Chapter 297: Everyone Leaves the Battlefield
Outside Jialing Pass, after a series of bloody battles, both sides began to grow more cautious, especially with the heavy casualties on both sides. They were now in a deadlock, neither side willing to let go.
On the Heaven Dou Empire's side, the three strongest performers were Tang San, Sword Douluo, and Ning Rongrong. Tang San and Sword Douluo were the only two top-tier experts in the Heaven Dou Empire, both possessing 98th-level battle power. Ning Rongrong, on the other hand, displayed terrifying auxiliary abilities, even stronger than Ning Fengzhi in some respects.
However, just as the two sides were locked in a standoff, news arrived from the Body Sect's Sect Master, Yang Xiong, that Ning Rongrong and the others needed to be recalled to the sect for urgent matters.
Emperor Xue Ye had initially wanted to request Yang Xiong's help, but now Yang Xiong had gone against his wishes, which made Emperor Xue Ye feel embarrassed, and even others started to express their dissatisfaction.
However, Ning Fengzhi and Lin Gong knew very well that Yang Xiong would never make an arbitrary decision. Since he was recalling Ning Rongrong and the others, it must be for something important.
Ning Fengzhi and Lin Gong didn't pay much attention to the others' reactions and directly arranged for Ning Rongrong's group to leave immediately. By the time others realized, they were already on their way to the Body Sect.
Even Tang San and Tang Xiao were a little disappointed. After all, the three sects were working together now, and by removing seven Soul Douluo at once—seven of whom had performed exceptionally well—it had a huge impact on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, Ning Fengzhi and Lin Gong had already made arrangements, and the people had already left. Now, it was too late to stop them.
Not to mention that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Body Sect seemed like one big family. Their cooperation was seamless, and even the Haotian Sect didn't want to provoke them easily. After all, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Body Sect together had six Title Douluo, plus the renowned Sword Douluo.
The reason the battlefield had been able to hold until now was largely due to the contributions of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Body Sect. Since neither side had moved their Title Douluo, the situation could still be maintained.
Tang San seemed to think of something, and his expression changed.
Actually, Tang San and his group had already realized that Yang Xiong had reached level 90, only needing the final ninth soul ring. The reason he had removed so many people was likely to obtain the ninth soul ring.
With Yang Xiong's personality, the ninth soul ring would definitely be from an extremely powerful soul beast. Once Yang Xiong reached Title Douluo, it was hard to say just how strong he would become.
Although Tang San was confident, he knew very well the extent of Yang Xiong's power. Even with his 96th-level strength, he probably couldn't defeat a 90th-level Yang Xiong.
As for Ning Fengzhi, Lin Gong, and Yang Wudi's group, they had pretty much understood the situation of the war. Both the Body Sect and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School had already suffered substantial losses, and they no longer had the same sense of invincibility they had at the beginning.
At the Body Sect, Yang Xiong waited for three full days before Ning Rongrong and the others finally returned, and they had traveled as quickly as possible.
Ning Rongrong looked at Yang Xiong sitting in the Body Sect's hall, and she felt somewhat uncomfortable.
"Look at you, little bear. We've been fighting on the frontlines against the Spirit Hall Empire, and you're here slacking off. I'm going to tell Dad and Grandpa Jian about this."
Yang Xiong pinched Ning Rongrong's small face.
"It's only been a few days, and you seem to have lost quite a bit of weight. It looks like the frontlines have been even more exhausting than training on Sea God Island."
Ning Rongrong proudly puffed her chest out. "Of course! I've been shining on the Jialing Pass battlefield. Now, I'm recognized as the number one support soul master in the world, even better than Dad's performance."
"If it weren't for me, the Heaven Dou Empire wouldn't have lasted this long."
Yang Xiong affectionately patted Ning Rongrong's head. This girl had clearly changed a lot, and there were still many wounds on her body, showing just how brutal the war had been.
Compared to her usual gentle and cute princess image, Ning Rongrong now appeared more heroic, with a faint murderous aura. The battlefield had indeed hardened her.
The others had also undergone some changes. They had only trained before, but once on the battlefield, they truly understood the cruelty of war. In the sea of blood and corpses, they fought with everything they had to survive.
At least everyone now exuded a faint bloodthirsty aura, a certain arrogance and fierceness forged through their experiences in war.
After communicating with everyone, Yang Xiong noticed that although their soul power hadn't improved, their combat awareness had significantly improved.
Yang Xiong then spoke. "Rongrong, Big Brother, Oscar, I called you back because there are two important matters that need to be handled."
Big Brother Yang Wei said, "Little Xiong, just speak up. We're all family."
Yang Xiong didn't hesitate and took out the Vast Ocean Universe Shield, instantly filling the room with a blue ocean.
"Big Brother, when we were training on Sea God Island, I had already prepared for this, the Vast Ocean Universe Shield."
"The Vast Ocean Universe Shield, also known as the Sea God's Heart, is a legendary artifact of Sea God Island. Recently, I've encountered a problem and need to find a new inheritor for the Sea God's Heart. In other words, I need to find the true heir of the Sea God."
Everyone was shocked upon hearing this. After all, gods were supreme beings, and these people had only participated in the Sea God Island trials without actually having any contact with the gods.
Everyone stared at the Vast Ocean Universe Shield in Yang Xiong's hand, their gazes varied, some seemed to be struggling with something, while others were filled with an intense desire.
Given everyone's current strength, except for Feng Xiaotian, none of them were even thirty yet. They had already reached the Soul Douluo level and were top-tier geniuses in both talent and combat awareness, undoubtedly the brightest talents in the world.
Yang Wei thought for a moment before speaking, "Little Xiong, is this god's inheritance real? Does it mean that as long as we gain the Sea God's Heart's recognition, we can become the Sea God's heir?"
Yang Xiong nodded. "Normally, when a god wants to pass down their position, they will set a trial for the inheritor. For example, to obtain the Sea God's inheritance, one must undergo the Sea God's Nine Trials."
"Unfortunately, when you all trained on Sea God Island, the highest you reached was the Red-Level Seven Trials. You didn't receive the Red-Level Nine Trials, so you didn't receive the god's inheritance."
"However, after all these years of hard training, your strength, physical fitness, and even talent have greatly improved. Now, you might have a chance to receive the Sea God's inheritance."
Yang Wei was somewhat puzzled. "Little Xiong, you were at the Red-Level Eight Trials, so you should have been the closest to receiving the Sea God's inheritance. Why didn't you receive it?"
Yang Xiong smiled. "Big Brother, I have already received the inheritance of another god. Choosing the Sea God's heir is one of my trials, so I no longer have the chance to become the new Sea God."
Everyone was once again astonished. They hadn't expected Yang Xiong to really become the heir of a god, and now choosing the Sea God was actually part of his trial.
Yang Xiong continued. "There's one more thing I need to make clear. You've all gone through the Sea God Island trials, and at least you've all undergone the Black-Level Trials. You should understand the difficulty of the Sea God Island trials. But I can tell you clearly, when it comes to the Sea God's Nine Trials, the difficulty will be many times greater than the trials you faced before."
"For example, the simplest trial, crossing the Sea God's Light, when you all gave your best, you only reached a little over a hundred steps. But in the real Sea God's trial, the steps to cross will be at least two to three hundred, or even harder."
Yang Xiong had thought for a long time about this. In fact, very few people truly qualified for the Sea God's Nine Trials, including Sea God Douluo Poseidon and Tang San. The rest of the group's talent was relatively inferior.
If Yang Wei and the others couldn't do it, he could always turn to his teacher, Sword Douluo. With his talent and strength, he might have a chance to receive the Sea God's inheritance.
Yang Xiong also felt that this Sea God inheritance trial required both the Sea God's recognition and his own, as if he and the Sea God's Heart had always had some kind of connection.
After Yang Xiong's communication, everyone began to follow his instructions, preparing to drop a drop of blood onto the Vast Ocean Universe Shield.
The first to go was Big Brother Yang Wei. When Yang Wei dropped a drop of blood on the Vast Ocean Universe Shield, the entire shield seemed to be stirred, emitting faint blue light, but it quickly faded.
At this moment, Yang Xiong understood that within the Vast Ocean Universe Shield was a trace of the Sea God's divine will. It not only tested the soul master's physical fitness through the blood, but also tested their qualifications and the compatibility between the soul master's martial soul and the Sea God, somewhat similar to the trials on Sea God Island.
But this trial was even stricter, and because Yang Xiong now controlled the Vast Ocean Universe Shield, only those who gained his full approval could pass.
The second to try was Oscar. The Sea God's Heart once again glowed brightly, seemingly recognizing Oscar's talent. However, his martial soul compatibility was too poor.
...
After testing several people, there was no response from the Vast Ocean Universe Shield.
Finally, when Shui Bing'er took her turn, and after dropping a drop of blood on the Vast Ocean Universe Shield, the shield instantly began to boil. The Sea God's divine will inside seemed unusually excited at that moment.
Yang Xiong immediately understood that Shui Bing'er's martial soul, Ice Phoenix, was one of the most compatible with the Sea God's martial soul. The Ice attribute was also a branch of Water, and after years of training, especially after using the Ice Crystal Phoenix Sunflower, her Ice Phoenix martial soul had already reached perfection.
Shui Bing'er's soul power began to involuntarily fluctuate, and her Ice Phoenix martial soul broke through her body's limitations and circled around the room, as if responding to the Vast Ocean Universe Shield.
Yang Xiong opened his mind at that moment, controlling the Vast Ocean Universe Shield to fly in the air.
But just then, Yang Xiong was startled.
At that moment, the Sea God's power in the Vast Ocean Universe Shield seemed to reach its peak, actually beginning to devour Shui Bing'er's blood and soul power. Even the Ice Phoenix martial soul entered the shield's coverage.
(END CHAPTER)
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