"Lin Xia, I'm telling you this for your own good. If you keep going like this, you're going to run into serious trouble sooner or later. Look at yourself and your martial soul are either of you normal?"
"If you take me as your teacher, I can guide you onto the proper path of cultivation. You'd advance with half the effort for twice the result. After all, we both possess Beast-type Martial Souls that can separate from the body. And if you follow me, you can eat meat for every meal. You won't have to fill your stomach with those ores anymore. How about it?"
In a small, dusty room inside the Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy—its shelves stacked with yellowing books—Yu Xiaogang stood before a wooden table covered in ancient tomes. Dressed in a simple gray robe, he looked at Lin Xia with a "hate iron for not becoming steel" expression.
But Lin Xia ignored him completely.
Instead, he pulled another chunk of ore from his pocket, tossed it into his mouth, and began crunching on it.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
In that awkward silence, Lin Xia finished the ore. Instinctively reaching back into his clothes for more food, he paused only when he realized his "rations" were gone. Then he turned to look at the Martial Soul crouched beside him—Larvitar.
Larvitar's body was a rocky grayish-green. A long, blunt horn rose from the top of its head.
Its eyes were a striking red, its arms stubby, and each foot had a single clawed toe.
A diamond-shaped red scale covered its stomach, four diamond-shaped black vents lined its waist, and its tapered tail was ringed with plate-like ridges.
It looked exactly like a tiny dinosaur—round, sturdy, and undeniably adorable.
Seeing Larvitar gnawing on another chunk of iron ore, Lin Xia couldn't help swallowing a mouthful of saliva. Then he smiled and said:
"Larvitar, you probably can't finish that, right? Want me to help you?"
The moment he spoke, Larvitar shot him a glance and immediately sped up. Within seconds, it devoured the entire piece of iron ore. Patting its belly with great satisfaction, it still looked like it could eat more.
"Larvi?"
Its red eyes blinked at Lin Xia, as if asking what he had just said—because Larvitar clearly didn't understand him~
Seeing this, Lin Xia let out a helpless sigh, then looked toward Yu Xiaogang and said seriously.
"Grandmaster, do you still have something to say? If not, Larvitar and I are heading to the mine. We're starving."
Yu Xiaogang, irritated by how little respect Lin Xia showed and how he seemed to ignore every word, spoke again.
"Lin Xia, perhaps you don't know. I, your teacher, am the Grandmaster—renowned throughout the entire continent. I even published the theoretical framework of The Ten Great Core Competencies of Martial Souls!"
"So what I say is supported by research. You'll ruin both yourself and your Martial Soul at this rate!"
"I only advise you because you have innate Level-Eight soul power—decent talent! If not for that, I wouldn't bother trying so hard to persuade you."
"You're wasting your talent like this, and you might even cause irreversible damage to your body!"
"But my Luo Sanpao is different. Except for the moments he uses his soul skills, I only feed him some white radish to reduce soul power consumption."
Yu Xiaogang should not have continued—but since he did, Lin Xia truly felt sorry for Luo Sanpao.
From Lin Xia's perspective, Luo Sanpao wasn't a failed mutation at all. It was more like dormant potential—waiting for the chance to break its cocoon and evolve into something far stronger!
After all, eating a bit of white radish could reduce soul power consumption; later, it even became the dominant core of a Three-Spirit Martial Soul Fusion Skill, transforming into the Golden Holy Dragon!
That alone proved its enormous potential.
If viewed from the logic of Pokémon, Luo Sanpao could easily pass as a Poison + Dragon-type.
And its evolution method? Ridiculously simple—just summon it more often, let it eat properly, and build up affection.
After all, what kind of trainer locks their Pokémon inside a Poké Ball all day and doesn't even feed it?
Being stuck at Level 29 was well-deserved!
A Martial Soul nourishes the body, and the body nourishes the Martial Soul—that's the proper path!
As for himself, when he awakened the Larvitar Martial Soul, Lin Xia had been a little desperate at first. Everyone in the Pokémon world knew how ridiculously hard Larvitar was to raise!
To reach its final evolution—Tyranitar—it needed to devour an entire mountain.
Without a wealthy family, raising it was impossible!
But later, Lin Xia discovered something shocking: the ores that Larvitar ate—he could eat them too.
His teeth and stomach had become unbelievably strong, and after eating, his physical body actually grew tougher and more powerful.
This unexpected change made Lin Xia realize that the rules of the Douluo world truly altered many things.
That was also why he and Larvitar ate ore together.
The expenses were indeed larger… but the possibilities were limitless.
As for Yu Xiaogang, he hadn't even figured out his own Martial Soul, yet wanted to teach him?
Lin Xia truly couldn't be bothered to take him seriously.
The only thing Lin Xia valued from him was his knowledge of Martial Souls but why couldn't he study that on his own?
So Yu Xiaogang had absolutely no prestige in Lin Xia's eyes.
Still, considering Yu Xiaogang's background and Tang San—the guy who adored collecting father figures, Lin Xia chose to maintain superficial politeness just to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"Grandmaster, it's been over ten days now. You should understand what I mean. I really don't want to become anyone's disciple. I'm just an orphan—I'm used to living freely."
"Your theories are impressive, but they're really not suitable for me. For example, your Martial Soul Mimicry Theory—Plant-type Martial Souls absorbing Beast-type spirit rings, Beast-type Martial Souls absorbing Plant-type rings—I really can't do that."
Finishing those words, Lin Xia didn't bother to check Yu Xiaogang's expression. He simply turned around, took Larvitar with him, and left the room.
After Lin Xia departed, Tang San stepped out of the restroom.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's grim expression, he spoke directly.
"Teacher, Lin Xia refusing to acknowledge you is his loss. His vision is shallow—he doesn't understand your greatness. He'll definitely regret it someday."
Hearing Tang San's words improved Yu Xiaogang's mood slightly, but after letting out a sigh, he still shook his head.
"Xiao San, you don't understand Lin Xia's potential. He may not have innate full soul power, but I know what his Martial Soul represents. After all, I possess a similar external Beast Martial Soul. A Martial Soul like his is equivalent to having an additional soul master."
Tang San wasn't stupid—he instantly grasped the implication, but still asked to confirm.
"Teacher… you mean…?"
Yu Xiaogang explained patiently.
"That's right. With this type of special Martial Soul, when he absorbs a spirit ring, both he and his Martial Soul can release soul skills."
"Its potential is only slightly inferior to your Twin Martial Souls."
Hearing that, a trace of curiosity flickered in Tang San's eyes.
"Teacher… then can both you and your Martial Soul release soul skills as well?"
Yu Xiaogang's mouth twitched violently. His face darkened instantly, but wanting to maintain his image before Tang San, he forced himself to acknowledge it.
"…Mm."
"Then Teacher, could you demonstrate—"
"No!!"