106: Chapter 106: The Seventh Trial Passed

Sea God Mountain towered into the clouds, and the steps leading to the Sea God Hall at the summit were long and steep, appearing like a path of trial leading to the sky.

For ordinary Spirit Masters climbing, every step required enduring the immense pressure brought by the Seagod's Light; the higher one went, the more terrifying the pressure became, enough to crush even a Spirit Douluo or a Titled Douluo.

However, for the three people currently ascending the steps steadily, this Seagod's Light, which had once cost Wang Donger years of time to adapt to, seemed to have lost its former majesty.

Lu Jing walked at the front, his pace composed and his figure upright.

Dark red halos faintly circulated around his body; that was not an eruption of Soul Power, but rather the aura naturally emitted by the origin of destruction within him, carrying a domineering quality that stood above all laws.

The sacred pressure of the Seagod's Light fell upon him like a stream merging into the ocean, quietly dissolved and devoured by that deeper, more primal intent of destruction, unable to cause him the slightest impact.

He was like a walking blade, silently slicing through the resistance ahead.

Snow Empress followed by his side, her white dress trailing on the ground, silver hair fluttering.

She did not release any Soul Power, but the chill originating from her 700,000-year-old ultimate ice origin had already formed an invisible absolute zero Domain around her.

The pressure and tidal force brought by the Seagod's Light were frozen and stagnated the moment they came within a foot of her body, eventually turning into tiny ice crystals and slipping away silently.

Her steps were light, like an ice and snow Spirit strolling through her own back garden, cold and elegant.

Walking slightly behind, Wang Donger felt this the most deeply. Four years ago, when she first stepped onto these stairs, every step had been arduous.

But now, with her cultivation as an eighty-seven-level Spirit Douluo, coupled with the comprehensive improvements brought by the previous six trials and the increasingly rich and pure Divine Power of the Sea God within her, she could face this former pressure with composure.

Watching the leisurely posture of the two people ahead, a hint of emotion flashed in her beautiful eyes.

Lu Jing's unfathomable nature and Snow Empress's cold strength only made her more determined to become stronger.

She took a deep breath, adjusting her state, raising her Spirit and energy to their peak to face the most critical trial that was about to come.

The three moved at an extremely fast speed, like three streaks of light, flashing past the stone steps one by one.

The scenery on both sides retreated rapidly, and clouds and mist swirled around them.

In just a quarter of an hour, the towering, solemn Sea God Hall, built entirely of an unknown white stone, came clearly into view.

The hall's doors were open, the light inside slightly dim, yet a sacred and solemn aura permeated from within.

In front of the hall entrance, Wang Donger stopped, exhaling softly, trying to calm the irrepressible excitement and anticipation for the future in her heart.

Success or failure, it all depended on this one moment.

She turned to look at Lu Jing and Snow Empress, seeing silent support and encouragement in their eyes.

"I am going," Wang Donger said softly; though her voice was light, it carried an unwavering determination.

"Good luck," Lu Jing nodded with a smile.

Snow Empress also nodded slightly, her cold gaze conveying trust.

Wang Donger no longer hesitated, turned resolutely, and stepped into the Sea God Hall, which symbolized the highest power and inheritance of Sea God Island.

Lu Jing and Snow Empress exchanged a glance; without needing to say more, they followed closely behind and stepped into the hall.

The interior of the hall was extremely vast, with a high dome inlaid with pearls emitting a soft glow, like stars in the night sky.

The surrounding walls were carved with ancient murals, depicting the epic of the Sea God conquering the four seas and spreading his faith.

In the center of the hall, where the light was most concentrated, a stunning woman in a red dress stood quietly; she was the High Priest of Sea God Island, the Sea God Douluo, Poseidon.

Not far behind Poseidon, a long trident about three meters in length, dark gold in color, was quietly inserted into a seemingly ordinary stone platform.

The trident was ancient and majestic in design, with faint water ripples flowing on its shaft, and its three blades flashed with deep light. Although no energy leaked out, it naturally exuded a supreme sense of authority that suppressed the four seas and ruled over all waters.

It was the divine artifact of the Sea God, the trident!

Poseidon's gaze fell on Wang Donger as she walked in, a gentle yet solemn smile appearing on her stunning face. She spoke proactively, her voice ethereal and elegant: "Are you ready, Donger?"

Time seemed to have left no marks on her; she remained just as she was when the four of them first met her—noble, sacred, and stunning.

Wang Donger walked to a spot a few steps in front of Poseidon and stood still, bowed respectfully, looked up, and met Poseidon's gaze with firm eyes, saying loudly: "Senior Poseidon, I am ready. I have come today to pass the seventh trial of the Sea God's Ninth Trial!"

Poseidon nodded with satisfaction, stepped aside, pointed to the dark golden Sea God Trident, and said: "Go, child. Use your hands to grasp it, and use your will and strength to earn its approval. As long as you can pull it out from this altar, this seventh trial will be considered passed."

Her tone was calm, but her eyes contained a hint of imperceptible anticipation and gravity.

Pulling out the Sea God Trident was not just a test of strength, but the ultimate trial of character, aptitude, and compatibility with the Sea God's Divine Power.

Wang Donger took another deep breath, her gaze involuntarily turning toward Lu Jing, who was standing near the hall entrance.

Lu Jing met her gaze, the corners of his mouth curving into a reassuring arc, his eyes filled with unreserved trust and encouragement as he nodded gently at her.

Receiving this silent support, the last trace of nervousness in Wang Donger's heart vanished.

She turned back and walked with firm and steady steps toward the artifact that symbolized the Sea God's authority.

Arriving before the Sea God Trident, being so close, Wang Donger could feel the faint pressure emanating from the dark golden shaft even more intensely, as if she were not facing a weapon, but the entire vast and boundless ocean!

She gave a soft shout, her Soul Power circulating, and the gorgeous phantom of the Radiant Goddess Butterfly appeared behind her. Four black and four red spirit rings rose, surrounding her body, raising her state to its peak.

She extended her hands and firmly grasped the shaft of the Sea God Trident.

Where she touched it, it was not the cold sensation of metal, but a strange feeling that was warm and gentle yet carried immense power.

"Rise!" Wang Donger let out a low shout, her arms suddenly exerting force, attempting to pull this divine trident out!

However, the Sea God Trident did not move at all!

It was as if it were not inserted into the stone platform, but had become one with the entire Sea God Mountain and the entire ocean!

Wang Donger's immense strength, enough to split mountains and crack rocks, surged into the shaft but was like a clay ox entering the sea, not stirring up the slightest ripple.

Time passed bit by bit; fine beads of sweat seeped from Wang Donger's forehead, and her arms trembled slightly from the excessive exertion.

She gritted her teeth and pushed her Soul Power to the limit, the light of the Radiant Goddess Butterfly shining brightly, attempting to forcibly shake this artifact.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

"Hum—!"

The Sea God Trident vibrated gently, and the originally dim water ripples on the shaft suddenly lit up!

The next moment, a heat as scorching as molten lava and a cold as bone-chilling as if from the ten-thousand-fathom abyss—two diametrically opposed yet equally terrifying forces—suddenly erupted from the shaft, rushing frantically into her body through Wang Donger's hands!

"Argh!" Wang Donger was caught off guard and let out a painful groan.

The scorching heat and extreme cold attacked alternately, as if they wanted to tear, freeze, and then melt her meridians, bones, and even her soul!

This pain far exceeded the limits of physical endurance, striking directly into the depths of her soul!

Her hands gripping the shaft instantly turned bright red and were immediately covered with a layer of white frost; the intense pain made her almost instinctively want to let go.

"Do not let go!" Poseidon's grave voice rang out in time, like an alarm bell ringing in Wang Donger's mind, reminding her: "Once you let go, it means the trial has failed! Hold onto your focus, guide the Divine Power of the Sea God within you to communicate with it, to soothe it! Use your will to tell it that you are qualified to be its master!"

Poseidon's reminder gave Wang Donger a jolt, and she forcibly suppressed the urge to let go.

She gritted her teeth, a trace of blood even seeping from the corner of her mouth, her beautiful eyes filled with unyielding stubbornness.

She followed the advice, no longer attempting to pull by brute force, but concentrated her Spirit, fully unleashing the Divine Power of the Sea God within her, which had become incomparably pure after being baptized by several trials.

Like the gentlest ocean current, it slowly poured into the trident, attempting to establish a connection with the vast and majestic Divine Power within it to gain its approval.

However, as a divine artifact, how vast was the Divine Power contained within the Sea God Trident? Was it so easily communicated with and tamed?

Wang Donger's Divine Power of the Sea God flowing in was like a drop of water merging into the ocean; although it caused a ripple, it was far from enough to shake its foundation.

The extreme pain of ice and fire continued to assault her body and mind.

Standing behind, Lu Jing frowned tightly after seeing this scene.

He could see that Wang Donger had done her best, but the test of the Sea God Trident was too domineering; it needed someone else to give a helping hand.

Although Snow Empress was strong, she could not intervene in the Sea God's trial; otherwise, it would be breaking the rules.

Poseidon could not do it either, because she was the examiner; even if she could go easy, it would only be sneaky, and she could not help publicly.

Since that was the case, it could only be him.

But the question was, how should he do it?

A moment later, his eyes became sharp, and a bold idea rose in his heart.

Although this was suspected of being a trick, the problem was not very big; after all, most of it was Wang Donger's own ability, and he was just assisting.

Thinking of this, Lu Jing did not hesitate.

He stepped forward and opened his right palm.

In an instant, an exquisitely delicate black lotus, seemingly condensed from the purest energy of darkness and destruction, quietly appeared and rotated in his palm.

The lotus had twelve petals, and on its petals, countless dense and complex dark red divine destruction patterns flowed, emitting a terrifying aura that caused all things to end and gods to fall—it was his origin Spirit, the World-Destroying Black Lotus!

Lu Jing's gaze locked onto the Sea God Trident, which was vibrating violently and emitting blue and red light, and he pushed his right hand gently forward.

"Go."

The World-Destroying Black Lotus turned into a dark streak of light, silently flying above the Sea God Trident; it did not make direct contact but hovered there, slowly rotating.

The next moment—

"Boom!!!"

A terrifying aura that could not be described in words suddenly erupted from the World-Destroying Black Lotus!

That was not a fluctuation of Soul Power, but a more primal, higher-level force of rules—Destruction!

It was the ultimate law that made all existence head toward its end and returned order to chaos!

The pitch-black light of destruction poured down like a tide, instantly shrouding the Sea God Trident.

The scorching heat and extreme cold that had been raging, under the suppression of this pure intent of destruction, seemed to have met their natural enemy, emitting sharp wails, and their light rapidly dimmed and shrank!

Destruction stood above the vast majority of laws such as water and fire, light and darkness, and time and space!

Although the Divine Power of the Sea God was strong and held the authority over the ocean, it still appeared inferior in front of Destruction, which represented one of the ultimate laws of the universe!

Moreover, Lu Jing's World-Destroying Black Lotus Spirit was of extremely high quality, coming from one of the four great lotus platforms of the Prehistoric Era, and it contained the aura of the Divine Power of the God of Destruction he had inherited; its level faintly exceeded that of the not-yet-fully-awakened Sea God Trident!

This was like a monarch; even if temporarily asleep, their innate status and majesty were enough to intimidate local vassals!

"Hum—!"

The Sea God Trident vibrated violently, and the water ripples on the shaft flashed crazily, seemingly resisting this sudden, higher-level suppression force.

But after all, it was currently in a masterless state, and the object of the test was Wang Donger, so when facing this external, high-status force of destruction, its own defense mechanism was greatly weakened.

Just in this brief gap of suppression—

"Now is the time!" Although Wang Donger was also shocked by the suddenly appearing World-Destroying Black Lotus and the terrifying aura it emitted, she instantly understood that this was Lu Jing helping her!

She seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, gritted her silver teeth, and unleashed all the remaining power in her body, along with the Divine Power of the Sea God that had produced a faint resonance with the trident, without reservation!

"Give me... rise—!!!"

Accompanied by a clear, sharp shout, Wang Donger used all her strength to pull upward!

"Clang!"

A crisp, pleasant humming sound, like gold and jade striking each other, resounded throughout the entire Sea God Hall!

In Poseidon's slightly complex and shocked gaze, under Lu Jing's nervous and expectant watch, and under the unblinking gaze of Snow Empress's ice-blue eyes, that Sea God Trident, which had suppressed Sea God Mountain for ten thousand years, was finally pulled out of the altar stone platform by Wang Donger bit by bit!

The moment the trident completely broke free from the stone platform, ten thousand rays of colorful light erupted from the trident, illuminating the entire Sea God Hall in splendor!

The sacred aura, as vast as the ocean, spread out like a tide, yet it carried a trace of newfound joy and recognition, surrounding Wang Donger.

Wang Donger held the Sea God Trident; although her body swayed slightly due to exhaustion and her face was pale as paper, her eyes were as bright as stars, filled with endless joy and excitement!

The Seventh Trial, passed!