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The process of the Sea God's divine power enhancing Su Wen's physical affinity for the power of faith was swift, unlike his previous body tempering which had consumed three full days. After a mere two and a half hours, the divine power within his body began to recede.
Su Wen closed his eyes to perceive the change. At this moment, he felt that the endless faith lingering around him was no longer a nebulous, ethereal sensation. Instead, it had become a tangible existence that he could touch, much like the origin energy of Heaven and Earth.
He attempted to capture this faith with his mental power, trying to condense and compress it. Unfortunately, solidifying the power of faith was not so simple. Nevertheless, Su Wen remained tireless, repeatedly experimenting with the manipulation of these strands of belief.
Once he grew familiar with the texture of faith, Su Wen began to integrate the insights he had gained earlier—back when he observed the Sea God Sacred Pillar transforming raw faith into the power of faith and then condensing it into divine power. Under the guidance of his mental strength, the faith was drawn in, swirling together into a surge of energy.
Su Wen frowned. "This isn't the true 'power of faith.' It's merely wrapping raw faith around my mental power."
Why was he unable to successfully condense it?
"It seems my faith lacks a certain cohesive force," he mused. "It cannot condense into power directly; instead, it requires a medium like mental power to act as a carrier."
However, after further testing, Su Wen determined that the characteristics of faith integrated into mental power were not significantly inferior to the actual power of faith. He then moved on to other experiments.
"Integrating it into soul power works as well," he noted. He even tried merging it with the origin energy of the world, but that particular experiment ended in failure. Still, the ability to fuse it with soul and mental power provided Su Wen with profound inspiration.
"With the characteristics of the power of faith, it seems my development of soul and mental power can go much deeper."
The power of faith was a force that only true Gods could touch. It was likely the root cause of why Gods possessed numerous methods that far exceeded anything a Soul Master could achieve. Even a Rank 99 Peerless Douluo could not alter a Soul Master's martial soul, yet a God could do so with ease. The power of faith was likely the key to that mystery.
With the completion of Su Wen's Third Trial and the acquisition of his so-called "Faith Affinity," the contents of his Fourth Trial were promptly announced. Conveniently, the trial's description addressed the very problem he had just encountered.
Divine Nine Trials: Fourth Trial. > Spread the radiance of knowledge across the entire Douluo Planet and establish a Divine Name. Reward: Techniques for the utilization of the power of faith.
Aside from the God-Bestowed Soul Ring granted by the Sea God during the First Trial, the subsequent tests of the Divine Nine Trials had not given Su Wen any substantive rewards—no soul power level boosts, no extra soul rings, and no increases in soul ring years.
However, every single reward thus far had proven indispensable to his growth. Su Wen had grown accustomed to this; the purpose of these trials was clear—to guide him toward the correct path of godhood.
He had been trying to condense the power of faith on his own, yet he could only manage to fuse it into his existing energies. Perhaps once he condensed the Power of Vigor and Blood, he could integrate faith there as well. But no matter how he tried, he couldn't manifest it independently.
Now that the Fourth Trial was revealed, Su Wen understood the answer. His faith lacked "cohesion" because it lacked a specific focus. While the name "Scholar Master" (Wen Shi) echoed throughout the Douluo Continent, it wasn't a precise form of worship. The faith of the Soul Master world stopped at his contributions to their society—they saw him as a reformer and a leader of a new era, but they did not yet view him with the specific devotion reserved for a God.
"Actually, my Divine Name was determined long ago," Su Wen thought. This was a decision he had made back when he was only a Soul Elder; it was the path he had chosen from the start.
"The trial requires spreading faith across the planet before establishing the Divine Name, so there's no need to rush."
However, the fact that the Fourth Trial already required spreading faith across the entire globe suggested that the remaining trials would only become increasingly difficult.
The current Sea God was the first-generation Sea God—a ruthless genius who had reached godhood on his own merit. He had attained a top-tier First-Class Godhood, possessed the quasi-Transcendent Divine Tool known as the Sea God Trident, and wielded the rule-bending "Thirteen Golden Halberd" techniques. His power was immense.
Naturally, a being with such high standards would have equally high expectations for Su Wen's training. Given Su Wen's current foundation and talent, the Sea God likely intended for him to condense a First-Class Godhead at the very least. Drawing from his own experiences, the Sea God would likely guide Su Wen to forge his own path. Once Su Wen reached the Divine Realm and accumulated power for a time, becoming a God King was not out of the question.
Of course, such an investment was aimed at creating a peer who had self-created their godhood. It wasn't just out of the Sea God's benevolence; it was because Su Wen had shown him the genuine hope of such an evolution.
"Xiao Wen, I owe it to you that I was able to receive the Stone God's trial," Dugu Bo said.
Although logic told him that the chances of his specialized torso bone connecting with his other five soul bones to form a Soul Bone Armor were extremely low, Dugu Bo couldn't help but harbor a sliver of hope.
He wasn't going to just pick any four soul bones to breeze through the trial. He planned to search for the highest quality soul bones possible—ones that would provide positive feedback for his cultivation. After absorbing four top-tier bones, his soul power should naturally break through several ranks. With the help of the torso bone and a potential armor set, he might even keep climbing.
Dugu Bo understood this "snowballing" model well. Much of Su Wen's early cultivation had followed this logic. After Su Wen established the Academy, the system of "absorbing soul rings beyond one's level" that was now popular in the Soul Master world was a classic example of this model.
"Actually, it's also because you are a good fit for the Gods here, Grandpa Dugu. Otherwise, the Stone God wouldn't have given you such a high-level trial regardless of my help."
Strength alone didn't guarantee a good trial. The Zhantian Douluo had only received a Black-level trial because the Sea God was showing respect to the God of War, and because Zhantian Douluo was already incredibly wealthy in resources. Otherwise, a fully-formed Titled Douluo—even a Super Douluo—would likely not have received such a high evaluation. They might not have received a trial at all.
Trials were essentially a form of cultivation—a way to nurture the new generation, rather than a way to boost those who had already reached their peak.
Su Wen was actually quite surprised that the Stone God had given Dugu Bo a Purple-level trial, while Dugu Yan had only received a Yellow-level one.
"Actually, I've also found the inheritance site of the Sea God. If Sister Yan goes there to accept a trial, she should be able to gain even more," Su Wen added.
Out of consideration for the apology gift Yu Tianheng had given him, Su Wen didn't hold any grudges against him due to Yu Xiaogang, and he certainly wouldn't let that affect his treatment of Dugu Yan.
"Really?" Dugu Yan asked in pleasant surprise. She hadn't expected Su Wen to possess information on the trial locations of so many different Gods.
"I'll let you know before my next trip to Sea God Island and take you along."
"Deal!"
After Su Wen parted ways with the grandfather-granddaughter duo, Ning Rongrong asked curiously, "Xiao Wen, where are we heading next?"
"To find another God's trial," Su Wen said with a smile.
He pulled out two items: a token given to him by the God of the Void, and a black box that Yu Tianheng had handed over earlier.
Su Wen tucked the Void God's token away for a moment. Sorry, I'll have to visit the God of Space a little later.
It wasn't that he looked down on the God of Space; he simply had a premonition. The trial for Space would likely be very unique. It would be best to settle as many trivial matters as possible before seeking it out.
(End of Chapter)