Martial Ascent to Divinity-Chapter 583 - 564: Salute (Part 2)

"He is the founder of the National Divine Techniques."

"During the Ten Realms Youth Battle, for the sake of the country and the people, he gave up the precious Dragon Scale Vermilion Fruit and chose the Golden Crystal. Eventually, he activated the National Divine Technique, the Body of Tenacity. From then on, over the lands of Dragon Country, every time the moon rose, the number of small moons below increased from four to five."

The moment the host finished speaking, the screen switched to show the spellcasting imagery of Zhou Leng activating the Golden Crystal back then.

The audience saw Zhou Leng in a shower of divine light, and a powerful Demon Spirit Master transported him to the West Sea Demon City region.

The host paused here.

Soon, the scene switched back to the front of the Hero Monument, where Zhou Leng and the sickbed moved forward slowly.

Rucheng campus.

On the large screen in the cafeteria, the seven o’clock news was playing.

Students of Rucheng gathered in the cafeteria, either eating or watching.

After a dead silence, the exclamation "Wow!" echoed continuously in the Rucheng cafeteria.

Many people looked outside the window.

One large and five small, six moons hung high in the sky, illuminating the land.

"Brother Leng is awesome!" shouted Feng Wenhao.

"Brother Leng is awesome!" everyone in the cafeteria followed suit.

Then, similar chants arose from all corners of Rucheng.

The emotions of the entire student body of Rucheng, suppressed for many days, were completely ignited by the shout "Brother Leng is awesome."

Even those without political sensitivity realized that the highest authority of the Martial Mansion came forward to clear Zhou Leng’s name.

"He is the Sea Siren Slayer and the Bearer of Arrows."

"After the demons invaded Shuizhou, he responded to the national call and leveraged his powerful martial arts mobility to disrupt hundreds of thousands of demon troops single-handedly. He disguised himself as a demon to assassinate demon leaders and disguised as a Sea Siren to cause chaos in the Sea Siren camp. In a battle by the lake, he coordinated with high-level tactics, lured enemies into a trap on his own, and then broke through the siege, becoming the world-renowned Bearer of Arrows."

"That battle made him an innate hero of a hundred battles."

The images on the news once again shifted.

In the past, the images were blurred.

But now, high-definition images captured by advanced drones were presented to the global audience.

Throwing a spear, turning around, retreating — it was seamlessly done. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Raising the knife, slaying a demon, sheathing the knife — it was clean and efficient.

The images flashed rapidly.

Finally, the Bearer of Arrows appeared.

The brand-new high-definition video footage deeply moved everyone present.

The majestic figure, covered in arrows, transcended all slander.

The battle footage edited by the professional personnel of the Demon City Army flowed like a movie.

Everyone’s initial shock turned to doubt.

Could a sophomore student achieve this?

How could this Zhou Leng be stronger than a demon?

How did such a strong figure get injured?

Still, he was a hundred-battle hero.

"He is also a Demon Slayer Warrior."

"After finishing the battle by the lake and reclaiming an important base, Zhou Leng responded to the call to participate in the siege. Outside the city, he relied on his powerful spear martial technique to kill countless demon warlocks and powerful archers, single-handedly piercing through the demons’ spell and archer systems."

"In the aftermath, various parties analyzed, and General Huang Xuan Pavilion once said that in this siege, Ten Parts of the credit, seven belong to Zhou Leng alone."

"After the demons’ city defense system collapsed, Zhou Leng advanced into the inner city."

"Everywhere he went, the enemy fled at the mere sight of him. No demon could withstand him. Later, seeing the main army retreating on the main road, he volunteered to stand on the front line."

"Wielding a spiked club and a frost-linked hammer, he led our army in a counterattack against the demons, then an offensive..."

The news imagery changed again, re-showing the Demon Slayer Warrior footage that had previously spread worldwide.

On the long street, Zhou Leng wielded a spiked club, appearing like a Demon Lord incarnate. Facing a flood of demons, no one could stand against him.

In the visuals, Zhou Leng smashed a Demon Giant to death with a few swings, exuding dominance.

Shan Wu Academy.

The media promotion director at the school turned pale upon witnessing this scene.

Three days ago, they, along with over a hundred colleges in Dragon Country, had published an article titled "Justice Doesn’t Die, Evil Shall Fall."

More than a hundred universities in Dragon Country jointly published the same article on major platforms, a spectacle both grand and imposing.

The full text attacked Zhou Leng, taking various fabricated rumors as truth, falsely accusing Zhou Leng of sneaking into women’s bathhouses, reckless killing, not paying for meals, and so on.

The article quickly reached the top of the hotlist, becoming a proud achievement.

The article used quotes from infamous traitors, but they didn’t care.

The director stared blankly for a while before hastily issuing orders to remove all articles about Zhou Leng.

Leaving various groups, deleting previous messages, finally formatting the phone.

Raising the phone, smashing it down hard.

Bending down, picking it up, smashing it again.

Until it was reduced to fragments, then gathering it up and setting it on fire.

People hadn’t yet recovered from the shock that Zhou Leng was both the Bearer of Arrows and the Demon Slayer Warrior when the host’s voice sounded again.

"He is also the Fog Breaker."

"The demons’ Angels of Death are unsolvable. In past battles, whether Blue Star Martial Artists or other races, facing the numerous Angels of Death, none emerged victorious except by enduring with flesh and blood."

"The Angels of Death are the invincible masters of the demons."

"Until Zhou Leng appeared."

"With the resolve to die, he and his comrades charged into the toxic fog, broke through formations, beheaded commanders, breached and captured flags."

"Zhou Leng, for the first time, allowed humanity to break through the toxic formation of the Angels of Death, planting the flag of victory above the fog."

"He is also the only thousand-battle hero in the history of the Human Race."

"During the Battle of Huqiu Fortress, he slaughtered over a thousand innate enemies, creating an unprecedented record in human history."

"In a single battle, same-tier opponents, slaying over a thousand foes."

"He is also the Martial Arts Hua Tuo."

"He saved the lives of many martial artists doomed to die but couldn’t save his own injuries..."

When the host reached this point, the minds of many viewers almost ceased to function.

The volume of information was so overwhelming that it was beyond anyone’s imagination.

Some clever ones suddenly remembered something, watching TV while pulling out their phones to look for that question and answer from Martial Arts.

There was once a question doubting if the Bearer of Arrows, the Demon Slayer Warrior, and the Fog Breaker were the same person. Someone said it was impossible, adding that if all three were indeed one person, they’d give a Replenishing Essence Pill to every person who liked it.

Upon closer inspection, the likes had reached 990,000.

One refresh, 1.02 million ...

"He is not just a hundred-battle hero, a thousand-battle hero, but also a ten-thousand-battle hero."

"Many should know that he entered the Great Battlefield and returned severely injured."

"Later, when his War Merit Token was recorded, we discovered that he killed over a hundred thousand innate aliens in the Great Battlefield..."

Screens of all sizes, worldwide, emanated light.

In front of the screens were stunned faces.

Some people’s brains had fried.

They couldn’t even hear what the host was saying anymore, as it was completely beyond the realm of common or even martial understanding.

All they could see was the sickbed reaching the stairs.

Six innate masters lifted the sickbed, ascending the steps.

Zhou Leng placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the Hero Monument.

"Salute!"

In the high-altitude overview news angle, all the soldiers around the Hero Monument stood at attention and saluted.

The unified sound thundered like a celestial drum.

Politicians from all countries, heroes from the Ten Realms, all rose to gaze at humanity’s foremost innate hero.

Throughout the world, one person after another stood before their screens, looking at the young man in a hospital gown on the sickbed.

Dragon Country’s Chief Zhang was the first to approach the sickbed, extending both hands.

An old hand and a young hand clasped together, shaking up and down.

The elder spoke slowly, "The blood you shed for the people of the entire nation stains each of us, dripping into every heart. On behalf of all the people of Dragon Country, thank you."

Saying this, the elder released his right hand, pointing to his heart.

In the image, everyone saw clearly that Zhou Leng’s eyes reddened, shining with tears, gently turning away to avoid the camera.

Many stood still for a moment, some followed with reddening eyes, some silently shedding tears.

In a quiet corner of the Rucheng cafeteria, Xu Qingjin clenched his fists, his face streaming with tears.

The image on the news slowly panned out, as if the world returned to silence once again.

He Yin Martial Arts Academy.

Lv Yuanhao, biting his lip, couldn’t hold back anymore, tears gushing like a breached dam.

Weeping loudly.

Rucheng, Zhao Lianshuo’s home.

Li Linhan and a group of retired soldiers watched, sobbing uncontrollably.

In a taxi, Hu Yi leaned over the steering wheel, weeping loudly.

All over the country, those who sweated, cried, bled, and were forgotten, wept uncontrollably.