Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

These martial artists at the lower three ranks were well aware that no matter how tough they were, they could not compare to those at the middle three ranks.

The two are not even on the same level of importance, and tomorrow is the official start of the martial arts tournament.

That will determine who the leader of the martial arts alliance will be, and the future martial arts situation in Yunze Prefecture.

The lower-ranking martial artists would naturally not leave in anger at this critical juncture simply because of differing treatment. Otherwise, if they incurred the wrath of the Azure Dragon Society, how would they maintain their reputation in the martial arts world of Yunze Prefecture?

These martial artists were so wary of this issue, and that was precisely why Ning Xiu chose to come to Cangshan to observe this martial arts tournament.

When a powerful force with sufficient influence emerges, many people at the bottom of society will have no choice but to flatter and compromise with its tyranny in order to survive.

This is not a good thing. If the Azure Dragon Society's motives are too impure, Ning Xiu will report it to his superiors after returning, and then have the Demon Subduing Division send someone to directly disband the martial arts world of Yunze Prefecture.

The Hall of Gathering Righteousness had twelve tables set up, each seating eight people. The interior was brightly lit and decorated with various valuable ornaments, making it look extremely grand and creating a stark contrast with the outside.

Separated by only one door, they are two different worlds.

This sense of difference and disparity in status is undoubtedly something most people like.

This inexplicably instilled a sense of pride and contempt in the middle-ranking martial artists sitting in the room, just like the question: What does it mean to be an upper-class person?

Strength reigns supreme!

Because Ning Xiu possessed the strength of a fifth-grade martial artist, he was seated at a round table in the center by the Azure Dragon Society. Everyone respected him greatly, seeing that he was already a fifth-grade martial artist at such a young age.

If nothing unexpected happens, with this potential, Ning Xiu will definitely have no problem reaching the upper three ranks in the future.

At the head of the Hall of Righteousness, at the large round table where the strongest person in the room was seated, twelve people were seated, including Divine Constable Li Yi'an, as well as the three leaders of the Azure Dragon Society.

The three leaders, Zhao Bao, Qian Hu, and Gongsun Qinglong, are all fourth-rank martial arts masters. Once they break through their bottlenecks, they could potentially become third-rank martial arts experts at any time.

This was the first time Ning Xiu had met the three of them. These three were the ones who had jointly founded the Azure Dragon Society and were among its top combatants.

Zhao Bao was a martial artist who specialized in leg techniques. Even though he was wearing loose trousers with hems, Ning Xiu could clearly feel the explosive power of his legs.

Qian Hu was probably a martial artist who repaired weapons. Although he wasn't carrying any weapons at the moment, Ning Xiu could tell from the brown calluses on his hands.

Gongsun Qinglong, the leader of the Azure Dragon Society, was the most enigmatic person to Ning Xiu among all the attendees.

This man had a handsome face, a silver crown to bind his hair, a white robe to his slender waist, and a bamboo folding fan in his hand. He looked nothing like a martial artist, but rather more like a spoiled young master from some wealthy family.

You can't see a single trace of cultivation on him, which is really strange.

Yet this handsome young man became the head of the Azure Dragon Society, making him someone no one could underestimate.

Once everyone in the Hall of Righteousness was seated, Gongsun Qinglong stood up, closed his fan, and said with a smile, "Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come to Cangshan for this martial arts gathering. This will be a sign of the rise of the martial arts world in Yunze Prefecture. From now on, the martial arts forces in Yunze Prefecture will gradually become one, helping each other. If there are any grudges that are difficult to resolve, we can ask the leader of the martial arts alliance to step forward and uphold justice. We will no longer have to fight and kill like before."

Upon hearing Gongsun Qinglong's words, the many martial artists inside and outside the Hall of Righteousness reacted in various ways: some scoffed, some seemed thoughtful, and some smiled in support. In short, everyone had a different perspective.

Gongsun Qinglong didn't care about this at all. After finishing his drink, he sat down and started talking to the other fourth-rank martial artists at his table.

The most famous martial arts forces in Yunze Prefecture are undoubtedly the eight major sects. Each of these eight sects has more than seven or eight martial arts masters of the third rank, and they have a great influence in Yunze Prefecture.

The Azure Dragon Society had secretly communicated with the eight major sects beforehand to prepare for the martial arts conference. Otherwise, if the eight major sects did not send someone to support them, the martial arts conference would be neither legitimate nor justified.

At the table where Gongsun Qinglong was sitting, apart from the three leaders of the Qinglong Society and Li Yi'an, the rest of the people sitting there were the experts sent by the eight major sects this time.

According to Yao Shouchong of the Blood Blade Society, the Azure Dragon Society is only responsible for organizing the martial arts tournament and will not send anyone to compete with other forces for the position of martial arts alliance leader.

This position will be reserved for their partners. It seems that all eight major sects are now partners of the Azure Dragon Society.

Tomorrow will definitely be a real battle.

"Young man, have you participated in the competition for the title of leader of the martial arts alliance?" An elderly man with gray hair sitting to Ning Xiu's left took a sip of wine and suddenly turned to ask Ning Xiu.

The man was wrapped in a cotton-padded coat, which was patched all over, and even so, there were still ripped holes from which a lot of blackened cotton was oozing out.

His gray hair looked like it hadn't been trimmed in ages, and the hair on his forehead covered his eyes. His face was also covered by a thick beard, making it impossible for Ning Xiu to see his features clearly.

"No, I just came to see what was going on," Ning Xiu replied calmly.

“A young man as young and talented as you would hardly give up the opportunity to compete for such fame. Which young man wouldn’t want the title of ‘Martial Arts Alliance Leader’? Young man, you have a good character,” the old man said with a smile as he drank his wine.

"Fortunately, the main reason is that I am not from Yunze Prefecture, otherwise I could have tried to compete in a tournament. Even if I couldn't win the position of martial arts alliance leader, I could still spar with experts and test my strength."

"Hehe." The old man nodded and smiled, secretly dipping his little finger into the spilled wine on the table, and then quickly wrote two characters on the table.

Bronze leopard.

The moment Ning Xiu saw the two words clearly, his eyes widened slightly. Before he could react, the old man quickly wiped the two words he had written away with his sleeve.

Ning Xiu looked at the old man with surprise. The old man also revealed a smile full of yellow teeth. Although he did not speak, there was a lot of hidden meaning in his smile.

To my utter surprise, I encountered a fellow member of the Demon Subduing Division, the Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captain, on this Cangshan Mountain. Like me, he had chosen to conceal his identity as a Demon Subduing Captain.

"Young man, we can get together and chat sometime. I love getting to know young talents like you." The old man continued drinking.

As the two were talking, people would occasionally glance over, but they would quickly look away, not taking it seriously.

There were so many martial artists talking to each other that no one paid any attention to Ning Xiu.

Ning Xiu gave the old man a meaningful look, then slowly nodded and replied, "Alright."

After a few rounds of drinks in the main hall, some people chose to leave early, intending to head to the viewing area to grab a good spot.

Some people, once they got into the conversation, continued to sit and drink, remarking on how rare it was for an influential organization to host a martial arts tournament that could gather so many martial arts masters.

Once they got to know each other, they spontaneously got together, drank and chatted happily.

Ning Xiu and the old man exchanged a glance before leaving the Hall of Righteousness and meeting up on their way to the viewing area.

The two found themselves in a secluded spot to talk, surrounded by a large crowd.

"My name is Ning Xiu. I've met you before. May I ask how you are addressed?" Ning Xiu asked, cupping his hands in greeting.

"Pan Zhao usually stays on the front line and is the Bronze Leopard Demon-Slaying Captain of the Division."

To verify their identities, the two each showed the other their identity tokens.

"How did you discover my identity?" Ning Xiu couldn't help but ask, puzzled, after confirming the other party's identity token.

The Demon Subduing Division does not have any specific cultivation techniques, so it was really puzzling to Ning Xiu that Pan Zhao was able to recognize his identity and then take the initiative to talk to him.

“Although I am on the front lines, I do have some friends in the department. Recently, I heard that someone in the department has obtained one of the twin hammers of the former Purple Thunder Master. I am quite interested in this news. Today, seeing the Thunder Hammer in your hand, I guessed that you might be that colleague in the department, so I specially wrote the words 'Bronze Leopard' in front of you to test you,” Pan Zhao said with a smile.

Ning Xiu never expected that it would be the Thunder Hammer that exposed his identity. Fortunately, to the Demon Subduing Division and the outside world, he was just a newcomer and his reputation had not yet spread far and wide. Otherwise, his supposedly disguised identity today would have been incredibly foolish.

"Thank you for the reminder. I will pay attention to that in the future." Ning Xiu then asked, "Since you are on the front lines, why are you here at the Azure Dragon Society in Cangshan today?"

Pan Zhao shook his head helplessly: "I'm on orders from my superiors to return to the Great Shang territory to hunt down a dangerous individual. Although he's not a demon, his temperament and actions are just as dangerous as one."

A few years ago, this person lost control for some reason and escaped the surveillance of the Demon Suppression Division. I and several other Bronze Leopard Demon Suppression Captains were then responsible for investigating and searching in various states, determined to find him.

Ning Xiu said, "Could this person be hiding in the Azure Dragon Society right now?"

"I can't draw any conclusions yet, but it's highly likely. I investigated before I came here, and the Azure Dragon Society has only existed for a few years, which matches the time that person fled."

“If that’s the case, then I can help you. You might as well tell me the details of this person’s situation, and I will search the Azure Dragon Society with you.”

“That’s good.” Pan Zhao looked around and checked to make sure there were no 'rats' hiding, then lowered his voice and told them everything he knew.

Baili Yu, a martial arts prodigy from the common people, was born into a family of镖局 (escort agencies). He began training his muscles and bones at the age of three and began practicing martial arts at the age of six.

At the young age of fourteen, he had already reached the seventh rank in martial arts and was hailed as a prodigy by the locals. The entire escort agency placed high hopes on him.

At the age of seventeen, Baili Yu successfully entered the third rank of martial arts. From then on, he would advance one rank every two or three years, becoming a well-known figure in the area.

But for some reason, starting from a certain day, Baili Yu began to act strangely. He stopped pursuing improving his strength and realm, and instead began to learn various martial arts techniques in a wide-ranging manner.

All kinds of weapons, legs, palms, fists, claws, fingers, throwing darts, external martial arts, poison skills... are all within his scope of expertise.

Human energy is limited, so Baili Yu's strength began to stagnate. Over the course of more than ten years, he was constantly surpassed by some of his peers who were once weaker than him. The halo and glory of his genius gradually faded away year by year, and no one paid attention to this once-genius boy anymore.

One day, Baili Yu's family's escort agency was wiped out by a mysterious powerful figure, leaving only Baili Yu, who was out transporting goods, to escape the disaster.

It's normal for people in this line of work to have enemies; they all live on the edge, risking their lives.

Those around him comforted Baili Yu upon his return. After a period of grief, Baili Yu buried all the corpses of the people in the escort agency.

He then closed the escort agency and embarked alone on a journey to find the murderer and seek martial arts.

Baili Yu traveled far and wide seeking martial arts, engaging in sparring with martial arts masters from various regions. He was undefeated within the third rank of martial arts, and those who lost to him would have their hands and feet crippled, suffering a rather tragic end.

Some time later, word of this man's demise spread far and wide. When the Demon-Subduing Commander heard of this, he found the man and took him to the front lines to fight against the demon army.

It's a waste to waste such energy on internal power struggles and infighting. It would be better to go to the battlefield and kill more demon soldiers to relieve some pressure on the front-line soldiers.

Under the watchful eye of the frontline demon-suppressing officers, Baili Yu behaved himself for a few years. Just when people thought he had changed, he disappeared.

Based on their movements, it appears they escaped back into the territory of the Great Shang Dynasty.

To prevent a repeat of what happened a few years ago, several Copper Leopard Demon-Subduing Officers formed teams to search for this person's whereabouts throughout the Great Shang Dynasty.

Pan Zhao was one of them.

After listening to Pan Zhao's explanation, Ning Xiu understood: "So you think that Baili Yu was behind the scenes who created the Azure Dragon Society as a tool to hide his identity, and that he is currently hiding somewhere in the Azure Dragon Society."

"Yes, that's my guess, but we still need to conduct a thorough search to find out the specifics. That's why I approached you and revealed my identity, hoping you could lend me a hand. Tonight, the two of us will conduct a secret investigation of the Azure Dragon Society together."

“Sure, no problem. When do you plan to make your move?” Ning Xiu immediately agreed.

“The hour of Chou (1-3 AM) is when people are most tired, making it easier to move around.”

【068】Nighttime Investigation Reveals Martial Arts Will

In the dead of night, the entire Azure Dragon Society fell into silence.

Apart from the Green Dragon Society members patrolling regularly, there were no other people around at night.

It was already past midnight when Ning Xiu quietly entrusted the Thunder Hammer to Jin Rou for safekeeping. This thing was too big and its weight far exceeded that of ordinary weapons, so it was not suitable for him to carry with him when he went on a night raid on the Azure Dragon Society.

Otherwise, if someone finds out, we'll be exposed on the spot.

Holding the corpse-slaying knife, he arrived at the meeting point he had arranged with Pan Zhao. There was no gray-haired old man there, only a thin middle-aged man dressed in night clothes.

"You've arrived." The young man greeted Ning Xiu immediately upon seeing him.

"Pan Zhao?"

"It's me. I was disguised before, this is my true appearance," Pan Zhao said with a smile.

Ning Xiu frowned: "Could you please show me your token again?"

“No problem.” Pan Zhao took out his bronze leopard identity token from his pocket and handed it to Ning Xiu: “Being so cautious when traveling is a good habit.”