Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 443 - 428: Oppressive Might

The Demon Spirit Master hurriedly cast spells to impede, retreating continuously.

In the flickering lights of spells and True Qi, Zhou Leng caught up with the Demon Spirit Master.

Cyan Flame chased closely from behind, but was unable to catch up.

The Demon Spirit Master glanced back to see a giant fist coming straight at him.

The Demon Spirit opened its mouth, and the Yellow Sand Castle rose like a mountain, standing between the two.

The castle was filled with warriors and heroic spirits, with the emperor seated high on the throne, overlooking the world.

Zhou Leng seemed to be transported in front of a city, tiny and weak.

This small figure, however, seemed oblivious to the solid castle, the rain-like soldiers, and the majestic emperor.

With both arms forward, he simultaneously pushed out.

Celestial Tide Palm, Thousand Rivers Stir the Sea.

As his arms pushed forward, True Qi infused and gathered into streams of white airflow, swirling and surging around his arms.

Like tremors from all directions, thousands of rivers flow into the sea, churning the four oceans.

The small figure, wielding the force of a thousand rivers, struck the Yellow Sand Castle.

Rumble...

The castle exploded.

The force of the shock pushed the Demon Spirit Master far away, while Zhou Leng was pushed back seven or eight steps by the powerful magical force before coming to a stop.

"No wonder it’s the Three High Towers."

Zhou Leng had long wanted to compete with top Demon Spirit Masters; indeed, under great fame there are no empty shells.

The high-level Demon Spirit Masters have spells that change constantly, both attacking and defending, with great power, making it difficult for a Martial Artist to win in a short time.

Especially this Demon Spirit Master, who is well-versed in earth and water element Demon Spirit Techniques, focusing on defense, making him even harder to kill.

The key is that this Demon Spirit Master has endless life-saving measures. An ordinary Demon Spirit Master would have died seven or eight times over.

Zhou Leng pursued relentlessly, while the Demon Spirit Master used all his methods.

But Zhou Leng’s chase was too fast, so fast that the defensive spells couldn’t form in time, causing the protective Magic Artifacts on the Demon Spirit Master’s body to fail one by one.

When the last defensive Magic Artifact failed, the Demon Spirit Master threw down the Heart of the Maze from atop his head and teleported away without a word.

Before leaving, he left some harsh words: "You’re lucky that legendary Magic Artifacts cannot be used here."

Zhou Leng looked towards the distant figure, showing a look of admiration, and reached out to acquire the Heart of the Maze.

After a while, Cyan Flame finally caught up.

"How did it go?"

"He conceded and ran away. I must say, people from the Three High Towers are indeed formidable, whether in combat skills or judgment. If he had been a moment later, his body would have been cut in half," Zhou Leng said.

Cyan Flame said, "Just from what I saw, he used five life-saving Magic Artifacts and wasted seven Magic Artifacts, with a total value exceeding 3 billion Long Guoyuan."

"A tycoon," Zhou Leng said.

"Now that we have the Heart of the Maze, let’s find the exit. It should be directly in front, where we came in."

"Let’s go." Zhou Leng, along with Cyan Flame, ran forward.

Before that, Cyan Flame was in front, Zhou Leng behind.

Now, the two switched positions.

Along the way, when demons or Demon Spirit Masters saw them, they were astonished.

How could a Demon Spirit Assistant lead a Demon Spirit Master?

Wait, how could the Demon Spirit Assistant be carrying the Heart of the Maze?

Before they could figure it out, the two were already far away.

The two ran for several hours, encountering three battles along the way, finally reaching the end of the maze.

Looking at the grand gate of the maze, Cyan Flame breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Entering the top hundred is enough."

"Is our previous agreement still valid?"

"What agreement?"

"From the tenth place onwards, for every place we advance, one billion in debt is forgiven."

"Ah? I did mention that." Cyan Flame almost forgot about it. He no longer aspired for the top ten.

"Then let’s keep striving."

The two walked out the gate and entered an endless corridor.

After walking for some time, there was no change in the corridor, still no end in sight.

Cyan Flame said, "Don’t go any further; without collecting all 100 Hearts of the Maze, the sixth trial hasn’t started yet."

"Let’s take a break."

Zhou Leng took out tables and chairs from the Magic Spirit Bag, resting and chatting with Cyan Flame.

Cyan Flame was in low spirits but remained rational.

When talking about the Three High Towers, his emotions were clearly fluctuating, but he quickly calmed down.

In the end, Cyan Flame said, "If we encounter someone from the Three High Towers next, I want to ask you for a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"If there’s a conflict, don’t interfere; let me handle the negotiation."

"Be more specific." Zhou Leng didn’t know what had happened precisely.

Cyan Flame thought for a moment and said, "Let me give you an analogy: you have a good relationship with Zhang Xinglie, and Zhang Xinglie has conflicts with the Zhao Family. However talented Zhang Xinglie is, he is still an ant before the Zhao Family."

"Then you go to Xiongjing and happen to encounter Zhang Xinglie being attacked by the Zhao Family, although the Zhao Family doesn’t go all out to kill him."

"At this point, you’re very angry and definitely want to intervene, but Zhang Xinglie stops you, hoping to turn big issues into small ones and small issues into none."

"You clearly understand that after venting, you can leave Xiongjing and return to Rucheng, avoiding the Zhao Family’s influence. But Zhang Xinglie has to stay in Xiongjing and cultivate under the Zhao Family’s watch."

"So, how would you choose?"

"I..."

Zhou Leng vaguely understood what Cyan Flame was trying to convey.

This is the Demon Spirit World, not Rucheng.

Even in Rucheng, there are many things beyond my control.

Cyan Flame said, "Life is full of ups and downs; some things pass simply by passing. If they can be resolved in the future, fine; if not, you still have to live on, right?"

Zhou Leng sighed and said, "I don’t like this feeling, but I understand. Don’t worry; I won’t make things difficult for you."

"Thank you, my friend," the Cyan Flame whispered. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Before long, the weary Cyan Flame fell asleep.

Zhou Leng continued to bury himself in translating and studying the Seven-Colored Divine Texts.

Except for a few particularly obscure divine texts or profound knowledge, the overall translation was nearly complete.

Next, proceed with more precise corrections.

The two rested for a full six hours as light and shadows flickered in the corridor ahead, transforming into a palace.

The two put away their tables and chairs and quickly walked in.

Many Demon Spirit Masters converged into this palace.

Zhou Leng looked around and spotted a few familiar people.

One was Song of the Long Wind, who tied with the Cyan Flame in the arena battle and sold him the Heart of the Labyrinth.

One was the Demon Spirit Master from the Book of God who had previously pursued them and was now calmly looking over.

Another was the hawk-nosed Demon Spirit Master they’d previously passed by.

The last was a Demon Spirit Master with a slightly pale face, who was keeping his distance; his Black Dragon had been smashed in the head by Zhou Leng’s punch.

Above each person’s head hovered a sphere of light, the Heart of the Labyrinth.

Exactly one hundred people.

Except for Zhou Leng, no one else had a Demon Spirit Assistant.

At a glance, seventy percent of the Demon Spirit Masters’ badges were from one of the Three High Towers.

An elderly voice rose.

"Congratulations to the last Trial Takers, you have broken into the top one hundred."

"The Light of Tranquility above your heads is your reward."

"When you absorb the Light of Tranquility, your spirit and awareness will be clearer, equivalent to being permanently under the ’Awaken Spell,’ keeping you alert at most times."

"When absorbing the Light of Tranquility, you will enter the sixth trial, the Path of Pressure."

"Starting from the first palace, ten palaces will appear ahead, each containing mental pressure from different powerful beings, incrementally intensifying."

"The further you can withstand the palaces, the higher your rank."

"To pass the time, the Tenth Palace leads to the Path of Legacy. If you’re confident in yourself, you can learn spells and knowledge while enduring spiritual pressure."

"After a short rest, the Path of Pressure will begin."

The Cyan Flame murmured, "What they call the Path of Legacy is also a trap. Enduring spiritual pressure is difficult, and learning spells while doing so will surely lead to failure. This multi-layered trial actually tests the ability to make choices and sacrifices, something past Trial Takers have figured out."

"What will you do next?" Zhou Leng asked.

The Cyan Flame was silent for a long time, then said, "My goal is to enter the Seventh Palace. That should be my limit."

"You don’t want to compete with the people from the Three High Towers?"

The Cyan Flame lightly shook his head.

"There won’t be any fighting here, right?"

"Normally not, fighting in a place with pressure can easily provoke public anger," the Cyan Flame replied.

"Then I’ll walk around and check out the divine texts," Zhou Leng said.

"You’ve helped me here a lot already, and I’m content. Do what you want, don’t worry about me."

"Alright."

Zhou Leng walked along the palace walls, observing as he went.

During the last labyrinth, he had seen many ruins and rubble.

But for the sake of the Cyan Flame, he had given up checking them, sprinting all the way.

Now, the trial was nearing its end, he had entered the top one hundred, and fulfilled his duty. With the Cyan Flame also not intending to offend the Three High Towers, it essentially marked the end of the trial.

Zhou Leng walked and observed.

He hadn’t gone a few steps when he saw a fragment of a building with three divine texts engraved on it.

He opened his Demonized Watch to visually record the three divine texts.

Soon, Song of the Long Wind walked over with a smile, "Hello, Zhou Leng."

"Hello, Song of the Long Wind," Zhou Leng responded courteously.

"Are you interested in divine texts and ancient relics?"

"Somewhat," Zhou Leng replied.

Song of the Long Wind glanced at the Cyan Flame and said, "With the Cyan Flame’s strength, it’s unlikely he can enter the Great Battlefield. If you can enter the Great Battlefield, how about we collaborate?"

Zhou Leng politely said, "If I have the chance to enter the Great Battlefield, I’d be happy to collaborate."

Song of the Long Wind asked quietly, "Did you offend the Light of the Mountains and Seas?"

"Who?"

Song of the Long Wind pointed to the Demon Spirit Master from whom Zhou Leng had snatched the Heart of the Labyrinth earlier.

"Oh, they’re called Light of the Mountains and Seas. We both contested for the Heart of the Labyrinth, and I was lucky to win."

Song of the Long Wind said, "Your strength is stronger than expected. The Light of the Mountains and Seas is ranked first among the Trial Takers from the Book of God in this period and is good enough to rank in the top three in the trial."

"Just lucky. They’re really formidable; despite fighting for so long, I barely touched them." Zhou Leng instinctively maintained humility.

Song of the Long Wind, amused yet helpless, knew that when a Demon Spirit Master encounters a Martial Artist, the outcome is fixed.

After a few words, Song of the Long Wind took his leave.

Soon, the Demon Spirit Master whose Black Dragon assistant Zhou Leng had killed came up.

"Hello, I’m Gateway to the Storm," he greeted with a bow, mimicking a Martial Artist.

"Hello, I’m Zhou Leng," Zhou Leng replied.

"Well... I was beaten, and you didn’t lose out. I hope you won’t go to extremes."

"Oh, no need for that. I’m just the Cyan Flame’s assistant, not interested in conflict."

Gateway to the Storm thought, with your skill in slicing dragon meat, disinterested in fighting?

"Hope we can meet again in the Demon Spirit World." Gateway to the Storm could only feign politeness.

"Sure."

Seeing Gateway to the Storm leave, Zhou Leng continued along the wall.

He encountered two Demon Spirit Masters from the Book of God also documenting the divine texts.

In the Demon Spirit World, the Book of God is tasked more with demon spirit research, with its Demon Spirit Masters predominantly scholars, and fewer fighters.