"There's dragon-type Martial Soul bloodline inside me?" Lin Yuan asked in confusion, feeling the power within him.
"It's very faint, but it's there."
"Dragon-type Martial Souls are top-tier Beast Martial Souls. The Destruction attribute I gave you has already reached the limit of this world's laws. From now on, do your best to absorb Soul Rings from dragon-type Martial Souls and make up for the weakness in your bloodline. That way, you can awaken a Martial Soul with both the ultimate Destruction attribute and a powerful dragon bloodline."
Lin Yuan nodded in understanding. He hardly dared imagine how powerful this Martial Soul would be once it had fully taken shape.
With such a powerful ultimate Destruction attribute, he could even set his sights on Di Tian for his ninth Soul Ring.
"But, Master, dragon-type Soul Beasts are rare to begin with. Dragon-type Soul Beasts with the Destruction attribute are even harder to find. I'm afraid my future Soul Rings will be a huge problem."
"There's no need for that." The God of Destruction spoke calmly.
"You only need to strengthen your dragon bloodline. Any other attributes and mixed bloodlines those dragons possess will naturally be stripped away when you absorb their Soul Rings. Just try to absorb Soul Beasts with as much true-dragon blood as possible."
"That powerful?!" Lin Yuan stared, dumbfounded.
Now even Di Tian seemed rather pleasant to look at. It wouldn't be unreasonable to take Di Tian as his ninth Soul Ring, would it?
And that great female dragon wasn't out of the question either. There was no purer pure-blooded dragon than her on the Douluo Continent.
This left Lin Yuan in a dilemma: would it be better to have a dragon wife by his side, or to have one hanging off him?
What a difficult choice.
Lin Yuan immediately withdrew his Martial Soul and began sensing the other power within him.
A soft, emerald-green light glowed. Once he got a clear look, he realized it was a jade-green sword.
Its name appeared in Lin Yuan's mind. He stroked the blade and softly called out its name.
"Jade Dragon-Slayer."
"That's right. This sword is the Martial Soul you should have awakened." The God of Destruction spoke.
"I bound the Seed of Life to your Martial Soul, giving it not only life-healing properties but also a tremendous boost to its basic qualities."
"Just based on those fundamental abilities, your Jade Dragon-Slayer's offensive power is already on par with top-tier Martial Souls."
Lin Yuan stared in astonishment. In other words, even without its immense life attribute, this sword had reached the ranks of top-tier Martial Souls through its basic stats alone.
That was even more outrageous than a top-tier Martial Soul.
Almost every top-tier Martial Soul had one or two special talents. Wasn't it terrifying enough that a plain sword could stand shoulder to shoulder with them?
"So, my sword can take offensive-attribute Soul Rings just like an ordinary Sword Martial Soul, right?"
"...In theory, yes. In any case, you don't need to worry about its attributes. Your master and your mistress both have top-tier attribute abilities."
"But I'd still like you to explore different ways of using life abilities. You can absolutely pursue the sword path of offense, too."
"Besides, you've inherited both our legacies. That means you've automatically received both of our divine trials."
"Once you reach the Titled Douluo level, you can complete our trials and unlock my divine armor and artifact, as well as the Life God's divine armor."
What the God of Destruction didn't mention was that Lin Yuan would have to forge the divine armor himself.
The divine armor had long since been destroyed when they sacrificed themselves in the Space-Time Turbulence. Only fragments of its components remained.
But the artifact still existed. Though only its core remained after the damage, the handle of the Scepter of Destruction could still be used if he found sufficiently good material for a new staff.
"Master, please accept one more bow from your disciple." Lin Yuan knelt and bowed to the God of Destruction.
Such a grand gesture was entirely appropriate for the God of Destruction, who had passed down his legacy to him and granted him a favor akin to giving him a new life.
Even in this era, he now had the means and confidence to stand against Tang San.
"Good boy."
Though he wasn't cute, the God of Destruction was quite satisfied with this disciple.
His ideal disciple would have been a lively girl like Tang San's daughter, Tang Xiaoqi.
But he had been dismayed to discover that, at some point, Tang Wutong was no longer that Tang Xiaoqi.
In every way, from her behavior to her appearance, the God of Destruction felt that Tang Wutong was Xiaoqi.
And yet his soul denied it all. Many times, he found himself feeling quietly dejected over it.
After all, she was Tang San's daughter, and he couldn't very well interfere too much.
"I'll conceal the aura of your fortune again, so that old dog Tang San doesn't notice you. Secretly grow stronger here in this Douluo World. When you reach a certain level, I'll help you break through to godhood and seek the Divine Realm's help in joining forces against Tang San."
"Yes, Master!"
What else was there to say? Just get it done.
Suddenly, a small purple orb of light flew out and landed beside Lin Yuan.
"This is Destruction power that can serve as a contract. If you think someone can be of use to you, use this power to form a contract with them. They'll become your subordinate and gain a certain degree of Destruction power."
"All right, Master." Lin Yuan accepted it without hesitation.
Then a question occurred to him. "What if that person still chooses to betray me?"
The God of Destruction fell silent. His silence seemed to say everything.
The price of betrayal would be, at the very least, an exploding body and certain death!
"Don't worry. I won't let you repeat my mistake."
Lin Yuan immediately understood that the God of Destruction was referring to Zhou Weiqing.
If that turncoat hadn't switched sides, Tang San—the protagonist with the least impressive credentials—might really have lost.
It was pretty embarrassing. As the protagonist of a series, Tang San had actually been the one defeated by someone who challenged above his level.
"I've told you everything you need to know. I've expended too much energy, so I'm going to sleep for a while."
"The faction you've encountered in the outside world is very interested in you. You can try showing off your talent and relying on them."
"Understood, Master."
"Mm. Go."
Outside, Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes.
During his conversation with the God of Destruction, hardly any time had passed in the outside world.
The Soul Master in charge of the awakening looked at Lin Yuan, who seemed completely unchanged, and was utterly baffled.
Ning Zhiyuan, watching from the shadows, couldn't help wondering if the device had malfunctioned.
But in the next moment, Lin Yuan stopped concealing his aura and let it burst forth!
A bone-chilling aura of Destruction emerged. Ning Zhiyuan's heart began pounding wildly.
Ning Tian's little face turned deathly pale, and Wu Feng was so frightened that her teeth chattered.
"W-what kind of Martial Soul is that?" Ning Tian's voice trembled with instinctive fear.
Ning Zhiyuan immediately recognized that this terrifying attribute energy felt similar to the Annihilation attribute of the Earth Dragon Sect.
But this power was even more exaggerated, even more terrifying than the Earth Dragon Sect's Annihilation attribute.
"Could it be the legendary Destruction attribute? The ultimate... Destruction?" Ning Zhiyuan said in disbelief.