One was a child, the other an adult.
Lin Xiao knew which to choose.
His words made Old Medicine nod in satisfaction. He had never realized the boy had such thoughts.
Smiling, Old Medicine took out an ancient scroll.
The scroll slowly settled into Lin Xiao's hands. "Lin Xiao, this is the Flame Mantra. Take a look."
Lin Xiao gently opened the Flame Mantra and carefully examined it bit by bit.
Before long, he closed it.
"Teacher, it says here that it needs heavenly flames to evolve. This world doesn't seem to have any."
Lin Xiao spoke slowly. He had never heard of heavenly flames existing on the Douluo Continent. Heavenly flames were born of heaven and earth, brought by falling meteorites, or formed from energy gathering in dangerous lands and forbidden regions.
And for the Flame Mantra to evolve, it had to devour heavenly flames. Its success rate was not particularly high, either; it could be called exceedingly dangerous.
Back when Xiao Yan had devoured heavenly flames, he had endured agony between life and death and nearly failed to pull through.
The supporting materials required were also extremely numerous and rare. Could this world of Douluo really meet those requirements?
The cultivation requirements seemed incredibly harsh.
It was a good cultivation method, but the conditions simply did not allow for it.
"If there are no heavenly flames, you can substitute other flames."
"As far as I know, every world should have heavenly flames."
"Could this world of Douluo really have none?"
Old Medicine was rather puzzled. In the world of Battle Through The Heavens, there had been more than one kind of heavenly flame. Although this world's energy system was not particularly powerful, it should still have some.
Yet in these forty years, he truly had never heard of any heavenly flames.
"Teacher, if we substitute other flames, can the Flame Mantra still evolve and advance?"
"The effects would probably be much worse, wouldn't they?"
Lin Xiao voiced his concerns.
Heavenly flames were out of the question. He could only replace them with other flames.
"The Flame Mantra can fuse heavenly flames. Even if the flames are low-grade, they can still be fused."
"Once that happens, it should be possible to devour them to advance."
Old Medicine spoke after a moment's thought.
Perhaps this was a matter of making up for quality with quantity, letting quantitative change give rise to qualitative change.
With enough flames, matching heavenly flames was not impossible.
It did seem feasible.
"Quantitative change gives rise to qualitative change. Teacher, it looks like I'll have to collect flames from now on."
Lin Xiao understood. If that was the case, there was no real difficulty left.
"Teacher, my first Martial Soul is a flame Martial Soul. Could I use it as the foundation for fusing flames?"
Lin Xiao held out his right hand, and a small cluster of bone white flame emerged, icy cold.
According to Old Medicine, his Martial Soul had acquired a trace of the Bone Spirit Cold Flame's essence. Thinking about it now, it had probably reached the level of ultimate fire.
Besides, it belonged to him, so its compatibility would be better.
Old Medicine studied the flame in Lin Xiao's hand and nodded thoughtfully. "You could, but to bring it to a level comparable to heavenly flames, you'll also have to strengthen your body."
"Teacher, don't forget that I have a second Martial Soul: a body Martial Soul, Self!"
"I'll use this flame Martial Soul to cultivate the Flame Mantra, following the methods from your world."
"And with my Self Martial Soul, I'll cultivate Soul Power. I'll cultivate both together. Cultivating my Martial Soul can greatly enhance my body's strength."
"In front of others, I'll only have a Self Martial Soul, not twin Martial Souls."
Lin Xiao had already decided. He would cultivate both Soul Power and dou qi. Dou qi's energy system was superior to Soul Power's, so it was worthwhile however he looked at it.
Against anyone at the same level, he would crush them.
Old Medicine hesitated, stroking his beard before speaking softly. "Cultivating dou qi... converting energy into dou qi won't be easy for you."
"I spent all those years in the ring, absorbing Soul Power and converting it into dou qi to heal my injuries. It took a full forty years before I woke up."
"Little fellow, have you thought this through?"
"When the time comes, you'll have two kinds of energy inside your body. Their compatibility will also be a problem."
"One strong and one weak-once they reach a certain point, problems will arise."
Old Medicine truly lived up to his name. His insight and thinking were in a class of their own.
He had spotted the problem at once.
"Teacher, I understand what you're saying."
"But isn't cultivation about contending with heaven and with others, fighting for that single thread of hope?"
"Teacher, I want to try."
Lin Xiao spoke earnestly. Having two systems coexist would be difficult, but if he truly succeeded, it would be an achievement that transcended the era.
Moreover, Old Medicine's words had told Lin Xiao that he could convert energy into dou qi for cultivation.
Now, he only needed to find a way to resolve the compatibility issue between the two energy systems.
"Ha ha ha ha! You really are something."
"Since you're willing to go crazy, this old fellow can go crazy with you for once."
"There isn't much strength I can use right now."
"If you want to cultivate dou qi, with my current abilities, I can help suppress any violent surges between the two energies until you reach Dou Wang."
"But before you break through to Dou Wang, you must find a way to solve this problem."
"Otherwise, you'll have no choice but to stop cultivating dou qi when the time comes."
Old Medicine chuckled softly. With such ambition in his disciple, how could he possibly refuse to help?
However, the strength he could use was limited. At his peak, harmonizing a mere pair of energies would have been no problem at all.
Hearing this, Lin Xiao's heart filled with gratitude. His teacher truly treated him well.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Lin Xiao offered his heartfelt thanks.
Without Old Medicine, he had no idea how long it would take before he could cultivate dou qi.
Now he could start first, without worrying about violent energy surges for the time being.
Wasn't this teacher far better than that useless Yu Xiao Gang?
"Teacher, once I've grown strong, I'll definitely help rebuild your physical body!"
He wondered whether the Blue Silver Emperor's Soul Bone could achieve the effect of rebuilding a physical body.
Lin Xiao knew the Blue Silver Emperor's Soul Bone could regrow severed limbs, but Old Medicine's situation was different. He did not know whether it would work.
Before long, however, Lin Xiao dismissed the idea.
Old Medicine was immensely powerful. Relying on the Blue Silver Emperor would be impossible, and this was Douluo, after all.
Who knew how much time Xiao Yan had spent making a body for Old Medicine?
"I'm satisfied just knowing you have that intention."
"For now, focus on cultivating. Once your strength is sufficient, I'll teach you how to handle these things."
Old Medicine spoke with a smile. This little fellow had a good heart. From what he could see so far, taking this disciple had not been in vain.
"Don't worry, Teacher. I'll definitely rebuild your physical body."
"By the way, Teacher, do you know what level in this world corresponds to a Dou Wang in yours?"
Lin Xiao voiced his question. Since he could only cultivate to Soul King, he had to clarify exactly what Douluo rank this Soul King corresponded to.
Before you continue