The cultivators in the Xuan Armor Cave were surprised to see Ning Zhuo suddenly besieged.
"How did these people come together?"
"What else could be the reason? It’s probably the handiwork of the Ban Family!"
"Isn’t Ban Ji a Demon Cultivator? I’ve never understood this—why would Ban Ji support a member of the Demon Cultivation Path to be the face of the family’s Foundation Establishment Stage? Such efforts are rare."
Everyone was astute; although Zhang Wangxing didn’t expressly state who arranged this, Ning Zhuo’s conflict with Ban Ji was well-known, and they all believed it was orchestrated by the Ban Family.
The Hao-surnamed cultivator, acting as the leader, looked slightly grim.
During the Feiyun Conference, the Xingyun Trial at Xuan Armor Cave would be held repeatedly.
Because the trial content remained consistent over time, to prevent large-scale cheating, Xuan Armor Cave used an Array to randomly select cultivators and notify them to participate on a temporary basis.
The cultivators were informed early this morning. The only exception among this group was actually Ning Zhuo.
Upon learning that Ning Zhuo submitted an application to participate, and knowing that Ban Ji would also be there, the relevant higher-ups in the Xuan Armor Cave wanted to witness the excitement and thus hastily added Ning Zhuo to this Xingyun Trial.
One can only say that watching drama is human nature.
This alone proved that Ning Zhuo was right to reject Ban Jie’s reconciliation and even announce publicly to go against Ban Ji!
Sometimes bringing conflicts to light can bring many unseen benefits.
But now, right under the cultivators’ noses, several cultivators had collaborated to construct a trap to frame Ning Zhuo.
Without a doubt, this suggested that the Ban Family saw through the arrangements of Xuan Armor Cave, maybe bribed insiders, or gathered a large number of participants, anyway, they assembled several cultivators, achieving one-sided victory against their opponent.
This troubled the Hao-surnamed cultivator: "This matter cannot grow bigger!"
"This is blatant cheating; if it triggers an investigation from above, it would be a disaster."
Since the Hao-surnamed cultivator was also involved, covertly coordinating, earlier assigning the bronze knife and sword to Ban Ji.
The Myriad Images Sect represents the Righteous Path, and Xuan Armor Cave is a unique faction within it, requiring the Xingyun Trial to be fair from both perspectives. At least on the surface, it needs to appear fair.
But now, this prearranged conspiracy, open cheating, is clearly violating fairness.
Ning Zhuo gripped his bronze spear tightly in both hands, retreating while sweeping with the spear.
The long spear swept aside several flying bronze weapons.
A Mountain Opening Halberd targeted Ning Zhuo, slashing horizontally.
If it were before the trial, Ning Zhuo would have only one option, to continue retreating, falling back further and further.
But now, his eyes flashed with a sharp gleam as he spotted an opportunity.
The next moment, instead of retreating, he advanced, his left foot stamping the ground fiercely, drawing strength from the earth!
The spear swirled like a coiled dragon!
He wielded the spear, not to clash head-on, but to plant the spear’s tip on the ground, causing the spear shaft to bend into a large bow shape.
Ning Zhuo thrust the spear, using the massive recoil to flick the spear tip in a lightning-quick arc, striking precisely on the Mountain Opening Halberd.
Clang—!
The heavy Mountain Opening Halberd was knocked aside, striking the cave wall, showering down broken stones!
While Ning Zhuo had dealt with the frontal assault, two more bronze weapons attacked from either side.
The sword and blade were like wings.
The bronze sword and bronze knife swirling around him, like two wings, barely deflected the attackers’ strikes.
The bronze sword was limited to a Basic Sword Form, and the bronze knife had some minor Continuous Techniques, being Ning Zhuo’s weakest Mysterious Armor, which showed weakness against multiple attackers.
In comparison, the gloves, being more intimate, served as Ning Zhuo’s closest line of defense, proving resilient, having protected him numerous times in a short bout.
The wave of cultivators organized by Ban Jie launched a relentless offensive. If Ning Zhuo’s Martial Combat skills hadn’t improved dramatically, he would have been defeated at the first surge.
Ning Zhuo used the gloves to repel a Heavy Mace, as three bronze shuttles attacked once again.
Speedy and with crafty angles in each attack, they seized the moment when Ning Zhuo was unsteady, intending to capitalize on this weakness to break through.
Ning Zhuo’s Divine Sense caught the shuttles, giving him a shock, but his spear moved instinctively.
The spear’s tail swirled, precisely knocking the shuttles off course one by one.
The spear’s motion spun Ning Zhuo’s wrist as he sidestepped, knocking the final shuttle away.
Zhang Wangxing observed this, feeling a chill in his heart: "This kid’s close combat abilities surpass mine, but he hasn’t reached the Master Realm. His barely sustaining is due only to the spear in hand."
"This spear has reached Master Level, able to use ’No Move Beats a Move’, carrying Ning Zhuo through the fight."
"Suppress his spear, and victory is assured!"
With that thought, Zhang Wangxing let out a shout, charging directly at Ning Zhuo.
He flung all his bronze weapons at Ning Zhuo, creating a wave of ferocious assaults.
Following closely behind the five bronze artifacts, he pounced on Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo stepped back several times, his spear tapping and sweeping, knocking Zhang Wangxing’s bronze artifacts aside.
Despite the aggressive appearance, Zhang Wangxing’s mastery of close weapons was superficial, with many flaws, which Ning Zhuo easily countered, disrupting the distant companions’ coordinated attack as well.
However, Zhang Wangxing seized the opportunity, successfully closing the distance between him and Ning Zhuo.
"Come on, stab me!" Zhang Wangxing yelled loudly, plunging his chest towards the spear tip.
Thud!