When his consciousness returned to reality, Lin Yuan realized he had no idea when he'd been cleaned up.
Now he was wrapped in a blanket, leaning against a rock on the wasteland with a crackling campfire before him.
"Awake?" Cao Xin handed Lin Yuan a grilled fish.
"What Soul Skill did you get?"
"A defensive Soul Skill. I'm calling it Destruction Dragon Scale." Lin Yuan answered, taking a big bite.
His Soul Ring lit up, and a layer of illusory purple-black dragon scales appeared over his body.
Cao Xin slapped Lin Yuan on the shoulder. Purple-black Destruction energy surged over his palm like a blaze.
Cao Xin shook his hand, then tried to drive the Destruction flames away with Soul Power.
But no matter what he did, he couldn't shake them off. To keep the Destruction energy from harming his body, Cao Xin had to spend the equivalent of a Soul Grandmaster's Soul Power every second to defend himself.
Lin Yuan snapped his fingers, and the Destruction energy vanished from Cao Xin's palm.
The Soul Skill gave Lin Yuan an enormous boost to his defense and a slight increase in attack power.
Its damage-reflection and blood-burning effects were even more powerful, especially against physical attacks that made direct contact.
The harder someone struck Lin Yuan, the deeper the Destruction energy would invade their body—and the harder it would be to remove.
"An all-around boost, suppressive pressure, and complete defense. For a Golden Battle Soul Master, you're practically perfect," Cao Xin said with a laugh.
"It's only a matter of time before your dragon-type Martial Soul gets a dragon's breath skill. Why do you always get Soul Skills that suit you whenever you hunt?"
"I guess I'm lucky." Lin Yuan could only smile helplessly. He couldn't exactly say there was a God King of Destruction inside him, too.
A fair little hand appeared before Lin Yuan, holding out another grilled fish.
He looked up to see Ju Zi watching him with an expressionless face.
"How does it taste?"
"If my teeth were stronger, I'd eat the bones along with the fish." Lin Yuan grinned sheepishly as he accepted the fish Ju Zi offered him.
He'd been so busy talking with Cao Xin about Soul Skills that he'd wolfed down the first fish without taking the time to savor it.
As you'd expect from a chef's daughter, she could make the meat juicy and leave a fragrant taste on the tongue with just a few simple seasonings.
Even so, it still wasn't as good as Lao Huo's cooking. If he got the chance, Lin Yuan really wanted to find out what Huo-style Grilled Fish tasted like.
At Lin Yuan's praise, Ju Zi's pretty face flushed faintly. In the firelight, she looked like a ripe fruit.
In terms of looks, Ju Zi was every bit as beautiful as Wu Feng and Nan Qiuqiu.
And unlike those two girls, she was already nearly done growing into her looks.
"Ahem." Cao Xin coughed twice, drawing Lin Yuan's attention.
"Teacher, can even a Titled Douluo catch a cold?"
Cao Xin: "..."
"Little Yuan, your teacher's been around the block. I've got some thoughts on cultivation I'd like to share with you."
Lin Yuan turned his head and listened attentively.
Cao Xin brought out his Martial Soul, the Affectionate Sword, and showed it to Lin Yuan.
"Your teacher usually fights with the Affectionate Sword, but there are some things one sword alone can't handle."
"That's why I usually keep two swords on hand, sometimes even three. There's nothing shameful about that."
Lin Yuan immediately understood what Cao Xin meant. His teacher was hinting at something.
"But after using more swords, I realized that if I leave one unused for too long, I completely lose the feel of wielding it."
"It might even turn against its master. You understand what I'm saying, right?" Cao Xin put his Martial Soul away and regarded Lin Yuan with a solemn look.
"Gulp." Lin Yuan swallowed.
He thought of Kakyoin, who'd been killed single-handedly by [The World]. It really could end that way.
"I understand, Teacher. I'll love every one of my swords equally." Lin Yuan bowed deeply to Cao Xin, looking thoroughly enlightened.
Cao Xin nodded approvingly. "Good. As long as you understand."
With nearly two hundred years of life experience, Cao Xin understood one thing very well.
Ning Zhiyuan had sixteen concubines. If even his father-in-law couldn't manage that, people shouldn't be restricted by rules about it.
The Shrek Seven Devils were the exception, not the rule. And before they became gods, their private lives hadn't exactly earned them good reputations either.
The official histories of the continent didn't record these things, but old, venerable clans like the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect had their own records.
Ju Zi tilted her head in confusion. It seemed she still didn't know much about Soul Master cultivation.
She couldn't understand a single word of what the master and disciple had said about swordsmanship. Sure enough, she was only suited to being a Soul Engineer.
Lin Yuan suddenly felt something was off. Cao Xin was a loner—what experience could he have to advise him?
He shook his head and let it go, then turned to ask Ju Zi, "Ju Zi, I wanted to ask why you were in that cave."
"I sensed your Soul Power Levels. None of you needed a Soul Ring, did you?"
Lin Yuan wanted to understand why the threads of Ju Zi and the others' fates had changed.
If he hadn't shown up, Ju Zi and the others would certainly have died beneath the Red Iron Earth Dragon's claws.
Then they'd never have met Lao Huo later, and the Sun Moon Empire's invasion of the Douluo Three Kingdoms wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
This was no small change to fate. Lin Yuan knew that his presence could create a butterfly effect and change the course of many things.
But Ju Zi was connected to the fates of so many people, so he wanted to learn more.
Ju Zi channeled Soul Power into her Storage Soul Tool, and a red, crystal-like ore appeared in her hand.
"It's this Lava Crystal. It's a precious ore found in the lava region. We went deep into the cave to investigate it."
Ju Zi noticed that the two of them had developed strange expressions, as if something had occurred to them.
"Have you seen it before?" Ju Zi asked, puzzled.
"No, we haven't." The master and disciple shook their heads in unison.
Back then, Cao Xin had blasted the ground with his sword to create a path for Lin Yuan to train in the lava.
Who'd have thought that the danger these people had faced had been caused by the master and disciple? It seemed that all things came together by fate.
Ju Zi eyed them suspiciously, but decided it wasn't a big deal and put the crystal back in her Soul Tool.
"Little Yuan, you've gotten used to the lava here. It's about time to move on to the next place, isn't it?"
Cao Xin took out the map and studied it, wondering whether they should go to Thunder Canyon or the Psychedelic Forest.
There were only a few places left in the Sun Moon Empire. Once they'd visited them all, they would have to head to the Far North or the ocean.
According to Lan Fozi, there was an Ice Sea far to the south.
They could travel there with Lan Fozi and train. Cao Xin would be fortunate enough to visit a place no human had ever reached.
"We don't have to rush. I'm planning to return to Mingdu first," Lin Yuan said as he ate his grilled fish.
"Why?"
In response to Cao Xin's question, Lin Yuan looked at Ju Zi.
"I've learned that there are several geniuses at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy whom we could try to recruit."
"We couldn't get in before, but now we can use Ju Zi to try and get past the entrance."