As Huo Yuhao left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, somewhere on the Douluo Continent,
Tong Yu spoke in a respectful tone from within the darkness. "My lord, Huo Yuhao is growing too quickly. His cultivation is now approaching Soul Emperor, and he has also gone to the Tang Sect's Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. If my prediction is correct, after this, he will advance to Soul Emperor.
"If we do not act soon, it may become impossible to bring him into the Holy Cult in the future."
"Oh? Where did this intelligence come from?"
"Lan Fozi. She is currently working at the Spirit Transmission Tower headquarters, still under Huo Yuhao."
"I see."
The voice from the shadows became intrigued. "Xingluo has already begun preparing an exchange plan with the Federation. Within a year, they will send an exchange delegation to visit the Douluo Continent, and at the same time, from an official standpoint, they will test the strength here."
"If the Federation is willing, they will certainly send people to visit Xingluo afterward. Since Lan Fozi is by Huo Yuhao's side, have her get closer to Huo Yuhao and strive to persuade him to participate in the future. She rarely brings back news for the Holy Cult. This time, it will be a good test of her loyalty to the Holy Cult."
"My lord, is this appropriate?" Tong Yu frowned slightly. "On the Xingluo side, if our arrangements are discovered..."
"No matter. With him around, at least on the surface, Xingluo is all song and dance, is it not?"
Tong Yu's body trembled. His expression was complex.
"Yes. I understand."
Leaving the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Leng Yaozhu and the others declined the Tang Sect's escort and headed in the direction of Tiandou City.
Along the way, Leng Yaozhu looked at Gu Yuena and smiled. "Na'er, what are your feelings after contracting with a hundred-thousand-year immortal herb? What improvements have you seen?"
Well, the immortal herb didn't taste very good. As a food item, she would give it a bad review.
That was what Gu Yuena thought, but what she said was, "My spirit power rose by a few ranks. I'll be a Soul King soon."
Leng Yaozhu nodded, waiting for Gu Yuena to continue. But when Gu Yuena had no further response, she gradually furrowed her brow.
That was it?
Even though Na'er was currently limited by her body's strength and spirit power issues and could not have her spirit soul provide a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring, the effect of a hundred-thousand-year heavenly treasure shouldn't be this weak, right? It only increased her spirit power?
"Na'er absorbed Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone. Her physical strength has also increased considerably."
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao added a supplementary explanation. "She can undergo spirit elevation again now."
Of course, this was a lie. After eating the immortal herb, Gu Yuena had only gained a small increase in spirit power — which was expected.
She was originally a first-class god, and a first-class god with powerful bloodline at that. To achieve significant improvement, she would have to go to Dragon Valley. Only there could she obtain enough enhancement.
He was already working on a corresponding plan.
Dragon Valley held many opportunities, even two super divine weapons. If he could obtain the most important few items, it would greatly enhance Gu Yuena.
But as he watched Gu Yuena laughing and talking with Leng Yaozhu, Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow slightly.
Speaking of Dragon Valley, the Dragon God Throne was unavoidable.
And in Huo Yuhao's view, that divine seat was a trap.
How many opportunities had the Little Dragon God obtained during his process of achieving the divine seat?
Not to mention the opportunities before inheriting the Dragon God Throne. When he inherited it, he had the super divine weapon Dragon God's Heart, the power of a first-class god's sacrifice, the delivered nourishment of a Half-Step God King, the Dragon God's remains, all the power of Dragon Valley, all the Dragon God's bloodline within the super divine weapon Dragon Rising Pillar, the full power of the Crimson God King, the bloodlines of the Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King, and the divine seats of the ten God Kings.
With these opportunities in terms of bloodlines, divine seats, and energy levels, step by step, they had pushed the Little Dragon God to become the so-called supreme God King — the Dragon God.
And that was not the most troublesome part. The Dragon God's divine trial required passing the "Heart Refining" test. During that process, the one being tested was in a half-mad state, crazily thirsting for power to fill themselves, filled with a desire for destruction.
In the original work, after the Great Divine Realm returned, it took thirteen God Kings taking turns attacking and finally striking together to prevent the Little Dragon God from destroying everything in his rampage.
If that wasn't a trap, what was?
It could be seen that under normal circumstances, there was no possibility of successfully inheriting the Dragon God Throne. Just stopping a rampaging false Dragon God required sufficiently powerful God Kings to assist from the side.
Gu Yuena knew some things, but she did not know the various trials she would face when inheriting the Dragon God Throne.
He needed to find an opportunity to talk with her.
As he pondered, Huo Yuhao and the others traveled all the way to the Tiandou City Spirit Transmission Tower. Only then did Bear Lord look at the group.
"It's getting late. Let's rest at the Tiandou branch today. Tomorrow, I will arrange a plane for you to Mingdu and go with you to Mingdu... to participate in the upcoming Spirit Ice Ceremony!"
Bear Lord's words interrupted Huo Yuhao's thoughts, and he looked at the other expressionlessly.
At this moment, Bear Lord had a somewhat eerie smile on his face as he vaguely sized up Huo Yuhao. His meaning went without saying.
He couldn't wait any longer to see the scene of Spirit Ice worshipping Spirit Ice!
He was getting excited!
Bear Lord's words also drew the attention of the other two who knew the truth.
Snow Empress wore a natural smile. Gu Yuena also revealed a strange expression, as if smiling but not quite.
Huo Yuhao: "..."
What, everyone wants to watch me worship myself?
Have you forgotten that you have to worship too?
It's hard to say who comes out ahead!
As he thought this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but sigh.
With people like this around him, he could already imagine the situation when the ceremony began. They all wanted to see him make a fool of himself, didn't they?
As for the Five Little Ones, upon hearing about the Spirit Ice Ceremony, they no longer dwelled on not obtaining hundred-thousand-year immortal herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. They also began discussing the Spirit Ice Ceremony.
Three rings against a hundred-thousand-year beast and gaining the recognition of an immortal herb — who could do that? Even a god couldn't, right?
Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about it.
"The Spirit Ice Ceremony is the headquarters' ceremony to commemorate Spirit Ice Douluo, right? What exactly will we do?"
Xu Xiaoyan asked curiously. "Do we need to prepare anything?"
"The Spirit Ice Ceremony is a ritual established by the Spirit Transmission Tower to commemorate Spirit Ice Douluo. It mainly involves a review of his life and praise of his achievements. There will be worship ceremonies, spirit master exhibition matches, spirit soul contracts, and other activities. Many Spirit Transmission Tower dignitaries will also arrive at the headquarters to celebrate the ceremony."
Bear Lord explained with a beaming smile. "But you young juniors who have just reported to headquarters for less than a year, your main task is to go and worship Spirit Ice Douluo. The handling of the ceremony certainly won't fall to you. Relax. Treat it like a festival."
Huo Yuhao: "..."
Heh heh.
He just smiled and said nothing.
Seeing Xu Xiaoyan so interested, Xie Xie suddenly lowered his voice. "I've heard that every time during the Spirit Ice Ceremony, some people claim to have seen the apparition of Spirit Ice Douluo's heroic spirit appear in the Spirit Transmission Tower!"
"Ah?!" Xu Xiaoyan was so frightened that she grabbed Gu Yuena's arm. "R-Really? Is it true?"
Bear Lord laughed heartily. "Well... about that..." He cast a meaningful glance at Huo Yuhao, who was standing nearby with an expressionless face. "Who knows? Maybe this year there really will be an apparition of the heroic spirit?"
Huo Yuhao: "..."
Can you stop that? Watch out for retribution — BOOM!
Just as Bear Lord was indirectly teasing Huo Yuhao, the rumble of thunder came from the distant sky.
From any angle around the Blacksmithing Association building, one could see a brilliant, colorful halo suddenly flashing at the top of the structure. This four-colored halo bloomed outward, continuing to shine, lingering for a long time without dissipating.
"What is that? A four-colored lightning tribulation?"
Xie Xie looked up at the sky in shock. "What great expert or beast is undergoing tribulation?"
"The Four Elements Lightning Tribulation..."
Tang Wulin, who had gained considerable knowledge of the blacksmithing path under Bear Lord's teaching, showed an excited expression. "Xie Xie, your timing when you came to Tiandou City before was unlucky. It was the Divine Craftsman's rest period, so you haven't seen this kind of scene. Right now, the Divine Craftsman is performing Heaven Forging!"
Heaven Forging was the realm every blacksmith yearned for. It was also his goal.
On the other side, upon seeing the Four Elements Lightning Tribulation, the smile on Bear Lord's face froze. Now it was Huo Yuhao's turn to look at him with a strange expression.
According to various intelligence Huo Yuhao had gathered over the years, spirit beasts could not perform Heaven Forging.
It wasn't just a matter of ability. It was an extension of the issue that "spirit beasts cannot become gods."
Becoming a Divine Craftsman was best achieved before becoming a god.
Because the lightning tribulation attracted after becoming a god was different from the lightning tribulation attracted before becoming a god. The former was a true divine tribulation, targeting the god itself, and was fundamentally different from the lightning tribulation that targeted metal.
If one could not master how to attract the lightning tribulation that targeted metal before becoming a god, it would undoubtedly be very difficult to find that feeling among various divine tribulations after becoming a god. (In the original work's setting, if a god-level expert learned blacksmithing, they couldn't even perform simple Thousand-Forging — I can't figure out how to explain this strange situation. It feels like blacksmithing is being forced. So this book has changed the setting. Only Heaven Forging, due to the difference in lightning tribulation, is the biggest hurdle.)
Clearly, the savage beast was now encountering a similar problem.
Due to the rule that "spirit beasts cannot become gods," the lightning tribulation they attracted would ultimately strike themselves, turning into a savage beast's heavenly tribulation.
"Spirit Ice, stop laughing at me. Damn this heavenly tribulation." Bear Lord sent a telepathic message, then couldn't help but curse. "Fortunately, I'm a spirit beast that has passed the five-hundred-thousand-year bottleneck. If I were at my lifespan limit without any confidence, this heavenly tribulation could kill me."
Huo Yuhao's expression turned serious upon hearing this. He stopped teasing the other and instead began analyzing the implications in his mind.
From this situation, spirit beasts receive the same treatment as deities. And the Dragon God also mastered the power of lightning tribulation. The rule he originally established that "spirit beasts cannot become gods" probably treated spirit beasts as a different kind of deity, and he added limits on age and cultivation. So after reaching a certain age, spirit beasts must face heavenly tribulation.
But lightning tribulation has the characteristic of growing stronger when facing strength and weaker when facing weakness. So spirit beasts with deep foundations can cross over heavenly tribulation again and again to become savage beasts. However, accumulation always has an end. There will always be bottlenecks that cannot be broken through. When accumulation is no longer sufficient to face heavenly tribulation, that is when the spirit beast dies.
Among them, the godhood tribulation should be the most important.
The rule that "spirit beasts cannot become gods" left behind by the Dragon God should be very simple, which is why some loopholes have appeared.
Then, within this simple rule, how did he ensure that spirit beasts would fall at the step of the godhood tribulation? Or to put it another way, how did he increase the power of the godhood tribulation at that step so that spirit beasts absolutely could not pass it?
Huo Yuhao had a few simple hypotheses.
It was known that only two things could send down godhood tribulations — the heavens and earth, and the universe.
No matter how strong the Dragon God was, he could not influence the laws of the universe. Otherwise, he would not have died. Moreover, outside the planes under the jurisdiction of the Divine Realm, there were also beasts that could become gods. This showed that the influence of "spirit beasts cannot become gods" only existed within the planes originally under the jurisdiction of the Dragon God Divine Realm.
And since it was the heavens and earth — that is, the plane — then the Dragon God's choices were only a few.
One, simply adding the underlying rule that "spirit beasts cannot become gods" to the operating laws of each major plane.
Two, using some kind of law to place a "curse" rooted in bloodline or soul upon spirit beasts, causing the plane to give spirit beasts some "special treatment," adding something extra when they became gods.
Or perhaps both?
Aside from these, there were other possibilities. But thinking of "curses," Huo Yuhao thought of Emperor Tian's tribulation experience.
The only example of a spirit beast undergoing godhood tribulation was Emperor Tian. And what he had undergone was the External Avatar Tribulation — a type of tribulation involving obsession and inner demons. He had to overcome his obsession of wanting to become a god that had built up over hundreds of thousands of years to become a god. This was practically cutting off Emperor Tian's hope of becoming a god at the root. It was too targeted.
An obsession formed over hundreds of thousands of years? An obsession with becoming a god? How was Emperor Tian supposed to overcome that?
By giving up on becoming a god?
Not just Emperor Tian — all spirit beasts who reached the threshold of godhood had undergone a long period of cultivation. Could any spirit beast truly overcome an obsession of hundreds of thousands or nearly a million years?
If every spirit beast's godhood tribulation was so targeted, it was probably something like a curse.
Looking at Bear Lord, whose expression was not very pleasant, Huo Yuhao thought quietly.
But a moment later, seeing the distant lightning tribulation gradually dissipate, the group withdrew their gazes and, while continuing to chat about topics like "Heaven Forging" and the "Spirit Ice Ceremony," walked into the Tiandou City Spirit Transmission Tower.
Arriving at his own territory, Bear Lord naturally entertained everyone well. But what made Huo Yuhao a bit speechless was that at the banquet, this fellow deliberately tried to get close to him, wanting to hear him address him as "Elder" or "Tower Master" — his intention was far too obvious.
He recovers his mood really quickly. Or rather, is he using Huo Yuhao's embarrassment to lift his own spirits?
After the banquet ended, only Snow Empress, Gu Yuena, Huo Yuhao, and Bear Lord remained in the living room.
Huo Yuhao stopped pretending and looked at Bear Lord, saying in a somber tone, "You were really active today. What, does seeing Spirit Ice Douluo go to participate in the Spirit Ice Ceremony make you that happy?"
"Of course I'm happy. It's a huge source of amusement."
Bear Lord snorted. "And right now, you're just a Soul Emperor. I'm not afraid of you."
Though he said this, when Gu Yuena cast a glance his way, Bear Lord still cleared his throat lightly and reined himself in a bit. "All right, let's talk business. What do you plan to do with the immortal herbs you obtained?"
Sigh. His Majesty is siding with an outsider. How troublesome.
"...We're not far from the Star Dou Great Forest. I'll leave them to you to handle."
Huo Yuhao looked into the distance. "There's no place to settle them if I take them to Mingdu."
Bear Lord nodded. "Don't worry. Leave it to me."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao was about to instruct him not to let his own clansmen clean things up when a series of "beeps" from a soul communicator suddenly rang out. He raised an eyebrow and took out his soul communicator to check.
It was Lan Fozi.
She's made her decision?
***
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