Martial Ascent to Divinity

"Due to the death of the Demon Duke, the Demon Alliance, Sea Siren, and Demon Worship Sect are launching a retaliation, but the Demon City Army and Martial Guard Department are already prepared."

"You should rest well these days, try not to go out, and wait until things calm down."

"There are rumors that you killed the Demon Duke. I think it's purely gossip. How could you have the power to kill him? The Hall Master also said it's impossible."

"Someone saw the Flame of Burning Evil and Tong Tianxia appear there. We think it was those two who killed him."

Zhou Leng understood Instructor Deng's meaning.

Afterward, Zhou Leng browsed the martial arts forum, which was buzzing with discussions.

No one disclosed specific information within the Celestial Ladder, only speculation.

"Three days have already passed, and still no one knows whether the Celestial Ladder inheritance was successful."

"The number of Celestial Ladders in the Ten Realms hasn't changed, so it must have failed."

"What a pity."

"Actually, it's no big deal, just a First Layer Celestial Ladder. If it were a Multi-tiered Celestial Ladder that failed, then that would be unfortunate."

Zhou Leng vaguely sensed that in the void, deep within Blue Star, something seemed to be brewing.

Soon, Zhou Leng recalled that the Celestial Ladder would first brew a place of inheritance, then it belongs to humanity.

"I wonder, what kind of inheritance land it will be..."

Zhou Leng continued to search and saw important news, his eyes narrowing.

"A Demon Duke died in the Celestial Ladder, and Endless City has issued a kill order to eliminate all top-ranked joint exam students."

"The Demon Worship Sect has already mobilized, and the Fishman Sect was the first to act, already harming some people."

"Someone from the Trup family died in the Celestial Ladder, they are looking for the killer everywhere."

"It's said that Mad Prince Aiden has issued a death order: if the killer is not found, he will wipe out the entire first and second rank groups of the joint exam students."

"Too crazy, who knew that an ordinary joint exam would cause such a huge stir."

"The Demon and Trup family members are not generous; they're just a bunch of sore losers and rogues."

"They've always been so shameless."

"Our Martial Guard Department is also not to be trifled with, fully mobilizing and capturing many lunatics from the Demon Worship Sect."

Leaving the forum, Zhou Leng checked his personal information in Martial Arts City.

His military rank soared.

From a Student, surpassed Private, Senior Private, Junior Sergeant, Sergeant, Senior Sergeant, directly promoted to Senior Sergeant Major.

The next step would be achieving the rank of Lieutenant.

Zhou Leng was puzzled because although he killed many enemies, they were all lower-rank Demons, and above Sergeant, one typically needed to kill enough middle-rank Demons to advance.

Zhou Leng opened the information to check.

Due to killing a large number of Demons in important battles, this merited a special promotion.

At the same time, organizing and leading an army of more than ten thousand, against more than fifty thousand Demons, also earned him additional war merits.

This is equivalent to commanding a battle of a normal division's scale; such a level of war merits, reaching Senior Sergeant Major, is considered little.

Unexpectedly, some battle merits are temporarily archived, and when the rank is advanced in the future, they will be directly supplemented, rapidly improving his military rank.

A non-full-time Senior Sergeant Major can earn an additional monthly allowance of 2000 yuan.

Afterward, Zhou Leng opened the Rucheng Freshman Chart.

Zhou Leng.

Rucheng Martial Arts Academy Affiliated Martial Arts Hall.

Martial Arts Index: 8.32.

Ranking: 43.

The joint exam ranking and war merits increase led to a significant advancement.

Entering the top fifty on the Youth Chart, the monthly ranking prize also increased from 3000 to 5000.

Rucheng, Patrol Bureau.

"I saw a piece of news today, quite interesting."

"What news?"

"Do you remember Zhou Leng?"

"Of course I remember, we've monitored him for ten years. We owe sitting in this position today to him."

"He's recently gained some small fame and entered the 43rd place on the Rucheng Freshman Chart."

"What? This is big news, we must report it to that person."

"We have to report it, but I guess from now on, we won't have to report it at all."

"Why?"

"Zhou Leng was hit by Spirit Poison Light."

"This... we're finally free, you make the call."

Not long after, the person dialed a number.

"Hmm?"

"Hello, sir. Zhou Leng's strength improved after entering the Martial Arts Hall, but unfortunately, he was hit by the Spirit Poison Light in the Demon City."

"Hmm, you don't need to focus on him anymore."

"Yes!"

He hung up the phone.

The two looked at each other and sighed.

There is relief, but also regret.

"Is it over?"

"It's basically over, even if he becomes Innate, the other side won't bother paying attention."

"Yes, unless he becomes like Ma Xingkong, who possesses the makings of a Grandmaster, only then would they be concerned."

"It's impossible now, Spirit Poison Light... What a pity. Their family really has a tumultuous fate..."

Special care ward.

Zhou Leng turned his head to look at Xu Qingjin, who was still asleep, extending his left hand, softly retracting it the instant it touched Xu Qingjin's hair.

Zhou Leng looked around, got up to fetch a thin quilt, and Xu Qingjin suddenly lifted her head, gazing over in a daze.

On her face was a faint red mark from the pillow.

"Ah? You're awake?" Xu Qingjin flashed a bright smile, a bit silly because she had just woken up.

"Awake. Were you here the whole time?"

"No, I attended school during the day and came here at night. I was worried..." Xu Qingjin blushed, got up, and said, "I'll go call someone."

Xu Qingjin said this, then hurried out, returning shortly after.

Two people in lieutenant uniforms walked in, one male and one female, holding recording equipment.

Zhou Leng was about to get up, but the male lieutenant extended a hand to stop him: "No need to be formal, Student Zhou Leng, just continue resting since you're bedridden. I'm Luo Guanqiang, representing the Seventh Division Martial Arts Brigade, sent by Brigadier General Chen Shouhu to inquire about the events. Just answer truthfully."

"Okay," Zhou Leng replied.

Xu Qingjin brought over two chairs for the two to sit.

The female lieutenant handled the recording, and Luo Guanqiang began to ask, "Let's take it slowly. Name."

"Zhou Leng."

"Address..."

The questions and answers were mostly basic information, with both sides being very polite.

After a while, Luo Guanqiang said, "Please describe the process from when you discovered you had entered the Celestial Ladder to the Book of Spirituality."

Zhou Leng frowned slightly, thinking as he spoke.

"I realized it was the Celestial Tier Trial, then chose to move to the center..."

"...after hunting down a demon, I found one with Spiritual Light, so I killed it and seized it..."

"...along the way, I encountered many corpses and discovered numerous pills and items..."

When Zhou Leng finished, Luo Guanqiang said, "Alright. Considering the Celestial Tier Trial prohibits revealing heritage information, we won't ask about the trial content. Now, briefly describe the process from the Book of Spirituality to the Land of Ice."

"Alright..."

Most of the latter part involved others, so Zhou Leng mostly told the truth, only omitting a few small details.

One person answered, the other two recorded, as time slowly passed...

When speaking of Xu Qingjin, her little ears perked up, occasionally lowering her head with a smile.

"Alright, I want to ask what happened during the final battle."

Images of Deng Zhijue's seemingly casual words surfaced in Zhou Leng's mind.

Zhou Leng furrowed his brow tightly, saying, "I'm still a bit confused. I only remember rushing in and fighting that Demon, injuring him, but it was hard to kill him because he was too strong."

"I only remember being severely injured by him and then fainting. What happened afterward is a blur."

"I found out from a friend's message that I was hit with Spirit Poison Light."

After Zhou Leng finished speaking, he sighed softly, staring straight at the wall ahead.

Xu Qingjin's heart trembled, and she quickly poured a cup of warm water for Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng took the cup.

Xu Qingjin frowned, looking at Zhou Leng with concern.

The two lieutenants exchanged glances, showing expressions of sympathy.

Luo Guanqiang said, "This is also what I was going to mention; it seems you already know. In fact, you not only got hit by the Spirit Poison Light but also suffered from a very complex poison. However, it's unclear who used the Poison-eating Mosquito to clear nearly all the poison."

Luo Guanqiang looked at Zhou Leng's complexion and continued, "The remaining residual poison has been completely removed. However, your body will suffer some damage. Our brigade leader has applied for a second-class merit on your behalf to commend your contribution."

"Please convey my thanks to Brigadier General Chen Shouhu," Zhou Leng said.

Luo Guanqiang added, "Given your leadership in defeating the Demons and saving the lives of tens of thousands of students, we, the Seventh Division Martial Arts Brigade, are granting you the title of 'Honorary Lieutenant of the Seventh Division Martial Arts Brigade of the Sea Suppression Army,' allowing you to act under the identity of the Martial Arts Brigade at the Shuizhou Base in the future."

Xu Qingjin stood in amazement, her mouth slightly agape.

Zhou Leng was taken aback for a moment.

The Demon City Army is a general term for the military, as humanity nominally no longer establishes organizations to combat other countries.

The Sea Suppression Army is responsible for the East China Region, centered on the West Sea Demon City.

The Seventh Division is primarily responsible for the Shuizhou Demon City.

The Martial Arts Brigade is somewhat unique, belonging to the Seventh Division but directly led by the Sea Suppression Army, just slightly lower than the Seventh Division.

Among all the brigades at the Shuizhou Base, it ranks first in combat ability.

The honorary military rank mainly rewards those who actively aid the Seventh Division's experts, at least of the Innate level.

Very few are below the Innate level.

With this identity, it means that as long as you're at the Shuizhou Base, all treatments equate to a lieutenant of the Martial Arts Brigade.

You can do many things you couldn't before.

For example, the discarded Magic Spirit Bag, previously unsolvable, can now be directly taken to the Martial Arts Brigade, exchanged for battle points, and then for other items.

The Seventh Division's Demon Spirit Masters will help resolve the Magic Mark and hide all traces.

"Many thanks to Brigadier General Chen for his support," Zhou Leng said.

"We've heard about your deeds in our Martial Arts Brigade, and we think highly of you. If the Martial Arts Hall's treatment is too low, consider trying out at our brigade. By the way, your Magic Spirit Bag had a mark, which we've had a Demon Spirit Master disperse," Luo Guanqiang said before getting up to leave.

Zhou Leng wanted to see them off, but the female lieutenant stopped him.

"You sit, I'll see them out," Xu Qingjin offered, escorting the two out.

Zhou Leng pondered Luo Guanqiang's last words, wondering if they merely expressed appreciation or held other meanings.

Zhou Leng sent a message to Instructor Deng Zhijue, explaining the recent situation.

Deng Zhijue read it and felt greatly astonished. Although not part of the Demon City Army system, he understood the value of this "Honorary Lieutenant" title in the Martial Guard Department.

On the surface, it's just an officer's identity, but if Zhou Leng encounters trouble at the Shuizhou Base and reveals this identity, the Martial Arts Brigade group will surely rally to assist.

Deng Zhijue advised Zhou Leng to take it in stride but found it hard to stay calm himself and forwarded the conversation to Wang Boxiong.

Wang Boxiong looked at it, gazed out into the night, and sighed softly.

Spirit Poison Light, extinguishing the will, had mostly severed Zhou Leng's Path of Innate.

Even if he awakens a Qi Marvelous Body, the upper limit will still be low, with no hope for Grandmaster.

"Perhaps, there's still a turning point..."

"If there's any good news, it's that those over there should be completely at ease now."