Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 639 - 618: Junior Brother (Part 2)

These days, the entire internet is buzzing, speculating about the outcome of Zhou Leng.

Countless military, martial arts, and gossip bloggers are all discussing this event, with various videos emerging continuously.

People have discovered that past videos related to Zhou Leng had at least 50% yin-yang commentary, but recent videos have only 10% persistently negative comments.

The videos from Zhenyan Media Tower have frightened many of those involved.

Yangtze River.

"Rolling, rolling, rolling..."

An old man pulled the hook from a river dolphin’s mouth in the Yangtze River, using soft force to throw it with full strength. The dolphin flew a full twenty kilometers, landing unharmed in the water.

"Unlucky!"

Zhu Shiji’s face turned iron-blue; the first fish in three months was a prison-sitting fish.

Sitting down, casting the hook, sulking in silence.

There was new news.

Seeing it was from Wang Huaixiong, he ignored it.

Wang Huaixiong sent many new messages.

Zhu Shiji still ignored it.

After a while, there was more new news.

It was from Martial Saint Chen Shaohuang.

Zhu Shiji didn’t want to look either, but after all, they had been sparring for decades, so he forced himself to look.

"Has Zhou Leng been formalized? If he hasn’t become your official disciple, I’m going to personally snatch him."

Zhu Shiji was still pondering what was going on when Martial Saint Li Tianyuan also sent a message.

"Shiji, I now admit, my eye for accepting disciples is not as good as yours."

Zhu Shiji was taken aback, immediately checking Wang Boxiong’s messages.

All were videos of Zhou Leng sent by Wang Boxiong.

Zhu Shiji clicked the first video, basic palm technique.

At first, Zhu Shiji’s expression didn’t change.

After watching it once, he closed his eyes, envisioning the entire process of Zhou Leng’s movements in his mind.

Then, he stood up and performed the technique once according to Zhou Leng’s method.

Afterward, he closed his eyes again, comparing the differences between himself and Zhou Leng.

Comparing three times consecutively, he suddenly opened his eyes, eyes gleaming.

"Something’s not right..."

After watching repeatedly more than ten times, he stayed in place continuously practicing the basic palm technique.

Practicing hundreds of times, not causing the wind to rise nor flattening the grass, just like an ordinary person.

Practicing a full hundred times, he compared his and Zhou Leng’s basic palm technique again.

"Flawless, perfect... Something’s wrong, very wrong..."

"That kid’s aura, posture are not right, how does he have the faint demeanor of a Martial Saint?"

"His clothes and the surrounding air flow are not right, a Grandmaster can’t reach this realm, and crucially, he’s not even using True Qi..."

He would never admit that Zhou Leng performed this basic palm technique better than he did.

Zhu Shiji immediately sent a message to Wang Boxiong.

"Send me the battle video of Zhou Leng after he became a Grandmaster."

Soon, Wang Boxiong sent a video of Zhou Leng consecutively battling sixteen families.

Zhu Shiji finished watching it, slapped his thigh.

"Where is he?"

"Dragon Race Embassy."

Zhu Shiji waved his hand, packed up the fishing gear, looked up at the direction, lifted his leg, his body rose off the ground, stepping through the air, speeding swiftly, soon reaching ten times the speed of sound.

Yet, no sound of breaking through the sky, no shockwave, silently.

After flying far away, centering on the place where he practiced punches, grass within a radius of 100 meters withered visibly to the naked eye.

Zhu Shiji, like a humanoid hypersonic missile, reached the outskirts of Xiong City, directly landing at the Dragon Race Embassy.

"Zhou Leng?" Zhu Shiji’s voice spread throughout the embassy, without a single sound leaking out.

The giant dragons were all on guard, Zhou Leng stepped out, clasped his fists toward Zhu Shiji, bowed at a ninety-degree angle to salute.

"Student Zhou Leng greets Teacher Zhu Shiji."

If it were another registered disciple calling him like this, Zhu Shiji would’ve slapped them already, but hearing Zhou Leng call him like this, he instead showed a sort of "just as expected" demeanor.

"Let’s go somewhere no one’s around to talk."

Zhou Leng and Zhu Shiji walked toward the embassy’s garden, standing in the pavilion.

Zhu Shiji took out a tea set from the Magic Spirit Bag, Zhou Leng diligently boiled water and steeped tea, serving Zhu Shiji tea.

"Did you have a starry encounter?"

"Yes."

"How much can you say?"

"Basically can’t disclose."

"Received an inheritance?"

"Yes."

Zhu Shiji nodded, pondering for a long while, said, "We aren’t destined to be master and disciple; I won’t force it."

"In my heart, you are always my teacher."

Zhou Leng understood, back then Zhu Shiji killed Lou Shan Cauldron, thoroughly subduing the related forces, otherwise the sixteen families might’ve jumped the wall in desperation. Even if they could not harm him, they would harm his loved ones, their usual method, vulgarly known as finding the soft spot.

Zhu Shiji taking action was already an immense help.

Back in the day, the world transitioned from an old technological era to the Martial Arts Era, undergoing drastic changes.

As with any era’s transformation, it brought enormous chaos and turmoil.

A large portion of Blue Star’s nations were ruled by powerful martial artists, who ran amok, behaving like tyrants, no different from the old warlords, leaving the people destitute and homeless.

With martial clans in disarray and martial artists running rampant, killing as they pleased, ordinary people and lower-tier martial artists’ lives were not safeguarded, resulting in rampant and shocking criminal activities.

The world’s population rapidly decreased.

Dragon Country was slightly better than those smaller countries but showed tendencies of becoming like Elephant Country and Xiong Country.

With increased power came the swelling of desires, not moral growth.

Sheep will never restrain lions and tigers.

The sheep dreaming of becoming lions and tigers in chaotic times were the ones who died the fastest, the most tragically.

But, Dragon Country was, after all, not Elephant Country, after all, educated by thousands of years of moral values like benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust. In times of crisis, righteous people from all sides worked collaboratively to maintain order.

Later, Zhao Dongjun burst onto the scene, suppressing all sides, ensuring Dragon Country would not devolve into a dominion of martial and moneyed clans, establishing a system where people ruled, and reformed the country drastically centered around the Martial Mansion.

Afterward, Zhao Dongjun personally commanded three severe crackdown operations, clearing the world, purging it clean.

Since then, besides the few Martial Saints employed by the Martial Mansion, other Martial Saints could not interfere in internal affairs, having voting rights only in major decisions regarding the Otherworld.

Since then, the martial clans restrained themselves.

China has always followed the example set by superiors; with martial clans restraining themselves, magnates were hit, many rampant martial artists had to change their mindsets, reducing slaughter.

Finally, lower-tier martial artists and civilians no longer lived in fear, society stabilized, and the country thrived.

But over time, as in all dynasties past, desires expanded, and scum reemerged.

Zhu Shiji waved his hand, saying, "I don’t care about such hollow reputations. However, on my way here, I delved deeper into some matters. You’re in quite a predicament now."

"As a martial artist, who doesn’t have trouble." Zhou Leng’s demeanor was calm.

"Good, very good." Zhu Shiji stared at Zhou Leng, saying, "The one teaching you, their strength far exceeds mine, doesn’t it?"

Zhou Leng was silent for a moment, saying, "Indeed."

"This time for the Ancient River Sect’s entrance ceremony, take me along. The title of us being master and disciple ends here. However, before you ascend to Martial Saint, you will still encounter massive hurdles. How about this, I’ll say I accepted a disciple for my master, and you as my junior brother, how does that sound?"

Zhou Leng was momentarily stunned, thoughts racing, then clasped his hands, saying, "Junior brother Zhou Leng greets senior brother Zhu Shiji."

Zhu Shiji laughed heartily, patting Zhou Leng on the shoulder.

"I came this time to seek your guidance on basic martial arts."

"In our older generation, those who succeeded generally followed a similar path, having talent in a certain field, gradually snowballing with the initial advantage, and adding various opportunities and encounters, of course, with effort and diligence far surpassing ordinary people."

"Our shortcoming is, the earliest martial arts we encountered were outdated. Even if we continuously corrected them, the basic martial arts still had flaws. After watching your basic martial arts video, I greatly benefited."

"Not just me, many Martial Saint friends were also deeply moved. One generation’s talent emerges, like the Yangtze River’s waves pushing the waves ahead... Alright, no more laments. In your basic palm technique, there’s one move that’s very strange. I’ve pondered over it for a long time, but couldn’t understand its purpose..."

Zhu Shiji gestured as he inquired.

Upon hearing Zhu Shiji’s words, Zhou Leng sighed inwardly, truly deserving of being a Martial Saint, identifying the key point of Ancient River Sect’s basic palm technique at a glance.

Zhou Leng practiced while explaining, "This move actually prepares for the follow-up techniques of the Ancient River Sect, involving peculiar force exertion..."

A slight hint, and Zhu Shiji suddenly understood, then began drawing inferences from it.

"And this move, its application is extremely exquisite, unfathomably profound, but after pondering for a long time, I couldn’t find a practical scenario."

"This move originates from advanced starry martial arts, targeting starry behemoths."

"No wonder..."