Chapter 272: Sea Maiden Douluo
Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise appeared on the woman's face, followed by a cold smile.
"It seems that you outsiders know a bit about Sea God Island. However, I advise you to give up on this idea. For land soul masters, passing the trial is completely impossible," she said with a sneer.
"If you don't want to die, leave now. It's admirable that you have courage, but relying only on courage will lead to your demise."
Ning Bei had expected this kind of response and cupped his hands again, saying, "I have confidence in these children. Since they've come, they will not leave easily. Please, lead the way."
The woman looked around and noticed that they didn't contradict Ning Bei, the one in charge, and furrowed her brow. She felt these people were a bit irrational.
But since she had already said all this, if they insisted on accepting the trial, she would not be responsible for the consequences.
With that, she put away her soul ring and coldly said, "Follow me." She turned and led the way into the city.
The group exchanged glances and then turned their attention to Ning Bei. Seeing him nod, they set aside their concerns and followed the woman's lead.
As they entered the city, they saw many homes, some made of thatched roofs and others built with wooden structures. Some even used the bodies of dead sea soul beasts as houses. The overall lifestyle was not much different from that of Han Hai City.
Passing through the village, the group reached another forest. From within, they could vaguely hear the sound of the ocean's waves.
Ning Rongrong, curious, turned to her brother and asked, "Does this island really have an ocean inside?"
The woman overheard Rongrong's question and, without waiting for Ning Bei to answer, began to explain.
"This is the Sea in Sea Maiden City, and it's the location of the Sea Maiden Holy Pillar, one of the Seven Holy Pillars. Once we pass through the forest, we'll be there."
"Really? There's an ocean inside the island? That's rare!" Rongrong exclaimed.
After passing through the woods, as the woman had said, a relatively small ocean appeared before them. It resembled more of an artificial lake, with a tall pillar-shaped structure standing in the center of the sea. This, they assumed, was the Sea Maiden Holy Pillar the woman had mentioned.
What was strange, though, was that they did not see the so-called pillar guardian, one of the Title Douluos mentioned by Ning Bei.
As they wondered whether the Sea Maiden Holy Pillar's guardian was on holiday, the woman once again summoned her soul ring and walked to the shore. Closing her eyes, she extended her hand into the water.
They hadn't had a chance to closely observe her soul ring earlier, but now, from a closer distance, they could see that her soul ring resembled a dolphin, or perhaps a swordfish—something they couldn't quite identify.
She stretched her hand into the water, causing faint ripples to spread out. Over time, the ripples grew larger, and within a minute, they reached the center of the sea.
The group was puzzled by her actions, unsure what she was doing. Meanwhile, Ning Bei, feeling the fluctuations of soul power in the ripples, speculated that she was communicating with the Sea Maiden Douluo.
Sure enough, after half a minute, the water near the Holy Pillar suddenly bubbled intensely. Then, a woman shot out of the water at incredible speed, landing gracefully beside the Holy Pillar.
The woman appeared youthful, with a huge fish tail occasionally splashing against the water beside her, creating beautiful arcs that extended up to her waist. She wore a black garment, leaving her navel exposed. Her large sky-blue eyes resembled the sky rather than the ocean, and her beauty was enchanting, with a faint smile always playing at her lips.
Her appearance quickly captured the attention of the group. Ning Rongrong was the first to call out in excitement, "Look, it's a mermaid!"
Rongrong's words also irritated the woman who was leading them, and she coldly reprimanded, "Are all mainland soul masters as rude as you? This is the City Lord of Sea Maiden City, Lady Sea Maiden Douluo."
"Uh..." Rongrong was momentarily stunned, realizing her impoliteness. At least Lady Sea Maiden Douluo didn't seem to mind. She smiled and asked, "Blue Sha, are these people here to undergo the Sea God's trial?"
"Yes, Lord City Master, these land soul masters are indeed here for that purpose," Blue Sha replied.
Lady Sea Maiden Douluo nodded and focused her sky-blue eyes on the group.
"You must have heard from Blue Sha about the difficulty of the trial. I'll ask you one more time—are you sure you want to take the trial?"
"We're sure!"
Xiao Wu stepped forward confidently and spoke for the group, sure that none of her companions would back down.
Lady Sea Maiden Douluo smiled and nodded. Then, she summoned her soul ring, and a pink flute appeared in her hand.
"To confirm if you are qualified for the Sea God's trial, let's have a little appetizer first. If you can't pass this, then there's no need for you to waste your time."
Before anyone could react, she immediately blew the flute. A beautiful and melodious tune filled the air, and the group immediately froze in place.
"Mm? An illusion?"
In less than a second, Ning Bei sensed the effect of the flute, and with a blink, he dispelled the illusion. He thought to himself that each guardian of the Holy Pillars had their own way of testing. In the original story, the Sea Horse Douluo had made the Shrek Seven Devils traverse the sea waves. But for their group, this had turned into a mental trial.
However, Ning Bei wasn't concerned that the others wouldn't be able to pass. After all, they were experts in this area, especially Ye Yin Zhu, who dealt with such things every day. Lady Sea Maiden Douluo clearly hadn't used her full power, and the soul power in the flute's sound was very weak. There was no reason they couldn't overcome it.
While Lady Sea Maiden Douluo continued playing the flute, her gaze on Ning Bei grew intense, with a hint of fear and vigilance. She sensed an immense threat emanating from him.
After all, she had the ability to read minds. With just a glance at the others, she could sense their thoughts, but when she used her ability on him, she felt as if her mental power had fallen into a bottomless abyss and couldn't see anything clearly.
Ning Bei knew she could sense his thoughts, but as the successor to the Ice God, how could he let an ordinary Title Douluo get the upper hand? After easily blocking her mental power, he nodded at her and gave a warm smile.
"Hmph!"
Lady Sea Maiden Douluo snorted coldly, not accepting Ning Bei's kind gesture. In her eyes, that friendly smile was nothing but a blatant provocation.
Ning Bei was puzzled by her sudden coldness and thought it might be better not to provoke women unnecessarily.
The flute sound continued, like the low hum of a sea demon, captivating the soul. Ning Bei couldn't help but wonder what his companions were experiencing in the illusion.
(END CHAPTER)
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