Lin Yuan shifted his attention to the Sea of Consciousness. At that moment, the God of Destruction had condensed a faint purple phantom, indistinct and hard to make out.
"Teacher, how much have you recovered?"
"Still not much." The phantom of the God of Destruction shook his head.
"Let's deal with your First Soul Ring first. Setting aside the fact that I can use Whale Rubber to increase its age, the Soul Beast you picked actually shows signs of a fire-attribute mutation."
"Signs of a fire-attribute mutation?" Lin Yuan spotted the key point. There was clearly more to the God of Destruction's words.
The phantom nodded. "If it were any other attribute, I wouldn't care. But fire is the most suitable for laying a foundation."
Lin Yuan reasonably suspected that the God of Destruction would have said the same even if it had been another attribute.
The God of Destruction seemed to take a deep breath before saying something that left Lin Yuan utterly shocked.
"Laying the foundation for a Soul Core."
"Laying the foundation for a Soul Core?!" Lin Yuan's expression was one of utter astonishment.
The God of Destruction nodded with satisfaction. He hadn't expected his disciple to be on the same wavelength as him.
Then Lin Yuan scratched his head, looking utterly confused. "What is laying the foundation for a Soul Core?"
Lin Yuan knew what a Soul Core was, but he didn't understand why it had come up when he was still just a little Soul Master.
Could he be expected to start shaping a Soul Core with his First Soul Ring?
"Since you don't know, why are you making such a shocked face?" The God of Destruction sounded a little exasperated.
"I don't understand it, but I'm still deeply shocked. See, I'm waiting for you to explain it to me, Teacher." Lin Yuan rubbed his hands together apologetically.
"Laying a Soul Core's foundation is a conjecture I just came up with. I've also studied the Soul Cores of Douluo Continent." The God of Destruction began to explain.
"Fire is violent and difficult to tame, but it can grant weak living beings the power to protect themselves. In a world without a Martial Soul cultivation system, fire is a good choice for a first path of cultivation."
"My idea is to use the principles of the Five Elements generating and overcoming one another, or the Four Phases, and draw on the attribute energy in your Soul Ring that you won't need to create a cultivation system for you with either five Soul Cores or four."
"That's incredible!" Lin Yuan was genuinely astonished.
He understood just how much the number of Soul Cores mattered. Each additional Soul Core brought a Soul Master an exponential increase in strength.
The God of Destruction nodded, not bothering to ask how a child this young knew how powerful Soul Cores were.
"I can extract the fire attribute from this Soul Ring and plant it in your origin. It'll gradually grow stronger along with you. The only cost is that your cultivation speed will slow down a little, which is no big deal. It's just a pity..."
"What's a pity?"
"It's just a pity that even though I know where this era's opportunities and good fortune lie, that still won't be enough to give you the potential for five Soul Cores. Four is the most you'll be able to manage." The phantom of the God of Destruction shook his head ruefully.
If he'd been able to keep the Golden Dragon King Divine Core in the spacetime passage back then, Lin Yuan would have had divine power on par with the Dragon God.
Then, once he broke through the bottleneck to godhood and converted his Soul Power into divine power through their Godhood Inheritance, killing Tang San would be as easy as killing a chicken.
Still, being one Soul Core short wouldn't make much difference to the bigger picture. Once Lin Yuan had fully matured, he would still be able to utterly crush Tang San.
The only difference was that the process wouldn't be quite so simple.
"Then at what level should I start condensing Soul Cores?" Lin Yuan asked the question he most wanted answered.
"Level thirty, perhaps. Not necessarily as soon as you reach thirty. In any case, you need to condense your first Soul Core before level forty."
After hearing the God of Destruction's words, Lin Yuan's expression immediately turned bitter.
Having his first Soul Core at the Soul Elder level sounded like it would feel incredible. Lin Yuan had no idea how good it would be.
But the process of condensing a Soul Core would definitely be an arduous tug-of-war. It seemed there weren't many easy days ahead of him.
"Let's absorb your First Soul Ring first. I'll use your Soul Power to enter the Soul Ring and pick out a good Soul Skill for you."
Lin Yuan immediately felt the Soul Power inside his body start to circulate in a strange way. He knew the God of Destruction had begun to act.
"So you need to hurry up and break through to the Soul Master level. You're too weak right now. I'm afraid to even draw on your Soul Power, in case I drain you dry."
Lin Yuan's consciousness returned to reality, but only an instant had passed outside.
"I'll take this one. Teacher, please protect me." Lin Yuan pointed firmly at the Soul Ring.
"Good lad. Take out the Whale Rubber. I'll melt it for you."
Lin Yuan handed the Whale Rubber to Cao Xin. Cao Xin cut off a piece, and the severed portion immediately melted.
Fire-attribute Soul Masters weren't the only ones who could generate heat. Once one's cultivation reached a high enough level, generating heat with Soul Power was a piece of cake.
Cao Xin moved swiftly. With a flick of his hand, he stuffed the melted Whale Rubber straight into Lin Yuan's mouth.
With his cheeks bulging, Lin Yuan immediately sat cross-legged and quickly swallowed the rubbery substance, which had a strong fishy smell.
Before the Whale Rubber's medicinal effects could take hold, Lin Yuan quickly drew the Tyrant Dragon's Soul Ring over his head.
"Ning Tian, you can absorb your Soul Ring later. Let's wait until Lin Yuan finishes absorbing his first." Seeing Lin Yuan close his eyes and begin absorbing the Soul Ring, Cao Xin spoke without turning around.
Ning Tian nodded obediently. She didn't understand the stakes, either.
"During the Soul Ring absorption process, you'll have to rely on your own mental strength and body to withstand the difficulties," the God of Destruction reminded him.
"After all, absorbing a Soul Ring means assimilating an external force into yourself. If you want to become a true powerhouse, you can't do without this tempering of your will."
Lin Yuan nodded with difficulty. The scorching medicinal power of the Whale Rubber and the pressure of the Soul Ring surged over him at the same time.
Outside, Cao Xin and Ning Tian saw a hint of pain cross Lin Yuan's face. Sweat naturally beaded across his forehead.
"Grandpa Cao, hurry and help Lin Yuan!" Ning Tian said anxiously.
"Wait. Don't panic." Cao Xin remained poised to act, his face full of astonishment.
Normally, Cao Xin should have stepped in to ease the pressure from the Whale Rubber's heat when Lin Yuan's breathing became unsteady.
Based on Cao Xin's past experience, Lin Yuan should indeed have started breathing unevenly before long under the two enormous pressures.
Although his expression showed pain, his breathing remained perfectly steady, as though neither pressure had affected him.
It was certainly strange, but didn't it show that Lin Yuan had exceptional aptitude for cultivating Soul Power, too?
In his nervousness, Cao Xin's expression grew expectant.
So he didn't intend to step in and ease the effects of the medicine. He wanted to see just how far this boy could go.