Martial Ascent to Divinity

Chapter 751 - 725: Forgiveness

Antian Zhi asked, "Zhou Leng, where are you?"

"Rucheng."

"I am in Huchang City and also heading to Himalayan Mountain. You will pass by when you go there, let’s go together," Antian Zhi said.

"Sure."

The two exchanged locations and added each other as friends.

Zhou Leng ran through the air, heading straight southwest towards Huchang.

As he approached, he suddenly remembered that he was still a Grandmaster, so he returned to the ground.

Near Huchang, from a distance, he saw a middle-aged man standing in the air outside the city, who looked about thirty but was actually over fifty.

He had a wide face and a big forehead, smiling kindly.

The two nodded lightly, Antian Zhi descended, and the two ran on the ground towards Himalayan Mountain.

As they got closer, Antian Zhi looked at Zhou Leng with curiosity and said, "Your aura is indeed different from a Martial Saint or a Demigod, but far stronger than any Grandmaster King."

"I’ve had good luck; my body is a bit stronger than that of an ordinary martial artist, making up for the lack of True Qi," Zhou Leng said.

Antian Zhi sighed, "It’s a pity your dantian was damaged. But fortunately, you stumbled upon unknown power; you may open up a new path in martial arts for humanity."

"You flatter me, senior," Zhou Leng thought to himself, still troubled about the Stellar True Energy.

The previously stored Stellar True Energy was already exhausted.

Now, he relied solely on the Tree-man’s Divine Technique of Light Chasing and the Human’s Divine Technique of East Monarch’s Light Body to absorb light, converting it to Stellar True Energy, though the efficiency was low.

So, unless it’s an important battle, he rarely uses Stellar True Energy.

Next, he still needs to continue seeking sources of Stellar True Energy.

The two started talking about martial arts, and as they talked, the old matters of Changda came up.

Antian Zhi said solemnly, "The thieves of the Demon Worship Sect have wreaked havoc for too long and should be exterminated. Many of my comrades and friends have also been harmed by the Demon Worship Sect. Fortunately, you weren’t knocked down by them, or Dragon Country would have lost another Martial Saint in the future."

An unusual light flashed in Zhou Leng’s eyes as he said slowly, "The Demon Worship Sect has already killed many future Martial Saints, like Zhang Xinglie, Li Shenkong, Chen Shouhu, Wang Boxiong, and Tong Tianxia, many, many."

But Antian Zhi shook his head, "Human geniuses are countless, like crucian carp across the river; those destined to become Martial Saints will become Martial Saints, and those who won’t, never will. This is recognized by the Martial Saints. I know you mourn for them, but people like them have been too many throughout history to mourn them all. You’re about to be sanctified; you cannot waste time on this. Our enemy is the Demon Demigods."

"Unless some mistakes are thoroughly corrected, we can never truly solve the problem of demons," Zhou Leng said.

"You’re still young; once you ascend to Martial Saint and gain more experience, you’ll understand."

Zhou Leng said, "But history and facts tell us that ninety-nine percent of human progress is driven by young people or started by older people when they were young. Conversely, those elders with complex experience are often proven to obstruct human progress, even if they had advanced it in their youth. That list is long and long; you can recall," Zhou Leng said.

Countless people and histories flashed through Antian Zhi’s mind, and he was stunned to find Zhou Leng was entirely correct.

He retorted, "But the result is that the Eagle Alliance was defeated, and Dragon Country rose."

"Yes, because the Eagle Alliance was controlled by elders of the Demon Worship Sect, so it declined," Zhou Leng said.

Antian Zhi gently shook his head. To him or most of Dragon Country’s upper echelon, Zhou Leng was too young and acted too aggressively.

He smiled and asked, "How much do you know about the battle on the Himalayan side?"

"I’ve only seen general intelligence, lacking many details."

"Since you’ll be participating, I’ll send you Semi-Saint-level materials. Anyway, you’ll gain access soon," Antian Zhi said, adding Zhou Leng as a friend and sending information.

Zhou Leng clicked to see it, all top-secret information about foreign Martial Saints, much more detailed than the intelligence he could grasp before.

It even included the martial arts weaknesses of the Martial Saints.

"Thank you, Saint An," Zhou Leng said.

"Ah, you’ll soon be Saint Zhou yourself, no need to be polite..."

Antian Zhi hesitated for a moment and said, "My wife’s cousin previously served as the deputy dean at Changda, and he wasn’t involved with the Demon Worship Sect or involved in your matters but was implicated. This matter is extensive, and even as a Martial Saint, it’s hard for me to be involved. If you open the door, things would become much easier."

Zhou Leng was silent for a moment and said, "Saint An, naturally, I should help. Or rather, if it were only about myself, I would definitely assist. But, have you heard the name Lv Yuanhao?"

Antian Zhi shook his head while searching with the Demon Brain and couldn’t find it online, so he used his access to search internal records.

Zhou Leng said, "When he was young, his father ran a cake shop... Then his father died early... He lived a displaced life... Later, he killed his enemy, and incidentally, helped me kill mine... Finally, he cut off his own head on the highest... step to repay his life for lives."

Antian Zhi listened and read the internal records at the same time.

After listening and reading, he said nothing.

Zhou Leng continued, "I actually don’t care about that deputy dean, and I don’t even care about those captured people. Saint An asked, so I wouldn’t not help. But, I care about Lv Yuanhao. If I forgive anyone, is Lv Yuanhao not a person? Is his life not a life? How would I explain it to my past self? Should I first overturn the verdict for Lv Yuanhao and Wanyang martyrs to have the qualification to pardon others?"

After a long while, Antian Zhi sighed, "Young people indeed have drive."

Zhou Leng said nothing more.

The two remained silent until they saw in the distance a continuous stretch of white mountains, basked in the golden light of the setting sun.

Suddenly, a distant mountain trembled quietly, and snow rolled down its slopes.

Antian Zhi frowned and said, "Be careful, battles on the southern side of the Himalayas are frequent. Additionally, with the impending Ten Realms War, the Demon Worship Sect has stopped pretending, creating chaos in various countries. When the time is right, we’ll also take action. Follow me from behind, and if I engage in battle, you must retreat immediately..."

After speaking, he turned to look at Zhou Leng, his gaze gentle.

"Even though we differ in some directions, I was young once too. This era might need people like me, or it might need people like you, and no one can say for certain until the end. Additionally, I am a Martial Artist mastering the new Eternal Fist stance. I’ll take my leave first."

An Tianzhi reached out and patted Zhou Leng’s shoulder, suddenly accelerating, running through the air.

Zhou Leng watched An Tianzhi’s back, recalling some stories he had heard in the past.

Back then, when Blue Star martial arts were on the rise, a few Martial Saints either lost their original intentions or were secretly influenced by the Demon Worship Sect, leading to several major battles.

Many places were wrecked by the Martial Saints in the past.

Later, the Martial Saints had no choice but to join forces, using diplomacy and personal duels to resolve the conflicts.

Further on, Zhao Dongjun ascended to Saint, dominating one realm and establishing the "Martial Saint Consultation Association," significantly reducing the Ten Realms conflict.

But due to various reasons, it was deemed the "Mud Mixing Association."

Especially within Dragon Country, the Martial Saints would try to avoid internal strife and gradually delegate power, preventing their dominance from undermining a country’s development.

The Martial Saints realized that focusing solely on martial arts was the only way to counter the countless future Demon Demigods.

As for matters below the Martial Saints, they are left to be handled by the Supreme Court.

Thus, Blue Star entered a relatively stable development period, with Dragon Country being the most stable and achieving the most.

Martial Saints are not omnipotent or all-knowing; they have flaws and shortcomings too.

Nonetheless, the Dragon Country’s Martial Saints have always done what a Martial Saint should do.

Even if they are constantly criticized as being weak, the Dragon Country’s Martial Saints persist on the path they believe is correct.

Because they have absorbed too many lessons from the history of the world.

Pristine white snow-capped mountains stretch across the azure sky.

An Tianzhi, alone, ascended into the high skies, over the snowy peaks, crossing the vast Himalaya region.

This is an uninhabited area, difficult to connect to the internet. Zhou Leng glanced at the previous data and content from the group while running, contemplating.

The Dragon Country’s Martial Saints have always been considering the Ten Realms War, always hoping to unite Martial Saints from various countries.

The issue is, Martial Saints from various countries are mostly neutral, acting like fence-sitters.

The war factions are unwelcome, and the remaining ones are surrender factions, or are secretly members of the Demon Worship Sect, supporting them.

In the foreign Martial Saints’ data just reviewed, there are up to twenty-five confirmed members of the Demon Worship Sect, with even more hidden.

Zhou Leng trusts the Dragon Country Martial Saints’ judgment; overall, it’s correct.

However, details still need improvement.

For instance, foreign Martial Saints do not understand human speech; one must use a language they can understand for communication.

Zhou Leng was about to accelerate when the image of the Celestial Calamity Envoy flashed in his mind.

Many pieces of intelligence now suggest that the Celestial Calamity God has descended, and no one knows what he’s up to.

A trace of vigilance flashed across Zhou Leng’s eyes.

He is merely the Celestial Calamity Envoy, staying at the Innate level, yet able to destroy a mother tree close to a Void God.

Now he is the Celestial Calamity God, reaching the demigod level; no one knows to what extent his power has grown.

As long as the Celestial Calamity God isn’t dead, he cannot afford to relax for even a day.

Zhou Leng changed his skin’s appearance, turning into Zhu Shiji, and circumnavigated the snow-capped mountains from the side, providing support.

During the run, he sensed his own body and realm.

Having absorbed the altar’s power from the Fierce Beast world, he now has the qualification to upgrade to the Lower-Rank level.

However, due to the short time since ascending to Saint, his body hasn’t fully adapted to the power of the Martial Saint level.

Advancing too early may leave hidden dangers.

Currently, the best option is to wait and absorb enough Ancient Beast’s blood, fortifying the foundation of his body so that any defect could be smoothed over with a strong physical base.

"One drop of Ancient Beast’s blood is too little; the power is pathetically sparse..."

Zhou Leng always felt the Ancient Beast’s blood shouldn’t be this weak.

Sprinting rapidly across the ground, he crossed one snow-capped mountain after another.

The vibrations in the southern Himalaya were growing progressively intense.

Occasionally, avalanches occurred on the surrounding snow-capped mountains.

Looking from afar, some people were evacuating.

Before long, Zhou Leng climbed a snowy peak, gazing ahead from the mountain summit.

Up ahead was a disputed area between two countries, yet due to the harsh environment, it’s closer to Elephant Country, while Dragon Country finds it difficult to provide supplies and had to retract long ago.

But Elephant Country continues to migrate people into this area.