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...Time quietly flowed by during the silent Cultivation, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Deep within the Supreme Pontiff Palace, inside a Secret Chamber sealed by a powerful Barrier.
Xuan Ming sat cross-legged, enveloped by a layer of pure white Halo. The Halo was not dazzling, but it carried a strange power that soothed the soul and purified all things, completely different from the murderous aura of his previous Blood Spear or the overbearing majesty of the abyssal dragon emperor.
Six spirit rings quietly floated around his body. The most eye-catching one was the spirit ring positioned last.
It was not the brilliant gold of an ordinary god-bestowed spirit ring, but a stranger color—the main body was still noble gold, but the golden edge flowed with a soft and continuous white Halo, like a sacred ring of light.
The spirit ring itself did not emit pure power coercion, but an aura of vast, inclusive compassion that brought peace to the heart.
Million-Year Spirit Ring—Ring of Kindness!
The moment this unique spirit ring completely solidified, Xuan Ming's tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open!
"Buzz—!"
An indescribable, boundless pressure silently spread out, centering on him! This pressure was not tyrannical or sharp, but carried a supreme transcendence originating from the Origin of Life, as if he himself had become a part of the Law!
The space inside the Secret Chamber began to subtly twist, and the light around him became hazy, as if even time and space were submitting to him!
He slowly raised his hand, feeling the surging, seemingly endless power within his body. This power was no longer just spirit power, but something more fundamental and Advanced... divine force!
Rank 100!
Without inheriting any God Position, relying on his own accumulation, the help of the heart of the dragon god, and the boost from the Godly Trial reward, he forcefully broke through the limits of the Mortal Realm and stepped into the Divine Rank Domain!
Rank 100 True God without a God Position!
"What now?" Xuan Ming stood up, feeling the continuously surging, vast divine force within him, which felt capable of controlling a portion of the rules of heaven and earth with a single thought, yet his face remained expressionless.
"Next, how do you plan to play?"
...In the magnificent and solemn Temple of the God Realm.
The figures of the Five God Kings were shrouded in hazy divine light, but the atmosphere was exceptionally heavy. Their gazes, like invisible shackles, were firmly locked onto Sea God Poseidon, who stood in the center with a bitter expression.
Inside the Light Mirror, the scene in the Supreme Pontiff Palace on the Douluo Continent was clearly reflected—Xuan Ming's divine force was contained, yet he had already stepped into the Rank 100 True God Realm, and the unique Million-Year Ring of Kindness, flowing with a white Halo, slowly rotated behind him.
And his final words, calm but filled with cold questioning, struck the heart of every God King like a whip forged of ice.
"Next, how do you plan to play?"
The nature of things has changed!
It has completely changed!
A sharp cold light flashed in Asura God's blood-red eyes. The God of Destruction was surrounded by restless purplish-black air currents. The Goddess of Life showed worry in her eyes, and the God of Kindness frowned deeply.
Even the usually cynical God of Evil had no smile on his face, only solemnity remained.
The fuse for all this was Poseidon's damned Fourth Trial!
"Poseidon!" Asura God's voice was as cold as Ten Thousand Years of Profound Ice, carrying suppressed fury, "Look at the mess you've made!"
Poseidon felt more wronged than the Deep Sea Demon Whale King. He opened his mouth, trying to explain, his voice tinged with grievance: "I... I really didn't have any other intentions! I just saw that the previous trials for this boy were too brutal! Soul Stripping, Will Reshaping, Dragon Soul Sacrifice... which one wasn't a near-death experience? I just wanted him... to relax a little! And, by the way, to bring him and Bo Saixi together. Isn't that good? Who knew why he... misunderstood? And got involved with that little girl from the Angel God's side like that? I really didn't mean to pressure him!"
His original intention for setting up this trial was indeed because he felt Xuan Ming was too stressed and the previous trials were too fraught with blood and tears. He wanted to switch to a relatively "gentle" method, allowing him to sort out his emotions, perhaps find inner peace and connection, and integrate more smoothly into the God Realm in the future. Bringing him and Bo Saixi together seemed like killing two birds with one stone.
But in all his calculations, he failed to account for Xuan Ming's deep-seated paranoia and his self-contained, obsessive logic!
In Xuan Ming's view, the previous trials were Life-and-death tests, forging strength and will—he accepted that! But suddenly, the style shifted to emotional entanglement that was hard to cut through? Especially when he had just stripped away the Sea God's Heart and his mindset was already sensitive, this felt exactly like the God Realm was toying with him, using people he cared about to test his bottom line, or even trying to restrain him with a "Gentle Embrace"!
Xuan Ming's vigilance was completely triggered!
The God of Evil rubbed his Temples and sighed, "Saying all this is useless now. Explanations? Given that boy's paranoia, any explanation we offer now will only sound like concealment and scheming to him, making him even more vigilant."
The Goddess of Life nodded gently: "Indeed. The assessment must continue, but the subsequent trials must be handled with greater caution. We absolutely cannot be... as careless as Poseidon was."
The look she gave Poseidon also held a trace of helplessness. What Poseidon saw as "relaxation" and "matchmaking," in the view of Xuan Ming, who had endured the cruel forging of the first three trials, appeared utterly trivial and... insulting to his intelligence? Especially after he had paid a huge price to "sever ties," this sense of contrast would be even stronger.
The God of Kindness remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke, his voice gentle yet carrying undeniable power: "Xuan Ming's mindset has changed. Forcing guidance will only be counterproductive. To make him change, we must now let him experience, choose, and change things himself."
His gaze swept over the other four God Kings: "Furthermore, everyone, do not forget that if he can truly replicate the Great Power of the Dragon God, or even go further, what he faces in the future will certainly not be a struggle for a single city or territory. What he needs to possess is the scope and ability to govern a region and balance the universe."
"The previous Xuan Ming exhibited the qualities of a top warrior—resilience, decisiveness, absolute desire for control over power, and even destructive force at any cost. This is good, but it is not enough. A God, especially a future leader of the God Realm, cannot merely be a warrior."
The God of Kindness paused, then stated his proposal: "For the upcoming Fifth Trial, let him resolve the chaotic situation on the Douluo Continent. The Three Great Empires are in confrontation, internal conflicts are rampant, the old order has collapsed, and a new order has yet to be established. Let him face this Messy Chess Game and see how he makes his move, how he handles dissenting opinions, and how he... truly constructs, rather than merely destroys."
"This concerns his decision-making ability, his scope, and whether he possesses the potential to transcend personal preferences and lead civilization forward."
As soon as these words were spoken, the Temple fell into a brief silence.
Immediately, Asura God's cold voice rang out: "Agreed. Let him lift his head from the quagmire of power and see how the real World should operate."
The air currents around the God of Destruction calmed slightly: "Establishing order amidst chaos is an ultimate test in itself. I agree."
The God of Evil curved his lips, and interest reignited in his eyes: "Interesting. Let's see if this newly promoted True God chooses to crush skill with brute force and sweep everything away, or if he can find a... more interesting path."
The Goddess of Life nodded gently: "I hope this allows him to see more than just hatred and destruction."
Seeing that everyone had reached a consensus, Poseidon finally sighed in relief and quickly declared: "I will absolutely not interfere with subsequent assessments!"
He was truly scared; that boy's thought process was completely different from his own.
The Divine Thought of the God of Kindness, like an invisible tide, penetrated layers of Spatial Barriers and accurately descended upon Xuan Ming, who had just stabilized his Rank 100 True God Realm.
A clear and authoritative message, accompanied by vast divine force fluctuations, boomed in his mind:
[Seagod Nine Trials, Fifth Trial: Reshaping Order.]
[Content: End the conflict on the Douluo Continent, establish a brand new order, and eliminate the root causes of war. Time limit: Three years.]
[Assessment Requirement: Do not use absolute military force for Genocidal Cleansing. A sustainable framework for the new order must be established.]
Xuan Ming slowly raised his head, his ice-blue eyes piercing through the confines of the Secret Chamber, seemingly gazing into the endless Void Realm, meeting the gaze that watched him from the shadows.
"Reshaping Order... no Genocidal Cleansing..."
Sure enough, it was exactly as he had anticipated.
The God Realm was beginning to use a more "Advanced" method to restrict and test him.
It was no longer just a test of power, but pushing him into a more complex chess game. They wanted to see how he would "play the game" within the rules, and whether he, the "warrior," possessed the mind of a "ruler."
They were scared.
Scared that he would act recklessly, scared that he would flip the chessboard.
Therefore, they drew a line for him—he cannot kill everyone.
Very well.