Inside the Saint Law Demiplane, Zhu Ziyang sat cross-legged, his five centers facing the sky, diligently refining the golden spirit ring floating above his palm.
Not far from him, Ma Xiaotao, Jiang Nannan, Qian Lingyi, and Fifth Huan'er were gathered around the Azure Dragon's corpse, processing the divine dragon body.
A dragon's body was a treasure from head to tail; its scales, horns, and bones were the rarest and most top-tier soul guiding materials, while its blood, meat, and sinews were excellent medicinal ingredients and food. Of course, for the four girls, these were secondary; the most important thing was the Spirit Bone produced by the Azure Dragon—a divine Spirit Bone!
When Zhu Ziyang successfully refined the Azure Dragon's golden spirit ring and awoke from his cultivation, he saw the four girls excitedly discussing something, chattering around a greenish-gold Spirit Bone.
"What are you talking about? You all seem so happy," Zhu Ziyang asked with a smile as he walked over to them.
"Oh! Brother, you've finished absorbing the spirit ring!" Jiang Nannan exclaimed in surprise, then pointed to the greenish-gold Spirit Bone in front of them. "Look, this is the Azure Dragon's Spirit Bone."
"Oh!" Zhu Ziyang immediately became interested, taking the greenish-gold Spirit Bone and examining it closely. It was a right arm bone, and a very complete one, including the forearm, upper arm, and elbow joint, making it a top-quality right arm Spirit Bone. The Spirit Bone was predominantly green with golden light emanating from it, and electric arcs occasionally flickered around it, yet its aura was remarkably gentle.
"It's truly a work of art!" Zhu Ziyang sighed. This Azure Dragon right arm bone was indeed exquisite, looking as if it had been carved from greenish jade.
"Right? We think it's beautiful too," Qian Lingyi said.
"Ziyang, why was Niu Tian able to produce a spirit ring and Spirit Bone?" Ma Xiaotao asked, voicing the doubt in her heart. She had just asked the others this question, but none of the three girls could explain why.
"Well," Zhu Ziyang stroked his chin, recalling information he had once seen. "I think it's because Niu Tian himself was a Spirit Beast."
"He was a Spirit Beast?!" The four girls were astonished, especially Fifth Huan'er, who excitedly blurted out, "Impossible! How could a Spirit Beast become a God?"
"Don't rush, let me explain slowly." Zhu Ziyang glanced at Fifth Huan'er, a meaningful glint in his eyes. "This Azure Dragon's origin is quite extraordinary, you all know about Sea God Tang San's story from ten thousand years ago, right?"
"This Azure Dragon was a subordinate of the Sea God!" Hearing Zhu Ziyang mention the Sea God, Ma Xiaotao immediately expressed her second doubt, which concerned her even more. She said, "Why would the Sea God want to kill us?"
"This question is a bit complex; I'll explain it to you later." Zhu Ziyang held Ma Xiaotao's tightly clenched hand, comforting her. "Let's talk about this Azure Dragon first."
"I know," Fifth Huan'er said at this moment, her expression quite complex. "I think this Azure Dragon is the Sky Azure Bull Python, the overlord of the Star Dou Great Forest ten thousand years ago! The Sky Azure Bull Python sacrificed itself to the Sea God before he ascended to Godhood. It's even said to be the brother of the Sea God's wife. It wouldn't be impossible for the ascended Sea God to revive him in the God Realm, making him a divine beast!"
"Exactly!" Zhu Ziyang nodded in agreement. "That's precisely the reason."
"Then his spirit ring?" Ma Xiaotao still seemed a bit confused and continued to ask.
"Since he was a divine beast, wouldn't it be easy to simulate a spirit ring as a disguise?" Zhu Ziyang chuckled softly and said.
"Oh! So that's how it is!" The girls suddenly understood, all displaying expressions of comprehension.
"Now, regarding this Spirit Bone, I no longer need a Spirit Bone," Zhu Ziyang said, weighing the Azure Dragon right arm bone in his hand. "Which of you four wants it?"
"I don't need it," Ma Xiaotao was the first to say.
"I already have a right arm bone, so I don't need it either," Qian Lingyi followed, saying.
"This Spirit Bone isn't suitable for me, I don't want it either," Jiang Nannan also shook her head and said.
"I..." Fifth Huan'er was about to speak but was directly interrupted by Zhu Ziyang.
"In that case, this Spirit Bone will go to Huan Er," Zhu Ziyang said, then directly tossed the Spirit Bone to her.
Fifth Huan'er subconsciously caught the Spirit Bone, then looked troubled and said, "Can I not have this Spirit Bone?" To be honest, she didn't want to absorb this Spirit Bone; there was no other reason, she simply disliked it.
"Why?" The others asked, puzzled.
"No reason, I just don't like it," Fifth Huan'er said, shaking her head. She handed the Azure Dragon right arm bone back into Zhu Ziyang's hand.
"You're truly willful!" Ma Xiaotao helplessly extended her delicate finger and poked Fifth Huan'er's forehead, her tone a mix of reproach and doting.
"Nannan..." Zhu Ziyang looked at Jiang Nannan. Among the five of them, she was the only one besides Fifth Huan'er who needed a right arm bone.
"No!" Jiang Nannan flatly refused, a look of disdain appearing on her face, as if what Zhu Ziyang held wasn't a divine Spirit Bone, but a ten-year spirit ring.
"Alright, since none of you want it, I'll keep it for now. Who knows, maybe it'll be useful later," Zhu Ziyang said, helpless, and had no choice but to put the Azure Dragon right arm bone into his star flame ring.
"Can you tell us now why the Sea God wanted to kill us?" Ma Xiaotao had been dwelling on this question. If she didn't understand it, she felt her thoughts would remain unsettled.
"Actually, there's no overly complicated reason; it's simply because we obtained a God Position inheritance," Zhu Ziyang waved his hand, saying helplessly.
"Just because of that?" Ma Xiaotao was very surprised, looking at Zhu Ziyang in disbelief, but found his face full of helplessness, clearly not joking. "Why? Why would he want to kill us just because we obtained a God Position inheritance? Does he not want us to become Gods?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but it's most likely that," Zhu Ziyang shook his head, looking thoughtful. "Niu Tian mentioned that we interfered with the Sea God's grand plan. Combining that with the information I know, let's make a bold assumption.
The Sea God doesn't not want us to become Gods; he just doesn't want us to become Gods outside of his plan. Or perhaps, we might not be within the scope of those the Sea God allows to become Gods. He controls all those who become Gods on the Douluo Continent—to be precise, he wants to control the Douluo Continent!"
"This..." The four girls were all shocked by his words, followed by worry.
Jiang Nannan said indignantly, "It's unbelievable that the Sea God is such an ambitious person."
Ma Xiaotao's brows furrowed with a hint of disgust. "Why does he get to do that? What right does he have to decide the future of the Douluo Continent? Is it just because he's the Sea God?"
Fifth Huan'er wore a cold sneer, mocking, "Indeed, that Tang San is truly not a good person!"
Qian Lingyi asked worriedly, "Then, Brother, what should we do?"
"There's no other way; we can only keep moving forward," Zhu Ziyang said, his expression serious and heavy. "Compared to the Sea God, we are far too weak. Our only chance of winning is to become Gods. Only by becoming Gods can we have the possibility of contending with him. Fortunately, as a deity, the Sea God cannot personally act against us right now, which gives us a chance to develop steadily!"
"We understand!" Jiang Nannan, Qian Lingyi, and Ma Xiaotao's eyes all showed solemn, resolute, and fearless expressions. Just as Zhu Ziyang said, they had no retreat, only forward!
The girls' emotions surged for a long time before they finally calmed down.
"Ziyang, when did you realize this?" Ma Xiaotao asked curiously.
"When Teacher fell," Zhu Ziyang said, his tone devoid of any emotion, yet it sent a tumultuous shock through Ma Xiaotao and the others' hearts. They all thought of a possibility.
"C-could it be, Elder Mu, was..." Ma Xiaotao's voice trembled, her eyes wide, filled with fear and disbelief.
"That's right!" Zhu Ziyang said, his eyes cold. "Teacher's soul was damaged because he refused the Sea God's order to kill me, which ultimately led to his demise."
"Ah!" Ma Xiaotao let out a mournful cry of indignation. At that moment, the last shred of faith she held for the Sea God vanished from her heart.
Two or three hours later, Zhu Ziyang brought Ma Xiaotao out of the Saint Law Demiplane and landed on the ground. By this time, the divine phenomenon in the Sun Moon Mountain Range had disappeared, and Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao had no intention of exploring it. They resumed their journey, heading north towards Anyang City in the Tianhun Empire.
Along the way, Zhu Ziyang sorted through the gains brought by the Azure Dragon's spirit ring, feeling quite surprised. After absorbing the Azure Dragon's spirit ring, his spirit power broke through level 94, 95, and 96, directly reaching level 97.
At the same time, the Azure Dragon's spirit ring also provided three Spirit Abilities to the Heavenly Frost White Dragon King Spirit, bringing the Heavenly Frost White Dragon King's spirit ring configuration to an unprecedented seven red and two gold, an absolutely heaven-defying combination.