Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 643 - 622: Engagement

His comrades no longer tried to persuade him.

After a while, the atmosphere shifted, and everyone started chatting and laughing.

By midnight, people began to leave one by one.

Finally, those who were close to Zhao Lianshuo stayed behind.

With everyone slightly drunk, Zhao Lianshuo asked about the relationship between Zhou Leng and Xu Qingjin.

Upon learning that Xu Qingjin had not given up on Zhou Leng during his toughest times but instead talked about marriage, Zhao Lianshuo gave Xu Qingjin a thumbs-up.

"As your father’s old platoon leader, I’m taking the liberty today. I may not qualify as your wedding officiant, but surely someone like a Ten Extremes Martial Saint would. However, for the engagement ceremony, why not do it sooner rather than later? With both of your elders here, why not just do it today?"

Li Linhan smiled and said, "Our elders discussed it earlier and all agreed."

Xu Qingjin’s mother nodded with a smile.

Xu Qingjin blushed and stole a glance at Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng said, "I’ve actually been wanting to find the time, but I kept missing it due to being busy. Since the elders are willing to help, there’s no time like the present. Let’s get engaged today, Xu Qingjin. Come, Qingjin."

Xu Qingjin stood up, her face flushed.

Then a lively feast ensued.

Afterwards, everyone drunkenly returned to the Guhe Research Institute.

Li Linhan and Li Yuanhe let Zhou Leng take Xu Qingjin back to her room alone, while Mother Xu pretended not to hear.

After bringing Xu Qingjin to her room, Zhou Leng’s hand started to misbehave.

Xu Qingjin whispered, "Today...?"

"Today."

A night of fish and dragon dancing.

The next day, Xu Qingjin couldn’t get out of bed, and her meals were brought in by Zhou Leng.

Everyone pretended not to know, and Mother Xu, aware of her daughter’s shyness, just chatted a bit on Martial Faith to confirm everything was fine.

Fortunately, Xu Qingjin had already entered the Body Refining Stage and was quite strong. Another day passed before she left the room, though she walked slowly.

Then, Zhou Leng personally taught Xu Qingjin how to cultivate.

"A martial artist first needs a good body," Zhou Leng said sincerely, making Xu Qingjin’s face turn red with embarrassment.

Previously, Zhou Leng was worried about giving Xu Qingjin too many pills, fearing it might hinder her future growth.

Now realizing his lack of experience, he gave her a large amount of restorative medicine.

Looking at the mountain of supplements, the young Xu Qingjin inexplicably understood middle-aged men.

"You should cultivate well, and after a while, I’ll take you to the Giant World and Dragon World to complete the trial."

"Is it necessary..." Xu Qingjin asked, her voice hoarse as she bowed her head.

"Very necessary. Remember to eat more dragon blood goji berries..."

Xu Qingjin felt both embarrassed and helpless.

"It’s still a bit dangerous now; once I eliminate my main enemies, we’ll get our marriage certificate."

"Alright."

"Also, my power has improved, which shows that proper exercise helps cultivation; you’ll have to work harder, too."

"??????"

Zhou Leng gazed out the window, marveling at the profoundness of martial arts, just as a great master once said, give me a book of Starry Martial Arts, and I can move the Blue Star.

For several days, Zhou Leng was too happy to think of anything else.

Martial Arts Will? What is that, don’t let it affect our marital relationship.

Days later, Zhou Leng finally returned to proper cultivation, sometimes alone, and sometimes as a pair.

In his spare time, Zhou Leng compiled the recipe for Shen Yunxian’s "Divine Essence Pill," noting the properties of each ingredient and including illustrations, and sent it to the Ice Snow Divine Sect and Jax, urging them to spare no effort to find those items or similar ones.

After consolidating his strength, Zhou Leng bid farewell to everyone and set off with Xu Qingjin to the Steel Dwarves World.

A new round of the Steel Dwarves Ancient King’s Treasure trial was about to begin.

They also needed to enter to study the Divine Text.

Zhou Leng explained his purpose to the Steel Dwarves high-ups.

The Steel Dwarves high-ups indicated that Xu Qingjin could enter directly, but Zhou Leng would need to discuss with the chiefs of the tribes and wait for a response once the trial began.

The next day, Molten Hammer excitedly came over, bringing along a group of young people from various tribes.

"See that? That’s my big brother, the Demon Slayer King, Zhou Leng!" Molten Hammer puffed up with pride, though the Steel Dwarves’ eyes were shining, none of them looked at him but only at Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng said, "Aren’t you too idle? Have you advanced to Innate? Have you perfected your combat skills? How’s your steel skin coming along? Do you need me to contact your chief?"

"Are you even human? Last time you came for the Grandmaster trial, you didn’t even ask for me."

"Why would I ask for you? So those Grandmasters could pummel you?"

"Sis, aren’t you going to do something about Zhou Leng?"

"In our house, I’m the boss."

"You really know how to blow your horn..."

The two continued to joke around.

Once the others dispersed, Molten Hammer whispered, "What about that ancient relic of yours?"

Zhou Leng recalled the Sun Shield Plate and whispered back, "Lost it."

"Then just play dumb; they probably won’t ask about it, and even if they do, it’ll be years from now."

"By the way, do you know where that thing came from? Is there a record?"

"I’m not sure either, I’ll look into it when the time comes."

On the third day, the Ancient King’s Treasure officially opened.

The Giant Furnace and other Steel Dwarves led Zhou Leng and Xu Qingjin towards Old Grandfather Mountain.

Upon reaching the base of the mountain, the Giant Furnace spoke as they walked, "If you can really enter, we won’t intervene. If you can’t get in, don’t cause damage, figure it out yourself. After all, this power was set by a demigod, and we can’t change the rules without ruining the trial."

"Is there no other way?"

"None. Unless... you become a demigod yourself, break Old Grandfather’s power, force your way in, and then sever ties with our clan."

"What if I repair the trial later?"

"Hmm... then we reconcile, as our Steel Dwarves are always friendly, provided you can repair it before being killed."

Zhou Leng slowly moved forward, looking ahead at the numerous Body Refining Stage Dwarves and people from various races participating in the trial.

A few groups of humans looked over, initially hesitating, until one group quickly walked over to Zhou Leng and completed a group photo, after which the others rushed over one after another to take pictures with Zhou Leng.

As the opening approached, Zhou Leng and Xu Qingjin stood at the foot of the mountain with other trial takers.

The two held hands and waited.

When the time arrived, the entire Old Grandfather Mountain flashed, and with a swish, those who met the conditions disappeared from their spots.

Only a few stood silently in place.

The Giant Furnace saw Zhou Leng disappear and nodded slightly.

Zhou Leng and Xu Qingjin appeared inside the Ancient King’s Treasure.

"You made it in too," Xu Qingjin said.

"It seems the Divine Text teachers helped. I’ll directly send you to the end of the trial, then go study the Divine Text."

"Alright."

After walking for a while, Zhou Leng said, "I’ll carry you, it’ll be faster."

Zhou Leng picked up Xu Qingjin, speeding through the treasure at extreme velocity.

Occasionally encountering other Dwarf trial takers, he paid no mind.

Encountering Beastman trial takers who sneaked in, he reached out into the air with his right hand, producing a few crisp sounds. His right hand compressed several air spheres, then flung them. The air spheres flew like missiles and killed the Beastmen.

Zhou Leng ran all the way, but fell into a few traps because no one could understand the Divine Text of the Mountain Melting Furnace.

However, such traps could not stop Zhou Leng, as he easily broke through them.

Before long, Zhou Leng arrived at the end of the trial with Xu Qingjin, set her down, and gave her many Demon Spirit Artifacts. He then tapped her dantian with his finger, leaving a trace of star force attached.

"When you go all out, my power will accompany yours. Be careful not to spill your own blood when using it."

"You’re so good to me," Xu Qingjin said with a smile, reaching her arms around Zhou Leng’s waist with a gentle gaze.

Zhou Leng kissed her forehead and turned to leave.

"I’ll be going, see you after the trial. If you don’t see me, continue cultivating in the Dwarf World."

"Okay!"

Without Xu Qingjin, Zhou Leng sped up even more, killing Beastmen along the way as he headed for the previous Divine Literature Academy.

Although he really wanted Xu Qingjin to enter, before going in, one must pass the Divine Text test which would inevitably be fatal.

At her current level, she couldn’t pass.

Once again, he entered the hall filled with silvery-gray metals.

Just like last time, the floor was covered with corpses.

The sound of subtle crystal fragments rang out, as a Little Elf appeared ahead.

Unlike the previously gentle Little Elf, the Elf Teacher now seemed extraordinarily stern.

"Ready to learn? Step inside," said the Elf Teacher in standard Divine Text.

"Yes."

Zhou Leng followed the Little Elf into the Divine Literature Academy, entering the Divine Text Library he had been to previously.

He once again saw the corpse of the Flower of High Earth.

However, this corpse had lost its previous spiritual essence, its power greatly diminished. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Her remaining power had embraced the Mountain Melting Furnace and dispersed into the world.

"This way."

The Little Elf led Zhou Leng into a nearby classroom.

What followed was extremely rigorous high-level civilization Divine Text teaching.

Due to the fierce capabilities of Divine Text, along with Zhou Leng learning a vast amount of high-level Divine Text, he mastered elementary knowledge exceptionally quickly.

Nearly every elementary text seemed to be memorized after reading four or five times, leaving a Divine Text shadow in his mind.

With the shadow in place, consistent review would solidify it from shadow to substance, ensuring it wasn’t forgotten.

In just one morning, the Little Elf covered what would amount to an entire month of courses at a regular Divine Text school.

Curiously, the Elf Teacher asked, "Have you interacted with Void God power?"

"Yes."

The Little Elf sighed, "You are likely a legendary child of fate; even civilization’s chains might open a gap for you. Void Gods possess unimaginable power, and interacting with their power means you are essentially being continuously taught Divine Text, naturally producing extraordinary results. In high-level civilizations, the descendants of Divine Spirits master pure Divine Text from a young age, vastly stronger than ordinary humans..."

"However, don’t be conceited. Divine Text is only the foundation. You need to gather star pages, and the ultimate goal is to construct your own Star Formation Wall. You will discover that even some Divine Spirit descendants, if they do not work hard, their achievements may end up lower than those who started low but persevered with effort..."

"Remember, even the most excellent Divine Spirits may not construct a Star Formation Wall. Without using your own Divine Text to build a Star Formation Wall, you’ll never truly master Divine Text. Only the Star Formation Wall contains the power to transcend this world."

Zhou Leng said, "I will work hard."

"Very well, we shall continue. Show me a sign if you grow tired."

The teaching resumed, one taught, one learned.

Zhou Leng felt fatigue only after studying for ten hours, then he ate, rested, and continued learning.

After several days, Zhou Leng asked, "Teacher, how many years do high-level civilization Divine Text kindergarten courses last in total?"