Martial Ascent to Divinity

The group whispered among themselves for a while and planned a route.

In the meantime, two other dwarf teams appeared, chose different passages, and left their marks.

A group of seven chose a passage, left a mark, and stepped forward quickly.

The passage was winding and uneven. After walking for over twenty minutes, the team stopped.

In front of them appeared two bronze gates, forming two passages.

Each bronze lintel had a divine text in the middle, resembling a mirror image of a Chinese character.

Zhou Leng examined them closely. These divine texts were not written very neatly, with some small errors, but they were still clear enough.

The others looked at Zhou Leng.

"Same as the map records," Zhou Leng said.

"What does the divine text mean?"

Zhou Leng took pictures first to record it. Although he recognized them, for safety, he checked the materials again.

"The left divine text translates to 'Land of Nothingness.'

"The right divine text translates to 'Land of Radiance.'"

"We must choose the right!"

The dwarves shouted, and Zhang Xinglie nodded in agreement.

"Let's go," Zhou Leng gave the order, and the seven slowly walked into the right bronze gate.

Upon entering, they found themselves in a hall. In the center stood a stone pillar over a man's height with a brazier burning fiercely on top.

After the seven entered, the bronze gate shut with a roar.

Then, there was a rumble beneath their feet, as if the entire hall was rotating.

Rumbling...

The ground collapsed, and everyone fell.

The dwarves' curses filled the air.

"Watch your step!"

Zhou Leng immediately turned on his demonized watch to illuminate below.

A pit over ten meters deep.

Fortunately, Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie had both cultivated lightweight skills. As they approached the ground, True Qi surged, slowing their descent. Upon landing, they bent their knees to absorb the impact.

The remaining five dwarves fell squarely on the ground, groaned a bit, then stood up and dusted themselves off as if nothing happened.

Whew...

Suddenly, small openings appeared from all directions, spewing flames.

"This is no Land of Radiance, it's a land of flames!" Molten Hammer shouted.

Everyone quickly dodged.

These flame vents seemed aged, only spewing flames partially and not covering all areas, so everyone ran, avoiding the flames.

The seven dashed around the pit, over twenty meters in diameter, like mice encountering a cat, avoiding the flames.

After running for a quarter of an hour, the flames slowly ceased.

The seven sat on the ground, panting heavily.

"Are you sure about your translation?" Malt Beer finally cleared his eyes.

Zhou Leng sighed helplessly, "Absolutely no mistake; I'm an Intermediate Divine Text Researcher, after all."

Molten Hammer mused, "On second thought, this place isn't particularly dangerous; perhaps the 'Land of Nothingness' is more perilous."

"Indeed." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"How do we get back up?"

They looked up; the walls were sheer and smooth, several floors high, impassable even for those at the Body Refining Stage.

The flame vents were only below three meters.

"I'll throw one of you up, then you can drop a rope to pull us," Zhang Xinglie suggested.

"Do you have that much strength?" Molten Hammer and others looked at Zhang Xinglie doubtfully.

"Let's try it first. Who's up?"

"I'll go." Black Barrel put down his hammer and other items.

"The first throw might not be accurate, be prepared."

Black Barrel nodded.

Zhang Xinglie grabbed Black Barrel with both hands, gathered enough True Qi, and swung his body quickly like throwing a chain ball, then hurled upwards.

With a swoosh, Black Barrel flew towards...

The pit wall, still three meters from the edge.

Black Barrel cursed and quickly pressed himself against the wall, bouncing back and falling from mid-air.

Several dwarves rushed over, reaching out to catch him.

"No need!" With experience, Black Barrel landed softly, crouched, then stood up.

"Again, I think I can make it."

Zhang Xinglie threw him again, failing the second try.

On the third attempt, he successfully tossed Black Barrel up.

Then, everyone took out the ropes from their Magic Spirit Bags, tied them together, and threw them up. Black Barrel then threw them down, pulling everyone up one by one.

Molten Hammer chuckled, "No big deal, except..."

The middle of the hall collapsed, yet the edges remained, with the stone pillar still connecting to the upper part, as if suspended.

There were bronze gates on each side, the one they entered was closed.

"Check the words on the doors again."

Zhou Leng took pictures again, this time researching further material.

"The left door, the divine text means 'Enter Your Dream.'

"The middle door, the divine text means 'Enter Your Nightmare.'

"The right door, the divine text means 'The Old Place of Joy.'

Zhou Leng immediately added, "However, there are some flaws in these divine texts, and I'm doing my best."

Zhang Xinglie said, "These meanings vary significantly; I'm leaning more towards the third, the right door."

"Me too, I trust Zhou Leng," said Molten Hammer, not wanting to think further.

The other four Steel Dwarves hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"Then let's go to the right door."

Zhou Leng said, "I chose it, I'll go in first."

But Zhang Xinglie replied, "You're at the lowest realm right now, I'll go first; don't argue."

"Alright."

Zhang Xinglie entered first, followed by the others.

After entering the tunnel, the large door behind them shut with a bang.

They walked on for a while longer, the smell of decay wafting through the air.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Mai Jiu's eyes grew clearer.

"This kind of smell, I've experienced it on the battlefield..."

Zhou Leng furrowed his brows because in the Divine Text, 'battlefield' and 'old place' had many similarities, easily leading to mistakes when forming a complete Divine Text.

However, since the Mountain Melting Furnace was a Divine Text Master, there shouldn't be any problems.

Besides, the previous fire wasn't very difficult and indeed the light had shone upon the place.

The seven of them walked out of the passage, and the door behind them closed again, revealing a vast space over ten thousand square feet ahead.

Glowing vines illuminated the cave.

Tattered flags lay on the ground, broken swords scattered, and white bones were everywhere.

"This isn't the old place I was fond of..."

"Maybe it's because our ancestors believed we dwarves should excel in battles, thinking the battlefield is a place of joy somehow isn't wrong either."

"Possibly..."

A light mist rose from the ground, climbing to about a meter high, around the necks of the dwarves.

"I feel like I'm drowning," Molten Hammer mumbled quietly.

Clatter, clatter...

Skeletons suddenly stood up, wielding weapons, slowly surrounding them, moving faster and faster.

As they moved, they absorbed nearby weapons and equipment.

Before long, a group of skeleton warriors, covered in various battered armors, charged forward.

Zhou Leng said, "Fight while finding a way to break through."

He repeated it twice, once in the Common Tongue and once in Dwarven.

Molten Hammer said, "No need to break through, just fight. Our dwarven treasures are like this; without a thorough fight, it won't let anyone pass."

"Then let's have a big battle!"

Zhang Xinglie hadn't taken action in a long time, and he was the first to charge in.

He used the Ten Directions Storm Technique, unleashing a howling storm, striking faster than Zhou Leng, landing a punch on the skeleton warrior's chest.

Boom...

The entire skeleton warrior exploded, pieces of armor and shattered bones flying everywhere.

"Impressive!" Zhou Leng and Molten Hammer praised in unison and then joined the fight.

Everyone present was battle-hardened, needing no command, instinctively coordinating with each other.

They had their backs against the wall, minimizing the contact surface, and the hundreds of thousands of skeleton warriors outside couldn't do anything to them.

The four dwarves were fierce, their heavy hammers smashing down, leaving at least half the skeleton warriors destroyed.

Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie were even fiercer.

The skeleton warriors moved slightly slower, indistinguishable from wooden figures in the eyes of Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie.

With either a fist or a palm, they only targeted the chests, attacking nowhere else.

With one move, they would thoroughly shatter a skeleton warrior, needing no second strike.

The skeleton warriors seemed endless, wave after wave like the sea.

Slowly, everyone became exhausted.

The four dwarves were panting, their hair soaked with sweat.

Before long, Zhang Xinglie couldn't help but say, "My True Qi is running low, even the Qi Nourishing Pills won't hold up, I need to recover a bit."

"Alright, I'll hold them off, you all take turns resting!"

Zhou Leng shifted positions, changing formation, standing in the center.

Zhang Xinglie stood still, regulating his breathing and gathering power, watching Zhou Leng's back.

He firmly believed Zhou Leng had potential equal to his own, but didn't expect that even before passing the last semester, he would need Zhou Leng to stand in front of him.

At this moment, he suddenly understood why Rao Mingxian spoke of Zhou Leng with a tone of respect in the barbecue shop.

Once his True Qi was halfway restored, Zhang Xinglie stepped forward again, saying, "Do you need to rest?"

"My steady... True Qi hasn't ebbed yet, I'll let you know when it does," Zhou Leng replied.

"Your True Qi hasn't run out?" Zhang Xinglie's eyes were full of questions, knowing the Mystic Tide Technique had ebb and flow characteristics.

"I have Spirit Land Jade."

"I have it too."

"My True Qi is enhanced by the Celestial Ladder, while your Ten Directions Storm Technique is rapid and fierce, so your True Qi volume doesn't have the upper hand," Zhou Leng said.

Zhang Xinglie thought, the Ten Directions Storm Technique has always been known for its superior True Qi volume.

Molten Hammer said, "Don't be surprised, when we were on the Celestial Tier Battlefield, he was always the most resilient, even without taking pills, lasting more than three times longer than others."

Before long, Zhang Xinglie rested again, while Zhou Leng remained unmoved.

After Zhang Xinglie's third rest, Zhou Leng finally said, "My True Qi has run out."

Zhang Xinglie breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Leng continued, "But it's ebbing again, in about ten minutes, I'll rest, you calculate your rest time."

Zhang Xinglie smacked his lips, really at a loss for words.

The dignified mid-Stage Body Refinement True Qi amount was less than Late Stage Blood Transport.

Zhang Xinglie recalled scenes of others saying Zhou Leng was poisoned, comparing himself it seemed he was the one poisoned.

After battling for over an hour, thousands of skeleton warriors lay scattered on the ground, forming a thick wall of bones ahead.

The seven of them sat on the ground, leaning against the wall, not wanting to move or even talk.

After a while, Zhou Leng tossed everyone a Great Nourishing Pill and a Marching Pill to restore energy.

Zhou Leng felt a bit guilty.

This truly didn't seem like a "place of joy," but more like an "old battlefield driving one mad."

Seven people fought against about three thousand skeleton warriors.

Even if the skeleton warriors were weak, the overwhelming numbers could exhaust seven ordinary Body Refining Stage experts to death.

Mai Jiu moved his lips, then slowly said, "Zhou Leng, do you really know Divine Texts?"

Zhang Xinglie said, "I think something went wrong somewhere."

Molten Hammer half-joked, "Zhou Leng, we're all friends, just admit you don't actually know Divine Texts, we won't blame you."

Zhou Leng displayed his certification as an Intermediate Divine Text Researcher from Martial Arts City, "This can't be faked."