When Tang San reached the final ten steps he needed to climb in the Sea God's Light, he was nearly spent. Yet behind him, Xiao Wu had regained her vitality.
Even if Tang San had wanted to suppress Xiao Wu's soul, it was no longer possible. His Mysterious Heaven Skill was barely maintaining his own body, let alone having any power left to attend to Xiao Wu's soul. Moreover, Xiao Wu's soul had returned to her body with lightning speed.
Light rekindled in her eyes, but Xiao Wu's expression remained calm. Silently, her body slid downward, slipping free of the Blue Silver Emperor wrapped around her like a fish gliding through water. Even with Tang San's Soul Power severely depleted, escaping his hold should have been extraordinarily difficult. Yet Xiao Wu's movements met no resistance at all as she separated from Tang San's close embrace.
She was still within the range of the Blue Silver Domain. Under the immense external pressure, the domain was no longer sufficient to shield Xiao Wu from all of it. A deep rose flush spread across her skin. Her palms had already wrapped around Tang San's neck from behind.
Invincible Golden Body activated — this was Xiao Wu's fourth Soul Skill. Now that her soul had returned to her body, she could temporarily use her original Soul Skills again. She could even wield the hundred-thousand-year Soul Skill that had become one of Tang San's Soul Rings. The golden light appeared not only on her body but also enveloped Tang San, making it impossible to tell whether the skill had been unleashed by Xiao Wu or by Tang San himself.
At the same moment the Invincible Golden Body was released, Xiao Wu's body turned ethereal. She activated another skill — and this time, two of them simultaneously. Intangible and the Eight-Stage Explosive Kill Throw.
Her hands locked around Tang San's neck, Xiao Wu bent her right knee and drove it into the small of his back, levering his body upward. While in the Invincible Golden Body state, she couldn't resist the pressure — but she could at least guarantee three seconds of invulnerability within it.
BOOM — Tang San's body was hurled downward by Xiao Wu for all the onlookers to see, crashing onto the ground between the three hundred twenty-fourth and three hundred twenty-fifth steps. Xiao Wu herself used the instant rebound to surge forward, keeping both their bodies within the range of Tang San's Blue Silver Domain.
With a flick of her toes, intense red light blazed across them both. The continuous assault of the Eight-Stage Explosive Kill Throw began.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
In less than three seconds, Xiao Wu slammed Tang San into the ground seven consecutive times. Each impact used the tremendous shockwave to propel them forward by at least one step. By the time the seventh slam was complete, Xiao Wu and Tang San had already reached the three hundred thirty-first step.
If the other members of the Shrek Seven Devils had been confused about what Xiao Wu was doing at first, they could see it clearly now. Under the Invincible Golden Body, Tang San naturally wouldn't suffer serious injuries. And Xiao Wu had been executing her throws entirely within the Blue Silver Domain, while maintaining her own Intangible state — meaning the external pressure affected her far less than it did Tang San. That was what made this Soul Skill possible.
The Sea God's Light's rules dictated that any offensive Soul Skill would be reflected. But Xiao Wu's attacks weren't directed at the Sea God's Light itself, and moreover, they were throwing techniques. Since they acted upon Tang San, the terrifying Sea God's Light naturally wouldn't reflect them. By this unique method, Xiao Wu had propelled both Tang San and herself to the three hundred thirty-first step. Only two steps remained from their final goal.
But at precisely that moment, the effect of Tang San's Blue Silver Domain vanished…
Overwhelming, catastrophic pressure crashed down upon them both. Forget Xiao Wu — even Tang San, without his domain's protection, would be blasted out of the Sea God's Light's range.
And in the instant the Blue Silver Domain disappeared, Xiao Wu had already launched the final throw of her Eight-Stage Explosive Kill Throw. It was as though she hadn't noticed Tang San's domain vanish at all. Her entire body erupted with red light, her aura surging to its absolute peak. Her hands gripped Tang San's waist and chest as she hurled him with all her strength toward the three hundred thirty-third step.
In this moment, Xiao Wu didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat. She knew full well that in this split second, she had only one chance. Either she used the throw to launch Tang San upward and propel herself to the three hundred thirty-third step, or she threw Tang San up there — there was no third option. And almost on instinct, she chose the latter. She understood perfectly that the moment Tang San landed on the three hundred thirty-third step, she herself would be ejected from the Sea God's Light by its force. Without completing the crossing alongside Tang San and receiving the double reward from the Sea God's Light, her supreme-grade first trial would count as a failure. And the consequence was nothing less than death.
Facing the boundary between life and death, Xiao Wu made the decision once more — to save Tang San and sacrifice herself.
Tang San's body was about to be hurled onto the three hundred thirty-third step, completing his first Sea God trial. And at that very moment, Tang San — who had been enduring the battering from Xiao Wu's hands — suddenly underwent a transformation.
Brilliant white light burst forth from Tang San's body, unfurling outward like petals opening. In an instant, it enveloped both himself and Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu felt the temperature around her plunge. An indescribable terror seized her entire body, and all the scenery around her changed in a flash. Gone were the green mountains and clear waters; in their place stood a grim, ashen world of slaughter. Biting, murderous wind, an overwhelming aura of killing intent, and countless wails and screams crashed into her mind. Her soul had only temporarily returned to her body and was inherently unstable — battered further by the immense pressure of the Sea God's Light, she couldn't even mount a response against this sudden force. Her hands gripping Tang San went rigid. The three hundred thirty-third step that had seemed within reach now slipped away, and Tang San landed on the three hundred thirty-second step instead.
And in the next instant, the terrifying energy of the Sea God's Light erupted violently. Xiao Wu could no longer control her body and was about to be catapulted outward like a cannonball.
But at that moment, the horrifying white light expanded abruptly, and two crystalline blue-gold streams of light coiled around her waist.
The blue-gold light cinched tight, crackling with a rapid series of snaps and pops. Yet Xiao Wu could see the gaze at its end.
Unlike the blue-gold hue he displayed when using the Blue Silver Domain, Tang San's entire body was now shrouded in white — a stark, lifeless white. Nothing remained but endless killing intent and murderous resolve, like the white world before them, bringing a terrifying chill.
The surrounding white suddenly moved, spinning with incomparable speed. All the white light fused into that rotation like countless blades. A piercing, shrill howl — as if issuing from the depths of hell — filled the air. Infinite killing intent merged with the spinning white radiance, seeming to carve through everything around them.
The overwhelming pressure of the Sea God's Light abruptly vanished. The blue-gold light retracted, and Xiao Wu was pulled into an icy embrace. A cold voice sounded beside her ear: "If you died, then what would be the point of passing all nine Sea God trials?"
The pressure of the Sea God's Light seemed completely severed at that moment — yet what had been cut away was only the portion that had invaded the white light. Most remarkably, the terrifying spinning white light had not triggered the Sea God's Light's counterattack response. Or rather, the Sea God's Light simply could not react.
Shattering sounds erupted from behind Tang San. Xiao Wu, held tightly in his arms, caught a glimpse with the corner of her eye: behind Tang San's back, countless golden fragments blazed to life, and within those fragments, the two of them spiraled upward, crossing that final step.
That white light was, without question, Tang San's Killing God Domain. He had held it in reserve until the final moment before unleashing its true power.
It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to use it earlier. The evolved Killing God Domain consumed a terrifying amount of Soul Power. With his reserves already severely drained, activating it would allow him to sustain it for only the briefest of moments. Using it too early would have been nothing more than drinking poison to quench his thirst.
The white world that Xiao Wu had perceived was the Killing God Domain's evolved skill — Shura Hell. Just as the Blue Silver Domain's evolved skill was the Ten Thousand Phenomena, under the effect of the Martial Soul Avatar, Tang San's Shura Hell was no longer the simple Killing God Domain of before.
Though Shura Hell and the Ten Thousand Phenomena were both domains, their specializations differed enormously. The Ten Thousand Phenomena, with its Devouring Golden Threads, focused primarily on augmentation, confusion, and weakening of the opponent. The Shura Hell of the Killing God Domain excelled in only one capability: destruction. The destruction of everything within its domain. Within Shura Hell, killing intent could take on true physical form, becoming a terrifying offensive force. Even the overwhelming power of the Sea God's Light would be sliced apart when caught within the Shura Hell's sudden expansion.
That rapidly spinning white light filled with piercing shrieks was the evolved skill of Shura Hell — the Shura Vortex Annihilation Formation. The pinnacle of the art of slaughter.
In order to unleash his final trump card, to protect Xiao Wu and ensure they both completed the trial together, Tang San had released the Killing God Domain's Shura Hell at the very instant he was about to be thrown onto the three hundred thirty-third step — and with it, he had released his Eight Spider Lances. The final propelling force came not only from the Shura Vortex Annihilation Formation but also at the cost of the Eight Spider Lances' destruction. It was precisely the power of the Eight Spider Lances that enabled Tang San to execute the Shura Vortex Annihilation Formation.
After all, the Killing God Domain was an innate domain of the Clear Sky Hammer. When channeled through the Blue Silver Emperor's Martial Soul Avatar, its power would be drastically reduced. But just as the Blue Silver Domain had evolved through fusion, the Eight Spider Lances had also merged with the Killing God Domain through their own evolution. Within the Shura Hell state, the Eight Spider Lances transformed into the Lances of Shura — Tang San's most powerful weapons. Tang San sacrificed all eight Lances of Shura, using the energy released by their destruction to guide his final reserves of Soul Power and ignite the Shura Vortex Annihilation Formation, propelling both himself and Xiao Wu onto the three hundred thirty-third step. And at that moment, his back — which Xiao Wu could not see — was a ruin of torn flesh. The shattered, razor-sharp Lances of Shura had cut deep enough to expose gleaming white bone.
The instant their feet touched the three hundred thirty-third step, every ounce of pressure melted away like snow under spring sun. Tang San's body went limp and collapsed into Xiao Wu's arms. Warm blood drenched the ground beneath his feet almost instantly.
"Brother… Brother, don't scare me…" Xiao Wu's voice trembled. The moment the pressure vanished, the arms Tang San had clamped around her went slack. His eyes, which had been filled with deathly stillness and killing intent, turned grey in an instant. His entire body seemed to have lost all strength and soul, leaning entirely against Xiao Wu.
Even so, a faint smile still lingered on Tang San's face — a gentle smile. His hoarse, doting voice whispered in Xiao Wu's ear: "That… one… sacrifice… haunted me… for life… I promised… I would… protect you… As long as… I'm… still… alive… This… time… I did it. How could I… let… you… sacrifice yourself… for me again? … Silly… don't cry…"
At the very instant Tang San, having completely lost the strength to support himself, collapsed into Xiao Wu's arms — a beam of red light surged from the center of Xiao Wu's brow and flashed before vanishing. At the same time, seven clearly visible streams of golden light converged in the sky above, illuminating the night as if it were broad daylight. They gathered directly overhead, and in a sudden burst, coalesced into a torrential cascade that enveloped both Tang San and Xiao Wu.
Bathed in that golden radiance, Tang San's body — which had gone limp in Xiao Wu's arms — slowly straightened. His eyes remained closed, and the golden trident on his forehead blazed with brilliant light. Golden luminescence flowed downward from his brow like silken threads, spreading across his entire body. Wherever it passed, his skin seemed to tremble. The horrific wounds on his back healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. A golden curtain of light shattered before Tang San, its fragments dissolving into motes of gold that, together with the radiance flowing from the Golden Trident, surged into his body.
A deep, authoritative voice resonated within his mind: "Crossing. Double reward. Sea God's Light. Trial passed. Faced with peril and refused to abandon your companion. Faced with certain doom and chose to sever your own limb — decisive, resolute, yet never lacking wisdom. First trial complete. Sea God Affinity increased by five percent. Current total: five percent." No one noticed that in that moment, a flicker of strange blue light had flashed across Tang San's brow.
A wave of tingling numbness swept through Tang San's body, nearly drawing a groan from his lips. To him, the sensation was far from pleasant. But the golden light flooding into his body granted him strength, as though awakening every function of his being. Damaged parts rapidly restored themselves. His collapsed senses returned one by one, and everything around him grew clear once more.
Xiao Wu's body was gently pushed away by the golden light. The red point of light on her brow flashed repeatedly, but no shattering curtain appeared as it had for the others. The same authoritative voice spoke deep within her soul.
"Never to part, never to abandon. Willing to sacrifice yourself for the one you love. Perfect companionship. Supreme-grade first trial: one-ninth complete. Rewards will accumulate."
The golden light around Tang San persisted for a full half-hour. When the sky returned to darkness, every wound on his body had vanished entirely, and his Soul Power had recovered to its peak. The glow of the Golden Trident on his forehead dimmed, returning once more to its state as a branded mark.
"Xiao Wu." The moment clarity returned to Tang San's eyes, his first action was to pull Xiao Wu into his embrace. He held her tightly, refusing to let go no matter what. When Xiao Wu had used Intangible and the Eight-Stage Explosive Kill Throw, Tang San had once again felt the terror of losing her. Even though he had been able to turn the tide this time, that feeling alone was enough to make his heart tremble — the same heart that had never wavered even during the God-Granted Soul Ring's ultimate test.
Xiao Wu said nothing. She only wrapped her arms tightly around Tang San's neck. Between them, words were no longer needed to express what they felt. Both would give everything for the other — truly, everything.
Only when Xiao Wu's soul returned once more to Tang San's body, and her physical form fell softly asleep in his arms, did Tang San gradually regain his composure. He turned his head to see the smiles of his companions.
Sea God Douluo Bo Saixi had, at some point, appeared beside them. Seeing Tang San emerge from his emotional embrace, she smiled and spoke: "Congratulations on passing the first trial. However, far more grueling tests lie ahead. Whether the trial is black-grade or supreme-grade, never forget the importance of teamwork. Two more of you will be receiving God-Granted Soul Rings. Once you've finished absorbing your rings, the timer for the second trial will begin. The time limit remains one year."
Two points of golden light shot from Bo Saixi's hands. Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, who had both reached level seventy upon receiving their rewards, sat down simultaneously. A golden mist spread over their bodies, and the test of the Soul Rings began.