Inside the God Sealing Formation, Zhu Ziyang opened his eyes and stood up. The soul rings behind him radiated with a brilliance that could strike awe and fear into all who witnessed them.
Black, black, black, black, black, red, red, red, red!
Five black and four red—nine soul rings hovered behind him. A faint smile appeared on Zhu Ziyang's face.
Level 91. After fusing with the 800,000-year soul spirit, the Demon Empress, Zhu Ziyang's soul power had skyrocketed from level 86 to 91. Not only had he successfully stepped into the Titled Douluo realm at the age of nineteen, but he had also gained two quasi-divine soul rings bearing eight golden stripes.
Of course, that wasn't even his greatest harvest—what mattered most was that he had gained the Demon Empress as his soul spirit.
With that in mind, Zhu Ziyang summoned the Demon Empress. She appeared in front of him, dressed in a black gown, with flowing purple hair, delicate features, eyes filled with curiosity, and a slightly flustered expression.
In soul spirit form, aside from transitioning from a living being to a spiritual body, her overall appearance remained nearly unchanged. Her full strength remained intact—if not strengthened. After all, as a soul spirit, she was now nearly indestructible.
"Mas... Master!" the Demon Empress called out awkwardly.
"Haha, if you can't say it, just call me Ziyang. I won't mind," Zhu Ziyang said with a laugh as he looked at her troubled expression. "By the way, do you have a name? All my soul spirits have names. It wouldn't be right to keep calling you 'Demon Empress' forever."
"A name?" She blinked in confusion, then admitted shyly, "N-no, I don't."
"I figured. Let me give you one then!" Zhu Ziyang smiled, unsurprised. "How about… Quan'er?"
"Quan'er?" she echoed in puzzlement.
"Yes! You're the Netherwitch born of the Yellow Springs, so 'Quan'er' fits perfectly, don't you think?" Zhu Ziyang explained. He certainly wasn't going to admit that he just couldn't think of a better name on the spot.
"Oh, I see…" The Demon Empress nodded. It didn't really matter to her—names were just titles, like "Demon Empress." "Alright, I'll be Quan'er from now on."
"Great! Let me introduce the others." Zhu Ziyang summoned his other four soul spirits and said with a smile, "You already know Xue'er—she's the Heavenly Snow Women, Xue Di, ruler of the Extreme North with a cultivation of 700,000 years. This is Bing'er, the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion, 400,000 years. This is Shuang'er, the Heavenly Frost Silver Dragon Queen, 700,000 years. And finally, Luo'er, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, 100,000 years."
Now that Zhu Ziyang had reached Titled Douluo, his four existing soul spirits had also been strengthened. Both Xue'er and Shuang'er could now unleash their full 700,000-year power without draining him, while Bing'er and Luo'er had reached the Titled Douluo level. With Quan'er's 800,000-year power added to the mix, Zhu Ziyang alone could sweep nearly all human factions on the Douluo Continent—save for Shrek Academy, the Body Sect, and the Sun-Moon Empire.
As Xue, Bing, Shuang, Luo, and Quan'er got acquainted with one another, Zhu Ziyang entered the Divine Inheritance Realm to receive his final trial.
He stood on the 80th step of the Road to Godhood. After claiming the reward for the Death God's Eighth Trial, he looked up to see that the mist covering the last twenty steps had cleared, revealing the remaining steps and the temple at the top.
His heart burning with anticipation, Zhu Ziyang ascended to the 90th step, but a barrier stopped him from going further. He understood—it wouldn't let him pass until his god affinity reached 100%.
He turned to look at the pair of God Sealing Pillars beside the 90th step. The content of the final trial, the Death God's Ninth Trial, was now visible.
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God Affinity: 90%
Death God's Ninth Trial: Congratulations, Death God's inheritor. You are one step away from receiving the true inheritance. This final trial is also the most crucial. Countless prodigies have fallen at this step. Whether you succeed depends on your talent and willpower.
Trial Content: Raise your soul power to Level 99.
Trial Requirement: None.
Trial Reward: Unknown.
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As the final test, the Death God's Ninth Trial was refreshingly simple: reach Level 99. For most people, that might be nearly impossible. But for Zhu Ziyang, it was well within reach. Even if it took him ten years to raise a level, he'd only need 80 years.
But realistically, it wouldn't take him anywhere near that long.
Wearing a light-hearted smile, Zhu Ziyang left the Divine Inheritance Realm and returned to the God Sealing Formation. After recalling his soul spirits into his spiritual sea, he stepped out.
"Brother, how did it go?" Jiang Nannan and the other two girls immediately gathered around him.
"The Death God's Eighth Trial is complete. Now, I just need to reach Level 99 and I can formally inherit the Death God's position," Zhu Ziyang replied cheerfully.
"Really? That's amazing!" Jiang Nannan exclaimed, eyes shining.
"Yes, it really is!" Zhang Lexuan and Qian Lingyi echoed joyfully.
"With our mission complete, let's head back to the Douluo Continent," Zhu Ziyang said. "Sister Weiwei, go gather Komeko and the others—we're leaving."
"Understood!" Zhang Weiwei vanished from view in an instant.
Once she left, Zhu Ziyang began dismantling the God Sealing Formation. Unlike the laborious setup, disassembly was easy. He simply injected soul power into each pillar, shrinking it to a needle-sized form, which then flew back into his hand.
Soon, all ten God Sealing Pillars were recovered. He bundled them together with the other six and stored them carefully.
Before long, the five Radiant Experts returned. Apart from Rogier and Beimonstein looking a bit roughed up, everyone was unharmed. Rogier explained they had fought the Earth Tyrant Dragon King and only subdued it once Zhang Weiwei joined the battle.
Fortunately, the dragon king knew when to retreat and chose to flee. The trio let it go, following Zhu Ziyang's earlier orders.
After hearing the report, Zhu Ziyang simply smiled and moved on. He sent the five Radiant Experts back to the Holy Law Demiplane, then led Jiang Nannan, Zhang Lexuan, and Qian Lingyi out of the Death Mountains.
—
A week later, the four of them boarded the Moon God Shuttle at a coastal point on the Wuhun Continent. Without any of the continent's forces realizing, they secretly took the former ruler of the Death Mountains—the Demon Empress—away.
By the time the soul masters of the Wuhun Continent realized the Demon Empress was gone, it was already centuries later. Why so long? Well, one could only say that the soul masters were hopelessly negligent.
In contrast, the soul beasts noticed by the second year. The first to discover her absence was the Earth Tyrant Dragon King. As the only beast who had survived contact with Zhu Ziyang's group, he returned to the Demon Empress Palace to report.
He knelt outside the palace for nearly a year with no response. Instead, he sensed the rich deathly aura that had accumulated for countless years slowly dissipating.
That terrifying revelation gave him the courage to push open the palace doors… only to find the Demon Empress gone.
As for how the soul beasts would deal with the disappearance of their ruler—well, that had nothing to do with Zhu Ziyang anymore. By then, he and the others were already sailing far, far away across the sea.
(End of Chapter)
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