"A-Rui, I caught that three-thousand-year Diamond Bear you wanted." Du Busi flew back with the bear, which he had beaten half to death with one punch, and dropped it in front of Lin Rui. "Three thousand years exactly."
The Diamond Bear lay there on its last breath. It had only gone out to hunt, never imagining a Super Douluo would corner it outside its den and say, "Exactly three thousand years. Perfect for my precious disciple to absorb."
Then the man had nearly killed it with one punch.
Lin Rui stepped up to the dying bear without a word, smashed its skull with one punch, and put it out of its misery.
A three-thousand-year Soul Ring slowly rose from the corpse.
He immediately sat cross-legged and began absorbing it.
Du Busi landed and sat on the grass nearby, chin propped on one hand, watching Lin Rui intently. If anything went wrong, he would interrupt at once. This boy was the Body Sect's future successor. Nothing could happen to him.
Five minutes later, Lin Rui opened his eyes. He was done.
"?" Du Busi had expected the boy to take a full day and night or something. How had it only been five minutes?
That fast?!
"Teacher, I've finished absorbing it," Lin Rui said, feeling life energy continuously surging through his body.
"You little..." Du Busi stood, walked over, and gripped Lin Rui's arm to check his body. "Are you even human?" he asked in disbelief.
Most people needed at least an hour to absorb a hundred-year Soul Ring, sometimes a full day and night. This boy had absorbed a three-thousand-year ring as his first Soul Ring in five minutes.
Lin Rui knew why Du Busi was so shocked. He was shocked too. He had expected it to take an hour, but five minutes? That... was way too fast!
In the end, Du Busi attributed it to the innate properties of Lin Rui's Life Attribute Body Martial Soul. His own Body Martial Soul carried poison, and its toxicity grew stronger each time he absorbed a Soul Ring. Lin Rui's ability to absorb a Thousand-year Soul Ring must likewise stem from his Life Attribute.
Having worked that out, Du Busi couldn't help patting Lin Rui on the shoulder. "Hahaha... Heaven truly favors my Body Sect!"
Du Busi had thought Lin Rui was a genius like himself and his elder brother. Now he believed the boy was a once-in-an-era prodigy who would undoubtedly surpass them both!
At last, heaven had shown the Body Sect some mercy.
Du Busi was overjoyed. "A-Rui, what does your first soul skill do?"
"It greatly strengthens my body. Why don't you hit me using the strength of a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, Teacher?" Lin Rui replied. His first soul skill enhanced his entire body and the life force within it. He called it Life Feedback.
Bam!
The moment Lin Rui finished speaking, Du Busi struck. He used the strength of a Soul Elder, though. The Little One had absorbed a Thousand-year Soul Ring; using only a Soul Grandmaster's strength against him would be an insult.
Lin Rui: "?"
He shot away like a cannonball from a Soul Tool, the air whistling around him. Over hundreds of meters, he snapped dozens of ancient trees in half, sending wood chips raining down.
Despite those violent impacts, he hadn't so much as scraped his skin. He twisted slightly in midair, regained his balance, and landed without raising a speck of dust. Then he looked up at Du Busi, who had appeared before him.
Du Busi studied Lin Rui, surprise flashing in his eyes before giving way to keen interest. He hadn't used his full strength, but that punch could have seriously injured an ordinary Soul Elder. Yet his disciple stood there unscathed.
"Interesting." A playful smile tugged at his lips. "How about a Soul Ancestor?" Before he finished speaking, his fist came at Lin Rui with a fierce rush of Soul Power, leaving his disciple no time to react.
A tremendous force slammed into Lin Rui's chest. He flew backward again and struck a distant cliff face, shaking loose a shower of stones.
Once he caught his breath, Lin Rui rubbed his chest and regretted his request. I should never have asked. Teacher hits way too hard! I don't enjoy getting beaten up. I'm not some masochist!
He truly wasn't injured, but the life energy within him was being consumed at a frantic rate, while his Soul Power had barely diminished.
Lin Rui suddenly realized his soul skill might consume his own life force rather than Soul Power. That...
"Teacher," he called to Du Busi, who had appeared in front of him again.
"What is it?" Du Busi asked curiously. "Want me to try Soul King strength next?"
"I'm hungry," Lin Rui said, then promptly fainted.
Du Busi: "..."
Hold on. You just ate three large soul beasts and a Soft Bone Rabbit. You're hungry again already? Hungry enough to pass out?
Having lived nearly a century, Du Busi immediately understood what was happening. He stroked his chin. "Interesting... It doesn't consume Soul Power, but the life force inside A-Rui instead? What an unusual Body Martial Soul."
Du Busi carefully lifted the unconscious Lin Rui onto his back and went to roast some meat for him.
Lin Rui's arrival had instantly eased Du Busi's anxiety about the Body Sect's future. He had considered having the sect withdraw from the world, but now all he needed to do was watch the Little One grow and protect him along the way. He could ask for nothing more.
When the time came, he could finally go see his elder brother.
"Heaven truly favors my Body Sect!" Du Busi sighed. His gaze softened further as he glanced at the child on his back.
In the Sun Moon Empire's imperial prince's residence, First Prince Xu Tianran read the information his subordinates had submitted. "Old Kong has taken on a new disciple? A personal disciple?"
As the Sun Moon Empire's first prince, Xu Tianran very much wanted to win over Kong Deming, the empire's foremost expert. Many of its older Soul Engineers had received Kong Deming's guidance. Even the Level-9 Soul Engineer from the Hongchen family, though not his personal disciple, had studied under him.
Now Kong Deming had taken on another personal disciple, one with the same standing as Xuan Ziwen.
Xu Tianran had no hope of winning over Xuan Ziwen. The man was obsessed with Soul Tools and nearly impossible to recruit.
But perhaps he could win over Old Kong's new disciple?
Lin Fan's martial soul and Innate Soul Power were both exceptional, after all.
"A Body Martial Soul, a mental attribute, and Innate Full Soul Power. What an enviable talent." Reading the report, Xu Tianran couldn't help lowering his gaze to the lower half of his body. Anger and jealousy filled his eyes before finally fading into a sigh. "Find a time to meet him." He held the report to a candle and watched it slowly burn away.
Before you continue