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The first trial of the Sea God's nine trials.
Climbing to the summit of the 333 steps of the Sea God's Light.
Mount Sea God was essentially the first hurdle for all those undergoing trials on Sea God Island. Every year, a steady stream of young people from the island came here to take the test.
Because of the 333 steps, Mount Sea God wasn't an extraordinarily towering peak. In fact, it was relatively low and somewhat resembled scenic landmarks Ye Wen had seen on his phone in his previous life, like the Temple of Heaven.
"Let's begin, my path to divinity."
Without a moment's hesitation, Ye Wen stepped forward and began climbing.
A faint pressure surged from all directions, causing Ye Wen's body to sink slightly.
The design was clever—if used as a training ground for students, it would be an excellent place to cultivate.
However, the people of Sea God Island seemed to treat it purely as a trial site, which felt wasteful.
Suppressing his inner rant, Ye Wen steadily ascended one step at a time.
His astonishing speed left the few remaining struggling young people from Sea God Island staring in disbelief, even questioning whether they were climbing a fake version of the Sea God's Light.
Bo Saixi watched this scene indifferently, her heart quietly sighing.
"No wonder he was chosen by Lord Sea God as his successor. At his age, I certainly didn't climb the Sea God's Light with such ease."
Due to the earlier commotion, the elite forces of Sea God Island had gathered to watch Ye Wen's progress.
Upon learning that Ye Wen was the chosen heir of the Sea God, they were amazed but found it reasonable that someone of his age could pass the Sea God's Light so effortlessly.
Thanks to years of physical training and the benefits of his soul rings, the strength contained within Ye Wen's body now far exceeded a million jin.
Though the resistance grew stronger as he climbed higher, to Ye Wen, it felt like nothing more than a gentle breeze. Within just five minutes, he had already reached the summit of the Sea God's Light.
From the peak, he looked down at the world below with a sense of awe.
"The first trial of the Sea God's nine trials: reaching the summit of the Sea God's Light—complete.
Reward: 5% increase in Sea God affinity.
The second trial of the Sea God's nine trials: breaking through the Circular Sea.
Requirement: Break through the Circular Sea without killing any sea spirit beasts or using the flight ability granted by a Title Douluo's soul skill."
The reward of a mere 5% increase in Sea God affinity felt somewhat meager.
But with eight trials still ahead, there was no need to rush.
Returning to Bo Saixi's side, Ye Wen ignored the envious gazes around him and said, "Senior, please give me a divine-bestowed soul ring."
Bo Saixi fell silent for a moment. Though she found it strange that Ye Wen knew about divine-bestowed soul rings, attributing it to the Sea God's influence, she didn't dwell on it further.
Taking the divine-bestowed soul ring, Ye Wen immediately activated his Void Realm analysis.
The onlookers didn't understand why Ye Wen suddenly used a soul skill, but as the Sea God's chosen heir, they dared not question him.
Ye Wen's eyes darkened slightly. This divine-bestowed soul ring, much like the Xiang Si Duan Chang Hong {T/N: Yearning Heartbroken Red} from before, was unanalyzable—it was undoubtedly a product of divine power.
It seemed that the rules of the Douluo Continent had been thoroughly altered by the gods.
Because Ah Yin could naturally condense soul rings, Ye Wen had once researched the process. However, the research ultimately went nowhere—he only knew that soul rings were formed under the natural laws of heaven and earth by fusing a portion of a spirit beast's soul with a certain amount of blood energy.
Simply extracting these two energies alone couldn't achieve fusion; a critical unknown medium was missing.
Now it seemed clear—the medium was none other than traces of divine power. No wonder artificial soul rings had always failed.
Using the divine-bestowed soul ring was simple. By stimulating it with soul power, it would naturally create a golden mist that enveloped the area.
Within this mist, Ye Wen felt a massive surge of energy rushing into every limb, bone, and cell of his body.
It was similar to absorbing a regular soul ring, but the energy entering his body felt different.
It wasn't the pure blood energy of a spirit beast—it was mixed with something else. As his physical strength increased, his spiritual power also soared.
"Is this divine power? Could the essence of the divine-bestowed soul ring be forcibly generating rules using divine power to gather energy from heaven and earth, forming the most suitable soul ring for the soul master?"
Anyone who had read even a little in their past life would know the law of conservation of mass.
So, the optimal soul ring for him must now have skyrocketed to a million-year level.
But where did such immense energy come from?
Every year, countless lives died in the ocean. As the ruler of the seas, could the Sea God have left some kind of mechanism on Sea God Island?
On another note, the Heart of the Sea God seemed to be a soul-guiding tool. Could this Sea God be a remnant from an ancient era?
Those holy pillars were also suspicious—perhaps they were ancient soul-guiding tools passed down through the ages. But never mind that. For now, he should focus on completing the divine trials. Once he finished all nine trials, he could study these things however he wanted.
Since absorbing the divine-bestowed soul ring carried no risk, Ye Wen's thoughts drifted off into the cosmos. But as time passed, the color of the condensing soul ring gradually shifted to red.
Slowly, the sky grew dim, and golden patterns began to appear on the red soul ring.
The Title Douluos of Sea God Island, who commanded the resources of the ocean, understood what this meant.
Their hearts couldn't help but marvel: the Sea God's heir truly had deep roots. This ninth soul ring far surpassed the norm.
After all, for ordinary soul masters, even with the best soul ring configuration, the ninth soul ring typically capped at 100,000 years. Exceeding 200,000 years was unimaginable.
Far away in the divine realm, Poseidon watched this scene with great interest.
"Not bad, not bad. It seems my second-generation Sea God heir might elevate the Sea God's divine position to that of a God King in the future. However, a million-year divine ring isn't something simple. Let me lend you a hand."
As the divine-bestowed soul ring progressed, the speed at which the golden patterns condensed slowed significantly. It wasn't until dawn approached that the ninth golden pattern finally appeared.
The gathered Title Douluos didn't feel bored. As devout followers of the Sea God, they felt honored to witness this great undertaking.
Finally, the sun rose above the horizon, and soft morning light mingled with the salty sea breeze, spreading across the scene.
At this moment, the tenth golden pattern on the soul ring was completed.
The soul ring, which had been suspended motionlessly around Ye Wen, began to spin. Amidst its shimmering brilliance, the red hue quickly faded, transforming into a sacred golden color.
Simultaneously, the seven holy pillars emitted dazzling blue light that shot straight into the sky.
Then, the beams converged, descending from the heavens and enveloping Ye Wen in their glow.
Ten blue ripples appeared on the sacred golden soul ring.
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