Before he could even rest, the golden trident mark on Yu Tianming's forehead lit up abruptly.
Amidst the golden light that filled the air, a deep and majestic voice rang out. "First Trial of the Sea God: Cross the Sea God's Light, reach the 500th step – trial passed."
In the next moment, the golden light on his forehead was absorbed back into the trident mark, and an immense wave of divine Sea God aura surged into his body, saturating his limbs and bones completely.
He could feel subtle changes happening to his body under the influence of this divine power. The Sea God's Light around him now also carried a sense of intimacy and familiarity.
Moments later, Yu Tianming slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw were Dugu Yan, Ah Zhu, and Ah Zhi quietly cultivating beside him. Since they had already passed the trial, the pressure of the Sea God's Light no longer affected them, allowing them to reach the 500th step.
Only then did he notice Bo Saixi not far away, wearing her striking red robes yet emanating no spiritual fluctuations.
Bo Saixi also turned her gaze toward Yu Tianming, smiling softly. "Congratulations on passing the first trial. The second one will begin soon. Land-based soul masters still have to complete it within one year. You must work hard."
As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished in a flash of red light.
In that moment, dark clouds rapidly gathered above Sea God Mountain. The once-clear sky now hinted at a looming storm.
Around Sea God Mountain, the once-calm ring-shaped sea suddenly roared with churning waves. Strange energy rippled violently across the sea. A beam of golden light flashed, and a thin layer of light descended over the ring-shaped sea.
This light barrier hovered about ten meters above the sea's surface, stretching from Sea God Mountain all the way to the outer shores of the ring sea. Yu Tianming understood—this was to limit flight altitude, restricting them to low-altitude movement just above the water.
As the environment changed, the trident marks on everyone's foreheads lit up once again. A new layer of glowing script appeared in each of their minds, detailing the second trial.
Dugu Yan subconsciously looked toward Yu Tianming and read aloud her trial. "Second Trial: Break through the blockade of the ring sea. Conditions for passing—cross the blockade to reach the opposite shore without killing any sea soul beasts."
Ah Zhu and Ah Zhi echoed. "Our trial is the same as Miss Yan's. It's all about breaking through the ring sea."
Yu Tianming's expression turned odd. "Looks like we all have to break through the blockade—but my trial has an extra condition: I can't use soul ring abilities."
He thought, 'My trial is so similar to Tang San's. Could it be that all god trials follow the same template?'
Thinking back, it did seem so. Even the Angel God's trials were the same pattern. Qian Renxue's sixth trial was to endure a stick of incense under Qian Daoliu's attack; the seventh was to draw the Angelic Holy Sword; and the ninth was to break free from the emotional bindings of the mortal world. Her ninth trial was completed by having sex with Tang San—identical in structure to Tang San's.
'Could it be that the Angel God and Sea God were on such good terms they shared the same trial templates? Then why did they broadcast Qian Renxue's ninth trial to the entire Shrek Academy?'
Yu Tianming didn't dwell on it. Instead, he turned to the three girls. "What rewards did you each receive for passing the first trial?"
Ah Zhu was the first to answer. "My reward was a 3,000-year increase to my soul ring ages. The years were automatically added to my lowest-age rings, and now my first three rings are all 2,000 years old."
As she spoke, she activated her martial soul, revealing her soul rings: purple, purple, purple, purple, black.
Yu Tianming nodded. This reward was fair—Ning Rongrong, who also had top-tier seven trials, got 500 years added to each soul ring plus a full level increase in spirit power. Ah Zhu's total boost was about the same—just applied differently.
Ah Zhi followed up, showing her four purples and one black ring. "Mine's similar to my sister's, but I got 4,000 years in total."
Yu Tianming nodded again and turned his attention to Dugu Yan, whose trial difficulty was the highest.
Under the others' gaze, Dugu Yan looked a bit embarrassed. "Mine was also a soul ring age increase. Maybe because my trial was the hardest, I got the most—5,000 years added."
Then she asked curiously, "Tianming-ge, you climbed 500 steps—how many years did you gain?"
Yu Tianming shook his head with a helpless smile. "Unlike you, I didn't get soul ring years. I just got a 10% boost in Sea God affinity. But honestly, it doesn't seem that useful."
The girls exchanged glances. "We don't know exactly what Sea God affinity is," one said, "but it has to be important."
Yu Tianming touched his chest thoughtfully. Since his affinity rose, he could feel the divine Sea God pressure suppressing the Shura God energy, forcing it to retreat into the Killing God mark on his chest.
Without twin martial souls to host both divine powers, if he didn't complete the Sea God trials, the remaining Shura divine energy might vanish completely.
He didn't explain further but instructed the girls. "I'll need a few days to reach level 70. You three can start trying to cross the ring sea yourselves." With that, he sat cross-legged and began cultivating.
Ah Zhi, being a sea-type soul master, looked at Dugu Yan and Ah Zhu. "Since I'm a sea soul master and good at defense, let me go first and try crossing."
Dugu Yan nodded. "Be careful. If it gets too dangerous, I'll use space teleportation to back you up."
"Just don't take unnecessary risks," Ah Zhu added, worried.
Ah Zhi nodded and leapt into the ring sea.
The moment she left shore—but before even touching the water—the roaring waves rose up ten meters and slammed into the golden barrier above. It was like a water wall had suddenly formed around Sea God Mountain.
Though intense, the sea soul master Ah Zhi adapted quickly. After absorbing immortal herbs, her water affinity was very high, and she moved calmly through the currents.
However, due to the divine pressure, her speed slowed. After swimming just ten meters, a group of electric-blue arrowfish surrounded her, their soul power forming a web to block all her paths.
Their aura matched hers perfectly—she blended in almost like one of them. But these soul beasts didn't see her as kin. If she stayed still, they circled her. The moment she moved, they charged like lightning-charged spears.
On shore, Dugu Yan immediately tried to teleport to help—but as soon as she activated her ability, she realized: spatial powers were heavily suppressed here. She could barely move faster than swimming.
Ah Zhi saw and shook her head at her. 'These fish can't hurt me. But if you interfere, someone might get killed—which breaks the trial's rules.'
Understanding, Dugu Yan reluctantly returned.
Ah Zhi's soul rings lit up. Purple lightning burst from her body, crackling out in all directions and shocking the fish into retreat. The damage wasn't enough to injure them, but it stunned them and halted their charge.
When they finally slammed into her armored arms, a turquoise ripple spread out—but Ah Zhi took no damage, and neither did the fish.
Suddenly, a suffocating pressure swept the sea.
The arrowfish panicked and fled.
A massive shadow approached. Before Ah Zhi could see clearly, a tidal force struck her. She managed to cross her arms before being blasted from the water and thrown into Sea God Mountain.
Though the Sea God's Light no longer pressured those who passed the first trial, it still protected the mountain. Ah Zhi hit the barrier like a pillow wall and slid down unharmed. Her shield's glow had deepened again.
She stood up and asked, "What just hit me? Did you see it?"
Dugu Yan replied, "A white shark—at least 25 meters long. It moved so fast we only saw it for a moment. It unleashed a wave of blue light that launched you back."
Ah Zhi looked frustrated. "I've never felt such pressure. Not even Sea Dragon was this powerful. That must've been a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. But why is it here?"
"Sea God Island has several internal seas, connected to the ocean—like the sea eye under Sea Dragon Douluo. That white shark probably came in through one of those passages."
Dugu Yan added, "That must be the Devil Spirit Great White Shark King. Our trial probably attracted it here, to prevent us from passing. But judging by how it attacked you—it wasn't trying to hurt you, just stop you."
Ah Zhi, previously discouraged, now looked excited. "So the first trial tested our soul power, and the second tests sea combat. As a sea soul master who grew up on land, this is a great chance to improve."
Ah Zhu could only smile bitterly.
Just then, a massive white figure burst from the water. In mid-air, its sleek form shrank rapidly, turning into a tall, alluring girl.
She wore a skin-tight white outfit that outlined her perfect figure. Her gray-blue hair flowed like silk to the ground. Her eyes glowed with the same color, and her features were exotic and striking.
But the Devil Spirit Great White Shark King wasn't here to congratulate them.
Landing gracefully, she stared directly at Ah Zhi and said coldly, "Sea Dragon sacrificed himself to you? Your martial soul does resemble his—but your cultivation is far inferior."
The girls were all on guard. Ah Zhu, the eldest, spoke first. "Senior, may we ask who you are and what you want with us?"
The woman answered frankly. "I'm the Devil Spirit Great White Shark King—Mount of the Sea God. He calls me Xiao Bai. I've been ordered to prevent anyone from crossing the ring sea. I came to see who Sea Dragon sacrificed himself to."
The girls relaxed slightly—she was not an enemy.
But Ah Zhi didn't clarify that the spirit bone was passed to her, and that Sea Dragon had actually sacrificed himself to the cultivating Yu Tianming.
She just looked at the shark king and asked gently, "So, Senior… you knew about the sacrifice?"
(End of Chapter)
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