In the end, with Cao Xin's help, Lin Yuan hunted down a Soul Ring he was satisfied with in the Rust Wasteland.
It came from a thirty-thousand-year-old mutated Red Iron Earth Dragon whose bloodline had regressed to its ancestral form. Its strength had already come infinitely close to that of a Soul Saint.
He swallowed an Earth Dragon Golden Core.
Relying on Jade Dragon-Slayer's innate ability, he used his life force to forcibly absorb this Soul Ring, which surpassed his limit by three thousand years.
In Ju Zi's eyes, Lin Yuan had become a man of blood.
The wounds on his body split open, then healed, only to split open again. It was sheer madness.
She completely understood why Lin Yuan could be so strong. Aside from his talent, he also had the willpower to come back from the brink of death again and again.
Cao Xin wasn't exactly calm, either. Every time this kid absorbed a Soul Ring, he made Cao Xin's heart leap into his throat.
But seeing Lin Yuan's aura remain firmly suppressed, operating steadily without the slightest ripple, Cao Xin smiled in approval.
I, Cao Xin, might actually be able to raise a god.
Though several factions had joined forces to bet on him, Lin Yuan truly bore Cao Xin's influence.
With the Soul Ring absorbed, Lin Yuan opened his eyes, exhausted, and fell backward.
"Now the five kinds of origin power—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—that will lay the foundation for your Soul Cores are ready. All you need to do now is steadily accumulate power before you can begin the first hybrid condensation."
The God of Destruction stabilized Lin Yuan's Lung Metal. Five balls of light, each representing one of the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—orbiting above the Sea of Consciousness.
Even after absorbing a thirty-thousand-year Soul Ring, Lin Yuan's Soul Power remained at level thirty-one.
That was the accumulation Lin Yuan needed. Condensing a Soul Core required Soul Power at least at the Soul Saint level.
Furthermore, his Soul Power had to be highly condensed and meet the required standard. After all, a Soul Core was formed by condensing one's own Soul Power.
If he used a Milk Bottle Soul Tool, the quality of his Soul Power definitely wouldn't meet the standard.
So, aside from the energy and medicinal properties that nourished his bloodline, Lin Yuan stored away all the energy that would otherwise increase his Soul Power, compressing it day after day.
His Soul Power would improve much more slowly over these five years. That was necessary.
If he only wanted to condense his first Soul Core, rapidly raising his level to thirty-nine would be enough.
Then he could go into seclusion at the Earth Dragon Sect and condense it with the help of the Ten Thousand Year Cold Marrow.
But doing that would make condensing his second Soul Core more difficult.
It would be better to prepare for both the first and second condensations before he began condensing Soul Cores.
"Teacher, how are my origin powers coming along?" Lin Yuan had noticed something odd.
The ball of light representing wood among the five was much smaller than the others.
It was even smaller than the earth origin power, which was second smallest—only half the size of the largest, the fire and water origin powers.
"You noticed." The God of Destruction pointed to the wood origin power.
"Though immortal-grade medicinal pills are all made from herbal ingredients, they do very little to replenish your wood attribute."
"The reason is that, although these treasures are plants, they are also natural treasures nurtured by heaven and earth. They don't contain that much wood attribute to begin with."
"If Xiao Lu's calculations are right, even if you absorb every type of pill, you still won't be able to make up for the shortfall in your wood attribute."
"Ah, then what do I do? Should I add a Soul Ring to my Second Martial Soul? A hundred-thousand-year wood-attribute Soul Ring?" Lin Yuan asked, holding up Jade Dragon-Slayer.
"That is indeed one way," the Goddess of Life said with a smile.
"Actually, it doesn't have to be wood. Life attribute will work too." A cheerful expression appeared on the God of Destruction's face.
Seeing how pleased the two of them looked, Lin Yuan immediately realized they had already thought of a solution.
"Do you two have some special plan? You look like you're up to no good." Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes and pointed at them with a comical expression.
"Spend enough time together and you become a mind reader, kid. We plan to collect a little interest from Tang San," the God of Destruction said with a wicked grin.
"No matter what, you can't absorb a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring right now. Even the innate Soul Skill Gold of Life granted you can only do this much."
The Goddess of Life smiled tenderly, though there was a distinctly wicked edge to her smile.
"But that only applies to ordinary hundred-thousand-year Plant-type Soul Beasts. As it happens, we know of one that's perfect for you. And if nothing unexpected happens, it has an immense life attribute that can make your wood-attribute Soul Core, the one that will act as a stabilizer, exceptionally powerful!" The God of Destruction's grin grew more and more ferocious.
"Master, Mistress, stop keeping me in suspense. There's no way I'd guess it," Lin Yuan said with a rueful frown.
"All right, we won't keep you waiting. Have you heard of Ah Yin? Tang San's mother, the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor."
"This... you're going that far?" Lin Yuan was shocked.
He'd gotten lucky at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, but there was no way God King Tang was unprepared for this.
After all, she was his mother. Filial to a fault, God King Tang treasured these adoptive parents of his above everything else.
"As far as I know, Tang San tied his mother to the Tree of Life on Douluo Continent. If nothing unexpected has happened, Ah Yin should be at the roots of the Tree of Life right now," the God of Destruction said.
"And because she has to compete with the Life Core for control over an extended period, that Blue Silver Grass is constantly being drained. No matter what, absorbing her won't be as difficult as absorbing a fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast, so you can absorb her boldly, Xiao Yuan," the Goddess of Life said with a smile.
"Would Tang San discover us?" Lin Yuan asked the question that mattered most to him.
The two of them smiled and shook their heads. "No."
"This is a very private matter, after all. If Tang San keeps sending down divine power, something could go wrong," the God of Destruction explained.
"And from what I know of Shrek, not even that Silver Dragon can break into this place."
Lin Yuan thought it over. That did make sense.
If the Silver Dragon King really ignored all else and set out to destroy Shrek—
Then Mu En would shout something about glory, ancestors, and honor before plunging headfirst into the Ancient Tree of Life.
Then Sea God's Light would go boom, boom, boom, and they could hold out until Da Ming, Er Ming, or a god came to their aid.
"Conveniently, every generation of young disciples from the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect has a few who enroll at Shrek for further training. That gives me a perfectly legitimate reason to sneak in." Lin Yuan looked at his Martial Soul.
His Martial Soul's bloodline was still a tier weaker than Wu Feng's, let alone Nan Qiuqiu's.
As long as he made up some story about having a Flying Dragon Martial Soul, the school would see his Soul Ring Configuration and how weak his bloodline was. They definitely wouldn't pay him much attention.
Lin Yuan didn't know about the other teachers, but he knew that old Xuan Zi would.
As long as that drunken old fool said his Martial Soul wasn't strong and wasn't worth much, the higher-ups wouldn't keep such a close eye on him.
Besides that, Lin Yuan really wanted to experience the Sea God Pavilion's cultivation room at Shrek.
He also wanted to get close to Huo Yuhao, the Son of Destiny, and try to seize whatever opportunities might come his way.