Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 504 - 487: Gathering of Demons

The further Zhou Leng and his companions went, the more off things seemed to be.

Because there were too few members of the Humanoid Alliance here, only about a dozen martial artists and demon spirit masters combined.

Aside from them, it was almost entirely demons.

Many of the demons’ gazes swept back and forth, landing on them and making their muscles tense.

Jade Wings whispered, "Why does it feel like we’ve stumbled into a den of thieves?"

Cyan Flame retorted, "How could you say that? Do they look like thieves to you? They’re outright pirates."

"You have big wings, so you must be right." Cyan Flame rolled his eyes at Jade Wings.

"But don’t worry, this is Dragon Mountain after all. At times like these, fighting isn’t allowed. Of course, once inside, it’s a different story."

Rao Mingxian asked, "We’re all from the dragon faction here. Would they really dare to make a move?"

"Once inside, no one cares about factions. Slaying dragons and looting treasures is the norm. That’s the battlefield. Do you know what a battlefield is? Forget about your human morals and righteousness. On the battlefield, it’s all about who has the bigger claws and sharper teeth. So, we need to stay hidden. Surviving is the main goal." Jade Wings coaxed with a mix of awe and intimidation.

Rao Mingxian suddenly turned toward a giant and asked quietly, "Why is there a giant here? He doesn’t look like a demon giant."

Everyone looked over. The giant looked similar to a normal giant, except that his neck was covered with a circle of azure dragon scales.

Jade Wings explained, "That’s a dragon descendant giant, a race developed by ancient demigods. It took over ten thousand years for them to stabilize. Other than being a bit dense, they’re strong in every aspect."

"I remember hearing about them before. How do they feel about giants?"

Jade Wings smacked his lips and said, "What else? They’re part of our Giant Dragon Race."

At that moment, a young martial artist with a broad face and straight nose ran over. His left cheek was crisscrossed with blue and red scars, like many Xs overlapping. It looked a bit terrifying, but it uniquely added to his presence, lending him an invisible aura of authority, making him seem cool instead.

Zhou Leng had seen him many times, Xu Ming, a great master in the army, one of the strongest among the new generation’s Great Innate, poised to rival geniuses like Chen Shouhu and Wang Boxiong.

He was very low-key, but because of his sheer power, one could always spot his videos.

Xu Ming was not only part of the second group to join the Ancient River Sect but also one of the twenty Great Innates who previously besieged the Undying Knight.

"You’re so young, are you really planning to enter the Great Battlefield?"

Xu Ming’s gaze swept over the group, pausing slightly on Rao Mingxian, then moved past the demonized martial artist to focus on Zhou Leng.

"I’ve seen Xu brother. Yes, I plan to enter the Great Battlefield." Zhou Leng responded.

Xu Ming, while running, glanced up and down at Zhou Leng and said, "You seem like just a Bone Forger Innate, but whether in body, aura, or feeling, there’s something off. Such a strong young person should have become famous long ago. How come I’ve never heard of you before?"

In Xu Ming’s view, humans capable of entering the Great Battlefield would already be well-known.

"My name is Zhou Leng. I only recently entered the Innate stage." Zhou Leng said.

Xu Ming slightly bowed his head in thought, then soon replied, "I have heard of this name, Rucheng’s Zhou Leng, loyal and noble. Last year, all students nationwide were praising it. But I remember you were a freshman last year who participated in the Celestial Tier Trial... to go from Qi Blood to Bone Forger Innate in one year?"

His gaze shifted abruptly, his expression becoming more serious.

"Good fortune." Zhou Leng replied.

Xu Ming said, "To become an Innate, who hasn’t had good fortune? Add me on Martial Faith. Once inside the Great Battlefield, if you meet other human Great Innates, tell them you are a friend of Xu Ming. They will give you some respect. You’re too young, with such talent, you can’t fall in the Great Battlefield. Once inside, be thick-skinned—call folks brother and sister profusely. Don’t be greedy; those Great Innates are usually willing to help you."

Jade Wings perked up, listened intently, and committed it to memory.

The two added each other on Martial Faith.

Xu Ming, like an enthusiastic older brother, continued to caution, "The Great Battlefield is for the Great Innates. Don’t act straightforwardly. Hide if you can. Generally, with decent luck, you should survive."

"Give yourself a few more years to advance to Great Innate, the Great Battlefield is an excellent opportunity. But..."

"You’re too young. Don’t act rashly; with such great talent, nothing should go wrong..."

Though Xu Ming rambled on, no one felt annoyed, seeing his genuine concern for Zhou Leng, not wanting a young human genius to perish.

Finally, Xu Ming sighed, "Are you also like me, with no choice but to come to the dragon faction? If I had the giant faction’s shield order, I wouldn’t come here. Still, there are benefits to joining the dragon faction..."

Just as Xu Ming was speaking, out of the corner of his eye, Zhou Leng noticed a familiar silhouette, his pupils subtly contracting.

A towering five-meter tall horse proceeded, its hooves stepping on black flames, its body clad in bright black heavy armor.

On its back sat a humanoid knight shrouded in thick black smoke, holding a black and gold lance.

All nearby demons scattered, not daring to get close.

Xu Ming looked over and said, "Why did that bastard come? If he didn’t flee, I’d definitely take him down. But alas, after devouring the death force, his speed became too fast..."

At the same time, the Undying Knight turned his head to look over here.

Just like last time, the Undying Knight’s face was shrouded in black smoke, forming the outline of a humanoid face with indistinct features.

Xu Ming raised his middle finger, both hands together raised.

The Undying Knight recognized Xu Ming, glanced at Zhou Leng, then turned his head back and continued forward.

Zhou Leng stared at the back of the Undying Knight. At the time, it was a masked battle, and as soon as it began, it ended, but the Undying Knight seemed to recognize him.

The Undying Knight tugged at the reins, and the Hell Warhorse galloped close to a group of Demons.

Volcano Tortoise, Giant Insect Knight, Desecration Demon Scripture, Hundred-Eyed Bow, Black Sun’s Gut, and other noble bloodlines, even Great Demon Bloodline Great Innates, gathered together.

They all nodded in salute to the Undying Knight, but not with the usual fear of ordinary demons.

The demons of noble bloodlines are different from ordinary demons; as long as they cultivate normally, they will advance to Grandmaster, and there’s even a slim chance to advance to Demigod Great Demon.

The Undying Knight rode a five-meter-tall warhorse, with his upper body over two meters tall, almost like a small giant.

But in front of the Giant Insect Knight, he wasn’t considered large, and he seemed small before the ten-meter-high Volcano Tortoise.

"On behalf of His Majesty, I ask, how are the preparations going?"

Everyone looked towards the Desecration Demon Scripture, humanoid in body but its head an open flesh-and-blood book, slowly flipping pages.

"Recently, we captured many Ten Realms People, and for White Lake... trade..."

"As for the ’Mountain Slaying Battle Body’ Martial Shadow Wall ordered by His Majesty, it has already been distributed to all demons..."

"And His Majesty’s... final task... has just been issued. To avoid leaking information, we’ve excluded the Demon Worship Sect and other affiliated forces, not even notifying the Sea Sirens and Beastmen. Actually, just one of His Majesty’s demons is enough, we’re merely waving banners..."

While the demons conversed, the Beastmen, Sea Sirens, Giant Dragons, and others formed different small groups, discussing quietly.

Zhou Leng asked, "Should we prepare for anything?"

Jade Wings said disdainfully, "Prepare for what? Once we enter, we don’t know where we will appear, how to contact the others? It’s so dangerous in there, perilous everywhere, anyone who runs around dies. No need to prepare, just hide after entering."

Xu Ming glanced at Jade Wings, the first time he’d seen such a timid Giant Dragon.

Cyan Flame asked, "Is there really nothing to watch out for?"

Xu Ming said, "Try to team up with the Humanoid Alliance, and if you’re unfamiliar, be cautious. Zhou Leng, you’re too young, be careful of the Martial Artists from other countries on Blue Star, they’re not like us from Dragon Country, they’re quite shameless. They’re alright usually, but in the Great Battlefield, a place full of perils, they are no different from demons."

"I’ll be careful of them. Jade Wings, you’re experienced, explain thoroughly," Zhou Leng said.

Jade Wings leisurely said, "After all, it’s a battlefield, filled with the residual will of the Divine Spirits. Once inside, no one is an ordinary person anymore, but warriors, warriors of the gods."

"How should I put it, in the eyes of gods, we’re no different from chickens, ducks, geese, and insects, so you’ll inevitably be sent by the will of the Divine Spirits to dangerous places to fight."

"If you’re lucky and encounter a relatively benevolent divine will, at most you’ll suffer some flesh wounds to get benefits. If unlucky, and encounter... unspeakable divine will, basically everyone dies, if one survives, it’s because the divine will was too merciful."

"Just as expected..." Xu Ming muttered to himself.

The others wore solemn expressions. Though they’d heard tales of the Great Battlefield, actually entering it made the feeling starkly different.

Besides cultivation these days, Zhou Leng had been reading the notebook map sent by the Crimson Queen and visiting the Demon Spirit Tower to read information on the Great Battlefield, having a general understanding, but still not as thorough as Jade Wings.

After all, Jade Wings was born in the Great Battlefield.

Zhou Leng said, "So, the Great Battlefield being a battlefield of so-called Giants and Giant Dragons is a lie?"

Jade Wings said, "Can’t say it’s all a lie, the Dragon God and Giant Divine Spirits are also considered dragons and giants."

Silence fell upon the group.

"However, you don’t need to worry too much, save for a few extremely perilous areas, most of the particularly dangerous places we can’t reach even if we want. The power there is too strong for us to perceive, instinctively repelled by Divine Power."

"Is it that magical?" Xu Ming asked.

"Do you think divine authority is a joke? For example, among us, there are just differences between strong and weak, essentially no difference, and it’s the same among Divine Spirits. But between gods and us, the difference is vast."

"Simply put, Divine Spirits don’t even need to act. If they say you’ll die today, you won’t live to see tomorrow. The entire world’s forces will work to kill you; a dignified Giant Dragon could choke, breathing might suddenly stop, and sudden thunderstorms or attacks by demigods are commonplace."

Zhou Leng said, "Can Divine Spirits alter limited cause-effect and world rules?"

"To be precise, they can alter lower-tier rules, not same-tier and higher-tier rules. For example, facing another Divine Spirit, they can’t just say they won’t die. But, facing an Elementary Civilization, if a Divine Spirit wants them extinct, just by saying it aloud, celestial bodies or even the sun around the planet that civilization is on would forcibly change to attack the planet."

Everyone fell silent, thinking; only with such power does one deserve the title of god.