Sea God Douluo Bosai gazed at Tang San with admiration. "Excellent. You truly are worthy of being chosen by the Sea God's Nine Trials. To have uncovered the true secret of the Light of the Sea God so quickly—you have not wasted the High Trial bestowed upon you by the Sea God."
Hearing praise from the most powerful person on Sea God Island, the others immediately realized that Tang San's guess had been entirely correct.
"I don't deserve your praise, Senior. But I am confident that we will be able to complete the Sea God's trials," Tang San replied, his voice neither humble nor arrogant, filled with quiet determination.
Bosai nodded toward them. "The only ones who can help you are yourselves. This is the only hint I will ever give you. Of course, had you not already figured it out, I wouldn't have confirmed your guess either. Every subsequent trial will be more difficult than the last. All you can do is give even more."
"Thank you, Senior. Might I trouble you with one thing?" Tang San said to Bosai.
"Go ahead. As long as it isn't related to the trials you must endure, I will do my best to accommodate you." Bosai's gaze swept gracefully over them, and for the first time, the Shrek Seven Devils discovered that an aura of nobility could also exert pressure. To them, the Sea God Douluo before them was no different from the sea itself—equally unfathomable in its depth.
Tang San said, "I hope you could have someone provide us with some food and water. As much water as possible, if you please." As he spoke, he gestured to himself, then to his companions. Everyone's clothes could only be described as wretched. Sea God Island was spring-like year-round, quite different from the outside world. As they had climbed the stairway through the Light of the Sea God, everyone's clothes had been soaked through with sweat. Though they each had spare clothing, without enough fresh water to wash themselves and their clothes, it wouldn't be long before they would start to smell.
"If we have enough food and fresh water, we can stay here and cultivate continuously, so as not to waste this precious year of time."
Bosai looked at Tang San with mild surprise. "You intend to stay here the entire time?"
Tang San made the decision on behalf of everyone without hesitation. "Every minute and every second of this year is extremely important to us. Senior, please grant us this."
Bosai smiled faintly. "Very well. I'll have someone prepare it for you. Oh, and one more thing—the seawater in this Ring Sea before you has very low salinity and is extremely clean. It's perfectly suitable for cleaning your bodies."
Tang San was overjoyed, and without needing to be told, everyone bowed together to Bosai in thanks.
Bosai's gaze passed over Tang San and settled on Ma Hongjun. "The real reason I came to see you was primarily for him."
Ma Hongjun froze for a moment, pointing at his own nose. "For me? Well, um..." For reasons known only to this big fellow, the words tumbled out before he could stop them: "Senior, you really are beautiful, but my heart already belongs to someone else."
Even a powerhouse like the Sea God Douluo was momentarily stunned by his words. Then, a faint blush crept across Bosai's noble features. "Fat boy, what nonsense are you spouting? I could be your great-grandmother and then some. You're asking for a beating." With a casual flick of her sleeve, Ma Hongjun's body flew through the air like a ball, landing directly in the Ring Sea.
Before the Shrek Seven Devils could react, Bosai waved her right hand, and the big fellow's body soared back out of the Ring Sea, landing precisely in the spot where he had been standing—not a hair's breadth off.
"All that nonsense filling your head. A dip in the water should clear it up."
This was the first time the group had witnessed Bosai display her power, and what truly shocked them was that from the moment the fat fellow was flung out to the moment he was pulled back, they hadn't sensed even the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power. Was this the strength of a ninety-ninth-ranked super powerhouse?
Ma Hongjun had accidentally swallowed a large mouthful of seawater. With a bitter expression, he said, "Great-Grandma Senior, I was wrong. Just pretend I was talking nonsense." The fat fellow might look honest and straightforward on the outside, but he was actually extremely clever. When facing an opponent he couldn't possibly defeat, he would never be stubborn about it.
Naturally, Bosai had no intention of holding it against him. She smiled faintly. "No one on Sea God Island has ever dared speak to me like that. It's rather refreshing. Little fatty, what I've brought you is an opportunity. Sit down."
Ma Hongjun hesitated, glancing at Tang San for confirmation. Tang San quickly nodded, signaling him to comply. After all, if Bosai wanted to deal with them, she could annihilate them with a mere wave of her hand. What would be the point of deceiving them?
Ma Hongjun finally sat down, though his extremely subtle glance had not escaped Bosai's notice. Her deep gaze flickered toward Tang San for a moment. She raised her right hand, turned her wrist so the palm faced upward, and revealed a golden bead.
The golden bead appeared to be carved from the most precious golden crystal, utterly transparent and flawless. What was most extraordinary was that inside the bead, a layer of faint golden mist constantly rippled and shifted—much like the golden haze that had surrounded their bodies when they endured the pressure of the Light of the Sea God.
A flash of golden light, and the bead flew out, drifting slowly to a position above Ma Hongjun's head. Bosai flicked her finger, and with a soft pop, the bead shattered directly above the fat fellow's head. Instantly, a thick stream of golden mist poured downward, enveloping Ma Hongjun's entire body.
Bosai's voice rang in everyone's ears: "All those who have been granted a Black-rank or higher trial by the Sea God will each receive one opportunity to obtain a God-Gifted Soul Ring upon reaching their first bottleneck. There is no need to hunt Soul Beasts. The God-Gifted Soul Ring will bestow upon you the Soul Skill you need most and the highest-rank Soul Ring you can bear. Each person receives only this one chance. Little fatty, focus on your feelings and endure the baptism of the God-Gifted Soul Ring with your greatest willpower if you wish to reap the greatest benefit."
God-Gifted Soul Ring?
Just those four simple words left the Shrek Seven Devils staring blankly—even Tang San was no exception.
In Tang San's mind, he had always believed that gods were simply powerful people, or perhaps powerful Soul Masters. How could gods truly exist in this world? Yet when Bosai took out that God-Gifted Soul Ring and bestowed it upon Ma Hongjun, he felt a twinge of bewilderment. This was something within the reach of mortal power? The most suitable Soul Ring—didn't that mean the stronger one's own strength when receiving the God-Gifted Soul Ring, the greater the advantage? How had Bosai known that the fat fellow had already reached level sixty? She must have sensed it when he was pushing through the Light of the Sea God. But regardless, this God-Gifted Soul Ring was an incredible boon for them. After all, they were all land-based Soul Masters, and this was the ocean—the Sea Soul Beasts here weren't suitable for everyone. It was just a pity that each person only got one chance.
The golden mist, carrying ethereal colors, gradually engulfed Ma Hongjun's body. Rings of light began to manifest around him. Tang San could barely see through the shimmering golden haze with his Purple Extreme Demon Eye, catching sight of the expression of agony on Ma Hongjun's face.
If this golden light was granting him a Soul Ring, then his current expression was entirely normal. When Tang San had first absorbed a Soul Ring that far exceeded his level, he had been in far worse pain than Ma Hongjun was now. At that thought, Tang San recalled Xiao Wu's disappearance—the very reason his heart had grown so resolute, enabling him to endure the agony of absorbing the Man-Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring above his level. It was from that moment onward that he had truly become strong.
The fat fellow's body gradually began to tremble, the tremors growing more and more violent. An unhealthy crimson flush surfaced on his skin. One could only imagine how excruciating the pain he was enduring must be.
With a whoosh, a golden-red flame surged upward from behind him, instantly transforming into a massive phoenix that swayed behind Ma Hongjun.
Sea God Douluo Bosai had been watching Ma Hongjun's expression the entire time. When Tang San occasionally glanced sideways at her, he could see a hint of approval in her eyes. Clearly, the pain the fat fellow was currently enduring had already reached his limit. Tang San silently cheered him on. Having attempted to absorb Soul Rings above his own level more than once, he knew intimately that for every additional second the fat fellow endured, the effect of the Soul Ring would increase by another measure.
Ma Hongjun was indeed enduring tremendous pain. His willpower had originally been the weakest among the group. But since the Shrek Seven Devils had reunited, he was the only one who still hadn't reached the sixth rank of Soul Emperor. Though he never said anything openly, in his heart the fat fellow had been competing with himself. Even Oscar, whose Martial Soul had the greatest disadvantage, had broken through to level sixty and reached the Soul Emperor rank. Why should he, who possessed the top-tier Martial Soul Fire Phoenix, fall behind?
If he had been cultivating on his own, reaching his current level at his age would already have earned him the label of genius. But when every single person around him was a genius among geniuses—or rather, a monster among monsters—it was impossible not to feel pressure when staying with Tang San and the others. And Ma Hongjun certainly refused to fall behind.
Moreover, there was the matter of Bai Chenxiang. Though she had kissed him only to complete her trial, in the fat fellow's heart, it had only strengthened his determination to pursue her. That single kiss had taught him the sacred truth that good girls were the way to go. How could he possibly yield to pain so easily in front of Bai Chenxiang? Who knew when she might wake from her cultivation.
At this moment, Ma Hongjun truly understood why Tang San had said the Light of the Sea God was an opportunity for them—the most critical component of the Sea God's trials. Though he had only endured the pressure of the Light of the Sea God once, facing the pain before him now, even Ma Hongjun himself was surprised by his own endurance. It seemed that having been crushed by the Light of the Sea God the day before had somehow elevated his tolerance.
Under the combined effect of all these factors, the fat fellow teetered on the very edge of collapse. Under the violent stimulation of pain, a thin layer of oily sweat even appeared on his skin, threaded with traces of blood.
At that moment, Tang San waved to the others, drawing their attention to himself, and then pointed toward the stairway leading to the Sea God Temple. Who knew how long it would take the fat fellow to absorb his Soul Ring, and with Sea God Douluo Bosai present, this was arguably the safest place they could be. Rather than continuing to stand here watching, they should seize every moment for cultivation.
Tang San's suggestion was immediately met with approval. They walked together to the foot of the stairway. Bosai did not look their way, but a faint smile played at the corner of her lips.
Tang San said, "Let's test our respective limits. Before climbing, apply all your buffing abilities to yourselves, then endure the pressure of the Light of the Sea God. That way, we can ascend as many steps as possible. No one helps anyone else—climb using only your own power. Let's see where our limits truly lie. When your body can't take any more, retreat immediately, but don't come down too quickly. Feel how your body relaxes as the pressure lessens. Think of it as a triangular training method—from lowest to highest, then from highest to lowest. This should produce the best results. After coming down, don't rush into a meditative state. I have another idea that we can try."
The wisdom Tang San had long demonstrated had already earned the full trust of his companions. Martial Souls were released in an instant. Since Xiao Wu had already climbed once before, Tang San stored her in his Myriad Treasure Pouch to cultivate. His Soul Power had been significantly depleted earlier, but after the period of rest just now, he had recovered a fair amount. Combined with what remained, his strength was at roughly seventy percent.
Dai Mubai unleashed all three of his buffing abilities—the White Tiger Protective Shield, the White Tiger Diamond Transformation, and the White Tiger Demonic God Transformation—before striding proudly into the Light of the Sea God before him.
Oscar consumed a Copy Mirror Sausage made from Dai Mubai's blood and likewise released the same three skills. Though the power he wielded was only about eighty percent of Dai Mubai's, it was still far more effective than climbing on his own. Oscar had his own advantages as well—he could continuously consume Recovery Sausages during the climb to restore his stamina and Soul Power, and Excitement Pink Sausages to boost his own. However, even this was not his true limit. He still had another extremely useful buffing ability—his fifth Soul Skill, which was also his first ten-thousand-year Soul Ring technique. This was a skill that none of the other Shrek Seven Devils had ever seen.
Oscar was also clever. Like Tang San and Ning Rongrong, he possessed a head Soul Bone, which made his thinking significantly sharper than an average person's. The reason he hadn't revealed this skill yet was that he wanted to give his companions greater motivation to train. As Tang San had said, they would push for the trial at the final moment. At that point, when Oscar unveiled the power of his fifth Soul Skill, it would undoubtedly serve as a double guarantee for the group's passage through the trials.
Tang San stood in the front row alongside Dai Mubai and Oscar and began the ascent. The moment he started, he unhesitatingly activated his dual domains once again while releasing his Eight Spider Lances, reaching his maximum state of amplification.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing followed behind them. A layer of black light surged over Zhu Zhuqing's body, and her sixth Soul Ring materialized silently. Though bathed in sunlight, she now appeared as though shrouded in an aura of special darkness—this was Zhu Zhuqing's sixth Soul Skill, Netherworld Possession.
Netherworld Possession: Dodge chance increased by fifty percent, personal resistance increased by twenty percent, attack penetration effect increased by thirty percent.
This was the sole buffing skill among all six of Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Skills. She was an Agility Attack-type Soul Master, renowned for her speed and offensive power. Unlike Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, who were Strength Attack-type Soul Masters for whom raw physical power was paramount, having even one buffing skill was quite good. Netherworld Possession might not seem particularly useful to others, but for Zhu Zhuqing, the fifty-percent dodge chance and twenty-percent resistance increase gave her significantly greater survivability in battle. And the thirty-percent penetration boost made her attacks even more terrifying.
Right now, she activated this buffing skill specifically for the twenty-percent resistance increase. As for whether the dodge effect could counteract the pressure of the Light of the Sea God, she hadn't given it much thought.
Ning Rongrong, on the other hand, was extravagantly generous with herself—strength boost, agility boost, Soul Power boost, and defense boost, the four amplification abilities most useful for advancing through the Light of the Sea God, she cast directly onto her own body. Only then did she set off alongside Zhu Zhuqing.
Just as Tang San had predicted, having applied various buffing effects in advance, everyone's resistance to the Light of the Sea God increased dramatically. Combined with the experience they had already gained, the leading trio of Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Oscar climbed the first twenty steps as though they were ordinary people hiking up a mountain, maintaining a steady pace.