Far beyond the sea, the urgent dispatch from Cold Pine Pass had only just landed on a desk in the Papal Hall. Beneath Sea God Mountain, a new black Soul Ring had already appeared.
It was not until the day after the First Trial ended that Bo Saixi handed the God-Given Golden Pearl to Ning Rongrong.
When the First Trial ended, Ning Rongrong had reached the bottleneck before a new major level. She was now the only one among them who had yet to obtain a new ring. There were no Soul Beasts on Sea God Island suitable for the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, either. She had only one chance with this God-Given Soul Ring. How many years she could draw from it depended entirely on her body and will.
As Ning Rongrong accepted the Golden Pearl, she glanced first at the long flight of steps, now free of its crushing pressure.
A year ago, she had struggled just to stand on the 136th step. In the final days, her companions' hands, Oscar's shoulder, and the light of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had carried her to the end. The First Trial's reward had added five hundred years to each of her six Soul Rings. Her second ring had turned from yellow to purple, and her Soul Power had reached the Seventy-Level Threshold.
This step, though, was hers to take alone.
Ning Rongrong sat cross-legged beside the Stone Steps, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda hovering before her. Golden mist slowly descended from her shoulders and gathered outside the tower into a ring that grew steadily darker.
The God-Given Soul Ring carried none of a Soul Beast's resentment as it descended, but its pressure was no lighter.
Her arms had been trembling for half an hour, and sweat