The difficulty of passing through the Sea God's Light was far greater than Li Xun had imagined. Even with his current soul power at level 78, he could barely reach the 82nd step before finding it impossible to advance further.
Li Xun didn't force himself to climb higher, but instead retreated to recover the soul power he had consumed during the climb.
This was how soul masters increased their cultivation - by constantly enduring pressure and consuming large amounts of soul power, then slowly recovering. Their strength would imperceptibly grow through this process of expenditure and recovery.
Zhu Zhuqing was now at level 59. Her soul power was much weaker than when she first came here at 19 years old, but due to her martial soul's evolution, both her physical condition and overall strength were now considerably higher than before.
The number of steps she could climb on her first attempt stopped at 41.
As for Dugu Yan, being a half-control half-auxiliary soul master with a weaker physique, her soul power had just barely reached level 57. On her second attempt, she managed to climb 34 steps.
The most pitiful was Ning Rongrong. As an auxiliary soul master, although she had been training hard over the years, her physical condition was far inferior to the others. She could only reach the 25th step before giving up.
This left her feeling somewhat dejected.
After Li Xun finished recovering, he saw Rongrong staring at the steps with reddened eyes. He smiled and said, "Don't rush. The time limit for this challenge is one year. During this period, you just need to keep surpassing your current self. Leave the rest to me."
"Brother, I know. The Sea God actually has his eye on you. If it weren't for you helping me become the master of the divine artifact in advance, I wouldn't have even had the chance to take the Sea God Nine Trials," Rongrong said, looking up at the 333 steps above with tears welling in her eyes.
Smack-
Li Xun reached out and lightly patted Rongrong's head. Seeing her puzzled look, he said, "It doesn't matter who the Sea God has his eye on. If I say you'll become a god, then you'll definitely become one. Right now, you just need to put in a little more effort every day. Don't make me lose face, and don't worry about the rest."
Rongrong rubbed her head and then broke into a smile through her tears. "Can I not try so hard then?"
"If that's what you want to do, fine. But then it's uncertain what level of god you'll become. If I lose face because of you, I'll kick you down to a third-rate god or divine messenger, and then have Yan and the others parade in front of you every day."
Li Xun watched as Rongrong's expression went through a series of changes. "I need to return to Heavenly Dou in a couple of days. Don't slack off while I'm gone. Let me tell you, when a soul master receives a god trial, they get one chance at a god-given soul ring. This god-given soul ring will provide the maximum year limit based on the soul master's physical condition, and will also bestow the skill the soul master needs most."
"You need to train hard this year and climb the steps to maximize your benefits."
The capital of the Star Luo Empire was a magnificent city no less impressive than Heavenly Dou City. Due to Star Luo's fierce customs and brutal royal power struggles, a bloodthirsty aura permeated not only the civil and military officials but also the common people.
As the saying goes, those below follow the example of those above. Since the royal children had to grow up amidst killing, how could the nobles and commoners of Star Luo avoid such an atmosphere?
As a result, while Star Luo Empire had fewer top-tier combatants, it had no shortage of elite troops and strong generals at lower levels.
"Everyone may speak freely," the Star Luo Emperor said calmly as he put down the memorial, addressing the civil and military officials below in a deep voice.
"I believe Heaven Dou's move is clearly an attempt to make an issue out of nothing. In my opinion, Your Majesty should express strong dissatisfaction to demonstrate our attitude towards Heaven Dou. However, considering the safety of the Third Prince, it's best to exercise some restraint in this matter," said an elderly official with graying hair and beard as he stepped forward and spoke slowly.
His words immediately sparked discussion among the court officials, with some secretly cursing him as an old fox.
The intelligence reports had already indicated that Dai Mubai had lost his ability to have children. A prince in such a condition had no value to keep around, but this old fellow deliberately didn't mention it, obviously trying to probe the Emperor's thoughts.
"Your Majesty, I believe Heaven Dou's actions suggest an intention to cause trouble. We Star Luo cannot back down now. As for the Third Prince, although the deadline for the crown prince competition hasn't arrived, the outcome is already clear. I think the First Prince deserves the position of Crown Prince."
A pro-war general stepped out from the crowd. His words immediately garnered support from some others: "I second that. If it weren't for the Spirit Hall wedged between our two countries, we Star Luo would have taken down the Heaven Dou Empire long ago. Who would have thought that before we could make a move, they would come knocking on our door first."
"I agree. If it weren't for the numerous sects within Heaven Dou's borders, how could a mere White Swan Martial Soul occupy nearly half the continent's area?"
"Just because the Third Prince was a bit heavy-handed, they want to extort five billion gold soul coins from us. I think the Heaven Dou royal family must have gone mad."
"..."
Hearing the endless discussions in the great hall, the Star Luo Emperor lowered his eyelids. Having reached his current position, he had naturally come through life-and-death battles himself.
But after all, Dai Mubai was his own child. It would be a lie to say he had no feelings at all. However, for the continuation of the Star Luo Empire, he had to make choices.
The Star Luo Emperor pondered for a moment, sighed inwardly, and the slight reluctance that had just arisen dissipated with Dai Mubai's recent actions.
Only after the officials had mostly finished speaking did he slowly say, "From this day forward, Dai Wei is appointed as Crown Prince. Then send a letter to the current Qinghe Emperor, demanding the return of our Star Luo prince. Even if he has truly committed some error, it should be for us, the Star Luo royal family, to punish him severely."
Hearing the Star Luo Emperor's words, the civil and military officials present all breathed a sigh of relief. The struggle for the throne had thus come to an end. As for Dai Mubai, who had lost in this competition, how could he be worth five billion gold soul coins?
Seeing that none of the officials objected, the Star Luo Emperor slowly stood up. "Send someone to invite Tang Xiao, the Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect, for an audience."
In a prison for serious offenders in the Heaven Dou Empire, those held here were all soul masters with some strength, including some powerful figures who had made a name for themselves on the continent.
Due to the myriad and strange abilities of soul masters' martial souls, the primary task upon entering was to restrict their behavior and suppress their power. The methods used varied depending on the soul master's level.
For soul masters above level 40, their clavicle bones would be pierced. At level 50, one leg would be broken. At level 60, one arm would be broken. For levels 70 and 80, both legs would be crippled. However, the extent was very well controlled, not causing permanent disability, as some people still needed to be released eventually.
Deep in the prison, Tai Tan sat leaning against the wall, looking at Dai Mubai in the adjacent cell with a complex expression.
Through their interactions, he had learned about what happened after he was captured by Spirit Hall: "I never expected the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School would choose to join Spirit Hall, and it seems the Heaven Dou Empire has also reached an agreement with Spirit Hall. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been transferred here from Spirit Hall."
"What Spirit Hall? I think all of this must have been orchestrated by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Now we just don't know what they want to do with us," Dai Mubai said through gritted teeth, enduring the pain in both his shoulders.
"You guessed right, but unfortunately there's no reward."
Li Xun applauded as he slowly walked in with Yang Wudi and his group.
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