Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Eight-Winged Angel God
Su Cheng watched as the young woman approached him with slow steps.
She was dressed in a gown woven from golden threads, with a simple yet elegant style. The golden collar securely encased her slender neck.
Her golden hair cascaded freely behind her, giving her a carefree and natural appearance. Her golden eyes were calm like still water, devoid of any energy fluctuations.
Aside from her stunning beauty, she seemed like an ordinary mortal woman.
However, Su Cheng could clearly sense that she was vastly different from her past self, exuding the majesty of a god.
Between Qianren Xue's eyebrows, there was a tiny yet distinct golden imprint of a six-winged angel.
What was even more peculiar was that her feet were not touching the ground but were hovering three inches above it.
As Qianren Xue looked at Su Cheng, her previous calm demeanor melted away, replaced by a mixture of sadness and joy.
She then leaped into his arms.
This time, Su Cheng didn't resist but instead reached out to embrace her slender waist and patted her shoulder.
He knew that the young woman before him had just undergone the Ninth Trial of the Angels, and her state of mind must be unstable. She needed help to calm down.
"Teacher, my grandfather is dead. He sacrificed himself to help me pass the final trial," she said.
Su Cheng's voice choked slightly, tears moistening the front of his shirt.
He remained silent, gently stroking the soft golden hair of the young girl before him.
"Teacher, I only have you left."
"...," Su Cheng's fingers hesitated momentarily at her hair tips, then he softly replied, "Yes, you still have me."
...
"So, your Ninth Trial's greatest challenge was various illusions involving desires, hatred, and fears, as well as the pain of reshaping your divine soul, with no other unexpected occurrences or life-threatening situations, right?"
Listening to Qianren Xue's description, Su Cheng's gaze grew deep.
By now, Qianren Xue had also calmed down, and she began to describe the specific process of her nine divine trials to him.
"Yes," the girl sitting opposite him nodded affirmatively, "I followed your advice, stayed true to myself, and held onto the last shred of determination in my heart, successfully enduring until the final moment."
Recalling the scenes from the divine trials just now, a soft expression appeared on Qianren Xue's face.
In her heart, a figure had long occupied all the space.
"I see, I understand now."
Su Cheng sighed. It seemed that in the original timeline, the Angel God's inheritance had indeed been tampered with.
However, in this simulated world, there was no intervention from the divine realm.
In addition, the transmigrator Tang San did not appear. If one were to speculate, was the soul of that Tang San, who transmigrated, truly the handiwork of the Asura God?
But with the stature of the Asura God, if that Tang San from the Tang Sect truly was his chosen successor, how could he allow his inheritor to be intercepted by the Sea God halfway through?
It was a tangled mess.
The environment of the real world was probably much more complicated than imagined; he needed to make plans and arrangements in advance.
"You rest here for a while. If everything goes as expected, Bibi Dong should also be undergoing her final divine trial. Starting tomorrow, I will personally train you to quickly master the power of the Angel God."
Qianren Xue tightly pursed her lips and nodded.
As the moment of facing the truth approached, she began to feel nervous and lost.
Su Cheng glanced at her and said lightly, "I told you a long time ago that true strength lies not only in physical power but also in mental fortitude. If you still harbor any expectations now, then you don't even have the qualification to face Bibi Dong."
"I understand," Qianren Xue replied with renewed determination.
Seeing Qianren Xue's gaze firming up again, Su Cheng didn't say much more.
As for the news of the deaths of the three Eternal Elders, he temporarily withheld it from her.
After all, Qianren Xue had just inherited the divine position, and her divine soul was not yet stable enough. She had a good relationship with the elders of the Eternal Hall, and if she were to receive any further shocks at this time, it might have other repercussions.
On the mountain range behind the Martial Soul City, Qianren Xue, with four pairs of wings, stood suspended in mid-air, wielding a massive Angelic Holy Sword.
Indeed, compared to the original Angel God, Qianren Xue now had two additional pairs of wings.
These were the pair of external soul bones she obtained from the Millennium Holy Light Beast.
With her ascension to divinity, these external soul bones also successfully advanced to become divine-grade soul bones.
Her two major abilities, speed and protection, had both experienced a breakthrough.
Currently, she was undergoing the training program Su Cheng had designed for her.
Qianren Xue's ascension had been too rapid, soaring from the seventies to divinity in less than three years.
Even if her foundation had been solidified before, there was still a risk of overextending oneself. Her foundation was certainly not as solid as Bibi Dong's, who had a profound foundation from her twin martial souls and more than a decade of divine trials.
Now, they could only quickly adapt and compensate for her deficiencies in this aspect.
Since it was unclear when Bibi Dong would emerge from seclusion, Su Cheng didn't make too detailed plans. During these days, Qianren Xue only did one thing.
Under the suppression of her divine power, she practiced basic sword techniques anew.
Even if she couldn't achieve ease in lifting heavy weights, she had to try to control every ounce of her strength as much as possible.
Su Cheng stood on the hilltop, watching Qianren Xue repeatedly swing down the Angelic Holy Sword in the sky, nodding silently to himself.
Her fragrant sweat poured down like rain, her face flushed, and strands of golden hair stuck to her exquisite face, yet she seemed unaware, her eyes fixed firmly on repeating the same motion.
At this moment, Qianren Xue wielded her sword, relying only on the basic strength supplemented by her divine body, without using any divine power.
The Angelic Holy Sword itself was already heavily burdened. Without activating her divine power, each swing almost required her to exert all her strength.
Moreover, she was flying in the air without any solid ground beneath her feet, relying on the wings on her back to maintain balance, adding even more difficulty.
After continuing to strike a thousand times, Qianren Xue finally reached her physical limit.
She floated down in front of Su Cheng, and for a moment upon landing, she staggered slightly.
The training during this period had indeed been extremely effective for her.
The originally fluctuating divine power could now be almost completely controlled as desired.
However, Qianren Xue seemed unsatisfied, furrowing her brows and looking at Su Cheng.
"I still can't comprehend the realm of swordsmanship at all."
"Heh," Su Cheng chuckled at her words, somewhat speechless.
"Do you know how many years I practiced swordsmanship before I grasped a hint of true meaning? And you expect to reach there just like that? Being able to control divine power as you wish and applying force techniques in your attacks already counts as exceptional talent. Do you think those random hacking and slashing movements from before can be considered swordsmanship?"
Qianren Xue pursed her lips, not arguing back, and sat cross-legged on the ground to silently replenish her strength with divine power.
About half an hour passed like this.
Suddenly, Su Cheng turned his head, and Qianren Xue simultaneously opened her eyes, a golden light flashing in them.
Both of them looked towards the direction of the Pope's Hall in the Martial Soul City.
Bibi Dong had emerged from the divine trial!