Everyone looked up, and the one thousand and first step came clearly into view. "Third Brother, are you planning to take us through the Seagod's Light?" As clever as she was, Ning Rongrong grasped Tang San's intention at once.
"That's right. Although we came out to rest, we cannot let our cultivation slack off. Let's use today as a test to see how many steps each of us can climb."
Without wasting words, Tang San took the lead and stepped onto the stairs. Even though he had already become the Seagod, the Seagod's Light had been left behind by Poseidon, making it the most suitable tool to test his current self. He needed pressure, and even more so, he needed motivation.
Seeing Tang San make his move, the remaining seven also began to climb. No one wanted to be left behind; healthy competition had always been a tradition of the Shrek Seven Monsters.
Tang San strode forward, reaching the three hundred and thirty-third step in just a few breaths—the exact position he had needed to achieve during his first trial of the Seagod. The scenery behind him remained unchanged, and the people around him were still the same, but they had all grown so much. Deep emotions stirred in everyone; those five years on Seagod Island had been filled with both pressure and drive, yet they were exceptionally fulfilling.
The first five hundred steps had virtually no effect on Tang San, until he reached the eight hundred and forty-ninth step, where his legs refused to lift no matter what he tried. A difference of a single step felt as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Activating both the Blue Silver Domain and the God of Slaughter Domain simultaneously, he applied all of his non-attacking spirit skills, while the Seagod's Eight Wings behind him braced his body with all their might. Every time he tried to lift a leg, it felt as though thousands of catties of iron chains were holding him back, rendering him completely immobile.
Tang San bit his lower lip hard. Due to the crushing pressure of the Seagod's Light, his skin began to ooze blood, staining his blue tunic a deep crimson. Struggling to suppress the surging blood in his chest, Tang San expanded the Blue Silver Domain to cover the entire Seagod Island. At that very instant, all the vegetation bowed toward the Seagod Temple, and the continuous supply of Life slightly improved his complexion. Adjusting his footing, he slowly stepped up.
The eight hundred and fiftieth step—this was the maximum height Tang San could currently achieve. The Spirit Power within his body churned violently, and he quickly sat down on the steps to cultivate. The Seagod's Light wrapped around his form, making Tang San look like a glowing blue sphere, though countless fine golden threads flickered across its outer surface. True to his consistent belief in borrowing rather than plundering the Life provided by the island's flora, Tang San continuously filtered the Divine Power down to a level the plants could absorb, and then fed it back to them.
Dai Mubai and the others also found the maximum pressure they could currently withstand and sat down on the steps to cultivate accordingly. When they first arrived at Seagod Island, they had merely been a group of Spirit Emperors at level 60 or 70; now, they were Titled Douluo who towered over the entire continent. Only they truly knew the hardships behind that transformation.
The heights currently climbed by the Shrek Seven Monsters were:
Tang San: Level 850.
Xiao Wu: Level 730. Having once consumed two immortal herbs, the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng and the Combro, her physical constitution surpassed even Dai Mubai's, allowing her to withstand a level of pressure second only to Tang San's.
Dai Mubai: Level 715. With his formidable physical resilience and the amplification of several spirit skills, this height was the absolute limit he could reach.
Oscar: Level 630. As a food-system spirit master, whether there would be anyone after him remained to be seen, but Oscar was certainly without peer before him. His innate talent and perseverance far exceeded ordinary capabilities.
Ma Hongjun: Level 670. As a brute-force attack-system spirit master, the Fatty's spirit skills found little utility within the Seagod's Light; reaching this height meant he had pushed his utmost strength to the limit.
Ning Rongrong: Level 500. Ning Rongrong and Oscar were the only two among the Seven Monsters to use the Replicated Mirror Sausage. Considering Ning Rongrong's physical constitution and all her amplification skills, reaching Level 500 was already a remarkable breakthrough.
Zhu Zhuqing: Level 655. Zhu Zhuqing possessed the firmest of resolves. Her past goal had been to grow stronger, and her future goal would never change. Perhaps it was precisely because of this that she won the favor of the Moon Goddess, Elune.
As for Bai Chenxiang, she currently remained at Level 110. Looking up at the seven people cultivating ahead of her, she clenched her fists tightly, her entire body trembling uncontrollably. After all, the gap between them was still too vast; she feared she might never catch up to them in her entire lifetime. Yet, she was unwilling to accept it—unwilling to remain so mediocre while following alongside them, where every appearance by their side drew strange looks from others, those needle-like gazes reminding her over and over again, "You are not worthy to stand beside them!" At the thought of this, Bai Chenxiang's eyes reddened.
A person always needed a goal, and Bai Chenxiang's goal was not to fall too far behind them, and not to stray too far from her own light.
...
"I must say, at your age, isn't it a bit unseemly to be peeping?" Inside the Seagod Temple in the God Realm, Elune sat to one side, watching Poseidon as he used the Mirror of the Sea to observe Tang San and the others.
Poseidon kept his gaze fixed on the Mirror of the Sea, refusing to even look at Elune. "Go on, go on. How old are you, and you still don't understand the rules of the God Realm? What if someone else overhears the secrets of the God Realm? Aren't you afraid the God King will come looking for you?"
Elune let out a cold snort. "Hmph, wasn't it certain someone who had people notify every deity in the God Realm who hasn't yet found a successor, telling them to give Tang San a hint if they ever get the chance to visit the mortal realm?"
Poseidon was momentarily at a loss for words, his weathered face flushing crimson. He hadn't expected Elune to blurt it out so brazenly; he still hadn't wanted to make his intentions quite so obvious.
"Besides, that girl isn't just 'someone else'; she carries the Divine Power of the Asura God within her. Even if I hadn't said anything, do you really think your precious Tang San wouldn't have told her? I saw it clearly—those two haven't let go of each other's hands once."
"Heh, I sent you to offer hints, but where were your eyes wandering? Could it be that you and the God of War..." Before Poseidon could finish, Elune shot him a sharp glare. Poseidon wisely shut his mouth. "Fine, fine. I won't meddle in you young people's affairs. In any case, since the Shrek Seven Monsters always stay together, it looks like you won't be leaving my Seagod Temple for quite some time."
"That's fine too. I didn't want to go back anytime soon anyway." Poseidon calculated the days and let out a slight sigh. It seemed the God of War had gone to the Moon Goddess Temple again; who knew when those two would ever live in peace.
Since Elune had chosen Zhu Zhuqing, then perhaps... Poseidon's gaze flickered toward Dai Mubai, who was surrounded by a golden radiance within the Mirror of the Sea, as a small plan began to form in his mind.
God Realm, Moon Goddess Temple.
"Lord God of War, please return. The Moon Goddess is not currently inside the temple."
The God of War gave the ground a heavy stomp, shattering the stone steps at the entrance of the Moon Goddess Temple. He shouted up toward the sky, "Elune, don't think you can hide from me! I will definitely find you!"