"No, she would. Originally, she definitely would, but because of the letter I sent three years ago, now it's only a possibility. I came early to eliminate that final risk." Tianlin told Ning Rongrong the whole story of Bo Saixi and Tang Chen, including how Bo Saixi would have to sacrifice herself when Ning Rongrong reached the ninth Sea God trial.
Ning Rongrong finally understood Bo Saixi's feelings. She was obsessed with her lover. No wonder—if she were in Bo Saixi's shoes, she also wouldn't want to die before seeing Tianlin again.
Although Tianlin had promised to bring Tang Chen to see her, words alone couldn't make Bo Saixi believe it completely.
Ning Rongrong gazed at the sea, leaning in Tianlin's arms, looking a bit melancholy.
Tianlin had just explained why he hadn't returned Tang Chen earlier. He was worried that Bo Saixi might heal Tang Chen. In the original, apart from being poisoned, Tang Chen's body had been shattered by the sudden descent of Asura God power during the eighth trial.
But now, he was only poisoned—the Asura God power had long since left his body. With Sea God Island's Ghost Douluo being a poison expert, plus Bo Saixi's Sea God's Light, there was a chance he could be saved.
Even if the odds were only one in ten thousand, with Ning Rongrong involved, Tianlin wasn't willing to take that gamble.
If Bo Saixi was able to be with a fully healed Tang Chen, she might fight even harder than in the original work. Killing an examinee during a trial would displease the Sea God, but wouldn't actually break the rules—the Sea God wouldn't punish her much.
So Tianlin had planned to show up halfway through the sixth trial with the crystal sealing Tang Chen, letting Bo Saixi know Tang Chen was in his hands, and ask her to wait until Ning Rongrong finished her trial before handing him over.
That way, Ning Rongrong would be guaranteed to pass the sixth trial of the Sea God's nine trials.
The plan was sound, but Ning Rongrong felt uneasy. Bo Saixi had treated her well these past years, and would have to die for her to become a god. In this way, she owed Bo Saixi a lot. She knew Tianlin could save Tang Chen—his Extreme Curse Restoring Yin and Yang could heal anything—so she should at least plead for Bo Saixi, allowing her to be with Tang Chen in her last days, to repay the kindness.
But if she pleaded, she'd be asking Tianlin to save someone destined to be his enemy. If Tang Chen recovered, he'd certainly return to the Clear Sky Sect, and due to Tang San and Tang Hao, he'd definitely become enemies with Tianlin, a fight to the death.
Tang Chen wasn't like Bo Saixi. As the Sea God Island High Priestess, Bo Saixi couldn't leave for long, so no matter how much she missed Tang Chen, she couldn't go to him.
Truly a dilemma. If she didn't plead, she owed Bo Saixi; if she did, she'd be betraying Tianlin.
No wonder Tianlin didn't want to show up early—so she wouldn't have to struggle with this choice.
"I'm sorry, Senior Bo Saixi. This time, Rongrong has to be selfish. I can't make my husband more enemies," Ning Rongrong thought to herself.
When Ning Rongrong stayed silent for a long time, Tianlin knew she was struggling. Although she'd ultimately choose him, she would still feel guilty.
Tianlin couldn't help it.
Tang Chen was an Ultimate Douluo and close to Bo Saixi. If he returned to the Clear Sky Sect, he'd be a huge threat to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Besides himself and his master, no one in the sect could beat him.
Even if his master had made great progress in the Sword of Destruction, at best he could tie with Tang Chen.
Tianlin had even decided that if Bo Saixi did manage to heal Tang Chen, he'd intercept and kill him on his way back to the Clear Sky Sect—he didn't want more Ultimate Douluo-level enemies.
He wasn't afraid, but the sect disciples weren't, and Ning Rongrong definitely wasn't.
"By the way, Rongrong, it's good you called me out early. I've prepared a special reunion gift for you. It'll definitely help you break through the sixth trial," Tianlin said, trying to change the subject.
"A gift? So the two-headed Thunder Dragon was for Tianheng? What about mine? I'm your wife, our relationship's closer than with your brother! His was a seventy-thousand-year soul ring. If my gift isn't as valuable as a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, I won't accept it!" Ning Rongrong pouted.
She was already a little jealous. After Tianlin arrived, the first person he cared about was Yu Tianheng, even though she was his wife.
Tianlin gently stroked her hair and said softly, "Don't worry, it's even more precious than a hundred-thousand-year soul ring. Take out your Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."
Ning Rongrong didn't know what Tianlin was up to, but she never doubted him. She immediately summoned her pagoda.
Seeing the eighth red soul ring on the pagoda, Tianlin was pleased. Condensing a god-given soul ring into a hundred-thousand-year soul ring took great perseverance—she had clearly matured a lot.
Next, Tianlin summoned the Holy Spirit Pearl. "Rongrong, do you remember when Master and I fought Qian Daoliu? I summoned two helpers."
"Mm, I remember. One was the Martial God, the other was the Mountain God." Ning Rongrong definitely remembered—Tianlin with the power of two gods was incredibly strong.
Tianlin nodded. "That's right. Martial God and Mountain God are incarnations of deities, very powerful. They are actually divine consciousnesses and part of the power left behind by real gods in the spiritual pearls. The Earth Spirit Pearl became my soul ring, so I can summon the Mountain God. The Martial God was subdued by a great god and sealed in my Holy Spirit Pearl. The soul ring is like a key to unseal their power, letting me use the Summoning God technique. As my strength grows, I can keep unlocking more of their power."
"So, as long as you get a spirit pearl, you can summon a god?" Ning Rongrong asked.
"More or less. You have to get it and learn to use it." Tianlin took out a blue spirit pearl. "This is the Water Spirit Pearl. The being inside is a bit special—not a god, but a great demon, the Snow Demon, whose power rivals my Martial God and Mountain God."
"Although I can't let you absorb the Water Spirit Pearl's power directly, I can transfer the Snow Demon's divine consciousness and a portion of its power, sealing it inside your Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. From now on, you'll have the right to summon the Snow Demon."
Tianlin had planned this long ago. With his current strength, he didn't need another summoned god, and most of the Snow Demon's power would remain in the Water Spirit Pearl, so it wouldn't lose much power—he just couldn't summon it himself anymore.
He would have liked to give all its power to Ning Rongrong, but the pagoda couldn't withstand the full might of the Snow Demon—it would explode. He'd considered sealing it in her Ice Snow Maiden martial soul, but Ning Rongrong's Snow Maiden was special: a sentient soul with the Ice Snow Maiden's consciousness living inside.
Tianlin worried that putting the Snow Demon's spirit in there would destroy Snow Empress's soul.
The Ice Snow Maiden had guided Ning Rongrong's transformation—they couldn't repay kindness with betrayal by risking something so dangerous.
And transferring the Snow Demon's maximum power into the pagoda—at the level of a first-level god—would be enough for Ning Rongrong during their time in the Douluo Continent.
Looking at the Water Spirit Pearl, Tianlin thought to himself, "Miss Snow Demon, please take care of my wife for now. When we go to the Immortal Sword World, I'll be sure to visit your true form and thank you in person."