Chapter 106: Chapter 98: Demon Encirclement

Zhou Leng continuously tried, delivering a few palms, contemplating for a while, then delivering a few more palms, and contemplating again.

Repeatedly, not knowing how much time had passed, Zhou Leng took a deep breath and sent out a palm with the stance of a Great River Entering the Sea.

The first palm, unremarkable.

The second palm, slightly faster.

The third palm, the momentum taking shape.

The fourth palm, the palm surged like tides, crashing onto the shore.

Zhou Leng seemed to transform into countless river tides, rolling eastward, pouring into the sea.

The first move of the killing technique, Thousand Tides Pouring into the Sea.

With the gathering momentum of Thousand Tides, pouring into the sea with more force, surpassing the Great River Entering the Sea.

Zhou Leng slowly withdrew his palm.

Accumulating four palms to form was already his limit.

To complete a single powerful technique, at least the Body Refining Stage is required, no rush.

Zhou Leng looked up towards the Black and White People.

“Again!”

Zhou Leng moved first, and the two engaged in combat.

The move had just formed, but the combat technique was not yet established.

Both sides fought until their True Qi was exhausted, Zhou Leng sat down to rest, pondering the killing move and combat technique.

After a short time, Zhou Leng stood up and practiced the killing move and combat technique with the Black and White People.

Once, twice, three times, four times…

After exhausting his True Qi for the ninth time and after prolonged contemplation, Zhou Leng stood up.

“You and I, the final battle.”

Zhou Leng stepped forward, the momentum was swift, attacking fiercely with each move.

The Black and White People calmly responded.

One move, two moves…

Thirty moves, forty moves…

A hundred moves, a hundred and one moves…

Zhou Leng unleashed four palms in succession, and the fourth palm, Thousand Tides Pouring into the Sea.

Boom!

As one palm was unleashed, it was as if countless river tides exploded in the sky, merging into one and pouring into the sea.

The river surged forward, the sea receded.

Dividing the sea with the river.

The Black and White People reached out to catch it hard.

Crack…

The right arm of the Black and White People exploded, flesh splattering, muscles and bones shattering, the forearm hanging limply and gently swaying.

The Black and White People exploded into white mist and vanished.

To let the new self triumph over the old self.

“Congratulations, child, for completing the third trial of the Moonlight Shadow Wall, entering the sole fourth trial.”

“Afterwards, your performance in the fourth trial will determine your final reward…”

Zhou Leng raised his hand, looking at his right palm.

To be able to learn the combat styles of two experts and create a killing move in such a short time is an incredibly precious reward.

“However, what is the fourth trial?”

A flash of light appeared before Zhou Leng’s eyes as he returned to the Moonlight Shadow Wall.

The Celestial Ladder said nothing.

Zhou Leng gave a simple glance around, and there were now more than a thousand Spiritual Light pillars.

Suddenly, his internal True Qi pulsated.

Zhou Leng immediately took Replenishing Essence Pills and other pills, closed his eyes, and meditated, running the Sea Suppression Map.

The vast True Qi, following the path understood from the Sea Suppression Map, circulated within his meridians and blood vessels.

Inside his body, the sound of tides gradually grew louder.

After some time had passed, Zhou Leng suddenly opened his eyes, opening his mouth to release a faint white Qi.

White Crane Flying Lips.

Then, Zhou Leng channeled Qi into his palms.

The original branch-like purple patterns disappeared, replaced by dense, net-like purple patterns.

Advanced to the Middle Period of Blood Transport.

The Sea Suppressing True Qi within his body, rising with the tide.

Zhou Leng felt the abundance of True Qi, his whole body felt comfortable.

Zhou Leng stood up.

“Zhou Leng, you’re finally awake!” Wei Hong walked over, his brows furrowed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Things are very abnormal outside, a large number of Demons are gathering. While you were cultivating, we sent people charging out several times, but couldn’t break through. Then…”

Wei Hong sighed and said, “Then, a team of three or four hundred people came from afar, charged inside, and as a result… they were annihilated.”

Zhou Leng was stunned for a moment, as the current freshmen of the Great Martial Arts Hall numbered only 200.

Equivalent to the loss of a full eight classes of students.

“The scene was particularly tragic, many classmates were crying. Then, the Demons took all the bodies away, and now the atmosphere within the aperture is very oppressive.”

Wei Hong looked at Zhou Leng as he spoke, “There is now a division of opinion, some believe we should stay within the aperture, not act recklessly. But others think we must fight against the Demons, we cannot let them continue or more people will die.”

“The situation is a bit chaotic now, many people want to elect a ’United Senior Brother’, whether to fight or to make peace, at least to have a leader to avoid internal conflict.”

Images of the battles and encounters of these days filled Zhou Leng’s mind.

Zhou Leng asked, “Have you noticed that the Demons are acting strangely this time, they usually eat the bodies directly, but now, they’ve repeatedly moved the bodies.”

“Seems a bit off.” Wei Hong’s face changed slightly.

Zhou Leng said, “This indicates that the Demons are using human bodies for something. It could be a great sacrifice, the creation of Flesh Giants, or even special Magic Potions, but no matter which, it’s a major problem.”

“Great sacrifice… Flesh Giants…” Wei Hong muttered to himself, his face growing paler.

These were things only heard of in rumors, never personally experienced.

“Let’s go, tell the others first.”

Said Zhou Leng, leading Wei Hong as they left, looking around in all directions as they walked.

Outside the aperture, as expected, the number of Demons had increased significantly; hundreds formed a team, densely packed, flickering shadows, filling the nearby forest.

Zhou Leng shared his discovery with the Senior Brothers convened from various schools, and the hall fell silent.

After a while, someone said, “We must prepare for the worst. If they employ some evil technique and the aperture disappears, we’ll all be dead instantly, and even the Demon City Army won’t make it in time to save us.”

“Didn’t you just say we should stay inside the aperture and not go out?”

“But what if they don’t use evil techniques and simply take us to cultivate magic potions?”

“It’s hard to say.”

Lv Yuanhao, the Senior Brother from He Yin Martial Arts Academy who had previously met with Zhou Leng, said, “No matter what, we shouldn’t sit idly by.”

“Our primary task is to survive, then to fight and take joint exams. Didn’t your teachers teach you that?”

“But sometimes, only by fighting and advancing can we survive better,” Lv Yuanhao said.

Everyone was momentarily stunned, and rationally, Lv Yuanhao’s words made more sense.

“If it truly doesn’t work, should the Senior Brothers from each school vote?”

“Then let’s have a vote first.”

“Those in favor of fighting, raise your hand.”

The students from each school looked at their Senior Brothers.

The people of Ruda looked towards Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng raised his right hand.

Mountain River Oak chuckled softly, choosing the right person, there’s a fight to be had.

Gradually, more people raised their hands.

“Eighteen in total, eleven agree, not more than two-thirds of the total, so it doesn’t pass.”

Soon after, the crowd kept arguing.

After some time, all parties compromised and proposed a middle-ground solution.

They would abandon a full-scale war but wouldn’t do nothing either. Teams would be gradually organized, taking turns to fight the Demons.

After fighting for a set time, they would return inside the aperture.

Soon, three teams, each with a thousand members, were organized to alternately fight.

Zhou Leng joined the first round of the team.

A large group of over a thousand marched towards the Demons outside.

The Demons roared and charged over.

The two sides were on the verge of clashing.

The edge of the aperture was just behind them, unlike being surrounded.

If anyone got injured, they would immediately be rescued and returned to within the aperture.

After a while of fighting, some frequently looked towards Zhou Leng.

“How is Zhou Leng so much fiercer than before?”

“He’s at the Middle Period of Blood Transport now.”

“Even if he hasn’t passed the First Layer of the Moonlight Shadow Wall, he’s almost there.”

“But I always felt like he’s at least passed the Second Layer.”

“An Huangui, you’ve sparred with him before; what’s your impression?”

The crowd turned to look at An Huangui, who was preparing for the second round of combat.

An Huangui stared at Zhou Leng for a while and then slowly said, “Previously, Zhou Leng and I were at a seventy-thirty split, now it’s zero-ten.”

“No way? Aren’t you close to the Late Stage of Blood Transport?”

An Huangui said, “Before, Zhou Leng felt skillful but lacking something. But now, that missing piece is filled. I feel like he’s mastered… the Combat Technique within the Moonlight Shadow Wall, that’s right, he’s mastered a special Combat Technique.”

“Impossible, Combat Techniques are usually only grasped at the Vitality Stage.”

An Huangui said, “Previously, he—like us—had some hesitation when striking. Of course, much less than us, but it was still there.”

“Look at him now, how much hesitation does he have left? I can hardly see it. His attacks are far more clean, precise, and deadly than before. Didn’t you notice that? He’s shed a lot of flashy moves and become more straightforward.”

“Indeed. I’ve followed Zhou Leng from the Land of Extreme Cold, it’s different now.”

“I’ve heard Zhou Leng has passed the First Layer in the Book of Spirituality and the Land of Extreme Cold, along with the Moonlight Shadow Wall. His power surge is indeed reasonable.”

The crowd nodded in agreement.

“So, do you think anyone can pass all three trials of the triple inheritance?”

“Impossible.”

“Absolutely impossible. Even if an Innate being arrived, they would meet their end.”

“Actually, whether it’s the Book of Spirituality or the Moonlight Shadow Wall, it’s possible if one has enough talent; if it’s someone from Yunhua Jinjing, surely someone has done it. But the Land of Extreme Cold, no one can pass all three layers.”

“Yeah, the fear and suffering in the Land of Extreme Cold are too horrific, even Innate beings might not endure.”

“Does that mean this Celestial Ladder inheritance will fail?”

“It’s too common. Historically, over half of the Celestial Ladder inheritances don’t settle into the world because of the high difficulty, leading to departure in the end.”

“Hey, look, Zhou Leng severely injured a Late Stage Blood Transport Demon…”

The crowd quickly looked over.

“Ah… it’s a Humpbacked Bull Demon from the Howling Mirror Legion.”

Humpbacked Bull Demons and Humpbacked Horse Demons are similar, lacking a head, and their necks resemble fleshy chrysanthemums.

A Humpbacked Horse Demon carries a red-green fleshy hump, much like an enlarged snail.

The abdomen of the Humpbacked Bull Demon is equally large, but shaped like a fleshy beehive, filled with small holes.

The neck of the Humpbacked Horse Demon grows flesh whips, while the severed neck of the Humpbacked Bull Demon sprouts bone spikes.

This Lower-Rank Late Stage Humpbacked Bull Demon was enormous, almost the size of a small elephant.

Its neck’s fleshy chrysanthemum pulsed, and twelve white bone spikes suddenly shot out, blooming like a flower, stabbing at Zhou Leng.

Zhou Leng easily dodged and came beside the Humpbacked Bull Demon, striking with his palm.

Poof!

The already wounded Humpbacked Bull Demon’s abdomen split open, flesh and blood splattering.

A headless calf over a foot long jumped out of the Humpbacked Mother Bull’s belly, covered in blood, and vanished into the horde of Demons.

Zhou Leng muttered regretfully, noting that both the Humpbacked Horse Demon and Humpbacked Bull Demon hid their true body in their hump or abdomen.

Though the outer body dies, the true body can quickly grow.

However, the new body takes a long time to nurture a new true body.

After dealing with the troublesome Humpbacked Bull Demon, Zhou Leng dove into the crowd of ordinary Demons.

Before each move, six faint light shadows would appear before Zhou Leng, guiding him to instinctively choose the most appropriate move to attack.

These light shadows didn’t obstruct Zhou Leng; each appearance deepened his understanding of these moves and the Heart and Mind Shadow Splitting Battle Technique.

Zhou Leng seemed to recapture the feeling of cultivating in the Moonlight Shadow Wall and was thrilled as he fought.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep