In a room near Shrek Academy within Shrek City, a middle-aged man with long hair stood trembling, a blue-gold wind chime in his hand. A crack had suddenly appeared in the chime. His face turned pale, and without hesitation, he turned and leapt, vanishing in an instant as if he had never been there at all.
No one noticed this scene.
——
In the Divine Realm, Tang San—the Sea God—immediately received feedback from that wisp of divine sense. Seated atop his palace throne, a trace of regret flickered across his face as he muttered, "Sigh! What a pity. Had I known He would intervene, why go through all that trouble with that old fossil Mu En? I should've just gone straight for Zhu Ziyang and crushed him. Sigh… Even the wisest can make mistakes, I suppose."
He closed his eyes, resting both hands on the throne's armrests. His right hand tapped the wood lightly—once, twice, thrice… No one knew how many times he tapped before opening his eyes again, now filled with helplessness.
"The fate of Douluo Continent is completely jumbled now. I just hope Huo Yuhao, the child of fortune, doesn't let me down."
He muttered again, "Seems like I'll need to find a time to help Xiao Qi recover her memories. Now… where did that beast run off to?"
"As for Zhu Ziyang… hmph, we'll take our time with that one."
——
Zhu Ziyang remained unaware of everything that had transpired in the Sea God's Pavilion. He didn't know that, in Tang San's eyes, he had already shifted from a blue ally to a red enemy. At this very moment, he was still wholly immersed in raising the age of his spirit rings.
"Huuh!" He let out a long, satisfied breath. Surveying the now-barren ground around him, excitement lit up his face.
"Finally done! I didn't expect the Blue Scale Flowers to help me improve this much. I guess this counts as a reward from the Death God's trials, right? Hahaha!"
His mood was lighter than it had been in half a year. All the frustration and helplessness pent up within him was swept away.
Yes, it had been six months since Zhu Ziyang entered Sunset Forest. Every moment during this time had been spent devouring life force and raising the age of his spirit rings.
All of the Blue Scale Flowers outside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had become his nourishment. With their disappearance, the air quality in Sunset Forest visibly improved. It was easy to imagine that in a few years, this forest would once again become a haven of life.
He extended his hand, summoning the Stillness Fate Ending Scythe. Behind him, six spirit rings glowed brightly—five black, one red.
Five black and one red spirit ring on a first martial soul—such a configuration was unimaginable to the Zhu Ziyang from before he was twelve. But now, it was reality, and the sight was exhilarating.
The entire Blue Scale Flower Field had allowed his first five spirit rings to reach the astonishing age of seventy thousand years. That's right—seventy thousand. If there were more Blue Scale Flowers left, he might've even pushed them to one hundred thousand years. How perfect that would have been.
After all, as a spirit ring's age increases, its corresponding soul skill evolves. A ten-thousand-year ring becoming a hundred-thousand-year one might not grant a new skill, but it would greatly enhance the power of the original.
Spirit rings above fifty thousand years old would cause qualitative changes in their soul skills. For instance, all five soul skills of the Stillness Fate Ending Scythe had undergone complete transformation—essentially becoming new abilities.
The first skill, Death Severing Sacred Blade Realm, had evolved into the ten-thousand-year version: Death Severing Cyclone Domain. The scythe grew four times larger and revolved rapidly around Zhu Ziyang in irregular trajectories, releasing death energy that devoured life and cut down anything airborne.
The second skill, Light's Blessing, had evolved into Divine Annihilation Liturgical Rite. The scythe transformed into a holy scepter radiating sacred light. When it touched allies, it boosted all attributes by 50%. When it hit enemies, it became a scorching purification force that burned away all sin.
The third skill, Light's Banishment Slash, had evolved into Heavenly Annihilation Meteor Ritual. The scythe shot a beam of light into the sky, summoning fifty-four meteors filled with pure light energy. These meteors would rain divine judgment on all who dared defile the light, each one capable of shattering mountains and drying rivers.
The fourth skill, Star Radiance Light-Shadow Transformation, evolved into Divine Cavalry Charge. The scythe summoned six fully-armored unicorns and created five clones of Zhu Ziyang, forming a squad of six Holy Knights. They would surround the enemy and strike simultaneously with the Stillness Fate Ending Scythe.
The fifth skill, Hell's Duel Arena, became Executioner's Judgement Platform. Death energy erupted from the scythe, forming a sealed domain. All within, except Zhu Ziyang, would be unable to use soul skills. Only by defeating him could they leave. Otherwise, they would be judged and executed. Within this domain, Zhu Ziyang's soul power consumption was reduced by 10%, and his recovery rate increased by 10%.
In addition to these evolutions, Zhu Ziyang's soul power had reached rank 68. Even though he hadn't cultivated soul power directly over the past half year, the improvement in his spirit rings had quietly bolstered his soul power, allowing him to rise from rank 66 naturally.
Without delay, he entered the realm of divine inheritance.
Upon arrival, he found himself standing on the 30th step of the Ascension Road. On either side were the familiar Locking God Pillars, indicating the rewards for the third trial of the Death God. As expected, the rewards were divine affinity and another pair of Locking God Pillars.
Just like before, the pillars descended gently into his hands—his third pair. He still didn't know what these size-changing pillars were meant for.
His divine affinity had now reached 40%, qualifying him to ascend to the 40th step. Without hesitation, he proceeded upward. Though the path ahead was still shrouded in mist, his heart was no longer lost. He looked calmly at the Locking God Pillars, where the fourth Death God Trial was already displayed.
"Divine Affinity: 40%"
"Death God's Fourth Trial: The Death God is the ruler of death. Death is the purifier of sin. As the heir to the Death God, you must punish all who defile death and uphold the justice of the end. You are duty-bound!"
"Trial Objective: Eliminate at least five individuals who possess death attributes and are guilty of sin."
"Requirements: Each target must be no weaker than a Soul Emperor. Time limit: five years. The Mark of the Other Shore can detect sin."
"Reward: Unknown."
"This fourth trial is pretty interesting," Zhu Ziyang narrowed his eyes and muttered in surprise. "Possessing death attributes and burdened with sin? What kind of sin? Evil soul masters?"
He exited the divine realm and returned to Sunset Forest, where Electrolux, Xue Di, and Bing Di appeared at once.
"How is it? What's the content of the fourth Death God trial?" Electrolux asked.
"Not too bad. I've got some ideas already," Zhu Ziyang replied with a smile, then explained the trial.
"Burdened with sin?" Xue Di repeated softly. "Do soul beasts that slaughter count?"
"Uh…" Zhu Ziyang was speechless for a moment, glancing helplessly at her.
"Hehe~ Just kidding!" Xue Di grinned playfully.
"Though different worlds define sin in different ways, one thing's for sure," Electrolux mused. "Patricide or matricide—killing one's own parents—is considered a grave sin in any world."
"I understand, Teacher!" Zhu Ziyang nodded, then smiled wryly. "The sin part isn't the hard part. The hard part is finding Soul Emperors with death attributes. That'll take time."
"That's true," Bing Di agreed. "Death attribute is rare even among soul beasts, let alone among humans."
"No worries. We've got five years," Shuang added. "Plus, doesn't your academy have an intelligence network? Just let them help with the search."
"Mm, I know. Don't worry." Zhu Ziyang smiled and nodded.
(End of Chapter)
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