"Hey kid, can you tell me where that sword you copied came from? Even if I searched the whole ocean, I doubt I'd find a martial soul stronger than that." Sea Dragon Douluo didn't care about his wounds—he just wanted to know who had truly defeated him.
Though Oscar beat him, he knew the power came from the sword's true owner.
"Senior, it's the martial soul of the Vice Sect Master of my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. He's my boss—and also the husband of your next challenger." Oscar smiled.
He looked at Ning Rongrong and nodded, signaling that now, when Sea Dragon Douluo was at his weakest, was the time for her to act.
Ning Rongrong, with Zhu Zhuqing, walked to the Sea Dragon Sacred Pillar. "Senior, if you're interested in my husband, I can introduce you later. You're forthright, and he's easygoing—I'm sure you'll get along."
"Haha, good! Befriending a hero of this era would be an honor." Sea Dragon Douluo laughed heartily. "Young lady, are you the next challenger? My soul power is mostly spent, and I'm wounded. Let's change the rules: I'll attack once. If you block it, you pass. If you can't, you fail. How about it?"
Ning Rongrong thought it over. Sea Dragon Douluo, even weakened, was still not easy to handle. She still had three Titled Douluos to face, and for those three, she'd have to fight them at full strength. She couldn't afford to waste too much strength here, so she agreed, "Very well, Senior. Please instruct me."
Sea Dragon Douluo nodded and moved to one side of the square. Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing also stepped aside.
Zhu Zhuqing didn't assist this time either. Since it was just about taking one blow, her strength—speed, not defense—wouldn't help Ning Rongrong much.
Besides, Ning Rongrong was sure to win this trial, and easily at that. After all, her Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had reached the eighth ring.
"Prepare yourself, young lady. This will be my strongest attack." Sea Dragon Douluo warned, "Self-Sacrifice Skill—Ocean Impact! Ninth Soul Skill: Wavebreaker—Blue Scale Dragon Fist!"
Ning Rongrong's eyes sharpened. Here it comes!
Xiao Bai had told her: when Sea Dragon Douluo used his ninth soul skill and self-sacrifice skill together, he was at his strongest.
This self-sacrifice skill was his own creation. Once used, his next attack would be launched without any defense, but its power would be boosted by 200%.
Twice the strength of a Super Douluo—even a normal defense-type Titled Douluo might not withstand it.
Sea Dragon Douluo punched, fierce winds forming a massive blue dragon that lunged at Ning Rongrong.
Compared to that giant, Ning Rongrong looked tiny.
But in her hand, the small pagoda grew, reaching hundreds of meters tall—far larger than the dragon. The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda enveloped Ning Rongrong, and from within, she shouted, "Eighth soul skill—Nine Treasure Divine Light Bodyguard!"
The pagoda shone with light, taking Sea Dragon Douluo's strongest attack without budging.
Though also called Divine Light Bodyguard, Ning Rongrong's version was far stronger than Ning Fengzhi's. Not only could it block all attacks below the ninth soul skill, it could directly withstand nine strikes from a ninth soul skill without being destroyed, and it could absorb the attack's power and convert it into defense, even replenishing her own soul power—truly a life-saving divine skill.
Even if Sea Dragon Douluo wanted to defeat her, he'd need to unleash his ninth soul skill nine times consecutively. But who could use a ninth soul skill that many times? Usually it was a trump card—a Titled Douluo would be lucky to use it two or three times in a fight.
In other words, to kill Ning Rongrong, you'd need several Titled Douluos attacking at once. In reality, she was already unbreakable in this fifth Sea God Trial. The real challenge was beating the opponent—endless stalling would still count as a loss after thirty-six hours.
Fortunately, Sea God allowed her to choose one helper; he wouldn't set an impossible trial.
Sea Dragon Douluo, seeing his attack have no effect, could only sigh. He'd used all his strength in that last punch.
He had no more to give and said, "Enough, young lady. You've passed my trial. Move on to another Sacred Pillar."
"Thank you, Senior." Ning Rongrong was grateful. She'd passed the toughest Sea Dragon Douluo trial. With just a few more, she and Zhu Zhuqing could likely pass the fifth trial working together. However, even if she succeeded, her Sea God affinity wouldn't be very high.
This affinity was important; it influenced her power after inheriting the godhood.
Even among first-rank gods, there were strengths and weaknesses. Even if Ning Rongrong became the Sea God, she wouldn't immediately be as strong as the current Sea God—who was at the very peak of first-rank gods, able to match a God King when fighting at sea.
How much divine power she inherited depended on her affinity at the end of the trials. A perfect 100% meant she'd just meet the baseline for a first-rank god and would have to train further on her own.
In the original, Tang San had 115% affinity after the eighth trial, so even just becoming Sea God, he was stronger than Qian Renxue at the same stage.
But Tianlin's requirements for Ning Rongrong weren't high—full-affinity godhood was enough. Even being the weakest among first-rank gods was fine; he'd protect her anyway.
Next, Ning Rongrong chose Sea Maiden Douluo. For the last three, she didn't want to use any tricks, so the order was crucial.
Of the remaining Sea Horse, Sea Ghost, and Sea Maiden Douluos, Sea Ghost was slightly injured, and Sea Horse had just recovered from poisoning. Both needed more time to fully recover.
Only Sea Maiden Douluo was at peak condition, having just dueled in music with Huan Yin and surrendered quickly, suffering no injuries. After a few hours of meditation, she was fully recovered.
At this moment, Huan Yin hadn't left yet. Without Tianlin's permission, she couldn't share the Yaoguang Score, but exchanging musical insights was fine. Meeting an equal in music like Sea Maiden Douluo was rare, so Huan Yin eagerly sought to learn from her to improve herself.
"Sister Huan Yin, we're here!" Ning Rongrong arrived at the Sacred Pillar, waving to Huan Yin.
Huan Yin, seeing them, stood up happily. If they'd arrived so soon, their plan must have gone very smoothly.