After exploring the ruined city for some time, the trio eventually stumbled across a massive, ancient building. Though the giant mural on one of its walls had faded, they could still make out that it depicted a bird.

“A building of this size is probably important. There might be something good in it,” Han Wu commented.

Aware that Qin Shuang was already in agreement, he glanced at Master Ou, implicitly proposing they head in.

Master Ou nodded. Sacrificing his forging hammer to be absorbed meant he was no longer able to participate in combat. All he could do was hide behind Han Wu and Qin Shuang and try not to get injured.

The only Divine Weapon he had left was the Ashsilver short sword, which he had forged to use against the mummies, but it was too weak to deal with those transported into the secret realm. Basically, he desperately needed a Divine Weapon to protect himself—preferably one as powerful as his forging hammer.

“I agree, let’s head inside,” Master Ou said.

The trio circled the building and found the main entrance. Han Wu used all his strength to push it open, but the doors simply wouldn’t budge. It was as if they had been sealed shut.

Qin Shuang examined the doors more closely and found an indentation resembling the pendant that Firewind had given Han Wu, so she called him over.

The pendant fit perfectly. But nothing happened.

Han Wu tried channeling his energy into it to no avail. It appeared the matching shapes were a mere coincidence.

“It doesn’t matter if the pendant is useless. I’ll just break this door apart!” Han Wu cried, summoning his sharpest weapon, the Heavenly Demon Spike, to attack the door.

Sparks flew as the rotating spike drilled into the door. Three minutes passed in this manner, yet the door remained intact, with the Heavenly Demon Spike having lost a third of its durability.

Han Wu frowned. The toughness of this door itself seemed a promise of great treasure within. Frustration welled up within him. Treasure was on the other side of the wall, but he just couldn’t get to it!

Seeing this, Qin Shuang thought of another plan. The door couldn’t be brought down, but perhaps the walls were a different story. Though significantly wider than the door itself, at tens of meters thick, it was doubtful that they were made from the same material. As long as the Heavenly Demon Spike could pierce through it, the thickness would not matter at all.

Her quick thinking impressed Han Wu. If Master Ou wasn’t here, he would’ve hugged and kissed her.

“Alright, let’s try that,” he said, attacking the wall beside the door with the Heavenly Demon Spike.

As Qin Shuang predicted, the wall was weaker than the door, and a few seconds later, metal shards were flying from the drill point.

Han Wu increased its power, and it didn’t take long before the Heavenly Demon Spike broke through. With the viability of this route confirmed, he then spent the next hour expanding the tunnel until it was large enough for them to get through.

Han Wu entered the tunnel first to check the route, summoning thousands of Small Locust Blades to hover before him as a precaution. If anything felt off, he would send them forward to kill anything in his path.

As the wall spanned tens of meters thick, it took a while before Han Wu got through. The inside looked as though it had been frozen in time, likely preserved from the moment the front doors were sealed shut.

Fiery reds adorned the space. An engraving of a large flaming bird could be seen on both the ceiling and the floor. The bird resembled a rare beast called the Phoenix, but with some differences. It seemed smaller, yet appeared more powerful.

Rare ores also lined the shelves along the walls. After years in this building, these ores had absorbed the surrounding energy and had been enhanced.

Han Wu tried touching them when a notification from the Divine Weapon Civilization appeared.

[Detecting one of the four ancient proving grounds, the Vermilion Bird Palace. Touching the ores on the shelf indicates willingness to participate in the Vermilion Bird’s trial. Choose wisely.]

Han Wu lit up with excitement. He had accidentally encountered a place for trials! The Divine Weapon Civilization was large and powerful, so their trials undoubtedly had some great reward.

Upon asking the Divine Weapon Civilization, it answered that the reward was an Armament Spirit. However, if he wanted to merge it with a Divine Weapon, the compatibility between the two had to be above 80. Thankfully, it seemed he could check the compatibility of the Armament Spirit with his Divine Weapons before starting the trial.

Han Wu hastily looked around for the dusty device meant to check the compatibility and placed his Small Locust Blade onto it. Its compatibility rating was only 70—a fail.

Then came his other Divine Weapons. The results were disheartening. The only Divine Weapon with an compatibility rating of 80 and above was his Explosive Locust Blade, but it already had an Armament Spirit. Han Wu feared his Divine Weapon would explode if he merged another into it.

After some thought, he decided to ask the Divine Weapon Civilization about this.

It seemed the presence of the Armament Spirit within his Explosive Locust Blade wouldn’t affect the trial of the Vermilion Bird Palace. If he succeeded, the palace would grant him a God-grade Armament Spirit. The two would then have to fight over the habitation of the Divine Weapon.

If the new one won, it would absorb the old one and become stronger. If the old one won, it would absorb the new Armament Spirit and gain a new effect.

Han Wu cared little for the results of this battle. Regardless of which one won, his Explosive Locust Blade would become stronger, which was all that mattered to him.