However, Lin Xia and Larvitar's highly efficient yet savage "training + dining" routine soon attracted trouble.
The open stretch of road they had chosen was not completely deserted.
During one training session, Larvitar had just blasted a small earthen mound apart with Ancient Power. Before the dust had even settled, Lin Xia and the little fellow were sitting in the freshly dug deep pit, happily devouring the dark, Soul Power–rich soil, when a terrified scream suddenly tore through the silence.
"Ahhh! Ghosts! There are ghosts eating dirt!"
Lin Xia jerked his head up, a mouthful of soil still stuffed between his teeth.
A woman carrying farm tools stood frozen by the roadside, her face pale as paper. The hoe in her hands clattered to the ground without her even noticing. Her trembling finger pointed at the pit, at the man and the creature inside it, her eyes filled with pure, indescribable terror.
Looking at the shattered ore scattered around the pit and at the two figures with muddy mouths, she seemed to be staring at monsters that devoured the earth itself and defied all common sense.
She turned and ran.
Stumbling, tumbling, half-crawling, her voice cracked with sobs as she fled.
"Eating dirt… eating stones… digging giant pits… monsters! They're monsters!"
That was only the beginning.
Several more times after that, whenever they "created" a fresh crater and lowered their heads to "eat," passersby were inevitably drawn by the sight.
Most people, upon seeing from afar a stretch of ground that looked as though it had been ravaged by a colossal beast and Lin Xia sitting in the center of a pit, covered in dust with mud at the corners of his mouth, beside a strangely shaped Soul Beast—instinctively chose to detour. Their gazes were a mix of shock, revulsion, and deep-seated fear.
"Whose mad child is that? Or some evil Soul Master's experiment?"
"Th-that thing… is that a Soul Beast? Why does it look so ferocious? It's… it's eating dirt?!"
"That huge pit—did they chew it out themselves?!"
"Report this to the Soul Hall!"
There were also some kind-hearted people who only saw a young boy, disheveled and pitiful, "gnawing on dirt" alone in the wilderness.
An old man leaning on a cane shuffled closer, his voice full of sympathy.
"Child… you must be starving. Don't eat dirt. Grandpa here has some flatbread… come home with me, I'll give you something warm…"
But when his gaze moved past Lin Xia and fell upon the other side of the pit—where Larvitar was holding a large chunk of rock, crunching it with loud ka-beng sounds, and lifting its dark red eyes to look back at him—the kindness on the old man's face froze instantly, replaced by utter terror.
Those eyes, filled with primal power and savage wildness, were absolutely not the eyes of a tame, gentle beast.
"M-monster!"
The cane slipped from his hand. He didn't even bother picking it up, stumbling backward before turning and fleeing in panic.
Watching yet another well-meaning passerby run off, and the distant crowd pointing and whispering, a taut string inside Lin Xia snapped tight.
He slowly swallowed the soil in his mouth. The faint excitement he had felt from his growing strength vanished completely, leaving behind only icy vigilance.
"This is bad."
Lin Xia wiped the mud from the corner of his mouth and looked at Larvitar, which was still tilting its head curiously at the fleeing figures.
"Larvitar, we've become monsters in other people's eyes and these traces are way too obvious!"
He glanced at the freshly formed pit at his feet, still releasing fine dust, then at the road stretching ahead.
This was practically the perfect trail for anyone with ill intentions to follow.
Recalling how Yu Xiaogang had hounded him for over ten days, insisting on taking him as a disciple, Lin Xia immediately realized something, inthe eyes of certain people, he was probably a highly desirable prize.
Add to that Larvitar's terrifying potential and uniqueness, as well as his own bizarre ability to survive by eating dirt and ore… what kind of fate would await him if he fell into their hands?
Dissection? Research?
"No! Absolutely not! We can't stay on the main road anymore!"
Lin Xia made his decision instantly, his sharp gaze sweeping toward the rolling, densely vegetated mountains on both sides of the road.
"We're heading into the mountains! Larvitar—if we get hungry, we'll eat in the mountains! Once we're full, then we come back out and continue our journey!"
With those words, Lin Xia led Larvitar straight into the vast, untamed mountain forest.
Half a month later, beneath a sheltered cliff near the outskirts of Gengxin City, Lin Xia finished a night of simple meditation.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the forest canopy, falling gently over his body.
By habit, Lin Xia calmed his mind and began sensing the flow of Soul Power within him.
An unprecedentedly solid and full wave of Soul Power instantly flooded his perception!
Within his dantian—his sea of energy—the Soul Power that once resembled thin mist, needing to be gathered bit by bit, now surged like a stream filled to the brim!
The power was no longer vague or insubstantial. It was heavy, condensed, steady—bearing the grounded weight of stone itself!
It was as if a once-shallow puddle had now become a brimming pool, ready to overflow.
Only a paper-thin boundary remained between him and that crucial threshold but both the quality and quantity of his Soul Power had already reached a critical point!
Level Ten Soul Power!
Without any systematic meditation guidance, relying solely on the frenzied feedback of Larvitar's martial soul traits—and on Lin Xia himself, devouring the primal energy contained within the earth, ores, and soil like a ravenous beast
In the dozen or so days after awakening his innate soul power, Lin Xia hadn't even cultivated at all, as he had been focused on taking care of Larvitar during its infancy!
His actual cultivation time amounted to barely half a month, yet he had crossed the Level Nine barrier and directly reached the first true checkpoint of a Soul Master's path
Level Ten Soul Power!
Such a rate of progress—if word were to spread—would be enough to leave peers who followed step-by-step meditation utterly dumbfounded. It was nothing short of an unbelievable miracle!
"Level ten… I broke through!"
Lin Xia suddenly opened his eyes. Even the dust on his face couldn't conceal the blazing joy shining within them!
Excited, Lin Xia tried to lift Larvitar, who was yawning beside him but he couldn't budge it at all!
Yet he didn't mind in the slightest. Instead, his voice trembled with exhilaration.
"Larvitar! Can you feel it? Level ten! We've reached level ten! Hahahaha!"
Startled by Lin Xia's sudden movement, Larvitar quickly calmed down. Its keen instincts soon caught the explosive joy deep within Lin Xia's heart, along with the surging soul power that roared like a rising tide.
In an instant, it became excited as well, waving its short little arms and letting out cheerful, meaningless cries.
"Lar! Lar!"
After releasing Larvitar, Lin Xia stood up, his gaze sharp as fire as it pierced through layers of forest and locked onto the legendary city ahead.
The City of Metal, spoken of in rumors.
Level ten also meant that he could finally absorb his all-important first soul ring!
And Larvitar the future Sandstorm Tyrant what place could possibly serve as a better launch point for its rise to greatness than a colossal city where the essence of earth and metal converged, where metallic veins flowed beneath the ground?
Still, before that, Lin Xia needed to enter the city and join a faction, gathering knowledge about soul beasts suitable for Larvitar's soul ring absorption.
After all, this concerned his future path—there was no room for carelessness!
As the thought settled, a surge of heroic ambition rose within Lin Xia's heart!
"Larvitar, that's Gengxin City ahead. Let's go!"