Soon, Lin Mo, having completed his First Trial, quickly retreated and returned to the group's side.
He walked lightly and breathed steadily, showing no signs of exhaustion like the others.
He had just escorted everyone all the way up to the 444 steps, which seemed like a trivial matter.
As soon as Lin Mo came down, everyone surrounded him.
Shui Yue'er was the first to speak, her eyes sparkling with excitement, " Lin Mo, what are your and Sister Yanyan's rewards? Tell us quickly!"
Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wu, Shui Bing'er, and Zhu Zhuqing also looked over, waiting for Lin Mo's answer.
Dugu Yan frowned slightly and spoke first, "My First Trial reward is very..."
She paused, her tone tinged with confusion. "I don't receive the same rewards as you for increasing Soul Power and the age of your Soul Ring."
There's only one reward called "Sea God Affinity," which I received 5% after clearing the First Trial.
She looked at Lin Mo, her emerald green eyes filled with confusion. " A-Mo, do you know what this is?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Mo pretended to ponder for a moment before shaking his head, "I don't know. But since it's a reward from the Sea God's Nine Trials, it must be something related to the Sea God Trial."
"Although the First Trial only gave me 5%, I'll try my best to raise it to 100% before the ninth test."
Although I don't know exactly what this thing is, it's definitely the right thing to do to bring it to 100%.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Mo still did not choose to tell Dugu Yan the information he knew about the Sea God Affinity.
Just let things take their natural course.
In any case, this thing is entirely beneficial to Dugu Yan.
Once Dugu Yan's Sea God Affinity exceeds 30%, she will be able to use the power of the Sea God's Light.
This is a very practical ability, and can be considered Special Attack weapon against Sea Soul Beast.
Furthermore, we should try our best to increase the affinity with Sea God Affinity to 100%, or even higher.
Achieving a level of affinity Transcendence 100% is extremely beneficial for inheriting Godhood, but it's not something easily accomplished.
"Hmm." Dugu Yan nodded, but the doubt in her eyes still lingered.
Huo Wu patted Lin Mo's shoulder familiarly, with a firm pat, displaying her usual dashing spirit. " Lin Mo, what about yours?"
A mischievous smile played on her lips, "Before you completed the assessment, the mark between your eyebrows showed some unusual movement. Is that what you wished for?"
Lin Mo nodded and said, " The Lord Sea God is quite reasonable; he really did grant my Wish."
"The reward for passing the first stage of the assessment was an increase of 3,500 years in the age of my Soul Ring, which is significantly higher than what Sister Lingling received."
Three thousand five hundred years!
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes flashed with envy.
They hadn't forgotten that Lin Mo's Charizard now possessed a total of eight Soul Ring, each Soul Ring increasing its lifespan by 3,500 years.
This means that by passing this test, Lin Mo's total lifespan of his Soul Ring has been directly increased by nearly 30,000 years.
Ye Lingling's improvement of 1,500 years was already something they envied, but Lin Mo's improvement was more than double.
Huo Wu clicked her tongue in amazement. "Three thousand five hundred years, Sect Master, your luck is just too good!"
Lin Mo smiled but didn't reply.
But he was secretly pondering to himself.
This also shows that the rewards obtained from the Top Level Eight Trials and the Sea God's Nine Trials, in terms of increasing the age of the Soul Ring alone, are much higher than those from the Top-Tier Seven Trials.
In his memory, Ning Rongrong, who passed the seventh level of the test, only received a mere five hundred years of reward for each test that increased the age of her Soul Ring.
This is equivalent to one-third of Ye Lingling's and one-seventh of his.
Judging from the current situation, if Ye Lingling can successfully pass the Eight Trials and receive the full reward, there is a good chance that she can use the rewards from the Top Level Eight Trials to increase the age of her Seventh Soul Ring to 100,000 years.
Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
This is a treasure that any Soul Master would dream of.
Moreover, if her Seventh Soul Ring could be upgraded to 100,000 years, then Ye Lingling's future cultivation path would be smooth sailing.
Thinking of this, Lin Mo's lips curled up slightly.
Just then, a flash of red light appeared.
The Charizard that Lin Mo had taken back into his body before the assessment reappeared beside everyone.
Everyone instinctively looked down at Charizard's feet.
The color of the Soul Ring under the Charizard's feet had changed significantly compared to before.
The first two yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring have turned into purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring, and the third Purple Soul Ring has also turned into a deep purple as deep as an abyss, looking like it is not far from ten thousand years.
Feng Xiaotian was the first to Frisk this.
He stared at the Soul Ring at the feet of the Charizard, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes. After a moment, he asked a question that had been buried in his heart for a long time:
"Sect Master, your Third Soul Ring's age must be quite high, right? After increasing by 3,500 years, it looks almost at the 10,000-year level."
Lin Mo nodded, confirming Feng Xiaotian's statement.
Feng Xiaotian pressed on, his voice clearly filled with confusion. "If that's the case, then why do you still have two hundred-year-level Soul Ring?"
"With your physical condition, this shouldn't be happening!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze shifted to Lin Mo, awaiting his explanation.
This problem truly puzzled them.
Given Lin Mo's demonstrated physical abilities, absorbing Thousand-Year Soul Ring in his Second Soul Ring slot shouldn't be too difficult for him.
Lin Mo shrugged, appearing nonchalant, and explained casually, "The reason is simple: I was relatively weak back then."
"When I was getting my Second Soul Ring, I had the possibility of breaking through to Thousand-Year Soul Ring, but compared to the risks, the benefits of a slight increase in age were negligible. So I simply opted for a hundred-year Second Soul Ring as my second choice."
Hearing Lin Mo's words, everyone felt relieved.
Huo Wu nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, how old were you back then? If you really had a thousand-year-level Soul Ring on your Second Soul Ring..."
She paused, then said with a hint of teasing, "Then I'm afraid you won't even have the chance to cultivate steadily to the fourth or fifth ring."
Even before that, you would have been drawn into the vortex of the continent, with absolutely no time for peaceful cultivation.
Feng Xiaotian nodded in agreement. "Indeed, you didn't have the ability to protect yourself back then, so being too conspicuous wasn't a good thing."
Lin Mo smiled but didn't reply.
Just then, a loud commotion immediately drew everyone's attention.
Rumble...
A muffled thunderous sound came from the sky, and everyone instinctively looked up.
The brand on everyone's forehead lit up at the same time.
The Wu Yun overhead pressed down, and a tense atmosphere of impending storm permeated the entire Sea God Mountain.
After the sacred mountain fell into darkness again, the Sea God's Light that had originally covered the mountain's surface became even more dazzling.
But the Ring Sea outside the mountains was different; the water began to churn violently.
The waves surged, and strange energy fluctuations rippled through the Ring Sea.
Far in the sky, seven golden beams tore through the air and converged once more, only this time, their convergence point was directly above the Sea God Hall.
The golden light came and went quickly, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
But just as the golden light dissipated, their vision blurred, and a golden curtain of light enveloped the Ring Sea.
This light barrier was only about ten meters above the sea surface, exactly the same as the scene they had seen when they first arrived at the Sea Horse Sacred Pillar, as if it were specially designed to block the surging waves.
Moreover, this layer of golden light stretched all the way to the outermost shore of the Ring Sea before stopping.
At the same time, information about their Second Trial appeared in everyone's minds.
Their Second Trial has officially begun.
After a short while, the golden light gradually stabilized, and the waves on the Ring Sea also calmed down considerably.
Lin Mo was the first to come to his senses. He looked at everyone and asked, "What were your Second Trial?"
Feng Xiaotian was the first to speak, answering, "My Second Trial is called Breakthrough; Ring Blockade."
"Break through the blockade in the Ring Sea without harming any Sea Soul Beast, and reach the other side."
The other individuals, who were also in the Black Level Assessment, exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
Huo Wu pouted. "Mine is the same."
Shui Bing'er said softly, "Me too."
Shui Yue'er and Zhu Zhuqing nodded, indicating that their assessment content and requirements were exactly the same as Feng Xiaotian's.
Ye Lingling continued, her voice still gentle. "My assessment is the same as yours, except for one additional restriction."
Her tone carried a hint of helplessness. " My Seventh Soul Ring is sealed, so I can't use my Martial Soul Avatar."
At this point, Ye Lingling summoned the Nine Heart Begonia.
The pure white flowers bloomed quietly in her palm, radiating a soft pinkish-white light.
But when everyone looked at the seven Soul Ring surrounding the Nine Heart Begonia, they found that the seventh Black Soul Ring was now dull and gray, having lost its former luster and was unusable.
Huo Wu frowned. " Your Seventh Soul Ring is sealed? Then, Lingling, does that mean you can't use your Tool Soul Avatar?"
Ye Lingling nodded calmly. "It's true that it can't be used, but the first six Soul Ring are still there, which is more than enough for daily treatment."
Now that she has successfully broken through to the Seven-Ring Soul Sage, her Nine Heart Begonia is no less effective than her grandfather in terms of healing power and scope.
It's just that because of my inferior cultivation level, my healing speed isn't as fast as my grandfather's.
Immediately, Lin Mo shifted his gaze to Dugu Yan.
Dugu Yan had just finished checking the details of her Second Trial and was looking utterly exasperated.
Her pretty face was full of speechlessness, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
Lin Mo asked, " Sister Yanyan, what about yours?"
Dugu Yan Yansheng said with a sense of despair, her voice filled with obvious frustration. "My assessment requirements are the same as yours, only the restrictions are more numerous than Lingling's."
She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and said, word by word, "All my Soul Ring have been sealed."
Having said that, Dugu Yan's mind stirred slightly, and the Jade Phosphor Dragon Martial Soul instantly possessed her.
Her body was covered in emerald green dragon scales, which emitted a cold, eerie luster.
But at this moment, the seven Soul Ring surrounding her feet, whether they were hundred-year, thousand-year, or ten-thousand-year Soul Ring, all looked dull and gray, having lost their luster.
Huo Wu gasped, "Sealed completely? Then Sister Yanyan, your strength must be...?"
Dugu Yan gave a bitter smile, "Pretty much. All I can rely on now is the Martial Soul Possession and the basic abilities of the Martial Soul that it brings, as well as the Soul Bone Skill."
This can be said to have directly reduced my strength by more than half, causing a sharp decrease in my power!
Soon, everyone's attention turned to Lin Mo.
Lin Mo then shared his own situation calmly. "My assessment requirements are the same as yours, and the restrictions on me are the same as Sister Yanyan's —all my Soul Ring skills have been sealed."
"But... it seems there was a slight mishap."
Following Lin Mo's gaze, everyone unexpectedly discovered something that left them speechless.
The Charizard, who was scratching its head with an innocent expression, still had its eight Soul Ring lit up as usual.
Purple, purple, purple, black, black, black, red, red—eight Soul Ring were arranged in sequence, each radiating its own light.
Especially the two blood-red, Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, which shone brightly in the sunlight and were particularly eye-catching.
It appears to be unsealed.
"You can play like this?" Feng Xiaotian stared wide-eyed at the Soul Ring under the Charizard's feet in disbelief.
Huo Wu was stunned, her mouth agape as if she'd just stuffed an egg into it. "What... what's going on? Why wasn't Charizard's Soul Ring sealed?"
Shui Yue'er was completely stunned, and it took her a long time to come to her senses before she exclaimed, "You're cheating too much!"
A thoughtful look flashed in Shui Bing'er's eyes as she looked at Lin Mo, awaiting his explanation.
Lin Mo pretended to ponder for a moment, then slowly gave an explanation that seemed plausible.
He scratched his head, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "Perhaps the Second Trial is sealing or restricting the Soul Ring skills of my Body Martial Soul."
" The Charizard is External Beast Martial Soul, which is quite unique. In addition, my Body Martial Soul doesn't currently have Soul Ring attached, which is why this unexpected situation occurred."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
This explanation may sound a bit far-fetched, but there doesn't seem to be a better one.
Lin Mo had some guesses about why this situation had occurred.
Firstly, just like last time in the Slaughter City, it's due to the unique nature of Charizard itself.
This is because the unique nature of his independent existence means that neither the Magic-Banning Domain of the Slaughter City nor the Soul Ring sealing effect of the Sea God Trial works on him personally, and cannot restrain the Charizard.
The rules of the Slaughter City cannot restrain Charizard, and neither can the rules of Sea God Island.
The second reason is even simpler: the Sea God let Dugu Yan pass the Sea God's Nine Trials without any problems.
Although he couldn't openly change the intensity of Dugu Yan's assessment, he could indirectly increase Dugu Yan's chances of passing the assessment by modifying Lin Mo's assessment.
Just like the First Trial, he unceremoniously raised the difficulty of the first stage of his Top Level Eight Trials to be even higher than Dugu Yan's Sea God's Nine Trials.
However, compared to the latter, Lin Mo guessed that it was more likely the former.
After all, even if Sea God were something else, he wouldn't go to such lengths.
Little did they know, the Sea God, far away in the Divine Realm, was also utterly perplexed.
Inside the Sea God Palace, Poseidon leaned back on his throne, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest, his gaze fixed on the reflection in the steam before him.
If he went easy on Lin Mo in the First Trial, giving her an opportunity to help Dugu Yan pass it, he didn't go easy on her in the second First Trial at all.
Everything in the Second Trial was indeed conducted within the rules, but he didn't know why he couldn't successfully seal Lin Mo's dragon Martial Soul's Soul Ring.
"Tsk, what's the background of this little dragon? It's so special that it can even be exempt from the rules of the Inheritance Land." The Sea God clicked his tongue, a lecherous glint in his eyes.
He became increasingly concerned about Lin Mo's situation.
Under normal circumstances, even if Lin Mo possesses Twin Martial Souls, the second level of Break Through the Ring Blockade should have sealed all the Soul Ring of his twin Martial Soul.
But now, the dragon Martial Soul's Soul Ring is completely intact.
This was completely beyond his expectations.
"However... let Asura worry about these things." The Sea God chuckled and stopped dwelling on it.
He leaned back on his throne, crossed his legs, and felt exceptionally relaxed.
For him, the most important thing was to pass on his divine Godhood to Dugu Yan so that Dugu Yan could smoothly inherit Godhood and he could escape.
Nothing else matters.
What made him even happier was that the Godhood Inheritance on Asura's side seemed to have encountered another unexpected event.
However, according to Asura, it was just a minor accident.
Thinking of this, Poseidon's smile deepened.
"Hehe, just a little accident!"
At the foot of Sea God Mountain.
After a brief discussion, everyone decided that their second assessment would be another group-based assessment.
Soon, Feng Xiaotian, looking conflicted, posed a question that was more important to him at the moment.
He looked at Lin Mo with a serious expression. "Sect Master, how do I obtain my Seventh Soul Ring?"
There was a hint of anxiety in his voice.
He had already used up his chance to obtain God-Given Soul Ring for his Sixth Soul Ring, which meant that he could only acquire his Seventh Soul Ring by hunting Soul Beast.
But now, it seems they have no chance to leave Sea God Island.
This made Feng Xiaotian, who was eager to acquire Soul Ring and break through to the Soul Saint realm, feel anxious.
After passing the First Trial, his cultivation level had successfully increased from level 69 to level 70, making him a Quasi-Soul Saint. He was only one Seventh Soul Ring away from becoming a true Soul Saint.
If he can successfully break through to the Soul Saint, his strength will experience a qualitative leap.
It's no exaggeration to say that Soul Master's Seventh Soul Ring is the most important of their nine Soul Ring.
Huo Wu frowned as well. "Yeah, we haven't reached our bottleneck yet, but we'll have to face this problem sooner or later. We can't stay stuck like this forever, can we?"
Shui Bing'er said softly, " Sea Horse Douluo and the others should have had similar experiences. Perhaps we can ask them."
Lin Mo pointed to the Charizard beside him, his tone relaxed. "Don't rush, don't panic."
" Sea Horse Douluo and the other Sea Douluo who passed the same assessment as you must have encountered similar situations during their assessments."
"Between the two trials, we should have the opportunity to leave Sea God Island and obtain Soul Ring in the ocean, but we don't know how far we can go."
Upon hearing Lin Mo's words, Feng Xiaotian immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
His tense shoulders relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face, "The sect leader said I was too hasty."
Lin Mo then added, with a hint of teasing in his tone, "Even if it really doesn't work, we can just have Charizard catch a Sea Soul Beast that's within your tolerance limit."
Upon hearing Lin Mo's words, everyone's eyes lit up.
Yes, they can't go out right now, but Charizard isn't included!
Charizard can roam freely Sea God Island without any restrictions.
Huo Wu clapped her hands, her eyes lighting up. "That's right! Charizard can go out and help us catch Soul Beast! Just like it helped Yue'er catch the Evil Spirit Orca before!"
Shui Yue'er jumped up excitedly, "Yes, yes, yes! Charizard are so powerful, catching a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast is a piece of cake!"
Hearing the praise, the Charizard raised its head and swayed its tail gently, looking as if it were perfectly natural.
Feng Xiaotian was completely relieved and clasped his hands in thanks to Lin Mo, saying, "Thank you, Sect Master!"
Lin Mo waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to be so polite.
Lin Mo then drew everyone's attention back to him.
He said loudly, "Now that I've finally passed the First Trial, I'll take a few days to rest."
"Let's get ourselves in the right state before preparing for the second test. Cultivation, too, requires a balance of intensity and rest."
Upon hearing this, Shui Yue'er let out a cheer, her voice clear and bright. " Lin Mo is awesome! Lin Mo, you're the best!"
She jumped around, her face full of excitement.
The year of intense training had taken a toll on her mental state, so now that she had a chance to relax, she naturally didn't want to miss it.
Huo Wu stretched, her beautiful figure inadvertently revealed. "Tell me, this year has really worn me out."
Feng Xiaotian nodded, a relaxed expression appearing on his face.
Although Shui Bing'er didn't speak, a hint of relief flashed in her purple eyes.
Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan exchanged a glance, and smiles appeared on both of their faces.
Zhu Zhuqing remained silent, but a hint of relaxation flashed in her cool eyes.
Lin Mo smiled, turned and walked towards Seahorse City: "Let's go back and rest for a couple of days. Once we're rested, we can tackle the Second Trial."
The group followed, chatting and laughing as they headed back towards Seahorse City.
However, just as Lin Mo and his group left the foot of Sea God Mountain and set off back to Seahorse City, a dorsal fin appeared on the surface of the Ring Sea.
Its dorsal fin, grayish-blue, appeared and disappeared under the golden light, cutting through the water's surface and moving silently.
The next moment, a pair of gray-blue eyes emerged from the sea, staring intently at Lin Mo's departing figure.
A visible hint of Rage flashed in his eyes.
If Lin Mo were still here, he would be able to recognize its identity.
This is an incredibly large Demon Soul Great White Shark.
It is over 25 meters long, and its streamlined body moves like Ghost type in the water, with a faint sheen on its gray-blue skin.
To be precise, it was the mount of the First Generation Sea God, the Demon Soul Great White Shark King; Xiao Bai.