Nine hundred and ninety... eight.
Nine hundred and ninety... nine.
One... thousand!
Finally, after six hours, Yu Tianling successfully reached the top.
Over the last hundred steps, Yu Tianling could no longer move as swiftly as flying. He could only make his way up one step at a time. For the final ten steps, he had practically crawled.
Lying on the platform, Yu Tianling smiled as he panted for breath.
"I finally made it up!"
After resting for two hours, Yu Tianling finally recovered. He hurriedly got up and began surveying his surroundings.
This place was not actually on the sun, because it was already higher than the sun. When he passed the six-hundredth step, the sun had been right beside him, and the temperature had been extremely high. Fortunately, Yu Tianling had flown past; otherwise, he really might have died from the heat there.
"So it really is here."
The moment he turned around, Yu Tianling saw the magnificent palace before him.
The palace looked particularly enormous and exceptionally new, as though it had just been built. Looking at it gave him an indescribable sense of solemnity.
After briefly looking it over, Yu Tianling walked toward the palace.
At the jewel-encrusted entrance, he gave the door a gentle push, and it opened.
Just like that, step by step, Yu Tianling entered the palace.
The interior was simpler than he had imagined. The first thing he saw was a suit of pitch-black armor standing in the very center. Farther inside, he could see a throne on a raised platform.
Crack!
As Yu Tianling walked forward without any precautions, he suddenly stepped on a mechanism.
Then, as though thunder had exploded, an unbroken succession of cracking sounds rang through the entire palace. A black crystal core suddenly flew out of the pitch-black armor and landed squarely on the throne.
"Hello, fated one."
A young man wearing pitch-black armor appeared on the throne, looking at Yu Tianling with a smile.
"Hmm?"
Seeing the scene before him, Yu Tianling secretly circulated his Soul Power and put himself on guard.
He had seen plenty of plots involving possession and rebirth. If this man did the same, wouldn't he suffer a tremendous loss? It was better to be careful.
"Haha, rest assured. I, the God King of Equality, would not stoop to such a thing. Besides, in my current state, I couldn't accomplish it."
Noticing Yu Tianling's little movements, the man hurriedly explained with a laugh.
"The God King of Equality?!"
Hearing the man's words, Yu Tianling was startled.
What did being a God King mean? That was absolutely someone at the very pinnacle of the Divine Realm. Could he be about to inherit such a divine position today?
At that thought, even the calmest person would be unable to remain calm.
As though he had guessed Yu Tianling's thoughts, the God King of Equality continued, "As I am now, I can no longer pass on the divine position of the God King of Equality."
"What!"
"Because my divine core has shattered. The God King of Equality no longer exists in the Divine Realm."
As he spoke, the God King of Equality seemed to return to hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Seeing the youth's confusion, the God King of Equality began recounting the past to Yu Tianling.
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, great turmoil had engulfed the Divine Realm. Among the six God Kings, the Five Great God Kings supported wiping out the gods of the beast race. Only the God King of Equality upheld the ideal that all beings were equal and tried to prevent the tragedy. Unexpectedly, the Five Great God Kings lured him into a trap they had prepared beforehand. Although the God King of Equality was the strongest, he was still outnumbered. He fell before the Dragon God's reinforcements could arrive, his divine core shattered, and he passed through the turbulence of space and time to reach Sunset Forest on the Douluo Continent.
"No wonder I've never heard the name of the God King of Equality in the Divine Realm. Now there are only the Five Great God Kings: the Godess of Kindness, the God of Evil, the Asura God, the Goddess of Life, and the God of Destruction."
After hearing the God King of Equality's account, Yu Tianling finally understood. The God King of Equality's divine core had actually been shattered by the Five Great God Kings, and his divine position had vanished from the Divine Realm ever since.
"So that means I can't inherit the God King of Equality's divine position. Then what's the point of keeping this place around?"
Yu Tianling spoke irritably to the God King of Equality.
Anyone who had worked so hard for so long only to receive nothing would hardly give someone a pleasant look.
"Hehe, young man, don't be so impatient. I haven't finished speaking."
The God King of Equality stopped Yu Tianling, who was about to leave, with a smile.
"Back then, I wasn't just the God King of Equality. I was also the God of War, and my First-Level God divine core as the God of War hasn't shattered."
"Please pass it on to me, Senior."
Yu Tianling immediately turned back, looking at the God King of Equality with a face full of smiles.
"Of course. Since you've passed the test I set, I will certainly pass the divine position on to you. I believe you will definitely be able to pass the trials."
Hearing the God King's words, Yu Tianling nodded repeatedly.
"However, there are two choices now. Let's see which you choose."
The God King of Equality shifted the conversation and asked him.
"Oh? Two choices?"
"One is for me to bestow the God of War's trials upon you. The other is for me to pass both my damaged divine core of Equality and my God of War divine core on to you."
"What's the difference between these two choices?"
Naturally, Yu Tianling was more tempted by the second choice. Although the God King's divine core had shattered, perhaps it could help the God of War divine core in the future.
"If you choose the first, you'll be fine after ascending to the Divine Realm, because no one knows I was once the God of War. If you choose the second, the current Five Great God Kings will very likely detect you and then strike you down."
After speaking, the God King of Equality gazed at the young boy below, awaiting his choice.
"I choose the second!"
To the God King's surprise, almost the very instant he finished speaking, Yu Tianling announced his choice.
Yu Tianling's reasoning was simple. The Sea God's and the Asura God's inheritances were both too uncertain. Both gods were connected to Tang San by thousands of threads. If Tang San attained two divine positions as he had in the original story, Yu Tianling would inevitably clash with the God Realm Committee. He might as well strengthen the foundations of his own power as much as possible.
Moreover, even if the God King of Equality's divine position had vanished, with the power remaining in his divine core and the Dragon Phoenix Martial Soul formed by fusing his Twin Martial Souls in the future, becoming the Dragon Phoenix God King might not be impossible!
"Haha, good lad! I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Then come!"
The God King of Equality was overjoyed. Blood-red light abruptly appeared in his right hand, and then a blood-red divine core flew out of the armor, shooting straight toward Yu Tianling's forehead and forming a mark of a crossed sword and shield.
"The God of War's Nine Trials have begun!"
A majestic voice rang out in Yu Tianling's sea of consciousness.
"Leave now. Return here once you reach Level 90, and I will pass the shattered divine core of the God King of Equality on to you then."
After seeing the mark appear, the God King of Equality smiled faintly. Everything in the future would change.
Then he gently waved his left hand, and Yu Tianling vanished, appearing on the ground.
"The God of War's Nine Trials, First Trial: reach Level 40 within one month."
"Trial completion detected. Reward: one God-Given Soul Ring."
"The God of War's Nine Trials, Second Trial: pass the God of War's Imperial Steps."
"Trial completion detected. Reward: ten percent God of War Affinity."
"The God of War's Nine Trials, Third Trial: cultivate to Level 50. Time limit: three years."
Before Yu Tianling could do anything, the voice kept ringing in his sea of consciousness, and he had already completed the first two trials at the speed of light.
Then a blood-red ball of light appeared out of thin air, followed by another ray of light that flew into his body. In an instant, Yu Tianling's body slowly grew twenty centimeters taller, reaching 1.6 meters. A warm current also circulated ceaselessly through his body, continually increasing his strength.
"This..."
Yu Tianling did not know whether to laugh or cry.