Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

After Ning Xiu checked the token and returned it, Pan Zhao handed him a package and said, "Change into this outfit before we set off. Although the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) is when people are most tired, we still need to be discreet."

Ning Xiu took the package and opened it, finding inside a set of clothes worn by members of the Azure Dragon Society, along with a black mask. Perfect for disguise.

“This is what I just took from the Azure Dragon Society’s warehouse. It’s so you can disguise yourself too, so that if someone discovers you, your identity won’t be exposed,” Pan Zhao said.

"Thank you." Ning Xiu immediately changed into the clothes, which meant putting the clothes over his original clothes so that they would be easy to take off and discard later.

"I've already roughly surveyed the terrain of the Azure Dragon Society's headquarters. Entering from the mountain gate, you'll find the gathering plaza and arena. Further in are the disciples' living quarters, the dining hall, the storage yard, and warehouses. All these areas are outside the Azure Dragon Society's premises, so there are no issues."

"The real secret should be located inside the Azure Dragon Society, separated from the outside by a high wall with only one entrance and exit. No one outside the Azure Dragon Society can enter. Our goal tonight is to go behind that wall and see what's going on," Pan Zhao said.

"Understood." Ning Xiu nodded.

Now that the plan had been explained, there was no need to say more. The two of them traveled one after the other through the night, bypassing several patrols of the Green Dragon Society, and arrived at the high wall that Pan Zhao had mentioned.

Calling it a high wall is actually an understatement. This wall stretches for more than a few miles, has no doors or windows, and is more than two zhang high. The top of the wall is covered with a large number of sharp thorns and iron spikes, and anyone who wants to climb over it will encounter considerable trouble.

If one's lightness skill is lacking, one might end up with some injuries.

"Getting over the wall isn't the hardest part. There should be members of the Azure Dragon Society guarding behind the wall. If you're discovered while climbing over it, you'll be exposed on the spot. Remember to be careful. Make sure there are no problems before you go over the wall. If there are any problems, turn back first. Don't rush," Pan Zhao reminded him.

Ning Xiu nodded, indicating that he understood.

After glancing around and confirming that there was nothing amiss, Pan Zhao immediately took the lead and prepared to set an example for Ning Xiu.

He moved with the lightness of a gecko, lightly tapping the wall a few times, and in the blink of an eye, he was on top of the wall. His agility was so great that even a real gecko would not dare to compare.

If Ning Xiu is not mistaken, the lightness skill that Pan Zhao learned should be the very famous gecko wall-climbing skill!

After climbing onto the wall, Pan Zhao did not move immediately. Instead, he observed for a while and, after confirming that there were no problems, waved to Ning Xiu below, indicating that it was time to proceed.

In the next instant, Pan Zhao had already climbed over the wall and disappeared from Ning Xiu's sight.

Since that's the case, Ning Xiu won't delay any longer. He took the Seven Steps to Catch the Cicada in quick succession, his movements extremely graceful. In the blink of an eye, he had already passed the high wall and silently landed behind Pan Zhao.

But what Ning Xiu saw before him made his eyes widen in disbelief. He never expected that such a scene would be behind this high wall.

The land was desolate and lifeless, with a spiderweb-like network of cracks on the ground, not a single inch of it intact.

Many of the exquisitely constructed houses were either in ruins or had sunken roofs and collapsed walls; none of them were in good condition.

On the ground and the surface of each house, various cracked swords, spears, halberds, axes, hooks, forks, clubs, and hammers were stuck in the ground, making one feel that this place was once an ancient battlefield where war had broken out.

"Why build such high walls to conceal this area? What secrets are hidden behind the Azure Dragon Society?" Ning Xiu frowned in deep thought.

“We don’t know how big this place is. For the sake of efficiency, let’s split up and meet back here in half an hour to report what we have found,” Pan Zhao suggested.

"it is good."

"Then I'll be in charge of this area." Pan Zhao waved his hand and then nimbly sped away, his figure quickly disappearing into the night.

Seeing this, Ning Xiu headed in the opposite direction from Pan Zhao. However, he did not travel as fast as Pan Zhao. Instead, he carefully examined each weapon stuck in the ground or wall.

None of these weapons carried any evil energy, and they were made of the most ordinary iron ore. Judging from the luster of their surfaces, they were all relatively new, and their forging dates were estimated to be at least five years old.

Hey!

The moment Ning Xiu stepped into the array of weapons, he immediately felt an invisible pressure enveloping his entire body. This sense of urgency was as if a powerful martial artist was secretly watching him and regarded him as his prey.

"Their strength should not be underestimated," Ning Xiu thought to himself, and then continued to venture deeper into the area.

Just then, an iron sword that had been stuck in the wall suddenly fell off by itself and landed on the ground with a crisp clang.

Ning Xiu's entire body tensed up instantly, and a chilling sensation surged from his spine to the back of his head.

A formidable enemy is at hand!

Before he could turn his head, he saw the iron sword rise into the air, and a pale blue male figure inexplicably appeared in the air. He reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword, and with a swift movement, he thrust the sword towards Ning Xiu's back.

This sword has no rules or methods; its speed and ruthlessness alone are enough to make even the third-rank martial artist tremble with fear.

The person who drew the sword was determined to fight to the death!

Immediately, a protective golden bell appeared around Ning Xiu, blocking the thunderous sword strike for him.

The moment the iron sword touched the protective golden bell, a visible crack appeared at the tip of the sword. The sword body already had cracks, and upon this contact, it twisted and shattered into a large number of iron pieces that fell to the ground.

Although the sword strike was fierce, it was ultimately just an ordinary weapon and could not break through Ning Xiu's protective divine power.

The moment the iron sword shattered, the pale blue figure of the man also vanished completely.

"There's definitely something strange about this place." Looking back at the broken sword that had just landed, Ning Xiu was immediately puzzled.

Based on his judgment, that sword strike just now should have had the power of a full-force attack from a fourth-grade martial artist. If it had been a better quality sword, even with his protective golden bell, Ning Xiu would probably have had a hard time dealing with it.

If an ordinary iron sword can unleash such power, what would happen if all the weapons here were to unleash their power at the same time? Even a fourth-rank martial artist would be instantly killed, leaving not even a trace behind.

Maintaining his protective golden bell, Ning Xiu continued forward. After the unexpected situation, he was noticeably more cautious and vigilant.

However, before he could take ten steps, the three iron knives stuck in the ground suddenly trembled and rose up at the same time. Under Ning Xiu's gaze, three light blue figures suddenly appeared beside the iron knives and then reached out and pulled the knives out of the ground.

The moment the man made contact with the knife, Ning Xiu felt an even stronger sense of pressure than before. Although they were just three very illusory figures, in Ning Xiu's eyes, the three wielding iron knives looked like three well-known swordsmen from the martial arts world.

The blade was ruthless, and the killing intent was palpable.

cut!

The three of them simultaneously swung their swords, and three wind-blade-like sword energies instantly flew swiftly and straight toward Ning Xiu's location.

The ground even cracked open with three fist-width fissures as a result, demonstrating its formidable power.

Having sensed the danger beforehand, Ning Xiu was far more composed than before. He picked up a broad axe from the ground beside him and swung it out.

He realized that although these light blue figures had powerful attacks, their power was still limited by the material of their weapons, causing their attacks to dissipate prematurely due to the collapse of the weapons before they could be fully unleashed.

In Ning Xiu's words, that means he hasn't yet reached the transcendent realm where plucking a flower or leaf can injure someone, or using a tree branch to fight against divine weapons.

The moment the axe struck the three blades of energy, both the axe and the energy instantly dissipated and shattered. Ning Xiu immediately picked up a meteor hammer from the ground and threw it forcefully.

The meteor hammer swept towards the three figures with incredible speed and spin. As they swung their swords to defend themselves, both their swords and the meteor hammer instantly turned into pieces of iron on the ground.

It is clear that these weapons stuck in the wall and on the ground are all on the verge of collapse and cannot withstand much damage. They will be destroyed on the spot after only a few moves.

Based on these clues, Ning Xiu had some guesses in his mind.

Ordinary weapons have a limited lifespan. When used too many times, they will break, crack, or chip. In Ning Xiu's words, this is called durability.

But to destroy a weapon, even the most ordinary one, it would take tens of thousands of shots.

However, the place where Ning Xiu was standing right now, with countless weapons in front of him, were all scrapped products with their internal parts nearly collapsed and their durability value basically zero.

It must have taken many years of practice and a great deal of time to achieve this.

Ning Xiu could accept this step if it was done by a group of people, but it would be terrifying if it was all done by one person.

This person can be aptly described as a martial arts fanatic or someone obsessed with martial arts.

As for those pale blue figures that appeared out of nowhere and attacked him with weapons, if Ning Xiu was not mistaken, they must be the martial arts will that the person who practiced martial arts here for many years formed and preserved.

What is the will to fight?

Ning Xiu had heard the coach mention this when he was an apprentice in the champion camp.

It is said that some powerful martial arts masters will inadvertently leave traces of their training on all kinds of objects while practicing.

If others can come into contact with these traces, they can gain a lot of insights from them, thereby improving their strength.

These traces of training on the body are what martial artists call the will of martial arts.

Within the Great Shang territory, there exist several remnants of martial arts will left behind by martial arts masters of the third rank:

For example, the "Sword Soldier's Heavenly Stele" in Wanjian Mountain of Daoxuan Prefecture was written by a martial arts master who started as a lowly soldier in the army.

After leaving the military camp, this man always referred to himself as a swordsman, and few people knew his real name. He practiced swordsmanship all his life and became a master of it. In his later years, he lived in Wanjian Mountain and used the mountain as a monument to engrave his self-created sword manual all over the mountain for more than 28 years.

Then one day, the swordsman vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a mountain full of sword manuals. Some people claimed to have seen the swordsman split open the Heavenly Rift with a single sword strike, and then disappear into the Heavenly Rift.

It was as if a sword had pierced through the void, allowing them to become immortals in places unimaginable to mortals.

Wanjian Mountain thus became famous, attracting many swordsmen from the Shang Dynasty to flock there to worship, with some even considering it a sacred place for swordsmanship.

As more and more swordsmen went there, some even saw the swordsmen's swordplay reflected in the stone characters of the sword manual carved on the mountain, and their swordsmanship improved in a single day.

The existence of martial arts will became much more famous because of this.

For example, the jade screen deep underground in Hulao Cave in Jingzhou was originally a piece of white jade weighing tens of thousands of kilograms. After the Martial Saint Ancestor secluded himself there for decades, some fortunate individuals in later generations could see the Martial Saint's figure when he cultivated there. Thus, they could feel the martial will left by the Martial Saint in the jade and their strength would increase dramatically.

Not only these, but even a sword or a painting can leave behind the will of martial arts.

At present, there are tens of thousands of weapons in Ning Xiu's place, and quite a few of them have martial will. This shows how monstrous the person who is practicing here is.

His martial arts talent and his fanatical determination to practice martial arts are beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Ning Xiu had met the three leaders of the Azure Dragon Society in the Hall of Gathering Righteousness before. They were not weak, but they were definitely not the kind of people who could do this.

Thinking of what Pan Zhao had mentioned about the possible mastermind behind the Azure Dragon Society, Ning Xiu became somewhat worried.

If the person who did all this is Baili Yu, whom Pan Zhao called a dangerous individual, then the other party's strength is probably far beyond Pan Zhao's imagination.

……

"Heh! Heh..." Pan Zhao breathed heavily as he stared at the pale blue figure holding a long staff in front of him.

Pan Zhao encountered the same situation as Ning Xiu, and he also realized that the deeper they went into this area, the stronger their martial will became.

At first, he was only at the seventh or sixth rank of martial arts, but he gradually improved to the fifth or fourth rank, which made Pan Zhao feel a bit strained.

Although these martial arts wills can only be used to make one or two moves, each move is made with all one's might. If you don't fight back with all your might, you will easily suffer a loss.

"You've mastered the martial arts spirit of all eighteen weapons and various obscure weapons. Baili Yu, you've remained as obsessed as ever these past few years," Pan Zhao thought helplessly.

call out!

Just then, a faint sound of wind breaking came from behind. Pan Zhao reacted quickly and turned around to block it with his weapon.

Suddenly, a strange sound rang out, and the knife instantly split into three. Pan Zhao only had time to knock two of them away before a dark shadow silently struck his chest. It was a throwing knife with a red ribbon attached.

Not far away, a pale blue figure was standing motionless behind the wall, clearly indicating that the throwing knife was his.

"Damn it..." Pan Zhao angrily pulled out the throwing knife and threw it on the ground. Luckily, he was wearing a golden silk soft armor underneath, otherwise he would have been successfully ambushed.

Pan Zhao's progress was much faster than Ning Xiu's. Relying on his gecko wall-climbing skills, he didn't engage with the martial will when he encountered it. Instead, he deliberately forced the opponent to make a move and then waited for the weapon to collapse under the pressure.

In this way, Pan Zhao did not encounter any major obstacles along the way.

However, as they ventured deeper into the inner area, this approach became less and less effective. The martial wills that appeared there could often unleash several moves without collapsing, and their strength had even increased by one or two levels, making things very difficult for Pan Zhao. He had no choice but to stop and stall the pale blue figure, only able to continue forward after wearing the opponent down.

However, this approach is not a long-term solution. If it continues to drag on, Pan Zhao will probably collapse before he can outlast the martial arts will.