God Realm, Water God's temple.
The Water God leaned back on the main seat of the temple, idly twirling a leaf made of condensed water in her hand. She glanced up at the Divine Thought feedback appearing in the Void Realm, her lips curling slightly.
"Completed it in two years?" she muttered, tossing the leaf away. The leaf dissipated into a mist of water in the air. "Much faster than I expected. I gave her three years initially, fearing she'd rush it, yet this girl took her time in the second year and still passed just fine."
She leaned back, tapping her fingers on the armrest.
"The reward was a bit too generous, letting her pass the Goddess of Life's second trial along the way." She shook her head, her tone tinged with helplessness. "But it can't be helped; what's hers is hers."
She suddenly frowned, shifted her posture, and rested her chin in her hand, looking troubled.
"What kind of question should I set for this second trial...?"
She turned over, lying on the back of the chair with her chin resting on her arms, staring blankly at the dome of the temple.
"Too hard won't do, and too simple won't do either... The third trial is about inheriting the Water God Position, so skipping too much in between could easily cause problems."
She pondered for a moment, and her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Fight a Million-year Soul Beast? Tsk, no, no. How many Million-year Soul Beasts are there in the entire continent? That guy Di Tian is too tough to chew. There are some in the sea, but that area is currently the Sea God's territory, so I'd have to talk to him first... Too much trouble."
She waved her hand, dismissing the idea.
After thinking for a long time, she slapped the armrest and sat up.
"Forget it, let's just make it Titled Douluo! Achieve Titled Douluo within eight years, and the Second Martial Soul must have five ten-thousand-year spirit rings. That's it! Simple and brutal; it's easy for me and easy for her."
She nodded with satisfaction, her fingers tracing in the air as if writing something.
"As for the reward... Three god-bestowed spirit bones, all spirit ring limits increased by fifty thousand years, and another Divine Artifact. She seems to have one already... No matter, one more won't hurt. Who knows, maybe she'll come up with some new tricks."
She waved her hand, and a Divine Thought flew from her fingertips, vanishing into the air.
"Alright, that's that."
Meanwhile, in the Goddess of Life's temple.
The Goddess of Life sat upright in the center of the temple, holding a ball of soft light. She watched the scene appearing in the light, a faint smile on her face.
"Two God Trials in one year. Although she didn't complete them entirely on her own, she's quite capable of causing a stir." She said softly, her fingers gently flicking that ball of light. "It seems I need to increase the difficulty a little."
She thought for a moment, stood up, and walked to the side of the temple. A small sapling stood there, only a palm high, entirely emerald green, emitting a faint fluorescence.
"It's time to send this tree of life seed out."
She stretched out her finger and tapped the sapling lightly. The sapling swayed, and a few leaves unfurled as if waking up.
"The development of spirit tools on the Douluo Continent these years has been too fast, making the plane a bit fragile. If this continues, it will easily invite disaster, and the local people will have a hard time making any major Breakthrough." She looked at the small sapling, her tone tinged with worry. "Let it take root there. Once it grows into a tree of life, perhaps it can help the entire plane take a step forward."
She smiled, waved her hand, and the sapling turned into a seed and disappeared from the temple.
Shrek Academy, in the dormitory.
Furina lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, her eyes sparkling. She had just finished receiving the two Divine Thoughts, and her mind hadn't quite caught up yet.
[Water God's Second God Trial: Achieve Titled Douluo within eight years, and the Second Martial Soul must possess five ten-thousand-year spirit rings. Reward: All spirit ring limits increased by fifty thousand years, three god-bestowed spirit bones, one Divine Artifact.]
[Goddess of Life's Third God Trial: Plant the tree of life seed in a suitable place, infuse it with life energy, and let it sprout and grow into a tree of life. Reward: Soul Power increased by one level, all spirit ring limits increased by five hundred years, Goddess of Life God Position affinity increased by fifteen percent.]
She couldn't help but laugh out loud, then quickly covered her mouth, turning her head to look at the bed next to her. Xiao Xiao turned over, muttered something, and went back to sleep.
Furina breathed a sigh of relief, pulled the quilt up, and curled up inside to continue reading.
"A tree of life... Isn't this just gifting me a territory?" She blinked, the more she thought about it, the happier she became. "From now on, that's mine, and no one can take it."
She paused and thought of another matter.
"A Divine Artifact... That radiance of the flowing still water in my hand, other than using it once to deal with an Evil Soul Master when I first got it, and using it once to clean up Ma Xiaotao, I haven't really used it since. There are too few places where it can be used."
She turned over, lying on her side, her fingers tracing back and forth on the pillow.
"The System said it could evolve, but I still haven't figured out the conditions... Do I have to kill enough people, or do I have to swallow other Divine Artifacts?"
She thought for a long time without figuring it out, so she simply shouted in her heart.
"System! Come out."
No response.
She shouted again: "System? Don't play dead. Although you don't usually speak and I just use points to exchange for things, I really have something to ask you now."
After a while, a lazy voice sounded in her mind.
"Eh heh~ Isn't this because I see you, Host, doing so well? Thriving, living a better life than me."
Furina rolled her eyes.
"What 'better life' for you? I do the missions, I earn the points. You just sell things and give out rewards. What's there to live well about?"
"No, no, no," the System's voice sounded a bit unconvinced. "Host, you don't understand. We Systems also have performance targets, okay? Different Systems are different. Look at the Systems over at Qidian, they are all rabbit-headed parties; the Systems over at the cat site all turn into cat girls; and the System of the First Version Master, that goes without saying."
It said with a hint of melancholy: "Besides, once you become a god and can walk sideways in this world, you won't need me anymore. By then, I'll have to find a new host, so I have to scout in advance, right? What if I find a simp or a loser? Wouldn't all my talent be wasted?"
Furina got a headache listening to it.
"Alright, alright, I'm not interested in your search for a new host. I just want to ask, how exactly does my Divine Artifact upgrade?"
The System cleared its throat and became serious: "Simple, just swallow other Divine Artifacts. Especially those with the same attribute, like Sea God Tang San's trident, which is at the ultra divine artifact level. If you swallow that thing, the radiance of the flowing still water will evolve directly into an ultra divine artifact."
Furina's eyes lit up, and she was already calculating in her mind.
"Any other way?" she asked again. "By the time I finish off Tang San, what's the point of evolving it then?"
"You can also swallow Spirit Bones, or carving knives, especially those with water attributes. Spirit Bones are easy to find, but carving knives are hard."
Furina nodded, having an idea in mind.
"Alright, nothing else for you, step down."
The System wailed: "Used and discarded, Host, you are so heartless—"
Furina couldn't be bothered with it.
"By the way," the System's voice popped up again, "I'll give you something good, a juvenile Life Flame, ranked fifth on the exotic fire leaderboard. Use it when planting the tree of life, it grows fast."
Furina was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
"Good guy, with this thing, what medicinal herbs can't I grow in the future?"
She turned over, pillowing her arm, and looked at the moonlight coming through the window.
"The smile on her lips couldn't be hidden."
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