The Programmer Cultivator-Chapter 95 - 92: Oratory’s First Battle

Tong Hou looked even more embarrassed. "My combat specialty is a Trapping Skill," he said. "Uh, right now, it just traps everyone indiscriminately. That includes me. It can’t tell friend from foe."

Zhang Deming: "???"

’What the hell? A Trapping Skill like that actually exists? How bizarre!’

’You’re really something else, man. I’m impressed.’

In the time it took for this brief exchange, Zhang Deming’s vines could no longer regenerate fast enough to keep up with the enemy’s destruction.

As for Tong Hou’s chess piece projectiles, they were completely ineffective, doing little more than scratching an itch.

Zhang Deming thought for a moment before saying, "Use your skill. Trap them."

Tong Hou froze when he heard that. After a brief hesitation, he decided to act.

He held out his right hand. Instead of forming a typical hand seal, he posed it as if holding a chess piece.

The tip of his middle finger pressed against the tip of his index, and an ethereal chess piece materialized in his hand.

’Chess Array: Trapped Position.’

An ethereal chessboard materialized from the ground, enveloping everyone.

SNAP...

With a soft click, Tong Hou pressed the ethereal chess piece onto the ethereal board.

The entire board instantly locked into place. Everyone was frozen, unable to move—including Tong Hou.

’So this is his infuriatingly useless trapping Skill,’ Zhang Deming thought. ’I’ve really seen it all now.’

After trapping everyone, Tong Hou looked at Zhang Deming and said, "What now? I can only hold them for about five minutes."

"Their Combined Attack Technique has some kind of unique speed boost. Between that and this Restriction, I don’t think we can get away."

"Hmph. I’d like to see how many more times you can pull that trick. If you’ve got what it takes, go ahead and drag this out all the way to the foot of the Celestial Spirit Sect’s mountain," a raspy voice, belonging to the leader of the seven, taunted.

Trapped once more, the seven men in black weren’t the least bit panicked. They had clearly been through this before.

"What should we do? I can only trap them one more time, at most," Tong Hou said to Zhang Deming, his face grim.

Zhang Deming ignored him, using this brief moment to carefully observe the seven enemies.

’The biggest threat right now isn’t the old man. A lone Grandmaster can’t break through my Spiritual Shield that quickly.’

’This is why Martial Artists have never really caught on.’

’The real threat is their Combined Attack Technique. Empowered by it, the old man in the lead should be able to shatter my Spiritual Shield with a single, full-force blow.’

After observing for a long while, Zhang Deming identified the crucial point: the Combined Attack Technique had no single weak point, and yet it was entirely comprised of weak points.

It had no single weak point because there was no central "Array Hub" position among the seven men.

But it was full of them because they all had to maintain their specific positions perfectly.

Having found the key, Zhang Deming smiled confidently. "Okay, release the technique."

Seeing Zhang Deming’s confident look, Tong Hou hesitated for a moment, then released the technique.

The instant the technique was released, before anyone could fully move again, Zhang Deming spoke:

"I heard a rumor. It is said that the person to my northeast will attack me out of fear."

As his cool voice rang out, the expressions of everyone on the battlefield changed.

Tong Hou said in pleasant surprise, "The Rumors Skill?"

The old man opposite them, who was clearly quite familiar with the Celestial Spirit Sect, exclaimed in shock, "This is bad! A combat-focused Word Spirit Mage! He’s a seed Disciple from the Inner Sect!"

As everyone’s faces fell, the target of Zhang Deming’s Word Spirit suddenly broke formation. He charged out of the Combined Attack Array and rushed straight at Zhang Deming.

The Rumors Skill wasn’t actually that powerful. After just a few steps, the man managed to force himself to a halt.

However, the invisible link between the seven men had been broken.

With that one small change, the struggling vines were suddenly unburdened. They even seemed ready to reverse the pressure and take on all seven men at once.

The Combined Attack Technique, it seemed, could not be instantly re-formed. Once broken, the men looked ready to retreat.

"This target is too tough! Retreat!" The old man in the lead was clearly a decisive man. Even as he spoke, he abruptly lifted the Restriction.

The seven of them turned to run.

’Heh, you think you can come and go as you please? As if I’m not even here?’

Zhang Deming pointed at one of the men in black. "I heard a rumor," he said. "They say you’re not willing to retreat empty-handed."

Among the seven rapidly retreating men, the one Zhang Deming pointed at instantly stiffened and fell behind.

His six teammates faltered. The lead elder gritted his teeth; a Fire-Folding fell from his clothes, and then, with almost no hesitation, he directly abandoned the man.

Light Wings materialized at Zhang Deming’s heels, and he shot forward, closing in on the Martial Artist who had fallen behind under the influence of the Rumors Skill.

Several vines whipped toward him. If seven of them working together were no match for the vines, what chance did one lone Innate Martial Artist have?

In a moment, the vines had bound him tightly.

Looking at the struggling man in black, Zhang Deming controlled the vines to hang him upside down in front of him.

He reached out and removed the man’s black mask.

After seeing the man’s face clearly, Zhang Deming was slightly stunned.

It was actually a child in his teens, even younger than him, looking sixteen or seventeen at most.

’A teenage Innate Martial Artist?’

’I thought the Martial Arts World of the Hongmeng Realm was supposed to be incredibly weak? And that Innate Martial Artists were all impossibly old geezers, rare as a phoenix feather?’

A flicker of doubt passed through his mind. Looking at the youth, he said, "Talk. Who are you, and why are you targeting Cultivators?"

The young man stared coldly at Zhang Deming, remaining silent.

Zhang Deming shook his head and said plainly, "I heard a rumor. They say you’d be more than happy to answer my questions."

As the Rumors Skill took effect, the youth’s face twitched, and he began to speak against his will. "We belong to the Marti—"

He had only gotten a few words out when his expression froze. In the distance, the ordinary Fire-Folding that had been dropped suddenly pulsed with a faint, fiery light.

Zhang Deming’s expression shifted, but before he could even be distracted...

He instinctively yanked the vine holding the youth away. The youth went rigid for a split second, and then his entire head abruptly exploded like a watermelon.

"HSSS... A Blood Soul Oath?" Tong Hou said in horror, staring at the headless body.

Zhang Deming nodded. "It should be that kind of vicious oath, but there’s more to it."

Walking over to a pile of black ash, Zhang Deming added, "There was something here a moment ago. When it burned, it instantly erased any and all traces that could be used to track them."

Tong Hou asked, "So you’re saying their organization has a high-cultivation Oath Mage?"

Zhang Deming spread his hands and shrugged. "How would I know? You ran into them first. Shouldn’t I be asking you?"

Tong Hou gave an awkward laugh and said, "We should probably get going. Let’s hurry back to the Sect and report this. I don’t think this matter is simple."

"It’s no use," Zhang Deming said, shaking his head. "They obviously know the Sect very well."

"The targets they choose are all disciples who don’t attract much attention."

"Besides, all the Cultivators in the Sect, from the top brass down to the rank-and-file, are completely indifferent to the affairs of mortals. Even if you report it, nothing will likely come of it anytime soon."

"After all, a moment ago, weren’t you too embarrassed to even admit you were being chased by mortals?"