"Rongrong, do as I say—gently channel your spiritual power into this Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud," Tianlin said seriously.
Now was the critical moment. Tianlin had worked so hard for this: for Ning Rongrong to break the original work's limit of only reaching a second-tier god and strive for the first-tier god position.
Ning Rongrong accepted the triangular artifact, first activating her Blue Spirit Sacred Eyes to bring her spiritual power to its peak, then slowly channeled it into the artifact as Tianlin instructed.
She trusted Tianlin one hundred percent.
The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, infused with her spirit, seemed to come alive and shot toward Ning Rongrong's forehead. The sharp tip pierced a small wound in her forehead.
Instantly, blood flowed. The artifact spun, flattening against her forehead with uncanny sentience, absorbing her blood. Its originally blue glow gradually shifted to red.
Soon, a faint blue radiance drifted out of the artifact, forming a dim phantom. An ancient, emotionless voice rang out, "Haha, excellent, excellent. I don't know how long it's been, but I've finally found someone who can bear the power of the Vast Sea. Spirit, body, and martial soul attributes are all perfectly suited."
The blue light flashed and returned to the artifact's core. The artifact's aura retracted, detaching from Ning Rongrong's forehead and landing in her palm. Now, it was blue again, though a hint of red shimmered at its core.
Tianlin quickly stepped forward, using his Blue Silver Emperor soul bone's power to heal the wound on Ning Rongrong's forehead. For a young woman, inheriting a god was secondary—scarring her beautiful face might be a worse blow.
"That was a god's apparition—no less than a first-tier god, the Sea God!" Snow Empress and Ice Empress were overjoyed. They'd clearly heard the Sea God's words: Ning Rongrong now had the qualifications to inherit the Sea God's position.
Their gamble had paid off.
Tianlin nodded in satisfaction. All his efforts had not been in vain, and with the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, Ning Rongrong's safety was further guaranteed. The artifact's two skills—the Vast Sea Barrier and Vast Sea Mind Lock—were absolute lifesavers.
"Rongrong, from now on, this Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud is yours. Use its power well," Tianlin said, holding Ning Rongrong's hand.
Ning Rongrong nodded solemnly. "Don't worry, Brother Sword. I won't let you down."
She knew how much effort Tianlin had put into her transformation. If she didn't work hard herself, she'd be unworthy of his dedication.
Just then, a light flashed from the Asura Sword mark on Tianlin's forehead.
["Asura God's Fourth Trial: Reactivate the Heart of the Sea God. Use perseverance and wisdom to create a Sea God inheritor. Over-fulfilled: Reward, Asura God affinity +15%. Current affinity: 40%."]
Tianlin's fourth trial was done, but despite the over-fulfilled note, the only reward was affinity—there were no other rewards, not even a god-bestowed soul ring, which he needed to advance beyond level eighty.
Tianlin sighed. The Asura God was as stingy as ever.
"Forget it, let's check the next trial." Tianlin summoned his fifth god trial.
["Asura God's Fifth Trial: Advance to Title Douluo. Time limit: three years!"]
"I have to reach Title Douluo in three years?" Tianlin was stunned. The Asura God's intention was clear: he wanted Tianlin to accelerate his growth.
Usually, each god trial was connected to the next. For example, when he killed the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear using the Sea God's Heart, he owed the Sea God a favor, which had to be repaid in the next trial.
That the Asura God was so eager for Tianlin to grow stronger suggested there was a special task ahead.
Tianlin had just reached level eighty—this was nearly impossible for others, as advancing from eighty to ninety was extremely hard, even for those with innate full soul power.
Most would need ten or twenty years just to break through.
But Tianlin was different. Not only was his meditation technique far superior to anything in Douluo Continent, but he also had the advanced Holy Spirit Domain. After its second evolution, it boosted Tianlin's cultivation speed by at least fifty percent.
Moreover, his slow phase from the extreme attribute had passed. Now he was in a period of rapid cultivation—three years for him could equal fifteen years for a normal innate full soul power soul master. He had absolute confidence.
The most urgent task now was to obtain his eighth soul ring and reach the Soul Douluo level.
"Ice Empress, Snow Empress, I heard from Skydream that there's a special place in the Extreme North—a legend of blazing heat hidden within the ultimate cold. Is it real?" Tianlin asked the two spirits behind Ning Rongrong.
"There is such a legend, but I've never been there. The Ice Empress has fought creatures from that place, ask her," Snow Empress said.
"I stumbled into it by accident. It's said to be in the Extreme North, but in truth, it's not in the real world—it's another dimension, connected by a spatial fissure, like two sides of a coin. That space is blazing hot, and guarding the rift is a soul beast of about two hundred thousand years—a Firelord with fire and earth attributes. It's very powerful, and I had to go all out to defeat it," Ice Empress recalled. "But I don't know if the rift still exists. I can take you to check."
"Fire and earth dual attribute, two-hundred-thousand-year Firelord!" Tianlin's heart raced.
The Martial Hall's Golden Generation's Yan had a Firelord martial soul, matching even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon—proving how powerful this soul beast was. It was a perfect match for Tianlin's needs.
His only worry was that spatial fissures could be healed by nature itself—if it was gone, he'd have no way in.
"Don't worry, Xiao Tian. If you can't find the Firelord for your eighth ring, you can always choose my son. He's water and earth dual attribute, nearly three hundred thousand years old, and very strong. Let him become your wisdom soul ring, just like Skydream," Snow Empress suddenly smiled.
"Son? Snow Empress, you have a son? I've never heard of that," Skydream Iceworm was shocked. Had one of the Extreme North kings secretly gotten together with some male soul beast?
"He's not my biological son, just my godson—a polar bear I adopted after my own breakthrough at four hundred thousand years. I named him Little White. He's not one of the three kings, but his real combat strength surpasses even the Titan Snow Demon King," Snow Empress explained. She saw Tianlin's potential and hoped to also help her godson become a god one day.
"Alright, thank you, Sister Snow Empress!" Tianlin agreed cheerfully.
He knew all about the Ice Bear King Little White from the original story—a three-hundred-thousand-year water and earth attribute beast, truly an excellent choice.
Though he couldn't help but marvel at how simply the powerful named their pets—the Sea God's white shark was also called Little White.