Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 491 - 474: Wager

Molten Hammer said, "Actually, there is another way, because the Giants have given battlefield tokens to some other races—Demons, Sea Sirens, Beastmen, and Humans. Kill them and take their battlefield tokens to improve your ranking."

"That doesn’t sound bad... Is there a way for me to also get the Giant Race’s battlefield status?"

"Of course you can. As long as you have two battlefield tokens. If you really have them, would you keep it yourself or give it to Zhang Xinglie?" Molten Hammer asked.

"Give it to Zhang Xinglie," Zhou Leng replied.

Molten Hammer sighed, "You two really have a good relationship."

Zhou Leng said nothing; compared to the Star Refining Furnace, battlefield tokens were really nothing.

Zhou Leng carried Molten Hammer as he ran, quickly entering Shuizhou Demon City.

Amidst the surprised stares of the people, the two left the Human base and headed straight for the Steel Dwarf base.

Upon reaching the Steel Dwarf base, they exchanged about ten billion worth of Dwarf currency, entered the Dwarf World, and sprinted towards the Divine Blood Mountain five thousand kilometers away.

Passing by a large Dwarf tribe on the way, Molten Hammer led Zhou Leng to casually seek alms; either asking for things or buying things at low prices.

When Zhou Leng entered the Dwarf World, in Dragon Country, at the Martial Guard Headquarters.

The head of the Command Training Division looked at the projected light screen in front of him, with a slight frown.

The light screen displayed dense data.

Among which, the core indicator of the Innate Realm, that is, the total number of people who advanced in minor realms last month, actually fell by 27% compared to the month before last, and fell by 25% from the same month last year.

Although last month had frequent deployments that delayed Martial Artists’ cultivation, theoretically, the gap shouldn’t be this large.

This data means that the talent echelon construction at the Innate level of the Martial Guard Department has a disconnect.

"Wait a bit longer, if it continues to fall for three consecutive months..."

In the Beastman World.

Zhang Xinglie stood inside the Beastman Sanctum.

"What, you want two battlefield tokens? You’re like a dragon opening its maw!"

Many Beastman chieftains glared angrily at Zhang Xinglie.

Zhang Xinglie, hair spreading out like a lion’s mane, stood proudly and said, "I am the messenger of the Beast God, with the bloodline of the Lion God. Only I can bring endless power to our Beastmen by entering the Great Battlefield."

At the mention of "our Beastmen," the anger of the Beastman chieftains quickly subsided.

This damn human, usually he always looks down on Beastmen, always thinking humans are superior to Beastmen; today, it’s the first time he said "our."

Although there’s still a thorn in their hearts, it sounds much better than before.

"Then, are you willing to leave a hundred offspring for our race?"

"Impossible."

"Then we can only give you one battlefield token."

"The benefits I will bring to the Beastmen in the future far exceed a hundred offspring," Zhang Xinglie said.

"We Beastmen do not fall for empty promises. The Demons have already made us full."

The Beastman chieftains looked gloomy; back then, they sold out the Human Race, thinking they could get full support from the Sea Sirens and Demons, defeat the Dwarves, and control an entire world.

But the Demons and Sea Sirens treated them like disposable rags, used once and thrown away.

Since then, Beastmen have been increasingly cautious about cooperating with Alien Races.

Although Beastmen have still engaged in small acts.

"We can sign an agreement. If I fail, you can take all my wealth and treasures," Zhang Xinglie said.

The Beastman chieftains whispered among themselves, finally saying, "Alright, then we’ll draft a... what’s it called? Right, a betting agreement. If you fail, then don’t blame us Beastmen for skinning you alive!"

"It’s a deal!"

As Zhang Xinglie signed the betting agreement with the Beastmen, Zhou Leng carrying Molten Hammer arrived at Divine Blood Mountain.

Zhou Leng stood at the base of Divine Blood Mountain, gazing at the towering, strange peak.

This mountain is far larger and steeper than a normal volcano, reaching a height of twenty thousand meters, which is entirely uncharacteristic of a volcano’s height.

The mountain is dark red, and magma flows all over its walls.

Unlike ordinary magma, all the magma here is blood red.

Once solidified into lava, it seems like the blood of a Divine Spirit, adhering to the mountain body.

"Magnificent, isn’t it? That’s why we believe this volcano flows with the blood of a Divine Spirit. Look at those people, picking up stones from cooled lava and selling them everywhere. Large stones are illegal; they can only gather small stones..."

At the base of Divine Blood Mountain, only a small fortress was established; there wasn’t a large city.

At the mountain’s foot, some Steel Dwarves with baskets on their backs collected scattered stones.

Outside the fortress, a large number of tents and house-like Demon Spirit Artifacts appeared.

Many non-Dwarf races were present among them.

"Are they all here for the Divine Blood Lava trial?" Zhou Leng asked.

"Yes. Such a good thing, even the Giant Dragons can’t monopolize it, let alone us Steel Dwarves," Molten Hammer said, with a hint of reluctance in his voice.

"Why are there Demons too? Can you also go to the Demon Purgatory for a trial?" Zhou Leng asked.

"There’s no helping it; there is always an exchange of interests at higher levels. As long as they’re not Beastmen, all races can engage in trade; don’t humans also always trade with Demons?"

"That’s the Demon Worshipers," Zhou Leng said.

"Is there a difference?"

Zhou Leng was at a loss for words.

Molten Hammer said, "It starts tomorrow. If you had come three days late, you would have to wait for the next opportunity. Let’s go, maybe we’ll meet some acquaintances."

The two moved forward, looking around as they went.

Zhou Leng is the Steel Dwarf Duke, and he didn’t need to stay outside. He planned to find a room inside the fortress to settle down.

He didn’t see anyone he knew along the way. Just as he was about to enter the fortress castle, a familiar giant voice called from behind.

"Zhou Leng, Molten Hammer," Shanheyuan’s voice sounded.

Zhou Leng turned around to see Shanheyuan and his brother Shanhe Xiangmu walking quickly toward him.

Shanheyuan wore a friendly smile, while Shanhe Xiangmu had an innocent grin.

The two had advanced to the Innate Realm. Their skin had transformed from the original giant greenish hue to a metallic bronze color, making their bodies even taller and their aura more powerful.

"Yuan, Xiangmu!" Molten Hammer excitedly ran over and gave a warm hug to Shanhe Xiangmu’s leg.

Zhou Leng said with a smile, "Are you both here for the trial?"

Shanhe Xiangmu shook his head and said, "I can’t. I’m just a True Liquid Innate and not qualified to come. I’m here to accompany my brother. He has already done Bone Forging."

"That’s impressive?" Zhou Leng looked towards Shanheyuan.

Shanheyuan smiled sheepishly and said, "My dad got a lot of great stuff in the Tree-man World, and with the help of the Giant Race, I’ve been improving so fast lately."

"Oh, right, next time you see Uncle Tianyue, please thank him for me. As I learned from an enemy, he helped me by taking out some grandmasters who were hunting me," Zhou Leng said.

"My dad mentioned it when chatting, just a minor thing," Shanheyuan said nonchalantly.

But Zhou Leng replied, "It’s not a minor thing for me. If your dad hadn’t killed the grandmaster Aiden brought, I might have died at the hands of a grandmaster."

"Hmm, Aiden wants to kill you?" Shanheyuan and Shanhe Xiangmu frowned simultaneously, looking towards a not-so-distant demonized villa.

"He’s here too?"

Shanheyuan said, "Yes, and so is Zhao He. Besides you, probably four or five other human Innate masters, all of whom have notable backgrounds."

Zhou Leng hadn’t expected so many acquaintances here and said, "They must be preparing for the Great Battlefield. Are you going alone?"

Shanheyuan replied, "Yes, alone. Xiangmu still needs a few more years. What about you?"

"I have a Battlefield Shield Order piece, looking for Zhang Xinglie," Zhou Leng answered.

Shanheyuan said, "I spoke with Zhang Xinglie earlier. He’s also trying to find a Battlefield Shield Order. Is it true what they say about him and the female Beastman?"

A mischievous look crept onto Shanheyuan’s honest face. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Certified true," Zhou Leng replied.

"Hahahaha..." Zhou Leng, Shanheyuan, and Shanhe Xiangmu all burst into laughter together.

"What’s the joke? What’s the joke? Tell me, so I can laugh too!" Molten Hammer got anxious, craning his neck back but still feeling excluded.

Zhou Leng recounted Zhang Xinglie’s story, making Molten Hammer laugh uncontrollably while praising Zhang Xinglie as an industrious Beastman miner.

The four of them walked over to Shanheyuan’s tent, took out some food, and began eating and drinking together.

During the meal, they talked about the war in Shuizhou. Shanheyuan hinted here and there, while Zhou Leng played dumb, not revealing his identity.

Molten Hammer brought out fine wine, and Shanheyuan’s brothers took out specialties of the giants.

Zhou Leng, in turn, presented large chunks of dragon meat and fierce beast meat, and the three guys couldn’t be bothered to chat, engrossed in eating instead.

In the end, each of them was so full they sat on the ground, holding their round bellies, hiccuping.

Molten Hammer ate to the point of confusion, and the strong power was rampaging inside him.

Even though Shanheyuan and his brother came from extraordinary backgrounds, they could only consume a small amount of innate dragon meat, having never seen fierce beast meat before.

Shanhe Xiangmu regretted, saying, "If I had known that going to the Demon Spirit trial would let me eat dragon meat after killing Innate Giant Dragons, I would have gone too. Earlier, a Demon Spirit Master invited me, but I refused."

Molten Hammer said, "You should kill less, as killing too many can easily lead to the Dragon God curse, making you a public enemy of the Giant Dragons. Like this Great Battlefield, you can kill, but try to kill as few as possible. Three to five dragons are fine; too many, and there might be trouble."

Shanheyuan dismissed it, saying, "Oh, that Dragon God curse is pure nonsense."

Molten Hammer countered, "Then why, when other races kill too many Giant Dragons, are they discovered by the dragons? Like the Blood of Tyranny, pursued by the dragons."

"That’s the dragons’ innate power, marking enemies after death. The more you kill, the stronger the mark, unrelated to any curse."

"Also, if you’re a member of the Giant Dragon Race, you can slowly absorb this power. It’s said that the more of such power present during certain trials among the Giant Dragons, the greater the benefits."

"You must understand, these big lizards are different from the dragons of our Dragon Country. They are synonymous with slaughter and madness, and the more fiercely they fight each other, the happier the Dragon God."

Molten Hammer said, "I see, but Zhou Leng, you still need to be careful. After all, you’re not a Giant Dragon and can’t absorb it."

"Just find a way to obtain the Giant Dragon Blood Marvelous Body, which can dissolve the mark and maybe even enhance the Giant Dragon Blood Marvelous Body," Shanheyuan said.

"Are you planning to get the Giant Dragon Blood Marvelous Body?" Zhou Leng asked.

"My dad has made arrangements to help me after leaving the Great Battlefield. But instead of going to the Giant Dragons, I’ll be heading to the Demon Purgatory to find a Demon Dragon, as the Giant Dragons wouldn’t give a Giant like me a Blood Marvelous Body. Originally... never mind, I won’t say," Shanheyuan sighed deeply.

"What’s wrong?" Molten Hammer asked.

Shanheyuan hesitated for a moment and said, "My mom went into the Giant World again. I don’t know if she’s doing it on purpose or what, but she found another Giant. My dad got so mad he beat that Giant up so bad his head was knocked sideways."

Zhou Leng thought of the person drinking coffee on the Shuizhou battlefield.

"And then?" Molten Hammer’s eyes were wide as lanterns.

"My mom said nothing, just watched coldly, and then my dad asked me to send her back to Rucheng. As for what’s exactly going on, I’m not sure, but I have a bad premonition," Shanheyuan replied.

Shanhe Xiangmu sighed and said, "Having parents like those, you’re really unlucky—might as well be like my family, die early and it’s done with."

"You should say less," Shanheyuan said helplessly.

Zhou Leng and Molten Hammer exchanged a look, saying nothing, but feeling anxious inside.

Molten Hammer asked, "And after that?"

"I don’t know, just have to wait," Shanheyuan said.

"Wait for the sequel," Molten Hammer said.

"Hmm?" The three looked down at Molten Hammer.

Molten Hammer said, "Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue," gently patting his own mouth a few times.