Ning Zhuo was seated on the ground, clutching his abdomen.
The wound on his stomach continued to bleed slowly, causing intermittent pain.
He took several deep breaths, his breathing gradually becoming lighter.
The bronze shield lay motionless on the ground. He gazed at it with a hint of regret in his eyes.
He had originally intended to continue his combat practice. Under the pressure of the bronze shield, he was able to learn something every moment and feel his progress.
However, the injury on his abdomen wouldn’t allow him to fight for long.
Ning Zhuo controlled the bronze shield with his divine sense, instantly causing its edges to transform into dense, giant saw teeth.
Looking at the cold light on the saw teeth, Ning Zhuo thought, "This shield indeed possesses this kind of offensive stance, truly insidious. I wonder who its original owner was."
He sat still, his breathing becoming progressively longer.
Within the array, he found it difficult to use spells to heal himself, unable to consume elixir pills; he could only rely on his physical body to recover.
Now his wound had stopped bleeding externally, and a tingling sensation was present.
Ning Zhuo understood that his flesh was growing, and the wound was healing quickly.
But this time, the speed of healing was noticeably slower than before.
Aware of this change, Ning Zhuo’s eyes flashed with a somber look, realizing, "The physical body has its limits. Having suffered multiple injuries, especially this severe one, the body requires a long period of rest to recover to its peak state."
"But I have many battles ahead!"
Patiently awaiting the healing of his injury, Ning Zhuo then stood up.
With a movement of his divine sense, the bronze shield flew into his hand.
Ning Zhuo held the shield and practiced on the spot, causing many cultivators to secretly become anxious.
"Is he really not worried at all?"
"He is already falling behind significantly; if this continues, he might get eliminated."
Others harbored dark thoughts: "If Ning Zhuo belittles our Xingyun Trial like this, then let him lose! Teach this genius a profound lesson."
Some cultivators, seeing Ning Zhuo’s outstanding performance, couldn’t help but feel envious.
Why are you so exceptional, with such high comprehension, progressing so much in such a short time? And me? After diligently training and accumulating so much time and effort, what does it count as?
Compared to Ning Zhuo, many seem rather incompetent.
However, Ning Zhuo’s subsequent actions disappointed those secretly hoping for his elimination.
To their surprise, Ning Zhuo merely practiced a few times before continuing on.
Ning Zhuo murmured to himself, "There’s not much time left."
Being inherently cautious and acting prudently, how could he disregard the situation? Before coming here, he naturally gathered relevant information, not only about the Xingyun Trial itself but also about past participants.
Ning Zhuo was fully aware: under normal circumstances, there would be a certain time when the number of cultivators reaching the fifth piece of Mysterious Armor would meet the standard.
Once met, they would enter the third stage, while the rest would automatically be eliminated.
"I need to speed up."
"After all, the difficulty must also be assessed. The later the Mysterious Armor, the stronger it becomes."
"Cultivators encountering the Mysterious Armor will face different challenges. I must leave room for error for what follows."
Ning Zhuo quickly reviewed: Initially, the bronze sword was just basic sword moves. The subsequent knife involved not only basic knife techniques but also continuous techniques. With the bronze boxing gloves came strategic thinking, capable of adjusting according to Ning Zhuo’s tactics, as if someone were really controlling them.
And with the bronze shield, the Martial Arts Mastery of the Mysterious Armor advanced even further—capable of fully exploiting the terrain.
The bronze sword and knife represented the realm of Martial Apprentice. Cultivators rigorously trained to perfect their moves, synchronized their power, and combined techniques. When this realm peaks, it reaches the micro stage, precisely executing standard techniques to a very refined degree.
The bronze boxing gloves and shield represented the realm of Martial Craftsman. The cultivators’ focus expanded from themselves to the outside world, pondering how to be more effective against enemies, hence designing feints and traps.
Ning Zhuo recalled a scene from the battle: The bronze shield could have rapidly extracted itself but pretended to wedge into the wall, enticing Ning Zhuo to attack wildly, patiently waiting for him to reveal a flaw.
The realm of Martial Craftsman evolves techniques from initially standard and rigid to practical, becoming ’free,’ yet still loaded with craftsmanship prone to be perceived and guessed.
I have comprehended the essence of reality and illusion, able to ’predict’ the opponent’s next move by perceiving changes in power because the bronze boxing gloves are heavily crafted.
But next up, the fifth piece of Mysterious Armor reaches beyond the Martial Craftsman to the realm of Master! Techniques further liberate, adapted to current circumstances, seemingly random as children’s scribbling, yet because they are highly strategic, appear extraordinarily sharp and powerful. It truly achieves the form without the form, ’No Move Beats a Move!’
The Nine-layered Profound Armor Xingyun Trial has been held numerous times, regarded as a classic trial. The difficulty of encountering these Mysterious Armors during the second stage is sequential, they all have explanations.
I’ve already been severely injured dealing with the bronze shield.
The forthcoming fifth piece of Mysterious Armor demands absolute effort to swiftly defeat; any slight carelessness may result in failure!
At the bronze shield stage, Ning Zhuo was already lacking an environment to spar.