First Focus—
The Lifeforce Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone.
For the past 990,000 years, its soul bone ability had never changed.
It simply kept expanding its lifeforce reservoir, increasing the total energy storage by over a hundredfold.
It also pushed Tang Lan's innate soul ring to 700,000 years.
Until it reached a million years—
A new soul bone ability was added!
—Lifeforce Grace: Releases all stored lifeforce, granting divine blessings over an enormous area—reviving all living beings!
A super-powered healer skill!
But unlike typical healing—
It wasn't limited to humans.
It affected soul beasts, plants, fungi—any form of life!
The question was…
Could it revive the dead?
That would require further testing.
Next—
The Heavenly Pupils.
At 200,000 years, it had not unlocked a sixth skill slot.
Instead—
It had enhanced its first skill slot with a new effect.
—Permanent Copy!
Previously, anything copied by Heavenly Pupils would disappear after a single use.
If he wanted to reuse an ability, he had to copy it again.
But now—
With Permanent Copy, any ability copied in the first skill slot would remain permanently.
It would only disappear if Tang Lan manually erased it or replaced it with another ability.
Basically—
He no longer needed to "learn" the Vast Sumeru Hammer.
He could just steal it permanently.
At 500,000 years, 700,000 years, 850,000 years, and 900,000 years—
The other four skill slots also gained Permanent Copy.
Finally, at one million years—
A god-tier effect was added!
—Limit Break: For one hour, all skill slots can bypass normal restrictions, allowing multiple copies of the same ability! Afterward, the soul bone enters cooldown, requiring mental energy to recharge.
Insane potential!
For example—
He could copy five soul bone skills with "Reset", forcing his opponent into endless exhaustion.
Or—
He could duplicate five Lightning-Flame Ice Clear Sky Hammers, and with Three Heads, Six Arms, hold one hammer in each hand…
Now that's a terrifying image!
The downside?
It had a time limit.It required recharging.
But—
If there were no restrictions at all, it would be stronger than a divine artifact.
"Well?" Bo Saixi asked. "How long can you sustain it now?"
Tang Lan looked up at her, confidently raising one finger.
"One month?"
Bo Saixi frowned.
"That doesn't sound right for a million-year soul bone."
Tang Lan smiled and shook his head.
"Oh? One year?"
Bo Saixi nodded in satisfaction.
"Then there should be no issues."
After all—
The Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King was just a mere 100,000-year beast.
There was no way it would take a whole year to separate from Tang Chen.
But Tang Lan shook his head again.
"I meant—If it's just blood loss, I can regenerate forever."
"..."
Oh.
So that's what his "one" meant.
"Excellent." Bo Saixi smiled. "Now, I'm going to release these three soul beasts. You all should prepare—the trial begins tomorrow."
After saying this—
She didn't teleport away.
Instead, she flew in a straight line toward the horizon.
She might as well have shouted—
"Follow me closely!"
Tang Lan remained still.
He clapped his hands, waking up the meditating group.
"We've farmed enough rewards from this first trial."
"Come down and discuss strategy. Tomorrow, after we clear the trial, we'll move to a new location to farm even more."
At first, everyone was reluctant to leave.
But the moment they heard "new farm location",
They immediately sprang to their feet, rushing to the base of the mountain.
"Brother!" Tang San asked excitedly. "Are we going for that domain?"
"Not yet."
Tang Lan raised a hand to stop him.
"First, let's finalize our battle plan."
"Report—who here can't complete the trial?"
First to raise her hand—
Ning Rongrong.
—She was a Rank 49 support-type Spirit Master.
Expecting her to climb to the 136th step alone was pure torture.
Next—
Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Shui Bing'er.
It wasn't that they were weak.
But Tang Lan's triple-strength Sea God's Light was just too oppressive!
Forget climbing to 333 steps—even reaching 200 steps was impossible!
"I should be fine."
Dai Mubai grinned smugly.
"With 1x Sea God's Light, the requirement is 108 steps. If it were before, I might've struggled—"
"But my Martial Soul evolved! With Crimson Flame White Tiger, I can do it!"
Showoff.
Absolute showoff.
Oscar rolled his eyes.
"Even though Boss Dai is incredibly annoying right now—"
"Thanks to him, I can copy his ability with Mirror Image Sausage and pass the trial too."
"I can't even hate on him for this one."
On the side—
Jing Ling raised his hand quietly.
"Mine is only at 36 steps—the easiest one."
"Thanks, Boss Dai and Xiao Ao."
Dai Mubai stood tall, hands on his hips, thoroughly enjoying the praise.
"We're all fellow sect brothers and sisters—no need to fuss over small things."
"Hahaha—"
Dai Mubai was so damn smug.
One person remained silent—
Tang San.
His face darkened slightly.
Though it might sound a bit unmanly to say…
He just wasn't capable.
"I'm sorry, brother…"
"Even using Crimson Flame White Tiger, I can only reach the 100th step…"
"I can't make it past the last eight steps—no matter what I do!"
Tang Lan nodded knowingly.
"I already have a clear picture of everyone's progress."
"No need to worry—I have a plan that will allow everyone to pass."
"We might even overachieve."
"But for this to work, Mubai, Xiao Ao, and Jing Ling—you three will have to make some sacrifices."
Dai Mubai and the others immediately straightened their postures.
"If it helps everyone pass the trial, then a little sacrifice is nothing!" Oscar was the first to respond.
"Sect Master, just tell us what to do." Dai Mubai said firmly.
Jing Ling didn't speak, but his determined eyes said enough.
Tang Lan was very pleased with their unity.
He explained—
"All we have to do is this, then this… and finally this."
"That's it—then we'll clear the trial."
Everyone exchanged glances.
Uh…
The plan wasn't bad…
But…
"Uncle Tang, is this really okay?" Ning Rongrong asked. "Won't this be too much of a burden on you?"
"Yeah, Sect Master." Dai Mubai frowned. "You have the toughest task among us—let me…"
Tang Lan raised his hand, cutting them off.
"Since there are no other issues, go prepare."
"I have something to do—see you later."
Before anyone could protest further—
Blood Escape Technique—gone.
A group of people was left staring at each other.
After a long silence—
Xiao Wu finally spoke—
"Brother has his reasons for arranging things this way—we just need to trust him."
"Adjust your states. Tomorrow, make sure you're not the one slowing us down."
"Dismissed!"
300 nautical miles from Sea God Island—
The moment Bo Saixi disappeared—
Tang Lan's blood-red streakflashed into place.
He spotted three massive "corpses" floating on the sea.
Loot collected.
Without hesitation, he stuffed them into his storage ring.
Other soul beasts could be released.
But these three? No way!
Even if they refused to become soul spirits,
He could save them for his teammates when they needed Titled Douluo-level soul rings.
What a waste it would be to let them go!
However—
Right now, the priority was tomorrow's trial preparation.
He could deal with these beasts later.
Tang Lan activated Blood Escape Technique and rushed back to Sea God Island.
On the way—
"Coincidentally"—
He ran into Bo Saixi, who was on her way back.
Judging by her route—
She had deliberately taken a long detour to avoid crossing paths with Tang Lan earlier.
Tang Lan immediately stopped Blood Escape and greeted her.
"Sister Xi! What a coincidence—are you heading back to Sea God Hall?"
"Need a ride? I can take you back."
Bo Saixi glanced at Tang Lan.
Then she looked at the direction he came from.
Her mind settled.
A knowing smile flickered across her face.
Then, she put on a stern expression and warned—
"The first trial is crucial—you only have two days left. It must be completed."
"Otherwise, even I won't be able to stop a tragedy from occurring."
"Do you understand?"
Tang Lan nodded knowingly.
"We've already decided—we'll attempt the trial tomorrow."
"Come watch, Sister Xi."
"There will be a surprise."
Oh?
Seeing that Tang Lan wasn't joking, Bo Saixi nodded with satisfaction.
"Then I'll be looking forward to it."
Tang Lan didn't rush off immediately.
Instead—
He landed beside Bo Saixi and walked with her.
Bo Saixi glanced at him—
Then flashed forward.
Tang Lan flashed forward as well.
Thus, the two "blinked" forward in synchronized movements toward Sea God Island.
This technique—
Treading Waves!
Using spiritual power to precisely manipulate soul power,
It created a tsunami-like burst of instant yet continuous acceleration,
Making it appear as though one was "blinking" across distances.
Bo Saixi's exclusive movement technique.
If not for Tang Lan's special status—and his charming words—
She would never have taught it to anyone.
However—
Treading Waves consumed tremendous amounts of:
Physical enduranceSpiritual powerSoul power
Tang Lan had Blood Escape Technique, so he had no intention of wasting energy racing Bo Saixi all the way back.
Instead—
He said just one sentence.
And immediately—
Bo Saixi halted her movement and blinked back toward him.