Ning Zhuo covered his abdomen and slowly sat cross-legged on the ground.

The wound on his abdomen was still bleeding slowly, and pain struck him intermittently.

Ning Zhuo gasped for a moment, his breathing gradually changing from heavy to light.

The bronze shield lay motionless on the ground. He looked at it, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.

He had originally wanted to continue practicing in real combat. Under the pressure of the bronze shield, he learned something every minute and every second, feeling his own progress.

However, the injury to his abdomen did not allow him to fight for long.

Ning Zhuo mentally controlled the bronze shield, and its edges immediately deformed into dense, giant sawteeth.

Ning Zhuo looked at the cold glint on the sawteeth and thought, “This shield actually has such an offensive posture; it’s quite insidious. I wonder who its original owner was.”

Ning Zhuo remained seated, his breathing gradually becoming long and steady.

Trapped within the magical formation, he couldn’t use spells to heal himself or consume pills, so he could only rely on his body to recover naturally.

His wound was no longer bleeding externally, and he felt a tingling sensation.

Ning Zhuo knew this meant his flesh was regenerating, and the wound was healing rapidly.

But this time, the wound’s healing speed was noticeably slower than before.

Ning Zhuo keenly noticed this, a look of solemnity flashing in his eyes, and he realized, “The physical body has its limits. I’ve been injured multiple times, and this time it’s a severe injury. My body needs a long period of rest and recuperation to return to its peak state.”

“But I still have many battles ahead!”

Ning Zhuo patiently waited for his injuries to heal completely before standing up.

With a thought, the bronze shield flew into his hand.

Ning Zhuo held the shield and practiced in place, causing many cultivators to grow anxious.

“Is he really not in a hurry at all?”

“He’s already far behind; if this continues, he’ll probably be eliminated.”

Some also harbored dark thoughts: “If Ning Zhuo treats our Xingyun Xiaoshi so lightly, then let him lose! Give this genius a profound lesson.”

Some cultivators, seeing Ning Zhuo’s exceptional performance, couldn’t help but feel jealous.

Why are you so excellent, with such superb comprehension, able to make such progress in such a short time? And what about me? What does all my hard work, accumulation, and wasted time and effort amount to?

Compared to Ning Zhuo, many seemed quite incompetent.

But Ning Zhuo’s next actions dashed the hopes of those who secretly wished for his failure.

They were surprised to see that Ning Zhuo only practiced a few times before continuing on his journey.

Ning Zhuo muttered to himself, “There isn’t much time left.”

He was cautious by nature and acted steadily; how could he disregard the situation? Before coming here, he had naturally gathered relevant intelligence. Besides the content of the Xingyun Xiaoshi itself, he also knew about the situations of many past participants.

Ning Zhuo was well aware of how long it would normally take for the number of cultivators acquiring the fifth Xuanbingjia to reach the quota.

Once the quota was met, they would enter the third stage. Other cultivators would be automatically eliminated.

“I need to speed up.”

“After all, the difficulty also needs to be calculated. The later the Xuanbingjia, the more powerful it is.”

“The Xuanbingjia cultivators encounter will vary. I need to leave room for error later on.”

Ning Zhuo quickly reviewed his progress: the first bronze sword only used basic sword techniques. The subsequent sabre not only used basic sabre techniques but also combo moves. With the bronze gauntlet, tactical thinking began to emerge, capable of adjusting according to Ning Zhuo’s tactics, as if truly controlled by someone.

And with the bronze shield, the martial arts mastery of this Xuanbingjia had advanced another step—it could fully utilize the terrain.

“The bronze sword and sabre represent the Martial Apprentice realm. Cultivators diligently practice, striving for complete moves, coordinated strength, and combination techniques. Reaching the peak of this realm is ‘Ruwei,’ able to execute standards with extreme precision.”

“The bronze gauntlet and shield represent the Martial Craftsman realm. Cultivators’ attention expands from themselves to the external world. They consider how to more effectively deal with enemies, thus designing specific feints and even traps.”

As Ning Zhuo thought about this, a scene from the recent battle flashed in his mind. The bronze shield, clearly capable of quickly disengaging, pretended to be stuck in the wall bricks, luring Ning Zhuo into a furious assault, patiently waiting for Ning Zhuo to reveal an opening.

“In the Martial Craftsman realm, moves evolve from being standardized and rigid to becoming more practical, starting to be ‘free,’ but still retaining a ‘craftsman’s touch,’ making them easy to analyze and predict.”

“My understanding of the essence of ‘truth and falsehood,’ being able to ‘foresee’ an opponent’s next move by perceiving changes in their power, was precisely because the bronze gauntlet had too much of that ‘craftsman’s touch.'”

“But next, for the fifth Xuanbingjia, it’s beyond the Martial Craftsman realm—the Master’s realm! Moves become even more free, born from the current situation, even appearing casual, like a child’s scribbled strokes, yet they are incredibly incisive and powerful because they are so precisely tailored to the battle situation. This is achieving formlessness while mastering form, where no moves surpass having moves!”

The Xingyun Xiaoshi of the Nine-layered Xuanbingjia has been held for many sessions and is considered a classic trial. The Xuanbingjia encountered by cultivators in the second stage all increase in difficulty progressively and are well-established.

“I’ve already been severely injured dealing with the bronze shield.”

“For the upcoming fifth Xuanbingjia, I must go all out and end the battle quickly. Any carelessness could lead to defeat!”

By the time he reached the bronze shield, Ning Zhuo already lacked an environment for sparring.

Fortunately, he had seized all the previous opportunities for practical combat learning. If he had prioritized speed and saved time, given his weaker strength, he would likely have lost against the bronze shield by now.

“What do I amount to?”

“When it comes to the Five Elements spells, I have some confidence. But in martial arts and close combat, I’m truly not skilled.”

“In fact, my mastery of Five Elements spells is only built upon the foundations of predecessors and ancient sages; it’s not my true ability.”

“Only by continuously learning and striving with all my might can I compensate for some disadvantages.”

“Of course, even if I can’t stop Ban Ji this time, I’ve learned a lot and gained significant strength, so it won’t be a wasted trip!”

From this perspective, Ning Zhuo had already seen many of the benefits of his previous combat training from the bronze shield.

“At the same time, the experience I gained through the Soul Searching technique also revealed its limitations.”

Shields, as a weapon type for cultivators, are truly rarely used!

None of the demonic cultivators Ning Zhuo soul-searched had ever properly used one, let alone specialized in it.

Without this foundation, Ning Zhuo found it difficult to pick up the shield and achieve the same rapid progress as before.

This was also one of the reasons he only practiced a few times before stopping and continuing the trial.

This made Ning Zhuo think of a certain cultivator and genuinely envy them.

This cultivator was Wangchuan Fuyun!

“Wangchuan, this long river, has existed since the Underworld took form. Countless years of accumulation have imbued its waters with endless memories.”

“If Wangchuan Fuyun could master ‘forgetting oneself’ and then enter Wangchuan, it would be like effortlessly grasping memories. What a terrifying qualitative change!”

“Unfortunately, I destroyed it, and thankfully, I destroyed it.”

“A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Wangchuan Fuyun, you are truly too excellent; even the heavens cannot tolerate you.”

While others envied and were jealous of Ning Zhuo’s excellence, Ning Zhuo also envied even more excellent beings.

What he didn’t know was that Wangchuan Fuyun was also “thinking” of him.

Wangchuan Wangfu.

Wangchuan Fuyun sat upon his throne, maintaining his statecraft. Wisps of smoke drifted in his eyes, as if he were looking down upon the entire Underworld from the highest heavens.

At various borders of the Wangchuan Underworld, hundreds of beacon towers were ablaze, igniting phosphorescent signal fires that emitted the screams of resentful souls, like countless eerie green light pillars piercing the gloomy sky.

Five armies from Guihuo Difu, like five bone-eating daggers, were tearing through defense lines and plunging into the heart of Wangchuan.

The East Road was a toxic flow of decaying bones.

Strictly speaking, this was not a direct force of Guihuo Difu, but a rebel army formed by enlisting various separatist forces within Wangchuan Difu.

The commander was Yinkui, known as the Drowning Soul Poison Marshal. Its main force consisted of one hundred thousand drowned ghosts, with webbed feet and entangled water weeds, skilled in water combat. There were also thirty thousand venomous miasma leeches, with wings spanning several meters, capable of spewing poisonous mist.

They departed from the Corrupt Poisonous Swamp, traversed the Shattered Ice Lake, aiming directly for Mingze Xiancheng, the hub of the lower Wangchuan.

The West Road was a raging tide of skeletons.

Led by General Zhao Haishan of Guihuo Difu. Its main force consisted of one hundred and fifty thousand skeletal soldiers and thousands of bone-crushing chariots.

This army had already breached the defenses of Burying Bones Hill, rapidly advancing along the Blood-soaked Ancient Path, targeting Lifeng Xiancheng.

The South Road was commanded by Yan Yan, a ghost cultivator as renowned as Zhao Haishan, and one of Guihuo Difu’s great generals.

His army comprised eighty thousand burnt ghosts, nearly ten thousand熔魂鬼骑 (Ronghun Guiji – Molten Soul Ghost Riders), and hundreds of Chihou Paoche (Red Roaring Cannon Carts).

They had been lurking for days in Guihuo Difu’s Boiling Water Rift Valley, suddenly launched an attack, sweeping through, and had already conquered three immortal cities, making them the most ferocious enemy force currently.

The North Road was a guest army from Guihuo Difu, hosting the female marquis from Shuangji Difu.

Marquis Gongsun Hansha brought five hundred thousand frozen ghosts, forty thousand snow-resentful Yin soldiers, and five hundred ice-bone gravestones.

They bypassed various villages and immortal cities along the way, and their current movements were unknown.

The Central Road was the grand army of Wanli Yantu.

One hundred and thirty thousand terracotta warriors, three thousand ghost giants, one thousand soul-splitting ramming chariots, and five hundred soul-curse cultivators.

They launched a frontal assault, spending many days to conquer Guimen Xiancheng, capturing the military stronghold at the border of Wangchuan Difu, and have been recuperating there, without further movement.

In Wangchuan Fuyun’s vision, there were not only these five armies but also the enemy’s statecraft covering them.

Under the influence of the enemy’s statecraft, using the five armies as a bridge, the morale of the entire Wangchuan Difu’s populace and military was being severely shaken!

Wangchuan Fuyun slowly closed his eyes and formed intricate ancient hand seals. He chanted, each syllable stirring the wrath of the unseen cultivation nation: “Yi Xu Xi! Foreign invaders rampage, tearing apart my land! Souls mourn together, blood and fire intertwine! Now I wield the King’s Seal, exercising authority on behalf of Heaven! The national policy is clear—united against the enemy!”

Instantly, national power surged, pouring into the imperial seal before him out of thin air.

The imperial seal suddenly burst forth with an unprecedented fiery light.

The light pierced through the roof of the Senluo Temple, transforming into a deep blue light pillar that traversed heaven and earth, soaring straight to the summit of Jiuyou!

Within the territory of Wangchuan Difu, the shaken morale of the military and populace was rapidly stabilized.

As the light dissipated, the imperial seal was covered in cracks, then disintegrated into ash.

Wangchuan Fuyun narrowed his eyes, secretly gritting his teeth.

His King’s Seal was missing, so he could only use a fake seal as a substitute, barely activating his statecraft to confront Guihuo Fuyun from afar.

But a fake seal was a fake seal after all; using it once would completely destroy and disintegrate it, consuming massive amounts of stored resources.

“I must retrieve the main seal!”

“Otherwise, how can I withstand Guihuo Fuyun’s repeated statecraft?”

“Ning Zhuo!”

“You ruined my path and took my King’s Seal; your crimes deserve ten thousand deaths, and even ten thousand deaths cannot quell my hatred!”

Not only was Wangchuan Fuyun thinking of Ning Zhuo, but others were also thinking of him.

Ban Ji stared at the bronze sabre before him, first widening his eyes, then a grin spread across his face, and he burst into laughter: “I found it! I finally found a bronze sabre! Hahaha, ah hahaha…”

His arduous search and anticipation were realized at this moment.

Ban Ji excitedly raised his spiked club and charged forward, his arm muscles bulging, aiming the spiked club directly at the bronze sabre and bringing it down.

The bronze sabre floated quietly in mid-air until the spiked club was about to strike, when it suddenly wobbled slightly.

It neither resisted nor dodged, but instead, with extreme naturalness, like a willow leaf blown by the wind, it gently spun.

Its blade, at an exquisitely subtle angle, in the instant the spiked club was about to touch its edge, precisely and swiftly “tapped” the side of the club head.

Ban Ji’s thunderous strike, condensed with all his might, was deflected off target by this understated tap. The huge spiked club scraped past the bronze sabre and slammed heavily onto the blue brick ground.

Subsequently, the bronze sabre thrust towards Ban Ji.

Ban Ji mentally controlled flying daggers, a chain hammer, and nunchaku to defend himself, but the triple defense lines still couldn’t stop the bronze sabre. It twisted a few times, casually breaking through, and its tip pierced Ban Ji’s unprotected ribs.

Ban Ji let out a low growl of pain, staggering backward, a deep, long gash already appearing beneath his ribs, blood quickly staining his clothes around the wound.

Ban Ji hastily reached out, grabbed the handles of three flying daggers, and flung them out.

The bronze sabre casually wobbled a few times, dodging all the flying daggers. It was so casual, without any trace of sabre techniques, but this casual swaying indeed evaded all the daggers.

“This is no move surpassing any move!” Ban Ji frowned, recalling the intelligence reports.

He licked his dry lips, a bad feeling rising in his heart.

“Never mind! I must get this bronze sabre!” Ban Ji’s eyes glittered with greed, and he lunged forward ferociously again.

Pffft!

Clang, clang, clang…

“Ugh!”

“Agh!”

“Hiss, hiss, hiss…”

Ban Ji’s muffled groans, cries of pain, and gasps of cold air rang out successively.

He stared intently at the bronze sabre before him, feeling bewildered.

“I know the intelligence, I know the realm of the fifth bronze artifact.”

“But, but this bronze sabre is clearly beyond the norm; its power is too fierce!”

“Who sent it back? It must not be an unknown person!”