At the foot of Sea God Mountain.
Su Cheng stood tall and straight like a sharp sword, just outside the jade-like stone steps of Sea God Mountain.
The newly condensed one hundred thousand year seventh soul ring at his feet did not exhibit the usual crimson color of typical hundred thousand year soul rings, nor did it have the pure clarity of origin or innate power. Instead, it was a faint pink, shimmering with a magnificent luster.
He only had a drop of primordial power, which was still too little.
However, even this single drop of primordial power had caused a qualitative change in his seventh soul ring.
Both his Five Elements Domain and Sword Domain were simultaneously released.
A bright moon hung in mid-air.
Sword energy swirled around his body.
A pale, nearly transparent mist filled the air.
At this moment, his domain seemed to merge with the entire world.
Su Cheng did not choose to withdraw immediately after his breakthrough. Instead, he silently released his dual domains.
Bo Saixi was on the mountaintop. There was no way she would be unaware of this, and a battle was inevitable.
Moreover, he didn't want to leave just yet.
The surging power around him felt like a tidal wave, making him feel as though he had returned to his peak during simulations.
Although this was merely an illusion brought on by a significant temporary boost in power.
Upon ascending to the Soul Saint level, Su Cheng felt the changes in his current strength.
He was indeed very powerful.
Although he hadn't reached the same level as his final battle in simulations, he was already comparable to the strength he had when he first grasped the use of innate power after becoming a Titled Douluo.
There was still some difference in the accumulation of power between the two, but the quality of his power was far superior to that time.
Back then, he had just figured out the third volume of his innate technique and had begun to integrate his essence, energy, and spirit, touching upon innate power.
However, the efficiency of merging different forces within him and the intensity of the nascent innate power he could wield were both at a basic level.
Even when fighting against that wisp of Sea God's divine consciousness, he could only manage a draw, with his strength barely surpassing that of an ordinary Peerless Douluo without any geographical advantage.
It wasn't until he shattered his soul rings, sacrificed his martial spirit, and burned his soul to reinforce his foundation that he finally condensed a perfect innate power comparable to or even surpassing divine power.
As Su Cheng silently felt the changes within him, a flash of red light appeared before him. An exceptionally beautiful figure in a priestess's robe materialized, her blue eyes filled with a mix of confusion and realization.
Quickly, her complex expression was replaced by one of grave seriousness and a killing intent.
As one of the world's top experts, she could feel the intense threat emanating from the man before her, with vivid memories of the past flashing through her mind.
Although Su Cheng wasn't as strong as he was back then, his aura was now perfectly integrated, and the mist permeating his domain was extraordinary.
At this moment, several strong presences rapidly approached from various parts of the island.
Clearly, the other Titled Douluo stationed at the sacred pillars had sensed the disturbance near Sea God Mountain and were rushing over.
Su Cheng was well aware of Bo Saixi's presence and the others approaching, but he remained calm, eyes closed, indifferent to the external situation.
At their level, sneak attacks were meaningless.
For soul masters, the Soul Saint level was unique, second in importance only to the breakthrough to Titled Douluo upon acquiring the ninth soul ring.
When soul masters obtain their seventh soul ring, their soul skill invariably becomes their martial spirit avatar. The power they can wield with it varies depending on the quality of the soul ring.
If the soul ring is powerful enough, it can further enhance the martial spirit, even feeding back into their talent domain.
Su Cheng was no exception to this rule.
However, his seventh soul skill, the martial spirit avatar, was somewhat different.
Under the influence of origin power, his martial spirit avatar allowed him to enter two distinct stages.
The first stage is similar to the standard martial spirit avatar of regular Soul Saints, significantly enhancing the strength of the Eternal Sword and multiplying his combat power.
Due to his deep understanding of swordsmanship and his unique comprehension of soul power, he can even achieve a state where he and the Eternal Sword are indistinguishable, merging them seamlessly without the need to infuse soul power into the martial spirit. Instead, he extends his martial spirit as an extension of his own body.
He had experienced this in his last simulation, where he suppressed Pope Qian Xunji, who had the power of a Titled Douluo, despite being only a Soul Saint himself.
However, when he enters the second stage, the martial spirit avatar becomes extremely terrifying.
All of his power transforms into innate power, perfectly merging his essence, energy, and spirit under the effect of the martial spirit avatar, unleashing near-godly strength.
Given his current foundation, he can only maintain this state for a few breaths.
But even if it only lasts a few breaths, even if it's just enough for one attack, it's something that was previously impossible.
No matter how deep his foundation, even after the final battle in the simulation where his understanding of innate power far surpassed the past, he still couldn't achieve this.
His foundation wasn't strong enough.
In the simulated world, he had reached a level above a third-class god by shattering all his soul rings to enhance his vitality, sacrificing his martial spirit to boost his soul power, and finally burning his soul.
Yet the current Su Cheng is still only a Soul Saint. His vitality, soul power, and soul energy have not reached a transformative level, and he hasn't begun to balance these powers.
However, the drop of origin power that merged into his soul ring had saved him numerous steps, acting as a lubricant and enhancer.
Although Su Cheng still found it hard to understand why this happened, he had some guesses.
Origin power always appears integrated, similar to innate power.
Using such a higher-level power as an adhesive to help him more easily merge his internal energies is not surprising.
It was this second-stage martial spirit avatar that gave Su Cheng enough confidence.
Even if it's just one strike, it's an invincible force in the human realm, although he wouldn't be able to continue fighting after using it.
In Su Cheng's perception, if he could incorporate more primordial power into his soul ring, his efficiency in utilizing his energy could improve further, greatly extending the duration of the second-stage martial spirit avatar.
Unfortunately, Su Cheng had no idea how to obtain more origin power, as he had not yet grasped the way to acquire it.
In the future, he could only extend his burst time through painstaking cultivation and deepening his foundation, although this method would inevitably be less efficient.
Soon, the other seven Sacred Pillar Douluo arrived at the foot of Sea God Mountain, surrounding Su Cheng in a pincer formation.
"It's you?!" Suddenly, a clear, melodious female voice rang out, tinged with undisguised surprise.
Su Cheng opened his eyes and looked at the stunning girl wearing a black top and skirt, her white waist and round navel exposed.
He smiled softly, "Hello, Mermaid Princess."
Luo Leilei's sky-blue eyes widened slightly, staring at him in a daze.
Her red lips parted slightly, her expression constantly changing, her face a mix of joy, anger, and disbelief.
"Do you know him?" Sea Dragon Douluo asked, seeing the bewildered faces of the others and the strange expression on Sea Maiden Douluo's face.
Luo Leilei frowned at the question but couldn't find the words to explain.She did recognize Su Cheng, but only had a vague impression of him, recalling seemingly real yet uncertain moments they spent together and the scenes of him destroying the Sea God Temple.
"High Priestess?" Sea Dragon Douluo, seeing her silence, first glanced at Su Cheng and then looked at the silent Bo Saixi.
In his perception, despite the man in front of him displaying only seven soul rings, his strength was terrifyingly powerful.
Standing before him felt like standing on the edge of a ten-thousand-foot cliff.
Even though the other party showed no hostility, it still made his heart tremble, as if the next moment he would fall into the abyss and be shattered to pieces.
At this moment, Sea Dragon Douluo finally understood why Bo Saixi had specifically brought this person to the sacred pillar for the test.
Not to mention the unusual nature of his first five soul rings, the last two soul rings had completely shattered his understanding.
The crimson sixth soul ring, which was one hundred thousand years old, was already astonishing, but the pink seventh soul ring was even more bizarre—he had never heard of a soul ring of such a color.
But why would such a person stop at the mere Purple Level Three Trials?
He felt his mind was struggling to keep up.
Bo Saixi ignored Sea Dragon Douluo's confusion, looking gravely at Su Cheng, who seemed completely different from before. "You..."
She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
The situation had completely spiraled out of control.
At this point, it seemed that saying anything would be pointless.
"Why did you receive the Purple Level Three Trials?" In the end, she only managed to ask this one question.
"High Priestess, why do you trust these so-called godly trials so much?" Su Cheng chuckled, "Is the Sea God truly omnipotent?"
"How dare you!"
"What did you say?!"
"…"
Hearing his obviously provocative and disrespectful words, several of the Sacred Pillar Douluo couldn't help but shout angrily.
"Enough." Bo Saixi raised her hand to silence the others.
She looked at Su Cheng and pondered, "So... were you pretending all along?"
She found it hard to believe.
How could anyone act so convincingly, without her noticing a single flaw from beginning to end?
If he were a stranger, it wouldn't matter, but the Su Cheng in her memory had been with her for so many years; she considered herself to know him well.
Although his previous words and demeanor had resembled that person to the core, his unintentional gestures and expressions had obvious differences.
"You could say that," Su Cheng replied casually. "More precisely, I used a small trick to temporarily forget certain things that had happened."
At this point, it didn't matter whether he hid this or not.
"I see..." Bo Saixi sighed softly. "You tricked me again..."
Her tone was bitter, but also somewhat relieved.
That slightly immature Su Cheng had indeed intrigued her, but it was the other one, who had guided her in cultivation, who had been willing to sacrifice his life to destroy the Sea God's legacy, and who had personally said, "You are my teacher," that had truly left an indelible mark on her.
"Alright, enough reminiscing."
Su Cheng reined in his smile, lightly raised his longsword, and swept his gaze over the powerful individuals before him.
Finally, his eyes returned to Bo Saixi.
"Are you going to take action yourself, or are you bringing all of them together?"