Heaven Dou City, Zhongli Residence.
After Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin left the Zhongli Residence, Xiao and Du Siji finally relaxed a bit.
"Your Majesty, this young man..."
"Master, this young man..."
Xiao and Du Siji exchanged glances, ultimately deferring to each other out of politeness, allowing the other to speak first.
As a result, being too polite, both of them remained silent, saying nothing.
Seeing this, Zhongli couldn't help but laugh and cry internally.
Xiao truly learned from example, addressing Du Siji as "young man"...
"This is Xiao, the Demon Conqueror, Adeptus, whose strength is unfathomable," Zhongli introduced without changing his expression.
Xiao's eye twitched slightly, feeling a bit awkward, but he didn't say anything more.
Since the Emperor introduced him this way, he would just listen.
"This is Du Siji, an outstanding disciple of the sect, the inheritor of the Fire God's legacy at the peak of the first-tier deity level, with strength reaching the Soul Douluo level."
Xiao was new here and wasn't familiar with the power rankings of the Douluo Continent, so Zhongli deliberately explained it.
Paimon and Xiao didn't find anything unusual, but Du Siji felt something was off.
How could a powerhouse like Xiao not know the most basic level divisions?
Wait, Adeptus?
Adeptus?
Du Siji had some understanding of the title "Adeptus."
Because that recluse, also known as the Cloud Retainer, often referred to herself as "this Adeptus."
Her strength was unfathomable. Even his grandfather, Du Bafang, was completely outmatched when facing the Cloud Retainer.
According to Paimon, the Cloud Retainer's true forte wasn't her combat ability, but rather her inventions. Weapons she created could even harm demon gods.
Although he didn't know how powerful a demon god was, anything with the word "god" in it couldn't be weak, right?
"Greetings, Adeptus!"
Du Siji respectfully bowed. In response, Xiao nodded slightly, acknowledging the gesture.
This young man was quite decent, showing proper respect to an immortal.
"Hmm~"
After roughly understanding each other, the atmosphere became awkward.
Xiao wasn't good with words and had nothing to say to Du Siji.
As for what he wanted to say to Zhongli, all the words he had prepared vanished the moment he found Zhongli.
As long as Zhongli was here, nothing else mattered.
Zhongli was the backbone of Liyue, the pillar of the Liyue immortals. As long as he was present, no matter what happened, they could feel at ease.
It was a blind trust, but everyone in Liyue trusted Zhongli blindly.
No matter how big the event, no matter how great the war, no matter how powerful the enemy, as long as the Emperor was here, the Emperor and they would surely win!
In his younger days, Morax had to win every battle; he couldn't afford to lose even one.
Because behind him were the people he had to protect.
The Geo Archon knew all of Morax's weaknesses, but that didn't mean he could defeat Morax...
"What's the content of the third trial?"
Zhongli turned his head and asked Du Siji.
The Fire God hadn't forbidden Du Siji from revealing the trial's content.
Perhaps he wanted to pass on the position sooner, allowing Du Siji to share the trial's details and receive help from others to inherit the divine position faster.
Du Siji didn't hide anything from Zhongli's question. After all, he had come to Zhongli precisely for this matter.
"Master, the third trial requires me to hold out in your hands for the time it takes an incense stick to burn."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present, including Du Siji himself, couldn't help but change their expressions.
The straightforward Xiao's face was particularly vivid. Forget a mere Soul Douluo, even he might not be able to hold out in Zhongli's hands for the time it took an incense stick to burn.
"This Fire God must be targeting you. Otherwise, how could he propose such a trial?"
Xiao frowned, crossing his arms, speaking with a serious expression.
Paimon nodded, "Yeah, yeah!"
"Zhongli's strength isn't something you can handle, not even the Fire God who's passing the position to you..."
"Ahem..."
Zhongli coughed lightly, and Paimon instinctively looked at him, then shut her mouth.
"This Fire God's intention is simple. He only asked Siji to hold out for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, but he didn't specify that I would go all out."
After hearing Zhongli's explanation, Xiao and Paimon suddenly understood.
Right, whether this trial could be passed depended entirely on Zhongli's mood!
Thinking about it this way, the trial actually became the easiest?
"Let's go, we'll just go through the motions."
Zhongli stood up and walked toward the door.
The others quickly got up and followed.
At this moment, Du Siji was extremely excited. Initially, he had also thought the Fire God was setting him up.
Holding out in the Master's hands for the time it took an incense stick to burn?
Forget him, who was only in his eighties, even his grandfather Du Bafang couldn't possibly accomplish that!
After all, the last time the Master had acted in front of everyone, he had casually shattered a mountain with a single strike.
With his small frame, he'd probably be crushed by a single finger...
After careful consideration, Du Siji finally understood the underlying meaning.
If the Fire God really wanted to set him up, he should have made him challenge Bibi Dong or the Grand Elder of the Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu.
That would have been setting him up!
Making him challenge Zhongli and hold out for the time it took an incense stick to burn? That was something he could pass with his eyes closed.
"The Fire God must be trying to curry favor with the Master..."
"How strange..."
Du Siji didn't know exactly how strong Zhongli was, but he felt the Fire God was acting strangely, and he also felt that it was just like the Master!
Even the Fire God, a peak first-tier deity, had to show him respect.
On the outskirts of Heaven Dou City, the area was pockmarked with craters, clearly a place where strong individuals often dueled.
Ordinary people rarely passed through here.
Somehow, Zhongli pulled out an incense stick from somewhere and casually tossed it, causing it to land steadily on a nearby rock.
"Let's begin!"
"Master, please!"
Du Siji didn't say anything like "Master, be careful."
With Zhongli's strength, saying such things would be disrespectful to the Master.
He immediately activated his spirit soul fusion. Three purple, four black, and one red spirit rings quickly rose from beneath his feet.
A faint silver glow also appeared on Du Siji's body.
Facing the Master, he had to go all out!
"Seventh Spirit Skill: Spirit Soul True Body!"
"Silver-Level Spirit Soul Second Awakening, activate!"
Right from the start, Du Siji used his greatest enhancements.
First was the Spirit Soul True Body. His Spirit Soul True Body was himself. After activating it, his body "enlarged," surrounded by flames.
After activating the Silver-Level Second Awakening, his body was immediately covered in silver, his entire form shimmering with a silver glow.
At this moment, Du Siji's aura had reached the level of a Title Douluo.
"Eighth Spirit Skill: Fire God's Descent!"
This hundred-thousand-year spirit ring wasn't something Du Siji had hunted for; it was a reward from completing the second trial, a divine spirit ring.
A divine spirit ring allowed the user to obtain the most suitable spirit ring, and it would be at the upper limit of what their body could withstand.