Ning Zhuo is different from geniuses like Situ Xing and Ban Ji.

Situ Xing, Ban Ji, and others have been famous in Feiyun for a long time, as they are the foundational stage representatives of various major powers. Therefore, much information about them is public knowledge.

However, Ning Zhuo is a newcomer from abroad, who made a striking debut. Information about him is very popular in the Tongshang Hall, but the selling price is always the lowest.

This is because the intelligence only records Ning Zhuo’s performance after arriving at the Wanxiang Sect’s main mountain gate, and the overall value of the information is not very high.

Therefore, people are not very clear about Ning Zhuo’s situation.

It is unclear what Ning Zhuo specializes in, his specific age, or which country he comes from.

Although Ning Zhuo stated his name, his main cultivation technique as the Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art, and his mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation level during the two registrations with the wooden and stone tablets.

These can all be faked.

The Wanxiang Sect’s rules have never strictly regulated these aspects.

However, in the later stages of registration, the Wanxiang Sect will employ strict detection methods to identify lies and disguises. Only at that stage will cultivators’ information become truly reliable.

Therefore, most of the cultivators overseeing the Xuanbingjia Preliminary Trial focused much of their attention on Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo’s initial performance against the bronze sword surprised everyone and caused great disappointment, but then Ning Zhuo displayed astonishing comprehension, took control of the situation, and drew continuous admiration from those secretly observing.

“His physical foundation is very strong. The bronze sword is a Xuanbingjia, exceptionally sharp, but even though it severely injured him, his wounds are healing rapidly.”

“He could clearly have forcibly refined the bronze sword, so why is he delaying?”

“Is he learning?”

As everyone watched, it was clear that Ning Zhuo’s close-combat ability was rapidly increasing in actual combat.

“What cultivation technique does Ning Zhuo primarily practice? The intelligence says he primarily practices a Five Elements technique, but judging by his physical foundation, he might primarily cultivate the Jinghai.”

“If he primarily cultivates the Jinghai, similar to a body cultivator, why are his close-combat skills so weak? It doesn’t make sense.”

“Perhaps he focused his energy on other areas and didn’t dabble in martial arts.”

“That shouldn’t be! How old is he? He should be around forty or fifty, right? How could he not have delved into close-combat and martial arts for so many years? How did he cultivate during the Qi Refining stage? His background must be very strong, with a powerful force. If they carefully cultivated him, how could they allow him to have such a weakness?”

Qi Refining cultivators have an lifespan not much different from mortals, around over a hundred years.

Upon reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, a cultivator’s lifespan doubles, typically between two hundred and three hundred years. Forty or fifty years in the Foundation Establishment stage is equivalent to a youth between ten and twenty years old.

Some middle-aged or elderly Qi Refining cultivators, after advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage, undergo a qualitative change in their life and may revert to a youthful appearance, to varying degrees.

Forty or fifty years is the youthful stage in the life of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. To reach the Foundation Establishment stage at this age is, of course, a sign of genius.

Therefore, although Situ Xing, Lin Jinglong, Shen Xi, and others appear young, they are all around forty years old.

Ning Zhuo has the appearance of a youth, but his demeanor is extraordinary and very mature. He has rich experiences, having endured and planned grand schemes since the age of two. After leaving Huoshi Immortal City, he traveled the world, participated in wars, and fought against a God Transformation-level Underworld Lord. Just from this composed demeanor, discerning people would not underestimate him.

Therefore, many cultivators greatly overestimated his actual age.

“Forty or fifty years of cultivation, and his martial arts couldn’t be this bad, could they?”

“Regardless of any special reason, this alone at least indicates that he is not a martial cultivator. As for whether he is a body cultivator, that’s another matter.”

“He has fought too few times in the Yanwu Hall, only a handful. Some of them were closed-door, no viewing allowed.”

“In his fight with a tiger demon, he used a Golden Core-level ice-attribute automaton puppet. But this actually cannot determine that he specializes in automaton techniques.”

Everyone felt that Ning Zhuo came from a major power, comparable to the Ban or Pi families.

Ning Zhuo’s position was similar to that of Ban Ji or Situ Xing, serving as the face of a major power at the Foundation Establishment stage.

In this situation, it is quite possible and normal for a major power to provide Ning Zhuo with a Golden Core-level automaton puppet for protection.

“Actually, once he fights a few more times in the Yanwu Hall, many of his true capabilities will be revealed.”

The Zhuxie Hall has the Xingyun Preliminary Trial, and naturally, the Yanwu Hall does too.

In fact, in the early stages of previous assemblies, the Yanwu Hall Preliminary Trial was the most important of all Xingyun Preliminary Trials.

Many cultivators who aspire to advance will choose this grand stage to showcase themselves.

Geniuses never shy away from battle, competing against each other in the Yanwu Hall, suppressing opponents, while simultaneously increasing their reputation and garnering benefits.

In the Yanwu Hall Preliminary Trials, the more impressive the battle record, the more abundant the rewards obtained.

The first place in the Yanwu Hall Preliminary Trials holds extremely high value!

Everyone felt that Ning Zhuo was still somewhat low-key and would surely become a regular at the Yanwu Hall in the future.

Of course, this is understandable.

Currently, newcomers are actively participating in various Xingyun Preliminary Trials, and it is not yet time for the Yanwu Hall to truly liven up.

“I really look forward to the showdown between Ning Zhuo and Ban Ji in the Yanwu Hall; it will definitely be spectacular!”

“What’s there to look forward to? If that battle happens, too much of his information will be leaked. How much money can we make from what we’ve collected now?”

Many of the cultivators overseeing the preliminary trials held jade slips, recording the performances of cultivators from various places.

Ning Zhuo’s performance from the beginning until now was inscribed on many jade slips.

Cultivators who sell these jade slips often earn a considerable income.

The battle situation on Ning Zhuo’s side was no longer intense, gradually becoming peaceful, and the cultivators gradually turned their attention to others.

Tie Zheng, with a Qilin beast-head broadsword on his back, walked forward with an indifferent expression. He already had a sword and a saber in his hands, having successively defeated two Xuanbingjia.

Lu Zeng held a bronze hammer and was competing with a bronze spear, having already gained complete dominance.

The ruler on his chest occasionally flickered with a faint light, reminding Lu Zeng that someone was always observing.

Lu Zeng clearly understood, “I’m afraid my current battle situation has already been recorded on multiple jade slips.”

“There are many Xingyun Preliminary Trials, and the more cultivators participate, the more information is leaked.”

“This process is also how the Wanxiang Sect understands new recruits.”

This is the necessary cost.

Elsewhere, Ao Pan cracked his bronze whip with loud snaps.

As his opponent, a bronze staff, even when swung to create afterimages, was beaten back again and again.

The bronze whip was as nimble as a snake, suddenly wrapping around the long staff.

Ao Pan pulled hard, bringing the staff before him, then gripped it firmly, pouring in his spiritual energy, and forcibly refined it.

The long staff struggled continuously, but its movements grew smaller and smaller, soon becoming completely still, acquired by Ao Pan.

Among the secretly observing cultivators, someone exclaimed in a low voice, “This Ao Pan has already acquired three Xuanbingjia in a row. This speed is uncommon even in the past.”

Someone who had been watching Ao Pan all along now introduced, “This person’s whip technique is extremely formidable. Except for the first match against a bronze whip, he had to use his fists and feet. In the second and third matches, he stood rooted to the spot from start to finish, not even taking a single step.”

Clearly, the initial Xuanbingjia presented no challenge to Ao Pan.

An elder pondered, “His mastery of the whip technique is at least at the Master level, and it’s not impossible that it’s at the Grandmaster level.”

A cultivator beside the elder interjected, “He introduced himself as being from Fubo Kingdom. Following this clue, we should be able to verify a lot of information.”

Ao Pan put away the bronze staff and swung it a few times. With just one display, he showed his profound mastery of staff techniques as well.

Ao Pan thought for a moment, then put away the bronze whip, whose surface was already battered, and continued onward with the long staff.

As a Golden Core-level body cultivator, he excelled in whip techniques and also skillfully mastered other types of weapons and armaments.

In fact, he was born a fisherman and joined a boat gang, relying on his knives, spears, and harpoons since his mortal days, and it was through this path that he started. For him, the Nine-layered Xuanbingjia Preliminary Trial was very suitable.

This was the second trial within Xuanjia Cave. Even with his cultivation restricted, Ao Pan still relied on his martial arts foundation to maintain his lead.

Some cultivators once again focused on Ning Zhuo.

“Why is he still struggling with the bronze sword?”

“Hurry up and refine it, then move on to the next battle. If he keeps dragging this out, he might get eliminated!”

Some people were secretly anxious for Ning Zhuo.

On one hand, compared to Ban Ji, people usually preferred Ning Zhuo, who followed the righteous path. On the other hand, they also hoped that Ning Zhuo would continue to progress and reveal more information about himself, helping them profit from selling intelligence.

They had an overall view and clearly understood: Ning Zhuo’s progress was slow, and he was already falling behind the main group.

Ban Ji, Zhang Wangxing, and Xiuzaijiang had already acquired their first bronze artifacts and were all striving to acquire their second, already gaining the upper hand in their battles.

Ning Zhuo was still entangled with his first.

“I don’t understand what he’s dawdling about.”

“He’s learning! His close-combat skills are indeed rapidly improving, visibly so.”

“Learning while taking a test, he’s too ambitious.”

“It seems he’s quite confident in his learning ability. Perhaps this is what a genius is. One cannot judge him by ordinary standards!”

More and more cultivators shifted their attention, after all, watching others was far more interesting than watching Ning Zhuo.

A moment later.

Ning Zhuo suddenly stepped forward, his body slightly to the side, avoiding the bronze sword’s thrust.

He took the opportunity to grasp the sword hilt, holding it firmly.

The bronze sword struggled fiercely, but soon, it ceased its efforts, completely refined by Ning Zhuo.

A cultivator, catching sight of this scene, blinked his eyes, a look of suspicion on his face: “What did I just see? It seems Ning Zhuo’s speed in refining the Xuanbingjia was somewhat extraordinary?”

Divine Refining! Qi Refining!

Ning Zhuo used both methods simultaneously, taking down the bronze sword within three breaths.

He could have been even faster; the Three Sects’ Supreme Art allowed him to cultivate all three dantian simultaneously, thus enabling simultaneous Divine Refining, Qi Refining, and Essence Refining!

But there was no need for that. Under observation by others, Ning Zhuo had no desire to expose his cultivation in the Jinghai.

Endurance and concealing his abilities had always been the strongest underlying traits of his character.

“This is the Nine-layered Xuanbingjia.”

“No, to be precise, it’s just a single layer of Xuanbingjia.”

Ning Zhuo carefully observed the bronze sword in his hand.

With a slight thought, the bronze sword in his hand flowed like water, suspending in mid-air, and reverting to a piece of bronze armor.

The bronze armor had countless imprints, these marks interwoven, depicting a basic sword technique.

“The refining method of the Nine-layered Xuanbingjia is very special.”

“They create green flowing bronze, using it as the sole material. On this basis, with divine refining as the primary method, they engrave martial skills and techniques. After refining, each armor piece can have two transformations. One is the armor piece itself, and the other is a weapon corresponding to the martial skill or technique.”

Ning Zhuo recalled the relevant information.

He held the sword hilt and swung it a few times, discovering that each sword move was perfectly standard. Even if he intentionally swayed it, the bronze sword would automatically correct itself.

Ning Zhuo channeled spiritual power into the sword, then threw it forward.

The bronze sword was thrown into the air, suspended, and at Ning Zhuo’s command, it frequently swung its blade, performing basic sword moves, cutting through the air, just as it had fought against Ning Zhuo moments ago.

This is how the Nine-layered Xuanbingjia is used.

If reverted, it can serve as an armor piece for personal defense. When transformed into a weapon, it can either be projected outwards to fight on its own, or it can be held in hand by the cultivator, correcting moves and enhancing power through the unity of person and weapon.

“In the second trial of this preliminary assessment, one can encounter up to nine bronze artifacts, which means nine Xuanbingjia.”

“According to the rules, if one collects nine here, there’s no need to participate in the third trial, and one can directly claim first place. However, this rarely happens. Throughout history, those who have achieved this can be counted on two hands!”

“I certainly can’t do it.”

Ning Zhuo had always been self-aware.

“I am weaker in this aspect than others.”

“Therefore, I need to fully utilize the second trial, seize every learning opportunity, and ultimately confront Ban Ji in the third trial!”

“In the end, my score might not be as good as his.”

“But it doesn’t matter. As long as I disrupt him and prevent him from collecting nine in the third trial to claim first place, that’s enough.”

Ning Zhuo knew that Ban Ji had close-combat expertise, was skilled with swords and sabers, and also mastered combined attack techniques.

He had been collecting information on Ban Ji, paying close attention to this aspect of preparation.

Ning Zhuo walked while contemplating. He still needed to clear the path with his spiritual sense. The second trial also tested the foundation of spiritual sense.

Soon, the second bronze artifact appeared before him—a bronze saber.

There was nothing else to say. Ning Zhuo, with his sword against the saber, began a new round of learning.

Ban Ji, holding a bronze flying knife in one hand and a bronze chain hammer in the other, walked briskly.

“Damn it!”

“Among all weapons, I am most skilled with the saber and sword. My combined saber and sword attack, as one of my trump cards, has defeated many powerful enemies.”

“How come there’s not a single saber or sword?”

“Although these appear randomly, purely by luck, sabers and swords are the most common. Yet, I’ve successively encountered rare flying knives and chain hammers twice!”

Ban Ji paused, seeing the third bronze artifact—a bronze spiked club.

“Argh, where are the sabers and swords? I want sabers and swords!”