Innate Emperor Realm Soul

"Old man, old man, you should teach me alchemy now!" Xiao Jin tapped the antique Storage Ring worn on his right index finger, without the slightest hint of respect on his face.

A moment later, a translucent soul figure slowly drifted out of the Storage Ring. His aged face was filled with helplessness.

"Little fellow, I've already taught you everything I can. Why do you keep pestering me?"

Xiao Jin curled his lips. "Old man, who are you trying to fool? Don't think I don't know your identity. You're the Pill Tower Ancestor, an expert who stood on the same level as Xiao Xuan back then, and the greatest Alchemist on the continent. Now you're telling me that this is all you know, and that you think children are easy to deceive?"

The Pill Tower Ancestor was both amused and exasperated. "Little fellow, how many times do I have to tell you? Although you possess an Innate Emperor Realm Soul, your physical strength is far too weak. Even if I gave you the formula for a Seventh-Grade Medicinal Pill right now, would your Dou Ling-level strength be able to withstand the Pill Lightning?"

"I can't withstand it, but my soul can." Xiao Jin didn't think there was anything wrong with him. An Emperor Realm Soul could rival an Eight-Star Dou Sheng through soul power alone.

If they were talking about the Nine Profound Golden Lightning, then he really couldn't withstand it.

But mere Pill Lightning didn't even have any color to it. If he couldn't withstand that, wouldn't it be a joke?

Wasn't that looking down on the might of a Dou Sheng expert a little too much?

The Pill Tower Ancestor let out a soft sigh. "The power of an Emperor Realm Soul is indeed virtually inexhaustible, but before your physical strength catches up, you'd better not use it too much. Haven't you noticed that you've been stuck at the Nine-Star Dou Ling stage for an entire year?"

Xiao Jin fell silent for a moment. Only after a while did he ask suspiciously, "Is there a connection between the two?"

"Of course. The soul and the body are like a person's two legs; neither can be missing. During ancient times, none of the continent's peak experts failed to cultivate both. If one was missing, they would be lame. Your constitution is extraordinary. Being able to withstand the power of an Emperor Realm Soul from birth is truly astonishing. But if you rely on your soul power blindly without making up for your physical shortcomings, one day your body will be unable to contain this enormous power."

The Pill Tower Ancestor was very optimistic about the little fellow before him. It wasn't only because he had awakened by nourishing his soul with Xiao Jin's soul power, but also because Xiao Jin possessed a talent he had never seen before.

As one of the Five Great Supreme Experts on the continent a thousand years ago, he had met the other four supreme experts and even fought them.

Of the five, he alone was an Alchemist.

Therefore, his soul power was also the strongest among them.

Although Xiao Xuan, Gu Yuan, and Soul Heaven Emperor also possessed Emperor Realm Souls, there were differences in strength even within the same realm.

Otherwise, during the Battle of the Two Emperors, how could Soul Heaven Emperor have been suppressed by Xiao Yan?

Therefore, when it came to understanding souls, if the Pill Tower Ancestor ranked second on the entire continent, no one would dare claim first place.

He didn't know Xiao Jin's origins. He only knew that when he awakened, he found himself trapped inside a Storage Ring.

The Storage Ring contained many treasures that even made him envious.

Medicinal pills were piled as high as mountains, including no shortage of Eighth- and Ninth-Grade Medicinal Pills—treasures enough to make Dou Zuns and Dou Shengs turn red-eyed and go mad.

Bundles of high-grade materials had been tied together like worthless bean stalks and casually piled in a corner of the Storage Ring.

An astonishingly vast collection of cultivation methods and Dou Techniques had been tossed around as casually as Yellow-Tier Low-Grade Cultivation Methods in the Xiao Clan Library.

Even Heavenly Flames, which made every Alchemist envious, were present in the Storage Ring—and there was more than one.

But before he could examine them carefully, he was drawn along by a vast soul power.

When he discovered that this soul power actually came from a newborn baby, he was completely dumbfounded.

An Innate Emperor Realm Soul?

How were old men like them, who had cultivated for hundreds of years before breaking through to the Emperor Realm Soul, supposed to face that?

What puzzled him even more was that the birth of an Emperor Realm Soul was bound to be accompanied by heavenly phenomena. Yet after a long time, he still couldn't detect anything unusual.

Aside from the lone infant lying in the Magic Beast Mountain Range and chewing on his own fingers, the Pill Tower Ancestor couldn't detect any other aura.

Fortunately, his soul had already awakened. Though he was extremely weak, taking the infant out of the Magic Beast Mountain Range was still within his ability.

He found the nearest city and placed the infant Xiao Jin at the entrance of a wealthy household.

Of course, he hadn't chosen that wealthy household at random. His vast and majestic soul power allowed him to hear the conversations of everyone in the city.

That was enough for him to learn the family's character.

Later, the head of that household adopted the infant and gave him the name Xiao Jin.

When Xiao Jin began cultivating at the age of four, he naturally sensed the Pill Tower Ancestor residing within the Storage Ring.

The Pill Tower Ancestor knew that his awakening was entirely thanks to Xiao Jin's vast soul power.

For some reason, he had a feeling that the two of them shared a deep connection.

After revealing a little of his ability, he smoothly took Xiao Jin as his disciple.

However, although they were nominally master and disciple, their relationship was more like that of old friends despite their age difference.

To the Pill Tower Ancestor, someone who possessed an Emperor Realm Soul was qualified to be his friend.

Not to mention that Xiao Jin also possessed cultivation talent that could only be called heaven-defying.

In the original story, Xiao Yan began refining Dou Qi at four, reached the Ninth Stage Dou Force at ten, and broke through to become a Dou Zhe at eleven. The Xiao Clan regarded him as a once-in-a-century genius who was destined to become a Dou Emperor in the future.

But Xiao Jin was even more monstrous. He began refining Dou Qi at four and reached the Ninth Stage Dou Force at six.

The following year, he broke through to become a Dou Zhe. Within that same year, he advanced to Dou Shi, and one year later, he became a Da Dou Shi.

At eleven, he became a Dou Ling. Now, at fifteen, he had already reached the Nine-Star Dou Ling realm.

And that was after being stuck for an entire year.

The Pill Tower Ancestor had never seen such talent, even during the ancient era when geniuses emerged in abundance, and Xiao Jin had achieved it without relying on bloodline power.

If Xiao Jin's cultivation talent could be called terrifying, then his talent in alchemy was simply monstrous.

Had anyone ever seen a Fifth-Grade Alchemist who was only fifteen years old?

Of course, Xiao Jin's ability to reach this point couldn't be separated from the assistance of his Emperor Realm Soul.

Besides that, the guidance of the Pill Tower Ancestor and the virtually inexhaustible resources in the Storage Ring were also crucial to his progress.

Only a handful of people knew about all this.

As a transmigrator, how could Xiao Jin not know where he had appeared?

To avoid attracting attention, he hadn't participated in the clan's adult tests in previous years.

But this year, he probably wouldn't be able to avoid it. According to the Xiao Clan's rules, every Xiao Clan descendant had to reach the Seventh Stage Dou Disciple before turning sixteen. Otherwise, they could only leave the Xiao Clan's inner circle and go to the Outer Sect to manage the clan's businesses.

Of course, Xiao Jin himself didn't care where he ended up. With the Pill Tower Ancestor's guidance, the vast resources provided by the Storage Ring, and his own special circumstances, he was destined to become a powerful expert in the future.

But he couldn't trample Xiao Zhan's dignity into the dirt.

Although he was an adopted son, Xiao Zhan had genuinely treated him well over the years. His treatment was exactly the same as that of Xiao Yan, his biological son. Whenever the two of them had conflicts as children, their old father never showed favoritism. Whoever was responsible bore the blame.

After hearing the Pill Tower Ancestor's analysis of soul power, Xiao Jin was disappointed, but he still nodded helplessly. "Fine, old man. I'll let you off today."

The Pill Tower Ancestor's beard bristled with anger. "I'm your teacher, at least in name. Can't you show me a little respect?"

"Teacher? You should be grateful I haven't asked you for rent!" Xiao Jin curled his lips. Did the old man really think Xiao Jin had been an ignorant baby when he appeared in this world?

Without the nourishment of his Emperor Realm Soul, the Pill Tower Ancestor probably would have ended up like Yao Chen in the original story, who had never encountered Xiao Yan—reduced to ashes.

It was only because his Emperor Realm Soul was powerful enough that the Pill Tower Ancestor had managed to survive from ancient times until now.

Unable to outargue Xiao Jin, the Pill Tower Ancestor plunged headfirst into the Storage Ring and hid away in a huff.

Xiao Jin was speechless. "He really is an old child. He throws a tantrum whenever he hears something he doesn't like."

In any case, the Pill Tower Ancestor was old enough to be his great-great-great-great-grandfather. He had also devoted himself to teaching Xiao Jin alchemy over the years, so saying a few nice words wouldn't hurt.

He had just been about to soften his stance when a soft, pleasant voice came from outside the door.

"Brother Xiao Jin, are you in there?"