The broken sword passed through a crack and arrived on the Douluo Continent.
Deep beneath Life Lake in the Star Dou Great Forest, the heavily wounded Silver Dragon King, who had been asleep, suddenly opened her eyes.
The Thunder God's presence?! Wasn't he the first god to die in that battle?!
At that moment, the Silver Dragon King's mind had yet to recover. She sensed it again, uncertain.
That's right! That aura belongs to the Thunder God.
It was just that the aura was too weak. The Silver Dragon King couldn't sense any sign of life from it.
It must be the Thunder God's divine artifact.
Alas, I really was too naive. So what if the Thunder God's combat strength rivaled a God King's? In the end, he was only a First-Level God, not a God King.
Since the Thunder God's power has appeared on the Douluo Continent, I absolutely cannot let those hypocritical God Kings get their hands on it.
The Silver Dragon King endured the pain and circulated the divine power remaining in her body. Using the power of destiny contained within the unhatched Three-Eyed Golden Lion, she did everything she could to conceal the aura of the Thunder God's divine artifact.
When she was done, a trace of blood seeped from the Silver Dragon King's lips, and her aura immediately weakened.
"Di Tian, send someone out to search for the Thunder God's divine artifact or successor."
"If it's the former, bring it back so it doesn't fall into enemy hands. If it's the latter, invite them back politely, whether the Thunder God's successor is human or a Soul Beast."
After relaying her orders to Di Tian, the Silver Dragon King could no longer hold on and sank into an even deeper sleep.
Only Di Tian remained, newly awakened and standing there, wondering whom to send on the mission.
As he looked at the somewhat dazzling crystal ball, Yu Hengqing was about to ask Yu Yuanzhen whether he had Innate Full Soul Power when he noticed that the light from the crystal ball was actually growing dimmer!
"How could this be?!"
In all his years, Yu Yuanzhen had never heard of a crystal ball's light growing dimmer while measuring someone's Innate Soul Power.
The light in the crystal ball grew fainter and fainter. It was about to go out.
A troubling thought surfaced in Yu Yuanzhen's mind.
Could Xiao Qing be like Xiao Gang, too?!
Seeing this, Yu Hengqing anxiously called out to Leiyi in his mindscape.
"Leiyi, ease up! If you keep suppressing it, my Innate Soul Power is going to drop to zero!"
"Mm."
As Leiyi answered Yu Hengqing, he and Yu Yuanzhen watched the crystal ball, which had been on the verge of going dark, gradually light up again.
The light illuminated the hope in Yu Yuanzhen's eyes and kindled the flames of his anticipation.
"Innate Soul Power level six! Level six! Hahahaha!"
Yu Yuanzhen burst into laughter. As he laughed, tears welled in his eyes.
But before Yu Yuanzhen could enjoy his happiness for long, a sudden change occurred!
Following Yu Hengqing's aura, the broken sword arrived above the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. It turned into a silver-white bolt of lightning and shot toward Yu Hengqing inside the room.
Yu Hengqing was just about to say something to Yu Yuanzhen when he saw a silver-white bolt of lightning smash through the roof and strike toward his face.
It all happened so suddenly that even Yu Yuanzhen, a Titled Douluo, didn't react in time.
Silver-white lightning raced through Yu Hengqing's body, wreaking havoc on his flesh. He couldn't help but scream.
"Ah! Aah!"
Amid the lightning, the broken sword flowed into Yu Hengqing's lower abdomen like water into the sea.
Carrying waves of pure Soul Power, the broken sword traveled from Yu Hengqing's lower dantian to the mindscape in his upper dantian.
Just as the broken sword was about to strike, a bolt of golden lightning interrupted it.
"This is no place for you. Get out!"
Leiyi, wrapped in golden lightning, appeared before the broken sword and blocked its path.
Unwilling to waste any more energy, the broken sword sent a thread of multicolored lightning toward Leiyi.
Leiyi refused the broken sword's "bribe" and raised a hand to push the multicolored lightning back.
Seeing this, the broken sword seemed to realize something and quickly sent Leiyi a message.
After receiving the message, Leiyi frowned slightly. He said no more and stepped aside to let the broken sword pass.
With Leiyi no longer blocking its way, the silver-white broken sword rose and slashed toward Yu Hengqing's mindscape.
With a deafening boom that reverberated throughout the mindscape, pale-yellow light instantly filled the entire space.
At last, the broken sword came to rest in the center and stopped swinging. It simply absorbed the Soul Power around Yu Hengqing, healing his body.
Under the broken sword's healing, the pain that had surged over him like the tide gradually ebbed. Yu Hengqing's face, twisted with agony, began to relax.
The pain eventually vanished, replaced by a cool sensation.
Sensing that something was different, Yu Hengqing quietly opened his eyes, only to find himself in a pale-yellow sea.
Bewildered, Yu Hengqing stood in the pale-yellow sea.
"Where is this?"
"This is your mindscape."
Leiyi's voice came from behind Yu Hengqing. He immediately turned around when he heard it.
"I remember my mindscape being silver-white. How did it turn pale yellow?"
Yu Hengqing had only just seen his mindscape, and couldn't understand how its color had changed again so soon.
"Because of its presence."
Yu Hengqing followed the direction Leiyi pointed. A silver-white broken sword hovered silently in the middle of the sea of consciousness.
"It?"
Perplexed, Yu Hengqing walked over and crouched before the broken sword. He studied it for a long while but couldn't make head or tail of it.
The broken sword felt no different from the iron swords he used for training. If anything, it looked even more battered than those swords.
Could this be my cheat?
Looking at the thing before him, Yu Hengqing suddenly had an idea. He turned and asked Leiyi, "Leiyi, is this thing dangerous?"
"Not for now. I don't sense any danger."
Leiyi gave Yu Hengqing a slight shake of his head.
Reassured by Leiyi, Yu Hengqing reached for the hilt without hesitation, picked up the broken sword, and gave it a few swings.
"Feels good in the hand. It's just that half the blade is missing. Otherwise, it'd definitely be a fine sword!"
Yu Hengqing ran a finger lightly over the blade and sighed regretfully.
After spinning the sword in a flourish, Yu Hengqing was about to put it back when a mechanical voice appeared in his mind.
[Qualified successor detected. Transmitting Thunder God Trial]
The broken sword released a bolt of seven-colored lightning. It plunged into Yu Hengqing's right hand and transformed into a Seven-Pointed Star surrounded by multicolored lightning.
Yu Hengqing raised his right hand and looked at it. The Seven-Pointed Star on the back of his hand was dim, and an uneasy thought surfaced in his mind.
Could I have to find lightning power to charge this God Trial, too?
The cold, mechanical voice sounded in Yu Hengqing's mind once more.
[Transmission complete. The contents of the God Trial will now be announced] [Thunder God's Nine Trials · First Trial] [Task: Obtain a lightning-attribute Soul Ring no less than 700 years old] [Reward: Soul Power increased by three levels and Cangming Lightning]
Nine Trials, no less! If I complete all nine, I can become a god outright!
Unable to hide his excitement, Yu Hengqing learned that he had received the Nine Trials.
Now he wouldn't need to worry about how to get to Sea God Island. After all, the Sea God had already chosen Tang San. There was little to gain by going there himself!
The Spirit Hall would surely target the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect in the future. If he didn't grow stronger, he might well end up in the Spirit Hall's crosshairs.
There was just one thing Yu Hengqing couldn't understand: when had another Thunder God's divine position appeared on the Douluo Continent?
Yu Hengqing's mind was full of questions. When he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar ceiling.
He turned toward the bedside and saw Yu Yuanzhen sitting there with the sect archives in his hands. It looked as if he had been keeping watch for quite some time.
Before you continue