Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 440 - 425: Techniques

"How did you figure out the true usage of the Fire Dragon Technique?" Cyan Flame was greatly surprised.

"Frosty Hand said I have a great talent for Demon Spirit Techniques, saying that if I were born in the Demon Spirit World, I’d be a seedling for a Demigod Demon Spirit Master." Zhou Leng said seriously.

"Oh, just keep boasting..." Cyan Flame couldn’t help but laugh.

Then, with a look of suspicion, Cyan Flame said, "You didn’t crack the Divine Text in the rainbow room, did you? Many Demon Spirit Masters haven’t fully deciphered it for tens of thousands of years."

"Just a little bit more to go," Zhou Leng said honestly.

"Then I’m relieved." Cyan Flame thought Zhou Leng was joking again.

After this battle, there were no more opponents, and the two rested.

The next day, the old man’s voice echoed.

"The path of combat is over. After you two have rested, you may proceed."

Cyan Flame glanced at Zhou Leng. Theoretically, there should only be one Trial Taker, yet the voice specially mentioned both, hinting that Zhou Leng’s strength might be strong enough to attract the attention of the trial spirit?

Cyan Flame said, "Generally, passing the third round puts you at least in the top five thousand. Since we’ve been winning straight, we’re probably within the top three hundred."

"Then let’s work a little harder and aim for the top ten."

In the side hall of the Ice Snow Divine Sect.

A group of Demon Spirit Masters looked at each other, wide-eyed, staring at the latest rankings, speechless for a long time.

Among the ten Trial Takers of the Ice Snow Divine Sect, Zhou Leng was undisputedly first.

Ranked 217.

The second-ranked Trial Taker of the Ice Snow Divine Sect was at 1025.

"This Zhou Leng is really smart. It’s clear that while being a Trial Taker, he also has the identity of a Demon Spirit Assistant."

"What he’s not good at, he lets the Demon Spirit Masters handle. What he’s good at, he leads the Demon Spirit Masters through."

"I reckon next year, the rules of the Ancient Spirit Path will change."

"Not quite, Zhou Leng at most will break into the top hundred, not affecting the big picture, unless he breaks into the top ten."

Frosty Hand smiled and said, "You all agreed earlier, according to the fivefold reward."

"If he gets into the top hundred, the fivefold reward is a Legendary Demon Spirit Artifact. If he makes it into the top ten, or even the top three, or even first, wouldn’t we have to give a Half-Divine Artifact?"

Frosty Hand said, "Anyway, you figure it out. He’s both a Snowborn and a Light Dancer, plus he has the aura of a god. If you go back on your word, I won’t be responsible for the consequences."

"The Trial Takers who failed said the third test is the path of combat, a battle on the arena. His results mean a perfect victory."

"If he truly achieves a high ranking, why not give it to him!"

"Indeed, if he truly makes it into the top three and breaks the blockade of the Three High Towers, our Ice Snow Divine Sect will finally lift its head high after a thousand years of decline!"

"You all said that, remember it." Frosty Hand said.

On the arena of the path of combat, Cyan Flame speculated about the Ancient Spirit Path below, saying, "Generally speaking, there are six trials on the Ancient Spirit Path."

"The first three are relatively simple. Starting from the fourth, it gets more difficult."

"The fourth is usually about testing combat skills, the specialty of the Three High Towers and major powers. For a declining Demon Spirit family like mine, we might pass, but it’s hard to get high marks, and the fourth round significantly affects the rankings."

"The fifth and sixth are mixed trials, but how they’re mixed is completely unknown, though occasionally people die, it’s very dangerous."

"The legendary seventh test is like a politician’s promise or a prostitute’s love; they all say it exists, but no one has seen it."

After Cyan Flame finished, he added, "Since we beat the Song of the Long Wind, we’re likely to face obstruction from the Demon Spirit Masters of the Three High Towers next. You need to be careful. If necessary, leave first."

"Would they want to kill you?" Zhou Leng asked.

Cyan Flame shook his head and said, "No, because the Torch of the Seraph has issued a Demon Spirit Emperor Order, prohibiting the Three Towers from wantonly killing the innocent, especially internal Demon Spirit Masters. So, internally, they are accustomed to fighting without destruction. The downside is intense internal struggle, but the advantage is limited damage. Unless I fight for the top three and refuse to retreat, they won’t seriously injure me."

"That’s good."

"You have the identity of an Ice Snow Divine Sect Priest, they will also consider you half a Demon Spirit Master. How are the internal trials for Martial Artists over there?"

Zhou Leng said, "It’s basically the same: in internal trials, as long as there’s no personal hatred, the most they’ll do is injure. If some factions have grudges, then things are less controllable, and they prefer to fight first. Once we Martial Artists start fighting, it’s easy to get carried away, so severe injuries and deaths are common."

Cyan Flame’s eyes flashed, saying, "I know Zhang Xinglie is a particularly good friend of yours, but you also have other friends who are less close but still good, right?"

"Yes."

"Then let me give an example. Name a normal friend."

"Hu Yi, our relationship’s definitely not as close as with Zhang Xinglie, but he’s also a very good friend." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Take Hu Yi as an example. If you and he participate in a Martial Artist trial, and he competes with you for ranking, insisting on fighting you desperately, what would you do?"

"In that case, I’d consider whether to wake him up with one or two streams of pee."

"Now, let’s assume he’s quite powerful and could threaten your ranking. Would you kill him for the sake of ranking?"

Zhou Leng thought for a moment and said, "Under normal circumstances, we in the Dragon Country generally practice reciprocal action, at most strong retaliation, rarely killing excessively."

"For example, if I’m selling something in the Ghost Market and someone tries to snatch it, reciprocal action is to beat him up, strong retaliation is crippling his Martial Arts, I’m the latter."

"As for fighting a friend over Martial Artist trials, the actual situation might be very complex, but I think it’s unnecessary."

"Given my years of friendship with Hu Yi, if he truly fights me desperately for ranking, he must have a compelling reason; once the fight reaches a certain point, I’d give up. Compared to rankings and such benefits, I value my friendship with him more."

"This time we didn’t make the ranking, but we’ll try again next time. If we lose a friend, they’re gone for good."

Cyan Flame sighed, "Yeah, once a friend is lost, they’re truly gone. When I was young, I had several friends with whom I lost contact, and we never reconnected."

Zhou Leng jokingly said, "So rest assured, I’ll do my best not to let you die here, my friend."

"Haha, good..."

After a short rest, the two entered a new gate, walked along a corridor for a while, and entered the fourth palace.

"Fourth stage of the Ancient Spirit Road, the Path of Techniques, be prepared," the old man’s voice sounded.

In front of the palace, sixteen demon pattern bats flew out, shifting unpredictably, moving slowly, but constantly changing directions.

Then, a series of light screens appeared in front of them.

Zhou Leng looked at it and saw the first technique test question, which required using a beginner-level Demon Spirit Technique to kill the sixteen bats at once.

Cyan Flame pondered.

Zhou Leng then flipped through the Demon Spirit Technique dictionary, looking for fire and ice series Demon Spirit Techniques to see which could solve it.

"Fireball Chain seems possible, but it tests techniques, so Ice Spike Technique could work too, but it’s an intermediate Demon Spirit Technique..."

Zhou Leng didn’t disturb him, sat to the side, and studied the translation of the Seven-Colored Divine Text.

These divine texts were slightly different from the words of the Martial Arts System. After studying them, his understanding of divine texts improved by leaps and bounds, which in turn enhanced his comprehension of martial arts divine texts, greatly advancing his knowledge of martial arts.

It wasn’t long before Cyan Flame repeatedly attempted attacks using Fireball Chain for the simulation test.

After succeeding, he chose to take the official exam.

For this question, the perfect score was 10 points, but he only scored 8 points, because while several bats fell, they weren’t completely killed.

Next, the ground revealed a group of green, translucent, jelly-like creatures, the size of a round table, resembling green jellyfish, writhing continuously on the ground, ground slimes.

Zhou Leng glanced at the second technique question, which also required using a beginner-level Demon Spirit Technique to kill all the slimes.

This question was more difficult than the previous one.

Because after the slimes died, they would split into two smaller slimes. These round table-sized slimes could split twice, making it very hard with just one beginner-level Demon Spirit Technique.

Cyan Flame was only proficient in ice and fire Demon Spirit Techniques, making it even more challenging.

Zhou Leng browsed the Demon Spirit Technique dictionary for a while and then continued studying the divine texts.

Thus, after two full days, Cyan Flame completed the challenge of thirty questions, with a total score of 259 out of 300 points.

This score was extremely high in the entire Demon Spirit World.

Even in the Three High Towers, it was at the end of the first tier.

Zhou Leng said, "Not bad, you definitely passed."

Cyan Flame shook his head, "I don’t just want to pass, I want to retake it. You can take the Path of Techniques three times in total and choose the highest score. 259 is good, but it won’t make it into the top ten in the Three High Towers. The Path of Techniques is one of the areas where I have the biggest score gap with the Three High Towers, and I must reduce it."

Zhou Leng, upon hearing this, stood up, "Then I’ll help you brainstorm."

Cyan Flame knew Zhou Leng’s martial arts level was high and nodded, "Then before taking action, explain the technique ideas in detail, and see if there’s any problem."

Cyan Flame chose to retake the technique road, and the 16 bats reappeared.

He said, "I’ll use Fireball Chain, creating three fireballs for an area explosion, theoretically sufficient to kill the bats. But the issue is the bats keep moving; high scores are easy, but full marks are hard. I’ll conduct a simulation test now, see if you notice any issues."

Cyan Flame cast the spell, a fireball flew out, hit a bat, exploded, killing five, then shot another fireball, and finally another, successfully knocking down all the bats.

Three bats were injured but not dead, crawling on the ground.

Zhou Leng said, "Your angle, power, and everything is great, but your timing isn’t precise enough."

"Is your dynamic vision that strong?" Cyan Flame immediately understood the difference between them.

"How about this: I choose the timing, and you cast the spell, how does that sound?"

"Okay, I’ll try."

Zhou Leng observed quietly, and when the time came, he issued a command.

"Now!"

The previously prepared Fireball Chain in front of Cyan Flame flew out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The last two bats seemed to fly into the fireballs actively, falling onto the ground.

All sixteen bats turned to charcoal, completely dead.

"Simulation test score, 10 points," the light screen announced.

Cyan Flame was stunned for a while, compared it with his previous process, and said, "Can you tell if they pooped just by seeing a bat slightly lift its rear?"

"Try it yourself."

Cyan Flame immediately tried himself, his score increased to 9 points.

He tried twice more, still 9 points.