Evolution, a Brand-New Martial Art

To see what changes the Primordial Yang Fist might undergo, Ning Xiu immediately chose to evolve it.

In the blink of an eye, the Primordial Yang Fist on the Proficiency Panel changed.

Pure Yang Extreme Fist: Eighth Layer (31/4000)

In an instant, Ning Xiu's understanding of the Primordial Yang Fist surged. It was as though a peerless master had bestowed enlightenment upon him.

After the panel finished evolving it, the Primordial Yang Fist had become a brand-new, improved technique based on the original—the Pure Yang Extreme Fist!

If the original Primordial Yang Fist had been 70% in quality, then the evolution had raised the new Pure Yang Extreme Fist by a full 30%. Its power had climbed to an entirely higher level.

Ning Xiu held out his right palm. When he tried to perform the Pure Yang Extreme Fist, his palm and the back of his hand instantly turned scarlet, and the temperature of his hand began to rise.

The Primordial Yang Fist's primary effect was to strengthen a martial artist's blood qi, making them impervious to Evil Qi and keeping evil spirits at a distance.

It was said that some martial artists who focused on cultivating blood qi could make it so abundant that it blazed like a furnace within them. When they struck, their whole bodies grew hot, their blood qi scorching like fire.

Before martial artists like these, weak evil spirits couldn't even put up a fight. The moment they drew near, the martial artists' vigorous, masculine blood qi would boil and vaporize them.

Ning Xiu found it fascinating. Could cultivating the Pure Yang Extreme Fist one day make his blood qi reach that level too? That would be incredible.

Wanting to see what else the Pure Yang Extreme Fist could become, Ning Xiu added another 4,000 points of Universal Proficiency to it.

Pure Yang Extreme Fist: Eighth Layer (31/4000) → Pure Yang Extreme Fist: Ninth Layer (31/5000)

In an instant, the scarlet color spread beyond Ning Xiu's palm. His entire right hand, all the way to his wrist, turned red and grew scorching hot.

"If I use this fist to attack evil spirits, it'll be far more powerful than usual." Ning Xiu nodded with satisfaction. Those few thousand points of Universal Proficiency hadn't gone to waste; he'd spent them exactly where they counted.

After raising the Pure Yang Extreme Fist by two layers in a row, Ning Xiu still had 7,110 points of Universal Proficiency remaining.

Using them to raise the Pure Yang Extreme Fist further wouldn't be very cost-effective. After all, his other techniques were still at fairly low levels.

No matter how sharp a spear was, it still needed a sturdy shield. Only with both could you shore up your weaknesses.

The Three-Faced Demon had previously used a trick to break through Ning Xiu's Golden Bell Shield. He had been deeply troubled by it ever since.

When a person was killed, they died.

To stay alive, he had to make sure the Evil Spirit Cultivators couldn't kill him.

His Golden Bell Shield was still far too weak. He had to improve it to keep himself safe.

Spent 1,600 points of Universal Proficiency: Golden Bell Shield, Fifth Layer → Sixth Layer.

Spent 2,000 points of Universal Proficiency: Golden Bell Shield, Sixth Layer → Seventh Layer.

Spent 3,000 points of Universal Proficiency: Golden Bell Shield, Seventh Layer → Eighth Layer.

As the Golden Bell Shield reached the eighth layer, Ning Xiu felt his bones crack and pop throughout his body. A pain that seemed to rise from his very marrow spread wildly through him, and he couldn't help but grimace.

"Could this be the true effect of the Golden Bell Shield that the Martial Instructor mentioned—the tempering of the bones?" Ning Xiu braced himself against the prison cell wall to keep from collapsing.

Last year, when the Martial Instructor had publicly taught the Golden Bell Shield's cultivation method at Champion Camp, he had said that it was no ordinary Hardening Skill.

The first three layers strengthened a martial artist's resistance to blows. The fourth through seventh layers made them impervious to weapons. Once they tensed their muscles, their bodies became as hard as bronze and iron.

The first seven layers were not much different from ordinary Hardening Skills.

Only upon reaching the eighth layer did one truly come into contact with the Golden Bell Shield's wondrous mysteries—the tempering of the bones.

The Golden Bell Shield had earned its name because, at its highest levels, it did more than make a martial artist's bones harder.

It could also fuse the breastbone with the ribs, closing every gap between them. The bones then formed a bell-shaped shell around the heart and lungs, shielding them completely and creating an exceptionally powerful defense.

Ning Xiu had overlooked this until now. Only after his Golden Bell Shield reached the eighth layer did he suddenly recall what the Martial Instructor had once said.

Sure enough, he soon felt new bone growing between his ribs, closing every gap.

After enduring the pain radiating from his bones, he felt as if he had been reborn. He could clearly sense the enormous changes taking place within him.

Although Ning Xiu hadn't yet tested the eighth-layer Golden Bell Shield's defensive power, he was certain that if he fought the Three-Faced Demon again, the demon wouldn't be able to break through his Golden Bell Shield.

"With my current strength, I should be able to count myself among the eighth-grade experts." Ning Xiu thought to himself.

Pure Yang Extreme Fist: Ninth Layer (31/5000) (+)

Golden Bell Shield: Eighth Layer (12/4000) (+)

Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique: First Layer (21/200) (+)

Great Sun Profound Scripture: Fifth Layer (310/2000) (+)

Universal Proficiency: 510

Both the Pure Yang Extreme Fist and the Golden Bell Shield had undergone tremendous transformations, but Ning Xiu's more than 13,000 points of Universal Proficiency had also been used up in an instant.

That was no problem, though. He could still spend two more days in Demon Subduing Prison. He had plenty of time to harvest several more batches of Universal Proficiency.

While Ning Xiu was busy executing evil spirits in Demon Subduing Prison, an important event unfolded at the Demon Subduing Bureau.

Outside Heavenly Eye Tower, a broad-backed, thick-waisted man with wolfish eyes and a square face strode inside. Ten Demon Subduing Captains followed him, all of them Bronze Leopard Rank.

The ten Demon Subduing Captains kept three paces behind the man, not daring to get even a step ahead of him. Only a Demon Subduing Captain of higher rank than theirs could command such deference.

"My lord, I found this while sorting through things this morning. The writer left no signature." A clerk hurried over to greet the man, holding out a letter in both hands, his face full of admiration.

Qin Daorong, Silver Tiger Demon Subduing Captain of the Demon Subduing Bureau!

He was a famous figure in the bureau, known to everyone.

Qin Daorong opened the envelope and looked at the dog-scratched writing on the paper. His expression shifted from shock to fury.

In Chaotian Capital, where the Demon Subduing Bureau was stationed, evil spirits were using a brothel as a cover to gather and hide in plain sight. What a bitter irony.

And they had never discovered it before. If not for the writer's exposé, no one knew how much longer Spring Full Pavilion would have remained undisturbed in Chaotian Capital.

"Zuo Yuanhao!" Qin Daorong barked.

"Your subordinate is here." A Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captain immediately stepped out from the ranks and saluted.

"Notify every Demon Subduing Captain in the bureau who's available. Have them head to Marquis Wuyi's estate at once and surround every entrance and exit. No one inside the estate is to leave without my permission."

Zuo Yuanhao hesitated. "My lord, we don't yet know whether this letter is genuine. Wouldn't it be too hasty to surround a noble's estate without investigating first?"

"Intelligence that turns up at Heavenly Eye Tower is better believed than dismissed. Enough talk. Do as I say."

"Understood."

"The rest of you, come with me to Spring Full Pavilion."

Qin Daorong's approach could be summed up in four words:

Swift and decisive!

When he arrived at Spring Full Pavilion with nine Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains, nothing seemed amiss from the outside.

But once they burst through the door, they found that the letter had been telling the truth. Evil Qi really was present in Spring Full Pavilion. In a corner of the main hall, several mouse-headed, human-bodied attendants sat around a table, sharing a dead sheep.

The moment they saw people break into Spring Full Pavilion, the Rat Demons froze mid-bite.

"My lord, someone has set up a formation here to contain the Evil Qi. It can't leak outside at all. And since this is one of Marquis Wuyi's properties, nobody would think to inspect it." One of the Demon Subduing Captains, a cultivator of the Immortal Path, spoke up.

Evil Qi, Demonic Creatures—every piece of evidence was conclusive.

Qin Daorong stood where he was and waved a hand. "Kill them. Keep the Demon People alive for questioning, but don't leave a single other Demonic Creature or evil spirit standing."

The nine Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains attacked at once, unleashing a massacre unlike any other inside Spring Full Pavilion, hailed as the finest brothel in Chaotian Capital.

At the same time, at Marquis Wuyi's estate.

In a dim underground chamber, Steward Chu stood motionless beside a table. The dense, web-like scars across her face looked especially ghastly in the candlelight.

Seated before Steward Chu was a man wearing a python robe. His hair was white, and his eyes were filled with sorrow. Though he was somewhat stout, nothing could conceal the air of superiority that surrounded him.

He was none other than Marquis Wuyi Wu Huannian, one of the thirty-six marquises of Great Shang.

"I trusted you so much. I entrusted this matter to you and gave you no shortage of money and treasures. And now you're telling me the Demon Subduing Bureau found out Spring Full Pavilion's secret?" Wu Huannian crushed the wine cup in his hand and glared fiercely at Steward Chu. His killing intent erupted.

Steward Chu lowered her head. "We have portraits of everyone in the Demon Subduing Bureau. Anyone who disguises themselves and comes to Spring Full Pavilion would draw our attention immediately. But we never expected that the few who came last night were newcomers, just selected into the bureau. By the time I sent people to investigate, we hadn't even had a chance to learn their identities. That was our oversight."

Wu Huannian snapped, "Why didn't you find a chance to kill them? Why did you let the one who discovered the secret leave Spring Full Pavilion alive and return to the Demon Subduing Bureau?"

"It was my fault. I thought Three-Faced could handle a newcomer who had only just joined the bureau. I never expected Three-Faced to die at the hands of that Demon Subduing Captain."

Wu Huannian slammed a hand down, smashing the table, then seized Steward Chu by the throat. He snarled like a beast. "I risked being branded a traitor to Great Shang to collude with you people from Black Heaven Gate. I didn't do it so you could stand here apologizing! I only want my beloved consort back to life. Tell me! How far along is your ritual? How much longer until it succeeds?"

Steward Chu didn't dare resist his grip. She answered calmly, "A thousand people. We only need the essence of one thousand more, and the ritual will be complete. Please rest assured, Your Highness. I've already arranged for our fellow sect members to carry this out in the villages and counties around Chaotian Capital. We should have enough very soon."

"Good. Then I'll do everything in my power to buy you enough time to get those thousand. This is your last chance. Don't disappoint me again. Otherwise, even if I'm arrested and punished, I'll find a way to make Black Heaven Gate join my beloved consort in the grave." Wu Huannian released her and spoke coldly.

Just then, a knock sounded at the chamber door. A deep, hoarse voice followed. "Your Highness, the Demon Subduing Bureau has suddenly sent people over. They've surrounded the entire estate."

Steward Chu's expression darkened. The very thing she had feared had happened.

The young man who had killed Three-Faced and returned alive to the Demon Subduing Bureau had exposed the secret of Spring Full Pavilion.

"Your Highness, Spring Full Pavilion has probably already been seized by the Demon Subduing Bureau. The consort's body is still hidden there. Until we gather the essence of the last thousand people, please hold the Demon Subduing Bureau back. Don't let them discover the consort's body." Steward Chu lowered her head as she spoke.