Martial Ascent to Divinity

The interior of the primordial demon fruit emitted a strange spiritual power, impacting the Mountain of Will and the seal of ice power.

In the next instant, another force emerged from within the primordial demon fruit, weak but resilient.

Once the new force appeared, the power of the primordial demon fruit became unbalanced, sealed by Zhou Leng's power.

Zhou Leng struggled to stand up, turned his head to look at his back, and touched it with his hand, which was covered in blood.

He looked down at his chest.

The heart seemed to be wrapped in something sticky.

Zhou Leng vaguely remembered that, after being hit by a demon spell, his back felt cold.

Then, he saw countless strange images, there were demons, the human world, slaughter, and warmth.

At the time, he thought it was an illusion, but why was there something at the heart's position?

What happened just now?

The power of martial arts perception left Zhou Leng puzzled.

On the one hand, this thing felt incredibly delicious, seemingly the body's food.

Because of this thing's presence, the body gained the ability to heal rapidly for a short time.

On the other hand, it was like a rose with thorns, containing dangerous power.

Demonic power.

Zhou Leng couldn't figure it out, completely unclear about what had happened, but one thing was certain.

"I need to find a way to dispel the demonic power."

Zhou Leng pondered for a moment, then checked his wounds.

The wound on his left hand was just a cut, nothing serious.

Taking off his shoes and socks, the left foot had a penetrating wound.

Under the influence of that mysterious thing and the medicine, the wound healed exceptionally well, appearing like a wound from three days ago.

Zhou Leng took external injury medicine and pain relief pills from Liang Baiyin's demon spirit bag, and swallowed a "Muscle Building Pill."

Valued at a million, it could rapidly heal wounds.

He rummaged further and found a rapid healing potion.

This was a miraculous emergency medicine, capable of causing wounds to heal very quickly and become painless.

The side effect was if not paired with other magic potions or pills, the wound would revert by the next day.

It was a perfect match with the Muscle Building Pill.

Zhou Leng drank the rapid healing potion in one gulp, and ten seconds later, the wound felt numb and itchy.

Zhou Leng looked at the wound on his left foot, and the wound was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Soon, only a shallow scar was left.

With no more worries, he accelerated towards the Shuizhou base.

Running with all his qi manipulation, continuously consuming Liang Baiyin's Qi Nourishing Pills along the way.

In the car in the distance.

Mark, impatient, got out of the car and relieved himself.

Everyone else got out of the cars, relieving themselves and chatting.

As the sky grew darker, Mark spat a thick phlegm and cursed, "These damned guys, how can I trust them to help us explore the Ancient King's Treasure?"

Tu Rong said helplessly, "Captain Mark, perhaps there will be other gains."

Mark raised his wrist and said, "Wait another half an hour, and if the time is up, drive away."

Tu Rong frowned, looking in the direction where Yu Baocheng and Zhou Leng had disappeared.

The sky grew darker and darker.

"Time's up." Mark turned around to get back in the car.

"Someone's coming! It's Fan Zhixing! Brother Fan!" Tu Rong shouted, waving his hand, and quickly greeted him.

Mark turned around, leaning against the car, frowning deeply.

Nine people went.

Now only one remains.

Tu Rong rushed to Fan Zhixing, who was gasping heavily, hands on Tu Rong's arms, legs softened, and body sliding down.

"Brother Fan!" Tu Rong exclaimed, hurriedly supporting Fan Zhixing and taking a close look.

Fan Zhixing looked pale, sweating all over, exuding a foul odor.

His eyes were pitch-black, like two deep pits in the night.

"You… what happened to you?"

"Nothing, just exhausted from running."

"What's that smell?" Tu Rong asked, sniffing suspiciously and looking around.

Fan Zhixing's face showed a hint of a sickly flush, and with a hoarse voice, he said, "I stepped on a magical beast's feces, got myself all smelly."

"Oh, let me help you back. Where are the others?" Tu Rong asked as they walked.

Fan Zhixing slightly lowered his head, saying nothing.

Tu Rong hesitated for a moment, his heart skipping a beat, his whole body cold, silently supporting Fan Zhixing as they walked forward.

As they reached the car, Mark raised his chin, face darkened, and asked, "Where are they?"

Fan Zhixing opened his mouth but couldn't speak, silent for several seconds before hoarsely saying, "We were chasing him at first... then... when we got close, we found those two foreign martial artists dead in a terrible state... then... I threw down my backpack and ran, what happened after, I don't know."

Mark lifted his foot, then retracted it, took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, and said, "Describe the death of my two subordinates in detail, don't leave out any details."

Fan Zhixing recalled and said, "One person split open from the chin upwards to the forehead... the other fell to the ground, with a large hole from the back to the front heart..."

"Say it again." Mark said.

Fan Zhixing recounted again, almost identical to what he said earlier.

"Say it again." Mark's face grew even darker.

Fan Zhixing recited it a third time, with not a single detail different.

The others understood that this Fan Zhixing probably wasn't lying.

"Are you saying a martial arts school student in the middle period of blood transport first killed my two subordinates, then chased after them, and in the end, only you came back?"

"The other two have also run away. They probably won't die, considering how hard it is to find three people, like searching for a needle in a haystack," Fan Zhixing said.

"Didn't you go back to check?"

"I didn't dare."

"Get in the car... you take us to the battlefield."

"But..." Fan Zhixing showed a look of fear.

Mark raised a hand and slapped him, scolding, "I'm at the Body Refining Stage, and there's a carload of people, what is there to fear?"

The group got into the vehicle and drove towards the battlefield.

Half an hour later, they arrived at where Yu Baocheng had died.

Seeing the three bodies, Mark stretched his arm to stop the others, walked over by himself, looking at the footprints on the ground and observing the details on the deceased.

"Fan Zhixing wasn't wrong. This Zhou Leng strikes fiercely. Look how Yu Baocheng and this person are lying side by side, one struck with a right palm, the other with a left palm..."

"...All the signs show that Zhou Leng hit two people at once. Look at the footprints on the ground, the difference between normal walking and powering up for battle. He likely used no more than five moves..."

"Let's go, continue to check the other bodies."

The group moved forward and saw two more corpses, finally arriving at the location of the two foreign martial artists.

Again, Mark spread his arms to stop everyone, using a drone and cellphone to take pictures.

Then, Mark walked up, observed for a while, and said, "Battle traces show, Zhou Leng was running forward and then returned..."

"Here, look at the footprints. He pretended to charge to the left but immediately turned to the right. Given he learned the Eight Trigrams Step and Overlapping Waves Palm techniques..."

Mark stepped on Zhou Leng's footprints, mimicking his actions, achieving a similarity of seventy to eighty percent.

"This face-splitting move, it wasn't a punch, but an elbow or knee strike. But judging by the traces on the ground, it wasn't a knee..."

"This last palm strike through the back... nothing much to say, the palm power surpasses a normal Late Stage Blood Transport level, just slightly weaker than the Early Stage of Body Refining."

Finally, Mark looked at Tu Rong.

"Is he really poisoned?"

"Absolutely, the military, Martial Guard Bureau, and hospital all say so, plus... my friend's friend saw the deadly residue on his clothes with their own eyes."

Mark nodded and said, "Then I'm relieved. If he wasn't poisoned, we'd either have to kill him at all costs or offer a large compensation apology."

"Huh?"

"This person, young in age, strong in power, ruthless methods, acts decisively. In a few years, he'll far surpass us. Given he's poisoned by the Spirit Poison Light, we'll let it be."

"But... so many of us died."

Mark pointed at the two corpses and asked, "Besides me, who among you can kill both of them in just a few moves?"

The group was silent.

"This matter, it ends here. Once the Ancient King's Treasure matter is done, anyone who wants revenge, I won't stop you. But for now, don't complicate things. Let's carry the two bodies back."

Tu Rong was suddenly startled and whispered, "The backpacks were all taken, the map we were supposed to give our leader..."

"No matter; copies can be made. Even if they get it and go to the Ancient King's Treasure, it doesn't matter."

The group immediately understood that the map might not be as detailed as that of the Trup consortium.

With somber faces, they headed back.

Red Spot Forest.

Zhou Leng stopped, connecting to the network.

Zhou Leng opened the Demonized Watch, messages pouring in from Rao Mingxian, Xu Kang'an, and others.

Rao Mingxian said, "When you get close, remember to send us a message. Liang Baiyin said she has a note with her contact info in her document pouch, the first one being hers; add her as a friend."

Zhou Leng took out Liang Baiyin's document pouch, and sure enough, there was a note inside.

"If found, please contact any of the numbers below for a reward of over ten thousand."

Zhou Leng first responded to Rao Mingxian, then ran while adding Liang Baiyin as a friend.

"Senior Brother Zhou Leng, where are you?"

"Just past the Red Spot Forest, running with all my strength, will arrive in at most an hour."

"We'll wait for you outside the Hall of Military Merits."

"Okay."

"How is Elder Song?"

"Already sent to the base hospital; the doctor said it's nothing serious, just exhaustion from battle."

"That's good."

"Senior Brother Zhou Leng, how are you?"

"Encountered a Body Refining Demon, got injured, used quite a few of your pills."

"It's fine, even if you used them all. As long as you come back, that's what matters most."

"Thank you for the pills."

"I think saving my life is more important than the pills."

The two chatted a bit more, but with Zhou Leng focused on rushing through the night, he politely ended the conversation.

On the way, Zhou Leng contacted Deng Zhijue, summarizing the past couple of days' events, and requested a day off.

However, he didn't mention the encounter with the Maid of Suffering.

The thing in his heart is not suitable for exposure.

When possible, he would investigate what kind of power it was.

For some reason, scenes of the Star of Dim Light and Magic Bag Garden occasionally surfaced in his mind.

Late at night, Zhou Leng arrived at Shuizhou Base.

Outside the Hall of Military Merits, he found Liang Baiyin standing there alone.

Wearing a light yellow floral dress, her twin ponytails hung to her waist, with her two fair arms crossed behind her back.

She was using an Advanced Demon Brain, with a 3D projected screen in front of her.

"Liang Baiyin," Zhou Leng called out her name as he approached.

She turned her head, turning off the projection screen with a bright smile and walked over.

Previously, Zhou Leng hadn't looked at her closely. Now, he noticed that she was petite, only reaching his chest.