Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 630 - 610: Intentions

In front of the Eight-toothed Mammoth, several earth-splitting giant lizards fled in panic, desperately escaping.

A few hours later, the earth-splitting giant lizards rushed into the Demon Spirit World.

The Eight-toothed Mammoths hesitated briefly, then followed inside, continuing the chase.

Rucheng, Ancient River Research Bureau.

Zhou Leng rested for a few days; the physical and mental exhaustion from the consecutive battles slowly dissipated.

Just as he was preparing to delve into cultivation, the Snow Mountain Wolf sent a message.

"Your Highness Zhou Leng, the upper-rank Holy Son of the Divine Sect is nearing the end of his life. According to the regulations, the selection process for the next generation Holy Son or Saintess will start early, and the ’Holy Ritual’ will commence. The Elder Council has ordered me to invite you to the Ice Snow Divine Sect to participate in the Holy Ritual."

"Do I have to go?"

"The Holy Ritual is the most important ceremony of our sect, bar none."

"Alright, when?"

"In three days."

"Do I need to prepare anything?"

"No, but be prepared for the possibility of being chosen as the Holy Son."

"Even I have a chance?"

"Anyone could potentially be chosen. However, I’ve heard that Mad Prince Aiden is vying for the position of Holy Son and has obtained a certain Secret Treasure. He is very likely to become the Holy Son unless something unexpected happens."

"What criteria do you use for selection?"

"Divine Favor. Anything else can be faked, but not the favor of the Gods."

"No other standards? Like extra merits or something?"

"There used to be, but then there was an internal turmoil in the sect, greatly reducing its strength, turning it into a second-rate power."

"Sounds like a rather sad story. I’ll prepare for a day and leave with you tomorrow."

"I await your esteemed presence."

Zhou Leng prepared for a day and, on the second day, boarded the Ice Snow Divine Sect’s demon spirit carriage, passed through Shuizhou Demon City, entered the Demon Spirit World, and flew towards the Ice Snow Divine Sect.

Nearing the Ice Snow Divine Sect’s Holy Snow Mountain, the carriage descended and stopped at the gates of Holy Snow Lower City at the foot of the mountain.

Stepping out of the carriage, he heard the sounds of battle not far away.

Some people were watching.

Zhou Leng looked in the direction of the sound and saw a team of Eight-toothed Mammoths fighting several earth-splitting giant lizards.

Zhou Leng paused for a moment, these Eight-toothed Mammoths looked somewhat familiar, one in particular...

"Xiaoba!" Zhou Leng shouted.

Xiaoba, who was fighting, froze for a moment and looked over in the direction of the voice.

"Awoo..." Xiaoba excitedly called out, then indicated with its trunk to focus on finishing the fight first.

Behind Xiaoba, a shadow suddenly stopped, using the large form of the Eight-toothed Mammoth to hide, then rolled over, the black wolf turning into a yellow dog.

Zhou Leng ran over without a word, shouting, "Where’s Huang?"

Xiaoba blinked suddenly and remained silent.

"Woof!"

A yellow figure shot out, with its large mouth open, tongue hanging out on one side, eyes squinting, running over.

Zhou Leng’s face darkened, he sternly said, "Who told you to come to such a dangerous place?"

Huang’s figure wavered guiltily, then rushed to Zhou Leng, licking with his tongue carefree, not caring what Zhou Leng was saying.

Zhou Leng’s face was covered in slobber from Huang’s licking, helplessly he extended both hands to push the dog’s head outward.

Huang continued to push forward enthusiastically, wagging his tail vigorously.

"Alright, alright, I won’t scold you anymore."

Only then did Huang stop being sticky, looked up, squinted happily, and panted huffily.

Not far away, the battle had already halted.

The other Eight-toothed Mammoths were cleaning up the battlefield, Xiaoba hop-skipped over like a giant pup.

From a distance, the Demon Spirit Masters on alert had a look of disbelief, what kind of fierce beast was this?

The Snow Mountain Wolf discussed the situation with Frosty Hand, then swiftly flew over.

Zhou Leng asked Huang, "Did you chase the earth-splitting giant lizards and accidentally come here?"

Huang nodded repeatedly.

"Anything else?"

Huang shook his head, then barked at Xiaoba.

Xiaoba barked a few times, and Huang pointed his paw towards Holy Snow City.

"Do they want to take the opportunity to enter the city and perhaps conduct some trade or something?"

Huang nodded.

The Snow Mountain Wolf came over and asked, "Your Highness, do you know these fierce beasts?"

"Hmm." Zhou Leng didn’t want to explain too much.

"That’s great, Frosty Hand Master says that he hopes to invite these fierce beasts to participate in the Holy Ritual to strengthen our Ice Snow Divine Sect’s might."

"That guy really likes to take advantage..." Zhou Leng immediately understood what’s going on, it’s simply a matter of wanting to use this opportunity to publicize the connection between the Ice Snow Divine Sect and the fierce beasts to show off their strength.

Zhou Leng asked Huang, "Is it that the Eight-toothed Mammoths have expanded to their limit and need more resources? I remember hearing from the Mammoth Elder about similar things before, so you want to take a look at Holy Snow City along the way?"

Huang nodded vigorously.

Zhou Leng glanced at the Eight-toothed Mammoths and then at the people of the Ice Snow Divine Sect, "How about this, I’ll lead to facilitate cooperation between the Ice Snow Divine Sect and the Eight-toothed Mammoths. Let’s head into the city first and talk."

Zhou Leng led Huang and the Eight-toothed Mammoths into the city, and when the Ice Snow Divine Sect learned they had collaborators from the fierce beast world, Frosty Hand personally came to meet them.

The Demon Spirit Masters used beast language techniques to communicate with the Eight-toothed Mammoth clan.

With Zhou Leng as the mediator, both sides lowered their guard to conduct friendly preliminary negotiations.

Both sides presented some demands or conditions, but there was no substantial progress, as there was only a Grandmaster Eight-toothed Mammoth leading the team, who needed to return to seek the Elders’ instructions.

After the discussions, half of the Eight-toothed Mammoths remained here to participate in the holy ceremony, while the other half returned to the tribe with the negotiation contents to prepare for the next round of detailed talks.

Huang and Xiaoba stayed here with the Grandmaster Eight-toothed Mammoth.

Zhou Leng spent a day with them, and on the day of the holy ceremony, they all walked to the top of the mountain together and stood before the temple doors.

Zhou Leng, having participated in the induction ceremony before, was quite familiar with the process.

Xiaoba and Huang looked around and occasionally muttered to themselves.

As the holy ceremony drew near, envoys from various major forces arrived, with many specifically approaching Zhou Leng to pay their respects.

Before long, Jade Wings, representing the Dragon Race and considered a member of the Ice Snow Divine Sect, rushed over.

"You’re not dead?" The gigantic Green Dragon grinned foolishly, its body now several times larger, having been promoted to Grandmaster.

"Hmm?"

"I mean, I heard not only are you not dead, but you’ve also recovered your Grandmaster power? How did you recover it?"

"I used a power from an Alien Race. Let me introduce you, this is Huang, and this is Xiaoba..." Zhou Leng continued, "This is Jade Wings, a Green Dragon, get acquainted."

In the eyes of humans, giant dragons, animals, and fierce beasts are not so different.

Xiaoba met the Eight-toothed Mammoth for the first time, using animal language to communicate with Xiaoba and Huang.

Before long, the three of them got along well, barking and howling together, chatting about anything and everything, boasting all the while.

"Your Highness, Zhou Leng."

Zhou Leng turned to the voice, seeing Mad Prince Aiden and Jax along with members of the Trup Family approaching.

The Mad Prince was dressed in a white tailcoat, looking elegant, but in his eyes, powerful energy surged, faintly flashing with a trace of madness.

He had successfully been promoted to Grandmaster.

"Hello, Aiden, Jax," Zhou Leng greeted politely.

"I’ve heard of your deeds and sincerely admire your strength, and I congratulate you on your recovery," Aiden said.

"Thank you. I heard that you have a good chance of becoming the Holy Son of the Ice Snow Divine Sect?"

Aiden quickly replied, "Those are just rumors; like everyone else, I am a child of the God with equal opportunity."

The two chatted for a while before the holy ceremony was about to start, and Aiden and Jax left first.

Snow Mountain Wolf observed from a distance, and after Aiden left, he approached.

"Your Highness, Zhou Leng, be wary of Aiden."

"Hmm?"

"As far as we know, he is quite dissatisfied with you, but he just took the initiative to show goodwill. I find it suspicious."

"What’s going on?" Zhou Leng asked.

"Previously, Aiden was the sole collaborator of the Divine Sect on Blue Star. After you appeared, the Divine Sect gradually shifted their focus to you. Although he hasn’t made any explicit moves, according to some intelligence, the Trup Family is on the verge of collapse, and he wants more support from the Divine Sect. He has complained about you several times, seemingly with the intent to eliminate you."

"I see." Zhou Leng narrowed his eyes, recalling his various encounters with Aiden. This person is not as mad as legend has it but is rather cunning. Such a person targeting him is a major threat.

"The reason I’m now warning you is because he might very well become the next Holy Son. If he becomes the Holy Son, leave the Ice and Snow World immediately to avoid his retaliation."

"Is his treasure that formidable?"

"Because many years ago, a Demon Spirit Master indeed swallowed the Ice and Snow Tears, received the highest Divine Favor, and was selected as the Holy Son."

Zhou Leng casually glanced over at Aiden.

"Alright, if he gets promoted to Holy Son, I’ll leave immediately," Zhou Leng said.

"I’ve prepared a Demon Spirit Carriage for you in advance."

Zhou Leng and Jade Wings moved forward, with Huang and Xiaoba chatting endlessly behind.

A large number of members of the Ice Snow Divine Sect proceeded to the square in front of the temple’s main entrance.

Non-Divine Sect members stood outside the square, unable to enter further.

Zhou Leng and Jade Wings entered the square, followed by Huang and Xiaoba.

Zhou Leng instructed them to stay outside the square and not to enter.

Jade Wings immediately stopped and stood at the inner edge of the square, continuing to mutter with Xiaoba and Huang.

Zhou Leng stopped and scanned ahead.

All members of the Ice Snow Divine Sect, regardless of age or realm, stood before the temple, none taking seats, symbolizing equality in the presence of the deity.

The ceremony proceeded in three steps.

The first step is "Awakening."

The temple initially excludes members with insufficient or no Divine Favor, to avoid angering the God of Ice and Snow.

The second step is "Bestowal," officially measuring the amount of Divine Favor.

The third step is "Coronation," choosing the person with the most Divine Favor to serve as the Holy Son or Holy Maiden, the nominal leader of the Ice Snow Divine Sect, but they have voting rights in the Elder Council, equivalent to a demigod.

When the time comes, a Demigod Demon Spirit Master recites the Divine Sect scriptures at the forefront, with everyone repeating each line after him.

Once finished, the Demigod Demon Spirit Master and the Legendary Demon Spirit Master collectively activate the temple’s powers.

A great white light formation rose from the ground, illuminating all members of the Ice Snow Divine Sect before the temple.

Initially, everyone was bathed in white light, but as time passed, the white light on member after member faded away.

These people either left the square in gloom, or wept quietly, a few running out crying, unable to bear it.

Curious, Huang and Xiaoba watched.

Jade Wings, standing at the edge of the square, glanced at the white light on himself and said, "I’m not exaggerating, with my strength, I could certainly be chosen as the Holy Son. However, I prefer to keep a low profile and restrain my Divine Favor, never to be a standout dragon."

Xiaoba and Huang rolled their eyes, looking disdainful.

Zhou Leng figured it might be true; given Jade Wings’ prudent nature, he would never become the Holy Son.

Before long, nearly half of the Ice Snow Divine Sect members left the square.

"Please, step forward."

Only then did Zhou Leng and Jade Wings leave the edge of the square, heading towards the temple doors.