Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

Ning Xiu had carefully reviewed this hunting list during his spare time at the Demon Subduing Division, and he had some recollection of most of the wanted demons on it.

The tattooed monster standing before him was one of the wanted targets on the hunting list.

Blood Blade, one of the four martial arts masters, is skilled at assassinating by exploiting weaknesses. His evil deeds are mostly committed by assassinating his targets in one move. He seems to possess the ability to see the weakest point of his enemy, thus enabling him to kill them with a single blow each time, leaving no survivors.

As for the demonic figure Xue Feng, his most famous feat was stabbing a Silver Tiger Demon-Subduing Captain and escaping from his clutches.

Although it was only a minor injury, it was enough to demonstrate just how extraordinary this person's assassination skills were.

When fighting him, one must maintain absolute focus and vigilance at all times, otherwise one might accidentally die under Blood Edge's golden blade.

On the list, Blood Edge's bounty has reached 500 taels of gold. Many Demon Slayers have searched for him throughout the Great Shang territory, but to no avail.

Ning Xiu never expected that he would encounter this guy in Qiantang City today.

call out!

The two golden swords that were stuck in the protective golden bell flew out automatically and returned to Xue Feng's hand. This technique was quite similar to sword control.

Seeing that Xue Feng's body was beginning to fade, Ning Xiu gripped the Thunder Hammer tightly and swung it out with force.

【092】40,000 proficiency

Blood Edge disappeared quickly. By the time Ning Xiu unleashed his Thunder Hammer, his figure had already vanished into thin air. No matter how Ning Xiu tried to sense the man's aura, he could find nothing.

This guy seems to have completely disappeared from the vicinity. Such methods are extremely mysterious, and Ning Xiu has never seen them in anyone else before.

A demon who can completely conceal his body and aura, coupled with his terrifying ability to specifically target weaknesses, is undoubtedly a dangerous assassin.

If this guy were given the chance to advance to the third rank of martial arts, I'm afraid quite a few Demon-Subduing Guards would die at his hands.

With the protective golden bell, Ning Xiu was in no hurry to find Xue Feng's whereabouts. Instead, he stood still and waited for the enemy to come to him, while using his internal energy to repair the cracks in the golden bell caused by Xue Feng's two slashes.

This guy came to ambush me, and in terms of killing intent, he's much more powerful than me. As long as I'm here, Xue Feng will definitely not give up and continue to attack.

What Ning Xiu needs to do is wait for the right opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to Xue Feng. If Xue Feng were to be hit head-on once, he would either die or be crippled, and no amount of hiding would be of any use.

While Xue Feng held off Ning Xiu, the other demons jumped down from the wooden wall after the bald demon had frozen the Dragon King River solidly, and quickly surrounded the dragon that was confined to the center of the river.

As the creatures drew near, the dragon roared and abandoned its plan to remain in the water. It then nimbly flipped itself onto the ice with its four claws.

Only now did the true size of this behemoth become apparent; the dragon, with only its upper body protruding from the river's surface, already appeared enormous.

But as the dragon fully emerged from the water, everyone was finally able to see its full appearance. It was about seven or eight zhang long and covered with a large number of blue-purple scales, making it look very beautiful.

On the dragon's head are four long, branch-like horns, but interestingly, these horns are made of crystal-like material, emitting a soft white light in the air, which is very attractive to the eye.

The moment the dragon climbed onto the ice, the white-haired demon made the first move, raising both hands and swinging them forcefully, instantly creating two wisps of wind in his palms.

As the white-haired demon swung out with all his might, the two whirlwinds instantly grew larger, transforming into two enormous tornadoes that rushed towards the dragon's location.

This powerful wind manipulation technique is definitely at the level of the upper third rank of the Immortal Path.

Besides the white-haired demon, the old man with the cane and the bald demon also unleashed their own methods, causing a large number of tree branches on the wooden wall to grow rapidly, spreading towards the dragon like a net.

The bald-headed demon manipulated the ice surface, forming ice pillars that pierced the dragon, attempting to continuously restrict its range of movement.

All three were at the upper third rank of the Immortal Path. The fact that the Black Heaven Sect sent out so many experts to capture the dragon shows how much they valued it.

While the Black Heaven Gate was engaged in a fierce battle with the Flood Dragon, Ning Xiu was completely unable to spare any attention to look over there.

Ever since Xue Feng concealed his body, the chilling killing intent surrounding him has grown stronger, as if countless sharp knives were constantly aimed at every part of Ning Xiu's body.

However, Ning Xiu was completely unable to detect the existence of these sharp knives with the naked eye.

"A demon who can make it onto the hunting list compiled by the Demon Subduing Division is indeed no ordinary person. Even though Xue Feng's strength is only at the fourth rank of martial arts, the pressure he brings me is much stronger than that of Baili Yudu." Ning Xiu thought to himself as he gripped the Thunder Hammer tightly.

call out!

Without a sound, a hole suddenly appeared on the surface of the protective golden bell, and a curved golden knife easily pierced through the surface of the bell, but then disappeared without a trace.

Xue Feng's cunning and entanglement far exceeded Ning Xiu's expectations. If this continued, he would not be able to accurately locate Xue Feng, and the other party would not be able to completely destroy his protective golden bell.

However, Ning Xiu did not want the two to continue their entanglement here. After all, the demons on the other side of the river were already dealing with the dragon. As the Demon Subduer, he had to hinder them and disrupt the Black Heaven Gate's mission no matter what.

Suddenly, Ning Xiu dispelled his protective golden bell, exposing his entire body to Xue Feng's eyes.

"Huh?" A faint exclamation rang out in the air. Even Xue Feng, who had been hiding, felt incredulous after seeing Ning Xiu's actions.

With the protection of the Golden Bell, Ning Xiu was able to evade his assassination attempts, but now that the Golden Bell was removed, Ning Xiu's weaknesses looked no different from a lamb to the slaughter in Xue Feng's eyes.

"Is this guy overconfident, or is he courting death?" Xue Feng couldn't help but think.

However, faced with Ning Xiu's expressionless face, Xue Feng was also aroused. He was very confident in his assassination skills. Even a third-rank expert would feel threatened when facing him.

But it's just a threat. Once a third-rank expert makes a move, even if Xue Feng hides himself the fastest, he will suffer a terrifying counterattack.

Therefore, Xue Feng is very good at avoiding the strong and bullying the weak. Judging from the fact that Ning Xiu did not retaliate after being hit by him three times, Xue Feng can be very sure that Ning Xiu is definitely not a master of the upper three ranks.

In this way, Ning Xiu's threat level was greatly reduced in Xue Feng's eyes.

"Since you deliberately removed the Golden Bell's defensive measures, then I won't be polite either," Xue Feng thought to himself. He would make Ning Xiu pay the price for his actions.

Ning Xiu was tense, facing his surroundings, waiting for Xue Feng to make his move.

Silently, Xue Feng's arm suddenly appeared behind Ning Xiu, and a curved golden knife silently pierced Ning Xiu's back.

This location is precisely where the heart is. As long as the golden knife penetrates to the hilt, it will surely pierce Ning Xiu's heart and emerge from his chest.

Bloodblade had no doubt about the sharpness of his curved golden sword. This weapon was crafted with all the precious materials he had collected over the years since joining the Black Heaven Gate, as well as through trade with other demons in the gate.

Even a Buddha or Taoist of the third rank couldn't withstand the sharpness of these golden blades.

As he watched the golden knife easily pierce Ning Xiu's back, Xue Feng revealed a satisfied smile.

But when the golden knife suddenly got stuck halfway in, his expression changed instantly. No matter how hard he tried, the golden knife just wouldn't go any further.

"How could this be!"

Snapped!

Taking advantage of this brief moment of distraction, Ning Xiu grabbed Xue Feng's wrist. In this way, unless Xue Feng was willing to make a painful sacrifice, he would have no chance of escaping Ning Xiu's control.

The Heavenly King Vajra Skill's tempering effect on Ning Xiu's physique was terrifying; the hardness of his bones was something Xue Feng could never have imagined.

Not to mention that when Ning Xiu mastered the Golden Bell Shield technique, his ribs became completely seamless, like an iron plate. No matter how sharp Xue Feng's curved golden knife was, it could not pierce through Ning Xiu's ribs.

This is why Ning Xiu withdrew his protective golden bell, completely revealing his weakness to Xue Feng.

"Gotcha." Ning Xiu's posture changed drastically, and he instantly activated his Heavenly King state.

With a forceful swing, he unleashed his immense strength, catching Xue Feng completely off guard. He was lifted up by Ning Xiu's single arm and slammed to the ground.

"Ugh!"

Ning Xiu's strength in his Heavenly King state was immense, and Xue Feng couldn't withstand it at all. The moment he hit the ground, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Before he could recover, Ning Xiu raised his foot and stomped hard on his chest.

Xue Feng's eyes widened and quickly became bloodshot. In less than a breath, his two eyeballs were as red as cinnabar. He tilted his head and immediately stopped breathing.

[Defeat the demon and gain 3000 general proficiency points]

[Defeat the ferocious god and gain 5000 general proficiency points]

[Defeat evil spirits and gain +1000 general proficiency]

[Defeat monsters to gain +2000 general proficiency points]

[Defeat evil spirits and gain +1000 general proficiency]

……

After Ning Xiu killed Xue Feng and gained the corresponding general proficiency, several notifications from the proficiency panel suddenly appeared in his ears.

Evil spirits, malevolent spirits, demons... It's clear that these are not referring to Xue Feng. Ning Xiu did not attack any other evil spirits besides him, so it's obvious that these deeds were not done by Ning Xiu, but by someone else.

"Demon Buddha? This guy is so far away from me, yet he can share his proficiency with me?" Ning Xiu asked in surprise.

In just this one move, I gained over 10,000 general proficiency points, which is a huge gain.

Looking across the river, the Black Heaven Sect demons were fiercely fighting the dragon. If he didn't have the corresponding strength, even if he were in the Heavenly King state, he probably wouldn't be able to get involved. The residual power of those demons' magic at the third level of immortality was enough to severely injure Ning Xiu.

Ning Xiu immediately brought up the proficiency panel.

...

[Aura Observation and Fortune Telling Technique: Level 1 (1/2000)] (+)

【Burning Sun Taiyao Scripture: Tenth Level (2/11000)】(+)

[Heavenly King Vajra Skill. Black Heavenly Pagoda Supreme Body: Level 10 (7/11000)] (+)

[Concealment Technique: Level 10 (0/7000)] (+)

[Seven Steps to Catch the Cicada: Eighth Floor (2897/6000)] (+)

General Proficiency: 47500

...

Since leaving Jingzhou and heading to Baishazhou, Ning Xiu has accumulated a lot of general proficiency without using it. Just now, he killed a large number of water demons at the ferry, and the long-range contribution of the Demon Buddha Ning Xiu also contributed proficiency.

He currently has over 40,000 general proficiency points remaining on his panel. Although it's not as impressive as the 100,000 proficiency points he gained during his days of rampaging in the Demon Suppression Prison, it's still a considerable amount.

Without a second thought, Ning Xiu immediately used 11000 points of proficiency on the Burning Sun Taiyao Scripture.

↑↑

The Burning Sun Supreme Scripture, eleventh level!!

Instantly, Ning Xiu's internal energy surged, flowing rapidly throughout his body before flowing into his martial acupoints.

The powerful internal energy was constantly being refined within the martial acupoint. The feeling of expansion made Ning Xiu feel like a container that was filled with too much stuff and was about to burst open.

It was clear that red cracks began to appear on Ning Xiu's crimson body. At first, there were only a few cracks, but then they became more and more numerous, covering his entire body.

Ning Xiu could sense that the internal energy he had refined in his martial acupoints was undergoing some kind of change, which was a sign that he was about to break through.

The dividing line between the middle and upper three ranks in martial arts lies in the more powerful development of the martial acupoints. After internal energy is sent into the martial acupoints, it can be tempered to produce the true symbol of the martial artist, the 'Tian Gang'.

It can be said that Tiangang is an evolution of a higher form of internal force, and it also possesses a far greater destructive power than internal force.

Ning Xiu had already experienced this firsthand when he fought against Baili Yu last time.

Ning Xiu is now just one opportunity away from being able to develop his martial acupoints again, allowing his inner strength to temper his Heavenly Gang, thus completing his breakthrough and entering the third rank of martial arts.