Martial Ascent to Divinity

He completed the Vast Ancient Road, returned to Blue Star, and the Demon Prison Lord gave the order, appointing him as the new Sect Hierarch of the Demon Worship Sect, to run the sect together with the four Four-sided Dukes sent by the Demon Purgatory.

Strictly speaking, it was a reconstruction.

He had indeed become the Sect Hierarch, but the Demon Worship Sect was gone.

Not only the Demon Worship Sect—his entire family, every last member, had been massacred by those who encircled and suppressed the sect.

He hated them.

So, he planned to go after Zhou Leng’s friends and relatives.

And then he ran into the Blood of Tyranny.

After wavering over and over, he decided to heed the Blood of Tyranny’s warning and give up on targeting Zhou Leng’s friends and relatives.

Since the Blood of Tyranny hadn’t forbidden him from going after Zhou Leng himself, he chose to lie in wait on the only route from Shuizhou Demon City to the Ancient River Research Bureau.

"Hold on..."

Fine beads of sweat broke out on the Celestial Sword’s forehead.

Why didn’t the Blood of Tyranny stop me?

He looked up at the rankings on the fourth level of the Ascension Divinity Ladder, then glanced over the top three levels.

Every level had Zhou Leng, and every level had him at the front.

He didn’t know why, but he suddenly recalled a text he’d studied back when he was learning ancient Dragon Country prose.

Twelve scrolls of the Golden Book, and every scroll bears my name.

"Maybe I should calm down a bit... I’m very confident, I’m very strong, but I should still give the Blood of Tyranny some face..."

The Celestial Sword quieted down.

He had planned such a perfectly choreographed life for himself and had already achieved it; he couldn’t afford to stumble over something this petty.

He still had to prepare a new life and new plans.

Besides, the Ten Realms War was about to begin. When the time came, Flesh-Mountain-on-Flesh-Mountain would be leading the vanguard army into Blue Star; all he needed to do was sit back and welcome the imperial troops.

On the eve of victory, why throw his life away fighting Zhou Leng?

Negotiate.

I’m not afraid of Zhou Leng.

I’m just giving the Blood of Tyranny some face.

The Celestial Sword repeated this to himself again and again until he finally convinced himself.

A figure was flying toward him at high speed up ahead.

As they drew closer, that figure slowed down.

It was Zhou Leng.

The Celestial Sword took a deep breath.

He raised his head slightly.

A crown can fall, but a head must not bow.

He let a faintly confident smile appear on his face.

Tears may fall, but you must never let your opponent be the first to laugh.

He gathered his True Qi and said, "Zhou Leng, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time."

Your legs can walk a perilous single-log bridge, but your mouth must always walk the broad, flat imperial road.

Across from him, Zhou Leng suddenly accelerated, an overwhelming Power driving his voice across the sky.

"I know, you want to represent the Demon Worship Sect and fight me in an open and honorable duel. I’m in a hurry to eat lunch, so let’s get this over with."

Swish...

A silver figure streaked past at unimaginable speed.

The Celestial Sword’s severed head spun in midair, his mouth still saying, "No, I didn’t..."

In his eyes was the reflection of a figure flying away.

That figure, while flying, was cracking off the limbs of a headless Martial Saint with a few crisp snaps, assembling them into a Headless God, then deftly plucking the Magic Spirit Bag from the corpse.

The Celestial Sword’s severed head spun in the air, his gaze growing ever more puzzled—and ever more regretful.

His new life hadn’t even gotten to the planning stage before it ended...

Aside from humanity, the Demigods of the Ten Realms were each gathering on their own.

The Giant Dragons, Giants, Demon Spirit Masters, Steel Dwarves, Tree-men, giant insects, and Fierce Beasts all cheered and whooped, celebrating their own people taking the top spot and preparing lavish gifts one after another.

The new Mother Insect, Ma Dabai, was debating whether she should dress herself up a bit, put on human clothes, and wait for the Father Insect to come to the Tree-man World so she could deliver herself straight onto his bed and give him a surprise.

Her more than two-hundred-meter-long body, brimming with Power and primal savagery, would definitely charm him to death.

The Demigods of the Demon, Sea Siren, and Beastman races were all mourning as if their parents had died.

Sea Demon World.

The Blood of Tyranny looked up at the Ascension to Divinity Ladder high in the sky, at Zhou Leng’s name in first place on the fourth level, and smiled faintly.

He turned and stepped into a gate of light, entering a God-tier trial and leaving the Sea Demon World.

Demon Purgatory.

Demon God Hall.

All Upper-Rank, Peak, Demigod Kings, and Lords had gathered.

Those who couldn’t come in person had sent projections or avatars.

In the vast, majestic great hall, Demonic Qi roiled.

Terrifying Power whipped up gales that surged through the hall.

The Demons outside couldn’t even see what was inside clearly.

But they could clearly sense that the Demon Gods were furious.

From time to time, a few stray words drifted out.

"His Majesty the Celestial Calamity God has not given the order. We’re not in a position to launch an all-out war..."

"He said we have to wait for his command..."

"Then once the Ten Realms War begins, we’ll control the intensity of the fighting and first send five Upper-Rank Demigods to probe Blue Star’s strength."

"Five is too few; make it ten."

"Even for the Demon Purgatory, sending ten Upper Gods is no easy thing..."

Inside the Demon God Hall, the many Demigods sighed.

Too many Demon Gods had died in recent years.

It had even led to the unbelievable phenomenon of a reversed pyramid.

The number of Middle-Rank Demigods had actually surpassed the number of Lower Demigods and freshly advanced Demigods.

This meant the Demons’ Demigod hierarchy had a gaping hole in it.

Upper-Rank Demigods were already rare to begin with, barely over two hundred in total, and now they were all the more vital.

"Since the Blood of Tyranny says many Demigods weren’t killed by him, that can only mean it was Zhou Leng."

"He was hiding himself far too well before. Now that he’s ascended to the Minor Achievement Ninth Heaven, no Demon doubts it anymore."

"Send fifteen Upper-Rank Demigods, with five of them hidden in the ranks, ready to launch a sneak attack."

"It’s a pity the Power of the interrealm passage fluctuates over time. The stronger you are, the longer you have to wait. Otherwise we could send Peak Demigods or even Demigod Kings to simply kill him outright."

"Then add another five Upper-Rank Demigods."

"I agree."

...

The Demon Demigods all voiced their support, even though they knew just how critical Upper-Rank Demigods were.

Upper-Rank Demigods were practically the highest commanders in a normal Ten Realms War. Above them, the Peaks and Demigod Kings had to constantly prepare for the final battle, guarding against the Humanoid Alliance on one side and hostile Demons on the other; they couldn’t be deployed lightly.

If Upper-Rank Demigods also started falling in large numbers, it would inevitably trigger internal upheaval in the Demon Purgatory.

Everyone knew Demons liked killing Demons best.

The Demon Purgatory began to mobilize.

Once the Sea Demon World heard, they gritted their teeth and decided to send ten Upper-Rank Demigods to join the vanguard army for the first battle.

Beastman World.

The Beastman Demigods, upon receiving the Demons’ orders, cursed them out furiously.

The Beastman Demigods had suffered devastating losses in the last Ten-Thousand-Core War.

In the recent Ten-Emperor Battle, from newly advanced to Lower all the way up to Middle-Rank Demigods, Zhou Leng had slaughtered them almost to the last, leaving their vitality in tatters.

This had allowed the Steel Dwarves to keep nibbling away at the Beastman Empire’s territory lately; they’d had to swallow their anger and keep retreating, retreating into their shells.

The Beastman World wasn’t as strong as the Sea Sirens or even the Demons.

They had only seventeen Upper-Rank Demigods in total.

If they dispatched them all and anything went wrong, the entire Beastman Empire would collapse.

They had no choice but to haggle with the Demon Purgatory, eventually agreeing to send ten.

A terrifying Ten Realms expeditionary vanguard army, made up of forty Upper-Rank Demigods, was slowly taking shape.

Right now, humanity had fewer than ten Upper-Rank Demigods.

Ancient River Research Bureau.

Zhou Leng sat at the table, eating lunch with Xu Qingjin.

Mother Xu was in the kitchen adding dishes and stir-frying.

Huang lay sprawled under the table, forepaws wrapped around Zhou Leng’s calf, snoring away, occasionally letting out a loud snort.

"When the Ten Realms War is over, we’ll get married."

"Okay."