Chapter Summaries

Lin Xia studied blacksmithing under Lou Gao and proposed testing whether Larvitar’s Dig ability could help locate underground ore veins. Lou Gao froze in surprise as Lin Xia finished explaining the idea.

• Lin Xia asked Lou Gao questions about blacksmithing, and Lou Gao guided him through the concepts.
• Lou Gao ended the lesson and shared a meal with Lin Xia while Larvitar gnawed on Star Cold Iron.
• Lin Xia offered Larvitar a piece of meat, but Larvitar spat it out and returned to eating ore.
• Lin Xia told Lou Gao that Larvitar had learned Dig and could tunnel quickly through soil and rock.
• Lin Xia suggested testing Larvitar’s ability to search for undiscovered ore deposits, and Lou Gao froze at the proposal.

Lin Xia told Lou Gao that Larvitar had awakened eight innate moves without Soul Rings, shocking his teacher. When Lin Xia proposed using Dig to prospect for underground minerals, Lou Gao praised the idea but forbade him from trying it because of the lethal dangers below ground.

• Lou Gao questioned Lin Xia after learning Larvitar had used Dig without a Soul Ring, and Lin Xia explained that it had awakened the ability through its own growth.
• Lin Xia revealed that Larvitar already had eight moves, leaving Lou Gao stunned before he recovered and expressed pride in his disciple.
• Lin Xia explained that he wanted Larvitar to use Dig to prospect for mineral deposits, and Lou Gao recognized the idea's potential.
• Lou Gao firmly rejected the plan, warning Lin Xia about underground hazards, unstable terrain, dangerous Soul Beasts, toxic gas, and a lack of oxygen.

Lin Xia and Lou Gao traveled to an abandoned mine to test Lin Xia’s Dig ability in a place Lou Gao considered safe. They entered one of its Ore Caves, where Lin Xia wondered about the mine’s past as the cold, dark tunnel stretched ahead.

• Lou Gao agreed to supervise Lin Xia and Larvitar’s digging experiment in a mine whose geological structure he knew well.
• After lunch, Lin Xia, Lou Gao, and Larvitar rode out from Gengjin City in a carriage, and Larvitar grew excited at the smell of mineral ore.
• Lou Gao recalled that the abandoned mine had once supported many families in Gengjin City, but he left its story unexplained.
• Lou Gao lit torches and led Lin Xia and Larvitar into a partially collapsed Ore Cave.
• Lin Xia followed Lou Gao deeper into the cold, dark tunnel, where torchlight revealed uneven ground and looming shadows.

Lin Xia and Lou Gao reached a passage sealed by rubble from an old mining disaster, which Lou Gao explained was now considered a safe place to test Larvitar’s Dig. Larvitar swiftly carved a smooth tunnel through the collapse, and Lin Xia and Lou Gao followed him underground.

• Lin Xia found the passage blocked by rubble and asked Lou Gao whether a mining accident had occurred.
• Lou Gao explained that a geological disturbance had caused a disaster years earlier, and that the abandoned stretch was now considered safe for testing Larvitar’s Soul Skill.
• Lin Xia told Larvitar to dig through the rubble while Lou Gao warned them to retreat immediately if anything seemed wrong.
• Larvitar used Dig to push through the rocks and create a smooth passage more than two meters wide.
• Lou Gao marveled at Larvitar’s underground ability, and Lin Xia and Lou Gao followed him into the newly carved tunnel.

Lin Xia and Lou Gao uncovered the remains of miners trapped by the collapse, and Lou Gao solemnly gathered them while confronting painful memories. Larvitar then became intensely excited by an apparently ordinary rock wall, leaving Lou Gao unable to explain what it had sensed.

• Larvitar cleared the collapsed passage, revealing skeletal remains, and Lou Gao carefully collected the bones.
• Lin Xia and Lou Gao found three more miners' remains in a side cave, and Lou Gao gathered them in silence.
• Lou Gao dismissed Lin Xia's concern and redirected his attention to Larvitar, which was excited by a dark-brown rock wall.
• Lou Gao inspected and chipped the wall but found only ordinary barren rock, while Larvitar continued to react intensely.

Lin Xia and Lou Gao discovered that Larvitar’s digging had uncovered a vast, high-purity Purple Lightning Iron vein hidden behind a wall in the supposedly exhausted Ore Cave. As Lou Gao explained the ore’s forging and cultivation benefits, Lin Xia began considering how it could help Larvitar develop lightning techniques after evolving into Tyranitar.

• Larvitar dug through a rock wall and exposed a dazzling vein of Purple Lightning Iron.
• Lou Gao recognized the rare ore and marveled that his earlier surveys had missed the valuable vein.
• Larvitar eagerly dug out pieces of Purple Lightning Iron and ate them while Lou Gao praised its prospecting ability.
• Lou Gao explained that Purple Lightning Iron could strengthen weapons and armor and help lightning-attribute Soul Masters cultivate.
• Lin Xia watched Larvitar eat the ore and considered how it might support Tyranitar’s future lightning-type skills.

Lin Xia asked Lou Gao for the Purple Lightning Iron Ore so Larvitar could use its lightning energy to explore Lightning Power. Lou Gao gave them the entire vein, and Lin Xia and Larvitar removed it for future use.

• Lin Xia told Lou Gao he wanted Larvitar to try comprehending Lightning Power with the Purple Lightning Iron Ore.
• Lou Gao approved and gifted the whole vein to Lin Xia and Larvitar as Larvitar's spoils of war.
• Lin Xia directed Larvitar to Dig around the vein and bite it free, though Larvitar secretly ate some ore along the way.
• Lin Xia used his Storage Soul Tool Ring and a necklace-type Storage Soul Tool from Lou Gao to collect the entire vein.
• Larvitar pawed at Lin Xia for the vanished ore, and Lin Xia promised it would have plenty to eat later.

Lin Xia shared some Purple Lightning Iron Ore with Lou Gao, who then revealed a hidden chamber containing a modest vein of Red Copper Ore for Larvitar. Lin Xia urged Larvitar to eat the less appealing ore as an additional resource.

• Lin Xia gave Lou Gao a share of his premium Purple Lightning Iron Ore for research and forging.
• Lou Gao accepted Lin Xia's gift and praised him for sharing with his teacher.
• Lou Gao used his Diamond Chisel to break through a rock wall in the abandoned Ore Cave.
• Lin Xia saw the Red Copper Ore hidden in the chamber and recognized it as a source of ordinary resources for Larvitar.
• Larvitar showed little interest in the Red Copper Ore and returned to eating Purple Lightning Iron, but Lin Xia told it to get to work.

After Lin Xia and Larvitar harvested and ate Purple Lightning Iron, they spent seven days training and growing stronger in Gengjin City. Lin Xia discovered that he could now tolerate and absorb a little of the ore’s electricity, leaving him wondering whether he had become a Human-Like Group Pokémon.

• Larvitar dug out the Red Copper Ore while Lin Xia stored it with the Purple Lightning Iron, and Lou Gao praised their haul before taking them back.
• Over the next seven days, Lin Xia studied and learned forging while he and Larvitar ate Purple Lightning Iron and tempered their Soul Power.
• Lin Xia and Larvitar explored Gengjin City with Si Long, Si Di, Si Yu, and Si Kai, finding rare ores at bargain prices in Golden Stone Market.
• Lin Xia noticed his Soul Power Vortex had grown stronger and his total Soul Power had increased through eating ore and training.
• Lin Xia handled Purple Lightning Iron without being shocked and felt its electricity seep into his body, prompting him to wonder if he had become a Human-Like Group Pokémon.

Lin Xia discovered that Bishop Miles was confronting Lou Gao and the Blacksmith Association over unusual items found underground. Recognizing the danger of events repeating a tragic story, Lin Xia decided Miles must die eventually, but the conflict had to be stopped for now.

• Lin Xia heard a commotion in the front courtyard and hurried toward it with Larvitar.
• Lou Gao ordered Lin Xia to return to the backyard, but Lin Xia secretly watched the hall from a concealed second-floor corridor.
• Lin Xia saw Miles, accompanied by Charlotte and Spirit Hall men, demanding access to the Blacksmith Association’s underground discoveries.
• Lou Gao refused Miles’s demand and threatened to defend the association, bringing both sides close to violence.
• Lin Xia resolved to prevent the confrontation from escalating and to keep Miles alive for the time being.

After Spirit Hall’s Miles pressured the Blacksmith Association over Purple Lightning Iron Ore, Lin Xia listened as Lou Gao explained the corruption and their longstanding grudge. Lou Gao had surrendered some ore to avert a wider conflict, while Lin Xia considered how to protect his teacher and the Association.

• Lin Xia returned to the backyard with Larvitar and waited for Lou Gao, thinking through a plan to resolve the crisis.
• Lou Gao came back furious after giving Miles some Purple Lightning Iron Ore to make him leave the Association alone.
• Lin Xia asked Lou Gao why Spirit Hall was targeting the Blacksmith Association, and Lou Gao explained that Miles had corrupted its Gengjin City branch.
• Lou Gao recounted how he had confronted Miles six years earlier after Spirit Hall retaliated against an old friend’s family connected to the Clear Sky Sect.
• Lou Gao said Miles had since extracted fees and a share of the Association’s profits, and that his inspection of the ore had revealed it to Miles’s spies or informants.

Lin Xia urged Lou Gao to seek cooperation with Spirit Hall to protect the Blacksmith Association from Miles, but Lou Gao rejected the idea because of Spirit Hall’s interests and his loyalty to Titan. Lin Xia challenged him to weigh that loyalty against the lives and livelihoods of the Association’s craftsmen, leaving Lou Gao shaken and silent.

• Lin Xia proposed that Lou Gao contact Spirit Hall’s leadership and trade the Blacksmith Association’s value for protection against Miles.
• Lou Gao rejected the proposal, arguing that Spirit Hall would favor its own bishop and might treat the Association’s appeal as interference.
• Lou Gao said joining Spirit Hall would betray his old friend Titan, whose clan had a blood feud with Spirit Hall.
• Lin Xia reminded Lou Gao that Association craftsmen and the miners killed in the Ore Cave depended on him for their safety and livelihoods.
• Lou Gao recalled the miners’ remains and the suffering of the craftsmen, then swayed and fell silent under Lin Xia’s challenge.

Lou Gao decided to seek Spirit Hall’s protection for the Blacksmith Association and sent Si Long to Spirit City with a secret letter and token. He then prepared to take Lin Xia and Larvitar to hunt Yellow Storm Rats for Lin Xia’s first Soul Ring.

• Lou Gao accepted Lin Xia’s advice and resolved to put the Association’s survival above his old grievances and ties with Tai Tan.
• Lou Gao said he would write to the Pope and formally announce the Association’s decision after receiving approval.
• Lou Gao told Lin Xia that the Association had located Yellow Storm Rat packs and promised to take him hunting once urgent matters were handled.
• The next morning, Lou Gao revealed that Si Long had secretly left for Spirit City and took Lin Xia and Larvitar toward the hunting grounds.
• Lou Gao showed Lin Xia a map marking a Yellow Storm Rat pack seventy li southwest of Gengjin City, near an abandoned red iron mine.

Lin Xia convinced Lou Gao to help him obtain a Thousand-Year Soul Ring by demonstrating that his body could withstand a powerful blow without injury. Lou Gao took Lin Xia and Larvitar to the desert outside Gengjin City, where they began searching for a suitable target.

• Lin Xia asked Lou Gao to help him obtain a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, arguing that his physical strength made the risk manageable.
• Lin Xia struck his forearm with a dagger, chipping its blade while leaving his skin unbroken and astonishing Lou Gao.
• Lou Gao accepted Lin Xia's request and hurried to take him and Larvitar to find a Thousand-Year Soul Ring before sunset.
• Lin Xia, Larvitar, and Lou Gao rode west from Gengjin City in a carriage pulled by a Thick-skinned Camel Beast.
• After about two hours, they reached a vast desert of dunes, where Lin Xia began searching for their target until Lou Gao told him he would not be able to see it.

Lou Gao used bloody bait to lure cautious Yellow Storm Rats out of the sand, then attacked when they gathered inside a sandstorm. The storm scattered, revealing the result of his assault.

• Lou Gao explained that Yellow Storm Rats hid beneath the sand and set out corpses as bait while Lin Xia and Larvitar waited behind a rock.
• A Yellow Storm Rat repeatedly emerged to scout the area before vanishing back beneath the sand.
• Several Yellow Storm Rats gathered around the bait and raised a sandstorm to conceal themselves as they fed.
• Lou Gao summoned his Diamond Chisel and charged into the storm, fighting the rats amid crashing impacts and squeals.
• Lou Gao shouted for the sandstorm to scatter and unleashed a powerful burst of soul power that tore it apart.

Lin Xia killed the fourteen-hundred-year Yellow Storm Rat and began absorbing its Purple Soul Ring with Larvitar. He successfully completed the absorption and told Lou Gao that he felt better than ever.

• Lou Gao defeated the Yellow Storm Rats and identified the silver-marked pack leader as a fourteen-hundred-year Soul Beast.
• Lin Xia killed the unconscious Yellow Storm Rat Leader and summoned its Purple Soul Ring.
• Lou Gao moved the other rats away and guarded Lin Xia as he began absorbing the Soul Ring.
• Larvitar joined Lin Xia, and the Soul Ring’s violent power surged into both of them.
• The purple light entered Lin Xia, and he and Larvitar opened their eyes after completing the absorption.
• Lin Xia told Lou Gao that he had succeeded and felt better than ever.

Lin Xia demonstrated that his first Thousand-Year Soul Skill, Sand Raising, created a powerful Sandstorm, and Larvitar’s matching power amplified it across five hundred meters. After Lou Gao watched in disbelief, Lin Xia and Larvitar stopped supplying Soul Power and the storm subsided.

• Lou Gao eagerly asked Lin Xia to reveal the Soul Skill granted by his Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
• Lin Xia activated First Soul Skill, Sand Raising, creating a destructive Sandstorm that covered more than a hundred meters and forced Lou Gao to protect himself with Soul Power.
• Larvitar struck the ground and unleashed another Sandstorm, merging it with Lin Xia’s storm and expanding their coverage to five hundred meters.
• Lou Gao stood stunned by the storm’s scale and power, questioning whether it could truly come from a First Soul Ring.
• Lin Xia signaled Larvitar to stop, and the two ceased supplying Soul Power, allowing the Sandstorm to disperse.

Lin Xia tested the power of his first Soul Skill, Sand Raising, and revealed that he had reached level sixteen after absorbing the Yellow Storm Rat Leader's Soul Ring. Lou Gao celebrated with him and the other disciples, and Lin Xia ended the night considering which trait to choose for his Second Soul Skill.

• Lin Xia explained to Lou Gao that he and Larvitar had an instinct for the Soul Ring traits they needed, including the power of sand and rock.
• Lin Xia checked his Soul Power and told Lou Gao that it had reached level sixteen after absorbing the fourteen-hundred-year Soul Ring.
• Lou Gao praised Lin Xia's breakthrough and took him and Larvitar back to the Association to celebrate with Si Di and the other disciples.
• Lou Gao cooked a feast, the disciples toasted Lin Xia, and Larvitar happily gnawed on a piece of Purple Lightning Iron ore.
• After the celebration lasted until midnight, Lin Xia began considering which trait to choose for his Second Soul Skill.

Lin Xia chose Sand Force and Sand Rush as his target characteristics and continued cultivating with Larvitar, reaching Soul Power level seventeen after half a month. Meanwhile, Si Long delivered Lou Gao’s secret letter to Bibi Dong in Spirit City, where she began to read it.

• Lin Xia settled on Sand Force and Sand Rush as his preferred characteristics for Larvitar’s sandstorm fighting style.
• Lin Xia and Larvitar trained and ate mineral ore for half a month, and Lin Xia advanced from Soul Power level sixteen to level seventeen.
• Larvitar grew larger and stronger as its Rock Carapace thickened and purple electric arcs intensified.
• Si Long traveled from Gengjin City to Spirit City under Lou Gao’s arrangements to deliver a secret letter to Bibi Dong.
• Bibi Dong received Lou Gao’s letter and unfolded it before Si Long in the Pope’s Palace side hall.

Bibi Dong approved the Blacksmith Association’s eventual entry into Spirit Hall and ordered Ghostly Shadow to investigate Gengjin City bishop Miles Garcia. In Gengjin City, Lou Gao tested Lin Xia’s forging knowledge by challenging him to use a hammer, leaving Lin Xia ready to begin forging.

• Bibi Dong accepted Lou Gao’s request but delayed announcing the Association’s entry until Salas uncovered corruption in Gengjin City.
• Bibi Dong ordered Ghostly Shadow to secretly investigate Miles Garcia and gather detailed evidence of his actions.
• Bibi Dong told Si Long to remain in Spirit City and keep the Association’s plans secret while the investigation proceeded.
• Lou Gao tested Lin Xia’s command of forging manuals and was impressed by his understanding and memory.
• Lou Gao led Lin Xia to the beginner Forging District, handed him a hammer and pig iron, and challenged him to put his knowledge into practice.