Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 493 - 476: Ten-Horned

Zhou Leng felt strange. Previously, he had used the identity of Guan Canglong, and his own identity as Zhou Leng had never met Deep Dark Fury.

But why does he keep looking at me anyway?

In an instant, Zhou Leng’s heart skipped a beat.

He possessed a certain level of illusion-breaking ability, was it possible that Deep Dark Fury, with his Starry Sky Bloodline, had it too?

Or perhaps, from the very beginning, Deep Dark Fury could see through the illusion ring?

Zhou Leng suspiciously looked towards Deep Dark Fury, and at the same moment, Deep Dark Fury also looked over, nodded slightly, and then looked away.

He was found out by Deep Dark Fury!

Zhou Leng asked, "Brother Giant Furnace, does the Spine-headed Demon Dragon have the ability to see through illusions?"

Giant Furnace casually replied, "Yes, the eyes of the Demon Dragons can see through a certain level of illusions, and the strongest can even break spells."

Only then did Zhou Leng remember that he had also taken a potion called Dragon’s Eye before, which indeed had illusion-breaking abilities.

After a moment of thought, he understood the cause and effect.

Back in Hundred Peaks Valley, Deep Dark Fury wanted to climb the highest mountain and urgently needed strong combat power, so even if he saw through it, he didn’t expose it.

What about after that?

Looking at the reaction this time, it seemed he had no other intentions.

When they cooperated before, he felt that the dragon on the other side was okay, considering he was young and not too scheming.

Zhou Leng scanned the entire scene. Besides Deep Dark Fury, he also spotted a few familiar faces from the youth battles.

For example, Wind of Grey Steel, that Three-headed Steel Dragon, though unfortunately, Jade Wings was not present.

Most other people from the youth battlefield hadn’t reached the level of Bone Forger Innate, and had no share in this year’s Divine Blood Lava and Great Battlefield.

Besides, a Ten-horned Demon Dragon had the strongest aura, second only to the Spine-headed Demon Dragon, and far exceeded his own strength.

Once the time came, Giant Furnace shouted, "All trial takers proceed with identity verification, and then follow me to climb the mountain. Unauthorized persons, step back! Molten Hammer, go to the back."

Molten Hammer gave Giant Furnace a helpless look and said to Zhou Leng, "Be careful after entering the Divine Blood Lava, if you really can’t hold on, just raise your hand to signal, Lord Giant Furnace will save you."

"Okay," Zhou Leng replied.

"I’ll stroll around the Godblood Furnace Workshop at the foot of the mountain. When the time comes, I’ll find you at the foot of the mountain."

After Molten Hammer left, Giant Furnace looked around the crowd, suddenly stuffing something into Zhou Leng’s hand.

"Take this before entering the Dragon Blood Lava," Giant Furnace whispered and then walked to the front of the team, leading the group forward.

The team slowly marched on.

Standing beside Deep Dark Fury were several Innate Demons, including a Ten-horned Demon Dragon, its ten peculiar dragon horns forming a fan-shaped crown on its head.

Before Deep Dark Fury arrived, Ten-horned Rampant Blood was the leader among the demons. He was the offspring of the peak of the Demigod Demon Dragon, Ten Horns, and also a Great Innate Demon Dragon, ordinary Grandmasters couldn’t kill him.

However, in front of Deep Dark Fury with the Starry Sky Bloodline, he was still lower by a head.

Ten-horned Rampant Blood said, "Your Highness Deep Dark Fury, His Majesty Celestial Calamity Envoy ordered us to assassinate the geniuses of the Humanoid Alliance as much as possible. Everyone in this trial counts as a genius. Once the trial is over, we shall follow His Majesty’s command to assassinate the geniuses."

"I do not particularly enjoy assassinations, I prefer open and fair combat," Deep Dark Fury said.

A crowd of demons looked on helplessly, as the Spine-headed Demon Dragon tribe had few dragons but always saw themselves as superior star beings, out of place with normal demons.

Ten-horned Rampant Blood smiled and said, "If you are unwilling to act personally, then just support us from the rear. If we encounter strong enemies, can you help hold them off for a while?"

Deep Dark Fury hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Ten-horned Rampant Blood smiled and said, "That’s great. The accompanying Desecration Scholar devised plans, suggesting other races are tough nuts to crack, but humans are good targets. Aiden is one of us, and so is Zhao He. That Zhou Leng, with no significant force behind him, can be our assassination target this time."

Deep Dark Fury looked expressionlessly at Ten-horned Rampant Blood and asked, "Why choose him?"

"The Desecration Scholar has intelligence on Zhou Leng. The latest information shows that Zhou Leng is growing rapidly, and is deliberately marked by the respected Corners of the Four Directions, friendly with major forces across the Ten Realms, recently gaining some fame in the Demon Spirit World. Such a genius is the best target."

Deep Dark Fury said, "Let’s first see if there are other targets, and choose him if there’s none. During the youth battlefield, I ran into him and met him a few times."

Ten-horned Rampant Blood smiled and said, "Alright then. After the trial, let’s discuss with the Desecration Scholar to see if we should choose him as the assassination target."

Zhou Leng walked at the back of the team, finding a chance to take a look at what he held.

It was a foil-wrapped human product, warm to the touch, and upon opening, revealed a red pill inside.

Mountain and River Origin came over, chatting with him.

"How is it, confident?" Mountain and River Origin asked.

"So-so, how long can you hold on?"

"Not sure, but five or six hours shouldn’t be a problem. Have you participated in the Lava Hall before?"

"Yes, I have."

"Then you and I have an advantage here."

Soon, Aiden approached with a smile, "Zhou Leng, we meet again."

"Aiden, hello," Zhou Leng replied courteously.

Aiden had been watching Zhou Leng earlier and noticed the small actions by Giant Furnace.

He sighed, "I didn’t expect they’d be willing to give you the ’Divine Blood Wonder Pill’. Even an ordinary Demigod Dwarf descendant might not get it."

"You know a lot about the Divine Blood Wonder Pill," Zhou Leng said.

"Of course, I tried everything but couldn’t get it. It’s not about being unable to afford it; it simply doesn’t circulate publicly. This thing is refined from the divine blood magma. Beneath this volcano, there’s an underground factory. The divine blood elixir and other pills produced are exclusively supplied to the Steel Dwarves," Aiden said, filled with regret.

At this moment, Zhao He walked up and smiled, "You two know each other?"

Aiden whipped his head around, squinting like a venomous snake at Zhao He, then slowly said, "Zhou Leng and I had a misunderstanding, but now it’s resolved."

"I see, good to know the misunderstanding is cleared. I mainly worry that our people from Dragon Country might be bullied by those from the Eagle Alliance," Zhao He said.

Aiden chuckled slightly, "That was the past. Now, anyway, our Eagle Alliance people have been beaten by the Dragon Country. If someone is still bullying the people from Dragon Country, who could it be?"

Zhao He shifted the topic, "What do you think, how long can this year’s first withstand in the divine blood magma? The last first place, converted to Blue Star time, lasted 7 hours and 37 minutes. The highest record in history is 12 hours, achieved by about twenty people over ten thousand years of Dwarven history. The most recent was the Golden Celestial River."

Aiden, wearing a white tailcoat, crossed his arms and said lazily, "Although I didn’t get the Giant Body of Wonders, I have my own Body of Wonders, slightly weaker than Giants. At most five to six hours."

Zhao He said, "Not me, I can only last a little over an hour."

Aiden said, "Alright, I’ll tell General Julu, to kick you out once you exceed an hour, how about that?"

"You’ve been bad since you were a child," Zhao He said.

"And you’re no better, pretending to be weak all the time. I want to see if you’ll still pretend in such a treasure place like the divine blood magma," Aiden said.

Zhao He said calmly, "I’m indeed weak, but I might be in tune with the power of the divine blood magma, at least five or six hours."

"Who just said they could only last an hour?"

"That’s called traditional modesty."

"Kneel! Kowtow! Otherwise, you’re not traditional."

"Aiden the mad, has water flooded your brain?"

Zhou Leng kept a neutral expression, secretly amused, not expecting the two to start bickering as soon as they met.

"Did you two know each other from childhood?" Zhou Leng asked.

Aiden quickly said, "Once Saint Zhao went missing, and Zhao’s family was in turmoil. His father sent him to the Eagle Alliance, unclear if it was as a hostage or backup, or perhaps a transfer..."

Zhao He interrupted, "Don’t know who, when came to Dragon Country, clung to my grandfather’s leg, pleading to learn supreme divine skills, crying with snot and tears, banging their head, making my grandfather laugh and cry."

Aiden became furious, "Didn’t I say not to mention that?"

"You started the crazy biting," Zhao He said.

Aiden snorted coldly, saying no more.

Zhou Leng and Mountain and River Origin glanced at each other, seeing the barely contained laughter in each other’s eyes.

Soon, everyone reached the mountainside. Further up, it became extremely steep, with magma rushing and splashing like waterfalls flowing.

The magma was scorching, and the surrounding air was hot. Everyone present was at least Bone Forger Innate, completely unaffected.

The Giant Furnace shouted, "Regardless of race, take off your clothes and start climbing."

Everyone present, regardless of race, began to climb half-naked.

A White Dragon asked, "Lord Giant Furnace, we dragons are good at flying, not climbing. Can we fly up?"

"Sure, after I tear off your wings, fly all you want," Giant Furnace said.

The White Dragon immediately lowered its head, saying nothing, and climbed quietly.

The higher they climbed, the more magma there was, and the higher the temperature rose.

Soon, the temperature exceeded 100 degrees Celsius.

No one cared, including those with the weakest bodies among the Innate.

Eventually, everyone reached the magma lake near the top.

On the mountain, a large amount of divine blood magma flowed, like slow waterfalls falling into the lake, splattering everywhere with a thunderous roar.

In the lake, the blood-red magma rippled, bubbling, just looking at it made the skin ache.

A small amount of magma overflowed from the shore, flowing down the mountain.

The Giant Furnace said, "This lake is not the true trial ground, just a pre-trial point. Only after enduring three hours of bathing here can one enter the volcano crater."

"If you can’t even last three hours here, you won’t even know how you died in the volcano crater. Go down, and remember to place your magic spirit bag in a safe place, don’t let the magma burn it."

The trial takers slowly approached the edge of the magma lake, mostly attempting cautiously aside from a few bold ones.

Then, screams and howls filled the scene.

The Giant Furnace and other examiners grinned, chatting away while watching the spectacle.

Zhou Leng had researched that the temperature of magma is about 700 to 1200 degrees. The divine blood magma might be even hotter, but since it’s exposed, the actual temperature is likely no more than 1000 degrees.

"Let’s go," Mountain and River Origin said.

Zhou Leng did not remove his magic spirit bag. Made of high-grade dragon skin, it could withstand such burning.

At the lake’s edge, without using Qi, he carefully stepped his right foot into the shallow magma.

"Hiss..."

Even with an incredibly strong body, the intense burning sensation instantly spread throughout his being.

The skin where the magma touched turned bright red.

"Ouch, damn, that really hurts..." Mountain and River Origin couldn’t help but curse with a giant’s crude language.