"Alright, after you pass the sixth trial, I'll have him sacrifice himself as your soul spirit."
Lin Mu naturally wouldn't refuse his disciple's request. Moreover, he deeply believed in Tang San's strength; even without the Myriad Demon King as his soul spirit, the boy could definitely pass the fifth and sixth trials on his own merits.
Seeing Lin Mu agree without hesitation, Tang San's gratitude deepened. He bowed slightly and said, "Thank you, Master!"
Yu Tianheng and the others watched, extremely envious of Tang San's treatment. This was a ferocious soul beast with a cultivation level of 500,000 years, casually handed over to Tang San to become his ninth soul ring.
To be precise, it would be Tang San's first true soul spirit, capable of fighting independently just like Lin Mu's. With sufficient soul power to support it, Tang San would essentially gain a combat power comparable to a Limit Douluo, far exceeding the flat stat boost of an ordinary ninth soul ring.
It was clear to everyone present that if they had possessed such an incredibly powerful and generous teacher, they too might have a realistic chance of reaching Level 100 and becoming gods.
Just then, with the impeccable assistance of Ye Lingling and Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing finally defeated the Sea Woman Douluo, successfully completing her portion of the trials.
"Brother Lin Mu~"
Ye Lingling used her Emerald Wings to glide gracefully across the sea-within-a-sea, landing softly beside Lin Mu. She expertly wrapped her arms around his, clinging to him like an affectionate kitten.
In front of outsiders, Ye Lingling was known for being extremely aloof, giving off a cold, unapproachable air. Only when facing Lin Mu did she show this softer, clingy side. Especially when they were alone at night, her enthusiasm was in no way inferior to Ah Yin's.
Lin Mu smiled and patted the head of the ever-clingy Ye Lingling, treating her fondly, much like a pet.
A moment later, Lin Mu accessed his spatial tool and withdrew a skull-type soul bone.
Over the past year, during his various trips to the Sun Moon Continent, he had casually hunted down a 100,000-year-old Evileye Tyrant, which had fortunately dropped this specific head soul bone.
As a spiritual-type head soul bone, it could technically be absorbed by any classification of soul master, but it was most suitable for control-type and support-type soul masters.
Not only could it massively enhance the user's base mental power, but it also granted two highly potent mental attack skills.
Although Yu Xiaogang had stated in the original timeline that a spiritual-type head soul bone was unsuitable for someone like Ning Rongrong, Lin Mu knew that was pure nonsense.
Undeniably, control-type soul masters needed strong mental power for strategic battlefield vision, but support-type soul masters needed to maintain buffs on multiple targets simultaneously in high-stress environments.
That level of multitasking depended entirely on the sheer volume and stability of their mental power.
This was especially true for Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda soul masters who utilized the Distraction Control technique; enhancing their mental power was absolutely crucial.
While gem-type soul bones were also good for support, in the long run, they definitely couldn't compare to the utility and raw stat boost of a high-quality spiritual soul bone.
However, Lin Mu had no intention of giving it to Ning Rongrong.
For any soul master, the fundamental value of a skull soul bone was second only to a torso soul bone.
If Ye Lingling absorbed this 100,000-year-old spiritual skull, not only would her innate potential be drastically elevated, but she would also finally possess her own offensive capabilities.
This would significantly increase her chances of successfully obtaining a divine inheritance in the future.
"Lingling, this 100,000-year-old spiritual skull soul bone is for you."
The words had barely left his lips when Lin Mu forcefully shoved the glowing soul bone into Ye Lingling's hands.
At that moment, Ye Lingling's brain completely short-circuited. She stared blankly at the incomparably precious, 100,000-year-old treasure resting in her palms, swallowing back whatever casual words she had been about to say.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, she finally came to her senses, immediately stood on her tiptoes, and planted a firm kiss on Lin Mu's cheek.
Of course, she wasn't going to feign modesty or reluctance to accept a gift from her Brother Lin Mu. If she hesitated and it somehow fell into someone else's hands, it would be too late for regrets.
Moreover, she knew that if she wanted to continue standing proudly by his side, she had to improve her own strength by any means necessary.
"This guy is far too generous," Bo Saixi muttered, watching the exchange. Her beautiful eyes flashed with a hint of undeniable envy.
She had lived for over a hundred years and had never received such an unimaginably precious, casual gift.
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, having just walked over from their victory, also looked at Ye Lingling with deep envy.
Although they were thrilled to have just passed their rigorous trial, compared to casually receiving a 100,000-year-old soul bone, their joy suddenly felt a bit insignificant.
"Master, I'm going to take my trial now," Tang San said, turning to Lin Mu respectfully.
His trial was several magnitudes more difficult than the others'. He was required to defeat all Seven Holy Pillar Guardians within a strict time limit, all while being completely restricted from using any of his crucial soul bone skills.
Hearing this, Lin Mu patted Tang San's shoulder firmly. "Do not be careless."
"Please wait a moment, I'll be right back."
Knowing his master was watching, Tang San was eager to perform at his absolute best. He leaped into the air, flying across the sea-within-a-sea at top speed, and finally landed gracefully in front of the Sea Woman Douluo's Holy Pillar.
Although the Sea Woman Douluo was a mermaid by nature, she possessed the ability to briefly transform her lower half into human legs.
She appeared before Tang San in a flicker of aquatic light, looking him up and down with intense curiosity. "Are you the primary successor chosen by Lord Sea God?"
"That's right. I am Tang San."
Tang San didn't waste any words on pleasantries, looking calmly at the Guardian.
Although the Sea Woman Douluo possessed unparalleled beauty, a playful demeanor, and a stunningly graceful figure, Tang San's mind was focused on only one thing: passing the trial as efficiently as possible so his master could see the results of his hard work.
Seeing his complete lack of romantic understanding or basic appreciation for her charm, the Sea Woman Douluo snorted in dissatisfaction. She glared at Tang San, turned on her heel, and dove elegantly into the water.
The instant she entered the sea, her long, shapely legs seamlessly transformed back into a powerful, shimmering fishtail. Immediately afterward, a sleek, black magic flute materialized before her chest.
Her seventh, pitch-black soul ring suddenly shone with blinding intensity, enveloping both the flute and her form.
As a pillar of light soared into the sky, the Sea Woman Douluo's body rapidly expanded, growing to gigantic proportions.
From a distance, her enormous size didn't seem monstrous or out of place; instead, it possessed a unique, mythological beauty, somewhat reminiscent of Princess Shirahoshi from a certain pirate tale.
However, Tang San didn't give her newly enlarged form a second glance. He immediately activated his own martial soul.
"Martial Soul True Body!"
In an instant, a gigantic, ethereal phantom of Tang San materialized in mid-air. Countless thick, blue-gold Blue Silver Emperor vines erupted from the water, frantically surging upward to bind the giant mermaid.
In just a few seconds, the relentless vines had bound her completely tight.
"This thing is so annoying! I can't shake it off!"
Looking down in dismay at the blue-gold vines constricting her massive body, the Sea Woman Douluo tried with all her immense strength to break them.
However, she found the Blue Silver Emperor vines to be incredibly tough and resilient. The more she struggled, the tighter they constricted, eventually pinning her arms so thoroughly that it became physically impossible for her to even raise her flute to play.
Since his master was watching from the shore, Tang San had zero intention of showing mercy or holding back.
This initial binding wasn't the end of his assault. His third and sixth soul rings lit up in rapid succession, followed immediately by the full expansion of the Blue Silver Domain.
In an instant, the latent life force of all the Blue Silver Grass within a ten-thousand-meter radius was forcefully drawn in and connected.
The massive influx of energy condensed into a towering, blue-gold giant over thirty meters tall, easily twice the size of the Sea Woman Douluo's Martial Soul True Body form.
"Is this guy completely crazy?!"
Staring up at the incredibly exaggerated, hyper-dense blue-silver giant looming over her, Sea Maiden Douluo was utterly stunned.
She wasn't the only one; even Bo Saixi on the shore was taken aback by the sheer scale of the manifestation.
Using such a devastating, high-cost move against the Sea Woman Douluo right out of the gate was far too drastic.
From a tactical standpoint, it would have been much more reasonable for him to conserve that level of energy for his final, inevitably brutal clash with the Sea Dragon Douluo.
Watching the overwhelming display of power, Yu Tianheng smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Before this, I actually thought that while I could never catch up to Teacher Lin Mu, I could at least stay on Tang San's heels. Now... it seems I was severely overthinking things."