Although Li Chang’an joked with Bo Saixi, he had no intention of inching forward by only a few steps a day. His real plan was to clear the trial in ten days.

Now that he’d locked in the coordinates of Sea God Island, he could use the donghuang Bell to tear through space at will—costly in soul power, yes, but feasible. While he’d left instructions back on the Douluo Continent, too many threads still required his personal oversight. His idea was to establish a stable rhythm here, then shuttle back and forth as needed.

After a few brief reminders, Bo Saixi vanished once more. Every time he witnessed that level of strength, Li Chang’an couldn’t help but yearn for it.

"Alright," he said, glancing at Zhu Zhuqing—who would need some time with her god-bestowed ring. "You all saw how big the gains from the Sea God’s Light are. Here’s my approach."

Sitting cross-legged, he continued:

"We’ll do all our cultivation inside the Sea God’s Light. Under that external pressure, our spirit power circulates faster than when we drive it ourselves—almost like we’re constantly triggering a skill. If this works the way I think, our cultivation speed will spike."

Hu Liena nodded. She trusted his judgment. "Let’s try. Which step?"

"Start at the very first step," Li Chang’an said after a beat. "If it works, we’ll increase gradually. No one gets fat on the first bite."

The staircase to the Sea God Hall was ten meters wide—more than enough for ten people to sit abreast. Acting as "protector," Li Chang’an firmly chose the seat in the middle.

Even on the first step, the omnipresent pressure of the Sea God’s Light squeezed at their bodies from every direction. They settled into place and began circulating their soul power according to their own methods.

The effect was immediate. Just as Li Chang’an had predicted, their internal flows sped up under external pressure; even without consciously guiding it, their soul power moved faster than usual—like cultivation in a live-combat state. Before long, they realized that recovery on the first step outpaced recovery outside the light. They sank into cultivation together, quietly understanding that this "first test—crossing the Sea God’s Light" might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Li Chang’an himself didn’t need the pressure, but he very much enjoyed being wedged in the middle. Nice and snug.

Three days later, each of them exhaled a long, steady breath. Everyone had improved, and several had climbed a full level—an outrageous result.

"Don’t stop," Li Chang’an said, producing a handful of golden fruits. "Down the hatch. Then keep cultivating."

He handed each person one high-grade soul Power Fruit, one high-grade soul Ring Fruit, and one high-grade Spiritual Force Fruit. With the Sea God’s Light providing the external "environmental buff," and the fruits supplying the internal "system exploit," the gains would stack violently.

And here, he wasn’t short on points. Somewhere out there, the Sea God seemed to be quietly refreshing his balance every few minutes.

[Ding—You showed off in front of the Sea God. Points +76,546]

[Ding—You showed off in front of the Sea God. Points +76,546]

Divine "viewership" paid handsomely—and other gods occasionally came to peek as well. In three days, Li Chang’an had scraped nearly a million points off the Sea God alone.

Truly, wool well-shorn.

And he still wasn’t done. After urging the women to focus, he himself swallowed five supreme-grade soul Power Fruits.

Time to advance—and why not a million-year god-bestowed ring while he was at it?

As the five fruits dissolved, his soul power surged like a tidal bore. The golden trident mark on his brow blazed, and—summoned as if by appointment—a crimson figure appeared without warning, floating high and serene.

Sea God Douluo, Bo Saixi. She stood on the air, no soul power leaking from her at all. Facing Li Chang’an’s violent aura, she smiled with quiet approval. With a gentle flick, a golden bead formed and drifted to his trident brand.

A crisp crack—

The bead shattered. Dense golden energy poured over him like liquid light, swallowing his figure. Only the trident on his brow still shone sharply through the glow.

Behind him, the Death God Domain unfurled in blood-red waves. Seven crimson soul rings rose together, and both martial souls emerged. A million-year ring wasn’t handed out for free—he had to meet it head-on.

As he went all out, the gold around him thickened, the mist swelling until it enveloped even the edges of his domain. Within that luminous shroud, fine strands of golden thread began weaving around his body, tightening with measured force.

Most of the women couldn’t read the signs, but Zhu Zhuqing—who had just endured a god-bestowed ring herself—gasped.

Her fifth ring had only shown a few of those golden threads at the very end of her ordeal. She had held on with everything she had to reach that point—and secured a fifty-thousand-year ring.

Yet for Li Chang’an, the threads were his starting line.

Where would his end point be?

Zhu Zhuqing had thought the gap between them was narrowing. It was, in fact, widening.

At that moment, his thirty-thousand-year Wisdom Skull Bone and eight-hundred-thousand-year Torso Bone lit up fully. The instant those soul bone abilities erupted, the golden mist changed shape—what had been a tenth of the glow turning into strands became pure weave. The haze vanished, replaced by concentric hoops of golden silk threading around him like a loom at full speed.

Beads of sweat formed on Li Chang’an’s brow—and each bead gleamed gold. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Time slipped by—half an hour in a blink. The golden filaments condensed further, coalescing into nine golden rings that expanded from his body, then collapsed inward, striking against him again and again—cycle after cycle, forging him in divine pressure.

Inside the Sea God’s Light, Li Chang’an kept his breathing steady, soul power roaring, will like iron.

A million-year ring—

or nothing at all.