Initiating the Angel God Trial

Several hours passed quietly. The flush on Qian Renxue's body gradually faded, and her skin returned to its original fair and delicate state.

The sound of blood surging within her body grew increasingly steady, and her mental power reconsolidated, not only returning to the second level of the Spirit Refining Realm but also steadily advancing from the early stage to the middle stage.

"Hoo—"

Qian Renxue opened her eyes. She stood up abruptly and hopped a few times in the great hall with light, agile movements, then skillfully hooked her arm through Chen Qingxuan's and chirped, "Master! Xue'er's physical body has broken through to the perfection of Organ Refining and reached the early stage of the first level of the Mountain Moving Realm!"

The Mountain Moving Realm, the first major realm for physical cultivators, corresponded exactly to the first level of Qi Refining.

Chen Qingxuan glanced down at her, his tone indifferent. "Very good. But do not be impatient or arrogant. You are a genius here, but once you step outside, you may be worth nothing."

"I know, I know!" Qian Renxue shook his arm, her small face showing a hint of impatience, yet she maintained the docility of one who had just been scolded.

"Master has nagged me so many times already; Xue'er remembers it all." As she spoke, she playfully stuck out her tongue, unable to hide the liveliness in her eyes.

Chen Qingxuan shook his head helplessly and turned to look at Qian Daoliu. "Grand Elder, it is time to bring out the God-Bestowed Soul Ring."

Upon hearing this, Qian Daoliu's face fell. He bowed and said, "Senior, you may not know this, but the God-Bestowed Soul Ring can only be produced once Xue'er initiates the Angel God Trial, and I have the authorization to create it."

"And to initiate the God Trial, one must pray to the Angel God for one hundred and eight days before the divine oracle can be invoked... You see, this..."

"So that is how it is." Chen Qingxuan's gaze fell upon the statue of the Angel God in the center of the hall, which stood several zhang tall. Carved from white jade, the statue had its wings spread and a solemn expression, as if surrounded by eternal holy light. "The inheritance of the Angel God must be hidden within this statue."

"Exactly." Qian Daoliu nodded. "Every successor of the Angel clan must receive the God Trial through this statue."

"Simple." Chen Qingxuan said lightly, extending his right hand to grasp at the void.

An irresistible force enveloped Qian Renxue, lifting her slowly into the air.

"Master, what are you doing?" Qian Renxue wobbled uncomfortably in the air.

"Opening the God Trial for you," Chen Qingxuan said.

As his words fell, Qian Renxue's body was delivered to the chest of the Angel God statue.

The Angel God Armor appeared on Qian Renxue, and a brilliant golden light shot out from the armor, precisely merging into the groove on the statue's chest.

"Hum—"

The Angel God statue suddenly erupted with dazzling golden light.

The statue's eyes seemed to come alive, flowing with holy radiance. A vast will descended, causing even Qian Daoliu to bow in reverence.

Nine ancient cards flew out from the statue and hovered before Qian Renxue. Each card was inscribed with characters ranging from "First Trial" to "Ninth Trial," radiating layers of overwhelming pressure.

"Top-tier Ninth Trial, descended."

An ethereal and majestic female voice echoed through the hall, as if coming from above the nine heavens.

The nine cards merged instantly, transforming into a stream of light that condensed into an exquisite Angel Mark. Like a living creature, it burrowed into the center of Qian Renxue's brow and vanished.

"Heavens, the Angel Ninth Trial! It's the top-tier Ninth Trial!" Qian Daoliu looked up abruptly, his face filled with ecstasy and shock, his voice trembling.

Since the inheritance of the Angel clan began, no one had ever invoked the Angel Ninth Trial. Xue'er, she...

Qian Renxue landed slowly and curiously touched her forehead. A trace of warmth remained there, as if something was slowly circulating, creating a mysterious connection between her and the massive statue.

"Grand Elder, it is up to you now." Chen Qingxuan's voice pulled Qian Daoliu back to reality from his excitement.

Qian Daoliu took a deep breath, suppressing his surging emotions. He quickly formed seals with his hands and began to chant an ancient prayer.

Following his movements, the Angel God statue lit up once more. This time, countless tiny specks of light condensed within the golden radiance, flowing together to form a golden soul ring in the palm of the statue.

The soul ring was completely translucent, lacking the age-related patterns of ordinary soul rings, possessing only a pure, holy aura. It was indeed a God-Bestowed Soul Ring!

A few breaths later, the soul ring flew from the statue's palm and landed in Qian Daoliu's hand.

He held the soul ring and hurried to Chen Qingxuan, saying respectfully, "Senior, look, this is the God-Bestowed Soul Ring."

Chen Qingxuan looked at the soul ring, reached out, and grasped it in his palm.

"Senior, you..." Qian Daoliu had just begun to speak when he saw Chen Qingxuan exert force with his five fingers.

"Crack!"

A crisp shattering sound rang out. The God-Bestowed Soul Ring, which had condensed the power of the Angel God, was crushed by him, turning into countless golden fragments that drifted in the air.

"Sen-Senior, what are you doing?" Qian Daoliu felt his heart tighten, his pupils shrinking; it felt as if his heart were bleeding.

That was a God-Bestowed Soul Ring! Just like that... shattered?

The golden fragments swirled at Chen Qingxuan's fingertips, decomposed and analyzed by an invisible force, leaving behind only the purest holy origin, like tiny stars.

"Grandfather, don't look so inexperienced." Qian Renxue tugged on Qian Daoliu's sleeve, casting a look of disdain at him. "Master must have a profound reason for doing this; let's just watch."

Qian Daoliu opened his mouth, looking at his granddaughter's matter-of-fact expression, then at Chen Qingxuan's calm and indifferent profile. He swallowed the words that had reached his lips, though the muscles in his face continued to twitch slightly.

That was a God-Bestowed Soul Ring...

Half a stick of incense later, the golden origin at Chen Qingxuan's fingertips gathered into a ball. He raised his hand and grasped at the void toward the Angel God statue. The holy light on the statue surged again, and a more refined power was extracted by him, merging into the ball of origin.

As the light flickered, two new God-Bestowed Soul Rings were condensed.

"Grandfather, look! Master made two God-Bestowed Soul Rings!" Qian Renxue's eyes lit up, and she shook Qian Daoliu's arm.

Qian Daoliu looked at the two brand-new soul rings and became completely numb.

He opened his mouth, only to find that he couldn't even utter a single word of amazement.

Crushing a God-Bestowed Soul Ring only to reforge it?

Such a method was already beyond the scope of his understanding.

Chen Qingxuan, however, remained completely indifferent to this.

Having absorbed five years of Qian Renxue's fortune, his current strength had stabilized at the early stage of the sixth heaven of the Spirit Transformation Realm.

Over these past few years, aside from teaching his disciple, he had not been idle; he had devoted himself to studying the rules of this world and discovered that the rules here were far more "flexible" than those of his original world.

Creating something from nothing or exchanging life and death—feats that required an incredibly high level of cultivation in his original world—could be achieved here simply by manipulating the rules.

To put it bluntly, while their strength had yet to reach the peak, they certainly had plenty of fancy tricks.

He handed the two condensed God-Bestowed Soul Rings to Qian Renxue: "Absorb these, and you will be able to continue your Qi cultivation."

Qian Renxue took the soul rings and nodded vigorously: "Mm! Thank you, Master!"

Qian Daoliu stood to the side, watching his granddaughter begin to absorb the soul rings with impatient excitement, then looked at Chen Qingxuan's calm and composed profile; only one thought remained in his heart: with this senior here, the Angel Clan would surely usher in an unprecedented era of glory.