Snow Empress's heart had long been chilled by all the signs she had witnessed along the way.
This previously imperceptible space, with its rules she couldn't comprehend, pierced her initial illusions like the sharpest icicles.
She clearly sensed the Ice God's prejudice against her " Soul Beast Transformation," and didn't actually harbor much hope.
However, when this life-changing opportunity was truly before her, her heart, which had been dormant for hundreds of thousands of years, began to beat uncontrollably and violently, like a drum pounding against her chest and her reason.
She glanced at Kong Xuan, Gu Yuena, and Meng Hongchen one last time, then turned her head, her gaze returning to the Ice God Spear so close at hand. In her clear, cold eyes, the last trace of hesitation was completely severed, leaving only a resolute determination like that of someone who had burned their boats.
She took a few steps and stopped before the Frozen Throne.
Her right hand trembled slightly uncontrollably, but she still slowly and resolutely raised her arm and reached for the Ice God Spear.
Even as a snow spirit, as her right hand gradually approached the Ice God Spear, a bone-chilling cold still emanated from her fingertips.
This is not a physical coldness, but a divine chill that penetrates the soul and reveals the difference in status.
Finally, her hand firmly and completely grasped the crystal-clear shaft of the Ice God Spear!
Buzz...!
The moment she gripped it tightly, the Ice God Spear shuddered violently!
A dazzling, icy-blue divine light, like a sleeping dragon suddenly awakening, erupted from the gun and instantly engulfed the Snow Empress's entire body!
A vast, ancient, and incomparably majestic thought, like a boundless icy ocean, surged forcefully into her consciousness along her arm!
She instantly felt that her Sea of Consciousness had completely slipped out of her control, and was forcibly taken over by a more sublime and vast will.
Everything before her eyes vanished, leaving only that enormous figure, which occupied her entire vision and was imprinted deep within her soul.
She was a woman dressed in a flowing, ice-blue gown, tall and graceful, yet exuding an aura of supreme authority.
She held the same Ice God Spear as the one on the throne, her face blurred in the endless divine light, only her eyes, which looked down upon all living beings, were clearly visible.
Without a doubt, this figure is none other than the fallen Ice God!
The illusory figure of the Ice God lowered its eyes, its gaze falling on the Snow Empress.
Although no oppressive aura emanated from her, Snow Empress still felt her soul tremble and her breathing become labored, as if an invisible hand were choking her.
Just then, the Ice God's magnificent voice, seemingly formed from the accumulated cold winds of eternity, resounded directly within the Snow Empress's Soul Core: "Snow Spirit, Incarnation of Ice and Snow, you may obtain— the Top-Level Five Trials!"
That clear and majestic voice, like a divine decree, slowly dissipated in the Snow Empress's Sea of Consciousness, followed by a gentle yet irresistible force.
Snow Empress swayed slightly and involuntarily loosened her grip on the Ice God Spear.
When she opened her eyes again, her icy blue light shimmered, carrying a hint of bewilderment and complexity. She was met with the concerned and inquiring gazes of Kong Xuan, Gu Yuena, and Meng Hongchen.
Gu Yuena stared intently at Snow Empress with her purple eyes and asked directly, "How is the situation?"
The Snow Empress's voice carried a hint of barely concealed disappointment as she softly spoke, "I obtained... the Top-Level Five Trials."
As she spoke, the icy blue five-pointed snowflake divine mark on her forehead flashed by.
" Top-Level Five Trials?"
Upon hearing this, Gu Yuena's beautiful face instantly turned frosty.
She snorted coldly, her voice filled with undisguised anger. "Hmph! Not a god-level assessment! It seems that in the eyes of those high and mighty gods, even if Soul Beast abandons everything to transform into a human, its foundation is still not accepted, and it is not worthy of obtaining the final qualification for inheritance!"
In her view, with the Snow Empress's accumulated ice and snow essence over hundreds of thousands of years, and her pure Ultimate Ice talent after transformation, it was only natural that she would receive the god-level assessment that would directly lead to godhood.
Now, having only achieved the top-level assessment, this gap is, in her eyes, irrefutable proof of divine prejudice!
Kong Xuan did not speak immediately; a golden glint flashed in his eyes as he fell into thought.
He remembered very clearly that in the original work, the ultimate test for the God Douluo I the Sea God was the Seven Trials!
At this moment, the Ice God's ultimate test for the Snow Empress was only the fifth test.
What does this difference signify?
Did the Ice God deliberately lower the difficulty of the assessment?
Or perhaps... because the Ice God has already fallen, his remaining divine Divine Power and will are simply insufficient to support further trials.
Therefore, the scale of the top-level assessment had to be reduced from seven tests to five.
With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, but unable to find a definite answer, Kong Xuan stopped dwelling on it.
He composed himself, turned his gaze to Meng Hongchen beside him, and said in a steady yet encouraging tone, "Meng, it's your turn."
Meeting Kong Xuan's earnest gaze, filled with trust and expectation, Meng Hongchen took a deep breath, as if to suppress all her tension and unease, and then nodded heavily.
She knew that Kong Xuan's greatest hope in bringing her here was that she could obtain the Ice God's inheritance and ascend to the Divine Realm together in the future. This was his promise to her and their shared vision.
Whether I truly possess the qualifications and ability to accompany him to the pinnacle may well be decided in this very moment.
Without further hesitation, she strode confidently toward the Ice God Spear that stood atop the throne.
Slowly, she raised her right hand. Her slender, fair fingers appeared exceptionally fragile against the backdrop of the Ice God Spear's shaft, which shimmered with divine light, yet they carried an unwavering determination.
Finally, her hand firmly grasped the Ice God Spear!
Buzz!!!
The moment she gripped it tightly, something unexpected happened!
The Ice God Spear unleashed a dazzling divine light ten or even a hundred times stronger than when the Snow Empress touched it before!
The entire Ice and Snow Temple trembled violently, and the ice crystals on the dome swayed as if cheering and jumping for joy!
A torrent of Divine Power, far more powerful yet equally majestic and vast than before, surged wildly into Meng Hongchen's body as if it had found its home!
Her Ultimate Ice Martial Soul was released uncontrollably, and a phantom of an ice field seemed to appear behind her, resonating strongly with the Ice God Ruins!
A more complex, ice-blue, hexagonal snowflake divine mark than the one on the Snow Empress's forehead, with a faint golden pattern at its core, was unhesitatingly imprinted onto Meng Hongchen's smooth forehead!
At the same time, the magnificent female voice that had once resounded in the Sea of Consciousness of Snow Empress rang out in the Sea of Consciousness of Meng Hongchen.
But this time, the voice seemed less cold and more... relieved and expectant?
" Ultimate Ice, a pure body, and an unwavering will—you are worthy to inherit my mantle!"
"I hereby bestow upon you the Ice God Six Trials!"
In the blink of an eye, the dazzling divine light and the myriad strange phenomena that had enveloped Meng Hongchen receded like a tide, ultimately merging completely into the profound and mysterious ice-blue divine mark on her forehead, which concealed golden patterns.
Meng Hongchen slowly opened her eyes, her gaze filled with an indescribable divinity and joy.
She immediately looked at Kong Xuan, her face filled with barely concealed excitement, her voice trembling slightly with joy. "Xuan, I obtained the Ice God Six Trials! We... we can become gods together!"
Upon hearing this, even with his composure, Kong Xuan couldn't help but feel a sense of bewilderment and immense joy.
Even though Meng Hongchen possessed the Ultimate Ice attribute, she never expected the process to be so smooth and the result to be so perfect.
Meng Hongchen actually succeeded to the throne of a god.
But six trials are fine. The Sea God Nine Trials have three fewer trials, which reduces the difficulty and increases the chances of becoming a god!