Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 739 - 713: Friends

After killing two Demon Demigods, Zhou Leng quickly ran towards the exit.

He hadn’t run far when he suddenly felt as though something in the sky was calling to him.

Turning his head, he saw two strange blood-red lights flying through the clouds above the Endless Battlefield.

In the blink of an eye, they traversed a thousand miles and entered his body.

The two kinds of exotic power, one strong and the other even stronger, transformed inside his body into nourishment, nurturing it.

The enhancement to his heart was the most significant.

The powerful force, after strengthening his heart, traveled along his blood vessels, spreading power to every subtle part of his body.

There was almost no enhancement to his Stellar True Ability.

In martial arts perception, the enhancement to the physique was about 0.15%.

Zhou Leng glanced at the sky.

Damn, have I become a Demon?

Isn’t it only Demons who can absorb the enemy’s power here?

No wonder after Ascension, I can come and go from Demon Purgatory without restriction.

But luckily, it seems the enhancement is less than a Demon, indicating I’m not a complete Demon.

After a while, Zhou Leng left the Endless Battlefield and returned to the Blue Star.

Stepping out of Shuizhou Demon City, he first looked up at the sky.

In the sky, under the normal sun, two small suns hung.

One small sun represents one Clan Divine Power.

Disguised, he sat on a bus heading to Rucheng, resting while reading a flood of information.

After Ascension, his ability to process information had noticeably sped up.

Having cultivated on the Martial Saint Battle Path for a long time, then ascending to Martial Saint, he missed out on too much.

Regarding Zhao Hao and the death of Zhao Palace, as expected, he handled it coldly.

But secretly, the Supreme Court and Martial Saints reached a consensus to turn the blade inward and launch a further Demon elimination action.

The Supreme Court had been preparing for this for a long time.

Starting from the financial and economic sectors, then involving the education system...

Half of the personnel related to Yuan Changda were taken down.

The media controlled by Zhao Palace were all shut down and reorganized.

A large number of Demon Worship Sect members and Demon Cultivators were caught, due to the sheer numbers, some were directly executed.

All kinds of news fluttered in the sky.

Finally, Zhou Leng looked at the messages from the Martial Saints.

In the Ancient River Sect Martial Saint group, everyone was discussing the Ascension Divinity Ladder, speculating on various possibilities.

Ultimately, they debated repeatedly about one thing.

Where to kill Demigods?

Demons don’t come, Sea Sirens don’t fight, Beastmen occasionally battle Dwarves.

Could the Martial Saints of Dragon Country kill other Blue Star Martial Saints?

Such behavior, which damages human interests, no one can execute.

Later, someone analyzed that we should wait until we are close to the Celestial Ladder requirements deadline, when Demon Demigods will surely come forward to challenge.

In the conversation among the Saints, they also analyzed the current shortcomings of human Martial Saints.

Since Zhao Dongjun’s death, humanity has been without Peak Martial Saints and Martial Saint Kings.

There are new Martial Saints, Lower Martial Saints, Middle-level Martial Saints, and Upper-Rank Martial Saints.

Only Peak Martial Saints and Martial Saint Kings are missing.

Even those who were once there fell in rank due to fundamental injuries sustained from battles against foreign and otherworldly Demigods.

This is one of the main reasons why human nations are passive.

Now, everyone’s hopes rest on two Martial Saints.

One is Huang Xuan Pavilion, the youngest Martial Saint, energetic, commanding the Demon City Army, rapidly growing over the years, and has already ascended to Middle-level Martial Saint in a short time.

The other is Li Tianyuan, long ascended to the Upper-Rank, he has suffered very few injuries, likes to plan before acting, and has no weaknesses in any aspect.

Zhu Shiji is severely injured and remains a Lower Martial Saint.

Wu Duanxiong is too old, maintaining the Middle-level rank.

Chen Shaohuang ascended early and has the potential for a peak, but has a fiery temper and heart vein injuries.

The other Martial Saints were mostly too reckless before ascension, leaving some ailments.

The Dragon Country is like this, and other countries are the same.

In private chat, Zhu Shiji told Zhou Leng many things about Dragon Country, both good and bad, and helplessness.

Ever since the Celestial Tier descended, Zhu Shiji has continually been advising.

"What exactly is this Ascension Divinity Ladder, we don’t understand it yet, when you ascend to Martial Saint, don’t impulsively participate."

"Stay on the Blue Star, consolidate your power."

"There are some things I didn’t say to you before, but I didn’t expect you to grow so fast. Barring any accidents, if the Ten Realms battle goes against us, we will launch the ’New Fire Seed Plan’, and we will nominate you and Huang Xuan Pavilion to different otherworlds, as backups for humanity..."

"Of course, those are the worst-case scenarios..."

"Now, because of the Ascension Divinity Ladder, the Martial Saints are all worried..."

"By the way, there’s a rumor that the Celestial Calamity God has appeared, but no one has seen it, not sure if it’s true or false..."

"A demigod from the Eagle Alliance has fallen, defeated in a challenge outside the demigod hall against a demigod beastman..."

...

Zhou Leng quietly listened to Zhu Shiji’s message.

He now seemed more and more like a rambling old man.

After listening to the entire message, he recalled the important matters Zhu had mentioned, then suddenly thought of something.

So he sent a WeChat message asking: "How many newly promoted Martial Saints and Lower Martial Saints are there in Dragon Country?"

Shortly after, Zhu Shiji replied: "A total of nineteen people, but like me, it’s not a lack of strength to advance; the injuries are too severe. Our frequency of battles before Martial Saint level was about a hundred times that of demons of the same rank, being the best among the elite. The saddest is Lin Yinghun, who was injured more severely than I was; after advancing to the newly promoted Martial Saint, he was unable to break through to the Lower Martial Saint and has been stuck for years."

Lin Yinghun is one of the Martial Saints Zhou Leng admires the most, famously known as the One-Armed Martial Saint, ultimately turning his disadvantage into an advantage, combining various martial arts to create "The Great Annihilation Punch."

He rarely engages in battles, but when he does, he is invincible within the same realm.

From Grandmaster all the way to newly promoted Martial Saint, he remains exceptional.

"With Lin Saint’s strength, surely he could defeat a demon demigod as a newly promoted Martial Saint?"

"Of course. But the demons aren’t fools; they fundamentally reject his challenges, firstly because it’s a certain death, and secondly because they’re afraid he would ascend the Celestial Ladder and obtain some kind of restorative treasure, which would be a disaster for demons."

"I heard Lin Saint has strong talent?"

"Not strong, not strong at all. But he is extremely focused, even more than Saint Zhao. Since losing his arm, he has only cultivated the killing move ’Silent Vacuum’ of the Great Annihilation Punch every day; the more he practices it, the more terrifying it becomes. Despite being a lower-ranked, I can’t withstand a single strike from him."

"I see... So, if he managed to defeat a newly promoted demon demigod, would his future achievements be unimaginable?"

"Of course. Unfortunately, his severed arm is difficult to heal; reportedly, he was also eroded by the power of a Divine Spirit, like Zhang Xinglie."

Zhou Leng was stunned for a moment, his gaze dimmed, and after a long time, he sighed heavily.

He sent a message to Lin Yinghun.

"Lin Saint, I refined a Little Star Pill for Zhang Xinglie, but unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to use it. If you want to try, you can come to Rucheng, and I’ll check your injuries; if suitable, the pill will be yours."

Before long, Lin Yinghun replied: "I’m on my way."

Zhou Leng arrived at the Ancient River Research Bureau to meet Xu Qingjin and Li Yuanhe.

After that, everyone went together to pay their respects at the graves of old friends in Rucheng.

There were graves of Li Linhan and his wife, Zhang Xinglie and his aunt, Hu Yi and his whole family, Ma Xingkong and Zhou Leng’s parents, Tong Tianxia’s grave...

In some time, they would go to Xiong City to pay respects to Wang Boxiong, Chen Shouhu, and others. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Back at the Ancient River Research Bureau, Zhou Leng leisurely walked with Lin Yinghun in the cultivation ground.

Lin Yinghun was somewhat thin, with dark-skinned and exceptionally shiny black hair; his left arm was severed at the shoulder, leaving only his right arm.

His gaze was particularly clear and pure, even with a childlike innocence.

Unlike other Martial Saints, he only engaged in combat and cultivation, never concerning himself with mundane affairs or participating in other activities.

The two had a brief chat, and Zhou Leng placed a hand on Lin Yinghun’s shoulder, carefully sensing.

An inexplicable force was attached to Lin Yinghun’s body.

Retracting his hand, Zhou Leng said: "I’m not sure if I can completely resolve it, but given the Divine Essence Pill’s properties, it will certainly alleviate it."

"What do you want in return?"

"Kill more demons."

"Deal." Lin Yinghun nodded gently, his gaze becoming more pure and resolute.

Zhou Leng handed the Divine Essence Pill to Lin Yinghun, instructing how to use it: "Don’t rush to take it yet; wait until the Celestial Tier Trial is over."

"Hmm?" Lin Yinghun asked, puzzled, staring at Zhou Leng.

"I have a friend who might obtain a near-dead demon demigod. Stay in Rucheng, and if he can get it, I’ll retrieve it for you and complete the transaction. You owe me three voting rights."

During major human and Dragon Country decisions, Martial Saints have crucial voting rights.

Each vote from a Martial Saint has tremendous value.

Lin Yinghun didn’t mind the three votes, just stared at Zhou Leng: "If I’m not mistaken, you’ve already been promoted to Martial Saint. But why didn’t your promotion cause a phenomenon when theoretically, each Grandmaster’s promotion to Martial Saint should be sensed by all Blue Star Martial Saints."

"I’m now like a Void God, a virtual Martial Saint; to you, it appears as if I’m a Martial Saint, but I’m actually not," Zhou Leng lied seamlessly.

"I see." Lin Yinghun nodded, truly convinced.

"How did it go?"

"Of course."

The two agreed that Lin Yinghun would stay at the Ancient River Research Bureau to guide the Ancient River Sect disciples in martial arts.

Then, Zhou Leng secretly entered the dwarven world and contacted the Giant Furnace for all intelligence on beastman demigods.

That day, he traveled thousands of miles, severely injuring a newly promoted beastman demigod, severing all limbs, preserving its last vitality, wrapping it like a mummy, and reaching the Two Realms Barrier.

Zhou Leng broke through the Two Realms Barrier, dragging the beastman demigod, barely managing to bring it into Blue Star.

Soon, Zhou Leng and Lin Yinghun met outside Rucheng.

Zhou Leng handed over the mummy, which Lin Yinghun took.

The demigod beastman’s brain was smashed like a squashed pumpkin, barely alive.

Lin Yinghun looked deeply at Zhou Leng, his right hand like a knife, severing the demigod beastman’s neck, preserving the intact chest and abdomen.

After a while, his gaze flickered lightly, looking up at the five layers of the Celestial Ladder: "Success."

"Good! You should go back and take the Divine Essence Pill; remember our agreement."

"Of course."

Watching Lin Yinghun leave, Zhou Leng contacted Zhu Shiji.

"Help me reach out to all newly promoted and lower-ranked Martial Saints who have mastered the ’New Heaven Eternal Stance’ of the East Wind Fist, whether or not they’re part of the Ancient River Sect. Tell them I have a way to get newly promoted demigods and lower-ranked demigods, but the transaction condition is simple: owe me three votes."

"Huh?" Zhu Shiji was first puzzled, but quickly regained his composure.

"I’ll contact them right away."