On Douluo Continent, deep in the quiet of night, inside a Spirit Hall Branch in Suotuo City.
An elderly man with a white beard stood alone in the library, searching for a book among rows of old, dust-covered shelves. "As expected, this era doesn't place much importance on theoretical knowledge. No wonder Yu Xiaogang can become the Grandmaster."
The old man pulled out a copy of Soul Beast Knowledge and put it in his backpack, then took out several more books and packed them away. But when he picked up another one, he fell silent: Ten Core Theories of Soul Masters, written by Yu Xiaogang. Looking at the book, he felt his eyes had been contaminated and tossed it straight onto the floor.
"What the hell is this? They even keep books like that." The old man grumbled as he continued searching. Soon, a book caught his attention: Hundred Types of Herbs, written by Yue Guan. He immediately picked it up and flipped through a few pages. Though the book was covered in dust, the writing was still perfectly legible. "I didn't expect to strike gold."
He promptly put the book in his backpack. After looking through a few more, he found nothing worthwhile and left with the books.
As soon as he stepped outside, some of the other deacons working late in the branch saw him. One of them greeted him at once. "Elder Lin, you're so old, yet you still enjoy reading?"
Everyone present had already noticed that the old man's bag was crammed full of books. They knew the veteran of the Spirit Hall Branch wanted to imitate that Grandmaster fellow and study theories about Martial Souls and Soul Beasts.
The old man smiled broadly at their question. "I'm old, and there's nothing else to do, so I just read a bit~ You all get back to work."
Watching him leave, the other deacons exchanged glances and said no more. The books in the library had been old for ages, and young people hardly ever went in there. Only a bunch of old fogies liked studying that stuff.
In a luxurious hotel in Suotuo City, a young man was practicing Calm Mind when the door suddenly clicked open. He ended his session, looked up at the old man who walked in, and raised an eyebrow. "That was quick?"
The old man set his heavy backpack down on the hotel's marble table with a soft thud.
He flicked his finger, and the crisp snap rang out particularly clearly in the quiet room. The next second, the deep wrinkles crisscrossing his face receded like a tide. His sagging skin instantly became smooth and firm, and the white in his hair vanished, leaving behind dazzling ice-blue locks that fell over his shoulders.
In the blink of an eye, the white-bearded old man had become a stunningly beautiful young man. His brows and eyes carried a lazy, nonchalant air. It was Lin Tian.
He turned to look at Lin Yan, whose face was full of curiosity and surprise, and a playful smile tugged at his lips. His tone was as casual as if he were discussing something trivial. "This era takes theoretical knowledge about Soul Masters even less seriously than I expected. Getting these books was a breeze."
As he spoke, he pulled Hundred Types of Herbs from his backpack and showed it to Lin Yan. "Guess who wrote this."
Lin Yan saw the four characters on the cover and seemed to guess the answer almost immediately. "Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan?"
"That's right." Lin Tian ran a hand through his blue hair. "I didn't expect to strike gold while digging for books. Truly cause for celebration."
In this version of Douluo Continent, apart from Tang San, no one understood antidotes better than Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan of Spirit Hall.
Unfortunately, no matter how much Yue Guan knew, he hadn't been as lucky as Tang San and stumbled upon the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. His knowledge had never found any use.
The book might contain the information they wanted.
"It really is a good find." Lin Yan nodded in agreement. Suddenly, he sensed something and immediately raised his head to speak to Lin Tian, who was still proudly showing off his treasure. "Guard me. The main body is calling for me."
Hearing this, Lin Tian immediately put away his smug expression and nodded. "Go ahead."
Lin Yan nodded and closed his eyes. Lin Tian might have been a little self-absorbed, but he was still very reliable.
Watching Lin Yan enter his meditative state, Lin Tian immediately locked the windows and door, then sat at the table and took out the books to study. By the time they learned that the First Soul Ring could be a Thousand-year Soul Ring, he had already absorbed a Hundred-Year Soul Ring. So he had to be much more careful when choosing his Second Soul Ring.
And then there was Dugu Bo's herb garden.
Lin Tian's First Soul Skill was related to Wisdom. It wasn't an offensive Soul Skill, but one that developed its user. It enhanced the brain's capacity, letting him enter a focused state more easily—for work, battle, and the like. Simply put, it gave him extreme concentration.
During the Dragon King era, Lin Nuo slowly opened his eyes. He could temporarily fuse with Lin Yan, passing on what his five senses perceived so that Lin Yan could experience and learn from the hammering that was about to come.
Lin Nuo could also learn twice as fast. It was somewhat like Borrowed Power, but its drawback was even more serious: the other body would fall into a dormant state. Without someone to protect it, that would be extremely dangerous.
Whenever he used this ability, he always asked whether someone was nearby to protect the other person.
These were fragments of his own soul. If he lost them, they would truly be gone.
Na'er, sitting beside Lin Nuo, noticed that his presence seemed to have changed. She watched him curiously and asked, "Brother, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Lin Nuo sensed the curiosity in Na'er's purple gemstone eyes and shook his head to show he was fine. Then he turned his gaze toward Tang Wuling's forging trial in the distance. With her Golden Dragon King Bloodline, she was astonishingly strong.
The moment Tang Wuling picked up the hammer, Mang Tian stopped underestimating the little girl with only three points of Innate Soul Power. Instead, he watched her with solemn curiosity.
Seeing that her brother didn't want to say more, Na'er didn't press him. Everyone had secrets. Her brother had his, and she had hers.
She looked at Tang Wuling as she picked up the hammer to forge, her eyes filled with complicated emotions. This freak of a girl with the Golden Dragon King Bloodline hadn't awakened it, yet she was already so strong.
At that moment, Lin Nuo used his spiritual power to share his senses with himself. Lin Yan asked, "Well? Which of you is stronger?"
"Obviously, I am," Lin Yan replied with a touch of arrogance.
"So confident?"
"Main body, strength and Authority are right here." Lin Yan's voice was filled with utmost seriousness, and there was an unquestionable pride in it. "No matter how she awakens in the future, she will always belong to us!"
"I understand." Lin Nuo folded his arms and continued watching. He had already accepted Lin Yan's words. With the resources of three eras, he, Lin Nuo, would one day stand above the heavens!
Tang Wuling struck the metal a total of 1,000 times with both hands. She had reached the entry level of basic Hundred Refinement, making Mang Tian completely change his attitude and acknowledge her. "I take back what I said earlier. You really are extraordinary. Just like that young man said, I underestimated you."
Hearing this, Tang Wuling bowed to Mang Tian, who had acknowledged her. "Thank you for the Coaching."
Mang Tian nodded and looked toward Lin Nuo in the distance. "Kid, you're next."
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