(Thanks to book friend 202603103979 for the recommendation ticket, and thank you!)
"Lin Huai, what is that Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well? Why was Yue Guan there?"
Lin Huai took the lead box.
"A treasure trove. It can speed up the growth of plants, and rare flowers and herbs grow there, too."
Bibi Dong was speechless. No wonder Yue Guan had been gone all these days—he'd gone off to farm.
"Your Holiness, would you like to go to Heaven Dou City to see Xiao Xue?"
Silence fell for a long while.
"Better not. I still haven't figured out how to face her."
"You've met her?"
Lin Huai looked at Bibi Dong. As expected of mother and daughter; their personalities were much the same.
"I saw her the last time I went to obtain a Soul Ring. She reminded me a little of you, Your Holiness."
Bibi Dong said slowly:
"From now on, call me Aunt Dong. It'll feel more familiar."
After returning to the Worship Hall, Lin Huai told Qian Daoliu about Asura God and Tang San.
Qian Daoliu let out a long sigh.
"It seems the God Ancestor really has passed away!"
Afraid Qian Daoliu would suffer a collapse of faith, Lin Huai hurriedly spoke up.
"Teacher, you don't need to worry. After I devoured that divine thought earlier, my Martial Soul passed a memory on to me."
"I didn't."
Hearing Malenia's voice ring out in his mind again, Lin Huai's voice faltered.
Why couldn't this sister be a little more flexible? Fortunately, Teacher couldn't hear her.
"The Divine Realm has God Kings, First-, Second-, and Third-Level Gods, divine officials, and Angel Hunters."
"There are only five God Kings. Angel God and the Rakshasa God from before were First-Level Gods, while Asura God this time is one of the Five Great God Kings."
Qian Daoliu's expression grew grimmer.
"But with the other God Kings around, Asura God can't interfere with the continent at will."
"Besides, we have the advantage now. Sister Xiao Xue's Martial Soul has grown stronger, too. Maybe she can become a God King!"
"Most importantly, I also have what it takes to become a god!"
Qian Daoliu finally relaxed and smiled.
"First, you should deal with the Scarlet Rot."
"Take it one step at a time. We old fellows are still here, so don't rush to shoulder the burden."
Seeing that Qian Daoliu hadn't suffered a collapse of faith, Lin Huai breathed a sigh of relief.
He then told Qian Daoliu that there was another continent called the Sun Moon Continent, where advanced Soul Tool Technology existed.
Qian Daoliu was stunned and murmured:
"After I'd traveled across the continent and its islands, I thought the world was only this big."
"When I first heard of the God Ancestor's great deeds, I thought they were the strongest."
"Today! I've finally realized how insignificant I am!"
"Don't say that, Teacher."
Lin Huai comforted him.
"On this continent, you're the strongest fighter."
Ignoring his own disciple's reassurance, Qian Daoliu said:
"Once I've taken care of a few things, I'll go to the Sun Moon Continent."
Lin Huai reminded him:
"Remember to bring a few Soul Tools that can hold living creatures. That way, you can bring back some talent."
Qian Daoliu waved a hand, his pride returning to his voice.
"No need. Back then, 'Invincible of the Sky' didn't just mean I could fly fast. Once I passed above the clouds, the constant sunlight kept me at my peak, and even my wounds healed quickly!"
"If we'd fought above the clouds, I could've beaten the other two Level 99 Titled Douluo even if they'd joined forces, and still held one hand behind my back!"
Holy crap, so Bo Saixi wasn't the only one who could draw on the sea's power and fight two people at once. Qian Daoliu could draw on the sun's power, too.
"Teacher, you're ridiculously strong!"
Qian Daoliu thoroughly enjoyed his clever disciple's praise, but still gave Lin Huai a warning.
"Don't slack off on your training while I'm away. I'll put you to the test when I return!"
Lin Huai answered solemnly:
"Don't worry, Teacher. I won't joke around with my life."
Qian Daoliu left the Worship Hall to make the necessary arrangements.
Lin Huai rubbed his chin.
"Looks like I need to change Teacher's habit of charging headfirst into big moves. Showing off your strengths—that's what fighting is all about."
He took out the lead box containing the Soul Bone and was about to absorb it when Malenia's voice rang out again.
"Please don't perform such a disgusting ritual as 'grafting'!"
Lin Huai looked at the alluring blue Soul Bone, then fought back the urge and put it back in the lead box.
Lin Huai tried to justify himself, somewhat relieved:
"This isn't 'grafting.' It's a transformation of power."
"That power isn't yours. It'll taint your power, too!"
Lin Huai was puzzled.
"What about absorbing a Soul Ring? That's a Soul Beast's power, too."
Malenia's voice continued to echo in his mind.
"That's true. So absorbing a Soul Ring taints your power, too.
"But when you absorb a Soul Ring, you're actually drawing on my power. Your first Soul Skill is my lunge."
"It's just that the rules give the skill an attack-enhancing effect."
Lin Huai pondered this, then asked one last question.
"If one day you get a body of your own, what does that make me?"
"I've wasted a whole year reading!"
Malenia's voice was tinged with helplessness.
"You can learn my skills through long training, or through talent."
"But Soul Beasts have their own meridians, and humans have theirs."
"Even if you learn to breathe fire from your mouth like a Soul Beast, the pathways your Soul Power follows are still different."
Lin Huai understood at once and exclaimed in wonder:
"So when I absorb a Soul Ring, you carve your skills and the experience behind them onto it, turning them into my Soul Skills?"
"Exactly!"
"And other people's Soul Skills are formed by using the Soul Ring to follow the Soul Power pathways inside the Soul Beast's body, then gathering that power into a skill?"
"Not exactly. Under this world's rules, after someone absorbs a Soul Ring, the Soul Power pathways of the Soul Beast on the ring are altered slightly to better suit human use.
"For example, a Soul Ring engraved with a charge skill might produce a flame charge skill for someone with a fire-type Martial Soul, or an acceleration skill for someone with a speed-type Martial Soul."
"But those still aren't pathways that the human body can naturally use. Some of the pain during Soul Ring absorption comes from the Soul Power forcibly opening pathways for the skill."
Lin Huai was deeply shaken. No wonder some people on the forums in his previous life said that the cultivation method in Douluo Continent was twisted and unreasonable.
So he hadn't been wrong when he'd held forth to Qian Daoliu earlier.
The voice in his mind sounded again.
"Still, under this world's rules, those few pathways from a Soul Beast won't turn someone into an animal. They remain fully human, even though Soul Beast Soul Power pathways appear inside their bodies. That's a fact, too."
"So don't absorb Soul Bones. They change your meridians even more."
Thinking of Bibi Dong and Tang San's Twin Martial Souls, six Soul Bones, and External Soul Bones, Lin Huai wondered: would they still count as human?
Lin Huai voiced his doubts.
"Under this world's rules, Bibi Dong still counts as human. What you're describing won't happen. Otherwise, this world would've been overrun by beastmen long ago.
"So, by the same logic, Tang San should count as human, too."
Right! Otherwise, the powerful would have children with one another, and then those children would grow strong and do the same... Wouldn't the whole world end up full of beastmen?
"But a person with nine rings and six bones—or even eighteen rings and seven bones, as you described—would be someone even Godrick would find repulsive in the Lands Between."
Lin Huai shuddered.
If even little Godrick—Godrick the Grafted—found them repulsive, they must be truly repulsive.
When he heard what Malenia said next, a rare look of embarrassment appeared on Lin Huai's face.
"So don't worry. Having relations with women from this world is perfectly ethical.
"Of course, if you want to get together with the Pope and Qian Renxue at the same time, then that's..."
Before you continue