Lou Gao was unaware that, in the mind of the God of Forging, his future had already been equated to that of an ordinary worker repaying a loan. Or rather, even if he did know, it wouldn't matter much to him at this point.
To be honest, if it weren't for Chen Ming's appearance, with Lou Gao's current abilities, forget about inheriting the divine position of a second-tier god—he wouldn't even be guaranteed a position as a divine officer in the God Realm.
Although he does indeed have exceptional talent and endless passion for forging, as the saying goes, "A fine horse is often found, but a good judge of horses is rare."
There are plenty of people on the continent with the potential to inherit divine positions, but how many of them ended up as nothing more than piles of dirt in the end? Was it because the gods in the God Realm didn't want to pass on their positions? The main issue was simply a lack of compatibility.
Take the God of Forging, for example. The inheritance of the God of Forging was limited to his homeland and a few other worlds with highly developed forging techniques. Yet even in such planes, no suitable successor for the God of Forging had emerged.
If it weren't for his ties to the God Realm, the God of Forging likely wouldn't have even turned his attention to the Douluo World after leaving the God Realm.
As the influence of the God of Forging gradually dissipated after bestowing the divine trial upon Lou Gao, Lou Gao's aura also became calm.
After gaining Chen Ming's approval, Lou Gao sat cross-legged on the ground, crushed the illusory orb of light in his hand, and began to absorb its power.
A divine bestowed soul ring is a product of divine power combined with the rules of the Douluo World. Its age depends on the upper limit of the spirit master's current capacity to bear spirit ring age, and the skill granted is guaranteed to be the most suitable for the soul master.
Currently, Lou Gao is covered in soul bones, with his eighth ring coming from a 50,000-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. He has also undergone partial baptism by the divine power of the God of Forging. Even though he isn't particularly skilled in combat, his basic attributes surpass those of most newly-advanced rank-95 Super Douluo.
With such foundational attributes bearing the soul ring, the result was nothing short of incredible.
Under Chen Ming's watchful gaze, Lou Gao's ninth ring quickly ascended from white to black, paused briefly, then turned blood-red. Even after that, its aura steadily continued to rise. A trace of gold gradually appeared within the blood-colored ring, and eventually, a second golden pattern emerged before the aura finally stabilized.
Without a doubt, from the perspective of the Douluo World, this was a divine bestowed soul ring with an age of over 200,000 years. Its age and quality even slightly surpassed Qian Daoliu's ninth soul ring.
After all, when Qian Daoliu underwent his divine trial, it followed strict, mechanical procedures. The Angel God's divine trial provided limited power without any special favors.
But the God of Forging? He barely followed the formal procedures, stuffing the bestowed divine power with countless personal enhancements. By the standards of the God Realm, he had already crossed the line. If caught, he would have to pay a hefty fine in divine power as punishment.
Of course, even if he were caught, the wealthy God of Forging wouldn't care about such fines, which would make most second-tier gods tremble.
Still, even with such a high-quality soul ring, no one would consider Lou Gao's actual combat power.
His foundational attributes were so high that he could crush ordinary soul masters. Otherwise, with Lou Gao's combat experience and talent, he would have been the type to be defeated by lower-level soul masters in an upset.
After absorbing the soul ring, Lou Gao's soul power continued to rise, eventually reaching rank 92 before gradually stabilizing. His entire body seemed rejuvenated, transforming into a tall, strong man. Although his aura carried a sense of maturity, he now appeared to be only in his late twenties or early thirties.
When Lou Gao reopened his eyes, they were filled with a brilliant light, and his aura was somewhat uncontrollable. This was a sign of his foundational attributes improving too much at once, making it difficult to maintain control.
Logically, as a Super Douluo with excellent control abilities due to his forging experience, Lou Gao shouldn't have had this issue. But the sheer extent of his sudden improvement left him unable to adapt.
"Hall Master, I, Lou Gao, have not failed my mission. I have completed the divine trial."
Lou Gao stood up, clasped his hands toward Chen Ming, and said tearfully. Then, he turned around and bowed deeply to the God of Arrogance.
"Thank you, Senior, for your great kindness. Lou Gao will never forget it and will repay it in the future."
Lou Gao wasn't great with words, but his personality satisfied the God of Arrogance. Or rather, the fact that Lou Gao had the qualifications to inherit the position of God of Forging was enough to please the God of Arrogance.
"There's no need to speak of great kindness. Once you ascend to the God Realm, work hard and contribute to the God Realm's prosperity—that will be the greatest repayment to me. The God Realm is currently stagnant, like a pond of dead water. Your ascension as the new God of Forging will undoubtedly bring some vitality to the God Realm. That's what both I and my Lord hope to see."
"Work hard, and one day you'll have a place among the upper echelons of the God Realm." The God of Arrogance patted Lou Gao's shoulder, then retrieved several pieces of metal from his personal space. Each piece radiated immense energy. Even though they were inside a lead-lined chamber deep underground, the surrounding elemental energy was still slowly converging toward the metals.
"These are some metals I've collected from other worlds and universes. They might not be particularly precious in the God Realm, but in the Douluo World, they are treasures that have never been seen before. Consider it a gift from me as your senior."
"Thank you, Senior!"
Lou Gao's eyes widened as he trembled while receiving the metals, which faintly pulsed with divine energy. Feeling the unfamiliar laws and energies contained within these metals, Lou Gao's mind began racing. He could hardly wait to use the forging platform left to him by the God of Forging to start crafting.
Other gifts he could refuse, but these rare metals struck right at his weakness, leaving him unable to decline.
Seeing Lou Gao's excitement, the God of Arrogance nodded in satisfaction. Then, exchanging a glance with Chen Ming, the two left the quiet chamber, leaving Lou Gao to study the metals on his own.
Outside, it was already late at night. The God of Arrogance and Chen Ming stood atop the Blacksmith Association's highest point, gazing at the moon. The God of Arrogance's mood was good.
After all, according to his agreement with the God of Forging, as long as he found a suitable successor for the God of Forging, the God of Forging would craft him a custom-made primary divine weapon before leaving.
Although the God of Arrogance already had a primary divine weapon, who would complain about having too many top-tier items?
To him, this was practically a vacation where he casually picked up a custom-made divine weapon.
Who wouldn't be happy about that?
The God of Arrogance felt that in all his years in the God Realm, this was the first time he'd encountered such a great deal. After all, even for the God of Forging, crafting a primary divine weapon was no small task.
Apart from his early days in the God Realm when he took on challenges to prove himself, the now-seasoned God of Forging rarely accepted orders for primary divine weapons.
Taking out two fruits from his personal space and tossing one to Chen Ming, the God of Arrogance sat on the roof of the Blacksmith Association, quietly gazing at the round moon above.
"Although the Douluo World has a low energy level, its mystical nature allows it to rank among the top in the universe. It can even nurture new first-tier gods. Let's hope that when you ascend to godhood, you'll live up to my Lord's investment in you."
"You have great potential. If you slack off and end up as an ordinary second-tier or even third-tier god, unable to even match your subordinates..."
The God of Arrogance took a bite of his fruit and gave Chen Ming a sidelong glance.
"I imagine you wouldn't want to stay in the God Realm at that point."
The God of Arrogance wasn't good at praising others and didn't want to waste effort flattering a junior who hadn't ascended yet. His intentions were good, but his words were harsh.
If his gender were different, his golden hair might have made him the archetype of a classic tsundere.
After all, isn't arrogance just another form of tsundere behavior? (laughs).
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