For Ming Zhao, all he had to do was make sure the Ice and Snow Empresses stayed alive and kept themselves in peak condition. That way, when he reached Level 99 and could advance no further, he could use their origin power to break through to the god level.
The difficulty of advancing from Level 99 to Level 100 was absurdly high. Without a Godhood-that alternative kind of Soul Ring-to help break through the bottleneck, the realm of Limit Douluo alone could be divided into several stages.
Quasi-Demigod, Demigod, Quasi-God, and Peak Quasi-God.
Only after those came True God.
That was why Ming Zhao had changed his earlier plans after breaking through to Level 90.
Before, he hadn't thought he could possess Limit Douluo combat strength as soon as he broke through to the Titled Douluo realm. To ensure his safety and survive pursuit by other Soul Masters, he had needed to rush through the Titled Douluo cultivation stages and quickly reach the Limit Douluo realm.
Only then could he protect himself and face a siege by any faction on the Douluo Continent without fear.
After gaining Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Soul Cores, Ming Zhao already had Limit Douluo combat strength as soon as he broke through to the Titled Douluo realm. At that point, there was no use pursuing higher levels anymore.
At Level 94, Ming Zhao had Limit Douluo combat strength. At Level 98, he would still have Limit Douluo combat strength.
Whether he was Level 94 or Level 98, he wouldn't be killed by other Limit Douluo.
Given Ming Zhao's Martial Soul and fate, both devious beyond measure, even if the three great Limit Douluo of the age besieged him together, he could escape at his leisure. He might even turn the tables and kill one of them.
Now that he could ensure his own survival, his next goal was naturally to work out how to go farther and climb higher.
Ming Zhao hadn't sacrificed all living beings, or even himself, just to throw his weight around on the Douluo Continent's tiny patch of land, then slowly grow old and turn into a pile of withered bones when his lifespan ran out.
Knowing full well that gods existed in this world, if he still set his sights on Level 99 and thought he would be satisfied just breaking through to Limit Douluo, even Ming Zhao would think himself a good-for-nothing.
But becoming a god was indeed incredibly difficult. Ming Zhao had to admit that.
Looking at all the known native gods of the Douluo Continent, only the Angel God and the Sea God from the primordial age had become gods by independently condensing their own Godhoods. Others, such as Tang San, the Shrek Seven Devils, Qian Renxue, Bibi Dong, Huo Yuhao, Tang Wutong, Tang Wulin, and so on, had all become gods by inheriting someone else's Godhood.
Ming Zhao certainly wasn't counting on inheriting anyone's Godhood. Given the path he followed, only the Rakshasa God's and the Asura God's Godhoods might be compatible with him.
But the Rakshasa God's Godhood had vanished who knew how long ago, and the Asura God's Godhood was with Tang San. Naturally, he had to prepare himself for the possibility that he wouldn't inherit a Godhood.
Under those circumstances, Ming Zhao had only two paths to godhood: break through the bottleneck with sheer power, or independently condense a Godhood.
It wasn't impossible to take both paths, but if he did, he would still have to decide which came first.
Ming Zhao's current main quest was still to cultivate to Limit Douluo on his own and continue building on that foundation until he could advance no further. Only then would he begin filling in the Soul Rings and Soul Bones he lacked, using that immense foundation to forcibly break through the final bottleneck.
After breaking through to Level 100, he would then use the power of laws to condense a Godhood of his own.
Now that the Ice and Snow Empresses had submitted, Ming Zhao had effectively secured two vast reserves of origin power for when he reached Limit Douluo, bringing him one step closer to becoming a god.
"Of you two, one is struggling to survive the seven hundred thousand year heavenly tribulation, while the other is clinging to life under the four hundred thousand year heavenly tribulation. But in the end, all you want is to survive." Ming Zhao held out his hand, showing them the skull bracelet around his wrist.
As he undid a sliver of the spatial power sealing it, the distinctive presence of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow spread from the bracelet.
"And I happen to be able to keep you alive."
"Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow!" the Ice Empress and Snow Empress exclaimed in unison.
"That's right. Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow." With a casual flick, Ming Zhao tossed ten skulls in front of the Snow Empress, where they floated in the air under her gaze.
"These are ten pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. They'll have no trouble solving your current predicament, but what belongs to me isn't so easily obtained."
The Snow Empress took a deep breath, her tone growing even more respectful. "Master, please tell us. As long as it's within our ability, my sister and I are willing to follow your orders."
Ice Empress: "Me too!"
"My condition is simple." Ming Zhao spread his arms. A black vortex and a white vortex appeared at his chest and lower abdomen, while illusory images of a black moon and a white sun were projected behind him.
"My goal is to become a god! Once I reach Level 99 and can advance no further, I want you to sacrifice yourselves to help me shatter the shackles of Level 100 and become an immortal god. As a reward, I can let the two of you remain by my side and share in eternal life."
"Sacrifice?" Both their bodies trembled at once.
In their hearts, they felt an instinctive resistance to and fear of that word, but also a longing for the grand vision of godhood and immortality Ming Zhao had described.
Look at that pie he'd promised them: big, round, and fragrant, too.
The Snow Empress and Ice Empress couldn't refuse, nor were they able to. In their hearts, they didn't even want to refuse.
Perhaps... this is our chance.
"We are willing to stand with you through everything, Master!"
The Snow Empress and Ice Empress went into seclusion.
Of the ten pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, the Snow Empress received six and the Ice Empress four.
The original allocation had been seven for the Snow Empress and three for the Ice Empress. But the Snow Empress also had a hundred-thousand-year snow lotus, which, combined with six pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, was enough to heal the injuries to her origin and let her attempt the seven-hundred-thousand-year bottleneck again.
The Ice Empress didn't need to go to so much trouble. Once she healed the damage to her origin with four pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, she would be certain to pass the four-hundred-thousand-year bottleneck.
But Ming Zhao told them not to rush. They were to heal their injuries first, then suppress their cultivation as much as possible and wait for a better opportunity before undergoing their tribulations.
To put it bluntly, Ming Zhao didn't trust them.
They had only shown an attitude of submission. Ming Zhao didn't know whether they truly meant it, and he wasn't going to gamble on it, so he made all his plans on the assumption that they would say one thing to his face and do another behind his back.
If the Snow Empress and Ice Empress broke through now, dealing with the stronger ice-and-snow sisters would only become more difficult for him.
Besides, they might not both succeed.
The Ice Empress was one thing. She was a bit of a maggot, but once her injuries healed, she shouldn't be unable to get past four hundred thousand years.
The Snow Empress, on the other hand, was in real trouble. Ming Zhao didn't think six pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow would be enough for her to condense a Second Soul Core.
After all, when he had condensed his Yin-Yang Soul Core, he had nearly swept the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well clean of its medicinal herbs and absorbed a vast amount of ice and fire energy before succeeding.
He was wary not only of the Snow Empress turning against him after her breakthrough, but even more concerned that this heaven-shaking maggot would simply roll her eyes back and croak during the attempt.
If that happened, Ming Zhao would lose everything he'd invested. He would even be tempted to blood-sacrifice the Far North.