"Lord Fire God, it was we who intruded this time." Tianlin cupped his hands in salute. "We just didn't expect this to be your legacy land. It seems our worries were unnecessary."

"Haha, no matter. I was just copying Seagod and Asura God, setting up a legacy land on the Douluo Continent. It's been countless millennia. You and this girl are the first humans to enter. Pity, one's the Asura God's inheritor, and one's passed the Sea God's test—a prospective inheritor. Both have nothing to do with me." The Fire God sighed, a bit disappointed.

Perhaps because this god didn't seem fierce, Ning Rongrong mustered her courage. "Lord Fire God, I don't understand. Since you're the god of fire, why put your legacy in the freezing Far North?"

"For selection," the Fire God said, "Just like the prerequisite for Seagod's legacy is to withstand the Seagod's Light, and Asura God's is to pass Hell Road and obtain the Deathgod Domain, to take my test, one must first match my godhood in attribute and then reach this place."

"I see. This is the Far North's deepest part—only two types of people can survive here. First, those who adapt, like Rongrong now, with powerful ice martial souls, fully resistant to the cold. Second, those who resist, meaning those with attributes that oppose cold—fire!"

"Any fire soul master who can reach here is a top-tier fire user."

Tianlin fully understood the Fire God's reasoning. Even the rumor of hidden flames in the Far North was probably spread by the Fire God himself to attract fire soul masters.

The path through the Far North was, like the Slaughter City's Hell Road, the Fire God's first test for inheritors.

The Fire God nodded. "Exactly. As long as a sufficiently talented fire soul master comes here, I'll open the space and bring them in. You're Tianlin, right? I heard Asura mention you. Actually, you have ultimate fire within you. You could have opened the space yourself, you didn't need to forcibly tear it with a soul skill. But, first, you already have a god's inheritance; second, your fire, though high in quality, is too little in quantity. If you hadn't entered, I wouldn't have noticed."

Tianlin smiled wryly—what could he do? The fire attribute in his body came only from a thousand-year-old Purple Fire Golden-Eyed Beast. Without his external soul bone, he probably couldn't use even half the power of ultimate fire.

The Fire God stared at Tianlin for a moment. He'd already noticed the severe elemental imbalance in Tianlin's magic sword; though the sword had reached a god-level martial soul, its power couldn't be fully realized. No wonder Asura had gathered the elemental gods to create a special god-bestowed soul ring for his inheritor.

"Lord Fire God, now that we've confirmed this is your legacy and poses no threat to the Far North, our goal is achieved. We'll take our leave," Tianlin said, drawing his magic sword.

"Wait. No need for you to tear space. I can open a portal for you. Asura inheritor, that space skill of yours—don't use it unless in crisis. And even if you must, don't use it at full strength. A black hole is a terrifying power in the universe. If you keep tearing space, the Douluo Continent's dimensional barrier will weaken, making it susceptible to attacks from other realms," the Fire God warned.

Tianlin was shocked. He hadn't known his powerful eighth soul skill had such a side effect. Fortunately, the Fire God warned him—otherwise, he might have caused a disaster.

Space skills were common in many fantasy worlds, but those worlds had much stronger dimensional stability. Douluo Continent's space couldn't withstand the full power of a magic sword from the Immortal Sword World.

"Thank you for the warning, Lord Fire God. I'll be careful in the future." Tianlin was grateful. "One more thing: I have a brother with a top-grade Fire Phoenix martial soul. He's eaten the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, so his fire is vast and pure, close to ultimate fire. Would you be interested in seeing him? If you agree, I'll bring him to meet you."

The Fire God looked intrigued. "Oh? Fire Phoenix, and he's eaten an immortal herb? Not bad. Worth a look. But inheriting my godhood isn't easy. I'm a first-rank god in the Divine Realm. Besides talent and potential, the foundation is crucial. If your friend isn't as promising as you or this girl, even if he passes my test, his chances of success are slim."

The Fire God laid out the facts. Tianlin frowned with concern. The Fire God was blunt but truthful.

Ning Rongrong qualified for the Sea God's inheritance thanks to two divine-grade pills, twin martial souls, and the ultimate ice attributes of Ice and Snow Empress.

Compared to her, Ma Hongjun was far behind. His not-fully-transformed Fire Phoenix martial soul was already somewhat inferior to Ning Rongrong's Ice Snow Maiden, let alone in other aspects.

In the original story, Ma Hongjun went to Seagod Island for the auxiliary test before coming here, reaching the Titled Douluo level, and still failed. Coming now would be suicide.

Even though the current Ma Hongjun was stronger and more diligent than in the original, Tianlin decided he should still train at Seagod Island first.

"Lord Fire God, you're right. I'll have him follow Rongrong for the Sea God's auxiliary test and bring him here after he earns his title."

At this, the Fire God's face turned odd. "Asura inheritor, are you joking? Letting a fire soul master take the Sea God's test?"

"The Sea God is the god of the ocean. His control over water isn't inferior to my wife, the Water God. If your friend takes his test, receives his energy to level up, and absorbs the god-bestowed soul ring, he'll be ruined. Do you think a Sea God's ring will be free of water attributes?"

"If his Phoenix fire gets tainted, he'll never achieve ultimate fire. That's just ruining his potential."

Tianlin froze. He'd never thought of that. His own five elements coexisted perfectly in his body, so he had overlooked that not everyone's martial soul was as special as his magic sword.

The Sea God's test could make Ma Hongjun stronger quickly but at the cost of his potential.