A Conversation with Feng Lin

"Little Yan, Lord Feng Lin is here."

Inside the Spirit Hall Branch of San Erves City, Yan, who was bent over his desk, raised his head slightly. Liya's voice came from outside the door, accompanied by another set of footsteps.

The door opened and shut. Liya did not follow him inside, instead remaining in the courtyard outside to guide the other young Soul Masters in their cultivation.

Their group had left the Spirit Hall Branch in Nahr City on a long journey to send Yan and the other young Soul Masters who had awakened Innate Soul Power to the junior academy in Spirit City. Yet no one had expected them to encounter an ambush by Evil Soul Masters midway through. Fortunately, nothing ultimately went wrong.

As the door closed once more, only Yan, still seated at his desk, and Soul King Feng Lin remained in the room. Feng Lin's expression was far from calm, and he even had faint dark circles beneath his eyes.

"Lord Feng Lin."

Yan wrote in his notebook for a while longer before slowly raising his head to look at the clearly unsettled Feng Lin. At his call, Feng Lin seemed to finally snap out of his daze.

"You... I just went to Maplewood Town."

Looking at the calm six-year-old before him, who seemed as though he had everything under control, Feng Lin felt an inexplicable oppression in his heart. Whenever he thought of the suspicion buried within him, he still felt as though he had gone mad. This child was only six. How could it be possible...

"And then?"

Yan remained exceedingly calm, and that calm only made Feng Lin suffer all the more. Yan terrified him, because he did not resemble a six-year-old child at all. He was more like a monster.

"I tested it. Flour and flames can indeed trigger that kind of violent energy eruption, but only in an extremely enclosed environment, and only if a large amount of flour is scattered into the air."

Feng Lin stared at Yan and spoke in a low voice, watching the child's reaction the entire time. "I inspected the ruins of Maplewood Town. The flour in the storage room, where you were at the end—it was all too coincidental. So coincidental that it was as if..."

Before he could finish, Yan continued for him. "As if it had all been arranged by someone. Your guess was right. From the moment Rassoul was struck in the head by the lime powder, he had already fallen into my calculations. Interested in hearing about it?"

As he spoke, Yan pointed to a chair beside him. Feng Lin considered it for a moment before choosing to sit down. Facing Yan, who was only six years old, he seemed distinctly uneasy.

After Feng Lin sat down, Yan thought for a moment before continuing, "At the start of that night, I was injured by Rassoul's soul skill and passed out immediately. But when I woke up again, I understood that I had to save myself.

Rassoul's greatest mistake was letting down his guard around me. Lime powder was not really anything formidable, but when used unexpectedly, it could easily inflict serious injuries."

As Yan spoke of this, he could not help sighing inwardly. In the early days of Douluo Continent, especially during the era of Douluo One, the suppression of levels had not yet become overly pronounced. If one used the right methods, even an ordinary person could possibly kill a Soul Master in return.

He had been lucky as well. Douluo Continent in the era of Douluo One was equivalent to an ancient society. Basically no one understood things like lime powder or dust explosions, which was why his plan had succeeded so easily.

At this time, the technological tree for Soul Tools on Douluo Continent had not yet been unlocked, and things like Self-Created Soul Skills had not begun to rise. The vast majority of Soul Masters relied heavily on their own soul rings and soul skills, which was what gave him an opportunity. If this had been an era after Douluo Two, using these methods against a wanted Evil Soul Master would have been courting death.

After a brief inward sigh, Yan continued, "Once Rassoul was injured by the lime powder, half my plan had succeeded. Everything that followed, whether jumping from the second floor, luring him into the storage room, or throwing out so much flour, was part of my plan..."

As Yan calmly recounted everything, Feng Lin, seated across from him, felt a chill run through his body. Although he had already suspected it, listening to a six-year-old child describe how he had plotted an Evil Soul Master with four soul rings to death still terrified Feng Lin.

The child before him was far too extraordinary. An ordinary child in that situation could only close their eyes and await death, but Yan had plotted every step, forcing an Evil Soul Master far stronger than an ordinary Soul Ancestor onto a dead-end path. If Yan had not personally admitted it and explained the process, Feng Lin would never have believed it even if beaten to death.

"Is that all Lord Feng Lin wanted to know?"

After roughly recounting how he had plotted against Rassoul, Yan paused before continuing, "I think you should be a smart man, right? I heard from Sister Liya that your son lacks talent. He is already past thirty and still has not broken through to Soul Elder. It is basically impossible for him to break through in this lifetime.

And after you broke through to Soul King five years ago, you spent a full five years reaching only level fifty-three. Your cultivation has nearly reached its limit. If nothing changes, then after you grow old, the Feng Family will gradually decline as well."

Yan's words entered Feng Lin's ears, making him clench his fists involuntarily. Yan was right. His family had indeed fallen into the predicament of lacking successors.

Feng Lin came from an ordinary background. His ancestors had all been commoners. It was only in his generation that he had fortunately awakened Innate Soul Power when his martial soul awakened. With an Innate martial soul that was neither too strong nor too weak, coupled with years of effort, he had successfully broken through to Soul Elder before the age of thirty, then steadily advanced until he became a Soul King.

But after becoming a Soul King, he had sensed that his potential had basically reached its end. Sure enough, after level fifty, cultivation became difficult for him. In five years, he had barely advanced two levels, and over the past year, he had made virtually no progress.

He was no longer young either. Even his grandson was already around ten. With his own cultivation progressing so slowly, he could only turn to nurturing the younger generation. Unfortunately, his son had failed to live up to expectations and had not broken through level thirty before turning thirty. Breaking through afterward would only become more difficult.

He did not have many choices left. And now, an excellent opportunity lay before him: investing early in this genius who possessed both cunning and talent.

Feng Lin was already advanced in years, while his son lacked both talent and strength. If he pinned his hopes on his grandson, he feared only greater disappointment. If he wanted to keep his family flourishing, then aside from nurturing successors, he also needed to find a reliable patron.

Of course, he could seek refuge with one of the higher-ranking factions within Spirit Hall. As a Soul King, he had at least some influence. But such allegiance would certainly require him to offer proof of loyalty, and he would inevitably be drawn into factional struggles. He might even lose his life.

The other option was to invest early in a genius. Once that person rose to prominence, they would repay him to some extent, perhaps allowing his family to continue flourishing. And now, an exceptionally suitable target had appeared before him.