In just ten minutes, over a thousand trial takers were severely injured and retreated to the edge of the mountaintop.

There were fewer than eight hundred people on the scene.

After another five minutes, only five hundred were left on the field.

There were just over two hundred Martial Stone-men left.

The trial takers watching the battle while recovering from their injuries included some Demons and Sea Sirens, frowning deeply.

Participating in the battle were Demons, Sea Sirens, Beastmen, Giant Dragons, Giants, Demon Spirit Masters, Blue Star Martial Artists, Tree-men, and Steel Dwarves.

Nine groups.

Very few Sea Sirens were still fighting, only three.

Even though Sea Sirens have slightly weaker land combat abilities, this ratio is abnormally low.

Among them, Giants were the most numerous, which was easy to understand since many Giants came with strong power.

The second most were Giant Dragons, individually strong and willing to help Deep Dark Fury and Wind of Grey Steel, which was also understandable.

But surprisingly, the third most were Blue Star Human Martial Artists, whose number wasn't far behind the first two.

The desecrated page-bearer had not participated in the battle. When he noticed the result, his pages turned frantically.

He secretly gathered Demon Worship Sect members, Demons, Sea Sirens, and Beastmen who were not severely injured.

"Be ready, once the battle is over, we'll ally with other forces to target humans exclusively, ignoring other groups!"

"These young humans in battle are very peculiar, especially those from the Ancient River Trial."

"If they make it out, they'll become our great enemy."

"Don't let them leave alive!"

"Now, don't hold back, use all the magic potion for recovery. When the time comes, the resources we seize from them will be more than enough to compensate!"

"Once we return to Demon Purgatory, I'll help you apply for the High-Level Demon Ascension Ritual!"

The numerous Demons flexed their muscles and consumed the potions.

Especially the Demon Worshipers, whose eyes brimmed with killing intent.

Only Shen Jun frowned, constantly observing the Martial Artists on the field.

After another five minutes, there were only eighty Martial Stone-men left, while the trial takers on the field numbered just over three hundred.

Deep Dark Fury continuously dealt with several Martial Stone-men and now stood observing the battlefield.

He glanced at the Martial Stone-men from time to time, occasionally eyeing certain Human Martial Artists, Guan Canglong, and occasionally Zhang Xinglie and Song Juesi, along with other top fighters from various groups.

The last Martial Stone-man fell.

There were only 204 trial takers left on the field.

All were injured, some were swaying, barely able to stand.

Everyone stared intently at the light shield ahead.

Suddenly, a flash of light, the first layer of the light shield rapidly expanded.

It engulfed 204 people, isolating them from others.

The Martial Stone-men on the ground sprung up, lively, walking outside the first layer of the light shield, facing the remaining trial takers.

Those recovering trial takers were momentarily stunned; some quietly sighed, while others cursed themselves for chasing small gain.

At least a tenth of the trial takers pretended to be unable to fight, unwilling to exert too much, intending only to take advantage.

Unexpectedly, they were given no opportunity whatsoever.

The desecrated page-bearer's book-like head displayed subtle wrinkles.

The number of humans had unexpectedly reached 41, taking up one-fifth.

Especially those entering later from the Ancient River Trial, all were inside.

"Something's seriously wrong, very wrong indeed..." The desecrated page-bearer squinted his eyes, scanning all the humans closely.

Shen Jun watched those who emerged from the Ancient River Trial, feeling chilled down his spine, occasionally glancing at Guan Canglong, Zhang Xinglie, or Song Juesi.

He briefly glanced at the desecrated page-bearer, hesitated for a long time, and kept his mouth shut without a word.

"Buzz..."

Inside the first layer of the light shield, thirty-three Great Martial Stone-men emanated faint white light around them, their eyes shining far brighter than those of the Little Martial Stone-men.

Then, a segment of Divine Text sounds spontaneously appeared, echoing within the light shield.

All trial takers gazed blankly.

Only Zhou Leng listened carefully.

The Divine Text sounds ceased, and the thirty-three Great Martial Stone-men remained motionless.

"Who can understand? It seems like Divine Text, what did it say?" Deep Dark Fury asked loudly.

Everyone remained silent.

"Damn..." Wind of Grey Steel cursed softly.

"It's over... came for nothing."

Soon, Zhou Leng typed in the Ancient River Group, sending messages.

"I'll translate the Divine Text communication just now."

"That voice said only by entering the second layer of the light shield can one officially retrieve the treasure."

"There are two ways to enter the second layer of the light shield."

"Either defeat a Great Martial Stone-man alone."

"Or learn the Body-Protecting Divine Skill from the thirty-three Great Martial Stone-men, choosing one out of thirty-three."

"Is that all?" Li Yuanhe asked.

"That's it, it's quite simple."

"Very simple..."

Zhang Feng sent a sticker with the expression "you think you're so great."

Then everyone queued up to copy and paste the same sticker, forming a sheet of them.

"No doubt, none of us can defeat a Great Martial Stone-man, learning the Body-Protecting Divine Skill is the optimal choice."

"Yes, even if we can win, we'd only get one treasure, which might not compare to a complete set of Body-Protecting Divine Skill."

Zhou Leng said, "You rest first, then secretly learn the Body-Protecting Divine Skill. Zhang Xinglie, covertly tell Lou Fei Qiong and the other six human martial artists. As for other groups, let's temporarily keep it from them; after all, they can't learn the Body-Protecting Divine Skill anyway. I'll inform Mountain and River Origin."

"Alright!" Zhang Xinglie agreed, secretly contacting the other human martial artists.

Zhou Leng secretly contacted Mountain and River Origin.

Mountain and River Origin had gone through the Giant Trial together with Zhou Leng and was particularly familiar with Zhou Leng, having long observed Guan Canglong like Zhou Leng and was not surprised.

Zhou Leng was just about to cultivate when the heavens thundered down, white light flashed brilliantly, and thunderous rumbling sounded.

Boom...

Thunder struck a Demon Spirit Master.

The Demon Spirit Master instantly turned to ashes.

Zhang Xinglie shouted loudly, "No filming or recording, this is a special heritage of the Starfield Sect! Anyone who films will die."

The crowd looked at the thin layer of dust on the ground, remaining silent.

Deep Dark Fury initially wanted to charge forward but thought better of it, sitting down to consume a magic potion and heal.

"Can't film, but can we remember it?"

"In theory, yes, you can try," Zhang Xinglie replied.

Thus, all the Trial Takers began to memorize the Qi and Blood Flow Chart on the Great Martial Stone-men.

Zhou Leng sat cross-legged on the ground, scanning the thirty-three Great Martial Stone-men.

The bodies of these Great Martial Stone-men were covered in dense lines, all representing the paths of Qi and blood circulation.

The thickness varied; the thick ones represented meridians, the thin ones blood vessels.

With different colors, the skin layer was red, the muscle layer yellow, the organ layer green, and the skeletal layer gray...

Each layer of circulation path was like a net, with a total of six layers encasing the entire body.

As to which Body-Protecting Divine Skill best suited him, Zhou Leng couldn't make an immediate judgment.

Zhou Leng first looked at the dantian of the first Great Martial Stone-man and, according to the local diagram, operated the cultivation technique, only activating the meridians near the dantian, then performed martial arts perception.

After a slight exertion, he sensed something, remembered the feeling, and looked at the second one.

Zhou Leng tried them one by one.

An hour later, he had sensed all thirty-three Great Martial Stone-men.

Among them, five provided the deepest sensations.

Of these, three had circulation methods that suited his own.

Zhou Leng repeatedly looked at the three Martial Stone-men, thought for a moment, and expanded the range of his Qi Manipulation for a more detailed perception.

He soon reached a conclusion.

One was quite inferior; the other two were not much different.

However, one Body-Protecting Divine Skill consumed more but was slightly more powerful. The other consumed less but was slightly weaker.

Zhou Leng thought about it, choosing the first option, the seventh Martial Stone-man.

He first memorized the Qi and Blood Flow Chart on the front of the seventh Martial Stone-man, then went around to the back to memorize the back's flow chart.

After memorizing everything, he returned to his original spot, sat in meditation, and closed his eyes, picturing a transparent version of himself in his mind, covered in Qi and Blood Flow Charts.

Zhou Leng did not immediately begin cultivation but instead repeatedly recalled the Qi and Blood Flow Chart and simulated its operation over and over.

Soon he stood up again to observe the seventh Martial Stone-man and compared it to the memory in his mind.

After going back and forth over a dozen times, he thoroughly memorized the Qi and Blood Flow Chart.

"I can't wait any longer, let's take down one first!"

Deep Dark Fury charged forward, lunging at the first Great Martial Stone-man.

Everyone watched.

The Great Martial Stone-man, standing ten meters tall, faced Deep Dark Fury, who was also enormous; the two seemed like small mountains clashing repeatedly.

Zhou Leng and the other martial artists observed closely.

Previously, the Little Martial Stone-men could only use singular martial arts techniques.

The Great Martial Stone-men were different; they would use various Innate Martial Arts of the Ancient River Sect, their moves skilled, techniques exquisite, far surpassing ordinary Innate Martial Artists.

Zhou Leng hesitated for a few seconds, then closed his eyes, ignoring the battle to start cultivating the Body-Protecting Divine Skill.

Threads of True Qi surged from the dantian, integrating into the meridians, circulating along a specific route.

Then, True Qi dispersed into the blood vessels, engaging in qi and blood circulation.

Ordinary martial arts had a limited range of qi and blood flow.

The Body-Protecting Divine Skill spread throughout the entire body, with different operating methods in different positions. After just a few seconds of operation, Zhou Leng felt something wrong and stopped.

Quietly contemplating the gains and losses, he resumed Qi Manipulation.

Without Divine Text instructions, cultivation was extraordinarily difficult.

Qi and blood circulation were extremely complex.

Different areas operated differently, with different speeds, amounts, and routes...

The Qi and Blood Flow Chart was like an aircraft blueprint; even the most excellent engineer would face countless difficulties building it alone.

Zhou Leng encountered another problem, so he opened the group chat to see many people asking questions.

Zhou Leng posed his own question and then checked others' questions and their responses.

Zhou Leng glanced at Zhang Xinglie and immediately noticed his cultivation was unusually smooth; the qi and blood flowed within his body extremely fluidly, unlike his own experience with various obstacles.

"This talent is too strong..."

He then looked at Song Juesi.

At first glance, Elder Song seemed unchanged, but his clothes subtly inflated, with no fluctuation at all, indicating an extraordinarily stable True Qi within.

With his astonishing martial arts ability, Elder Song quickly mastered the operation of the Body-Protecting Divine Skill.

Zhou Leng had never studied the knowledge of Body-Protecting Divine Skills before.

He searched the database to learn about Body-Protecting Divine Skills from scratch.

After swiftly acquiring the relevant knowledge, Zhou Leng felt a sense of realization.

"Star Gazing Technique" is divided into the upper and lower parts.

The lower part contains content related to Body-Protecting Divine Skills.

He reread the lower part of the "Star Gazing Technique" given by Blood of Tyranny and studied his insights and notes, focusing only on the Body-Protecting Divine Skills section.

"I can't do it, it's too strong!"

Deep Dark Fury, wounded all over, shouted loudly and retreated to the edge of the light barrier.

The first Great Martial Stone-man stopped attacking and returned to its position.

Everyone else looked at the Great Martial Stone-man, completely giving up on the challenge.

Even Wind of Grey Steel and Mountain Armor had no illusion of luck.

This man and dragon had sparred with Deep Dark Fury and couldn't even withstand thirty moves.

In a life-or-death battle, they might be defeated in ten moves.

Despite being so strong, Deep Dark Fury had no way to handle the Great Martial Stone-man.

"Shall we try together?" Wind of Grey Steel suggested.

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