THE MARTIAL KING, VOLUME 8 - Season 19 Episode 32

As expected, no one could escape the effects of the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance and food. The bodies of many martial artists trembled as they struggled with much resistance.

They were all trying to get up desperately.

Keeping their goals in mind, they followed their instincts and outdid their selves.

Though time didn’t seem noticeable due to unchanging seasons, they knew that a lot of days had already been wasted.

They had been lying here for years. Every day, they were baptized by the songs of the Collapsing Mountain race, allowing them to gain a bit of their strength each time. However, the same worked as a daily torture, forcing them to train instinctively, urging them to try getting up and enjoy that delicious food.
It might appear as barbaric, but this unique training method seemed to work as an effective stimulus.

“I want it too…”

Struggling to get up, another martial artist tried propping himself up from the ground. Being a top-level Spirit Transformation Realm martial artist, he was known to follow the path of body refinement, making him a lot stronger than Zen. This person was relying solely on his own strength to rise.

Although he was able to crawl up, he could barely move another muscle afterwards. His feet seemed to stick to the ground, making it extremely difficult for him to even move a single step. The man continued to shuffle, staggering like he was drunk, but he did manage to walk.

It was rare to see anyone getting up and standing amidst this pool of warriors lying on the ground. Their expressions revealed extreme resentment as their eyes failed to hide their envy.

Under such circumstances, it was very difficult for anyone to maintain their true nature.

Holding his stomach, Zen swallowed as he felt the rumbling sound from within. The truth was, he was unable to bear the hunger.

The wine jars were impossible to miss, standing as tall as a person. As soon as they were opened, a strong aroma wafted out from them.

Ordinary wines never enticed the warriors at all. However, the strong wines of the Collapsing Mountain race were not some typical wines. They were made from the bones of all kinds of ferocious beasts, making a wild and primal scent combination, which was quite tempting.
With the aromas of roast meat and wines, as well as the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance, everyone’s mouth ended up all watery.

“I… I will give it a try as well!”

Zen declared, releasing the power of the dragon scales again.

He felt rather regretful now. The second time he joined the Celestial Position race, the clansmen had collected quite a number of weapons, enough for him to light up a lot of dragon scales. But in the end, he decided to accumulate enough heavenly essence, helping the nine dragons refine their Heavenly Bodies.

If it wasn’t for that, Zen would’ve had more power of the dragon scales to borrow and use.

He tried to concentrate, focusing his mind on his goal. Taking a deep breath and using all his strength, Zen crawled up with great difficulty. Pressing both his hands on the ground, he lifted his body up.

Although he could temporarily resist the gravitational force, the rate at which he consumed his strength was extremely fast. He could feel cold sweat building on every inch of his body.

The energy contained in the dragon scales was not limitless, but it was much more potent and vigorous than Zen’s. He felt that his own strength depleted in just a few seconds, but the dragon scales hadn’t dimmed yet. Their energy was his now, and it was enough for him to trust he could make it.

Plop!

Just as he stood up, Zen suddenly fell to the ground.

Hearing the sound from behind him, the warrior who was struggling to walk forward turned his head to find Zen lying on the ground. Unable to hide his amusement, he let out a few hollow laughs before continuing his walk towards the huge bonfire in the square, never wanting to look back.

The meaning behind the laughter was very clear.

Zen was a newcomer, and unlike the rest of the warriors there, he had only been there for a day. To add to that, he was merely in the Spirit Supreme Realm, yet he wanted to climb up to eat the meat.

Zen’s face heavily smashed onto the ground. If it wasn’t for the fact that his head was as tough as a divine weapon, the fall would have caused him a great injury. Even so, he felt dizzy as stars danced before his eyes.

“I need to rely on my own strength!”

Just as frustration dawned on him, a hint of enlightenment struck him at lightning speed, making his heart skip a beat.

Some of the powers were not supposed to be his, like the power of the cyan dragon. He had to borrow the power of the nine dragons now. But they would leave him one day.

The trial before him was undoubtedly a torture, possibly even driving anyone insane, but he believed it was the best trial. Thinking that one day he would easily leave the Collapsing Mountain race’s territory, it only meant that his strength and physical body had reached their full potential.

Unfortunately, he was not able to eat any meat tonight. Staring at the dark skies above him, Zen felt the cold breeze brush past him.

The nights in the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land varied in length. The first night lasted approximately one hundred and thirty-two hours, while tonight was only fourteen hours.

The members of the Collapsing Mountain race seemed to never know fatigue. They tucked into meat and wine under the bonfire for ten hours, greatly torturing Zen and Laquisha.

When their meal was finally over, all the martial artists, including Zen, were covered in sweat, as if they were about to collapse from exhaustion.

Many of the martial artists had powerful souls and no longer needed to sleep. But, they had to constantly withstand the powerful gravitational force here.

Moreover, they were tormented by the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance before, so they all fell into a deep sleep now.

Zen was no exception.

Four hours after, the sky started to light up again.

And so, along with the songs the Collapsing Mountain members sang, a new day began.

On the second day, when Zen saw Uncle Toad luring the children to share their meat pieces, he suddenly knew why the other martial artists were envious of Uncle Toad the day before. Zen couldn’t deny that he was also tempted to trick the children into giving him some.

However, he gave up on second thought.

He found this method too tiring and inefficient. It would be better if he could stand up. That way, he would have unlimited access to meat and wine.

Lost in his thoughts, Zen lay motionless, his eyes closed. He wasn’t in a hurry, but Laquisha was.

“Zen, you better think of a way to stand up quickly,” Laquisha commented, interrupting his thoughts. “I don’t want to waste any more time here.”

“Isn’t this a good place?” Zen laughed. “If you can stand up and master the terrifying power of the Collapsing Mountain members, I think that will greatly enhance your strength.”

Laquisha snorted coldly, “I don’t need to refine my body. If I needed to improve the strength of my physical body, then I should not have wasted my time here.”

Based on a warrior’s condition, there were many ways to cultivate their strength. Laquisha believed that being tortured was probably the worst choice.
“But I need to refine my body,” answered Zen.

Even if he could really stand up, Zen would not choose to leave so quickly. He believed there was a lot more he could gain in this place.

“You…” Laquisha instantly became anxious but decided to zip her mouth shut. The last thing she wanted to do was waste time here.

“You can get someone to take you out. Given your status, I’m pretty sure you should be able to do it, right?” Zen suggested. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help Laquisha. Time was precious to both of them.

As Zen said, Laquisha could get out if she wished to. Besides the oldest inhabitants of the Collapsing Mountain race, there were also many outsiders. Some, who went out to hunt with the Collapsing Mountain members, were even from the divine land.

Laquisha had a special status. All she needed was to ask for help, and she would be able to leave at any time.

“But only you can take me to the Soul Suppressing Cliff!” Laquisha said, pursing her lips.

If it was her will, she would not be staying here. However, the Celestial Soul’s prophecy advised that she had to follow Zen. It would be meaningless for her to leave the Collapsing Mountain alone. With Zen being the most important figure, she would need to go out with him at all costs.

Zen shook his head. “You pick the wrong person. I have no idea where the Soul Suppressing Cliff is. How am I supposed to bring you there?”

Hearing what he said, Laquisha glared resentfully at Zen, but decided to keep quiet.

Thinking about it, Laquisha wasn’t so worried at all. Zen did not know why she needed to go to the Soul Suppressing Cliff. If Kennan and the others were still alive, they would find her sooner or later.

Until that time, she would think of other ways to persuade Zen. If worse came to worst, she would take Zen away by force.

The next day went by in a flash, and the same routine repeated at night, which was another ordeal for the martial artists.

Despite the torture, the gravitational force there was of great benefit to Zen.

As the gravity continued to exert force onto his body, it continuously formed the primordial energy. And on the second day, under the baptism of the Collapsing Mountain race’s songs, the primordial energy flowed evenly through his body.

The only problem was that, even with this flow of energy, his divine weapon body had not been further strengthened to the next level.

Last time he swallowed Laquisha’s flames. Maybe the flames he swallowed weren’t enough, or the primordial energy within his body wasn’t enough, or maybe it was the combination of both.

“Can you condense your flames again?” He requested Laquisha.

They had been there for a week now, and Zen felt that he had accumulated enough primordial energy to handle her flames.

If his physical body improved once again, it would benefit him more.

On the other hand, Laquisha already noticed the special features of Zen’s body. He was not afraid of the preternatural flames in her body, and the countless tiny runes on his body could constantly absorb her flames. Somehow, he must have cultivated a technique that required him to swallow these preternatural flames.

He needed her help now.

Narrowing her eyes, she answered with a smile, “My pleasure!”