[ The System notification sound echoed in her mind once again. ]
[ Congratulations on gaining the attention of the Water God! Reward: Water God Statue of the Seven x1 ]
Furina was elegantly lifting a bone china teacup, the swirling steam of the black tea rising gracefully before her.
This sudden System notification made her fingers tremble, causing the teacup and saucer to emit a crisp clinking sound.
"What is going on?" She frowned slightly, her water-blue long hair shimmering with a soft luster under the sunlight. "I, the Water God, have gained the attention of the Water God? This is far too absurd..."
She suddenly recalled the deity System of this world.
The God Realm of Douluo Continent indeed possessed a Water God. The seven great elemental gods were the Fire God, Water God, Earth God, Wind God, Light God, God of Darkness, and God of Space.
This setting was completely different from the world she knew; there was no place for an Ice God, Thunder God, or Grass God here.
Although douluo 2 mentioned an Ice God, it was not among these seven elemental gods.
"Wait," Furina set down her teacup, her fingertips tapping lightly on the tabletop. "How could the Water God notice me? I have neither participated in her God Trial nor obtained any Divine Artifact that could trigger a God Trial."
[ Because you are collecting the Power Of Faith through the Statue of the Seven, and the other party is also a deity who holds the authority over water. The homologous divine force resonated, allowing her to perceive the abnormality on your side. With just a slight probe of her Divine Sense, she could discover your existence. ]
"So that's how it is..." Furina nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly stood up from her chair. "No! If the Water God can discover me, then it is only a matter of time before that Buddha Tang notices my existence!"
She paced anxiously on the terrace, her pearl-inlaid dress hem tracing a graceful arc as she turned.
"Once he discovers that I have snatched away his child of destiny..." Furina could not help but hold her forehead. "Given his style, I fear he will use every means to target me."
Thinking of that Sea God Tang San who sat high in the God Realm, Furina felt a headache coming on.
It was clearly stipulated that deities in the God Realm were not allowed to interfere with the affairs of the Lower Realm at will, unless monsters of deity level were causing chaos.
Yet this Sea God, as a God King and one of the three great Law Enforcement Gods of the God Realm, repeatedly broke the rules.
Not only did he dispatch his own divine officials, Titan and Qingtian, to descend upon the Douluo Continent, but later he even made his parents the Plane Masters.
Furina suspected that the original plane consciousness had likely been erased by him long ago.
What worried her most was that there were very few deities in the God Realm who could contend with Tang San.
This Sea God was extremely adept at disguise; before the gods, he always wore the appearance of a righteous gentleman, but in reality, he was cunning and more troublesome to deal with than those who were openly villainous.
The gods of the Douluo God Realm did not seem very skilled at power struggles.
After passing his divine position to Tang San, the Asura God drifted away; after passing their divine positions to Ji Dong and Lie Yan, the God of Evil and the Goddess of Goodness actually handed the ruling power of the God Realm to Tang San instead of the more senior God of Destruction or Goddess of Life, and then they became addicted to endless Reincarnation and leisure in the mortal world—how was this anything like what a God King should be?
As for the most upright God of Destruction, because he controlled the power of destruction and his subordinates, the Seven Deadly Sins gods, had a poor reputation, other deities kept their distance from him.
Tang San took advantage of this to continuously expand his own influence.
Even more ironically, while he used the excuse that "expanding the God Realm might shake the Foundation of the God Realm" to delay the God of Destruction's proposals, he was secretly consolidating his own power.
"If only I could get the help of the God of Destruction..." Furina sighed softly. "If he could hold Tang San back, I could buy more time. But I am currently in the Lower Realm; how can I establish contact with the God Realm?"
She walked to the edge of the terrace, looking at the sparkling sea in the distance, and muttered to herself: "Oh well, for now, I can only take it one step at a time."
Just then, a clear and pleasant female voice resounded without warning by Furina's ear:
"Hehe, little sister, are you interested in accepting my God Trial? A Water God Trial, oh~"
This sudden voice caused Furina to stumble, nearly falling off the terrace.
She quickly grabbed the railing, her heart pounding wildly.
"What?!" Furina exclaimed in disbelief.
The voice carried a hint of playfulness: "It's just a God Trial, is there any need to be so surprised... Alright, I admit that speaking up suddenly is a bit startling."
The voice paused, and the tone carried appreciation: "But I think you are very interesting. To think you could conceive of using this method in the Lower Realm to gather faith and embark on the path to godhood... I thought about it and decided to give you a hand. Rest assured, my God Trial will not be too difficult; after all, you are already walking on the path to godhood, and it is a rare path at that... There is no point in deliberately making things difficult for you."
Furina had already guessed the identity of the visitor, but still asked cautiously: "May I ask who you are?"
The other party seemed to straighten her back, her voice filled with pride: "I am the Water God, one of the seven great elemental gods of the God Realm, a dignified First-Class Deity! How about it, do you want to accept my God Trial? As long as you pass the assessment, you can inherit my divine position and become the new Water God."
Furina fell into deep thought.
Accepting the Water God Trial would undoubtedly accelerate her pace toward godhood, but it could also attract Tang San's attention.
However, on second thought, since she would be discovered by that Sea God sooner or later, it would be better to improve her strength early.
What tempted her even more was that after becoming the official Water God, she would be able to legitimately protect the people she cared about.
Thinking of that child of destiny whom she had "abducted," the corners of Furina's mouth could not help but curl up slightly.
"Alright, I accept." Furina said firmly. "However, I have one condition—I hope that the God Trial can be supervised by you personally, Water God, and do not let any deity interfere."
She specifically emphasized the word "any," implying her guard against a certain Sea God.
After all, the lesson from the Qiankun Gate of Asking Love Valley was still fresh in her memory; it was clearly the God Trial of the God of Emotions, yet it was interfered with by Tang San.
The Water God chuckled, her voice like flowing clear springs: "You can rest assured about this; it is not yet someone else's turn to point fingers at my God Trial. If the Fire God dares to meddle, I will make him go home and kneel on durians!"
Furina could not help but smile upon hearing this; it seemed this Water God had a straightforward personality.
"What I am giving you is the Water God's Three Trials." The Water God said seriously. "The content of the first trial is very simple: have your Axis Cult spread widely within one country. The time limit is five years; I believe you can do it."
"The reward for completing the assessment is: Soul Power increased by ten levels, two God-bestowed spirit rings, and one God-bestowed Spirit Bone. How is it, not bad, right?"
Furina's eyes lit up.
Such rewards were indeed generous, especially the God-bestowed spirit rings and Spirit Bone, which could greatly enhance her strength.
"Thank you for your kindness, Water God. I will definitely give it my all."
"Then it's settled!" The Water God's voice gradually drifted away. "Good luck, junior! I look forward to seeing the day you succeed~"
As the Water God's voice dissipated into the air, Furina felt a gentle divine force inject into her body.
She raised her hand and discovered that a light blue divine mark had appeared on the back of her hand. The pattern was of intertwined water currents, flickering in and out of sight under the sunlight.
"Five years, huh..." Furina gently stroked the divine mark on the back of her hand, her eyes flashing with a determined light. "That is enough time."