The cultivator surnamed Hao stared at Ning Zhuo, his gaze profound.

He had witnessed Ning Zhuo’s significant progress firsthand, from his initial advancements to now acquiring the fifth Xuanbing Jia and qualifying for the third stage.

Suddenly, he had a feeling: “Ning Zhuo came prepared!”

“He is extremely confident in his learning ability. Everything is part of his plan.”

“Is this what a top-tier genius is like? So confident in himself! Even when dealing with the Ban family and Ban Ji, he is full of confidence. He firmly believes that even if he sharpens his skills at the last minute and starts learning, he can still suppress and block Ban Ji with them?”

“Is this an unparalleled confidence, or another form of arrogance?”

Ning Zhuo sat cross-legged on the ground, examining himself and replaying the recent battle.

He reflected, “Is this what it means for ‘no moves to surpass moves’? It’s truly formidable!”

This reminded Ning Zhuo of a saying in Confucian cultivation: “Follow one’s heart’s desires without overstepping the bounds!”

An accomplished Confucian cultivator can act as they please without exceeding the rules and laws of society.

“Isn’t ‘no moves surpassing moves’ simply the martial arts equivalent of ‘following one’s heart’s desires without overstepping the bounds’?”

“It seems that each strike has no fixed moves and is spontaneous, but in reality, it is based on the actual combat situation, where both the body’s exertion and the weapon’s deployment conform to the principles of martial arts.”

Ning Zhuo suppressed his emotions and thought of another important matter: “My martial arts learning has reached its limit!”

Even if he hadn’t employed his methods of ‘hanging by his hair and pricking his thigh with an awl’, he had still reached his limit and could no longer improve.

Currently, Ning Zhuo’s martial arts realm was at the Martial Craftsman level, a long way from the Master level.

One of the hallmarks of the Master level is ‘no moves surpassing moves,’ a standard Ning Zhuo was still far from reaching.

“None of the demonic cultivators I absorbed had reached the Master level in martial arts. So, the foundation is insufficient.”

“Even if there were, it would be impossible for me to reach the Master level simply by relying on others’ memories and experiences!”

The reason here is simple.

To achieve ‘no moves surpassing moves,’ one needs meticulous basic skills, seamless combos, and abundant, flexible tactical thinking.

Even if someone else were a martial arts master, and Ning Zhuo absorbed their experience and memories, Ning Zhuo could not immediately satisfy these two requirements.

Others’ bodies are different from Ning Zhuo’s; height, arm span, flexibility, and so on, all vary. The weapons they use may also not be entirely consistent with those Ning Zhuo uses.

These differences mean that even if Ning Zhuo masters moves, combos, and so on, he cannot fully replicate them. He can achieve precision, but not absolute meticulousness.

Others’ temperaments are also different from Ning Zhuo’s. This leads to different choices in many situations. Tactical strategies will also vary.

For Ning Zhuo to possess “rich and flexible tactical thinking,” he must practice diligently and engage in continuous real combat.

“Master-level martial arts cannot be easily replicated. They possess strong personal characteristics, so I must rely on my own hard work.”

“Unless I can receive an infusion of realm cultivation.”

If Ning Zhuo’s martial arts realm were directly elevated to the Master level, or even higher levels like Grandmaster or Martial Saint, achieving “no moves surpassing moves” would be very easy.

Reflecting now, Ning Zhuo felt even more strongly that the opportunity he gained from the Five Elements Divine Lord in the Wan Yao Men was truly of immense value.

“However, even if I don’t reach the Master level, refining this spear is like having the assistance of a Master-level spearman.”

“The preciousness of the Nine-Layered Xuanbing Jia lies precisely in this.”

“Of course, it is ultimately just an armor piece, an external object. It only reacts according to martial arts principles during stress, which is not comparable to the cultivator themselves reaching the Master level.”

Ning Zhuo then thought of Ban Ji: “According to the intelligence, he has only been practicing close-combat weapons for a few years. It’s highly likely he hasn’t reached the Master level.”

“Unless he has some fortuitous encounter or specific innate talent.”

“In that case, my chances of dealing with him have greatly increased. As long as I prevent him from acquiring nine Xuanbing Jia, it will be a success!”

“Encountering the bronze shield was indeed a pleasant surprise. Everything is currently within estimation.”

Ning Zhuo’s act of learning while practicing was, of course, not a spur-of-the-moment decision but a meticulously planned strategy set before he departed.

The previous combat opportunities were actually very precious, a fleeting chance not to be missed.

Ning Zhuo seized every combat opportunity, willing to expend more time and energy to significantly enhance his combat capabilities.

Later, when he encountered the bronze shield and bronze spear, he immediately realized the tremendous results of his learning.

“If I hadn’t grasped the Way of Void and Substance, I wouldn’t have been able to perceive the force. Even with the shield protecting me, my bones would have been shattered by the spear.”

“Now I have acquired five Xuanbing Jia, which is faster than planned. Advancing to the third stage is no longer a major issue.”

All this was due to encountering the bronze shield.

“Next, the sixth Xuanbing Jia will be even stronger, and its combat power will have a qualitative improvement!”

“I need to go all out, while also ensuring my physical condition, and avoid severe injuries. Otherwise, if the number of participants meets the requirement and the third stage begins, I will face a complex situation of multi-party free-for-all.”

Ning Zhuo didn’t rush to get up. Instead, he channeled his spiritual sense and infused his magical power, causing the five Xuanbing Jia to float around him, constantly practicing moves.

“I previously created three combined sword and saber strikes. Can more Xuanbing Jia be involved?”

Ning Zhuo had a clear grasp of the situation and, no longer anxious, began to practice again.

He practiced for a while and felt an immense headache.

Combining two weapons was already very difficult. Trying to involve a third or fourth was highly impractical.

So, Ning Zhuo began to secretly call out, “Boss, help me!”

“Coming, little brother!” Sun Ling-tong had been preparing.

On the surface, Ning Zhuo was tackling the challenges alone, but in reality, two people were working together.

Brothers united, they could break through anything!

At the same time.

Ao Pan’s right arm muscles bulged as he wielded the bronze sword, attempting to cut through the continuous assault of the enemy soldiers.

The sixth Xuanbing Jia he faced was a battering ram, incredibly huge, specifically designed to breach city gates. But now it was only targeting Ao Pan alone.

Ao Pan’s sword strikes were fierce, but the battering ram was truly brutal.

With each solid impact, the bronze sword let out a pained groan. The immense recoil force made Ao Pan’s arm bones feel as if they would shatter.

Ao Pan retreated repeatedly, the hard-as-iron stone ground beneath his feet already cracked into countless spiderwebs, with numerous碎 stones scattering.

Ao Pan suddenly grabbed the bronze spear floating beside him with his left hand.

He thrust the spear forward, its tip piercing the air, tracing the trajectory of a whip technique.

First, the spear blocked, then the sword followed, finally managing to deflect the battering ram.

“Now!” Ao Pan sharply patted his waist, drawing out a bronze long whip.

With the long whip in hand, Ao Pan’s entire demeanor underwent a subtle transformation.

The whip’s shadow appeared, then quickly vanished!

When it reappeared, the long whip had already wrapped around the ram’s head, and the whip’s tip, like a living thing, fiercely pierced into the ram’s body.

Countless spiderweb-like cracks instantly covered the ram’s head, and the battering ram came to an abrupt halt!

Ao Pan lunged forward, embracing the battering ram in his arms, and began to refine it with all his might.

Meanwhile, the bronze long whip broke inch by inch, becoming unusable.

“What a pity!”

“This long whip was the first bronze artifact I encountered. This was both fortunate and a source of regret.”

At the crucial moment, Ao Pan still trusted the long whip more. This was inherently his most skilled weapon.

Now that the long whip was gone, the bronze artifacts around Ao Pan were no longer as convenient to use.

Ao Pan gathered the broken whip strands and continued his journey.

Tie Zheng’s battle with the Xuanbing Jia had entered its most intense phase.

The bronze saber in Tie Zheng’s hand whirled like a wheel, shattering three ice arrows in a row.

Ice shards scattered, and cold energy spread along the blade, instantly covering the bronze saber with a layer of solid ice.

Tie Zheng decisively let go of the saber, casually beckoned, and summoned a bronze long staff.

He used the staff to deflect a flaming arrow, but the arrow suddenly exploded, forming a surge of fire.

The fire singed the exposed skin on his body.

Tie Zheng retreated rapidly.

His opponent, a bronze bow, floated in the distance, its bowstring opening and closing automatically like a living thing. Azure ice arrows and crimson fire arrows alternated precisely, weaving a deadly net of arrows.

Tie Zheng wielded his long staff, maintaining a solid defense.

Ao Pan was a Golden Core stage body cultivator, whose primary cultivation method focused on body refining. Tie Zheng, however, was a Golden Core stage martial cultivator, possessing at least Master-level proficiency in various weapons.

Tie Zheng was over 370 years old, and during his long years of cultivation, being a traditional martial cultivator, reaching the Master-level realm was not difficult for him.

Precisely because of his accomplishments, a cold glint flashed in Tie Zheng’s eyes at this moment, and he understood clearly in his heart: “Here, most of my methods cannot be used.”

“If I were to break through the arrow net, I would sustain at least moderate injuries.”

“That won’t do!”

Tie Zheng had gathered intelligence and knew that in many previous instances, powerful cultivators who fought without restraint in the second stage, exhausting themselves, would suddenly be teleported to the third stage and immediately fall into a chaotic battle, leading to very unsatisfactory results.

“My physical foundation is not as strong as Ao Pan’s; I need to maintain my physical condition.”

“Since that’s the case, then you are the one.”

“Attack, Lü Guang!”

He had twelve beast-head bronze bells hanging from his waist. At this moment, one of them suddenly vibrated violently, instantly detaching and shooting into mid-air.

The sphere emitted a piercing whistle in the air and suddenly cracked.

A liquid-like bronze flowed out, and in the next instant, it condensed into a nimble bronze leopard-shaped blade beast.

It had no eyes or ears, and its entire body was composed of countless finely vibrating blades.

The bronze bow and arrow reacted extremely quickly, instantly firing three arrows in succession. Two ice arrows blocked the path, and one fire arrow shot directly at the blade beast!

Lü Guang moved.

Its speed was incredibly swift; the ice arrows only pierced afterimages, and the fire arrow was left far behind.

The bronze bow and arrow fired continuously, forming wave after wave of arrow nets.

The blade beast Lü Guang was agile and swift, penetrating the arrow net and clamping onto the bronze bow body with its mouth!

“It’s done.” Seeing this, Tie Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.

The cultivators of Xuanjia Dong, however, were in an uproar.

“What is this?”

“Isn’t there a formation that prohibits cultivators from using other methods?”

“No, Tie Zheng isn’t cheating. This blade beast of his is actually transformed from a Xuanbing Jia.”

Tie Zheng cleverly exploited the rules of Xuanjia Dong, silencing the questioning cultivators.

In previous sessions, cultivators had also used their own Xuanbing Jia.

This was also within the scope of the rules.

Xuanjia Dong hoped to see such a scene, where the circulating Xuanbing Jia could demonstrate its value, contributing to the long-term operation of the entire dongfu.

The cultivator surnamed Hao mused, “Tie Zheng brought a bronze artifact with him and even transformed it into a living blade beast. This gives him a significant advantage.”

“He sustained no injuries on the sixth Xuanbing Jia and maintained his condition very well.”

“It’s possible that he will secure the final victory and become the first place in this Xingyun Xiao Shi.”

As the cultivator surnamed Hao thought of this, he looked at Lu Zeng’s situation.

Lu Zeng was the last of the three Golden Core cultivators.

At this moment, he was also actively battling the sixth bronze artifact.

Around him, five bronze artifacts attacked in rotation, their offensive continuous and relentless. Lu Zeng used offense as defense, gaining the upper hand, and his footing was very stable.

His concerns were the same as Ning Zhuo’s and Tie Zheng’s, so he also displayed his proficient mechanism manipulation techniques.

However, this meant that while Lu Zeng was not injured, the consumption of his spiritual sense was enormous.

As for the Foundation Establishment stage cultivators…

Zhang Wang-xing was the first to engage with the sixth bronze artifact.

In the battlefield, he was forced to leap and bound, looking utterly disheveled.

The cultivators of Xuanjia Dong pointed and whispered about him, as if watching a joke. They had long anticipated this scene.

Zhang Wang-xing had previously relied on the special nature of his physical body to gain an advantage. But with the sixth Xuanbing Jia, it could expend magical power to unleash sword auras and saber qi, which were too destructive to the physical body.

Zhang Wang-xing had little mastery of mechanism manipulation techniques, and his use of weapons was very basic, which immediately put him in an absolute predicament when facing the current situation.

After Zhang Wang-xing came Xiu Zai Jiang and Ban Ji.

Ban Ji carefully put away his severed finger. He practiced demonic cultivation, but primarily focused on his upper Dantian Shen Hai, making his spiritual sense strong but his physical body weak.

He couldn’t regrow his finger, and such a completely severed wound couldn’t grow flesh and eventually close the gap, reattaching the finger, unlike Ning Zhuo.

He wielded the bronze saber with one arm, displaying a prowess he hadn’t shown before. Even when facing a bronze sword that spat out sword light, he could parry and occasionally counterattack.

“Having a saber in hand makes all the difference!”

“This bronze saber itself is Master-level; using it in combat, every move is like a master teaching me firsthand.”

“This kind of learning truly makes me addicted.”

“With more combat experiences like this, the time it takes for me to advance to a Master-level martial artist will undoubtedly be greatly reduced.”

Elsewhere, Xiu Zai Jiang was fully unleashing his innate talent, attempting to corrode the sixth Xuanbing Jia he faced.

The effect was very poor.

The Xuanbing Jia was protected by magical power, causing Xiu Zai Jiang’s innate talent to repeatedly meet with failure.

Ning Zhuo clutched his forehead, feeling dizzy.

He and Sun Ling-tong had been deliberating together, which was too mentally exhausting.

The brothers were not deducing a combined weapon attack.

Ning Zhuo had followed Sun Ling-tong’s advice: “Xiao Zhuo, instead of devising combined attacks of swords, sabers, spears, fists, and shields, why not use them to form a battle formation?”

“We are both familiar with battle formations!”

“Moreover, many of your weapons are already in tatters. In the third stage, it will be a big melee. Even if we devise a combined attack now, will you truly be able to use it then?”

“Even if you snatch similar weapons from others, they are only similar, and this will greatly harm the effectiveness of the combined attack.”

“On the contrary, it would be better if we directly design a battle formation, and in the future, when we acquire new Xuanbing Jia, they can also be incorporated into the battle formation, making us more stable and secure!”

Ning Zhuo nodded heavily upon hearing these words: “Boss, you’re right, I’ll listen to you!”