When the first rays of dawn pierced the horizon, Poseinan let out a long breath and slowly opened his eyes.
A flash of azure divine light flickered in his gaze and vanished. His aura seemed denser and more restrained, while a gentle jade-like glow appeared to flow beneath his skin.
After a night of cultivation, he had begun to absorb the energy of the Whale Rubber.
He could clearly feel his meridians had widened slightly, his bones had grown more resilient, and his flesh brimmed with vigorous strength.
This was only the beginning. As he continued to refine the energy, the effects would gradually become apparent.
Bo Saixi sensed his condition and nodded in satisfaction. "It seems to be working well, Nan Nan. How do you feel?"
Poseinan stood and clenched his fists. His knuckles cracked softly, and a brilliant smile spread across his face. "I feel great! I'm bursting with energy! Sister Xixi, Sister Xiao Bai, thank you!"
Xiao Bai grinned and moved in to ruffle his hair again, but Poseinan nimbly dodged her, drawing a string of laughing scolds from her.
Poseinan gazed out at the shimmering sea, feeling the power surging through him and the faint glow of the God Trial at his brow. His heart swelled with ambition.
The future stretched far ahead.
But the road already lay beneath his feet.
After several more days of carefully refining his condition, he had brought his physique, Soul Power, and Spiritual Power to their peak.
Poseinan felt the time was about right.
He believed in keeping good things in the family. If he couldn't use them all himself, he could give them to his subordinates. So, through the mark of the God Trial, he called out to his old man:
"Oi! Dad, you there? Your son here is getting ready to absorb his First Soul Ring! Be a champ and send me some God-Bestowed Soul Rings, would you?"
"I'm not asking for much. Just a hundred or eighty will do. I can save whatever I don't use, or give them to other people. It'll even raise the overall strength of our Sea God Island!"
Xiao Bai, standing nearby, was dumbfounded. Her beautiful eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she stared at Poseinan, as if to say:
Wait, little bro?
Is this how you usually talk to your old man?
You've got some nerve!
Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm.
Poseidon, who was busy handling divine affairs, heard his precious son's brazen demand loud and clear. He nearly died of anger on the spot.
Good grief!
God-Bestowed Soul Rings, a hundred or eighty?
What did the kid think they were?
Cabbages growing in the ground? You could dig up a whole basketful?
Even for him, condensing a God-Bestowed Soul Ring took divine power and faith. Mass production?
Not a chance!
That little brat really did say whatever came to mind!
Through gritted teeth, he replied, "No, no! I'll give you two at most. Not one more!"
Poseinan put on a look of disappointed exasperation and sighed. "Sigh... Dad, I never thought that after all these years in the Divine Realm, you'd be this broke. Fine, fine. Two it is."
"I... I'm broke???"
The Sea God, Poseidon, felt his blood pressure shooting through the roof.
He took several deep breaths and repeated "He's my own son," "His mother will cry if I hurt him," and "That old rascal, the God of Destruction, is probably waiting to laugh at me" ten times in his head.
Only then did he manage to suppress the urge to haul his son up and spank him.
Poseidon grudgingly sent over the God-Bestowed Soul Rings, then tossed out one last remark before vanishing:
"You little brat! Focus on your cultivation. Don't contact me unless it's important!"
Poseinan weighed the two warm, jade-like golden orbs in his hands, each brimming with vast energy, and curled his lip. "Dad, you're so stingy."
Still, two God-Bestowed Soul Rings were enough for now.
Without wasting any time, he turned to Xiao Bai. "Sister Xiao Bai, keep watch for me."
"Sure."
Xiao Bai nodded and quietly moved closer.
A rich, milky scent wafted over him.
Poseinan was at a loss for words. "Sister Xiao Bai, you're supposed to be keeping watch, but you don't have to get that close."
She was almost rubbing his face in her chest.
Xiao Bai stuck out her tongue sheepishly, her cheeks faintly red, and shuffled half a step back. "Hehe, I'm used to it. I feel safer this way. I'll be careful, I'll be careful."
Poseinan shook his head and said no more.
He crushed the orb in his palm.
In an instant, a colorless Soul Ring appeared around him.
Poseinan sat cross-legged, and his Sea God Spirit manifested on its own.
The energy of the God-Bestowed Soul Ring was gentle yet vast, like the deepest ocean, enveloping him.
It tested the limits of what his body could withstand.
At first, the Soul Ring's energy flowed into him like a stream, nourishing his meridians.
Soon, the stream became a river, battering his limbs and bones.
Poseinan remained calm as he guided the Soul Ring's energy, absorbing and refining it with all his might.
A faint, dark-gold glow flowed over his skin.
It was the lingering medicinal power of the seven-ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Deep Sea Demon Whale glue, now fully roused. It strengthened his bones and flesh while broadening his meridians and making them more resilient.
The Soul Ring's age rose rapidly, silently.
A hundred years, five hundred, eight hundred, a thousand... When it broke through the thousand-year threshold, the energy suddenly intensified, crashing like furious waves against the shore.
Poseinan's body shuddered slightly, and fine beads of sweat gathered on his forehead. But his gaze remained clear and resolute.
"It's only a mere thousand-year Soul Ring. Sit down and stay there!"
The next moment, the Sea God Spirit's phantom grew increasingly solid, forcibly suppressing the violent surge of energy.
Fifteen hundred years, two thousand, twenty-one hundred, twenty-three hundred...
At last, the energy surged to a terrifying peak, as if it would crush and remake every inch of his flesh.
Poseinan gritted his teeth and circulated his Soul Power with all his strength. The Sea God Trident mark on his brow grew faintly hot, as if resonating with the Divine Realm and infusing him with a thread of unwavering will.
"Now!"
He let out a low cry in his heart and guided the final, fiercest surge of energy toward the invisible barrier.
"Boom—!"
It felt as if something inside him had broken—not in pain, but with the liberating clarity of a sudden breakthrough.
The surging energy flowed like countless rivers returning to the sea, quickly settling and calming.
At last, it merged perfectly with his Martial Soul and body.
The invisible ring of energy around him suddenly solidified, turning into a deep purple Soul Ring that settled securely around the Sea God Phantom.
Three thousand years!
His First Soul Ring had reached the astonishing age of three thousand years!
An unprecedented First Soul Ring!
Even Xiao Bai, who was keeping watch over Poseinan, considered herself well-traveled and knowledgeable. But at the sight of this, she still couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath. "Little Nan Nan, you've really opened my eyes."
"As expected of the Son of Sea God! A three-thousand-year First Soul Ring—it's truly unprecedented!"
Poseinan slowly opened his eyes, the faintest curve lifting the corners of his mouth.
The Soul Ring had developed just as he'd expected.
He had begun thinking about it back in the Divine Realm.
Most of his father's Soul Ring techniques leaned toward gentler aspects of the sea, like Sea God's Light. Even his divine skills after becoming a god displayed the ocean's comparatively tranquil side.
But what was the sea's greatest strength?
Wasn't it the unfathomable depths and the raging fury?
The path taken by those who came before didn't necessarily suit those who came after!
So, as he absorbed the Soul Ring, Poseinan had kept picturing the sea in all its raging, surging fury.
And now, the results had proved him right.
Poseinan's First Soul Skill was called Wrath of the Sea God!