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Zhu Zhuqing had already begun ascending the stairs of the Sea God Mountain. She intended to rely on her own strength to pass this trial.
Zhu Zhuqing quickly surpassed the 100th step, and her speed showed no signs of slowing down. This left the Shrek team in awe—she truly didn't reveal her full capabilities until now.
Only Dai Mubai wore a bitter smile. Originally, Zhu Zhuqing was his fiancée. Though they lacked an emotional foundation, Zhu Zhuqing's beauty and figure were undeniable. It would be impossible for Dai Mubai to claim he felt nothing.
However, everything Dai Mubai had done was precisely what Zhu Zhuqing despised most. Perhaps due to her upbringing, she understood that it was normal for men to be fickle, and she could accept that.
But she couldn't tolerate someone who lacked responsibility and backbone. The contrast between the two became glaringly obvious.
Although Li Luochen had also become somewhat of a "playboy," he treated each of his wives well and never abandoned them after gaining their affection.
For instance, after confirming his relationship with Zhu Zhuqing, Li Luochen directly traveled to the Star Luo Empire and intimidated its royal family with overwhelming power.
He commanded the emperor of the Star Luo Empire to dissolve the engagement between Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing. Additionally, Zhu Zhuqing was removed from being a pawn in the Star Luo royal chessboard. Anyone who dared cause trouble would face annihilation.
The emperor of Star Luo could only seethe silently, not even daring to meet Li Luochen's gaze. At the time, he had just reached the Soul Douluo level, while the gap between him and Li Luochen's strength was insurmountable.
On the day Li Luochen stormed into Star Luo City, several Title Douluos of the city intervened. Before the 96th-level Great Elder of Star Luo could even speak, Li Luochen sent him flying with a single punch.
Further examination revealed that the Great Elder had four broken ribs, a fractured sternum, and both arms shattered (the result of blocking the punch). Surviving was already a miracle.
That day marked the darkest moment in the history of the Star Luo imperial family. Many ministers witnessed a powerful figure trampling the dignity of the Star Luo Empire underfoot.
As for the Zhu family, a prominent ducal household, they had nothing to say. At least the current head of the Zhu family, the matriarch, and their daughter/sister felt immense relief. Their child/sibling would no longer be entangled in the disputes of the royal family.
And more importantly, she had found a supremely powerful man who loved her deeply. Their family was overjoyed.
Not long after, Dai Mubai received a letter from the royal family, instructing him to stay away from Zhu Zhuqing. After reading it, Dai Mubai nearly laughed in anger.
How dare he approach Zhu Zhuqing now? He probably didn't even know how to spell "death." Ever since his crushing defeat at Zhu Zhuqing's hands, the gap between them—in terms of strength and other aspects—had widened to the point where they weren't even in the same world anymore.
...
On the Sea God Mountain
When Zhu Zhuqing reached the 150th step, she activated her true martial soul form and layered her fifth spirit skill: Netherworld Possession!
Netherworld Possession was Zhu Zhuqing's fifth spirit skill. Its effects included a 75% increase in evasion chance, a 50% boost in resistance, and a 50% increase in piercing attack power. It was a highly potent auxiliary enhancement skill.
Her fifth soul ring came from a Netherworld Lord nearing thirty-five thousand years old, granting her such a powerful ability.
Zhu Zhuqing had obtained this during her solo training. While hunting soul beasts, she encountered two ten-thousand-year soul beasts battling each other. The Netherworld Lord barely won, and Zhu Zhuqing seized the opportunity to claim its soul ring.
Fortunately for her, the Netherworld Lord's spiritual sea had been severely damaged by its opponent's mental attribute attacks, resulting in weaker soul tremors after death.
Zhu Zhuqing worked hard to absorb the soul ring's power. Her body was strong enough to endure it, thanks to her external spirit bone—the Dark Shadow Spear—and her forty-eight-thousand-year Wind Chaser Right Leg Bone.
With her physical condition sufficiently robust, she barely managed to absorb the soul ring, though sadly, no spirit bones dropped.
After obtaining this spirit skill, Zhu Zhuqing rarely used it. Why would she, when Li Luochen had provided her with a hundred-thousand-year soul ring for her sixth slot and the perfectly suited Netherworld Cat for her seventh?
It wasn't until the Sea God's Light trial that she revisited this skill. By combining it with her true martial soul form, the dual-layered enhancements significantly increased her climbing speed.
Zhu Zhuqing's true martial soul form differed from others'. With the soul ring produced by a soul beast identical to her martial soul serving as her seventh soul ring, the amplification was extraordinary.
Transforming into a massive Netherworld Cat, her speed increased by 200%, her resistance rose by 150%, and the power of all her spirit skills was amplified by 150%, primarily manifesting in her attack power.
Such an exaggerated enhancement of her true martial soul form was further boosted by her torso bone. soul rings and bones originating from the same soul beast were naturally compatible and mutually reinforcing!
Her torso bone skill was called Netherworld Shadow Clone, which created seven clones. Each clone possessed 70% of her main body's attack power within a short period. These weren't mere illusions created by speed but were actual spirit energy projections capable of using soul ring skills.
Additionally, Zhu Zhuqing had her own domain skill: the Netherworld Domain. Within the domain, all attributes were increased by 50%, dark attributes were boosted by 50%, speed doubled, spirit skill potency rose by 30%, and opponents' perception was weakened.
Under these triple-layered enhancements, the pressure of the Sea God's Light posed no difficulty for her. Zhu Zhuqing was confident in passing the trial with her own strength.
Currently, she possessed a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone—the spirit bone of Xiao Wu, the hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit—a top-tier treasure in the world of soul masters. Naturally, it provided immense benefits.
This was Zhu Zhuqing's confidence. Among her spirit bones, only arm bones and skull bones remained missing. The rest of her spirit bones were of excellent quality:
- An eighty-seven-thousand-year torso bone,
- A forty-eight-thousand-year right leg bone,
- A hundred-thousand-year left leg bone,
- And an external spirit bone equivalent to ninety-thousand-years.
Such a configuration was incredibly high-end—even Ma Hongjun and Oscar couldn't match it.
On the Sea God Mountain
Zhu Zhuqing had already broken through to the 230th step. Though her speed had slowed slightly, there was still no sign of exhaustion.
"Nine Treasures, each with a name! Full Attribute Enhancement!"
Ning Rongrong's Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda suddenly radiated light, which directly infused Zhu Zhuqing's body. Ning Rongrong had been observing Ye Lingling absorb her soul ring earlier.
Only upon realizing that Zhu Zhuqing was nearing the finish line did she hastily apply her support, albeit slightly late.
Feeling the full attribute enhancement, Zhu Zhuqing accelerated once more. However, she had exited her true martial soul form, as maintaining it consumed too much spirit power, and she still needed to absorb the divine-bestowed soul ring later.
The sixth soul ring on Zhu Zhuqing's body appeared—a blazing crimson hundred-thousand-year ring that flashed briefly. Zhu Zhuqing's body immediately became ethereal.
Void!
One of the Soft Boned Rabbit's hundred-thousand-year spirit skills, Void, granted immunity to all non-energy-based physical attacks and reduced any energy-based attacks by 50%.
Since the Sea God's Light was energy-based, Void proved exceptionally effective.
In just a few breaths, Zhu Zhuqing reached the 256th step. Unlike Ye Lingling's arduous climb, Zhu Zhuqing passed the trial with ease.
The red octagonal imprint on Zhu Zhuqing's forehead flashed, and a voice echoed in her ears:
[First Trial of the Top-Level Eight Trials—Crossing, Enhanced, the Light of the Sea God—Complete. Spirit power increased by two levels. Soul ring age increased by one thousand years.]
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