying sword barehanded, and everyone knew that he was the strongest of the three. For a moment, they couldn't gather the courage to charge in, so all they did was watch as Mo Xiang fought.
Tang Jie avidly watched, occasionally giving them advice on how to deal with various situations.
"This girl has a light and nimble movement technique, making her difficult to pin down. Young Master, increase your shadow soldiers' pressure on her so that she can't build up speed. Shi Meng, use Windwalk on yourself."
Shi Meng didn't know why Tang Jie was suddenly having him use Windwalk, but he just did as he was told.
On the other end, Mo Xiang was beginning to have a tough time. Wei Tianchong's shadow soldiers were truly annoying, and Tang Jie was continuing to give advice. Just as she was about to falter, Tang Jie suddenly said, "Mo Xiang, your fighting style is too conventional. What's the point in only aiming for the main body? My young master has the Mistnet Step and Shi Meng on the side to heal him, so killing him would be extremely difficult for you. It would be best if you used the Cloudflow Sleeve to quickly kill the shadow soldiers. While shadow soldiers are difficult to deal with, their power is limited. If you kill the shadow soldiers and force him to summon more, you can exhaust him of spiritual energy while also alleviating the problem of your speed being limited. No matter how continuous the flow of energy provided by the Spiral Essence Mantra is, you're a fourth-year Spirit Lake student, so how could you be worse than him?"
These words finally enlightened Mo Xiang.
True! Why am I just chasing this slippery fatty around?
With this thought in mind, she drew back the Cloudflow Sleeve and cast it on the shadow soldiers, and a gale instantly erupted.
A furious Wei Tianchong began to summon more as he shouted, "Tang Jie, what are you doing?"
Tang Jie casually said, "Shi Meng has a lot of spells but isn't proficient in any of them, and he has nothing to protect himself, so he's the weakness of the pair. Focusing your attacks on Shi Meng, using your speed against him, will ensure that he won't be able to use any of his spells."
As he spoke, Mo Xiang cast her flying sword at Shi Meng's head.
A shocked Shi Meng immediately jumped and rolled away. Fortunately, he had used Windwalk on himself, allowing him to evade. Only now did he understand why Tang Jie had instructed him to use the spell on himself. He angrily shouted, "Tang Jie, have you gone crazy?" R̃á𐌽Ỗ₿ÊŠ
Tang Jie coolly said, "If you want to improve, you need a threatening enemy to stimulate your potential… Young Master, if you don't protect Shi Meng, he's really going to die."
Seeing that the flying sword was still chasing after Shi Meng, Wei Tianchong rushed in and pushed Shi Meng aside. The flying sword ended up opening a bloody wound on his body.
He was using Fearless, so he didn't feel any pain, allowing him to turn his hand over and bring the Bonecrush Axe swinging down on the flying sword. But the flying sword was agile, and Mo Xiang called it back, causing the axe to miss.
The Ghost Axe had failed to hit, and it couldn't be activated for a brief period of time, so the flying sword came back and slashed at Wei Tianchong's neck. Wei Tianchong was startled, but fortunately, the puppet got back in time and punched the sword. But a moment later, the Cloudflow Sleeve came sweeping back, wrapping up the puppet and throwing it to the side. The flying sword came slashing down again, scaring the two of them witless.
With Tang Jie's pointers, Mo Xiang, who was still a fourth-year student, gradually began to take back the initiative.
Wei Tianchong angrily glared at Tang Jie and shouted, "Tang Jie! Why aren't you helping?"
Tang Jie casually said, "Young Master, your control of the puppet is still lacking. The most important part about controlling puppets is to be able to move it as one wishes. Spirit control spells aren't merely spells used to control puppets, but the foundation for a close connection between the user and the puppet. Otherwise, what would be the point of spirit control spells once the puppet becomes advanced enough to move on its own? But in reality, all the real puppet masters have the best spirit control spell arts!"
Tang Jie's words were like pearls of wisdom, and Wei Tianchong seemed to understand, muttering, "You mean…"
"Only by properly using spirit control spells can the puppet become a true weapon," Tang Jie indifferently explained.
At this moment, Mo Xiang's sword slashed again. In normal circumstances, the first thing Wei Tianchong would have done was to turn and run.
But after hearing Tang Jie's words, he suddenly decided to do the opposite.
He pointed at the puppet that Mo Xiang had tossed away. "Pull!"
The puppet suddenly grabbed the Cloudflow Sleeve that had swept it up.
This Cloudflow Sleeve was attached to Mo Xiang's hand, and this abrupt pull caused Mo Xiang to be dragged off. This sudden disruption caused her control over the sword to falter, and the sword brushed past Wei Tianchong's face.
Wei Tianchong raised his hand and then brought it slamming down. "Fall!"
The puppet fiercely smashed the Cloudflow Sleeve to the ground, like it was throwing a chain hammer, and Mo Xiang was brought crashing to the ground with it.
All of this happened so suddenly that Mo Xiang didn't have time to avoid it, and the impact with the ground dazed her.
Before she could move, the puppet jumped off the ground and shot like a cannonball into Mo Xiang's chest.
This girl had never experienced such a savage fighting style before, and she immediately spat out blood as she was thrown back. At the same time, Shi Meng was finally free enough to send another Sonic Sword at Mo Xiang, after which he hastily began to heal Wei Tianchong's wounds.
Seeing that Mo Xiang had been injured and wasn't able to get up, Wei Tianchong smugly chuckled. He was about to stop his attack when Tang Jie said, "Compassion has no place on the battlefield. There's no stopping until your enemy has completely lost the ability to resist… Keep attacking!"
The puppet violently swung both fists at Mo Xiang.
It was a savage attack, and Mo Xiang paled at the intimidating power of the puppet. She knew that there was no escape, and she closed her eyes and awaited death.
At this moment, a shout erupted from the forest within the Xu Estate: "Stop!"
A sword beam flew out of the forest and collided with the puppet.
The powerful puppet was knocked flying by the sword beam. Fortunately, with its protective formation, it did not sustain lethal damage.
A person walked out of the forest.
He wore white martial robes. He was clearly a young man, but he had some stubble on his face and his complexion was haggard. However, it was brimming with indignant rage, and as the man stepped out of the forest and faced down Tang Jie's group, he appeared like a man who had been through many trials and tribulations.
"Son-in-law!" Everyone shouted upon seeing this man.
Tang Jie smiled as he muttered, "The main character has finally emerged."
There was no need to ask to know that this man was Lin Lang.
He really had been hiding in the Xu Clan this whole time.
Tang Jie immediately called out, "Shi Meng!"
Shi Meng had already used the identification spell, after which he nodded at Tang Jie. "It's him. It's not someone else in disguise."
The moment Lin Lang appeared, he went to help up Mo Xiang. "Mo Xiang, I've put you through a lot these past few days."
"Young Master, it was because this servant was incompetent and unable to deceive them," Mo Xiang sobbed.
It was clear that this master and servant had a rather good relationship.
Lin Lang shook his head. "This wasn't your mistake. What will come will come. I just didn't think that it would be so fast… Time truly isn't on my side."
He sighed, the sorrow on his face growing even deeper. He turned to Tang Jie's trio, glaring at them before stopping at Tang Jie. "You are that Basking Moon student, Tang Jie?"
Tang Jie smiled and nodded.
Now that he thought about it, Lin Lang's present circumstances were inextricably connected to Tang Jie.
If not for the Hawk Hall's kidnapping, if not for the knowledge of Tang Jie's location, the Basking Moon Sect never would have realized that Lin Yuanming was a Godhead spy, nor would the Lin Clan have been annihilated.
It wouldn't be exaggerating to say that there was a deep-seated grudge between Lin Lang and Tang Jie.
Seeing that Tang Jie had admitted it, Lin Lang heartily laughed. "Good, very good! Truly, the heavens have eyes, giving me the chance to run into you. So what are we still waiting for?"
He waved his hand, and the sword he had cast at the puppet came flying back into his hand, and he swung.
It was a casual swing, but it was brimming with sword essence. It instantly cut off all of Tang Jie's paths of escape. It was an extremely powerful attack, one that was certain to be top-class, even back in the academy.
"Back away!" Tang Jie shouted, not daring to be careless. The Heartbreak Saber appeared in his hand, and he unleashed a chilling wave of saber energy.
As saber and sword clashed, there was an explosion of dazzling sparks. Both of them trembled, and then Tang Jie lunged forward and thrust the Heartbreak Saber at Lin Lang's waist.
The Heartbreak Saber had a hooked barb on it, making its thrusts more powerful than its swings. Normally, in spars, Tang Jie relied on swings, but at this moment, he made a lethal thrust.
Lin Lang rapidly backed away and turned his body, allowing the Heartbreak Saber to brush past his body. At the same time, he thrust his own sword: "Catkin Breeze Sword!"