A golden mist began to form around her body—the soul power slowly being drawn out under the pressure of the Light of the Sea God.
Moments later, Dugu Yan's steps halted at the 28th step.
Her face was flushed red, clearly exerting all her strength and soul power, yet she could barely move.
Thinking of everyone watching her, Dugu Yan summoned an extra burst of strength from nowhere.
With a hoarse shout, she lifted her foot with difficulty and stepped onto the 29th step.
But the moment she landed on the 29th step, her strength could no longer withstand the pressure of the Light of the Sea God, and her soul power couldn't sustain the simultaneous use of two soul skills.
Her body froze for a second, and the next moment, she was flung backward by the immense force.
Like a cannonball, she shot toward the nearby circular sea.
Yu Tianming had already taken flight above the circular sea, ready to catch Dugu Yan if she couldn't bear the pressure.
Seeing how fast she was hurled from the steps, he flapped his wings, unleashing a massive surge of cyan airflow to envelop her.
Wrapped in this airflow, Dugu Yan's speed slowed, and she gently drifted into Yu Tianming's arms.
When the two landed in front of the steps, Ah Zhu and Ah Zhi hurried over.
Dugu Yan managed to stand, but her face was deathly pale.
Everyone could see her legs trembling uncontrollably.
Realizing her stamina was depleted, Dugu Yan simply plopped down onto the ground, letting out a long breath. She said dejectedly, "Right now, I can only reach the 28th step. My assessment requires me to climb to the 168th step within a year. For me, that feels impossibly far off. If it comes to it, I might have to drop out halfway."
Seeing Dugu Yan like this, Ah Zhu and Ah Zhi's faces grew solemn.
They understood that Dugu Yan's martial soul and physical strength far surpassed their own. There was no way they could outperform her.
Though their assessments only demanded climbing to the 108th and 128th steps—less challenging than Dugu Yan's—they knew a year wouldn't be nearly enough to complete such a trial.
Even for Ah Zhi, a sea soul master, reaching the 128th step within a decade would be no simple feat.
Seeing the group's morale sink, Yu Tianming thought to himself, 'After arriving at Sea God Island, the Shrek Seven Devils all cultivated to Soul Emperor, and within a year, Tang San and Dai Mubai even broke through to Soul Sage. Yet their Black Level Six Exams, and even Ning Rongrong's Red Level Seven Exams, never required climbing beyond 150 steps. But now, these three girls—mere Soul Ancestors—are being asked to meet such high demands.
'Even if they've taken more immortal herbs than the Shrek group and cultivated faster, there's no way they could pass the first stage of this top-tier assessment on their own.'
After a moment's thought, Yu Tianming patted Dugu Yan's shoulder. "Don't give up yet. I'll try and see how far I can climb."
With that, he walked toward the nearby steps.
The flat area at the base of Sea God Mountain wasn't large—just over ten meters wide. In a few strides, Yu Tianming reached the steps.
The instant he stepped into their range, he felt a powerful pressure envelop him, resisting his advance. It was like diving dozens of meters underwater—the Light of the Sea God surged in from all sides, relentlessly pressing against his body.
A thin golden mist appeared around him. He could clearly feel his soul power being slowly extracted by the Light of the Sea God.
Bracing against the pressure, he took a second step.
As expected, when he reached the second step, the pressure intensified significantly.
With a rough estimate in mind, Yu Tianming took a deep breath, quickened his pace, and climbed three more steps in succession, reaching the fifth step.
Here, the pressure grew even more immense. For an ordinary soul master at Rank 30 to stand steady, they'd need to exert every ounce of strength. Dugu Yan, at just Rank 46, reaching the 28th step was already a testament to her martial soul's strength and her soul skills working together.
To test his physical limits, Yu Tianming climbed onward without using any soul skills or activating his martial soul.
Soon, he stood on the 40th step. At this point, the oppression from the Light of the Sea God began to hinder his movements slightly.
He didn't stop, instead accelerating his climb. He knew pausing wouldn't give him a chance to catch his breath—it would only drain his soul power faster. It was all about seizing the momentum; a second hesitation would weaken him, and a third would exhaust him.
Without hesitation, he activated his martial soul. His body swelled slightly, and his skin sprouted dense scales.
The first dragonification soul skill of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Dragon's Wrath, doubled his attack power and lightning strength. After full dragonification, all five of his dragonification soul skills boosted lightning power and attack strength.
But Yu Tianming's Ghidorah dragonification was different—all its enhancements were passive, increasing physical strength and elemental power. Partial dragonification, like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's, also granted nearly a 100% boost.
After dragonification, with a nearly 300% increase, Yu Tianming quickened his pace, moving up the steps as if jogging.
He reached the 120th step, where his legs began to feel heavy again.
Even with his martial soul active and dragonification vastly boosting his physical strength, his Rank 55 cultivation was now limiting his speed under the Light of the Sea God.
Without pause, his third soul ring flashed twelve times in succession.
His third soul skill came from a 5,000-year-old Thunderflame Jiao, a dominant soul beast. Each use granted a boost—starting with a 60% increase in strength, defense, and resistance to abnormal states.
Though the effect diminished with each use, after twelve activations, he'd gained a 390% boost to strength and defense, nearing an astonishing 400%!!!
The stacking of soul skills and dragonification wasn't additive—it was multiplicative.
Though the effects tapered off, in his strongest state, Yu Tianming's physical strength was roughly ten times his normal self.
His steps grew light again.
He reached the 200th step but suddenly stopped there.
Throughout his climb, though sometimes slow, he'd always kept moving forward. Now, he stood still, not advancing further.
Unlike Dugu Yan, he wasn't flung back. Instead, he turned and slowly descended the steps, one by one.
With each step down, the pressure eased. Below the 100th step, he began to run. When he finally stepped off the stairs, the golden mist around him dissipated instantly.
Yu Tianming felt every pore in his body open up, as if someone standing for a lifetime had finally sat down.
With a thud, he collapsed onto the grass, unable to control himself.
Seeing this, Dugu Yan, Ah Zhu, and Ah Zhi rushed to his side.
Meeting their concerned gazes, Yu Tianming said slowly, "I'm fine. I just stayed on the steps too long. Stepping out of the Light of the Sea God felt so good, I ended up lying down."
Relieved, Dugu Yan sighed, though her tone carried a hint of grievance. "I can only reach the 28th step at most, but Brother Tianming made it to the 200th. You're so much stronger than me—you've already surpassed the limit of our assessment."
Yu Tianming smiled faintly at their admiring looks. "This was my first try without preparation, so I only reached the 200th step. If I'm ready, I could probably go another ten or twenty steps."
He paused, then added slowly, "I'm not saying this to show off. I mean that if, after a year, you still can't pass the trial, I have the strength to carry you up."
The three girls' expressions shifted. The Light of the Sea God was only their first trial, and they weren't willing to give up so easily.
Seeing Yu Tianming's strength and how effortlessly he could carry them through, they suddenly felt a spark of hope.
"Though I can take you across the Light of the Sea God, with your current physical strength, going beyond the 100th step could be life-threatening," Yu Tianming said gravely.
Ah Zhi, the sea soul master least affected by the pressure, chuckled lightly. "I'll train hard this year and keep challenging the Light of the Sea God to adapt to its pressure. By then, I'll definitely pass."
Dugu Yan was only 12 this year, Yu Tianming just 14, but Ah Zhu, the eldest, was already 18.
As Ah Zhi's older sister, Ah Zhu always looked out for her sibling and handled most of Yu Tianming's daily care.
Aside from Yu Tianming, with his two lifetimes of experience, Ah Zhu was the most mature of the group and the most understanding of the three girls.
Hearing his words, she grasped his intent and said softly, "We've all trained hard since childhood. In this year, we won't slack off just because you can help us pass."
Dugu Yan chimed in at the right moment. "After climbing these steps filled with the Light of the Sea God, I cultivated at the base of Sea God Mountain and found my cultivation speed increased a lot."
Yu Tianming nodded. "The Light of the Sea God quickly drains our soul power. Once it's exhausted, not only does cultivation speed up, but the pressure also tempers the body, naturally boosting progress."
"But when I cultivated just now, my speed increased several times over. At this rate, a few days could match a month of normal training," Dugu Yan said, puzzled by the unbelievable pace, doubting Yu Tianming's explanation.
He smiled faintly. "The effects of your last immortal herb haven't fully absorbed, and you took another one a few days ago. Under the pressure of the Light of the Sea God, your absorption of the herbs' power must have spiked."
The three girls nodded thoughtfully at this.
After a moment's silence, Ah Zhu looked at Yu Tianming. "My assessment has the fewest tasks, but still seven trials. Crossing the Light of the Sea God is a perfect chance to boost our strength. The more we improve here, the better we'll handle the later tests."
None of them were fools. The girls quickly grasped the key point. Ah Zhi said seriously, "Each of your trials only gives you a year. You have to train under the Light of the Sea God for the full year—don't waste a second."
Dugu Yan, facing eight trials—the hardest among them—had long set aside her grievances with Ah Zhu and Ah Zhi under the pressure to survive.
She looked at them earnestly. "My soul power's fully recovered. I'll climb the Light of the Sea God right now. Sister Ah Zhu, Sister Ah Zhi, don't waste time—join me."
Ah Zhu and Ah Zhi exchanged a glance, then followed Dugu Yan, beginning their climb up the steps shrouded in the Light of the Sea God.
Their paces varied, spreading them across different steps, so climbing together was no issue—plenty of room, no crowding.
Yu Tianming sat up, watching their efforts with a faint smile tugging at his lips. 'It's good they see the importance of the Light of the Sea God and won't slack off just because I can help. And as the future main wife, Dugu Yan's stopped fussing over the two maids. This'll make things smoother if I take other partners later.'
Something seemed to occur to him. Though his soul power hadn't fully recovered, he stepped onto the steps leading to the Sea God Temple, enveloped by the Light of the Sea God.
He moved quickly, soon overtaking Ah Zhu, Ah Zhi, and Dugu Yan one by one.
Ignoring their puzzled looks, he strode straight to the 40th step, faced the climbing girls, and sat cross-legged to cultivate.
The steps to the Sea God Temple were ten meters wide—enough for six people to sit side by side.
Even if the girls reached the 40th step, it wouldn't hinder their climb.
As he began cultivating, Yu Tianming noticed that under the external pressure of the Light of the Sea God, his soul power flowed faster. Even without deliberate control, it outpaced his usual self-directed cultivation.
It was as if the soul power cultivated on its own under outside stimulation.
Moreover, with his vast soul power reserves and rapid recovery, cultivating on this step meant that while the Light of the Sea God drained his soul power, it couldn't outstrip his regeneration.
On top of that, the pressure even boosted his recovery speed.
The 40th step was the perfect spot for his cultivation.
Gradually, Yu Tianming slipped into a meditative state, realizing that these steps covered by the Light of the Sea God might be the greatest boost to his cultivation speed in his short ten-odd years of life.
Hours passed in a flash.
Having reached Rank 59 just a month ago, Yu Tianming now felt the bottleneck loosening.
He knew he was about to break through to Soul Emperor.
(End of Chapter)
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