A New Power

While the round-robin matches were still underway in the real world, Ji Jing had already mastered all the theoretical knowledge Tang San had taught him, from Hundred Refinement to Heavenly Refinement, thanks to his extraordinary insight.

His speed of learning had left even Tang San, his guide, more shaken than ever before.

"Remarkable."

Tang San's divine sense gazed at Ji Jing, admiration filling his eyes. For the first time, he spoke in an utterly solemn tone:

"No wonder you're the first innate deity in the history of the Divine Realm to be conceived by gods. Ji Jing, your talent is many times greater than Xiao Qi's."

"You flatter me, Father-in-law."

Ji Jing replied modestly.

"I'm not flattering you. It's the truth."

Tang San's divine sense waved a hand, then changed the subject, his expression turning serious.

"Now that you've mastered the theory, what remains is to build up practical experience. Before that, there's something I'd like to ask you. Would you be willing to help me with a favor?"

"Help you?"

Ji Jing was taken aback, confusion filling his heart.

With Biesan's abilities, what could there possibly be that he couldn't handle at this point?

As if he'd seen through Ji Jing's thoughts, Tang San spoke slowly, revealing a plan that would shake the heavens and earth.

"I have a plan to elevate Douluo Continent itself into a world capable of giving birth to gods. But as you know, the energy accumulated by Douluo Continent alone is nowhere near enough."

Ji Jing frowned slightly at that.

Was Tang San already planning to devour the energy of other continents?

Tang San continued:

"I sense that the Divine Realm will face a tremendous crisis in the future."

"I can't predict exactly when it will come or what form it will take. That's also why I've always opposed God of Destruction's plans to expand the Divine Realm."

"If the Divine Realm happens to encounter this crisis while it's expanding, during a period when its defenses are temporarily weakened, the disaster would be more than anyone could bear."

He sighed.

"I can't foresee the full scope of the disaster. All I can do is act as cautiously as possible and prepare for the worst."

At this, Ji Jing's thoughts raced.

Because of his birth, First Generation God of Evil and First Generation God of Goodness had not left the Divine Realm, and naturally hadn't reincarnated to undergo trials.

With those two deities stationed there, God of Destruction wouldn't act rashly, and Tang San would likewise remain restrained.

The conflicts within the Divine Realm had been greatly eased.

That meant that even if the Spacetime Turbulence really did strike in the future, with all seven God Kings working together, the Divine Realm couldn't possibly be swept away to such a distant place as it had been in the original story. It certainly wouldn't encounter people like Qin Di and the others.

So compared to the original story, the crisis Tang San sensed had already been weakened considerably. It might not even count as a true crisis anymore.

Tang San knew none of this. He simply voiced his hopes:

"So I hope you'll agree. If disaster really strikes and the Divine Realm is too busy dealing with it to look after anything else, could you protect its subordinate planes from harm, especially Douluo Continent?"

"At the same time, I hope you'll help me carry out my plan to evolve the planet Douluo Continent when I need you."

Ji Jing considered this for a moment.

None of this would affect him, so there was no reason to refuse.

"All right. I agree."

Ji Jing nodded.

"Good."

Having received his answer, Tang San's divine sense smiled in relief.

"When I need you, I'll contact you. And of course, I won't ask you to help for nothing, you little brat."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tang San's divine sense turned imposing and grim. A world-spanning power of judgment burst from him.

He joined his fingers like a sword and lightly tapped Ji Jing between the brows.

A pure crimson divine power surged into Ji Jing's body, forming a three-way balance with the Goodness and Evil divine powers he already possessed.

A moment later, the phantom of a crimson longsword slowly took shape in his Sea of Consciousness.

A brand-new Martial Soul was quietly born within him.

"This is a strand of Asura God's origin divine power, along with a projection of the Asura Sword. I've created a third Martial Soul for you—Asura God—which can't be given Soul Rings."

Tang San's voice carried a smile.

"With this, I think you know what you'll be able to do. Use it wisely."

With that, Tang San's divine sense turned into specks of blue light and slowly dissipated, leaving Ji Jing's Sea of Consciousness.

Ji Jing awoke from Deep Meditation and slowly opened his eyes.

He could clearly feel that, in addition to his Father God and Mother God's powers, another force had appeared within him: Asura Divine Power, brimming with the intent to kill.

The three forces had reached a remarkable balance inside him.

"Judgment of the Three Realms..."

Ji Jing murmured to himself.

He extended his right hand and focused his mind. Three different-colored divine lights—Goodness, Evil, and Asura—intertwined in his palm.

"Though this is only a weakened version of the Sword of Three Realms Judgment, its power definitely can't compare to the real thing... But..."

"This is still, without a doubt, my most powerful means of attack right now."

In the matches over the past few days, Xiao Xiao had been especially impressive as the team's core control-and-defense Soul Master.

Whenever it was time for a team match, her ancient, heavy Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron would appear in the middle of the battlefield at once. A solemn glow radiated from the cauldron, sheltering all her teammates behind it.

No matter how frenzied the opponents' attacks were, they couldn't shake it in the slightest.

Under her protection, none of the teammates fighting alongside her had been hurt.

Such absolute control and sense of security had steadily boosted Xiao Xiao's confidence.

She looked forward more and more to the moment when the team would finally win the championship.

After all, judging by the strength Shrek Academy had shown so far, winning this tournament's championship was practically a sure thing.

Yet beneath the joy of victory, she still felt a strange unease that she couldn't shake.

She kept feeling that this alone wouldn't be enough to help her pass the deity's trial.

The God Trial's requirements couldn't possibly be as simple as "win the championship."

This premonition often left her deep in thought, but she couldn't grasp the crucial clue. In the end, she could only set her doubts aside for the time being and focus on each match in front of her.

Meanwhile, Ji Jing, having thoroughly mastered the theory of Forging, hadn't been idle either.

After Tang San's divine sense left, he turned his attention to an entirely new field, one that could transform the way Soul Masters across the continent fought—

Battle Armor.

It was also the reason he had chosen to study Forging.

He planned to make Wang Dong her first piece of Battle Armor.

Wang Dong's physical strength was nowhere near enough to bear the burden of a full suit of Battle Armor.

So he decided to proceed step by step, first making a right-arm guard for Wang Dong. That way, she could experience the increase in power Battle Armor brought and gradually adapt to wearing it.