Tribulation???

Huang Tian had no idea how shocking the exposure of his three Martial Souls had been to the entire continent. In Moonlight Pavilion's secret chamber, he was consuming the Heavenly Dao's rewards. A full thirty-five Divine Rings had brought an enormous increase to his strength.

His divine power surged forward, his cultivation rising from the middle stage of a Third-Rank Deity to the late stage, then the peak, and finally breaking through into the early stage of a Second-level God. Only then was all that divine power fully absorbed. Compared to before, Huang Tian's strength had increased more than tenfold.

Previously, his Black Hole Martial Soul had been unable to open a passage to the Divine Realm. Now that his cultivation had reached the Second-level God realm, he could freely open Spatial Tunnels leading to the Divine Realm. However, Huang Tian remained extremely cautious. He feared being discovered by stronger gods while sneaking across. If they sealed off the space, he would be like a turtle trapped in a jar, easily toyed with by others.

Even after becoming a Second-level God, Huang Tian still could not use his third Martial Soul, the Sky-Opening Axe. He had originally thought that reaching this realm would allow him to wield it, but even after pouring all his divine power into it, there was still not the slightest response. With a sigh, he could only admit that the Sky-Opening Axe was simply too overpowered. Since he could not use it now, he would have to wait until his strength rose by another major realm before trying again.

Having exhausted his divine power, Huang Tian continued cultivating in the secret chamber to restore it. His Black Hole Martial Soul absorbed all the energy in the air, rapidly converting it into divine power and replenishing him.

At the Pontiff's Palace in Spirit City, Bibi Dong had become a Third-Rank Deity today, like all the Soul Masters who had reached level one hundred and fully converted their Soul Power into divine power. Naturally, she understood just how much a single Divine Ring could improve one's divine power. Huang Tian, who occupied the top three spots on the Martial Soul Ranking, had received thirty-five Divine Rings at once. This was enough to raise his strength to an unimaginable level. She even suspected that Huang Tian might already possess the strength of a Second-level God.

Bibi Dong felt as though she could barely breathe. Huang Tian, with his three Martial Souls, was growing several times faster than she was. With this Heavenly Dao reward, he had pulled far ahead of her. If she rebelled, overthrew the two great empires, and became the Empress of the Spirit Hall Empire, what if he stepped in to cause trouble? Wouldn't all her efforts have been for nothing? After laying the groundwork for so many years, how could she let all that painstaking effort go to waste in a single day?

It seemed she needed to speak with him and try to win over this terrifying god. No matter the price, she had to succeed. Her daughter, Qian Renxue, had already been a level ninety-four Title Douluo last time. The rewards she received this time should be enough to let her break through and become a god, right? Although she had not received any Divine Rings and would convert her Soul Power into divine power slowly, she still counted as a new god, didn't she?

How about giving her daughter to him in exchange for his support? If that did not work, she could give him her disciple, Hu Liena. And if even that was not enough, she could offer herself to him! For her dream of becoming Empress, there was nothing she could not sacrifice!

One Empress and three phoenixes—there was nothing wrong with that!

This wild thought suddenly surfaced in Bibi Dong's mind, leaving her stunned. What was wrong with her? Why would she have such a shameful thought?

Right, it had to be because she had only just become a god and her mind was not strong enough yet for such thoughts to arise. She needed to quickly strengthen her mental cultivation.

No, no, no. I've already become a god. How could my mental cultivation possibly fail to keep up? I refuse to believe it!

As Bibi Dong's thoughts ran wild, her aura suddenly erupted. The power of a god revealed itself in full at this moment. The aura she unleashed instantly reduced every structure around her to flat ground, and even the towering, majestic Pontiff's Palace was no exception.

"What happened? Why did the Pontiff's Palace collapse?"

At the Elder Hall several kilometers away, Qian Daoliu, Golden Crocodile Douluo, and the others noticed what had happened. At the same time, an immensely powerful aura spread outward. The dozen or so Title Douluo all turned extremely grave. Even from so far away, the aura carried such terrifying pressure. Combined with the three Divine Rings Bibi Dong had received for appearing on the ranking earlier, they concluded that she had most likely become a god.

Qian Daoliu said with an ugly expression, "The Pontiff has become a god. From now on, you had best obey her orders. Otherwise, if she kills you, no one will be able to avenge you."

"Great Priest, if you had made the ranking this time, you would certainly have become a god as well. Unfortunately, only the Saintess made it onto the ranking."

Qian Daoliu was especially delighted to hear Qian Renxue, the Saintess, mentioned. Smiling, he said, "I am old, after all, and my Angel Martial Soul is not as good as Xiaoxue's. Only one Martial Soul of the same type can make the ranking, so it is fine that she made it instead. Sooner or later, our Elder Hall will produce a god as well. Before the Saintess becomes a god, you must still obey the Pontiff's orders and serve her. Understood?"

"Yes, Great Priest!" everyone replied in unison.

The golden scroll suddenly emitted an intense radiance. A line of bold characters appeared in a wild, sweeping script: "For those who become gods today, heavenly tribulation shall descend one year later. Those who successfully pass the tribulation may ascend to the Divine Realm, or postpone their ascension by ten years."

"What? Those who became gods have to undergo tribulation in one year?"

"Damn, that sentence contains so much information. Someone has become a god, but they need to undergo tribulation. Fail it, and they die on the spot. Pass it, and they can ascend to the Divine Realm."

"If undergoing tribulation is dangerous, then it would be better not to break through level one hundred. A level ninety-nine Title Douluo can still live for several centuries."

"Hehe, you're that afraid of death? How do you know the tribulation is dangerous before even facing it? In the past twenty thousand years, there has not been a single case of a Soul Master who became a god at level one hundred failing their tribulation."

"Damn, only two people have ever become gods at level one hundred. You couldn't find another example of failure even if you wanted to."

"Hmph, that only means those two were lucky. Who knows how many of the Soul Masters who became gods at level one hundred this time will safely pass their tribulations?"

"Who knows? Hard to say!"

Tang Chen, Bo Saixi, Bibi Dong, and Qian Renxue all frowned deeply when they saw this information revealed by the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking before it vanished, filled with worry.

The first two had been Peerless Title Douluo of unmatched strength decades ago and possessed absolute confidence in their own power. Over the past several decades, they had continuously compressed and refined their Soul Power while tempering their bodies, all in order to achieve the ultimate combat strength. Their concern was that the other might fail to pass the tribulation. After finally becoming a god, Tang Chen had at last fulfilled his vow: "If I do not become a god, I will not return." He planned to bid farewell to the hall master and depart for Sea God Island, where he would remain with Bo Saixi forever.

As for the latter two, mother and daughter Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue had both appeared on the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking twice and received tremendous rewards, causing their Soul Power Levels to soar. Yet they had not properly tempered their bodies, strengthened themselves, or increased their Soul Power. Faced with the Heavenly Dao's warning that they would need to undergo tribulation in one year, they could only worry endlessly, afraid that they would fail to pass it.

Qian Renxue entered the bathroom. Hot water had already been poured into the large wooden tub, with rose petals scattered across its surface. After the maid placed her change of clothes aside, she retreated from the room.

With no one around, Qian Renxue calmly removed the clothes she had only worn for a short while. She lifted her jade-like foot and stepped into the tub, submerging her entire body in the water. Her graceful figure appeared and disappeared beneath the surface, incomparably alluring.

In the past, she might have admired her own body while bathing. But now, she had no such leisure. She had become a god, only to face an uncertain life-or-death tribulation. She should not have rushed to become a god merely to escape the chessboard.

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