As the pillar of light slowly faded, peace returned to the Snow God Hall, but the sacred aura still lingered in the air.
Just then, a dignified female voice came from the statue: "The Nine Trials of the Snow God begin. Candidate: Qian Lingche."
As the dignified voice fell silent, nine blue phantom cards suddenly appeared around the statue.
The nine cards slowly revolved around Qian Lingche, gradually picking up speed until they finally became nine streaks of light and shot straight into his sea of consciousness.
Qian Lingche felt a coolness spread through his mind, as if countless fragments of information and power were surging through his sea of consciousness, yet remained just beyond his grasp.
At the same time, a crystal-clear snowflake mark appeared in the center of his forehead.
As Qian Lingche was deep in thought, a card suddenly flew out of his sea of consciousness and hovered before him.
The card gradually enlarged, and a line of ancient text appeared on it. At the same time, the voice sounded again:
"First Trial of the Snow God: Break through to Soul King and obtain a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring as your fifth Soul Ring."
"Time limit: Three years."
As the voice fell silent, the card turned back into a streak of light and flew into Qian Lingche's sea of consciousness.
Qian Lingche slowly withdrew his Martial Soul. The Six-Winged Angel behind him gradually faded, and his Soul Rings vanished with it.
He landed on the ground, walked over to the foot of the statue, and sat down against it. He tilted his head slightly, gazing at the statue's dignified, sacred face.
He had actually known about the Snow God for a long time. She had sought him out in a dream.
Only then had he learned that, besides the Angel God, the Snow God was also of the Angel Clan. She could be considered his ancestor, and, like him, had been shunned because of a Martial Soul Mutation.
Later, Qian Lingche learned that the power that had suddenly appeared within him when he first met Shi Yi had come from the Snow God.
But he wasn't a fool. The Snow God couldn't have simply felt sorry for a younger member of her clan.
Only after Qian Lingche thought to build this Snow God Hall and statue could the Snow God bestow her trials of inheritance.
The weight in Qian Lingche's heart gradually gave way to joy.
"Big sister..." he murmured, a familiar figure rising in his mind.
From the Snow God's words, he had learned something that filled him with excitement—his big sister would also inherit the Angel God Position one day.
That meant the two of them would both stand at the summit of the world in the future. He could become the strongest support his big sister had.
"That's wonderful..." Qian Lingche clenched his fist slightly. "Then I won't hold my big sister back anymore. We can walk side by side."
But his joy didn't last long before Qian Lingche's brows furrowed again.
Leaning against the foot of the statue, he tapped the ground absently with his fingers, a growing frustration taking hold of him.
"A fifth Soul Ring that's a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring..." he murmured. "That's no joke."
A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring was the stuff of dreams for any Soul Master, but it was also extremely dangerous.
Even among Titled Douluo, not everyone could withstand a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. What's more, he was only a Soul Ancestor, still a long way from becoming a Soul King.
"The God Ancestor sure made this trial brutal." Qian Lingche gave a wry smile and rubbed his temples.
"Three years to break through to Soul King would be hard enough. I also have to absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring... This difficulty could kill a man."
By comparison, finding a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was the easiest part. There were some in the Star Dou Forest, and even more in the sea.
Far away on Sea God Island, Bo Saixi stood on high ground, her long robes fluttering in the breeze as she stared solemnly toward the mainland.
"This is... the aura of a god..." she murmured, her voice carrying a gravity she had never shown before.
As the Sea God's high priest, she was naturally intimately familiar with Divine Power. At that moment, she could clearly sense an unfamiliar yet incomparably powerful divine aura slowly rising from the direction of the mainland.
Bo Saixi's brows furrowed slightly. She turned and walked toward the Sea God Hall.
A look of disbelief flashed through Qian Daoliu's eyes.
"That's... the Eternal Night Frost Song Hall that child Qian Lingche built?"
"How can this be... This power is clearly the aura of a god!"
"Could it be... that child has actually obtained a Godhood Inheritance?" Qian Daoliu's brows drew tightly together, waves of shock crashing through his heart.
He knew only of the Sea God whom Bo Saixi served, the one Tang Chen had gone to the Capital of Slaughter to seek, and the Rakshasa God whose inheritance Bibi Dong was receiving.
But this newly emerged aura clearly belonged to none of them. So which deity was it?
As he pondered, Qian Daoliu's furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and a relieved smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
He shook his head gently and murmured to himself, "That's right. That child has a Godhood Inheritance. His future path is already laid out. At last, I can rest easy."
But things weren't going so well for Bibi Dong.
The Rakshasa God's shrill, venomous voice exploded in her mind: "Why?! The Snow God actually chose an inheritor too! If she leaves her God Position, won't I be doomed?!"
Bibi Dong's body trembled slightly, pain and irritation flashing in her eyes.
She spoke quietly, her voice laced with suppressed anger. "Rakshasa, what does this have to do with you? Does the Snow God need your permission to choose an inheritor?"
The Rakshasa God's voice grew even shriller, as if filled with boundless resentment. "What do you know? That Snow God is already infinitely close to the level of a God King."
"If she weren't a god of the Divine Realm like me, bound by its rules, she and the Angel God would have killed me long ago for what I did to her!"
Bibi Dong gave a cold laugh, her voice laced with scorn. "That's your problem, not mine. I only need to inherit your God Position. Whether you can leave the Divine Realm alive is your concern."
The Rakshasa God's voice suddenly turned icy. "Bibi Dong, don't forget that you're my inheritor. If something happens to me, do you think you'll get off lightly?"
Bibi Dong's gaze turned cold. "Are you threatening me?"
The Rakshasa God said ominously, "Threatening you? No. I'm just reminding you that we're grasshoppers tied to the same string. If I suffer, don't think you can stay out of it."
"The Angel God and the Snow God are both of the Angel Clan, and they stand against me. Do you think they'll spare you, my inheritor?"
Bibi Dong fell silent for a moment, then said coldly, "Enough! I'll find a way, but you'd better know when to stop. Otherwise, I won't hesitate to fight to the bitter end."
The Rakshasa God's voice gradually faded, but that icy aura continued to linger in the secret chamber, refusing to dissipate.