Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 540 - 523: Slowing Down

On the vast and boundless blood-red earth, one enormous Dragon God’s footprint after another stretches forward, extending to the edge of the world.

Zhou Leng kept running, covering two thousand kilometers, yet the edge was still not in sight.

This means that the Dragon God’s print path is like the space of the Demon City, appearing small from the outside but containing an endless space within.

After leaving the peak of the Aurora, Zhou Leng occasionally encountered Dragon Blood Guards and sometimes the Hundred-Eyed Demon Mountain.

The journey was peaceful, with occasional skirmishes where he killed a few scattered Dragon Blood Guards.

The number of Dragon Blood Guards gradually increased.

Now it has maintained at five.

Zhou Leng learned the combat techniques of five Dragon Blood Guards, with martial arts patterns continuously flashing in his mind during the run.

These Dragon Blood Guard combat techniques seemed to have a certain commonality, as if they were part of a peculiar martial arts system.

The five Dragon Blood Guards were just the tip of the iceberg; if more Dragon Blood Guards could be gathered...

As his understanding of the Dragon Blood Guard combat techniques deepened, a sense of anticipation arose within him.

This seemed to be a brand-new martial arts style not previously mentioned on Blue Star.

After running for a while, he suddenly saw four Demons and two Beastmen fighting against three Dragon Blood Guards.

One of the Dragon Blood Guards was on its last legs.

"Stop!"

Zhou Leng shouted, charging forward.

The six Demons were stunned; this person’s shout had a sense of righteous awe, with a hint of excitement.

Can’t you see it’s just one of you against six of us?

"Kill him! Make it quick." commanded the Ring Snake Bishop to the two Beastmen, then continued entangling with the three Dragon Blood Guards.

In just over ten seconds, the Ring Snake Bishop suddenly sensed something amiss and quickly turned his head.

The two Beastmen lay on the ground, while the human charged over unhurt.

"Watch out, he’s a human expert! All three of you, put all your strength into killing him; I’ll hold back the three Dragon Blood Guards. Make it quick,"

The Ring Snake Bishop, resembling a Demon with red-skinned sheep horns and a human face, wielded a massive T-shaped staff surrounded by three magical snakes: one gold, one black, and one white.

The other three Demons lunged at Zhou Leng, grinning with overwhelming Demonic Qi.

The Ring Snake Bishop, relying on his powerful spell abilities, continuously kept the three Dragon Blood Guards trapped, at ease.

Another ten seconds passed, and he again sensed a similar anomaly, about to turn his head when a voice sounded in his ear.

"I’m back."

"Hmm?"

As the Ring Snake Bishop turned halfway, a two-foot-long Finger Sword Qi slashed across his neck, and his head flew off.

The Ring Snake staff transformed into three large snakes, burrowing into the Ring Snake Bishop’s body through the neck wound.

After devouring the Ring Snake Bishop’s internal organs, the three snake heads emerged, transforming into the Three Snake Bishop, hissing softly.

Zhou Leng circled to the back, gently patting the Three Snake Bishop on the back with his right hand.

True Qi erupted.

The three snakes shuddered, their heads drooping weakly, knocked unconscious.

The Three Snake Bishop fell to the ground, his body rapidly shrinking.

Soon, it became a new staff, still T-shaped, with three metallic snake heads entwined around it.

On the staff, seven skeletal sculptures emerged, one of which unmistakably resembled the Ring Snake Bishop.

Zhou Leng picked up the new Ring Snake Staff, which could fetch a good price.

The three Dragon Blood Guards broke free from the Ring Snake Bishop’s bonds, charging forward together.

Zhou Leng cautiously killed two, forming two plumes of Dragon God Blood Mist floating over the ground, lingering for a long time.

Then, after "sparring" with the third, learned all the battle techniques of this Dragon Blood Guard, then killed it.

The three Dragon Blood Guards transformed into three clouds of blood mist, merging into one.

Zhou Leng walked into it, absorbing the Dragon God Blood Mist, continuing forward.

Not long after, a total of eight Dragon Blood Guards came running from multiple directions, some distance apart.

Zhou Leng glanced at the nearby Dragon God’s footprint; these Dragon Blood Guards always reacted like this: regardless of the previous intervals of death, they would all eventually appear together nearby after being killed by him.

First, he rushed towards the nearest ones, swiftly killing seven, then left one whose combat techniques he hadn’t learned, began sparring to learn it, and then killed it.

Eight clouds of blood mist merged into one.

Stepping inside, the rich Dragon God Blood Mist flowed into his body.

Feeling the powerful force coursing within, the vascular pain was just a minor detail.

As the blood mist dissipated, he looked down at his arm.

The arteries were noticeably thicker, but the other body tissues had not yet adjusted, causing the blood vessels to noticeably protrude, resembling several red wires attached to his skin.

Within the blood vessels, a fiery glow shone through the skin, visible during the day.

The power of the Giant Dragon Blood Marvelous Body grew ever stronger.

"Eight now..."

Zhou Leng continued onward.

The Dragon Blood Guards kept increasing.

Nine, ten, eleven, twelve...

When he reached ten, the concentration of the new Dragon God Blood Mist increased a notch.

The absorbed power was even stronger.

Crossing a barren land, sounds of battle erupted.

Zhou Leng focused to see a team of weird and peculiar monsters besieging some Humanoid Alliance trial takers.

These trial takers were ragged and wounded, consisting of humans, Steel Dwarves, Demon Spirit Masters, Tree-men, and Giants.

In total, there were fourteen, with two lying on the ground.

Attacking them was a chaotic group of magical monsters.

Creatures of all kinds, from various flashy races.

There were Rock Giants, Earth Turtles, Flesh Puppets, and many nameless non-Ten Realms monsters.

"Eye Slaves..."

Pursuing the Hundred-Eyed Demon Mountain to hunt the demons targeting others.

Since they were allies and it was on the way, Zhou Leng didn’t say a word and charged straight in.

"Reinforcements are here."

"Hold on, even the Eye Slave can’t keep this up."

"Welcome, friend. Thank you for your help. Your kindness today will never be forgotten!" A human martial artist loudly expressed gratitude, not underestimating him even though he was alone.

The Eye Slave dispatched several demons to attack.

The first was a stone-man comprised entirely of rock.

Without eyes, ears, nose, or mouth, it was entirely composed of stone.

In this critical moment, Zhou Leng didn’t hold back his strength, starting with the most ferocious No Return Battle Technique and Mountain River Guardian Technique.

Qi and blood surged through his veins into his right arm, tightly integrating with the Star Gazing True Qi and Celestial Tide Palm Power.

The Martial Arts Will condensed by the Mountain River Guardian was infused into his right palm.

The qi and blood shook heavily, and in an instant, the veins in his right arm held more than three times the usual power.

Pushing forward with his right arm, shockwaves and steam intertwined, the powerful force reverberating.

Boom!

The Rock Giant exploded into fragments, scattering everywhere.

The demons were stunned for a moment, and allies watching from afar also paused slightly.

The power of this palm had surpassed the level of an ordinary Great Innate, reaching the peak of a Great Innate.

Judging by the shockwave rippling on the surface of his right arm, if he went any further, it would form the legendary dragon scale mist, a terrifying destructive force only a newly minted Grandmaster could unleash.

The morale of the Humanoid Alliance surged.

"An expert!"

"Must be an expert with extraordinary encounters, we’re saved!"

Feeling an unprecedented surge of strength within, Zhou Leng’s battle intent flared up fiercely in his eyes.

"Kill!"

Zhou Leng advanced with the fierce Celestial Tide Palm, like a tide, progressing step by step.

With each step, a tidal wave.

Wherever he passed, demons flew apart.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

From a distance, the human martial artists frequently observed Zhou Leng, and besides happiness, they were more bewildered.

This man’s martial arts skills were purely human martial arts, upright and magnanimous, grand and fierce.

But some combat techniques hidden within his transformations were clearly not a human habit, more like... those Dragon Blood Guards?

The techniques were filled with wildness, even the strange and cunning moves carried a certain wildness.

Yet within these wild techniques, there was a trace of an inexplicable martial arts truth, different from human martial arts, but each having its own merits.

Some techniques were completely beyond the capability of ordinary martial artists, yet he executed them perfectly.

In just a moment, Zhou Leng embodied an invincible posture, using his fierce palms to suppress all approaching demons.

Zhou Leng strode forward.

The demons were constantly looking around.

Suddenly, a demon abruptly turned to flee.

The next moment, the demons scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing in all directions.

Zhou Leng pursued and killed three, then returned.

Everyone gathered together, expressing their gratitude one after another.

After battling for a long time, Zhou Leng wanted to rest, so he walked with everyone to the foot of the mountain, set up camp, and ate meat to replenish his strength.

The group ate and chatted.

"You’re alone?"

"I got swept in here, I still need to head to the Restless Sky Bone, not planning to stay long," Zhou Leng said.

Hearing this, everyone understood he didn’t want to join the team, so they stopped persuading and talked about other things.

"We are the most unfortunate group."

"The double perilous grounds collided, and we have no idea of the objective of the Celestial Tier Trial, just wandering aimlessly."

"We’ve been running for many days only to find that the Humanoid Alliance is pitifully scarce here, dominated by Giant Dragons."

Zhou Leng asked, "Is there a recording of the Celestial Tier Trial?"

"No, our Demon Spirit Master doesn’t have special Demon Spirit Artifacts, so it wasn’t recorded."

"That’s unfortunate..." Zhou Leng glanced at everyone; their strength was average, surviving on the Dragon God’s imprint path purely out of luck.

"Actually, being alone is not bad for you. Encounter a Dragon Blood Guard you can’t beat or an Eye Slave, and just run. Those Giant Trial Takers are also smart; seeing us desperately run, they don’t want to waste time and ignore us."

Zhou Leng asked, "How many Dragon Blood Guards does your team have now?"

Someone said, "Don’t mention it. A few days ago, we could still encounter seven Dragon Blood Guards, so we hid in the mountains, not going out, slowly waiting for them to find us. Today, for some reason, it turned weird. One by one, they decreased, now only four remain. We had to go out and hunt new Dragon Blood Guards."

"The competition is indeed intense now. The growth of my Dragon Blood Guard has also slowed down," Zhou Leng sighed.

"Yes, probably all taken by the Giant Dragons, holding a great advantage of being able to fly. Some in the team saw Deep Dark Fury hunt more than ten Dragon Blood Guards alone, more than our entire team."

"He’s here too? Have you seen Jade Wings, a Green Dragon?"

"Haven’t heard of it."

"Dragon Blood Guards are coming, no, many of them... it’s over..."

A Demon Spirit Master suddenly pointed ahead.

Zhou Leng turned his head to see fifteen Dragon Blood Guards lined up, like an army, with dust billowing behind them, imposing as a rainbow.

"Prepare for battle!"

Everyone displayed panic, hastily getting up.

Zhou Leng, however, sat without hurry, finished eating the last piece of dragon meat, and stood up.

"You all eat first, give me ten minutes."