Of course, Ling Xiao was well aware that Bibi Dong was also undergoing the Rakshasa Divine Trials. However, the reason he hadn't grouped her with the other four was primarily due to his lingering doubts regarding the nature of her inheritance.
If the Divine Trials accepted by Tang San and the others were of the "infusion" variety—focusing on boosting soul power, increasing the age of soul rings, or even granting God Bestowed Soul Rings—those felt like treating the symptoms rather than the root cause.
They didn't seem to have a fundamental connection to the essence of becoming a God.
In contrast, the Asura Trials accepted by Tang Chen felt like a true inheritance of a divine seat.
At that time, Tang Chen had already reached Rank 99; he was but a single step away from becoming a God at Rank 100. He had reached the end of his path, finding no way forward until he arrived at the Slaughter City.
Opening the Asura Trials would grant him a new source of power. The accumulation of nine successive power boosts would be enough to shatter the bottleneck between Limit Douluo and Godhood, allowing him to ascend as the God of Asura.
Ling Xiao theorized that this power must have a vessel.
At that point, Tang Chen had reached the absolute pinnacle of what a soul master could be. His soul power could no longer increase, and his nine soul rings were already full. Increasing the age of his soul rings would have been trivial for a peerless powerhouse of his caliber.
Perhaps a soul skill from an aged-up ring wouldn't even match the power of the Self-Created Soul Skills he had developed through his own profound understanding of his Martial Soul.
The most likely vessel for this power was the Deathgod Domain. After all, by traversing the Hell Road of the Slaughter City and completing the first trial of Asura, one could add the Deathgod Domain to their Martial Soul as an Innate Domain.
Coincidentally, while the Clear Sky Hammer was incredibly powerful, it lacked an Innate Domain. The appearance of the Deathgod Domain gave Tang Chen a new path to walk—a road that could be extended.
Ling Xiao couldn't help but wonder: if things had gone according to his theory, and Tang Chen had chosen not to continue the Asura Trials after obtaining the Deathgod Domain—instead focusing on strengthening the domain's power through his own efforts—
Could he have avoided the God of Rakshasa's scheme and attained Godhood through his own merit?
Speaking of domains, Ling Xiao thought maliciously of the Sea God inheritance on Sea God Island. After all, the nine trials of the Sea God didn't grant Tang San a single domain related to the power of the ocean.
He deeply doubted whether Tang San could even be considered a true Sea God after ascending. Did he truly have the power to control the sea? If he were to fight the original Sea God—without considering the power of the God of Asura—would he be instantly killed?
Qian Renxue's Angel God Trials were slightly better. He wasn't sure if the first trial granted an Angel Domain, but it didn't matter, as the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul came with its own Angel Domain anyway.
Unfortunately, aside from that point, she followed a path of divine infusion similar to Tang San. Ling Xiao felt that although both eventually attained Godhood, their control over their power and the stability of their foundations were inferior even to Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi.
Both of them wielded power with a mental state that didn't match their current realm. However, at least Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi only needed to control Rank 99 power, and having served as the High Priests of their respective inheritance grounds for years, they had inevitably grown.
What confused Ling Xiao most were the trials Bibi Dong underwent. He had some understanding and theories regarding the trials of Tang San, Qian Renxue, and Tang Chen, but he couldn't quite make sense of the Rakshasa Trials.
If it were a traditional, orthodox trial like the Asura Trials, Bibi Dong shouldn't have been able to start it. When she began the Rakshasa Nine Trials, she wasn't a Titled Douluo, let alone a Limit Douluo. She was likely only in her twenties.
But if it were like Tang San's trials—where one didn't need the cultivation of a peerless powerhouse and only needed a certain level to start receiving divine infusions.
Then why did Bibi Dong's trials take so many years? After all, that fellow Tang San used divine infusions to jump from a Soul Emperor to a God in roughly five years.
It was utterly exasperating.
Considering Bibi Dong began the trials after being harmed by Qian Xunji, by the time she finally achieved Godhood, Qian Renxue was already over thirty years old.
Even if there was a slight error in the calculation, this duration suggested that Bibi Dong's cultivation was likely not achieved through infusion, but through her own hard work. Was it possible for Divine Trials to be completed while simultaneously cultivating on one's own?
If so, this would be another form of orthodox divine inheritance.
Beyond that, there was another mystery in the Rakshasa Trials: the drastic change in Bibi Dong's personality after becoming the God of Rakshasa. She wanted to destroy Spirit Hall and even the entire world—she was hysterical and utterly mad.
This was clearly different from her previous calculated style.
It was almost as if she had been possessed.
Yet, seeing how she was willing to sacrifice her life to save Qian Renxue, she clearly hadn't been possessed; she still had her own consciousness. It just seemed as though her mind had been influenced by something, leaving her thought process chaotic and insane.
As he thought, Ling Xiao suddenly shook his head vigorously and smacked his forehead.
"I'm spacing out again."
He looked toward the white-robed Elder.
After hearing his words, the old man seemed to have fallen into a trance, perhaps lost in memory or deep thought. Sensing Ling Xiao's gaze, the Elder snapped back to reality. He looked at Ling Xiao, a strange glint appearing in his eyes.
He smiled and said, "To seize the title of the world's number one Tool Martial Soul from the Clear Sky Hammer... you certainly have grand ambitions. Back then, countless powerhouses fell beneath the Clear Sky Hammer. Accomplishing this task will be anything but easy."
"No matter how difficult it is, I have to try."
To be honest, Ling Xiao felt the title of the world's number one Tool Martial Soul wasn't necessarily set in stone.
Every Martial Soul had its own unique characteristics. While the Clear Sky Hammer was strong, it couldn't possibly suppress every other Tool Martial Soul in existence. It was the person that was strong, not the Martial Soul.
Just like Tang Chen—did he take pride in the Clear Sky Sect or Clear Sky Hammer? Likely not.
Rather, both the sect and the hammer took pride in him. However, Ling Xiao simply couldn't stand the way the Clear Sky Sect maintained their "number one in the world" attitude even after their decline.
He was determined to compete with them.
Besides, the title sounded quite nice. Seizing that name wouldn't make the Profound Sky Axe the "first" in a literal sense, but it would be a testament to his own strength. It would ensure his journey to the Douluo Continent wasn't in vain.
The Elder couldn't help but smile.
In Ling Xiao, he seemed to see a shadow of his younger self—only, time never returns.
"Little fellow, since that's the case, you must cultivate hard in the future."
After saying this, the Elder turned to leave. Although he walked at a leisurely pace, his speed was incredibly fast.
Soon, his silhouette vanished.
"Hey, Senior, you..." Ling Xiao paused, feeling a bit disappointed.
"What a shame. I was planning to ask for his name. He truly has the air of a hidden master."
In a place Ling Xiao couldn't see, behind the teaching building, the Elder's figure slowly reappeared. Recalling Ling Xiao's words and thinking back to his own past, the Elder let out a sigh.
"Tang Feng, back then, the Heavenly Pole lost to the Clear Sky. But in the future, there will surely be a battle between the Profound Sky and the Clear Sky. He shall take my place and ascend the Clear Sky Peak once more."