"I understand."
Ning Beichen began to channel his internal energy into the hammer, but not all at once as before.
He had discovered that the hammer seemed to store a mysterious energy within. Activating this energy was the key to unleashing the hammer's power.
Ning Beichen cautiously controlled his internal energy, shaping it into threads and channeling it into the hammer's energy, much like lighting a fuse.
However, the process was difficult. Ning Beichen tried multiple times without success. His internal energy and the hammer's energy were like oil and water, refusing to merge.
Finally, a flash of inspiration struck Ning Beichen. If they couldn't merge, why force them? According to the law of conservation of energy, he only needed to do this.
With this thought, Ning Beichen immediately changed his strategy.
He stopped trying to activate the energy within the hammer. Instead, he used his own internal energy to construct an activation device inside the hammer. He didn't need fusion; he only needed his internal energy to drive the hammer's mysterious power.
"You're wasting your effort. You don't have divine power, so you can't possibly use the Divine Sect's divine artifacts."
The blond man, whom Ning Beichen had knocked away twice, struggled out of the sand pile. Seeing Ning Beichen attempting to use his divine hammer, he taunted him.
"You don't know a hammer!"
Ning Beichen retorted.
"I don't know, but you do? If you're so capable, give me back the hammer and I'll show you how it's done."
The blond man roared in anger.
"You said I don't know hammers, and you're treating me like one. If I can't use it, I'll use it to show you."
As Ning Beichen spoke, he channeled his internal energy into the hammer and, following his design, pushed it into the hammer.
The hammer, which had lost its luster, suddenly blazed with light. It was clear the hammer had been successfully activated, leaving the blond man in disbelief.
"Smash him."
Ning Beichen swung the hammer in his hand towards the blond man.
A golden mountain shadow descended from the sky, like a colossal mountain falling. It was followed by a thunderous roar. Where the blond man had stood, a sand pit about twenty meters wide and over three meters deep appeared.
The blond man himself had been reduced to a bloody pulp, indistinguishable from the compacted sand beneath.
Ning Beichen stared at his own strike, dumbfounded. The power was several times greater than when the blond man had used it.
"Could it be that this thing is even more powerful in my hands than in his?"
Ning Beichen's heart skipped a beat. He quickly checked the hammer in his hand, but his excited expression soon vanished.
While the hammer was incredibly powerful, that one strike had consumed more than half of the mysterious energy stored within it – the energy the blond man had called divine power.
In other words, Ning Beichen could use this item at most one more time before it became an ordinary hammer, depleted of its divine power.
"I knew it. There's no such thing as a heaven-defying weapon in this world."
Ning Beichen shook his head. Even with its limited uses, he was still astonished by the weapons of the Divine Sect.
Indeed, ancient powers that had endured for centuries, even millennia, were not to be trifled with.
And these were just the Divine Sect. If even older powers like the Sacred Hall were considered, their foundations would likely be no less substantial than the Divine Sect's.
Thinking this, Ning Beichen sighed.
He had already provoked a behemoth like the Sacred Hall, and now he had even entangled himself with the Divine Sect. His future days would likely not be easy.
"Forget it. What's the difference between watching one sheep and a flock? Don't tell me I'm a Grandmaster now; even if I weren't, I wouldn't back down from them."
Ning Beichen pulled his wandering thoughts back. He also retrieved the sword of the other blond man and, as expected, discovered divine power within it, similar to the hammer.
Moreover, the sword's divine power was still considerable, as Ning Beichen had defeated him before he could use it much.
Ning Beichen happily hung the sword and hammer on his person. He certainly wouldn't refuse more weapons from the Divine Sect.
After finishing these tasks, Ning Beichen went to find Linglong.
Linglong had been hiding in a recess, only able to hear the sounds of fighting outside. She had no idea of the outcome and was extremely anxious.
"Linglong, you can come out. It's all over."
Ning Beichen called out to Linglong.
Linglong emerged from her hiding spot. Seeing Ning Beichen unharmed, she was so relieved she nearly wept.
Ning Beichen then briefly explained the situation, including how these people had found them.
Upon hearing this, Linglong frantically opened her backpack and reached for the holy grail, intending to discard it, but Ning Beichen took it from her.
"This thing isn't that simple. Leave it with me. I want to study it, and perhaps use it to bait some more fish."
Ning Beichen had set his sights on the Divine Sect's weapons and planned to use the holy grail to lure more people from the Divine Sect to deliver their weapons.
"It's yours."
Linglong didn't hesitate. She wasn't like Ning Beichen; she couldn't afford to offend the Divine Sect.
"That's fine. It would indeed be dangerous for you to keep this."
Ning Beichen nodded. He examined the holy grail for a while before putting it away, and he and Linglong continued their journey.
The traces left at this location were too obvious. They couldn't stay here any longer; they needed to find a new spot to fish.
Not long after, Ning Beichen and Linglong appeared in a different location. This time, Ning Beichen and Linglong hid separately. Since the holy grail was with him, if anyone came looking, they would come for Ning Beichen, and Linglong wouldn't be put in danger.
Hiding in a sand pit, Ning Beichen took out the holy grail to study it.
However, Ning Beichen was not a member of the Divine Sect. After studying the holy grail for a long time, he couldn't figure anything out. No matter how he looked at it, it just seemed like an ordinary cup, perhaps with a slightly prettier design, but he found nothing peculiar.
"They're here."
Ning Beichen sensed a powerful force approaching his location.
This time, Ning Beichen didn't want to wait passively. He chose to take the initiative.
Since the Divine Sect wanted to play, he would play with them. Let's see who couldn't handle it in the end!
Ning Beichen glanced at Linglong's hiding place and mentally told her not to come out and not to worry about him. Then, he walked alone to meet the enemy.
The approaching party consisted of a man and a woman.
The man was ugly, with a large head, a small body, a bulbous nose, mismatched eyes, and a hare lip. He was short and stocky, with a sword and shield strapped to his back.
The woman, on the other hand, was the opposite: a young, blonde beauty with a tall, model-like physique and exquisite features. She wore a set of red armor and wielded a peculiar-looking gun.