In a room near Shrek Academy within Shrek City, a middle-aged man with long hair held a wind chime in his hand. His face showed fear as a crack suddenly appeared on the blue-gold chime. His body trembled, and without a moment's hesitation, he spun around, leaping into the air and vanishing completely—almost as if he had never been there at all.
No one noticed this scene.
Far away in the God Realm, Tang San, the Sea God, immediately sensed the feedback from that wisp of divine sense. Seated on the throne of his grand hall, a trace of regret crossed his face as he murmured,
"Sigh! What a pity. If I had known He would intervene, why would I have gone to all that trouble to manipulate that stubborn old Mu En? I could have just crushed that Zhu Ziyang directly. Ah… even the wisest can make mistakes."
He closed his eyes, resting his hands on the armrests. His right fingers began tapping lightly—once, twice, three times… After who knows how many taps, he opened his eyes again, a helpless glint within them.
"Sigh… The threads of fate in the Douluo Continent are already in chaos. I just hope Huo Yuhao, this child of destiny, won't disappoint me.
"Looks like it's time to find a moment to restore Little Seven's memories. Now, where did that beast run off to?
"As for Zhu Ziyang… hmph, we'll take our time with him…"
Zhu Ziyang knew nothing of what had happened in the Sea God Pavilion, nor that in the Sea God's eyes, he had shifted from a blue ally to a red enemy.
Right now, he was still tirelessly increasing the years of his spirit rings.
"Whew!" He let out a long, satisfied breath, scanning the wide swath of cleared land around him. A joyful expression lit his face.
"Finally done! Who would've thought these Jade-Scaled Flowers would give me such a huge improvement? I suppose this counts as a kind of god trial reward. Hahaha!"
For the first time in half a year, his heart felt completely unburdened. The frustration and helplessness that had weighed on him were swept away.
Yes—half a year. Zhu Ziyang had been in the Sunset Forest for six months, continuously devouring life force and raising his spirit rings' years.
The entire field of Jade-Scaled Flowers around the Icefire Yin Yang Well had been consumed as his nourishment. Without them, the air quality in the Sunset Forest had visibly improved. Years from now, this place would surely return to being a paradise of life.
With a wave of his hand, the Reaper's Eternal Scythe appeared. Behind him, six spirit rings shone—five black, one red.
Five black and one red—such a configuration appearing on his first martial soul would shock anyone. Before age twelve, Zhu Ziyang wouldn't even have dared to imagine it, but now it was real, and the sight alone was enough to fill him with exhilaration.
Thanks to the Jade-Scaled Flowers, the years of his first five rings had reached an astonishing seventy thousand years each. If there had been more flowers, he would have tried to push them to a full hundred thousand years.
After all, increasing a ring's years not only boosted its power but could also drastically enhance its attached soul skill. Though a hundred-thousand-year upgrade wouldn't give a new skill, the existing ability would gain tremendous might.
Once a spirit ring's age surpassed fifty thousand years, its skill underwent a qualitative change. Zhu Ziyang's first five skills from the Eternal Scythe had all been reborn:
Deathblade Realm → Eternal Deathring Domain: The scythe grows to four times its normal size, orbiting Zhu Ziyang at high speed in an irregular pattern, releasing life-devouring death energy and striking down anything in the air.
Light's Blessing → Eternal Saint's Benediction: The scythe transforms into a holy staff, radiating light. Allies bathed in it gain a 50% boost to all attributes; enemies are scorched by purifying brilliance.
Lightbreaker Slash → Eternal Meteorfall: Fires a beam into the sky, summoning 54 meteors infused with light to obliterate the guilty—each meteor possessing mountain-splitting power.
Starry Illusion Shift → Eternal Radiant Charge: Summons six fully armored unicorns and creates five clones of himself, forming six radiant knights to surround the enemy and launch a devastating charge.
Hell's Arena → Death's Execution Ground: Erects a sealed barrier where all except Zhu Ziyang are stripped of soul skill usage. Only by defeating him can one leave; otherwise, the guilty are judged and executed. Within, his soul power consumption drops by 10% and recovery rises by 10%.
Alongside these enhancements, his soul power had risen from level 66 to level 68, even without focused cultivation. The sheer increase in ring years had naturally built up his energy.
Without delay, he entered the God Position inheritance space.
In a blink, he appeared on the 30th step of the God Ascension Road. On either side stood Locking God Pillars—his reward, along with an increase in God Position Affinity. This was now his third pair of pillars, though their exact purpose still eluded him.
With his affinity at 40%, he could now climb to the 40th step. There, two more pillars displayed the content of the Death God's Fourth Trial:
God Position Affinity: 40%
Death God's Fourth Trial: The Death God is the sovereign of death, and death is the purifier of sin. As the Death God's inheritor, you must bring all who desecrate death to justice, upholding the righteousness of death—it is your duty!
Objective: Execute at least five individuals with the death attribute who are guilty of sin.
Requirements: Each target must be at least a Soul Emperor; the task must be completed within five years; the Other Shore Flower mark can sense guilt.
Reward: Unknown.
"This fourth trial… interesting," Zhu Ziyang mused. "Death attribute and guilty of sin… what kind of sin? Evil Soul Masters?"
Leaving the inheritance space, he returned to the Sunset Forest, where Electrolux and his other two soul spirits appeared.
"How is it? What's the content of the fourth trial?" Electrolux asked.
"Not too bad—I already have some ideas," Zhu Ziyang replied, sharing the details.
"Guilty of sin, huh?" the Snow Empress murmured. "Would killing soul beasts count?"
"Uh…" Zhu Ziyang was momentarily speechless.
"Hehe, just kidding!" she grinned mischievously.
"While definitions of sin vary between worlds," Electrolux said thoughtfully, "I can say with certainty—patricide is always a crime. Start from there. Whether killing one's father or mother, it's a grave sin."
"I understand, teacher," Zhu Ziyang nodded. "But the hard part isn't finding sinners—it's finding Soul Emperors with the death attribute. That will take time."
"That's true," the Ice Empress agreed. "Death is a rare attribute, even among soul beasts—much less humans."
"No rush. We have five years," Frost added. "Your academy has an intelligence network, right? Let them help search."
"Yeah, I know. Don't worry," Zhu Ziyang said with a smile.
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