"If she could collect people's faith like you and reach a certain level, then she wouldn't need to!"
"Of course, Soul Beasts can do it too. But they don't have humanity's powerful creativity. Even if a Soul Beast could become a god, its potential would still be lower than ours!"
Qian Xunqian was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked her ancestor.
Just as she was about to leave, Angel God's gentle voice rang out again:
"One more thing: be kinder to Soul Beasts!"
Qian Xunqian remembered how she had led people in a frenzied expansion into the Star Dou Forest. She gave an awkward smile, then her consciousness began to blur.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw the Angel God Statue standing quietly before her and Qian Daoliu looking anxious. She was back.
"Qian'er, what happened to you just now? You disappeared in an instant! Your uncle was worried sick!"
Qian Daoliu hurried over to Qian Xunqian and examined her from head to toe. Only after confirming she wasn't hurt did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Oh. The Angel Ancestor summoned me to the Divine Realm. I fought alongside her and defeated Asura God and Sea God. You could say I even saved her!"
Qian Daoliu stared at Qian Xunqian in disbelief.
"You're a level-70 Soul Saint who hasn't even obtained a Spirit Ring, and you saved the divine ancestor? How is that possible?"
Qian Xunqian put her hands on her hips and said smugly,
"Don't believe me? Then go ask the ancestor, Uncle!"
Looking at his niece's utterly confident expression, Qian Daoliu, an honest man, felt something was a little off, but chose to believe her anyway.
"And another thing, Uncle! Look at the mark on my forehead. The ancestor gave it to me herself. It means I have the Eight Angelic Trials!"
Qian Xunqian then told Qian Daoliu about her conversation with the ancestor regarding a Self-Created Godhood, as well as the Eight Angelic Trials.
"So the divine ancestor thinks your talent is enough for you to become a god, Qian'er?"
Qian Daoliu's face lit up. After ten thousand years, was the Angel Clan finally going to produce a god?
At the same time, the Angel God Statue shone with a sacred golden light. Along with the radiance came a gentle yet solemn voice:
First Trial of the Eight Angelic Trials: Sacred Flame Burns the Heart · Tempering the Divine Soul
Endure the burning of the Angel Divine Fire and temper your soul and body, improving your resistance to and control over sacred power. Break through the limits of your body and will.
Reward: one God-Bestowed Spirit Ring.
Do you accept the trial?
"Yes!" Qian Xunqian answered without hesitation.
The statue fell silent for three seconds before the voice rang out again: As you wish.
A surge of pure divine power pushed Qian Daoliu out of the Angel Temple, then closed the doors.
Golden flames poured endlessly from the Angel God Statue's mouth. They were incredibly powerful, a whole level above Ultimate Fire!
The Angel Divine Fire streamed toward Qian Xunqian, quickly surrounding her on all sides.
By then, Qian Xunqian was already engulfed in flames.
"Little Qian'er, the ancestor really likes your Martial Soul, but she doesn't like your black hair. How about a free golden dye job?"
Qian Xunqian hurriedly called out,
"No, no! I think black suits me better!"
The Angel Divine Fire raged as it burned Qian Xunqian's soul and body, tempering her at the same time.
Qian Xunqian circulated her Soul Power and mental strength, drawing the Angel Divine Fire into her body and consciousness, then compressing it again and again.
The process was excruciating, but as a mental-type Soul Master, her mental strength was formidable, and her endurance surpassed that of ordinary people.
If she didn't live on the Douluo Continent, with her endurance she could even compete for the Dragon King's title in places like Asura Hall and Dragon King Hall.
She absorbed the flames for three days and three nights. At last, she compressed the Angel Divine Fire into two tiny, pure-white flames: one in her sea of consciousness, the other fused with her heart.
"You have fused the Angel Divine Fire with yourself, surpassing the requirements of the trial. Tempered by the divine fire, your physical constitution and soul strength have greatly improved. The maximum age of your God-Bestowed Spirit Ring is now 180,000 years!"
A Spirit Ring with a pure-white band, encircled evenly by golden threads, descended from the Angel God Statue's head and settled around Qian Xunqian.
Qian Xunqian spent three hours perfectly absorbing the God-Bestowed Spirit Ring, and her Soul Power reached an astonishing level 73.
At the same time, thanks to absorbing the Angel Divine Fire, Qian Xunqian gained a fire attribute in addition to the light attribute inherent in her Angel Eye.
Her Third Soul Skill, Sacred Ray, and Sixth Soul Skill, Sacred Domain, now both carried a burning effect. Because the Angel Divine Fire was so powerful, even though she was still a Soul Saint, she could threaten experts at the Titled Douluo level.
Her Seventh Soul Skill, Angel Avatar, could summon a giant Angel Eye. It was a detached Soul Skill: the eye could unleash various attacks, firing Sacred Rays, spewing Angel Divine Fire, and even scattering golden healing light.
Against Soul Masters with weaker mental strength than hers, the Angel Eye would also continuously beguile and assimilate them, ultimately taking control of their entire being!
Against Soul Masters with a dark attribute, those whose cultivation was within ten levels of hers would be struck with Fear by the Angel Eye, losing two-tenths of their combat strength right from the start.
As for Evil Spirit Masters, the Angel Eye was like a strict father. If their cultivation was within ten levels of hers, it wouldn't bother with reason; it would immediately devour and purify them, turning them into fertilizer for the eye.
Bibi Dong: "I was terrified at the time, afraid I'd get sucked in if I wasn't careful."
The original story's Bibi Dong had good reason to fear the Angel Clan. Who wouldn't think this Martial Soul was downright sinister?
Could dark-attribute Soul Masters and Evil Spirit Masters even keep playing in Douluo Continent?
At the same time, Qian Xunqian gained a deeper understanding of Heart Separation Control. Her Seventh Soul Skill was a detached Martial Soul skill, and required her to multitask on two fronts.
With her powerful mental strength, this level of divided attention was as easy as eating or drinking.
She could even maintain her Sacred Domain while controlling an Angel Eye and a hundred people assimilated by the domain.
One person as an army—that was exactly what this was!
But what made Qian Xunqian happiest was that her research into detached Martial Souls had finally become clear to her.
Her original idea had been wildly imaginative.
Take Dugu Yan in the future, for example. Qian Xunqian's plan was to use Dugu Bo's pet, the Nine-Section Jade, to transplant Dugu Yan's Martial Soul onto it.
That would give the Martial Soul a physical form. Since the Nine-Section Jade carried Dugu Yan's Martial Soul, it would be nearly fused with its Soul Master, sharing a connection with her thoughts.
At the same time, the Nine-Section Jade would have its own agency, able to think through battle tactics with its brain instead of needing Dugu Yan to control it with her mental strength.
What would that accomplish?
First, it would free Dugu Yan up.
Dugu Yan could build up her strength, turning her body into a Power Attack System Soul Master. In the future, she could also be equipped with Soul Tools and become a Soul Engineer.
Meanwhile, her Martial Soul would become a Control System fighter. Just like that, one Control System Soul Master would become both a Power Attack System Soul Master and a Control System Soul Beast.
Second, by transferring her Martial Soul to the Nine-Section Jade, Dugu Yan wouldn't have to endure the toxins brought on by using it. That would solve the poison problem once and for all!
The Nine-Section Jade's venom was no weaker than the Jade Phosphor Snake's. For it, the more poison, the better.
Then Qian Xunqian could give Dugu Yan a Spirit Ball Soul Tool, and every time she entered a match, she could say:
"Come out, Cuikaqiu!"