"It's snowing?"
It wasn't just Di Tian who noticed the sudden change in the weather; even outside the range of the thunder tribulation, Ning Fengzhi and the others could visually confirm this strikingly different scene.
Within the range of thousands of miles of thunder, chaotic elemental fluctuations had, in the blink of an eye, turned into heavy goose-feather snow.
The extreme chill in the air seemed to pierce through the body, freezing even the bones stiff.
"So terrifying!" Qian Daoliu's brows revealed traces of shock. Compared to watching from afar back then, personally sensing this extreme chill now truly made him understand what it meant to be unbeatable by force.
A god…
No wonder Ning Rongrong could slaughter gods.
Just the oppressive pressure alone far surpassed the level of a Limit Douluo—and this wasn't even directed at them.
"I wonder how she compares to Xue Di?" Qian Daoliu murmured.
Speaking of which, Xue Di had previously mentioned recovering the power of a first-level god.
A first-level god—that meant above level 130.
But since Xue Di couldn't repel the Abyss Sacred Monarch and even suffered injuries, a comparison between the two…
"Ning Rongrong is stronger than me." Two figures appeared beside the group: the green-haired Bing Di, and the ruler of the Extreme North clad in holy white snow, Xue Di.
"Greetings, Ice God." Ning Fengzhi slightly cupped his hands.
Xue Di gently stepped aside to avoid it.
Good grief, are you trying to give your daughter a reason to beat me up?
I can't beat that pink-haired girl.
Xue Di gave a light cough. "Sect Master Ning, we're all acquaintances now—no need to be so formal. Besides, I only came this time because I was worried about Di Tian and wanted to take a look."
She had been in secluded cultivation in the Star Dou Great Forest when Di Tian was injured, so she naturally sensed it.
However, she had no healing abilities, so she didn't go out. Anyway, one more or one less wouldn't make much difference.
With Bi Ji and Zi Ji's personalities, they would definitely go find help.
But after Di Tian recovered, the thunder tribulation that arrived was completely different.
Xue Di forcibly awakened from seclusion and called the Bing Di—who had been guarding her cultivation—to come observe together.
It would also help Bing Di gain some experience and insight before suppressing her own 400,000-year great tribulation, increasing her chances of success.
"Xue Di, are you saying Ning Rongrong's strength is greater than yours right now?" Qian Daoliu asked.
"Yes. I've recovered quite a bit, and with the inheritance, my strength has reached the peak of a second-level god. But… if I really fought Ning Rongrong, I might not be her match."
"You may not know this, but compared to when I last met her, the current Ning Rongrong is even more formidable."
Did she go do something along the way?
Xue Di shifted her gaze from Qian Daoliu to Ning Fengzhi, who knew Ning Rongrong best.
As her father, he shouldn't be completely clueless, right?
Facing the collective gazes—including those of Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo—Ning Fengzhi felt tremendous pressure.
"Uh… I don't really know either." Ning Fengzhi forced himself to explain.
"Rongrong previously went to Vast Sea City to help Lan Fozi become a god. That's pretty much it."
"Become a god!"
Bing Di exclaimed in shock.
Xue Di's eyes showed astonishment as she instinctively looked toward the center of the thunderclouds.
After inheriting the Ice God's legacy, she understood the difficulty of soul beasts becoming gods better than anyone. Before the inheritance, the Ice God had already mentioned this to her.
The main reason was that during the Dragon God War, both sides suffered massive casualties, and the grudges could not be resolved.
Moreover, before the Dragon God fell, it had appeared somewhat overly clever.
Thus—whether for public or private reasons—the five Great God Kings and the gods of the Divine Realm had tacitly and firmly enforced the rule that the Dragon God did not permit soul beasts to become gods.
This rule involved shackles on both the soul beast's body and soul. To fully break through to the god level, both had to be simultaneously released before reaching the divine realm.
"Ning Rongrong can already do something like that?"
Xue Di didn't believe Ning Rongrong would deceive her about such a matter, and Ning Rongrong certainly wouldn't treat Lan Fozi's ascension as a joke to fool people.
Eliminating all impossibilities, that left only one conclusion: Lan Fozi had become a god.
Recalling the terrifying thunder tribulation she had sensed from a distant location earlier—even now, she wasn't sure she could survive it.
Yet the one who became a god wasn't the Demon Empress or the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, but Lan Fozi—who had only just crossed one thunder tribulation. This was utterly unbelievable.
"Sect Master Ning, could you tell us about the situation in Vast Sea City?"
To Xue Di's question, Ning Fengzhi sighed. "I don't know much either. Roughly speaking, Tang San, because of the Sea God's trials, killed the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King couple. Lan Fozi then sought help from Ning Rongrong."
"It's said that Tang San became a god—I don't know if it's true. You can ask Rongrong about it later!"
Ning Fengzhi explained in detail everything he roughly knew to the group.
Anyway, they were just standing here staring blankly and couldn't help at all. They might as well treat it as casual after-dinner conversation.
"So that's how it was." After hearing Ning Fengzhi's account, everyone present sighed in realization.
There were still many things they didn't understand, but it was clear Ning Fengzhi didn't know much more, so they didn't press further.
However, two key pieces of information emerged.
Lan Fozi had used the residual energy of the Demon Empress and the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King to break through to the god level.
Moreover, she had allowed the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King and the Demon Empress to continue existing in the world in some special "living" manner.
And Tang San—that troublemaking troublemaker—had finally fallen after becoming a god.
Truly, Ning Rongrong was terrifying!
"Boom!"
A deafening roar from high in the sky pulled everyone's thoughts back.
Thick clouds rolled and churned, swirling like a vortex.
All the thunder converged toward the center. Even Xue Di felt wary of the pressure that poured down, accompanied by rumbling thunder.
Even a Limit Douluo felt utterly insignificant beneath the sky's majesty.
"The lightning is being gathered."
With her divine-realm insight and her original body as the Ice and Snow Maiden, Xue Di was extremely sensitive to natural attributes and the heaven-and-earth vital energy.
"It's coming!"
Xue Di's pupils contracted.
The endless cloud layer seemed to be brewing an apocalyptic judgment.
Countless electric arcs leaped and gathered in the sky.
The aura of the thunder tribulation enveloped the earth.
The entire world felt as if it had been caught in a death-god-like net, constantly threatened with being consumed by the wrath of thunder..
The thunder crashed down. Dark purple electric light illuminated the dim sky with extreme brightness.
The air temperature, influenced by Ning Rongrong, skyrocketed in an instant.
Waves of scorching heat surged outward from the center.
However, the moment the lightning fell, the rising temperature and the scorching heat waves seemed to freeze in place—all motion halted, as if bound.
A clear voice rang out the instant the lightning descended.
"Sword Technique - One Sword, Frosty Cold Across Nineteen Provinces"
"Chi!"
The falling thunder stopped—suspended motionless in the sky.
Thick frost spread from bottom to top, freezing the descending thunderclap from the point of impact all the way up to the high platform.
The purple lightning was encased in extreme cold, looking from afar like amber imprisoning it within.
Gusts of frigid wind carried sword qi that unleashed extreme chill toward the heavens.
An boundless blue-white rift appeared within the cloud layer.
The clouds were sliced open. Bone-chilling cold emanated from the cut, freezing everything around it bit by bit.
Even the still-leaping lightning turned utterly still in the instant it leaped.
(End of chapter)