"Alright, go now. Complete the Death God's Eighth Trial, and accept your final test!" With those words, Little White's voice faded away.
Zhu Ziyang lifted his head. From either side of the seventieth step, the two God-Locking Pillars flew forth and landed squarely in his hands. His godhood affinity had reached eighty percent, and with that, he strode upward with ease—past the seventy-first, seventy-second, seventy-third… until he stood upon the eightieth step.
There he halted. On the two pillars flanking the step, identical words appeared:
Godhood Affinity: 80%
Death God's Eighth Trial: As the inheritor of the Death God's position, you must subdue one who embodies faith in the Law of Death. The Yellow Springs Witch—known here as the Demon Emperor, a heaven-and-earth spirit born from the Scythe of the Dead. To subdue her shall be your final external trial before inheriting the divine position!
Trial Content: Subdue the Yellow Springs Witch and make her the spirit soul of your first martial soul.
Time Limit: No more than one year.
Reward: Unknown.
Ziyang wasn't surprised. In truth, he had already guessed this would be the final trial. As for Little White, the so-called examiner of the Godhood Trials, Ziyang already knew his true identity. Clearly, everyone had been waiting for this moment.
His emotions were mixed—strange, hard to define—but above all, he felt an inexplicable surge of excitement. With that, he left the inheritance grounds and returned to the Demon Emperor's Palace.
By then, Jiang Nannan and Zhang Lexuan had just finished dealing with their own rewards. The moment they saw him return, they rushed to his side.
"Brother, how did it go?" Nannan asked eagerly. "What's your reward for the Seventh Trial? And what about the content of the Eighth?"
"Haha, my reward can't compare to yours. Aside from the boost to godhood affinity, all I received were two pillars. As for the Eighth Trial—it's simple. Once we leave the Demon Emperor's Palace, I'll be able to complete it," Ziyang said with a laugh. "But enough about me—what about the two of you? What rewards did you get? And what comes next?"
"Oh!" Nannan's eyes lit up instantly. "The reward for my Taiyin Sixth Trial was ten percent godhood affinity and an increase of three thousand years to the age of all my spirit rings!"
As she spoke, she released her spirit rings. Once, they had been two purple, four black, and one red. Now, they gleamed as six black and one red. Thanks to the three-thousand-year increase—stacked atop previous rewards—even her first and second rings had turned black. The divine power of the Taiyin God's faith was truly abundant.
Ziyang couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
"My reward was one level of soul power and a five-hundred-year increase to the age of all my rings," Zhang Lexuan added with her gentle smile.
After her sixth trial, her spirit rings had not changed much—still two purple, five black, two red—but her soul power had risen to rank 93. For a Titled Douluo, advancing a level in just half a year was astonishing. If other Titled Douluo knew, they would surely be green with envy.
"Ah! I'm so jealous of you, Nannan, and of you too, Lexuan-jie!" Qian Lingyi pouted, her lovely face filled with envy and a faint trace of worry. She felt the gap between herself and the others widening—and that gap would only grow larger with time. The unease gnawed at her heart.
But Ziyang didn't notice Lingyi's turmoil. Instead, he asked, "And your seventh trials? What are they?"
"My seventh trial requires me to return to the Douluo Continent. I have to help the Silver Moon Spirit Fish Clan find a new home," Lexuan explained first.
"Ah?! Then why is my seventh trial to subdue the Silver Moon Spirit Fish King?" Nannan wailed, her face falling.
"This is the difference between a god-level trial and a red-level one, silly girl," Lexuan said helplessly, tapping her nose with a smile.
"So both of your seventh trials can only be completed back on the Douluo Continent, right?" Ziyang mused. "I see. That means we can't linger on the Martial Soul Continent any longer. Once I complete the Eighth Trial, we'll return at once!"
"Mm!" the three girls nodded in unison.
"By the way, Brother, what is your Eighth Trial?" Lingyi asked with a bright smile, carefully concealing her unease.
"You might not believe it," Ziyang chuckled. "The Eighth Trial is to make the Demon Emperor my spirit soul."
"What?!" The three women gasped, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Hehe, I didn't expect it either," Ziyang said, laughing at his own fortune, his tone playful as though showing off.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Lexuan laughed lightly, giving him a gentle push.
The four left the Demon Emperor's Palace together, returning cheerfully to the site of the Heavenly Stems God-Sealing Formation.
There, Zhang Weiwei and Bemons hurried to greet them.
"Lord, Senior Rogier has encountered battle," they reported in unison.
"The south?" Ziyang frowned, then nodded. "I understand. Bemons, go support him."
"By your will!" The Golden Behemoth answered at once and sped away toward Rogier's position.
"You three, stay outside," Ziyang instructed the girls firmly. "If danger arises, enter the God-Sealing Formation immediately—but once inside, do not act rashly."
With that, he strode quickly into the formation.
Inside, the Demon Emperor no longer struggled, resigned to her fate. By her side hovered the Snow Empress.
"Father, you're back!" the Snow Empress cried joyfully, darting toward him. She landed lightly on his shoulder, her voice full of pride. "I've already persuaded her for you!"
"Really?" Ziyang's eyes lit up. He reached up to ruffle her hair, praising warmly: "Xue'er, you did wonderfully!"
Still praising her, he walked toward the Demon Emperor. His face grew solemn. "So—have you decided? Will you become my spirit soul, or…"
"Spirit soul. I wish to become your spirit soul!" the Demon Emperor interrupted before he could finish. Her expression was complicated, impossible to read fully—but clear enough that she had, at last, yielded to him.
"Excellent. One day, you'll be grateful for this choice," Ziyang said joyfully. "From now on, you need only obey my commands. Leave the rest to me."
"…Mm." The Demon Emperor lowered her proud head, her posture now one of submission.
Without hesitation, Ziyang drew a drop of his essence blood and let it fall upon her smooth brow.
The first Spirit Soul Contract ever forged on the Martial Soul Continent resounded.
The Demon Emperor listened as Ziyang chanted the contract's words, felt his blood seep into her body, sensed her vanished power momentarily return—only to be sealed again at once.
Black energy threads wove themselves into a great cocoon, enclosing Ziyang and the Demon Emperor together. Strange runes shimmered and vanished upon its surface, pulsing with waves of power. The Demon Emperor's vast, unique aura rose and fell ceaselessly within.
Outside the formation, Nannan, Lexuan, and Lingyi could only wait tensely, unable to see within, their faces taut with nervous anticipation.
Meanwhile, three kilometers away, Rogier and Bemons were locked in battle against a colossal beast—its massive body clad in golden-yellow scales, a mighty earth dragon.
This was the Earth Tyrant Dragon King, Beast King of South Heaven Peak, second only to the Demon Emperor herself. With five hundred thousand years of cultivation, it easily suppressed Rogier. Yet against Rogier and Bemons together, it was held in stalemate.
Neither side could gain the upper hand. But stalemate itself was victory enough for Ziyang's side.
The Earth Tyrant Dragon King's arrival was mere misfortune. A friend of the Three-Headed Golden Lion King, it had come to East Heaven Peak to visit—and had stumbled upon Ziyang's operation. Overwhelmed first by the Demon Emperor's aura, then ambushed by Rogier's shadows, it was ultimately forced into combat. Soon, it would face even more foes.
A cruel twist of fate—for the wrong place, the wrong time.
Perhaps, if Ziyang decided it had no value, he might even show mercy and let it go.
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