While Huo Yuhao was off enjoying his offerings at the North Sea, Xu Tiancheng had finally completed his preparations and stepped into the Fire God's secret realm, ready to formally complete the three conditions of the Fire God's trial.
The Fire God's Trial:
Condition One: Pull the Heavenly Flame Divine Lance from the Fire God's secret realm.
Condition Two: Find a water- or ice-attributed Soul Master of exceptional talent, who must reach Titled Douluo level before the age of thirty, to achieve a harmonious fusion of water and fire.
Condition Three: Defeat the Flame Divine Beast.
Upon reentering the trial space, Xu Tiancheng was no longer the same as before—he had undergone a complete transformation and even broken through to Rank 100.
This transformation naturally caught the Fire God's attention, and with one glance, the Fire God instantly understood the cause of the change.
"His second martial soul has evolved? And this aura... Could it be the Progenitor of the Sub-Dragons?! That legacy still exists on the Douluo Continent?!"
As one of the first-generation gods, the Fire God had some understanding of the Progenitor of the Sub-Dragons. Sensing the destructive aura, long-dormant memories surged back to him.
"And yet, he has inherited that legacy without being driven mad by its chaotic and destructive power. His willpower must be truly formidable."
"But... he's already surpassed Rank 100…"
For a moment, the Fire God hesitated. Xu Tiancheng's strength was so overwhelming that it threw the trial into question.
But he did not intervene.
In truth, the Fire God could only see what Huo Yuhao allowed him to see. Xu Tiancheng's full set of fire dragon soul bones, and his third and fourth martial souls, were all hidden. Huo Yuhao had already intervened to mask these powers, and unless someone had special abilities, they couldn't see through his concealment.
The trial space—also known as the Fire God's secret realm—resembled a massive volcanic crater surrounded by boundless, raging flames.
At the crater's lowest point, nestled within seven concentric layers of unique flame, stood a conical short spear radiating an intense golden-red glow—the Fire God's divine weapon, the Heavenly Flame Divine Lance.
Staring at the sevenfold flame ahead, Xu Tiancheng's expression turned solemn.
Although the Fire God's trial had only three conditions, each was more difficult than the final test of the usual Nine Trials.
After experiencing the Progenitor of the Sub-Dragons' legacy, Xu Tiancheng realized that these divine trials didn't ease up at all—if anything, they reduced the number of tasks while multiplying the difficulty!
Even with his Limit Douluo-level power that rivaled a demigod, Xu Tiancheng had found it nearly impossible to break through the sevenfold flame barrier. The only way was to let the flames burn him continuously until his body gradually adapted.
This process helped increase his compatibility with the Fire God's divine position—but he still hadn't completely passed through.
So he dared not be careless.
But now, perhaps he had found a new path forward.
Xu Tiancheng summoned his Sun Martial Soul and stepped forward toward the sevenfold flame.
The Fire God watched on with anticipation.
The seven types of flame were sourced from across countless realms and each possessed unique combustion principles and effects, representing seven categories of fire in the world. Even ordinary divine officers would struggle to cross them.
But these flames were set up solely for Xu Tiancheng's trial. If he could endure them, he would eventually succeed and be reborn—ready for godhood.
However, plans had changed. Xu Tiancheng had already broken through Rank 100 before passing the trial.
This reduced the flames' tempering effects, though the difficulty was now relatively lower.
First Flame Layer: The Celestial Flame
The Celestial Flame was patterned and said to be able to burn any substance in existence.
But its power was inferior to Xu Tiancheng's Solar True Flame. It posed no real threat.
Still, instead of bypassing it, he used his Solar Martial Soul to draw the flame in, fusing it with his Solar True Flame to amplify its strength.
Seeing this, the Fire God immediately understood and burst out laughing.
"So I was worried for nothing. I thought these flames would no longer temper him—but he's aiming for a transformation of his own flame!"
"He wants to devour my flames to evolve his own? Not bad—I like it!"
The Fire God's admiration grew.
In just the time it took to brew a cup of tea, Xu Tiancheng had fully fused the Celestial Flame, slightly enhancing his Solar True Flame. It wasn't much, but it was a great start.
Second Flame Layer: Ghostly Blue Flame
This flame was born from burning rare substances and could ignite even intangible gases. It could melt metals and rocks alike.
Xu Tiancheng took two cups of tea's time to absorb and fuse it, adding a hint of ominous blue to his golden flames.
Third Flame Layer: Corrupt Black Flame
Formed under special environmental conditions, it wasn't as hot as the Ghostly Blue Flame, but once it latched on, it was nearly impossible to extinguish.
It took Xu Tiancheng half an hour to complete this fusion.
His flame core now bore a sinister black core—like a solar flare waiting to erupt.
The Solar Martial Soul looked dimmer, but this dimness signaled potential destruction rather than decline.
Fourth Flame Layer: Seven-Colored Flame
Rainbow-like and beautiful, this flame was incredibly dangerous. Each color carried a unique fire poison, and when mixed, their combined toxin could destroy life at the cellular level.
It took two hours to fuse.
Now, Xu Tiancheng's flame regained brilliance, with added rainbow light—a stunning effect.
His Solar True Flame, already at peak lethality and imbued with fire poison, now showed signs of surpassing its original limits.
Fifth Flame Layer: Pale Flash Flame
White and fleeting, this flame only burned for an instant. The area constantly reignited it to maintain the layer.
Though it looked like harmless sparks, a single touch could instantly incinerate a target with nothing left behind.
Only after enduring the prior four layers did Xu Tiancheng gain the affinity needed to withstand this one.
Its sudden bursts were more shocking than continuous burns.
It took him half a day to absorb.
Now, the black core in his Solar Martial Soul had fully transformed into a solar flare, capable of explosive bursts—each one a deadly blow against even peers.
Sixth Flame Layer: Aqua-Flame of Chaos
A contradictory flame containing both water and fire attributes. Its inner conflict affected both body and spirit.
But beyond destruction, it could also nurture life—much like a miniature Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well.
Burning could bring either death or rebirth.
Only someone tempered by the Pale Flash Flame could hope to survive it.
Xu Tiancheng went all out, and after three days, succeeded.
His Solar Flame now burned half red and half blue, with golden rainbow arcs atop it—resembling a true cosmic star.
This successful fusion was thanks in part to insights he gained from the Progenitor of the Sub-Dragons' legacy and the ancient golden tree's vitality.
Seventh Flame Layer: Flame of Corruption
If the Aqua-Flame challenged the essence of fire, then the Flame of Corruption reversed it—turning fire's yang into yin, its purity into evil.
It had neither high heat nor strong destruction, and its death rate was low.
Instead, it polluted and twisted souls, pushing them toward madness and evil.
Only the strongest will could resist it.
Xu Tiancheng had never reached this layer before, having been stopped at the Aqua-Flame.
Now understanding its nature, he paused—then laughed aloud, and shoved the Corruption Flame directly into his mouth.
A flame meant to corrupt will and soul?
For Xu Tiancheng, it had no effect whatsoever.
After all, what corruption could take hold in someone whose will and soul were already far beyond the reach of madness?
Even the Fire God sat up straight in disbelief, wiping his eyes.
Just then, the Water God—his wife—arrived and sensed his shock.
Water God: "What's wrong?"
Fire God: "You won't believe me... I just saw a madman eat the Flame of Corruption like a snack!"
What should have been the most dangerous and difficult trial turned out to be the easiest one for Xu Tiancheng.
All he had to do—was eat, eat, and eat!
As the Fallen Flame merged into the Sun Martial Soul, it underwent its final metamorphosis—transcending even the sun itself!
The temperature of the Sun Martial Soul soared, its density became unimaginably compact, and the concentration of Ultimate Flames reached terrifying levels. Yet oddly, the light it emitted dimmed.
The previously radiant rainbow hues vanished, and the entire Martial Soul turned a muted white.
Upon witnessing this newly evolved Martial Soul, Xu Tiancheng was visibly surprised. Beyond its immense power, he could feel pressure radiating from it!
Despite wielding it with strength well above level 100, he found it difficult to fully control.
"Has my Sun Martial Soul... become a white dwarf star?" Xu Tiancheng was stunned.
The Sun Martial Soul inherited from the Sun Moon Empire was never a true stellar Martial Soul. It was originally the external embodiment of the Purple Radiance Dragon of Destruction's power.
Ironically, it was the Silver Moon Martial Soul, passed down by the royal family, that was the actual celestial Martial Soul.
Even so, the Sun Martial Soul—as the manifestation of the Purple Radiance Dragon's power—was still of equal quality to the Silver Moon Martial Soul, both being top-tier. That's why individuals like Kong Deming could awaken twin Martial Souls—one condition for such awakening is that both souls must be of equivalent quality.
The fully awakened Purple Radiance Dragon of Destruction Martial Soul was a super Martial Soul, essentially a divine beast soul—rare in number but incredibly powerful, rivaling even Ultimate-level Martial Souls.
Unfortunately, due to the Sun Moon Empire's focus on soul tools, they lacked the proper knowledge and cultivation methods for Martial Souls. They couldn't unlock the Purple Radiance Dragon's true potential.
A gifted Martial Soul still needs the right training and dedication to truly flourish.
For instance, the Ultimate Martial Souls—throughout the entire history of Douluo Continent—there have been more than three, but only three were ever properly developed, including Huo Yuhao, and all were cultivated by Shrek Academy.
When Xu Tiancheng's Purple Radiance Dragon Martial Soul evolved into the Primordial Dragon Ancestor, it became a true divine-level Martial Soul, even stronger than Qian Renxue's Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul from ten thousand years ago.
After that evolution, the connection between his Sun Martial Soul and the Purple Radiance Dragon Martial Soul weakened. Once the transformation into the Primordial Dragon Ancestor was complete, that link was entirely severed.
The Sun Martial Soul had now transformed from being merely an external projection of the Purple Radiance Dragon into a true stellar Martial Soul—the Sun Martial Soul in its own right.
This opened up a completely new evolutionary path.
Initially, Xu Tiancheng believed that the Sun Martial Soul would simply grow in fire-type power, perhaps eventually reaching the divine Heavenly Flame level wielded by the Fire God.
He never imagined it would follow the evolutionary path of a star—from an ordinary star to a white dwarf.
A white dwarf is a low-luminosity, high-density, high-temperature star—mostly white in color, emitting a pale glow, hence the name.
Of course, Xu Tiancheng's Martial Soul wasn't an actual white dwarf, but through it, he could resonate with real white dwarfs in the cosmos—and even draw strength from them.
The real power of celestial Martial Souls lies in their ability to tap into actual celestial bodies for strength. Amplifying cultivation speed is just the beginning—they can also boost combat power at critical moments.
That's why all stellar Martial Souls are at least top-tier.
"If white dwarfs are possible… could I evolve it into a neutron star? Or even… a black hole?" Xu Tiancheng couldn't help imagining.
As long as a star's density and mass continued to increase, its classification would keep evolving.
Black holes form when neutron stars exceed a certain limit and collapse into singularities—the strangest objects in the universe.
Still, Xu Tiancheng quickly dismissed the idea. He wasn't even sure he could reach the neutron star level, let alone become a black hole.
Besides, if that really happened, he might be the first to be consumed by his own Martial Soul.
After all, not even a God King could resist the pull of a black hole.
If Xu Tiancheng summoned one right beside him, the roles would reverse—it wouldn't be the Martial Soul under his control anymore. He would become the one drawn in by the black hole.
Putting aside such wild fantasies, the fact that his Sun Martial Soul evolved into a white dwarf Martial Soul was already more than enough to excite him.
Judging from Huo Yuhao's experiences, the combined potential of a white dwarf and Primordial Dragon Ancestor Martial Soul might just be enough to help him break through to the God King realm!
"For now, acquiring the Fire God's inheritance is still the top priority." Xu Tiancheng resumed walking forward.
After Xu Tiancheng consumed all the Fallen Flame, he finally arrived before the Heavenburning Divine Pestle.
The Fire God was known for two legendary divine artifacts: the Fire God's Sword and the Heavenburning Divine Pestle.
In fact, the Heavenburning Pestle was even more prestigious than the sword.
Because it was the counterpart to the Golden Dragon Spear, a top-tier artifact revered even in the Divine Realm.
During this era, the Fire God's Sword was no longer in his possession—he had given it away. That's why he placed the Heavenburning Pestle as the key artifact in the inheritance trial.
In the original timeline, the Heavenburning Pestle wouldn't appear until the events of Ultimate Douluo, when it was lost due to the collapse of the Divine Realm and ended up in the Dragon Horse Galaxy.
Unfortunately, without the Fire God's inheritance, no one could unleash its true power.
It could only be used as a throwing weapon—albeit still with immense force.
But in the Fire God's hands, it could command Heavenly Flame. According to the Holy Feather Serpent, the Fire God once made even the Dragon Clan and the Beast Gods wary with this artifact.
Xu Tiancheng took a deep breath and reached out to grasp the Heavenburning Divine Pestle with his broad hand.
To his surprise, he encountered no resistance. Instead, he sensed a joyful emotion coming from the weapon.
As he fully pulled it out and raised it high, flames burst from his body in response, harmonizing with the Heavenburning Pestle.
He could clearly feel a scorching energy flowing into him from the pestle—his Primordial Flame undergoing a transformation.
"Is this… the power of Heavenly Flame?!"
Pale fire ignited in his palm, as if it could melt a hole through space itself!
At that moment, a mighty voice echoed across the secret realm.
Undoubtedly—it was the Fire God himself.
"Congratulations, my successor. You have passed the first trial!"
"Do not be surprised. You have now been recognized by the Heavenburning Divine Pestle."
"However, to continue the next trials, you must first make a choice."
Xu Tiancheng blinked, then bowed upward and respectfully asked:
"Greetings, Your Eminence Fire God. May I ask what choice you speak of?"
The Fire God answered without hesitation.
"It concerns the power of the Primordial Dragon Ancestor within you."
"That power alone is enough to let you grow to a level equal to mine. But if you accept my divine inheritance, you'll be bound to the Fire God's god position."
"Let me be clear—godhood is not without flaws. For those who seek growth and crave freedom, a divine seat is a shackle."
"So tell me now—what is your choice?"
Xu Tiancheng understood now—what the Fire God was worried about was that, after accepting the divine inheritance, Xu might find himself bound and unable to roam the universe freely, which could lead to resentment.
Besides, the power of the Ancestor of Ayalon was indeed enough to nurture Xu Tiancheng into a powerhouse rivaling a first-tier god with a divine seat.
To the eyes of some veteran gods, a young man like Xu Tiancheng, who had the potential to become a first-tier god, losing his freedom just for the Fire God's divine seat wasn't worth it.
"I didn't expect the Fire God to be this candid with me. Not afraid I'll run away, huh? He's actually kind of a nice guy~" Xu Tiancheng muttered to himself.
But Xu had no intention of backing out—could he even escape now?
Although the Fire God was considered a neutral deity, who could guarantee he wouldn't suddenly incinerate Xu with divine flames if things went south?
So Xu Tiancheng decided to speak his mind.
Lying to a god would only get you seen through anyway, so Xu simply laid out his honest thoughts.
"I've heard that ten thousand years ago, Tang San, ancestor of Shrek, received dual inheritances from the Sea God and the Asura God. So, acquiring the inheritances of both the Fire God and the Ancestor of Ayalon shouldn't conflict, right?"
"A single inheritance isn't enough to help me reach the peak. I need more power! Whatever the cost, I'll bear it alone!"
"Besides, no matter how powerful the Ancestor of Sub Dragons was, he's fallen, but you, Fire God, still remain."
—A little flattery at the end never hurts.
Xu Tiancheng chose his words carefully—he didn't lie, but neither did he tell the whole truth.
As expected, the Fire God's perception of Xu Tiancheng improved further after hearing this.
Xu had already impressed him by devouring flames, including the perilous Fallen Fire. That alone earned the Fire God's respect, hence the transparency from the start.
After all, Xu Tiancheng's potential was genuinely terrifying. A man who could eat Fallen Fire could potentially surpass even the Seven Elemental Gods one day.
If Xu inherited the Fire God's seat but eventually turned on him out of resentment for losing freedom—that wouldn't be worth the trouble.
So the Fire God preferred to lay it all out from the beginning.
Now, after hearing Xu's ambitious words, the Fire God admired him even more.
He began to think: perhaps, for Xu Tiancheng, the Fire God's divine seat wouldn't be a shackle.
"What kind of blessed land is this Douluo Continent? First, a dual-god Tang San appeared, and now a Xu Tiancheng? Not your average folks, huh." The Fire God couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
"Very well, let me help him. I'm looking forward to his future!"
With that decision made, the Fire God's laughter echoed throughout the divine realm.
"Very well, young one. Since you've made your choice, the trial shall continue."
"Next, you only need to find a water or ice attribute genius that meets the criteria, and defeat a fire-type divine beast to obtain my divine inheritance."
"Even if you give up the trial, you may still keep the Sky-Burning Divine Staff."
The Fire God felt no reluctance giving away his artifact. He was generous like that—and had never considered attacking Xu Tiancheng.
Among the gods, the Fire God was quite righteous. He had little regard for petty and malicious gods who were always quick to enact "self-destructive justice."
(Of course, he wasn't referring to the Divine King Tang San.)
Though the Seven Elemental Gods had good ties with Tang San, it was mainly due to the Emotion God, Rong Nianbing. As long as Tang San didn't jeopardize the God Realm, they were happy to lend a hand.
As the Fire God's words faded, Xu Tiancheng spoke up immediately, "Honorable Fire God, I've already found a suitable genius—she's one of the consorts in my harem."
"And… I have a presumptuous request."
"There are several other outstandingly gifted women in my harem. I'd like to seek godhood opportunities for them as well!"
Xu Tiancheng was pushing his luck, but he had his reasons—after all, the Fire God now referred to him not as "successor" but "junior." That change in address carried significance.
The Fire God fell silent for a moment before responding, his tone a bit colder, "Junior, you had better not be deceiving me. Or else, I'll show you the cost of lying to me!"
"I wouldn't dare!" Xu Tiancheng quickly replied, though he was a bit confused by the Fire God's sudden shift in tone.
What Xu didn't know was—this change happened because the Water God, the Fire God's wife, was standing beside him, observing the trial.
Had the Fire God been alone, he would've joked with Xu, maybe even called him a ladies' man like himself in younger days.
But with the Water God present, he had to maintain an air of disapproval.
You brat, not pure love? That's wrong! Behave, young man!
It's not that the Fire God feared his wife—they bickered often—but he did love her deeply. While he admired Xu Tiancheng, he still had to consider his wife's opinion.
If the Water God felt Xu lacked character, the Fire God might abandon the idea of passing on the divine seat entirely.
The couple had always advanced and retreated as one.
…
Xu Tiancheng left the Fire God's domain, returned to his imperial palace, and summoned the "beloved consorts" he'd prepared in advance.
First was the water-attribute one.
Through the token left by the Fire God, both the Fire and Water Gods examined her talent and power.
"Dual martial spirits—Crystal Titan and Aqua Dragon Ganoderma? Both are top-tier spirits. Age: twenty-five. Spirit power: Level 95."
"Why is her talent this outrageous?"
"And… is she truly in love with that brat???"
The Fire God was stunned—Xu wasn't bluffing. His harem really did have such a genius.
Also—how do you combine harem and true love in one sentence?
He peeked at the Water God and noticed a conflicted expression.
Sure, she disliked Xu's harem, but this woman's talent was seriously tempting.
In fact, Huo Yuhao had helped Xu arrange this long ago—specifically concealing the presence of true dragon soul bones in these women to avoid any suspicious associations among the elemental gods.
The Fire God noticed the Water God's hesitation and knew Xu had a shot. Still, he wasn't in a rush. He sent a message to Xu: "Show us the others."
Xu wasted no time. He used the token to inspect the talents of the other women.
Like showing off a hand full of SSR cards.
"This one's dual martial spirits too? Both earth-type? Already Level 95?"
"This one's wind-type? Same setup…"
"Didn't I already see this one? Oh, this one's light attribute—same layout, different element."
"Dark attribute… again dual spirits? Again a Super Douluo in her twenties? Again madly in love with this kid?"
"Water, earth, wind, light, dark—and then that kid's fire…"
"Oh no… he's coming for the Seven Elemental Gods!"
"How can this be a coincidence?!"
The Fire and Water Gods looked at each other—suspicion evident in their eyes.
Sure, they wanted to leave the God Realm and cultivate in the cosmos. But divine inheritances couldn't just be handed out to anyone, especially not someone with ulterior motives.
The Water God asked worriedly, "Could there be something wrong?"
The Fire God replied, "But he ate Fallen Fire! If someone had bad intentions, their heart wouldn't be pure enough to resist it. That's why I used it as a test. The fact that he could ignore the Fallen Fire proves his heart is pure."
The Water God said in disbelief, "Could it really be just a coincidence?"
"Maybe not!" the Fire God responded with a mysterious expression. "Perhaps it's the power of fate. This is destiny!"
The Water God was startled.
Truth be told, the gods did believe in fate.
Having so many prodigies appear at once—and all related—was beyond coincidence.
Could it be… that the will of the universe was telling them it was time to retire?
After evaluating the talents of Xu Tiancheng's harem consorts, the Fire God gathered the other elemental gods for a private meeting.
Naturally, the topic was about selecting those consorts as candidates for divine succession.
With the Fire God and Water God vouching for them, the other elemental gods didn't express any doubts and began to seriously consider it.
If those consorts indeed possessed excellent talent, passing on their divine thrones to them wouldn't be out of the question.
As for things like couple compatibility or pure love—it wasn't actually given much weight.
After all, even in the Divine Realm, gods with harems weren't exactly rare.
The Water God only had mild objections to Xu Tiancheng, not enough to outright oppose his succession. The Fire God was clearly overthinking it.
To be fair, due to frequent conflicts with the Water God, the Fire God tended to view her actions through a very biased lens.
Between husband and wife, perhaps no one knows each other better—but they also come with the thickest filters.
To be honest, after sitting on their divine thrones for so long, the elemental gods were getting restless and yearned to explore the universe.
Even the Shura God, a god-king level entity, had left. So why not the rest?
Among the original Five Great God-Kings, not only had the Shura God departed, but the Evil God-King and Good God-King had also chosen their successors and now belonged to the second generation.
In the entire Douluo Divine Realm, very few gods truly wanted to remain eternally bound to it—or had no further desire for advancement.
Any god who had cultivated to the level of First-Rank Deity certainly still aspired to break through to god-king level—or even higher realms.
The God of Wisdom had once died and reincarnated just to uncover the secret of surpassing the god-king realm.
Now, an opportunity to leave the Divine Realm lay before the Seven Elemental Gods.
If they too could find successors and pass down their divine thrones, why not?
The Fire God had already been contemplating this.
He had previously considered passing his position to Ma Hongjun, but sadly, Ma Hongjun hadn't lived up to expectations.
Now with a chance to leave alongside old friends, the Fire God was even more eager and active in promoting the succession plan.
Just then, the Space God raised a hand.
"Hold on, I object!"
"You've all been talking, but no one has mentioned a suitable successor for me!"
"Why isn't there someone for me? Aren't I a god too? I'm asking you—isn't that true?!"
"Uh…" The Fire God looked helpless. "That's just how it is—there's no candidate for you yet. Maybe the timing isn't right."
The Earth God followed up, "Besides, are you really willing to pass on your divine position? Don't you still want to find your sister?"
The Space God fell silent at that.
In truth, the Space God wasn't a human god, but a beast god.
Though a great war had once broken out between human gods and beast gods—leading to many beast god thrones becoming vacant, and even a rule that beast tribes couldn't ascend to godhood—not all beast gods had been wiped out. A few still existed, although they no longer claimed the title of beast god.
This was all related to the old Dragon God incident. The rights and wrongs no longer mattered much. Regardless, the Divine Realm had managed to keep functioning.
What's more, the Space God wasn't a regular beast either.
In the universe, there exists a unique race called Void Worms, born directly from the essence of the universe—true primordial spirits. One such Void Worm gave birth to twin siblings: an elder sister and a younger brother.
The elder sister was extremely lazy, while the brother was hardworking and ambitious. So, though both were born as divine-level beings, they ended up with very different fates.
The brother worked hard and eventually became the Space Elemental God—one of the Seven Elemental Gods and a First-Rank Deity.
The sister, however, vanished during a Divine Realm upheaval. Rumor had it she had fallen into one of the subordinate realms or drifted into the wider universe.
All these years, the Space God had never given up the search for his sister. With his power, traveling across dimensions and realms was easy.
But the problem was—did his sister want to be found?
Given her lazy personality, if she found a place to nap and made no disturbance at all, the Space God really wouldn't be able to find her.
He couldn't possibly search every inch of every realm, could he?
Plus, being a descendant of the Void Worm, their innate spatial abilities allowed them to hide themselves in space. That made searching even harder.
Part of why the Space God stayed in the Divine Realm was the hope that his sister would one day ascend and they could reunite.
But after waiting so long with no results, he had come to realize that if his sister really wanted to ascend, she would've done it long ago.
Taking a deep breath, he smiled in resignation and made a decision. "I won't wait any longer. If she won't come to me, then I'll go find her. Perhaps fate is guiding me—just like this opportunity for succession."
The other elemental gods nodded in support of his decision.
They weren't fools either. The fact that Xu Tiancheng had quickly found so many talented "successors" made them suspect he might have ulterior motives.
Perhaps Xu Tiancheng knew something about the Divine Realm—or maybe he had someone powerful guiding him.
But after thorough discussion, the Seven Elemental Gods decided to give Xu Tiancheng a chance. One party willing to pass down a throne, one willing to inherit—wasn't that fair?
After all, per Divine Realm rules, Xu Tiancheng was a human—and a "fellow from the same hometown" as Sea God Tang San. There was nothing stopping him from becoming a god.
Xu Tiancheng had passed the trial of the Fallen Flame, which spoke volumes about his character.
Even if he had secret ambitions, the Five Great God-Kings were still above. Even if he managed to take over all Seven Elemental Thrones, he couldn't cause too much chaos.
So, Xu Tiancheng received a reply from the Fire God:
"Young one, I can grant your request—but only if you meet an additional condition."
Xu Tiancheng hadn't expected the other elemental gods to be so agreeable. Curious, he asked, "Please, Your Eminence, what is the condition?"
Fire God: "You must also find a spatial-attributed soul master who reaches Titled Douluo before the age of 40!"
Even if Xu Tiancheng were to be given a chance, the heir to the Space God's position had to meet a high standard—at least Titled Douluo before 40. That had been the benchmark for past successors like the Angel and Rakshasa Gods.
Xu Tiancheng immediately agreed.
Then he threw the problem over to Huo Yuhao.
Since Xu Tiancheng hadn't found such a genius in the Sun-Moon Empire, he left it for Huo Yuhao to worry about.
Huo Yuhao, who was happily enjoying himself up in the North Sea, was left utterly baffled when he got Xu Tiancheng's message.
His reaction:
"Why does it feel like I've become Xu Tiancheng's unpaid intern?"
Still, when it came to space-attribute geniuses, Huo Yuhao did have some options.
Excluding his own bloodline, there was the Shanshin Family among soul masters, known for their space-attributed abilities—especially the Xu family from the Star Luo royal family.
The Xu family's martial spirits had affinities for time and space, and their Star Crown spirit could even evolve into the Spacetime Star Crown.
"Still, if we want to secure the inheritance of the Space God, we need to make the selection carefully…"
Xu Tiancheng: Old man, attack!
Although Huo Yuhao had not been on the continent recently, he still had a firm grip on the state of affairs across the land.
This incident had made Huo Yuhao more vigilant. He reflected on his actions and realized he had acted a bit impulsively—his trump cards weren't sufficient yet.
Thus, Huo Yuhao secretly manipulated his people to lay down some preparations across the continent.
The setup was actually quite simple.
If there truly came a time when gods descended, Huo Yuhao could use those arrangements to detonate the Douluo Continent on the spot.
If he couldn't survive, then nobody would!
Although Huo Yuhao wasn't confident yet in defeating a Divine King, he could use his destiny to influence the Douluo Continent, binding its fate to his own.
One could say the only difference between Huo Yuhao and a Plane Master now was that he hadn't yet refined the world's core.
If Huo Yuhao really did blow up the Douluo Continent, the Divine Realm wouldn't come out unscathed. The ensuing chaos would not only expose Tang Old Dog's schemes but also shake the entire Douluo God Realm.
As it stood, the Douluo God Realm simply couldn't withstand the destruction of its subordinate plane.
It might even fall into the turbulent currents of space-time ahead of schedule.
Of course, Huo Yuhao wasn't about to bet everything on this. He had a second plan.
If he ever did have to blow up the Douluo Continent, he could abandon everything and flee with his divine kingdom to another plane. As long as he kept a low profile, he could rebuild and grow again.
Right now, however, what troubled Huo Yuhao was who to bestow the God Position of the God of Space to.
It certainly couldn't be given to an outsider.
His first candidates were naturally the believers within his divine kingdom.
So Huo Yuhao began selecting among them, even taking out his [Heaven-Earth Creation Sacred Cigar] for the devout to use, hoping some would awaken a second martial soul with space attributes.
And then He Caitou began visibly wasting away.
As a ghost cultivator, He Caitou's physical condition was very obvious.
When in good condition, he was tall, muscular, and surrounded by eerie ghostly effects.
But in poor condition, he looked like a drained, withered husk. His skin paled several shades, almost enough to qualify as "elite class."
Electrolux couldn't take it anymore and went to confront Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, stop already. Look what you've done to the kid—he's completely drained!"
He Caitou was like half a disciple to Electrolux. If Electrolux didn't care, who would?
"He was never the brightest bulb to begin with, and now whatever brain cells he had left are being squeezed out!" Electrolux said sincerely.
He Caitou gave Electrolux a resentful look.
Huo Yuhao was left speechless. For a moment, he couldn't tell if Electrolux was genuinely concerned or just roasting He Caitou.
Fortunately, Huo Yuhao finally struck gold, and He Caitou was let off the hook.
Indeed, two of Huo Yuhao's followers actually awakened second martial souls with space attributes.
One of them was Lan Yin.
Her first martial soul was the Wind-attribute sword-type soul, Shuyue Sword. But after using the Heaven-Earth Creation Sacred Cigar to enhance her potential, it evolved into a Time-attribute soul.
Her awakened second martial soul was called Alternate Day Blade, possessing space attributes—also a top-tier weapon-type martial soul.
Even more extraordinary, Lan Yin's two martial souls began resonating with each other.
"Could this be the potential for a Self-Martial Soul Fusion Technique?" Huo Yuhao was genuinely surprised.
Such techniques were exceedingly rare, only available to twin martial soul holders.
They were rare even in this era and barely more common in the future.
For example, in the era of Legend of the Dragon King, Wu Siduo possessed the twin martial souls of the White Tiger and the Nether Spirit Cat, allowing her to perform a Self-Martial Soul Fusion Technique: the Nether White Tiger fusion technique.
The second person was Xie Tian, the young patriarch of the Xie Clan.
Xie Tian's first martial soul, Moon Blade, evolved into the space-attributed Void-Splitting Moon Blade.
His second martial soul, Flame Lord, was inherited from his mother.
It wasn't that Moon Blade inherently possessed spatial potential—it was because Xie Tian's first martial soul had previously absorbed a soul ring from a space-attributed soul beast, thereby gaining that potential.
Both Xie Tian and Lan Yin were young and full of promise. With Huo Yuhao's guidance, they were expected to reach the Titled Douluo realm within a year.
At that point, they'd both be eligible to take the trial for the God of Space.
Now Huo Yuhao had to choose between them.
In the end, he selected Lan Yin, because she had greater potential.
Although the God Position of Space was ultimately meant to be devoured by Xu Tiancheng in the future—to help him ascend as the Elemental God King—having Lan Yin occupy the role temporarily would strengthen her space powers and greatly benefit her future development.
Xie Tian, despite not being chosen, had still benefited immensely by evolving his first martial soul and awakening a second. His future remained bright.
Many other believers like Xie Tian had also gained power from this event.
The strength and potential of the divine kingdom's believers had risen dramatically.
Looking at his flourishing divine kingdom, Huo Yuhao was very pleased. He could almost see the future: his divine kingdom elevated into a full god realm, birthing gods in abundance—a glorious harvest.
Farmer Uncle Huo smiled with gratification.
Then he decided to treat himself to a little reward.
"Qian Renxue is about to wake up soon. It's time for her to experience some good old-fashioned disciplinary education from ten thousand years in the future, kekekeke—"
...
Huo Yuhao didn't stay in the North Sea long. After receiving offerings from his demon-spawn followers, he followed his fate-map's guidance and traveled to other continents.
On the Douluo Star, there were at least two more continents—regions that would one day become the Star Luo Empire and the restored Heaven Dou Empire.
However, compared to the main Douluo Continent, the other continents or islands had far fewer resources and opportunities.
Consequently, the number of powerful individuals and soul beasts there was also extremely limited.
The fact that all major protagonists were born on Douluo Continent alone showed that it was the primary landmass of the planet.
Even on Huo Yuhao's fortune map, the new continental regions only appeared after he discovered them.
These new regions were clearly much smaller than the Douluo Continent in terms of fate.
Along the way, Huo Yuhao also investigated the state of Douluo Star's oceans.
No overly powerful beings were found in other sea regions. His original body's clones and his demon-spawn followers could handle things just fine.
Possibly because belief in the Sea God was concentrated near the Douluo Continent, the soul beasts in remote sea regions had very little devotion to the Sea God—some had even completely forgotten him. Only certain deep-sea ruins still held records of the Sea God's former glory.
As for opportunities on other continents, Huo Yuhao wasn't particularly hopeful—and rightly so.
Other than discovering a few ferocious beasts with 200,000 to 300,000 years of cultivation, there were barely any soul beasts with rare bloodlines. A few exotic soul beasts not found on Douluo Continent were the only mildly interesting finds.
As for divine inheritances? Not a trace.
Neither the perception method taught by the Silver Dragon King nor his fate map gave any leads.
Huo Yuhao simply left some followers behind to occupy those continents and spread his faith—staking flags, so to speak.
And then he departed.