Chapter 153: Chapter 144 Solving the Case

After being injured, the Flower of High Earth fled and sought answers from the Mountain Melting Furnace upon recovery.

However, during her recovery, a series of wars erupted between the two races.

Her own brother was killed, and the Mountain Melting Furnace participated in that siege, coincidentally on the day after she had fled back to her tribe.

When the Mountain Melting Furnace sent another letter, the Flower of High Earth killed the messenger and burned the unopened letter.

She cut her hair, smeared her forehead with blood, raised the flag of revenge high, and led her army to war.

Ultimately, she became the strongest demigod in the history of the Beastman Race.

The short-haired Flower of High Earth became a nightmare for the Dwarf Race for hundreds of years.

And the Mountain Melting Furnace became an impenetrable fortress for the Beastmen.

The two deliberately avoided each other and never fought again in their lifetimes.

After the death of the Mountain Melting Furnace, a letter was sent to the Flower of High Earth.

This time, it wasn’t written in Divine Text.

“Why didn’t you come back then?”

The Flower of High Earth tore up the letter.

As she reached the end of her life, the Flower of High Earth recalled her life and suddenly realized that her time in the ruins was her happiest.

So she decided to go to the ruins and, if possible, see the holy remains of the Mountain Melting Furnace.

At the brink of death, many things didn’t seem so important anymore.

She thought the Mountain Melting Furnace would set many obstacles, but she was unaffected and smoothly entered the Ancient King’s Treasure, returning there once more.

The two of them called this place the “Divine Literature Academy.”

She walked into the reading room of the Divine Literature Academy, quietly recalling the past and slowly reading the notes.

When she wanted to find the sacred remains of the Mountain Melting Furnace, her life was already at its end.

The notes ended with a half-written sentence.

“I have always been…”

Zhou Leng laid down the last volume of leather-bound notes.

A faint melancholic feeling flowed in his heart.

Slowly, a sense of doubt arose in his mind.

Zhou Leng flipped back through the pages, searching for the content of the Mountain Melting Furnace’s letter.

After reading it repeatedly, he felt something was off.

Suddenly, he recalled Zhang Xinglie’s outrageous ideas.

And the numerous errors in the Divine Texts.

Zhou Leng was overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

The Mountain Melting Furnace, as a master in mid-revival, unmatched in martial prowess, was both wise and courageous.

Yet he never learned the Divine Texts correctly in his lifetime.

Wait a moment…

Zhou Leng searched again through the Flower of High Earth’s Divine Text notes.

They, too, were filled with mistakes.

Zhou Leng held his forehead with a hand, the case was cracked.

It even made one suspect that the two of them not only got the wrong place but also mismatched times.

Zhou Leng looked at the holy remains of the Flower of High Earth, finding it both amusing and exasperating.

“Hope in your next life, both of you can learn the Divine Texts correctly…”

Rising, he bowed to the Flower of High Earth, thanking her for the treasures bestowed.

Zhou Leng took everything and walked to the reading room’s door, giving it a gentle push.

A flash of light shone.

Zhou Leng looked around.

A completely unfamiliar, empty underground cavern, with completely unfamiliar passages.

He opened the map, and there was no similar place.

After carefully examining all the passages here, he finally looked at one of the Bronze Gates.

On it, the Divine Text read ’Pinnacle.’

“Hope this time it’s correct.”

Zhou Leng walked up to the Bronze Gate and stepped inside, continuing forward.

As he moved, his body coordinated as one, as if blending into the darkness.

Looking ahead, Zhou Leng vaguely hoped to encounter Beastmen, to use their blood to test his new growth this time.

Not long after, he saw the exit and light, with chaotic Dwarf chatter faintly reaching him.

Zhou Leng quickly headed over, stepping out the door.

This was a vast underground palace, even bigger than the Divine Literature Academy.

Everywhere was covered with dense glowing vines, illuminating the place like daylight.

At the far end of the underground palace stood a high platform with stairs.

On the platform, a Golden Throne stood, with a backrest two meters high.

A withered Steel Dwarf, crowned, donned in luxurious golden leather armor, sat upon the Golden Throne.

His eyes were hollow and spiritless.

The sacred remains of the Mountain Melting Furnace.

On the table in front of him was a Golden Treasure Box.

The high platform where he sat was enveloped in a pale yellow spherical golden light.

On the stone tablet beneath the platform, a line of words was carved.

One mighty enough to withstand tens of thousands of armies may ascend.

Beneath the platform was a wide, fan-shaped grand staircase, like stadium seating.

At the foot of the grand staircase, hundreds of Steel Dwarves or humans gathered.

At the edges of the palace, some Orc corpses lay strewn about.

Those people gathered beneath the grand staircase, shouting.

In the open space made by the crowd, two Dwarves clasped hands overhead, each pushing against the other with all their might.

Wrestling.

Zhou Leng carefully looked over, and Zhang Xinglie, Tu Rong, Zhao Le, and the others were all among them.

“Zhang Xinglie, Molten Hammer.” Zhou Leng walked quickly over.

Hearing Mandarin, many humans turned their heads.

Seeing it was Zhou Leng, some were regretful, others gloating.

Molten Hammer, upon seeing Zhou Leng, was full of regret and shouted, “You’re late! If you had come earlier, you could definitely have gotten the treasure. What a pity, such a pity…”

“What happened?” Zhou Leng asked.

Molten Hammer chattered on.

“Each time many years pass with no one reaching the ancestor’s palace, the trials here change, allowing more dwarves to enter, taking away some of the treasures.”

“This year happens to be such a time, so the teams that came first received various benefits.”

“We came late, but we still grabbed some.”

“Look…”

Molten Hammer said, taking out a large gem the size of a fist.

“Converted to your human currency, it’s worth at least five or six million. Zhang Xinglie had even better luck.”

Zhang Xinglie took out a piece of dwarf-styled black armor from the Magic Spirit Bag, the surface glimmering slightly, at least an innate level dwarf battle armor.

Molten Hammer continued, “Although all six of us got hurt, we each received benefits, so it wasn’t a loss.”

“But you…”

The other dwarves sighed with him.

This Ancient King’s Treasure had other treasures elsewhere, but none as good as those in this palace.

Zhou Leng smiled and said, “No worries, I also experienced the Divine Text study.”

Zhang Xinglie, however, said, “You don’t need to worry, this piece of dwarf armor can make both you and I become dwarf residents.”

“Really?” Zhou Leng asked.

Zhang Xinglie nodded and said, “Of course.”

“That’s great then.”

Molten Hammer and the other dwarves glanced at the two, then stayed silent.

Previously, Molten Hammer had told Zhang Xinglie that this Starlight Armor could make one person become a dwarf warrior, or two people become dwarf residents.

Zhang Xinglie did not hesitate to choose the latter.

Zhou Leng looked towards the two dwarves wrestling and asked, “What are they contending for?”

“What else can it be? The number of times to climb the high platform is limited. Fail twenty times, and we’ll be teleported away.”

“So everyone uses this common dwarven competition method, wrestling.”

“This is the eleventh match, and there will be continuous matches afterward until the strongest twenty are selected.”

Zhou Leng looked at the time and said, “The Ancient King’s Treasure should be closing soon, right?”

“There’s no helping it, with the Dwarf Race, we definitely can’t risk our lives. Even if someone obtains the treasure, it will affect the relationships between tribes in the future.”

Malt Beer interjected, “In fact, everyone knows that we can’t truly enter, so we’re simply having some fun here.”

Ban Chui said, “Yes, it’s been eight hundred years, no one has been able to enter and take the Eye of the Ancient God from the Golden Box. We’re just watching the show, no one cares about the final treasure anymore.”

Zhou Leng noticed Mark, Tu Rong, Lou Fei Qiong, and Zhao Le all looking towards him.

He quietly asked, “Did those two human teams make any gains?”

Molten Hammer said helplessly, “Your Dragon Country team seems to have gotten better treasures than Zhang Xinglie’s. The Eagle Alliance team had it worse; they didn’t have many people left, and in the end, didn’t grab anything. Their leader cursed several times just now.”

Zhou Leng looked at the man in front of Mark; Tu Rong mentioned that his name seemed to be Jax, a major figure among the tycoons.

“It’s a pity you weren’t here…” Malt Beer looked at Zhou Leng.

Zhang Xinglie sized up Zhou Leng and said, “Something’s different about you.”

“Hm?”

“Your heartbeat is stronger, your breath longer, your skin has become as smooth as jade. Zhao Le told me he has seen you and preemptively congratulated you on shining brightly in the Divine Text Domain.”

Molten Hammer looked up at Zhou Leng, sniffed slightly, and widened his eyes, “If Zhang Xinglie hadn’t said it, I wouldn’t have noticed. Your Qi is completely different.”

Zhou Leng, unsure if there were any taboos within the Divine Literature Academy, could only say, “I did indeed gain a lot from the path of Divine Texts. By the way, lend me the Demonized Grip Strengthener for a moment, I’ll buy one later.”

Zhang Xinglie took out the Demonized Grip Strengthener, about the size of a book, with a handle on one side and a green display screen in the middle.

The Demonized Grip Strengthener can’t precisely measure a martial artist’s specific strength, but in the wild without any demonized equipment, it can roughly measure strength improvement or decline by comparing before and after.

Zhang Xinglie handed it over and said, “Don’t use True Qi. This standard grip strengthener, for those who haven’t practiced martial arts, the strongest can grip around 190 kilograms. Normally in the late stage of Blood Transport, one can reach about 300 kilograms, because increasing grip strength is much more difficult than weightlifting, the higher the level, the harder it gets.”

Molten Hammer said, “Of course, carrying things with your arm is different from gripping with one hand; the exertion is completely different.”

Zhou Leng gripped the strengthener, took a deep breath, and squeezed with his right hand with all his strength.

The numbers on the display quickly increased.

Releasing his right hand, the numbers on the display stopped.

Molten Hammer craned his neck to look and read out loud.

“672 kilograms, not bad.” Molten Hammer didn’t know what level of strength this number represented.

Zhang Xinglie’s eyelids twitched; he took the grip strengthener and looked at the number.

Molten Hammer casually asked, “What was your figure in the late stage of Blood Transport?”

Zhang Xinglie was silent for several seconds before slowly saying, “678.”

The dwarves widened their eyes; simple numbers could be easily understood by the Human Race.

They all knew how strong Zhang Xinglie’s body was, definitely surpassing a dwarf’s.

“Let me try.” Molten Hammer took the grip strengthener and squeezed hard.

He was already in the early stage of Body Refining, and his physical strength surpassed that of the Human Race.

kilograms.

“Ah? I’m only 3 kilograms stronger than you? That can’t be right; our dwarven strength should far surpass you humans, and I’m a level higher than you, plus I’m an Ancient Royal Descendant. Threefold increase and only one-kilogram increase per layer? Your True Qi is strong, but how is your physical body also stronger than mine?”

Molten Hammer was dumbfounded, chattering away like a friend who lost while playing cards, trying to bluff his way through.

Molten Hammer tested again, with the result showing 674 kilograms, another kilogram reduction.

The other four dwarves looked at Zhou Leng, starting to reassess Zhou Leng’s strength.

In their understanding, dwarves and beastmen’s strength had always been stronger than humans.

Humans could only outperform dwarves and beastmen in explosive power due to True Qi.

“This is strange…” Molten Hammer looked up at Zhou Leng and pinched his arm, “With such thin arms and legs, where does all this strength come from?”

Although dwarves are short, their limbs are very thick.

Molten Hammer’s forearm circumference was comparable to Zhang Xinglie’s.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep