Ma Xiaotao did not know what happened after the Fire God's phantom left. When she emerged from that mysterious space and opened her eyes, the expression on her face had already transformed from confusion to joy and excitement.
She had received the Fire God's legacy, initiating the Nine Trials of the Fire God, and a golden-red flame mark, symbolizing a God Position candidate, appeared between her brows. She couldn't help but reach out and gently caress her brow. Although the mark was intangible, she still felt a faint warmth.
Pondering the content of the Fire God's first trial in her mind, Ma Xiaotao quickly scanned her surroundings, searching for Fifth Huan'er.
Fifth Huan'er was not too far from her. Also enveloped by the Fire God's light, she had now been released from her restraints and was staring blankly at Ma Xiaotao with wide, bewildered eyes. Ma Xiaotao clearly saw a flame mark appear between her brows as well, though Fifth Huan'er's flame mark was silver-white.
"Huan Er?" Ma Xiaotao called softly.
"Sister Xiaotao!" Fifth Huan'er heard Ma Xiaotao's call and, as if finding her anchor, immediately rushed to her, saying, "Did you also hear that voice?"
"Mm!" Ma Xiaotao understood upon hearing Fifth Huan'er's words, and then smiled, saying, "I received the Fire God Position's legacy and started the Nine Trials of the Fire God. What about you, Huan Er?"
"Fire God Position!" Fifth Huan'er's face immediately showed surprise, and she looked at Ma Xiaotao with envy, saying, "I'm so envious of you, Sister Xiaotao! To actually gain a Divinity's recognition!"
"Just luck," Ma Xiaotao said with a smile. "I didn't even expect it myself. You haven't answered me yet, what's your situation?"
"Oh, oh!" Fifth Huan'er replied, "That voice said mine seems to be a Red-level First Trial, and it seems there's only one trial content!"
"Red-level First Trial? One trial content?" Ma Xiaotao was stunned, looking at Fifth Huan'er in surprise, and asked, "What's the trial content?"
"Let me see." The young girl showed a trace of confusion, and then immediately said, "Oh! My Red-level First Trial is related to you, Sister Xiaotao."
"Oh? Tell me." Ma Xiaotao was a little surprised and also a little confused.
"Red-level First Trial: Assist Ma Xiaotao in completing all content of the Nine Trials of the Fire God. For each trial she completes, you will receive half of its reward. After she completes all trials, based on your performance during the trials, you will receive your final trial reward." Fifth Huan'er read out the content of her Red-level First Trial.
"Ah, this!" Ma Xiaotao opened her mouth, a little bewildered, but then smiled and said, "Huan Er, it seems we two are destined to live and die together!"
How to put it, Ma Xiaotao actually quite liked this mysterious young girl. Now, with the God Position trials tying them together, Ma Xiaotao trusted and liked her even more.
"Mm! Sister Xiaotao, I will help you with all my might!" Fifth Huan'er also vowed solemnly. Her inner defenses against Ma Xiaotao were also crumbling little by little.
Thus, after Ma Xiaotao began the Nine Trials of the Fire God on Red Minister Mountain, she dedicated herself to undertaking and completing the God trials.
In three years, with Fifth Huan'er's assistance, Ma Xiaotao had already completed the first six of the Nine Trials of the Fire God and was currently undergoing the Fire God's Seventh Trial.
Because of the God Position trials, Ma Xiaotao's strength had increased very rapidly over the past three years. When she left the academy, she was only a level 74 Spirit Saint, but now, her strength had reached level 88. In just over three years, she had advanced fourteen levels, and these were fourteen levels from the Spirit Saint to Spirit Douluo realm, a truly terrifying speed.
In fact, the improvement in spirit power realm was secondary for Ma Xiaotao; the most important improvements were the increase in spirit ring age and the enhancement of Spirit Abilities. Benefiting from the rewards of the first six trials, Ma Xiaotao's spirit ring configuration had now upgraded from the original two yellow, two purple, two black, and one red, to the current two purple, four black, and two red.
It is worth mentioning that her eighth spirit ring was a god-bestowed spirit ring, not from the Phoenix Cockscomb Sunflower Soul Spirit Kui Kui. After she fused with this god-bestowed spirit ring, it directly generated the optimal age limit she could bear: a fierce beast spirit ring of about two hundred thousand years.
Ma Xiaotao recounted all her experiences to Zhu Ziyang, and finally said, "Speaking of which, this time I came back, besides cheering for your competition, I also wanted to see what kind of Divinity's God Position legacy you received! When I completed the fifth trial, I saw the Fire God again. He told me to get closer to you, saying it would help me ascend to the God Realm in the future."
"Is that so?" Zhu Ziyang was surprised, then relieved. As one of the former God Kings of the God Realm, the God of Death's reappearance attracting the God Realm's attention was a perfectly normal thing. So, he smiled and said, "The God of Death, also called Death, is actually a level higher than your Fire God, Sister Xiaotao."
"Death?" Ma Xiaotao murmured the name of Death, her face showing confusion, and she said, "What do you mean a level higher than my Fire God? Is there also a hierarchy among Divinities?"
"Is it that novel?" Zhu Ziyang looked at the confusion and incomprehension on Ma Xiaotao's face, chuckled, and said, "Mortals think that becoming a god means transcending everything and being unrestrained. But the truth is the opposite; the hierarchy in the God Realm is much stricter than in our mortal world. Take my Death and your Fire God, Sister Xiaotao, for example. The Fire God is a First-Rank Divinity, a Lord God, but Death is a Super Divinity, a God King. The gap between a Lord God and a God King is said to be even greater than the gap between a Spirit Grandmaster and a Titled Douluo."
"Ah! There's such a thing!" Ma Xiaotao listened dumbfounded, her face full of disbelief.
"Otherwise, why do you think those Divinities are willing to pass on their God Position to mortals!" Zhu Ziyang said, remembering a saying from Xiao Bai, "A God Position is both a qualification and a restraint."
"Alas! It seems that whether in the God Realm or the mortal world, one cannot enjoy absolute freedom!" Ma Xiaotao sighed, and then said, "Ziyang, my younger brother, when we reach the God Realm, you must look out for me, my God King!"
As she spoke, Ma Xiaotao threw Zhu Ziyang a captivating wink, almost making Zhu Ziyang fall for it.
"Hehe, of course!" Zhu Ziyang chuckled and said, "At that time, I, you, Jiang Nannan, and Yi Yi, the four of us will stick together. Whoever dares to provoke us, we'll all beat them into a pig's head!"
"Alright!" Ma Xiaotao's face lit up with a smile upon hearing this. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she said, "Oh, and there's Huan Er. The Fire God said that as a First-Rank Divinity, the Fire God can bring one relative to the God Realm. Huan Er, as the one who assisted me in completing the God Position trials, cannot be left behind in the mortal world."
"Is that so? That's fine, Sister Xiaotao, your own quota is naturally yours to decide!" Zhu Ziyang was a little surprised to hear Ma Xiaotao's words, surprised that someone who ascends to godhood could bring relatives to the God Realm. Does that mean... A calculation rose in his heart.
"By the way, who is that Yi Yi you mentioned? Did she also receive a God Position legacy?" Ma Xiaotao asked again, puzzled.
"Mm, Yi Yi's name is Qian Lingyi. She is a descendant of the Supreme Pontiff's clan from ten thousand years ago, and she received the Angel God's legacy." Zhu Ziyang replied.
"Supreme Pontiff descendant! Angel God! You really are..." Ma Xiaotao's expression immediately became strange upon hearing Qian Lingyi's identity, and she looked at Zhu Ziyang with admiration.
"Hehe!" Zhu Ziyang felt a little embarrassed by the gaze and could only chuckle, saying, "Sister Xiaotao, let me tell you about my experiences these past few years."
"Oh, yes, yes!" Ma Xiaotao heard this and immediately put the previous matter out of her mind, listening with great interest as Zhu Ziyang recounted his experiences.
So, Zhu Ziyang began his story from three years ago, after he and Ma Xiaotao parted ways at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and continued to recount everything that happened after he, Jiang Nannan, and the two other girls returned from the Martial Soul Continent.
By the time he finished speaking, half the sun had already risen in the sky; an entire night had passed just like that.
"I never imagined you all went through so many things!" Ma Xiaotao exclaimed with great emotion, saying, "There are actually so many other continents outside the Douluo Continent! And Sister Lexuan, she's actually Princess Tianxuan, who has become so famous in the Sun Moon Empire these past two years. I feel like I missed so many things!"
"No need to regret, there are even more exciting things waiting for you in the future." Zhu Ziyang looked at the regret on Ma Xiaotao's face and comforted her with a smile.
"Mm! I'm not leaving. I'm going to follow you all!" Ma Xiaotao made her decision and announced loudly.
"Alright, I welcome it!" Zhu Ziyang said with a smile.