...Sky screen timeline...
As Qian Xunji fended off Bo Saixi's attacks, he pondered, What did I say?
How did I make you wait twenty years?
Make yourself clear. Don't you dare ruin my reputation!
Qian Xunji really had forgotten what he had promised Bo Saixi.
Could he really be a heartless, faithless scoundrel?
But there really was nothing between him and Bo Saixi.
Besides, he was still plotting to seize the Sea God's divine position.
Bo Saixi had become a Limit Douluo before he did, so she naturally didn't meet the system's conditions for nurturing.
That was why Qian Xunji was determined to obtain the Sea God's position as a First-Level God.
After all, it was hard to say just how many divine positions were being passed down on the Douluo Continent.
Gathering five First-Level God positions was no simple matter.
As for Bo Saixi sacrificing herself, so be it. At worst, once he became the Creation God, he could just bring her back to life.
This old woman!
"If you don't stop, I'm going to spank you!"
Qian Xunji spoke angrily, and Bo Saixi's attacks came to an abrupt halt, but she grew even more embarrassed and angry. "Qian Xunji!!!"
"Y-you, you wouldn't dare!"
"Is there anything I wouldn't dare do?"
Qian Xunji refused to back down, though he didn't actually do it.
Spank her? No, that wouldn't do. This woman was old, and Qian Xunji didn't like women older than himself.
No matter how beautiful she was.
Besides, there was already someone in her heart. (We'll try to follow the original work as closely as possible, but some plot developments will differ where necessary. Please be aware.)
Bo Saixi gritted her teeth, her dignified, noble bearing nowhere to be seen as a blush spread across her breathtaking face.
But in the end, she didn't attack again.
She had already been no match for Qian Xunji when he left Sea God Island.
Now that more than twenty years had passed, the fellow's strength had surely become even more terrifying.
"Where's the Sea God's Heart?"
Bo Saixi forcibly held back her anger and stared coldly at Qian Xunji.
Qian Xunji snorted. "Is that any way to ask someone for a favor?"
"You promised me this. Twenty years ago, when you left Sea God Island, you promised you'd come back."
"You said you'd find the Sea God's Heart and bring it back."
"And you said it'd take a year at most, or a few days at the least."
"And what happened?"
"Twenty years!"
Bo Saixi felt her anger rising again. Her fingertips whitened around her golden scepter, and she seemed ready to attack again.
"Did I say that?"
Qian Xunji blinked and looked at Ye Qingxian. "Did I say that?"
Ye Qingxian looked utterly bewildered and pointed at herself. "Me?"
She didn't know how to answer. She hadn't even been born twenty years ago, all right?
"Sorry, I really forgot."
Qian Xunji thought he probably had said it, but most likely only in passing.
Otherwise, with the spiritual power of a Peerless Douluo, he wouldn't have forgotten it.
Bo Saixi was about to go berserk again, and the surrounding seawater had already begun to roar.
Qian Xunji shook his head gently as red Soul Rings appeared one after another. "You're no match for me."
Bo Saixi froze. Looking at Qian Xunji's Soul Rings, her beautiful eyes flickered with disbelief.
"Y-your Soul Rings' ages... how is that possible?"
"When you left the Sea God, you only had six black and three red rings."
"Did you undertake the Angel God's trial?"
That was the only explanation.
But the Angel God's trial should have been much the same as the Sea God Trial.
Given Qian Xunji's strength, he should have become a god by now.
Why was he still at level ninety-nine?
"That's none of your concern. All you need to know is that you're no match for me."
Qian Xunji withdrew his Soul Rings, then took out the Sea God's Heart. "I can give you the Sea God's Heart."
"But I have one condition."
When Bo Saixi saw that Qian Xunji really had retrieved the Sea God's Heart, her expression brightened at once. "What condition? Tell me first."
"Let the two of them undertake the Sea God's trial."
Qian Xunji pointed at Ye Qingxian and Ah Yin.
Bo Saixi glanced at Ye Qingxian, then fixed her gaze on Ah Yin. "A hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast in human form?"
"Never mind that. They're both my people."
"Your people?"
Bo Saixi narrowed her beautiful eyes and snorted. "They can take the Angel God Trial too."
"That's much more convenient than the Sea God Trial."
"It's different."
"Just give me a straight answer."
"Besides, now that the Sea God's Heart has been returned to its place,"
"if either of them can begin the Sea God Nine Trials, you must not stop her."
Bo Saixi fell silent, and her gaze dimmed somewhat as she looked at Qian Xunji.
She seemed a little disappointed.
But she quickly composed herself and held out a delicate hand. "Give it to me."
Qian Xunji sent the Sea God's Heart over to her. After catching it, Bo Saixi turned and walked toward Sea God Island.
"Follow me."
Her voice was a little cold, and Qian Xunji curled his lip. Women were truly impossible to understand.
Young girls were easier to get along with.
Ye Qingxian and Ah Yin didn't have such bad tempers. They did whatever he told them, and whatever position he wanted, he got.
Sea God Island covered a considerable area, with a population of a million. The Sea God's Seven Sacred Pillars were designated forbidden grounds, and no one could approach them without special permission.
The Sea Dragon Sacred Pillar.
When the High Priest Bo Saixi arrived, Sea Dragon Douluo immediately woke from his doze.
"Greetings, High Priest."
"Sea Dragon Douluo, these two girls are here to undertake the Sea God Trial."
"Activate the Sacred Pillar test for them."
Bo Saixi wasted no words. Sea Dragon Douluo nodded, but just as he was about to move, he glanced at Qian Xunji.
Of course he knew Qian Xunji. After all, he had already been a Sacred Pillar Guardian twenty years ago.
He still remembered the terror of being dominated by Qian Xunji.
The fellow had already been a Soul Douluo when he came to Sea God Island, and by the time he left, he had become a Peerless Douluo outright.
His talent was absolutely terrifying.
This time, he had actually brought two young girls with him... disciples?
They were both pretty, but he wondered what their talents were like.
"Please!"
Sea Horse Douluo was very courteous and even skipped the preliminary trial before the test.
The Sea Horse Sacred Pillar stood on a platform. There were no elaborate buildings around it, only a vast grassland.
"Who would like to come forward first?"
Sea Dragon Douluo spoke, and Ah Yin and Ye Qingxian exchanged a glance.
"I'll go first."
Ah Yin tactfully stepped forward to the Sea Horse Sacred Pillar.
"Place your hand on the Sacred Pillar and release your Martial Soul."
Sea Horse Douluo naturally saw through Ah Yin's identity, but since the High Priest said nothing, neither would he.
After evolving, the Blue Silver Emperor had a texture like gold and jade. Four Soul Rings slowly rose: yellow, yellow, purple, and black.
Seeing that Soul Ring configuration, Sea Dragon Douluo looked slightly surprised, but soon regained his composure.
That configuration was far inferior to Qian Xunji's back then.
When Qian Xunji had come, his first ring had been a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
That had been truly shocking.
Sea Dragon Douluo activated the Sacred Pillar, and in an instant, white fluorescent light bloomed from it.
The white light rose only a foot, but it quickly turned purple, then became black in the blink of an eye.
A moment later, red light soared into the sky, rising dozens of zhang and startling all of Sea God Island.
"Red-Level Nine Trials?"
Sea Dragon Douluo cried out in shock. According to legend, even the High Priest had only begun the Red-Level Eight Trials back then.
But the scarlet light did not stop there.
Gold gradually appeared within the red, growing ever more intense as the presence of a deity descended.
"Sea God Nine Trials!!!"
The High Priest couldn't help crying out. She looked at Qian Xunji and saw only satisfaction on his face, without the slightest trace of surprise. Her gaze dimmed even further.
Did he come solely for the divine position?
Does he not care if I sacrifice myself?