Chapter 131: The Goddess of Life's Divine Trial
The pale morning light had yet to fully chase the haze from the dormitory when Furina was roused—not by the birdsong beyond the window, nor by the stirring of her fellow students.
It was a gentle, benevolent voice, seemingly imbued with the vital essence of all living things, that resonated directly from the depths of her spiritual sea.
"Child, greetings. Forgive me for disturbing your peace at this early morning hour."
The voice was like a spring breeze brushing across fresh green meadows, carrying an innate affinity. "I am the Goddess of Life. My husband, the God of Destruction, has likely already spoken to you of me."
Furina's consciousness snapped to full alertness. She swiftly composed a response in her heart, her tone respectful yet poised: "Greetings, Your Grace, esteemed Goddess of Life. It is my honor to speak with you. And I am deeply grateful for the favor you and the Lord God of Destruction have shown me, in granting me the opportunity to undertake the Life God's divine trial."
The Goddess of Life seemed to laugh softly, her voice tinged with approval: "You are indeed a perceptive and clear-minded child, just as I thought. Destruction did speak to you of this. Yes. After observing you, I believe you to be a most suitable inheritor. Moreover, my husband has also found his own candidate for succession. In this way, we can rest assured in entrusting our divine seats respectively to you and that youth. Perhaps in the future, we may lay down our heavy burdens together."
Her tone shifted, growing more earnest: "However, unlike my husband, who directly conferred the three trials of the God of Destruction, what I can grant you is the complete set of nine trials of the Goddess of Life. The reason is this: the power attribute of the Water God seat you have already inherited is not entirely of the same origin as my divine power of life. Furthermore, the church you founded has, at its core, its faith directed toward the Water God, and not the Goddess of Life. This means the divine physique you have currently shaped may possess a degree of incompatibility with my power system."
"Therefore, a more gradual and progressive set of nine trials will be necessary—to allow you to step by step adapt to, absorb, and ultimately perfectly fuse with my divine power of life. Only then can you truly bear this divine seat."
Understanding dawned in Furina's heart. She responded calmly, "I understand your considerations. This is a necessary process. Please be at ease—I have sufficient confidence in myself. Whether it is nine trials or even more that lie ahead, I believe I possess the capability to simultaneously bear the two great divine seats of the Water God and the Goddess of Life."
"I, too, believe in you," the Goddess of Life replied, her voice full of trust and admiration. "These recent days, I have also observed your words and deeds. You have helped many people—especially those common folk of the lowest strata. This benevolent heart of yours is truly precious. Your first martial soul, Cake, possesses excellent healing effects, which is, moreover, a beautiful point of resonance with the essence of life divine power. I am most appreciative of this."
She paused briefly, then revealed the content of the first trial: "Therefore, your Goddess of Life's First Trial is this: within one year's time, you, personally, along with the forces under your command, must together provide treatment to a cumulative total of ten thousand injured or ill persons. However—"
The Goddess of Life emphasized with particular gravity, "Among these, five thousand must receive treatment applied by your own hands."
Hearing this, Furina felt a mild sense of relief in her heart—immediately followed by the wry thought, As expected, it's not that simple. At first, upon hearing the total of ten thousand, she had even thought it somewhat too easy. Relying on the steadily expanding influence of the Church of the Water God and her array of healing soul-skill cakes and elixirs—especially the potent restorative power of the "Golden Doughnut Vanilla Cake"—achieving this objective through the church's network might not have been difficult at all.
However, the additional requirement of "personally administering treatment to five thousand people" unquestionably multiplied the substantive difficulty of the task—particularly given that she was currently situated at Shrek Academy, where her freedom of movement was not absolute.
Of course, there were always more solutions than problems. She could attempt to establish a simple "treatment station" within the academy, offering services for a purely symbolic fee (say, ten copper coins). She trusted there would be no shortage of students in need of treatment but short on funds who would visit.
In all fairness, as the opening trial of a God King-level inheritance, this task was, in its difficulty calibration, already quite "considerate" and foundational. It was clear the Goddess of Life had taken her actual circumstances into account.
"There is no problem, Your Grace, Goddess of Life," Furina swiftly adjusted her mindset and accepted with resolute voice. "I accept your first trial. Please watch and see—I shall become the second existence in all of history to successfully hold twin divine seats." Her voice rang with confidence.
The Goddess of Life seemed quite satisfied with her response and laughed gently. "Very good. I look forward to your performance."
As this benevolent voice gradually faded from her spiritual sea, Furina clearly sensed an imprint—containing both the aura of life and sacred laws—brand itself deep within her consciousness.
[Goddess of Life's First Trial: Within a one-year period, the Host, along with the forces under her command, must together provide treatment to a cumulative total of ten thousand wounded or ill persons. Among these, the Host must personally complete the treatment of five thousand individuals.]
[Completion Reward: Soul power rank increased by one level; all soul ring cultivation ages increased by five hundred years; affinity with the Goddess of Life divine seat increased by ten percent.]
"The soul power increase from the reward seems less directly substantial than the Water God's First Trial," Furina swiftly analyzed, "but it comes with an increase to all soul ring ages, and the crucially important divine seat affinity... After all, this is only the beginning of the nine trials. The subsequent rewards should grow progressively richer."
"Moreover, the difficulty of the task itself is not insurmountable for me. If I exceed the requirements, or complete it with exceptional merit, I might even trigger hidden rewards—gaining additional soul power increases or other benefits."
She began to plan rapidly: "Excellent. I'll start tomorrow. I can find a suitable spot within the academy and set up a small treatment booth. It'll also be a chance to earn some reputation and influence... A price of ten copper coins—compared to seeking out a teacher from the academy's healing department—should be far more affordable. There'll be no shortage of customers."
"In any case, I won't necessarily need to stay at Shrek the full year. Once I return to Church of the Water God headquarters, with far greater numbers of believers and common folk in need of help, completing the five thousand count should proceed even faster..."
With her mind made up, Furina's mood brightened. She resolved to use her spare time outside of classes to advance this "treatment plan," and to enlist Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao to help spread the word, accumulating numbers as swiftly as possible.