Chapter 288: Sea God Island's Grand Priest Tang San
"Father is the Supreme Pontiff, holding the same status as the emperors of the two great empires. Naturally, he should have a grand harem of three palaces, six courts, and seventy-two consorts. Let him take care of that matter—it's only logical."
Hearing Qian Renchuan's words, Ning Fengzhi was left completely speechless. Handing his daughter over to Qian Xunji—who was a generation above him—would utterly confuse their seniority.
A single lock of hair at Qian Xunji's forehead turned white. A flood of wicked notions surfaced in his mind, though he ultimately forced them down. Ning Rongrong was indeed stunning, but Qian Xunji wasn't so desperate. Besides, their generational gap was enormous—her father was younger than he, and even if age alone didn't matter, the difference in seniority was too great. Even if he had the vigor of a peak expert, how would Spirit Hall view it? How would his family?
Qian Xunji waved a hand. "Let's just drop it. Fengzhi, since my son is firmly unwilling, there's no need to force him. Soon, I'll provide you with a few medicinal prescriptions to nourish your body; you can properly pass on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. That way, there'll be no need to worry about the Ning Clan's inheritance."
"Yes, Your Holiness."
Ning Fengzhi sighed. As long as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's legacy endured, he would be satisfied.
Time flowed on. Another two years passed. One year before, Qian Renxue had consumed the Ten-Headed Fiery Sun Snake's inner pill, successfully reaching rank 90 and fully awakening her Six-Winged Angel. After one hundred eight days of prayer, she opened the Angelic Nine Trials.
Originally, Qian Daoliu wanted Qian Xunji to give Qian Renxue a God-bestowed Spirit Ring to serve as her ninth ring. But Qian Xunji refused with an excuse. Based on Qian Renchuan's experience, it appeared a single God-bestowed Spirit Ring's upper limit was best suited for producing a single hundred-thousand-year ring. Qian Renxue's eighth ring was already at the hundred-thousand-year level; the ninth needed to surpass a hundred thousand years.
Eager not to be overtaken by her pesky little brother, Qian Renxue and Qian Daoliu accepted Qian Xunji's suggestion. Even without a ninth ring, the Angelic Nine Trials could proceed. The first test was simply enduring the Angelic Light and climbing six hundred steps of the Angelic Shrine. Even for a rank 95 Title Douluo, four hundred steps was typically a first-time limit.
Sea God Island.
Three and a half years had passed since Tang San, Tang Tian, and Tang Hu arrived. Finally, Tang San's knowledge from his previous life as a god-king showed its worth.
In the first test—crossing the Sea God's Light and climbing the Sea God Temple steps—he immediately informed Tang Tian and Tang Hu that they could unite all their strength behind one person at a time, allowing that person to finish the trial. Moreover, cultivating beneath the pressure of the Sea God's Light could accelerate their training.
Spending a year, the three of them timed everything precisely to pass the first test. After receiving the top-grade reward from the Sea God, Tang San's spirit power reached rank 50. He then absorbed a God-bestowed spirit ring of 23,000 years, upgrading his Blue Silver Grass to the Blue Silver King and reaching rank 52.5.
The second test was the ring-shaped blockade. With his prior experience, Tang San used the Vast Heaven Nine Absolutes' "Zhen" technique for all of them; they finished in half a year.
Third test, the Tidal Body Tempering—standing five hours daily on a submerged silver pillar—took them a year.
Fourth test, the Shark-Whale Battle: because Bibi Dong had slaughtered many beasts here, they passed easily.
During this time, Tang San learned that in this second life, Bibi Dong had been reborn and received the Sea God's Nine Trials. He was nearly scared to death—but upon discovering she had murdered Sea Dragon Douluo and Sea Spear Douluo, slaughtering countless innocents, Grand Priest Bo Saixi rejected her as any Sea God inheritor. Tang San breathed relief; otherwise, had Bibi Dong returned to Sea God Island for vengeance, no one would have saved him.
After three and a half years, Tang San, Tang Tian, and Tang Hu all finished their Sea God Trials. Tang Tian and Tang Hu soared from Spirit Kings to high-level Spirit Emperors. Tang San benefited even more, each spirit ring gaining an extra 6,000 years; his spirit power jumped four levels, plus two God-bestowed rings. He had just broken into the Spirit Sage rank, surpassing Tang Tian and Tang Hu. His plain looks were refined by those two God-bestowed spirit rings, plus the Blue Silver King's innate beautification effect, making him a handsome figure—now truly the "most attractive man" of the Clear Sky Clan.
Within the Sea God Temple on Sea God Island, nothing had changed. An ancient, pitch-black hall with no windows, featuring six platforms plus one more—seven in total. Tang San eyed them thoughtfully. In his previous lifetime, he had stood on that large seventh platform; after Bo Saixi sacrificed herself, he'd entered the Sea God's inheritance there. His six companions guarded those lesser platforms. Absorbing the residual benefit from his ascension to the Sea God, they all broke ten ranks and each received a God-bestowed ring, becoming Title Douluo.
Now Bo Saixi sat at the center of the first level, legs crossed and palms up in a mysterious gesture, eyes closed.
"Tang San, come forward," she said softly, her voice echoing through the empty hall.
Tang San approached and bowed. "Senior Bo Saixi."
She rose slowly, as deep and solemn as the ocean. "Tang San, by completing the top-grade trials, you are now the next Grand Priest of Sea God Island. Your duty is to guard it."
"Every Grand Priest of Sea God Island attains rank 99 Title Douluo, yet from rank 95 onward, every rank demands centuries of training. Ninety-five to ninety-six alone typically takes one hundred years, and from ninety-six to ninety-seven another hundred. Short of some remarkable fortune, reaching rank 97 would require over two hundred years.
"I once thought no one besides your great-grandfather Tang Chen, Qian Daoliu, and Qian Xunji could surpass rank 97—that level is an absolute barrier. But I once stayed at Spirit Hall and discovered two people there who broke rank 98 on their own, both under two centuries old. Even now I can't fathom how they did it."
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