Fivefold Hammer Force: Eighth Layer (0/6000)
As Ning Xiu poured his proficiency into it without hesitation, 17,100 points of Universal Proficiency vanished from the Proficiency Panel.
In return, Fivefold Hammer Force had leapt straight from uninitiated to the eighth layer.
The old gentleman who guarded Three Saints Hall had once said that Fivefold Hammer Force went, "The first blow kills an ox; the second shatters a mountain; the third parts rivers; the fourth sends you straight to the gates of hell; the fifth leaves even immortals sighing in admiration." That was how the saying went.
Only after Ning Xiu had mastered the technique did he realize that the old man had exaggerated a little with his choice of words.
For all he knew, the person who'd first coined that catchy rhyme had been the technique's creator himself.
If this hammer technique were truly so mighty, the Great Shang Dynasty wouldn't be crawling with swordsmen and blade-wielding heroes, with swords and sabers claiming seven tenths of the world's weapons.
Instead, hammer-wielders would roam the land, and hammer heroes would be unmatched.
There'd be three million hammer immortals in the heavens, and even they would lower their brows at the sight of me.
If Heaven had never birthed so-and-so, the hammer path would have been a long night lasting through the ages.
This hammer smooths away the world's injustices; this hammer is worthy of those who feel unworthy in this world.
Wouldn't anyone be able to cry out, with unrestrained delight, "Bring me my hammer!"
Still, for all its exaggeration, Ning Xiu could feel the technique's true power as he carefully sensed its workings at the eighth layer.
That power lay in the technique's unique ability to stack multiple layers of hammer force.
When an ordinary martial artist swung a hammer, the impact alone could unleash tremendous force. That was the first layer of hammer force. But anyone could do that, so there wasn't much to say about it.
What made Fivefold Hammer Force formidable was its ability to unleash a second, third, fourth, and even fifth layer of hammer force immediately after the first.
Each layer was fifty percent stronger than the one before it. If a hammer-wielder mastered the fifth layer, the power of a single blow could multiply several times over.
If a Martial Path First Rank expert, or a powerhouse on the level of the Martial Saint Ancestor, unleashed Fivefold Hammer Force—
Ning Xiu could believe they really could reach the point of "the first blow killing an ox, the second shattering a mountain, the third parting rivers, the fourth sending you straight to the gates of hell, and the fifth leaving even immortals sighing in admiration."
But Middle Three Ranks and Lower Three Ranks martial artists wouldn't fare nearly so impressively.
By raising Fivefold Hammer Force straight to the eighth layer, Ning Xiu had reached the level where he could unleash three layers of hammer force.
When he swung his hammer now, suppose the first layer of hammer force had a strength of one thousand jin.
Then the second layer would have 1.0 times the strength of the first, while the third layer would have 1.5 times the strength of the second.
Once these three layers of hammer force burst forth, most martial artists of the Fifth and Fourth Ranks would probably be unable to withstand them.
In other words, Ning Xiu's combat strength had just surged, and he felt much more at ease about his upcoming trip to Cloud Mist Mountain.
There were still 12,700 points of Universal Proficiency left on the Proficiency Panel. With Fivefold Hammer Force already at the eighth layer, that wasn't even enough to raise it by two more layers.
So, naturally, the remaining Universal Proficiency went to the only technique left: Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique.
Ning Xiu added all 12,700 points to Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique.
Spiritual Eye Qi Observation Technique: Eighth Layer (700/6000) (+) Burning Sun Grand Radiance Scripture: Fifth Layer (0/6000) (+) Heavenly King Vajra Art: Sixth Layer (6/7000) (+) Fivefold Hammer Force: Eighth Layer (0/6000) (+) Universal Proficiency: 0
He had used up all one hundred thousand points of proficiency. Not only had Ning Xiu opened a Martial Aperture, but his overall strength had also risen by several levels.
He struggled to his feet, satisfied, grabbed a new set of clothes he'd prepared earlier, and changed. Then he opened the door, ready to head out and find something to eat.
He had no idea how long opening his Martial Aperture had taken, but his stomach was so empty it was rumbling and growling.
Ning Xiu had no doubt he could eat an entire roast suckling pig right then.
The instant he opened the door, he saw two Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains standing in the courtyard outside.
When they saw that Ning Xiu had finally emerged, joy involuntarily showed on their faces.
They'd been standing guard here for a whole day. The kid had finally decided to come out.
"May I ask what brings you two here, sirs?" Ning Xiu asked, puzzled.
He still didn't know how much of a stir his seclusion to open his Martial Aperture had caused outside.
"Martial Dao Fifth Rank?!"
The two Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains exchanged a look, their eyes full of disbelief.
Wasn't a martial artist supposed to become Martial Dao Sixth Rank after opening a Martial Aperture? How was this guy completely different from the norm?
But the world was vast, and wonders were many. The two temporarily put aside their doubts and said to Ning Xiu, "Don't call us 'sir' anymore. You've entered the Middle Three Ranks of the martial path, so you're now a Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captain yourself. Congratulations."
"Thank you both. But why are you standing outside my room? Did something happen in the courtyard?" Ning Xiu asked.
Seeing how confused he looked, the two Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains realized that Ning Xiu had no idea what had happened outside while he was opening his Martial Aperture.
So they explained everything that had happened over the past two days, leaving nothing out, so that Ning Xiu would understand.
After hearing them out, Ning Xiu was utterly astonished. Who could have guessed that simply opening his Martial Aperture would produce three distinct manifestations?
Now all of Chaotian Capital knew that the Demon Subduing Bureau had a genius like him.
"Lord Qin came by earlier and specifically instructed us to arrange a new place for you once you came out. Please take anything you need with you now, and we'll bring you to your new lodgings," one of the Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains said.
Everyone now knew that a Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captain in this courtyard had produced three distinct manifestations when advancing a rank. Qin Daorong's decision to move Ning Xiu and keep him out of the public eye suited him just fine.
Ning Xiu went back inside to fetch the Startling Thunder Hammer and the few new sets of clothes he'd had made at the Bureau. Nine tenths of everything in the room had been left behind by its previous occupant, so there was little of his to pack. Moving was a breeze.
He cast a somewhat wistful glance at the room he'd lived in for less than a month, slung the Startling Thunder Hammer over his shoulder, and quietly left the courtyard with the two Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains.
The Demon Subduing Bureau covered a vast area. The Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains and Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captains each had their own residential quarters.
The difference was that the Iron Horse Demon Subduing Captains' quarters were more crowded. A single courtyard might house ten or twenty Demon Subduing Captains, and each person had only one room.
But once you reached the rank of Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captain, everything changed.
After winding through the Demon Subduing Bureau, Ning Xiu finally arrived at a courtyard that was simply arranged, yet exquisitely crafted in every detail.
The courtyard had flowerbeds and a pebble path. Beside a little grove filled with lush bamboo stood a two-story wooden building where someone could live.
"This is... for me?" Ning Xiu asked uncertainly.
"To be precise, it's temporary. No one lives here at the moment, but if one day more Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains return from outside and there aren't enough lodgings, you'll still have to share a room with the others," one of the Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains said.
The other Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captain smiled. "But you needn't worry too much. That kind of situation is rare. Besides, quite a few Demon Subduing Captains buy houses and land in Chaotian Capital and start families. When they come back, they stay in their own homes."
After briefly explaining a few things to Ning Xiu, the two quickly left. As Bronze Leopard Demon Subduing Captains, they had plenty to deal with every day.
Staying outside Ning Xiu's room to guard him for two days had already been a great sacrifice.
Now that his new lodgings had been settled, Ning Xiu set down the Startling Thunder Hammer and immediately headed out of the Demon Subduing Bureau. He went to a nearby restaurant and ate his fill.
Martial artists could eat a lot to begin with, and he'd been hungry for a whole day. He ate like a gale sweeping fallen leaves, devouring everything in sight.
Whatever dish was placed in front of him, Ning Xiu polished it off in just a few bites, never taking more than ten breaths.
The sight left the diners in the restaurant dumbfounded, their expressions blank.
Only today did they learn that a chicken leg could be devoured down to the bone in a single bite.
Qingque Prefecture, Dragon Python Mountain.
Among the barren mountains and treacherous waters, poison pools and swamps were everywhere, while purple miasma drifted through the entire mountain range.
Intact skeletons of birds and beasts littered the ground. Colorful mosquitoes, snakes, and scorpions crawled endlessly over the bones.
It was a place of dreadful conditions, yet someone had built a cave dwelling there.
Beneath an inconspicuous poison pool, a hidden world opened up. Three men of wildly different appearances sat on stone chairs, holding bone cups as they drank.
"Chu Woman hasn't sent word in so many days, and Marquis Wuyi is nowhere to be seen. The escape plan must have failed."
"Marquis Wuyi wasn't brought out of Chaotian Capital, so the Vice Sect Master's plan to strip the Wuyi Clan's dragon fortune from him and use it to nurture a dragon vein has gone up in smoke. The Vice Sect Master must be in a foul mood lately, and quick to anger. We'd better not go back and incur his wrath."
"Not going back, not going back." At the stone table, a yellow-faced Demon Person in a black robe, with unkempt hair and a silver headband, waved his hand. "I'm going to Yunze Prefecture tomorrow. I've had a sudden inspiration lately, and my thoughts have become clear. I'm going to forge an evil artifact. I'll find a few villages there, slaughter them, seize their souls, and bring back a few hundred to use in the artifact."
The other two immediately raised their cups. "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Huang. This must be an auspicious sign that your artifact will succeed. Once you've finished forging it, we'll go hunt a few Demon Subduing Captains, tear out their tendons, break their limbs, and torment them to our hearts' content."
The Demon Person thumped his chest and laughed. "Hahaha, so it shall be! We'll show those Shang dogs what we're made of."
As the three men laughed, the open fronts of their robes revealed a tattoo covering their chests: a three-headed, glaring demon god, treading on black clouds and spewing flames.
Every Demon Subduing Captain in the Demon Subduing Bureau recognized the image. It was the most distinctive mark of the Black Heaven Gate's Demon People.
The Black Heaven Gate's Demon People were cruel and brutal. Wherever they went, they left a trail of atrocities. Slaughtering entire villages and towns and taking pleasure in torturing women and children had long since become routine for them.
That was why the Demon Subduing Bureau pursued them so relentlessly, destroying countless Black Heaven Gate lairs and cave dwellings.
As a result, some Demon People hunted Demon Subduing Captains just to vent their anger. Any Demon Subduing Captain who fell into their hands would face a fate worse than death.
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