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However, due to its long-standing enmity with the forces of Sea God Island, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King harbored a deep-seated distrust of human soul masters.
"How can I trust that you'll make me a divine official or resurrect me after my offering? You must provide evidence; otherwise, I won't believe you."
After all, as the strongest spirit beast alive for countless years, even if it were foolish at first, it had long since become cunning.
But this was exactly what Ye Wen wanted.
"I remember you have a wife and a daughter, correct? Let them offer themselves to me first, and then I'll resurrect them. Rest assured, their strength won't diminish.
Moreover, when they grow to a million years in cultivation, they too can become my divine officials. I hold no prejudice against any intelligent life—you can trust me completely."
The Deep Sea Demon Whale King fell into a prolonged silence. After a long while, it finally spoke with determination.
"You are the future Sea God. I'll give you this face. Please wait here for a moment."
With that, the two-hundred-meter-long body of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King rose vertically, and a melodious cry echoed across the vast expanse of the sea, reaching far into the distance.
According to the law of conservation of mass, maintaining such a massive body required the constant consumption of countless marine spirit beasts.
This meant that no other powerful Deep Sea Demon Whale could exist in the same area—otherwise, the ecosystem would collapse entirely, turning the region into a dead sea.
As expected of a whale-type spirit beast with intelligence rivaling primates, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King had developed a unique way of life over the years.
After some time, two enormous fluctuations of soul power approached from different directions. In moments, two colossal figures appeared before Ye Wen, each over one hundred fifty meters in length, clearly possessing at least 200,000 years of cultivation.
Ye Wen wasn't very familiar with these two, but he vaguely remembered his former roommate mentioning in Douluo III that the Deep Sea Demon Whale King had a wife and daughter. The specifics weren't discussed back then, but the memory stuck because the pressure exerted by the Deep Sea Demon Whale King in Douluo I was immense.
Even in death, it had attempted to possess Tang San's body. If Poseidon hadn't intervened during the divine trial, Tang San might have been successfully taken over.
Such was the terror of this ancient schemer.
The three communicated in the unique language of the Deep Sea Demon Whale clan, which Ye Wen couldn't understand. Eventually, all three transformed into human forms and stood before him.
The Deep Sea Demon Whale King's appearance was rugged, with a thick beard covering his face and bulging muscles all over his body, resembling a European bodybuilding champion.
His wife, on the other hand, was much more elegant and graceful. Dressed in a light blue gown with long flowing hair, she exuded the air of a noblewoman.
Their youngest daughter took the form of a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl, with long, light blue hair and a short white dress, giving her a fresh and innocent look.
"Have you made your decision?"
"Yes, let's start with my daughter."
The young Deep Sea Demon Whale seemed nervous and introduced herself.
"Hello, my name is Lan Zi."
Ye Wen greeted her warmly and then summoned his second martial soul, the Time Pearl.
Seeing the two soul rings on it—one representing 100,000 years and the other 200,000 years—Lan Zi swallowed nervously.
(A/N: The soul ring obtained from the Evil Demon Tiger Whale King didn't reach 100,000 years, so it remained an ordinary 100,000-year soul ring. Personally, I think the Evil Demon Tiger Whale King should have been around 130,000 years old.)
Ye Wen gently touched the Time Pearl to Lan Zi's forehead, scanning her body's information.
After a moment, he removed the pearl.
"Let's begin, Lan Zi. By the way, please focus on condensing the soul bone as the left leg bone."
Soul bones were Ye Wen's true objective. After all, the final Sea God inheritance required a complete set of soul bones to be refined into divine armor.
Though the divine trials were already complete, Poseidon wouldn't simply hand over such treasures. Rather than waste time, Ye Wen decided to take action early.
However, finding ferocious soul beasts whose soul bones matched his needs wasn't easy.
The Star Dou Great Forest was like a hornet's nest—stirring it up could unleash the Silver Dragon King, which would be disastrous for everyone.
The next best options were the Extreme North and the ocean-dwelling Deep Sea Demon Whale family.
Killing the Deep Sea Demon Whale King alone would yield a million-year soul bone and a divine ring, but it would also mean losing the mother and daughter.
After all, the ocean was vast beyond measure.
While 100,000-year spirit beasts were relatively common, those exceeding 100,000 years were as rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns. Otherwise, Xiao Bai wouldn't still be at 100,000 years. The gap between ordinary 100,000-year beasts and ferocious ones with 200,000 years was insurmountable.
Lan Zi nodded in understanding. A red glow enveloped her and Ye Wen as her soul power slowly seeped into his body. Ye Wen could feel his soul power growing, though without the tenth soul ring equipped, he couldn't check his exact level.
Moments later, a third soul ring appeared on the Time Pearl, adorned with two golden stripes. It was surprising that even the youngest daughter possessed such formidable cultivation—truly fitting for the rulers of the ocean.
Feeling the surge of soul power within him, Ye Wen placed his hand on the now infantile Lan Zi, who had reverted to her original Deep Sea Demon Whale form.
The overwhelming soul power rewrote Lan Zi's physical state. Her once tiny body rapidly grew, restoring her to her original size.
Her previously naive gaze instantly regained its former rationality and vitality. She playfully bounced around before transforming back into her human form and excitedly running to her parents' side.
Seeing this, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King finally relaxed completely. He then solemnly said to Ye Wen,
"In that case, I look forward to working under you, Lord Sea God. I accept the position of divine official."
For a being aspiring to ascend to godhood, bowing to a stronger existence wasn't shameful.
Though it had never experienced office politics, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King was surprisingly slick, already adept at ingratiating itself with its superior. Ye Wen couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
Lan Zi's mother was no pushover either, boasting a cultivation of 500,000 years.
This time, the soul bone would be for the right leg.
Finally, it was the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's turn to offer himself. A brilliant golden light erupted into the sky, far more spectacular than the offering of a 100,000-year spirit beast.
The strongest soul bone naturally had to go to the most critical location—the Deep Sea Demon Whale King's soul bone was designated for the torso.
Far away in the divine realm, Poseidon watched this scene with a bitter expression, muttering to himself as he observed Ye Wen's method of completing the trial.
"This kid's mind is truly sharp. If I'd had these conditions back then, I wouldn't have needed a thousand years to ascend to godhood."
All of this was unknown to Ye Wen. A voice rang out in his mind.
"The ninth trial of the Sea God's nine trials: Hunt the Deep Sea Demon Whale King—complete.
Reward: 5% increase in Sea God affinity. Sea God affinity has reached 100%. Conditions for entering the inheritance realm have been met. Detected that the body is still missing the final right arm bone—please acquire it as soon as possible. Lastly, seek out the Sea God High Priestess to complete the final inheritance."
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