Chapter 288

After a long while, the Asura God left, cursing as he went.

Gu Xuan

Finally, Gu Xuan obtained a god‑bestowed Soul Ring for Du Gu Yan from the Asura God, since Du Gu Yan was already rank eighty and had not yet acquired a Soul Ring.

According to the Asura God's wishes, besides Gu Xuan and Du Gu Yan, two more young people have now inherited his Slaughter God domain.

Moreover, among those two youths there is a talented boy whom Gu Xuan guesses is Tang San, since aside from Tang San, few others would likely go to the Slaughter City at this time.

The surprising thing for Gu Xuan is that the current Tang San can emerge from the Slaughter City even without so many fortuitous encounters.

Well, the three‑headed Dark Gold Bat King and the Ten‑Headed Blazing Yang Snake have been slain by Gu Xuan and Du Gu Yan, so the difficulty of Hell Road should have dropped considerably; it's no surprise that Tang San and Hu Liena could make it out.

Tang San

Gu Xuan then shook his head, no longer pondering the matter, for with his present strength Tang San is no longer important.

Titled Douluo

With the Asura God's affair settled, Gu Xuan headed for Sea God Island, having left a spatial coordinate there from his previous visit, so the time needed to return now is short.

Moreover, with Gu Xuan's current strength, it can almost be said that a single thought is enough to reach Sea God Island directly.

Only to see Gu Xuan's body surge with two yellow, one purple, two black, and four red — nine splendid Soul Rings; as they appeared, the entire sea seemed to freeze, the dark‑black fourth Soul Ring lit up, and a spatial gate appeared before him.

Gu Xuan stepped into it, and in the next instant the spatial gate appeared on the island of the Sea Horse Douluo of Sea God Island.

As Gu Xuan emerged, he happened to see the Sea Horse Douluo on high alert.

Three-Headed Dark Gold Bat King

Ten-Headed Blazing Yang Snake

Furthermore, this spatial maneuver just performed was enough to astonish the Sea Horse Douluo.

"Gu Xuan? Are you here to see Lady Ning Rongrong?" the Sea Horse Douluo lowered his guard and asked.

Sea Horse Douluo

The Sea Horse Douluo's expression turned somewhat helpless upon hearing that: "You've come too late; the lady's examination has entered a critical phase, so you probably won't be able to see her now. But…"

As the Sea Horse Douluo spoke, a domineering thought swept over, clearly transmitted into both their minds: "Gu Xuan, come to the Sea God Hall."

Bosai

However, to possess such strength on Sea God Island, there is evidently only one person capable of it: the High Priestess Poseidon, a rank ninety‑nine Ultimate Douluo.

Upon hearing Poseidon's mental transmission, Gu Xuan gave the Sea Horse Douluo a slight smile: "Senior, I'll take my leave."

The Sea Horse Douluo nodded, he could already be certain that Gu Xuan's strength had absolutely surpassed his own, yet he sensed no arrogance or self‑satisfaction from Gu Xuan.

All he felt was composure and an indescribable aura; when facing Gu Xuan, he had the sense that Gu Xuan's words were absolute, beyond question.

The distances between the islands of Sea God Island are much shorter than the journey Gu Xuan just made from the Magic Whale Sea, so he didn't bother using any abilities.

Taking a slow step forward, the next instant Gu Xuan's figure vanished through his absolute control of spatial power; when he reappeared, he stood upon the vast circular platform outside the Sea God Hall.

Gu Xuan stood at the edge of the platform; at its center was a peerlessly beautiful woman, tall and full‑figured, her looks on par with Ning Rongrong and Du Gu Yan, holding in her hand a two‑meter‑long scepter that radiated authority in all directions.

Seeing this person, even if it was their first meeting, Gu Xuan knew who it was — who else could it be but the High Priestess Poseidon?

"Junior Gu Xuan, I have met the High Priest." Gu Xuan bowed slightly to Poseidon and said.

Poseidon sized up Gu Xuan, then nodded: "No need for formalities, Ning Rongrong has good judgment; according to her you should be only twenty this year, yet your strength is already not inferior to mine—it seems my worries were indeed unnecessary."

Hearing Poseidon's words, Gu Xuan was still somewhat puzzled, but he could also hear the concern and affection for Ning Rongrong in the other's speech.

"High Priest, you overpraise me; I am merely a bit more fortunate than ordinary people." Gu Xuan replied with a smile.

"Opportunity is also part of strength; to achieve such feats at your age, even in my era that most dazzling man would not compare to you, being able to let Ning Rongrong willingly marry you alongside other women—you truly have this talent." Poseidon turned, walking into the Sea God Hall while saying:

"Come along, your companions are inside."

Gu Xuan heard this and, keeping pace, followed Poseidon into the Sea God Hall.

Needless to say, as the Sea God's place of inheritance, the Sea God Hall's scale is still impressive; most of the various rare treasures here are merely arranged as scenery for aesthetic purposes.

Even the precious ten-thousand-year-old whale gelatin, Gu Xuan saw more than ten pieces.

"I really want to take all these things away." Gu Xuan felt a fiery thought arise in his heart.

After entering the Sea God Hall, Gu Xuan followed Poseidon all the way to a central room of fifty square meters; Ye Lingling, Ma Bao, and the others were there, and upon seeing Gu Xuan, they were all overjoyed.

"Gu Xuan!"

"Brother Gu Xuan!"

"Boss..."

Ye Lingling, Li Li, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xue Ke, along with several other girls, directly lunged at Gu Xuan, utterly heedless of Poseidon standing nearby.

After enjoying the bliss of newlywed life for a day and a night, they then parted for two years; heaven only knows how deep their longing for Gu Xuan grew during that time.

Upon seeing Gu Xuan now, the girls couldn't help but clench their round, supple thighs, the memories of those nights two years ago still fresh.

Gu Xuan drew the girls into his embrace and softly said, "You've all worked hard these past few years."

He then turned his gaze to Ma Bao, Yang Pojun, Zhan Yu, Zuo Yan, and Shui Bing'er, among others, and said, "It seems you've all made good progress; you can now stand on your own."

Ma Bao heard Gu Xuan's praise and gave a hehe laugh: "Boss, I'm already at level eighty-five; I feel I can break through to ninety within three years and become a Titled Douluo!"

Seeing Ma Bao boast about his level to seek praise, the others couldn't help but do the same.

Gu Xuan listened attentively and discovered that over the past two years their breakthroughs had been significant—on average they could increase their soul power by four levels per year.

Two years ago Ma Bao was only level seventy-six, but now he is eighty-five; subtracting the one-level soul power gained from absorbing a soul ring, he increased by eight levels over the two years.

The same was true for the others.

Zhan Yu, Yang Pojun, and Zuo Yan were level seventy-five two years ago and have now reached eighty-four.

Xue Ke is somewhat behind—she was level seventy-one two years ago and is now seventy-nine, just one step shy of eighty, but this talent is already the limit, given that Xue Ke is only nineteen now!

Li Li rose from level seventy-five to eighty-four, the same as Zuo Yan and the other two.

Zhu Zhuqing and Shui Bing'er likewise rose from level seventy-four to eighty-three, while the highest soul power level among them is still Ye Lingling, who went from an initial seventy-nine to the present eighty-eight—her improvement is no less than the others', leaving only two levels to reach Titled Douluo.

However, Ning Rongrong is not here now, but her soul power level's improvement is higher than anyone else's, because everyone else's trials have been completed, leaving only Ning Rongrong's ninth trial still ongoing.

It is precisely because of the Sea God inheritance trial that Ning Rongrong's rewards are greater than others', so over the past two years her improvement has been the greatest.

Two years ago, Ning Rongrong was rank seventy-seven, and now she has reached the same level as Ye Lingling; that is, over these two years she has actually increased her soul power by ten levels, which can only be described as terrifying!

After hearing everyone announce their levels, Gu Xuan also nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, it seems you all have indeed worked hard these past few years; when we go back I'll reward you."

Upon hearing Gu Xuan's words, everyone's faces lit up with excitement, after all Gu Xuan's rewards are usually genuine good stuff.

Back then, each of the fiancées receiving a single soul bone was enough to prove all of this.

Gu Xuan then looked at Ye Lingling and said: "Your ninth soul ring has already been prepared for you; since you left two years ago, preparations have been underway, and it should now be complete. I think there is no soul ring more suitable for you than that one."

Upon hearing Gu Xuan's words, Ye Lingling froze for a moment, then smiled and asked: "Does this also count as a gift?"

Gu Xuan lightly flicked Ye Lingling's jade nose and replied: "What do you think?"

Ye Lingling smiled but did not answer.

At this moment, Bo Sai Xi, who had not disturbed everyone's catching up, spoke: "Rongrong's trial is complete; you should have now received the content of the eighth trial, and you are temporarily free as well."

Upon hearing Bo Sai Xi's words, Gu Xuan felt delighted inside and said: "High Priest, where is Rongrong?"

Just as Gu Xuan finished speaking, Ning Rongrong, wielding the Sea God Trident, appeared directly from the huge blue crystal sphere above the dome; upon seeing Gu Xuan, Ning Rongrong's excitement was far greater than when she drew the Sea God Trident.

"Brother Gu Xuan!"

Ning Rongrong lunged forward from above, throwing herself into Gu Xuan's arms and pushing Ye Lingling and the other girls to the side.

However, the girls were not unhappy, because they had already hugged her beforehand.

Gu Xuan looked at Ning Rongrong in his arms, already heroic and spirited, and rubbed her little head: "Not bad, you've completed the seventh trial; it won't be long before our Rongrong becomes the Sea God herself."

Then Gu Xuan looked at the Sea God Trident in Ning Rongrong's hand: "This must be the legendary Sea God's divine artifact, the Sea God Trident, right?"

Upon hearing Gu Xuan tease her, Ning Rongrong's face flushed red; she handed the Sea God Trident in her hand to Gu Xuan and then said: "If Brother Gu Xuan wants it, I can let Brother Gu Xuan try it out."

But just as Ning Rongrong handed the Sea God Trident to Gu Xuan, the little girl slipped out of his embrace, a sly smile flashing across her pretty face, as if she wanted to see Gu Xuan make a fool of himself.

Gu Xuan instinctively caught it, then suddenly felt a tremendous force transmitted through his hands; fortunately, Gu Xuan's physique has now reached demigod level, so even though the Sea God Trident weighs 108,000 catties, in his hands it feels only slightly heavier than a regular weapon.

Gu Xuan caught the Sea God Trident with his left hand; after Ning Rongrong left his embrace, Gu Xuan also saw through the little girl's little thoughts, but Ning Rongrong was destined to miscalculate.

One could see Gu Xuan exert a little force, and the Sea God Trident began to be played with in his hand; this Sea God Trident weighing 108,000 catties seemed to lose its divine aura in Gu Xuan's hands, and if there were enough space, Gu Xuan would surely demonstrate his spear techniques.

"What... what?! Ning Rongrong and Bo Sai Xi exclaimed in astonishment simultaneously."

Perhaps the others present did not know the weight of the Sea God Trident, but Ning Rongrong and Bo Sai Xi certainly did.

Even a Titled Douluo-level super expert would need to exert most of their strength to barely lift this divine artifact, let alone someone like Gu Xuan who can casually play with it.

At this moment, Ning Rongrong still thought the Sea God Trident in Gu Xuan's hands weighed only 108 catties; otherwise, how could Brother Gu Xuan lift it so easily?

Gu Xuan played with it a bit, then looked at the eager Ma Bao and handed over the trident: "Little Ma, give it a try?"

Ma Bao stepped forward, face full of excitement; "This is a divine artifact! Now I have a chance to touch it, so I certainly won't be polite."

But what Ma Bao did not expect was that the trident, which appeared quite ordinary in Gu Xuan and Ning Rongrong's hands, changed once it landed in his.

One could see Ma Bao, after taking the trident, suddenly feel as if his hands were holding up a mountain; a stumble caused him to lunge straight toward the ground.

"Boom—"

The Sea God Trident pressed down on Ma Bao's hands and smashed into the ground, emitting a deep roar; just from the sound one could feel how terrifyingly heavy the trident was.

"Ah! Boss, save me! My hand is broken!!!" Ma Bao screamed in agony, as if gone mad.

Seeing Ma Bao's painful cry, the others couldn't help but cover their mouths and chuckle at his exaggerated expression and actions; Zhan Yu, Yang Po Jun, and Zuo Yan even burst out laughing.

"Holy cow, Ma bro, you're too funny! Is this trident really that heavy?"

Ma Bao glared at the three of them: "Cut the sarcasm; if you've got the guts, come try lifting it yourself!"

Seeing this, Gu Xuan stopped teasing him; with a light tap of his toe, he launched the trident—which had felt like a mountain pressing on Ma Bao's hands—into the air, assisting with his right hand.

Free of the weight's pressure, Ma Bao immediately sprang up, vigorously rubbing his hands; if he hadn't been quick enough to immediately circulate soul power to protect his hands, they might actually have been broken.

Even if it were broken, it wouldn't matter; it would just be a minor disagreement. After all, Ye Lingling, an eighty-eight-rank Nine Heart Begonia, is here! A simple treatment would fix it.

After the pain subsided, Ma Bao said to Gu Xuan: "Boss, what's your strength now? This trident is way too heavy; I estimate you'd need to exert your full strength just to lift it, yet you treat it like an ordinary weapon."

Upon hearing Ma Bao's words, everyone finally noticed this scene; after all, they wouldn't doubt that Ma Bao was just faking it, and Zhan Yu and the others were only joking earlier, given that Ma Bao's painful cries were genuine.

Now, upon hearing Ma Bao's words, everyone finally realized: just how formidable must Gu Xuan's strength be to wield and play with such a heavy Sea God Trident?

ps: Typos to be fixed later.

(End of chapter)