The Trial of the Gods is Whacking Wood?

Facing the inquiries from Di Tian and the others.

Seeing the struggle for dominance end in a temporary stalemate, Fang Le nodded.

"That is certainly acceptable, though my soul skills still require unlocking, so please wait a moment. Also, I wonder if you could capture a live century-old Soft Bone Rabbit for me. This is also related to unlocking my soul skills. Oh, and if possible, please prepare some food for me as well."

There was nothing to hide; after all, they were effectively on the same side now.

"Unlocking? Your soul skill usage has restrictions?"

Fang Le's words instantly left Di Tian feeling puzzled. After all, if even the use of his abilities had limitations, he truly couldn't see what qualifications Fang Le had to become the hope of the soul beast clan.

"Oh! Uncle Di Tian, it's not what you think. When Fang Le says 'unlocking,' he means he needs to undergo a certain trial before he can truly use the power of his soul skills."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lioness noticed Di Tian's confusion and chimed in to help explain. After all, she had happened to see the information regarding the first soul skill while inside Fang Le's mental sea.

"A trial?! Do you have to undergo a trial for every soul skill you unlock, or is it only for the first one?!"

Mentioning a trial, as a veteran of the Douluo Continent who had descended from the God Realm, Di Tian immediately thought of certain things. God Trial—if this kid was an heir to a god, and the godhood he was inheriting was sufficiently high, perhaps he really could be the hope for the future. But after the excitement came disappointment; even if it were high, what of it? Could it surpass the Silver Dragon King? Unless it was God King level, but how could that be easy?

"It's much like what you're thinking; you could call it a God Trial! But it is not a god from the Douluo world."

Fang Le felt that since they were making a deal, he had to demonstrate his value. It would be best if he could get them to fully commit to the investment.

"This...! Scarlet King, go find a century-old Soft Bone Rabbit!"

Sure enough, after revealing his identity as a successor to a God Trial, Di Tian's attitude immediately shifted to a higher level. He ordered the Scarlet King standing to the side.

"If what you say is true, the Star Dou Forest will become your solid backing."

Di Tian looked at Fang Le with a complex expression. Having one more friend was always better than having one more enemy. Through the guidance of fate, Fang Le already had one foot on the ship of the Star Dou Forest. And even if Fang Le were unwilling, Di Tian would find ways to pull him onto the ship completely. Because a god standing on the side of the soul beasts was still very important. Although he didn't want to admit it, the Silver Dragon King was indeed struggling to hold the line alone.

"I won't make grand promises, but as long as your New Dou Forest can protect me through the early stages, Fang Le will surely repay you later."

He didn't make any flowery commitments, mainly because he wasn't yet sure to what extent he could succeed. But one thing was certain: he, Fang Le, always repaid his debts.

After his words fell, Fang Le began to look around, searching for a tree that met the requirements of the trial. Fortunately, in this era, the development of nature on the Douluo Continent had not yet become as excessive as it would be in the third era. Moreover, he was located deep within the Soul Beast Forest. Thus, tall trees were still everywhere, and it didn't take long for him to find a target that met his needs.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

A series of sounds from fists striking wood began to echo through the quiet forest.

"Hiss... that really hurts!"

Although he had been strengthened by his martial soul, punching wood still caused waves of pain. And as Fang Le gritted his teeth and hammered away at the tree, Di Tian watched this absurd scene with wide, blank eyes.

"What on earth is he doing?"

While God Trials weren't always grand and lofty, they shouldn't have devolved to the point where one could pass by punching a tree! This was so low-level; even the trials for a god's attendant weren't this simple! Had so much time passed that the world had changed? Had the difficulty of God Trials dropped ten thousand times? Or was the god who granted this position to Fang Le opening a massive back door for him?

Perhaps this was just preparation before the trial, and there were other bizarre requirements he was unaware of.

"Punching a tree. Fang Le's trial consists of two parts: one is to punch a tree like that until it snaps, and the other is to kill a century-old Soft Bone Rabbit with his bare hands."

The explanation from the Emperor Auspicious Beast shattered the last shred of hope in Di Tian.

Such a weak trial didn't look like anything a high-level deity would set at all.

"I'm back. A century-old rabbit is actually quite hard to find... Uh, what is he doing?"

Not long after, Scarlet King strolled over with a century-old Soft Bone Rabbit held in one of his mouths.

Then, he saw Fang Le frantically punching the tree in front of him as if he were possessed.

For a moment, all three of his heads couldn't figure out what this guy was doing.

A campfire burned in the simple campsite as the sky turned from white to black, yet Fang Le remained unchanged, still punching the tree.

Aside from Scarlet King, who stayed behind to keep watch, the Emperor Auspicious Beast and Di Tian couldn't stand the boredom and went wandering through the mountains and forests.

"Boom!"

After hours of Fang Le's relentless pummeling, the tree before him finally crashed to the ground.

"Hoo~ Finally!"

Fang Le let out a long breath and shoved an unknown fruit into his mouth, causing the severe injuries on his fists to rapidly recover.

Over the past few hours, his fists had become almost immune to pain from all the abuse.

If it weren't for the special ability brought by his HIM martial soul, his hands would have been ruined for sure.

"It's finally over. Let's hurry up and finish off this Soft Bone Rabbit; I want to see what kind of soul skill such an absurd trial can unlock."

Scarlet King, who had been lying to the side and was so bored he was practically counting stars, let out a long sigh of relief at this sight.

He tossed the Soft Bone Rabbit, which had been unable to move due to the pressure of the beast, in front of Fang Le.

"Hmph!"

Fang Le didn't say anything else at this moment, numbly swinging his fists at the Soft Bone Rabbit before him.

He held nothing back with every punch, using his full strength.

Therefore, even though this Soft Bone Rabbit was already a century-old Soul Beast with tenacious vitality, it still perished under his fists.

And the moment he ended the Soft Bone Rabbit's life, a peculiar sensation appeared briefly before quickly vanishing.

It left only Fang Le staring blankly at his own hands.

There was no so-called surge of energy, only a single feeling, a single thought.

He could now break through anything.

"Woohoo! The Emperor Auspicious Beast has returned!"

Before Fang Le could recover from the dull tree-punching, he saw the Emperor Auspicious Beast hopping ahead, leading Di Tian toward the campsite.

"Trial completed? What ability did you obtain?"

Di Tian looked at the dazed Fang Le and asked with indifference.

He had long since given up hope.

What kind of powerful ability could one possibly gain from such a simple trial?

He felt that even asking this extra question was a waste of breath.

"Yeah! It's a very strong ability. Why don't you experience it and see for yourself!"

Fang Le didn't have the energy to explain further.

He silently activated the ability in his heart, then raised his right hand as if knocking on a door and swung it rapidly toward Di Tian.

The attack was fast, but it was clear he hadn't used any real force.

"Heh! Hm!?"