Martial Ascent to Divinity

Because during today's Divine Text Class, every expert was either speechless or quacking like ducks.

The entire classroom turned into a duck farm.

Even those Divine Language Academicians were the same.

Whenever she thought of how her teacher, with such a high status, was left with just an open mouth without a sound, she wanted to laugh.

Her teacher, famously known as Master Extinction, usually not only the students but even Yangtze River Scholars and Candidate Academicians behaved obediently in front of her teacher.

Despite her young age, she could establish a firm footing in the Divine Text Bureau and no one dared to gossip behind her back, not only because of her family background and abilities but mainly due to her teacher's deterrence.

Her teacher had been received multiple times by the head of the Martial Mansion and was consulted by several Martial Saints on Divine Text knowledge.

After spacing out for a while, Zhao Nandi slowly opened Martial Arts City and clicked on the unread messages about the Divine Script Ruins.

As a Divine Text Expert, she had set messages from other sections to not display, but not this section.

"Hmm?"

Zhao Nandi suddenly stood up, stood respectfully in front of the sofa like a primary school student, barefoot, and read the anonymous Divine Text Master's reply.

She was usually as cold as frost, but her love for Divine Text was so intense that her face slightly reddened, her excitement evident.

Just the other day, her teacher had said that the divine text accomplishments of this anonymous Divine Text Master were at least at the level of an Academician, and in some ways, far surpassed an Academician.

When she sought advice, she had no hope at all.

Because many experts complained that after posting articles, that Mysterious Master would disappear without a trace and wouldn't reply to anyone's messages.

Zhao Nandi never expected that such a level of Divine Text Master would actually respond to her.

She read word by word until the last line.

"The question you raised is constructive and creative, and I hold you in high regard."

She pressed her lips tightly, after holding it for a while, couldn't hold it back, and burst into laughter.

The smile blossomed like a flower, filling the room with spring.

She clenched her fists, gently swung them, her smile radiant and her spirit buoyant.

The day's fatigue vanished without a trace.

Zhao Nandi stared at the screen, reading again and again, over twenty times, before feeling satisfied.

Lying back on the sofa, she stretched lazily.

Her mind was vibrant, filled with the Mysterious Master's message.

She hesitated for a long time, finally couldn't resist, took a screenshot, took a deep breath, and put on a nonchalant expression.

Posted it to her Moments.

And added a line of text.

"The Mysterious Master is truly a kind and amiable elder."

Although the responder was anonymous, Zhao Nandi didn't specify which Mysterious Master it was.

The screenshot revealed words like "Ancient River Stele."

She exited Moments.

Soon, Wu Xin flooded with message alerts.

Rucheng.

Zhou Leng exchanged Contribution Points for cash and headed straight to the Martial Arts Mall.

He walked to the area selling Demonized Equipment and picked high-tonnage Demonized Barbells and a True Qi Rope.

Constantly trying, comparing cost-effectiveness.

Finally, Zhou Leng arrived at Hongxing Equipment Store, holding the True Qi Rope, manipulated True Qi, and experimented with feeling.

The True Qi Rope formed even small waves in front, making a gentle popping sound, rhythmically uniform.

"Zhou Leng?"

Zhou Leng heard a familiar voice and looked in the direction of the sound.

The Martial Arts Committee Member from high school, Mo Hai, was standing at the store entrance, a neatly dressed lady standing beside him.

Having seen Mo Hai's mother during the parent-teacher meeting, Zhou Leng put down the True Qi Rope and greeted with a smile, "Hello, Auntie, Mo Hai."

Mo Hai's mother smiled slightly, her eyes showed some surprise similar to Mo Hai's.

"Just now, you used the True Qi Rope?" Mo Hai couldn't help asking.

"Yeah, just used it simply."

Mo Hai asked, "You are in the Body Refining Stage?"

Zhou Leng knew he couldn't hide it and nodded, "Just entered the Body Refining Stage recently."

"Impressive..." Mo Hai spoke sincerely, with a hint of inexplicable emotion.

Mo Hai's mother smiled, "My Mo Hai often talks about you at home, saying you're diligent, work hard in cultivation, just unlucky to have been injured. He said once you're healed, you'd soar high. Now, it's all come true."

Mo Hai's face slightly reddened.

Zhou Leng said, "Back in high school, Mo Hai always took good care of me, he's really nice, all our classmates respect him."

Mo Hai's mother beamed at Zhou Leng's sincere praise, chatted a bit more with him, then made an excuse not to disturb him, leaving with Mo Hai.

Mo Hai and his mother went a little way, stopping at the transparent display window, looking at store items, occasionally glancing towards Hongxing Equipment Store.

"He actually advanced to the Body Refining Stage?" Mo Hai's mother was incredulous.

"I originally didn't believe it either, but he's very proficient using the True Qi Rope, even the senior students in the Body Refining Stage at West Sea Martial Arts Academy can't do it as easily as him."

"So, he's the top Martial Artist in your class now?"

"Seems like it."

Previously, the top Martial Artist in their class was Mo Hai.

"Don't be disheartened. He encountered a Celestial Ladder. If you encounter a Celestial Ladder, you wouldn't be inferior to him. Our Celestial Ladder may not surpass his, but in other areas, we're not weaker, take it slow." Mo Hai's mother smiled, holding her son's arm.

Mo Hai slowly said, "He wants to buy high-level Demonized Equipment."

Mo Hai's mother's eyes flickered, even their family could not bear to spend tens of millions to buy high-level Demonized Equipment, only buying some at the level of a few hundred thousand.

"Don't overthink. Take the True Qi Rope, for instance, a set costs twenty million, even with a discount, it's still over eighteen million, he's still young, how could he afford it?"

"I saw in his backpack, a corner of a Magic Spirit Bag was exposed." Mo Hai said.

"You... hmm?"

The mother and son simultaneously looked towards the entrance of Hongxing Equipment Store.

They saw Zhou Leng coming out holding a box, all the store employees smiling, coming out and bowing in farewell.

The box looked ordinary, about the size of a suitcase. The two recognized it immediately.

A Heavy Equipment Magic Spirit Bag, used to store weighty equipment, able to shrink the equipment and lighten the load.

A deposit of one million is required, to be returned after use to the store.

The mother and son exchanged a glance.

Mother Mo smiled and said, "Zhou Leng is someone you should befriend. Even during the Body Refining Stage, he remains so amiable and praises you without hesitation. When your birthday comes around and you gather your old classmates, don't forget him."

Mo Hai naturally understood his mother's intentions, sighed quietly in his heart, and nodded lightly.

He also saw the words '50 tons' written on the surface of the box.

Zhou Leng treated it as cultivation, sometimes carrying the large box, other times shouldering it, walking towards Xiaoru Village.

Even though the box had its weight significantly reduced, it still weighed as much as 5 tons.

By the time he arrived at Xiaoru Village, he was already feeling deeply exhausted.

After setting down the box, Zhou Leng rested while checking his Demonized Watch.

Suddenly, he saw Zhao Nandi's avatar and a red dot appear in his circle of friends, so he clicked on it.

Looking at the familiar screenshot content and reading that sentence, the corners of his mouth twitched in a smile.

He gave it a like.

After resting for a while, once his True Qi had recovered, he continued to shoulder the box and slowly climbed upward.

Zhou Leng arrived under the Frost Giant Tree, first taking out a True Qi Rope from his Magic Spirit Bag and placing it aside.

Inside was also a Demonized Grip Strengthener, a freebie he got after some bargaining.

He opened the heavy equipment Magic Spirit Bag and took out each item one by one.

First, he installed the squat rack and dumbbell rack, and then set up the barbell and dumbbells, organizing them neatly.

This set of barbells and dumbbells had a total weight of 50 tons, equivalent to 50,000 kilograms, usable up to the Innate Realm.

A common six-axle large truck, if not modified, can carry a full load of only about 50 tons.

Huang circled around the squat rack and dumbbell rack repeatedly, wagging his tail with great curiosity.

"You can use it for training, too. Want me to put a barbell on you?"

Said Zhou Leng, lifting a 2-ton barbell to put on Huang.

Huang took off running, dashing over ten meters away, barking repeatedly at Zhou Leng.

After tidying up the new equipment, Zhou Leng started trying them out.

Slowly, he determined the specific weights to record in the squat rack's notebook.

Routine squats without True Qi: 2 tons is just right.

Routine bench press without True Qi: 1,500 kilograms, or 1.5 tons, is just right.

Routine one-arm dumbbell curl without True Qi: 1 ton is just right.

Routine squats with True Qi: 5 tons…

After recording, Zhou Leng turned his head and found Huang acting sneakily.

He was biting the lightest 500-kilogram dumbbell with his teeth, lifting it up, then placing it back down on the ground, and lifting it up again, repeating this over and over.

A dog can lift a 500-kilogram dumbbell?

Zhou Leng raised his Demonized Watch to capture a photo of Huang working out.

"Wipe off your drool when you're done," said Zhou Leng.

Huang hastily released the dumbbell, dropped it, and used his tail to sweep and wipe it, grinning widely at Zhou Leng.

"Do you want me to prepare a lighter squat rack for you to stand on and squat yourself?" Zhou Leng half-jokingly asked.

Huang was momentarily stunned, then fell into thought, actually taking it seriously.

Afterward, he shook his head, his eyes gleaming with a cunning light.

"If you practice in secret, remember to put things back. These items are so heavy that a small mishap could injure you," said Zhou Leng.

Huang nodded repeatedly.

The next day, Zhou Leng and Rao Mingxian went jogging to the Copper Man Array.

Upon arriving outside the Copper Man Array venue, Rao Mingxian headed to the fourth floor of the No. 1 Copper Man Array, while Zhou Leng went to the third floor of the No. 3 Copper Man Array.

This was Zhou Leng's second time coming here.

After registering and filling in personal information, he soon received a notification from Martial Arts City.

As he was a "Martial Arts Role Model of Rucheng," he didn't need to queue and could enter directly into the next round.

After waiting a while, Zhou Leng entered the third floor.

The floor was covered with tracks of various kinds, and at the end of a steel-wall room, there was a display screen hung on the door.

In front of the door, there stood three Copper Puppets, just like before,

humanoid steel bodies inserted into steel pillars, the pillars in sliding tracks.

Deceptively skillful with eight limbs and four legs, a Turtle Fist master in Great Success.

As soon as the bell rang, the three Copper Puppets rushed forward.

The third floor was designed for the Late Stage of Blood Transport.

Zhou Leng stepped the Eight Trigrams Step, weaving and darting among the Copper Puppets, constantly striking their bodies.

On the display screen, it started at 100% and kept dropping.

The Copper Man Array could never be unscathed, like a scaled-down striker.

The three puppets surrounded him, twenty-four limbs and twelve legs attacking simultaneously.

To hit their bodies for points, one must endure their attacks.

With his iron-hard skin, Zhou Leng was unafraid of such painless and harmless strikes, and in no time, he defeated the three Copper Puppets.

Subsequently, he entered the fourth floor.

The fourth floor was filled with four Copper Puppets.

These were a size bigger than the previous puppets, faster, with heavier punches, and longer arms and legs.

But essentially, there was no difference.

He breezed through and entered the fifth floor.

Upon reaching the fifth floor, the pressure slightly increased.

These five Copper Puppets, when striking, were no longer painless, but each blow left a mark.

In the end, Zhou Leng traded some superficial skin injuries for victory.

After exiting the fifth floor, he rested for a while, meditated to heal, and recovered his True Qi.

Once his True Qi was fully restored, he entered the sixth floor.

The sixth floor was popularly known as "Beating Hell."

Even some martial artists in the Early Period of Life Force couldn't get through.